Rose Bakery Paris | June 16 Dîner en Blanc | No Roosters Allowed

Living

Ninth

Eurofile | Bobo Heaven in Paris NYTimes

Paris has an obsession with bobos, writes Alex Lobrano from the Ninth Arrondissement, ‘citadel of bobo cool’.

To be sure, the Ninth, where I moved from the Left Bank 11 years ago in search of an affordable apartment, has always had some very good neighborhood restaurants, notably Casa Olympe, a favorite of the designer Jean-Paul Gaultier, who lives nearby. But it didn’t really start to become a destination neighborhood for dining until 2002, when Rose Carranini opened her now legendary Rose Bakery on the rue des Martyrs, the neighborhood’s gastronomic main drag. Serving Anglo-American style baked goods (scones, carrot cake, brownies, date-oat bars, etc.), quiches, sandwiches, soup and salads, often made with organic ingredients, in an industrial style canteen setting, it was an immediate hit …

A few years later, the graffiti artist and nightclub entrepreneur known as André opened the Hotel Amour, a rebooted bordello with rooms decorated with contemporary art and a great bar. After all, the Ninth helps form Place Pigalle, the infamous sex district of Paris between it and the 18th arrondissements.

The Rose Bakery, Marais Untapped Paris

You can find the Rose Bakery at these three spots in Paris:

20 rue de Debblyeme, Marais
46 rue des Martyrs, Montmartre
10 Blvd De La Bastille

*Just a tip, this place is rather popular and often has queues out the door so try and get there early.

Fine Dining Parisian Picnic

The invite list for this year’s Dîner en Blanc is reduced to 8,000 guests compared to 14,000 last year.

Like always, everything is a surprise except for the date: June 16, 2011. The location is communicated by paper as the buses are en route to the destination, and in the discreet French style nobody breaks the secret by yelling excitedly where we’re headed. The only rules: dress white, bring table, chairs, white tablecloth and a picnic. The old school band(s) will be back for the evenings music. Last year, a dance party broke out in the Tuileries. What will happen this year? via Untapped

No Roosters Allowed

Residents find that raising chickens in backyard yields more than crop of eggs Wisconsin State Journal

This luxury Chicken Co-op will set you back a cool $3500 in New York. Yes, chickens are legal in New York, but no roosters. It’s the males who make all the racket.

As our more pragmatic Midwestern friends tell us, chickens are equally happy in non-deluxe housing, as long as you spread the love. In fact, chickens are most nurturing pets.  Learn the key questions about raising chickens in your city and how to keep them safe.

Meet the Holbrookes, who live in Brooklyn Heights.

Holbrooke and her husband, David, 43, first heard about urban chicken farming last year and enrolled the family in a class at Stone Barn Farms in upstate New York. Sarah then visited mypetchicken.com, picked out six New York City-friendly breeds (small spaces, cold winters, kids), and the family had the day-old chicks within days.

We will now solve the challenge of what to do with all those eggs. Breakfast is served — Parisian style.

BSS | Breakfast Interrupted

BSS | Breakfast Interrupted from Bruton Stroube Studios on Vimeo.

Brainiac

Ai Weiwei’s ‘Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads’: The Cost of Activism Untapped

Ai Weiwei, a Chinese artist and activist, produced Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads, located in the Pulitzer Fountain in front of the Plaza Hotel through July 15. This exhibit, the first to be placed in the Pulitzer Fountain, was inspired by a fountain-clock located at the Old Summer Palace just outside Beijing. The fountain-clock featured the animals of the Chinese zodiac, each spouting water at two-hour intervals. During the Second Opium War the fountain-clock was destroyed and five of the animal heads were lost to time. Weiwei’s twelve heads are cast bronze, each weighing about 800 pounds, and are set on bronze bases. The artist said that his “work is always dealing with real or fake, authenticity and value and how value relates to current political and social understandings and misunderstandings, however, because Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads is composed of animal heads, it’s a work that everyone can understand, including children and people who are not in the art world.”

The May unveiling of Ai Weiwei’s exhibit at Fifth Avenue and Central Park South happened without the artist present. Ai Weiwei was arrested while boarding a flight to America; his studio was ransacked and destroyed. Just today, reports are that his wife was able to see the artist for the first time. He is well but very subdued, she says.

The Observer’s Laura Cumming shares much more information about why Ai Weiwei art provokes Chinese authorities.