Margaret Pilgrim
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Posts posted by Margaret Pilgrim
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I don't know "families". Can you explain? Thanks.
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Someone should mention that perfect ice cream depends on the taste of the beholder. For instance, I have found that coffee flavor ranges all over the map from intense espresso to something akin to molasses.
So I'd ask, what flavors will you seek? Caramel au beurre sale is a darling as is bacon. Repost when you have set your goals. Also, consider if your are looking for soft or firm, with or without a topping. Paris will not disappoint but you would do well to have a plan.
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I am not especially familiar with Daniel Rose or really Aizpitarte either of course, but I cannot picture the latter working at his best (or maybe wanting to work at all) in a very 'formal' kitchen.
Yes, they do have completely different work patterns. In the original location, Daniel has always been 100% hands-on and involved with every plate. Aizpitarte, on our visit, took orders and retreated behind the bar where he held court for the rest of the evening. He never entered the kitchen that I noticed.
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We visited Les Papilles twice during our September stay in Paris. And once again, an excellent meal followed Bertrand's warm welcome. The first evening, the soup was a cool and refreshing cucumber gaspacho garnished with mint, dill, lardons and mini-croutons. The cocotte held rare duck breast with baby potatoes, carrots, snow peas and braised garlic. We opted for some frizzie salad rather than the suggested cheese course so that we'd have room for coffee creme brulee.
On our second visit, the soup-plate was stunning
even before the mushroom gaspacho was added.
Rosy cote d'agneau cut into chops for easy serving sat atop ratatouille in the copper pot. Two chops per person. Tender as love and delicious.
The cheese was St. Nectaire served with salad and fruit compote, dessert was mirabella panna cotta. Lovely and we are definitely "saite". What a bargain at 31€ for the four courses! As usual, we let Bertrand choose wine for us from his interesting collection. (7€ corkage and you can take back to your hotel what you don't finish.)
We can't go to Paris without at least one meal at Les Papilles. We love this place.
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It's a no-brainer, but if she wants a 'once in a lifetime extraordinary vegetable based meal', she should consider l'Arpege. That said, we have found that when we travel with vegetarian friends, particularly if we mention the preference when we make the reservation, essentially no restaurant has failed to come up with delightful and creative dishes.
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My exact notes from August 2008 read:
"Itineraires: Gaspacho (superb!); foie gras with apple butter; lapin with tarragon + celery root puree; cabillaud in nage. Split one dessert: fennel confit with chevre glace. 2 glasses Vouvray; 1 CdR white + 1 croze hermitage red."
The gaspacho was indeed superb: actually, it was filtered gaspacho, or gaspacho water surrounding chopped vegetables with pearls of basil emulsion suspended in the clear liquid. Exquisite.
My husband's foie gras was nothing to get excited about.
Tarragon completely overwhelmed the rabbit, and the cod just sat in its broth.
Even with a description, I can't recall the dessert. What I do remember is that tables were terribly close together, conversation hardly private and service was at a snail's pace. The above very simple meal took well over two hours. There were gaps of over a half hour between courses. I also remember that many selections were served in silly glassware, several martini presentations. And that the menu descriptions didn't reflect what was served, eg, a meat braise served as an emulsion in said martini glass.
I'm sure they have matured in a year, but we've not considered returning.
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I think that chicken is considered a homely dish. In restaurants you will very often see its cousin, the pintade. When chicken is on a restaurant menu, it will often be an AOC bird, for instance a Bresse, and be treated with much respect and given a high tariff. This has little in common with the ubiquitous chicken on US menus.
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....Pascal Beillevaire....I also saw his butter at Marie-Anne Cantin's fromagerie last week....
Aha! Thanks for the good tip.
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It's with regret we announce that longtime contributor Phyllis Flick (Felice) is stepping down as host of the eGullet Forums. The French countryside in the summer has lured her away, and while we'll miss her hard work and expertise as part of our hosting team, we understand completely and wish her well. Our hope is that this will leave her more time to post about the amazing food she encounters there.
Phyllis has always answered my questions kindly and graciously, and I can only think with envy about the bounty she must encounter in the summer in France. Merci, Felice!
I am terribly sorry to read that we will no longer enjoy Phyllis' intelligent and considered voice. Her dining reviews were always on point and her hosting posture consistently measured and light handed. I will miss her.
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Actually, I have never found it. I seem to remember that Roellinger switched to Beillevaire from Bordier before finally purportedly making his own.How do you qualify butter from Pascal Beillevaire?Hi, Margaret, I do not know of this one, at least not through its author's name. Where is it made and where do you find it?
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Consider adding a half cup grated carrots for moisture.
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Vic's is where I used to eat them.Rumaki, the name of which evoked a whiff of exoticism, but which doesn't seem to be of any particular exotic origin--a piece of sauteed chicken liver and half a canned water chestnut wrapped in bacon, held together with a toothpick.Wikipedia suggests that it was probably invented by Trader Vic.
A distant and poor '50s cousin is the smoked oyster, impaled on a toothpick and warmed over a candle accompanied by gin martinis. (You only get sick on this combination once before never ever touching smoked oysters again and gin martinis not for a long, long time.)
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That's a comforting opinion, but after decades of concern for calories and pounds I've discovered it's really a matter of portion control.When I first started meeting other food writers I was surprised to see that so many of the women in the business are so lithe. When I see Melissa Clark (or Amanda Hesser, or Dana Cowin, or I could go on and on) standing around at an event looking slender and gorgeous, I become even more convinced that metabolism as determined largely by genetics is the only secret involved here.We travel a lot, therefore eat out a lot, love cooking at home and in the country, enjoy giving small dinner parties and find that we can and do eat anything and everything that we want in small and reasonable portions. No second helpings, period. Restaurant portions are often enough for two people and when not shared, the excess is left on the plate. We enjoy wine with dinner most nights, but unless we are entertaining we enjoy an excellent cup of coffee and several pieces of good chocolate after a meal rather than dessert. We don't drink soft drinks or beer. V-8 or tea fills an afternoon hungry moment.
No foods are considered out of bounds in moderation. A spoonful, yes, literally one slow and delicious spoonful of ice cream is lovely before bedtime.
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How do you qualify butter from Pascal Beillevaire?
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I am glad to see that John is still contributing to egullet.
Prior to his tenure i used to go to as many new restaurants as I could after doing a lot of research and my satisfaction level was around 60%,but then someone by the name of John Talbot appeared with reviews of most new restaurants.To my surprise my satisfaction level went to 90% after I followed his recommendation.I think that the Paris chapter was lucky to have him.
Word! The best "head's up" on English-language and French press commentary about food in France on the web... or elsewhere ever.
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Since you have an apartment, I would recommend that you do as we did in London some years back when we found ourselves facing few and pricey options for Christmas Day.
Paris shops offer a literal banquet of prepared foods. Visit Galleries Lafayette food hall, Bon Marche's Grande Epicerie and absolutely not least every small shop you notice on your walks. Collect the components of a memorable meal that will cost you a fraction of the same meal in a restaurant.
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I just got some green walnuts at the civic center farmer's market in SF---hopefully not too late. They mostly had rather more developed shells under the green that I've seen in others' pictures. We'll see...
FWIW, a friend of mine claims to have had pretty good luck making nocino with walnuts that have gotten a bit beyond the "stick a pin through them" stage. Hope it works for you.
We have in the past used older nuts with no difference in quality in the finished products. The only qualifier, we have found, is time. Both Vin de Noix and Nocino have unbelievably long shelf life and if kept in a cool dark place will continue to mellow for years. Our 2004 batches are superb now.
I'm not at all sure that more mature nuts would have more tannin. In fact, I think that the tannin might be stronger in the very green immature nuts. IMHO...BTR, I thought my walnuts were a bit more mature than ideal. I'm just going to make sure I don't overextract, since the tannins in the older walnuts will make the final product bitter. Letting the nocino age will help reduce the tannins, also.My recipe says to extract from 6-8 wks, before draining off the green walnuts. I'll definitely be checking at week 6, if not a little sooner.
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Our large ground floor room, across from the main house and with private entrance, king bed, good sitting area, bath and, should you need one, a wood-fired bread oven, was 95euros a night including breakfast. Dinners (30 euros) are by reservation only, not necessarily served every night and certainly not compulsory. They included aperitifs and white, rose and red wines as well as coffee or tea.How much per night? And do you have to have demi-pension? -
You can take the TGV from Paris to Macon but need to pick up a car there or, continuing by train, at Villefranche sur Saone. Pouilly-le-Chatel is perfect for visiting the Beaujolais Crus wine trail north to Brouilly, Morgon, Fleurie, Moulin a Vent, Saint Amour and more. Or the "Golden Stone" villages immediately to the south. These villages are perched literally on top of the world with views seemingly forever, vineyards hugging steep hillsides. These southern wines fall into the general Beaujolais category. Joy ride? Picnic? Taste wine? Have lunch on the terrace at a village restaurant?Sounds interesting.Do you need a car to get there ? any thing else of interest,? -
We have just returned from an all too short stay at Pouilly-le-Chatel in the village of Denicé in Beaujolais. The property has been in the Chavelier family for generations, and the current Chaveliers have created several smart and tranquil guest quarters, surrounded by many comfortable outdoor sitting areas. At the top of the property is a magnificent swimming pool with a view all the way to the Jura.
Bruno and Sylvanie share the cooking of four course dinners several times a week. Their accomplished plates are accompanied by excellent wines from the domaine. Apero snacks of sauteed ravioletti with a hint of curry, sausage in croute, tapenade toasts, starters ranged from a fine garnished gaspacho to a soft-boiled egg with creme fraiche and caviar, and mains included roast duck legs, pork tenderloin and vegetables fresh from the garden. A cheese course had different accompaniments each night (violet syrup was an option with a fresh chevre on evening and was surprisingly good) and desserts were simple and excellent. There were generous amounts of coffee at both breakfast and dinner.
The Chaveliers are wonderful hosts who offer style and comfort and deliciousness at an absurdly low price for the quality.
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.... They only have a few flavors .... But one was Crema di Grom, which is one of their best.
Would you like to describe it? A play on vanilla or creme fraiche or....?
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My quibble would be the timeliness of Bittman's article. A potboiler, perhaps? Not only the nomenclature but the addresses have been around for some time. At least a year or so for most and quite more than that for Les Papilles. This is not news.
I won't get into my disagreement with his assessments.
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Certainly reserve. Price depends on whether you have an aperitif, choose tap or bottled water, what wine you choose or forego, have coffee or not. I would allow $40 - $50 per person with none of the above.Can anyone provide some price information on L'Ami Jean, and tell me whether reservations would be a must? -
Pierre Oteiza Ets is a small shop in the unlikely first block of St-Michel. They carry a good array of canned goods, piments and lovely hams and charcuterie. Very pleasant service.
18, Boulevard Saint-Michel
75006 Paris, France
01 43 25 59 01
Lievre a la royale in Paris
in France: Dining
Posted · Edited by Margaret Pilgrim (log)
deleted because of faulty link