Grand Opening of the Carrefour Supermarket

A cocktail party to mark a neighborhood supermarket opening: a new concept in advertising with champagne and hors d'oeuvres!

Leave it to the French to throw a party. Our neighborhood supermarket shut down a couple of weeks ago to make way for a brand new Carrefour. And to inaugurate the affair, they had an invitation-only grand opening this evening. There were beautiful hors d'oeuvres of many types, but all were either fish or vegetable creations so as to be friendly to the Halal Arabs, Kosher Jews and Vegetarians in the neighborhood. The best part was the Nicholas Feuillate champagne!! After partaking, I wandered through the aisles and was pleased to notice the many brands of packaged goods, the deli cases, the caliber of the fresh foods, and Jacob's Cream Crackers which I have never seen in a French market. The prices were quite reasonable too and there was a nice selection of offerings from international cuisines. Can't wait to go tomorrow for some real shopping.

David's Visit

Three more Paris restaurants, one of which is a keeper

My brother David had business in Europe and made a short trip to Paris between meetings. Unfortunately, I could not control the weather because it was snowy and freezing everyday, but that did not stop us from dining at three disparate-level restaurants. The first is a favorite that was highly recommended by my dentist and the second were mediocre at best.

Le Bistrot de L'Alycastre was by far the best choice. I have already written about this place. The welcome is warm and the crowded restaurant is cosy. I started with simply grilled razor clams that were topped with a spicy tomato-lemon garnish and David had a carpaccio of bass that was quite delicious. Both of us had fish for our main courses. I had a dramatically presented flambée of St. Pierre subtly flavored with orange that was surprisingly delicious, and David had flaked cod served over roughly mashed potatoes with truffle oil. Both were superb. The wines by the glass were excellent as were the desserts: a fantastic dark chocolate soup (served at room temperature)garnished with whipped cream, and a lovely apricot-pistachio tart.

From there, it was downhill all the way. Our second dinner was at the much hyped highly successful Les Itineraires. I have been to this restaurant five times and have never really enjoyed my meal. You ask, why did I go back yet again? That is a good question. Everyone raves about it so much, I continue to want to give it a chance but after the recent fiasco, I will never go back. No need to write about the overly precious ultra creative dishes that we had from a quite unappealing list of choices (risotto of oysters and passion fruit??). Suffice it to say that this restaurant is wholeheartedly not recommended.

For our third dinner, we went to the Jacques Cagna La Rotisserie d'en Face. We started with delicious mache salads. I had a wonderfully-prepared grilled salmon topped with a variety of peppercorns that added zing, and David had roast chicken with mashed potatoes. The food was very good, but nothing that you could not make at home in 30 minutes. It seemed a shame to spend all that money on grandma's cuisine. Service was excellent and the atmosphere was relaxing. Next time I will be more adventuresome in my choices at this place. The desserts are wonderful.

Amici Miei

Excellent Italian restaurant just around (my) corner

It is quite amazing that I had not been to this restaurant before, as it is literally two minutes from my house and has been recommended by friends. Pizza, Pasta, Salads, Mains are all beautifully prepared and delicious. In fact, I have been twice in two weeks and am going back for dinner. The overall cuisine harkens from Sardinia with its characteristic flavorful red sauces. The pizzas remind me of the thin cracker-crusted pizzas of Rome and come with a variety of delicious toppings. I had an authentic Sardinian dish: tiny balls of semolina tossed in a seafood tomato sauce with succulent langoustines and plump sauteed mushrooms. The service is efficient and friendly. To top it off, prices are quite reasonable. This is going to be a hangout of mine from now on.

Portugal!!

A short getaway to Portugal (Lisbon and Madeira) where the food can be very good; restaurants in both destinations including regional specialties

I had a lovely week in Lisbon and Madeira. I actually went to Madeira to meet my mother who escaped to the island to get away from a New York winter. Madeira is a Portuguese island on the same latitude as Morocco and has a temperate climate all year round. However, although warm, this season was very strange and we had more rain and clouds than usual. Lisbon, usually warm, was sunny but cold. It is a charming city with beautiful castles and museums. I also visited Sintra, which is a couple of hours outside of Lisbon. Sintra is a stunner of a village and has a magnificent ancient castle with different colored stone walls.

In Lisbon, I was very disappointed with the food I had. I went to one of the only Michelin Guide one-star restaurants in town; (Eleven) and found the meal to be stilted and over-priced. One thing to beware of is the fact that anything that they put on the table is charged to your bill (including bread and the amuse-bouches that are complimentary in every other restaurant I have ever been to). When I ordered one glass of champagne, I welcomed the unsolicited refill that in Paris would have been offered. Bad news for me at the end of the meal, when I was charged for two and not one glass of champagne.

At Eleven, I started with a beautiful lobster salad garnished with mango. However, it was much too salty and therefore inedible. The main course was a very good sea bass covered with wild mushrooms and served with an herb pudding.

Belem is a small town right near Lisbon and they have the famous pasteis à la Belem. The fun part is to go to the bakery where they are sold. It is very picturesque and there are many different attractive cakes for sale. The pasteis are small tarts filled with flan that you garnish with a vanilla powdered sugar and cinnamon.

I stayed at an ultra-luxury hotel (The Lapa Palace) where I got a promotion of three nights' stay for the price of two nights. At the hotel restaurant, I did have a lovely Portuguese rosé sparkling wine called Murganheira Rosé Bruto. Although my meal was simple, it was quite good. I had a interesting codfish concoction garnished with spiced pears, followed by a beautiful Atlantic Seafood Stew full of shellfish. The coffee soufflé was excellent but too much after such a copious meal.

My third dinner in Lisbon was at a restaurant recommended by the Guide Michelin for authentic inexpensive food. Ordering the local specialty of Bacalahou a Lagareiro, I was very disappointed. It is salt cod that they forgot to wash, garnished with potatoes and onions. The fish was so salty that I could hardly eat the dish. It was covered with cilantro even though I warned against that. When I pointed it out to the waiter, he smiled and just spooned off most of the cilantro to the side of the plate!! What elegant service!

My best meal was a lunch I took at the seashore (Guincho Beach) at a restaurant called Meste Zé. I had grilled turbot, ordering precisely the number of grams I wanted. Otherwise they would have made a kilo for me and charged me over 50 euros. I admired all the lobsters and jumbo shrimp that passed me by on waiters' trays being carried to other diners. Everyone was having a good time and the food was just fine.

The town of Funchal in Madeira is tourist-oriented and has outstanding restaurants hotels.The gardens are spectacular even in the beginning of January. My mother, her assistant and friend, Marian, and I went to a French place, an Italian place, and two some Portuguese restaurants and had excellent meals. At the Cliff Bay Hotel, we dined in the restaurant: Il Gallo d'Oro. (The fancy restaurants in Madeira do not charge for amuse-bouches or bread, I am happy to say.) After some lovely amuse-bouches, I started with a Savarin of Fresh Crab garnished with smoked salmon. The dish was delicate and full of crab. My main course was turbot stuffed with fresh jumbo scallops, a sauce of Sevruga caviar and a large piece of juicy lobster tail. It was elegant, beautifully presented and just wonderful. We didn't order dessert but they did bring out the pre-dessert which was a lovely chocolate cake with chocolate leaves. This is a restaurant I would definitely go back to.

Next door to this hotel is the famous Reid's Palace. It is one of the most elegant and renowned hotels in the world. We were treated to a tour of the hotel and a visit of the Presidential Suite named after one of its inhabitants: Winston Churchill. There is also a George Bernard Shaw Presidential Suite. I could live for a few weeks in the bathroom alone, decorated with the beautiful hand-painted blue and white tiles that are so omnipresent in Portugal. We had lunch at the Poolside Restaurant and ordered the reasonably priced buffet that had a large choice of cold and hot appetizers and main courses, and beautiful desserts. They served my favorite Portuguese bread (Bolo do Kako) which is a round doughy loaf. Next door is their main restaurant, The Villa Cipriani. This restaurant was the best of the entire vacation. The pasta choices and preparations were all spectacular as were the main courses and desserts. And unlike so many restaurants of its kind in Europe and in NY, the atmosphere is very quiet, allowing for animated conversation. For a restaurant of this caliber, the prices are quite reasonable.We paid 60 euros per person for a full meals and a few glasses of wine and drinks.

The two specialties of Madeira are the Grilled Espada served with Grilled Banana, and the Espetadà Regional, which is a skewer of juicy prime beef grilled and served on a stand. You push off one piece of beef at a time. We had the beef dish at Los Combatentes in the center of Funchal, and the fish at a restaurant called O Regional. The prices were quite low in these places and service was extremely friendly.

One morning we went to a very animated market. We saw the usual vegetables, fruits, and flowers, but in the basement are all the fish displays. I love fish, but these looked really monstrous and I took a photo of the ugliest of all. Sitting on the ice, they looked pretty scary, but I am sure they are part of a wonderful regional dish.

I thoroughly enjoyed this trip and hope my mother chooses Madeira next winter!

Chic AND delicious!!

If you have a sweet tooth, this destination in central Paris should not be missed! It is a well kept secret that Pain de Sucre is one of the best boulangerie-patisseries in Paris.

I am really surprised that I am just now writing about this superb boulangerie-patisserie. It is a "Must Try" destination--and I mean right away! The two wonderful patissiers (Didier Mathray and Nathalie Robert) who opened this jewelbox of a shop about three or four years ago, (Pain de Sucre, 14 rue Rambuteau in the 3rd arrondissement) used to create the desserts at my favorite haute luxury restaurant: Pierre Gagnaire. I always looked forward to the end of the meal at Gagnaire, so as to taste these chefs' newest additions to the menu (mainly exotic chocolate soufflés were my choice but there was also a splendid dégustation of desserts). Now these geniuses of the sweet course are dazzling tout Paris with their wonderful concoctions that are not only inventive and chic but also delicious. I looked at a tarte today that looked like a classic chocolate tarte but in fact, was filled with lime custard and topped with a thin layer of dark chocolate. At Pain de Sucre, I am always curious to taste everything, and even I will dare to be inventive in my dessert choices. I have tried every different gateau that they create (changing the "collection" every season).

My favorite is Etat de Choc which is chocolate: several thin layers of smooth, dark, crunchy and lovely. They have a baba au rhum which comes with its own vial of rum syrup. The chefs also do marvelous things with herbs. I know that Romarin (rosemary) is my favorite little cake in this family. They also make verrines--little glasses layered with all sorts of lovely flavors and textures. They do use cilantro and I just stay away from those. These geniuses dare to contrast a variety flavors and herbs and the results are always stunning.

Not only are the cakes and I wonderful but all the breads are out of this world, including the buttery breakfast bread, pain de Venise. The baguettes and the pain aux cereales are also knockouts. For me, the test of a truly excellent bakery is in the baguette and these artists do not disappoint. For lunch there are a variety of rustic folded rolls filled with delicious combinations of delights such as sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, cheeses, lardons and the like.

They have also done amazing things with guimauve (which Americans turn into marshmallow) and even make different flavored guimauve lollipops coated in that dark chocolate. Please see my beautiful photos of their stellar creations and run don't walk to rue Rambuteau where you can choose among these wonderful and delicious works of art.

Chocolate!!

About chocolate: French candies and cakes--from an expert chocolate lover

I love chocolate. As far as I am concerned, no meal is complete without a taste. There are many excellent French chocolatiers in Paris but my favorite for gateaux bar none is Jean Paul Hevin. His cakes are stunning and delicious. I think I have tried ten of them. There are three retail shops, and a salon de thé on the rue du Faubourg St. Honoré, near the Place Vendôme. Upstairs, the menu is Japanese style with beautiful photos of each of the offerings to help you decide. My favorites are Caracas, Choco-Passion, Tarte au chocolat, the heavenly and rich Macaron à L'Ancienne and the Raspberry-chocolate cake. No trip to Paris is complete without a stop at this very important locale. His macarons are all variations on the chocolate theme, flavored with lemon, passion fruit, coffee, etc.

For bars of chocolate, however, I prefer Christian Constant on rue d'Assas in the 6th arrondissement. This chocolatier takes great pride in his work and his product shows it. His dark chocolate bars are all distinguished and delicious with beans coming from South America, Africa, Asia, and other hot climates. He knows which are the finest beans and will only use those in his chocolates. The little candies are sensational and are flavored with herbs and flowers. No candies with sweet and cloying centers, these are dark chocolate through and through with hints of flavor such as rose hips, jasmin tea, ginger, to name a few. They are hand made and expensive but worth it as they are the best in the world.

Second to Constant in my book is Patrick Roger with a shop on bd St Germain des Près near Odéon and one on avenue Victor Hugo in the 16th. His chocolate candies are also dark and lovely although some are filled with praline centers which I don't like. His bars, with beans that come from Africa and South America, are all very good. These are extremely expensive candies. The boxed chocolates are lined with a faux paper layer made of chocolate so when you get to the bottom, there is still something wonderful to eat.

Another creator of chocolate bars is the Maison Bonnat near Grenoble. I find these bars at Galéries Lafayette.They are much less expensive than the others I have been talking about. My favorite is Chuao (South America), but others I have tried have been very good as well.

London in October

More delicious dining in London, including a terrific Japanese robata-sushi bar, a favorite Italian, a hallowed hall of gastronomy and where to go for simply prepared fish


Another trip to London and that means great eating. My favorite new discovery was Zuma at Knightsbridge on Raphael Street. It is a sushi bar, a robata bar and a large, noisy, and very attractive modern restaurant. If not for the sushi bar, you would say that this is modelled after the Japanese izakaya--or brasserie. The menu boasts long lists of very interesting salads and hot dishes, and I was able to try a number of them, along with robata (grilled food). To start with I had Hamachi usuzukuri pirikara ninnikugake. Another way of saying it is thinly sliced raw yellowtail with a green chili relish and ponzu sauce. I also had a beautiful chilled langoustine and clear noodle salad with a yuzu granité (Akazebi to shirataki no reisei salada yuzu fumi). It was served in a round glass and was very pretty. From the robata grill, I ordered grilled scallops with umeboshi (tangy Japanese plum), shiso and mentaki as well as grilled sweet corn with hojiso butter. The corn was spectacular and my favorite part of the meal although everything was sensational. What is fun in this restaurant is to sit at one of the bars and watch what other people order and the chefs in action. Everything looks fantastic and judging by the number of enthusiastic people there, it has reasons for its popularity.

At lunch the next day, I met my friend Peggy and we went to Marcus Waering at the Berkeley Hotel. We each ordered a menu dégustation. Peggy had the vegetarian one while I ordered from the regular menu. With our champagne was served a baby foie gras sandwich with quince and raspberry, olive toast and smoked tomato dip with a black olive compote.

Before the meal, we were served a small cup of mushroom soup with truffle foam. A lovely way to begin. My menu was a salade of scallops and cod with cauliflower, macadamia nuts and shallot dressing. This was followed by poached and roasted Dover Sole with beetroot, fresh walnuts, walnut ricotta and gnocchi--wonderful. I also had a small dish of roasted sweetcorn with braised leeks, mushrooms and a thyme salad topped with a coddled quail egg. Very delicate and delicious. Peggy and I shared a half bottle of an excellent Pouilly Fuissé.

The desserts were a pleasant ending to a very special lunch: the pre-dessert with an opera and vanilla cream on an apricot crisp, and a passion fruit jelly with lime sorbet and lemon cream. The dessert was a warm chocolate and salt caramel moelleux with banana cacao ice cream and a banana caramel jelly. None of the desserts are among my favorites (I don't like chocolate with banana) but they were fine nevertheless.

J. Sheekey is a gentleman's clubby restaurant that specializes is preparations of unadulterated fresh fish. I had Dublin prawns and learned then that they are what the French call langoustines. My main course was a succulent grilled West Bay Brill--a firm white fish--with an excellent herb and watercress salad. I chose Cookies and Brownies for dessert. This was a simple delicious meal and is a place that I would return to again and again.

I never miss the River Cafe when I go to London. It is my favorite Italian restaurant outside of Italy and Waltham (see the post about dining outside of Boston). The "calamari ai ferri" is a specialty and is tender chargrilled squid with fresh red chili and rocket. I also had an Insalata di Porcini with rocket, parmesan and lemon--very fresh and full of flavor. For my main course, I didn't order a meat or fish. This time I chose Gnocchi di Patate with chestnuts, sausage, tomato, Chianti and sage. Does that sound good? It was SPECTACULAR and I was very happy with my choice. For dessert I had their famous caramel ice cream with has a pleasant burnt sugar tang that comes from the way the caramel is melted. With the meal, I chose two very good wines and I was in 7th heaven as usual. I always buy one of their books and wish that I could duplicate their cooking expertise. Who would ever imagine that two British women would be such experts at creating authentic Italian food? And their cookbooks are also noteworthy.