Omnivore, Zurban and A Nous Paris

[John Talbott]

Through the generosity and good offices of Luc Dubranchet, chief editor and co-director of Omnivore, the one year old monthly that reports on “Generation C” food and chefs (Francois Simon describes the “Generation C” bunch as the culinary children of “Bras, Gagnaire, Ducasse & Veynat”), I received a current and several past issues of the publication. It is terrific!; wide in scope; and interestingly written. But it’s in French and I fear will not have the wide readership it should have unless some wonderful member of the eGullet Society agrees to write a Digest of it.

What makes it so interesting? Well, it’s not ethnocentric; indeed it’s fairly critical of rigid French cuisine and admiring of what’s going on elsewhere, e.g. in Spain and Italy, indeed, even in Hong Kong and Australia. It has all sorts of articles, from news of new or acquired restos (Yves Camdebord’s ongoing saga, Angelina’s “marriage” to the group Bertrand), book notes (Mireille Guilano’s book’s success in the US) and book series (editions de l’Epure), essays on the Evin law (discouraging drinking and driving) as well as how to solve the problem of wine overproduction (I learned that France alone produces an amount of wine constituting the world’s over-supply), historical items (the history of restos in Paris), how TV does cooking shows (M6’s Thursday at 8:30 PM show featuring Pourcel-trained Cyril Lignac, which has 4.3 million viewers!), an ongoing undercover expose of a French cooking school, an opinion as to why Daniel Boulud and Jean-Georges Vongerichten have thrived in NYC, interviews (Fulvio Pierangelini of Gambero Rosso in San Vincenzo in Tuscany; 22 covers, big waiting; itself a 96/100 in the magazine/guide Gambero Rosso), analyses of what consumers can buy, say at a butcher shop, recipes, what produce to buy this month, and events (salons, meetings, etc.)

Pretty impressive, eh? If you read French (and it’s clearly written, even for bumblers like me) and want to keep abreast of what’s going on, you must subscribe (80 Euros a year) by going to www.omnivore.fr; no newsstand sales, unfortunately. I spent a very pleasant afternoon reading issue #14.

Now to Zurban, a 4-year-old French/Parisian weekly that started as an online publication and now competes with Pariscope, Les Spectacles + Figaroscope. I got a few issues distributed free in my mailbox and by my newsagent a good while back and didn’t make much of it. But for the last 6 months it’s been the most reliable source of new restos I’ve found. I realize why I like Sebastien Demorand’s reviews so much, as opposed to Simon who writes such impossible to understand French and Rubin who gives ratings yes, but no real evaluations, or Ribaut, whom I’ve never been able to trust. Demorand really digs into a place; gives details, quotes, Anglicized expressions and while mostly positive about Parisian places, can really demolish a bad one too. It’s another pleasure to read. It is available by subscription (6 months for 15 Euros at the Service Abonements, 59789 Lille Cedex) or from your friendly newsperson.

Finally, I’ve also added A Nous Paris to my must read list. It too started out haltingly and I used to toss it out almost as soon as I picked up a free copy in the Metro. But again, in the past 6 months, it’s been on target for new restos. So Tuesday AM’s, if you live or are visiting in Paris, I advise you to pick it up; my station runs out by noon, so you’ve got to go early. Some stations, i.e. Montparnasse have bigger piles and it lasts longer though. I'm luck to have eGullet Society member Felice supply me when I'm away.

Disclosure: I do not write for nor have I received any money from any of these three publications; indeed, “A Nous Paris” doesn’t even answer my phone calls or emails.

[zeitoun]

you must subscribe (80 Euros a year) by going to www.omnivore.fr; no newsstand sales, unfortunately. 

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Thank you for the information John, I tried the above website but came out with no result. I found it at the following address instead:

www.omnivore-editions.com

Edit: My mistake, both web addresses are available.

Edited February 2, 2005 by zeitoun (log)