I was meeting the PR agent extraordinaire, MM for lunch at one of her favorites. Just a few blocks from L’Etoile it’s a quietly elegant spot that attracts business types and the odd romantic couple at lunch. Evenings are decidedly more romantic.

We were met in the hotel lobby and escorted to a waiting elevator for our journey to the third floor home of Paris’ just opened Shang Palace and elegant cuisine with strong Cantonese influences.

In addition to my articles about the elegant boutique of the internationally renowned caviar importer, PETROSSIAN, M was recently invited (with our foreign press association) to the recently opened Boutique Rive Droite near the Russian Orthodox Church on the rue Daru in the 17th arrondissement as they prepared for Christion Easter on April 5 and Russian Orthodox easter on April 12.

A brand new destination for les connaisseurs carnivores at the Meridien Hotel at Porte Maillot.Ma Chère et Tendre can serve 165 diners at a time in a sleek and modern environment decorated in shades of black and red.

Fredric Hubig, the Earl of the Eleventh (Astier, Sassotondo, Jeanne A) on the rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud) has applied the “Hubig touch” to Montmartre with the opening of Jeanne B, the younger but bigger sister of Jeanne A.

The opulence of La Belle Epoque has been preserved at this massive, multi-level, terraced but remarkably intimate bistro that specializes in seafood.

 The jam-packed terrace of the Cave Gourmande tilts ever so slightly downhill. The adorable Manon seated us at the only remaining table and took our order. It was a magnificent day and the kitchen was overburdened so Manon comped us our excellent glasses of Saint Emillion. It was worth the wait!

In the evening twilight Antoine’s is a discreet address for that intimate rendezvous with the illuminated tower blinking on the hour and providing that special soupçon of Paris elegance. But by day it is populated with sophisticated French society.