Mistral lunch in Gigondas

The village of Gigondas is located at the foot of the impressive Dentelles de Montmirail. We were warm in the car when we drove to the center of town and saw that the terrace of l’Oustalet was open. Beautiful May day …but we underestimated the wind. Wow was there a lot of wind! And not…

summer bulot sandwich

  I started thinking about it as I was walking through the organic market Marché Bio of Boulevard des Battignolles in the 17th arrondissment in Paris: I wanted to make a bulots sandwich. The more I thought about it, the hungrier I got. I’d never had one before. I had some bulots in the fridge…

Lunch at Central Market Casa: step two

Step two : Take it to Bouchra Zoubida is the oyster lady at Parc Dar Kachon stand in the middle of the market. Apparently she is the matriarch of the Central Market and has been there every day for 39 years. She fed us oysters on the half shell as we stood there. And she explained…

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…

Summer Nicoise Salad (and, surprisingly, Vincent Dureuil Janthial 2006 Red Burgundy)

Nicoise is what we like to have in the evening when we are feeling veggie starved because it is light, digestible, and full of flavors. It is a dish that is built upon the marriages of different bitternesses.   What we use: Green lettuce, green beans, cooked artichoke hearts, a ripe tomato, a couple of…

Domaine Sauvète “Méli-Mélo” Rosé de Touraine 2007

From a very obscure grape variety called Pinot d’Aunis, this Rosé is very pale in color. It is extremely mineral like the terroir it comes from, giving it pepper, and chalk dust. Low alcohol and its chalk dust make it digestable and quafable.  What do I mean by digestable? It is not heavy. You can happily drink…