u m a m i

Schwartz's Deli and their Crisp-Boat-Fries

It is not easy to find good french fries in Paris, most are undercooked so they end up soggy and pale. You have to order them 'bien-cuit' in the hopes of getting some with crisp exteriors and melting interiors. Maybe they cannot get their oil hot enough, maybe they don't double-fry, whatever it is, the reason remains a mystery to me.

Recently though, I came across a version that may adress these problems. The fries served at Schwartz's Deli in the Marais have a unique shape, looking more like long boats than cylinders. This shape allows more surface area to come into contact with hot fat, so the exterior cooks up crisp and brown. I have some conflicts about the interior though, ,mainly that there is less of it, at times it felt like I was eating crisps (which is what they call potato chips in the U.K.)) instead of fries. V on the other hand loved it so much we ordered another side portion. For her, fries are just vehicles for scooping ketchup and these boats do a really good job, she probably ate a third of a bottle by herself.

Other than fries, Schwartz Deli also specialises in pastrami sandwiches. They may not have many competitors for this dish in Paris, but their claim of having the best in town is probably justified. Barely held together by slices of rye bread, the thinly sliced pastrami was plentiful and delicious. I loved the colourful coleslaw too.

Macaroni cheese looked more European than American. I was expecting something white and creamy but this was agreeable too, the cheese flavour seemed to have been cooked into the pasta.

Chicken soup with matzo balls was another first for me. The taste reminds me of Knorr chicken stock cube, only less salty. The matzo balls were borderline stodgy, but paired companionably with the slices of chicken breast under the surface. I probably wouldn't order this again unless I was feeling exceptionally unwell.

Pancakes, looking like an improved version of those served at McDo's, were served warm with very cold butter. They were tasty enough. The burgers that were served to other diners look good, I want to go back to try them out next time. At least we know the boat fries would be good.

Schwartz Deli is open every day. Come here for a slice of Americana, the decor feels like an American diner, the pickles and condiments are placed on the table for people to help themselves with, if you go early you might even snag a booth table and play Archie and Veronica (or Betty).

Schwartz's Deli
16 rue des Ecouffes, 4th arr
T: 0148873129

Hey Presto Pesto

Ages and ages ago I saw on BBC TV how pesto is made. It involved  a marble mortar and pestle and much slow grinding of pine nuts and dribblings of olive oil, you know, the old mama cucina way, with sun dappled Tuscany mountain view a requisite backdrop. That kind of intimidated me and thereafter I only ever ordered pasta with pesto sauce in restaurants. Eventually I stopped eating pesto altogether, because restaurant versions became watered down or weirder e.g. crusted on salmon steaks, and it  kind of fell out of fashion. Readily available commercial versions didn't help either, most are too salty or taste like crushed up grass.

Fast forward to May 2009. I went to BHV and was so seduced by the Magimix demo (grated carrots!, coleslaw!, aioili! the chef magicked them all up on the spot) that I bought one on the spot. There was a recipe for pesto in the manual, and looking around my pantry and fridge I did have all the ingredients on hand. Chunks of 26 month old organic parmesan, fresh basil, pinenuts sitting in the fridge waiting for this very fate ( I toasted them slightly but it was quite a redundant move), couple of cloves of garlic, olive oil and salt. As simple as that. I think the proportions was something like 2 cloves garlic: 200g nuts: 200g cheese: 1 bunch of basil.

All the dry ingredients together with half the basil leaves were pulsed with a little olive oil and salt until roughly chopped, then the rest of the basil went in and the button pressed to "blend". Olive oil was dribbled in until the pesto became creamy, et voila, we had pesto. The kid licked the spoon and pronounced it yummy. I thought we would smear it on toast but we ended up eating it neat as it was so delicious.

I saved some to dress some linguini the next day, mamma mia it was a good lunch.

Itineraire

Two weeks ago I had a really fabulous lunch at Itineraire. I'll also admit that I haven't been so excited about any restaurant in a very long time.

It is centrally located near metro Maubert Mutualité, in the Latin quarter.

The room itself is not cavernous, neither is it tiny. Tables are spaced far apart you regretfully cannot hear your neighbours' conversation. There is white tablecloth and proper table setting with padded seats but nothing stiff about the decor. There is plenty of natural light streaming in through the large pane windows to put people in a good mood, at least our table of six were when we went for lunch.

The service staff smile, make eye contact and work smoothly and efficiently.

The food. It's good value and as I'll elaborate later, mighty damn fine. The menu is written in chalkboards, the prix-fix is 36 euros for 3 courses, with hardly any mention of supplements which is very unusual these days. 2 courses go for 29 euros and there is also an à la carte menu. The cooking style is new wave bistro, they take mainly regional and local seasonal ingredients and deliver adept new twists on familiar classics, it's a style of cooking that every wannabe hot restaurant in town aspires to but rarely get right.

My starter of cold velouté of white asparagus with tofu arrived looking coolly voluptuous with its extravagant shavings of fresh white asparagus and scatters of violet petals. The sweet nutty flavours of the white asparagus in the soup were in no way diluted by the pillowy blobs of tofu floating on top, if anything the play of narrowly contrasting textures and temperatures completely seduced me. Suddenly, the teeth crunched on something more solid;it's a candied hazelnut, how fun! I was not expecting to enjoy soup so much, but I did. All around me, the ladies were exclaiming their pleased surprise, over seemingly mundane dishes such as marinated mackerel fillets and veal carpaccio.

I did not take a picture of my excellent main course but click on this twitpic link to see a blurred image. Roast Challan chicken with beef tomatoes and squid ink mustard. The roast chicken was delicious, the meat moist and really flavourful, but the insanely delicious squid ink mustard really took the thunder. While the combination didn't really work for me, when eaten in tandem- a bite of chicken, followed by another of tomatoes and squid ink sauce- they complement each other very well, like a good food and wine pairing.

I was really full by then, but with the two previous courses showing so strongly I was very curious about dessert. I chose strawberries and rhubarb. I asked the waitress if the rhubarb would be sour. She said the strawberries would alleviate some of the tartness but a rhubarb being a rhubarb I should expect some acidity. When the dish arrived I was not expecting to see the rhubarb in a barely-cooked state. All these while I have been cooking rhubarb to mushy pulp along with loads of sugar and a good dollop of some creamy stuff like fromage frais or heavy cream to balance its assertive tartness. Understandably then, I was a bit worried, but went for it anyway. The knife cut through the stalk easily. It was not raw-tasting, but mildly sweet and intensely rhubarby with a tender-crunchy bite, together with the macerated strawberries they make an ever so elegant couple. And you know what? The rhubarb was not even sour, the lip-puckering I had been expecting simply did not happen, so I could relax and enjoy the bright medley of flavours, to be then followed by a little coffee and excellent home-made madeleines.

My lunch companions were in a similar state of rhapsody too. I've known them for nearly two years, and have not seen them so happy about a place before. Amazing food at reasonable value in a comfortable setting in the middle of town, really, what else can one ask for?

Itineraire
5 rue de Pontoise, 5th arr
T: 01-46-33-60-11
Metro: Maubert-Mutualité.

Going on a break, follow me on Twitter

We're off to Lyon and the Rhone Valley. I will post to my Twitter account often. Cheers

Eating well in Deauville Part 2

We stayed at the Villa Josephine. Husband emailed them and they had a good deal for the low season; they were very nice and upgraded us to the best room which has a big bed and very luxurious bathroom facilities- separate shower area, jacuzzi tub, separate toilet and double sinks one of which we used exclusively to wash V's bottle and the dogs' bowls. The property is small, quiet and furnished in luxurious country style. Breakfast is served in a sunny room with a working fireplace. The continental breakfast includes home-made yoghurt, apple compote and excellent charcuterie, all served on china flatware with heavy silver cutlery and damask linens bien sur.

The only restaurant we went to in Deauville itself was the l'Essentiel which serves inventive cuisine. The menu is small but carefully put together. I had an excellent dish of veal confit with a mash of sweet potatoes that threw me a bit until I figured out the flavouring which was lemongrass, it shouldn't have surprised me since I really like this combination. We ordered a dessert of apple compote for V, we're in apple country after all. It was layered with a sharp citrusy foam and a crisp meringue, a far cry from her favourite gouter (French children's teatime ritual) snack which is exactly like baby food apple purée, this was a little too sophisticated for her. I finished it instead, it was light and fruity, a perfect finish for a lazy day out.

On the third day, we stopped by the seaside town of Touques for lunch. Landiers is homely and welcoming, the clientele a mix of well-off retirees or three generation families on their Easter vacations. The children's menu offered more than the usual ham and chips; V loved the salmon and ate most of the lightly cooked vegetables. Dessert was ice cream, commercial chocolate ice cream with requisite packaged toy, she was real charmed, by the toy.

I really enjoyed my first course of borsch. It's not typically French but delicious nonetheless, the broth rich and thick with beef and simmered vegetables, judiciously balanced with a light background sourness to keep the appetite going. 

Husband enjoyed his slow-cooked lamb but I think I had the better deal. As we were still in Normandy country I ordered a steak and for once it was totally amazing; instead of the usual tussle to chew the meat down I got a beautiful piece of aged beef which had little gristle and was a series of long beefy flavours. There was a cheese plate too, as usual we zoomed in on the really excellent camembert. Leaving little room for dessert, but I finished mine anyway as it was made with pineapple, something very exotic for these parts. What a great end to a sunny holiday eh?

l'Essentiel

29/31 rue Mirabeau 14800 Deauville

T: 02 31 87 22 11

Landiers

90 rue Louvel et Briere 14800 Touques

T: 02 31 87 41 08