Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Pounti sounds intriguing!
  

    

> a loaf of pork, spinach, Swiss chard, onions, prunes and herbs

oh my god. That sounds amazing! I immediately went looking for recipes for
pounti, and found this:

http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2004/10/pounti_auvergnat_imbb9.php

The above recipe calls for chard, but no spinach. I also found recipes that 
called for guinea fowl instead of pork for the dish. I interpret this to
mean there's plenty of leeway to play, which is my favorite way to create
in the kitchen. 

(Off to the store in seach of some pork...)
  

    
Really? you're going to make it? post photos!
  

    

(OK, I admit it, I haven't yet made it to the store. That's on Sunday's to-
do list...)
  

    
The best pounti I've ever had was in a tiny restaurant across the
street from the train station in Rodez. Drop dead delcious. In Paris,
you can sometime find it on the menu of the Ambassade d'Auverge, which
is a fabulous restaurant specializing in Auvergnat cooking. The aligot
there is to die for, as is the stuffed cabbage.
  

    
Got any suggestions for Montpellier other than Jardin des Sens, which
is sorta way out of my budget range (not to mention too far to walk)? 

Headed down there on Monday. 
  

    
Ed,

Two ideas in Montpelier.

The hottest table in town is Insense at the Musee Fabre, the latest
restaurant from local gastro czars the Pourcel brothers. The beamed
gray ceiling of the edgy battle-ship gray interior reprises the
museum’s interior and they serve outside on a wood-decked terrace on
warm nights. Their version of a chicken Cesar salad puts most of those
served stateside to shame, and the succulent rouille de seiche comme a
Sete, is tender squid braised in a shellfish sauce like they do in the
nearby port of Sete.  Tamarillos has a pleasant terrace overlooking a
quiet square, and chef Philippe Chapon love to cook with fruit,
vegetables and edible flowers. His tuna tartare with orange and black
currants is superb, as are his baby vegetables in coconut milk. 
  

    
Thanks. I know both those places, but too bad Insense is only open for
lunch, or so it seemed when I was there in March. (The Pourcels are
Jardin des Sens, right?) Tamarillos is a few doors from my
bargain-basement pick Bistrot d'Alco, which is behind the Prefecture on
the same street, where you can usually get a good meal with wine for
€20. Sometimes better than others, and it varies widely, but if you hit
them on a good night -- they've got killer garlicky sauteed seiches,
for instance -- and when they've got a good wine special, they rock. I
should check out Tamarillos, though, when I get settled; too much
classic Fronch food will, I'm sure, get boring. 
  

    
Ed, You should check and see if Insense is open for dinner during the
summer. I remember walking by the museum at night last summer and
seeing people seated on the terrace adjacent to the front entrance.

Not sure if you're going to be in Montpelier for a while, or if you'll
have wheels, but if you have time and can motor, check Le Tracteur,
about 30 km north of the city. It's one of the best little bistros in
southern France. 
  

    
Calling all couscous lovers--I went back to Chez Omar in the rue de
Bretagne, 3rd, for the first time in ages last night and it was better
than ever. Omar is rightly proud of his meat and his merguez (spicey
lamb sausages to the uninitiated) are fabulous. Pastries come from La
Bague de Kenza, the best North African bakery in Paris in the 11th,
too. 

North African food is v. popular in London, Brussels, and other large
European cities, too, but aside from a couple of ho-hum places on
Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, I've never had a great couscous in the
U.S. Does one exist? And does anyone want to suggest a favorite of
their own in Paris?
  

    

I was dyin' to go to a couscous venue in Paris when I was there last fall,
but there are just so many meals you can eat, and we ran out of time before
we got to one. sigh...

By the way, I *did* get to the market for the pork I needed to make the
Pounti Auvergnat. I used pork shoulder, which I figured would work well
because it's so marbled that I knew it'd shred nicely once I'd cooked it up.
It did. The dish is a big hit in my house.

here are a couple photos:

  http://www.fotothing.com/gcook/photo/ccd4c8fcaf20daff42ca32b84f24b2a9/

  http://www.fotothing.com/gcook/photo/bd08eb0d0b8c3c51db21eb0b43052c88/
  

    
Cynthia,

I love the idea that pounti has migrated to the other side of the
Atlantic! It's a great party dish, too, since it can support being
lukewarm for a longtime.

Meanwhile, this lousy summer in Europe (overcast and cool) relented
long enough for me to have to deliriously wonderful sorbet experiences:

Violette-Black Currant at Laduree, 21 rue Bonaparte, 6th. Like eating
a Colette novel.

Apricot-Rosemary at La Maison du Chocolat, 52 rue Francois Ier, 8th. A
week-long vacation in Provence in one scoop.
  

    
 Alex - Any suggestion on going for lunch vs. dinner at Pierre Gagnaire?
Specifically, is everything available on the menu for luch?

Looking forward to our vist next month.

Thanks.
  

    
Howard,

I much prefer lunch at Gagnaire, since there's more atmosphere and the
dining room is more likely to be filled with a French (powerbroker)
crowd than with foreigners. Only a dish or two not available at lunch,
so you won't miss anything either. Lunch or dinner, by all means go,
though, since I don't think Gagnaire's food has ever been better.

Alec
  

    
 excellent - thanks Alec - lunch on the 24th it is.
  

    
Great new restaurant alert: INTINERAIRES, rue de Pontoise, 5th. Chef
is Sylvain Sendra, who used to be at Le Temps a Temps in the 11th.
Superb market cooking and very reasonably priced.
  

    

What do you mean by "market cooking," Alec?
  

    
Sylvain decides what he cooks everyday according to what he finds in
the markets, local ones but also the big mother of all Paris markets at
Rungis. This means that his cooking is incredibly seasonal, fresh, and
inspired. Don't miss this place if you're coming to Paris this summer!

And speaking of which, after my recent trip to sublime but
shudderingly expensive Croatia, I have to tell you that even with the
dollar in the dumps (Some French newspapers call it "Bush's Peso),
eating in Paris is still excellent value for the money as long as you
skip the whole haute cuisine thing and do bistros. 
  

    

> if you're coming to Paris this summer!

Wish I could. That "Bush's peso" problem isn't limited to the value of
the US dollar outside the States. It's buying power is shrinking
drastically right here at home, too. Most everybody in the the US's 
economic middle class is doing a lot of belt-tightening these days. 

But I still love all this talk of restaurants and food. It inspires me
to expand my own kitchen repertoire. That pounti dish is a great example.
  

    
Soaring prices, a sinking stock market, and the utter misery of air
travel are powerful deterrents to any travel right now, of course, but
the good news is that Paris remains relatively affordable. With a
little bit of planning (eat your main meal at noon, for example), you
can still eat extremely well in Paris for prices that are lower than
what you'd pay for a mid-level meal in the U.S. Of the many good-value
places in HUNGRY FOR PARIS, friends have recently loved Le Mesturet and
Au Vieux Chene.
  

    
 Alec - We're thinking of visiting Itineraires later this month.  Do you
recommend lunch or dinner there, or does it matter?  Are reservations
becoming necessary due to the current reviews?

Thanks.
  

    
Howard,

I think dinner's livelier and more "Parisian" at Itineraires, and yes,
do book a week ahead of time, since it has become very, very popular.
Another new place that I like very much is La Bigarrade, rue Nollet,
17th arrondissement. It's a tiny little spot where the chef cooks a
single prix-fixe menu nightly at 60 Euros, a bit expensive, but
well-worth it in terms of the food. 

And just in case you were thinking of going to Aux Fin Gourmets, the
old bistro on boulevard Saint Germain near the rue du Bac: Don't. It
may have new owners--a young crew that trained with Alain Ducasse--but
the food is awful and it's very expensive for no good reason.

Best, Alec
  

    
 thanks Alec.  we'll try for a dinner there.
  

    
Great article in NY Times today about how the hamburger is taking paris by 
storm.

<http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/16/dining/16paris.html>
  

    
Hey, Alec, I went to the Musée Fabre in Montpellier today to see the
Courbet show and checked the restaurant there. 

It's still only open for lunch. Which is a shame: it's simply too much
for lunch for me, but it does look like an exciting menu.