Paris never used to get this hot. We’re not built for it. While you can catch a good cross-breeze in the older buildings (if you know how), air conditioning is far from widespread, and, usually, being cool enough to breathe requires you to essentially sit in the dark.
I really, really hate sitting in the dark.
Instead, I try to head outside: somewhere where the drinks are cold and there’s enough shade to get relief. Somewhere like Ground Control.
This space – a combo of arts hub and food market – has been around for a few years, but until this summer, I had only ever been to its previous iteration, a now-defunct popup in Goutte d’Or. The heat Paris has been subject to this summer, however, meant that it was time for me to pay a visit to this 12th arrondissement summer staple not far from the Promenade Plantée.
While the new Ground Control has fewer indoor spaces to explore than the version I had visited, which had lots of abandoned rail cars to sit in and even a locomotive, this one does have a lot more terrace space and tons of choices when it comes to food and drinks…
… including burgers, biodynamic wine, craft beer, Mexican food, and the ever-evolving menu of La Résidence, where refugees in Paris present dishes from the nations and regions they once called home.
Given the heat, my friend and I decided to head instead for the Greek stand, where souvlaki bowls comprised of pita bread, chickpeas, cucumber salad, and house-made yogurt sauce and hummus promised to cool us down.
This proved to be the perfect solution, but I’m excited to go back and try more.
Ground Control – 81 rue du Charolais, 75012