Tag Archives: wine

Colorful, happy decoration ideas

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It was exactly one year ago when we first visited the apartment that we today own. Huge renovations begun in June, one day after signing the purchase contract, and continued until October. We managed to move in in October, one day before our wedding anniversary, but small works continued… Finally in January the construction company received the last payment from us which meant no more waking up at 7am on a Saturday morning to receive a plumber or an electrician! Apartment became ours, and since our return from Southeast Asia in the beginning of March we have been able to focus mainly on decoration. Next purchases should be two lamps for the living room, one lamp for the bathroom, one shelf for the kitchen and some other small items. Getting there!

During the month of April I have visited a shop called FLEUX’ twice. The very first FLEUX’ shop arrived in Paris, in the heart of Marais, eight years ago and in the beginning of this year the fourth shop was opened. Until today I have not done big purchases there (I guess I am not an impulsive shopper!) but I keep returning for a second look and to have fresh ideas. Moreover, the shop puts me in a good mood: there are funny gift items, elegant furniture, lamps, books, etc. Most of all, the colors are almost as abundant as in India, and I think this is what I like most about FLEUX’. Colors make us happy.FLEUX' 39 & 52 rue Sainte Croix de la BretonnerieBelow you see photos of objects that I noticed and found either original or interesting. Have fun!

MUGS: First two sentences of Pantone Universe‘s website are “Color is essential to your life. The colors you love are deep and vital affirmations of who you are.” I have nothing to add! (http://www.pantoneuniverse.com/)Pantone Universe

CANDLES: Perfumed candles have been extremely popular for a long time so I would have thought that all possible names have already been used. Not true. Marianne Guedin‘s candles have names that match any mood you are in: Paris Sous la Pluie, Figue Sucrée, Nombril de Vénus, Herbes des Sorciers, Orientale… Nice! (http://www.dinguedeguedin.fr/guedin/) Marianne Guedin

BALCONY TABLE SET: We have an eight-meter-long balcony waiting for a table where at least two people can eat (preferably three or even four…). I like this round table, but even more so the serving table on the left where I could grow herbs (or place a wine bottle and salt & pepper while eating). I will need to return to choose the right color…. and then buy matching balcony flowers!balcony table

BOTTLE HOLDER: Talking of wine,  I don’t think I would buy this wine bottle holder for myself (my taste is more classic) but I think it is an original gift idea! It is called “Lasso” –what else?– and sells for 25€90.  (Idea: Wouldn’t the rope look more elegant if it came in different color or maybe embroidered?)original bottle holder

OTHER OBJECTS: Owls seem to be fashionable today, and why would not they be? They are beautiful, elegant birds, associated with wisdom. No wonder Athena, who was the patron goddess of Athens, chose an owl as her symbol. one more owl

CLOTHES HOOKS: The next time you need to add clothes hooks in your bathroom, bedroom or wardrobe, why not to choose a red moose or one of these owls? (OK, I come from Finland and we love animals, so please bear with me…)owl clothes hooks moose clothes hooks

SHELVES & BUREAU FURNITURE: These shelves on the right are hugely popular, photographed by many decoration magazines. Unfortunately the size is not ideal for our kitchen, so I think we will keep looking… or maybe I will return to have a third look!shelvesIf we had more space or needed more furniture, I would probably buy this bureau furniture for papers and folders. I think the greenish color on the right is very subtle (photo below).more colors! Lastly, the next time you need to buy a gift for a a friend who has “everything” (and who also possesses an apartment with a lot of space!) why not to buy this gorilla? King Kong is back!Red King Kong

FLEUX’ http://www.fleux.com/

39 & 52 rue Sainte Croix de la Bretonnerie, 75004 PARIS (Metro Hôtel de Ville)

Telephone: 01-42782720, 01-42777385, 01-42745182, 01-42746554.

Open on Sundays!

First summer days, first terrace dinner

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Wasn’t it only two weeks ago that I wrote Spring has arrived in Paris (at least in the Conran Shop) ? Since then, there have been several lovely days, temperature climbing up to 25C. Summer is here, or not far away anyway, and the signs are everywhere: picnics along the Seine and Canal Saint-Martin, terraces full of Parisians, sandals, shorts, skirts, sleeveless tops… picnic along Canal Saint Martin

Even birds are happier. We seem to have a new friend: a rose-colored pigeon keeps visiting our balcony. In fact (s)he doesn’t seem to be able to decide whether (s)he prefers our neighbor’s palm tree or our 1870s balcony railing! pigeon in balcony

Last night, after a vernissage at Le Grand Palais we joined the rest of Paris (what it seemed like!) and ate at one of Rue Cler’s terraces. Rue Cler, located in the 7th arrondissement (metro Ecole Militaire), is one of the loveliest pedestrian market streets in Paris. Ok, to be fair, there are many, but I am attached to this street as we lived few blocks away and used to do our Sunday morning groceries there. The choice is excellent: there is a good-quality fish shop (poissonnerie), flower shops, fruit and vegetable stalls, fromagerie, etc. Rue Cler is also rich in cafes and restaurants, and therefore makes a good destination to visit any time of the day. I will now share a small secret…

When the market closes around 14h on Sunday, the shop keepers come to Café du Marché (http://www.timeout.com/paris/en/bars-pubs/le-cafe-du-marche). It is a lot of fun watching (mostly) men entering the cafe in their work clothes and comparing stories, while adding ice cubes to pastis. There is an atmosphere and it is a real neighborhood hangout. Rue Cler and Cafe du MarcheI have been going to Café du Marché for over ten years now, and it is nice to see that the prices have not doubled like in many other places. For example, a large beer and a glass of rosé at the bar cost just over 7€ (you know that consuming at the bar is less expensive than at the table or terrace in France?). And the rose was not any rosé, but Minuty (http://www.chateauminuty.com)! Impressive. At the lunch hour you get a decent plat du jour for a reasonable price, too, and wine is available in pichet. As you see in the photo, there is a large terrace and in early spring or late autumn it comes with heating. Nothing too fancy, but cosy and simple. The photo above was taken last night but I shall return during the day to take more photos.

 

 

 

The French dilemma: holidays in May

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Since I last wrote, the spring has arrived in Paris. Just over a week ago Le Jardin des Plantes, where I do my jogging, showed no sign of spring but yesterday almost every tree had buds, and some more than that!

This sudden change in weather also means that we are approaching the famous month of May… Famous, because in France it is a month that feels like a never-ending holiday. It begins with the International Workers’ Day (encouragement is surely needed under the current economic conditions!), the religious holidays (does everyone remember their origin?) and there also is the Victory Day that takes us back to 1945. This year, May 8 falls on Wednesday and May 9 naturally on Thursday. In France this means that many people will make a bridge (faire le pont). For clarification, no, they won’t build a bridge, but they will take Friday off in order to have a loooooooong weekend (sometimes this is imposed by the employer itself!). Even if you don’t live in France, try talking to your boss about “bridge making” and you may get an extra day off!

Furthermore, since most companies ask employees to use their remaining holidays by the end of the month, the dilemma is ready: how to use them, what to do, where to go? A French dilemma! But a nice one.

So, I have been suffering from the same problematic since last week. Some ideas are above the others, but wherever I go traveling, it is important to eat well. Distance-wise, the destination should not be more than some four hours away by plane. Ideally, the weather should be warmer than in Paris… Voila, here is the current shortlist:

1. Spain Spain

Spain, one of the closest destinations to France where the weather is warmer, food delicious and wine good. I would not mind eating some fresh, grilled seafood like razor shells. Not forgetting manchego. Fly to Malaga, rent a car and drive around Andalusia to learn about Islamic heritage in Europe? Or fly to Santiago de Compostela with Vueling (http://www.vueling.com) but forget swimming in the sea in May, I think…

2. ItalyItaly

Italy is like Spain –who does not love these two countries? My dream for many years now has been to drive around the coastline of Italy, but one would need at least one month to do that, I reckon. But how about just flying to Naples and visiting the nearby islands of Capri, Ischia and Procida? Seafood and wine are delicious, too! Or –since I already know these three island– fly to Sicily, the largest Mediterranean island.

3. Turkey Istanbul& Greece

On the eastern side of the Mediterranean is Turkey, where I have been maybe ten times. More importantly, I have never been disappointed with food. How could one be: Turkish mezes are very tasty and the eggplant puree in the picture is to die for! A week in Bodrum with some island hopping to Greek islands of Kos and Rhodes? The sea should be warm enough for pleasant swimming.

4. A seaside resort in a place where it is HOT (Egypt?)

I took this photo in Seychelles some years ago and the beach looks very tempting. With some luck the Mediterranean sea temperature will be well above 20C Seychellesin May but maybe not. The only seaside destination near Europe (again, around 4 hours of flying) where you have “guaranteed hot weather” is Egypt and you can correct me if I am wrong. In Egypt, not only one has the sun and the turquoise water, but there are excellent snorkeling and diving possibilities. My primary concern is that Egypt is mainly a package-tour destination and based on my hotel-review reading, the food is often not top… Do not get me wrong; I am sure Egyptian food is good, but I just need to find the right hotel that believes in preparing traditional food instead of serving pasta buffets…

5. France

The obvious not-so-obvious choice: France. To rent a car and drive towards the South? My usual lunch stop is in Beaune in Burgundy where snails are bigger and better than anywhere else (or at least compared to most of the places I have eaten at). From Beaune the voyage wFranceould continue toward Avignon and further down south either toward Côte d’Azur or deeper into Languedoc, including stops chez les vignerons (read my previous post Wine tasting at Salon des Vins des Vignerons Indépendants). Always an excellent idea.

Ideas to ponder, indeed. Meanwhile, should you like to share your favorite holiday spot with me, or have suggestions or comments, let me know!

Côte de Bœuf: ultimate French meat dish

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If one day there is a competition for The Ultimate French Meat Dish, I know the winner will be the Côte de Bœuf! And many French and international chefs seem to agree. When interviewed and asked about their favorite meat dish, or what meat they serve at a casual friends get-together, they often refer to this beautiful chunk of beef meat that comes with a bone. In English this piece of meat is called “a rib-eye on the bone” (http://www.jamieoliver.com/magazine/blogs.php?title=what-s-your-beef) or “a T-bone steak”, but I will stick to its French name.

We usually prepare the côte de bœuf once a month and serve it with salad and before the herbsa nice bottle of red. I am very bad at following any recipe (I prefer to invent them myself) and I am equally bad at writing them down (I never do that either) so if you have difficulties following the recipe I am trying to compose here, do not hesitate to email me should you have any questions.

1. Buy a nice-looking piece of meat, not too much of fat, but with a bone, and leave it at room temperature for 2-3 hours. The piece we buy usually weighs around 1kg, sometimes 1,2kg (the bone included). If you serve potatoes as a side dish, the côte de bœuf can serve four people. If you are two and cannot finish it all, think about eating it cold with mustard the next day…

2.  Start heating the oven (around 200C-225C). Prepare olive oil, peppers (usually black and white, but I use Iranian green, too, that I recently bought in Dubai) and Herbes de Provence (oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary, satureja and marjoram). We never add salt at this pherbes de provenceoint (as you keep reading, you will see why). Cover the côte de bœuf with pepper and herbs, and remember: the more, the merrier! Herbs are good for you!

3. Admire your beautiful côte de bœuf and smell the herbs. Have un apéritif, maybe a glass of rosé from the South of France? Make sure that you have opened the bottle of wine that you will serve for dinner (just don’t drink it yet!).

4. If you have more people coming over to eat, or if your côte de bœuf is particularly small, then you can serve potatoes with it. We find that a salad is enough and makes the dinner less heavy. However, should you want the potatoes, halve them and put them in the oven before the côte de bœuf assalad they take longer to be cooked. Place the potatoes in an oven bowl in the lower middle part of the oven so that while the côte de bœuf is being grilled, its extra fat runs on the potatoes.

If you skip the potatoes part, then start preparing the salad. We like it very simple: roquette, beetroot and spinach leaves, mixed with slices of tomatoes and onions.

5. Every cooking experience has un moment stratégique. Putting the côte de bœuf in the oven is one of those moments, because from now on you have to start watching your clock. Depending on the size and thickness of the chunk of meat, your oven, your taste, etc., the côte de bœuf should be in the oven for approximately 20 minutes, maximum 30 minutes. côte de bœuf goes to oven

Place the oven rack on the upper middle part of the oven, and put the côte de bœuf directly on the rack (the aluminium foil that you see in the photo is only to cover the bottom part of the oven from the fat!). Cook it for 10-15 minutes on each side. Depending on the greasiness of the meat and the general quality, you may have a lot of smoke coming out when you open the oven, so keep the kitchen windows and ventilation on!

6. Get the côte de bœuf our of the oven. For juiciness,  it is recommended to wrap the meat in aluminum foil for 15 minutes before serving it, but I rarely do it.. Maybe I do dinner is readysomething wrong, but to be honest, I don’t see the difference it is supposed to make, so I don’t do it. So if you like, you can do as we do, and bring your côte de bœuf to the table and cut it into thin slices in front of everyone.

It is only at this point that the salt is added: the type of salt that is sprinkled on the côte de bœuf is coarse sea salt. If you want to make your dinner even more perfect, buy the salt that comes from Guérande, located in the Southern part of Brittany where salt making goes back to the Iron Age (http://www.leguerandais.fr).

7. Serve the salad (and potatoes if you made them), not forgetting the wine. We had purchased a bottle of red from 2009, Château la Sauvageonne, Cuvée Pica Broca, Languplateedoc Roussillon, Coteaux-du-Languedoc AOC (http://www.1907.fr/nos-domaines/domaine-la-sauvageonne/domaine-la-sauvageonne-pica-broca-terrasses-du-larzac-rouge.html).  This time it was not a bottle of independent winemakers, but one of Gérard Bertrand, a big name in the French and European wine merchant business (http://www.gerard-bertrand.com).

I hope you enjoy this very-easy-to-make meat dish as much as I do, and Bon Appétit!

Wine tasting at Salon des Vins des Vignerons Indépendants

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Vignerons Indépendants (http://www.vigneron-independant.com/) is a network of independent winemakers who are present in France through eleven regional federations. Their aim is to produce authentic wine with personality and the process that brings the winemakers to this result is protected by a Charter of thirteen principles. To show a potential consumer that this is serious business that gives a guarantee of quality, the network puts its logo on each bottle they produce. Vignerons Indépendants logoFor example, we buy wine in Paris at our caviste who is specialized in the wines of independent winemakers, but if we need to buy wine elsewhere, we try to look for bottles with this logo as it most probably increases our satisfaction level (and contributes to the sustainable development of viticulture).

We had been offered complimentary tickets to visit Le Salon des Vignerons Indépendants (http://www.vigneron-independant.com/auxsalons/), so there was no better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than head to the Northwestern part of Paris, Porte de Champerret. As soon as we walked in, I was reminded of how fun it is to talk with people who truly love what they do. Moreover, I think working so closely together with the nature, whether animals or plants, gives a person some perspective and makes him often humble…. Of course, amongst 1,000 winemakers present in the Salon, we also met those who did not bother presenting their products, but in general we met lovely and friendly wine producers. In fact, if you read the Charter, you see that an independent winemaker should respect his customers and be someone who “is happy to welcome you, to give you advice about wine tasting and introduce you his production“.Domaine Les Luquettes, BandolIf you stopped reading after “1,000 winemakers” and are now worrying about how to navigate through so many producers from eleven different regions, do not worry. It can be overwhelming but the best thing you can do is to remember enjoy it. There is (almost) nothing worse than a wine snob who doesn’t know much but pretends to know it all! Our idea was to choose approximately ten stands, and maintain a healthy balance of visiting wine producers we really like (that we want to buy from) and visiting new ones (trying to learn more). I am hereby presenting three winemakers whose wine we tasted, liked and bought, but I know there are many other excellent wines out there!Vignobles Mousset-Barrot, Châteauneuf-du-Pape1. Vignobles Mousset-Barrot, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (AOC) & Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages (AOC)

Vignobles Mousset-Barrot (http://www.vmb.fr/) is a family business that has vines growing around three château in the southern Rhone Valley of France. Grapes that grow near Château des Fines Roches and Château Jas de Bressy make red and white wine and fall under the appellation of Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC. Château du Bois de la Garde produces all three colors but in terms of the appellation we are no longer longer talking about Châteauneuf-du-pape but Vin de pays de Méditerranée, Côtes du Rhône and Côtes du Rhône Villages.Vignobles Mousset-BarrotA common factor between all of these wines is that they grow around Châteauneuf-du-Pape, which is not only a world-famous appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) but also a small town near Avignon. Its history is intertwined with the Popes: in the 14th century the Popes temporarily lived in Avignon and were big supporters of the wine produced in the region.

We were particularly interested in AOC Châteauneuf-du-pape Château des Fines Roches, because a few summers ago we had a superb lunch at this château (www. chateaufinesroches.com) that overlooks the vineyards.Chateau ddes Fines RochesAfter a pleasant tasting of several reds, we ended up buying a 16.50€ bottle of red from 2010 (http://www.vmb.fr/sites/default/files/FR_roug.pdf) that goes perfectly with saucy game meat, like wild boar or rabbit stew. The next time we are in the region, we will definitely try to stop at Château Jas de Bressy, where the Vignobles Mousset-Barrot wines are stored and sold (http://vmb.fr/en/access-map).

2. Domaine Les Luquettes, Bandol (AOC) & Vin de Pays du Mont Caume (VDP)

From Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Rhone Valley we moved towards the French Mediterranean and a seaside town called Bandol. We know the region quite well, and many long lunches, and even longer dinners have been enjoyed in that region and in the company of une bouteille de rosé. Moreover, a few years ago we were invited to a wedding in a private island (owned by Paul Ricard) called l’Île de Bendor (www.bendor.com), ovelooking Bandol.  Domaine Les Luquettes, BandolSo when Elisabeth Lafourcade, the owner-manager (propriétaire récoltante) of Domaine Les Luquettes (http://www.les-luquettes.com) smiled at us as we were walking by, we didn’t hesitate to stop at her stand. Before we realized, we were tasting their different wines while listening to a crash course to wine history of the region. We learned that in 600 BC Ionian Greeks from Phocaea planted the first vines in the region. When Romans arrived less than 400 years later, they found vineyards doing very well; so well that the wine was ready to be exported, and this is exactly what the Romans started doing. Originally Bandol was famous for its red, and the rosé came later. Because of its history, geographical location and centuries-old tradition, the Bandol wine has become so special that it was one of the first wines to receive its own appellation (AOC Bandol) in 1941 (http://www.vinsdebandol.com/aoc/decret-du-11-novembre-1941/?lang=en).Domaine Les Luquettes, BandolWine-making history at Domaine Les Luquettes goes back generations; their cellar was built in 1852. Today their two primary appellations are Bandol (AOC) and Mont-Caume (VDP). In 1997 the first bottles of Domaine Les Luquettes were released and today they are exported to Canada and the UK.

Optimists as we are, we decided that the sun will soon start shining in Paris and we can start enjoying our new balcony, so we bought two (rosé) bottles of Vin de Pays du Mont Caume for 6€ per bottle. Now the only thing missing is the temperature to reach at least 15C (and preferably 20C…)!

3. Clos des Augustins, Languedoc Pic Saint Loup (AOC) & Vin de Pays du Val Montferrand (VDP)

At Clos des Augustins (http://www.closdesaugustins.com), located some 20km North of Montpellier, the vines are grown according to organic methods; “reasonable culture” (culture « raisonnable ») as the owners call it. In 2004 they decided to go even further to show their commitment and respect of nature: biodynamic viticulture was introduced.Clos des Augustins, Pic Saint LoupBut what does biodynamic viticulture mean? The father of the biodynamic agriculture is an Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner who suggested that the nature should be seen from a spiritual and philosophical perspective as well. In my own simplistic words, I say that he wanted us to see the nature beyond green leaves and black soil –to realize that there are forces beyond our knowledge and no matter how much medicine we give to a sick plant, it won’t work unless we do it in respect of these spiritual forces living in the nature.

How does this then translate into a wine producer’s daily life? Well, he needs to practice his profession according to the lunar calendar and the alignment of planets. For example, only certain days are good for bottling wine. This may all sound a bit weird especially in the beginning, but biodynamic wines have indeed proven skeptics wrong by doing really well in blind tastings! (useful information can be found here:

http://www.boissetfamilyestates.com/press/FortuneBiodynamics.pdf)wineThe owner, Roger Mezy, offered us to taste all three colors produced by Clos des Augustins. In terms of the appellation, we were now talking about Pic Saint Loup (AOC), Val de Montferrand (VDP) and Coteaux du Languedoc (AOC). Our bags were already very heavy but white wine was something we had not yet bought, so we purchased two bottles of “vin de copains” (something to be drunk with friends): Les Bambins Clos des Augustins, Vin de Pays du Val de Montferrand (2011). We paid 8.50€ per bottle and the bottles are in the fridge waiting for maybe a fish dish, or simply for friends to come over!

PS If you are interested in wine and are planning to come to Paris in the autumn or spring time, try to coincide your visit with one of the wine salons. It really is a lot of fun and provides an excellent way to learn more.  And if you are just driving around France, do not be afraid to stop to buy wine directly from the producers. It is best to call in advance,  but no one says you cannot stop by and ask if this is a good time to visit. Lastly, if you are interested in individual making of things, do not forget to do a little bit of research in order to find the logo of Vignerons Indépendants in the bottles you buy!

Kir at La Palette

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IMG_2358There are many superb old-fashioned cafes in Paris that I like going to especially with friends visiting Paris. As a bonus, I get to play tourist, too. During these last two days, I have been to Le Petit Marcel near the Pompidou Centre, Cafe de la Mairie near the Eglise Saint-Sulpice and La Palette in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

La Palette, like many other similar cafes, was frequented by Picasso and Hemingway, amongst other famous names. When we walked in, the lunch hour was just ending and the waiters were getting ready for their own lunch pause. The snow was falling outside but inside the paintings and their yellow and orange colors warmed us up. Large mirrors on all walls were very scratched. There was a charismatic-looking American couple and us. It was an odd hour for an apéritif, but that is all we felt like having, so deux kir s’il vous plaît Monsieur!

Oysters & Cheese

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oysters

Something that I missed a lot while in Southeast Asia is oysters. Amongst many other benefits, raw oysters are one of the best sources of zinc and I just love the iodine-rich sea water taste. In my opinion, they are best eaten nature, and at most with vinaigre aux échalotes. Nocheeset forgetting bread and salted butter, and a bottle of white wine, of course! These oysters come from the Oléron Island, which is France’s second biggest island after Corsica, located off the Atlantic coast roughly speaking between Bretagne and Bordeaux.

To complete the meal, we had chosen three different cheese: Bethmale from the Pyrenees, Manchego from Spain and Ossau Iraty from the Basque country. A perfectly happy marriage between France and Spain and the region in between!

Our local caviste in the 15th arrondissement had suggested an excellent bottle of white wine to go with the oysters: Chateau la Grave ‘Expression’ Minervois 2009 (http://www.chateau-la-grave.net/wines/expression-blanc.html). For the cheese, we had bought Buzet Les Prieurs de Fonclaire 2010 (http://www.nouvelle-epicerie.fr/fr/sud-ouest-provence/5201-buzet-les-pieurs-de-fonclaire-2010-rouge.html). Both bottles cost less than 10€ and far exceeded our expectations.

Where to eat duck in Paris?

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We are going to have almost one full month to enjoy Asian food, so it sounded like a logical idea to do a typical French meal before departing France. What we particularly fancied was duck: either magret de canard or confit.

In the summertime, and when we are particularly hungry, we visit Chez Papa in front of the Montparnasse Cemetery. I now hear you thinking “aren’t there so many more sophisticated restaurants to eat duck in Paris”, and I agree with you, but I have my reasoning. Chez Papa is a franchise so the quality is not exactly the same in each restaurant, but we like this particular Chez Papa because it is very reasonably priced, the portions are huge, terrace is nice and the manager pleasant. Additionally, knowing you are so close to Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir adds something to your dining experience…menu chez gladinesHowever, this time we wanted to find something within walking distance from our home and headed toward Boulevard Saint-Germain. We had a vague memory of walking by a rather large terrace of a Sud-Ouest (southwest of France) restaurant in the 5th arrondissement last summer, and soon enough we arrived at Chez Gladines.

As we entered, we were greeted by a genuinely friendly young man who said we would have a table in few minutes –just enough time to have un apéritif it meant! Before we noticed, we got our table.

The menu had plenty of variety: plates of different cold meats, potato dishes, three types of snails (parsley, blue cheese and Basque style), entrecôte, different types of duck as we had wanted, etc. There was also a large offer of Basque specialties and even andouillette, the famous (very smelly!) sausage made of intestines and pork…snails chez gladinesWe shared parsley snails for a starter. The snails were good-sized, but maybe lacked some garlic and more parsley to be perfect. For his main course my husband chose magret de canard (served with sautéed potatoes and salad) and he said it was high-quality duck. I took piments piquillos à la morue because while in the Basque country last September, I chose this dish whenever it was on the menu and I like the combination of ingredients. Basically you are eating cod-stuffed piquillo peppers that come from Northern Spain (and are very rich in vitamine C). I love fish, I could eat a dozen of these piquillos. At Chez Gladines they were served in a creamy sauce that softened the fish taste.main courses chez gladinesTo show our respect to the lovely Basque country, we ordered a bottle of Irouléguy (red wine) and finished our dinner with local cheese served with cherry confiture.

The clientele was quite student-like, but we will definitely return to Chez Gladines, at the latest during the summer to eat at the terrace. Moreover, the restaurant is very down to earth and the service friendly. Yet a bit noisy, I would imagine this restaurant being a nice place for a family to taste typical Sud-Ouest and Basque dishes. Worth mentioning are prices: wine bottles start at an unbeatable 12.50€, snails cost 8.90€ and main courses are around 13€ (mine was 10.90€ and my husband’s 12.90€). What else –go and enjoy as we did.

Chez Gladines: http://gladines-restaurant-paris.fr

Chez Papa: http://www.chez-papa.com

Algerian restaurant l’Atlantide in Paris

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The moment we decided to have North African food for dinner on Friday night the puzzle begun. Where to go? Even if we know plenty of North African restaurants in Paris, the beauty of eating out is also about discovering new things. My husband had read Le Figaro‘s review of Paris’s top ten couscous restaurants and we used it as our compass. Direction: L’Atlantide, Parc Buttes Chaumont, the 19th arrondissement! L'AtlantideI discovered North African dishes when I moved to Paris in 1999 and deepened my knowledge while working in Algeria. My husband used to eat couscous in his childhood once a month. Together we did an amazing trip across the Algerian Sahara some years ago and every night by the fire we were served the most delicious lamb couscous, prepared by our Tuareg guides. So, as you can imagine, a lot of wonderful memories associated with couscous!

Upon our arrival at L’Atlantide I felt right away that the restaurant may be Algerian. The nomad-like style (in comparison to the more common Mauresque-like architecture) reminded me of one of the couscous restaurants in Algiers. The menu pointed toward Kabylie: it is not in many restaurants that one can find a typical Kabylie couscous dish called Ameqful where semolina is steam-cooked with seven different types of vegetables and mixed with olive oil in the end. And my intuition was right: the server confirmed that the restaurant is Kabylie, and specifically from Tizi Ouzou.L'AtlantideMy husband promised to taste Ameqful the next time and opted instead for Seksu, which is a more common couscous dish of vegetable stew served with lamb, grilled chicken and merguez sausages. I hesitated between a fresh vegetable tajine and a dried fruit tajine, and chose the latter. The accompanying grilled almonds, onion confit, dried raisins and prunes married well with the lamb, and the Moroccan red Guerrouane, Les Trois Domaines 2011, had a hint of the Mediterranean sun in it. Everything was very, very good, and on the top of everything, L’Atlantide is one of the least-expensive top couscous (and tajine) restaurants in the central Paris.

L’Atlantide: 7 Avenue de Laumière, 75019 Paris. Tel. 01-42450981. Metro: Laumière

Le Figaro review: http://www.lefigaro.fr/sortir-paris/2010/11/22/03013-20101122ARTFIG00674-le-test-des-meilleurs-couscous.php

The Michelin review: http://restaurant.michelin.fr/restaurant/france/75019-paris/l-atlantide/40xzl4u

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Previous posts about eating North African food in Paris are:

L’Alcôve: finest meat of Paris (also serves couscous and tajine, but the house specialty is grilled meat –delicious!)
L’Homme Bleu: Berber hospitality in the center of Paris (reputable couscous and tajine restaurant but I was disappointed during my last visit)
Le Tipaza: refined Moroccan food (a good address near the Eiffel Tower)

Saturday night Paris

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Full day of shopping in Paris. This is what it looked like when returning home. Now preparing a big Indian meal of chicken tikka & tandoori, korma vegetables, samosas and palak paneer. Will be washed down with a bottle of Château la Sauvageonne Cuvée Pica Broca 2009 (Coteaux du Languedoc). Namaste!

PS The tajine restaurant yesterday was DELICIOUS, so more about that tomorrow…