chez pim

Michelin France - beware the Ides of March

Say what you will about the Michelin guide, it's still the one that matters to most chefs. Ask any of them. And among the many guides Michelin now publishes -the Tokyo guide being the newest addition this year- the France guide is still the one most anticipated. It's become a spectator sport in the weeks and even months leading to the publication date, with critics and insider bloggers leaking the results - some real, most imagined - earlier and earlier to beat each other to the punch.

Don't look at me. I'm so busy doing autres choses this year that I have no intel to offer. Instead, I have the intel on the intels for you, so you know whom to take seriously.

First off, you should go check out Adrian's blog - he's already got a few juicy bits up, including one that would be considered the most shocking demotion in decades if turned out to be true. I'm not going to spoil it for you here - it's Adrian who dug it up so it would be rude of me to steal his thunder. Go read it on his blog.

Strawberries in hibiscus and vanilla syrup

(If you are reading this post on a RSS reader, you might want to click through to Chez Pim for the slideshow.)

Here is a veritable three-star dish you can do at home.

We had a small dinner party a few nights ago to celebrate our return from Europe. One of the friends who came was Joe, aka the hunky Joe of Dirty Girl farm. He brought a few pints of gorgeous strawberries which he picked for us just an hour or two earlier. The bright red berries were a new hybrid called Albion. They were unbelievably fragrant and flavorful, and -in a momentary lapse of judgement- I decided to share them with everyone for dessert.

The berries would have been great on their own, but I wanted to do something fun with them anyway. I first thought of whipping up a quick batch of cream –that would be crème chantilly for us snobs. I might even flavor it with the wonderful vanilla beans from the Reunion Islands that Malik gave me a few months ago.

Then I recalled a lovely strawberry dessert that Alain Passard serves at his restaurant l'Arpège in Paris. With his usual brilliance and delicacy, he baths the flavorful strawberries in a nage of hibiscus and vanilla flavored syrup –which at once enhances the true flavor of the strawberry while adding to it a whole new dimension. It's so simple, yet so extraordinary.

The recipe was printed in Alain's only cookbook, the illustrated children's cookbook he collaborated with Antoon Krings, Les Recettes des Drôles de Petites Bêtes -which, by the way, is so cutesy-cute it is indispensable for your French speaking children, be they real or imaginary.

the baskets of Lalbenque

(If you are reading this post on an RSS reader, you might want to click through to Chez Pim for the slideshow.)

Continuing on the theme of memorable things from the Lalbenque truffle market, from the faces of the people, whose every wrinkle tells a story, and now to little baskets of treasure. The truffle hunters from areas all around Lalbenque, and some as far south as the Midi, came to market with little paniers or baskets full of treasures, demurly hidden in multi-colored kitchen towels. Walking around the market, it's these baskets -some handsome, some old, some new, some quite wretched workmanship, and others a marvel of homemade glory- that were sometimes even more interesting than the treasured content within.

Michelin Guide France 2007, really out

Now Michelin news is really out. The official Press Release came out yesterday, pretty much confirming the news that was leaked by François Simon (and reported here) early this month. The only place that Simon was off was Hélène Darroze getting a third star, which turns out to not to be the case.

So, the official new three stars are the following:

L'Astrance, Pascal Barbot and Christophe Rohat
Le Meurice, Yannick Alléno
Le Pré Catelan, Frédéric Anton
Pic, Anne Sophie Pic
Lameloise, Jacques Lameloise (regained the third star they lost few years ago)

Truth in advertising: a veggie version

Now that's truth in advertising.

Dandelion is called Pissenlit in French. Dandelion leaves are known to be diuretic. And, so, what does piss-en-lit mean exactly? Ok I'll give you one little hint, lit is bed in French. Piss-en-lit, see? Yeah, it means precisely what you think.

If this is not truth in advertising, I don't know what is. Kraft could learn a thing or two.

What should you do with Dandelion? I love making a salad, dress with a strong shallot vinaigrette, toss into it some crisp bacon, and top with a softly poached egg. Eat enough of this salad and you might need to wear this stuff to bed though. Just don't say I didn't warn you.

Au Marché

Going to market at the Ave du Président Wilson in the 16e.

Quite styling people for a Saturday morning. Well this is Le chichi Seizième after all, I guess.

There was one particularly stylish Asian girl who was also there just to take pictures. We exchanged glances but no one spoke. I probably should have said hi. I betcha she's a blogger too. (Last photo, in the slideshow.)

Speaking of taking photos, someone must give me a clue about how to photograph people. I am much better at shots of food. They don't move! They don't look at you funny when they realize you're taking photo of them. And they certainly don't do this. I've asked a couple people if I could shoot them, but then the shots turned out so obviously posed that I didn't like them at all. I am clueless. Help?

My street, and thereabouts

Breaking news: Alain Passard to cook at Manresa

This is not a very good picture, but the subject is interesting so I hope you'll forgive me. Yes, it is Alain Passard, cooking at the Rarities Dinner at the Masters of Food and Wine in Carmel last year.

He had a big rack of lamb to cook, and instead of using the stove or oven, he decided to set up the outdoor fireplace on the patio to do it. He spent most of the prep time outside, nursing his fire and his lamb in between a smoke or two of cigar, even after it began to drizzle. Daniel Boulud and I joked that Alain was cooking his lamb à la vapeur. Funny.

That was when an idea germinated in Alain's and David's minds, and that idea has finally come to fruition, and now they are ready to announce it.

Alain Passard is coming to Manresa! He's coming to cook three dinners, on March 9, 10, and 11! David and the team at Manresa have been planning this a long time, and Cynthia, the lovely gardener is planting special produce particularly for this dinner even. You should go to the Manresa blog to check out the details. If you want a table, call quickly. They are filling up fast. They are only doing one turn, that's 60 seats, per night. Grab the phone. Quick!

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Update: Sorry to say the dinners are now fully booked.

Michelin news from Paris

Michelin 2007 news is out of the bag this morning. This is a big surpirse, not the least because it's not even February yet, but even more so because of all the grand changes in it.

Yes, yes, yes, I know. I'm not going to torture you with a drawn out musing about this. We're talking Michelin stars here and you just want to get to the good stuff. So here it is!

New three-stars:
L'Astrance, Pascal Barbot and Christophe Rohat
Le Meurice, Yannick Alléno
Le Pré Catelan, Frédéric Anton
Pic, Anne Sophie Pic
Hélène Darroze, Hélène Darroze
Lameloise, Jacques Lameloise (regained the third star they lost few years ago)

Eat My Blog sidebar update

The Eat My Blog sidebar on the right has been updated with photo sets from recent meals, including Mugaritz and L'Astrance. No details yet though, I haven't managed to write them up. But if you are in for some unadulterated food porn then look to the right sidebar chez moi and click away.

Off now to lunch at Etxebarri. See you again soon.

What is this?

Is it even possible for a restaurant to get better every time you go there? L'Astrance may have just proven that it certainly is.

The lunch today was even tastier than it was beautiful. Like this amazing dish, can you tell what it was? (Click on the photo to see the rest of the meal in the proper order.)

Paris Paris

Arrived two days ago, and already made a visit to a secret garden. The bountiful garden isn't exactly in Paris, but not too far from it. Whose garden is it? Do you know? I'll give you a clue. These glorious vegetables are destined for une des meilleures tables -ou bien la meilleure table- à Paris.

Other random wanderings left us.....

Michelin France 2006: 'The Red' is done!

Last Friday, Libération, the Paris paper, published a scoop on the new Michelin guide for France 2006. The biggest news, perhaps, is the awarding of the –long awaited and highly deserved- third star to Oliver Roellinger in Brittany. Shall I just say I told you so?

Frankly I am not sure what has taken Michelin all this time, Roellinger has long been acknowledged by his peers –the likes of Troisgros and Gagnaire with plenty of stars to their names- to have earned his proper place amongst the best of them. But then again, Michelin appears to have a lot of catching up to do.

That's probably why I wasn't particularly surprised to see that Yannick Alléno did not get his third star, despite the fact that Le Meurice has consistently been performing at the three-star level. I'm not even the only one believing so, Vincent Noce who wrote the Libération scoop said as much himself.

While snubbing the new generation, such as Alléno, Piège, and Frechon (who is not my favorite), Michelin seems to have changed its mind on the issue of chefs with multiple restaurants. Gone are the days that Alain Ducasse had one star taken away from a restaurant merely because he opened another that also received three stars -legend has it that back then Michelin didn't believe a chef could consistently support two three-star establishments. Michelin of today, however, appears to be on the side of the empire-building chefs. Joël Robuchon has gotten four stars altogether from his growing fiefdom that stretches from Paris to Monaco (Michelin doesn’t rate the one in Vegas). Pierre Gagnaire took over Gaya since la rentrèe last year and promptly receives one star on this guide just a few months later. On the strength of the signature bearing the name of Alain Ducasse on the purchase contract alone, Benoît gets to keep its long-endangered star, even if the ink has barely dried and Ducasse hasn't even taken over the operation yet. Change is the only constant in life, I suppose.

Green Garden Restaurant: Vegan in Paris, no I am not kidding

I often get emails from vegetarians seeking help for finding places to eat while in Paris. Frankly, I used to think that finding a vegetarian meal in a meat happy town like Paris was something of an impossible task. And if you are vegan on top of that, forget about it. Live on baguettes and water, I guess.

Happily, I just found a wonderful little place way out in the 13th. It is not just vegetarian even, but completely vegan, using only organic produce and no meat, dairy, or GMO food. And you know what? It was even delicious. There I said it, delicious!

The vegetarian tradition in many Asian cultures dates back centuries, most notably amongst the followers of Guan Yin, the Chinese goddess of mercy. Because of this long tradition, many Asian cuisines have developed recipes and means to manipulate soy protein to resemble meat in texture, forming the basis of most Asian vegetarian cooking today.

The restaurant, Green Garden, serves up precisely this tradition. On the menu, you will recognize many stir-fried and braised dishes common to Chinese menus, but they are all made with soy and not meat. And, in the tradition of refugees from Southeast Asia who were washed up on many shores by the fierce political winds in the 1960's and 70's, they also served some Thai, Laotian, and Vietnamese inspired dishes as well.

L'Ambroisie

Oh, the fortuity of being au chômage in Paris...

I wandered in for lunch at L'Ambroisie yesterday. A perfect specimen of a torchon of foie gras -if there ever was one- to begin. A perfect bowl of soft eggs a la florentine with an ample supply of shaved white truffle on top to *really* begin. A gorgeously done piece of sole with black truffles and green almond drizzled with a bit of coriandar oil, accompanied by a 'terrine' of leeks layered with black truffle slices for the main part of the meal. Drank a delicious Chablis, '99 Domaine de l’Eglantière with everything -good acidity and minerallity but even more amazing nose and taste of acacia honey, just wonderful.

Gave up cheese for dessert, and was amply rewarded by it...

A new dessert not yet on the menu but was offered to me was a biscuit de pain d'épice à la clémentine...sounded so tempting I had to try it, but not after agonizing a few minutes over foregoing my Favorite Chocolate Tart in the World.

So the biscuit de pain d'épice it was. A fabulously delicate, and simply fabulous little round cake, crispy and crackling on the outside, with a molten center of pain d'épice cream and bits of clementine confite, served with fresh segments of -what else- clementine on the side. This was one of the two best desserts I had this year.

After clearing my dessert place, and basically reaching the limit of my ability to eat, I was looking forward to a long stroll to lighten myself up after such a huge meal, but yet another set of silverware was placed in front of me, with Pascal grinning ear to ear, brimming with mischief.

Oh no I wasn't done. Evidently not. Another plate arrived from the kitchen, my tarte fine sablée au cocoa amer! They insisted they could not possibly let me out of there without my favorite dessert. So I had to eat it, all of it, the regular-size slice no less. How could I not in the face of such generosity. So I did. And I am paying for it still....

Had coffee to wake myself up enough for the walk home....didn't even touch a piece of the generous mignardise...couldn't possibly have....

How not to drink black tar in Paris?

Two days back home, back to my very own Rancilio Silvia and Blue Bottle beans, I am wondering to myself why are French coffees so bad?

No, I'm not arguing that it's not at all possible to get a good cup of coffee in Paris. That's certainly not true. Verlet, Cafe Amazone, and Comptoir Richard sell the best coffees one could find anywhere. But what is absolutely true is how bad coffees at any random cafes in Paris are. Seriously bad. Burnt asphalt on the nose, black tar on the palate.

It's all in the beans, as my friend Ptipois said somewhere, the French market is saturated with Robusta beans, grown in their own former African colonies. Robusta coffees are high in caffeine content, and brew into dark, oily, acidic liquid that gives me a toothache just thinking about it. In countries that are known for better coffees, like Italy and Spain, the predominant type of bean is Arabica, which is much more aromatic and less acidic than Robusta.

This is not goodbye

No, this is not goodbye. Certainly not au revoir, but more like à bientôt, or see you soon. Today is my last day in Paris, tomorrow I take the eurostar up to London, and after a few days I will be back home to San Francisco. Home, yes, home, I've caught myself saying that a lot lately. I guess that's what spending a few months as a vagabond does for you.

I've spent the last two days really just savoring Paris. The weather is gorgeous and mild. Yesterday, I walked all around the Marais and the lovely Ile Saint-Louis, stopping for a bite of cake at my new favorite find, a little teashop whose very playful name I forgot(!), I'll check the business card and tell you later. Also another stop for a lingering cup of coffee at the cafe Lutèce, which has the best view of all the places on Ile Saint-Louis. Then I sat down for a little rest right by the Seine, just below the bridge Pont de Sully where La Tour d'Argent is, enjoying the panoramic view of the river, the cute Ile Saint-Louis, the Notre Dame and Ile de la Cité, and a secret service guy hanging out on the bridge vigilantly watching over someone important who must have been eating a duck at La Tour d'Argent.

Last night ended with yet another lovely dinner, this time at Le Pré Verre, and with Anakin Skywalker no less! (Well it was someone who looked remarkably like him anyhow.) Dinner details to come, but suffice to say now that I highly recommend the place, for the food, the wine, and the very entertaining chef and staff. Oh, and how could I forget to tell you about the pre-dinner ice cream at Berthillon, from the original shop, of course. Everybody knows that Berthillon ice cream is sold all over the city, but I really don't think that it's a true Berthillon experience unless you get it from the original shop on the cute rue Saint-Louis en l'Ile. In fact, it's not even a true Berthillon experience unless you've tasted their fabulous Caramel flavor.

Well, this is it between Paris and me, at least until the Fall, where I hope to spend another month of two here. A Bientôt!

Click on the photo above for a Flickr-ing slide show.

Le Comptoir: Yves Camdeborde's new bistro

Paris sky is all somber and gray today, luckily I have a memory of the lovely, sunny yesterday to sustain me. Besides the truly wonderful lunch at L'Ambroisie, of which I will write more soon, I had a super fun dinner with Clotilde, Louisa, and a new friend Andrea.

The night began a week ago, really, when Louisa and I went romping around Saint Germain after yet another lunch with our Clotilde at L'Astrance. After a stop to finish off our lovely yet inadequate dessert course at the lunch with a couple of Miss Gla Gla ice-cream sandwiches chez Pierre Hermé -chocolate for L and, of course, Ispahan for me- we decided to go check out Yves Camdeborde's (of La Régalade fame) new operation by the carrefour de l'Odéon. We got to see a couple of rooms, all of which enchanting and remarkably noiseless -entirely surprising considering the location. We also managed to reserve a dinner table for the following thursday, which was yesterday.

So I went, appropriately and fashionably late, to meet les girls. My metro decided to take its time arriving, letting three trains going other direction passing me by before the one I wanted made its tardy appearance. Luckily I was in a cute little flowery and summer-y number or I might have died of heat before I got to dinner. Also lucky for the three german boys standing nearby, they might have died of boredom perhaps(?)

Photos from Le Meurice lunch

A slide show (click on the photo) from yet another delicious lunch at Le Meurice last week, at the height of the heat wave. This remains, to my mind, the kitchen to watch. More on the meal later.

blaming it on the heat

I have been really tardy with the blog. I blame it on the heat. Really, it's been so unbelievably hot in Paris. I went shopping yesterday looking for summer clothes, with a goal to wear as little as I could while still look, um, half way decent. It's been that kind of heat.

Paris is as much fun as ever. I've had quite a full schedule two lunches at L'Astrance -one of which was in the delightful company of Les Girls Louisa and Clotilde -where we ate and laughed and drank and said grace with our little cameras-, roasted a Poulet de Bresse, had tartine with David, got all végétable-d with Pascale, trekked out to Chatillon for couscous, had yet another wonderful meal at Le Meurice, this time a lovely lunch, also a delicious dinner at L'Entredgeu and L'Os à Moelle and many other lovely little bistros. Next week I have another lunch at L'Ambroisie and a dinner at Gagnaire. Goodness when will I ever have time to blog about it all.

I've been going into Pierre Hermé nearly everyday, for a few macarons or -since the heat wave- for a Miss Gla Gla Ispahan, an ultimate icecream sandwich made of rose macaron biscuits and raspberry and litchi sorbet.

I think I know I've been spending far too much time there, chez Pierre Hermé, when the cute sale girl -Japanese I think, who speaks perfect English but put up with my halting French kindly anyway- said à bientôt instead of au revoir as I left the shop the last two times I was there. I guess when they begin to say à demain is when I really know I am in need of professional help....

Pain Quotidien, fast food my way

A great example that chain stores are not always bad, Le Pain Quotidien, with five shops in Paris alone, is always a lovely place to drop by for a quick tartine or a slice of something sweet and fruity.

I am particularly attached to the one in the Marais, where you can find a table out on the wide sidewalk and while the day away, reading, writing, while drinking a nice little cup of coffee or munching on something yummy.

Pierre Hermé: La nouvelle saison

There are quite a few things new on offer today when I went by Pierre Hermé's patisserie on Rue Bonaparte. Two new macaron flavors: Campari et Pamplemousse and Pistache "Arabesque". I didn't like the Campari one much, finding the cream in the middle a little bit pasty.

The Pistache "Arabesque", on the other hand, was fantastic. The biscuit had crumbled pistachio sprinkled on top, and inside was a delicious cream of apricot, with a mini dish of apricot confit and crispy praline hiding in the middle. This is going on the list of my all time favorite hall of fame, right there with the Caramel au fluer de sel.

And as though the real Ispahan wasn't enough of a treat, there is a brand new incarnation of Ispahan, in a gorgeous glass with layers of raspberry gelée, rose gelée, and litchi bits, topped with a rose biscuit. The complete flavor profile of his famous Ispahan, but in an entirely different presentation. I didn't get to try it, because I was on my way somewhere so I only got macarons to munch on the way. I'll get back there to try it soon.

Yves Camdeborde's new hotel Relais Saint-Germain

Another congratulations is in order today in Paris, where the most anticipated openning of the year finally took place. Yves Camdeborde, of La Régalade fame finally opens his pensione de famille in the 6th. The hotel is called Relais Saint-Germain.

He also took over the annex brasserie Le Comptoir du Relais which will be open every day from 12h00 until 23h30 pm, beginning April 1st. Camdeborde reportedly claimed that the cuisine would be nothing like La Régalade, because he disliked "reheated dishes" !! because he disliked rehashing old ideas. (Thanks Clotilde for pointing out my language inaptitude.)

I must say I am quite surprised to see that the hotel is right smack in the middle of touristy madness in Saint Germain. I had expected him to open in a low key arrondissement like the 17th, to attract both tourists and locals, or perhaps in the ever popular Marais, but certainly not at the corner of St.Germain and Odéon!

Here is the website for the hotel, which seems to have been inherited from the previous ownership. I expect them to add more information about the restaurant and how the pricing of the rooms ties into the dinner at the Brasserie. Early reports of Camdeborde's plan for this hotel said that the restaurant would serve dinner only to hotel guests. So, either that plan has now been abandoned or the new website should be up explaining the deal shortly.

Thanks Adrian for the email tip.

Hot chocolates in Paris: la saveur du péché

Few things bring such unadulterated pleasure as savoring a cup of sinfully intoxicating hot chocolate in Paris -not the milky, thin hot chocolate made from powder of dubious origin that is commonplace in America, but the dark, bitter, and thick, thick chocolat chaud, the kind you could stick a spoon in the middle and it will likely stay upright.

Alas, even in Paris, hot chocolates are not created equal. Luckily, Figaroscope has just published a definitive guide to savoring hot chocolates in Paris. Some on the list are my old favorites, like Jean-Paul Hévin (one of my favorite chocolateries in the world), Ladurée (don't order their Ispahan though), La Maison du Chocolat (who also carries one of the best dark chocolate macarons around), and Christian Constant (the pastry chef, not the chef). A couple of others, like L’Heure gourmande and Les Cakes de Bertrand, are places I've yet to try, and will definitely go on my list next time I'm in town.

If you read French, you could check out the Figaroscope article, otherwise, here is the complete list.

Best/Worst food moments of 2004

Continuing on the tradition I began last year, here's the Best/Worst food moments of 2004:

Best overall food experience: Food blogging on Chez Pim

Best food shopping moment: A mad race across Paris in imaginary matching-colored scooters with Lynn and Matt to buy more honey from Jean Paul Couto at the marché bio on Blvd.Raspail. (more on this later)

Most fun cooking: Another Thai feast for the London friends, this time chez V.

Best I didn't know it could taste like that dish: This is a tie, between the slow-cooked egg with white bean soup at Manresa, and the tranche de lard fermier au caviar pressé at Pierre Gagnaire.

Paris pas cher: Chez Pim's cheap eats guide to Paris

I’ve been getting quite a few emails asking for recommendations for inexpensive Paris bistros. I do have a long list of them, but I simply haven’t had the time to write about them all on Chez Pim.

I pride myself in my ability to appreciate good food at any price. I’ve been very lucky to have many opportunities to eat at the fanciest of tables, but even I <roll eyes> cannot eat like that everyday, so here’s a list of the other places that I love and would like to share with you. Trust me, eating well doesn’t always mean eating extravagantly, especially not in a food heaven like Paris.

I hope you find this useful, please consider this a humble holiday gift to you from Chez Pim. Thank you so much for spending your precious time with me here, and for the many words of encouragement in your comments and via email. You’ve helped made this a fabulous year, and I so look forward to the next year –I have so many surprises in store, stay tuned.

Paris pas cher: Chez Pim’s cheap eats guide to Paris

L'Os à Moelle: my sentimental Paris

My bistro favorite in Paris comes and goes, but there is one constant that has been a sentimental favorite since the early 90's. I just made it back there again on this last trip.

That night, my friends Matt, Lynn and I just arrived in Paris for our Thanksgiving holiday. It was the only night in the trip that I had made no reservation, preferring to leave it open in case we were too jetlagged. After a rather mediocre lunch --with a bottle even more mediocre Beaujolais Nouveau that smelled of banana purée-- at a nameless bistro in our neighbourhood, I was determined to find a better place for dinner for our first night in Paris.

Without a reservation on Thursday night, finding a decent place for dinner can be a little difficult. Well, not as difficult as trying to get a taxi on a Saturday night, but nonetheless. I decided to take them to La Cave de L'Os à Moelle, a tiny wine bar extension of the restaurant with the same name, and a fittingly casual place for our first night in a new time zone. We couldn't get into La Cave, but luckily there was an open table at the restaurant, so that was where we settled in for dinner. Both of these are owned by the charming Thierry Faucher, one of the young chefs trained by the affable Christian Constant at the Crillon.

Restaurant Le Meurice: a fabulous 3-star in the making

My foray into haute cuisine a couple of weeks ago in Paris produced a big hit and a miss. The hit was at the relatively new star on the horizon, Le Meurice, with the talented and seriously cute chef Yannick Alléno at the helm. The miss was at one of my favorite restaurants in the world, yes, L'Arpège. How very sad? Well, I'm not quite in the mood to talk about the disappointment at L'Arpège yet, so shall we start with the delightful new discovery, Le Meurice?

I've been saying for a while now that the two most exciting places to eat when it comes to haute cuisine in Paris are Les Ambassadeurs at the Crillon and Le Meurice at the hotel Meurice. I have not given up on my old favorites, L'Arpège, Pierre Gagnaire, and L'Ambroisie, not at all, but it would take a lot of convincing for me to go to the other old guards like La Tour d'Argent, Taillevent, or other gastronomique restaurants from where one could, as dear Mr.Finch put it, smell laurels being sit upon from miles away.

The reason I picked these two young-ish chefs as most exciting to watch was clearly because of their pedigree and perceptible drive to succeed. Jean-François Piège, the chef at Les Ambassadeurs, came from the top spot chez Alain Ducasse, and is now poised to continue to make huge waves on his own. The other one, the slighter older – yes and way cuter – Yannick Alléno, caused a sensation when he received the very generous, and unprecedented, two Michelin stars after having arrived at the stove at Le Meurice only six months prior.

I had a nice lunch at Les Ambassadeurs a few months back – for which the jury is still out for me, sort of – and plan to wait until I go back for dinner before I really make up my mind. As for Le Meurice, I finally managed to have dinner there the last time I was in Paris just before my birthday.

having far too much fun

I am really having far too much fun in Paris. I arrived early enough on Thursday to have a splendid day walking all the way from Montparnasse over to the Marais for some lovely tea at Mariage Frères in the company of the incomparable Maurice. Then we went to Pierre's house to have a little apéritif and afterwards a dinner at Le Repaire de Cartouche. Despite starting the meal at "American time" (read: early enough so I could wake up to catch my 7am train to Renne), we had far too much fun chatting that we didn't leave the restaurant until past 11pm!

Then Friday started out with two really great meetings (even greater for the fact that I didn't have to trek out to Renne for them after all), and back to the hotel for a few precious hours of nap before heading out to a solo dinner at 9 at the fantastic Le Meurice. I will have to tell you all about that meal later--suffice to say now that I really expect Yannick Alleno to have his third star next year--and not just for his looks ;-)

After the dinner I was off to see Adrian and his friend Austen at the best bar in Paris--if not the world--the Hemingway at the Ritz. That little jaunt to the Hemingway was supposed to be for a short little after dinner digestif before heading off to bed, but in the company of the hilarious twosome Adrian and Austen, and in the capable hands of "the Best Bar Man in the World" Collin and his fantastic crew, somehow I managed to stay out until 5.30 in the morning! Good thing today is a saturday!

I'm going off now for a restorative bowl of pho at my favorite Vietnamese dive in Paris--the best cure for far too much food/booze/smoke that I know--all for about 5 euro a pop. And I know I would love it just as much as the Le Meurice dinner last night. Good food is good food, no matter at what price.

Marc Veyrat in Paris!

Now this is interesting. Le Figaro reported today that Marc Veyrat, of the fabled la Ferme de Mon Père in Megève and L'Auberge de l'Eridan in Annecy, has finally found a location in Paris, in the 17e arrondissement, for his private “taste laboratory” that will also be open for the public during certain times.

This will, apparently, be a place for the chef's own amusement, with about ten seats or so, which will likely be open during the time that the two restaurants in Haute-Savoie are closed, that is to say Monday to Wednesday.

The search for the Paris address, which finally ended at 17 Avenue Niel, has taken him four years, so this place has better be good. I can't wait to see if he will do a dish with les arômes de Paris. What scintillating aromas they could be, I shall leave that to your imagination!!

And one more thing...haven't Clotilde and I just had that conversation just a little bit back? About how the 17e was becoming quite a gastronomic neighbourhood, remember? What can I say? We told you so. :-)

You can visit Le Figaro to read the whole story. It is in French, naturellement, but it's easy enough for Google to do the job, probably.

L'Entredgeu: my heart in Paris

There are still a few places I visited during my last couple trips to Paris that I haven't reviewed yet. One of those was, strangely, my very favorite bistro of the moment, L'Entredgeu. I first heard about this restaurant when the French Saveurs magazine did a little blip about it last August. I was actually in Paris at the time, but didn't make it there because they were still closed for the August holidays. My subsequent trips didn't give me a chance either, so it was not until my last one, just over a month ago, that I finally made it.

I showed up in Paris with a full work agenda, and only a few dinner reservations. Luckily, Olivier, the wonderful concierge at my hotel managed to wrestle a sought after table at 8 o'clock for me. There was a funny story about that reservation, Olivier first thought I was completely out of my mind when I told him the name of the restaurant. He asked me to write it down, but was still puzzled, claiming that I must've gotten the name wrong, as l'entredgeu was not a French word!

Les Ambassadeurs: I can't quite make up my mind yet

April 29th, 2004

One of my lunches in Paris last month was at Les Ambassadeurs at L'hôtel Crillon. I wanted to go back to the hotel Crillon to try the new chef, Jean-François Piège, who came from Alain Ducasse at the Plaza Athenée.

He's one of the hottest young chefs in Paris at the moment. I was curious to see how he did outside of chef Ducasse's shadow. Unfortunately, my schedule only permitted a lunch.

The day started out with a lovely walk in the Marais. I intended to show Doug and Tamar the Musée Picasso, but by the time we were done with our walk, which included a few stops at various lovely shops in the Marais and a promenade around the beautiful Place des Vosges to glance longingly toward the general direction of L'Ambroisie, we were so late that we had to skip the museum and jump into a cab to Le Crillon.

Mon Vieil Ami, a new old friend

April 29th, 2004

When I was at Le Buerehiesel in February, the maître d told me about chef Westermann's new venture in Paris, Mon Vieil Ami. He highly recommended that I paid them a visit next time I found myself in Paris.

I was very happy with my dinner in Strasbourg, so it didn't take much to convince me to try the new place. The young chef in charge of the Paris operation, Antony Clémot, was previously sous chef at Le Buerehiesel.

We had an early reservation at 7pm, and were asked when we made the reservation to give back the table by 9.30pm. I didn't mind that so much, as they were quite polite about it, and I was just happy to get a table without much advance notice.

Les Fables de la Fontaine: A lovely fishy lunch chez Constant

April 28th, 2004

Another place on my must-try list this week is the newest addition to chef Christian Constant's plan to take over rue St.Dominique. His latest venture is a casual seafood restaurant, just on the other side of his flagship, Le Violon d'Ingres, from his other small place Café Constant.

I really liked Café Constant when I was there in August. I had a lovely plate of calf liver, cooked rare in a vinaigrette sauce with plenty of chopped chives, and a simple yet fantastic tarte aux mirabelles. Mirabelle is a type of tiny yellowish-green prunes from Lorraine that is perfect for fruit tarts as they are sweet, but with a good level of acidity, and extremely fragrant. The mirabelles alone are almost a good enough reason to put up with tourists in France in August.

La Régalade, a forgettable lunch

April 27th, 2004

I had a bit of time before my afternoon meeting, so I skipped out to La Régalade to check out the new chef. I had no reservation but I made sure to get there right at noon to ensure a seat.

The service at la Régalade was as unnecessarily harried as ever. The place was not even half full when I arrived, but the two waitresses flew about the place as though they were on wings, well, or on some kind of pharmaceuticals. Yet, the service and the food were so slow my two-hour window was not even enough to finish my lunch.

Revisiting an old friend, L'Ardoise

April 25th, 2004

Dinner tonight was at L'Ardoise, an old favorite to which I hadn't been for far too long. I was to take Doug and Tamar and meet my friend Maurice at the restaurant for our 9 PM reservation, but getting there proved to be a bit tougher than expected.

I looked in my trusted Plan de Paris, the same one I've used since the early nineties, found my notation in the book for L'Ardoise, and set out to that general direction. I only needed help from the map to get to the street, from there on I knew exactly where my old friend L'Ardoise was. Or so I thought.

a perfect Paris afternoon and a tale of two Ispahan

April 25th, 2004

The first day in Paris started out fantastically, with the first stop at Pierre Hermé's little patisserie on rue Bonaparte. We arrived so late in the afternoon that I decided to skip a proper lunch and only have sweets to tie me over until dinner time.

When we arrived at the patisserie, there was the usual line snaking out well onto the street outside of the simple black but elegant jewelry shop-like space. The shop was, as always, a feast for the eyes even before one took a bite of anything, and, this time, I had the added benefit of bringing two first timers with me to the shop. It is always fun to bring Hermé virgins, just to see their eyes bulging out of the sockets as they realized that it was indeed not a simple door but a rabbit hole through which I have brought them.

Best/worst food moments of 2003

Best Overall Food Experience: The day trip to Paris from London with Martin, beginning with Robuchon, then for patisserie from Hermé, on to procuring Castleton été at Mariage, and finishing the afternoon with chocolates from Hévin.

Best Food Shopping Moment: Flash-mobbing Borough with the OA crowd.

Most Fun Cooking: In Bangkok with my Aunt Chawiwan. The Thai feast for 16 hungry londoners with Max, Simon, and Vanessa.

Best "I didn't know it could taste like that" dishes: Roasted Woodcock (brain, innards, and all but the feathers) at St.John

Best Restaurant Meal: St.John

Best Overall Restaurant Experience: L'Arpège, malgrès les betteraves.

Best Service: L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, on the third consecutive lunch in August, and Kiss, by Naga-san, as always.

Most Fantastic Discovery: The New Tayyab, The Sutton Arms (now closed, dammit!), St.John

Best homey dessert: Rosie's crumble and custard at the Christmas Party at the Sutton Arms

Best fancy dessert: Ispahan from Pierre Hermé

Worst fancy dessert: Ispahan at Ladurée

Most Bizarre Meal: 66

Most Blah Meal: 66

Most Disappointing Meal: Nahm

Worst Meal: Nahm

--------------
Best Compliments:
"Best Overall Food Experience of 2003: Pim's Thai Banquet (by some stretch)", Tony Finch
"When you find the time, will you marry me?", Maurice Naughton

Encore chez Robuchon, Hermé, Mariage and Hévin, all in a day's work

Martin and I met early in the morning at Waterloo for our Eurostar trip to Paris for the day. Our plan for a gourmandise day included a lunch at Pierre Gagnaire or l'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, pastry at Pierre Hermé, tea at Mariage Frères, and chocolate at Jean Paul Hévin.

I'd also invited Robin to join us. Martin had told me not to let Majumdar come but I assumed he only meant Simon. :-) Unfortunately Robin decided against it at the last minute, after finding out at the station earlier that morning (poor Robin!) that his impromptu ticket would have set him back 300 quid!

So Martin and I went off with only each other as company. The day was cold and the wind raw when we arrived at Gard du Nord. Our attempt at a last minute table at Gagnaire failed so we used our contingency plan, which brought me back yet again chez Robuchon.

Martin hadn't been there before and found the missing external door knob quite puzzling. The hostess appeared to open the door and took our names, telling us to come back for our seats at ten past one. This was a new system, when I was there in the summer they didn't even take names but let a queue form outside. I gathered the winter in Paris wasn't terribly conducive to queuing outdoor. I like this new system, as it felt a bit more civilized than the old one.

We went down the street for a pre-lunch beer, or a fizzy water in my case. We were seated rather promptly after returning at the appointed time. I looked around to see if my server from the last time, Christophe, was at work that day. Unfortunately he wasn't.

We were seated to the left, where I had a bad experience one day in August. Luckily this time was different, the service was attentive and our seats were conveniently at a corner, making it quite easy to sustain a conversation without straining our necks.

We ordered a number of dishes to share, crème de châtaigne (chestnut soup), ravioli de langoustine truffe (ravioli of langoustine and white truffle), the same anchois dish that I had in the summer, suprême de pigeon au choux et foie gras (pigeon and goie gras wrapped in cabbage), and the plat size dishes of côtelettes d'agneau de lozere (lambchops with thyme flower) and a foie de veau (veal liver). To drink, Martin chose a very nice bottle of St.Esteph, but of which year I didn't remember.

The chestnut soup was fantastic, light and frothy yet ultra-creamy soup with chunks of fried foie gras and sweet chestnuts. It was a perfect dish for a lunch on a cold day. I liked the ravioli but didn't find it earth shattering. It was rather light on the white truffle, which, due to the reported shortage this year, I didn't find it surprising. I thought the anchovies were quite nice, but then again I am a big fan of anchovies. Martin thought them rather pleasant as well. Neither one of us liked the suprême much. I didn't like it the last time I had it either, but this was the dish that got our friend Steve swooning after his first bite, so Martin insisted that we had it. I was fine with ordering it again, but I definitely gave him the “I told you so” look after we each had a bite. It was rather dull tasting, and the foie gras wasn't de-veined.

The two main dishes were great. The flavorful lambchops cooked just perfectly medium rare. The delectable veal liver was cooked just right, with a perfectly brown thin crust on the outside, and the creamiest and perfectly red and soft interior. The veal liver was served with a light vinaigrette, and plenty of chives on top. Each dish was also served with Robuchon's fabled pomme purée. I'm sorry I simply can't translate it for you, calling that dreamy and delicately creamy concoction “mashed potato” is just far too severe. Luckily, Martin and I each had a portion to ourselves, we may not have otherwise remained friends afterwards.

Martin didn't want any dessert, and I was full and not sufficiently inspired by anything on the dessert menu, so we opted not to have any. I was planning ahead to go to Pierre Hermé's patisserie nearby to buy something anyway, so I wasn't so disappointed.

I must say that Robuchon's Atelier is rapidly becoming my favorite place to lunch in Paris, especially when I'm in town alone for work. I love the format, small plates and sushi bar seating, which got even the recalcitrant French talking to their neighbours. The food is always very good, if not quite up to Robuchon's old 3 star standard, but then again the price is not quite as expensive either. The bottom line is you get what you pay for, a very good meal, with very good ingredients prepared lightly by skillful hands, what more does one want? The wine list also carries quite a variety of by the glass, a perfect compliment to the small plate format.

We decided to take a walk, or a waddle rather, to rue Bonaparte to Hermé's shop. Though it was still rather cold, I had so much to eat at lunch that I really could use that walk! After a wrong turn, I finally got us through the cold to Pierre Hermé's jewelry shop-like patisserie. I bought his famous (and my favorite) Isaphan, an assortment of Macarons, including a rather odd tasting white truffle macaron, a tarte au chocolat and tarte au citron. I also scored a few jars of Christine Ferber's delightful confitures. Martin was duly impressed.

The next stop, as the day was getting late, was Mariage Frères to buy tea. Mariage is my favorite teashop in the world. I have been going there for a while, and know them somewhat well. Martin wrote about our day for our other friends and described our time there as only he could. Here's the passage on Mariage and my tea buying expedition..

Our third taxi of the day took us to the Freres Mariage tea shop. Now for the English folk reading this, that's not tea-shop or teashop but tea shop. This place (founded 1854) sells tea and almost nothing else apart from some very interesting and exotic teapots and accoutrements. The walls of the shop are lined floor to ceiling with shelves containing tins of tea. Chinese, Sri Lankan, Indian, Russian, African (yep, just try their Zulu Special !), South American, and heaven knows where else. And dozens of varieties of each, and each of those with variations and sub-options. As a wild guess, they probably had a thousand different teas on display, and quite a lot more in the cellar (for their special customers, you understand)

Pim is one of those special customers here, and she had several discussions with her appointed server about flushes (first and second, not hot !) and he would recommend something they just had in and let her sniff a ladleful before she chose. I just watched in awe. I used to think that tea was the stuff that came in little filmy bags which you threw into a cup and poured hot water over. Now I know better, especially after I saw the prices !!! Tea is just like wine. It's a whole field of expert endeavour, where an expert knows which are the good tea plantations, which are the good years, what are the best months to buy from one or the other, what teas blend well with which others, and probably what is the best shape to cut each different kind of leaf. Pim can taste tea and tell you what it is, where it came from, and all those other things too --- just like a wine taster.

I love Martin!

We still had a bit of time before our train was scheduled to depart at Gard du Nord, so we cabbed to Jean Paul Hévin's chocolaterie in the 1st. I bought some truffles and some hot chocolate for our January hot chocolate tasting.

So ended our sojourn to Paris, with full tummies and bags full of pastries, chocolates and teas. Martin and I promised to do it again next time I'm in town. Hopefully we'll make it to Gagnaire then.

My three lunches at L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon

So, I ended up with not one but three lunches at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon last week in Paris. I guess it was obvious that I liked those meals. I loved the construction of the menu, with so many smaller plates that were perfect for a single diner who's on the lighter side like me. laugh.gif I probably wouldn't have gone to the place three times had this not been August though.

My first day
I came by right when they opened, at 11.30 on a Thursday. I was probably the third or fourth patron there that morning. I was seated to the right side, at the corner with my back to most of the action. It wasn't a very good seat as I had to crane my neck to look over at all the fascinating action in the kitchen.

My server was a quiet Frenchman, who was very polite and helpful. Since I wasn't very familiar with the wine on the menu, my knowledge of wine was admittedly rather limited, I let him choose the wine for me from the plates I ordered. I decided to go with a light marine theme for that lunch, and ordered the following:

Gaspacho de tomate aux petits croutons, gaspacho with croutons
It was very lovely, tangy and bright tasting. Too bad there were only about four spoonfuls altogether in that tiny bowl.

Anchois frais marinés à l'aubergine confite, anchovies with eggplant confite
I loved it. The presentation was glorious, with slices of anchovies interspersed with red bell peppers to form a perfect rectangle hiding the aubergine confite beneath. And the taste was even better than the form. The fresh yet strong taste of the anchovy was marvelously complimented by the tang from the bell pepper and the creamy texture of the aubergine.

Rouget en filets à la tomate pimentée, Mullet filets with “spicy” tomato
Mullet is my favorite fish, period, so this dish was of course great for me as well. The tomate pimentée was very tasty, and a perfect foil for the naturally sweet rouget. (Note to Plotz : I think he's fixed this one since you had it the last time.)

Langoustines à la plancha; grilled crayfish, which was on special that day
They were one of the sweetest Langoustine I've ever had. The dish was very simple. Only the best langoustine simply grilled with ever so tiny amount of red pepper sprinkled over the top. They took away my plate after I was done with the meat to grill the claws a bit more before they would let me crack into them. The waiter was so polite and spoke in such a low voice I would have had a hard time hearing him in English, let alone in my mediocre French. So we had a funny scene when we were fighting each other over the plate, each holding on the one side---me not wanting them to take the plate away because I hadn't even start cracking into the claws, and him trying to be helpful while mumbling something barely audible in French!! He finally raised his voice a couple of decibels and I heard something like ….les pinces…il faut les cuire…so I finally understood and let go of the plate feeling slightly sheepish…

Nage de pêche, sorbet basillic citron vert, “swimming” Peach with basil and lime sorbet
The sorbet was AMAZING. The combination of basil and lime is so popular these days that everyone, even Berthillon, made one. Robuchon's is by far the best. The combination was sublime. The peach was lovely, the sauce in which it was swimming were clear perfumed of mint, but after a few spoonfuls of the sorbet it was tinted green and tasted even better than the sorbet alone.

I had a nice coffee at the end of the meal which was served with a piece of yummy caramel.

The wine that he poured for me was a nice Libron Colombet Chardonnay. That glass of wine reminded that I didn't hate Chardonnay in general, I only hated California Chardonnay. This wine was a perfect compliment to my lunch.

This was as close to a perfect lunch as I've ever had. Everything was bright tasting and wonderful, the perfect expression of every single ingredients. The sun was bright yet no longer scorching. There was a slight cool breeze in the air, all in all a perfect day.

The menu looked so wonderful, and there were so many other items I wanted to try so I decided to come back again the next day.

the second day:

The next day I got to Robuchon after 12. I was surprised to see that the restaurant was again not that full. This time I was seated on the other side, to the left as one enters the dining room.

The service on this side was abominable. The server looked to me to be of Indian descent, but insisted that she spoke not a word of English when asked by some Americans sitting nearby. I thought that was slightly mean spirited. I mean, how hard can it be to say “fish” or “duck liver”, really? In any case, I ordered the following items:

Gaspacho de tomate aux petits croutons, gaspacho with croutons
I loved the gazpacho so much yesterday I decided to order it again today, and not the entrée size. Unfortunately, the soup proved to be too acidic in such a large portion. The taste was bright, tangy and perfect in the smaller portion, but much too assertive in such a large bowl. I only managed about half before I gave up.

Suprême de pigeon au chou et foie gras, Pigeon and foie gras rolled in Cabbage
This dish had Steve Plotnicki swooning after the first bite when he was here. It was served with a small covered bowl of his famous pureed potato. The word mash just sounds far too severe for such a delicate concoction. And to call it potato at all is almost a misnomer, as it is more butter and cream bound together with a tiny amount of potato. Unfortunately Robuchon's potato is such a delicate thing that a small deviation in the procedure will result in a gummy puree, which unfortunately was true of this occasion. Perhaps it was allowed to sit too long in the heat, I wouldn't know for sure, just that the puree coated my tongue in a slightly objectionable manner.
The supreme of pigeon itself didn't impress me too much either. It tasted neither of pigeon nor foie gras nor cabbage (which might have been a good thing). The cabbage was overcooked and a little chewy. I was thoroughly disappointed.

Caille caramelisée et pommes purée à la truffe blache: Caramelised quail with purred potato and white truffle
The caille came and silenced my complaint completely. All was well again. The tiny pieces of quail were coated in the most delicious caramelized sauce, and the pommes purée in this dish was perfect. It must have been from a different batch than what was served with my Suprême de pigeon. Here the pommes purée was hidden under generous slices of white truffles, and had some specks of chives in it. It was glorious. If there was such a thing as a perfect mouthful, the chived pommes purée and a slice of white truffle was it.

Tartes de tradition
I decided on the tartes today, after the waitress told me that one of the tarts was with Mirabelle, which has got to be one of my favorite plums. The tartes were tasty of course, but they didn't quite blow me away.
I was surprised when the server landed a tray of coffee and its accoutrement in front of me barely half way into my dessert course. I refused to take it and simply asked her to bring me another one *after* I was done with my dessert. She huffed and puffed and complied.

At the end of the meal I had words with the hostess, asking her to send my compliment over to the service people on the other side, as I had a much better time here yesterday. She asked me why and I explained. She gasped when I got to the coffee incident. At the end she profusely apologized, asking me to return soon in spite of this day, promising to always seating me over there from now on.

My third lunch:
The next day I rolled out of bed contemplating what to do for the day. It was already past noon and I was hungry. It was my last day in Paris, and apparently I couldn't think of a better place to lunch, so I ended up again chez Robuchon. Again I was surprise to see some seats available even on a Saturday.

The hostess was smiling from ear to ear when she saw me stepping out of my cab. She of course seated me on the right side, as she did my first day, but this time on the far right of the counter, the “special” place as I found out from my Opinionated chums. She introduced the quiet waiter (Christophe), and the wine lady (Rachel), who barely two seconds later reappeared with a bottle of champagne, and poured me a glass on the house. This was turning to be another great lunch. :-)

I decided to not do the ordering myself today, placing my trust in the capable hands of Christophe. I told him what I already had, and gave him the free hand. He did not disappoint. Looking at my slight frame he decided to start with two small dishes and then we would decide if I needed anymore. I told him he underestimated me, he smiled, not believing me of course.

(I lost the check for this lunch so I don't have the complete names of the dishes, sorry.)
He started me off with the egg cocotte. It came in a martini glass, with something resembling pesto at the bottom, and barely coddled egg yolks hiding in a pool of cream and mushroom. It was marvelous, even Maureen would like this one I think. A great beginning. He poured a lovely chardonnay to go with this.

The second plate was simply grilled large prawns, which were still alive in the sushi-like display case at the counter! They were sweet and delicious, though I preferred the langoustine from the other day.

After the two courses, he asked if I was hungry enough for a large dish, or should he choose me another small one to finish. He looked truly surprised when I said I could do with another small and then a large one!

The next thing that appeared was a plate of grilled lamb chop with rosemary. Every bite of the meat was perfectly seasoned, cooked and perfumed. It was also served with a side of pommes purée, and luckily this one was perfect. Christophe poured a great Bordeaux to accompany my meat dishes.

When he took away the plate after I was done, he asked me again if I wanted a large dish to finish. As if on a dare I said yes, though I was beginning to feel a few pounds heavier. This is a matter of face now, and I wasn't going to lose it!!

I told him I simply adored the caille caramélisée I had yesterday. He said since this was my last day in Paris, would I like to repeat it. I said why not. And so I had the caille again, and it was as perfect as it was yesterday. I even finished the pommes purée as well.

For dessert he suggested a mango concoction with a sorbet of raspberry and a tuille cookie. His favorite on the menu, he said. It was simply wonderful. I liked it as much as I did the peach and sorbet from the first day.

All in all, I think this place is great. For a single diner, as I was at all of my three lunches, the collection of smaller dishes and some larger ones were perfect. I got to try as many things I wanted, without wasting much on the plate. I had some great conversation with the neighbors, it appeared the sushi setting got even the French to have small talks with strangers.

I didn't see much seat turnover, though I was only there during lunch. I think I agree with Steve on his assessment of the economics of running a place such as this for Robuchon, while at the same time wishing he would be proven wrong. I would love for Robuchon to do well in this format as I so enjoyed it. I paid about 100 euro for each of my lunches, and love them almost as much as my dinner at L'Arpège a few nights before.

L'Arpège: I offended the Food God?

I had dinner at L'Arpège last night. It was delightful of course, the highlight of which was an entrée of Lobster hidding under a paper thin slice of turnip in a slightly sweet/sour sauce, the chef's specialty. Also wonderful was a roasted chicken "grandmother style", volaille de pâturage, and a superlative slow roasted Turbot.

But dear Food God....what have I done to offend thee???

I am proud of my ability to eat anything...anything I tell you, brains, tripes, everything.......Well, everything but beets, that is.

So what do you think appeared on the dégustation menu--in not one but TWO courses? Yes, ladies and gentlemen...beets. Batterave en gélée (Beet Gelly) and Batterave Rôti in a crust of Sel Gris from Bretagne (which is his specialty). I tried a bit of each, but really couldn't finish. Beets have this distinctive aftertaste that reminds me of a taste you get in your mouth after a dip in a swimming pool, Chlorine in other words.

To look on the bright side, now I won't ever to eat beets again, ever. Friends always encouraged me to try their beet recipes or dishes, claiming this or that would be the dish that changed my mind. Not wanting to offend them, I often obliged. No longer. Now I can tell them if Alain Passard himself couldn't make a beet dish I like, no one else could.

Has this ever happened to you? Especially those of you who claim not to be a finicky eater (perhaps about McDonald's and such, but not about certain types of food.)

Also, Anyone has offerings for the Food God you can suggest? I think that was a serious sign of bad food karma, and I'd like to rectify it immediately!

marché biologique

I didn't think I'd like Paris in August.