Login
June 2026 Newsletter
My book tour was fun, which was how I spent most of May, with a final stop in Paris. Along the way, it was amazing to meet so many of you, including readers and followers, as well as other cookbook authors, bakers, owners of cookbook shops, chocolate-makers, and Paris-lovers.
I was bowled over by the turnout at my events and my only wish was that I could have done more, although it’s hard to be away from home longer than three weeks, and it takes the better part of the week after you return to get over the jet lag and catch up on everything that happened while you were away. Such as somehow in my absence, something smelling like industrial-strength mint syrup (or cleaner?) was put into the refillable spray bottle of locally made, eco-friendly bathroom cleaner that we use, and no one knows what it is or how it got there.
If anyone has a clue, kindly tell me. I don’t know whether to clean the bathroom with it, or mix it with sparkling water.
As anyone who’s traveled lately knows, things have become a lot more challenging both on the ground and in the air. I give a lot of credit to people who work in airports and on airplanes, as well as travelers who can handle the rigors of travel.
Well, except for the guy next to me on the flight from SFO to LAX, who loudly used his phone just until the last nanosecond when we took off, then continuing the conversation, equally as loud, timed exactly at the moment the wheels of our plane touched ground.
All of us in rows 12-22 (but especially me) got to hear all about how Carol wasn’t in on the meeting but Bill and Warren were, and Pam doesn’t know about it but they’ve got to get the files to the branch in Tennessee, although if they don’t make it there, Tom is going to have a meltdown, and Bill and Howard in other branch offices are going to have to cover for them. I learned that Susan may have to be looped in for the meeting about it, but not to tell Carol. I don’t know what that guy does, but it must be important enough to interrupt the lives of everyone around him.
I’ve always found this post about what authors should do, and shouldn’t do, on book tours pretty spot-on. I think I followed most of them, although I’m waiting for someone to write one about how not to behave on airplanes, which people should have to sign a paper stating that they read it and agree to its terms.
I tried to use my downtime wisely, to keep my energy high for meeting everyone. But one thing I recommend that everyone do on the road is to eat well. It can be hard to get your fruits and vegetables in when you’re traveling, which, curiously, is one of the things that American visitors tell me they miss when they’re in France. (If you want fruits and vegetables, rather than looking in cafés and restaurants, it’s best to go to the markets to pick them up.) Maybe our reputation precedes us, but when I come across a salad bar when I’m traveling, in spite of the Debbie Downers about them, it feels really good to have a big bowl (or box) of spinach, cherry tomatoes, tofu, florets of broccoli, grated raw carrots, some proteins, and even alfalfa sprouts, which Pee-wee Herman said, look and taste like hair.
It’s nice to eat “healthy” whenever you can….so you can indulge when something extra-delicious crosses your path, such as this incredible Tin Roof Sundae…
How could I resist?
I also got to indulge in slices of pepperoni pizza, uber-dark brownies at Hani’s, and marshmallowy S’Mores at a.o.c., as well as Mexican, Chinese, and Thai food. I wrote roundups of what and where I ate in Notes from the Road (San Francisco) and NYC Eats x Book Tour. Apparently I said a few controversial things in New York while being interviewed by on the Taste podcast, which was recorded at my first book tour stop at Rizzoli bookstore. The crowd was so nice and welcoming, it was hard not to get personal with everyone who came to the sold-out event, but I guess a few things I said were controversial.
I haven’t listened to it, but I try to steer clear of trouble when being interviewed, since I’m sure some of the things I’ve said over the years have me teetering on the edge of being cancelled. But there’s soooo much to talk about, and I can never resist a challenging interviewer’s question. Talking face-to-face is different than via the internet, where things can be misunderstood or misconstrued. Clearly I need to get out more.
I did get out to the produce stores near where we live when I got home and picked up baskets of fresh cherries and apricots as well as the last asparagus spears at Le Pari Local. I’d bookmarked the Easy, Springy Frittata in Jenna Helwig’s must-read newsletter, Cookbookery Collective, which was adapted from ’s new book, Vegetables the Italian Way…
…and gave it a go. But first, I had to explain to Romain that it wasn’t an omelette because it was fried, hence the name frittata, and wasn’t folded up but served open face, which was when things started to get complicated. So I served it, and hoped for the best. (French people can be quite literal. If you don’t believe me, you should see some of the messages that I get, not to mention the hoops I have to jump through at home.)
I went a bit rogue with the frittata, oven-roasting the asparagus first and adding chopped basil to the eggs, plus a chiffonade of leaves on top. I snuck in an extra egg white since I have a few in the frigo. Mine wasn’t as neat as Jenna’s, but now Romain knows what a frittata is…even though I’ve made them before.
I’m going to go a bit here, who recounts what he’s been watching and reading in his newsletter:
I finally finished The Comeback, which became one of my all-time favorite TV series. It took a few episodes to get into it — season 2 came out ten years after the first season, and the final season, season 3, came out a decade later — but the evolution of Valerie Cherish, the main character (pitch-perfectly played by Lisa Kudrow, who also co-wrote the series), was a tour de force and often very touching. What, on the surface was a superficial character, evolved into something and someone completely different and unexpected.
On the 11-hour plane ride back from Los Angeles, I finished Beef, season 2, which had a bit of The White Lotus vibes but ended up being a deep dive into a group of very complicated humans that, like The White Lotus, cross socio-economic classes. I tried to get into Rooster but not much was happening, kind of Emily in Paris, where the characters end up just circling around each other over and over, with little character progression. I tuned into Margo’s Got Money Troubles, mostly because who doesn’t want to watch anything with Michelle Pfeiffer? Both she and Elle Fanning are excellent actors but like some mini-series (I’m looks at you, Rooster and Your Friends & Neighbors), it could have been half as long. The story plodded a bit, then got much better as it reached its final two episodes. Wanda Sykes has a new comedy special on Netflix, and as usual, she’s hilarious. And some folks may be sad to learn that Emily in Paris is finally saying adieu, and coming to an end.
As for reading, I wrote what I’m currently reading in the links below, but I brought three books back from the States, which was the maximum that my luggage allowance allowed.
My friend, cookbook author, and collaborator Kate Leahy told me that Company was one of the best-written cookbooks she’d come across, so I picked up a copy. I also bought More than Sweet, a new baking book that “breaks down the boundaries between sweet and savory with confidence,” as well as a copy of When French Women Cook by Madeleine Kamman, one of the most important and influential cooks of our generation.
As I write this, we are at the tail end of another heat wave in Paris, with the hottest days on record. (Europe is heating up faster than the rest of the world, and not everyone makes it through.) No one was expecting the heat waves to start as soon as May, but here we are.
During the heat waves, people swelter, and some businesses close due to the heat. Tourists wonder why there are no fans or AC or ice in drinks. Once heat waves are over, people forget about them, so solutions evolve slowly. Sixty percent of the roofs in Paris are zinc, and I lived in a top floor apartment where the temperature would hit 110ºF (43ºC) inside. Painting them white or coating them with something reflective would be an effective solution, but with the city seeking to make the zinc roofs protected as UNESCO cultural heritage, it’s doubtful that that’s going to happen.
If you plan to come to Paris, or anywhere in Western Europe, check the weather forecast and bring light clothing, sunscreen, and a refillable water bottle to beat the heat. You might want to cross “waiting in lines outside to get into museums” off your list. And it’s not recommended that you ignore the advice of city officials and jump into the canals to cool down:
So lieu of that, we’re heading to Copenhagen and Norway this month, where it’s cooler.
In the meantime, I’ve been mixing up glasses of Chocolate Frappés from Drinking French, made by vigorously shaking up 1/2 cup (125ml) whole, low-fat, or plant-based milk, 2 tablespoons best-quality Dutch-process cocoa powder, a tablespoon of sugar, and 3 ice cubes in a cocktail shaker. That gets poured into a glass (it’s okay to add any ice chunks to the glass, too). You can top it with whipped cream and chocolate shavings, or just serve as is. I recommend drinking one of these frappés over the water in the canal.
-David
Links I’m Liking
The original Basque cheesecake isn’t “burnt,” according to its creator, who passed the business on to his kids. (NYT/article unlocked)
goes down the rabbit hole of Dave & Kate’s Brownies. (XOXO Dorie)
I’m eying this crispy rice spring vegetable tachin. ()
Testing “instant” ice cream makers: Pitting the Ninja Creami against the Cuisinart FastFreeze. (Bon Appétit/IG video)
Still trying to wrestle with time management and projects, so started reading Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, again. (h/t )
Deb shares my seasonal recipe for a tart and tangy rhubarb cordial. (Smitten Kitchen)
Getting to and from Paris, from the Airport
While I was on book tour, one thing people told me about was how much they enjoyed their trips to Paris, thanking me for restaurant suggestions and other tips I post here and there. It makes me happy when people come to Paris and have a good time, and eat well.
After I flew back to Paris last month and collected my luggage, I did what I usually do: I headed to the taxi stand. The airport has affixed large signs on the floor of baggage claim, which you can follow all the way outside to the official taxi stand. (I’ve also seen young people in official vests, guiding and leading people from the baggage claim area, all the way to the official taxi stand.)
On my way, I was asked by at least a dozen men, who whispered almost under their breath, if I needed a taxi. I kept walking but one guy told me I was going the wrong way, and to go to a different doorway, presumably where his car was waiting.
Most of us are zonked after flying into a foreign city, but whatever you do, never, ever take a non-official taxi from the airport in Paris. Always follow the signs for the official taxi stand, where there will be a person in a vest, organizing the taxis and passengers. Getting into an unofficial taxi means you may be paying more than you should or what was originally quoted to you. In one extreme case, a driver tried to charge some tourists €247 ($288) for the trip. This does happen in other airports, but Americans tend to be polite when we travel and might say, “Sorry, no thank you.“ Locals will just walk by them without saying anything, which I do, and suggest doing as well.
Official taxi prices to and from airports in Paris are fixed by law (current fares are here) and fares are reasonable.
Pro Tip: To get to and from the airport in Paris, probably the best and most reliable taxi service is G7. You can reserve a taxi online (in French or English) or via their app.
The streets of Paris, and the roads around it, are generally a knot of traffic and official taxis are allowed to use the bus lanes, which are less congested. Drivers for services like Uber and Bolt cannot use them.
When going to the airport, you can reserve a pickup online, which costs a few euros more but comes with more peace of mind. After arriving at the airport, unless you’ve ordered a taxi in advance, you’ll have to take whatever one is available from the queue. But official taxis are obliged to charge the fixed price. All drivers are required to take credit cards, but occasionally one will say the machine is broken, and can you pay cash. I always ask before getting in if I can pay by carte bleue (credit card), just to confirm.
Tipping is optional but I often add 5%. You can tip up to 10% if you’ve got a lot of luggage or the driver makes an extra effort, but it isn’t required.
In the spring of 2027, a dedicated CDG Express train is set to launch, which’ll take you to and from the Gare de l’Est (as well as other stations), right to the airport for €25 ($29) one-way. The project has been delayed for a number of years but appears to be on track to open then, so to speak.
Some take the RER B train, which goes to CDG airport from several stops in Paris, such as Châtelet, Saint-Michel Notre Dame, and the Gare du Nord. But if you have luggage, you may have to schlep it up and down some stairs, and there are reports of pickpockets on the trains. RER B trains can be crowded and have limited ventilation, and occasionally there may be a problème téchnique or construction that can cause a delay. We once missed a flight because of a colis suspect (suspicious package). Then we spent the day at the airport waiting for the next flight, and got stuck in the middle seats in the last row of the plane, which weren’t the most pleasant eleven hours of my life. That was about ten years ago, but I still haven’t been able to uncramp my legs from that journey.
