Last week I received the special honor of having a drink named after me, the Eye Prefer Paris Cocktail, by my friend Kein Cross, owner of the chic and glamorous Club RaYe.
I was thrilled of course and went to Club RaYe to celebrate and taste the new drink. Kein also kindly named a drink for my friend Diane Pernet of the iconic fashion blog A Shaded View on Fashion and she joined me, Vincent, and my other friends Kristine and Rosemary to taste our cocktails.
We met around 7PM and the bar was calm. The first drink to arrive was Diane’s cocktail, mixed by cocktail expert, Maestro Marco. Served in a crystal goblet, it looked like a sophisticated, adult snow cone in black. It was accompanied by a smashing detail of a black and white straw (the theme of the bar is black and white stripes) and a whimsical rubber spider (Diane loves spiders). The drink usually comes with rum or vodka, but Diane preferred no alcohol, so the drink was a mixture of fresh lime and strawberry juice plus a few other secret ingredients, which Kein made me swear I wouldn’t reveal. We tasted a version with vodka, which we found sweet and tangy at the same time.
Next up (ladies first of course!) was the Eye Prefer Paris Cocktail made also made with fresh strawberry juice along with some fresh citrus juice and other secret ingredients. A touch of humor and macabre came in the way of two bloodshot eyes floating in my cocktail.
We enjoyed the sounds many of my favorite musical standards on the piano played by the lovely Ciarri Winter. Kein later took us on a tour of the rest of the club and told us of his ambitious expansion plans including adding a third floor with a whiskey bar and opening a branch of Club RaYe in New York later this year.
The night coincided with an opening of drawings by Alan Holiday. Alan discreetly drew a sketch of us enjoying our drinks.
The downstairs level has two more intimate bars and Thursdays is open mike night with pianist Sheldon Forest. I went downstairs to check it out and ended up singing More Than You Know. If you come another Thursday night you can hear me sing again.
Club RaYe
26 rue Dussoubs, 75002
Metro: Etienne Marcel or Reaumir –Sebastopol
Open Tuesday to Saturday
http://clubraye.com
Diane Pernet
I am happy to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes. Come take an ethnic culinary journey with me and chef and caterer Charlotte Puckette, co-author of the bestseller The Ethnic Paris Cookbook (with Olivia Kiang-Snaije). First we will shop at a Paris green-market for the freshest ingredients and then return to Charlotte's professional kitchen near the Eiffel Tower to cook a three-course lunch. After, we will indulge in the delicious feast we prepared along with hand-selected wines.
Cost: 195 euros per person (about $240)
Time: 9:30AM- 2PM (approximately 4 1/2 hours)
Location: We will meet by a metro station close to the market
Class days: Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday,Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
Minimum of 2 students, maximum 6 students.
Click here to sign up for the next class or for more info.
Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more. In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Girlfriend Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.
Tours start at 225 euros for up to 3 people, and 75 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.
Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com
Click here to watch a video of our famous Marais tour