Something's Gotta Give

Lunch with a friend at a wonderful brasserie in the center of Paris

Do you remember the film with Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson: Something's Gotta Give? Diane raved about the restaurant, Le Grand Colbert, and after that it became a destination for America tourists. But it is French through and through.

As it was August, and very few good restaurants are open during that month, I thought it would be fun for me to go there with my friend, Noriko.

The restaurant is very proud of its notoriety since the film was released and they even show the entire film in the back hall. There is a review of the film at the entrance.

This is a beautiful authentic French brasserie with classically prepared dishes such as grilled salmon with tagliatelles, lamb chops with gratin dauphinois, grilled rognons with a sauce béarnaise. Light eaters can choose one of the copious salads.

Noriko had the Salade Le Grand Colbert with hard boiled eggs, anchovies, sun-dried tomatoes and thinly sliced parmesan. I had the avocado salad with shrimp and grapefruit. Both were excellent. Since we had room for dessert, I chose the baba au rhum with chantilly with its tiny pitcher of sweet rum syrup, and Noriko had a beautiful raspberry and blackberry tart. I think that this is a place to bring friends from other countries who want to take part in a truly French experience. The service is attentive and friendly and the price is right. The restaurant is truly a classic.

Marseille: Gastronomic Dining

Dining in three hallowed restaurants in Marseille with excellent experiences all around.

Three days in Marseille--what a pleasure. The most important dish to get is bouillabaisse and I chose the best of the best: Chez Michel des Calanques. (Les Calanques is one of the many neighborhoods of the city.) Although there is no outdoor dining, the room is airy and the view is of the sea. Michel agreed to prepare a bouillabaisse for one and I was completely thrilled with his rendition. The broth--redolent with tomato, orange and saffron was spectacular. This was not a fancy Parisien bouillabaisse with langoustines and gambas. Rather, Michel prepares a traditional bouillabaisse and the evening I was there, he used St. Pierre and Vive. With potatoes and home-made croutons spread with aioli, it made for a satisfying and filling repast: two servings of bouillon into which one can't help dipping the fish and potatoes which are served on a separate plate. I slurped and swallowed and was in 7th heaven. This was the best meal I had in the seaside town of Marseille.

The next day, I had a reservation at Le Petit Nice. Gerald Passedat obtained his third Michelin star here in 2008 and this was the reason for my trip. I reserved for lunch, and had my champagne aperitif with amuse-bouches on the terrace with a stunning view of the sea. Moving inside the restaurant for the serious dining, I was also privy to a spectacular view.

I chose the Menu Evolution, billed as light and featuring the best fish and seafood imaginable. For starters was the Sea Anemone in three different preparations: in a foam with caviar of Aquitaine, in a fritter simply fried and delicate, in its shell with a parsley coulis, a mussel and some clams. This was a lovely starter. Next was a wonderful line-caught bass with a lemon sauce, eggplant, fennel and a rice cake. This dish was also very light and flavorful. Passedat serves a raw fish dish in this menu--flavored with bergamote (citrus oil) and a yuzu vinaigrette and garnished with zucchini in tempura: very Asian and very delicious. This dish was garnished with a julienne of baby vegetables that were marinated in a lovely fresh tomato sauce.

La pièce de resistance was the lobster. It was prepared with vegetables and a mango salad alongside a granny smith purée. It was called Homard dans un Jus Mauve and that is the color of the light jus that embellished the preparation.

The desserts were very light: strawberries with a frozen cheese from Corsica, garnished with fraises des bois. This dish was pretty but disappointing--it had no soul.

I chose wines from the region for the meal and treated myself to a fancy glass of Puligny Montrachet Emile Sauzet 2005 to have with the lobster.

My first criticism of this meal was that it was ultra-light. Although I don't want to leave the dinner table feeling totally stuffed, I do want to experience the pleasure of the meal for several hours afterwards. In the case of Passedat, the meal was so light that I was ready to eat a pizza dinner a few hours later.

Most of all, when I go to a three star restaurant, I expect to have a truly spectacular meal. This was a good meal but nothing more than that. It didn't sparkle and shine for me. Nor did it make me want to return to try more of the chef's creations.

For my last evening in Marseille, I chose a 1-star restaurant down the street from Passedat's place: L'Epuisette. The menu looked extremely promising. I arrived at sunset and saw a stunning one from my seaside table. The apéritif was my favorite champagne: Billecart Salmon Rosé. This came with a lovely assortment of appetizers including a puff pastry of cod, a tempura of St. Pierre and a lovely fresh pea soup.

The real amuse-bouche (to put you in the mood for the meal) was a luscious crème brulée de foie gras. Although smooth and sensual, it was much too salty.

For my appetizer, I had a very inventive and beautiful saute of jumbo shrimp on a provençale pizza with tomatoes, zucchini and olives, and garnished with a purée of avocado. All of this was topped with a perfectly poached egg.

Rouget is the thing to get in Provence, so I steered away from my favorite turbot in favor of the rouget dish. The tiny fish were garnished with a flavorful mushroom risotto, slivers of parmesan and a reduction of morel mushrooms. The risotto was full of succulent cèpes. This was a spectacular dish.

Unfortunately, the maître d'hotel misunderstood my dessert order and the kitchen sent out something I didn't want. By that time in the evening, there was no more of the wonderful chocolate dessert I craved. As a result, I chose the sablé Breton with berries and a bit of chocolate garnished with berry sorbet. It was light and lovely but not what I had wanted. If this had happened in the states, the dessert would have been offered but here in France, the best I could do was with an "I am sorry" on the part of the maître d'hotel.

Despite that little disappointment, I had a very nice meal at this restaurant.

In fact, I liked every restaurant I went to in Marseille. It is a truly foodie town for fish lovers like me.

Searching for Pizza in Marseille

A fruitful search for pizza including an expensive taxi ride and the names of the best pizzerias in Marseille.

I had heard that Marseille pizza is on the top ten list of the greats so of course, I had to venture out to the best place. Everyone talked about Chez Vincent so I asked my taxi driver to take me there. It was quite a long ride from my hotel, and on the way, I discovered that we were talking about two different Chez Vincents. However, both his (the best in the city, he said) and mine (number one on the list in my guide book) were closed for the summer vacation. From there, I chose Chez Etienne, not far from the second Chez Vincent and in what is called the Five Avenues neighborhood. No luck there so we proceeded to Chez Sauveur.

On the way, I had a tour of many of the neighborhoods in Marseille. Although the city is organized into "arrondissements" or districts, the Marseillais refer to the different neighborhoods by name--such as Le Panier, Les Cinq Avenues, Le Vieux Port, Les Calanques, etc. I must say that the city itself is not very attractive but the views are spectacular.

We went to two more pizzerias (closed) and then close to the next one our combined lists, we ran into a big traffic jam. I was watching the counter mount up, so I told the driver I was ready to walk. He directed me to Chez Noel. After about 15 minutes, I began to lose hope, but when I turned a corner, there it was: open!!!!! The taxi ride had cost me 40 euros (about $55) for a very inexpensive meal.

Ordering the pizza was interesting. They had a menu of set ones and I chose the anchovy pizza--remaining true to the region. However, I had to order the mozzarella as well! The basic pizza comes with dough and tomato sauce and that's it. The pizza was as good as the best pizza I could get in Paris--that is not very terrific at all. The bill came to about 15 euros for pizza, wine and coffee. I thought of the experience as a private tour of the city ending with a pizza dinner.

Second Trip to Berlin

A brief report on two Berlin discoveries: Indonesian and German.

Two years ago, I went to Berlin and had several wonderful meals. This time, I went back to the same places but also tried some new ones.

The first restaurant is a hangout for the friends with whom I was staying. Mary and Alex go to Good Time several times a week. I mistakenly thought that Indonesian food is riijstaffel, but in fact, that is just a Dutch adaptation of what is truly Indonesian fare. One thing they told me to watch out for: hot food!!

I was not daunted, having had the experience of ordering hot food in Thailand and more recently in L.A. We started with a wonderful spring roll Weisse Roll( Roll in German) stuffed with prawns, pork, herbs and salad. And we also shared Yam Mun Yang which is spicy grilled pork with onions, cucumber, cherry tomatoes and Thai celery salad. This dish came with only one "pepper" (indicating level of hotness) on the menu. My favorite of the appetizers was the Gold and Silberbeutel--fried dumplings with finely ground pork, water chestnuts to dip in a lime-chili sauce dressing.

We shared the main courses as well. Ped Kiemao (three peppers) which is a crispy duck on a bed of chilis, thai basil and mixed eggplants; Api Sapi (five peppers!!!!!)--an extra spicy and hot fried beef filet with chilies, peppercorns and peppers; Nasi Goreng which is the Indonesian version of fried rice, served with grilled chicken on skewers and a nicely marinated salad.

All the food we had was completely new to me and for that reason, quite exciting. It was also very delicious and not at all expensive. Can't wait to go to Java or Bali to try this food up close.

For our German meal, we went to Kayzer Soze--named after the sinister character in The Usual Suspects (great movie in which Kevin Spacey plays Kayzer). I had Bavarian sausages with German potato salad. The sausages are white and made from either veal or pork and herbs. The potato salad is served warm and is dressed with a vinaigrette that is long on vinegar. It is not my favorite food, but I know that I was served a good example.

Mary and I also went to Kadewe which is one of the biggest department stores in Europe. We basically went there for the air conditioning, as Berlin was sweltering when I was there. But we took advantage of the food floor which is vast, having not only restaurants and wine bars, but also many different stands with a variety of foods, most notably sausage. Foreign foods appear as well, and I bought microwave popcorn and Graham Crackers which I have never seen in Paris. I watched the many people who were eating at the different restaurant stands and noted for myself that this would be a great place to get authentic German food at reasonable prices. Next time...

This year's birthday celebration

Arôme is the place I chose for my birthday dinner. Newly renovated with a very accomplished chef, it was a memorable experience.


This year for my birthday dinner, Françoise and I went to Arôme--a favorite restaurant of mine that has one Michelin star. My friend, Eric Martens is the owner/director of the place. He is a perfectionist and quite passionate about his work. Last summer, the restaurant underwent major renovations. Now the room is beautiful and warm, with touches of Japanese-style decorations. Behind the glass wall at back, one can see everything that goes on in the kitchen.

They serve my favorite champagne, so of course we ordered that: the Billecart Salmon Rosé. Such a flavorful wine that lends itself to special occasions. We chose one of the several menus they offer and started with the Emietté de tourteau (fresh crab), tartare de tomate et sorbet basilic. This was attractively presented in a sleek martini glass.

For the next course, we had Homard d'Amérique du Nord en gelée (probably Canadian lobster in a salad), crème d'avocat, concombre, granny smith et emulsion de betterave (beet). Because of the beet sauce, it sounds strange, but the dish was both beautiful and delicious. It too was served in a martini glass.

For our main course, we had the pièce de veau aux herbes de Garrigues, girolles, ail, amandes fraiches, haricots beurre, émulsion d'herbes. What a wonderful combination and how well the fresh almonds contrasted with the rest of the dish.

With each dish, the sommelier prepared a glass of wine to bring out the flavors of both wine and food. More and more, this has become the custom in France: wines served by the glass to enhance the flavors in the dish.
We had the wondrous soufflé au Citron de Menton, sorbet au fromage blanc et au citron. A spectacular ending to an unforgettable meal.

Afterwards, Eric brought us into the kitchen to meet the friendly Thomas Boullault, who is Arôme's very talented chef. All in all, an experience to record as one of my best food memories.

Dining in Venice Beach

Two fine restaurants in the Venice Beach Area of L.A.

I met Tracy and her husband, Franck, in Paris and was very pleased when Tracy told me she wanted to learn about food and cooking. After that, we went to many lovely restaurants in Paris and she was my companion for all my birthdays. We had the opportunity to try many of the wonderful 3-star restaurants that Paris has to offer.

About five years ago, Tracy and her family (now with two wonderful children) moved to L.A. I visited them then and then again this year. They live in Venice Beach. We went to Mao's Kitchen which is a reasonably-priced Asian place, where we ordered enough dishes for an army so that I could have something to take with me on the plane back to Paris. We had one of my favorites: Mabo Tofu with vegetables and a spicy brown sauce; Mao's Hometown: a dish with smoked tofu, onions, wood ear mushrooms and shrimp; Sichuan Eggplant with Mushrooms; and Kung Pao Beef. Everything was served with brown rice and it was a wonderful feast.

That evening, after a day wandering on the beach and then shopping in a small Japanese area with inexpensive and fun shops, Tracy and I went to the best restaurant in Venice: Gjelina.

This is a place to order a variety of courses and dishes that everyone shares. However, the roasted salmon with corn appealed to me, so we decided to order that as our maincourse. The appetizers we chose were the delicious wood-roasted cauliflower with chili, garlic, parsley and vinegar; hen of the woods mushroom toast with creme fraiche and truffle oil (sensational), marinated artichokes with creamy burrata, pistachio pesto and crispy shallot.

After all that (and the salmon) we were really sated, but had to order two desserts to taste. We chose the Flourless Chocolate Cake with Crème Fraîche and Hazelnut and the Butterscotch Pot de Crème with Salted Caramel and Crème Fraîche. Both were spectacular.

I rolled home the next morning. But had no problem eating my leftovers from Mao's Kitchen on the plane!

LA restaurants revisited: focus on Ethnic Fare

This visit to L.A. focusses on Asian cuisine, with a wonderful experience at a hot new Italian with an established Italian chef, and a few wonderful American places thrown in.

Friends say that L.A. has recently come into its own as a gastronomic destination in the U.S. During my ten day stay at the home of different friends, I dined at some greats and must concur with the latest report that L.A. is a haven for restaurants.

Before my trip, my friend Joel said he wanted to spend a whole weekend eating but we did much more than that. Joel is an accomplished cook and with all the cooking classes he has done with his husband, Rusty, they really do impressive work in their own beautifully designed and equipped kitchen. Joel announced that he wanted to make a meal for me and he made TWO. One consisted of a fantastic zucchini flower pasta dish from the fresh zucchini flowers that we found at a local farmer's market. And on my last day at their home, Joel and Rusty created a multi-course luncheon complete with Jim Lahey's delicious bread that Joel made from scratch, a fresh summer pea soup and a wonderful layered tomato salad.

Now, on to the restaurants. First of all: an American star is Joan's on Third where I took part in a small reunion of old high school friends. This is a place with magnificent salads, hot dishes, sandwiches and array of gorgeous and delicious desserts. My friend, Jill, told me that Joan's is famous for its cupcakes, and after the delicious salads and sandwiches, we chose a wonderful strawberry short cake with freshly made whipped cream and an excellent little golden cupcake.

Nancy Silverton has built up quite the gastronomic portfolio in L.A. She and her husband, Mark Peel opened the very successful Campanile, which has kept its great reputation over the years. Branching out on her own, she opened the fabulous La Brea Bakery, and more recently has wowed L.A. with the Mozza pair: Pizzeria Mozza and Trattoria Mozza.

We were four the night we went to Pizzeria Mozza. All the better to sample many of the wonderful appetizers and pizzas.
For the appetizers, we chose Corn al forno with herb butter, Pork ribs al forno with apple cider vinegar, honey and fennel (spectacular!),arancini alla Bolognese (not very good), Fried Squash Blossoms with Ricotta (also excellent). For our pizzas, we ordered a Funghi Misti with fontina, taleggio and thyme, Fennel sausage pizza with pecorino, red onions and scallions, and a Squash blossom pizza with tomato and burrata. The crust is crusty on the outside and chewy within. We definitely had a feast.

After all this, who could order dessert? Us!! Four people shared the sorbetto al cioccolato and the Butterscotch Budino (a house specialty) with Maldon sea salt and rosemary pine-nut cookies. A sensational meal.

For our big bash event, we went to Drago Centro--a new restaurant in the empire of the famous chef, Sr. Drago. Anyone there would be treated like royalty but we were especially pampered because Joel knows the wife of the manager: Matteo. We were immediately ushered to the "Mayor's Table" in the corner and from which one can watch everything that is going on in the sleek, modern, diningroom.

After our celebratory glasses of sparkling Franciacorta (which I prefer to Prosecco), we got down to business. We had two half-orders of risotto: one with morels di Orvieto and black summer truffles (that Matteo generously shaved over our rice), and a risotto di piselli (this is the season for fresh peas): consisting of peashoots, English peas, cherry tomatoes and garlic cream. Both transported the three of us to heaven.

For our next course, we shared a whole portion of Gli Spaghetti allo Soglio which came full of langoustines, mussels clams, squid in a herb-tomato ragout. Sensational.

For our main courses, we chose to share two: Il Branzino in cioppino broth with potato and bits of small seafood; and L'Anatra which was duck confit with potatoes, frisée and raspberries. The raspberries added a magical sweetness and tartness to the dish.

With each dish, we were served an accompanying Italian wine that married well with the dish.

Who had room for dessert after this wonderful meal? We decided that we had to try I Bomboloni--small home-made donuts sauteed with bing cherries, crystallized pistachios, a hint of chocolate sauce and pistachio gelato: sublime.

This was a truly impressive meal. Yes, it was expensive but for the quality of what we were served, the beauty of the presentation of each dish, as well as the friendly attentive service, I think it was well worth it.

Joel has done a lot of reading of Jonathan Gold, who is a Pulitzer Prize winning food critic and who writes mostly about ethnic hideaways. Joel, Rusty and my NY friend, Chris and I went to Jitlada--a favorite authentic Thai restaurant of his. We convinced the waiter that coriander was a no-no and were served delicious and very hot Thai dishes like you would get in Thailand. The trick is to eat the hot food in small bites and to punctuate each bite with a piece of cold, raw vegetable such as carrot or cucumber. I loved the dishes so much that I ate them quickly and suffered the burning lips and throat syndrome, but my friend, Chris, complied with the instructions and had a fine time with everything.

In the evening, we were still in the Asia mood so we invited Regina to join us at Izakaya by Katsu-ya. Katsu-ya is the home of many a wonderful sushi restaurant in L.A. but recently opened this Izakaya (casual eating with a lot of beer and sake--order a lot of foods cooked in different ways) in West Hollywood. Again, with four people, we could sample a variety of their wonderful dishes in a noisy and very fun atmosphere. We had Cod Popcorn in sauces and the izakaya fish tacos. Very flavorful. The serious ordering began when we were seated: Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna--a specialty of the house and fabulous. It is served as a rectangular maki with the tuna on top and the crispy rice as base. Yellowtail Sashimi with spicy Jalapeno, Renkon (Lotus Root) in a sweet sauce, Baked Eggplant with edamame and fried julienne of onion, Ebi Yakisoba (a vegetable-noodle stir fry full of shrimp), seared linme snapper (a white fish) in carpaccio, and finally, a succulent and delicious blue crab roll. We paired our dishes with cold sake and were very happy and satisfied when we left the restaurant.

With my foodie friends, Megan and Rafi, I went to a fantastic Mexican restaurant in the heart of Hollywood: Loteria!

I met Rafi and Megan on the honeymoon in Paris. They were touring France for its beauty as well as for its wonderful restaurants. They always take me to the best spots in L.A. Loteria! was a lot of fun. The specialties are burritos and quesadillas stuffed with a variety of delicious foods as well as their excellent Margaritas.

We started our meal with the compulsory Margaritas and then decided to share some Quesadillas de Plaza con Flor de Calabaza--i.e. corn tortillas filled with either squash blossoms and cheese or roasted poblano peppers and cheese and topped with a spicy tomatillo sauce.

For the main course, two of us ate Burrito of Tinga de Pollo filled with chipotle peppers and a red salsa, and Carne Deshebrada with shredded beef, guacamole, salsa and chipotle. In each burrito was a good portion of rice and refried beans. True to Mexican form, the food was very flavorful, sensuous and filling. This place is on my "must return" list.

But Joel has other ideas for my next trip including a counter where one gets fantastic Cuban food. Can't wait until I can go back to L.A. for some terrific dining with good friends.