ericeric

Hi Ptipois. I've done a bit of research on guinea hens (pintades). I will give it a try. So it's a semi dry roast over choucroute or do I braise it w the choucroute? Also, I think we all like the Rouen idea and might pass by Giverny on the way. Would there be anything to see in Giverny during winter? Any suggested places to eat in Rouen? I think will ditch Versailles since we have all seen that. I liked biking around the gardens more for free than the actual chateau tour. I am now fixated on the idea of trying to see the bakery of poilane or another good bakery and bringing home some starter.

Don't feel guilty. Honesty is always good, except sometimes when you have to tell a friend bad news. I am not in favor of expensive for what it is and show offy. Yummy is good. I think we'll try a couple of places you suggested. Well now you have me interested in Laotian/Isaan food. I've been to Bangkok many times but never heard of Isaan food till now. I might have had it but the places my thai friends have taken me to, well, they order and the menu is in Thai. So I am clueless and just eat. My children will be happy with the pears. When we travel they actually ask us to bring home food and fruit rather than clothes or gadgets. We can get good quality imported food in Manila, but it is still not the same. My other friend wants me to bring home lots of raw milk cheeses. On the flights home, we also pack food and arouse envy from other passengers who are stuck with airplane food. I'm looking forward to roasting the expensive chickens. Might try the guinea hens also. But i've heard they are dry. Thanks very much for sharing your knowledge. If you ever go to manila let me know.

Hi Ptipois! I didn't realize you are famous. Thanks very much for response and comments and the suggestions on restaurants. Ok i believe you. I will dump all on my restaurant list and start over. I got some advice on the other food site and I guess you were the Sophie they were referring to when we were discussing what kind of chicken to roast. I thought I did well choosing the apartment location. Maybe it's slightly far. Based on the map, it's about 1km to Monge and Raspail. I do like going to these things, so I don't mind if it is a bit out of the way. If it is too difficult, I will bring a roller bag even though it is not stylish. I just hope it's not too cold in late December. Anyway, we don't really have so much planned this trip, so we are taking it easy most of the time. I really wanted mainly to walk around, window shop, buy food from the market and cook in the apartment and eat out also. Are there any special seasonal ingredients that I should look out for (aside from fresh truffles which seem hard to find) that are tasty? When were there during autumn a few years back, I remember the pears were very good. Will they be available in winter? For the day trips, we've been to Chambord, Versailles, St Germain en Laye (and had a nice meal there) but without my children. Chambord is quite stunning yes. Rouen looks interesting. Any World War 2 museums near there? We've driven around a bit in previous trips (Nice to Provence to Bordeaux, which was too long but very nice when we got to Brantome, Limoge, Loire and then to Paris, and then from Paris to Provence and then to Florence on another trip). For our break day, we like vietnamese and chinese food. I would appreciate suggestions for one or two meals. I guess you are right, vietnamese may be the best. I've not had Laotian food. If you have other suggestions for somewhat different experiences in Paris, I would appreciate it. We have done all the touristy stuff already. Maybe go to Rungis, or watch a good baker make bread? I like to make bread actually and have a wood fired oven at home. Thanks again and I look forward to hearing from you.

Christmas has never been a big thing for me. But, I hope this year will be different. Some stars aligned - cheap plane tickets, extra budget, another kid off to college next year. So we're going to Paris! Our trip theme is living like locals. Mainly we want to eat well, though not necessarily expensively. I found a nice two bedroom apartment with a full kitchen in the Fifth on Rue Val de Grace. Most of the time I would like to go to market and cook. All of us are really excited (wife, three teenagers, one in NY and two with us in Manila). So, we're planning our itinerary early. Would it be possible to get some advice and suggestions from the forum? Anyway so far our plans are: 1) Cooking at home - We're very close to some food markets (Port Royal, Mouffetard, Raspail) and shops (Poilane, Hugo Desnoyer). I plan to go to a market almost daily. On one day, we'll probably trek to President Wilson because I read it's the best one. Planning breakfast and one meal at home daily. My kids like good food and dessert, so they want to join the market trips. Any suggestions for home cooked meals? I'd like to get a bresse chicken, quail or something like that and roast it. We also love sea food, so I plan to get lots of scallops, langoustines and oysters. I've not been to Paris in winter so I don't know what vegetables or fruits are seasonally available or would everything be imported. I'm pretty comfortable in the kitchen (can make fresh pasta, bread, pizza, roast beef, etc. ). I'm going to bring a sharp knife and some spices. 2) Truffles at which market? - Also, would you know where I can buy winter truffles other than Maison de Truffe? Is there a seller in any of the markets? 3) Restaurant suggestions? - We'll probably eat at two 2 star restaurants and 3 good bistros (suggestions? was thinking passage 53, agape substance, epi dupin, la regalade, falafel) . To avoid french food fatigue, I've also marked a couple of good places for ramen. The rest of the time, just simple stuff (crepes, quiche, etc.) 4) Day trips from Paris? - Any worthwhile suggestions in winter? Not sure if Chambord is worth renting a car for. Giverny? I think a 2 hour drive is doable. We don't really need to go anywhere. Right now just Versailles. In paris, just the louvre. Kids want to go back because it was too short last time. 5) Christmas markets My wife likes looking around in flea markets. My kids want to go off on their own, buy souvenirs and try different kinds of food. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Il Ritrovo, 4 via di Pucci, 055/281688 April 2004. A disaster. I think we caught them on a really bad day. I knew we were in trouble from the time we walked in for dinner. The place was full but 95% tourists, like ourselves. Not a good sign. Most were still waiting for their food. Also not good. The manager and one waitress were attending to tables as best they could, but you could see the panic in their eyes. It took over hour to get our food after seating. While waiting, two separate groups of musicians came in, performed for a few minutes and wouldn't leave the tables until they got a donation. I shared my foreboding with my wife. We had pasta w/duck ragu, fagioli, and a 1 kg bistecca. Hmmm, not a hint of duck in the ragu. What could it be? The table beside us returned their pasta to the kitchen; not being boiled in hot enough water we overheard. The bistecca challenged the steak knives. Similar struggles in the other tables. The fagioli, to be fair, was good. The beans had a creamy texture, were served hot with a splash of olive oil. A good dish on a cold night. Our bread, however, was in cellophane packing. Expensive bistecca and wine list + 3 euro cover charge per person + separate service charge. Oh well.

Nebrone, Mercato Nuovo April 2004. This is a stall on one end of the main Florence food market. I understand its an institution. They serve fagioli, sausages, trippa, ribollita and other local dishes either to eat there or to go. The ribollita and fagioli were so-so. People were lining up for the sandwiches, so that's what we had. A guy slices a hard roll, dunks half in broth, spears a chunk of bollito (boiled beef) or lampredotto from the pot, slices it and puts it on the bread, and puts salsa verde and salsa piccante. The bollito was not bad. The lampredotto was really good, if you are into this stuff. My wife isn't and liked it. I liked it a lot. Its an unidentifiable kind of tripe, and seems more tender than the normal variety. Prices were very reasonable. It's not easy to get seating, so you may have to eat standing up. The mercato is worth going to by the way. Loads of fresh produce, meat, fresh pasta, and mushrooms. We stayed in a apartment a few blocks away. We like to cook with local ingredients whenever we travel, so we went a couple times. It's also a good place to stock up for salumi, balsamico, olive oil and dried mushrooms. Prices were much better than Rome, Milan or Venice. Its not good for seafood as you'd expect. Venice was better for seafood.

Sostanza detto il Troia, via Porcellana 25 r, Phone: 055.212691 April 2004. One of the best steaks we've had. Sostanza's was recommended on this board and did not disappoint. They have two seatings for dinner, 7:30 and 9:00pm. Went there on a wednesday night with a reservation and it was full. We had to share a table with some locals, who were quite friendly. We each had a 700g porterhouse, some vino tavola, and sliced florentine tomatoes w salt and olive oil, and some bread. Steak was crusty, crunchy and salty on the outside and rare, tender, juicy and sweet on the inside. I've not been to Peter Luger's but wife has. I've been to Del Friscos in texas, mortons, and a bunch of others though. This was really excellent. My wife rarely finishes steaks, but demolished this one. Sostanza's feels like a small, friendly, neighborhood restaurant. Lots of locals, but a few tourists also. Probably a good idea to reserve.

Try Moulin Du Roc in Champagnac de Belair, near the town of Brantome. It was a Mich 1 star when we went couple of years back. We stayed at the hotel, which is along a river and quite picturesque. It has a small bridge across the river leading to a nice garden. We normally eat only once in a hotel restaurant. But the food was very good (and fair prices, also for decent wine list), so we ended up eating there several times. I had beef w truffle sauce, panfried foie gras with some fruit glaze, and lobster on separate meals. The restaurant was generally full, always a good sign. The small town of Brantome itself is also worth visiting, especially on marche day. The marche is not large, but we bought some excellent roast quail, bread, cheese, boiled shrimp and picnicked in the park, which is surrounded by rivers. Moulin was probably the best one star, out of six we went to. It may be 40 minutes from Sarlat though.

This is something neat that I discovered. You can pop corn in an all clad pot without any oil. Put in the corn, fire up to medium-high heat, shake a bit. You don't really need to shake it that much. Make sure the lid is almost but not fully closed so the steam escapes). In a couple of minutes, the corn pops. I get almost 100% popped kernels, no burning. I then put some melted butter in and salt.

I tried this recipe from a new sushi cookbook by this woman who used to work at Nobu. Sear a ny strip till rare, plunge in ice water to stop cooking and degrease. Then marinate it overnight or for couple of hours in 50:50 sake and soy sauce. Slice thinly. Place on top of japanese rice, with some daikon grated with chili, thinly sliced red onions and chopped scallions. Not bad meal at all and no greasy, guilty feeling that normally comes after polishing off a big steak!

My wife and I rented an apartment in paris with a small kitchen a year and a half ago. I went to one of the markets in the 5th or 6th (Maubert?) and we were able to buy live scallops and live langoustines at pretty reasonable prices (<$10/lb?). You can't help but wash the scallops bit because there was sand in them and you have to remove the guts and slime. After cleaning, we just panfried the scallops together with the coral in butter and a little salt. We steamed the langoustines. We ate them with a fresh baguette, some lemon and a bottle of wine. I had never had live scallops before this and it was really a fantastic simple meal.

My wife and I had a wonderful lunch there last October, on a two week 10th anniversary trip to Provence, Dordogne and Paris. It was the best meal we had, and we had made it a point to eat at a number of michelin one and two star restaurants. (The one star at Moulin du Roc is also very good and very reasonably priced) We had the prix fixe menus, and everything was exceptional. The potatoes and pigeon were good, but the flan starter, chicken cream soup with foie gras and lentils, the tiny madeleines with a molten chocolate center and pear sorbet were especially memorable. The restaurant was full in spite of it being in the off-season (which was not the case with many other rated places). Service was also excellent and they cheerfully gave me an extra helping of pear sorbet after we had settled the check.