cabrales

Bux, Steve Klc & Steven -- Yes, Bux, the "agneau pre-sale" lamb is intriguing and that is a part of why I am going to Cancale. I'd like to consider how grazing on saltwater marshes and meadows, which would presumably add an element of the sea, affects meat. Also, Roellinger would be an interesting place to sample this lamb because of his use of spices -- how does one maintain the intrinsic flavors of the lamb while still utilizing spices with it? There is a NYT article (Molly O'Neill, March 3, 1996) that mentions agneau pre-sale: "Mary and her little lamb are the perfect pastoral. Animal and shepherd wander the grassy knoll without destination or care, a romantic idyll of innocence and freedom . . . . .The delicate herbaceousness of the meat [of young lamb] is like an edible postcard from the animal's hometown. Young lamb from Provence has the scent of rosemary, wild fennel and thyme. From Normandy, the agneau de pre-sale has a *whiff of the sea*. From Colorado, it tastes of clover and faintly of balsam. From Northern California, there's a subtle hint of wild garlic." Then, I noticed a February 2000 article by John Brunton in the Observer, which provided a number of decent recommendations in addition to the lamb: http://www.learn.co.uk/glearning/secondary...son05/frbon.htm "The rarest and most delicious French lamb comes from the North, and is known as agneau pré-salé. These are sheep that are let out to graze at low tide on the salty grasslands that separate Mont St Michel from the mainland. . . . the savage seascapes around Cancale. . . . Olivier Roellinger . . . creates exotic dishes, such as serving his lamb with *cardamom, sesame* and nigella." If the lamb is on the menu, I'll order it FOR SURE.

I don't know what the whalewatching season in Vancouver is, but that activity can be rewarding (despite the "hit or miss" nature of sightings). Also, Vancouver Island can be nice if you like nature. Friends have mentioned Wickaninnish Inn near Tofino, but I have never visited the island. http://www.relaischateaux.com/site....ninnish

Steven -- You have our community (incl. tommy, of course).

This is worthy of a thread of it's own. There are few things I like more than a short walk in the fresh air after dinner and few things I like less than getting into a car after a long dinner. If I do have to get into a car, I just hope I don't have to drive it and that the driver has had less to drink than I have.. Bux -- I agree this is an interesting question. Even if there were many diners, one would have to sacrifice with respect to wine to drive. I have rarely made that sacrifice in connection with a meal about which I care. An interesting related question is how diners allocate driving after a dinner on the West Coast or outside of NYC or of other areas where cabs are plentiful. I thought about the distance issue recently in connection with L'Esperance. The mill (or Moulin) offered nice rooms, in which we stayed, but the cost was a very quick drive to the main house with the restaurant. While the entryway to the Moulin area was almost across the street from L'Esperance, the Moulin was situated further "in" and would have been an easy 3-4 minute walk. It was Christmas Eve, and the ground was snow-clad; I was cold and had 3" heels on. I declined the walk. On a separate note, we missed the famous Vezelay midnight mass, unfortunately. Ducasse's "farmhouse" Bastide de Moustiers at Moustiers St-Marie is another facility where one can choose closer or further rooms. The Olive Room is beautiful, but it is also close to the entryway to the entire compound, instead of up a tiny hill where the restaurant (not that good, in my book) is. The walk is short -- arguably 2-3 minutes, and it was summertime. So I chose the room that was further away. Same for La Celle. For women diners, having rooms close to a restaurant area is useful. A walk in high heels is not particularly appealing after one has had 1-1 1/2 bottles of wine per person, champagne, digestif items, etc. Also, there might be personal security issues, depending on the size of one's dining party. It's really outdoor walks that matter, not an indoor walk within a linked set of buildings (like one might find at Georges Blanc).

Jeff -- Thanks; I'll try the guinea pig at the next available opportunity (in a while). Perhaps by then, Wilfrid might already have sampled the item and reported. The little ones are described as being "served whole-in-body, pointy ears, cloven paws, razorlike tiny teeth, and all" The author of the article notes: "People who order it know that they want it."

Bux -- Ah, I should clarify my preference for rooms associated with restaurants It appears Roellinger has at several properties, but, for me, the "best" one would be the one closest the gastronomic restaurant. I didn't know there was a navette bus; had there not been one, it would have easier to return to my room close by after the excesses of dinner. All rooms affiliated with Roellinger are booked; perhaps somebody will cancel at the last minute. I have, however, secured a second reservation at the gastronomic restaurant (Saturday lunch) that would not conflict with my visit to Coquillages. The John Dory or lobster with spices sounds quite promising -- I am really looking forward to this now.

Scott -- In case you didn't catch it, Jay Rayner's March 10 review of the restaurant had much (negative) to say on tempo and service: http://www.observer.co.uk/life/story/0,6903,664768,00.html ("The problem is that when the service is as haphazard as it was here, it makes you question the quality of the food. They are only doing themselves down, because almost everything we ate was very good indeed. . . . ")

Steve Klc -- Thanks for your input. Based on it and Bux's mention of spicing, I'll pay particular attention to the spices and report my impressions. And, yes, if there is a curry based appetizer, I'd probably order it in view of recent board dialogue. If the curry element is in an entree, I may pass, as I am not particularly fond of curry

I am already looking forward to this weekend's meals at Roellinger, which I have never visited, at Cancale. I think Maison de Brincourt might be a place for which there is some hope of an "art"-type experience (in the "Chef of the Century" sense) . . . . Any additional input from members would be appreciated, particularly on the choice between Brittany lobster vs. langouste (if the latter is available) at Roellinger. . The place is rather difficult to book, esp. the rooms, which were all occupied when I called several weeks ago (even the ones in the building that is not opposite the main restaurant). Although I have to date secured only one reservation at the main restaurant and one at the bistro "Coquillages", I am going to be in town on standby for another meal at the main restaurant, absent which I would have to console myself at the local oyster shacks (if any) :confused:

See A Balic thread (p. 15) on some Australian and South African spiny lobster observations. The South African langoustes I had tasted very different from those caught within French borders. Dominique (sic) Bouchet's Les Ambassadeurs at the Crillon, Paris, had French langoustes about 3 months ago -- brilliantly prepared (please call before reliance), but mightily expensive. Roellinger's Maison de Brincourt would probably be a good place to have langoustes. There's some other thread with lobster in its thread name as well. Brittany lobsters are, for me, the most yummy. I think they may be included in the grand seafood platter called "Le Plateau" I have prebooked at Roellinger's bistro "Coquillage" in Cancale for this weekend (??). (Note for members: this platter requires at least 1 days' advance notice.) Note that Cancale is relatively easy to access from Paris -- take the TGV to Rennes (2-2.5 hours), and then drive for 30-45 minutes to Cancale.

My unqualified recommendation of L'Astrance, on which there are probably sufficient posts in other threads The ambiance is a collected, confident and "cool" (in a good sense) restaurant, with lush yellow and orange suede against the textured graphite walls and seductive lighting. I would not say the ambiance is lively -- full of joie de vivre, yes, but not particularly lively. (But decor is very personal. For example, some consider L'Ambroisie a romantic restaurant?) On L'Ami Louis, I was there within the last two months. A crisp salad with chevril to begin, and to end before dessert! Very rare for me, you see. However, I saw a two-service large free-range chicken (not Bresse) being served to the table next to me. The first service filled me with the sensations of garlic and was the breast of the chicken, with apparently nice effects on the skin. Then, the thighs. This chicken apparently has to be roasted for 45 minutes plus. Then, for me, only fraises des bois (they were in season) with cream that resembled butter more than most I have had. So L'Ami Louis would be good too, but, for me, clearly less interesting than L'Astrance.

A quick note that certain non-sushi Japanese foods could be taken in with beer as well. For example, Sapporo notes: "The taste of food cooked over a charcoal grill is a perfect match for beer." http://www.sapporobeer.jp/english/who/busi...restaurant.html In mainland China, it is not uncommon for multi-course communal-style diners to be accompanied by Tsingtao or another beer. Sam Adams includes Chinese food as potentially matching beer, although the diversity within Chinese food would have to be considered and certain of the other food categories on the company's website appear dubious. http://www.samadams.com/beer/pairings/ Below are some recipes from Tsingtao with beer as an ingredient (not tried, of course; the shrimp steamed in beer dish sounds decent): http://www.tsingtaobeer.com/tsingtao/recipes.htm

Bux -- Hope you know there are at least two.

Ghislaine Arabian's French cuisine, which once attracted two stars at Ledoyen, has significant beer components. She matches the beer with turbot, with scallops and even with beef. See my description of scallops with beer emulsion under "lunch or dinner in Paris on March 6" under "France" (Yes, the chef is from Flanders.) Articles on Arabian that reference beer include: (1) Bonjour Paris: "Chez [At] Arabian, Biere Blanche de Bruges, Gueuze Kriek and Gueuze Mort Subite are *served chilled in ice buckets* [i didn't witness this; nor did I choose beer to drink], with the same pomp as others serve fine wines. More than 30 beers feature on sommelier David Desbonnet's carte des bieres. *Zeeland oysters* are served with Speck beer and whipped milk; *turbot* and *sole* are roasted with biere de garde and served with onion rings." http://www.bparis.com/newslet....id=1838 (2) AsiaCuisine: "She shared with guests her award-winning signature dishes such as oven-roasted *turbot* with Garde beer and deep-fried onion rings, sautéed *beef* tenderloin with Gueuze beer . . . ." http://www.asiacuisine.com.sg/Nacws/2000/9/669/ tommy -- What do you think about my typing?

Bux -- Ironically, I have Michel Bras reservations I am going to cancel in the next day or so (due to various planning difficulties), even though I have never eaten there. :confused: I have, and will soon cancel, one of the smallest rooms (under 1000 FF) for the night of April 6, Saturday. I have dinner reservations that night, and reservations for lunch on April 7. This is the first (or at most second) weekend Bras will be open following his annual break. If you want the reservations, they're yours (unless, as is unclear in your post, you already have your own)

I suspect tea and chocolate is already a widely explored combination, but I can't recall exactly where I've seen it other than in the wonderful chocolates of Pierre Marcolini, the extraordinary Belgian chocolatier. Have you been to Lyon, or are you going? You should, if you get a chance, try Bernachon's chocolate. I recall his palets d'or as being real sit up and take notice chocolate. Definitely a grown up taste and not for the candy bar trade. And we're going to spend a few days in Lyon at the beginning and end of our trip. Steve Klc -- Was Bernachon's the stall at the Salon that had a woman's dress fashioned from chocolate? I only tasted a tiny bit of their chocolates :confused: I didn't know in advance (not having been a member at the time) that you were one of the patissiers providing the demonstration. The use of the long, large mirror, at an angle, above the stove/working area was quite useful, if I am thinking about the right demonstration area. Unfortunately, I don't remember the exact recipe being demonstrated. Bux -- On the tea/chocolate combination, I don't remember having tasted it at restaurants. Petrus has an earl grey tea dessert on its sample menu (Earl Grey tea cream with granité, macerated golden raisins and currents in a warm brioche, served with Baileys ice cream), but not matched with chocolate. I find the utilization of tea interesting in the smoking of duck and other meats, because of the intensity that certain tea can provide and the range of tea varities. I would imagine the bitterness of certain tea would be appealing with certain chocolate. On Lyons, when is your trip and have you chosen your restaurant targets? I have happily made several visits to profit from the restaurants in the area, including La Maison Troisgros. I have also wanted to sample the chicken in half mourning dish at La Mere Brazier (not yet done), including after the restaurant's recent loss of its sole star.

Steve Klc -- I agree on depth vs. breadth. Here's a rough translation of excerpts from a French article (on www.hotelsparis.fr) that's more helpful and that illustrates a bit better the patissier's use of nuts: "In this impressive buffet, one can choose among a chocolate mousse Saint-Domingue, pistachio cream, pistachio biscuits, a chocolate tart (the ganache (?) reminds one of that of truffles), brownies with crushed pecans, a dessert of almond, walnut and hazelnut, caramel mousse and walnut biscuits with soft caramel inside, a cake of gianduga, a marbled cake, madelines dipped in dark and milk chocolate, and hazelnut biscuits. Among the candy, coated nicely, shaped into a puck or traditionally made and covered with Tanzania chocolate at 75% cacao -- a real wonder. The country that gave its name to the restaurant Il Palazzo is honored -- Hugues Pouget only uses Italian almonds, which he coats in a way so as to render envious even the best napolitains." Below is an excerpt from the site www.parisvoice.com: "a lavish buffet that offers every imaginable variation and degree of chocolate: cakes, macaroons, tarts, mousses, tiramisu, madeleines, brownies and chocolate pain d’epice set off by displays of organic contrasts and complements: ripened sugar cane, cascading mounds of kumquats, tumbling chestnuts and split cocoa pods." The sugar cane and kumquat references in the description here make the buffet sound more interesting than before.

Steve Klc -- Sorry, the descriptions were my summaries of the TimeOut article, some of which is excerpted below: The buffet "groaned with a dozen gateaux, plus eclairs, chocolate-dipped madelaines, chocolate-chocolate muffins, pains au chocolat, chocolate nougat, marrons glaces, chocolate-dipped almonds and candied organge. The icing on the cake is a trolley filled with white and milk chocolate mousse, chocolate rice pudding, oeufs a la neige and tiramisu . . . ." And you're correct on the inattentiveness; not having sampled the buffet, I couldn't describe the buffet items as good or bad. Given my growing list of chocolate-offering places to visit (incl. Herme, Hevin, Angelina, in that order), I doubt I will sample Pouget's buffet any time soon!

Steve Klc -- Was a patissier named Hugues Pouget at the 2001 Salon of chocolate? Pouget might have been exploring the utilization of tea with chocolate, including with Gilles Marchal (?). Pouget has an all-chocolate buffet called "Les Instants Chocolates" at the Il Palazzo Restaurant in Hotel Normandy, Paris. The buffet is offered every Saturday, from 1:00 pm to 5:30 pm, for 28 euros. "Where" magazine and TimeOut Paris Winter 2001/2002 have both reported on this buffet. The latter lists the spread as including, among other things: chocolate gateaux (paired with, separately, banana, rasberry, pear, white and milk chocolate mousse, dark chocolate); candied chestnuts; oeufs a la neige (egg white-based light dessert); madelaines coated in chocolate; dipped nuts and fruit; tiramisu; chocolate rice pudding; mousse; nougat; breads; hot chocolate, etc. Apparently, Pouget was, at one point, the sous-chef for patisserie at Taillevent, and had also worked for Bristol and Laduree (?). Have any members sampled Pouget's creations? Il Palazzo 7, rue de l'Echelle 75001 Paris Tel : 01 42 60 91 20

Bux & Steve Klc -- Here's another excerpt from the WSJ article I found amusing: "I thought of Mr. Hiramatsu 's exquisite amuse-gueule . . . a shot glass filled with consomme and a curdlike, off-white custard topped with julienned black truffles. It was the essence of sophistication; it also looked for all the world like miso soup with tofu, garnished with seaweed. Personal or not, it seemed like a delicious culinary pun to me, n'est-ce pas?" The miso soup visual analogy seems strained. The "royale" (note French origins of this dish) amuse-bouche did not look like miso soup, in that (1) it was served in a small, clear shotglass, unlike the non-clear round bowls with lids in which miso soup tends to be presented, (2) the consumme in the royale was clear, in contrast to certain miso soups, (3) the steamed egg (yes, that is the "curdlike, off-white" material) occupied the entire bottom half of the shotglass, unlike tofu which is usually in small diced cubes in miso soup, and (4) the truffle shards were spiky, unlike the softened seaweed in miso soup. Obviously, tastewise, the royale of truffle was quite different from miso soup too.

I bought a G-M over the weekend, and noted the discordant treatment of certain chefs who have historically played a role in shaping French cuisine: -- Bocuse: As Stephen noted, Bocuse's restaurant is designated an "Institution", with no numerical rating assigned. The explanatory page on the utilization of the G-M guide indicates: "This designation is used for one world-famous restaurant that cannot enter into any category". Some G-M commentary on Bocuse follows (rough translation): "To paraphrase [bocuse], we say that there are only two types of cuisine, the good and the bad. And that of Bocuse is good. It recognizes [food] products, the [method of] cooking is perfect and it's impeccable. . . . The personnel faithful to Bocuse are nice, well brought up and know that the restaurant is a celebratory place for those who choose to go there. And they nurture this joy of living." -- Roger Verge -- Surprisingly, this newly-two-starred (and formerly one-, two- and three-starred) Michelin chef does not even have an entry for his restaurant at Mougins. His hotel is listed as "Le Moulin de Mougins", but that would not ordinarily eliminate the restaurant from the receipt of a rating. See Ducasse's "La Bastide de Moustiers" on the immediately following page in G-M or Pourcels' Jardin des Sens in Montpellier, which have separate entries for the restaurant and the hotel facilities. -- Senderens -- This three-starred Michelin chef only has a 16/20. Some G-M commentary follows (rough translation): "Lucas Carton, la Tour d'Argent, Grand Vefour -- how many restaurants have given rise to such fantasy upon the mere mention of their magical names? . . . How many chefs have, like Senderens, made culinary history? One wants to be able to sense again on the plate the 19.5/20 of fifteen years ago, but the current situation suggests this should be categorized as a historical monument . . . . Reread the G-M of the 80's and be persuaded -- even though that does not affect anything today -- that Alain Senderens is a great chef." (Note the numerical rating in G-M is indicated to be for the food alone. It might be another guide that accords weights as earlier suggested.) Very harsh words for Senderens, given that his cuisine today is, for me, better than Bocuse's cuisine today. :confused: If G-M is categorizing Bocuse as an "institution", it should not completely ignore Verge's restaurant and still be giving Senderens this type of abuse. Bocuse could be viewed as having a special place in French culinary history; however, the treatment of the three described chefs does not appear even-handed.

Blue Donkey Blues -- Steve Klc's thoughts are similar to mine. However, if you are interested in different coffee recipes, consider (1) Vietnamese-style coffee -- there is a "drip" method and the use of sweet, "condensed" milk (this Asian milk itself would be something interesting to sample), and (2) the use of little gelatinous tapioca beads in coffee, which some Taiwanese "bubble tea" places offer in NYC and certain other US cities now (not something I consider tasty beyond an initial novelty value, though).

When pursuing your investigations, consider also checking recipes for braised E-Fu noodles with crab (with which such noodles are more frequently combined).

magnolia -- This time around, unfortunately, I won't be able to join you. I am only in Paris for the weekend, leaving before even an early/quick Sundy dinner on the 24th would be done. :confused: Please let us know, if you are so inclined, your restaurant exploits during the trip.

Steven -- The contrast you point out in the Western vs. Asian approach towards keeping fin fish alive is an interesting topic. Even top restaurants in France tend to receive deliveries of previously-terminated fish. I have not noticed anything lacking in fish at such restaurants, relative to fish in Asian or Japanese cuisine (although it's difficult to compare). It is interesting that a popular preparation of finned fish in Cantonese cuisine is relatively unadorned -- steam it for the right amount of time (not as easy as it sounds), add soya sauce, ginger, spring onions and extremely hot oil to it. This cooking method allows the taste of the fish to come through quite clearly (without any negative connotations with respect to Western cuisines). On Japanese handling of fish, I vaguely recollect the utilization of refridgeration/freezing with respect to select types of fish used in sushi/sashimi after the fish are terminated. Do members have knowledge about the pros/cons of how fish destined for sushi restaurants is handled? Or about what processing steps are applied to sea urchins to make uni taste so much less appealing (at least to me) than fresh sea urchins? Also, if Steven or other members have the names readily available, which Japanese restaurants in NYC might keep live fluke from time to time?