Friday, January 27, 2012

PARIS: Maison et Objet - Art - Design - Food - Restaurants - Fashion - People... and more


Paris – Concept store and restaurant: Merci and La Cantine du Potager:  In the northern Marais district of Paris is the well known concept store Merci, and in it’s basement is the busy and trendy restaurant La Cantine du Potager which translates as the canteen of the vegetable garden and so it is, as there is a real vegetable garden outside the big greenhouse type windows. The rosemary was picked fresh for this tisane of ginger and rosemary, which I had with my vegetarian meal.  I have since made this tisane at home and it’s delicious, and we all know how good ginger is for you.
  
La Cantine du Potager.  A view of the big greenhouse type windows that look out onto the vegetable garden right in the heart of Paris.  The blackboard displays the menu, which is mainly vegetarian. Simple dishes, include soups, salads, vegetable tarts, risotto, cheese and deserts.
Note: Try also, just round the corner from Merci, the new and cool pizza cocktail bar restaurant called Grazie, which means merci in French and thank you in English and as the name suggests it is all in the family as it is owned by Julien Cohen, the son of the owners of Merci.

La Cantine du Potager.  Chicken Kefta  and aubergine patties are served with spicy broccoli and fennel salad and yogurt dressing.


La Cantine du Potager. Mixed greens and carrot salad are a side to a vegetable tart.  Beware both where seasoned with fresh coriander or cilantro, which is an acquired taste.

La Cantine du Potager. Un-resistible is the Molleaux au Chocolat which is a cross between a Molten chocolate cake and a chocolate a mousse and just melts in your mouth.
  
Merci – The Bike. The theme for January and February in the Merci showroom is the bicycle.  An exhibition called My Bike, Transportation in the City, until February 20, covers most of the floors. Always sensitive to trends and lifestyles Merci has put together the best designer bicycles on the market.  The bike has become the new subject for innovation and style for designers. 
  
A Bianchi bike.

Merci – The Bike.  Designed by the Danish designers Maik, the Bike Crate is made from 100% recyclable materials that can withstand everyday use and all kinds of weather. The bike crate is made of dibond, stainless steel and polycarbonate and all brackets are custom crafted in lightweight aluminum, which can withstand even strong impacts. “We are presenting the perfect solution for the people who do not want to ride a cargo bike, but who still must carry stuff around on their bikes, no matter if it’s a computer bag, 30 oranges, two crates of beer or 12 bottles of wine.”  Said Rune Rex, designer and co-founder with Andreas Sachse of Maik.
 
 

 

 

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