39Vaugirard

Oh, c’mon.

Tokyo is the gourmet capital of the world. So say the revered gastronomes at the Michelin Guide, who have awarded three stars to 11 restaurants in the Japanese capital, one more than in Paris.

Yesterday’s announcement, made days before the launch of the Michelin Guide Tokyo 2010, cements the city’s deserved reputation as a spectacular place to dine.

“Tokyo has become the world culinary capital, ahead of Paris,” gushed Jean-Luc Naret, the guide’s director general.

[From Tokyo is the new Paris, say Michelin | Life and style | guardian.co.uk]

But, I guess if they are giving the title of Paris to the city with the most 3-star restaurants, it might as well be Tokyo. For many years, people would always tease me that “actually, London now has better food than Paris.”

“Yeah, I said, and you can keep it.” I still would rather live, eat, and breathe in Paris for everyday eating than anywhere else in the world, even Northern California, where we live.

I love the title of this blog entry!

Once upon a time, a macaron was a novelty and you had to get your fill while in Paris. Now, what appears to be an impossible to make confection is found all over. They are still impossibly expensive so perhaps still special, like a bottle of Veuve Cliquot Grande Dame, but still easily accessible.

Again the Patisserie AOKI below our apartment gets the highest marks:

Patisserie Sadaharu AOKI
35 rue de Vaugirard
75006 PARIS.
€16 for 12 macarons
approx AUD$2.60 each.

By far the prettiest and best packaged macarons. All were a standard shape and size (small) with beautiful strong packaging designed to product the little darlings. The flavours were very restrained and subtle, with the wasabi and the licorice being favourites. They were a bit too crispy on the day we bought them, but by the time they travelled home to Australia – they were pretty perfect texture-wise. Second Favourite. I tried 3 times to buy from Aoki’s shop. It’s around the corner from Pierre Hermé so we went there at about 10:30, but all I got was a photo of the outside of the shop. We went and had a coffee down the street, and went back, still not open! Oh well, off we went to Le Grand Epicerie, giving up on the Japanese wunderkid! Luckily, we ended up back in the 6th later on in the day and I was able to pop in for my fix. I was told off for trying to take photographs in the shop though so you’ll have to trust me when I say that it was full of beautiful chocolates and dainties.

[From essjayeats » Blog Archive » Travel: The macarons of Europe]

There are two amazing facts in this story reported all over the blogosphere, and also in the New York Post.

The first is that the Louvre, in a situation they can’t control, will have to co-exist with the odeurs of a MacDo in its midst. Seems the Louvre can’t control the actual tenants in the big mall under the Carrousel, which is managed by a private company. I guess that’s why there is already a Starbucks there.

Second, though, is the fact that never ceases to amaze: France is the second most important market in the world for McDonald’s after the United States. A spokesman for McDonald’s says it’s because McDonald’s is perceived as a French company. I find that very hard to believe, but it sure is a great trick if have pulled it off.

PARIS — French culture and American convenience will come together in December — thanks to plans by the McDonald’s restaurant chain to hang its shingle in the shadow of the Louvre.

McDonald’s is delighted at the prospect of feeding hungry culture vultures. But not everyone is happy about mixing high art and fast food.

The McDonald’s will be installed in the food court of the underground mall adjoining the museum, known as the Carrousel du Louvre, as the fast food chain fetes its 30th anniversary in France, McDonald’s France said.

The pairing could serve the interests of both. The Louvre is the world’s most visited museum; France is McDonald’s top market outside the United States.

[From McDonald's restaurant to be placed inside food court at Carrousel du Louvre]

The food is already about as bad as it can be in the Louvre food court. Visitors are strongly advised to eat after or before they enter the Louvre maze.

I just took another look at this article we referenced a few weeks back. We are just back after 14 days in France, and after having read this article in the Seattle Times, I quizzed everyone I know about the supposed “decline” in French food. Everyone thought the idea was hogwash. All the Americans and all the French. We too found good and bad food. Certainly, Paris, like any large city, does not have a uniformly cheap and mind-blowing culinary experience on every street corner. In general, it’s expensive and in the restaurants right across from major monuments, expect to get fleeced with high prices and low quality. Elsewhere, it’s caveat emptor though the odds are still higher in Paris than in San Francisco for good that tastes like the primary ingredients, rather than slop reconstituted from a can off the Sysco Food Services truck.

I think some of this is chauvinism. It’s nice to kick the French off their high horse, and real data trends seem to indicate that the French are eating more fast food including McDonald’s. For some reason, everyone likes to christen London as the greatest food capitol. It does have it’s restaurant finds, though frequent visitors tend to go to the same ones over and over again. I’d take a French neighborhood brasserie though over a pub meal in a heartbeat though.

Controversy also sells papers!

The decline of French cuisine | Seattle Times Newspaper

I read today that Sheila Lufkin, the author of “Silver Palate Cookbook 25th Anniversary Edition” (Julee Rosso, Sheila Lukins) had passed away. I was struck that her cookbook got me started cooking when i was just out of college, some 25 years ago. During my weekends to NYC from Boston where I attended college, many people were talking about her recipes and her catering company. Many of my most memorable dishes and dinner parties, through my early 20s, 30s and often now with my family, consist of simple dishes that I learned to cook from book. Salut! Here is my favorite recipe from her book. It’s not French, but Spanish/Moroccan, named after a beautiful seaside resort Marbella, where we visited with our friends Jose, just last summer….

[From Chicken Marbella Silver Palate Cookbook Recipe at Epicurious.com]

My husband and I were just talking about ‘terroir,’ and why is it that we feel healthier, and more connected to the earth, when we’re in France, even though it seems we eat more cream, cheese, and desserts when we are here. Roger Cohen encapsulated my thoughts more perfectly, ‘TIme bows at the altar of gastronomy in France. In the U.S., time is the altar.’

From Op-Ed Columnist – Advantage France – NYTimes.com]

What a find. Our friends Jean-Jacques and Jane, my husband and I had a dinner out at Chez Michel, in the 10th arrondisement. Cuisine is Breton, and the atmosphere breezy. According to our discriminating friend Jean-Jacques, Chez Michel is one of the top 10 traditional bistros in Paris, and indeed, I think it lives up to its status. My fish on top of ratatouille was delicious, and the entrée course of salade, with sprigs of Breton seaweed that tasted more like dill was very intriguing. Their dessert specialité is Paris-Brest, a classic cream filled choux pastry.

10 rue de Belzunce, 75010 Paris (00 33 1 44 53 06 20

Our friend Pierre surprised us by inviting us for a Sunday brunch at Kong. Our daughter was delighted with the manga-inspired witty decor of Philippe Starck. We were wowed by the panoramic skyline views. Food was nice enough but definitely an ‘inside’ experience, especially its kooky, disco-ball-and-kid-sumo-adorned bathrooms. Apparently, It was featured as a chic eatery in Sex and the City.

1 rue de Pont Neuf, Paris, 75001. +33 01 40 390 900.

We always see our friend/proprietor Sophie Clavié and her gracious husband Philippe when we’re in Paris. Her neighborhood bistro is Closerie des Lilas, the world famous magnet for the avant-garde for generations. Their book shows all those who have passed through the place, from Bernard Kouchner, Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, Ingres, Henry James, and even Sarah Jessica Parker! I often think how can a restaurant that has been around since the 1850’s still live up to its reputation? That’s what is amazing about France. We sat outdoors in the ‘garden of the lilies’ and had a perfect lunch in the late August cooling sunlight. There was this entrée, Tarte du Soleil. It was a summer tart, with puréed artichoke spread on top with three pieces of perfectly grilled Sardines, on a thin line of balsamic vinegar. It was the perfect summer meal. La Closerie des Lilas, 171 Bld du Montparnasses 75006 +33 1 40 51 34 50/

Two more chocolatiers opened in the neighborhood, giving competition to Pierre Hérme. Patrick Roger, voted the best chocolatier in 2000, seems to be guided by the seasons and his whimsies, as my daughter Hadley and I saw the largest 6′ chocolate pencils to commemorate the start of the school. Down the street, on rue de Rennes, is another contender, L’Atelier du Chocolat, which looks more homey and provincial, with nuts and praline as well as patisseries. Pierre Hérme, 72, rue Bonaparte, 75006. Patrick Roger, 91 rue de Rennes, 75006. L’Atelier du Chocolat, 89 rue de Rennes.