Thursday, July 22, 2010

A Moveable Feast



Two weeks ago I was sent on a last minute business trip to Paris. While it sounds glamorous, trust me... it was ALL WORK and barely any play. I did manage to eke out a few meals at places I hadn't tried last time, and we had Bastille Day off and decided to take advantage despite our exhaustion. Fireworks behind the Eiffel Tower ain't bad after some long days.

One place I didn't get a chance to go to last time was Le Chateaubriand, which was just 2 blocks away from where I had stayed then. Since we weren't getting out of the office until after 8pm anyway, we decided to try for their second seating which is only for walk-ins (after unsuccessfully getting a table at Frenchie who was booked until mid-August). Although their reputation is as much about the trendy clientele as it is the food, the space was actually very comfortable and the staff really friendly (and English-speaking!). Waiting an hour with a red wine in hand on a warm evening with a good friend is not bad at all. The food was incredibly creative and exciting, and I eagerly anticipated the arrival of every dish, something I haven't felt since maybe Le Bernardin or Providence. I would definitely go back next time I'm in town, even if it means eating past midnight again.




Veau d'Hugo, navets, foie de morue


Fraises aux vin, safran / glace au lait ribo, herbes, beurre noisette mmmm

Despite how toursity Le Comptoir is, we managed to eat there twice, mostly out of convenience. The best part about this bistro is that they don't take reservations! It's difficult to plan your schedule when you are working unpredictable hours on an unpredictable business trip. The pig definitely reigns here.






Basket of charcuterie which included the most ridiculously large piece of andouille

Milk-braised cochon that was so tender the meat was at times indistinguishable from the fat; "fried shoes" according to Gigi's misguided translator... petit peas that were not so petit, mushrooms, and fava beans mmm

Here are some other random bits:


Maybe the best scrambled eggs I've ever had at La Maison de la Truffe


Veal carpaccio at Les Fines Gueles, where we discovered that oysters are only in season in the winter; L'as du Fallafel before the world cup final


No trip is complete without a little Pierre! Ispahan and Celeste ice creams, and of course, the ispahan croissant (which I wanted to bring back but we couldn't make it again). We also took multiple trips to Fauchon for proximity (they have a pretty good hazelnut bostock), and Laduree (mmm chocolate + pistachio croissant)

* Some photos are from Gigi's camera, and the ispahan croissant photo is actually from my sister on our last trip. Sometimes eating right away is more important than getting a shot, especially when it comes to this thing of beauty

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Wednesday, July 07, 2010

Too Young to Burn


Sea salt coffee (can easily be made at home), sponge cake tacos! (basically a jelly roll)

Went down to LA for the holiday weekend and Teresa's big fat Egyptian wedding. I was able to squeeze in a few eating adventures, including Church + State right off the plane. I've been to scene-y restaurants, but man... LA just takes it to another level. I also took a little detour to Irvine to try 85 Degrees, which was jam-packed. This will probably be my last trip to LA for awhile, so I had to make the most of it!


I wasn't about to leave without an elusive taro bun, so I braved the 40 min wait for a fresh batch. Their egg tarts had a layer of mochi at the bottom... seems to be a popular trend in Asian bakeries!


Bone marrow at Church + State



No frills at Han Bat Sul Lung Tang


Macaron ice cream sandwich at Milk (watermelon sorbet), cupcake cones were really cute but kind of disgusting. That's ok, they're just for looks

Not pictured: The Lazy Ox because Curtis has no appreciation for food photography!

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