MARIANI’S

  April 5, 2004                                                                     NEWSLETTER

                                                                                    Happy Easter!

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EDITOR'S NOTE: This newsletter is also available on the very comprehensive food site www.sautewednesday.com
which has dozens of other links to food articles from around the world.

-Readers trying to reach me through e-mail cannot do so by hitting REPLY to this newsletter. Instead, write to me directly at johnmariani@prodigy.net .    

     My favorite song about the City of Lights is not Cole Porter's "I Love Paris" but Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein's "The Last Time I Saw Paris," sung with heart-stopping poignancy by Dinah Shore in the 1947 movie "Till the Clouds Roll By." 

     The last time I saw Paris, her trees were dressed for spring,
     And lovers walked beneath those trees and birds found songs to sing.

     I dodged the same old taxicabs that I had dodged for years.
     The chorus of their squeaky horns was music to my ears.

     The last time I saw Paris, her heart was warm and gay,
     No matter how they change her, I'll remember her that way."
 

     Paris is always a bittersweet place to leave and return to,  and its stubborn resistance to change means that you can always carry it with you and be sure it will be the same when you come back to it, which is why Hemingway called it a "moveable feast."  And a feast it certainly continues to be, from the smallest Montmartre café to the grand Alsatian brasseries on Montparnasse, right up to the temples of three-star gastronomy.  If Paris' restaurants now lack the cutting edge of those in New York and London, they still possess that unique power to enthrall from the moment you sit in a wicker bistro chair or behind a generous table draped with heavy damask, to the moment you sip a chilled Chablis in a little carafe or nibble the last petit-four of the evening.  For a city so in love with fashion, fashion plays only a small part in Parisian gastronomy.  The classics endure, the old favorites thrive, and new restaurants seem only marginal innovations against centuries of tradition.  Whether or not those traditions are so entrenched as to become stultifying is another question, but my most recent visit to the city indicated that there is a great deal of modernity with little in the way of novelty for its own sake. 
     A perfect example of how refinement improves a restaurant without compromising its history is the work of chef Eric Frechon's at the gorgeous Hôtel Le Bristol (112 Rue du Faubourg St. Honoré; 011-33-153-4343-00; www.lebristolparis.com ).  The recently renovated hotel has all its former grandeur intact (the property dates to 1757, and it's been a hotel since 1925), 45 luxury suites and 175 rooms, each different, all with the kind of amenities a modern traveler demands, from a business center to a rooftop swimming pool and sun deck.  In the warmer weather you may dine outdoors in the hotel gardens--35,000 square feet of it.   Otherwise, the indoor Restaurant d'Hiver (below, right) is a rococo wonder of oak paneling, gilt,  crystal, tapestries, and marble; merely entering the room through  tall French doors brings  you into a world at a standstill. 
     Service is uncompromisingly correct, with not a whiff of Gallic hauteur, and the wine list of 1,000 selections and 30,000 bottles  is as imposing as any in the city (and just as expensive).  Frechon's cuisine is exquisite without being particularly overwrought; it is instead a fine balance of classicism with new ideas that  fit right in with the ambiance of the place, sot that the word "tasteful" may be applied to every plate presentation.   Three times a year the entire menu is revised, with weekly modifications made according to the seasons and market.   Thus, you might begin with spider crab in the shell with its own coral and a Provençal leek and ginger jus, or a tantalizing  French rendering of what is a kind of operatic baked macaroni, here done with artichokes and foie gras and a gratin of Parmigiano on top.  Surprising on a menu like this is a dish of eels "from the Sargasso sea," prepared  with a purée of parsley and a frothy garlic broth.  All these are listed among "Eric Frechon's Favorites" on the menu, followed by appetizers like poultry and crayfish vol-au-vent with kidneys and cockscomb in a jellied jus, and frog's legs pan-fried with tandoori spices and tiny onion rings. 
    Breton lobster makes for an excellent main dish, cooked in a bread-crusted casserole with chestnuts and celeriac.  I always order turbot in France when it's on a menu, and Frechon's was superb, roasted on the bone, simply sprinkled with lemon, and served with grenaille potatoes scented with fennel.  Good, though not what I expected--I was anticipating a loin of pork or suckling pig--was a sausage of pig with fabulous ratte cheese potatoes and black truffles.  I should note that, unlike most other chefs in his league, Frechon does not depend so insistently on the lavish use of truffles to bolster his haute cuisine, because he has more imagination and, in a word, soul.
     There are of course many cheeses to be giddy about, and Gilles Marchal's pastries include a "Grand Cru" of chocolate delicacies, such as a zabaglione of dark chocolate with caramel, bourbon-infused ice cream and a touch of Caribbean spices; seasonal desserts including an extraordinary braised pear candied in the oven and served with chestnuts and ice cream; and classic, like very good warm apple tart.
    This is deluxe haute cuisine of a kind you still won't find easily outside of Paris, where the competition is so powerful and the commitment so strong. 
      Prix Fixe lunch and dinners here begin at 70€ ($85) with a tasting menu at 150€ ($183), with a three-course a la carte menu running between  120€ ($146) and 150€ ($183), tax and service included.


      At the other end of Paris' gastronomic ladder are the bistros, which, though they have grown larger and more elegantly appointed around Paris (especially those swanky units opened by the Costes brothers), at their most lovable the best still possess a marvelous balance of casual bluster and bonhomie. Regulars fill up most of the seats, and tourists, somewhat tentatively, the rest.  The best way to approach a bistro is to go with a Parisian, but if you can't find one, have your hotel concierge book the table; given the paucity of free-spending American visitors these days, restaurateurs are very happy when they hear anyone speaking English; of course, the better your hotel, the happier they will be. But, even with the dismal state of the US dollar against the almighty Euro (almost $1.30 = 1€), you can still eat amazingly well at the bistro level for $50 per person--that's including tax and service, sometimes wine.
     A friend of mine alerted me to an old bistro with new owners in the 7th Arrondissement--Chez L'Ami Jean (27 Rue Malar; 47-05-8689).  The new owner, Stephane Jego, was sous-chef at the immensely popular La Régalade, and took over this old Basque bistro a year or so ago.  Apparently he hasn't done much to the decor, which appears  not to have changed in decades--a little scuzzy around the edges, with bare wooden tables and walls that appear not to have been painted in quite some time. When I was there around Christmas there was tinsel strewn here and there without much enthusiasm for where it landed. The place was packed and you sit elbow to elbow at the little tables as the waitress (there may have only been one, but she was very quick on her feet) darted around the room taking orders and delivering them, seemingly at the same time. 
    There is a menu printed on paper decorated with folkloric cartoon (right), but most people seem to choose from the daily blackboard meal, which at lunch runs a very reasonable 28€ (about $34).  For this price I enjoyed a nice plump quail wrapped in bacon, with thinly cut red cabbage and a lusty pot au feu of beef, foie gras, potatoes and carrots--perfect for a mid-winter's day.  My friend had a terrine of game with chile peppers in a crock (12€ = $14.50) and served with crusty country bread, then a confit de canard (19€ = $17.50) that full of lightly gamy flavor and not in the least greasy.  Other items on the printed menu include a commendably modern rendering of scallops ceviche with olive and citron, wild duck with garlic and thyme, roast red partridge, peppers stuffed with brandade of cod and marrow in a vinaigrette,  roast venison with quince in a Banyuls vinegar, and fricassée of pheasant with chestnuts and foie gras.   Desserts include a lovely gâteau Basque and a crème catalane with vanilla bourbon sauce.
    If you're not looking for a fancy modern bistro, can't get into La Régalade, and can't fathom why people spend a king's ransom for the bistro fare at L'Ami Louis, just barrel over the Seine to Chez l'Ami Jean, sit anywhere, order anything and be very happy for very little in the way Parisians do every day.

NEW YORK CORNER

Bar Masa
Time Warner Center
10 Columbus Circle
212-823-9800
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   The stop-and-start openings of the extravagantly publicized restaurants in the new Time Warner Center have wreaked havoc with the psyches of those who desperately need to be the first in the door of a hot new restaurant.  First came Asiate (reviewed here three weeks ago), set on the 35th floor of the stunning new glass skyscraper, then Thomas Keller's long-awaited New York version of The French Laundry--Per Se--opened and was promptly closed by a massive kitchen fire (it's due to re-open in April).  Gray Kunz's brasserie should throw open its doors any day now, and Jean-George Vongerichten's steakhouse will be along soon-ish. Charlie Trotter's NY debut, however,  won't be until next winter. 
    And then there's Masa--the dream restaurant of Japanese chef Masa Takayama, who made his fame at a small sushi restaurant in Beverly Hills where meals routinely cost $300 per person.  We should be so lucky in NYC: At his new namesake restaurant the tab starts at $300 and goes up to $500, for which you rent one of the ten seats at the sushi counter (there are a couple of tables in an ancillary room) where Masa and Masa alone will slice, dice and cook for you.  The master is on record as saying (God bless him!) that if Masa is open Masa will be doing the  cooking, believing strongly it is his duty to show respect to his guests by being there for them. How refreshing in this day of celebrity chefs who long ago abandoned their guests in favor of the limelight.
     I'm not sure when one of my editors will license me to go spend $500 of the magazine's money (maybe I should ask one of them to join me?), nor do I know when I could possibly obtain a reservation for a restaurant already booked weeks in advance: remember it has only ten seats; not ten tables, ten seats!
      The good news is that on the other side of the wall from Masa is Bar Masa (above, left), a somewhat misleading name that suggests it's the kind of place you hang out and drink cocktails with names like Yokohama Mama and ogle tittering Asian girls in satin sheath dresses. You can actually drink at the bar and they do have signature cocktails, including some wonderful fizzy concoctions made from various fruits.  But the principle reason to come to this minimal  space is to eat sushi and Japanese food of excellent quality at some remarkably modest prices.  I was very surprised to find that there's nothing on Bar Masa's menu above $32, with a generous sushi platter available at just $23 at lunch, with which you receive a complimentary amuse.
       The walls are made from chiseled Japanese Oya limestone, the wooden floor is pine, the bar one single piece of exotic polished wood, and the lighting has, to use a cliché too often applied to Japanese decor, a serenity that makes dining here relaxing, despite some slightly invasive CD music that includes old Japanese favorites like the Gipsy Kings.  Located on the fourth floor, Bar Masa does not, however, have a view of NYC as do most of the other restaurants in the complex. To the left of the long bar is a long room with about eight tables, which can be configured for any number of guests.  You are presented with a simple menu and a simpler wine list (though there is a fine array of sakes), and the first thing you notice is that there is nothing striking or revolutionary about the dishes, most of which may be found in any number of serious Japanese restaurants around town--giant shrimp tempura, chicken sukiyaki over rice, shiitake mushroom and miso soup, and chicken yakitori.  What distinguishes Bar Masa is that across the menu, each preparation is done with equal finesse--the fried foods are impeccably crisp and greaseless, the superb main  ingredients are not smothered over with thick sauces, and the sushi and sashimi are velvety and pristine. 
      Some of the best items here are the udon noodle dishes, including a Kobe beef yaki soba ($23 at dinner). A braised Chilean sea bass ($24 at lunch) could not have been juicier or more lustrous, while the chicken sukiyaki was really delicious in a way I'd forgotten it could be.  Even the desserts are inventive and simply good.
       So,  while you wait for your stocks to split and a seat to turn up at Masa's next door, you can get a good idea of what all the fuss is about by going to Bar Masa and do so at a price I can't imagine will stick for long.  But for now, this is a marvelous and  valuable addition to Japanese dining in the city.  Had I an office or condo in the area, I'd eat here twice a week.

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WELL, THERE WAS THIS BARMAID IN TAHOE LAST YEAR . . . .

"Hot Dog on a Stick may not rank with Nathan's Famous in Coney Island or the elaborately garnished franks of Chicago, but the stands in those cities have no spectacle that even comes close to the sight of a short-skirted Hot Dog on a Stick Chick pumping up a tankful of lemonade."
                --Jonathan Gold, " “Hot Dog on a Stick In Malls Citywide,” LA Weekly.

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GOOD THING SAM DIDN’T BRING HIS DOG THAT DAY

As all Chicago Cubs fans know, back in 1945 saloon keeper Sam Sianis, owner of Billy Goat Tavern, placed a curse on the ball team after he was refused entrance with his goat mascot into Wrigley Field, and ever since the Cubs have yet to win a World Series. So the Chicago restaurant Heaven on Seven is now promoting an array of goat dishes on its menu, entitled “Reverse the Curse. . . Roast the Goat.”

* From April 16-19 Tampa’s Bern’s Steak House, SideBern’s and Bern’s Fine Wines & Spirits hold the 7th Annual Winefest, with a dinner with the  Classical Wines of Spain at $150 pp; Italian wines from Poderi Colla, with seminars and 3-course lunch, $100 pp; VIP Champagne Tasting, $125 pp; Grand Tasting with more than 150 wines paired with bites from Bern’s and SideBern’s.  Enjoy wine & food seminars and bid at the Silent Auction. 
$75 pp. in advance, $85 at the door; Opus One Dinner, $200 pp. Some events donate money from proceeds to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Tix may be purchased online at www.bernswinefest.com.
 

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MARIANI'S VIRTUAL GOURMET NEWSLETTER is published weekly.  Editor/Publisher: John Mariani. Contributing Writers: Robert Mariani,  Naomi  Kooker, Kirsten Skogerson,  Edward Brivio, Mort Hochstein, Lucy Gordan. Contributing Photographers: Galina Stepanoff-Dargery,  Bobby Pirillo. Technical Advisor: Gerry McLoughlin.

 John Mariani is a columnist for Esquire, Wine Spectator, Diversion and the Harper Collection. He is author of The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink (Lebhar-Friedman), The Dictionary of Italian Food and Drink (Broadway), and, with his wife Galina, the award-winning new Italian-American Cookbook (Harvard Common Press).   To  purchase from amazon.com, click on the image below.

copyright John Mariani 2004