Emily in France 🇫🇷 The Magic of a Café
The coffee doesn't have to be good for the café to be great
There is very little I enjoy more than sitting and writing in a truly French café – and that’s in spite of the terrible coffee.
Yep, sorry to burst your bubble, friends, but coffee in Parisian cafés is pretty loathsome. As opposed to, say, Italy, in Paris, most of the time, you’ll need to find a hipster craft coffee spot if you want your coffee to be anything other than bitter, grainy, and weak.
That said, the quality of the coffee itself really has very little to do with my choice to frequent this oh-so-Parisian of establishments. Indeed, for someone who mainlines the sheer quantity of coffee I do, I have no problem with its quality running the gamut from middling to bad. Dishwater diner coffee, burnt French allongés tempered with cold water, vats of iced Dunkin, cold filter I've forgotten only to stumble upon it, cold and stale, hours later… frankly, I like them all.
No, rather than the coffee itself, my choice to frequent French cafés has a lot more to do with the vibe. I like the odd blend of community and anonymity that comes with pulling up a chair at a place that isn’t a destination but rather a convenience, a spot known for nothing at all. I like the fact that, unlike craft coffee spots, cafés tend not to close early (and, indeed, as my friend, the talented author Amanda Bestor-Siegal will well remember, often remain open until the wee hours, something that once facilitated our our marathon writing sessions punctuated by coffee, more coffee, and perhaps a glass of wine around 1am).
The waiters at such a place invariably couldn't care less about folks like me camping out in the corner, provided I pay my bill when I invariably outlast the end of their shifts. If anything, I sometimes get the sense that my low maintenance is part of my appeal as a patron – especially as I make a rule of arriving only after the lunch rush has come to an end.
Maybe it’s because of the nature of my job that such a place so appeals to me, promising me absolutely nothing but shelter and a beverage, low prices, and space: to read, to write, to be.
And to observe.
At one recent café visit, I watched as a woman sitting to my right clamored for the waiter’s attention with breathless sighs, finally ordering not one but two toasted ficelles, buttered.
“Désolée pour l’attente,” Monsieur said magnanimously. “Two, you’re sure?” “Yes, yes, two.”
Immediately after, the gent to my left, who had, it must be said, arrived moments before the dame to my right, attempted to order a coffee and just one buttered ficelle. The waiter returns a moment later to let him know that madame has ordered the last.
I have never heard more sighing in my life.
Such scenes merely punctuate the relatively drama-free existence of a café, but they're frequent enough to break the tedium, rendering a café, for me, the ideal third space. And it’s why, whenever I’m out and about in Paris, on the lookout for a place to kill time between appointments, I know exactly what I’m looking for: A corner location, big enough for the dining room to sprawl. A red awning. Probably a built-in tobacconist, signaled by a red parallelogram. And a brusque server who, when I walk in, will spit out, rapid-fire:
Pour manger? Boire un verre? Un café?
Un allongé, I will reply, and I will take the seat by the window, and I will write.
Cheese of the Week
The season for producing Mont d’Or has come to an end, but that doesn't mean you can't get your hands on the last few. This specialty hailing from the Alps is bound in a band of spruce, which lends a uniquely woodsy aroma to the soft cheese that’s actually relatively mild-mannered as compared to other washed-rind creations. There’s a lot of Franco-Swiss muttering about who truly lays a claim to this cheese, but one thing is certain: The most popular way to enjoy it is to stud it with garlic, drizzle it with white wine, and bake it until molten so that it can be served atop steamed potatoes.
Brie de Montereau is far from the most well-known of Bries, but this rich, creamy specialty is worth seeking out.
To discover more of my favorite cheeses, be sure to follow me on Instagram @emily_in_france, subscribe to my YouTube channel, and tune into the Terroir Podcast, where Caroline Conner and I delve into France's cheese, wine, and more one region at a time.
What I'm Eating
Orgueil has been on my radar for quite some time thanks to its unique, tarot-inspired menu and tasty-looking cocktails. And while I didn’t take advantage of the latter, my weekday lunches being teetotal affairs, if Eloy Spinnler’s lunch menu is anything to go by, dinner is sure to be a treat. More on the blog.
Discover more of my foodie finds via Instagram @emily_in_france and on the blog.
What I’m Doing
This year, I’m hosting not one but two retreats! But they couldn't be more different from one another.
The first is a collaboration with my friend, ceramicist and product designer Camille Drozdz of Ici l’Atelier in La Ciotat. This May, when Paris weather is still dubious at best, we’ll be welcoming a handful of lucky ladies for the second iteration of our TERRE/MER retreat. Tapping into our shared passions for art, terroir, and sisterhood, the retreat is centered on a ceramics intensive tailored to the experience level of our participants (beginners? Awesome. Advanced? Come hone your skills!)
When you’re not in the studio crafting the tableware of your dreams with experienced designer Camille, I’ll be leading cooking workshops, cheese tastings, and even a beer pairing event overlooking the gorgeous port. Throw in convivial apéros, outdoor yoga (weather permitting), and downtime to explore this beautiful seaside town, and it’s a dream come true for anyone looking for the space and time to unwind and get back in touch with a slower pace.
After our first successful week in November, we heard your feedback and are now launching a long weekend format from May 18 to 21. And we still have a few spots! Check out our website and Instagram for more info.
A little over a month later, I'll be off on yet another escapade! June 26 to 30, my friend and fellow writer Anna Polonyi and I will be launching the very first iteration of the Nantes Writers’ Workshop.
During the five-day workshop, you'll take full advantage of morning generative writing sessions with me and afternoon craft and feedback workshops with Anna, an Iowa Writers’ Workshop grad and teacher based in Nantes. In the evenings, convene with us for craft talks over an apéritif. Check out our website and Instagram for more information!
Where I’m Going
1. To Liquide, a modern tavern that promises to continue in the vein of Substance, which I adored back in 2019.
2. To Carton to check out the croissant that won best in Paris in 2022. (We’ll see if it dethrones my current fave…)
3. To the Jardin des Plantes, to bear witness to the fact that spring has indeed truly sprung in Paris!
What I'm Writing
1. If you're planning a trip to Paris any time soon, I recommend you stay in the 9th… and eat your way through this foodie arrondissement. For InsideHook.
2. Four DC-based beer tastemakers share their thoughts on the worst trends, local favorites and more. For InsideHook.
3. From the archives: As a peace offering after bursting your bubble regarding the quality of Paris’ café coffee, here are 19 of what I consider Paris’ best coffee shops. For Fodor’s.
What I'm Saying
France is far more than just Paris; indeed, 45 percent of the country is still agricultural. And the French countryside, despite our provincial fantasies, is not trapped in the past. To debunk the clichés and stereotypes – and shed light on the reality – I’m joined on this episode of Navigating the French by Forest Collins, the cocktail expert behind 52 Martinis and a part-time resident of the countryside le Perche, to delve into a world that draws a distinct line between Paris and elsewhere: province.
What I'm Reading
1. As I’ve been transcribing my interview with the Norman lobster fisherman at the heart of my next big profile piece for the BBC, I’ve been bowled over by how many bits of noise and ambient sound I’ve captured, from waves to sniffles to the flip-flopping of a conger eel who had the misfortune to be a temporary first mate. This story explores why this might be a good habit to get into, not just because sound memory erodes more quickly than tactile or visual memory, but because it’s more evocative. (Also) in the BBC.
2. Parisians voted this week to rid the city of electric scooters, to which I say, thank god and good riddance. In Paris Zigzag.
3. Not so much reading but listening to my wildly multitalented friend Diana share her top tips for staying safe as a solo female traveler on her new podcast Faraway Places.
A bientôt !