David Lebovitz Newsletter

As I mentioned in my last newsletter, Norway has been on my bucket list of places to visit in my lifetime. I’d heard about the magnificent fjords and wanted to see them before I kicked the bucket. (Thanks commenter Paul, for pointing out how we similarly, and oddly, use “bucket” in English.) Several friends kindly gave me lists of restaurants they recommended, but I nixed any place that served dinner as a lengthy tasting menu.

It’s been hotter than heck in Paris, and we’re in the midst of our third heatwave. One way our friends in Italy beat the heat (and get their coffee fix) is to make affogato, a dish of ice cream “drowned” in espresso, with liquor sometimes added, giving it an extra kick. I met Margot Lecarpentier when writing my book, Drinking French.

When you move to a foreign country, or even another city, one of the first things you need to do is find a doctor. It’s especially intimidating if you don’t speak the language and don’t understand the health care system, and don’t know how everything works. Twenty-five years later, I’ve learned that nobody in France fully understands how the French health care system works.

Americans seem to be obsessed with ultimates. Magazines, websites, and social media have made people think that the goal of everything is hyper-crispiness. Don’t get me wrong. I like crispy, too, especially when it comes to fried chicken, French fries, potato chips, baguettes, and fruit crisp toppings. I even spent a few months working on a proposal for a cookbook of recipes of only crispy foods, which I think was ahead of its time. I’m sure by now someone else has done it.

David Lebovitz podcast From my kitchen in Paris, talks with my favorite bakers, cookbook authors, pastry chefs, bartenders, chefs, spirits experts, along with a dose of Paris dining tips and French culinary culture. From my kitchen in Paris, talks with my favorite bakers, cookbook authors, pastry chefs, bartenders, chefs, spirits experts, along with a dose of Paris dining tips and French culinary culture.

I’m away until the end of the month, traveling, and (fortunately) escaping the heat in Paris. Here’s a summer recipe I thought I’d reshare that’s easy to make, and captures the essence of the season. It’s definitely going on rotation when I get home! - David Tarts, or galettes as they’re sometimes called, are a great way to use summer. I know some people are timid about making dough, but this dough couldn’t be simpler, and it’s very hard to screw up.

I met Carlos Moreno when he was delivering taco kits during the pandemic, when we all wanted to eat “out,” but were stuck eating in. Prior to that period Mexican food wasn’t well represented in Paris. (A lesser-known fact is that France tried to colonize Mexico twice in the mid-1800s.) I loved Carlos’ food and we had a few nice conversations on the sidewalk when he made his deliveries. Since then he’s gone on to open his own restaurant in Paris, Comer.

A few days ago I ran into our neighbor, who kindly invited us for dinner this weekend. She was the first neighbor we met in the building, over our shared back wall, and we hit it off, right off the bat. People in Paris can have complicated (or, um…thorny) relationships with neighbors, which I wrote about in my book L’Appart. But we scored with this one.

When you write a cookbook, a question people frequently ask is, “What’s your favorite recipe in the book?” It’s hard to say because if a recipe wasn’t one of my favorites, I wouldn’t have put it in a book. I don’t have kids, but some people say that’s like asking a parent who their favorite child is.

As someone who is passionate about cookbooks, I’m always up for talking about them with other cookbook collectors. I know there are lots of cookbook collectors out there, but one who really stands out is Jenna Helwig, who writes the Cookbookery Collective newsletter, which she describes as: …a hub for the cookbook community—authors, eaters, cooks, editors, publicists, publishers, agents, and aspiring authors alike.