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Bonne Année 2013!

Happy New Year 2013!

I cannot believe we are already in 2013! And I Just Want To Eat passed 18 months of existence, soon approaching the two years mark. Why are two years important? Because a lot of blogs stop after one to two years as people start them because they think it is cool and then realize that it demands a bit of work. I know that lots of people only see the fun side of a food blog that is to go eat and find the excuse  of the blog to eat whatever they want (I admit I use that excuse a lot...). 

But, writing a post with nice photos (the natural light is the biggest challenge) demands a bit of work. Depending of a subject, I can spend more than an hour on a post and, like most bloggers, I will work on post as soon as I can and schedule it, explaining why there is sometimes a lag between the visit at a restaurant and the post itself. This became apparent with Stage Deli! I went there in September and the post finally made it online in November, two days after they closed!!! Talking about that, 2012 has been a terrible year for the restaurant industry with a lot of businesses affected either by the economy or rent increase. We saw for instance Stage Deli mentioned previously, Gallagher's announcing they will close or the loss of the Meatball Factory whose owner, David Martin was a Top Chef alumni. So sad...

 2012 was definitely a year rich of surprises, good and bad. Here is a bit of a retrospective!

The worst:

• Nick and Steph's Steakhouse and their Mac & Cheese made with processed cheese.
• Carlo's bakery and the disgusting cupcake and cannoli.
• Minetta Tavern and its overpriced burger.

The best:

• Vetri by Marc Vetri in Philadelphia
• Colicchio and Sons and its amazing dinner experience
• Ippudo and Momofuku Noodle Bar for their fantastic ramen!

The discoveries:

• Jeanne et Gaston
• Matt & Meera an Indian-American fusion (located in Hoboken).
• The Red Hook Lobster Pounds for their fabulous lobster roll!

The list would be too long... There are so many places to try! What is interesting are the trends, like ramen that made a big mark this year! I have to say that I love it and considering the number of ramen restaurants opening these days, you will for sure see more reviews...The culinary scene is definitely moving and people are more and more curious to try different cuisines. I was asked recently if I eat a lot at French restaurants and I answered negatively: there are so many different cuisines and misconceptions or ignorance about some of them: Japanese is not only sushi, Italian is not only pizza and pasta and Ethiopian does have food on the plate!

So I am sure that 2013 will be full of good and bad experiences and I do not mind the bad ones as nothing can be perfect and it is what is making this blog fun! So I hope you will enjoy: I will for sure! 

And remember: I Just Want To Eat!

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Horrible Fish & Chips at The Round Table in London, England

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Over the week end we were in London, we were walking around Covent Garden, when we decided that it was time to entertain our stomachs! We decided to go to a Pub to enjoy some traditional food. We ended up at The Round Table located on St Martins Court. Nice traditional pub with a particular smell that clearly indicates that there is a lot of beer around...

So we go there and they told us that we have to order at the bar (the table next to us did not know and we had to tell them as they were wondering why nobody was taking care of them).

So I decided to order Fish & Chips. They had the traditional one made with cod and proposed a larger version called...the Cod Father!

After a long, long time, our food arrived!

The Fish & Chips I ordered was made with cod and was served with fries, peas and tartare sauce.

This was horrible! The peas had no taste; the fries were mushy and the fish was terrible! The batter was oily and not cooked all the way through and the fish was probably frozen. The tartare sauce not only looked weird, but also tasted weird. This was disgusting!

Jodi's sandwich was not better!

It was a cheddar and pickle sandwich. The pickle overpowered the cheese. I think I only enjoyed the bread. So bad.

That was so disappointing! Next time, I will pass my way! And by the way, the table I mentioned before that did not know you had to order at the bar was still waiting for the food when we left...

Enjoy (the photos)!

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Fish & Chips at Seashell on Lisson Grove in London, England

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If there was one dish I had to try in England, it was Fish & Chips. You can get some good ones in pubs in New York, but it is not the same! As I mentioned in the post to introduce the trip (My trip to Europe), although I went several times to London before coming to the US, I first tried this dish at...Epcot in Disney Florida! So we looked up on the internet for the best Fish & Chips places. We wanted first to go to the Golden Hind that was listed number 1 on one of the websites, but, believe or not, it was closed on Saturdays for lunch!!! We could not believe it! Why would you be closed for lunch on Saturdays??? So, as we were trying to find our way to the Imperial War Museum, we asked a very nice person in the street if she knew a good Fish & Chips place. She told us to go to Lisson Grove street and then ask people for a known place there. 

So, here we go, walking towards Lisson Grove street. When we arrived, we asked a guy at a bus stop if he knew a well known Fish & Chips place. He indicated Seashell on Lisson Grove. So that is how we ended up there.

It was a clean place with a modern decor: for sure, you would not go there for the ambience! By the way, you remember the guy at the bus stop who told us that this was the known place for Fish & Chips? We saw him walking in the restaurant few minutes after  and I caught him on the camera! We probably asked the owner! That was pretty funny!

So we looked at the menu and there were proposing a dozen of different ways to have the Fish & Chips: the traditional with cod, with salmon, filet of sole or even langoustines! I decided to go for the traditional one.

The food took time to come, although the restaurant was not that crowded. But when it came, I did not regret it! The piece of fish was big! It tasted very fresh and was flaky, cooked all the way through. The batter was crispy and not greasy at all. I appreciated the fact that there was no bone in it! It was a delicious dish! The fries though were not that great: too soft and undercooked.

Jodi went for a salad.

It was nice and simple.

The Fish & Chips was delicious, although a bit pricey and I would have preferred a place with more character!

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I just want to Eat!

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Treats at Fortnum & Mason in London, England

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Over the week end we were in London, we met with my cousins Catherine, Sarah and Flavien for a tea at Fortnum and Mason. In fact we heard about that place from friends who went there few years ago. The place is fantastic with all these never seen before items such as a music cookie box. But for sure, it was pricey! Pricey but crowded, I guess with people just looking around out of curiosity. Of course, as it was the Holidays, their windows were full of scenes such as the one below:

Fortnum and Mason has different restaurants, from the fancier to the more casual one. We ended up on the latter one, called The Gallery. It was a nice place with a nice causal atmosphere, surrounded by windows overlooking the street. We were lucky that my cousins arrived in advance and already had a table as the place was packed and there was a bit of wait (it was around 3pm). Of course, when we arrived, we could not miss the table full of cakes that I am sure was full of delicacies earlier that day! For sure it made us hungrier!

We could have done the full tea but it was too much food and we already had lunch. The "full" tea was composed of open sandwiches, scones, cupcakes and tea, for 22 GBP. 

So we had instead tea

A delicious hot chocolate (fortunately made with milk and not just water!!!)

And some pastries!!! We ordered a spectacular chocolate cake!

That is what I call a chocolate cake! The cake was moist and the icing really, really good. Not too sweet, it was a perfect choice. It has been a long time I did not have a nice chocolate cake like that!

We also tried the chocolate raspberry cupcakes.

This was also fantastic! The cake was also moist and the icing delicious. The pairing of the chocolate and raspberry was, not surprisingly, working! These 2 pastries are definitely recommended!

On the side, Sarah ordered as her lunch, the Goodwood Rosé Veal Burger topped with Fortnum’s Goose Foie Gras and Hand-cut Chips. 

They also provided some homemade mayonnaise. I never had a veal burger and I enjoyed it. Of course, the foie gras was a big plus! The meat was perfectly cooked and juicy. The taste was less stronger than beef for sure. The fries were crispy outside and soft inside. 

We really had a good time with my cousins and meeting there was a great idea. Fortnum and Mason's is the perfect place to meet family and friends for a relaxed afternoon! Just make sure you do not come too late as they close at 5pm...I thought tea was at 5pm!!!

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I Just Want To Eat!

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Dinner at Bob Bob Ricard in London, England

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Preparing the trip to London, we wanted to have a nice dinner and we found out this place called Bob Bob Ricard. I have to admit that at first we wanted to eat in one of Gordon Ramsey's restaurants, but there was no reservation available. Reviews of Bob Bob Ricard were good and after looking at the menu, we decided that it would be the place to go. For sure, this restaurant is fancy and pricey, but it was our treat on our London trip. So we dressed up and ended up in Soho, in this art deco restaurant. The place was big for sure with an interesting decor. Downstairs, they had an impressive wine cellar.

We sat at a booth and immediately noticed the button to call for champagne. But no, I did not press it...

We looked at the mouth watering menu and saw that they served a beef Wellington for 2. We always wanted to try it, as it is always on the menu on Hell's Kitchen with Gordon Ramsey and we never had the opportunity to try. Well, this is a British dish and we were in a nice restaurant in London, so we were thinking that they probably made it well...They told us that it would take 45 minutes to cook, but we were ok with that!

So, they proposed to bring some bread.

It was very good and crispy, served with some French butter (beurre d'Isigny). In fact I mentioned the bread, because we discovered that it was not free...Pretty interesting as usually you do not pay for bread when you eat in a restaurant!!!

So, then came the beef Wellington!

The presentation was spectacular! They brought it to us on a wooden plank before slicing it. And I can tell you that we were right to skip the appetizers! It was huge!

They served us a nice slice and put some juice on it. The meat was cooked medium rare (the temperature of the meat depends on how long the puff pastry needs to cook). The crust was crispy and buttery and there was a phenomenal layer between the pastry and the meat, that was made of foie gras, mushroom and truffles. I could not taste the truffles, but it was delicious! And the meat was very tender (it was a 28 days aged filet of Aberdeenshire Scotch beef)! 

With the beef Wellington, we ordered some truffled mash potatoes (yes, again mash...):

The portion was definitely small and it was too bad as the mash was fantastic: the truffle taste really came through! It was a great side dish for the beef!

Of course, we could not leave without having dessert...We decided to go for the BBR signature Chocolate Glory.

It was a sphere made of chocolate Jivara mousse, chocolate brownie, meringue and passion fruit jelly. They poured some hot chocolate sauce on top of it...This was awesome! Not too sweet with lots of different flavors from the different components! It is definitely a dessert I would recommend!

This was a fantastic dinner and a great opportunity to try a beef Wellington. Although pricey, it is a great restaurant, with a great decor and service. A place to go to!

Enjoy (I did)!

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My trip to Europe - December 2012

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I was recently in Europe, in London and Paris! Needless to say that one of my interests was food, although England does have a bad reputation when it comes to cuisine. It has been years since I have been in London, the last time being December 2006! Going for the holidays is always exciting: there is a certain energy in the air, emphasized by the fantastic decorations that can only be found during this period of the year. I admit that I thought London did a fantastic job with all the lights and I was disappointed by the lights on the Champs Elysees in Paris! 

So, first stop was London! When we left, we definitely wanted to try some pub food, specifically Fish & Chips. Imagine that the first time I tried this dish was not in London, despite my multiple trips there. No, it was at...Disney - Epcot in Florida....I know: that sounds weird but it is true. I went there few years ago with Jodi and we decided to dine at the International pavillion where you have all types of restaurants from many countries: Japan, China, Canada, France, Mexico...And they have England with the Rose & Crown Pub. We had fantastic fish & chips there. Interestingly, the entire staff in the restaurants are from the country they represent, to add some authenticity.

Back to our trip: after checking in our hotel, we started our quest to find a pub. You would think that it was easy, but it was not as we were located in a business area. We ended up at the New Moon on Gracechurch street. This pub had a warm atmosphere and a phenomenal ceiling, all red! Supposedly, it has been featured in movies like James Bond or Tomb Raiders...

Well, this is where our experience stopped: they did not even acknowledged us!!! We were the only ones in the establishment and they did not say hello or check if we wanted anything!!! So we decided to leave as, if it was the way they were treating their customers, their service was probably slow and inefficient and their food not worth it. That is how we ended up at Mother Mash, located on Leadenhall street!

Mother Mash is a small restaurant that serves Pies and a traditional British dish: bangers and mash!

The place was pretty bright, modern, but quite small. We stayed on the first floor and at first, it was fine, as there were not that many people, but at some point, customers started to come in and it was very crowded. The restaurant opened few years ago and only started recently to propose food to go, explaining the wave of hungry business customers who stormed the place. Unfortunately, the staff focused on these customers, instead of us and our food took forever to come! After being ignored at the New Moon Pub, this trip started well...

The menu was simple and we decided to try the mash potatoes. The ordering was done in 3 steps:

First you pick your mash, then the type of sausage, then the gravy.

We both got the Cheesy Mash, made with milk, butter and cheddar. For sausages, Jodi got the vegetable and herb one with a vegetarian gravy (served on the side).

On my side, I ordered the lamb and mint sausage with the traditional gravy, made with the juice of the sausages and vegetables.

The food came barely hot (thanks to the slow service I guess...) and the portions were small. I was lucky that Jodi did not finish her plate...

The cheesy mash was fantastic! Dense but with some creaminess and with a nice mix of cheddar and butter taste! The sausages however were just ok: the vegetable and herb sausages had a weird taste; the lamb and mint sausages barely tasted lamb as the meat was overpowered by the mint. I also enjoyed the traditional gravy that was far better than the weird vegetable one! It was very comforting.

Even if the sausages were not that great, we loved the mash that was delicious! I would definitely just go back for this. Hopefully, the next time, the service will be better organized...

Anyway, it was good to have a light lunch as we went for a nice dinner at Bob Bob Ricard later that day. Stay tuned...

Enjoy (I did)!

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L'Ybane Wine Bar in NYC, New York

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I passed many times in front of L'ybane, a wine bar few blocs away from Times Square. So, after seeing Lincoln in the movie theater, we decided to try that place. We then came back a second time. This post is about both times!

L'Ybane is a Lebanese restaurant that has also a location in Nice, South of France. They offer a wide range of Mediterranean dishes in full size or tapas style. I have to say that I love tapas, because it is a good way to try different dishes and sharing a dinner is a wonderful thing.

The decor reminds me restaurants you would find in France and the atmosphere, besides the fact that our waiter was French, was very European.  They have a pretty impressive wine list, that is not surprising when you see all the bottles on the wall, in the bar area. Luckily, we were there couple of days after the release of the Beaujolais Nouveau! They offered a bottle for $28 or by the Glass for $9. I chose the glass that was a very good deal considering the quantity served.

Jodi and I decided to order few appetizers and then dessert.

We started off with tapenade.

It was a traditional one, made with black olives and served with crostini. It was well done and was not salty at all that is an issue I found sometimes with this dish. The crostini was good, but a bit greasy.

The second appetizer was the merguez.

Merguez is a lamb sausage that I love and can only find in few restaurants. It can be spicy. At L'Ybane, it was not. However, the sauce it was served with was!

The third appetizer was grilled eggplant with yogurt.

This was fantastic! The eggplant was so good and well made. It had this great grilled eggplant taste coming through! At that point, I did not care about the tomatoes and cabbage that were also part of the dish.

Then the last one was the vegetarian moussaka.

I also loved it: it was very tasty, between the eggplant, peppers and crushed tomatoes, and very light!

Then, for dessert, we ordered the baklava and the key lime pie.

The baklava was good but a bit dry.

The key lime pie however was delicious!

This was a great first dinner there, with a fantastic service from one of my fellow compatriots and so, we decided to go back! The second time, we went again for some plates to share.

We started off with the cheese plate.

The plate looked good: lots of cheese and seedless grapes. Unfortunately, they put some nuts on top of the grapes and cheese! They should tell their customer ahead of time as some people do not like nuts and others are allergic! Although their was a nice quantity of cheese, it was not a great selection: brie, swiss and ricotta salata. Disappointing!

The second dish was eggplant fritters.

It was just ok. The eggplant was barely cooked, probably because they sliced it too thick.

The third dish was the goat cheese salad.

Jodi loves goat cheese salad! Each time we go to France, she enjoys it! This one was extremely disappointing! The cheese was just put on a piece of stale bread. 

So the second time was not good in term of food and service (the waitress did not even check on us). This shows that restaurant experiences can vary and it is not because you have a bad experience one day that it will not be great the next. Except if it is awful of course! Because of our first experience at L'Ybane, we will probably go back and continue discovering, hopefully, great dishes!

Enjoy (I did...the first time)!

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Cupcakes from Billy's Bakery in NYC, New York

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If you live in New York, there is a big chance that you heard about Billy's Bakery. Located in Chelsea, this bakery is an institution for the sugar lovers. I discovered there an amazing banana cream pie and pineapple upside down cake (see Billy's bakery review here). What I love when I go to Billy's is the butter smell when you enter in the store: it makes me hungry (one would say that I am always hungry though).

So this time, we went for cupcakes. Jodi decided to go for a chocolate cake and vanilla frosting that is a pretty standard one.

You cannot not notice the nice ratio cake / frosting that is important: the best part in a cupcake is the frosting!!!

The cake was good and moist. However, the vanilla frosting was very sweet. Too sweet!

On my side, I ordered a banana-nutella cupcake.

It was clearly missing some frosting. Anyway, I could barely taste the nutella! I was so disappointed as I love this scrumptious hazelnut spread! The cake was good, moist, with a nice banana taste coming through.

So I was a bit disappointed. I should probably stick with the banana cream pie....

Enjoy (I did not this time)!

And remember: I Just Want To Eat!

 

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Brunch at Bar Boulud in NYC, New York

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I am a big fan of Chef Daniel Boulud. Few years ago, Jodi and I had a little celebratory dinner at Daniel, his eponym fancy restaurant in New York City and we still talk about it (what was great is that they offered a vegetarian tasting on top of the regular tasting, but also, for each course, proposed two choices of dishes).

So, one Sunday, we decided to go to Bar Boulud for brunch. I love brunch: it is so good and comforting. As I have a good appetite, I decided to go for the three course prix fixe ($32). Jodi did not.

I liked the restaurant: the decor is simple and very "organic" with its light wood, but still modern with its tunnel shape.

If you go downstairs, you cannot miss the impressive wine cellar that I bet has some incredible bottles!

So here we are for brunch! I was so excited to try that place! Let's start with what Jodi ate as she only ordered one dish!

She picked the Omelette avec pommes rissolees (omelet with sauteed potatoes).

The omelet was made with ham, swiss cheese and mushrooms. It was a nice omelet: perfectly cooked, meaning not overcooked and no brown color on it (Wolfgang Puck would be proud). The potatoes were delicious: cooked all the way through, soft in the inside and crispy on the outside.

On my side, it started with a choice of one viennoiserie (croissant, chocolate croissant aka pain au chocolat,...).

I chose the chocolate croissant. It was fantastic! Buttery, flaky and airy with a nice amount of chocolate. Too bad it was a miniature one because I could have eaten more of it!

Then the first course was the pate grand mere:

The pate was made with chicken liver, pork and cognac. With the pate, came some delicious, fresh and crispy bread.

I enjoyed the pate: dense and tasty, it was very traditional. I just wish the portion was bigger...

The second course was the croque monsieur.

When I ordered it, I was convinced that if I were to have a great croque monsieur, it would be in a French restaurant. I was wrong. Although there was a good amount of cheese, it was very, very dry. The portion, here again, was small, although this time, I did not mind it...

The third course was the dessert. I ordered the Ile Flottante or Floating Island.

Ile Flottante is a French dessert made of a vanilla steamed meringue and a vanilla sauce (creme anglaise). It was very light, not too sweet. The meringue was perfectly made, meaning dense and light. I just wish there was more here again and there should put more vanilla sauce. I did not really care about the praline though...

So, the brunch was so so and the quantities pretty small. Not that I was hungry after that, but still! I was a bit disappointed as I expected more from Daniel Boulud.

Enjoy (I almost did)!

And remember: I just want to Eat!

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