simon says french food blog

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23 April 2009

An auberge in the Luberon where a river flows

Luberon,

By Christophe Doré

Nothing compares to a second impression.

I’d stayed at this inn for the first time in the spring. The poppies reddened the prairies of the Luberon and the light, which has such a special quality in this region, sang over the cool river. The place was simply sublime. It was Provence in all its bucolic perfection, the scent of thyme, wild orchids, a gentle breeze passing through the trees, lavender….

I came back at the end of the summer. The hot stones of the tables on the terrace, where L’Auberge de l’Aiguebrun serves salads with vegetables freshly picked from their garden, had only added a few days of intense sun to what was already a century of existence. The service, showing a bit of fatigue after the tourist season, was a bit spotty in responding to my requests. But that’s alright. The olive oil was perfect, the tomatoes juicy, the bread golden and delicious.

Flowing by just a few steps from the terrace of the cozy wooden cabana that I’d chosen, the river brought with it a freshness that I had been longing for. It was perfect. Time could have stopped. Far from the world, I spent my afternoon reading a book by Jean Giono, serenaded by the voice of the chef, Francis Motta, energetically overseeing the preparation of the Provencal beef stew for that evening.

Go see for yourself why a supreme comfort is to be found in this old house built in 1890, once a post house and also at one point owned by the filmmaker Agnès Varda. And in addition, you’ll find some beautiful Provencal antiques, homemade jams at breakfast, the right to poke your nose into the kitchen to see what the chef is making (excellent, inventive gourmet Provencal cuisine), everything you need for a nearly perfect idyll, at less than five kilometers from Bonnieux and only a short distance from one of the most beautiful hilltop villages in France.

L'Auberge de l'Aiguerbun. From 140 euros for a double room. The property can be found off Route Départementale 943. Tel +33 4.90.04.47.00. Web Map

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LAST ONE(S) FOR THE ROAD

Brussels

Brussels,

Who knew a bitter aftertaste was a good thing?

On a suggestion from the bed and breakfast owner, I check out Brasserie de l’Union on the Parvis Saint-Gilles, which, in my case, was literally off the map.

I have an Orval, mostly because I haven’t yet, and watch the world go by. Spring is in the air – trees are budding and everybody in out on les terrasses, following the afternoon sun like flowers.

There are scads of other places to check out on the square: head across the street (sun or no) to Le Librar for leather jackets, piercings, tattoos and a blessed lack of gawkers or double back to the Maison du Peuple for an afternoon’s worth of Wi-Fi and bourgeoisie.

There, however, a local points me further up the street (and further off the map) to Chez Moeder Lambic where the beer list is long and the service and cheeses are raw – one of the best finds of the trip. If they’ve got it, the Trappist Val-Dieu comes highly recommended, but I start with a Gouyasse the end my Belgian beer quest the way I started – with a St. Bernardus wit.

I’ll be back.

Parvis Saint-Gilles – Map

Chez Moeder Lambic – Map
Savoiestraat 68, Belgium
+34 02 539 14 19‎

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

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22 April 2009

World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2009

Brought to you by The S.Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2009

1 El Bulli Spain (=) www.elbulli.com

2 The Fat Duck UK (=) www.fatduck.co.uk

3 Noma Denmark (▲7) www.noma.dk

4 Mugaritz Spain (=) www.mugaritz.com

5 El Celler de Can Roca Spain (▲21) www.cellercanroca.com

6 Per Se USA (=) www.perseny.com

7 Bras France (=) www. michel-bras.com

8 Arzak Spain (=) www.arzak.es

9 Pierre Gagnaire France (▼6) www.pierre-gagnaire.com

10 Alinea USA (▲11) www.alinea-restaurant.com

11 L’Astrance France (=) www.lastrance.abemadi.com

12 The French Laundry USA (▼7) www.frenchlaundry.com

13 Osteria Francescana Italy (New Entry) www.osteriafrancescana.it

14 St John UK (▲2) www.stjohnrestaurant.co.uk

15 Le Bernardin USA (▲5) www.le-bernardin.com

16 Restaurant de l’HÔtel de Ville Switzerland (▲11) www.philippe-rochat.ch

17 Tetsuya’s Australia (▼8) http://www.tetsuyas.com

18 L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon France (▼4) www.joel-robuchon.com

19 Jean Georges USA (▼2) www.jean-georges.com

20 Les Créations de Narisawa Japan (New Entry) www.narisawa-yoshihiro.com

21 Chez Dominique Finland (▲18) www.chezdominique.fi

22 Ristorante Cracco Italy (▲21) www.ristorantecracco.it

23 Die Schwarzwaldstube Germany (▲12) www.traube-tonbach.de

24 D.O.M. Brazil (▲16)

25 Vendôme Germany (▲9)

26 Hof van Cleve Belgium (▲2)

27 Masa USA (Re-entry) www.masanyc.com

28 Gambero Rosso, Italy (-16) 29 Oud Sluis, Netherlands (+13) 30 Steirereck, Austria (New Entry) 31 Momofuku Ssam Bar, U.S. (New Entry) 32 Oaxen Skaergaardskrog, Sweden (+16) 33 Martin Berasategui, Spain (-4) 34 Nobu U.K. (-4) 35 Mirazur, France (New Entry) 36 Hakkasan, U.K. (-17) 37 Le Quartier Francais, South Africa (+13) 38 La Colombe, South Africa (Re-entry) 39 Asador Etxebarri, Spain (+5) 40 Le Chateaubriand, France (New Entry) 41 Daniel, U.S. (=) 42 Combal Zero, Italy (Re-entry) 43 Le Louis XV, France (-28) 44 Tantris, Germany (+3) 45 Iggy’s, Singapore (New Entry) 46 Quay, Australia (New Entry) 47 Les Ambassadeurs, France (-2) 48 Dal Pescatore, Italy (-25) 49 Le Calandre, Italy (-13) 50 Mathias Dahlgren, Sweden (New Entry)

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21 April 2009

Woo Jung, Korea right in the kisser

Paris,

This is without doubt one of the best Korean restaurants in Paris, offering a superbly done sea bream with vegetables that's particularly notable.

It’s a good performance overall, with the exception of the rather stark lighting and slightly staid atmosphere . You’ll find a number of Koreans here (including some of the administrators of the Korean cultural center), which is always a good sign. But certainly, there are more charming places in Paris. I'll be following-up for you.... Figure on 40 euros per person.

Woo Jung 8, boulevard Delessert - 75016 Paris. Tél: 01 45 20 72 82 Map

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19 April 2009

Brussels : Westvleteren

Brussels

After a good round of gueuze, barman Sebastien starts talking about Westvleteren 12, a Trappist brew that’s rare as hen’s teeth and a whole lot better tasting. It’s often raked as the best beer in the world and is the crown jewel of Café la Brocante.

“Super rare,” says Sebastian, delicately teasing out the bait. “First you have to call them 400 times and they never pick up the phone. And they’re monks, so they don’t have answering machines.”

Later, he explains, if you get through, you schedule a pickup at the abbey of Saint Sixtus of Westvleteren where the monks will give you a case (“Two if you’re lucky”) and write down your license plate number so you can’t come back for more.

Sold.

He pours a chalice-type glass, leaving the last bit of sediment in the bottom of the bottle. The beer’s so deep colored that the thick foam takes on a coffee-with-cream color that gives off a toffee and licorice nose so strong it almost makes you want to cut it with a bit of water to get the full bouquet. At 10.5% alcohol – more than twice of what’s in a bottle of Bud - the idea’s not that far-fetched.

Sip.

A wall of flavor pushes through my mouth and out the sides of my tongue. There are the toffee and licorice flavors, but a concentrated, sweet and malty earthiness, too. It’s the perfect way to end a beer trip to Brussels and cheaper than a bad pint in Paris. I buy one for the road. The abbey of Saint Sixtus of Westvleteren

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17 April 2009

10 euros at Rose Bakery II, perfection

Paris,

No kidding, for ten euros, it’s hard to beat Rose Bakery II. A superb salad bursting with healthful goodness, packed with every salubrious thing that the earth has to offer at the moment. Beautiful vegetables, wholesome and seasoned perfectly, with, as the crowning touch, a dome of rice, peas, and cherry tree blossoms.

After that, I left sated (it’s a pretty deep bowl) and content.

My advice: as this address has already been discovered, the ideal approach would be to arrive at the very start of the service, because afterwards it gets unbelievably packed.

Rose bakery II, 30 rue Debelleyme, 75003 Paris (01.49.96.54.01) Map

Restaurant Paris 3

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14 April 2009

LEAVE THE WINE. TAKE THE CANNOLI

Paris,

A quick pause from Belgian beer to say that when it comes to finding the best Italian in the 11th arrondissement, you win, François.

Last night, taking the advice of locals and friends, a sommelier friend and I went to Casa Vigata for Sicilian on rue Léon Frot for a hit and miss extravaganza.

The hits: The Seafood – a clam and artichoke appetizer full of flavor and sauce made for bread dipping, whole-roasted octopus served with just a slice of lemon and a perfectly-cooked breaded swordfish main. Paris can be disastrous when you’re looking for good fish and these guys nail it.

The Cannoli – Leave the gun. The friendly owner makes these daily using a crispy shell, light, tangy ricotta and just a touch of candied orange peel. If there’s better in Paris I haven’t found it.

The misses:

Consistency: Our neighbors ordered two of the same dishes as we did; their octopus was cooked better (mine was slightly over) and their swordfish/caponata portions were significantly larger. They also got a shot of lemoncello with their check. The last is certainly at the owner’s discretion, but all three together leave a bitter taste.

The worst:

The wine – overpriced and/or not that good. A red Sicilian table wine for 40 euros? I love a good Nero d’Avola, but please. It took us 10 minutes looking at the wine list to essentially decide how we were going to be fleeced and we still lost. My friend was talking about…something when I got distracted by a sip of the white we ordered…

Me: “This is bad.”

Sommelier friend: “Very bad.”

The verdict? I’ll try again in a year. Maybe.

Casa Vigata : 44 rue Léon Frot 75011 Paris +33.1.43.56.38.66 Map

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09 April 2009

Caffé dei Cioppi, Italian restaurant of the month !

Paris,

Resto paris

You’re gonna like this one. If I lived in the neighborhood, I’d keep my own personal napkin ring there (Translator’s note: refers to a now rarely-observed tradition in French restaurants whereby regulars would keep a personal napkin or napkin ring at the establishment, often in little cubby holes along the wall). Delicious, warm and welcoming, here’s a place that will make you love restaurants again. Take note – it’s not big (it barely seats 15), but in return what a wonderful experience: lamb shoulder with carrots, with the shoulder delicately cooked; the carrots and a few onions accompanying the lamb, and a sauce that doesn’t overwhelm. Indeed, it’s sufficient to respect a dish, to avoid hounding it, pestering it by adding all sorts of bells and whistles - no, you have to let it express itself, find its own path; what good does it do to interfere? To over-embellish recipes is nothing but vanity.

For an appetizer, mozzarella with translucent eggplant. Frederica and Fabrizio watch over their clients out of the corners of their eyes. When the lamb shoulder arrives, from off to the side comes the proposal, “You wouldn’t like a little chervil with that?” And bam, just like that a little saucer of freshly-cut chervil appears.

Count on less than 30 euros per person.

Caffé dei Cioppi, 159, rue du faubourg Saint Antoine, 75011 Paris (01.43.46.10.14). Closed Saturday and Sunday, as well as Monday and Tuesday nights.Map

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07 April 2009

Brussels, Stoemp & Suds

Brussels,

03_09_brussels_jr-22

My Brussels beer luck holds true at Café La Brocante, found by asking two friendly-looking locals (with all the groceries they were carrying, they couldn’t have been going far) where to go. The café/bar/restaurant is on the square that hosts Brussels’ sprawling and kitschy flea market and all the signs were good – better said, the sign on the front door announces a beer list that included 3 Fonteinen, Oud Beersel and Cantillon – whose brewers I’ve been interviewing in the last few days.

Inside, old regulars play backgammon, there’s a stag’s head on the wall with a pipe in its mouth and a sign that says ‘Please don’t feed the dog’ in three languages. There’s a local dish called stoemp made with mashed potatoes and theirs comes topped with slices of homemade meatloaf; my father would be in heaven.

The barman, Sebastien, coaches us through a couple of beer selections and his knowledge extends not only to what’s on the menu, but what’s not, including a rare kriek lambic (in short, a barrel-aged beer flavored with sour cherries) from 3 Fonteinen.

We order two drinks and when they arrive, he’s got a bit of a doubt so he opens the first, gets both of our opinions on it and, assured, opens the other.

“I love this place and I’ve got plans,” he says, alluding to an idea of taking over the bar when the owners retire. Perfect.

Café La Brocante Blaesstraat 170 Brussels +32 (0) 2 512 13 43 Map

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03 April 2009

Versailles, Gordon Ramsay's imposture

Paris

I spoke recently in le Figaro about the discrete withdrawal of Gordon Ramsay from Trianon Palace in Versailles.

Did I say withdrawal? Let’s just say that the cooks haven’t seen the London chef very often since his arrival last winter. Not even the day the restaurant was accorded two Michelin stars.

When the Hilton group took over in February, Ramsay gave up his stake and now he only consults! That said, the cuisine isn’t undeserving - the Italian chef is quite competent.

So, the story could be said to have a happy ending. Still, it makes you reflect on the casualness, the cynical commercialism displayed by these chefs who love to preach and hire themselves out as fixers. Gastronomy remains a laugh riot, comical – and that’s why it gives us so much pleasure!

Trianon Palace Versailles : 1 Boulevard de la Reine • 78000 Versailles Téléphone: (33)(1) 30 84 55 56. Web Map

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Brussels – God bless a good lead

Brussels,