On a blustery winter day, one calling for hoods, mufflers and gloves, a friend and I found ourselves on lower Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron district. After a bit of shopping, all we wanted to do was find a place to have a relaxing lunch—perhaps a cozy ‘French.’ Where to go?

Proust's Muse: The Countess Greffulhe

Calling all Francophiles! Calling all fashionistas! Calling all bookworms!

The stars fell into alignment over The Museum at FIT this week as several international experts on Proust and the Belle Époque, gathered for a fashion symposium marking the opening of a superb exhibition: Proust’s Muse, The Countess Greffulhe.

Le Coq Rico: A Beautiful Bird

It came as a shock to learn last week that I have a number of symptoms associated with ‘Untreated Francophilia.’ They vary in both severity and in the type of activity one chooses to engage in. Less acute symptoms, for instance, might include planning the next trip to Paris, within minutes of having returned home from France. Markedly more severe symptoms include the stalking of French restaurants, cafes and patisseries wherever you happen to find yourself. Experts say the only cure for French Stalker Syndrome is total immersion in French culture -- a month of two in the south of France would be therapeutic.

But finding it impossible to jet off to France any time soon, I head downtown for a few hours to check out a new French outpost in the Flatiron District, Le Coq Rico: The Bistro of Beautiful Birds.

Maison Assouline: A Dream Come True

You could easily pass it by. I know I did. Until the day, when heading for lunch at The Mark, I found the doors at 25 East 77th Street, steps off Madison Avenue, wide open. Within was one of the smallest and coolest bookshops in town—an outpost of the luxury brand Maison Assouline.