A Gentleman’s Travel Guide: Paris- Eats and Finds.

There is not city on earth quite like Paris; it is at once captivating and soothing, beautiful and unapologetic.

PARISIANS get a bad wrap for being rude, but if you make even the slightest attempt to speak the language you’ll get far. Paris, for me, is all about food- Sure there’s galleries and famous museums (Musee de Orsee and the Louvre) as well as a host of boutiques and shops. But Paris Eats, is the best Eats in the world.

Pierre Herme

The Macaroon

For  a “can-these-macaroons-truly-be-better-than-ten-orgasms-at-once” experience you MUST go to this place, then (after waiting in line for them) take a seat at the Place St. Sulpice and enjoy the most sublime confections in the world.

@ 72 Rue Bonaparte (by the plaza of St. Sulpice | 6th arr.)

Ryst Dupeyron

The Spirit(s)

An entire shop of distilled treasure from France.

@ 79 Rue du Bac (6th)

Patisserie Gerard Mulot

The Sweet spot

Nothing is better than France’s pattisseries; part jewelry store for confections, part christmas-time for gluttons, lots of butter and all delicious… stop here for tarts, cookies and all that is right with the world- it’s crowded but that’s half the fun. With baguette in hand walk next door to the St. Germain market and look for the cheese display- the couple that runs it is wonderful!  Tell them about your preference for cheese and watch her blow you away.

Gerard Mult @ 76 Rue de Seine (closed Wed | 6th).

Maitre Parfumer et Gantier

The touch

Once upon a time this house made the perfumes and gloves for the French crown- not they make spectacular, hand-crafted limited-edition perfumes. Wonderful (for the wife and husband). My Pick:

Santal Noble

– I wear it in November, it’s seductive cinnamon-sweetness and ambrette heft and complex aromatics are intoxicating.

(Sandalwood with seductive amber. Woodsy. Top Note: Coffe beans, spice oils, incense; Middle Note: Sandalwood, patchouli, vanilla, vetiver; Base Note: Ambegris, oakmoss, vanilla)

@ 5 Rue de Capucins (Metro: OPERA |9th)

Les Cocottes de Christian Constant

The Good Stuff

Tired and exhausted from outing the Eiffel tower and a bit chilly?  Head to this place… a fabulous little restaurant that serves up hearty food by a star-chef all cooked in small (Staub) Coccottes…

@ 135 Rue St. Dominique (7th)

Chocolatier Christian Constant

The indulgance

Do i need to say anything? Startlingly amazing.

@ 37 Rue d’Assas (6th)

Chez Mai

The wild card

Do you need a break from foie and lardons- we all do: this became our favorite little place in the world- a great Vietnamesse hole-in-the-wall where the host (Miss Mai) is very busy servicing all four tables plus watching her shows in a heaping, but welcoming mess that is this restaurant (just don’t have too much of the chili sauce or like us you’ll get yelled at)…

@ 65 Rue de Galande (TINY!)-(5th)

Berthillon (Ice Cream)

The life-changing moment...

It is only a few times in life when something so well known is taken for granted that we don’t think anything will ever redefine it for us: and that is where Berthillon comes in. Berthillon will forever change your relationship with Ice Cream. Tucked deep in the Isle St. Louis almost every cafe on the way to this shrine announces they serve Berthillon Ice cream- keep walking. Make yourself to the actual establishment, sit in the small but cozy (and always full) parlor and be ready to have your life re-defined. Even by the Vanilla Ice Cream!!! (The Fleur de sel topped caramel Ice Cream is also an all-time favorite favourite)

@ 31 Rue Saint Louis in Isle St. Louis (4th)

La Cerise sur le Chapeau

The little things in life...

Roughly “The cherry on top (or in this case on a hat) is a wonderful little shop with a great collection of hand-made hats and Bespoke on order. Check it out! Get measured, get a hat and continue to tour the town.

@ 11 rue Cassette (6th)

Les Jardins de Luxembourg

The respite

The Luxembourg Gardens are amongst some of the most beautiful in Paris… rent a bike and circle the neighborhood, or simply take a book, stroll through the park, find a sunny spot and make yourself at home.

@ South of St. Sulpice on Rue Bonaparte (6th)

Restaurant L’Arpege by Alain Passard

The moment

One of the most unforgettable gastronomic experiences of my life. This 3-star michelin restaurant is an experience on its own. Small dining room is not cold and daunting like many similarly-starred restaurants in Paris. The staff is friendly, the wine list vast, and it’s chef, who specialty is his ability to coax magic out of the simplest most honest vegetables from France, strolls around the dining room at lunch making sure everyone is happy. On certain fridays, this parade is accompanied by a crispy suckling pig on a silver tray that is actuioned off table to table– and you’d be keen to get a piece, for a bit of this pig is enough to make you cry for joy.

@ 84, Rue de Varenne (5th) – Monday through Friday/ lunch and dinner.

Paradis Latin Cabaret

The caution to the air (why the hell not?)

Forget Le Moulin Rouge- it’s an overpriced tourist trap; come here instead, bookearly, get a table and a bottle of champagne and enjoy.

@28 Rue Cardinal Lemoine (Dinner 8pm. Show 9.30pm daily.)-(5th)

Restaurant l’AOC

The regular

Our favorite Restaurant in Paris– and what’s not to love? Big rotisserie when you walk in and a table full of thick-sided casserole dishes holding in rich pates and terrines which are brought table-side where you can serve yourself to your cholesterol’s content (or until someone else orders it). Everything on the menu is from an AOC appellation- from the sausage and hams, to the chickens and beef and it is all very very delicious! Not easy to find, but worth seeking out….

@ 14 Rue Fosses Saint Bernard (5th)

La Flambee

The 'no-nonesense' meal

If you feel like a homey environment, and have had enough of the michelin-stars getting in the way of pure guttural enjoyment of food head to this little place not to far from Mr Eiffel’s metal behemoth. The outside makes you question if you are indeed in the right place- which only proves you indeed are. Sit down; a long table with an array of salads and cold items in bowls greets you to the right as you make your way into a dim interior dominated by a large stone hearth with a well-worn iron grill on top: three items to choose from: Chicken, beef or Foie Gras. One cooking method: On that stone hearth, cooked over a wood fire. The table: all you can eat. The wine: Cheap and quaffable. The experience: unforgettable (the price? 30-40EU a person…).

@ 79 Avenue Segur (CASH ONLY)-(5th)

– La Puce | The flea-marker… Paris-style…

“The unexpected”

One of the most AMAZING walks around town, which most tourists miss is the “Prais Flea Market” or Les Puces de Saint-Ouen. It’s a track, but if uou got a 20-foot container to fill my God could you fill it. Trinkets from castles, Old WWII memorabilia, furniture, mideval clothes, lithographs, old music you name it….

@ 140 Rue de Rosiers

How to get there:

Porte de Clignancourt, line 4, coming from Paris.

Take the exit marked Boulevard Ornano, odd numbers, then the exit rue Belliaud /rue letord. Go under the ring road. Avenue Michelet is the continuation of the Porte de Clignancourt, but the easiest way to get to most of the markets is along the rue des Rosiers (first left off the avenue Michelet).

Happy Holidays from TGG!

Wishing you happy holidays and a wonderful New Year from all of us at The Young Gentlemen’s Guide!

We will be back with a few new Installments including a piece on Saville Row, Fragrances for the Winter and the “Must Do” list for 2011. Till then… cheers!

The Almanac of What a Man Needs to know: Saville Row

A Gentleman dresses and no other two word sum this up as much as Saville Row.

The Sanctum(s)

IN the world of men’s attire there is two words which represent the center of men’s sartorial universe: Saville Row.

In London, Westminster to be exact, tucked in a small road east of Hyde Park in London, between Old Burlington Street and the hectic Regent Street, is the Mecca of men’s fashion by way of hand-cut and stitched suits and hand-folded ties.

The uniqueness and fame of Saville Row now is a given, but once this street was the recluse of tailor-craftsmen who perfected their craft through the generations and those who followed them here, scissors in hand,  to learn the craft (namely Jewish, Hungarian and German tailors) and the men who flocked to them in order to patronize their art. Namely English Gentleman.

The Space(s)

Saville Row’s reputation for fine-cut and expertly executed men’s clothes soon spread and Saville Row became the globally synonymous with all things male and sartorial. From royalty and dignitaries, to Hollywood glitterati (indeed, from Cary Grant to George Clooney) and tycoons of industry, all came to Saville Row to get their hands on a unique, one-off, hand-made and stitched garment that was made exclusively for them. This cloth, this suit was “spoken for…” or “Bespoken…” and hence the origin of term ‘bespoke’.

What makes Saville Row, Saville Row?

The Craftsmen

In the Row, it’s not about a designer it’s about an experience and a craftsmanship and skill, now almost extinct, that makes a suit, a work of art. The star of the show is the tailor (although he may well tell you it’s the cloth).

“In the Row,” there are several dozen tailors and each august house, usually more than a century old, bears venerable names like ‘Henry Poole’, ‘Gieves and Hawkes’, and ‘Turnbull & Asser’. There is very little actual clothing inside, instead, reams of cloth, from fine wools to Irish tweed line dark-wooden shelves.

The Choices...

Here a gentleman is at home, here he chooses, from cut, to fit, to drape to color and cloth what his new suit will look like and the magic starts:

The Process

1. Once you and the tailor (or cutter; as he is the person who will “cut” the cloth out of kraft paper cut-outs based on your measurements) decide on the overall look and feel of a suit (soft shoulders, single-breast, two buttons, etc.) he will begin to measure you.

The Details

1. This is not just a couple of swift and simple measurements; this is everything; from the angle of your back and shoulders to the exact measurements of both arms (as most people have one arm longer than the other).  Other physical particularities of the gentleman-in-question are also noted down; usually in code like DLS “dropped left shoulder”; FS “forward stomach”; SLH “slight hunch” etc. These are all important, for the tailor’s job is to craft a suit around these physical particularities so that he may camouflage them on the gentleman. This suit, regardless of your body, will fit PERFECTLLY because it is made for you, and only you.

1. After the tailor/cutter takes your measurements, he begins to draw the shape of the various panels which will make-up the suit, usually on brown-paper; this is where the art comes in for he only has hard measurements to guide him when he draws, for example, the arch of the shoulders. This is the architecture of the suit.

The Pattern

1. All the panels the cutter drew on the paper are cut out; at this point he may pin this paper-prototype together in order to see the overall shape of the suit. Once satisfied, he will begin to trace the shapes with chalk on the chosen fabric. Craftsmanship here is key; for the tailor needs to make sure that whatever patterns are on the fabric, all match exactly at the seams once the suit is put together.

The Drawing

1. Now comes the cutting itself, always with sheers, always by hand.

The Cut

1. After the cutting the various panels are hand-stitched to form the trousers, jacket and wais-coast/vest. Now comes the first fitting.

The Craft

1. A “Bespoke” suit is an exercise in patience; there may be more than four to five fittings, although usually three- this first one, where the suit is dotted throughout with white thread and barely holding together, let’s the tailor know how the shape, size, and style fit you. Here he may make notes for any adjustments needed; at this point, every single thing on the suit can be altered.

The first fitting (courtesy Freeman's Sporting Club - NYC)

 

1. Once the first fitting is finished, the tailor takes the suit apart into its various pieces and begins tweaking the details as per the last fitting. Now it’s time to make the first of the final drafts.

The Final Draft

1. The suit-maker then begins to give the suit, particularly the jacket, it’s strength, the “adding meat onto the bones” moment; our craftsman meticulously hand-stitches horse-hair, cotton or canvas onto the layers of cloth that make up the suit in order to give it it’s shape, drape, and feel. This is one of the main differences between hand-made and mass-produced, as the latter (even expensive designer brands) are usually hot-glued in place. With horsehair in particular, each wear will help it mold it to the shape of your body.

The 'bones' of the suit

10. Measurements and cutting down, now comes the labor-intensive process of marking the button-holes by stitching around the cut. The suit is lined, cuffs cut, measured and fitted and buttons sown-on. Finally the suit is ironed (one of the few if not the only time a suit jacket should be ironed).

The Press

11. Fitting time. You, the customer, tries on the suit; does it feel good? Is it too long? How is the rise? Are the cuffs adequate etc. More adjustments are made and the suit finalized and given one last quick steam.

The finishing touches (ala iPad no less...)

12. Now, after weeks, if not months, your suit (and your’s only) is finally finished and ready to wear!

The Classic

Average price of a bespoke-suit: $2,500-$5,000USD

Superfluous? Hardly- A suit is supposed to be a high-quality, high ticket item. It is better to have one GREAT suit than a dozen cheap or mass-produced one.

TGG VIDEO: Saville Row

http://en.jyskebank.tv/012867943781302/dr-qvortrups-cab-fine-feathers-make-fine-birds

The Suit

TGG’S Guide to Saville Row:

1. Anderson & Shepperd
2. Huntsman
3. Henry Poole
4. Gieves & Hawkes
5. Kilgour

Some terminology:

• Bespoke: The suit, shirt or other item (shoes) are made to fit your body and all the measurements from your body are used in its cutting and production.

• Custom-made or Made-to-measure: An existing pattern or pattern is adjusted and or fitted to better suit you.

• Off-the-peg: Bought; ready to wear a.k.a. a Brooks Brother’s Suit.

IF you, the modern gentleman, works in a law firm, finance sector or any-other industry where your suits speaks for what you do and what you are trying to sell… then to have a Bespoke suit is a no brainer; in the meantime there are a slew of great  haberdasheries that offer Made-to-measure options at a fraction of a Saville Row suit.

At the end of the day, like shoes, suits and jackets are high-ticket items, and for excellence you need to pay but, trust us, it gets noticed more than you think. You can cut a suit in Vietnam our of a sueded-nylon to look good, flashy and sporty; but you can’t fake ‘drape.’

Drape is the way a fabric, namely here a jacket, falls on your body- only masterful construction, great fabric and careful tailoring produces that.

Average Price of a Great “off-the-peg” suit: $800-$1,500

The RL Suit

TGG’s Guide to: great (off-the-peg) suit makers:

1. Brook’s Brothers. (also has made-to-measure program)
2. Ralph Lauren (Black and Purple Label).
3. Paul Stuart / Phineas Cole.
4. E. Zegna.
5. Tom Ford

The Tom Ford

TGG’s Guide to: Saville Row Alternatives for Bespoke Suits:

1. Freeman’s Sporting Club
2. Tom Brown
3. Michael Reslan
4. Duncan Quinn
5. Kitton

Happy suiting…

2010 Gift Round-up

WE at the Young Gentlemen’s guide recognize the importance of a good gift; one that is well-thought out, refined and appreciated. A good gift is one that is not inevitably necessary but superfluously essential: one that you would not buy yourself but would happily receive.

Gentleman’s hint: these gifts work well for the other Gentlemen in a Young Gentlemen’s life…

For Him

iPad Folio (from Temple Bags)

The only iPad folio you’ll ever need- sleek, stylish, comfortable and will age gracefully. There are quite a bit of choice out there but we like these from Temple Bags.

A scent to bring that special someone near: Figuier by Heeley

The Fig Leaf

Ethereal, from our Editor-at-Large and lead Perfume Critic; Alejandro Ortiz: ” This was truly magical, i couldn’t take my nose off of it… it hits immediately with a beuaotful note of  freshly-shaved fennel and fennel seed with whisps of green tones which unfurls into waves of powderiness before settling into soft citrus tones- perfectly balanced, delicate and nuanced and yet present, serene. This Heeley at its best! -AO”

Find it at Lucky-Scent

Corduroy Tie by Alexander Olch

Cord Tie

Understated yet bold; a tradition of hand-crafted, hand-folded ties in a laid-back fabric. But this isn’t teenage corduroy- this is thin wale, Italian corduroy that is butter soft. We recommend navy or burgundy colors to truly bring out the vibrancy of the fabric. Get it here.

Cigars from Nat Sherman:The VIP “Baron Selection”

The Smoke(s)

There is no more gilded name in the world of American Tobacconists than that of Nat Sherman.  Nat opened his doors in the 1930’s and made a name for himself and his cigars selling to Gentleman’s Clubs in New York City for over 75 years.

This is a selection of their VIP line of Cigars originally “names for the captains of industry… that helped to shape the face of…” New York. The cigars are beautifully creamy and lush. Dominican and South American Tobacco. Find it here.

Rum dressed as Cognac: Ron Zacapa XO

The drink

From ‘Ministry of Rum‘:

Brown rum distilled from sugar cane syrup. Blend of rums aged from 6 to 25 years. in used whisky and bourbon barrels.

Like the other Zacapa rums XO is aged in a combination of bourbon, delicate sherry and Pedro Ximenez wine casks to create a unique depth of flavor and character. After three years the used barrels are emptied and then recharred while the contents are married with other rums in the first part of the Zacapa solera system. Scraping and recharring the used barrels give the rum a sweeter flavor from the newly charred wood.

The premium rum from Zacapa, XO is aged in used specially selected cognac barrels for an additional two years giving it a slightly drier flavor and finish compared to Zacapa Centenario Reserva.

PS- Try it with the cigars!

For Her

A wise man once said: “As a gift, you only buy a woman two things: jewelry or lingerie otherwise you don’t know what you’re doing!”

For this we need to take out the big guns; four things we like:

Family Jewels-

Jewelry is not skimping territory, but that does not mean that you can’t make an impact with what you get that special woman in your life, be it your significant other or your mom. Van Cleef and Arpels, Cartier and many other players carry more trinkets than most men know what to do with- but no color or name makes a woman heart skip as much as Tiffany’s so with that in mind we bring you two options; the first for under $250USD whilst the latter falls below $1000.00USD- either way, they both say “I care and I appreciate you…”

The Silver Bracelet by Tiffany’s

 

A Classic

 

 

(above) Medium twist bangle in sterling silver. Size large, fits wrists up to 6.75″ in circumference.

The glimmering necklace by Tiffany’s

 

Tiffany Diamonds included…

 

 

(above) Tiffany gets to the heart of the matter. Pendant with round brilliant diamonds in platinum. On a 16″ chain.

A little Sexy…

For men, buying lingerie can be a dicey game; often the divergence comes in what a man finds supremely erotic and she finds, well… whorish. The idea here is, Gentlemen, to get her something that will make her look beautiful (not like a porn-star);  if it’s early on in the game, stick to nighties and little silk numbers that cover just enough… but not too much.

Our picks from one of the best houses around: La Perla

The Safe bet: The Nightie (aka The Babydoll)…

 

(above) get it here

Sexy but Playful...

 

(above) Get it here…

Either way… A gentleman gives without expecting to receive; It’s about celebrating life, celebrating the art of living.

Happy Holidays from TGG

Gentlemen Unite!

A new blog for today’s Gentleman!

Today’s Gentleman (TG) is a site for all those that believe being a true Gentleman is as important now as at any time in history. TG holds that behaviours that used to be taught to young men need to be brought to life again. Those simple, courteous and respectful behaviours, particularly in how men interact with women, seem to have been lost in today’s society.

Whatever happened to:

• – Giving up your seat for a lady?
• – Holding a door open for a lady (BEFORE you walk through it)?
• – Lending a helping hand when you see someone in need?

It’s these little things that shape our society, and make a big difference in peoples’ day.

So TG is a site for those who believe Chivalry is alive and well, and if we all lead by example we can make a difference. A site to debate these topics and recognise examples of real TG conduct.

< Check it out! >

TGG is back– and better than ever…

WE got member-mail and questions, sponsors and a new look coming in the next few weeks.

For fall we have some “smart buys” for the every-day gentlemen, from sweaters, to fragrances, whiskey to wine and more.

Stay tuned and give us your feedback on exposes, stories and other content you’d like to see!