A favorite staycation getaway for me is the sleepy but incredibly beautiful and demure Montecito, just south of her  louder and more narcissistic sister, Santa Barbara.  While I can’t say that the food scene here is anything to marvel about, you get to have that food with some of the most impressive views in Southern California.  When you need a break from padding Ty Warner’s pockets, the perfect place to arrange an impromptu picnic lunch on sunny (hopefully) butterfly beach is Pierre Lafond Market & Deli.  Start upstairs for the charming selection of culinary and serving ware, books, and unique European scented products.  All of it is completely unnecessary but I defy you to come away without purchasing something.  The shop has a small but interesting supply of hard-to-find cooking supplies: pastas, olive oils, vinegars, cheeses, and spices.  Finally, order a sandwich or choose from the impressive selection of ready-made deli items and voila!  Instant romantic get-away from LA.

Pierre Lafond Market & Deli

516 San Ysidro Road, Montecito  (805) 565-1504

  www.pierrelafond.com

Right around the corner from Poilane at 19 rue de Sèvres, sits an outpost of the venerable La Maison Du Chocolat.  For those in the know, this is the grand high temple of French chocolate.  In Paris, where finding the latest superhip chocolate boutique is a full-time job, La Maison du Chocolat remains refreshingly stalwart in their committment to offering simply the best chocolate.  They offer a variety of chocolates, pralines, truffles, and even pastries, but if you want the purest expression of chocolate decadence, I suggest you dive into the ganaches.  The quito ganache is an excellent example of what they do best.  It is rich, dark, slightly smokey, and intensely chocolatey.   And I always bring back bars of their baking chocolate to make the most velvety souffles and desserts.  No plans on going to Paris anytime soon?  Then check out http://www.lamaisonduchocolat.us/, they’ll ship. 

No visit to Paris is complete without stopping by the venerable bakery, Poilâne on  rue Cherche-Midi in the Saint- Germain des Prés district.  They have been baking their world-renowned bread in wood-fired ovens since 1932 using only four carefully sourced ingredients: stone-ground flour, salt from Guérande, water, and the sourdough starter from previous batches of bread.  The results are sheer perfection; moist earthy interior with a delicate crumb and a crunchy, malty crust.  They also make a fine array of cookies and pastries.  Their petit pain au chocolate is one of the best in Paris.  Poilâne’s dedication to perfection and French tradition make it the perfect place to secure a loaf for your picnic by the Seine, or just to pick up supplies.  I returned with their amazing flour, knives, bread-making book, and boxes of cookies as gifts.  If you’re desperate to sample the famous bread but have no plans on travel to Paris, you can find Poilâne in London, order a loaf sent to you via their website, or locally, stop by the Cafe in Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills.  They used to use Poilâne for their sandwiches, but it’s been a while since I’ve been in so I’m not certain they have continued the practice. 

If you are unable or unwilling to make the trek to the steamy and dusty Marché aux puces de Saint-Ouen – Porte de Clignancourt in Paris (The best place to poke around for antique kitchen ware) and desperately want to bring home some French culinary antiques, then try Au Petit Bonheur La Chance.  They have a small, but carefully chosen selection of antique and mid-century French cookware, bowls, linens, utensils, and kitsch.  Maria-Pia Varnier, the owner combs France for such treasures.  Additionally the street on which it sits, Rue St. Paul on the Right Bank on the Seine near Notre Dame, has a number of other antique shops featuring housewares.  Don’t miss a peak in the window of Thanksgiving, across the street from Au Petit Bonheur La Chance.  The boutique features iconic American foods, including a window display featuring Lucky Charms cereal. 

Au Petit Bonheur La Chance

Village St. Paul – 13, Rue St. Paul – 75004 Paris

Phone 01 42 74 36 38  www.aupetitbonheurlachance.fr

Open Thurs – Mon from 11:00 to 1:00 and from 2:30 to 6:30

My favorite hotel bar on earth has got to be Bar 228 at hotel Le Meurice in Paris.  Named for the address of the famous hotel on rue de Rivoli, Bar 228 is Paris as it should be:  elegant, well-heeled, familiar, and comfortable.  The  decor is classic yet playful (redone by Philippe Stark) with dark wood walls, trompe l’oeil ceiling, and soft leather furniture.  The staff are uncharacteristically friendly for France.  And as you sink into your cozy chair after an exhausting day of shopping and site-seeing, listen to the lilting jazz from the piano, and  sip your minerally white wine, I’ll bet you can’t help but mutter to yourself, “La vie Parisenne est tres belle.”

Bar 228 at Le Meurice

228 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris

http://www.lemeurice.com/

Cool Pacific breezes, blossom-scented patios, glorious tropical gardens; the Biltmore in Montecito is one of the loveliest places on earth for champagne brunch.  The food is fairly standard brunch but about as well executed as you could hope.  And the dressy crowd (think old school NOT fashion forward) are great for people watching as they go apoplectic over the current state of affairs as reported in their Heritage Foundation newsletters.  It all makes for wonderful theatre while taking in the gorgeous coastline views. 

What could be more decadent than a leisurely lunch of veggie burger and fries at your lounge chair while poolside at the Coral Casino, the private club for residents of the glorious Biltmore in sunny Santa Barbara?

For foodies the world over, the grand high temple for culinary utensils is the storied E. Dehillerin.  Julia shopped there (there’s a yellowing photo of her in plastic behind the counter), as does Ina, Eric Ripert, Chocolate & Zucchini, and a host of other famous chefs and writers.  It’s not because it’s glamorous (it has the feel of a drugstore that time forgot somewhere in Iowa).  Simply, it’s because they have everything.  The famously indifferent staff will warm up once they understand that you know what you want.  Don’t believe what you’ve read; they actually can be quite charming.  But they are NOT going to hold your hand while you try to figure out which financier mold is right for you.  While browsing will be irresistable, come with a list.  Mine included brioche molds, black steel omelette pans, Opinel knives, and a Chateau Laguiole wine opener.  When I asked Jean, who was assisting us, to show me where the charlotte molds were, he lead me down a dark faded aisle to a shelf whereupon sat about 15 choices, then calmly walked away.  Who could have guessed that there were 15 different charlotte molds in the world?  Jean was extremely knowledgable and explained in great detail how to season my black steel pan, as well as the difference in knives, molds, and other items.  And while the prices are not cheap, and I had to endure a backache after schlepping loads of metal through two airports, it was well worth it.  My omelette came out perfect.

E. Dehillerin, 18 et 20 rue Coquillere/51, rue J.J.Rousseau 75001 Paris

http://www.e-dehillerin.fr

Looking for a one-stop picnic supply?  Look no further than fashionable Le Bon Marché, on the Rive Gauche, which houses the spectacular La Grande Epicerie, where you can easily find the most amazing breads, sandwiches, desserts, and products from all corners of the globe.  After an impromptu al fresco lunch of the most delicious  cheese and roast vegetable pressed sandwich in the charming park in front of the store, I did some serious food shopping.  Bewildered by the cheese counter, perfect strangers generously offered their suggestions, as so often happens in France.  I settled on a cheese I was unfamiliar with, Maroilles, an AOC cows milk cheese from the Maroilles region near Lille.  The smell was extremely pungent, even wrapped in 3 layers of plastic.  But the taste was divine; creamy, rich, buttery, with a balancing earthiness.  It went deliciously with wine later that afternoon. 

Selection of Butters at Le Bon Marché

24, rue de Sèvres
75007 Paris – France
www.lebonmarche.com

Anyway, back to Paris… I love strolling along the Rue Saint-Honore: gaping at the amazing window shopping, peeking inside the grand high palace of snottiness that is the Hotel Costes, or dreaming of my future steamer trunk at Goyard.  A fantastic place to refresh oneself is Jean-Paul Hevin Chololatier, at 231 rue Saint-Honore (www.jphevin.com), a tea room and pastry shop.  The pastries and chocolates are to die for, and I stock up on bars of chocolates from places in the world that you never even suspected grew cacao.  This time I settled on chocolate from Cuba.  These bars of chocolate will, upon returning home, be turned into chocolate souffles and gateaux for guests at my dinner parties. 

First stop is always for coffee and pastry at Fauchon, Place de la Madeleine.  Founded in 1886, the grand epicerie, patisserie, restaurant, and  delicatessen, is a culinary masterpiece and foodie’s heaven.  I return many times over my visit to Paris to refresh myself, shop for exotic products such as vadouvan, and purchase tantalizing gifts for friends back home.  Fauchon’s blueberry confiture (jam) is a favorite petit cadeau for my stateside friends.  Always wonderfully elegant, even the plastic spoons used to stir your coffee are Philippe Stark.  In my whirlwind gastronimic tour of Paris, Place de la Madeleine, home to not only Fauchon, but also Hediard, Laduree, Maison de Truffe, and now Mariage Freres, is always ground zero.

Flying into Paris always fills me with that anticipatory internal tickle I experience when something truly exciting looms on the horizon.  My head swims with the million or so things I hope to accomplish when there.  To divert my racing mind, I watch the movie “Funny Face” on my IPhone.  And while the improbable relationship between the aging Fred Astair and the pixie-like Audrey Hepburn has all the chemistry of a visit to a convalescent hospital, the glorious sight-seeing scene set to the song, “Bonjour Paris”, always thrills me and sets my mouth to watering over one of the most wonderfully vibrant cities on earth, Paris, France!

With a quick stop in Northern Ireland en route to Paris, we refreshed ourselves at Grace Neill’s Bar, Ireland’s oldest bar, established in 1611.  The wonderful sevice, the hilarious ‘craic’, and the Guiness brownie were welcome cures for jetlag.