John Talbott's Paris

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.

Monkeys Place in Ambilly/Annemasse: quite wonderful for 13.80 E after being open only 4 months.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monkeys Place in Ambilly/Annemasse (FR) is the sort of place one (me) only tumbles into after a funeral of a friend of 50 years; goofy name, across the street from my Ibis hotel/motel, unheralded by the websites; and rec'd by a bilingual concierge/desklady as one of those places across the street that "doesn't look like much from outside but has great food."

 

 

 

 

 

 

It also extended my search for good bahn mi thit and pho, a search I've been unconsciously pursuing since Viet Nam in 1967-8.  And it did not disappoint.

In addition to the aforementioned; they had 4 sauces staring at you - soy, BBQ, piquant and nuoc mam, the only good thing our Army brought back from that silly war (just as Korea intoduced kim chi to American palates).

In any case, if you're in the area and want/need a reasonably priced meal, prepared and served by a charming young couple, this is it.

The bill, with a bottle of Saigon beer, no bottled water, coffee or dessert, was 13.80 E.

Le Diligence chez "Annie" in Chene-Bourg (SW): Going where the locals go.

Le Diligence chez "Annie" in Chene-Bourg (SW) is just over the border from Annemasse (FR) where I was staying: I wanted to park near the "temple" where I was assisting at an enterrement and not have to worry about time.  This place looked perfect: traditional food, game in season and nearby.

I tried calling, my hotel tried calling; they don't answer the phone and their website said - "one must reserve".  So I went a bit early for France but not Switzerland, where they actually go to work at 6:30 AM.

Big sign on door: we don't accept credit cards - Merde! - I have no Swiss francs (well only 4.05 SWF), no Swiss bank check but lots of Euros.  Enter; approach Annie who really looks stern at my explanations of (1) trying to reserve (flicking her mobile lying on a nearby table like an errant fly) and (2) having none of the world's premium reserve currency; waves me away; but no, she's waving me towards a table.

Kinda cool place, wood beams albeit new;  full to bursting at 12h15 with locals - bums, workmen, businessmen, couples, friends; OK.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at the menu, civet de chevreuil (love) with spaetzle (hate), red cabbage (love) and red-wine-soaked pear (love).  OK, order that plus a green salad to start (drenched in dressing but quite good for such a drenching).  Quite nice.

With a 5 dl carafe of an open Goron red, no bottled water, an eau de vie de coing in honor of my dear, near, recently departed friend and a coffee, my bill was 73.30 Swiss Francs; now Annie struts her stuff - "how much is 73.30 Swiss Francs in Euros" she demands of a local sitting 2 feet away - and he snaps back - "72 E."  Done.

L'Angkor (as in Wat) in Annemasse: never had Cambodian food in my life so no reference point.

Tonite I decided to go across the street in Annemasse to L'Angkor (as in Wat) and have to confess that while I'm familiar with Viet Namese, Laotian and Thai cuisine I know zero about Cambodian stuff.

The menu looked good and I asked if the Mi Shao with shrimp (crusty noodles) would show off Cambodian cuisine at its best - Ans."Yes."  I looked Cambodian food up in wiki and it says "With an emphasis on simplicity, freshness, seasonality and regionalism – Cambodian food has won praise for its elegant and understated use of spice, its harmonious arrangement of contrasting flavours, textures and temperatures within the overall meal rather than a single dish, and its thoughtful and, at times extravagant presentation of dishes with plenty of herbs, leaves, pickles, dipping sauces, edible flowers and other garnishes and condiments."

 

OK this was all that, nice undercooked shrimp, wonderful bamboo shoots, calm sauce - but no Whamo, but I guess that's normal.

In any case, my bill, with some nice Rhone, no coffee or dessert, was 20.50 E.