Falafel Joint and Flea Market: Dinner at the Thompson's Guide to Paris

Image via Complex Original

Dinner at the Thompson's (@dattglow) is a collaborative effort between New York-born but now Paris-residing singer Lucille Tee and French beatsmith Fablive, a producer gifted with the drum machine and crackling soul samples (check out the video fro their song "It All Began"). Tee's r&b-style vocals over Fab's smooth, electro and hip-hop beats make for an undeniable sexy experience, like Portishead if they were more concerned with bedroom music than dread and melancholy. But really, comparisons like this are deceptive; the duo's work is singular.

Lucille and Fab came through Complex's office during their tour to talk to us about Paris. In person, the twosome compliment each other just as they do on their album, Off the Grid. Fab is tall and shaggy, perfectly suggesting cool. Lucille is striking, immaculately dressed and magnetic.

They guided us through a perfect day in the city they both now call home. Miss the typical touristy spots and experience the city from the inside with the Dinner at the Thompson's Guide to Paris.

Parc des Buttes-Chaumont (Map)

Fablive: “A beautiful park in Paris, very quiet, food is just delicious.”

Lucille Tee: “We go there to run. It’s not far from Père Lachaise, where Jim Morrison is buried. It’s in the vicinity, a 10-15 minute subway ride. A lot of stars live up in this neighborhood, Buttes-Chaumont. Monica Belluci lives just above where we are.

We’re at the frontier of ghetto and nice. It’s known as a Bobo area. Bobo is the kind of people who wanna be artsy, and…

Complex: The French equivalent of the hipster?

Lucille Tee: Yeah. Anyway, it’s a cool neighborhood. It’s Chinese, Muslim, and black. And it’s changing as you go down the street. There’s always a ton of stuff going on…a lot of young people.

Complex: What was the neighborhood like before it became Bobo?

Lucille Tee: Belleville, it’s a really old neighborhood. Belleville means pretty city; the area is this hilly park. with a great view of Paris. They have those restaurants, there’s a lake….

The rent’s starting to go up because there’s also a lot of people from the east [moving there]. They have these random, improvised markets on the street, with anything from old cell phones to fruit markets.

La Baratin ( Rue Jouye Rouve)

Lucille Tee: “It’s in the neighborhood as well; you have to walk like 15 minutes. [The hills] seem like they're never ending.

[This restaurant] is a teeny little hole in the wall that's supposed to be one of the best wine cellars/bars in Paris, but it’s a restaurant as well.

I had an entrée of raw fish with smoked vinegar sauce and sliced black radishes with raspberries on top (Le bar cru au framboises).

Lucille Tee: "Also recommended, the Boeuf Borguignon. You have to marinate the meat for a very long time in wine. You get a sort of stew. They make really traditional things and some crazier entrees. This a great place to go if you want French cuisine that's not overpriced. It’s like 20-22 euros, which would be $30.”

Les Puces de Saint-Ouen (79 Boulevard Ornano)

Lucille Tee: “This flea market is on the outskirts of Paris. They have an indoor area with individual boutiques. You have high-end stuff, furniture, and then, in the flea market, you have more random stuff. The fleas are well-known for their antiques. It’s really cool to walk around and look. Also, you can eat there.

Saturday is the best time to go.”

Le Marais

Lucille Tee: It’s a famous gay neighborhood with little shops, bars, and nightlife. It’s like Old Paris, little streets and places to go out.

Fablive: [It has] French fashion, good food. It’s very classy.

Centre Georges Pompidou (Map)

Lucille Tee: You can see the people walking in the tubes at the Centre [which houses the Musée National d'Art Moderne, the largest modern art museum in Europe]. The building sits in the middle of this large square. I’ve been there to see different exhibits. They have films there. I think David Lynch was invited there recently. It’s a really great place, even as somebody from Paris, to go check things out.

There’s a little falafel place right by there.

La Maroquinerie (23 Rue Boyer)

Lucille Tee: It’s a downstairs club that we’ve played a bunch of times. They have international artists. J. Rocc, Madlib, they've all played there.

Fablive: It’s a really good club and restaurant, it’s a really good French place.

Lucille Tee: You go inside and it’s a courtyard. The club’s on the right and if you continue [walking] there’s a space to eat outside/inside. They usually have DJ’s mixing before and after the shows. That’s free if you eat, but most people who come there are gonna go to a show. And it's great that you can drink and smoke.

You have a balcony where you can stand around, and you’re very close to the stage so it’s a really nice place to see artists.

Fablive: It fits about 550 people.