Flashback Friday: CAFE CONSTANT

It's been raining almost every day for a week here in Singapore and the dark, dreary weather reminds me of Paris in the winter, without the cold of course.  This type of weather makes me feel like having hearty simple food that feeds the hunger and warms the body.  Flashback then to a simple dinner we had in Paris at Cafe Constant - the casual neighborhood bistro on rue Saint Dominique, a mostly residential area in the 7th arrondissement.  One of the restaurants owned by ex-Crillon chef Christian Constant and the most casual of the five.

Cafe Constant has a zinc-topped bar, mosaic floor, rickety wooden chairs and tables set elbow to elbow which makes for a typical Parisian dinner.  There's a selection of wines by the glass, a blackboard prix-fixe and a separate la carte menu of bistro classics which are all reasonably-priced and served with a smile.  Convivial, cozy and delicious - the kind of place I wish we had here but seems to only work in Paris.

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Cafe Constant

139 rue Saint Dominique, 75007 Paris

Tel: +33 1 47 53 73 54

No reservations.  Open daily for breakfast 7-11 a.m., non-stop service from 12h -23h

Flashback Friday: MINI PALAIS

For all the bistros and scuffed tiles in the numerous bistros and cafes in Paris, therehas been a proliferation of non-hotel restaurants still serving bistro classics but in much more sophisticated setting yet still offering prix-fixe menus.  One of these is the beautiful high-ceiling dining room of the Mini Palais, located in the back corner of the Grand Palais right smack in the middle of the famed triangle d'or (golden triangle) of the 8th arrondissement.  Helmed by chef Eric Frechon (from the 3-star Michelin Hotel Bristol), the food is faultless, the atmosphere refined, the service unobtrusive and the crowd more bourgeois than bohemian.

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Mini Palais

Grand Palais,  Avenue Winston Churchill  75008 Paris

Tel : +33 1 42 56 42 42

Flashback Friday: CLOVER

On a cold rainy autumn evening in late November, we met up with friends for a drink at La Societe, St. Germain's sleek Liaigre-designed Costes-managed bar, while we waited out our reservation at Jean Francois Piege's year-old farm to table restaurant Clover.  

Located in a back alley off boulevard St. Germain, where the Parisian brunch institution Coffee Parisien used to be, Clover is filled with several rustic wooden tables set with just a crisp white linen napkin and a knife.  The elongated space seats about 40 diners elbow-to-elbow making it feel like one large communal table.  The previous bar area has been transformed into a sleek modern open kitchen with a glass-fronted fridge filled with local produce.  At the time we went, there was a beautiful display of large succulent-like green savoy cabbages and tiny dark brussels sprouts.

Clover has a daily prix-fixe menu, for lunch ( three-course €35 or five-course €43) and a more elaborate one for dinner (five-course €60 or six-course  €73) with a supplement charge of €8 for a plate of cheese served before dessert.  The restaurant showcases produce from the all over France like special quail  from Dombes in the southeast or ratte potatoes from Touquet in the north.  Most ingredients indicate their origins and the cooking is simple but sophisticated.  The food is served family-style so dishes areplaced in the middle of the table and shared between two keeping it all very casual.

That evening, we started out with some St. Jean de Luz tuna, smoked butternut squash, crispy crackers and horseradish - an interesting mix of cold tuna tataki-style offset by the spicy horseradish and warm creamy squash.  Next up was the chef's signature dish of Saint-Jacques cuite sur le pavé parisien - literally one large scallop in a half-shell placed on top of a sizzling hot Parisian cobblestone - a playful Parisian take on hot-stone cooking and gave the super sweet scallop just a tiny sear.  This was followed by cabbage, smoked herring foam, preserved lemon and chestnut chips which were the flavors of autumn on a plate - warm melted cabbage leaves with tangy bits of lemon rind and crispy chestnut chips for texture.  Main courses came next - the ladies had the fish which was a sautéed lieu jaune (pollock), topped with salsifis wildflower (goatsbeard), radicchio leaves and covered with an emulsion of bay leaves - the delicate white fleshed fish complemented by the bitter chicory and herb-infused foam while the gentlemen ordered the heartier roasted Dombes quail, trompettes de la mort (horn of plenty mushrooms), caramelized onions and mango vinegar.

We skipped the cheese course and went straight for dessert - chunks of dark chocolate fudge cake, milk chocolate ice cream, tiny sweet raspberries, cranberries and grilled pecans.  Espressos were ordered and the coffee shots were accompanied by a large gooey chocolate chip cookie which we all broke into and finished.  Dining at Clover is fine dining without the formality, like a fun meal with friends at their kitchen table sharing good food and wine.  In other words, Clover feels like home, except there's a Michelin-starred chef who's in charge of the kitchen.

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CLOVER

5, rue Perronet, 75007 Paris

Telephone: +33 1 7550 0005

Email:contact@clover-paris.com

Open Tuesday to Saturday

Lunch from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m., Dinner from 7:30 to 10:00 p.m.

Flashback Friday: Thoumieux

The Thoumieux is a 15-room boutique hotel, owned by the BeauMarly group of Thierry Costes (son of one of those Costes brothers) and operators of over a dozen hip and happening restaurants and hotels in Paris.  It was a novelty for us since we always stay at Le Saint-Gregoire in the neighboring 6th, our favorite left bank arrondissement and we were pleasantly surprised with the vie du quartier of the 7th arrondissement fun as well.  We arrived at dawn on a cold November morning and were lucky enough to have the room ready for a our very early check-in.  Our room was on the top floor overlooking the street which we preferred, despite the noise, as it gave us a nice place to sit and watch the bustling rue Saint-Dominique.  Interiors are a riot of pattern on pattern created by India Mahdavi (which can be overwhelming for some), although we thought it was a fun take on the usual flower prints or toile de jouy traditionally used in these type of hotels.  It also helped convince us to choose Thoumieux for their Aesop products (love them!), the in-room illy FrancisFrancis  (same one we have at home), complimentary mini bar, iPad loaded with information and music and the full-service brasserie on the ground floor - a definite plus, especially in the winter, where we could nip down to have a quick drink or dinner without having to brave the cold.

We enjoyed breakfast at the hotel a few times, it was pricey at €30 in the dining room or €40 for breakfast in bed, but worth it - coffee, tea or hot chocolate, fresh fruit salad, vanilla yoghurt, a basket of vienoisseries and toast with honey and homemade jams, a soft-boiled egg, ham and in-house smoked salmon served on pretty plates with starched linen napkins in a cozy dining room just off the tiny reception area.

We also had lunch (weekday prix-fixe €22/two-course or €29/three course), dinner and even dessert and coffee at the busy Brasserie Thoumieux which was always packed with locals especially on Sunday when so many Paris restaurants are closed.  The food was well-executed, from the tartare de boeuf (steak tartar) to the entrecôte sauce poivre (rib-eye with pepper sauce) - cuisses de grenouilles (frog's legs) to the supreme de volatile (roast chicken breast) - all quite good but not a gourmet meal, which is what brasserie fare is all about.

Luckily, we also had the chance to sample one of the Gateaux Thoumieux creations, a sugar-frosted lemon raspberry butter cake - our in-room welcome amenity - and one that we picked at constantly when we had our afternoon espresso.  The jewel-box sized all-white marble cake shop is just across the street from the hotel with a beautiful window display of cakes and pastries.

All in all a wonderful stay and one we're keen to repeat on our next Paris trip - hopefully, sooner rather than later.

Nota Bene: Like other small hotels in Paris, keep in mind that there are certain quirks: No lift and sometimes no one to help you carry your luggage upstairs,  No breakfast a la carte menu but you can always request changes and they try to accommodate you, a very simple room service menu.  Keep in mind that this is a boutique hotel and not at all like a full-service big hotel chain with round-the-clock everything.  Remember, ask (nicely) and you shall receive.  

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Hotel Thoumieux

79 rue Saint Dominique, 75007 Paris

Brasserie Thoumieux

79 rue Saint Dominique, 75007 Paris

*Open daily non-stop from midday to midnight.  Valet parking in the evening

Gateaux Thoumieux 

58 rue Saint Dominique,75007 Paris

*Open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Flashback Friday: BRASSERIE LIPP

It's a hazy Friday in Singapore and it looks like we're going to have a rainy weekend up ahead which is why I decided to do a "Flashback Friday" post which I'll try to do weekly to help me catch up on all the other restaurants I haven't been able to write about.

Today's post goes back to Paris on another dark gloomy November Friday when A and I went back to this Saint-Germain-des-Pres institution - Brasserie Lipp.  The Lipp is a classic Alsatian brasserie opened in 1880 and has since been a classic on the busy boulevard.  The art-deco interiors of yellow tiles, floral Belle Epoque ceramics and smoke-stained mirrors have been the same since 1926, and if those walls could talk, they would speak of presidents and politicians, writers and actors, starving artists and con artists and le gratin (upper crust) of Paris who have, at one time or another, made chez Lipp their local hangout.

When I used to live in Paris in the early nineties, Brasserie Lipp was a treat since I was on a student budget and meals there were usually had when the parents were visiting or with friends on expense accounts. Later on, after A and I met, Brasserie Lipp was where we'd go for lunch while we walked around our favorite Parisian arrondissement, always crossing our fingers that the white-haired manager would seat us in one of the coveted ground floor tables (VVIP's usually get the front room), and not upstairs in restaurant Siberia.  We arrived at the peak of lunch hour and were led to the crowded back room to a banquette (yes!) where we could sit side by side - always an issue because both A and I love the more comfortable banquette and always take dibs on who gets it first. Our cozy table afforded us a view of the full room for perfect people watching which is always half the fun.

The menu at Lipp is simple - it's always been a single yellow cardboard with the food in one long list - oysters and caviar, hors d'oeuvres, plats du jour, specials listed in red, Friday plats du jour, an additional hand-written special, cheeses and desserts.  The food is classic Alsatian brasserie fare, nothing fancy, so don't expect gourmet cuisine.  It's just food done right or correct as the French say.

We started off with celeri remoulade (€9.50) - grated celery root tossed in a mustardy dressing and filets de harengs pomme a l'huile (€12.50) - A's favorite of vinegary herring filets with boiled potatoes drizzled in olive oil - both classic brasserie starters which we shared.  Before our next course was brought out, the professional white-jacketed waiter started to clear our starters when A asked if he could leave the unfinished celery on the table, a major French dining faux-pas,  and the waiter was surprised but agreed.  Our main dishes, my confit de cuisse de canard (€22.50) - duck leg confit with roast new potatoes and the Friday plat du jour for A of raie au beurre (€24) - skate wing sautéed in butter, were served soon after.  We took our time with lunch, enjoying our meal amidst the noise of a bustling restaurant where everyone seemed to be having fun while the waiters were rushing around balancing trays and dishes through the crowded room.  It was only when the place started to quiet down and the midday crowd left to go back to work, that we finally finished.

We couldn't resist sharing a dessert and debated between the popular millefeuille or another favorite, the ile flottante (€9.50) and finally settled for the latter.  Before the waiter cleared the plates, he asked with a smile if A wanted to have the rest of the celery with the dessert which showed that he wasn't that serious and had a sense of humor after all.  We all had a good laugh then polished off the large caramelized sugar-domed meringue floating in a bowlful of vanilla flavored custard cream (hence it's floating island name).  After our long leisurely lunch, we meandered the twenty blocks back from Saint-Germain-des-pres to the adjacent 7th arrondissement - just a couple of flâneurs taking our time to appreciate the beauty of Paris.

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Brasserie Lipp 

151 Blvd. Saint Germain 75006, Paris

*Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.   

*No reservations

Travel 2011

2011 has been my year of travel.  I have never been on a plane this much ever.  There were trips to new places - Bangkok and Beijing, a trip to my favorite city - Paris, trips to visit family - Buenos Aires and Las Vegas, several trips to see the doctor - Singapore, trips to do renew our passports - Jakarta and quick trips on a stopover - Sydney.

November, though, is going to be the busiest travel month for me, with a week in Manila from today (to finish unpacking boxes that have been in storage for several years) then a week in Osaka and Tokyo (my first trip to Japan) and finally, two weeks during Thanksgiving in Laguna Beach, Las Vegas and San Francisco, before I head back home to Bali just in time for the children's holidays and Christmas.  And there are still so many places I haven't been to and hope to visit in 2012.  So bear with me and my erratic posting.  I promise there will be lots to read very soon with my Buenos Aires posts coming out, slowly but surely, and with more gourmet travel write-ups soon.

MERCI and HERMES

On our second to the last day, my mom and I met R for breakfast at Merci - Paris' newest multi-brand concept store where a percentage of everything on sale goes to charity.  This bright, loft-like space has been converted into a carefully-edited shop showcasing design items: from notebooks to gently-used furniture to cult sandals from K Jacques and soft t-shirts from James Perse.  There is also a counter of Australian beauty brand Aesop (what I use) and another for Annick Goutal (Merci owners previously owned this brand along with the other cult children's label, Bonpoint).  The cheeky Citroen parked permanently in the inner courtyard along with plants and garden furniture just shows how much fun Merci has with design and that they don't take themselves too seriously.

Aside from all the wonderful things in-store, there are also two places to eat - one opening directly onto the street like a French-style diner and another cafe leading into the store.  The cafe walls are lined with floor to ceiling built-in shelves filled with donated hardcover books - partly decor and partly there for customers to flick through while enjoying a coffee.  Cozy armchairs and mismatched furniture are scattered throughout and spindly crystal chandeliers light the place.  The cashier's desk is an old used sink where cakes are also displayed.  It's hard to explain and has to be seen to be appreciated.

We met R at the library-like cafe and had a simple breakfast of oeufs à la coque with toast soldiers ready to dip into the soft-runny yolk. R also ordered one of the daily cakes - a buttery lemon cake which went well with our morning detox ginger tea.  After breakfast R headed off home to the Marais, my mom sat and read some of the books and I explored the store for a bit then it was back to St. Germain to visit another famous store.

The whimsical spring picnic window at the left bank's new Hermes store 

We had passed by the new Hermes space right by the Hotel Lutetia, it's first rive gauche (left bank) location, several times on our daily walks from the hotel to Saint-Germain-des-Pres but it wasn't until our last day that we ventured inside to have a look and good thing we did.  The store used to be a municipal swimming pool and the space has been lovingly restored, keeping some of the mosaics intact, into a large space to showcase everything Hermes.  Near the entrance there is a fragrant and beautifully-presented flower shop with a window display of in-season peonies.  There was a section just for scarves, another for books and even a little tearoom/cafe overlooking the rest of the store downstairs.  Below, there were pod-like sections for furniture, equestrian kit, cutlery, china and of course, bags and leather items plus anything else that Hermes makes.  Whereas their boutique in the rue Saint-Honore is classic and warren-like with smaller rooms leading off to other smaller rooms, this light-filled modern space is a way of making Hermes seem not so classic.  With the creation of this one-of-a-kind Hermes emporium, their scarves and bags suddenly seem younger and much more accessible although the prices are still skyscraper high.   It's worth it to have a look, maybe stop for an overpriced drink and at least enjoy the Hermes lifestyle for a few hours.

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Merci

111 Blvd. de Beaumarchais

75003, Paris

Telephone: +33 1 42 77 00 33

*Open daily except Sundays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Hermes

17, rue de Sevres

75006 Paris

Telephone: +33 1 42 22 80 83

MIDI VINS

Another day, another neighborhood bistro.  Midi Vins is located on a sunny corner of the rue Cherche-Midi and was recommended to us by the hotel's manager.  We asked where we could go nearby for a simple lunch and he immediately suggested Midi Vins and told us to look for the owner Christelle.  After a short walk to the nearby FNAC, we went around the block and cut through a quiet back street to get there.

The restaurant is cozy with lots of wooden tables (glass-topped wooden champagne bottle holders), lots of vases of multi-colored roses, a zinc bar with many interesting wines by the glass and a blackboard menu.  There is the usual bartender/waiter and Christelle, the owner who was also running around serving tables.

For lunch, there is a two-course set menu - €21 entree et plat ou plat et dessert (starter and main or main and dessert), or just the plat du jour for €15.50. At night the dinner three-course set menu (starter, main and dessert) is a bargain at €25.00.  Where nearby Les Garcons is more for a younger crowd, Midi Vins is where a more mature crowd eat.  As soon as we sat down, we were given a plate of saucisson sec on buttered baguette rounds - the salty sausage and the sweet butter was a pleasure to munch on while we were deciding on what to order.

We had a glass of wine each to go with our lunch.  My mom started off with the rillettes au poissons maison aux herbes (fish rillettes) and I had the melon du soleil au jambon Vendéen. My simple plate of sweet melon draped with raw cured ham from the Vendee region was again one of those perfect flavor combinations of savory and sweet. My mom's fish rillettes were delicious - flaked fish mixed with lots of fresh dill and onion and tangy with lemon juice. Again, the portions were big and as we finished off our appetizers, we were wondering how we were going to get through the larger main course - filet de daurade grille a l'aneth for me and the araignée de cochon a l'ail confite for my mom.  My whole sea bream fillets were served with a spaghetti of zucchini, a fancy French way of calling thinly-sliced zucchini in spaghetti-like strips, and a dill-butter sauce.  My mom's bread crumbed pork came with roasted garlic cloves and a mountain of crispy fries.  Both were good but the fried pork and fries, although a cholesterol bomb, was the winning plat of the day - hot, crispy pork with sweet roasted garlic and crunchy homemade frites.  This was unpretentious bistro food at it's best.  Although we were full, we couldn't resist sharing a plate of tiny framboises (raspberries) simple sprinkled with icing sugar to end our meal.

A long walk around the area was called for after that large lunch and so we continued on towards the end of Cherche-Midi where there were lots more restaurants, the famous traditional restaurant Chez Dumonet and the newer Gerard Depardieu-owned Le Bien-Decide, a rotisserie and cave a vins.  Also on the same street were several outlet boutiques of past season items from fancy children's wear (Bonpoint etc) to designer women's shoes and clothing (Marc Jacobs, YSL etc) and even home accessories and kitchenware.  A fantastic lunch and bargain retail therapy afterwards - who can complain?

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Midi Vins

83, rue du Cherche-Midi

75006 Paris

Telephone: +33 1 4548 3371

*Open for lunch and dinner. Closed Sundays and Mondays.

LES GARCONS

One of the good things about staying in a local neighborhood is that you can pretty much find anything nearby.  Where we stayed, just off Cherche-Midi, in the 6th arrondissement is one such example.  The technical school nearby makes lunchtime busy with lots of students hanging around in cafes and little restaurants.  There's a fantastic boulangerie - nothing fancy but with extra buttery croissants and country bread. A tiny fruit stand with mounds of in-season cherries and fuzzy-skinned white peaches on display sits right smack in the middle of the road.  There are also several pharmacies (typical in Paris), a hardware store, a sweet-smelling flower shop, a specialty coffee shop with a tiny counter to sample the coffees, several traiteurs (takeaway counters) from Chinese to sushi to Middle-Eastern.  All this adds up making the neighborhood lively, full of character and not touristy.

On this trip, my mom and I walked all over the 6th and only took a taxi once to get to the 3rd arrondissement across the river.  The whole week was spent exploring the area and trying new cafes, bistros and little restaurants in the quartier.  One of these pleasant discoveries was Les Garcons.

Les Garcons is a tiny restaurant with a simple white awning over the entrance and a few tables set out outside on the sidewalk, a concession for those who want to lunch and smoke.  The typical small restaurant format is present - a tiny bar, a daily changing blackboard menu, two waitstaff running around serving everyone and a long banquette in front of small tables for two squeezed together.  We arrived at past noon one day just right before the lunch rush and were seated in a table near the entrance.  After making our choices from the limited menu (3 starters, 7 main courses, 1 cheese plate and 3 desserts), the crowds started to arrive and in less than half an hour, the place was packed with several waiting at the bar for a table.

We skipped the starters and went straight to our main courses which was a good idea s the portions were huge.  I had the tartare de boeuf Aquitaine (€13.50) and my mom chose the supreme de poulet roti (€13.80).  My steak tartar was a mound of hand-chopped beef, topped with an egg yolk, drizzled with Worcestershire sauce and with a dollop of finely chopped capers, onions and cornichons which I was meant to mix and season on my own. Since I like my tartar spicy, I added some Tabasco, sinus-clearing Dijon mustard and lots of freshly-ground pepper to the mix. It also came with sauteed new potatoes and a small green salad.  My mom's crisp roast chicken breast was served over penne tossed in a creamy spinach sauce.  We dug into our simple but delicious food and listened to the conversations of the other clients nearby who in typical French fashion, were talking about the food on their plates.  For dessert, we shared a Calin 0% avec fraise gariguettes (€6.80) - fromage frais topped with extra-sweet in-season strawberries. The food at Les Garcons is simple home-style cuisine at very reasonable prices (about €40 for two with a bottle of Badoit).  The fact that it's packed with locals proves that sometimes, comfort food is all we crave.

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Les Garcons

79, rue du Cherche-Midi

75006 Paris

Telephone: +33 1 45 49 08 59

*Open Mondays to Saturdays from noon to 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. to midnight. Closed Sundays

LE NEMROD

Most neighborhoods in Paris have a cafe at the corner of the main street. It's where the locals hang out for a morning coffee and a chat while standing by the bar, or where people linger at terrace tables smoking cigarettes, having a drink and people-watching. Cafe culture is one of the things I miss most about not living in Paris and something I try and do as much as I can when I'm there.

Our neighborhood cafe during our stay was Le Nemrod, conveniently located on a sunny corner of the rue St. Placide and cherche-midi which was a block's walk from our hotel. We had our morning café crème and croissant there before setting out for the day and then stopped by again either for lunch or a cold drink before heading back to the hotel. By the third day, we were regulars and would even manage some small talk with the morning crew.

On one of those days, we had a late lunch at Le Nemrod - a standard rumpsteak frites and a green salad for me and the confit de canard for my mom.  My steak was cooked well - rare like I asked for and came with lots of hot, crispy fries and a side of Bearnaise.  The small green salad was dressed in a mustardy vinaigrette and was the perfect accompaniment to my steak.  My mom's confit de canard was a large duck leg served with delicious, garlicky pommes sarladaises (thinly sliced potatoes cooked to a crisp in duck fat then sprinkled with garlic and parsley).  I ate most of my steak with my mom's garlicky potatoes and the green salad but couldn't manage to finish my own mound of frites.

Le Nemrod is neither fancy nor cheap but it's a typical cafe packed with locals from the area and a few tourists who are in the area.  The atmosphere is friendly and the food quite good plus there's lots of people-watching to be had on the lively terrace on a sunny, spring day.

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Le Nemrod

51 Rue du Cherche-Midi
75006 Paris
Telephone: +33 1 45 48 17 05

*Open all-day everyday for breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks.

LADUREE

First spring morning in Paris and we were jet lagged and up at 6:30 a.m. so after walking around the quartier, we managed to find a neighborhood boulangerie on the rue de cherche-midi and grabbed a buttery croissant in a paper bag and ate that on the street while we waited for the nearby café to set up their table and chairs and open for the day. At 7:30, the bar was open for coffees so we found a spot on the ancient zinc-topped bar and had our first, much-needed café crème. After that, we walked up the road towards Saint-Germain-des-Pres so we could work up an appetite and have our second breakfast (when in Paris, two breakfasts on the first day are in order) at our favorite spot on the tiny rue Jacob - Ladurée.

No trip to Paris would be complete without stopping by Ladurée for some sinful patisserie and a coffee or tea or having a light lunch in the very elegant back room. We settled into a corner and ordered another petit dejeuner. This time served on pastel-edged china with silver cutlery and thick linen napkins. I had the basket of breakfast breads which came with croissant, pain au chocolat and country bread rolls with tubes of very cold unsalted butter and a selection of jams and preserves. My mom had scrambled eggs which were soft and fluffy and were served with back bacon and country bread rolls. I skipped the coffee and had a hot chocolate instead which came in a silver jug filled to the brim with hot dark chocolate enough for two servings.  After that lovely morning spent lingering over breakfast, we set off on a long walk in the lively sixth arrondissement for some window-shopping.  A perfect start to our Paris week.

Paris and Cannes, Here I come

Off to Paris tomorrow afternoon for a short "working" holiday with my mom.  Last time we were there together was in 2009 so it's been awhile.  We are also going to Cannes for a mini-break to attend the 64th Festival du Cannes as guests of Baron Philippe de Rothschild.  It'll be a busy week and a bit with dinners and events to attend and a few extra days in Paris for some retail therapy and people watching in cafes.  I'm looking forward to my first cafe creme and tartine breakfast on Wednesday morning.  Watch out for my posts.

The Best of 2009

When the clock struck midnight on the 31st of December, the first decade of the 21st century ended.  The past ten years have passed so quickly and so many important events have taken place.  I began the noughties with my wedding in Napa, followed by several moves: first to Santiago, then Dubai, then Montreal and now Marbella.  My two children were also born in the last ten years and my blog was created in the last part of the decade.

Now, I'm facing the next year and am both eager and wary of what the future may bring. There is one thing I can be sure of though, and that's the best gourmet experiences I had in 2009. So, Happy New Year and here's to sharing more gourmet travels with you in 2010!

Best Bang for the Buck - Chocolateria San Gines, Madrid
This is a bang for the buck that's satisfying for all the senses.  A short walk off a pedestrian street and in a tiny alley is where you'll find Chocolateria San Gines.  Open 24 hours, they serve freshly-made churros and thick chocolate to dip them into all day long and into the night.  Great for a mid-morning pick-me-up or a late afternoon treat.  Aside from jamon Iberico, this is my other favorite Spanish snack.

Best Bistro - Itineraires, Paris
This new and cozy bistro in Paris' 5th arrondissement was a revelation.  A young chef, his wife out front greeting diners, fantastic prix-fixe menu, modern interiors and best of all, really good food.  This will stay on my Paris TO GO list for a long time.

Best Breakfast - Break of Dawn, Laguna Beach
No one does big breakfasts like the Americans do and this out of the way restaurant located in a nondescript strip mall in Laguna Beach is a perfect example.  Ex-Ritz Carlton chef who leaves the busy hotel kitchen to set up his own place and spend more time with his family.  The result is impressive - breakfast classics like corned beef hash, french toast and oatmeal are on the menu alongside an Asian-influenced spicy Hawaiian sausage with rice, eggs and pickled shredded papaya or a Mexican-influenced chorizo and scrambled eggs.  Mugs of fresh drip-coffee, free iced water, large tables filled with families makes it almost like a diner.

Best Hotel Buffet Breakfast - Woods, Geneva
Hotel buffet breakfasts are all starting to blur into one - assorted breads and pastries, yogurts, cold cuts, cereal and a small selection of cooked items (scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon) kept warm in chafing dishes.  Well, not at Woods in the Intercontinental hotel where breakfast was an aesthetic experience - a large wooden table piled high with baskets of assorted breads and pastries, artisanal jams and honeys then a cold section of marble-topped shelves where yogurts, fresh fruit, fresh juice in individual carafes and cold cuts were laid out and finally, a hot food section where a granite topped counter with built-in warmers kept the food in the serving dishes hot.

Best Chinese - Hakkasan, London
Another Alan Yau  and Christian Liagre partnership, this time with Michelin star as well for the creative Chinese haute cuisine.  I went there first in 2002 when they just opened and was already impressed with what they had created.  Seven years later, it's still a pleasant shock to the senses - dark, sexy interiors and sexy, snappy servers just add to the atmosphere and honestly with food this good, I can tolerate the attitude.  Lunch is a bargain but the dinner bill can become astronomical with the colorful cocktails and first growth wines.  No photos are allowed so I wasn't able to document my lunch there so you'll just have to imagine it.

Best French - Joel Robuchon at the Mansion, Las Vegas

Elegant, check. Cozy, check.  Haute cuisine, check.  Hypertension-inducing prices, check.  Dinner with my sisters, priceless.  My sisters and I try to meet up at least once a year and when we do, we always go somewhere new for dinner and last year was Joel Robuchon's fine dining jewel at the MGM hotel.  We decided to skip the degustation and go a la carte so we could all order different things and have a taste of each others' plates.  The food was classic French haute cuisine with some modern twist but thankfully, none of those molecular/hyper-modern foams and dry ice creations that are a bit of a turn-off.  Was it delicious? Yes.  Was it worth it?  Yes, once every decade.  The experience was impressive but we're still saving up for another anti-recession meal like that one.

Best Home-Cooked Meal - Mahnaz's Persian Kebabs, Marbella
Mahnaz invited us over for a traditional Persian dinner of kebabs - both chicken and lamb - served with grilled peppers, tomatoes and buttery long-grain rice.  She also made fesenjan, the traditional lamb and pomegranate syrup stew.  Persian comfort food at its' best.

Best Japanese - RAKU, Las Vegas
My sister and her husband had been raving about this tiny off-strip restaurant for ages so when we finally made it there in February, our expectations were high.  After lots of little plates - creative Robatayaki-based dishes,  super fresh sashimi,

Best New Gourmet Discovery - Foie gras carpaccio, Paris
I have Tonger to thank for taking us to Comptoir de la Gastronomie, a deli/restaurant near Les Halles.  He insisted I order the foie gras carpaccio and I was glad I did.  The plateful of paper-thin slices of foie gras drizzled with honey, balsamic vinegar and sprinkled with sel de Guerande.  It made for a terrific cold lunch and it was such a pleasant surprise to try foie gras in a new way.

Best Tapas - La Moraga Iberica, Puerto Banus

I was never a fan of Dani Garcia's, Michelin-starred fine dining restaurant, Calima.  On the other hand, his tapas bar concept La Moraga in Malaga has always been a favorite.  This year, he opened a second tapas bar in the middle of Puerto Banus - La Moraga Iberica.  Modern interiors with a large bar where diners can sit and watch the action from the show kitchen.  His modern version on the classic Spanish tapa of boquerones (anchovies) served in an opened sardine tin with roasted peppers is fun and fantastic.   It's been packed ever since they opened and because no reservations are taken, the wait can be unbearably long but worth it.  I'm looking forward to his new creation La Moraga Sweet just down the road which should solve the problem of where to go for a nice dessert around here.

Best Thai - Busaba, London
2009 was all about recessionista dining and this Alan Yau concept and Christian Liagre-designed Thai restaurant brought the best bang for the buck with its' spicy flavors, generous portions, modern interiors, efficient service and most of all, reasonable prices.  Perfect for both yummy mummies and slummy mummies, businessmen and tourists, families and couples - the large communal tables and shared dishes make for convivial dining.

Paris Cafes etc.

No visit of mine to Paris would be complete without a stop at my favorite cafe for people-watching, Cafe de Flore.  I spent an hour or so one afternoon at one of the sidewalk tables, having a Café Liégeois and watching the world go by.  So many memories of drinks and coffees, late nights and early mornings at the Flore.  Once when a friend was visiting Paris on the spur of the moment, she couldn't reach me at home (this was pre-mobile phone days) and she took a chance and called the Flore on a Saturday afternoon.  I suddenly heard my name on the speaker and was asked to take a call on the second floor in the antique phone booth.  I was so glad she was able to find me and we ended up spending the weekend together.

We also had our daily breakfasts - tartine, croissant and cafe creme at a neighborhood cafe close to our hotel - Le Nemrod.  It's on a corner of a residential area of the 6th where lots of locals walk by greeting each other and doing the French kiss-kiss.  On one morning we saw no fewer than half a dozen moms rushing with their toddlers in Maclaren strollers to the garderie (daycare) then coming back with empty strollers to meet up with other moms at Le Nemrod for a coffee, a cigarette and a chat.  On another morning, there were several solo Americans with the Herald Tribune for company and the cafe's owners sitting around discussing menu changes and new fonts.  It's a nice little place to have a snack and see a bit of the vie de quartier (local life).

On our last morning, we walked further up the road towards the Poilâne bakery and to a little cafe that's easy to miss which is two doors before the bakery.  Cuisine de Bar is a French-style sandwich place where the specialty are tartines (open-faced sandwiches) made with bread from next-door Poilâne.  Open from early morning where simple breakfasts are served to lunch where delicious combinations are created to top the slices of sourdough bread.  The complete breakfasts comes with a giant bowl, not a cup or a mug, of cafe au lait, a basket of bread, a slab of butter and two types of jam - on that day, we had raspberry  and sweet orange marmalade.  Coffees are served with a very cute and edible butter cookie teaspoon also from next door.

There's a cafe in almost every street corner in Paris but unfortunately, lots of them have undergone a modern refurbishment that has taken away the rustic feeling and charming atmosphere of the tiled floors, cane-chairs and small iron-legged tables.  Let's hope that not all the cafes go the way of the futuristic, velvet, faux-Costes look to keep the ambiance of the real French cafe alive.

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The three listed below are all in the 6th arrondissement:

Cafe de Flore

172, bd. St. Germain

Tel: +33 01 45 48 55 26

Le Nemrod

51, rue Cherche-Midi

Tel: +33 01 45 48 17 05 

Cuisine du Bar

 8, rue Cherche-Midi

Tel: +33 01 45 48 45 69

LE SEVERO

Our last dinner in Paris was at a restaurant in the quiet 14th arrondissement that has been getting good reviews ever since it opened a few years ago.  We tried to go on our last trip to Paris in January but ended up canceling because we were too cold and lazy to travel all the way to this quiet area of Paris on a winter's night.

Le Severo is a tiny bistro complete with the zinc topped bar right smack in the middle of the room and the typique blackboard menu except that here the blackboard is large enough to cover one whole wall and is actually the wine list rather than the menu.  The wine list is pretty impressive with fifth-growth Bordeaux and excellent Burgundies on the long list plus lots of very, good wines at reasonable prices.

The menu is limited with a few starters  - white asparagus, goat's cheese salad, jamon Iberico (again) and boudin noir (blood sausage).  Don't come here if you're not a meat-lover because this place is all about steak, some sausages and veal liver. Owned by ex-butcher William Bernet who serves only Limousin beef, he is also the bartender/server/sommelier and manages to move around the packed restaurant taking orders and serving plates plus clearing tables with impressive speed and efficiency.  The only other person working at the restaurant is the white-jacketed chef who stays quietly behind the bar/kitchen searing the steaks and preparing the starters while also managing to fill the dishwasher with dirty dishes and stack the clean plates neatly on a shelf.  It's a multi-tasking two-man show and probably what makes this little place homey.

Conveniently located on a corner with two large windows, less than a dozen tables are lined on all sides plus a few in the middle which seat a total of about 28 diners in a box-like space. Tables are set simply with a linen napkin and a fork and steak knife etched with 927 (not Laguiole), plates are plain white and glasses aren't fancy. (Watch out when you use the knife as both sides look exactly the same and may end up slicing the meat using the dull side).

Our starters arrived: in season white asparagus with a chive vinaigrette (€10) and a large hunk of fresh Chevre (creamy goat's cheese) with a green salad (€8) and a basket of sourdough bread were placed in the center of the table to share.  The wine we chose was a Catherine et Pierre Breton Chinon 2006, a red wine from the Loire for a reasonable €34.  We were surprised to find out that not only was organic but that it wasn't the only organic one on the long wine list. (This trip's biologique theme continues.)

Having heard so much about the steak tartare (€18) my mind was made up while my mom decided on the classic bistro steak dish - bavette à l'échalote (€18).  My mom wanted to order hers medium-well but I convinced her to have it saignant (medium-rare) instead.  By the time our main courses were served, the place was packed and we were now elbow-to-elbow with a Greek family to our left, a group of four English-speaking suits right behind us and a French family to our right.  The place was now well and truly packed and leaving the table at that minute would have been almost impossible to do.

Our steaks arrived - my mom's bavette (flap steak from the sirloin) perfectly seared and came with lots of shallots.  My steak tartare was the largest I had ever been served in my life.  I guessed it was almost half a kilo and when we asked we were told it was 350 grams (close guess).  The tartare was hand-chopped and came with capers and was very good but not as spicy as I'm used to so I asked for some Tabasco and the pepper grinder to adjust the seasoning and give it that extra kick it was missing. Both came with fresh-cut homemade fries which were seasoned perfectly.  Although not as crisp as I prefer, they were very good and a nice change from the frozen fries usually served in bistros nowadays.  We tasted each other's plate and I prodded my mom to try my tartare although she wasn't all that sure about eating a plate of raw meat.  We tried our best to clean our plates but after eating two thirds of my steak, I just couldn't eat any more meat.

To end the dinner there was fromage -  Saint Nectaire fand a limited dessert menu of chocolate mousse, creme brulee and fraises gariguette.  After all that meat, we decided to share the bowl of fraises gariguette (€6) - small strawberries from Southwest France which were very sweet.  Illy espressos to end our meal and a promise to come back and have the faux-filet or the côte de bœuf (for two) or maybe even the andouillete on our next visit.

Le Severo is a convivial bistro devoted to meat and is the type of place where one ends up conversing with the diners at the next table (as we did) since the place is quite cramped and noisy.  Don't expect fancy sauces or sides - here it's the meat that's the star and most, if not all dishes are served only with fries or mashed potatoes.   Go for a simple steak meal and enjoy it with a good bottle of wine. 

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Le Severo

8 rue des Plantes, 75014 Paris

Tel. +33 1 45 40 40 91

Open for lunch and dinner, Mondays to Fridays

Open for lunch only on Saturdays

Closed Saturday dinner, Sundays and the whole month of August.