Those Brittany boys….

“White and purple !!” I exclaimed, truly shocked. “Where do these sea urchins from?” “Brittany.” Replied Colette “I’ve never seen anything like these !” “Neither have I.” She admitted, almost as shocked as I was by her own remark. If Colette has never seen these, they must be REALLY rare. We order 2, one white and one…

Colette and the sea urchins

No one picks out sea urchins like Colette. She’s got it down to an art. Picking them up delicately and with the slightest shake of the wrist, she weighs each one in her knowing hand. Oui, là, ils sont bien pleins (yes, these are nice and full). She says it with a sparkle in her…

end Ch9 day

Short hand in the notebook and constant translation from French to English. After a day of stains on teeth, hands and notebook pages. After barrels here, tanks there, old wood foudres, and multiple blends. Different spices, fruits, and flowers. After all of the power (and alcohol) saturated wines, and after the varying tannin levels… At…

Tang : Bordeaux with Chinese food

Taro root with white truffle oil This is one of his signature amuse bouches. The sweetness of the taro is a perfect vehicle for the gamy complex (almost intoxicating) truffle. Noodles with shitake mushrooms Very South-East Asian in style. Some small shrimps in there gave a delicate taste of the sea. And shitakes don’t give…

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…