Today, New York is set to hit a high of 85 degrees, and I can feel everyone in the city chomping at the bit to cut out of work early and grab a cocktail on a terrace or rooftop. Once it gets above 75, it feels like we all get hit with an internal Amber Alert telling us that the time is NOW! Put on that sundress! Call your friends! Order a dozen oysters and pretend you’re on vacation in Europe! (Never mind the impending stench of hot garbage, or the construction workers jackhammering into asphalt ten feet away.)
I, myself, am two and a half weeks from a French expedition of my own, yet the call does not diminish. So here is what I’m going to do:
1. Tell my friends that an apéro is in order. I’m thinking some fabulous French cheeses, a bit of Bayonne ham, and a black olive-fig spread.
2. Pick a designated cocktail, batched for easy sharing. For something floral, check out our St. Germain cocktail list. For a low-ABV bev, we’ve got recs as well. (I’m looking at you, Cap Corse Paloma.) And a good cognac cocktail like a Sidecar can be a great transition into warmer weather.
3. Head to Prospect Park. But if I were in France, I’d be checking out one of these hidden gardens in Paris instead.
5. Crank up the French tunes, including “Mon Amour” by Slimane, who will be representing France in the Eurovision final this weekend.
Be sure to lather up that SPF. I’ll be back next week.
New Yorkers…
Alain Ducasse’s Benoit is doing a fab cocktail pop-up in collaboration with Margot Lecarpentier of Combat, one of Paris’s most well-renowned craft cocktail bars. The pop-up is running through June 11th, so make sure to stop by and try a Picon Passion, an unexpectedly delightful and refreshing combination of the French spirit Picon, lime, passion fruit liqueur, and sour beer.
Frequent Fliers…
San Francisco-based French Chef Dominique Crenn, the U.S.’s only female chef with three Michelin stars, has signed on for a partnership with Air France that will make you rethink what airplane food can taste like. This year, business and first class fliers will be able to enjoy dishes such as lobster with pico de gallo and tea sauce, root vegetable mille-feuille with truffle sauce, and Californian charbonnier with quinoa and marinière sauce, all part of the twelve dishes designed by Crenn for the airline.
