Multicolored array
Best Japanese coffee shops, properties for sale in the 13th, La Laiterie Moderne, Roellinger spices, Maison Ailhon, MORE
WORK • Friday Routine
Fresh air
DÉBORAH DUPONT DAGUET • CEO • Librairie Gourmande
Neighborhood you work in: 6th arr
Neighborhood you live in: Clamart
What’s on the agenda this weekend?
When I’m in Clamart on Sunday morning, I go to the covered market at La Fourche, with my regular vendors, around 9a. Then a quick stop at La Laiterie Moderne, Avenue Jean Jaurès, to stock up on cheese. Afterward, I head to the kitchen and prepare both meals for the day, often roasting vegetables and making cakes for the week ahead. Sometimes I go gardening at my plot, which I’ve had for 10 years with the association Les Jardins du Fort d’Issy.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
Tonight, I’m having pizza with my son. I’ll pick it up from Inizio, Rue du Montparnasse in the 14th arrondissement, on my way home from the bookstore by bike, and we’ll reheat it.
Any weekend getaways?
The city of Dijon is ideally located and easily accessible by train, with a beautiful pedestrian city center and numerous restaurants (La Cave se Rebiffe, Monique, Cibo...). Rennes is also great, with the Marché des Lices, and an abundance of fantastic restaurants (Ima, Racines...).
What was your last great vacation?
A short trip to Northern Brittany, Including a stop in Cancale at Roellinger to have a snack at Grain de Vanille and to stock up on spices at their shop. If your budget allows, don’t hesitate to have a meal at the bistro (by the sea) or even at the three-Michelin-star restaurant at Château Richeux in Saint Méloir des Ondes.
From Cancale, I love heading up to Pointe du Grouin to take in a breath of fresh air. As I drove along the coast toward Saint-Malo, I discovered Bertrand Larcher’s Breizh Café farm. In Saint-Malo, don’t miss the Bordier butter, and try the unique Japanese restaurant Tanpopo. On the other side of the Rance River, stroll through the old town of Dinan, dream in front of the beautiful villas in Dinard, and finish the day with a visit to Crêperie L’Hermine in Saint Briac before enjoying the end of the day at the Garde beach or Pointe du Décollé.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
A subscription for massages at La Maison du Tui Na (on the recommendation of Delphine Plisson, who mentioned it to me years ago).
What store or service do you always recommend?
I’m a devoted fan of Rœllinger spices (Rue Ste Anne in the 2nd) because any of their mixes or even their pepper can elevate any dish or recipe. It’s the magical touch that always surprises everyone!
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PARIS WORK & PLAY LINKS: Selldorf Architects and Studios Architecture Paris chosen to lead Louvre’s $1b expansion, including new dedicated Mona Lisa gallery • Paris will host Esports World Cup this summer instead of Riyadh • The personal shoppers helping people win at Puces • How everyone is styling their jeans this summer.
REAL ESTATE • On the Market
Three properties for sale around Gobelins and Croulebarbe in the 13th arr:
→ Square Le Gall (metro Corvisart, above) • 2BR/1BA, 114 m2 apartment • Ask: 1.316M € • recently updated condo with ‘modern ambiance’ plus 18sqm terrace • Annual maintenance/condo fees: 1400 € • Agent: John Vingas, Engel & Völkers.
→ Gobelins (metro Les Gobelins) • 3BR/1.1BA, 126 m2 apartment • Ask: 1.895M € • three-story home with shared gardens • Annual maintenance/condo fees: 3000 € • Agent: Eliana Marques-Jouard, Barnes.
→ Avenue des Gobelins (metro Les Gobelins) • 4BR/3BA, 155 m2 apartment • Ask: 1.95M € • upper-floor apartment with considerable natural light • Annual maintenance/condo fees: 6500 € • Agent: Jérôme Pebereau, Barnes.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Goose
Shan’l • Le Trianon (18th arr) • Sat @ 20h • cat 1, 85 € per
Gaëtan Roussel • Zenith Paris - La Villette (19th arr) • Wed @ 20h • carre or, 67 € per
Goose • Elysee Montmartre (Montmartre) • Mon 01/06 @ 19h • standing only, 39 € per
GETAWAYS • Ardèche
Built for lingering
At the entrance to Maison Ailhon, located in a characterful village in Ardèche, you’re immediately welcomed by a beautiful zinc counter. To the left, a round table sits between a bookshelf carved into the fireplace and a delicate still life painting by Max Osoki. The kitchen faces you, open, benefiting from the generous ceiling height of this stone house.
Further in, the main dining room unfolds, almost cave-like, with lime-washed walls and a vaulted opening framing a large window leading onto a terrace of green wrought iron. This warm, enveloping restaurant is the work of Lucie Soerensen in the dining room and Clément Guernalec in the kitchen, who bring with them the quiet precision of their past experiences at Septime and l’Auberge de Chassignoles.
The menu is always blind. You simply indicate any dietary restrictions when booking. For lunch, a three-course menu at €28; in the evening, a five-step journey costs €48. The cooking is generous and quietly expressive. Tempura of snow peas and green asparagus, served with a harissa mayonnaise, tastes crisp and vibrant. White asparagus velouté, with croutons, house-cured ham, a soft-boiled egg, and wild garlic leaves, proves round and comforting.
A bottle of Fleurs Sauvages 2024 by Jérôme Jouret, a blend of Altesse, Vermentino, Roussanne, and Viognier, runs alongside the meal. A pollock from Noirmoutier, sourced from a small fisherman they work with, arrives with multicolored chard, peas, carrots, and a beurre blanc sharpened with sardine garum. It’s bright, layered, and quietly bold.
The cheese plate is served at exactly the right temperature, a detail that makes all the difference. Then dessert: a hazelnut butter biscuit, strawberries lightly sugared, and a chantilly infused with black cardamom — soft, fragrant, almost weightless, like powder.
After the meal, it feels natural to step back outside and wander into the surrounding pine forest, past oak trees, down quiet paths lined with old stones, the village slowly dissolving into nature. If you’re staying in one of the two rooms upstairs, there’s breakfast the next morning built around local produce.
It’s worth considering, because Maison Ailhon is that kind of place: one you arrive at gently, and leave just as slowly. –Candice Chemel
→ Maison Ailhon (Ailhon) • 14 Le Village • Wed-Thu 16h-23h, Fri-Sun 10h-23h • Call to book.
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GOODS & SERVICES • The Nines
Coffee shops, Japanese
The Nines are FOUND’s distilled lists of the best in Paris and surrounds. Paid subscribers can access the complete Nines archive.
Dreamin’ Man (11th arr), Yuichiro Sugiyama’s microcafé serving serious coffee to local creatives, delicious seasonal fruit tarts from his pastry chef girlfriend Yui