19 hours

If you knew an asteroid was on a destruction path with the earth in nineteen hours, would it change anything? What would you do differently? What would you do the same? Do you really think that we would change, even in the face of ultimate destruction? Would we continue with the same status quo or give in to our every desire and temptation, or embrace that which we love? Or continue along the same path and ignore the essential.

Well, an asteroid did crash with the earth the other day, and astronomers knew only a short time before.

Maybe we need an asteroid every day.

Sunday

Not enough sport recently. So today, wake up, one coffee. My sit up regime (ouch). Plain penne for lunch. Bike ride along canal to La Villette while multitasking : listening to music (Paris Sunset 7) and writing the two articles (in my head) that I owe NYLON for tomorrow morning. All the while planning secret surprises and dreading work tonight.

Alain Ducasse

It's hard to say no when (arguably) the world's best chef invites you to test the cuisine of his flagship restaurant. Despite the fact that I'm very critical of all these super-chefs opening global franchises, microwave "gourmet" food and consult from everything from cruise ships to chips, Ducasse's gastro hit all the right notes. Good humored impeccable service (yes, they noticed I eat left handed), great wines (can't complain when you're plied by 2005 Riesling Grand Cru, 2004 Chablis, 2001 Chateauneuf-du-Pape and an insane Pineau des Charentes....


Patrick Jouin "exploded" chandelier


Live langoustines, soon to become...


...Formerly live langoustines ...topped with Iranian Oscietre caviar and accompanied by a ginger broth


Scallops with caramelized endives and black truffle


Line caught sea bass with "prébelle" green asparagus, peas and fevettes


Pithiviers game pie with (copious) black truffle, foie gras a Périgueux sauce


I've heard of truffled salads before, but this is ridiculous! A salad inside a package of shaved black truffle


Fresh forest picked strawberries with a coconut sablé and ice cream

“Believe me! The secret of reaping the greatest fruitfulness and the greatest enjoyment from life is to live dangerously!” -- Nietschze

Adrian just cleaned out his khaki 30L Brabantia poubelle while listening to Metallica tell him the sunshine never comes..

Nepenthe

I've always been fascinated with the word nepenthe, which I first encountered in the poetry of Baudelaire. The magic potion, which apparently drives away care and sorrow was first mentionned by Homer in the Odyssey when the wife of the King of Egypt Thonisgave nepenthe to Helen, son of Jove (also known as Jupiter and Zeus) and Leda, who was ravaged by the god , posing as a swan.. It is an elegant and poetic word coming from ne, not and penthos , grief or sorrow. Someone should market it, sure they'd make a killing.

I was just thinking of this word on the metro home from a night's work, looking at the people going to and from their lives, not a joyous face in sight, from the girl seated next to me who was twenty and had the demeanor and bearing of a tired woman of twice her age, the Chinese kid from the 'burbs with the bleached blond mop echoeing a Japanese kid from Harajuku, head bobbing to the hip-hop he was droning out to, the woman who resembled something between a witch and a teacher, with her prematurely greyed hair, and long drawn out face, and the woman seated across from me, who couldn't help but stare at me for some reason, finding me surely strange for some reason, me tired after this night shift, waiting to get home, and do what..stay up and think, write, maybe hit the bike, maybe not, read, listen to music in front of this screen..Tell me if I'm boring you

Random thoughts

The other day I passed an old man sitting in the street. I was stopped in my tracks by his eyes, beautiful and green and full of sadness. Reminded me of the little girl on the National Geographic cover years back when I was a child. Back in the the days when my only porn was that stack of my Dad's National Geos under the stairs where I'd gawk at the bare-breasted African ladies making handicrafts in front of their mud huts. Simple life. Does that still exist? I want it badly (the simple life that is!) (Never could figure out the guys with the gourds on their private parts though maybe I could get used to it given time.... ;) )

Sunday morning

Sitting in my bed with my mac finishing up the MONOCLE 25/25 guide to Paris. Beautiful day outside but unfortunately I am going to spend most of it sleeping as I'm on nights for the next two weeks. Sometimes it's not too good to be all alone with your thoughts too, hence a one hour intensive bike ride along the Canal is probably what I need, then to sleep perchance to dream., but I'd rather be having late breakfast in bed and watching bootleg movies and my favorite cartoons all day long...

Best Pizza in Paris? Alice Pizza

Funny how once an address gets "discovered", everybody and his uncle takes a stab at writing an article on it, pretty much all within the same week. I had lunch today at Alice Pizza, a cozy little place just steps away from the Anvers metro station and Paris' red-light disctrict. The charming owner, Tahar is half-Brazilian and half Algerian, and discovered his love of pizza in Parma, where he received some training from a world famous pizza maker. The pie I took, with a gorgonzola/marzipan cream, rocket, a raspberry/balsamic vinegar, and shaving of aged Parmesan was one of the best, probably the best I've had for a very, very long time. After, to digest, a little trot to visit with Denise Acabo at her shop L'Etoile d'Or, where I got some Genin caramels in gingembre, framboise and vanille, and some Bernachon caramel milk chocolate bars. For those who don't know this shop, it's a interesting experience. Denise is over 70, and in the 36 years she's been running the shop, she's dressed like a schoolgirl (plaid skirt, pigtails and schoolgirl tie) and is a real character, passionate about what she does, and tutoying everyone who comes into the shop.

Alice Pizza
4 rue Dancourt
+33 1 42 54 29 20

L'Etoile d'Or
30 rue Pierre Fontaine
+33 1 48 74 59 55

Thanks for the coverage peeps, not sure the 'Gastronomic Circlejerk' moniker will win me many fans, but hey, it's got a nice ring to it...but, then again, when have I ever cared what people thought of my blog...?

So here it is : "Not a Gastronomic Circlejerk" (copyright)

It's official! Michelin Red Guide 2009 results

Please be aware that this is a simple translation in English of the Michelin Red Guide (Paris-centric) results announced by gastronomic demi-God François Simon in this morning's Figaro! Bon app!

New One Stars
Fogon
Le Jules Verne
35 ° Ouest
L'Arôme
etc...
Agapé
Bigarrade

New Two Stars
L'Espadon
Gordon Ramsey

New Three Star
Le Bristol

Fat Duck Closed for Health Scare!

!!!!!

Best kebab in Paris?

There is much talk in certain circles of who has the best kebab in Paris. Common consensus leads to the Doner Kebab (a Fooding fave, but strangely no longer on their website) stand in the 17th as the nec plus ultra of this Turkish fast food (and every modern drunkard's) delight. I beg to differ, prefering the sandwiches offered up by Les Quatres Freres Bedri, just opposite the Louis Blanc metro. The tiny place is packed , and the lunchtime queue running around the corner is a daily occurance. The four brothers are courteous and friendly, and hail from the Antioch region, and the sandwiches are wrapped , something not seen often in Paris.


Les Quatre Freres Bedri
38 rue Louis Blanc, 10th
(lunch only)

Meating

This restaurant is one that I haven't really been at all interested in- at the beginning what seemed me sort of marketing ploy, a meat-based menu (American-imported Angus at that), even an American chef. Then things changed, the restaurant changed hands (the new owner also proprietor of the formerly trendy La Gare in the seizieme). The fact that it is also located in the former two-star Michelin, Apicius only makes the contradictions more poignant. Last year, in came former Taillevent second, Emile Cotte, and his new menu surprisingly NOT all meat based.

Consensus: probably the best (and maybe only) Angus in Paris. The chef and owner and staff are really nice people, and it's quite interesting to know that not only do they import all of their meat from the US, but the broiler as well! (for which the French gas agency had to create a special reference, as they'd never seen one before). Apart from that, service ok, and the window front tables, although large and with a great view....our table had a view of about 23 dogs peeing and defecating during the meal on the large tree just in front of us.. Bon App!!

Le Grand Colbert - Tout Peut Arriver

Thought this sign next to my table was pretty interesting, and more than a little prophetic


I mean, pretty much the only reason I ended up at the Grand Colbert was because I was hankering after a great tartar, and Les Fines Gueules decided to close early. The restaurant was about 20% full, but that didn't hinder the slow service, waiter spilling an entire bottle of wine on an English tourist's expensive couture t-shirt (they left without paying, and after a Faulty Towers-esque French accented apology in English from the Maitre d') , and then the same head waiter wiping out the entire barload of olives , which sent the little trays flying in all directions all over the dining room. Tartar wasn't half bad though I prefer very much the "coupé au couteau" to the hamburgered stuff..

Michelin Guide Paris 2009

Once again we get the (mostly) credible leaks from the Figaro or France Soir on the new red guide, and once again, it's underwhelming, and unexciting.

Three stars for Eric Frechon at the Bristol.

Two for the Espadon at the Ritz and Gordon Ramsay in Versailles

One for L'Agapé (ho-hum) , La Bigarade (why not) , ETC, Fogon, Jules Verne (of course) , 35 Ouest (what??), L'Arome (mouuui), Angelique (say what?)

Glou-ing

Although I'm sometimes a bit dubious of the Figaroscopeization of certain establishments when pretty much every French critic jumps on the collective gastronomic bandwagon, Glou is one of the better places to dine in the Marais. Just behind the Musée Picasso, run by a food media person, and offering good quality produce- lomo, marinated, unendangered white tuna, and a superb Salers burger, coupled with relatively inexpensive wines makes this a good mainstay in the area. And the added bonus of sitting next to Julien Clerc and listening to him and his PR guy diss Arthur made it pretty worthwhile too...

GLOU
101, rue Vieille du Temple

Rostang - Better than cocaine?

Perhaps the most decadent haute cuisine dish in Paris, Rostang's famous truffle sandwich is the only two-star-Michelin-eat-with -your-hands-food in the capital. Two slices of Poilane, infused in plastic wrap for 48 hours with Noirmoutier butter and a healthy serving of fresh black truffles, then taken out of the fridge and quick fried in a hot skillet for a few minutes and served a table.

The knife and fork are just there pour la forme.

L'Arome

After a couple of misfires, I decided to give the Arome another try, and was rewarded with a pleasant surprise. The new Gagnaire-trained chef does a great job, and although the menu was a little too citrus-y, everything was delicious, the service pleasant and the open kitchen fun to watch.



Iberico pork "pluma", Joel Thiébault turnips and blood orange reduction

Pré Catelan lunch

Magnificent Pierre-Yves Rochon fireplace

Damien Hirst spin dot painting? No, a rather underwhelming jelly of truffle

Wafer thin slices of beetroot with aged comté cheese. Delicious and visually pleasing

Tarte de truffe noir with onion confit

Scallop a la plancha

Scallops, scallops, everywhere!

Filet of turbot with almonds, vanilla sauce and mustard (?)

Squid ink risotto

Quail

Quail

World's most luxe banana split (I enjoyed the accompanying banana/peanut butter tart more)

Kunitoraya

Tempura


Curry Udon

Perfect winter comfort food at one of the rue Sainte Anne's institutions. Shrimp and vegetable tempura, curry udon, a chilled Asahi, and the continual show of the chefs frantic keeping up with orders and passersby enjoying the view of a little Tokyo sur Seine

Cul de Poule

Yannig Samot's new trendy trad in Rose Bakery country is an interesting place and a good lunch deal. A three course menu is 17€ and gets you a creamy endives soup or paté, followed by a copious fish dish with Japanese mushrooms or cochonailles with mushy peas, followed by an orange salad with Greek yoghurt. Friendly service. Funky crowd. Eclectic music hovering between Eminem and "My Beautiful Balloon". Can't wait to try out the expanded dinner menu.

New Michelin Red Guide Editor

Change finally? The Michelin Red Guide announces that its new editor is a 38 year old German woman who favours experimental and creative cuisine. Sounds like a good start for me, although the Frogs are gonna hate it....

Let's hear it for the culinary outsiders!

...and what will this mean for promotion of restaurants owned by Germans..... ;)

Ultimate Oeuf Mayo ?

Nice to see Le Comptoir hasn't lost the Camdeborde touch. Dishes bien ficellé, like the 5€ oeuf mayo pictured above. Fresh, smooth and inexpensive. The daily special onglet de boeuf with wok style vegetables was a little hard to cut, but this was probably due more to the dull knife provided than the quality of the meat. Predictably good cheese and creme chocolat. rounded off an excellent lunch

And the chef wasn't even in the kitchen! His "non- French" backup team did a splendid job, and I can't wait to come back when he's in the kitchen

Yer Mama likes Shelter

This Alain Senderens (he staffed the kitchen and pays the salary, so not a cuisine telecommandé as some say..) hotel-restaurant located in a God-forbidden edge of Paris was a nice surprise. Despite a few hicks with the service (largely manic) - long waiting time to order, glass of wine brought instead of bottle, butter forgot, no changing of covers, all this could be forgiven by the fact that they've only been open a little while, and the staff is obviously hard working and friendly. The starter of pastrami and potatoes was tasty, though the spuds were cold, the entrecote (frites just okay) and hachis parmentier de confit de canard were very correct, well served and copious. The restaurant is cosy, although the spot light shining on our table seemed to be shining directly ito our eyes, and a funky Cyril le philosophe seemed more concerned with hanging with the DJ, although Mr. Trigano was omnipresent, observing and making the rounds.

Breakfast was a quiet affair, with the whole dining area transformed into a casual space where people seemed to be nursing hangovers from their nomadic urban night in Paris. English tourists, French bobo families, and young, cool medias types made up the crowd. Continental 10€, breakfast buffet (bacon, eggs, sausages, pastries, juice, hot drink) - 15€



Mama Shelter

L'Orangerie closed? **Scoop**

Their telephone lines have been tied up for days with no apparent reason- and no response to e-mails leads one to believe that former Taillevent chef Michel del Burgo's Orangerie has closed its doors...

Chefs behaving badly

It's always refreshing to see that a hot bistronomic chef has as much fire in him out of the kitchen as devant les fourneaux . Witness: very recently, in a Grand Hotel Parisien, a much respected chef cuistot did what Baudelaire expounded in his prose poems and "beat someone with the enthusiasm of a butcher tenderizing a beefsteak", and then proceded to try to do the same to a member of the hotel staff, while at the same time grabbing a passerby's tender thigh! Ah....there still is passion in the Parisan food world!

Laperouse secret club by Le Fooding

Clandestine ambience, free cognac cocktails and langoustine nems, great company, chats with celeb chefs. What could be better?

Thanks to Arnaud and Alex!

Bangers and Mash at The Bitter End

Another in the English comfort food series. Bangers and Mash, that quintissentially English dish, found here in good form (completely par hasard) at The Bitter End, Saint Germain en Laye

Perfect English Breakfast?

Sunday. Rose Bakery III

Istanbul

Kofte at the Pudding Shop, a lively place not far from the touristy, but well-located Sultanahmet neighborhood. The food, while not at all sophisticated was cheap and satisfying, and the mix of people frequenting the place made it a lot of fun. FYI - this used to be the HQ of stoner hippies on their way to Nepal, etc, and nowadays draws wi-fi warriors...

Buttermilk pancakes with raspberry coulis and cinnamon whipped cream at the Four Seasons Sultanahmet. Top.

Exclusive! Le Fooding 2009 guide!

I was lucky enough to be the first to purchase the new Le Fooding 2009 guide on sale exclusively this morning at Colette.

When I arrived, I braved a huge crowd of people waiting in front of the boutique who turned out to be there to purchase a hot new pair of trainers..... I was the only one there for the guide (which had to be asked for, and was hidden away in a storage room....)

The 218 page guide is certain to turn heads, as it is printed in exactly the same format, on the same paper, and with the same typeface as the cutting edge MONOCLE magazine.......

The selection of restaurants is very similar to the past eight years, with additions of all the restaurants you'd find on the fooding website or Figaroscope since, such as :Le 21, Guilo Guilo, La Bigarrade, Max y Jérémy, Itinéraires, Grannie, Le Cul de Poule, Supernature, NapoliParis, Urbane, Zoé Bouillon, Cha Cha, Pizza Chic, Les Parisiennes, Mama Shelter, Quedubon,La Bulle, Les Petites Sorcières, ETC, Miroir, La Table d'Eugène, Sobane, Le Floors, La Pizzetta, Coco & Co,