Kouign Amman at Dominique Ansel Bakery in NYC, New York

Jodi and I went to Dominique Ansel Bakery after watching a segment on their Kouign Amman on the TV show Unique Sweets. The bakery, located in Soho, is heaven for anybody with a sweet tooth! Anyway, if you do not have a sweet tooth, they also have a lunch menu...

We went in the afternoon and we could clearly see that a lot of the cakes they made were already sold out! I was a bit disappointed because I was not only coming for the Kouign Amman, but also for the Paris-New York, a pastry that is a spin on a Paris-Brest (puff pastry with a hazelnut cream that I love - Dominique Ansel made it with peanut butter!).

Anyway, we came for their specialty: the Kouign Amman. So you probably wonder what this is! This is a cake from Bretagne, a region on the west coast of France, made with a croissant dough and layered with butter and sugar. If you eat it, do not tell your cardiologist because there is a lot of butter!

Bouchon Bakery in New York City!

Several people I know told me that I should go to Bouchon Bakery, located on the third floor of the Time Warner building at Columbus Circle. I went a first time to try their brioche and decided to go back! The place is pure madness, overcrowded by people trying to indulge on those delicate pastries and sandwiches that they sell.

So we went there on a Sunday, after a visit to the Moma. I decided to order again the brioche!

Vietnamese Food at Chapa's in NYC, New York

We passed by ChaPa's Noodles and Grill, a Vietnamese eatery, several times and each time, this restaurant was packed. So we decided to give it a try. In fact, we gave it two tries! The first time we went and picked various dishes and then saw many people ordering their Pho (a Vietnamese dish consisting of broth,  rice noodles, herbs, and meat); so we decided to go another time to try the Pho.

So, the first time we went, we shared several plates.

The crispy calamari or Muc Chien Don:

I loved it: the calamari was not rubbery, the batter well cooked and very crispy, not greasy at all. The sweet chili sauce gave a nice Asian twist to this dish!

The veggie dumplings - steamed:

Italian Doughnuts at Bomboloni in NYC, New York

I think there is a misconception in Europe about doughnuts! Yes, There are always associated to the US, thanks to number of movies were you see people (shall I say mainly from the police force?), eating them. They have nothing unique in the sense that many countries have a similar treat, but a different name. You do not believe me? Check this out:

- The sugar twist is called chichi in South of France. I had quite a few when I was a kid...

- Germany has the Berliner.

- Italy has the Bomboloni!

If you are curious to try a Bomboloni, go to...Bomboloni on the Upper West Side! This joint offers these delicious filled doughnuts with plenty of mouth watering flavors: coconut, nutella, creme brulee, tiramisu, apricot, strawberry...

Ethiopian food at Queen of Sheba in NYC, New York

The first time I had Ethiopian food was at Meskerem, that is just few steps from Queen of Sheba! As I explained in my post on Meskerem, we decided to try after hearing my cousin Jessica talk about the wonderful experience she had in an Ethiopian restaurant in New Jersey. We were also excited to try as we followed Marcus Samuelson during his appearance on Top Chef Master, where he tried sometimes to showcase some Ethiopian flavors.

The name of the restaurant comes from a monarch of the ancient kingdom of Sheba that is referenced in various cultures, one of them being Ethiopian. The restaurant has a nice decoration with wooden chairs and traditional baskets for sharing.

So, if you do not like eat get your hands dirty, this is not the restaurant for you, although I am sure you can ask for a fork...But then you would miss the experience!

Jodi ordered the Sheba Vegetarian combination plate.

It was composed of:

• Misir Wot: split lentils stewed with onion, garlic and blend of mild ethiopian herbs.
• Ater Kik Alecha: split pea cooked in onion, garlic and olive oil, mild yellow dish with a touch of turmeric and subtle blend of herbs and spices. It reminded me of yellow dal in Indian cuisine.
•  Shiro: split peas milled together with a blend of berbere, herbs and onions, slow-cooked into a creamy dip.
•  Shimbra Asa: chick peas flour molded dumpling style sauteed and cooked in berbere sauce.
• Gomen Wot: finely chopped collard greens cooked in their own steam with mild seasonings and olive oil. This was pretty good and well cooked as the collard greens were not bitter at all.
• Atakilt Wot: fresh string beans and long cut carrot cooked in tomato sauce with our rich blend of seasonings. This was just ok for me: the veggies were undercooked.
• Cabbage Wot: cabbage, potato and carrot cooked with onion and garlic, with a touch of turmeric.

On my side, I ordered the Taste of Sheba combination dish.

It was composed of:

• Yebeg Wot: freshly made lamb stew.
• Yebeg Alicha: a mild stew of diced and on-the-bone lamb.
• Tibs Wot: dices of lean beef seared on hot skillet then slow cooked in a hot berbere stew.
• Menchet Abesh Wot: lean beef grounded and cooked in mild green pepper sauce, red wine and jalapeno and seasoned with ginger and garlic.
• Menchet Abesh Alecha: lean beef grounded and cooked in mild sauce and jalapeno and seasoned with ginger and garlic.
• Zilzil Tibs: beef marinated in awaze, olive oil, red wine and stir fried with onions.
• Gomen Besiga: marbled cuts of beef slow-cooked in a mild onions sauce with chopped collard greens. garlic and blend of alicha seasonings

The best was the Yebeg Wot. Otherwise, I found the meat to be tough. I even think that I preferred the vegetarian platter!!! Go figure!

All of this was of course served with Injera that you use as your utensil to eat. It was pretty good.

There was definitely lots of unusual flavors. I liked the experience, but I guess this is not the type of food I would crave, contrary to Indian for instance. 

Enjoy (I did)!

Pierogis at Veselka in NYC, New York

It has been a while I wanted to try Veselka, a restaurant located in the East Village, that serves Ukrainian cuisine. Interestingly, Veselka is located where it used to be Little Ukraine and you can still see some of its presence, between the Ukrainian Church, Ukrainian Museum or Ukrainian school!

The restaurant reminded me a bit of Katz's deli, probably because of the decor that appears similar to what it was when they opened in 1954 (not that I was there), as well as the large crowd waiting for a seat. We went there at 11:30am on a Saturday and it was already packed! Normal: people came for breakfast in this 24/7 joint. 

Although the menu offers traditional breakfast items such as pancakes, waffles or eggs, we decided to try typical Eastern cuisine dishes. We started off with soup. Jodi ordered a Matzo Ball soup.

I ordered the Borscht soup.

The best Banana Cream Pie ever - Redeye Gill in NYC, New York

If you go to The Redeye Grill, it is not for their steaks or their seafood! Surprisingly, I would only go for one of the most delicious banana cream pie I ever had! Forget Billy's Bakery and just go to The Redeye Grill!!!

It is the third time I had this dessert and each time I was in heaven! Ok, I had steaks in the past and never tried their seafood. Except last week...When I went back for lunch. I like the decor of this restaurant that looks like a cafe and has a beautiful raw bar with an impressive selection of seafood: fish, shrimp, scallops, you name it! I started off with the Diver Scallops.

Totto Ramen in NYC, New York

Last year, I discovered ramen. So I was very excited to go to Totto Ramen, after the feasts I had at Momofuku Noodle Bar and Ippudo. Each time we passed in front of this joint, there was a big line, so we definitely wanted to try it! If there is a line, there must be a reason!

We arrived at 11:30am, knowing that they opened at 12pm; there were already few people waiting. What you have to do is put your name on a list and they will call you to sit you. The place is very tiny, so you have to be patient and pray that people will eat quickly and leave, and that you will not have in front of you a group of people who did not see each other for 10 years and are trying to catch up!!!

So we sat at the bar. I like that because we had a direct view on the kitchen and were able to see the cooks making noodles, bouncing them up and down to remove the excess of water, as you can see on the video below.

Bibimbap at Miss Korea BBQ in NYC, New York

In our quest for the best Bibimbap, this fantastic Korean rice bowl dish, we decided to go to Miss Korea BBQ in Korea Town.

When we arrived in the restaurant, we were asked if we would consume alcohol. As we said no, we were sent upstairs, on the third floor (probably because their second location did not have a liquor license and they wanted to preserve the main one to their customers who would order some). They told us that this was the same menu and same cuisine. As the elevator was out of order and we proceeded to take the stairs. This was like going to a hidden and secret place, in these dark staircases (ok, maybe I saw too many James Bond). 

So here we are in the restaurant on the third floor! I do not know if the one downstairs has the same decor, but this one was modern.

Once we ordered our food, they brought us the banchan, these little plates that usually start a Korean meal. These dishes were not that great I have to say! The only thing I liked was the turnip and the fish skin. Otherwise, they had some fish that had a very strong taste and the kimchi was replaced by a bok choy salad that I did not really like.

Cookies at City Bakery and Rocco's in NYC, New York

I guess this past week end was a cookie discovery, in the sense that we got to try some cookies for snacks. The first joint we went to is City Bakery; not that we went there for their cookies, but more for their hot chocolate. The second one, is Rocco's on Bleecker street.

City Bakery is supposedly known for their hot chocolate and I read recently an article ranking it best hot chocolate in the US. It said: "Made from pure melted chocolate bars and topped with homemade marshmallows, this thick hot chocolate is F&W editor in chief Dana Cowin's favorite version in the country". 

So, here we are at City Bakery: the place is packed! We can see lots of people with a cup of hot chocolate, food and cookies. As we ordered, we could not miss the chocolate room behind us...Promising!

As well as the rack full of freshly made cookies in front of us!

That was so tempting that we decided to get a chocolate chip cookie!

Fabulous treats in Paris, France

I could not end the posts on our trip to Europe without mentioning two fabulous treats you can find in Paris!!!

The first one is Angelina! If you like pastries and love hot cocoa, this is your place. Their most known location is across the street from the Louvre Museum, but it seems that they opened several other places, that might be good to know considering the line you can find in front of their main store.

If I go to Angelina, it is definitely for their hot chocolate, whether it is Summer or Winter! It is divine! It beats any hot chocolate you find at Max Brenner or La Maison du Chocolat and is literally melted chocolate. Trust me, you will need whipped cream to lower the strong chocolate taste and there is no need to order anything else, because it is so satisfying. I think I just drooled...

Angelina

226 Rue Rivoli

75001 Paris, France

http://www.angelina-paris.fr/en/

The second one is the merveilleux de Fred.

We were invited for dinner by some close friends and, for dessert, they served some cookies that were fantastic! These cookies are meringue coated with whipped cream and shaved chocolate sold at Aux Merveilleux de Fred stores (addresses below). We tried two flavors:

• The Incroyable: meringue, speculoos biscuit whipped cream coated with shaved white chocolate.
• The Merveilleux: meringue, chocolate whipped cream coated with shavings of dark chocolate.

The common element is that these cookies were very, very light. It is bad in fact, because they are so good and light that you would eat tons of them! Between the two, I preferred the while chocolate one (the incroyable). Surprisingly, it was not too sweet (white chocolate is often) and had a more delicate taste compared to the dark chocolate one. However, I would not have guessed there was speculoos in it (people are crazy about speculoos in France!). 

People love the Merveilleux de Fred and it seems that there is often a line in front of the stores, but it is worth it based on what we tried! I hope the Chef, Frédéric Vaucamp will have the great idea to open a store in the US!!!

http://auxmerveilleux.com

Paris

Aux Merveilleux de Fred

7 rue de Tocqueville, 17th arrondissement

Aux Merveilleux de Fred

129 bis rue Saint Charles, 15th arrondissement

Aux Merveilleux de Fred

29 rue de l’Annonciation, 16th arrondissement

Aux Merveilleux de Fred

94 rue Saint-Dominique, 7th arrondissement

Belgium

Aux Merveilleux

Lippens Laan 99

8300 Knokke

UK

Aux Merveilleux de Fred

88 Old Brompton Road

SW7 3LQ London

(South Kensington)

Opening 2013

Enjoy (I sure did)!

And remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Last dinner in Paris at Le Franc-Tireur

Our last night in Paris, it was pouring outside, so we decided to find a restaurant close to our hotel. As we wanted something reasonable, we wandered around and found a brasserie called Le Franc-Tireur. What I like about brasseries is the casual atmosphere you will find inside: casual with an eclectic crowd (business people, students, retirees, tourists...). And usually, the wait staff is shouting the orders...

So, we sat in the dinner area and they brought us the ardoise (slate) with the items of the day, as well as the regular menu.

Jodi went for La salade du pere Olivier, a salad made with grilled vegetables and fresh goat cheese on a toast.

Crepes at Le Petit Josselin in Paris, France

I promised Jodi that, as we were in France, we would go to a Crêperie to eat a crêpe. We ended up at Le petit Josselin, located rue de Montparnasse. This street is quite interesting as it is full of Crêperies, as if we were in Bretagne, although I have never been there...

So, here we are, entering the place; immediately on the left is the area where they are making crêpes. Of course, I cannot miss the piece of butter sitting there...very promising...

And, in the back of the photo, you can see a crêpe, with a darker color indicating that the flour used is buckwheat, making it slightly heaver and tastier. In fact, the crêpe is called a galette.

Fondue at L'Assiette aux deux fromages in Paris, France

What I really enjoy in the Winter is a cheese fondue. Not sure I would call it a Fondue Savoyarde or une fondue aux fromages as there is a debate between France and Switzerland as to who made the first cheese fondue...In New York, my favorite places for fondue are Artisanal and for a low key and a rustic atmosphere, Kashkaval. 

In France, a lot of people like fondue and it is not rare to be invited to a fondue party, because it is easy to prepare, fun (if you drop the bread in the cheese, you should have a dare) and delicious. The most common mix of cheese is Comte, Beaufort and Emmental. But, sometimes, people go to the fromager (cheese store) and ask for some cheese to make fondue,  ending up with various ones as the combinations are endless. At home, I have in fact a fondue pot that is electric and sometimes buy a fondue mix that is convenient and pretty descent! 

So, back to my trip: Jodi and I wanted to eat a fondue! We went to one of our favorite spots in Paris: rue Mouffetard. It is a narrow street made of cobblestones. At night, it can be crowded as people go there for the multitude of restaurants you can find: traditional French to Iranian! Looking around, we decided to go to L'Assiette aux fromages. It was not the first time and the last time we went, we had a pretty good meal!

I like the place: warm with its wood all over that reminds a bit of a chalet in the mountain. The big blue cow in the middle of the main dining room is surprising though...

We decided to order a traditional cheese fondue.

Fantastic Lunch at Le Train Bleu in Paris, France

Who would have thought that you would find such a nice restaurant in a train station??? Le train Bleu is a fancy restaurant that I always suggest to people visiting Paris and who want to enjoy a nice dinner in a fantastic decor. It is pricey but worth it if you are looking to treat yourself!

The place is incredibly beautiful! These photos speak for themselves!

The paintings on the walls and ceilings attest of the history of the site and are the result of the work of famous painters who did a magnificent job. So going there is not only about food!

Another particularity of the restaurant is polo the cat.

According to a wait staff, the cat came one day and never left. You see him wandering around the restaurant quietly, without bothering at all the customers and not begging at all. I guess that he is probably well fed there!

So here are some of the fantastic dishes we tried:

Couscous at Chez Bebert in Paris, France

Couscous and tagines are North African dishes that are very popular in France, not only because they are good, but also because it is the type of specialties that you cannot make easily at home as they require some special pots. For instance, a couscous is made in a double chamber steamer, called couscoussier, that you can also use...for dim sum...Some people cook the semolina by bringing water to a boil and then pouring it on it, but I can ensure you that it does not have the same taste and the grain is not as light as when steamed. There are plenty of restaurants serving couscous and tagines in Paris. One that is popular and has few locations in the city is Chez Bebert.

We went to the restaurant Porte Maillot as it was close to our hotel and therefore very convenient. The place was packed for a Wednesday! I could not believe it! 

The decor was traditional and there was a certain ambiance, although I was glad that no belly dancers popped up and asked me to join them dancing!

After we ordered some nice wine, they offered us some aperitif.

Dinner at Le Relais de Venise - L'entrecote in Paris, France

Last year, in March, I had a fabulous dinner at Le Relais de Venise in New York (check my post about Le Relais de Venise in NYC, NY). The restaurant was an emanation of a restaurant in Paris, with an interesting concept: they only serve steak frites, but with a secret sauce that some say is made with chicken liver...

So, as we were in Paris last month we decided to go to the original restaurant, located Porte Maillot. The concierge of the hotel told us how to go and warned us not to be scared by the wait! We were fortunate and only waited 10 minutes, having to share our table with a complete stranger (we just had to imagine it was a communal table) so we would not have to stay in the cold until a table for two was available. 

The restaurant was a bit different: no dimmed light, more casual but with the staff wearing the same maid uniform as in New York. So, ordering was simple: just tell them what temperature you would like for your steak and order wine or water. It translates by this way on the table's paper cloth:

It says: Bouteille d'eau large (large bottle of water), A Point (Medium) and Saignant (Medium rare).

The evolution of food in France?

If you recall, this year, I wrote a post about MacDonald's adapting their sandwiches with the Mac Baguette (post about the Mc Baguette here) and even had the chance to try it. So, when we went to Paris this time, I noticed different signs that were pretty interesting considering how France is proud and conservative about its cuisine! For instance, similar to Mac Donald's, Subway is also adapting:

I saw this ad in the subway for a sandwich made with raclette cheese. 

Also, I was surprised to see how Starbuck became popular. I remember how, few years ago, it was a big deal when Starbuck opened its first location in Paris: people thought that they would fail because of the culture of cafes. Well, this time, I noticed so many Starbucks around and they were packed (I noticed them in London but cannot comment on it...)!

I also noticed places that sell Hot dogs

Italian dinner at Montpeliano in London, England

For our last dinner in London, we ended up at Montpeliano. In fact, we were not planning on going there, but just found this place as we were going to Harrod's to see the Holidays' decorations. 

So here we are in this restaurant that had an old fashioned atmosphere rendered mainly by walls full of black and white photos of celebrities like Frank Sinatra.

The menu offers traditional Italian dishes. So, as it was after we had our treat at Fortnum and Mason, we decided to go light...

Jodi ordered some homemade tagliatelles with a butter and parmesan sauce.

Fantastic Italian Dinner at Vasco and Piero's Pavilion in London, England

A friend of a friend (interesting) suggested that we go for an Italian dinner at Vasco and Piero's Pavilion in the heart of Soho.

This is a small restaurant that was packed all evening. I like the simple decor and the atmosphere that gave the impression we were in somebody's house!

After they sat us to our table, they graciously offered us some prosecco.

This was a nice gesture from them and a good sign that this whole experience would be fantastic!

We ordered some appetizers first. As soon as we saw that they had some burrata on the menu, we ordered it!!!

Christmas Market in London, England

One day, walking near the London Eye, this spectacular Ferris Wheel on the Thames river, we found a Christmas market. It was packed! I fact we saw two sections: one was a chocolate festival (you read right: a chocolate festival!) and the other section, a more traditional market with food and mulled wine. A lot of vendors were proposing hot chocolate, but the best we got was the one made with a chocolate cube on a stick!

What they do is that they pour some hot milk, then add some marshmallow (if you want some) and put a cube of chocolate that is on a stick.

Bonne Année 2013!

Happy New Year 2013!

I cannot believe we are already in 2013! And I Just Want To Eat passed 18 months of existence, soon approaching the two years mark. Why are two years important? Because a lot of blogs stop after one to two years as people start them because they think it is cool and then realize that it demands a bit of work. I know that lots of people only see the fun side of a food blog that is to go eat and find the excuse  of the blog to eat whatever they want (I admit I use that excuse a lot...). 

But, writing a post with nice photos (the natural light is the biggest challenge) demands a bit of work. Depending of a subject, I can spend more than an hour on a post and, like most bloggers, I will work on post as soon as I can and schedule it, explaining why there is sometimes a lag between the visit at a restaurant and the post itself. This became apparent with Stage Deli! I went there in September and the post finally made it online in November, two days after they closed!!! Talking about that, 2012 has been a terrible year for the restaurant industry with a lot of businesses affected either by the economy or rent increase. We saw for instance Stage Deli mentioned previously, Gallagher's announcing they will close or the loss of the Meatball Factory whose owner, David Martin was a Top Chef alumni. So sad...

 2012 was definitely a year rich of surprises, good and bad. Here is a bit of a retrospective!

The worst:

• Nick and Steph's Steakhouse and their Mac & Cheese made with processed cheese.
• Carlo's bakery and the disgusting cupcake and cannoli.
• Minetta Tavern and its overpriced burger.

The best:

• Vetri by Marc Vetri in Philadelphia
• Colicchio and Sons and its amazing dinner experience
• Ippudo and Momofuku Noodle Bar for their fantastic ramen!

The discoveries:

• Jeanne et Gaston
• Matt & Meera an Indian-American fusion (located in Hoboken).
• The Red Hook Lobster Pounds for their fabulous lobster roll!

The list would be too long... There are so many places to try! What is interesting are the trends, like ramen that made a big mark this year! I have to say that I love it and considering the number of ramen restaurants opening these days, you will for sure see more reviews...The culinary scene is definitely moving and people are more and more curious to try different cuisines. I was asked recently if I eat a lot at French restaurants and I answered negatively: there are so many different cuisines and misconceptions or ignorance about some of them: Japanese is not only sushi, Italian is not only pizza and pasta and Ethiopian does have food on the plate!

So I am sure that 2013 will be full of good and bad experiences and I do not mind the bad ones as nothing can be perfect and it is what is making this blog fun! So I hope you will enjoy: I will for sure! 

And remember: I Just Want To Eat!

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