Volumes has quickly become a popular destination, known for its superb coffee and a lunch menu that keeps customers coming back. The atmosphere is vibrant, and the food offerings are diverse, catering to various tastes.
The green curry pad Thai initially had me scratching my head - it feels sacrilegious to recommend pad Thai with zucchini in it. That said, the noodles have chew and get seared with wok hei; the permeating green curry flavor feels abundant and herbaceous thanks to fistfuls of fresh Thai basil.
The streets around the Louvre have improved considerably as a dining destination. It's still true that the neighborhood rewards those who know where to look - the blocks immediately adjacent to the museum are thick with tourist traps - but a short walk in almost any direction opens up genuinely good options.
Belleville has always been a little bit rowdy, whether it meant to be or not. Long before it was folded into Paris in 1860, it existed as its own working-class wine village perched on a hill, slightly removed from the city both geographically and ideologically. In recent years, as Paris's 10th and 11th arrondissements have slid fully into hipster territory, and even the gritty Barbès neighborhood feels increasingly polished, Belleville has held onto its identity with surprising resolve.
Bacon, egg, and cheese, man. Come on. People always put it on a croissant or something. That's no good. You need strong bread-strong bread to withstand the heat and the grease. This exchange between the author and Andrew Proctor captured the essential philosophy of breakfast sandwich construction, emphasizing the structural integrity required of the bread to properly support the fillings.
Where larger, electric espresso machines generate the pressure and heat needed for espresso inside their massive housings, the Flair takes a different approach. A large lever sits atop a small stack of brewing equipment, and you use that lever to create the bars of pressure necessary to get espresso. There's a chamber for your grounds and another atop it for hot water.
Chef Masa Ikuta brings serious classical training honed under Bruno Verjus at Table and Stephane Jego at L'Ami Jean to his own tasting menu restaurant in the 11th arrondissement. The cooking is confidently French-Japanese, moving from sardine churros with Cantabrian anchovy cream to veal brain tempura styled after shirako to a perfectly grilled lamb rack with smoky harissa.
Bar Nouveau might change that. Just off North Lombard, it's housed inside a refurbished 1940s building called Leavitt Station, a setting that matches the restaurant's avowedly midcentury sensibility. There are no Resys to reserve, no QR codes. You book by the increasingly retro medium of text message. Chef Althea Grey Potter cooks French food without Francophile reserve. Her plates arrive like something from Julia Child or Alice Waters, whose cookbooks adorn the entryway. A decadent bouffant of chicken liver mousse, heaped like ruffled cupcake frosting atop sablé cookies, is fit for an Eisenhower-era Gourmet cover. Fried olives present like a French Scotch egg, wrapped in pâté, stuffed with melty Cantal Jeune, and served over honey mustard.
Duck into Bar Etoile along Western Avenue and find a gently lit wood-paneled dining room that buzzes, starting from a zinc counter encircling the center of the room. To the sides, packed tables toast to zingy glasses of Melon de Bourgogne while taking careful spoonfuls of Alpine-style cheese tarts fashioned into savory pie slices. Which Parisian arrondissement is this? Oh, it's Melrose Hill, a Los Angeles neighborhood experiencing increasingly accelerating development with the openings of Corridor 109, Chainsaw, and Little Fish in recent months.
Live-fire cooking defines Robert et Louise, a Marais institution where beef, lamb, and duck sizzle over an open fireplace in the ground-floor dining room. The wood-fired approach delivers generous portions at moderate prices - most mains stay under 30€, with classic French bistro fare like blood sausage, grilled lamb chops, and charred steak. The main floor centers on a crackling brick fireplace where meat cooks directly over flame.
Past a sign for a family waterpark, a door opens onto an homage to fin-de-siècle Paris. Chandeliers are reflected in gilt-edged mirrors; there is a chorus line of lobsters and yards of fromage. Every so often, a waiter in a dinner suit flambées a crepe Suzette with a shock of flames, like a big top fire-eater. This is fine dining as buffet.
Israeli chef Assaf Granit shifts focus from Mediterranean cooking to Eastern European Jewish cuisine at Boubalé, located in the Grand Mazarin hotel steps from BHV. The menu draws on Ashkenazi traditions - borscht, chicken liver, pastrami, and potato-forward preparations inspired by Granit's Polish grandmother. The vast dining room manages warmth through maximalist touches: doilies, colorful glassware, and grandmother-approved murals. Standout dishes include salmon floating in borscht with pickled turnips, Israeli couscous risotto with spinach, and an exceptional chocolate mousse drizzled with olive oil.
For me, cafes have long represented more than just necessary fuel to start the day. They are a place to relax, create, and connect, whether that be to yourself, the local environment, or friends. As a food scientist and professional baker who's worked as a barista, good coffee and pastries are also undoubtedly important - don't get me wrong. The best cafes not only invite you in; they invite you to stay.
In a prime spot in Ardmore on Philadelphia's Main Line, the long, rectangular shop offers warmth through vertical wooden slats near the door, plus white oak paneling across a white stone-topped bar and the back wall behind the counter. At the far end of the room, blue mati pendants pop against a white wall, a bright nod to the owners' Greek heritage.
Whether you're making a latte at home because you want to save money, get creative, or just can't be bothered to leave the house, there's no denying that having the right ingredients makes all the difference. Coffee has a wide aroma spectrum, so, like alcoholic beverages, it's key to ensure that any flavors the coffee is served with are complementary. When I was a barista at Starbucks, most of the onboarding process involved learning about this concept.
What makes Granada so unconventional is the fact that it's located on the lower level of their actual home, a situation enabled by LA County's relatively new Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation (also known as MEHKO) permit. The permit allows Wayser and Watters to legally serve coffee and food out of their house, with limitations on the number of staff and total annual earnings.
Courtesy of Lea Daniel + 13 Architects: Lea Daniel Area of this architecture project Area: 190 m Completion year of this architecture project Year: 2025 Brands with products used in this architecture project Manufacturers: Fabraca Studios, Frama, Hay Design, Slo Ceramics, The Bowery Company Lead Architects: Lea Daniel More SpecsLess Specs Courtesy of Lea Daniel Text description provided by the architects. Koffiqa reimagines an awkward plan as a spatial journey, using a continuous bar to
