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A Crepe, An Eclair, Ice Cream, and LeChartier: More Food From My Adventures In Paris

11 Jul

Home-cooked meals and macaron tastings aside, I spent most of my days in Paris out and about meandering through the city streets, seeing the sights and eating many a delight! Below are just some of my many memorable food finds…

1. A damn good crepe. Square shaped (actually, it looks very much like a sting ray). Stuffed with champignons (mushrooms), tomatoes, and cheese. The actual crepe dough was bubbling deliciousness, so savory so perfect.


I ate my crepe at a restaurant called “Le Menhir,” a little fondu place in Paris’s Latin Quarter, a district known as the student area where young people flock to the many bistros, cafes, and funky shops.


2. An eclair. A coffee eclair. An eclair filled with coffee pastry cream and smeared on top with a coffee glaze. Uh, so good. Eclairs can be found at pretty much any patisserie or boulangerie anywhere in France, and let me tell you, I walked into every patisserie and boulangerie that I saw. Chocolate or coffee eclairs are the standard, but vanilla and pistachio can be found in some places as well.


3. Ice cream. Oh, ice cream. Glaces as they say in French. Ok, the best ice cream I have ever tasted, and I have tasted a LOT of ice cream in my life, was from Berthillon, a famous shop in Pont Marie area of Paris. The flavor: Caramel-Buerre-Sale. A tiny scoop on a cone. That was all I needed (and usually I don’t say that, I usually want more and more and more until I burst). That one little scoop was pure bliss; I savored every lick. The ice cream really tastes like what it says. Its really is the perfect scoop, even David Lebovitz agrees. Unfortunately I was too busy enjoying my tasty treat to snap a photo. I just could not break away from that wonderful moment.

BUT…I did have more ice cream outside the Luxembourg Gardens. The Luxembourg Gardens are also in the Latin Quarter of Paris and on a nice sunny day, everyone basks in the sunshine with a book or a picnic blanket in these darling gardens.

I absolutely adore this little girl’s hat!

This reminded me of San Francisco’s Dolores Park on a sunny day!

So back to ice cream. A friend of mine recommended this little stand outside the entrance to the gardens on Rue Saint Michel. She specifically told me to go to the stand with the yellow awning (there are 2 stands right next to each other…competition!). She also told me that I should try the lavender flavor.


Yes, it was purple, well…lavender purple. And yes, it tasted like I was eating a lavender plant. Very good, something different. But man oh man there were so many other flavors to choose from. Oh the choices!

4. LeChartier. A famous restaurant in the Montmarte area that is now a historic monument. Opened in 1896, this place is well known and thus extremely crowded. My friend Margot (she lives in Paris now but is originally from Nancy, France) took me there. It was so crowded, the two of us shared a table with another couple and were squashed and surrounded on all sides by more tables. The food is simple and cheap. The menu follows brasserie-style traditions– boiled veal’s head, tripe, tongue, sweetbreads, lamb’s brains, chitterling sausages — as well as some old-time tempters like boeuf bourguignon (braised beef in red-wine sauce). Let’s just say it was definitely an experience to eat at LeChartier.
Bonjour Margot!
This was our dessert from LeChartier. Profiteroles drowning in chocolate sauce. Intense.
And here is just a lovely little painting to send you off…
Le Petit Pâtissier by Chaïm Soutine (from Paris’s l’Orangerie museum)

 

French Macarons: A Tasty Melt-In-Your Mouth Delight…So Who Does it Best?

11 Jul

An ongoing debate exists among the French macaron aficionados: Ladurée or Pierre Hermé? These are both famous shops in Paris that have built quite the reputation for their macarons; people come from all over the world to taste these little treats at these specific shops. So what’s all the hype about?

Here are some of my thoughts:

Ladurée

Just from the outside, Ladurée exudes fine detail and femininity. I gawked in the window only to find people sipping tea with a delicate pastry. Classy.


Inside the shop there was a long line of eager eaters to purchase their macarons among other beautifully designed sweet treats at the boutique. I actually enjoyed standing in line because it gave me more time to admire the art of pastry and choose exactly what I wanted to order.


A box of macarons, mini macarons. Assorted flavors. A gift for the wonderful family who I was staying with. Vanilla, pistachio, cassis (black currant), coffee, salted caramel, lemon, dark chocolate.

“je vous dre un petit macaron caramel si vous plez”
*TRANSLATION: I would like a small caramel macaron please.

One bite is all it takes. So rich but so light and airy all at the same time, all in this one bite. Woah, I instantly feel all gooey inside, like I’m all drunk and silly. I could really taste the care that went into making that one petit macaroon. Yes folks, it was that good. Even the box was beautiful:


The palace of Versailles has a Ladurée shop inside, too, because the bakery made the macarons and other confections for Sofia Coppola’s film, Marie Antoinette.


Pierre Hermé

A tiny shop, very chic, very modern.


Funky shop, funky flavors. Strawberry wasabi, vanilla jasmine, olive oil and vanilla, pistachio-griottine (brandied cherry), chocolate- passion fruit, rose, apricot-peach-safron (my favorite one!)…


Tasting the flavors was more of an adventure with Pierre Hermé. We would cut each macaron in half, close our eyes, and really try to taste the flavors. This little booklet on all of the flavors came with the box and we used it as our reference guide for tasting:


So, who does it best, Ladurée or Pierre Hermé? I say, why not have both? Two great bakeries, two totally different experiences that are both worth the ride.

I like how this blogger put it: “I can’t pick a favorite between the two stores because it’s like picking a favorite ice cream flavor. Sometimes you’re in the mood for vanilla, sometimes you’re in the mood for Gold Medal Ribbon. Both stores make their macaroons with the perfect ratio of chewy to soft and crumbly.”

Upon googling Ladurée vs. Pierre Hermé, a whole slew of bloggers and articles show up. Here are a few that caught my eye:

Parisian Escapades

Ladurée:

O Chateau

Fans of Pierre Hermé:

My Food Sirens II

Parisien Salon/ HipParis



French Home Cooking in the Suburbs of Paris

10 Jul

I feel lucky. I feel very lucky. I feel very lucky to have just spent the last week in the suburbs of Paris, France with a lovely French family. A lovely French family who gave me a bed to sleep in at night, a clean shower, and home-cooked meals. Let’s just say that I have eaten well this past week, eaten well with great company (and don’t forget about the wine!!).

Let us start from the beginning, shall we? I have a friend, her name is Alex (pictured below on the right). Alex is from France.


Alex and I worked/lived together last summer (2009). We worked together in Berkeley, California at a cooking camp for children.

This summer (2010) I went on a 3-week Euro-trip where I spend my last week with Alex and her family in Paris, France. Actually, they live right outside Paris in a town called Vincenne. Just before I arrived, Alex was at her family’s country home where she picked fruits and made jams with them: rhubarb, cassis (black currant), groseille (red currants), apricot, apple, raspberry…

Groseille (red currant) jam

Apparently Alex and her family have NEVER had to buy jam before. They always make it in abundance with the summer fruits from their country home. And every morning they eat their jam on a toasted baguette. What a life, eh?

Rhubarb jam 

Speaking of rhubarb, check out this piece of rhubarb:


It is huge! And green! Totally different than the rhubarb that I am familiar with back in the states. I have made rhubarb jam before, it was red. Their jam is green. “C’est la vie.”


Pictured below is Alex’s mom, Catherine. She is making rhubarb jam and she is literally the queen of her kitchen, my taste buds can attest to that:


Alex recently celebrated her 22nd birthday. Bon anniversaire! (that means “happy birthday” in French). Of course we had to celebrate with good food and good drinks. We had a multi-course meal with a bottle or two of wine for each course!

This multi-course meal, however, was as simple as can be. It all started with fresh scallops. During the winter months, Alex’s family buys fresh scallops, shucks them, and freezes them. Her mom defrosted these scallops over-night in milk so that they would not dry out or smell. A sprinkle of oil in a hot pan with a dash of fresh garlic, sauteed two minutes on each side and these babies are done! Accompanied with a fresh baby spinach salad, I found such joy in the hot/cold, soft/crunchy balance of foods. Mmm summer!


Next, we had a little somethin’ called “tarte tatin,” which is sort of like an upside-down tart. Typically, you see a tarte tatin for dessert, made with fruits such as apples. But Catherine prepared a savory tarte tatin with a confit of ratatouille-style vegetables, topped with slivers of fresh Parmesan cheese.


And with every great meal there is always fresh baguette…


Now lets talk dessert. I sat with Catherine as we picked through a big bucket of fresh red currants, separating stem from fruit.


We were adding these currants to a fresh fruit crumble. Rhubarb and red currant crumble. No sugar was added to the fruit. I couldn’t believe it. Seriously? Yes, why add sugar when you can just taste how good the fruits are as is?


Topped with a pastry crust: 200 grams each of flour, ground almonds, sugar, and butter.


Pat it down and Voilà! We added a little special touch to the crumble by making the number “22” out of the pastry.


And after it baked, the currants just exploded over the pastry top and all that was left was this special “22.” Yum-o! I love the tart fruit mixed with the sweet pastry crust. Really just so simple and not too much sugar.


Now, last year when Alex came to Berkeley, she made this cake that I have since dreamed about all year long. This cake is of the chocolate variety. It is called Fondant au Chocolat and is the best darn chocolate cake I have ever tasted. It only works if you use very good chocolate. There is only about 2 tablespoons of flour in the whole cake. So easy to whip up and so quick to bake. The key is timing and temperature of the oven. Oh how I adore this cake.


Alex’s mom probably could have prepared the cake with a blind-fold on and one hand tied behind her back. It was like a little dance watching her bake with such easy and joy.


Let us meet dad now, yes? Everyone, meet Emmanuel. The wine connoisseur, the grill master, the cheese aficionado, the jokester. This man knows everything and more about French wine. We even tasted a very special red wine that is supposed to be eaten ONLY with really good chocolate (yes, we drank this wine with our fondant au chocolat). Below, Emmanuel grills pork and lamb on the rooftop of their flat.


What a beautiful summer evening, the perfect night for another perfect meal…


Roasted potatoes, perfectly browned…



Special French salt called “fleur de sel.” It’s great for sprinkling as a final touch to any dish…


On my last night in France, Alex hosted a barbecue for friends. On the menu was a simple tabouleh salad: cucumbers, tomatoes, couscous, lemon juice, olive oil. There was also a salad with fresh sliced tomatoes, hericot vert (French green beans), and feta cheese.

Prepping the tabouleh
Tabouleh Salad
Hericot vert, tomato, and feta cheese salad

Alex made a lovely fruity rum cocktail with fresh orange slices and vanilla beans:


And then the meat…chicken and ribs. Dude.

Poulet (chicken)
Alex at the grill
Meeeeeaaaaaat!


Wow, what a week. I really admire Alex’s family for not having “snack” foods around. Not even cereal or oats or crackers. Everything was fresh. Lots of yogurts, fruits, cheeses, and everyday more baguettes appear. After every meal, I would “cleanse” my palate with strong French cheeses. I miss those cheeses already!

Until next time, Paris!

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