simon says french food blog

THE BUTTERED ONE

QUIBERON

By Joe Ray

A Provencal friend of mine who claims to be ‘allergic to butter’ would perish in this town. Good thing she’s not here – more for me! Last night I had wonderful crèpes at La Duchesse Anne where melted butter is brushed on the hot galette (a crèpe made with buckwheat flour) before the ingredients are added and often brushed again before the finished dish goes out to the floor.

This morning, I stopped at the Boulangerie Bihan “Trois Marches” and picked up a pair of kouign amann – Breton for “cake” and “butter,” though they should have also added Breton for “lots of extra sugar,” which caramelizes around the whole thing and makes life good. Though they’re not particularly large, I learned that eating two is a bit like trying to  get through an entrecôte pour deux personnes alone.

Luckily, my arteries and I were up for it. There’s a moment of crunchy, sugary goodness where your teeth stick together, then all at once, the butter gives up the ghost and becomes a liquid, full of so much flavor, I giggle.

Later, on the train back to Paris, I tasted another kouign amann that I brought from Quiberon’s famous Maison Riguidel - touted to be the city’s best. These were excellent – flatter and more cake-like in form, but Boulangerie Bihan’s got them beat, hands down.

SPECIAL NOTE: People of Quiberon, unite! Go to the Boulangerie Bihan (where I found my favorite kouign amann) and encourage the good woman running it not to close the bakery doors for good following the death of her brother the baker – she’s kept on running the bakery, but is talking of shutting it down within a month, taking one of the city’s tiny treasures with her.

Boulangerie Bihan “Trois Marches” 34 rue de Verdun QUIBERON – 02.97.50.14.96 Map

Crêperie Duchesse Anne - 10, Place Duchesse Anne QUIBERON 02 97 30 49 33 Map

Maison Riguidel – 38, Rue de Port Maria, Quiberon. 02.97.50.07.41 Map

Food and travel writer and photographer Joe Ray writes is the author of the blog Eating The Motherland and contributes to The Boston Globe's travel blog, Globe-trotting.

What's the verdict on Cyril Lignac's new place?

PARIS

By François Simon

Stop the presses, Cyril Lignac has just acquired Chardenoux. The result is predictable - bistrot cuisine that's dazzling, charming, and suited to urban appetites. This isn't your typical unrefined bistrot fare – here the proportions are well-balanced and the final product is not bad at all. It's all very much in keeping with the approach we've come to expect from this likable and serious young man. Of course, we had to pick a fight or two, needle him a little bit. But, in all sincerity, I find him to be a class act, an affable guy.  He takes it all well, sticks up for himself, and loves his job.  Where can you find fault?  That said, it's just not my cup of tea. I was delighted to have had a light lunch there because that night I had another meal waiting for me....

Chardenoux : rue Jules Vallès, 75011 Paris. Tel : 01.43.71.49.52. Open seven days a week. Map

Photo F. Simon

Anderson and Sheppard, the temptation of Tantalus

LONDON

By François Simon

Walking down Savile Row in London, there are certain things one just shouldn’t do - like pay a visit to one of those tailors responsible for the myth surrounding this street. The level of comfort and quality is downright scary. The fabrics, the fit, the luxury, the elegance.... Just one small problem – the price of these custom-made (“bespoke”) suits.  Count on shelling out 3000£, and with the trip and the fittings added in, you’ll reach double that.  Right. One of the best addresses is still Anderson and Sheppard.  But don’t look for this fabled shop on the Row itself, they’ve moved just next door.  The legend continues under the leadership of Anda Rowland and John Hitchcock, with magisterial tailoring (soft shoulders) and a clientèle that would be any shopkeeper’s dream: from Prince Charles to Tom Ford, and everyone in between who might figure into a history of elegance, right down to the iconic Fred Astaire. The prize suit of any aspiring dandy starts at 2900£.  When Tom Ford stopped by, he ordered ten suits straightaway, one of the inaugural acts of what would become his fashion empire.

32, Old Burlington St. (7734.1420) Map

SARDINE IS NOT A FOUR-LETTER WORD

QUIBERON

By Joe Ray

After three and a half hours on an early train from Paris and another hour on the bus, the idea of sitting around tourists and retirees in a restaurant didn't really float my boat. Returning from a meeting to set up an outing with a gooseneck barnacle fisherman, I walked right in front of the solution: La Belle-Iloise cannery.
Five minutes and a six-can variety pack of sardines later – everything from the little silver fish marinated in muscadet to two peppers, olive oil and lemon – I was in business. Sitting on the seawall, I ate a tin of sardine à la tomate served on pain Poilâne that I smuggled from Paris. Though there's a fierce debate as to whether La Belle-Iloise or La Quiberonnaise makes the better sardine it didn't seem to matter; in the space of five minutes, three people walked by jealously eyeing my picnic and smiling. One guy even offered up a "Bon Appetit!"
On the bus, I had listened to an interview with Alice Waters who extolled the virtues of both cooking and eating with friends, yet here I was, straddling the seawall myself, getting a sense of place from a can.

Joe Ray is the author of the blog, Eating The Motherland and contributes to the Boston Globe's Travel blog, Globe-Trotting

Jean Paul Hevin, Killer Chocolate Mousse

PARIS

By François Simon

Finally - Jean Paul Hevin’s salon de thé has just reopened. And it was an absolute must to be there on the first day to hear the renewed tapping of little spoons! 
You get the idea – a devilishly light milk-chocolate mousse, airy but eminently chocolaty, superb work that evokes the flavor of the cocoa beans. You almost get the impression that the chocolate is lightly perfumed with berries. It isn’t so, in fact – there’s only the chocolate, expressed here in all its purity. It’s a wonderful moment. As for the tarte au chocolat (which will be available soon), one musn’t hesitate to ask for it served warm. That’s when you’ll really lose it. It practically stings; not unlike being slapped in the face. Retreat is no longer an option, by now you’ve been properly enveloped in a wall of chocolate. It’s a funny feeling – the chocolate actually seems to penetrate; a gustatory shock. It’s like being hooked up to a chocolate IV. As good as opium. 
Jean Paul Hevin, 231, rue Saint Honoré, 75001 Paris. Tel : 01.55.35.35.86

Web Map

(photo F.Simon).

La rentrée

By Joe Ray

Signs that summer is officially over in France are everywhere: Parisians, a curiously thin-blooded breed, are even justifiably wearing sweaters and jackets (though they pulled the scarves out a couple weeks ago, bien sûr), the leaves in the Palais Royal garden are a depressing mix of green and brown, and yesterday on the Champs-Elysées, it was cold enough that all of the tables on the terrace outside of Fouquet’s – a.k.a. people watching heaven - were ornamental.

La rentrée – the post-summer return to school, work and life - is in full swing. After a month of gathering dust, keyboards in France arenow clicking a gogo; the projects nobody was thinking about a month ago are underway. Suddenly, life moves fast again.

After a month on vacation, I fall into the same jarring trap. In the middle of it all, a group of good friends I haven’t seen formonths asks me to join them for lunch.

“No time!” screams a little voice in my head.

“No money!” says another.

“I’ll meet you there,” I say, ignoring them both.

Twenty minutes later, we are encased in a little bubble Chez Janou. Vincent’s wife is pregnant again, Seb is laughing and Calou, having just worked a week in Lourdes, is cracking jokes about the Pope. Four prix-fixe menus, a bottle of wine and everything is OK again.

Later, I swing by to pick up a fax that Rose, who runs the show at Chez Lucette in the 17th, is holding for me. She’s got a vendor in and I see her for all of 30 seconds, but she sends me off with a kiss on each cheek that cracks so loud my ears pop. Stars officially realigned, I leave and walk down the street with a smile glued to my face.

Chez Janou : 2, Rue Roger Verlhomme 75003 PARIS 03.  Tel: 01 42 72 28 41 Map

Chez Lucette, 43, rue de la Jonquière 75017 Paris Tel : 01 46 27 72 54 Map

Joe Ray is the author of the blog, Eating The Motherland and contributes to the Boston Globe's Travel blog, Globe-Trotting

Brittany takes centre stage ! (2)

We continue our tour of Brittany, a booming region. All this fresh air makes you feel good, the sort of oxygen that clears of our little habits and sweep away our prejudice. Let’s stop in Lorient and Quimper to continue our adventure.

L’Amphitryon

One of the best places in Brittany with Jean-Paul Abadie in fine form with refined, upper iodine flavoured Breton cooking. There is genuine happiness increased thanks to his wife, an energetic wine waitress.

127, rue du colonel Muller - 56100 Lorient - Tel : 02.97.83.34.04

Web Map

Henri & Joseph

Every day, Fabienne and Philippe Le Lay propose a single menu (48 euros for dinner and lunch starts at 22 euros) with the top Breton products such as the rock sole or lobster served in this now usual style between tradition and modernity.

4, rue Le Bourgo - 56100 Lorient - Tel : 02.97.84.72.12 - Closed on Sundays

Map

Cosy

In a pedestrian street, a little house with bio-inspired food on the menu cooked by a young female restaurant owner. Crayfish marinated with spices, duck with honey, andouillette… Simple and efficient. Around 15 euros.

2, rue Sallé - 29000 Quimper - Tel : 02.98.95.23.65

Map

I also keep an eye open one those :

La Coquerie - Hôtel le Coq-Gadby, Marc Tizon, 156, rue d’Antrain, 35700 Rennes. Tél. : 02 99 38 05 55.

La Taupinière - Guy Guilloux, Croissant Saint-André, 29930 Pont-Aven. Tél. : 02 98 06 03 12

Hôtel restaurant de la Bretesche - Domaine de la Bretesche 44780 Missillac. Tél. : 02 51 76 86 96

La Table des Marées - Philippe Bogaty, 16, rue du Jeu de Paume, 56400 Auray. Tél. : 02 97 56 63 60.

La Voile d’Or - 22240 Sables-d’Or les Pins. Tél. : 02 96 41 42 49. Le Bretagne - 13, rue Saint-Michel, 56230 Questembert. Tél. : 02 97 26 11 12