John Talbott's Paris

SF 3: Boulevard & Delphina

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boulevard is a place we last came to some years ago and quite liked it so when we were told this is where my professional association's past-presidents luncheon was being held we considered it a lucky stroke of luck.  The menu was restricted as befits a special meal for 30 in their special room - L'Avenue - but was OK and there was no booze since we were considered to be working.

 

 

 

We all started off with a plate of mozzarella and chickory (huh?, chicory, whatever happened to the tomatoes?); then Colette and my old medical school buddy on my left had the King Salmon that he thoughtwas tasteless but Colette and I thought was OK; my Kobe beef bavette though was itself not terribly tasty, although it came with butterball potatoes which were most tasty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then Colette had the dulce leche cake with banana caramel ice cream and I the strawberry shortcake and these were both better than average.

Go?  Well, for a group meal that was free in a pretty good place, I'd say yes, but it sure didn't knock my socks off.

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Delphina is the place we were at Election night 2012 and participated in the general celebration as Ohio and all the rest of the other electoral ducks fell so we entered with fond memories.

We started by sharing fresh - that's fresh - Half Moon Bay sardines Scottadito (finger-burned) that were dusted with parsley and fennel pollen; they were huge and wonderful and my oh my, so good!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then Colette had a pancetta-wrapped rabbit rollatine with peas and carrots as well as a side dish of Taragna (that is with cheese) polenta (and as readers know, I'm not a fan of polenta, outside of that served in Modena, but this was extraordinary.)  I had spaghetti with tomatoes, garlic and peperoncini, which gave the boringly-sounding dish a pretty nice zing - damn good!

With a bottle of Tuscan red, no bottled water, coffee, tea or dessert, our bill was $102.23 before tip.

Go again?  For sure.

SF 2: Sanraku at the Metreon & The Slanted Door

Sanraku at the New Metreon Mall was a place I loved in November and elected to bring Colette and a French pal back to.  It's neat as a pin and looks out on the lovely Buena Yerba Garden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I seem to have had some shakiness in potographing our seafood salad, edaname and miso soups but they were anything but shaky - better than stanard by a long shot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For mains we went our separate but quite satisfied ways - Colette with an OK roll of yellow tail, shiso, cucumber, jalepeno, onion and yuzu-soy-sesame sauce; our french friend with his "combo" of California roll and shrimp tempura and me with another chirashi of sushi rice with about 10 fish and/or their roe on top.  The latter two were exemplary; Colette wishes she had chosen another dish, as the roll was not very flavorful.

With two Sapporo draft beers, no bottled water, tea or coffee or dessert, our bill came to $52.94 a couple before tip.

Go?  You bet.

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The Slanted Door has been our to-go-to Viet Namese place since its opening two locations before, 18 years ago.  Having been condemned to 365 days in the "Nam" I have searched for real Viet food and rarely found it in Paris, New York or Northern Virginia.  But this place has what I call authentic but nouvelle such cuisine.  The new (several years) resto in the Ferry Building is sleek, neat and deafestating, i.e., you cannot hear a word of your dining partner's utterances.  But not matter, it's the food we're here for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Our wonderful waitperson, Brian or Bryan, touted me off what I was heading for - the spicy Monterey squid - but then said "ignore me" - so I did and we had a shared order of exquisite crispy imperial roll chunks in lettuce, mint and sauce and caramelized shrimp and said squid, all served with very nice rice.

With a bottle of Jurancon, no bottled water, tea, coffee or dessert, our bill, before tip, was $96.33.

Go?  Vâng.   An added treat, in the evening, is the light show on the Bay Bridge - it is glorious.

San Francisco 1: Lers Ros Thai & Commonwealth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lers Ros Thai on Hayes Street (across from my old fave the Hayes St Grill) is a place open just a year recommended by an eating companion in Paris and was he spot-on.  I took one look at the daily specials and knew this was no hole-in-the-wall place like a thousand others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The garlic and pepper rabbit spoke to me but i figured I needed a first so I ordered what I thought was a throw-away, a Thai Herb sausage; fantastic, deconstructed with green chilis, onion, sliced ginger, peanuts and lime - one of the, if not the, best Thai dishes I've ever had.  Then I had the rabbit which was toasty with skin like a crusty suckling pig's - my oh my.

For drinking I went for the Talmar, if you would believe it in May, a Beaujolais Villages Nouveau that was most unGamay, unNouveau, unBeaujolais, another surprise.

With 2 glasses of the wine, no bottled water, tea, coffee or dessert, my bill was $56.16.

Go?  For the best Thai meal I've ever had, in Thailand or elsewhere; it reminded me of the food I tumbled on in Toronto that was nouvelle Korean, this was not old stuff, this was new, exciting, innovative; wish  had it around my neighborhood.

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Commonwealth is a place we loved in November but it has the biggest disparity berween quality of food and its location as any place I know.  The menu is inventive-sounding and it delivers on its innovation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our friend, a frequent visitor/dining partner in France ordered oysters, cucumber, sorrel and rhurbarb ice and Colette had the scallops ceviche, carrot-soy panna cotta and crisp onion rings - interesting sounding eh?  And they were, more than interesting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I then had the short ribs with ramps, raw and cooked lettuces and kimchi; Colette had the peas, tapioca, raddishes and lemongrass broth; and our friend the tea-smoked duck, wheatberries and fried duck tongues - a winner but close, in inventiveness and tastiness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then sort-of shared the rhubarb sorbet and strawberries, both gussied up appropriately and deliciously.

With a bottle and a glass of wine from the Gard, no bottled water, tea or coffee, our bill was $150 for three or $100 a couple.

Go?  In San Francisco, one must.

Ardeo & Bardeo in DC: A wonderfully good meal.

Colette and I had the opportunity to take a day off last week and visit Washington and supped that evening at the merged Ardeo & Bardeo, 3311 Connecticut Ave with one of our daughters, a former chef, and husband.  I went expecting no fireworks but was [pleasantly surprised.

The burrata salad was better than average but my starter of a scallop schnitzel, yes schnitzel, was extraordinarily inventive.

For mains we had crispy skate, salmon, beef carpaccio and pork belly with clams, again the latter was a most creative composition as well as incredibly tasty.

Finally we had the chocolate tart, pear pie and savarin with maple syrup; once more, inventive combinations and fine execution.

Our bill with two bottled of wine, was $104.00 a couple before tip.

Go?  We certainly will in the furure.

Anice Stellato in Venice and Columbus in Mestre: Maybe it's just a gouchy, rainy week, but....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anice Stellato has been my trustworthy Sunday haunt for the 20 years I've been coming here every other year and despite the considerable schlep, I've always been pleased, but.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't know what it is/was but it's bloom is off the rose, despite the beautiful warm welcome a great service: my foursome appetizer of tiny pieces of sardine, mackerel, squid and herring was it? with accompanying artichoke heart slices, onions, grapes, sun-dried tomatoes, olives and potatoes was OK but couldn't make up its mind whether to be hot, lukewarm or cold so it was a mixture of all three; and my pasta (trofie) with ragout of carne was essentially OK pieces of stewed beef with horribly al dented pasta and a blah sauce.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With very tasty bread circles, 50 cl of the house Cabernet, no bottled water and a coffee corrected correctly, my bill was 30.50 E.

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Columbus in Mestre has also been one of my Sunday mainstays, just down the street as it is from my hotel, taking no reservations and full of exuberant kids and young families.  The pizzas are made by very impressively tall skinny guy, a sort of white Barack Obama – and they roll right out.

Tonight I had a simple green salad and pizza with a melted cheese (like raclette), tasty black olives, shaved parmesan and cherry tomato quarters.  (Next time back to the sausage.)

The bill with wine was 21.50 E.

da Bepi in Venice and Moro in Mestre: A less impressive eating day.

da Bepi in Venice is another place in Venice recommended by my friend the Italian-American who knows Cannaregio, better I might say than Google, which located it a quarter of a mile away from its real site. It's a place I ordinarily would pass by, having wait-staff out front talking up the place which has "tourist menus" in four languages.  I had two dishes off it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First I had spaghetti with mussels, quite nice but not outstanding; then moved on to a fresh whole sea bass, grilled with polenta and potatoes, again nice, but no fireworks - even with lemon and salt and pepper it lack something; a white sauce, a red pepper sauce, something.

With 50 cl of house red, no bottled water and a corrected espresso, my bill was 49.30 E and I'm not sure I'll return in two years.

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After another afternoon amidst the Tiepolos and Massari's at the Scola S. Giovanni Evangelista I headed back to Mestre and dinner at an old favorite - Moro.  It was raining, pouring.....  I entered, it was 87% full, I gave my name; no, no reservation "you're sure you are not the Contessa Evangeline? "  "Ah sorry, I'm not in drag tonite."  "Or Madame Toiset?"  "Nope, my hotel called because you never answer your phone” (said politely with much bowing and scraping).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had fresh sardines (semiwarm) with onions (ditto) and then suckling pig slices (with no crispy skin, rather boring).

With a half-bottle of house red and no coffee or dessert, my bill was 22 E.  I don't think I'll return in two years; too much hassle.

 

Il Ridotto in Venice and Da Tura in Mestre: We're not in Kansas or even Paris anymore Dorothy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Il Ridotto (in back, that is East, of St Mark's Square) is a place an Italian-American correspondent who's lived/visited here a lot, touted me onto two years ago.  It's chef'd by Gianni Bonaccorsi - a guy who you either hate (some Dudes on the Internet) or love (me among them.)  Last time I came he and I chatted for hours about Paris restaurants and like stuff.

So, I was really looking forward to this lunch at 2 PM (rez made so I had plently of time between Marco Polo airport and him.  But of course, Air France was an hour+ late, there was a transportation strike in Italy and I had acquired two more years of aged aging, blown out knees and cardio-pulmonary deterioration.  So I took a cab from Marco Polo to my hotel in Mestre (sorry Colette for blowing the family fortune), stood in a long line to buy a train ticket and schlepped over the bridges and canals to M. Bonaccorsi's second resto, described by my friend as "where he kicks up."

Enter - Sweating, panting, gimping - "Hi, I'm Mr Talbott - I''m 15 minutes late, I'm sorry."  Plongeur sticks head out door, sous-chefs scatter and wait-guy says "Well then, your reservation, ahhh, Mr..... We don't seem to have one and besides that we're closed, Another time then."  At this point I go into full 'old guy trying to make the best of it' mode.  "Jeez, I'm alone, lonely guys finish fast, I won't eat much,..."  The guy takes pity.  "Ok but one person, one dish" looking in back of me to see if the swarm of gypsees in the Campo SS. Filippo E Giacomo was following me in.

Menu - lunch - "what are the specials?"  "A no, Monsieur, one dish off the evening carte."  "OK, the rabbit with teeny artichokes and diced potatoes."  Sublime.

We negotiated a bit of Chianti, bottled water, a corrected coffee and with superb bread and a sort of white pizza flat bread - the bill was 41 E.  I walked home a happy man.  Never say the Italians won't bend the rules.

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Da Tura in the Bologna Hotel in Mestre is another repeater and I scored with a wonderful sea bass salad amuse bouche with spicy greens and olive oil, but this year my main - the gnocchi (supposedly with zucchini flowers) did not turn me on although it did have very nice not-frozen then thawed shrimp.

 

 

With bottled water, interesting bread and 1/2 a bottle of Citto Tuscan wine and a lot of mignardises, my bill was 24 E.

Arnsbourg: A restaurant, a book and a trip.

It's been 6 or 7 years since we've been to the area, but tonite I read Sophie Brissaud's book on Jean-Georges Klein's joint in Arnsbourg (the book is called l'Alchemie des Elements, the hotel, Hotel K, a Relais et Ch.) prices not ruinous; 53 minutes from Strasbourg, website in English is http://www.arnsbourg.com/english/index.htm
and I was blown away.  The guy spent one week with Adria and like everyone who's done that, most of whom settled around Gerona & Perpignon, he absorbed a bit but was not taken in by the show (if I read him right.)  Beautiful recipes, beautiful text, beautiful pictures.

Birroteca in Baltimore: Best Pizza in Years.

Birroteca is the newest kid in my old home town and I had the opportunity to eat there practically just after I'd eater at Il Brigante in Paris (see below).  What a difference!

Four of us shared two pies - one spicy fennel sausage and the other Blanco cheeses - and both were superior to almost anything I've had in Naples or NY's Little Italy or anywhere.  How an American guy - one Cyrus Keefer - can outclass the native Italian Salvatore Rotiroti at Il Brigante, is beyond me.

With two bottles of Malbec Revolution and a banana cake, our bill before tip was $43.88 a couple.

We shall return General.

New Year's Eve at the Talbotts before the big move 34 numbers up the street.

People are out there on the C-E and in the restos scarfing up meals that exceed my yearly EDF/GDF bill but hey, I'm channeling Alfred E. Newman:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The chow, for those so interested, came from the Comptoir de la Gastronomie (goose foie gras, Gravlax, Escargots, salmon eggs) and from the Maison de Danemark came the delicious gravlax sauce).  The fine de clair #2 oysters came from our local ecallier at the Délices de L'atlantique on Duhesme in the 18th Arr.    Happy New Year to ALL!