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The Five-Point Weekend Escape Plan

Hang With Hipsters in Paris











2. Where to Eat


Join the local bohemian crowd at Chéri Bibi for French favorites like steak tartare.  

Try Londoner expat Giovanni Alpa’s hearty Italian-oriented fare, like rigatoni and sausage ($18), at Sole Caffe e Cucina (1 avenue Trudaine, +33 01 42 81 11 34), where Gus Van Sant, photographer Jean-Baptiste Mondino, the White Stripes, and Arcade Fire have all dined. The big white room evokes seventies Soho with accents like a sexy vintage photo of French pop icon Françoise Hardy.

Discover the quiet charms of Montmartre at Le XVIIIème Barathym (2 rue Ramey, +33 01 42 54 61 31), a cozy three-level, stone-walled restaurant where chef Sébastien Héloin serves subtle twists on classic French fare like filet mignon of pork over creamy polenta ($26). Saturday nights, sit up at the front bar and share a bottle of Côtes de Blayes ($36) while listening to live jazz manouche, France’s particular brand of “gypsy jazz.”

Book a few days in advance for dinner at Chéri Bibi (15 rue André-del-Sartre, +33 01 42 54 88 96), a perennially packed boîte where artsy locals flock for the three-course prix fixe ($34), including a mijotaï de boeuf (beef in a Thai marinade of coconut milk, basil, and lemon). On the third Monday of every month, a friend of the staff guest-chefs and serves a meal for $14 at 7:30 p.m.


Published on Nov 18, 2010 as a web exclusive.