HUNGRY GERALD

Paris brasseries have entered a sad period. Once delightful places like La Coupole, Vaudeville, Bofinger, Balzar, Flo have been purchased by giant restaurant chain-conglomerates and now roll out industrialized food. Glittering decor and fresh oysters can still be relied upon. But, that’s it. The old time hip, lively and happy atmosphere has disappeared. Only Le Stella in the 16th keeps the old traditions. Its carte is a virtual parade of traditional dishes: Tete de veau; steak tartare; sole meuniere; choucroute; Iceland herring; steak frites; ile flottante, etc. The affluent residents of the 16th have impeccable manners but restraint is cast off when they confront Stella’s vast plateau de fruits de mer. In Reims, the Brasserie du Boulingrin maintains the old brasserie spirit. Art deco interior. Smoked glass and mirrors. Red leatherette banquettes. Young, smiling waitpersons. Dinner conversations are animated but the noise level is kept at a civilized pitch (This seems characteristic of French restaurants in contrast to their noisy American counterparts). On a second visit, HG sipped a cold, dry Muscadet, while devouring a dozen big, briny oysters. This was followed by very generous servings of sole meuniere. Two large fish were deboned deftly by the young woman serving HG/BSk. The filets were gilded by spoonfuls of buttery lemon cooking juices. Served with bowls of buttered boiled potatoes dusted with parsley. Dessert was, in keeping with Boulingrin’s generosity, dinner plate-sized creme brûlées. HG sipped an after dinner glass of cold Mirabelle and reflected upon the good fortune of having a splendid wife, a loving family and an appetite geared to the delights of old fashioned brasserie dining. HG interrupted this happy contemplation with a bout of severe envy as he watched a choucroute garnie presented to a young man at an adjoining table. The platter of kraut, sausages and pork was kept warm under a glass dome. This single portion seemed large enough to feed a platoon of Prussian Hussars. HG vowed to sample it if HG ever makes it back to Reims and Boulingrin.

One of the sillier American traditions is the Presidential “pardon” of a turkey on Thanksgiving Day. President Obama acknowledged the goofiness but continued the ceremony this week. There were no pardoned turkeys for the assembled HG/BSK family in Reims as there was no roast turkey for the big bout of gluttony. The family decided there was no way to get a big, juicy American-style turkey in Europe. An unhappy memory still lurked: Some years ago, Profesore Massimo R.’s American students at the University of Bologna arranged a Thanksgiving turkey feast at a favorite Bologna pizzeria. The proud pizzeria proprietor presented a glistening brown bird with an Italian flourish. However, one taste banished dreams of a Norman Rockwell-type farmhouse feast. This wasn’t a turkey. A buzzard? Vulture? Sea gull that had lost its way? Inedible. With this experience in mind, a loin of pork (roasted in milk atop the oven from a favorite recipe by Marcella Hazan) was the main dish at Thanksgiving dinner for eight (HG/BSK; daughter Lesley R.; son-in-law Massimo R.; granddaughters Arianna and Sofia; plus two beautiful young women, Sofia’s fellow students at Reims’s Sciences Po; one young woman from Brazil and the other from Chile). Side dishes were traditional: brussels sprouts with bacon; creamed spinach, dressing, mashed potatoes. Lavish amounts of gravy. Preceded by a big array of terrines and pates. Dessert was apple tart and sour cherry tart. Since we were in champagne country, the meal started with bubbly and then proceeded to Fleurie, Moulin a Vent and Brouilly. Thankful for family, fun and food.

Another superb meal in Reims. This time it was for lunch at Anna-S, a stylish little restaurant which serves classic dishes prepared in a creative, colorful manner. The amuse geules were little pots of spicy, pureed sweet potato topped with tiny biscuits. HG followed with nine “Petite Pots d’ Escargots.” The snails, instead of being served in their shells, were served in individual earthenware pots enclosed by tiny rounds of toast. Special spoons were provided enabling the diner to enjoy every bit of the tender snails, the robust, herbaceous garlic and butter sauce plus the toast round. A joy. HG followed this with a juicy filet of John Dory nested on a puree of parsnips and Tonka beans. Lush. Dessert was a gratin of figs (much like a fig flavored creme brûlée) plus a scoop of fig ice cream. Imaginative and delicious. Excellent coffee and a light meringue climaxed the meal. Others at the table has extraordinary starters of beet carpaccio served with whipped goat cheese and goat cheese ice cream; monkfish filets; farm chicken and racks of lamb. All quite marvelous. Equally delightful was the bill: $220 for six diners including two bottles of wine (Chablis and Beaujolais) and tip. This was an extraordinary price/quality ration. Anna-S is another can’t miss Reims experience.

A pleasant Sunday with rare flashes of sunlight. Perfect for a day in champagne country. The HG/BSK/Riva family (six folks in all) piled into an auto and drove through hills filled with vineyards. Beautiful vistas (plus some grim reminders of World War One battles). First stop was the charming town of Epernay where the group visited a Gothic revival cathedral, inspected the exterior of a centuries old Romanesque church and then left spiritual musings behind in a charcuterie shop. More than a score of lush terrines and pates displayed. Three were chosen for a late night snack: Pork, rabbit and an unusual terrine that combined chicken, egg and mushrooms. Three bottles of wine. Tavel, rose, Beaujolais. Appetites nicely honed to a sharp edge, the group stopped for lunch at La Madelon restaurant in Mancy. Nice interiors decorated with World War One memorabilia. The downstairs room was filled with jolly, celebrating people (birthday? wedding?). Upstairs were multi-generational family groups enjoying traditional Sunday luncheons. The HG/BSK/Riva group settled in for a long feast. Amuse geules of shrimp and crab in a tarragon sauce. Escargot and mushroom fricassee in cream sauce. Crab and avocado salad. Mains of rare duck with honeyed potatoes and veal chops in a robust sauce with smashed potatoes. Brie de Meaux with salad. Traditional desserts: Creme brûlée and Ile Flottante. Champagne, of course, plus a robust Cotes de Rhone. After luncheon Calvados for HG. Drowsy HG had an alcohol fueled nap upon arriving back in Reims. Awoke to watch gallant Federer lose to inexorable Djikovic on the living room TV. Pre-bedtime snack of terrines, cheese, Comice pear and Tavel. The climax of a happy day.

HG/BSK are in the historic city of Reims. The renowned cathedral lives up to expectations. Glorious. And, HG/BSK haven’t been inside yet. Have only seen it at night. Nicely illuminated. The sleepless quintet (HG/BSK; daughter Lesley R. and son-in-law Massimo R.; granddaughter Arianna R.) had a happy reunion with granddaughter Sofia who is studying international relations at a Reims university (It’s part of a four-year program. Two years in Reims and then two years at Columbia University in New York. A lucky, gifted young woman.). The group lunched at a rough and ready bistro that caters to neighborhood regulars and students. The food wasn’t memorable but the atmosphere was lifted out of a late 1930’s French movie. Red leatherette banquettes. Bright lighting. Old guys playing cards. Weathered women. Dreamy youngsters. Big difference. No cigarette smoke. Patrons have to smoke on the terrace. The bistro is Sans Souci. It creates instant happiness. (Forget the food. Order a cheap bottle of wine. A bottle of Beaujolais is 12 euros). The visiting group is staying in a spacious 3-bedroom dwelling. Dining room. Big, modern kitchen. Garden. And, an oddity for France, a shower that hits the bather with high pressure hot water from three directions. Surprising. France may lead in cuisine and style but usually lags behind in plumbing. After naps and a happy encounter with the shower, the group was ready for a major league feast at Brasserie Boulingrin. This is a traditional place with the classic brasserie virtues: Lively ambience. Traditional dishes. And, an abundance of fresh oysters, fish and crustaceans. The group demolished a vast plateau de fruits de mer. Some of the best, biggest, briniest oysters. Large pink shrimp. Clams. Bulots. Tiny grey shrimp. Much sharing and lusty eating. Salmon on a bed of spinach. Sole meuniere. Skate with a shower of capers. Cod. And, one rare steak with sauce béarnaise. Side dishes were gratins of potatoes and zucchini plus boiled and buttered spuds. The fruits de mer platter was accompanied by champagne (Reims is in the heart of France’s champagne district). Then, there was very good, fruity Beaujolais Nouveau. Giant portions of creme brûlée for dessert. The euro is having a weak spell so this lavish array of food and wine for six persons cost about $220 US.

NY Times Travel section had a nice piece by Ann Mah about eating French regional specialties in the places where they originated. Like Mah, HG has found the Paris versions pallid. For the real stuff, Mah traveled to Lyon for Quenelle de Brochet; to Alsace for Choucroute Garnie; to Cassis on Provence’s Mediterranean coast for Bouillabaisse; to Brittany for Galettes and Crepes; to Languedoc, Roussilon and Midi-Pyrenees for Cassoulet. The writer devoured a lot of mouth watering stuff on her countrywide jaunt. HG has never found the need to run all over France for these specialties. BSK makes a very lush Choucroute using Bubbie’s sauerkraut (stewed with the BSK mixture of onions, apples and caraway seeds) and adorned with Schaller & Weber pork products (available online). BSK makes her own version of Boulilabaisse when at the HG/BSK seafront house on Prince Edward Island (BSK uses freshly caught and harvested haddock, cod, clams and mussels plus mineral rich PEI potatoes and tangy fish broth). HG makes a fiery, hot pepper laden mayonnaise to smear on slices of toasted baguette to accompany the dish. HG/BSK never construct a Cassoulet. The best in culinary history was served to HG/BSK at the Port Washington, L.I., home of HG cousin Wini Freund. Useless to compete with that masterpiece. HG/BSK don’t do Galettes (reliable sources say that true Breton galettes can now be found in the Marais neighborhood of Paris at Cafe Breizh). Top flight crepes are made by Gifted Daughter Lesley R. in her sunny Rhode Island waterfront kitchen. She tops them with creme fraiche and Alaskan red salmon caviar. HG can easily knock off a dozen with a few (or more, alas) glasses of icy vodka. BSK and Lesley R. once made Quenelles in Nantucket using bluefish that had just been pulled from the sea. HG was absent but both women attest to their excellence. However, curiously, they have never made them again. Best Quenelles HG ever consumed were at the venerable Veau D’Or bistro in New York many years ago. In order to duplicate that experience, HG will have to get over to Lyon. Unlikely. HG will have to live with his delicious memories.

In France eggs are not relegated to the breakfast table; instead they are treated with the culinary seriousness they deserve appearing on both bistro and three star restaurant menus. Oeufs Mayo (hard boiled eggs toped with lots of freshly made mayonnaise) is a nice entree. So are Oeufs Meurette (poached eggs in red wine sauce). One bistro even serves BSK’s childhood favorite: Eggs and Soldiers. The dish consists of a soft boiled egg with buttered spears of a baguette. Naturally, omelettes are prominent. HG loves a bistro mushroom omelette, brown and crisp on the outside, soft on the inside. (The French descriptive word for this is baveuse which literally means “oozing.”) A baveuse omelette accompanied by pomme frites, red wine and good bread (perhaps a bit of salad) makes an ideal light, but hearty lunch. (The comic genius, Mel Brooks, discusses a baveuse onion and tomato omelette in this month’s Bon Appetit Magazine). HG also likes fried eggs and bacon tucked into a Norman galette, a crisp edged buckwheat crepe. Back home in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, HG likes a summer egg salad (heavy on the mayo) sandwich on whole wheat toast with a glass of cold lemonade.