Every Timers

Though this last trip to Paris was mostly devoted to discovering new places to eat in Paris I never miss a chance to eat at Je Thé...me. As you walk into the charming, oddly shaped room, walls covered in dark wooden shelves covered with teapots and other trinkets, you are greeted with the smiling faces of Damien (Responsable de cave and manager) and his father Jacky (Chef and owner). Do not be fooled by Jacky's playful demeanor and singing while in service, he's one fantastic, serious chef! Je the...me is one of those places where you will find all types - an older couple out for a treat, young friends laughing, family's reuniting, or a young woman dining alone...well, this probably does not happen often unless said person just HAS to eat there when in Paris at any cost! I did that in April...
Anyways, let's get on with the interesting visuals!

After a coupe de Champagne (100% Pinot Meunier = lovely crispness), the meal began.
First course - Poached egg over a brioche toast on a bed of creamy mushrooms. Earthy decadence on a plate. Caroline didn't stop talking about it the rest of the trip! Yum. Look at that yolk!

 The wine - Crozes-Hermitage seen below. Alive and bold, 100% Syrah. A perfect match for our meal.

Second course - I enjoyed salt crusted duck and Caroline, a lovely piece de boeuf. The duck, as you can see, was cooked to perfection and the saltiness of that fatty crust was heavenly.

Sweetness - Though I am not one for desserts, I always enjoy one here. This dessert was quite an intricate chocolate lovers dream. A chocolate ganache like cake sitting in pistachio sauce with a bit of Thyme sorbet (yes, thyme) on top. WOW. Thyme sorbet plus dark chocolate equals one of the best dessert combos ever thought of. Caroline happily enjoyed her very first Baba au Rhum.

Je Thé...me, je t'aime. Miam!

Note: During this visit I discovered that this lovely establishment is a fellow Blogspot blogger and while on their blog I discovered the most exciting news - Anthony Bourdain went to Je Thé...me with Eric Ripert for his No Reservations TV show!!!!! Let's just say that I am in awe and a huge admirer of Anthony Bourdain's writing and view on food. Wow. Here's the blog where you can check out a clip...
http://jetheme-terroir.blogspot.com/

Another place I enjoy revisiting is a busy crepe place called Creperie Josselin near the Tour Montparnasse. I'll let the photo speak for itself...but you should know you are staring at two crepes filled with ham, cheese, mushrooms, and an egg...

And to finish off this entry I leave you with images of Les Byzantins goodies we bought To-Go and enjoyed in the comforts of home. This little Greek deli is another place I inevitably eat at not only because it is convenient, but it is all fresh and delicious. Hummus, moussaka, stuffed peppers, 5 euro wine, and other delights. Merci George!

Restaurants Galore in Paris

I have just returned from a 2 week trip to Paris with my friend Caroline where we spent practically all of our time eating. And oh what a joy it was! I have loads to share with you all about new finds (and only one place to stay away from.). I will devote this entry to the top 3 from this trip.

First Place - Frenchie
Caroline and I waltz up to Frenchie after a little apero of bubbly and walk into a tiny, busy restaurant. "Do you have a reservation?" "No", we say knowing that in Paris it is risky to show up without a reservation, but we thought we would attempt it. Back outside, we stood staring at the menu discovering a bit more about this restaurant. As we did so, the man came back out and said that they had had a cancellation and to come right in! Tickled pink we danced our way in and sat down at a small wooden table tightly packed in with fellow diners. Before I tell you about the incredible meal I want to share with you what we learned about Frenchie throughout our night and our stay in Paris. A couple sat next to us at one point, who own a bakery in Spain and were doing research about restaurants since they hope to open one soon, and they promptly asked us fellow foodies how far out we had reserved our table! We smiled blushing and said that we had just walked in! Later on I also realized that this restaurant was not from a guidebook I had researched restaurants from, it was from a Saveur article on the best bistros in Paris. And even later on in our stay, the more people we told about eating at Frenchie, the more questions we got about how far out we had to reserve. Hysterical! So my recommendation is reserve early or get on a waitlist and hope for cancellations because IT IS WORTH IT!

First course - smoked trout over a grain much like quinoa with a tropical fruit jus and shaved cauliflower and a little arugula. Delicate delight.

Second course - duck with fig reduction and little gelees of passion fruit. Look at that duck! Yum.

Totally delighted and excited about the food here, we decided to throw in some foie gras at this point of our meal. This, my friends, was divine.

Cheese/Dessert - I enjoyed a slice of gooey St.Nectaire and Caroline enjoyed (more than anything she has ever eaten...) what they called a cheesecake, but it was more like a cloud of creme fraiche with passion fruit jus.

All this deliciousness accompanied by this wine -

Frenchie ranks up there with one of the best restaurants I have eaten at. The service is kind and warm, and the food is stellar. They take a modern approach, but don't make it look like modern art threw up on your plate and don't overcomplicate flavors and truly develop a great balance in tastes and textures.

Second Place - Ze Kitchen Gallery
Located just by the Seine in the ritzy 6th arrondissement, Ze Kitchen Gallery is a vibrant restaurant with art on the walls with a large window into the kitchen where cooks keep an eye on you and you keep an eye on the cooks. The clientele was mostly business professionals out to lunch and some people who looked like important government types. No tourists this time of year. As the mostly all gay waiters flew around us, delicately tending to their guests, we enjoyed another creative, perfectly balanced meal. We went there for lunch where we enjoyed the 39 euro 3 course menu. My photos look dark, but do not be fooled...the space was full of natural light and quite airy.

First course - langoustine ravioli for moi and Caroline enjoyed super high quality beef covered in a lemongrassy, Asian flare broth. It is amazing to me how much flavor they pack into their broths and sauces, but without being too salty or too much of anything. Awesome.

Those are two glasses of Sancerre you see there...
Second course - Sole prepared with Asian flare again...hints of ponzu and lemongrass...

Dessert - a cappuccino of peanut foam over hazelnut chocolate ganache.

Another neat thing about Ze Kitchen is that the menu includes filtered flat or sparkling water as well as un cafe. Quite enjoyable indeed!!

Third Place - Quai Quai
Looking for French classics, but not the heavy ones, eat here. Located on Ile de la Cite right next to the Seine and Place Dauphine, you will not be disappointed. The quai side of the establishment has a bar and a more casual feel, but if you go towards the back room there are white tablecloths and a more elegant feel.

First course - Terrine de campagne with its own jar of cornichons! Accompanied by fresh, tasty baguette and off to my food heaven I went. My aunt enjoyed leeks with vinaigrette presented in a more modern fashion. My camera settings were off, so it's a bit dark. Whoops!

All accompanied by a delicious Macon and they also had the house sparkling water.

Main course - Cabillaud with braised endives that tasted like butter. Wow.

These 3 restaurants were delicious. A nice blend of new, modern takes on food with classics all done well. I look for balance of flavors and textures when dining and these establishments knocked it out of the park. Obviously I have tons of other favorite restaurants in Paris, but these were my amazing new finds this trip. Bon appetit!

Mountain to Ocean

 

Living in Santa Barbara is amazing. Expensive, but amazing. Monday morning, Caroline and I went for a hike up the Cold Springs trail to Tangerine Falls. The water was flowing wildly in the creek since the last rainfall, though the weather has been quite warm for January. I'm guessing that it was in the upper 70's, if not hotter, the day we hiked. After scrambling over rocks and tree roots and over boulders, we arrived to the very beautiful Tangerine Falls and the well earned view in the other direction. Plopped on a giant boulder we sat and ate our sandwiches while staring out over the valley and city below. We offered our other halves of our sandwiches to young kids around us and they were tickled pink at free, yummy sandwiches from South Coast Deli. 

Off the mountain, we then went Stand Up Paddling off of East Beach. The ocean was very calm, except for the occasional jet boat speeding by. Mountain to ocean equals a quite wonderful day indeed.

Wednesday a friend of mine who owns Santa Barbara Stables texted me to go ride for a bit and I quickly agreed. Seen below is Tar (also known as Top Hat when competing) and he was a lovely horse with a great attitude. Santa Barbara Stables is located off of Turnpike in Goleta and out where the views are grand of both mountain and sea.

Today I hiked up to Inspiration Point with my friend Emma. We chose to hike up the Jesusita Trail from the other side, beginning near the reservoir off San Roque Road. The hike is longer from this side, but we found the whole thing to be quite pleasant. Everything was quite green due to the rain and sun we've been having lately. The trail is shaded by large, old oak trees for most of the time which is enchanting. The last bit to the top is strenuous, but the view is our prize!

Via Mmmm

Via Maestra 42 just has to be one of the most delicious restaurants we have in Santa Barbara. I have eaten there for lunch many a times and each time the ingredients are super fresh and the dishes are classic Italian fare. Dinner is also lovely and traditional - eggplant Parmesan is divine. Little did we know that this fine establishment also serves breakfast!

Yesterday, on a most fabulously gorgeous day my boyfriend and I went to the farmer's market to purchase goodies for dinner that night. We saw beautiful Chanterelles seen here, but they sure are pricey!

After the market we enjoyed breakfast at Via Maestra 42 on upper State Street. I enjoyed 2 scrambled eggs, ham, and little slices of eggplant with cheese and tomato on them. YUM. This was so insanely satisfying and delicious I do not really know how to express it. Savory and fresh, every bite was a perfect balance of flavors. Included are a few toasts accompanied by fig jam and a little sweet treat called Dolce de Gigi.

Jeff enjoyed 2 eggs over-easy with smoked salmon and a fresh spinach salad. Wow.

Breakfast polished off, we scootered over to Franceschi park and found this view. In the low 70's the sun shone down in all its summery heat and a cool breeze kept it at the reasonable heat of Santa Barbara. This is why it costs a fortune to live here!

The New Seagrass

Mitchell Sverjen recently sold Seagrass (part of his restaurant trio with bouchon and Wine Cask). A family from Las Vegas are now the proud owners of this top Zagat rated restaurant - though it earned this rating due to its past chef John Pettit.

My mother and I dined there this past week so as to discover what changes were made and what the new chef was like. The decor is the same with sandy and water tones all around - minus a few of the abundance of seahorses that were on the wall.

For my first course I enjoyed a sashimi of Marlin on a avocado rice. For me the rice was a bit underdone and the avocado was lost. I think I would have paired it with something a bit more on the salty side since the raw marlin was rich and fresh.

 Next I enjoyed seared Marlin (enjoying this fish very much) on edamame in cream and a veal reduction. The veal reduction was lovely and the fish very fresh, but there was something lacking. I do not want to use the word bland, but I can't think of another word. I really enjoyed the combination of veal reduction with this fish, however, so perhaps more of it would have been enough.

 Instead of dessert, we enjoyed 3 different sheep cheeses.

 Overall, the new Seagrass is enjoyable, but at $32 for a fish dish it's not as wonderful as it should and could be. I miss John Pettit and will follow him to his next endeavor!

We ate the whole menu...

Julienne, in Santa Barbara, has been open since 2008. I have eaten there probably ten times and have watched them progress and really come into their own. They truly focus on and produce dishes with local ingredients. Many restaurants claim to do this, but Julienne actually does it.

Last night I dined there with friends to celebrate a birthday. All 6 of us chose the tasting menu accompanied by paired wines. Much to our surprise, we did not all get the same wines nor the same plates. In the end we had eaten every plate offered on the menu! I photographed my plates only otherwise it would have been the longest blog entry ever! I will mention the wine paired with the dish, however, I did not get the full names for most since there were so many bottles and dishes around.

To begin...fried cauliflower with white anchovies and a chipotle aoili. The cauliflower was very flavorful and the light batter and fresh oil did not mask the cauliflower taste. The aoili was fresh and subtle. Wine pairing - Gruner Veltliner

My second dish (my favorite) was a salad of butterleaf lettuce with pear slivers and smoked trout dressed in a light, vinagery vinaigrette. Yum. Wine pairing - Santa Barbara Winery Orange Muscat (a welcome surprise and actually quite a well balanced wine).

The salad was followed by Ricotta filled ravioli, crispy sweetbreads, Goleta Chanterelles, Spinach, Lemon Caper compound butter. The fun part about tastings is that you eat things you wouldn't necessarily order...like sweetbreads. I found this plate to be the most inspired and interesting. Justin (the chef) is a god at sauces and this one left us asking for bread to be able to mop up every last drop.
Wine pairing - 2008 Palmina Barbera

My second favorite dish was this one, of Rockfish with baby carrots, large black beans, pickled onions on top, and a sauce that once again left me mopping my plate! The Rockfish had so much flavor and was cooked to perfection - moist and seared. Wine pairing - Domaine de Tours, Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

Next course, fried quail, mustard greens, bacon, cheese grits. The flavors were nice, however I felt that the quail got kind of lost between the fried flavor and the bacon flavor. I am also not a huge fan of grits/polenta/cornmeal, whatever you want to call it. And it was the third fried item I ate so I was kind of over the fried thing. I actually don't think much of anything should be fried in such a fine, high quality ingredient establishment as Julienne. But once again, the sauce = amazing. Wine pairing - Tour Bayard, Bordeaux.

Cheese time! Hidden under that piece of ciabatta is a slice of Cashel Blue cheese from Ireland. Tastes similar to a mild Gorgonzola, but does have a flavor of its own...more grassy I would say. Wine pairing - Fortified Banyuls (similar to a port).

To finish off this feast, house-made Toffee pistachio vanilla ice cream. Super creamy and balanced. Wine pairing - Ojai Vineyard Ice Wine. One of my friends enjoyed a kiwi-lime sorbet that was out of this world. Extreme kiwi!

I am still not sure about everyone getting different dishes and wines. There is something about doing a tasting where it is fun to all be eating the same thing. I think it is overwhelming for the senses to have so many flavors flying around and one doesn't really get to disappear into the dish. I think they did it this way since they really do everything local and have limited supplies of certain ingredients.

Overall, bravo. Though prices are a bit steep in my opinion, the service is impeccable and their attention to detail and their warmth is appreciated and rare.

Santa Monica in a jiffy

There is always something nice about getting out of town and yesterday, Caroline and I got out of town. Caroline accompanied me to the French consulate where I picked up my new passport and ID card. This was the goal of the LA visit, but so as to make a day of it we decided to stay for lunch and a bit of window-shopping.
A friend recommended the restaurant Locanda del Lago located on the 3rd Street Promenade and Arizona Street. Much to our enjoyment we were seated at a table outside in full sunlight. As we soaked in the rays and vitamin D, we sipped our iced teas trying to decide what to order.
We both ordered the cabbage soup to begin with. It was smooth and very cabbagy!

 For the main course I enjoyed a dish of house made spinach tagliolini in a porcnini, cherry tomato white wine sauce with shrimp. Isn't the presentation beautiful! The dish was quite good, but became a little bland by the end of my plate. The fresh pasta had a lovely chewy consistency.

 Of course a delicious espresso to finish off the meal and get a kick in the rear to walk along the promenade. Overall, Locanda del Lago is a quite enjoyable restaurant. Though I have to say that I think I prefer Trastevere just a block down on the promenade. The atmosphere is better and the menu is more interesting. But I certainly would not disregard this restaurant...it's in the Michelin guide afterall!