Rossini's [CT]

When you are in a bind [and in the neighborhood] there is always Rossini's in East Hampton for great pizza and grinders to take out. Have eaten there several times but usually just call and pick up some good food. Just had an eggplant grinder there and it was terrific. Was going to save a half for another meal but could not resist eating the whole thing.

bloginfo: As you can see there is outdoor seating as well as a large indoor dining room.

blognote: The bread for sale as you pick up your to-go food is terrific.

No Name Tortilla Grill [CT]

Used a Groupon Coupon to eat tonight at the No Name Tortilla Grill in Berlin. The place was deserted when we arrived and then really filled up. Many people were getting take-out. You line up and order and then pay at the end. 

Shrimp/Corn Chowder

We both had Burritos: his was Southwestern Grilled Chicken [$6.89] and mine Western Marinated Steak [$7.69]. The person behind the counter then added the trimmings. We both had rice, black beans, grilled onions and peppers. I had lettuce and he had tomatoes. It was very difficult to see what was being offered. The server actually counted out each item except for the black beans. There were three strips of onion and four of peppers. These were not stuffed burritos and they were not even very warm. Served in a plastic take-out box with a handful of tortilla chips.

There were Soups of the day [$1.49 a cup with entrée]: Chicken Tortilla and Shrimp/Corn Chowder. My chowder was excellent. It made up for the rest of the meal. The Salsa Bar had five different salsas; four red which all tasted the same and one green.

bloginfo: They have a beer/wine license.
blognote: Servers need to be more hospitable.

Hit new level!

Just attained 10,001 hits. COME DINE WITH ME thanks everyone!

ON20 [CT]

Not many meals leave me speechless but today's luncheon at ON20 was one of those. I had returned from Paris Sunday evening after dining in all the right places. I found an equal here.

Rhubarb Gateau

From the first amuse bouche of Baby Radishes to the Vietnamese Lobster Bisque and then to a Chef's special gift of Panko Encrusted Turbot. My plat was a Braised Lamb Shoulder plated so exquisitely that it was a sin to eat. But eat it I did and enjoyed it thoroughly. My dining partner had the Salmon. It would be difficult to even begin to describe the accompaniments so I will not. Just go there and enjoy. An amuse bouche was gold encrusted chocolate with coffee cream. My dessert was the Rhubarb Gateau above and hers was a Cinnamon Raisin Apple Cake with a Calvados Sabayon. Then coffee and Pistachio Biscotti and of course a few more gems.

Blvd. du Montparnasse Restaurants [4]

RESTAURANT PARNASSE 138

Ate at the Restaurant Parnasse twice, both times were set meals for a group. The first time at a table in the front window with one other person. The entrée was a Paté with toast, salad and cornichons. The plat was a Boeuf Bourguignon with scalloped potatoes [not fresh pasta as listed on the carte] and very nice vegetables. The dessert was a passable Tarte Tatin. We shared half a carafe of vin rouge and had a café noisette to finish.

The second time was the 'au revoir' dinner on the night before last of our gathering. Why this restaurant was chosen for the second time is beyond me. There are so many fine restaurants on the Boulevard there. My entrée this night was the Millefeuilles stuffed with eggplant and mozzarella with a basil sauce and it was very good indeed. The plat was a Magret de Canard [my favorite duck dish] with honey sauce. Another Tarte Tatin for dessert, this time a better choice. The Mousse au chocolat with crême anglaise did look promising. Sat with group leader and group guide and had quite the nice conversation.

blognote: Dinner here was slightly harried with the owner running around trying to find out who ordered what? Maybe try writing it down!

OYEZ P'AXOA

This is my favorite restaurant on the Blvd. du Montparnasse! Why? It's the food, the service, the owner, the ambiance........

P'Axoa

Ate here twice also. The first time was for lunch and since it was right across the street from the my hotel, Villa Luxembourg, I walked across the way; good choice. I sat with the owner, Jean Charles, and a friend of his, Noël [who was joyeux!]. I ordered a formule of Paté Terrine and Pizza. Sounded strange to me but delicious. The paté was the best of artisan chunkiness and the  pizza [choice of veal] topped with the Basque axoa sauce of pimento and onion with two cheeses was super.

foie gras w/jelly

I ate at OYEZ P'AXOA again on Saturday evening, my last night in Paris. Instead of opting for a new restaurant I went back to this favorite one. It certainly turned out to be a good decision.

Sitting outside at a café table, I enjoyed a memorable meal. There was a large table inside filled with participants of my group and later another table for four joined them. Jean Charles let one of them take his picture with me. I ordered a glass of the same rosé claret and the same Paté Terrine. To this I added a Salade Oceanie [with sardines]. All was going extremely well. A man, friend of the owner, sitting alone on my right was smoking a cigar and then left to give up his table to the quick filling-up of the café. He eventually came back, was introduced to me by JC and joined my table. From that time on the evening just got better. We talked food; he being the expert, me the student. We traded stories. Wine started flowing and food started to appear. I 'sampled' the very best foie gras with jelly I have ever had! Then Grilled Calamars with seafood and Fideos. To finish it [and me] all off a slab of exquisite Chocolate Cake with Mango Sorbet.

bloginfo: the gentleman at my table was Louis Jacques Vannucci.

CHEZ CLEMENT

Confit de Canard

Oeuf Bio

Chez Clement turned out to be a good find on Monday evening for dinner. This is a chain with a restaurant will situated on the Blvd. du Montparnasse. I had the €14.90 formule of entrée and plat and started with Oeuf Bio and Salad ['farm fresh' deviled egg with salad]. There were several interesting main coursed but I opted for the Confit de Canard, duck being one of my favorites, with greens and some tasty potatoes. Of course Badoit Verte, sparkling water, a vin rouge Brouilly [€5.10] and my ever present 'dessert' of café noisette. Good meal, well priced, nice atmosphere.

blognote: Had a great conversation with a couple next to me. He had a Wesleyan connection and she worked for Capezio and we talked dance..

Crôque Monsieur

L'ATELIER

After watching Woody Allen's 'Midnight in Paris' in Paris, I stopped for a 'snack' at L'Atelier, a new café-brasserie on Montparnasse. The movie is wonderful especially for the shots of Paris. The snack was great: a Crôque Monsieur.

CDG Airport Food

Terminal 2E for Air France has some very good food choices: cafés, stands, stalls. You can get a meal, sandwich, dessert, candy or a lot more .

I had a sandwich at a take-out counter. The sandwich had Fromage de Brebis, Tapenade and Tomates Séchées. This with a bottle of Pellegrino and a café noisette for €12.90.

blognote: They even have an Hédiard store!

La Pierrade

Lunch in Montmarte, sitting on the terrasse in the sun, watching all the people. That was what it was all about on Saturday. La Pierrade is well situated, well located for a leisurely lunch without all the hassle. Yes, the street performers did get a little close but the music was good.

I shared the table with a new found friend and it was very enjoyable. We both ordered the €13 formule and started with Onion Soup which at that price was onion soup and not the gratinée version of the tourist books. It was good and had two cheese covered croutons in each. I had the Brochette, potatoes and greens for entrée and she had the Saumon and Riz. The dessert was included and we both had glaces/2 boules; mine was coffee and chocolate. The flavors of ice cream here are so much more intense than home. Yes!

Restaurant Le Beaujolais

Another set group dinner at Restaurant Le Beaujolais near the Eiffel Tower. This was very successful with a nice ambiance family style. Had the Escargot for entrée [even with the right utensils the little guys didn't want to come out]. My plat was a gigantic Saucisse d'Auvergnes which was super good. Had another ubiquitous Tarte aux Pommes for dessert. Had vin blanc with the snails and vin rouge with the sausage. Needed the long trip around the Eiffel Tower to walk it all off.

Café Le Molière

Lunch at Café Le Molière on Friday in Saint-Germain-des-Prés where I finally had a Faux-filet [Sirloin Steak] with Fried Potatoes and Salad [€20.70]. The steak was cooked à point [medium] as ordered.

blognote: Ordering steak: rare=bleu, medium-rare=saignant, medium=à point, well-done=bien cuit

Table du Palais Royal

After a run through the Palais Royal and jumping on the checkerboard garden I ate a wonderful lunch at Carroll Sinclair's Table d'Hote du Palais Royal. The meal started with an amuse bouche of paté on toast. Then the entrée was a Salade du Foie Gras with a crushed walnut dressing. Following this for the plat was Saumon dans jus de crevettes [perfectly cooked and beautifully sauced] served with a Potato Galette and a mélange of vegetables: parsnips, celeriac, carrots and onions. Dessert was the usual Café Noisette.

blognote: My charming waiter was Timur who was very much in charge of the small but well appointed room.

Bistrot de la Place

Paté du Campagne

Daube de Jou de Boeuf

Lunch at the Bistrot de la Place in St Catherine's was wonderful. In the midst of the madness of the Marais district, there is this quant haven of quiet. I wondered and looked at the menu of the three/four choices and ended up here. Good choice.

The Paté du Campagne was smooth and the Beef Cheek Stew was tender and rich with mashed potatoes. A glass of vin rouge and a bottle of Badoit Verte added to the scrumptious meal [€28.10].

Crêpes a Go Go

Tuesday lunch was a terrific lunch at Crêpes à Gogo where I actually had a galette and not a crêpe. But in Paris they call them sucré [sweet] and salée [savory] crêpes. This outlet is near the Pantéon on rue Soufflot.

My order was un Crêpe Salée avec Oeuf et Fromage [egg and cheese for €6.90].

Pierre Hermé Macarons

The ultimate macaroon is the one made by Pierre Hermé. I had raspberry macaroons from Pierre in Miami at the Food and Wine Fest a few years back. I have been wanting to try some of other flavors for years and voilá!

I bought a half dozen [9.35€] and had the young woman choose six from the myriad numbers available. I had 1. Mogador [Chocolat au Lait & Fruit de la Passion] 2. Infiniment Caramel [Caramel au Beurre Salé] 3. Infiniment Rose [Rose et Pétale de Rose] 4. Inifiniment Chocolat [Chocolat Pure Origine Venezuela Porcelana] 5. Coing et Rose [quince] 6. Huile d'Olive et Vanille [available from 4 avril]!!!

Air France Food

Flying JFK/CDG I had a dinner of Niçoise-style rice with flaked tuna, Vin blanc, Salmon shepherd's pie, Cheese and Orange-cranberry cake, coffee

Flying CDG/JFK I had Champagne, Quiche de pain perdu with Mediterranean-style vegetables, Provence style orzo pasta, vin blanc, Camembert cheese, White chocolate tartlet with raspberries, coffee

bloginfo: There is no dinner listed on the itinerary but the above is served. Dinners prepared in Paris are much better than those prepared in New York.

blognote: Bread, bread and more bread available throughout the meal!

Blue Lobster Seafood [CT] update...

Went to Blue Lobster Seafood again today [another Groupon Coupon] to fill up before my transAtlantic flight this evening. No dinner on late flights with Air France!

We both had the Lobster Salad Plate [$10.95] which comes with both coleslaw and potato salad. The lobster came on top of the pile with large pieces of succulent lobster. My comment below about needing more butter on the Lobster Roll now becomes a comment of a little too much mayo in the lobster salad. No, I am not hard to please, just a little picky.

Next time I will try a fried platter like the Large Shrimp or the Sea Scallops.

May 9, 2011

We had a belated Mothers' Day lunch at Blue Lobster Seafood here today. I had a Groupon coupon I had been wanted to use so...there we went.

I had a Groupon Coupon for $20 worth of food [paid $10]. This was not good for the specials [and they looked wonderful] or the lobster dinner. Asked if we would like to sample their chowders, we tasted from New England Clam Chowder, Rhode Island Clam Chowder, Corn Chowder and Lobster Bisque. They were all very tasty but the Rhode Island won out for my choice:

I had the Hot Lobster Roll with a bowl of Rhode Island Clam Chowder [$10.50]. The hot lobster could use just a little more butter [there goes my diet] but it was super. The RI Chowder was the best! My guest had the lunch portion of Fish and Chips [$7.95] with curly fries [someone had just gotten the last order of Sweet Potato fries]. She is the 'Fish and Chips Specialist' and said this was just about the best she had ever had!

bloginfo: They just got their beer and wine license so forget the BYOW/B on the website menu.
blognote: Nicest people, great service and really fresh seafood. 

Rockland Bakery [NY]

Stopped on our way home from the Edison Estate/Montclair Art Museum Tour at this amazing bakery. The Rockland Bakery is the 'funnest' bakery I have ever seen. The front showroom was filled with cakes, pastries and pies. The unique part was the back of the store. You put on plastic gloves, gather up some paper bags and proceed to pick out the fresh bread you wanted. Some of it [bagels] was coming off the conveyer belt. The rest was sorted by type [at least 20] on huge shelves. Then you took your choices to the front, stood in line, had the bread sliced if wanted and paid up. There was even a 10% senior discount. I bought a whole grain baguette and a round levain. This came to $3.29. What a joy!

bloginfo: The Rockland Bakery is in Nanuet, NY
blognote: They supply many of the best restaurants in NYC.