Dans Les Landes

Since Yves Camdeborde's success with Le Comptoir, s'wine bars (everything pork, cochon, ham, pig, hog, boar, jambon, & wine) have become more trendy.
Upcoming openings include Gregory Marchand from Frenchie and Guillaume Delage from Jadis. 


Why this trend? It's more convivial, you get to mingle with the locals by sitting in communal tables, it's affordable and you can nibble on a large variety of dishes while sipping your wine.

Julien Duboue from Afaria, recently opened Dans Les Landes in the 5th district. Immediately when you walk in, you can tell you're in Basque region. In the background, an iPod is playing typical regional music, from the terracotta roof tiles on the ceiling you see hanging piment d'espelette and dried hams. 


It's a small restaurant, with a capacity of about 25 people and for such a small venture, the menu selection is surprisingly varied. 

Unlike L’Avant Comptoir, there are seats - most of them are high tables made of wood, just like the interior decor.  Dishes here are served tapas style and reflects the Chef's combination of different ingredients - all high quality creating the longest chalkboard menu I have seen with prices ranging from 4 euros - 21 euros. 

Expect a lot of pork, duck, foie gras and grilled meats. I would definitely go back with a large group of friends to eat and drink and sample different dishes. I was very impressed with the creative presentation - a very rustic feel including wooden cheese boxes, staubs, terra cotta tiles and a slab of pork belly..yes that was the 'plate'. 

Sabot de Jambon Ibaïona 

Pot de boudin tiède aux pommes (warm pot of boudin noir) - my favorite, very sweet and you can taste the sweetness of the apples

Poitrine de porc croustillante aux épices (pork belly croquettes in 5 spice) - very Asian I thought

Mini-croissant au Jambon truffé - (melt-in-your-mouth) Croissant with flaky buttery layers of béchamel sauce, jambon and black truffles

Travers de porc Ibaïona, Sauce Barbecue (Pork ribs)

Pied de cochon en escabèche - croquettes of pig's foot

Bocal de foie gras - house made foie gras

Guindillas sur ventrèche - sweet green peppers wrapped in crispy bacon and served on a slab of pork belly

Chipirons frits au piment doux - fried baby calamari

Gambas aux crémeux thai épicés - Fried shrimp in coconut milk

The wine list is also varied, it offers interesting AOC choices organized by region and start at 5 euros per glass and 20-40 euros per bottle. 

No reservations needed (for the time being) - come before this place gets too trendy - which I know will happen very soon!

Dans Les Landes

119 bis Rue Monge, 75005

Metro: Censier-Daubenton (Ligne 7)

Telephone: 01 45 87 06 00

Merce and the Muse

Why is it that in a city that lives on cafés, the coffee doesn't live up to the standard? Recently, the culmination has led to a growth of little independent 'anglo' coffee shops (that you see in London and New York) around the city that sell small pastries, leafy salads and fresh fruits. 

The young American owner, Merce Muse, originally from D.C, whom we chatted with, opened 
the petite shop Merce and the Muse (Merce, actually said like Merci in French) in the hip upper-Marais on rue Dupuis after closing a short-lived cupcake shop nearby. Merce orders her coffee from Denmark’s Coffee Collective and went there to learn how to properly prepare and extract it.

The café reminds me very much of a New York style coffee shop in the East Village, keeping up with this vintage look including old magazines, a typewriter, vinyls spread out all over. There's a winding staircase that leads to the kitchen upstairs and right next to the coffee bar are several couches enough to fit up to 10 people. If it's a nice day out, you can sit on the benches but it was a bit cold for that today. 

Very good Arabica coffee that takes about 3-4 minutes to make, clients can enjoy their muffins or cake in the mean time. Too bad it's all the way in the Marais, I would come here if I was a neighbor, but it does fit very well with the Marais vibe. 


Merci Merce!


Merce and the Muse
1 Rue Dupuis
75003 Paris, France
Tel: 06 42 39 04 31
Metro: Republique (Lignes 3, 8, 9 and 11)

Pho 14

You can't miss Phở 14. The neon-lights and the never-ending long queue at the door from opening to closing should catch your eye; but not to worry, the line moves quickly. 

Inside, decor is minimal, tables are covered in disposable paper and the steamy air, cramped tables and seats and fluorescent lighting reminds me of Vietnam. The menu is short and sweet. A variety of authentic Vietnamese appetizers and of course AWESOME Phở (rice noodle soup), surely someone will find what they love: chicken, sliced beef, beef tripe, beef balls, how about all of the above, the special as they call it? Orders arrive very fast and once you taste the golden slivers of deep-fried garlic, the pickled onion and the oyster sauce, you just want to be in there forever.

After your order, a variety of condiments come to the table, including sliced pickled onions (addictive), bean sprouts, basil, cilantro, mint and freshly chopped red chili. Question: does anyone know the name of the long-leafed herb that tastes like cilantro?

My 2 faves to start:

Bánh cuốn (Steamed rolled rice noodles with minced pork and black mushrooms) 

Chả giò (Deep fried spring rolls with pork)

Phở Boeuf Special (with slices of well-done and rare flank steak, beef tripe, beef ball and rice noodle). A big one costs 7€90 and the small 7€ (you might as well get the big one!)

Add some fresh bean sprouts and chili and you're good to go...As Anthony Bourdain would say, "there's nothing better than a good Phở"

This place could be compared to a dive bar, but the food is good and cheap and keeps you warm in the winter. So join the crowds and check it out when you're next in Chinatown!

Pho 14
29, avenue de Choisy, 
Tel: 01 45 83 61 15
Metro: Tolbiac

La pâtisserie des mes rêves

As today was a short day in school, I thought it would be worth venturing down the road on 93 Rue du Bac in the chic 7th district (right behind the Bon Marché) to Philippe Conticini's pastry shop called La Pâtisserie des Rêves. 


I have seen the pastry shop on many blogs and on http://thecoolhunter.net, a culture and design website that I frequent daily. 

Philippe Conticini has a talent for creating desserts that are themselves a form of art. The small boutique's design is very modern, fun and colorful that reminds you of a traditional konditorei. The desserts including cakes and pastries and chocolates are displayed in the center of the store on a round table and each of them is presented under a temperature controlled glass dome suspended from the ceiling. The domes make the desserts look like spaceships, or laboratory specimens. The desserts presented are a re-interpretation of traditional pastries including the Mille-Feuille, le Saint-Honoré, le Moka, la Tarte au Citron, and la Tarte Tatin among others. Prices are tagged accordingly and customers choose the dessert they would like to purchase (either whole or by piece) and the staff runs to the kitchen to retrieve the order. The magnificent little desserts are wrapped in a pink box which is then tied with ribbon.


Bread section:

Centerpiece

I ended up buying Le Fruitier below (inside are dates). Yum!

....And an Eclair au chocolat of course!

This struck me as beautiful in its design. Conticini's interpretation of a Black forest cake in the form of a cherry.

La Pâtisserie des Rêves
93 Rue du Bac, 75017
Tel: 01 42 84 00 82
Metro: Rue du Bac (Ligne 12) ou Sèvres-Babylone (Ligne 10 et 12)


Alternatively, you may visit:
111 Rue de Longchamp, 75017
Tel: 01 47 04 00 27
Metro: Rue de La Pompe (Ligne 9) 

A taste of home

As a change of lunch scenery, venturing outside school ended up as a good idea with a visit to a little shop called Bagels and Brownies. The small shop had a queue of students outside...No wonder, they served an array of bagels of your choice (plain, sesame, onion, cheese, blueberry among many others) and a multitude of toppings including smoked salmon, roast beef, ham, cheeses - cream, emmental, cheddar. The bagel is then wrapped in parchment paper and handed over to you so you could enjoy it on the run; unfortunately no seating is given inside.

Menu on the chalkboard

But they don't stop there, they also have lots of sweets from chocolate chip cookies, brownies, donuts both with chocolate or sugar coated and pecan pie! Made me miss New York so much!

 

This spot is must be visited especially from a break of shopping on the Rue de Rennes!

Bagels and Brownies
12 Rue Notre Dame des Champs
75006 
Métro: St. Placide (Ligne 4)
Tel: 01 42 22 44 15


In the afternoon, it was back to the kitchen to cook up Oeufs pochés Bourguignon which is poached eggs (2-3 minutes) in red wine which is then reduced and  then topped with caramelized onions, lardons (thinly sliced bacon), and mushrooms. The eggs came out purple due to the wine, but you really have to have good red wine so that it doesn't taste too bitter. It's actually a cool concept especially when the eggs yolks give a contrast of color to the red wine.

Then it was Oeufs Brouillés

 à la Portugaise - scrambled eggs (no milk, just cubes of butter) slowly cooked up but served creamy and not fully cooked, topped with slowly cooked tomatoes with shallots, garlic, and chopped parsley. I liked the eggs as they were creamy and nice and soft but I'm sure in the States or Hong Kong, if these eggs were served, they would probably be seen as undercooked. 

We also did a quick demo of

Oeufs toqués. Basically we used a spring to crack the bottom of the egg, reserved the inside in a cup, added some sort of garnish (diced tomatoes, parsley, etc...), poured back the egg 3/4 full and in boiling water, boil it until you see the white of the egg. But how does the egg not sink? It's Magic! It actually floats, and does not sink!

Season it with salt and pepper and it can then be served as an amuse-bouche or even an entrée. 

Le Marais

School's off (a rare exception) so decided to explore Paris a bit more. I had been to Le Marais (literally 'swamp') in the 3rd and now stretching to 4th district in Paris before but wanted to walk through the small winding streets that encompass the Jewish community. It was an absolutely beautiful day and the perfect weather to sit outside in a cafe, eat some apple strudel (obviously kosher) and grab a bite in the best falafel place in France (hands down!).


The Rue des Rosiers (tucked between Saint Paul and Rambuteau metro stations is a small winding road housing all the Jewish (Yiddish) bakeries. You can't miss them!


I went into a couple of bakeries but two of my favorites were: Murciano Boulangerie et Patisserie and the famous Sacha Finkelszatjn. They sold all childhood favorite desserts and fresh Challah bread out of the oven. 


First, Murciano Boulangerie et Patisserie (16 Rue des Rosiers)

Great sugar coated cookies for tea/coffee!

A childhood favorite: apple strudel!

Luckily, I packed the desserts to go as I had to make room for L'As du Fallafel (34 Rue des Rosiers); a kosher fallafel place (surrounded by others - but this is proven to be the best one, even better than its rival across the street Mi Va Mi) - costs: 5 euros. 

Best falafel in Paris hands down!

A quick stop to Sacha Finkelsztajn (27 Rue des Rosiers) before leaving the arrondissement. 

Now the famous 'Sasha Finkelsztajn'

Yummy Kadaif (looks like chinese bean noodle) - stuffed with walnuts and pistacchios on top

How could you not take a Mazurka? It's a Polish dessert with raisins, walnuts, plums and almonds on top

Beautiful and delicious Challah bread 

Who could forget Lox and a Schmear (of cream cheese) in a Jewish bakery?

At the end of a long day walking, went to my neighborhood cafe, Dominique Geoffroy (on Chaussee de la Muette, across the station) and they gave me even more desserts!

Mini tarte aux framboises and an Eclair au caramel

Overall, a day well spent!