Lunch at La Couronne, Rouen

 LA COURONNE, ROUEN 6”x 8”

I suggested to Carolyn  back in March,

That we reserve for lunch at LA COURONNE 👑 for Saturday.

Rue Mouffetard Map

Quite a few mentioned Rue Mouffetard as a favorite Paris street I should draw ✍️ 

It was not my favorite street till I visited it many times for the map artwork.

'Rue Mouff' is both long and old. I decided to draw only the pedestrian paved way.

The barrier above starts at rue de l'Epee de Bois and heads downward. Most food shops are in this limited area anyway.

An old postcard of rue Mouff

It hasn't changed much. I took this last Sunday morning.

The base of the street has a fountain and a small marché. 

Don't miss the most amazing yogurt you will Ever taste at top traiteur Mavrommatis on nearby 47, rue Censier. It's uses milk from Greek cows but in made Paris. La crème de la crème. I bought a kilo bucket of the silkiest yogurt for a mere 5€.

The street if full of workers running up and down, many with baguettes 🥖 under their arms.

Go early to catch workers setting up.

The size of wheels of cheese in France are jaw dropping. There are FOUR fromageries on stretch of rue Mouff! And all worth investigating.

FromagerieAndrouet at the bottom is terrific the murals above the awning. Don't forget to look up ⬆️ 

Wine tasting in the street at one of the 3-4 wine sellers.

Mococha at #87, just above the barrier - a new discovery for me.

Superb, top drawer chocolates from France's best chocolatiers (Gillotte, Bellanger). You can buy just one chocolate to taste and don't miss the exquisite small cup of hot chocolate for 2€.

The soul and heartbeat of rue Mouff is at #123. 

Maison Morange boulangerie where lines are constant.

Another top purveyor, Patissier Carl Marletti at 51, rue Censier, famous for his winning  tarte citron and fraisier. If you arrive at noon on Sunday expect to settle for only a madeleine if you're lucky. The cupboard will be bare. Early birds get the tartes.

Nearly across from the boulangerie and serving their baguettes, the small bistro Le Verre à Pied serves a very good lunch formule for 11-15€. Do not show up at 2:50 and expect to get served by the way.

Hemingway lived in many residences around rue Mouf and it took me way too many sketches to capture his likeness. I got a helping hand from Nikon's Hemingway's Paris blog. Loaded with atmospheric photos of the roaring Twenties. A don't miss.

Julia Child shopped on rue Mouf often.

I think I did better justice to her cat, Minette on this months map.

I wanted Julia and Hemingway to form a kind of traditional cartouche.

Enfin the October Paris map letter is done and shipping out from la Poste today! Hooray. 

Now on to November map. Do look in my Etsy shop. 

Paris letters in your mailbox can be quite entertaining. Or so they tell me ;))

Party Sketcher

Becs said, How did you manage to land all these sweet gigs?

When you're known in the family as the "artist" it's a natural you'll end up doing caricatures at Sweet 16 Birthday parties. Better than baby sitting.

But I didn't know I was laying the groundwork for sketching chefs at fancy dos... Here's an invitation I did for a benefit party of Julia Child with Great Chefs held at restaurant March.

I proposed to FOOD ARTS MAGAZINE that I do some sketchbook pages for them at the Lyon Food Fair - also known as the Salon des Metiers de Bouche (meaning Salon of the Careers of the Mouth!) SIRA, It's an international catering, hotel and food trade exhibition held bi-annually in January.

The French take it so much further than the Fancy Food Show! With real fish mongers, crepe makers, cheese vendors - The WORKS!

I illustrated an invitation for D'Artagnan's big anniversary party at Grand Central station for Ariane Daguin. Sketching the party was part of the fun of photographing and attending these events.

After Paul Bocuse's M.O.F. party, George Duboeuf gave a bang-up chef soiree... More doodles.

Sketching at the James Beard Awards. Out of these party sketches I ended up doing a series of ads for Restaurant Associates showing the Tropica chef creating in the kitchen. I went in, taped his conversation and made it part of the ads seen inside New York Magazine too. Party sketching is a FUN career!