The Good Life France Magazine




The Good Life France Magazine brings you the best of France - inspirational and exclusive features, fabulous photos, mouth-watering recipes, tips, guides, ideas and much more...


Published by the award winning team at The Good Life France

Views
2 years ago

Issue No. 15

Discover the Drome, Nyons - the last Provencal frontier, Charente-Maritime, Burgundy, Paris gastronomy, Nice, secret Provence, recipes, a whole lot more. It's the next best thing to being in France...

Verjus is the happy

Verjus is the happy outgrowth of The Hidden Kitchen, exquisite dinner parties once hosted by Laura Adrian and Braden Perkins in a private Paris apartment.The view is of a theater reminiscent of New Orleans’ old French Quarter and below, in a small intimate room, is their wine bar with its ever-changing chalkboard. I’d not dined at Verjus before because we’d fill up on the apéro plates downstairs - pork belly with sesame seeds, indescribable Parmesan “churros,” duck terrine maison with pistachios - and felt no need to go upstairs for the nine-course extravaganza. However on this night, oysters from Utah Beach with rhubarb, gougères dusted with seaweed and salt, perfectly roasted pork, foie gras with walnuts and a jaw-dropping beet tarte tatin, plus more, kept us happy all the way to dessert: caramelized Jerusalem artichoke ice cream with apple and cinnamon. We vowed to return. Verjus (multi-course tasting menu);52 Rue de Richelieu 75001 Paris Book well in advance Friday Dinner LiLi at the HOTEL PENINSULA Being escorted through the opulent Hotel Peninsula then seated in LiLi’s spacious dining room felt like we’d arrived on a Hollywood film set. This gastro Chinese temple was our choice for Saturday lunch, not so much for a change from French cuisine, but to sample their reputed authentic gourmet Cantonese dim sum, and more. Excited, we went for the Menu Dim Sum: steamed lobster dumplings with asparagus, Shanghai-style steamed pork raviolis, chicken and eggplant dumplings with XO sauce, pan-fried minced pork dumplings with bok choy, each deliciously succulent and elegantly presented. But, as the saying goes, “Chinese food goes right through you,” we decided to loosen our belts and go for some mains: Peking-style duck, wok-fried Brittany blue lobster with ginger and spring onions, braised French beef with fried ginger and, to wash it down, martinis with lemon twists which, beautifully cleansed our palates between courses. Dessert? Not this time. Dinner would be in a few hours. LiLi at the Hotel Peninsula; 19 Avenue Kléber 75016 Paris; Note: The Lobby Restaurant at the Hotel Peninsula has a 48 Euro 2 course lunch/dinner menu that's very good. Saturday lunch

Our last stop after such a raffinée experience at lunch, standing-room-only wine-bar-tapas bar L’Avant Comptoir seemed a natural choice for dinner. Loyal fans of chef Yves Camdeborde since his La Régélade days in the far-flung 14th way back when, we’d followed him to Saint- Germain-des-Prés. First-timers here are always astounded when they see the ceiling, a forest of banners with photos of dozens of small plates. An impressive selection of wines, sausages, and an enormous hunk of salt-studded butter dominates the zinc counter with its country loaves cut into chunks, still warm, mustard, cornichons, and fleur de sel for the taking. We joined the throng and ordered away: crunchy calamari and crunchier fried chicken with house fries and sauce gribiche; fried cheese; waffles topped with an artichoke cream and Bayonne ham; foie gras with piquillo kebabs; caramelized pork belly; sautéed cèpe mushrooms with garlic. We did it. Bordeaux and dry rosé by the glass and endless toasts with total strangers, and it was over. L’Avant Comptoir; 3 Carrefour de l’Odéon 75006 Paris Saturday Dinner