Fondue at L'Assiette aux deux fromages in Paris, France

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What I really enjoy in the Winter is a cheese fondue. Not sure I would call it a Fondue Savoyarde or une fondue aux fromages as there is a debate between France and Switzerland as to who made the first cheese fondue...In New York, my favorite places for fondue are Artisanal and for a low key and a rustic atmosphere, Kashkaval. 

In France, a lot of people like fondue and it is not rare to be invited to a fondue party, because it is easy to prepare, fun (if you drop the bread in the cheese, you should have a dare) and delicious. The most common mix of cheese is Comte, Beaufort and Emmental. But, sometimes, people go to the fromager (cheese store) and ask for some cheese to make fondue,  ending up with various ones as the combinations are endless. At home, I have in fact a fondue pot that is electric and sometimes buy a fondue mix that is convenient and pretty descent! 

So, back to my trip: Jodi and I wanted to eat a fondue! We went to one of our favorite spots in Paris: rue Mouffetard. It is a narrow street made of cobblestones. At night, it can be crowded as people go there for the multitude of restaurants you can find: traditional French to Iranian! Looking around, we decided to go to L'Assiette aux fromages. It was not the first time and the last time we went, we had a pretty good meal!

I like the place: warm with its wood all over that reminds a bit of a chalet in the mountain. The big blue cow in the middle of the main dining room is surprising though...

We decided to order a traditional cheese fondue.

We were three people to eat it and there was enough for four! The fondue was perfect: unctuous with a hint of kirsh. When you eat fondue, you are always dipping your bread few times to make sure you catch a maximum of cheese...

Besides the bread, they had the great idea to give us some lettuce, potatoes and cured ham.

I was surprised that they served potatoes and cured ham as it is more for another specialty based on cheese called raclette. This was a very good idea! That way, we could make combinations such as potatoes and cheese or potatoes and ham and cheese, etc...And clearly, these potatoes were fantastic! They had a bit of crunch from the roasting that was delicious.

If you do not like fondue, the restaurant offers other specialties such as the reblochon tart:

or a bavette (flank steak), served with shallots, that was descent.

Definitely, the food and the atmosphere gave the impression we were at someone's place, until they brought the check...

If you are in Paris and would like to have a nice diner or enjoy some cheese, L'assiette aux fromages is for you!!! 

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I Just Want To Eat!

L'assiette aux fromages

25 Rue Mouffetard

75005 Paris, France

website unavailable at the time of this post.

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Fantastic Lunch at Le Train Bleu in Paris, France

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Who would have thought that you would find such a nice restaurant in a train station??? Le train Bleu is a fancy restaurant that I always suggest to people visiting Paris and who want to enjoy a nice dinner in a fantastic decor. It is pricey but worth it if you are looking to treat yourself!

The place is incredibly beautiful! These photos speak for themselves!

The paintings on the walls and ceilings attest of the history of the site and are the result of the work of famous painters who did a magnificent job. So going there is not only about food!

Another particularity of the restaurant is polo the cat.

According to a wait staff, the cat came one day and never left. You see him wandering around the restaurant quietly, without bothering at all the customers and not begging at all. I guess that he is probably well fed there!

So here are some of the fantastic dishes we tried:


I started off with foie gras.

It was a homemade foie gras served with a red onion marmalade. The foie gras was delicious: rich and unctuous. Paired with the onion marmalade that had a nice sweetness, it was a perfect appetizer.

For the main dish, Jodi ordered the grilled filet of beef, served with Béarnaise sauce, mashed potatoes with fresh Tomme cheese.

This was very good! The meat had a nice sear and was very tender. The mash potatoes were to die for! Very creamy and cheesy.

On my side, I ordered the Piece of beef of Salers that is a highly graded steak.

It had a delicious wine sauce and was served with a fabulous gratin dauphinois (potatoes au gratin). The meat was also very tender, but I would have liked it a bit more cooked.

I also tried the Scorpion fish (rascasse) and white flesh of scallops à la plancha, creamy shellfish risotto, cuttlefish ink dressing.

This dish was incredible! I did not have Scorpion fish for years and I have to say that this was very good! Silky and flaky. Each of the components of the dish gave another dimension to the dish: the risotto was so creamy and hearty and the scallops perfectly cooked. There was definitely an explosion of flavors that made me regret to have picked steak instead of this remarkable dish.

Then came the time for dessert. I ordered their Baba au rhum that I tried few years ago.

Baba au rhum is a yeast cake that is saturated with rum and served with whipped cream. It all started with this put on the table:

Some rum from Martinique.

Then came the cake. It was a cylinder that they cut into two and they then poured a large amount of rum...

This was a wonderful dessert and imagine that they left the bottle of rum of the table, in case we wanted to add more!

Jodi ordered their lemon and lime tart.

It was served with some homemade meringue cookies. The cake was very buttery and the lemon and lime part was very tasty and creamy, not too sweet that is often an issue with lemon tarts.

I finished the meal with an expresso that served with a meringue cookie and a homemade madeleine.

I can tell you that we were full after this feast! Le train bleu will always be in that special place that is...my stomach...

Enjoy (I surely did)!

Le Train Bleu
Gare de Lyon
1 Place Louis Armand
75012 Paris, France
http://www.le-train-bleu.com/uk/index.php

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Couscous at Chez Bebert in Paris, France

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Couscous and tagines are North African dishes that are very popular in France, not only because they are good, but also because it is the type of specialties that you cannot make easily at home as they require some special pots. For instance, a couscous is made in a double chamber steamer, called couscoussier, that you can also use...for dim sum...Some people cook the semolina by bringing water to a boil and then pouring it on it, but I can ensure you that it does not have the same taste and the grain is not as light as when steamed. There are plenty of restaurants serving couscous and tagines in Paris. One that is popular and has few locations in the city is Chez Bebert.

We went to the restaurant Porte Maillot as it was close to our hotel and therefore very convenient. The place was packed for a Wednesday! I could not believe it! 

The decor was traditional and there was a certain ambiance, although I was glad that no belly dancers popped up and asked me to join them dancing!

After we ordered some nice wine, they offered us some aperitif.

It had different components, some spicy, some not. For instance, there were carrots cooked with cumin, olives or some brick a la pomme de terre (in the center, it is a feuille de brick similar to phyllo dough, stuffed with a denser version of mash potatoes).

Then, Jodi ordered a tagine de kefta aux oeufs et petits pois.

Tagine is a moroccan dish that is cooked covered in a clay pot. So it was a meatballs (kefta), eggs (oeufs) and peas (petit pois) dish, smothered in a light tomato sauce. It came extremely hot! This dish was fantastic! The meatballs/Kefta were very tasty and not dry at all. The sauce definitely absorbed some of the taste of the meat. A great dish!

On my side, I ordered the couscous Bebert, served with merguez (lamb sausages), lamb and chicken. 

First, they brought us the veggies in a big tagine pot made of copper.  They lifted the lid and we then discovered the vegetables (carrots, potatoes, beans and chickpeas), the sauce and the hot sauce called Harisa. Then, came the meat:

I really enjoyed the merguez that were not spicy and the lamb kebab that was extremely tasty. The chicken was perfectly cooked and very moist.

With all this came the semolina or couscous. What you do to assemble the dish is that you put some couscous in your plate, then the veggies, the sauce and hot sauce and then the meat. It is a very hearty meal, with nice bold flavors thanks to the strong taste of the lamb. I loved it!

We finished up with a delicious mint tea served with a little show on the video below.

This was a great dinner and there was a lot of food! Definitely a good address!

Enjoy (I did)!

Chez Bebert

277 Boulevard Pereire

Paris

chezbebert.com

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Dinner at Le Relais de Venise - L'entrecote in Paris, France

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Last year, in March, I had a fabulous dinner at Le Relais de Venise in New York (check my post about Le Relais de Venise in NYC, NY). The restaurant was an emanation of a restaurant in Paris, with an interesting concept: they only serve steak frites, but with a secret sauce that some say is made with chicken liver...

So, as we were in Paris last month we decided to go to the original restaurant, located Porte Maillot. The concierge of the hotel told us how to go and warned us not to be scared by the wait! We were fortunate and only waited 10 minutes, having to share our table with a complete stranger (we just had to imagine it was a communal table) so we would not have to stay in the cold until a table for two was available. 

The restaurant was a bit different: no dimmed light, more casual but with the staff wearing the same maid uniform as in New York. So, ordering was simple: just tell them what temperature you would like for your steak and order wine or water. It translates by this way on the table's paper cloth:

It says: Bouteille d'eau large (large bottle of water), A Point (Medium) and Saignant (Medium rare).

Similar to New York, they started off by bringing the house salad.

A simple salad made of lettuce and walnuts.

Then, came the steak and French fries!

The French fries were divine: soft in the inside and crispy on the outside. The steak was very good with a preference for the medium rare one rather then the medium. In fact, you always get two servings, but as Jodi has a small appetite, they proposed to give me her portion. I could not refuse: it would have been rude! That is how I ended up trying a third portion of steak frites cooked medium...

One element on the plate that was interesting was the sauce: contrary to the one served in New York, it was less concentrated, separated, but had a similar smooth taste. I loved it!

Of course, we needed to end up the comparison with dessert! We ordered the vacherin that was the same dessert I tried in New York.

This dessert is a succession of meringue cookie and ice cream, topped with whipped cream and swimming in a chocolate sauce. We inhaled it! 

If I compare the two restaurants, I would say that:

• The French fries are similar.
• The meat is better in New York.
• The sauce is slightly better in New York because more held all together.
• The vacherin dessert is better in Paris because less sweet and with a better quality ice cream.

Regardless, this is a great place and I will definitely go back. It is a fantastic concept that in fact Chef Spike Mendelsohn is thinking of copying in a way (yes, I watched Life After Top Chef...).

Enjoy (I did)!

Le Relais de Venise - L'entrecote

271 Boulevard Pereire

75017 Paris, France

http://www.relaisdevenise.com/

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The evolution of food in France?

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If you recall, this year, I wrote a post about MacDonald's adapting their sandwiches with the Mac Baguette (post about the Mc Baguette here) and even had the chance to try it. So, when we went to Paris this time, I noticed different signs that were pretty interesting considering how France is proud and conservative about its cuisine! For instance, similar to Mac Donald's, Subway is also adapting:

I saw this ad in the subway for a sandwich made with raclette cheese. 

Also, I was surprised to see how Starbuck became popular. I remember how, few years ago, it was a big deal when Starbuck opened its first location in Paris: people thought that they would fail because of the culture of cafes. Well, this time, I noticed so many Starbucks around and they were packed (I noticed them in London but cannot comment on it...)!

I also noticed places that sell Hot dogs

or bagels!

In fact, when I lived in Paris, I used to go to a hot dog place that was also serving Ben & Jerry's ice cream with my friends Caroline and Arnaud. We loved it: it was so unusual. 

The last surprising thing we notice was all these vending machines in the subway!

So definitely, the culture of food is evolving in France!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Italian dinner at Montpeliano in London, England

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For our last dinner in London, we ended up at Montpeliano. In fact, we were not planning on going there, but just found this place as we were going to Harrod's to see the Holidays' decorations. 

So here we are in this restaurant that had an old fashioned atmosphere rendered mainly by walls full of black and white photos of celebrities like Frank Sinatra.

The menu offers traditional Italian dishes. So, as it was after we had our treat at Fortnum and Mason, we decided to go light...

Jodi ordered some homemade tagliatelles with a butter and parmesan sauce.

The pasta were fantastic: soft and eggy. The sauce was to die for! Creamy and tasty.

On my side, I ordered my test dish: linguine a la Vongole.

What is funny is that I always ask for parmesan and the waiters always look at me as if I have 3 heads! The pasta were perfectly cooked, al dente. The clams tasted fresh and there was a nice quantity of it. Last was the broth: I always ask the white one, that is made with white wine. It was delicious and tasty, but I have to say that the best I ever had was at Morandi in NYC! But it was definitely good!

We skipped dessert, but I am sure they had some good ones there! It was definitely a good dinner. A bit overpriced though...By the way, they make you pay a cover charge...

Enjoy (I did)!

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Fantastic Italian Dinner at Vasco and Piero's Pavilion in London, England

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A friend of a friend (interesting) suggested that we go for an Italian dinner at Vasco and Piero's Pavilion in the heart of Soho.

This is a small restaurant that was packed all evening. I like the simple decor and the atmosphere that gave the impression we were in somebody's house!

After they sat us to our table, they graciously offered us some prosecco.

This was a nice gesture from them and a good sign that this whole experience would be fantastic!

We ordered some appetizers first. As soon as we saw that they had some burrata on the menu, we ordered it!!!

It was served with cherry tomatoes. The burrata was amazing! The shell was soft and the heart creamy. I could have eaten this all day! It tasted so fresh!

The second appetizer was a pear carpaccio.

That was fantastic! The pear was juicy and sweet and it complemented very well the sharpness of the parmesan. It was a great dish: simple, tasty with clean flavors.

Jodi ordered some tuna.

It was seared and served with lentils and spinach. This was delicious! The tuna was perfectly cooked and moist. The presentation was very appetizing. A great dish!

On my side, I ordered the homemade tagliatelles with beef ragu. I went for the small size as they proposed small or regular.

This was fantastic too! The tagliatelles were soft and eggy and the beef ragu was to die for! Thick and tasty with bold flavors. I think I could have licked the plate.

Last was dessert. As we were in an Italian restaurant, we went for the tiramisu.

It was a phenomenal way of finishing this fantastic dinner! It was very light and creamy. Not too sweet, it had good hints of coffee. Fabulous!

This is definitely a great place to dine in! I loved it and would certainly go back the next time I am in London!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Christmas Market in London, England

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One day, walking near the London Eye, this spectacular Ferris Wheel on the Thames river, we found a Christmas market. It was packed! I fact we saw two sections: one was a chocolate festival (you read right: a chocolate festival!) and the other section, a more traditional market with food and mulled wine. A lot of vendors were proposing hot chocolate, but the best we got was the one made with a chocolate cube on a stick!

What they do is that they pour some hot milk, then add some marshmallow (if you want some) and put a cube of chocolate that is on a stick.
You then stir with the wooden stick until the chocolate is completely melted. This was fantastic! First of all, the hot chocolate was made with milk, not water! Why would you make a hot chocolate with water??? I know that some people would do it because they think that it is less calories. It is like ordering pizza with a diet soda: you are still eating pizza! As the temperature was cold, it was the perfect treat!

Then we ended up in the more crowded section of the market.

You had there plenty of food like waffles, donuts, crepes, candies...They were even selling some cheese.

We did not even consider these cheeses as our next stop on this trip would be France, the country of fromage!

So, as we walked around, we first picked up some candies by the pound and then ended up near a German restaurant stand where we got some amazing French fries!

We did not eat more as we had to go to an Italian restaurant later in the evening: Vasco and Piero's Pavilion. Stay tuned...

Enjoy (I did)!

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