This is a continuation from my Parisian vacation that took place in late May 2010.
Menu on the window
Monsieur Jacques Genin, how I have read so many good things about you. I have read you have ruined people after they ate your made-to-order millefeuilles and your exquisite caramels. Oh, the temptation…and I cannot resist delectable sweets. I made a pre-dinner (yet to be reviewed) stop during the late afternoon after extensive shopping with HC.
Hearing good things about Maialino, I cannot help but make a reservation during Restaurant Week when I found out they are participating. It’s inexpensive compared to what one would pay for lunch, as most of their pastas hover in the upper teens, as the main courses are in the twenty dollar range. And it’s run by Danny Meyer’s restaurant group, generally speaking over my many years of eating out, a bad experience is rarely encountered. I’ve asked three friends to join me and we’re all hungry, anticipating greatness as to what Chef Anderer’s kitchen has in store.
Views of the dining room
Entering the dark lobby of the Gramercy Park Hotel yet as I’m into the bar area, the bar and dining area are bright and rustic with dark walnut wood. It feels pretty cozy.
Meatopia. I would describe it as Big Apple BBQ but smaller (it’s on Governors Island) and arguably, a bit more chaotic as I’ve observed over time. But at least the weather was glorious for grilling, socializing and barbecue. I left my house early to meet up with my eating companion to Governors Island for three reasons.
My Meatopia tickets and pass
*1) It’s always packed with a ton of hungry masses (it’s publicized by the big media venues like NY Times, Time Out New York, etc.) and (2) food always runs out early. (3) And hell, pictures are better with less people in them.
Here are my highlights (and the least liked) of the 25 restaurants and pro barbecuers (and there were other vendors, will note) from this event:
The evening of the epic chocolate tour and pastry tasting, HC and I had early dinner reservations to Fogón. My dining plans in Paris were essentially trying to get a taste of everything and I hoped to get my lips around some good, creative Spanish food. Granted, we’re not in Barcelona but it’s close enough compared to New York City.
Before we parted ways from Gilles Marchal, he told me that he knows the co-owner of Fogón, Vanina Herraiz. (Gilles was a former pastry chef at the 2 Michelin-starred restaurant Le Bristol for 8 years before joining La Maison du Chocolat and chefs have their own community and familiar with each others’ work.) Whilst HC and I were relishing on La Maison du Chocolat’s beautiful chocolates and eclairs, Gilles made a bunch of gift bags for us and one specifically for Mrs. Herraiz (Alberto is her husband is the executive chef and co-owner of this establishment, while she develops the dessert menu and manages the front of the house). His instructions were to give this particular bag to her, via the reservationist or waiter, and we should get a cocktail or something.
When you go to any French brasserie in the world, whether it’s in New York City or Paris, the dish that one would always find on their menu would be steak frites. Scouring through Paris food guides like Clotilde’s Edible Adventures in Paris and Paris Chowhound, I ended up reserving a table at Le Bis du Severo.
Le Bis du Severo
Le Bis du Severo is an annex to Severo, both restaurants are owned by a former butcher from Nivernaises who is passionate about his meat. The interior is sort of retro-modern with the black and white checkered tile floor, burgundy red banquettes, and a small zinc bar up at the front. Continue reading “Beef-centric Dinner at Le Bis du Severo” »
The past week, the kind people of Tortuga Rum Cake shipped me a bunch of their wonderful rum cakes as gifts. Flavors ranging from their Original to the more exotic flavors like Orange, Banana, and Blue Mountain Coffee.
Coconut Rum Cake
A few of my favorites of the bunch were the Coconut, Blue Mountain Coffee and the Key Lime rum cakes because of it’s amazing balance between the potent flavor of what the cakes are (like coffee tastes like real coffee, not the artificial flavoring crap) with their own rum. They’re moist, fine-crumbed, and dense from being soaked in rum and its flavoring.
Coffee Rum Cake with Homemade Milk Chocolate Black Pepper Ice Cream
For those who would like to have a daring dessert pairing, why not use Tortuga’s Blue Mountain Coffee Rum Cake and whip up a batch of homemade milk chocolate black pepper ice cream? (I used the recipe from David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop.) It results in the idea of mocha with rum as a background flavor and taste the floral, slightly spicy bite as an end note from the hand ground (by mortar and pestle) black pepper.
Key Lime Rum Cake with Homemade Virgin Mojito Sorbet
Or play along with the Key Lime rum cake’s flavor with a homemade mojito sorbet. I made the virgin version just because I prefer to avoid the liquor overdose for my family dinner.
I’m putting my Parisian vacation experience on pause for now, to bring us back to NYC in a more current time setting.
Scenes from different rooms
On Thursday, June 24th, I attended the 4th Annual NYC Food Film Festival: Brad Farmerie’s Southeast Street Food Asian Market at the Astor Center. It’s an food event featuring dishes based on the evening’s theme from NYC-based Asian restaurants Double Crown, Betel, and Kampuchea, Public and an unknown Brooklyn restaurant, Mrs. Kim’s. Signature dishes for this particular evening were: Public’s Pig’s Blood Popsicle, Double Crown’s Tendon Meatballs and Dessert Burrito, Mrs. Kim’s Squid Chip Fry & Tasting, Betel’s Popiah, and Kampuchea’s Ginger Balls Numpang Sliders. There were many other dishes served so one cannot be hungry at the end of the night.
Signature dishes of the evening
It’s a fun evening of foodies and food short film lovers.
For more photos of this particular event, please see my Flickr photo set CLICK HERE.
When you read books (like David Lebovitz’s memoir on his experiences in Paris) or talk to the French about where they shop for food, namely their daily baguette, they say stick within one’s arrondissment.
Taking that idea, I found out that HC and I were staying very close to Arnaud Delmontel and it was our quick breakfast destination for two days straight. What makes Demontel notable was the fact that they won 1st place for their baguette (La meilleure baguette de Paris) in 1997.
The day I went to La Maison du Chocolat‘s factory in Nanterre, I thought I was Charlie from Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” The obvious differences were that I am an adult woman and I will not get a lifetime supply of chocolate (sadly). I would be, however, be bestowed by the presence of La Maison du Chocolat’s Creative Director, Gilles Marchal for pretty much the entire day.
Think of it as a fashion equivalent of meeting Chanel’s current head designer/creative director, Karl Lagerfield. Both design their products for their luxury brand, collaborate with the heads of their individual departments (in fashion: accessories, clothes, shoes, etc., collaborate to carry out the company’s vision), and they do create seasonal lines.
Pristine factory
Getting up bright and early, I waited at my hotel lobby for Gilles, surfing the web getting posted with what’s going on beyond Paris with my iPhone. When it’s about 6:30, a Frenchman dressed in a cropped trench coat, white button down, and jeans, walked in to speak to the concierge looking for me. I got up and we made our formal introductions. He struck me as a calm, very friendly and laid back person.
Getting into his car, starting our car ride out to LMDC’s factory in Nanterre, driving through the then-quiet streets of Paris (a rare sight to see) passing through the Manhattan-looking La Défense and soon enough, we’re right in front of the factory.
.) It results in the idea of mocha with rum as a background flavor and taste the floral, slightly spicy bite as an end note from the hand ground (by mortar and pestle) black pepper.
on his experiences in Paris) or talk to the French about where they shop for food, namely their daily baguette, they say stick within one’s arrondissment. 
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