Wilton's In London - How Do I Love thee?

I received this today from one of my favorite restaurants in London - All I can say is , I have booked my flight and can't wait until September.
This my friend is true eating, not that insipid food that trendy restaurants try to pawn of on you. And of course, this is not for the impoverished of pocket nor dress. Thank goodness!

The DP Dinner 29 September 2010

29th Sep 2010
Wiltons and Dom Pérignon invite you to experience a very special champagne dinner, tutored by Richard Bampfield, MW and European Champagne Ambassador 2009.

This is truly a unique opportunity to enjoy a variety of Dom Pérignon vintages alongside the exceptional food of Wiltons award-winning celebrity chef Andrew Turner.

Champagne canapé reception served with Dom Pérignon Vintage 2000: 6.30pm

Dinner: 7pm (prompt)
Dress: Lounge suit ( if you have to ask - then this is not for you!)
Menu

Butter poached native lobster and scallop fondant - Oh! My! My favorite!

Dom Pérignon Vintage 2002

Breast of guinea fowl and confit leg with salsify, - OMG - Another favorite!
Wild mushrooms and rosemary

Dom Pérignon Oenotheque Vintage 1996

Pear William Pavlova, cardamom and almonds

Dom Pérignon Rose Vintage 2000

Coffee and sweetmeats

Glenmorangie Signet
£180 per person
.......................too expensive?  Naw!
Just remember what Victor Hugo once said
"As the purse is emptied, the heart is filled'..............and stomach!

Small Pleasures.................

Waldo Lydecker ( AKA Clifton Webb in Laura)
Small pleasures I enjoy...............A club sandwich with a ice-cold martini (dry), A hot dog with a lamb casing, a classic Caesar salad, Women in Summer dresses, Chili with part beef/lamb and pork and NO beans!, Sunday brunch at the Four Seasons in Los Angeles and their Bloody Mary with extra horseradish and garlic, a Lonsdale cigar and a glass of Calvados and taking of course a BATH.Ah, Yes, most defiantly a bath.............
Bathing...is transporting one's senses to new and liquid dimensions of elegance, ecstasy and luxury. It is sensory, it is sensual, it is exotic, it is...sex without sex. In a bath, one's body is caressed by warm, perfumed waters. Your ears are kissed and nibbled by sweet music...your mind is seduced to a different dimension of peace, and calm, and pleasure.

1950's Movies - My Guilty Pleasure

More in detail of my love of the 1950's movies - but until then - a clip from Pete Kelly's Blues - Starting Jack Webb (they don't make them  like that anymore!)
Ella Fitzgerald in a cameo from the movie and a great movie theme song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2VBElCVOvU&feature=related

Give Me Meat, You Philistine, Meat!

I am leaving for France for 3 weeks in a few days and my thoughts turn to some of my favorite places to spend a 3 hour lunch and one is near the spa town of Evian, over looking ( from the French side of course) Lake Geneva.

High on the hill above the lake is La Verniaz et Ses Chalets. A lovely hotel and restaurant run by the 5 generation ,Verdier family.

A treat here is ordering from "Campfire" grill menu  - a large wood fire spit in the center of the restaurant that offers grilled meats.

To be honest with you, I have had one to three star Michelin meals all over France, but when it comes to the 'crunch', give me a spit roasted bird or meat dish and you will find no happier person in the world!

Dining here is one of my most cherished memories and something I come back to year after year. The good part is after a 'thrilling' and full filling ,3 hour luncheon, to be able to walk just a few paces to your awaiting room and to sleep and dream of what you just ate, is heaven on earth. Genesis was wrong, we never left the Garden of Eden, it is here in Evian.

The traditional grill room in the campfire of "La Verniaz":

Bavarian beef filet roasted on a spit (minimum of 2 persons) 30 € per person

Rack of lamb roasted on a spit, flavoured with thyme, (minimum of 2 persons) 28 € per person

Bresse poultry chicken «Miéral» roasted whole on a spit (minimum of three persons)(one hour cooking) 26 € per person

The Last Civilized Smoke in London

The Lanesborough is the only hotel where serious cigar smokers should stay when visiting London. It has a multimillion dollar smoking lounge that is unique in the United Kingdom, and perhaps the world, making it a cigar mecca for visitors and locals alike in the capital city. Because of the Government ban on smoking in hotels/restaurants/cafes/private clubs etc, The Lanesborough moved its famous Library cigar bar (which I adored) in the main building to a ground floor outdoor area in the back of the hotel called The Garden Room. It was first a Moroccan tent-like structure, but now resembles a plush library complete with heating, tiled floor, rare wood paneling, leather seats candles and fireplace. With its seating for about 45 people, it's hard to tell you're even outdoors as you relax with a cigar and single malt or something from the hotel's collection of fine Cognacs in hand.
The Garden Room is open from 4p.m. to midnight, although manager Guiseppe Ruo says that hotel guests can stay as long as they like. Ruo is a cigar legend in the city and travels regularly to Cuba. He keeps a well-stocked walk-in humidor with hundreds of boxes representing 60 to 70 different brands and sizes. Most of the cigars are Cuban, with everything from a Montecristo No.4 for $22.50 to a Cohiba Behike for $2,500. Prices are per cigar and about 30 percent more than U.K. retail. Regulars have cigar lockers as well.
But guests are not obliged to buy cigars from the Lanesborough, Ruo says with a smile, adding that there's a $40 minimum per person clipping charge. Bar food is also available, from snacks to steaks to salads. I like to travel with my cigars myself, so I know how it is. Customers are welcome to bring their own.
With the lounge, cigar selection and amazing offerings of spirits, Champagne, wines and Ports by the glass, cigar loving hotel guests might be induced to spend every waking hour there, Close to two dozen pre-1900 Cognacs are offered by the glass as well as 60 vintage-dated whiskeys, not to mention old rums, Calvados and Armagnacs. There's always a glass of 1970 Warre or 1963 Croft on pour as well.
Since I know the GM (he is wonderful and get you all kinds of extras!) why not consider staying and enjoy the comforts of the rest of the hotel with its sumptuously appointed rooms and superior dining.

The Sunny Days Of yesteryear! ..and Its Music!

In the 1960's, Bossa Nova hit the United States and Europe with a bang! I loved this music and one of my favorite Bossa Nova songs was Tristezza and one of my favorite singers (I was raised an internationalist!, don’t you know) was Italian POP singer, Ms. Ornella VARONI, whom I adored then and now!
Here is her rendition (fantastic musical chart, I must say) of that song!
Gad, how I miss those days of music!

Review Of Animal Restaurant - Los Angeles - I Loved It! BUT Can Never Go Again

The Saddest Story You'll Ever Hear!

Four of us (total foodies!) ate at the Animal Restaurant last night and all agreed, it had exceptional food and service. It's the kind of place you order "Chinese -Style", as the menu is so varied and so good, you must try and share as much as you can.The Chefs do something ,that most American restaurants do not, THEY SEASON THEIR FOOD!
We had:

** baby kale, pecorino, lemon, smashed croutons

** pig ear, chili, lime, fried egg - thin strips deep fried - incredible! Just incredible!

** barbeque pork belly sandwiches, slaw - WORTH THE PRICE OF ADMISSION! I could have eaten several orders!

** melted petit basque, chorizo, grilled bread - Good but our least favorite - The Chorizo was a bit tasteless.

** crispy rabbit legs, meyer lemon aioli, peas & their greens - The Best!!!

** foie gras loco moco, quail egg, spam, hamburger - Fantastic!
All said and done, it was a wonderful meal, an unforgettable meal and YET, and here is the big YET,The noise level was very intense. I could not hear my partner seated next to me, we were touching shoulders in fact. I could never hear my other diners across the small table the entire evening. I should have learned American Sign Language!
It was the most uncomfortable dining experience I have encountered in a long time. I could not wait to leave, it was so deafening, that when we left, we felt like having to take a valium to calm our senses.

I love the food! It is something I have been searching for a long time in Los Angeles and then finding it, sadly I can’t return.

Why, oh why, do American restaurant have to be designed to have a over powering noise level?
In France, this same kind of design in a restaurant would not have that noise level. Why? You ask. Well the French and Europeans speak at a low level. Any raised voices in a French restaurant and you’ll know who they are immediately……………..Americans!

I am sorry to report, it’s a fantastic restaurant food-wise!, but for ones dining pleasure, a distinct disaster.
You have been warned!

February 24, 2010
Chicken liver toast 3
crispy hominy, lime 5

blood orange, chili oil, castlevetrano, red onion 8

carrot salad, sunchoke chips, green goddess, avocado 8

baby kale, pecorino, lemon, smashed croutons 9

pig ear, chili, lime, fried egg 10

lettuce, beets, avocado, pita, feta, creamy sumac 10

barbeque pork belly sandwiches, slaw 10

grilled sardines, duck fat gremolata, pine nuts, raisins 10

rabbit loin, parsnip, pear mostarda, benton’s bacon 10

head cheese, cornbread, pickled fennel vinaigrette 10

baby broccoli, pancetta, parmesan, soft egg, bread crumbs 11

ricotta & goat cheese gnocchi, bologenese 12

melted petit basque, chorizo, grilled bread 12

sweetbreads, creamed spinach, capers, hen of the woods 14

duck confit, apple, pecans, dates, arugula 14

quail fry, grits, chard, slab bacon, maple jus 15

poutine, oxtail gravy, cheddar 15

fluke, paige mandarins, raita, mint, pineapple 15

lamb loin tartar, fries, greens, toast 22
foie gras, biscuit, maple sausage gravy 22

skatewing, collards, rutabaga, grainy mustard 25

veal breast, polenta, savoy cabbage, prosciutto 25

flat iron, sunchoke hash, truffle parmesan fondue 25

crispy rabbit legs, meyer lemon aioli, peas & their greens 25

foie gras loco moco, quail egg, spam, hamburger 35

and much more!

Bacon with Everything, Even Desert! - My Kind Of Restaurant

I am being taken out to dinner this evening to a restaurant called The Animal. I like the sound of it already! The cooking (I am told is by two hip dudes) is on the rough side of rustic and tends to be greasy (wonderful!), but made with good ingredients. It’s all about meat, meat, and meat! It’s dietary incorrect (that’s a plus in my book) , exuberant and indulgent, with bacon popping up in almost every dish, even with desert!

I will report back to you on Thursday on my experiences.

There is an old Mississippi Blues song called “Everything on the Hog is Good”.

I hope this restaurant proves the song right!

BRING ON THE BACON!

Ian Carmichael - One of the Most beloved British Actors Passes Away

Ian Carmichael personified the affable, archetypal silly ass Englishman in scores of revues ,light comedies, films and television programs. His wide-eyes boyish grin, bemused courtesy and trusting manner was his hallmark. His world of old world manners ( as are mine, if you must ask) were his technical lifeline. I have seen most of his films, once saw him in a revue , but what stands out for this Edwardian wanna-be ( me) is his portrayal Lord Peter Wimsey, Dorothy Sayers aristocratic detective in the famous British TV series. The style, the clothes, the props, the manners of this wonderful TV series endeared me to him forever. Based in the time between the wars (1918-1929) this era of England is my favorite time to be alive. I was born too late. Sigh!

I have watched over and over the series and have never gotten tired of it.

Mr. Carmichael is will be missed and we shall not see his likeness again.

Thoughts for a Rainy Beverly Hills Afternoon

"I love criticism just so long as it's unqualified praise"
                       Noel Coward

Thoughts for a Rainy Beverly Hills Afternoon

Japanese Soup For The Soul

It’s been raining quite a bit in Beverly Hills for the last couple of days. It’s 2:55pm and instead of concentrating on my work, I am starring out the window, starring at the downpour and dreaming of an event I experienced some 57 years ago and it is as fresh and bright in my mind as it was then.It was a rainy Saturday evening, in Beverly Hills and not having a date that evening, actually to be honest, I rarely had a date ,no I’ll be real honest, I never had a date ( but that’s another story), so I and my buddy Tony Greeley decided to venture out to have something to eat. We had just seen the movie “Sayanara” staring Marlon Brando earlier that afternoon, So we decided that maybe we’d try Japanese food. The only problem was we had never eaten Japanese food. The only Japanese people we had ever seen was either our family gardener or characters in the movies. Actually, two of my favorite Japanese movie stars (character actors) where Philip Ahn and Richard Loo. It seemed they were always relegated most of the time to playing evil World War 2 heavies. But I loved them, because they spoke so well, had very modulated voices – deep and smooth, which of course made them even that much more evil. Of course when they were confronted in the movies as to where they learned their language their response was always, ‘Ah! I went to UCRA”!

Mr. Philip Ahn

                                                                  Mr.Richard Loo
Years later, I was shocked to learrn that both men where not Japanese at all, but Korean. I was fortunate to meet my idol, Mr. Ahn because he was not only a well regarded actor but also a successful owner of a Chinese restaurant; The Moongate and when in town ,he’d make the rounds at the restaurant and always stop by my families table ( we ate there a lot) and say hello. Forget meeting Cary Grant or Clark Gable (which I had the opportunity also to do on several occasions years later) it was meeting Philip Ahn, that I cherished most, even to this day.
OK?, where was I going with this? Ah So! ( Messieurs Ahn and Loo used this a lot in their movies!)
So off, we set, Tony and I went to the Sawtelle district of Los Angeles ( we had heard it was a Japanese-American community) to find an Japanese restaurant. It was raining harder than ever now, with flashes of lighting and thunder. We found a restaurant and stood outside ( soaking wet) trying to get up the courage to go in and order from a menu which we knew nothing about. We finally did and that experience is another long and very funny story, but suffice to say, we did order and the first thing we were served was a steaming bowl of soup, at least we thought it was soup. We waited and waited for the proper utensils, a spoon at least! , but it never came, so Tony, being very impatient and hungry picked up the bowl and drank the soup. I was horrified, I thought we were going to be thrown out! Who ever picks up a bowl of soup and drinks from it straight? As I showed my horror, Tony just beamed and said “My god! you have to try this, its out of this world”. With great reluctance, I picked up the lacquered bowl and lifted it to my lips, turning my head at the same time anticipating that at any moment, my Proper Bostonian Grandmother would come rushing in the door and yell “ My God, Howard! What Are Your Doing?” She did not appear and as I sipped the broth, my world changed in an instant! Maybe because it was cold and rainy outside, or maybe it was just something warm heating me up, but whatever it was, this bowl of soup; we were to find out later, it was called miso ( a traditional Japanese seasoning produced by fermenting rice, barley and/or soy beans with salt), was to change my life forever. Tony and I could not get enough of it and we ordered two more bowls. I am sure the owner and his wife thought we were crazy. This event started me on a long and exciting quest to explore all things Japanese, that would culminate in my marrying a Japanese-American and thinking of myself to this day not white, but as an Asian.., ………….But that’s another story! So here I am sitting, it’s pouring and I long for, I ache for, a hot, steaming, lacquered bowl of that marvelous elixir called MISO.

Class and Style Is Still Around - San Francisco

In this day and age, where there is ( in my humble opinion) very little style and class in the world at large - in what we wear, how we live, how we treat each other, how we eat and such, but ( thank goodness) there are still pockets to be found here and there.

One such place is San Francisco, - which has always been to me, a classy city with very stylish people who know how to live in style that I admire.

I attended Prep school there in the 1950's and I remember so well that men and women still wore hats and dressed to the nines for daytime business and daily pleasure outings... It impressed me so that I have always kept my way of dressing based on those early days of San Francisco, its grace ,its charm and its style.

…..Which brings me to one, Mr. Peter Taylor

But first...........

The Ferry Building, that long, tall landmark where Market Street meets the Embarcadero, once was where they brought the injured after the great San Francisco quake of 1906, now it lives to make people hungry. It these days has established itself as a foodie haven like no place Southern California has ever seen. About 40 retailers and restaurants peddle all things organic, artisanal and upscale. One of the liveliest farmers markets in the West springs up here Tuesdays and Saturdays with about 80 farmers and 30 artisanal food-makers Every day, thousands of locals and tourists walk the Ferry Building's main hall -- technically, it's called the nave -- sniffing the oysters and apricots, inspecting the gelato and olive oil, browsing the Japanese deli, the Imperial Tea Court, the rarefied desserts at Recchiuti Confections. Here you’ll find the counter of the Acme Bread Co., where you can score a fresh baguette. Or there's the Cowgirl Creamery, where you can pick up a hunk of fromage blanc Spend big, spend little. Either way, you get to watch the ferries float in and the food fly out and speculate on who's local and who's just jetted in from Nanjing or Namibia.Here among the 40 shops inside is Acme Bread to Mijita, Far West Fungi to Market Bar, Boccalone's salumi to the Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant, Blue Bottle Coffee to Boulettes Larder, it’s a foodies overload and if you’ve never done it, then you are really missing something.

So,…..Mr. Peter Taylor......................................

Inside this elegant building, at the tableside of the Wine Merchant Shop (wine by the glass to purchase – besides bottles) , you’ll find Mr. Taylor every Saturday sitting at a table graced with one of his elegant tablecloths, eating from his three-tiered silver server overflowing with a cornucopia of food riches purchased from the various shops and farmers booths in and surrounding the building that morning. Mr. Taylor is the epitome of style and grace, not seen much these days. You are welcome to visit him, ask questions about what are the best shops and best buys for that day.

Mr. Taylor adds class to an already classy place.

Visit his website at

http://www.saturdaysatthetable.blogspot.com/

New Years Thought

"Happiness is a good martini, a good meal, a good cigar and a good woman... or a bad woman, depending on how much happiness you can stand."

Happy New Year From London

This year, I am not going to be in London to celebrated New Years ( sigh!),
But here is ( to dream about) the New Years Menu at the best hotel in London, The Goring Hotel.

Hosted by the affable managing director

Mr.David Morgan-Hewitt

Champagne cocktails.

Canapés

 *

Oak smoked salmon with a smoked salmon mousse and caviar

Hot Californian asparagus with hollandaise sauce

Carpaccio of cauliflower with a caraway dressing, tomato tartare, tomato sorbet and chervil

Tartare of Leyburn venison with marinated beetroot and black pepper soured cream

Roast parsnip and heather honey soup

* * *

Grilled fillet of sea bass with a wild fennel sauce

Poached fillets of Dover sole in a lobster sauce

* * *

Breast of Yorkshire pheasant with caramelized apples, braised red cabbage,

Calvados sauce and fondant potato

Fillet of Castle of Mey beef with spring greens, wild mushrooms,

a red wine sauce and fondant potato

* * *

British cheese with fig chutney

* * *

Dark chocolate ganache with caramelized banana and tangerine sorbet

* * *

Coffee and petits fours

Bollinger, Special Cuvée, Aÿ

Here also is the celebration on BBC1 from last years New Years Eve to get you in the mood

                                Hope you and yours have a fantastic 2010!
                                                          ~ H.E. Lewis

Happy Christmas....2009

The Dining Room at Rules Restaurant (London) for Christmas

It is strange that the word 'comfort' does not appear in any modern architectural curriculum: you can go to lectures ad infinitum on new technology, flexible living spaces, sustainable development and demographic trends, but none on comfort. I would have thought it was a fundamental element of creating a desirable house, let alone a desirable restaurant. Students could well study Rules Restaurant for a definitive explanation. Not only is it utterly comfortable in the purest sense of the word, but, in the lowering gloom of December, it is also deeply comforting. You feel safe there. Everyone looks happy- the clients and the waiters-and isn't that, after all, the point? Try one of the latest clickety-clackety restaurants, with tile floors and chrome fittings rendering mobile-phone tunes cacophonous, and test the level of contentment. Its not there and willnever be there!
'There are some restaurants that give one a sense of being at home,' wrote author Graham Greene about Rules, 'more at home than in a friend's house, welcome, at peace'...
To me, Rules is not just cozy, it has an air of voluptuous indulgence that makes the whole experience of going there feel slightly illegal. Having tramped long sunless streets on the edge of Covent Garden you come off gaunt Maiden Lane into a wave of warmth. Even though it's only lunchtime, it already feels like twilight. Everything is effortless: unobsequious waiters and waitresses hover discreetly, slide off your coat and take your shopping bags.
You sit on a half-moon shaped red plush banquette, linen falling heavily on our laps, a swirly red and gold carpet underfoot. There are swaggy red velvet curtains at the windows, marble busts in black niches, dried hop vines trailing over a huge gilt-framed looking-glass, and stained glass in the lantern above. The walls are painted in old Great Western Railway cream, with every cornice, arch and piece of woodwork picked out in black and gold; everywhere there are oil paintings, prints, caricatures, playbills, layer upon layer of Rules' mementoes and relics from the past 200 years.In the end, Rules is home to me and will always be, especially at Christmas time.
I hope someday, that  you my readers will be able to experienced it, if you have not already! It is paradise found!
Happy Christmas
~ H.E. Lewis

A BBQ Brisket for the Ages!

Today, it’s windy and cold in Beverly Hills and my mind is wandering, not on my work (it wanders most of the time; an affliction of old age I guess?) and I feel like some BBQ. Now if you don’t know, I am a Master Certified BBQ Judge with the Kansas City Barbeque Society (with over a 100 contests under and “over my belt!”), and also a certified Table Captain. When my Los Angeles/Beverly Hills friends ask me what’s the best BBQ in Los Angeles, I seem to go mute, because once you’ve had completion BBQ in the South, from such BBQ luminaries like Bad Byron, Johnny Trigg, Mike and Debbie Davis, Myron Nixon, and John and Kathy Swift (these names may not mean anything to you if you are not on the competition BBQ circuit,) but these names are legend within that BBQ community as the best of the best in cooking BBQ. So to be honest with you, I can’t really give you a good BBQ joint that I recommend for great BBQ, since I tasted the best of the best.

A typical BBQ Contest Turn In Tray for Brisket

Well that was true until this past weekend. Although not a joint, it was the effort of one person -a dear friend and someone who does not compete, but just cooks for himself and his friends. His name is Dr. Sanford G. Koyama, but affectionately known as Gerry

He attempted (first time mind you) to smoke a whole brisket and if you are at all familiar with BBQ Circuit Competition (you need to cook – chicken, ribs, pork and brisket) cooking/smoking a brisket is the hardest thing to pull off. Since to begin with, it’s a very tough piece of meat, one needs to smoke/cook it for many, many, many hours and in most cases, when presented at contests, it’s either to hard or too mushy, and nothing in-between and that’s the devil of it, it is really a hard piece of meat to keep- moist and tender. Most competition cooks do agree, it’s the hardest thing to cook/smoke correctly.
What this is all leading to is this: Dr. Koyama (aka Gerry) attempted to cook a brisket using his Weber Grill (as a smoker) and finished it off in the oven. Now in BBQ competition, an oven is certainly outside the rules, but that said, when Gerry served up his brisket (it even had a decent smoke ring) I was flabbergasted. As I said, I have eaten and judged brisket for over 10 years and in most cases, I found most of the entries wanting (fellow BBQ judges will agree with me on this), But here something just done at home, on a simple Weber grill and it was outstanding. No!, it was more than outstanding, it was as if Providence came down and anointed this brisket to be one of the best ever and it was. It pulled apart with just a slight tug, and was very moist and very flavorful. It was within my memory, one, if not one of the best BBQ briskets I have ever had and that’s saying a lot, since I’ve have hundreds to sample. It was truly magnificent. So magnificent, that I had over 15 pieces and wanted more! I’m sorry that the public will never be able to sample his brisket, his day job keeps him busy enough, but for a few of us, his loyal friends and family, we are the lucky recipients for years to come (I hope!), to enjoy an incredibly cooked BBQ brisket.
In closing, all I can say is:
Genesis has got it all wrong. We never left the Garden of Eden, Look about you. Paradise is right here, I know that for sure, because I have tasted…………….
                                               Dr. Koyama’s BBQ Brisket!

Friday the 18th of December Thoughts

"I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me" - Noel Coward.

Cheese - France has over 350 kinds and is still counting!

Anyone who knows me, knows my love for cheese, especially French cheeses. For lunch and dinner in France, for me, NOT to have a cheese course (served as they do in France – right after the main meal and before dessert) it is because I have no doubt died! In fact my dream is that if I should die, that I die in France right after the cheese course! It would be a happy death!

I am always on the outlook for a new cheese I have not tried and this past November, during my travel in the Brittany region (they do not really produce any cheese there of note) I happened to try a cheese known as Boulette d’Avesnes and fell in love with it. The cheese is produced in Northern France.Boulette d'Avesnes is a cone shaped gourmet cheese with a natural rind given a dark red color by the use of annatto or paprika. It has a very strong taste. Its nickname is 'suppositoire du diable' (the devil's suppository - an awful name for a great cheese).
The soft curd is kneaded and mashed with parsley, tarragon, pepper and paprika and shaped by hand into a pointed pear. This gourmet cheese is typical for spicy texture. Maturing takes two to three months.I recommend eating the Boulette d'Avesnes with rich bread, and a cold beer ( or an ice-cold Martini in the USA) and you will experience that the spiciness and creaminess of the cheese .

When The Going Was Good - Christmas Aboard The Queen Elizabeth 2

As Christmas is soon upon us, as my tradition every year, I do two things. First, I watch the 1951 film Classic, ‘Scrooge’ (A Christmas Carol) starring the inimitable Alistair Sim ( as Scrooge) and then a few days before Christmas itself, I start to read the unabridged version of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens finishing late on Christmas Eve.
Although written some 166 years ago, it still holds up and the language is as glorious as ever. I think even as a child, the language captured my imagination long before the story itself did. What can I say, I was a strange child.

As Christmas approaches this year, I remember with great fondness, about 20 or so years ago, I was sailing from London to New York on Christmas aboard the Cunard liner, the Queen Elizabeth 2 (one never says QE2!..Its very NON-U).

On that particular Christmas Eve, dining in the Queens Grill, having had my fill of Champagne, lobster and unlimited scoops of Osteria caviar (that’s right, scoops), I made my way to the theatre and was pleased to find out that there would be no movie that night, but instead, as the English company of the Ole Vic was on board ( heading to New York to perform), that one of the cast was going to read, Dickens “A Christmas Carol”. That evening proved to be one of the many highlights of my life.

As I sat back (well sated on food and drink), sitting there in the dark, for the next 1 hour 1 /2, I was to be captivated by a reading of A Christmas Carol by an actor; a Shakespearian actor mind you, to boot, of my favorite book. The language of that book had not tarnished with time and in fact with his reading, seemed to have grown more and more in my mind as the most wonderful thing I have ever heard.. That hour or so was magical, I wish I could describe it, but is was a mothers hug, a lovers embrace, all the food and drink one desires- all rolled into one. I am sure we have all had magical moments like this, but this is high on my list, next to my first visit to Paris.
I did not wish the reading to end and I did not wish the ship to ever port, but to sail on forever!
Traveling on a ocean Liner, such as the Queen Elizabeth 2 (and other ships of that ilk), dressing for meals (I loved that!), being around interesting and well behaved fellow passengers was the best of times for this young man.
That era has gone, long gone, and one can not live in the past (except in ones mind) and I was lucky to have had the opportunity to experience it.

So as Tiny Tim says at the end of the book, I say to all of you readers on this run up to Christmas……..                 “"God bless us………. every one”

Hail Caesar - Salad That Is!

Last night, I made one of my favorite meals (and one of America’s greatest classic dishes) a Caesar Salad. I have been eating and making them since I was a child (we are talking here about the late 1940’s).
If there is a thing of a, so called comfort food, then the Caesar Salad certainly ranks high on my list.
I make, will continue to make and I eat, and will continue to eat only a classic Caesar, because chicken, shrimp nor beef does not, a Caesar Salad make.
My Caesar contains an egg (coddled it if you wish, but mine is raw!), No Vinegar (where the hell did that come from?) lots of salty anchovies (anyone who does do not add anchovies – I don’t wish to talk to!) fresh lemon, fresh garlic, fresh shaved Parmesan, Romaine, Dijon mustard, Olive oil, pepper (fresh ground), Worcestershire sauce and homemade croutons and that’s it! No more and no less. Perfection in a bowl!

Along with my Caesar, I also entertain a classic glacier, ice-cold, Gin (6 to 1) Martini. Has there ever been a better combo? I think not!

Like Proust eating his Madeline and dreaming of times past; a Caesar Salad serves as the same time travel for me.
As a child I was first introduced to the classic salad at one of the many ‘continental’ restaurants my parents use to take me too. It was made tableside (a lost art and one sadly missed by me) in a wooded bowl, rubbed with a clove of garlic and then with a certain flourish, mixed all the ingredients ( listed above) together. It was and still remains one of my eating memory highlights.
Even as a teenager, on the weekends, my parents allow me to go around the corner to a lovely ‘continental’ restaurant by myself (always dressed to the nines) and my greatest pleasure was to order a tableside Caesar Salad. To my dying day, I will never lose the memory of that hallowed occasion. Today my Caesar salads border on the over-served size, enough for 3 or 4 people (I must admit, I eat it all) and it’s a meal to satisfy both,
………………………… the Gourmet and the Glutton!

                                                      Hail Caesar!

A Thought For A Rainy Friday in Beverly Hills

"There is no pleasure worth forgoing ,...just for an extra three years in the geriatric ward"
                   - John Mortimer, Author

La Mare Aux Oiseaux - France - Not Just For The Birds!

Located between Nantes and La Baule, the little Saint Joachim archipelago is a magical place for all those who love nature and beautiful landscapes...Within this phenomenal area, just between nantes and Le Baule, (Brittany) is the Grande Briere Park ( a wild reed and multi-water canal 99,000 acre park) is the tiny island/village of Ile de Fedrun. Here in this tiny village are housed hundreds of reed-thatched roof homes, very reminiscent of charming English cottages. The whole area is surrounded by reed canals, and is home to a multitude of birds of all kinds and descriptions.
Here also, is the 1 star Michelin restaurant called La Mare aux Oiseaux ( The Pond Of The Birds). in the heart of Brière, on the charming and pretty Fédrun island where la Mare aux Oiseaux reigns among lakes and marshes. This establishment perfectly suits the décor surrounding it, it is a traditional thatched reed-roof house for the region.

Inside the settings are rather modern, with a taste for ducks when it comes to decoration items and bird cages with live birds scattered all over the dining room .

On the terrace you will be able to enjoy your meal ( in the summer) while enjoying the park where chickens, ducks and birds run and fly around. The name of the restaurant is clearly well chosen! In the kitchen is where you’ll find a Chef whose reputation is well known, a passionate young man, Eric Guérin, offering inventive cuisine while respecting the traditions of the region. He mixes products of the sea with those of the land, and his talent equals his passion. Those who like a quiet meal will be happy to enjoy an ideal gourmet menu, reflecting the Chef’s best compositions.
I had the tasting menu, La Mare Aux Oiseaux and I knew I was hooked, when the bread basket came and I was serves a fluffy, roll stuffed with a puree of sardines ( sardines are famous in the nearby coastal area – in fact the best in the world). It may sound an odd combination, but let me tell you, it was heaven and I could have stopped right there and then and never eaten the rest of the lunch and I would have been satisfied.
But it only got better from there; foie gras beef stew mix with fig and pickle stock reduction, then shrimp filled potatoes raviolis with a cep (eggnog) poured in, then Roasted partridge ( my favorite game bird) and pork rib confit with butternut squash, then scallops, beet and mango combo with duck black pudding on the side and madeleines filled with Roquefort cheese!
All the time, the sweet chirping of caged birds and viewing larger birds just outside the picture window.
Watch out for the future of chef Eric GUERIN, you’ll see his name a lot in the future, I can tell you.

A Thought For A Tuesday

It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances.

The Unique and Special Women Who Where Our Grandmothers..Remembered

Every once and a while, I pull out a wonderful book by Ellen Perry Berkeley entitled "At Grandmother’s Table". It is a collection of 68 friends who share deeply moving stories of their grandmothers. I read it, because my grandmother (and grandfather) instilled in me ,the love of food and dining (among other things).

My grandparents were Edwardians and thus, at least to their children, rarely showed emotion of any kind. This was especially true of my grandmother. She seldom laughed and almost never touched, kissed, hugged or demonstrated any tenderness or love. Her personal standards were high and immutable and everyone who came in contact with her was expected to follow her practices she considered basic to civil living.
When any one of my brothers came over to her home, the first thing we had to do is sit down and recite our times tables. To someone like myself, who hated mathematics, it was a time of great emotional strain, but somehow I got through it. But I always looked forward to eating at grandmothers home.
All meals were served in her dining room, never in the kitchen, on a table set with a luxurious, starched tablecloth, cloth napkins, full china ( and very expensive) and silver service (shined to a luster) and water glasses. We always had soup, either consommé or cream soup and always served in the proper type of soup dishes. The main course was duck with turnips or leg of lamb or a slow roasted chicken or long simmering stew and always served with lots of in-season vegetables; many from her back yard. Table manners were strictly enforced and one sat there until everyone was done ( that could be a good hour). Dessert was served, along with a bowl of nuts that you had to open with a nut cracker and the meal was finished with glasses of tea.
I love eating at grandmothers, I loved the ceremony, the dining for dining sake, the company always well dressed - ties and jackets of course, even for my brothers and I and always the great conversation from the adults. I was a grateful listener.
Today I approach my dining when I travel in the same way and always measure it against my grandmothers table. Dining at her home has always stayed with me as a warm and treasured memory. Whenever I dine like I did at her house, I think of her and just smile.
Towards the end of her life, ( she lived to be over 90) she had a series of strokes and was hospitalized and I well remember seeing her one afternoon and although she could not talk, she had an alphabet board made up so she could spell out what she wanted to say. As I entered the room, she took the board and quickly spelled out something, that her nurse read to me. The nurse said, "Your grandmother says your shoes are not shined!" That was my grandmother!

My Comfort Food - This gray and rainy day in Beverly Hills

When I was young and spent the weekends with my Edwardian grandparents, my grandmother use to serve me for breakfast either asparagus on toast or finnan haddie (smoked haddock). Eggs and bacon were NEVER on her menu.

Today, it’s raining and cold in Beverly Hills and I am dreaming of those days of eating smoked haddock for breakfast. It was my comfort food and still is. Its not found in too many homes and any restaurants that I am aware of in the United States. So....I long for London and eating Parker Bowles Smoked Haddock at his St James restaurant, Greens Restaurant and Oyster house.
Smoked haddock Parker Bowles’ is prepared: , a nice piece of undyed haddock topped with a scoop of chive-flecked mash, crowned with a soft-poached egg and this along with a glass of Vintage Champagne is heaven. just heaven.......ah! To Be in London This Evening!

How I Eat In France - Rule #1 Dine (and then Sleep) in a Civilized Manner

M. Fernand POINT - (the father of 20th century modern French cuisine. )

I  have found after many years of eating in France, that because I tend to 'over-eat" and that is what it is all about,is it not? , is that when in the countryside and the restaurant also has rooms to sleep in, then I book a room there, so that after my 4 hour meal ( thats a fast food meal in France), I can then just walk a short distance and lay down and take a well deserved  nap and dream of what I just ate.
                    This is a civilized approach to dining and one that I adhear too........ ALWAYS!

Friday Thoughts - I am off to France for Two Weeks!

“Looking good and dressing well is a necessity.

Having a purpose in life is not.”

- Oscar Wilde

A Meal To Die For! .........Southern Style!

In the hit comedy, "Who's Killing The Great Chefs Of Europe", Robert Morley ( portraying a famous London Food Critic and gourmet) has decided to kill himself ( a long story....),so he goes to his favorite restaruant and orders one of every dish on the menu, then surrounds himself with the dishes and  begins to eat away from every dish.

When I first saw this scene, I fell over laughing, but more important afterwards I thought, Now, Howard, this is way to die! This is what life is all about!

In the deep South, in the small community of Dillard Georgia ( a small town nestled against the Georgia/Carolina borders), is situtated an historic hotel and restaurant, the Dillard House. The hotel is lovely, but more lovely, is their restaurant. Many years ago, when I  first stayed here, I had their famous breakfast. Well, so many places today tout their so-called "famous Breakfasts" and one walks away disappointed, , so I expected not to be impressed. Was I wrong, This breakfast ( they do it for lunch and dinner also) would have gladden the heart and stomach of Mr. Morley and it certainly gladdened mine!

Here with generous portions , eat as much as you wish" philosophy , All of the below is brought to your table for your dining pleasure...................and YES!.................. I mean YES! -"ARE Ya listin' to me,son?"...All the below is brought to your table.

Country Ham
Sausage Patties
Link Sausage
Pancakes
Bacon
Pork Tenderloin
Scrambled Eggs
Country Fried Potatoes
Home Made Fried Fruit Pies
Grits
Sausage Gravy
Red-Eye Gravy
Stewed Apples
Cinnamon Rolls
Biscuits
Blueberry Muffins
Fresh Fruit
Fresh Juice
A meal is not just a meal at the Dillard House, it is a true culinary experience, enticing all your senses.

Canned-Do Spirit - French Sardines

I am off to France, in a couple of days, more specific, I am off to Brittany. The wonderful sea-buffeted peninsula jutting out from the corner of northwest France that holds fast to its distinct personality. Mysterious prehistoric alignments, medieval fortresses, its long, jagged coastline, sunbathed in sandy coves and pink granite cliffs, flowered covered islands and its fishing ports. Ah! Fishing ports and thus the freshest seafood in France. And, truth be told, this is what I come for. Lobsters, oysters, fish of all shapes and sizes and tastes. This trip is somewhat of a pilgrimage, because I come here to taste and stock up on French Vintage (millesime) sardines. No, not those cheap and pathetic garden variety we eat in the USA, NO, these are special.
Let me explain. The French Sardine with the "Millésime" description (based on the 'vintage' notion as in the wine industry) is a variation on the "a` l'ancienne" process (the French process of fishing and canning sardines, they are packed and processed the way fine French wine is made) in that it involves the production of a limited volume of canned sardines (a l'ancienne) based on landings for a specific period, generally May to June, when fat content should be ideal. The sardines are packed in iron, as against the usual aluminum, containers and cans are illustrated in a "limited edition" series. On the bottom of each can is the recommended consumption dates.
Like fine wine, they are to be taken home and stored in a cool spot and turned every three to four months. As the unctuous, chewy sardine age (it takes at least a year for the oil to fully saturate the sardines), they become softer, more refined and delicate, ready to be eaten with a slice of crusty bread.

It is to the town of Quiberon that I go to buy and pay homage to the La Quiberonnaise sardine, the queen of sardines.
If you have never experienced that taste, then you have not had a sardine!

Fridays quote

“I have little patience with anyone who is not self-satisfied. I am always pleased to see my friends, happy to be with my wife and 3 cats, but the high spot of every day is when I first catch a glimpse of myself in the shaving mirror.”

Where Is The Life ,That Ate, I Lead? - Musing On The Restasurants Of My Youth

Locke-Ober may not be the oldest restaurant in Boston, but it is steeped in Yankee tradition, predating the gas-powered automobile, the radio, and the Red Sox. For generations, Boston Brahmin's, power brokers, deal makers, and scene makers have been dining here on oysters, calf's liver (the best!) , and the famous Indian pudding, made with molasses and cornmeal and served warm with a dollop of vanilla ice cream.
Nearly everyone who's anyone has been here: Oscar winners (Paul Newman), presidents (John F. Kennedy), comedians (Jack Benny), icons (Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe), and, finally, women, who weren't allowed in the downstairs dining room until 1970. But more important than the famous were the regulars, such as myself, my father and my grandfather. It was the closest thing we had to an exclusive London Men’s Club.
The dress was typical Back Bay Boston – double pin strip suits, peaked lapels with vest and pocket watch and bow ties or Ivy League school ties.
Lunch was an important event in the lives of many of us who loved this place and worshipped its menu and atmosphere.
It is where the men in my family, when they reached 21, were taken to and introduced to the manager and staff (for we where all to become regulars) and had their first Martini or Ward 8. It was here that I had my first taste of bay scallops with bacon served along with an glacier-like ice cold martini ( 4 to 1); a combo, that which, to this day I still dream about.. ……..
Dream that’s all we can do, for places like Locke-Obers, Luckows, Gage and Tollner, Ernies and so many others are now only a distant memories. but what wonderful memories.
Yes, Locke was rescued by the talented chef Lydia Shire, but its not the same and they no longer serve lunch and the menu has changed from old classics to modern updates, but its not the same.
People just don't have any feel, anymore for genteel living and dining. It's a thing of the past." Today restaurants are about ‘playpens for adults’, not about fine dining, great service, well dressed clients and intelligent menus.