It’s no secret that I love Belleville. I fully support the “Belleville Hills” t-shirts I’ve seen around the neighborhood the past couple of years, proclaiming pride in this area of eastern Paris. The colors, the people, the odors ! The ongoing construction projects and the racaille, or riff-raff ! They all make up this vibrant, working-class area I call (almost) home.

What is it about the simple word gratinée that makes food so delicious ? Everyone loves crisp-browned and bubbling cheese on top of gratinéed potatoes or on the ultra-classic French onion soup. Only kids have the guts to ask for “more crispy” – plus de croustillant – but when it comes time to clear the table, I’ve seen friends fight to take the gratin dish away. Why ?

Amuse-bouche ? Palate-tickler ? Mise en bouche ? Mouth-entertainer ? Or how about chef’s greeting, “appeteaser,” mouth-pleaser, or pre-appetizer ? Whatever you call it, the tiny bite you’ll eat at the beginning of a meal is usually found only in gastronomic restaurants. But why not chez toi ? Read on to find out how.

Does art imitate life, or does life imitate art ? Sometimes it’s hard to tell. One thing is sure : art reproduces what is in the depths of the subconscious mind, and that’s nowhere more evident than in the work of American artist Henry Darger. But when the line dividing art and life is indistinguishable, what you get looks a lot like the life of French-American creator Elizabeth R.

At some point in your education, if you were lucky, you had a transformative educator who was dedicated, enthusiastic, and funny. That teacher knew how to grab your curiosity and channel it in the most inspiring ways. Most importantly, that teacher shaped the course of your life. And if you were really lucky, the result ended up looking like something I’d call destiny.

This isn’t a story about bastards. It’s a story about tabbouleh. Well, okay - it IS a story about a band of bastards. And it’s also about a bastard tabbouleh, full of colorful tomatoes, radishes, cucumbers, parsley, arugula, and crunchy sweet pomegranate seeds. So if you’re a tabbouleh purist, then you should read no further !