London Swings Again

March 4th, 2011 § 1 comment § permalink

HG and BSK haven’t been in London for ten years. The changes are immense. The city is shining, crackling with energy, spruced up, diverse. A true world city. Makes Paris look a bit diminished and dingy.

Off to the Victoria and Albert. Wandered the sculpture galleries. Wonderful Rodins and Canovas. Outstanding collection of postwar Britons (Eric Gill, etc.) not seen much in USA. Design section with all of the usual suspects (Mies, Corbu, Aalto, Breuer, Ruhlmann, Hoffman,etc.). Beautiful screen of lacquer cubes by Eileen Gray and one of chrome and mirror by Syrie Maugham. Timeless glamour approached in two different ways by two very different female sensibilities. Came away with renewed appreciation of inventive genius of Israeli/Brit Ron Arad. (HG must confess, however, that nothing tops the bravura rhinoceros bar by Lalanne at the Paris Arts Decoratifs).

Tea. Scones. Clotted cream. Marmalade. Strawberry jam. HG and BSK nibbled it all in the V & A’s civilized complex of cafes. A glimpse at the state of English dining 2011: The cafe has a tea bar, of course, but another counter of French treats like pates, terrines, celeriac and lentil salads, etc. A counter offers some very good looking hot meat pies and steak and kidney pies, British staples. There’s deli, fresh salads, soups, etc. All fresh. All savory. This is London mass feeding today.

Dinner at J. Sheekey, the venerable theater district seafood restaurant off Leicester Square. J. Sheekey is a collection of small, nicely lit old rooms lined with red leather banquettes and theatrical photos. Noisy buzz in the air. Deft, professional (but warm) service. Chiiled Muscadet. HG and BSK shared eight oysters from various spots along the British coast. Better than the best of Paris (but missed those French bulots). Then a dish of two razor clams. The long shells were filled with tender strips of the clam, very thin crisps chips of Spanish chorizo, fava beans, chopped herbs, fragrant olive oil. No garlic. Nothing to interfere with the purity of the dish. This was followed by perfectly done John Dory, moist, firm and flaky. The fillets nested on a bit of whipped celeriac and were topped by sea kale and a few long strips of poached celeriac. This was seafood cuisine that followed the Mies dictums: Less Is More. God Is In The Details. Need HG say more? HG got robust with a Welsh Rarebit (splash of Worcestershire) and a glass of Spanish Tempranillo. Sweet Italian Muscat for BSK. Finale: Salted caramel ice cream.

Home to sleep the sleep of the good, the pure and the blessed.

How To Scare Your Kids

March 3rd, 2011 § 3 comments § http://hungrygerald.com/matchmaker-in-san-francisco/

HG’s favorite philosopher, the Hyman Roth character in “Godfather Two,” says to Michael Corleone: “Good health. The most important thing!!”. The old villain had a point.

Paris cold and damp, crowded Metro cars gave undeserving HG pneumonia and landed the food maven in the acute emergency ward of London’s University College Hospital on Euston Square. Entered hospital late Monday afternoon (had to cancel trad Sunday roast beef gluttony at http://hungrygerald.com/jollyromance-dating-site/) and was discharged midday yesterday (Wednesday). All in all, a diverting stay. Was cared for by a platoon of sympathetic women led by a respiratory disease specialist. Lovely accents. Irish. Jamaican. Russian. Indian. Nigerian, etc. Food was not shockingly bad though still don’t understand the English love of cold, breakfast toast. (Horror food is that served on the Eurostar Paris to London train.)

Side effect of HG illness: A big scare for HG and BSK kids. All had read the touching Joyce Carol Oates piece in the the New Yorker about the unexpected death of her husband (much younger than HG) from pneumonia. Pneumonia can be scary stuff.

However, all seems to have ended well. Victoria and Albert museum today and dinner at J. Sheeky, HG’s favorite seafooder. HG and BSK had lovely light lunch yesterday (after hospital leavetaking) at the Mess Cafe in the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea. Duck legs and greens salad for BSK and Bufala mozzarella and caponata salad for HG. Early to bed after light supper of smoked salmon, smoked mackerel (best ever) and buttered Poilane bread. Good to be back among the living.

A Brief London Hiatus.

March 1st, 2011 § 1 comment § permalink

HG has been a bit under the weather here in London, but not to worry! Soon to return with full reports!

Addition: Paree Day Thirteen.

February 25th, 2011 § 1 comment § permalink

Posted too rapidly. No plain chicken broth for ailing HG. Resourceful BSK garnered some marmite (very strong consomme).  Beat two eggs into the boiling marmite.  Added some mini elbow macaroni.  Comfort food that was truly comforting.  HG is fortunate to have BSK.

La Bug Has HG And BSK: Paree Day 13

February 25th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

A nasty bug has attacked HG and BSK.  Sneezes, coughs, discomfort, etc. On the menu today is chicken broth, mint tea, Sudafed and cough syrup. Not gourmand dining.  Oh, woe. Taxi to Gare du Nord tomorrow morning for Eurostar to London.  Hope we feel better.

The Uncommon Common Cold: Paree Day Twelve

February 24th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

HG and BSK are spending their last days in Paris in a blizzard of Kleenex and a cacaphony of coughs. This didn’t prevent HG from visiting Welper the venerable, independently owned brasserie on busy Place de Clichy. There was a rumor that Wepler had gone downhill.  Couldn’t prove it by HG’s lunch of oysters and bulots.  Splendid.  Very dignified waiter,  HG pointed out that some of the bulot shells were empty.  Obviously, the sea snails had left their shells and were out looking for romance.  The ambassadorial waiter took care of the situation by bringing HG a virtual deluge of bulots and a big pot of fresh mayonnaise.  Typical of Paris–a classy and generous gesture.  BSK felt well enough to see True Grit.  Fun.  But the film didn’t have the usual Coen Brothers edge of irony.  Walking back to the loft HG was struck by the cold bug.  HG and BSK hope they shake off the nastiness before chunneling to London Saturday.

Rain. Rain. Rain. Paree Day Eleven.

February 23rd, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

Serious rain today. That meant the perfect time for a long visit to HG and BSK’s favorite Paris museum, Les Arts Decoratifs. It is a beautiful museum, occupying a lyrical wing of the Louvre. Very well organized. Starting on the ninth floor you descend the history of design and decor. All of the eras–from the Renaissance through the 20’s’ 30′, 40’s’ 50’s into the present. Great art deco and art nouveau sections. The museum is encyclopedic without being dull. Always an interesting special exhibition. This time the show was of 100 posters by the extraordinary Polish graphic artist Michal Batory. He is in the great tradition of Polish poster art, a tradition he combines with French surrealism. The result is gripping.

A sardonic sidelight for any of us with long experience in public relations and advertising. One of Batory’s poster clients is a major theatrical group. New management came in. They fired Batory and turned poster design over to their ad agency. So, even one of the world’s greatest poster artists can get tossed when there is a change in bosses. HG and BSK pondered this truism over a rump steak and wine at the museum’s cafe (a showcase of modern design). Dinner tonight Chez HG and BSK. Irish smoked salmon and a wide variety of salads (cucumber, carrot, mesclun, etc). BSK has been sniffling all day so True Grit is postponed until tomorrow.

Perfect Paree: Day Ten

February 22nd, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

Perfect. Sun. Cloudless sky. A walk around the Assemblee Nationale to Musee Rodin. Then an amble through the beautiful garden dotted with Rodin masterpieces. HG and BSK were blown away by the temporary Henry Moore show. It focuses on his drawings, maquettes and the bits of bones and shells that inspired this extraordinary artist. The show brings you into his studio and lets you participate in the artistic process. The plaster works are breathtaking. The interplay of interior and exterior and concave to convex is riveting. In many ways, the best pieces are an homage to women.

HG and BSk dined at Rech in the 17th. This is a traditional brasserie, founded in 1925, that had gone downhill. It has been reinvigorated by the brilliant Alain Ducasse (he has also revamped Benoit and Aux Lyonnais). Cut to the chase: HG and BSK had the best seafood meal of their lives. It started with a few bits of salmon mousse (a freebie to whet appetites) and continued with brandade. HG loves brandade, that lush combination of salt cod, garlic, sweet cream and potatoes. This was a brandade that broke new ground. Not a puree (the cod retained its integrity). Not a garlic explosion (a restrained amount). The key word was: Balance. The result: Delight. This was followed by raie grenobloise: A thick juicy tranche of skate swimming in a (once more) perfectly balanced sauce of butter, capers, parsley and lemon juice. Accompanied by a silken potato puree (enhanced by generous thin slices of black truffle) and caramelized endive. Wow!! The wine was our favorite Muscadet. Then the famous Rech camembert ( with glasses of Pomerol). Dessert: Vanilla ice cream enclosed by crisp pastry. The grace note: Warm bittersweet chocolate poured by the maitre d’.

Thank you chef Julien Dumas for your artistry. Thank you Maitre d’ Samy Mir-Beghin for yout warm, deft service. You created dining magic.

Paree: Day Nine

February 21st, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

Morning sunshine. Very brief. Disappeared by 11 ayem. Usual gray. HG and BSK off on long walk through the very diverse 9th arrondissement. Many boutiques. Appetizing food vendors. Notre Dame de Lorette, St. Georges, Trinite –three interesting churches. The Grande Synagogue of Paris also known as “La Victoire Synagogue” is one of largest synagogues in Europe. An imposing chandelier donated by the Rothschilds. Guards and barricades. A grim reminder that it is always dangerous to be a Jew in Europe.

Stopped at Au Petit Riche, an elegant old restaurant for lunch. Fines de Claire oysters. Lentil salad with some thick slices of bacon. Quenelles with sauce nantua. Sea bass in butter sauce with fresh spinach. Muscadet. Ile Fottante (what else?) shared for dessert. Lovely meal and lovely room. Then to consumerist heaven — Galeries Lafayette. The store is centered around a five story (?) rotunda of dramatic proportions. Some of the world’s most elegant women rummage around hundreds (thousands?) of beautiful shoes, bags, dresses, coats, etc. It is a delightful sight though totally politically and morally incorrect. Fun to watch.

HG and BSK focused on the food department. With full tummies, HG and BSK had to ignore the oyster bar and the Spanish ham bar (both recommended by the well informed journalist/author Peter Hellman). But, HG and BSK managed to garner some excellent Italian charcuterie, Bufala mozzarella and fresh pasta for dinner tonight at Chez HG and BSK. They lived up to their promise. Viva Italia!!

Paree: Day Eight. These Boots Were Made For Walking

February 20th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

Lots and lots of walking today. Started in the Montparnasse neighborhood where HG and BSK walked to the Musee and Atelier Zadkine. Ossip Zadkine was a cubist sculptor and painter whose works mark many Paris public areas (adjacent to Cafe Deux Magots and in the Luxembourg Gardens). HG met Zadkine during one of his U.S. visits in the 1950’s. A lovely man. The museum, studio and sculpture garden are small but beautifully organized. Zadkine’s work holds up — it is strong Cubism, rhythmic and powerful.

HG was sorry to ever see only one work–a painting– by Zadkine’s wife, Valentine Prax. HG was gifted with a beautiful drawing by Prax in 1952. As fresh today as it was almost 60 years ago. Zadkine and Prax are very celebrated in Paris but virtually unknown in the United States. A pity.

After viewing the Zadkines (and the Prax), HG and BSK strolled around the Luxembourg Gardens where forsythia was in bloom. Watched the boules players, the kids on ponies and the other sights of this most exquisite and civilized park. HG and BSK retraced their first visit to Paris footsteps of 46 years ago along the Boulevard St. Germain to Rue Du Bac. Lots of street music along the way. An exuberant, young (not very good) brass ensemble outside the Luxembourg gate and a very good Dixieland group of oldsters outside the St. Germain church. A cliche: Where did the years go? Back to the loft and a chilled bottle of very good Sancerre. Much red wine, pate de campagne, fresh baguettes await at dinner Chez HG and BSK. Hemingway called Paris “a moveable feast.” Surely it is a feast for all of the senses.

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