april eats.

april in paris, chestnuts in blossom. you know the drill. get nuts, stay the corso and hit the far east with our list of eats:

nutella nutso.
philippe conticini is going nuts. he's using nutella as a base for a new line of sophisticated nut spreads made with cashews, almond, hazelnuts and exotic black sesame seeds. his new shop, exceptions gourmandes, in the charming place sainte catherine also has irresistible slabs of updated versions of tradish nougat candy. 4 place du marché sainte catherine. near rue de turenne, 4e. 01.42.77.16.50.


stay the corso.
the magic touch of the costes brothers now extends to italy, with their new restaurant corso (pictured). sleek like always, the new boite designed by austrian robert stadler, has a bar that looks like a shiny red maserati. it's mostly pasta on the menu, but costes' restos are always more about the crowd, not the food. 10 avenue trudaine. near rue turgot, 9e. 01.48.78.55.81


far east.
like a tour of east asia, lao lane xang 2 visits four cuisines: chinese, loatian, thai and vietnamese. located in chinatown in the 13th, it's the perfect combo: delicious and cheap. you'll feel like you are in a food paradise with dishes like crunchy rice salad, lacquered duck with tamarind red curry sauce and gai lam with salted fish. 102 avenue d'ivry in the 13th. 01.58.89.00.00.


royalty step down.
after haute french at the grand royal monceau hotel, chef christophe pele has gone to simple americaine at la bigarrade. there are only 20 spots avail in the small room painted crisp apple green. expect inventive cooking like saffron risotto with coriander and licorice, rouget fillets and cauliflower. for dessert, he keeps it simple with fruit with green tea froth. 106 rue nollet. near rue de moines, 17e. 01.42.26.01.02.

great taste.
foodies will patiently have to wait three months for each new issue of gusto (€10 per issue). but it's worth it. the new french and english glossy was started by the european institute of the history of food culture. serious fun, the magazine is on a quest to have french cuisine recognized by UNESCO as a cultural heritage. www.gustopress.com