Barbra Austin
Daily Porn: glace aux pruneaux
Aug 25th
Daily Porn: macaron aux framboises
Aug 18th
Blogger Buzz: Le Chateaubriand
Jul 28th
It isn’t you, it’s me.
Don’t get me wrong. I understand why many people love Le Chateaubriand, and there are many things that I like about it myself.
I like the minimal, retro room, with a real or faux patina (I’m not sure which, and I don’t care). I like the waiters who are generally professional, efficient and, quite frankly, hot. I like the hip wine list. I like the price – 45 euros for a five course meal. I like the fact that you can show up late in the evening, and if you are willing to wait a little while, get a table without a reservation.
I also like the way Inaki Aizpitarte’s food looks. The colors are odd and bold and there’s something painterly about the presentation, many plates looking like still lifes or botanical illustrations of spindly leaves and rare roots, completely natural and unnatural at the same time.
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Blogger Buzz: Spring
Jul 20th
I never ate at the first Spring, so I didn’t really have any preconceived notions about what the new Spring would be like. That’s not exactly true: I have met Daniel Rose, visited the boutique (which certainly represents the Spring ethos), and read plenty about the old Spring. But with the exception of a superb ceviche whipped up for the Paris by Mouth launch party, I had never eaten anything made by M. Rose until last Friday night.
I’m not going to give a play by play of the meal, though I could; describing food that looks and tastes this good is a pleasant exercise. What I’m going to do is tell you a few things that I liked about dinner at Spring.
First, the space. For me this is a strange place to start since, at the end of the day, I don’t really care what a place looks like if the food is good. The beautiful and costly renovation of the 16th century space on rue Bailleul has resulted in something totally modern while leaving most of the original architectural details in place.
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Blogger Buzz: Surf ‘n’ Turf at Chez l’Ami Jean
Jul 16th
Vegetables were delightfully scarce at my most recent meal at Chez l’Ami Jean, a series of dishes based almost entirely on the flesh of animals, four-legged, winged, finned and antenna-ed.
We ordered the €60 menu “carte-blanche”, putting ourselves in chef Stephane Jegos hands. The rosy crawfish soup that kicked things off was straightforward enough, with sweet green peas and tiny croutons floating around in the current. After that, though, came a dish of cod with foie gras, the white fish turned green by a bright parsley sauce and taking us into Dr. Seuss territory. A few favas played around the plate, and a strip of chorizo laid across everything, a colorful garnish, yes, but not superfluous, its salty heat actually seasoning the other elements.
>Continue reading at Barbra Austin
Daily Porn: baba à l’armagnac
Jul 14th
Blogger Buzz: Café Tolo
Jul 8th
The words “cuisine factory” are written on the façade of Café Tolo, odd since it is a small place doing something close to home cooking. At lunchtime, though, this is not so far from the mark. Almost everyone orders the formula (at €12 for two courses or €15 for three, why wouldn’t they?) and the lentil salads were coming off the line in a way that would make Henry Ford smile. I quite liked that salad, doused with vinaigrette and covered with pink slips of a terrine of pig’s head. (This might sound more appetizing in French, I realize.)
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