On the road again

Bonjour to my small band of intrepid readers.

I haven't been updating much lately largely because of my first book project for a great (and hitherto unnamed) publishing company on chefs around Europe. This has meant much planning, travelling and writing, alongside my very demanding day job, which makes my life a bit hectic and tiring at the moment. But it's all for a good cause and soon I'll be able to reveal more details on this project which I think will surprise more than a few people and will most certainly point my life in a new direction. Everything has been possible thanks to those who believe in me despite my laziness, lack of concentration and general recklessness in life. For once, hopefully, I haven't screwed things up. Wish me luck!

Two great New England restaurants mix it up ( Myers + Chang , Central Provisions)

Being from one side of the Atlantic and living on the other, I'm often wary what to expect when dining out in the US. As a person who has to be up to date on the food world, I'm pretty well informed on what's going on in New York, Los Angeles and to a lesser degree other cities where I have friends or where there might be some new trend going on, or a hot new chef appeared on some list. Often, the best restaurants are French inspired, pale imitations of great bistros in my hometown of Paris, so I tend to shy away from Gallic grub of any sort. This time around, two places caught my eye. The first, Myers + Chang drew my attention, and after a bit of research seemed my kind of place. The iconoclastic chef owner Joanne Chang, is a local TV celeb chef, is a baker by trade, and before that a Harvard trained mathematician, and her husband Christopher Myers, a local restaurateur. The spot, located in a somewhat post industrial/hip neighbourhood in the South End of Boston, has a buzzing bar, communal dining space and a few tables strewn here and there, all full of people sharing dishes and looking happy. There was a good mix of families, hipsters, local folks, foodies all tucking into a menu composed of a mash up of Thai, Chinese, Taiwanese and Vietnamese comfort food. And it was gooood. Generously portions, affordable , accompanied by local craft beers. The Tiger's Tears and Green Papaya Slaw were faithful renditions, but the General Myers' Chicken Wings, glazed in a deep, earthy orange sauce and just spicy enough and the Chicken and Ginger Waffles with sesame honey butter really hit the spot, especially with a chilled can of Rhode Island Narragansett.

The second place, Central Provisions, opened up early this year in the seaport area of Portland, Maine, a hour and a half's Amtrak ride up the New Hampshire and Maine coast. Located in a period brick building, the restaurant is comprised of a few tables and a bar along the open kitchen. Recently chosen as the 6th Best New Restaurant in the USA (and the only one in New England) by Bon Appetit magazine's Andrew Knowlton, I thought I'd give it a whack, as I always trust his friendly judgement. A couple days after the announcement, they still seemed very calm, so I'd go now if you want to sample this walk in only hotspot. BA especially noted their crudo style cuisine, with lots of raw and sashimi like dishes (Gould once worked at Boston chef Ken Oringer's Uni Sashimi Bar) and the menu is comprised mostly of small plates meant for sharing. Their sea bream ceviche with kumquat, rhubarb and puffed rice won dish of the year 2014.  We burned through a number of small plates, some of the best of which were local heirloom tomatoes with burrata, tuna crudo, spicy beef salad with LOTS of peanuts and not a whole lot of beef , their famous bread and butter (fresh bread with a giant farm egg yolk reconstituted and mixed with nasturtium butter) , forgettable "spicy" fried potatoes, green curry lobster toast , and a selection of local (Vermont?) cheeses with candied dates. They have a nice little selection of local craft beers, and wines are mostly Spanish, Italian and Austrian. Pretty much the perfect lunch and a quick rail journey from the family compound in SE New Hampshire.

Bob's Bake Shop

I think my new HQ might just well be the latest and greatest project from Bob's Juice Bar head honcho Marc Grossman. His new place, Bob's Bake Shop is a spacious, well designed eatery (eat in or take out) located in the new Espace Pajol just across from the train tracks in a pretty barren (but surely up and coming) part of the 18th. Aside from his great cold press juices, this open daily spot has  light organic fare such as salads, fresh American style cakes, coffee from the Belleville Brulerie, small production beers, and get this, the ONLY hand rolled bagels (sesame, poppyseed, onion) in Paris, to which I can attest are the best I've ever had. Run my bobo friends , run to the coolest new café in town.

Bob's Bake Shop

12 esplanade Nathalie Sarraute, 18th 

Blue Valentine

The neighbourhood where I've lived for the past few years has gotten its fair share of press and has a plethora of restaurants to choose from, but these addresses are surprisingly bereft of interest (with a few and growing exceptions). Canal-side I find myself going back to tried and true favorites: Holybelly for great coffee and Frenchified Anglo breakfasty comfort foods, Philou, for quintessentially great and simple bistro food with eminently quaffable natural wines, The Cork and the Cavan for the occasional pint (they have the best Guinness in Paris, FYI) and selection of local characters at the bar, and now, Blue Valentine.

Blue Valentine is a quirky little place in a quiet street hidden behind the Canal quays with a chef (Terumitsu Saito) who trained at the Mandarin Oriental, Paris among other places, and his all-Nippon brigade turns out dishes that are like textbook studies in French classics, all rigorously seasonal, and although not surprisingly inventive, this table is a great addition to the new wave of tables from Japanese ex-palace/Michelin star establishment workers.

I had a crunchy asparagus dish wrapped in laser thin lardo followed by an astounding slow cooked lamb dish with white beans that staved off the chill in the air yet almost made me long for the winter again. Lunchtime menu is currently Paris' best value at under 20€. Make the trek.

Coretta, Paris

I'm often drawn to unlikely restaurants in out of the way areas, eclectic locations with chefs still trying to prove their mettle, in hastily decorated dining rooms, before the world gastro-press jumps in and with the press of the enter button, make it all but impossible to get it. I like these places pre-buzz. The exciting tables before the excitement.

Coretta is one of these interesting little places. Located on the edge of the trendy Batignolles quarter, overlooking the Martin Luther King parc that would have been the location of the last Olympics game if Paris hadn't failed on their bid, this shiny new duplex is one of the better places to have opened lately in this neck of the woods.

Coretta, named after King's wife, is the brainchild of Beatriz Gomez, who trained at the Michelin starred Grande Cascade before leaving and setting up shop in a forgotten corner of the 8th arrondissement at Neva, which quickly garnered a Michelin star for its delicate, original cooking.

The reasonably priced menu (24 € limited lunch menu or 33/39€ for two or three courses) offers dishes such as homemade foie gras with pommelos, brioche and demi sel codfish with pickled vegetables. Cooking is precise, products well sourced and the wine list predictably natural. Go on a Monday when Beatriz is freed from her duties at Neva and cooks here. And make sure you order the cinnamon bun dessert in advance (we didn't :(   ) , because it takes 45 minutes to cook. And go before the whole blogosphere and Condé Nasties blow it up.

Moving forward

Cher followers, forgive me for having neglected you, I haven't been updating much lately because of a personal project that has come to fruition and which is taking up most of my (limited) free time with frequent travel to the far corners of the earth. That being said, I will try to keep you all up to date on the Paris restaurant zeitgeist with a bit more regularity (that won't be hard given my recent meagre efforts!), and I promise you that ze project, a beautiful book with a very well known publisher will be worth the wait.