zeitoun

I was in the area recently and had planned lunch at "Le Panier des Quatre Saisons" in Chamonix which my sister who lives in Geneva had recommended. It turned out to be closed for lunch that day . We ended up driving across the tunnel to Courmayeur (Italy) in the beautiful valley of Aoste and spotted a little place where a whole bunch of Italian truck drivers were having lunch. A nice find called "Trattoria La Padella", here is what I ate: Creamy polenta with sausages, buonissimo!!!

He's saving up for a bicycle. ← He'll be too busy in the kitchen! Let's see...we already have three bicycles at home (no kidding), so that's makes one for me, one for my wife, and one for you! I think we already have a pretty solid business plan...

I think that the main factor behind the growing success of many ethnic foods in the US such as Chinese, Indian or Thai is that it has succeeded in making itself compatible with the almost quintessential idea of what an American meal should be: affordable, quick and easy. I am somewhat convinced that the reason why some ethnic cuisines have become popular in the US is because they found a way to prosper on the fast food/delivery scene. I agree with Farid that the interest in NA food exists, there is no question about it. So I am pretty sure that if someone came up with the idea of couscous delivery in New York for instance (Farid? ), there would be a huge following. Couscous delivery is big business today in Paris for instance, check this out. May be not the best way of featuring the wonderful world of North African cuisine, but at least this is one way of getting rid of the belly dancers and reaching out to a wider American public.

I find the Japanese food scene in Paris quite interesting actually and agree with you that Paris is still one large step behind when it comes to quality and variety. I find this surprising knowing that Japanese culture and society as you pointed out has left for many years somewhat of an imprint amongst many Parisian circles, yes in food but mainly in the arts and in fashion. Up until recently, and especially in the late 90’s, there was a growing trend in Paris for everything Japanese, Parisians flocked to see Takeshi Kitano’s movies, read Murakami’s novels, shopped at Yamamoto or Issey Miyake, ate at Nobu (which failed miserably btw) and had tea at Toraya. This is a gross generalization of course and certainly not representative of Paris as a whole but it is undeniable that there was a point in Parisian life where Japan was cool and in fashion. Conversely, France and French food culture also has had for many years an intrinsic appeal in Japan, many Japanese chefs have come to train in France and have also set up shop there. The best example of this is Sadaharu Aoki who owns one of Paris’ most illustrious pastry shop. So if the nexus does exist, why is Japanese food in general of such poor quality? In the last 5 to 10 years Japanese restaurants have multiplied throughout the city at disconcerting levels. When I was younger and still Parisian at the time, Japanese restaurants in the city were almost all upscale and expensive. Today it seems that every Parisian street has along with your typical boulangerie, boucherie and primeur a small joint serving (quite distasteful in my opinion) yakitori and sushi. A sudden surge in Japanese immigration certainly does not explain this phenomenon since close to 90% of restaurants serving “Spécialités Nippones” today are owned by families of Chinese, Vietnamese or even Filipino origin. So I wonder, can this be one example of how local (in this case Parisian) popular demand has shaped the Non-French food scene in a specific part of France?

Great!! This is a treat to any New Yorker... a blog from New York's irreplaceable "good and affordable" food pundit. I can't wait to get on this great tour of the city...

Not a theory but a few observations: In cities such as New York, Detroit or LA and SF, which have sizable Arab communities, the lack of immigrants is obviously not the primary culprit. In New York alone, the population of North Africans and other Middle Easterners is growing rapidly (the Arab community is one of the fastest growing in America) and many recent immigrants have opened food related businesses. Most of these businesses though still cater to their own local NA or ME communities and are located in remote places such as Astoria in Queens or Bay Ridge in Brooklyn. They still haven't opened up geographicaly. There are on the other hand quite a few North African restaurants in busier Manhattan quarters, but I consider them more "themed restaurants" than North African dining spots. A trendier and more exotic/ethnic version of Hard Rock Cafe if you will that is all about the scene (decor, music, belly dancers) than the quality of the food. There is in my opinion an urgent need to change this misleading image of North African food culture..

My wife and I got our wedding cake from Fauchon last year. They do a pretty decent job. We tend to find pastries in NY way too sweet in general, so we must have sampled dozens of "upscale" places before we settled for Fauchon. Most of what we saw or tasted was 95% of the time too sweet or just plain tacky. The downside to Fauchon is that it is expensive ($15 to $20 a head). One observation I made at my own wedding is that people tend to care more about how the cake looks than how it tastes. Lots of oohs and aahs when the cake makes its appearance however by that time, most of your guests are generally either full, drunk or on their way out... Another place we liked was www.lovinsullivancakes.com/

Thanks for putting this together for us Nadia! My last time in Beirut dates back to 1997 so the downtown area back then was a huge construction site. My younger sister who goes back every summer to visit her in laws (out of 6 siblings, she's the only one who married a Lebanese!), tells me that it has changed dramaticaly in recent years, and it certainly shows on the pictures you posted. I'm looking forward to reading and seeing more!!

If you're going to Avignon I would most definitely recommend going to Restaurant Christian Etienne. We have had the excellent "Menu Tomates" a couple of times now. See Duncan's Christian Etienne write up from a couple of years ago, or the restaurant's own website. ← Thanks for the heads up, i'll keep it in mind..

Foul moudammas is also common in Lebanon. Labne with olive oil and bread is typical also. Not sure if this is typicaly lebanese but in our home we also ate for breakfast: Shanklish - the cheese - if available or Shanklish, as in the diced Feta/Tomato/onion/parsely mixture with bread and olive oil. Or some bite size mana'ich, the oven baked dough topped with a zaatar/olive oil mixture.

Good thing you mentionned it, I am planning a trip to the area for sometime in the fall (most likely Avignon), I am considering dinner at L'Oustau one night. Have you been recently? Given there 2 star rating, what is the food like? Somehow still "provencal" or a little more modern/upscale?

Thanks for the info, since I doubt i'll be going to Peru or even anywhere near there sometime soon, I guess I'll have to wait until it is imported in the US to try it!!!

Mariana - Thanks for your insights, I guess this is lucuma? During my short visit, I don't think I came across this fruit. What does it taste like and more importantly, how is it eaten/used?

Do not miss the countryside! The Camargue region is absolutely splendid.. Some places I recommend are Les Saintes Maries de la Mer, Aigues Mortes and Saint Gilles du Gard. As for food, I can't help much since my last visit to the region dates back to 1990 I think, I was still a young lad then. My Pops was footing the bill, so he picked all the restaurants This website though will give you an idea on the region's various food specialties.

Welcome back Nadia! Please tell us more, any food highlights? Little anecdotes to share with us? Pictures? Going to Lebanon to visit family and friends requires lots of preparation: I remember the daily lunch invitations (never just lunch but a feast!), then the endless dinners that would normally start at 11pm! To avoid PTLFS (Post Traumatic Lebanese Food Syndrome), I also had to forget about Lebanese food for a while..

Txakoli maybe?

I usually do not celebrate, pretty much these days for the same reasons Farid mentionned. Nevertheless, one of the French bistros on my street in NY organizes something every year. They shut the street to traffic, dump tons of sand and set up some kind of Petanque tournament. This is all accompanied of course by a fair amount of food and drinks. Never thought of participating, but I might this year if I have nothing else planned that day, just for the hell of it.. Sorry to hear about your mother Farid, bon courage..

Or trained to carefully wipe down the bottle with a napkin before serving...This is blatantly ignoring the very basics of wine service.

I spent ten days in Peru two years ago doing pretty much what any good tourist would do, Puno and Titicaca Lake, Inca trail/Machu Pichu and Cusco and a little bit of Lima. My wife and I both thought that cuy was one of the best things we ate there, and to echo a previous post, it is somewhat reminiscent of frog legs, kind of stringy but very moist and delicate! If you get beyond the idea that without the cute fur it does look like a rat, you'll be just fine. We had it in Cusco in a restaurant located right off the Plaza de Armas, in a small street just a few meters up from the Iglesia de Triunfo. The market located near the train station is also pretty cool, there we bought lots of coca leaves which we brought back with us. Back home we had our fair share of mate de coca each night!! Ceviche which is a specialty of the coast obviously is like nothing else i've had in the US, a nice sour "zing" with a little spiciness. We tried two places which we stumbled upon in Miraflores and we liked both of them. Another great thing to look for are the small lunch joints frequented by the locals (which we ate in a lot in Puno and Cusco). They generally serve what they call a "Menu" which would normally consisit of a soup, entree and dessert all for no more than 3 soles (a buck fifty nowadays?). A great bargain and good food in general. For snacks we ate lots of dried corn, we just didn't realize how much variety of corn there was, all kinds of sizes and colors, quite amazing. Peru is beautiful and a great place for people who love good food!!!

I agree with your Bay Ridge recommendations, nothing beats it really in the city. Steinway Street is indeed changing rapidly, it is now mostly Egyptian and Levantine. I recall having a decent couscous somewhere there two years ago, can't remember where exactly though. But to echo chefzadi's coments, take advantage of Paris, there you'll find the best couscous outside of North Africa.

Good point, I didn't even think of that! When I think of this meal in retrospect I almost feel that to enjoy and understand it fully, one would have to experience it more than one time. Throughout this meal I felt that my palate was playing sort of a guessing game, trying to identify flavors, textures and understand the nuances of each dish. For some reason while leaving the restaurant, I felt like I had watched the first act of a really good play and left during intermission. I didn't quite get to the bottom of it!! Having said this, I certainly wouldn't mind having the same menu again either...

I had dinner once in Albany last winter on my way back from a ski trip. I can't really say much in terms of where to go but more on where not to go. We ate in a French/Continental (that is how it was described to us) restaurant called La Serre, which according to the locals is one of Albany's classier dining spots. It was horrendous: thick and salty sauces everywhere, overcooked meats and fish, mushy and tasteless vegetables. Having said this, since I pass through the area somewhat frequently whenever I decide to hit the NY or VT slopes, I will be following other members' responses with interest.

By all means please do! As I mentionned at some point in my post, my wife and I unfortunately misplaced our dining notes which made it quite difficult for me to put this post together. I'll be looking forward to reading your comments and observations.

That looks quite yummy, i am craving for good Italian. My last experience with Italian food in NYC was at Petrosino on Houston St. two weeks ago. Very, very unhappy. thanks for the nice report!

If you really want to stick to Paris proper, there is also a comprehensive listing of all Parisian Parks and Gardens here. It mentions in its list the Jardin des Serres D'Auteuil which is really beautiful too.