Dehesa

25 Ganton Street London W1F 9BP -- 020 7494 4170


Really, if I'd been giving a short review on all the wonderful restaurants Simon and I have been to recently, this blog would be quite a bit more complete than it is!

Well, I'll have to start somewhere, so I might as well start at the end (yes, that's how things work in my brain)...the end being our most recent fine-dining experience at a Charcuterie and Tapas Bar which we stumbled upon in London on Saturday night.

Located just off of the hip and busy Regents street, in the back streets which seem to have just as many hip and busy night clubs and bars, this warm, wood-furnished, low-lit tapas bar is a little out of place as it seems to cater to a quieter, food-loving crowd. The cooking is truly superb for the price. We ordered tapas which offered flavors that brought us directly to Spain and Italy: the Chargrilled Octopus with Smoked Potato Puree and Pepperonata and the Roast Sea Bass with Braised Root Vegetables, Raisins, Pine Nuts and Gremolata were our favorite tapas. But don't expect to find those there when you go! The paper menus indicate that, like all my favorite restaurants in France, the menu is changed consistently, offering all clients an unique experience. I sipped a white peach bellini, while Simon enjoyed his usual red wine. We finished with Three Hard Italian Cheeses with Truffle Honey (I think I enjoy the French cheeses I've tasted more on an individual level, but the mix of cheese and honey together was exciting enough on its own, let alone the fact that you could taste the contrast of sweet and "earthy" in the Truffle Honey.)

Honestly, this type of cooking is what makes me want to abandon everything and travel to find each dish at its source. I would love to see how the octopus is captured and where the honey bees and truffles are harvested. Why not go all out, and learn as much as there is to know about the culinary arts? We all have to eat, don't we?

In the meantime, why not check out their website? They even have a recipe of the month which I'm already dying to try.

xo

Le Valmont

20 Rue Pain 78000 Versailles -- 01 39 51 39 00



This was a restaurant experience from more than a year ago (22 May 2010) but the taste of my first escargot is still with me.

It was May in Paris, the first time I realized how much I could come to love this city, how I would long to learn its secrets. With the passage of time I have come to learn a few things, one of them being that as soon as you leave Paris, everything becomes so much less expensive, even in Versailles, one of the wealthy suburbs. Go there if you want to have a nice meal for the best deal (and go for lunch for even less!)

Well, after my first visit the Chateau, we decided after much deliberation that we would stay in Versailles for dinner. A nice meal is not something to be taken lightly, so we wandered the quiet back streets for the gems of the area, to find the places that only the locals know about. This restaurant is not exactly in the back streets, but rather in an open pedestrian square near many other places. But it is certainly the only place that advertises itself on having authentic French food, as one can see from the website: www.restaurant-traditionnel-versailles.com.

I absolutely will not forget the flavors of my first French traditional dining experience. Escargot in garlic and parsley butter served in the shells with the little spoon for digging them out-- there are no words. I can't remember what my main dish was, just that the dessert was something chocolate; nor can I remember what Simon ordered, nor do I recall which wine we drank (Simon if you remember any of this, please email me :-) But I can remember the place, and those lovely little snails. It was all unforgettable.

They seem to have changed the menu now, but I'm sure everything is just as tender, elegantly placed and well-served as it was last May. If you make the trip out to Versailles, why not complete the picture (not in a tourism way, but the whole French history picture)....why not experience the wonders of fine French dining in this historic place?

I can't help but complete this post with a note about where we went for drinks while waiting for our train back to Paris. With 3-4 Euro margaritas during happy hour, it doesn't get much cheaper (or more of a contrast to French Traditional) that that! It's a stylish Tex-Mex chain called El Rancho I'm happy to know that I've found my "Tex-Mex-away-from-home", if I ever need some comfort food while in Paris :) But with lovely French cuisine, it's hardly likely I'll need any of that, right?

xo

Le Bistrot d'Henri

16 Rue Princesse 75006 Paris - 01 46 33 51 12


This restaurant epitomizes what I love about Paris: it is small, uniquely designed and the dishes of the day are written on a black board. As with any real French bistrot, you can be sure that your food is made fresh to order. In the backstreets of the 6th arrondissement, one could easily pass it by as just another stop, but the real Parisian would spot it instantly as a small gem hidden from all but the knowing eye (we only happened to stumble upon it as it was one of the only restaurants open on Christmas Eve!). When we entered, not a word of English could be heard (though the Zagat ratings on the outside indicated that it is frequented by the judicious tourists). We drank two bottles of some Côtes du Rhône wine, that accompanied dishes of confit de canard, lamb chops with thyme as well as risotto and scallops. I enjoyed every bit of it, but then again, as I said, this is the Paris I've had the privilege of getting to know. This is the Paris I love.



If you zoom in on the following picture, you can see the dishes of the day.



Go, and enjoy the pleasures of real (and affordable) French cuisine.