Anchor & Hope

Dear London,

I have been terribly remiss in failing to write about any of the amazing food establishments you have to offer. Many years ago, I prematurely wrote you off as a city devoid of any real culinary treats, but boy was I wrong.

You are a wonderland. Every year I come back, you have new treats and markets and chefs that aren't afraid to re-invent British food, because hey, whats not to love about black pudding?

I am going to start my homage to you with this review of Anchor & Hope, one of the first and still, in my opinion, best of the early 90's "gastropub" restaurants to open in your fair city.

Now, while I work on this, if you can get to dealing with that perpetual drizzle, maybe we can work out a more permanent arrangement.

Much Love,
Sheila

So Anchor & Hope is my Persian family's get together spot. It always, without fail, ends up at the end of the night with a tug-o-war for the check, which inevitably leaves someones father or uncle in Iran or elsewhere disgraced for having his respective family member lose the grab. This place, therefore, has that special magic that only certain places can have....the perfect mix of great food, but more importantly the power to impart lasting memories. I have only to close my eyes and I am transported to the patio on The Cut, across from the Young Vic theatre and elbows deep with the London financial elite, partaking in some serious beer drinking.

This place is what I consider an off-shoot of the Fergus Henderson, St. John empire. You will find any number of traditional British dishes on any given night. The menu changes to reflect whatever is seasonal, so you will never have to eat anything that was not pulled out of the ground within the week or recently butchered.

This last trip turned out to be a food extravaganza. We had pork wrapped in prosciutto, leg of lamb that had been roasted for hours with rosemary, duck hearts, and so many other things that are now lost to the haze of wine and beer that was also consumed. What A&H does best is meat. This sounds horribly vague and overreaching, but its the truth. Gross meats and delicate meats all come out of their kitchen fork tender, glistening with the right kind of fat, and more importantly always melts in my mouth. To be fair, I feel like fish is not so much their forte...not bad, just not great.

You must also be aware that some things on their menu are quintessential British. Take for example, Potted Shrimps....what we thought would be some kind of shrimp salad of sorts, turned out to be a ramekin of the most pathetically small shrimp, with shells intact, that we then had to proceed to take apart to eat. Needless to say, that has been a pass in all subsequent visits. Now if we had been proper Brits, we would have known immediately what this dish entailed. So, tread carefully, and feel free to ask the waitstaff...they don't bite.

Then there is the desserts. What I recommend is asking them what they have on offer the minute you sit down so you can immediately order it. This place sells out of things within the first hour of service. Some of their puddings and trifles go faster. If they have anything of any interest, just go for it! If you are visiting, chalk it up to vacation, if you are a local, chalk it up to "can't make this bugger at home."

I can't leave this review without a few words about ambiance. Its not fancy. Its wooden tables and chairs in a dining room, but when this place fills up and people are talking and laughing and eating, it just has it. You feel that energy and it makes you want to come back for more. Its hard to put words to a feeling, but I can say that this place has my full endorsement. Just go with some of your favorite people in the world, get a bottle of wine, and let London show you what its got!

Les Papilles

I must admit, Les Papilles made it on the list due to another Anthony Bourdain episode. I watched that show with hungry eyes, itching to jump on a plane to Paris. I had been to Paris before, but felt like this was my chance to do it my way. I must say, since this is one of my last posts for this trip, that Paris is all that and more. Not only the food, but thanks to David I was able to experience the amazing art scene as well. Parisians deserve to be snobby...I would be too if this was my hometown. Instead, I get to be snobby about skiing and hiking :)

Les Papilles is in the Latin Quarter. Its teeming with students, French hipsters, and tourists streaming south from Notre Dame, looking for the "West Bank" experience. The night of our reservation David and I found ourselves caught in a blitzkrieg snow storm, so we jumped from cafe to cafe, waiting for the fooding hour.

Once 7:30 hit, we ducked from doorway to doorway until we finally made it to our spot. The inside immediately reminded me of Antico Roscioli in Rome. Small narrow space, with a larger alcove in the back. One side of the narrow space devoted to wine/beer/bites, and kitchen somewhere in the back.

The menu is set each night. Three courses for 30 some odd Euros....STEAL! This place is also known for its wine, which lines the walls. One word of warning....pick your own bottle. I let the manager pick for us, and then I noticed as I walked the restaurant, almost every other table had the same bottle. I am not disputing the wine was not good, but definitely not great, plus it makes everyone feel special if they think something was picked just for them....just some words of advice:)

The course break-up was as follows:

1. Sweet Potato Soup with Chorizo, Croutons, Paprika, Quenelle of Cream & Crispy Parsley
2. Beef Roast with Carrot, Snap Peas, Wax Potato, Sun-Dried Tomato & Onion in a Red-Wine/Beef Stock
3. Chocolate Mousse with Caramel Foam

The beef roast was achingly good. Perfect morsels of fork tender beef, dripping with rich and balanced red wine juice, cut with sweet medallions of carrot and peas. Everything about this was perfect, in the most simple sense. There was nothing elevated about this...It came out in a huge crock and could easily have fed two, but due to its sheer goodness, not one piece of meat was left. Unfortunately, this meant I could not finish the mousse, but I made sure to scoop out all the caramel foam, which had the ubiquitous French inclusion of the right amount of salt!

Would I come back to Les Papilles....Yes. It is on par with Le Chateaubriand, as one of those places that would be on regular rotation if I were to move to Paris. Ah, how I miss it!

Taillevent

As I said before, I could not visit Paris and not make at least one reservation at an old standby. I did my homework, scoured the "foodie" boards, and finally settled on Taillevent, mere steps from the Arc de Triomphe.

It is super white tablecloth...jacket required kind of place. Also, because I made the reservation for Turkey Day, the place was filled with wealthy WASP-y Americans. Dave and I kind of had a kick talking about and guessing what everyone else's story was.

So on to the food/service/ambiance.

Food was gooood. There was a lot of restraint in each dish. What could have been excessive use of certain new techniques came out with a great counter-balance of French culinary tradition. I am going to apologize in advance for my woefully inadequate descriptions of the food. I somehow failed to grab a menu and therefore only have my hand notes to go off of. Suffice it to say, this is another Sheila "must go" recommendation.

Amuse: marrow with celery mousse

1. Scallop with grapefruit marmalade

2. White fish with eggplant puree

3. Passion fruit souffle

I must say my favorite, was the scallop dish, which was raw brilliance cut with the nuanced acid of the grapefruit marmalade. Also, although I am not a souffle person, this one was great with a passion fruit cream.

I think I also owe a bit on the service at this place. Awesome! It was not in the ass-kissing sort of fine dining school of thought, but just seriously tight. It was a smooth symphony, with everyone chiming in when necessary. Dave is not a fan of any of this, but I appreciate it given my own service background.

Also, although the ambiance is a bit stuffy, the place has definitely gone through a decor overhaul in the last few years. It is done up in a non-offensive melange of creams and browns with comfy banquettes...which I like! They also sit people side by side, which is great if you are with a special someone...or close friend!

So all in all, this was a win, albeit an expensive win....save this one for a special occasion or holiday, but make sure to give it a go.

Breizh Cafe

Ah, crepes. I have a love/hate relationship with crepes, specifically, if they suck I am not happy, but oh if they are good...I am in heaven!

Breizh Cafe is about as close to a traditional Brittany crepe as you can get. It is in a great neighborhood in the Marais, quite close to the Picasso Museum (still closed...le sigh). Word of warning, however, it is a sardine can of a place. It is built for svelte Europeans, not us supersized Americans, but Dave and I managed.

We ordered a carafe of local, organic Cider, that was just the right amount of musty bouquet and sweet-tart taste. We also went with crepes from the "local" board. My crepe with bacon was unmemorable, but Dave's with local scallops was divine. Think sour, buckwheat crepe, nicely crisped, with sweet succulent scallops and a white cream/wine sauce.

Of course, after such a high we were worried dessert may not live up to our new expectations, but this was blown away by a crepe finished with salty caramel and crispy sugar. So simple, yet somehow exactly what we needed. Its as if Breizh has a gustatory telepathy...they are the best kind of food pushers.

Breizh was not a fancy spot, or one you would linger at, but you could tell this was a locals place (aside from the other foreign food fanatics) and rightfully so.

Viva La France....Oh and We'll Throw Spain in There Too

Welcome back my dear readers...and once again, sorry for the short hiatus in posts. To be fair, I was out on the road eating, oh and on occasion hitting art galleries and museums with David. Poor thing, he is one of those humans who can eat for eating sake (unless pastries are on the table), and therefore, my food passion is inadvertently forced on him. To be fair, on this trip, as opposed to others, I left huge gaping holes for activity and even booked dinners and lunches in the vicinity of where we would be. So guess what?....I came back from this one 3lbs lighter!!! I have really no idea how that happened with what you will see was a daily food-a-thon. And to be fair, my last Europe trip this summer did not end with any noteworthy results, so I am taking this one as divine intervention.

In the next few weeks you can be expecting posts spanning Spain, including Barcelona, Grenada, Ronda, Sevilla, and Madrid and numerous spots in Paris. One caveat is they will not be underground in the traditional sense, but many are virtually unknown to tourists, so please use these to truly enhance your trip.

I must also make a short plug for the guys at LeFooding. They are revolutionaries in the Paris dining scene, highlighting those places that Michelin leaves behind or only bestows "Bib" status on. Unfortunately, for us Ami's it is only in French, but I hope this will change. Don't expect white tablecloth or spotless sequence of service, but who cares about that stuff anymore (well, some people do...just wait for the Taillevant review)...its all about the food, right? So without further ado...let the reviewing begin!