Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Since Paris suffers from pretty serious air pollution (all of those
diesel engines), my urban green thumb is restricted to a pot of basil
that I bought in the Rialto market in Venice and that lives next to the
dish drainer in the kitchen and a rosemary plant that seems very happy
in the back courtyard of our building. When I lived in NYC a longtime
ago I was an avid fire-escape gardener--tomatoes, basil, parsley,
coriander,and mint. 

And you are so lucky to be able to go right to the farmer. ANd what
farmers you have! I really was amazed by the produce in California, SF,
Marin and Napa most of all, but also the Chino farm near Rancho Santa
Fe. Makes me nostalgic for the farm stands in Westport, CT, the town
where I grew up--we used to buy sweet corn, tomatoes, zinnias,
eggplant, zucchini, etc., all grown locally, and they had an amazing
Civil War vintage machine that made apple cider in the fall. Someday
really hope to have my own little patch some place, maybe Burgundy.
Paris is wonderful, but after Boston, Buenos Aires, NYC, London and
Paris, la vie bucolique m'appele!

And with Memorial Day weekend looming, I imagine everyone will be
doing a lot of cooking, grilling etc. Anything "French"?
  

    
Might open a bottle of bubbly. 
  

    
Looking around and hoping to find some fresh sardines to put on the
grill. Maybe more Spanish than French, but yum.
  

    
And France is hardly short of farmers markets. When we were staying in
the Perigord, we found amazing stuff everywhere. 
  

    
No, France is far from lacking farmer's markets, but the rules on who
can sell in Paris markets leave a lot of room open for "les
revendeurs," or stall-holders who just stock up at the Rungis wholesale
markets as opposed to small-holders who bring their own produce to
town. I've mentioned Joel Thiebault before, and he's one of the most
spectacular bona fide farmer-sellers (market on the Avenue du President
Wilson in the 16th, and he supplies many, many of the top tables in
Paris with their veggies).

Sardines are in season now, too! And god are they good! But I think
Kayo has the real firecracker idea with that bottle o'bubbly. Never
found a life moment that wasn't dressed up by a glass o' Champagne.
  

    
Living in Illinois, the local produce is limited but right now, we
have asparagus.  Later in the spring the local strawberries are so much
better than anything one can by at the supermarkets any other time. 
Then we have to pretty much wait until August and September for sweet
corn, raspberries and tomatoes.  Michigan cherries are good, but very
expensive.  There are other locally grown vegetables here in the
summer, but nothing quite as good as the ones I've mentioned.
  

    

> with Memorial Day weekend looming, I imagine everyone will be
 doing a lot of cooking, grilling etc. Anything "French"? <

Blackberries aren't ready yet here in Northern California -- that's not
until early July -- but I still have some in my freezer that I picked last
year, peak season. I'm planning on making a blackberry galette as my
offering to a dinner I'll be attending Sunday evening. I promise to use
lots of good, rich butter in the crust.

Speaking of butter... 

Alec, you bemoaned the lack of good butter in the States. Here in Sonoma
County there's a man who's been making interesting cheeses from the output
of Jersey cows (Jersey milk has a much higher butterfat content). He's
recently branched out to hand-churned Jersey butter, which is very much
like plus gras. I think you'd approve. 
  

    
Trader Joe sells unsalted plugra for $3.50 a pound, and it ain't bad
at all.
  

    
Great news that America's being buttered up, and I'm not surprised to
hear that there's good butter in Sonoma, since there's good everything
there! As I've mentioned before, the only American butter I've ever
found on the East Coast that has any real taste is made by Kate's
Creamery in Kennebunkport, Maine. It's delicious--grassy, pretty light
yellow, a little iodine that might mean the cows get to look at the sea
every once in a while. 

Looking out the window of the train from Burgundy back to Paris this
morning, however, I found myself thinking that a splendid reincarnation
might that of a toffee colored Charolais cow in the Nivernais.

And on the milk theme, what kind of raw-milk French cheeses are you
able to get at home? I ate some incredible raw goat's milk cheeses when
I stayed with friends in Napa. Anything else American that I should
know about? And has anyone found a way to spirit younger French
raw-milk cheeses into the US? (Worth noting, by the way, that
regardless of USDA sterness, most of these French cheeses are available
in Canada, and you never read about mass food poisoning up there).
  

    
I recently read the Julia Child biography, My Life in France and she
talks a lot about how she had to gear her recipes in Mastering the
Art... to things that American cooks could actually find in stores
here.  Things have improved a lot since 1961 when the book was first
published, thanks in part to the cooking revolution that she helped
start over here.

However, the ability to get good ingredients is so regionally
dependent in this country.  California is, of course wonderful, but the
Midwest is a different story.  Chicago is pretty good, and there are a
lot of great Italian groceries, but get out of the city and the
affluent suburbs, and finding a decent loaf of bread can be very
difficult.  It is only in the past year that you can buy a very nice
baguette and other breads in DeKalb, IL, where I live part time.
  

    
When I visit friends around the U.S., I often like to cook for them,
and so I've had a lot of direct experience of what is and isn't
available in various regions and cities. When my father was living in
Atlanta, he always asked us to bring lamb chops with us when we came to
visit from NY, CT and Boston, because it was almost never available
locally. Outside of cities like NY, Phila, LA, SF, Boston, etc., it's
still really hard to get decent bread, and what I also find sad is that
they're almost no dedicated butchers or fishmongers left--seems like
everyone goes to the supermarket now! Maybe someday I'll write the
Costco cookbook!
  

    
GREAT NEW WEBSITE FOR VEGETARIANS Traveling to FRANCE: www.laplage.fr
I just came across this today. It's the website that's attached to a
new guide to more than 150 vegetarian restaurants, tea rooms, and cafes
all over France. Only in France, but the addresses are there. 
  

    
Oh, excellent! Managing to put together a truly vegetarian meal can be 
difficult. 
  

    

That's a great tip, Alec!

Though it's obvious you like vegetables, you're clearly not a vegetarian.
More omnivore, yes?

But is there any place you draw the line, Alec? Any foods that you feel
squeamish about because of psychological factors? And what about eating
species whose future existence is in question, such as the ortolan, or King
salmon even?
  

    
Where would you send a visitor who wants one big splurge fantastic dinner 
in Paris, Alec? 
  

    
For any serious foodlover, I'd send them to L'Astrance or Pierre
Gagnaire. These are the two most interesting restaurants in Paris right
now.

And yes, I'm a happy omnivore, although I increasingly see meat more
as a condiment than a main course.

Ortolans! Yes, indeed, a day that I will never, ever forget. And
before I dive in, for anyone who doesn't know them, ortolans are tiny
songbirds that are roasted and eaten whole. French president Francois
Mitterand polished off a few as his last meal, and they're one of the
most storied and extreme gastronomic delicacies on the French table.

You eat them whole, head, beak, feet, etc. and ungutted. What do they
taste like--think wet-dog smell, crushed earth worms on a road after a
summer rain, something fecal, something bloody. When I bit into the
ortolan, it squirted and cracked and spattered and I had little bones
in my mouth that were like needles. I was one of two ortolan virgins at
the table that day. The other was a very nice young woman who was the
mistress of the retired mayor of a major French city. "What are we
going to do?" she said in terror when we were served. Maybe they'll be
good, I said. They could be, she replied. They won't last long one way
or another. We each got two, and even though they weren't much bigger
than a baby zucchini, the time it took to eat them was longer than any
childood summer. 
  

    
Did you eat them in the traditional way?
  

    
I heard an account of Mitterand's last meal with the ortolans on (I
think) This American Life.
  

    
Yes, I ate the ortolans in the traditional way, which is simply
roasted. 

Had dinner at the new Alain Ducasse restaurant in London last night
and walking home, I couldn't help but musing on how French food exports
so badly compared to Italian or Chinese. France isn't even that far
away. Makes me curious--what's the French food like where you live?
  

    
We have a lot of French bistros in Chicago.  I have tried many of them
over the years and, while I enjoy certain dishes, I usually feel
somewhat disappointed.  We used to go to La Sardine a lot because it is
close to us, we enjoyed a number of the dishes and had a favorite
waiter there who always gave us little extras.  That waiter left, and
some things are good, and some not so good, so we don't go there that
often anymore.  I have tried other bistros in the area hopping for
something better, and never find it.

On a grander level, I've been to the Everest Room once and while it
was very good, I didn't think it was so wonderful that I wanted to pay
that much for a meal.  If I am going to spend that much for a special
occasion, I would rather go to Charlie Trotters which is much more
eclectic and creative. Tru is another one that is often labeled as
French, but my memory of it is more eclectic.  I never got to the
legendary Le Francais before it closed, though I think it has reopened.
  

    
I don't think we even *have* French food here except at the very
high-end center of Boston (where I don't go). No such thing as a
moderately priced French restaurant in any of the towns surrounding
Boston as far as I know. Everything is "fusion" or some such thing.
Cambridge has Chez Henri which is French-Cuban and there's Elephant
Walk which is French-Cambodian. 

'course, I'm a peasant. Someone who lives downtown would give a
different answer. 
  

    
No,I meant, did you put your napkin over your head?
  

    
Yeah, a lot of the "French" restaurants in Chicago are fusion too.


Alec, I found this in the Chicago Tribune Travel section today and
thought you we be interested:

>Chances of a martini in Paris? Wee
By Bill Daley | Tribune Reporter
May 25, 2008
...
As noted in expatriate Alexander Lobrano's wonderful new restaurant
guide, "Hungry For Paris" (Random House, $16), the French rarely drink
cocktails or hard liquor before dinner. Dulls the taste buds, or so
they say.

Instead, Parisians will choose a glass of Champagne, white wine or
kir, which Lobrano describes as white wine "dosed" with a fruit
liqueur. As a former restaurant reviewer, I knew of this belief and how
strongly it is held. Indeed, I'd often caution guests when going out
to French-owned restaurants to stick with wine to establish better cred
with the servers.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/chi-martini_0525_r_lmvmay25,0,1193613.sto
ry
http://tinyurl.com/48fbb7
  

    
I'm trying to think of a 100 percent classic French restaurant in San 
Francisco and I am coming up with zip. Not even Fleur de Lis. Maybe it's 
the case that no one but the French cares that much about sticking to 
tradition.

Well, Bistro Jeanty or Jeanty at Jack's, maybe. 

I am trying to think of a restaurant that even considers itself "French." 
Help me plz!
  

    
When I looked up "French Restaurants+Chicago" to refresh my memory,
most that came up, including a "10 best list" were not classic French
either.  I think that there was a time French restaurants in the US
were considered the ultimate fine dining experience.  Except for some
Italian, chop house and seafood establishments, outside of the very
large cities, there wasn't much to pick from at that level.  That all
changed when Nouvelle Cuisine came into vogue and also the California
food revolution.  So French was no longer the last word in dining. 
That, was for the most part a good thing as American cooking came into
its own.  Still, I long for French classic cooking done really well.