Spring, “Chestnuts in Blossom,” Mais oui — Paris

Many of you have asked for some of my favorite restaurants or bistros in Paris, since I have spent so many years exploring this wonderful city. I have dined at Pierre Gagnaire, Guy Savoy, Apicius, Arpege, Astrance, Le Carre de Feuillants, The Bristol with Eric Freechon & Le Grand Vefour, where I feasted with Mary Risley from (Tante Marie Cooking School) for 3 hours over lunch and a glass or two of champagne . These gastronomic temples are delicious and merit the stars and accolades they have earned.

However, there are some special contemporary bistros that are cropping up around Paris that are less well known.

My number one favorite of this new crop is L’itineraires, 5, rue de Pontoise. A warm and friendly husband and wife team runs the place with panache and modernity. Last summer while in Paris for the French Open, I delved into a fresh salad of asparagus with borage flowers and marinated salmon, followed by pink rack of lamb with risotto of petits pois . The salads were gorgeous, the entree perfect and the atmosphere terrific, very French. However, it has now been written up by the NY Times, so you may need to make a reservation. Please do. 01-46-33-00 11.

L'itineraires Dining Room

Menu at L'itineraires

Last year in May and June, I was introduced to La Gazzetta, a quirky reasonably priced neighborhood bistro in the 12th, # 29 rue de Cotte . It features simple but modern food, lively atmosphere, with a local crowd. It’s also near the Marché d’Aligre so in case you don’t get into the Baron Rouge; you can go there for lunch or dinner. I had langoustines and pied de cochon with spring radishes and young turnips– but do remember that the chef is Swedish and the food is slightly quirky and the publicity is rampant for this spot.

Some other places in Paris I love for varying reasons:

Les Papilles , on Gay Lussac. You get a prix fixe dinner; you pick your wine from the bins right in front of you at a small 10% mark up over retail. One of the owners was the pastry chef at Taillevent. It is simple meal, usually a satisfying soup to begin, then a copper chafing dish entree, followed by a crème caramel or chocolate mousse, nothing too special there in description, but the food is perfect for that first night of arrival when you want to feel that you are really in Paris, but jet lag is making you wish for bed.

Brasserie Balzaar, 5th arrondisment, has come back, back with a flourish and st

ill has the great old bistro feel. The waiters however are young! The chicken is still moist, the steak tartare is perfect, the frites, are well, just frites, but the atmosphere, it does not get better than this for feeling that you are in a true old fashioned bistro.

Other favorites: This Christmas I dined at Les Petrelles, rue de petrelle, in the 9th. It is a gem of set design and staging. The chef is both a magician with design and with cooking. The space is filled with baskets of produce being used for the evening’s meal, old cookbooks, and rose petals on the tables, candles. In winter I dined on farm fresh eggs with truffles, his breast of pheasant and my husband has the Scotch grouse over winter lacinato kale. This is a special place for special occasions.

Le Petrelle's Egg Souffle with Truffle Shavings

Le Petrelle's Dining Room

Quick lunches:

Try the great wine bar (no, not Willy’s, which I love too) called Le Grand Fils , in the Galerie Vivienne. Sit at the bar; order a charcuterie platter and / or the “chica pica” of sardines. A glass of cornas is perfect.

If you are near the Jardin de Luxembourg at lunch, don’t miss going to Jean Paul Hevin’s patisserie on Notre Dame d’Assas, 6th arr. Simply the best chocolate tart in Paris, I think. And they have fabulous presents to take home to those who deserve a little a bite of Paris. I always bring the dark bittersweet cocoa powder and the hand finished chocolate candies.

Other favorites with no real descriptions just go and enjoy:

L’ami Jean, on rue Malar, 7th; when you are in the mood for grilled steak, frites.

L’Affriole, rue Malar; if they are making the chocolate trio dessert, don’t miss it. My husband loves the headcheese and I love the sardines.

Jadis, (I ate there this past Christmas, 2009) in the 15th. It has a very good blanquette de veau, which you spoon out.

Jadis' water bottle--very bistro, non?

L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon (again, dined with Mary Risley, just superb, especially the sole ) note it is open on Sunday nights!

Claude Colliot, 40 rue des Blancs Manteaux, 4^th arr.

Le Glou, 3rd, 101 vielle du temple; simple and young in clientele.

Chez la Vieille-Adrienne, Michel del Burgo is now the chef! (1st arr, near rue de l’arbre Sec).

Chez George, rue du Mail (a perennial old bistro favorite) Avoid Allard at all costs, it was really poor this January 2010. Don’t miss the turbot and lunch is the best time to go.

L’Oulette, 13th, near Parc Bercy, has a wonderful onion confit to match with a perfect housemade duck paté. Often makes wine pairings for you to match with your meal. Prices run about 35- 50 euros, without wine.

Le 122, Rue de Grenelle , when you want to dine with the ministers of France and the politicians, lunch is the best time, has excellent food quality & presentation .

Le Cafe Beauvau, rue de Saussies, near Elysses Palace, 8th (very chic).

Table 128: good luck getting a reservation, it opens this spring, after his restaurant Spring just closed in fall, 2009.( note I have not yet eaten here , but it is run by an American, who loves cooking in Paris, just market availability at his first restaurant, it was a kind of cult almost for many foodies)

I can no longer recommend Le Comptoir, at the Odeon and St. Germaine intersection. At Christmas this year, the food was tired, the staff rushed and it was filled with Americans like me, it was almost like sitting at Cafe Flore or Les Deux Magots. That is not the worst thing but –” been there and done that.”

Asparagus

March, the harbinger of Spring, comes in like a lion, so the saying goes, and leaves as gentle as a baby lamb, even here in San Francisco.

At this time of year, my food memories turn naturally to my grandfather’s house in Atlanta where I spent my early childhood. Grandfather had a field of narcissus off the dining room, two hundred rose bushes to prune and of course, asparagus that grew by the side of the old clay tennis court.

We dutifully measured the pale green tips appearing in the wet ground in the morning and once again in the evening to see if the tender spears had grown enough to cut and quickly blanch for our dinner. The butter we used was pale and sweet, not salted. Just a little drizzle of melted butter and that was the perfect first course. Spring leg of lamb often followed and we ended the meal with strawberry rhubarb crisp. The sweet promise of spring existed in that meal for me.

To get that surge of spring taste in your mouth, just go down to The Ferry Plaza market on Saturdays when Zuckerman brings in his local crop of asparagus and you will have the real thing! Of course, you may have to wait in line with the early morning chefs filling their bags for the day.

Asparagus should be picked early, with the ends tightly closed. I like the plumper spears, but the pencil are good too. If you are at the supermarket, ask the green grocer where they came from, when they came in, and of course, check the bottoms of the spears for any woodiness or dryness. Feel free, as I do, to reject the bundles the markets offer you. I prefer to hand select just the ones I want for my table.

Below are two of the many ways we recently incorporated Asparagus:

· Asparagus soup with asparagus flan

· Asparagus tempura with shiso and shiso aioli

Guests really enjoyed this wedding and so did we!

Our placement of the band’s stage and dance floor in the middle of the room with the guest tables centered around them made for a communal and intimate feel.  Note the side “lounge” with the white ottomans and blue light up bar we set up in the corridor which had a fun photo booth by Denon and Doyle.

The black and white theme really made this event classy.  No need for specialty linens on this one. Once the lights were dimmed and the tables are pin-spotted, the less formal white duck linens disappear and the table settings glistened with candlelight.  We loved the tiered candleabras by Floramor Studios. Instead of the old fashioned large wedding cake (so many of our wedding clients seem to moving away from nowadays) this couple decided on small individualized wedding cakes as table centerpieces by Cake Coquette (delicious and so stylish).  Later, the cakes were removed and set up at a cake station with coffee.

Mac and cheese, a Bride and Groom favorite, made it’s way onto our menu as a special amuse course. We added gorgonzola, toasted walnuts and grannysmith apple to make a delicious gourmet version. Enjoy the photos!

Last week we did a fabulous Hawaiian themed engagement party in Atherton for 100 lucky friends.  Guests were greeted with Leis, live music, and of course, a Mai Tai!  Later, the Hawaiian dancers performed a fire dance under the stars– it reminded me a little bit of the Brady Bunch goes to Hawaii episodes with the Hula Fire Dancers for the Luau bonfire party. The differences were that this party was in Woodside, CA and was not tacky, but tastefully done, of course, in all senses of the word!

We loved the way our lounge design and Cabanas turned out.  Michael Diagan did a fun and tropical design with the small cocktail arrangements.

Suckling pigs with Asian steamed buns with hoisin, cilantro and fresh mango salsa, peking duck salad, pineapple fried rice, Lomi Lomi salmon and lot’s of other delicious savories were on the evening’s menu.  For dessert, our new staff favorite, pineapple upside down cake with berry coulis, individual coconut cream pies and banana cream pies, and of course macadamia nut chocolate fudge bites. Yum.