Al Mounia

 We were impressed when we discovered that the taxi driver knew where Al Mounia was. Not only because most of the other petit taxis seemed not to know where even the biggest monuments of the city were. But because we thought, “this must really be Moroccan cuisine!” The comments in the guide book describing the…

Chambertin 1979 Louis Trapet

This old thing was kicking around the cellar for reasons that are long to explain. The Duc thought it might be dead. But it was very much alive.   (the vintage was written by hand because the neck label with the vintage fell off in very damp storage conditions) Well, it had lost all of…

Truffle with raw scallops, olive oil, white pepper and salt

  This combo is perfect. These ingredients were made for eachother. The scallops are neutral enough and yet have a hint of gaminess that is very subtle. And the texture is suggestive of fattiness that carries the aroma and flavors of truffle. The olive oil gives a fruity, pepperiness that the truffle wears like a…

Truffles with sea urchins… an unusual start

The Duc flips out over sea urchins (Oursins, in French). I quite like them too. This time of year, we have them on Sundays as a special treat. We especially like the ones that come from Iceland, as they are usually the most complex. But we never know which provenance the fishmonger will have. There…