Lovers of French culture and art snobs are buzzing with disapproval after McDonald's confirmed its plans to open a restaurant within the Louvre in Paris, according to the Daily Telegraph.
To celebrate its 30th anniversary in France, McDonald's will open its 1,142nd French restaurant a few yards away from the iconic art museum in Carrousel du Louvre, an underground shopping center within the Louvre complex.
"I'm not against eating in a museum but McDonald's is hardly the height of gastronomy," Didier Rykner, head of the Art Tribune Web site told the Telegraph. "Today McDonald's, tomorrow low-cost clothes shops."
Looking at this cheese is a little like meditating. It's the most serene, perfect thing we've laid eyes on in the past week -- a little cloud floating innocuously against a blue (OK, teal) sky. The knife at its side hints at its imminent demise, but really, who aside from vegans or the lactose-intolerant wouldn't want to partake of the cheese's ample charms? Former Chez Panisse pastry chef David Lebovitz, the author of numerous wonderful cookbooks and a Paris resident for the past seven years, purchased this silver dollar-sized disc of Rocamadour (a raw goat's milk fromage) for a dinner party he was throwing for friends. While much of his accompanying commentary extols the virtues of the comté he also bought, it's this diminutive beauty that has us dreaming of baguettes, a drizzle of honey and deeply discounted Air France tickets.
My obsession for those heavenly creamy, crispy, sweet French pastries, called macarons, began when I lived in Paris. I would go to the Ladurée, the pastry-shop and tearoom, almost every week to sit down like an old woman and drink tea and snack on a macaron. Ah, the wonderful gastronomic moments spent at Ladurée! It deserves its own blog post.
Recently, I discovered another incredible pastry-shop in Paris, Pierre Hermé, where you can try some interesting flavored macarons, such as caramel with fleur de sel and passion fruit with chocolate. The tiny store, located at No. 72 rue Bonaparte on the Left Bank, almost always has a quick moving line started out the door. As you enter this chic pastry boutique, your eyes are automatically drawn to the many gorgeous fruit cakes on your left. And then, as you get further into the store, all your senses are overwhelmed by the beauty -- the fresh aroma of baked sweets and the stunning displays of various cakes and macarons.
My experience at Pierre Hermé was like a glance into heaven. By the time it was my turn to order, I was speechless. I had spent the entire time in line absorbing the smells and the delicious goodies instead of figuring out which macarons I wanted to order. One of the shopkeepers gave me a menu of macarons. I studied it closely and finally bought a box of 16. Check out my favorite flavors and more after the jump.
I always crave the soft raw milk cheeses that are impossible to find in the U.S (impossible to find because U.S. law requires that all raw milk cheeses be aged at least 60 days, which renders them less soft ).
Last Sunday, on seven-hour layover in Paris, I strolled down to the famous market on rue Cler and stopped into La Fromagerie, the renowned cheese shop at No. 31. The creamy cakey goat's milk cheeses sitting on straw mats in the window attracted me right away. They were all diverse shapes and sizes: Little bell-shaped cheeses called Clochette, doughnut-looking cheeses called Couronne Lochoise, cork-shaped ones called Bonde de Gatine, and pyramid-shaped ones called Pouligny Saint Pierre. This incredible view through the glass window was the best food porn I have ever seen!
After spending about forty-five minutes tasting them and talking with the cheese experts at the shop, I purchased a goat's milk cheese called Cathare. Everything about this cheese -- from its appearance and taste to its production and history -- fascinates me. Check out my review after the jump.
It's not unusual to put vegetables, things we normally consider savory, into sweets. We have carrots in carrot cake, zucchini in zucchini bread and muffins, and obviously we have broccoli in broccoli cake.
Wait. What?
I have to say, it has never occurred to me to ever make or eat broccoli cake. However, blog Chic City Rats came across this broccoli cake, perfectly sliced to show off the florets inside, at Rose Bakery in the Parisian rue des Martyrs. Unfortunately, there is no additional information about the cake itself, but just the idea might get our culinary creative juices flowing.
The best way to get a taste of Paris is to actually go there. Unfortunately, that sort of trip isn't always in the cards - lucky you if it is! - when you get a craving for French food. An alternative is to pick up Patricia Wells' The Paris Cookbook, a collection of over 150 recipes from some of the most famous restaurants and chefs in Paris, as well as many French standards that are enjoyed throughout the city. There are many main courses, both upscale and homey, to choose from and a wide variety of desserts, since you can't take a trip to Paris without indulging in some delicious pastries. In this volume, you'll find Taillevent's Goat Cheese and Roasted Tomato Appetizer, Joël Robuchon's Creamy White Bean Soup, Tarte Tatin and Penne with Mustard and Chives. Wells' writing style seems to be injected with a Parisian feeling, but her recipes are clear and very easy to follow, with many helpful tips to ensure that everything goes smoothly. In addition to the recipes, there are plenty of illustrations, wine recommendations and restaurant addresses, which will come in handy when you actually do make it to the city.
Lori of the food blog Dessert Comes First, just returned from what sounded like a fantastic trip to Paris. Like any good blogger, she took lots of photos of her trip, but what is more relevant to us is that she also took lots of photos of her food. She stopped in at what is said to be one of the best creperies in Paris and picked up this Banana and Nutella Crepe. Made on the spot, the hot crepe is quickly smeared with rich, creamy Nutella and a sliced banana. To contrast with the rich filling. A dollop of French vanilla ice cream - made with egg yolks, which provide the slightly yellow tinge, and real vanilla bean - adds a refreshingly cool and delicate layer of flavor to the plate.
Fortunately for those of use who aren't planning Paris trips in the near future, this is an easy treat to reproduce at home. You just need to start with a basic crepe recipe and pick up some Nutella at the market. It would also be brilliant with strawberries and any other fruit that you find works well with the chocolate-hazelnut spread.
I'm going to apologize in advance that this post doesn't say anything that regular readers of Chocolate & Zucchini won't already know, but Clotilde just announced that her book, Chocolate & Zucchini: Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen, is available for pre-order from Amazon. Unfortunately, the publication date is slated for May 15th, 2007, so it looks like we'll have to wait several more months until it shows up as a cookbook of the day.
If you don't want to wait that long, don't worry because Clotilde has no intention of discontinuing her three year old blog and there is plenty of material in the archives, including details of the book deal from start to finish. She has been doing more food writing in print these days, as well, and her pieces will pop up in newspapers and other publications between now and them.
At Luxist, Deidre announced that the wines collected by Jacques Chirac while he was the mayor of Paris will be auctioned later this year. The city has decided that the liability involved in keeping the collection - which could be damaged by floods or other accidents in the bowels of the Hôtel de Ville, where it is kept - is too high to make it worth the risk, not to mention the fact that the wine budget for the city has been slashed dramatically and they can't really afford the maintenance. The wine budget reduction is a reflection of the fact that the Parisians aren't drinking wine at the same rates they used to. For example, despite an equal number of receptions, only half the amount of wine is consumed now as it was during Chirac's time in office.
The 5,000 bottle collection is expected to bring in at least $600,000, as it contains many fine wines, including 191 bottles of 1976 Krug champagne and several bottles of 1990 Château Pétrus (worth more than $1,700 each).
It looks like the famous 1976 Paris wine tasting could be made into a movie. A Los Angeles production firm bought the movie rights to George Taber's book on the blind tasting, in which the California wines Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 1973 and Ridge Montebello 71 beat the favored First Growths Chateau Mouton-Rothschild 70 and Haut Brion 70. The studio says that they plan to focus on the interaction between Steven Spurrier, the wine mastermind who arranged the tasting, and the Californians, who will be portrayed as the underdogs.
The film sounds like it will be an interesting one. The studio has already suggested Jude Law and Hugh Grant for the role of Spurrier, who wanted someone British and young to play him, as he was 34 when he organized the tasting. He objects to both choices of actor, claiming that "they are far too old."
I should note here that Jude Law is actually only 33, so it's not entirely clear if Spurrier knows who the actor is or how young he wants to look in the film. He could always call up Stephen, 24, from Top Chef, if he wants someone really young. I bet he could do a British accent.
Animated movies often have food elements to them, just like live action movies, only more over-the-top because they aren't constrained by what is physically possible. Personally, I'm a huge fan of the French chef in The Little Mermaid, Louis. He's just too funny and his song, "Les Poissons" probably taught a lot of kids their first French word.
Disney has a new animated venture with a foodie twist coming up in 2007. The film, called Ratatouille, is about an American rat living in Paris who is a foodie - a tough lifestyle choice for a rat, as you might imagine. As he points out in the trailer (you can check out the trailer at the official site), there is lots of good food available, it is just dangerous to steal it from, say, a french restaurant that appears to be entirely staffed by Chef Louis' relatives. The film looks adorable and, as it's done by Pixar, the animation looks great - not to mention the fact that it's about food and foodies (even if the main character is a rat)!
Claude Terrail, the owner of Paris' La Tour d'Argent, an eatery as renowned for its spectacular views as its Michelin rating and its A-list clientele, died last week at the age of 88.
Situated atop a building across the Seine from the Notre Dame, the restaurant has entertained the likes of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Julia Child. La Tour d'Argent's signature dish, canard au sang, was invented long before Terrail inherited the restaurant.
So special was this concoction of pressed duck enriched with duck blood, served with sliced breast and foie gras, that each serving was numbered. F.D.R. supped upon order No. 112,151 in 1929. Terrail had the pleasure of plating the millionth duck in 2003.
From French Duck - details of the grand Parisian event that you know you just MUST get to come rain, shine or lack of airline ticket.
The day is Sunday 25 June 2006 for the "Le Grand Fooding d'Eté". For just €5 which goes to charity you too can join in the fun of a a giant communal picnic from 6pm -10pm. Dishes will be prepared by celebrity French chefs from such famous establishments as the Paris Ritz and Le Chateaubriand. Plenty of wine is also to be available. FrenchDuck mentions Domaine Leduc-Frouin - which I can attest are lovely wines. The Le Grand Fooding will be held in the 4th Arondissement in Paris at Village Saint Paul - rue des Jardins Saint Paul, 75004 Paris.
There are similar events in Marseille (18 June), Montpellier (11 June) and Lyon (4 June).
Off to Brussels or Paris? Or perhaps you already live there. These two google maps (they are called mashups as they
add extra information on top of the standard google map) might just come in handy.
The map for Brussels has a cafe and bar finder and adds locations of wall paintings in the
city. The map of Paris is a little more specialised as it shows the location of kosher restaurants in the city plus
a selection of famous landmarks and other sights.
I'm going to apologize in advance that this post doesn't say anything that regular readers of 
At 
It looks like the famous 
Animated movies often have food elements to them, just like live action movies, only more over-the-top because they aren't constrained by what is physically possible. Personally, I'm a huge fan of the French chef in 
Claude Terrail, the owner of Paris' 
From 
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