Atabula, holier than thou / food writer hypocrisy

I thought this was interesting and so indicative of the hypocrisy in the food world. The website Atabula recently slammed a number of bloggers and journalists for their rumour mongering just before the launch of the new Michelin red guide in Paris. And while I don't totally disagree with them on some points.....

...this very same website slammed my book, Inside Chefs' Fridges, BEFORE IT WAS EVEN PUBLISHED. That's got to be a first in the French food writing world. I happily accept criticism. But come on guys, wait until the book actually EXISTS.

See here

Stupid selfie in Marco Pierre White's home kitchen

More fridge memories, more to come

I'm back - excuses and promises of insider, back stage stories on the book!

Sorry to have left you once again,

2015 has been the year of my book. The book I conceived and created with Carrie Solomon, INSIDE CHEFS’ FRIDGES. An adventure that took us to nine countries (UK, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden) over the period of a year or so to meet some of the greatest chefs (and coolest people) in Europe (and the world). During this time I’ve heavily neglected this blog and any other writing . The project was all consuming.

Now that the project is over, and most of my work is pimping out this great and unique tome to the general public, I will try to write here a bit and keep this venerable though flagging blog afloat, at the very least to provide you a little bit of an insight to the book and what went into making it.

It’s funny how, when I started this blog over ten years ago, there were only a handful of food bloggers in Paris, and I quickly gained the reputation of being the renegade, the opinionated outsider, both here and on the food discussion boards that helped me educate myself about food and where I connected with others in debates on the subject. That led to a deeper interest and a subject that I started to write about more or less seriously. All that finally led here. A moderately successful blog for jet setting foodie tourists, gastro fans looking for insider gossip and tips. It never really took off, but, in the niche, the periphery of the food world, gained its own interesting little audience, many of whom became friends.

When I started the book, travelling, researching and writing on the days off from my full time job, and before and after shifts, I once again neglected this blog. I’ll try to fill in the gaps, now , so to speak between now and upcoming projects, and thank you if you are still out there somewhere, still reading. I promise more soon, especially insider stories and photos from when we researched the book.

.

HERO, Korean drunk food bar, Paris, / The Show must go on? / Last legs

Paris is going through a bit of a renaissance lately as any quick scan of local food blogs and trendy websites has been telling you over the months. Coffee house trends, so ubiquitous elsewhere have finally come to Paris, as has casual dining in myriad forms, artisanal cocktail bars, and all forms of comfort food concepts, mostly by expats craving what they couldn't get before, or misguided hipster French 20/30 somethings who spent two weeks in Brooklyn and had a visionary idea of something already businessed out of existence in it's originating country (everyone's an expert). That being said, Paris, too often oscillating between fierce, stubborn culinary pride or adaptation of shitty concepts from abroad, has gotten a bit of its mojo back.

With the rise in cool and interesting places and the runaway train of social media platforms, this means that there are more local "insiders" and "experts" covering these places, the vast majority fawning over bagels and avocado toast, and in general, like stated above, "being an expert".

One of the reasons I haven't been blogging much lately is because I abhor being associated with the above pack of mediocre chroniclers (who I predate by ten years on the internets), and because, I think, since the advent of twitter and Instagram, blogging just doesn't mean much anymore. That, and the fact that the vast majority of my time over the last couple of years has been dedicated to an amazing book project that will see the light of day soon, and has been sapping my energy like a sexy vampire mistress. Therefore, I'm debating whether to let this blog just peter out proudly. Go on to bigger and better places. Good writing is good writing right, wherever it appears?

I was musing over all this the other day between bites of Korean fried chicken and shots of shoju at the new Hero place , located on the rue Saint Denis right off of Strasbourg Saint Denis and perpendicular, funnily enough, to a KFC. The neighbourhood, on the edge of the French garment district Le Sentier, and formerly one of the grottier areas in Paris, has been bobofied and contains some of Paris' more interesting places in close proximity (52, Frenchie, Frenchie Bar a Vins, Frenchie To Go, Le Syndicat, etc etc). The fruit of Carina Soto Velasquez-Tsou, Adam Tsou her husband and partner Joshua Fontaine, this narrow two level graffitied bar/restaurant is one of the better concepts to have opened this year, and has hit the ground running, with a great vibe due no doubt to the clientele, comprised mostly of industry people (barmen, chefs, foodie groupies..) and of the culinary vision of Canadian/Romanian/Chinese chef Haan Palcu- Chang, whose fusion-y comfort food very much put their other establishment Le Marie Celeste on the map (Haan, unfortunately, will be leaving Paris soon to "consult" ). The ambiance is clubby and chummy, the cocktails original, the Korean beer chilled and dishes like kimchi mac and cheese, open-faced pork buns, and of course the dense fried chicken satisfying and just what you want at that very moment. Just like this restaurant, which of course draws from the Korean drunk food culture, but doesn't come off as being concepty in any way, just a lot of fun. And where you want to be. Despite the latest wave of foodistas snapping away at every plate on the table next door.

The charming Carina and her delicious chicken

HERO

289 rue Saint Denis, 75002, Paris

contact@heroparis.com

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.

Le BAT, Yariv Berrebi's new Bar a Tapas et Tartares, Paris

One of the more surprising eateries to open up in recent months is this modern spot serving small dishes in a bar space around an open kitchen, wedged somewhere between the Hard Rock Café and Indiana Café (worst "Tex Mex" in Paris). An ovni (UFO) as the French food press would call it, this bar a tapas et tartares has young Israeli chef Yariv Berrebi (formerly of Kitchen Galerie bis) behind the counter live cooking excellent quality produce to crowds of businessmen (lunch), theatergoers (they are open until 11pm weekdays and midnight on Saturdays) and clued up foodies. Prices are reasonable, and although the cooking is (justifiably) a bit less asian fusion than before, Berrebi is an interesting chef to watch out for (although his rapid departure from ZKG was a bit of a shock for some). The 24€ three course menu is a steal.

Heirloom tomato salad

Galician beef, smoked potatoes 

Czech, please: drunch at Sansho, Prague

Prague is, without doubt, one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, but, excepting high end French gastronomy clones and beer halls purveying hearty fare, it has never really had much to draw gastrotourists to its regal streets. But a few addresses are changing the way people think about the Czech capital, and at the forefront is undoubtedly Sansho.

Founded by Brit chef Paul Day, Sansho, a modern little table replete with local media types and Brooklynesque tattooed and bearded servers, is making waves. Day, who apprenticed as a butcher at the age of 13, then who worked for three years at a Chinese butchers, went on to be number two at Nobu London followed by a stint at Nahm, (the first Thai restaurant in the world to gain a Michelin star) with David Thompson, and on to open a private club (failed) in Prague. This failure resulted in him opening his own place.

Thompson's skills in butchering, wok'ing, and roasting, love of and insistent use of local ingredients, and repertoire of South Asian recipes make Sansho an exciting table, especially in the staid, traditional Czech capital. Star dishes such as spider crab sliders with wasabi mayo, tea smoked trout with green  mango, and pork belly (from rare breed Prestik pig) with watermelon are, as Day says, "updating the Czech palate".

Buvette Gastrotheque, another taste of New York in bobo Paris

A very smart idea of a French bistro from New York, reimported back to the mothercountry for easy consumption by Anglo or Anglo seeking hipsters in South Pigalle, Buvette Gastrotheque is a simulacrum, a Kinfolk wet dream of an eatery, a little too perfect, a little too Brooklyn meets Pigalle, but still, I liked it a lot.

Rant over, it’s a comfy, friendly place that serves up old school Gallic comfort food as seen through the eyes of a Yankee chef (Jody Williams) , and it’s very decent, although I couldn’t help thinking “what a great business idea” all the time. The space is all eclectic, with rickety vintage school chairs, bar counter stacked with fresh desserts, a vintage ham slicer, glass jars full of apples.. half of the clientelle seemingly bobo lifestyle journalists and bloggeuses whiling away the afternoon, strutting their Isabel Marant press sale threads while furiously jotting down details in their Moleskins and iPads.

The copious croque Madame, unfortunately sans oeuf (forgotten) was thick and crunchy, smoked salmon and scrambled eggs textbook, ratatouille quite delish, accompanied with fresh goat cheese and the desserts just what the doctor ordered: homemade waffles with fresh forrest berries, tarte tatin with fresh, just slightly sour as it should be, cream. All in all, it did seem a little too much esprit de Village , but sometimes that is just what you need (either that or a cheapass flight ticket to JFK). And plus they're open all day long, and closed only on Mondays.

Les Enfants Rouge (another very good Franco/Nippon bistro)

When a member of Paris' expat food blogging royalty invites you to join him for lunch, you just can't say no. Especially when he takes you to a place a friend of a friend heard of that opened a week ago, in a former wine bar gone south, now creative French bistro run by a young Yves Cambdeborde trained Japanese chef and his wife (he the kitchen, her the front of house), and put it all up in the virtually unchanged storefront in a tiny street in the Nord du Marais, and you have a recipe for success.

This soon to be Figaroscoped and Fooding'd 12 table spot, sandwiched somewhere between the trendy rue de Bretagne and the Marché des Enfants Rouges hits all the right notes: 35€ men for dinner or lunch offering 4 choices for each dish. The amuse bouche was a haddock jelly covered shellfish mousse, and main choices included citrus marinaded salmon coupled with oxtail and celery, a delicious salted codfish quenelle, textbook quality ris de veau and Brittany caught cod with buckwheat risotto and shellfish. Bread was (surprise) not Pain des Amis, but from chef Thierry Bréton. All was comforting, technically perfect (one exception, the cod was a bit salty) , friendly and affordable, and served (slowly) with a smile. Book now before it becomes the new French/Nippon bistro flavor of the month. And, for the moment, make sure you bring cash, as their credit card machine isn't installed yet.

Les Enfants Rouge
9 rue de Beauce, 3eme

The French brasserie comes back from the dead: LAZARE, Paris

The brasserie is part of the world culinary consciousness. Synonymous with the Parisian restaurant scene, French institution has for years now fallen upon hard times, the remaining brasseries reduced to tolerable tourist traps full of loud Americans, or become gobbled up by companies not that different from fast food chains, indeed much of the food is mass produced and reheated to order in the remaining of these culinary dinosaurs. The overwhelming trend of the past decade or so having been in the smaller bistros of the city of light (bistronomy, tables d'auteur, etc), I think that the next trend might well be macro instead of micro: large, bustling easy and accessible places, where one can come any time of the day and eat something fresh and tasty, and I believe that LAZARE in the first of what will perhaps be the next restaurant revolution.

Lazare, located in the Gare Saint Lazare train station (the transport hub for his native Normandy), was opened a few days ago by Eric Fréchon, a chef who made his way from a small bistro in the 90's in a far-flung neighborhood near the park Buttes Chaumont to being a three star Michelin chef at Le Bristol in the space of a decade. His other restaurant, Mini Palais, the pleasant enough eatery located in the Grand Palais monument, is a good staple, but Lazare looks set to break some ground. The lofty brasserie has an open kitchen, center zinc bar and over 100 seats, and is open from 7:30 am until 11pm 7 days a week. You can come for breakfast, a plate of charcuterie (truffled Mortadella) and a glass of wine, or a full blown lunch and dinner. There are generous daily specials priced at under 20€ and a well curated selection of French comfort food favourites of all sort, and , sacre bleu!, friendly, professional service (most of the staff came from the Meurice, Bristol and 110 Taillevent).

A former two Michelin starred chef I knew, sitting at the counter eating a ham and baguette sandwich with a glass of rouge told me, "This isn't just a restaurant, this isn't just something new in the food world, it's a cultural change". Lazare hit all the right notes, and I'm inclined to agree. "I just want to do simple and honest dishes", Fréchon told me during a brief chat, "create a place for everyone to eat something good".

Le Fantome

Funnest opening of the year definitely goes to Le Fantome, the new bar/restaurant/games arcade that opened recently on the corner of rue du Paradis and rue d'Hauteville in the (once again) trendy10th arrondissement. Created by La Clique, a cultish group of young restaurateurs behind establishments such as the Hotel Amour, Le Baron, Chez Moune, etc this spacious retro design space (mucho Formica) is open all day serving pizza by the slice and salads, and vintage games such as Ms. Pac Man and Space Invaders (but sadly no Dig Dug). One of the hottest addresses of the rentrée, especially when their new basement club (a friendlier version of Le Baron) opens with an ambition guest DJ program.

For phantoms of another type, try the excellent Manoir Hantée just next door.

ENCORE, another delicious Franco-Japanese bistro

Daily 25/30€ blackboard menu

One of the recent culinary trends in Paris has been the influx of small Japanese run bistros doing French cooking. Many of these young upstarts worked their way through top of the food chain culinary establishments and struck out on their own in popular up and coming neighborhoods (9th,10th,11th) with modest tables offering up limited choice tasting menus featuring seasonal produce from cult niche purveyors (Joel Thiebault, Annie Bertin, etc) accompanied by natural unfiltered wines. The chef, Yoshi Morie worked for five years in one of the vanguards of this trend, the Petit Verdot, and has now moved on to his own digs.

Encore, opened this summer was happily one of the few places open at the end of August, so I snagged a table and had one of the best meals of the pre- rentrée: 30€ for three delicious courses: a bright, crunchy mussels and cauliflower starter flavored with a vadouvan emulsion (French/Indian spice mix), and main course of monkfish with mixed cooked and raw vegetables (broccoli, burnt aubergine), all dishes doing a perfect job of creating layers of comforting taste and washed down with well chosen wines from our charming waitress. The dessert was the best I've had this season: a violet and fig compote with a Timut pepper sorbet.

Cauiflower, mussels, French/Indian spice mix emulsion

The Sunken Chip, Paris

Post-burger comfort food still has its hooks in the French dining public (an hours wait for a Camion qui Fume burger is proof enough), and although us expat Anglos have been waiting for years for well done quick grub, only a few have got it down pat. The latest, and one of the greatest, is the Sunken Chip, on the rue des Vinaigriers (Vinegar Bottle Street, funnily enough) , just off of the Canal Saint Martin. The tiny place, all white tile, communal wooden counter and smiling employees, is the brainchild of cult bistro Roseval's chef Michael Greenwold and James Whelan,  former Monocle magazine employee and owner of the trendy bar L'Inconnu. The concept is simple enough: a few line caught fishes from the Finnestere region ("the closest we can get to English fish and chips taste", says Michael) from an up and coming small boat fisherman,Thomas Saracco, the all covered in light batter, accompanied by well turned out chips and iconic sodas and beer from the UK. Predictably the place was heaving at the seams with hipsters, curious local neighbors, French media types and yelpers, bloggers and pseudo food writers, many of which didn't even come to eat, but to check in and take photos.

Howie's Homestay, Chiang Mai, Thailand

My recent sojourn throughout the North and South of Thailand (my first) was full of surprises from exceptional expats, although perhaps none as enriching as my short stay at Howie's. The Homestay, located about 30 minutes outside of Chiang Mai is a custom built private villa in the foothills of the national reserve it is off of and was the fruit of seven years of work and many millions of dollars. The gorgeously landscaped site, designed by Thai resident and American architect Bill Bensley (he built the next door Four Seasons), embraces the local Lanna style of architecture and comports a main villas and a few attendant bungalows, a lily pad pond, pagoda and infinity pool with mountain views. The name, a riff on the Northern Thai city's many backpacker hostels, belies one of the most luxurious and comfortable "hotels" in the country. Howie, a Boston born businessman who has been living in Thailand for more than 20 years, is a perfect companion, and the entire complex, including their personal kitchen, fridges, etc are open to visitors. Howie's advice on the surrounding region is priceless and the delicate, generous home cooking from his wife, Jerri, perhaps the best we tasted on our trip. Believe me, it's worth going to Thailand just to experience this.

Restaurant Manger, Paris

I'm always game for a new address, and when John Talbott wrote his highest rated review of the year and called this new table "some of the most interesting cooking since Ze Kitchen Galerie" and Condé Nast Traveller proclaimed Manger as the "best new restaurant in Paris", how could I resist?

Located in the same part of the gentrifying 11th as other foody shrines Septime and Bones, this long and lofty restaurant is spacious and luminous, the staff (many comprised of unemployed people learning the restaurant trade) friendly and welcoming, and the menu, from thirty something chef, William Pradeleix who worked with Darroze at the Connaught and at a Jean Georges outpost in Bora Bora, is nicely turned out, fresh innofensive food for the arty bobos that filled the dining room (3à something PR chicks giving the maitre d' the bise, 50 something photographer with his teenage Justin Bieber mopped stagiere in tow..). Apparently a few high ranking Michelin star chefs have given their input, the Plaza's Michelak has remote controlled the dessert menu, and produce is top notch, but it just didn't hook me: the daily starter of carpaccio of foie gras terrine with strawberries and tiny fava beans was, fine, but unremarkable, the foie gras just a touch boring, the mackerel with corn, mango and coriander served with a side of pilaf rice acceptable, but I just couldn't feel the whizz bang talent my esteemed colleagues detected. And although they are doing good things for people in need,  I'm on ze fence with this one, and Pradeleix is no Ledeuil. Maybe they need a bit more time..

La Haine a Table

An interesting review / rant popped up on Le Fooding's website the other day, in conjunction, I guess, in some way with the Cannes Film Festival, resulting from a meeting at the LA Fooding event, the first in their new series, "Jus de Cervelle" ("Brain Juice"),  a place for "criticism, praise ... to report on the times..let's see if your mouth is big enough".



Self confessed "MacDonald's addict", French actor Mathieu Kassowitz, discussed Table, indie food blogger Bruno Verjus' new product driven place not far from the Gare de Lyon in Paris.


Kassowitz, a perhaps unlikely candidate to discuss food, calls it a subject that is of no interest to him, gourmet cuisine is "like fashion, where you give a kidney to wear something unwearable, the price to pay per gram of protein makes me lose my appetite even before I begin to eat, all that without even talking about these hipsters, elected to a closed off world that only they can understand and appreciate. (kudos for the hipster blast).


He goes on, describing his dinner, drinking a champagne (which he generously shares with the entire staff, other diners, then complains of the price (600€) , which makes him "want to vomit". One wonders why he didn't check the menu before... He says the idea behind Table is "to offer good food in the most convivial of circumstances.. a simple idea that made me want to be generous as well..but isn't Table just hype, the ambassador of cool popular food?" and goes on "to make someone pay 600€ for a bottle bought 150€ is a lack of taste, a lack of respect that needs explanation before a punch in the face".....ending with the word of advice, "If you come here, bring your own can of Coke".

While certainly not condoning Monsieur Kassowitz' review, Le Fooding, which normally shies away from the critical, seems to have found an interesting opportunity to tap into a rich vein of iconoclastic foodie rage. And doing what they do best, helping to democratize a culture that's become too niche and hipstery for many people's taste. Or have they..?

Pakta full of fusion-y goodness

Ceviche

Where does one go, I found myself wondering when you've created perhaps the greatest upheaval in recent world cuisine (El Bulli) when the steam runs out of the idea which has fueled and inspired thousands of chefs worldwide. When molecular gastronomy gives way to New Nordic. Niche cuisines!

"After all those years at El Bulli, I just wanted to take it easy and have fun", Albert Adria explained to me last night at his hot new table, Pakta, located in an edgy and seemingly uninteresting corner of Barcelona, across from a massive concrete fire station. The thirty something seater, with a small Japanese style counter at the entrance, wooden looms filled with colorful yarn and minimalist tables and wood seating has a vibe that shares both Nippon and Peruvian influences. The restaurant, you see, is inspired by the same homegrown fusion (termed Nikkei) that sent Nobu on his path to fame and fortune. Here it allows Adria to avoid the trappings of a traditional high level Japanese restaurant, which he thought would be too difficult for him.

Nikkei was grown from Japanese immigrants to Peru, which was  the first country to accept them a century ago. They brought their own cooking techniques and started to use local produce, the result being a natural fusion cuisine.

The team, from waitstaff to kitchen is almost entirely Peruvian and Japanese, with a few Spanish, Mexican and Argentians thrown in for good measure, and most of them have worked in the Adria empire in one form or another, either staging at El Bulli or gaining experience at the nearby 41° or Tickets.

Genial Argetinian chef Sebastien Mazzola, the imagination behind these establishments (and chef of 41° Experience, where he will return once his work here is done) developed more than 100 recipes for the new concept with Japanese head chef Kyoko Ii for a menu that will probably change monthly.

At 90€ for 25 dishes, it's a wild ride for the tastebuds and an incredibly interesting concept that seems to be going somewhere. Their next establishments, Bodega 1900 and Mexican influenced Yauarcan will expand their empire in another completely different direction and I look forward to trying each and every one of them.

Flashed sirloin steak, peppers, quail egg and potato "pillows"

Lobster Bar, Paris, jumps on the Yankee comfort food bandwagon

Let's be frank, lobster rolls are sexy sandwiches. Maybe, the sexiest sandwich that exists, conjuring up images of New England summers, secluded beaches, the pervasive smell of suntan oil. Firm, delicate meat, creamy sauce, the crunch of an ever so slightly toasted bun. In New England, with lobster available pretty much everywhere for cheap, it's part of the local culture and collective memory, yet still has cachet.

Flash to Paris where a new Lobster Bar has been opened by a former Swiss screenwriter, pining for an imagined Maine, seaside childhood that never happened, replacing the local Maine product for Breton bleu, with a side of fries and salad for 26€ (!). Turns out it's just another luxe Frenchification of American comfort food.

The Figaroscope says "10cm of limp, panini grilled sandwich at 26€, find the error", and calls them "cette arnaque", which in French is a nasty word for swindle or theft.

Goust

A surefire way of measuring the excellence of a restaurant is how it haunts you. Now matter how many stars a certain chef may have, or how hot that new bistro chef is or how much science went into the cooking of that astoundingly impossible looking dish, the yardstick of true culinary goodness and greatness is gastronomic flashback, a dish or dishes that just won't let loose their grip on your primordial taste brain.

Well Goust did that to me. A week after my meal there with my gastronomic partner in crime Alec, "The second restaurant from the world's number one sommelier" as the chin high sign before the door proclaims really is something special and unique in Paris. Opened just a couple months ago by Enrico Bernardo, the youngest world champion sommelier ever, this room just oozes charm and class, with a cozy modern apartment decor not unlike what my friend and dining partner in crime says, "a 1960's Lufthansa first class lounge, but in a good way!". It is tasteful, and very well designed with lots of attention to detail. That's what Philippe Starck a few tables over said anyway.

The humble Valencia born chef , José Manuel Miguel, who cut his teeth most recently at Le Bristol as well as at with Martin Berasategui in Spain's Basque region creates deceptively simple dishes, using French techniques melded with sometimes rare and unusual (in Paris anyway) Spanish produce:think Valencia style rice long cooked in a seafood broth, impermeated with the flavor of the sea, a tuna tartar with a mango "egg" and Thai basil,  technically impressive dishes, with exceedingly precise temperatures and textures...

The wine list reads like an eclectic best of from across France, Spain and Italy: a 2011 Chablis from Louis Michel, 2011 Sicilia Grillo from Firriato, a 2011 Rueda Verdeja from Lunton, Alsdee Pinot Gres 2010 from Weinbach, a 2011 Volnay from J.M. Boillot, finished off with a 10 year old porto Tawny Grahays.

The building itself, like a transplanted Florentine palace adds to the unique setting. A reasonable value 3 dish 35€ menu is available for lunch, but I'd suggest saving up your centimes and going for the full blast degustation menu with wine pairings in the evening with your own partners in crime.

Sven Chartier attacked by giant alien oyster at Omnivore

Sven! Watch out !!!! It's behind you !!!

Sabor food magazine - GET IT NOW !

Time for a personal ad!

I wholeheartedly advise all of my readers (with iPads) to download the new food and travel magazine SABOR (free until March 15th) Best digital mag to come out for a long time. And don't be afraid to leave comments on iTunes store if you like it !!

Righteous comment from a New Zealand reader: "I purchased Sabor last week after reading about it on a blog, and am very impressed with the quality and work that went into it (I even wrote you a comment, saying that it's what Lucky Peach could have been had David Chang not been too focused on keeping up his hipster cred rather than providing a quality product)."

Travel and Leisure, Eat like a Local in Paris

Last year the Travel and Leisure staff asked me to pick my Paris insider favorites. Here are a few in their new Eat Like a Local article. Bravo to all included.

Le Mary Celeste

Apart from hot new bistros, fantastic, interesting and envelope pushing food can now be found in Paris bars, most notably, the recently opened Marie Celeste.

Created by Adam Tsou and Colombian beauty Carina Soto Velasquez Tsou, a husband and wife team who met at the Experimental Cocktail Club, this is their third establishment (the others being the Mexican inspired Candelaria and former titty bar turned Pigalle hipster magnet, Glass).

Marie Celeste is basically an oyster bar, with regional French and European small production bivalves, great cocktails from Carlos (formerly of L'Hotel) , Brooklyn IPA on tap, and, most, importantly, small plates from Canadian raised, half Chinese, half Romanian chef Haan Palcu-Chang, who worked at Copenhagen's Michelin starred Thai Kiin Kiin and did stints at Verre Volé, Chateaubriand, Au Passage and Saturne in Paris. Much more than just bar snacks, the food is delightfully playful, well executed and fusion-y with dishes such as Chinese crepes (ie tacos) with beef shin, peanuts, sesame, nicely spiced kimchee, and steamed oysters with black vinegar, shallots and coriander. Haan has got skills and the place is cool, ready to blow up soon. Best bar in Paris at the moment? Oui.

"Serious" writing

A funny thing happened to me. I've never really put much time, effort or thought into this blog, and have been surprised at the amount of attention I've received from people quite serious about their Paris restaurants. Maybe it's the "insider" angle, my general snarkiness (which is pretty absent in most other blogs here) or the fact that I work for a famous and fortunate clientelle in my day job. I've never considered this form of communication as anything other than a venting of my restaurant obsession (it started as a way to placate my friends who were tearing their hair out as I repeated experiences in this or that hot new place).

So it's a bit strange that, now working on a very serious project that involves writing, that the only way that I've been able to break down a block I've been having for some time, is to pretend that I am writing it up on a blog. A way to trick my mind into believing that this is fun and not serious and not grown up and mature. My brain seems to hate serious writing.

But pretending has been helping me turn out some pretty cool copy.

Thoughts?

True cuisine really is all about sharing with others. It's always heartening how a bit of food and wine can bring people together quite unlike anything else.

Vivant Table

With the sometimes invasive, ever accelerating and self-proliferating Parisian expat foodie blogosphere about to explode with cool new addresses, I'm taking a bit more time to report on my favourite spots for fear of being associated with foaming at the mouth food fans. I almost missed them.

Pierre Jancou, the tattooed Messiah of Natural Wine, has cut a wino de luxe swathe through the City of Light, having participated in the creation of some of the most brilliant wine bars of the last decade, as well as heralding in a new understanding on natural, unadulterated small production wines. The fact that he has been a part time model, and is a hunky, shy and well inked man morsel also draws the aforementioned foodie fans, the only drawback I can see to his establishments. His most recent project, in the most quickly gentrifying part of the 10th arrondissement, is a double whammy called Vivant.

The Vivant empire is divided into two parts; Vivant Table, with a new Japanese chef, Atsumi Sota (Robuchon NYC, Stella Maris, Toyo) creating a three course, or blind six course tasting menu, in a former turn of the century bird shop, and Cave, the next door no reservations wine bar with superb small dishes at a much more reasonable price.

After the initial sticker shock (it is a bit pricey for the 10th), we proceeded to have one of the best meals of recent memory: delicate fish couscous and a sublime broth with perfectly seared scallops and mindbendingly good gnocchi, turbot meuniere that made me swoon (this chef is an expert saucier !) and an interesting chocolate terrine with Kalamata olives dusted with pain des amies breadcrumbs for a perfect chewy crunch. With one of the lower priced bottles of wine, it all came to about 80€ per person, which could break the bank for some, and made the plein a craqué popularity of his Cave next door all the more understandable. (Also Pierre, who really is the personality of the place, spends most of his time at the cave, not the restaurant). Think I'll pop over there next time. And (*cringe*) join the expat blaggeurs.

Vivant Table
43 rue des Petites-Ecuries, 75010
+33 1 42 46 43 55
Menus( dinner) at 55€/70€