Air France

Here's a shoutout to Air France. What a great meal! This was CDG/JFK and certainly out 'gourmanded' the meal on Delta ATL/CDG.

This is a picture of the menu, yes, the MENU. The service was great, the food was remarkably good for an airline and the flight was wonderful. I will fly Air France as much as possible in the future.

We started with Champagne [Chanoine Brut Grande Réserve] and a Surimi, carrot and zucchini salad accompanied by ratatouile bread.

Main course selections were my Chicken with coconut spice sauce, basmati rice and fried onions or Four cheese tortellini pasta with Neapolitan sauce and Italian cheese.

Then Camembert with a fresh baguette with a choice of white wine, I skipped the Chardonnay and had the Côtes du Luberon La Vielle Femme 2008 Perrin et Fils.

A Smoothie and/or a Lemon tart for dessert. Then coffee, what a trip!

Eating in Paris, 6iéme arrondisement, Left Bank

Arrived in Paris on Thursday morning. Checked into BW Left Bank and decided to just hang around the 6th for the weekend. Had a Ficelle sesame with ham and cheese for lunch [€2.50] for lunch. They just make the best bread ever in France. Started scouting the neighborhood and ended up sitting on Pont Neuf eating the sandwich and looking into the Seine. Not a bad spot for lunch! Coup de Faim literally translates as 'hunger strike'.

Thursday evening, I was ready to eat dinner but the rest of Paris was still sitting around drinking wine. I wandered the Boulevard Saint Germain to find somewhere to eat. Finally decided on this great little restaurant, the Vagenende. No one there until I sat down and then people decided that they were hungry.

Got onto the starter+main+dessert formula and stuck with it. Usually just went the starter+main route. Here ordered the usual glass of house wine [vin blanc] and a eau gazeuse [sparkling water]. My starter was Soupe á l'Oignon [onion soup] and it was one the best I've had. The bread was the typical baguette pieces and good. The main was Choucroute l'Alsacienne which I had never had in Paris. I was worth the wait. A pile of sauerkraut, a boiled potato and a huge amount of wurst, sausage, corned beef and pork belly. Needless to say, it was very filling and the mustard on the side was creamy and added to my dinner delight.

Ended with a Café Noisette and cookies. Cost €35 with change left on tray.

Breakfast was included with my room stay at the Best Western Left Bank on rue de l'Ancienne Comédie. There was an excellent assortment of food. The highlights of the morning were the café au lait and the basket of bread: croissant, petit pan au chocolat and a mini-baguette.

lunch @la rotisserie d'en face: see review on 'meet me for lunch in...'

Found a place for supper where you can eat at any time. This was the Crêperie Saint André des Arts, a cute room that reeked of Normandy. Had a Kir au cidre, a crêpe complet [ham, cheese, egg] and a crêpe au sucre for dessert along with a bowl of cidre [cider].

Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé...they had just opened the first beaujolais of the season [we have to wait for Thanksgiving] so I indulged several times. Once was at the Café Fenelon right at the Fountain at the Place St. Michel. Talk about tourists! I was able to get a front table seat on the sidewalk twice. They put your 'addition' in a clothespin on the table; I bought a rose from a street vendor and attached it to the 'pin on my last night there. The beautiful young attendant said to the crowd as I left: 'que gentil monsieur...'.

Le Nesle Bar Brasserie was my lunch spot on Saturday. I had a Crôque Madame [grilled ham and cheese with a fried egg on top (Crôque Monsieur doesn't get the egg)] with salad and a glass of beaujolais nouveau. This little neighborhood place was just down the street from the hotel on the corner of rue Nesle and Mazarine.

Dinner Saturday evening was probably the star of the show. On rue du Buci, one of the many famed streets in the Left Bank, there were several packed restaurants and after many walk-bys I chose Café de Paris. This place is famous for its seafood from Brittany.

There was a Plat du Jour [meal of the day] menu and an extensive 'fruits de mer' menu. I chose from both!

Started with a glass of Pouilly Fuisée and 6 Nº2 Oysters, a glass of beaujolais nouveau and an Entrecôte [cooked á point] with frites a San Pelligrino and a Deca [with cookies] for €48.80.

Service started off brusque and ended very amiably. The restaurant was packed with diners speaking many different languages. The outdoor café was full so I ate in the dining room.

blognotes: Mealtimes are rather rigid: lunch from 12 to 2ish and dinner never before 8.

Bread is exquisite, salad greens are fresh and light usually with a light mustard tang.

Wine by the glass is very common and a good selection; I tended to stick with Sancerre for white and Côte du Rhone for red [except for Beaujolais Nouveau being available].

Tap water is fine but I always ordered Eau Gazeuse and it was usually Badoit which I prefer.

Service fee is included so tipping is easy; just leave some loose coins [remember though that 1€ and 2€ are coins].

Waiters are, for the most part, bilingual French/English but ordering in French is great.

la Rotísserie d'en Face [Paris]

Have always wanted to eat at Jacques Cagna and got my chance here at his 'other place' in the Left Bank, 6iéme arrondisement, where I stayed for the weekend. I made my reservations by internet several weeks ahead of time and had to call that morning from the hotel to reconfirm. My reservation was for noon and I was the first to occupy the dining room but it shortly filled up.

It turned out to be a very relaxed, down home type of meal. The service was elegant but friendly. The room was along the lines of a fine farmhouse dining room.

The menu was the starter+main+dessert [or any combination thereof] formula. I opted for the starter+main.

Lunch began with Whole grain bread made on the premises served with a sealed pot of butter.

Ordered eau gazeuse [sparkling water] and a glass of Sancerre white wine to go with meal.

My starter is not on the website menu. It was Eggs Farmer Style, the eggs being 'bio-fermier' or organic. This was served in a large ramekin: two eggs sunny side up with three coins of foie gras and diced tomato. Delicious and sopped up with the bread, more delicious.

The main was the Poulet Fameux [famous chicken], again organic. This serving was a breast with wing attached, cooked perfectly moist with crispy skin. Puréed potatoes and gravy [more sopping up].

Skipping dessert I had my usual Café Noisette [espresso with a dollop of milk this resembling the noisette 'almond']. The coffee usually comes with a little cookie so that was my dessert.

bloginfo: The restaurant was not easy to find as rue Christine is a very small street with not much else on it.

blognote: This was not the most exciting meal I had this weekend in Paris but probably the best cooked. Cost: €43.10 and left change for €45 total.

Pho Mai Vietnamese Restaurant

Just had a quick and tasty lunch at Pho Mai in Middletown. Only one other party of four there when I arrived just before noon. The restaurant filled to capacity soon after that. Very popular! The best word to describe this place is FRESH!

I had the #1 Goi Cuon: Two fresh spring rolls with lettuce, mint, vermicelli, pork slice and shrimp served with peanut sauce [$4.25] and the #7 Canh Chua Ga: A cup of hot and sour chicken soup with vegetables. The soup had just my limit of hotness but I was still crying on the way out. Delicious food at a good price.

bloginfo: Pho Mai is at 570 Main Street in Middletown right next door to another favorite of mine, Iguanas Ranas.

blognote: Lots of takeout going on so call 860.347.0773

John Harvard's Brew House

Four of us, hungry people, descended on John Harvard's Brew House in Manchester this afternoon. They did a good job of filling us up. Not crowded as I would expect on a Sunday afternoon but we got a booth right away.

We ordered: Cheeseburger with fries [$8.29], my BBQ Burger with smoked tomato mayo, smoked gouda, bacon, lettuce, tomato and pickle with good fries [$8.99], Buffalo Chicken Sandwich at just the right hotness with fries [$8.99] and Pulled Pork Sliders [$7.99] with kettle chips; three cute 'lil buns which I just might order next time.

Good solid food in a restaurant known primarily for plain cooking and good beer [we didn't indulge but the Cranberry Wheat beer sounded interesting].

Barcelona Wine Bar

Okay, so we go here alot! But it's worth it! Especially if your host[ess] has a gift card! And you're celebrating your birthday [again and again and again?]!

Anyway, we had a terrific meal. Same good service, atmosphere, vibe and FOOD!

Decided on tapas: Goat Cheese with Mushrooms [$8.50], Pork Tenderloin with bacon on puréed squash [$9], Hanger Steak with Chimichurri [$9], Chorizo with sweet/sour Figs [$8.50]. This and two glasses of Melipal Malbec [$11 each]. Also 2 coffees [$2.75 per] and split a White Chocolate Cheesecake [$7].

In order of fantasticalability, the Hanger Steak rated #1 with the Goat Cheese and the Figs at #2.

Everything else was very good, especially the bread.

bloginfo: check website here for all locations; we were at West Hartford

blognote: we both got a 'wooden nickel' for a free glass of wine next time; good play, we'll be back

Iguanas Ranas

Ate here at Iguanas Ranas after the live MET Opera production of Turandot. Doesn't make sense I know mixing Chinese/Italian with Mexican.

But we sure made the right choice. Both of us had a Torta. One was Carne Adobado and mine was a Milanesa. They both were huge and stuffed with the requisite lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, chipotle mayo, fresh cheese and refried beans. This on a great fresh hot torta roll. They cost $7.95 and can feed the Mexican National Guard or a hungry Wesleyan student! Mine was accompanied by a Tamarindo soda.

bloginfo: Iguanas Ranas website

Criollisimo

I was having a 'rice and beans' attack so went to Criollisimo Restaurant in New Britain with a friend for lunch. Brenda, chef, was there so caught up on some NB Education Department bochinche [gossip].

We had Pernil [roast pork] with Arroz con Gandules [yellow rice with pigeon peas] and Costillas [ribs] with Arroz con Habichuelas [white rice and beans] with two slices of Avocado and split a bottle of water [$16].

Food is still as good as ever; plentiful and cheap. Lots of business even though we arrived after one o'clock and left after two; lot's of takeout.

bloginfo: new website here

blognote: I knew Brenda even before she opened up this place years ago!