11 January, 2007 | 7 Comments

I had a sandwich with peanut butter, honey and slices of banana. Bliss.

My French friends, croissants, brioche and coq au vin are all fine and dandy, but America has mighty fine cuisine too. Le Cordon Bleu, take note.

To be fair in my reporting, I think many Americans reading this have never eaten such a sandwich and cringe at the thought. I think this particular delicacy is Southern in origin. I’m not a Southerner, but I was raised by one. This particular sandwich tastes even better grilled. Sadly, my frying pan is in storage at the nightclub singer’s place.

Now, if the French could just reduce the outrageous price of peanut butter, that’d be great. I mean, it’s just crushed peanuts and oil. It’s not some exotic delicacy. Get real. Today I saw snails in the frozen food section of Monoprix! And they were much cheaper than peanut butter. That’s f’ed up.

19 December, 2006 | 6 Comments

This is probably a common problem for people who move to Paris, the culinary capital of the Western world. But the thing is, my clothes are too big. I’m shrinking. Today when I was packing up for the move, I found my bathroom scale conveniently hidden away in a dark corner. I stepped on it and gasped when I saw that I have lost weight since I last weighed myself a few months ago. I noticed that my clothes were getting a bit too big for me, but I assumed it was some sort of delusion brought on by the trace amounts of crack that I’m sure are in Nutella.

Y’all, I have been on an eating binge since arriving in Paris last September, so I do not know how this has happened. I am not supposed to be eating dairy products, but I didn’t let that stop me from eating croissants, pastries, tarts, you name it. Every day I indulge in a treat like this. There is a crepe stand at the end of my street! AT THE END OF MY STREET! On every block in this city there are patisseries filled with the kinds of desserts you could only find in high-end bakeries in the US and the UK. A few days a week I meet a classmate for lunch at the most yummiest sandwich shop ever, across the street from our class. We order ciabatta sandwiches and pear tart or an eclair. The food in this place is so good it could kill you. The other day another classmate joined us. She ordered a panini sandwich and once she started eating it, she drifted off into some weird zone where she just kept chanting this is so good. We couldn’t even talk to her until she was done. A middle-aged British couple were sitting at a table nearby. They had ordered about 5 desserts and were taking bites of each of them one-by-one. They had a glazed look in their eyes, a look I know too well. I soooo wanted to take a photo of them. I could have set off the flash right in front of their eyes and they probably wouldn’t have even noticed. It was hysterical. And did I mention this place isn’t even a proper café, just a little viennoiserie with a few scattered tables? By Paris standards, there’s nothing remarkable about it at all.

(more…)

5 December, 2006 | Comments

Candy Apples

For sale on the rue de Buci. For some reason, I never expected to see candy apples for sale in Paris. Of course I bought one. And ate it. Now I need to find a dentist…

6 November, 2006 | 9 Comments

I was inspired by The Girl Who Ate Everything to try a French macaron. Her set of macarons photos on Flickr is divine! I think she’s eating macarons everyday while she’s here studying in Paris.

I’ve seen the colorful little macarons all over Paris but I wasn’t sure what they were exactly. They are obviously nothing like the macaroons we have in the uncivilized English-speaking world. (Actually, I love macaroons. I come from a family of macaroon lovers.)

After reading the aforementioned blog and talking to my American friend who studied at the Cordon Bleu, I made my way to the flagship Ladurée shop and tea salon on the Champs-Elysées. Apparently, Ladurée is the place to go for macarons. I went on a Saturday, which was not a good idea. But as I was waiting for ages in the queue I looked at the pastries and delights behind the glass and felt dizzy and slightly high. I was standing behind a group of French teenage girls who were bursting with excitement at the thought of trying a macaron. I managed to take one photo inside the shop before I got yelled at. (I get yelled at a lot.)

I wasn’t sure if the reality of the macarons could live up to the hype, but oh yes, they did. And then some. I can’t begin to describe it, but here goes: Ahhhhhhhh. Yummmmm.

The macarons are slightly crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, plus they’re filled with jam or ganache or cream, depending on the flavor. They come in two sizes — mini (”gerbert”) and full-size. I wanted to try a few flavors so I went with the minis. I tried all different kinds — pistachio, chocolate, lemon, strawberry, orange flower — but my favorites were anise (liquorice), rose petal and red fruits. In summer they have lime basil and mint! Can’t wait to try those. I asked my friend if food coloring was used to give the macarons their bright colors and she was appalled at the thought. Oops. Apparently, they use natural food colorings created from such things as powder made from dehydrated berries and nuts. Hell, what do I know. I may be a glamorous macarons-eating Paris inhabitant, but I guess at heart I’m just a hick.

13 October, 2006 | 1 Comment

Last night I ate several spoonfuls of Nutella straight out of the jar. Oh yeah, baby.

20 September, 2006 | 1 Comment

I have finally found a brand of soy milk here that doesn’t make me gag.

12 September, 2006 | 3 Comments

In a rather swift follow-up to my previous post, I went out again today in search of lunch. After visiting a few shops, I managed to find a place selling tuna baguettes (and at least 5 varieties of ham sandwiches, of course). I got there before noon and I think this might be the trick to scoring something besides ham. I bought my sandwich and was shocked to discover the massive girth. Behold:

I was expecting one of those flimsy baguette sandwiches they sell in the London train stations. Not even close. And this baby is loaded with fat, with lots of mayo and sliced hard-boiled eggs in addition to the tuna, tomatoes, lettuce and half-pound of bread. I will never make fun of American portion sizes again.

I’m pleased to report that I ate the whole thing rather quickly and now I’m wondering if perhaps this isn’t meant for two people? I doubt it, because I see people eating them while walking down the street whenever I go out around lunchtime. I could excuse my gluttony by telling you that I didn’t have dinner last night or breakfast this morning (which is true) but I hate when women feel the need to justify what they eat (so why did I just do it)? It’s a disgraceful habit. The sandwich was heavenly — as if there were ever any doubt. Like most food in France (as I’ve come to discover now and on previous trips), it tastes better than food found anywhere else on earth. It honestly does.

12 September, 2006 | 3 Comments

Scrumptious-looking baguette sandwiches are sold on practically every block here, but if you don’t eat ham, well, good luck. There are shops that sell several varieties of sandwiches, but most of the ones I’ve visited only serve some sort of ham and cheese. And sometimes what may look like turkey or chicken is actually a pale variety of ham. Surprise! Apparently the French love ham. Not that I blame them. I used to love ham. It’s one of the few meaty things I gave up that I really crave sometimes. So seeing it all over the place is a bit torturous.

I went into one café yesterday in search of lunch. They had a giant stack of ham baguettes in their glass case. I asked them if they had any sandwiches without ham and was told that yes, they also had sandwiches with beef. Sigh. I said I couldn’t eat ham or beef and the guy grunted “Végétarienne!” and motioned with his hand towards the street. I’m not sure if there was a vegetarian sandwich shop over there or if perhaps the mere thought of a vegetarian (which I’m not) so disgusted him that he wanted me to get run over by a car. Either way I said “Au revoir, monsieur,” and quickly left. And then I went to the supermarket and purchased a ready-made “poulet roti” sandwich which consisted of diced chicken and pickles with mayonnaise on regular boring old sandwich bread.

5 September, 2006 | Comments

“Sans lactose” — very important!

29 August, 2006 | 3 Comments

I visited New York with my friend “S” who is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Whenever we’re together, we always eat at interesting places. On our first night we ate at Pure Food and Wine, a raw food, all vegan restaurant. I know this might seem disgusting, but it was quite good. The chocolate mousse cake was to die for.

For dinner, I had the Zucchini and Golden Tomato Lasagne with basil-pistachio pesto, sun-dried tomato sauce and pignoli ricotta:

One day we stopped at a coffee house on the Lower East Side and I tried one of these “Rice Krispie” squares made with Fruit Loops instead. I just ordered it because it was cute and colorful:

14 August, 2006 | 2 Comments

Macaroni and cheese with cut-up hot dogs!

Of course, I had to make it Anglofille-friendly, which meant vegan mac and cheese from Road’s End Organics and chicken hot dogs instead of beef. But it was quite tasty, especially with ketchup added. (I swear, it was.)

12 August, 2006 | 5 Comments

My mom — who hails from North Carolina — made me grits for breakfast this morning (real grits, not instant!). A year is too long for any girl to go without eating grits. They are just too heavenly.

9 August, 2006 | 1 Comment

Another food post. After being with my family for the past couple weeks and eating most of our meals in restaurants, they have started comparing me to Sally Albright, Meg Ryan’s character in When Harry Met Sally. If you’ve seen that movie, you’ll remember that she could never just order something off the menu in a restaurant because she had all sorts of special requests. I have become that character [only worse, apparently]. It’s not my fault that I have to ask the waiter how things are prepared. For example, you never know if scrambled eggs are cooked in oil or butter. I need to know what I’m putting into my body and you can never assume anything when it comes to restaurants – they’re sneaky! But I guess my inquisitiveness is a source of embarrassment to people who are used to scarfing down whatever is on their plate without asking questions. Eating at a Chinese or Japanese restaurant is pure bliss because of the lack of dairy ingredients. The only problem is when Chinese restaurants sneak pork or beef into things like hot and sour soup or spring rolls, so I have to be vigilant about that. Okay, so maybe there are no safe places for me. I believe that Nora Ephron coined the phrase “high maintenance” when she wrote When Harry Met Sally – that’s me! [And I'm damn proud.]

Any of you brave enough to take me out for dinner?

9 August, 2006 | 5 Comments

I don’t miss English food, I’m not going to lie to you. The food that England is known for is very meat and dairy heavy, which means much of it is off-limits to me, so perhaps I just missed out on the really tasty stuff. (It’s a possibility!) I do admire the fact that in England, people with food intolerances have a much easier time because food labels are clearer and restaurants are better equipped to handle questions about their ingredients.

But there is one food item I yearn for, and that is oat cakes. I used to eat them every single day with breakfast in place of toast and with snacks as well. If you don’t know what oat cakes are, they’re crackers made from oats. They’re very high in fiber and filling, thus an ideal alternative to very high-GI carbs. They’re good with hard-boiled eggs, hummus and can be Americanized deliciously with peanut butter and jam. I have not been able to find oat cakes here at all, so I guess they have not made the leap across the Atlantic. I am now eating Wasa crispbread instead. [Sniffle.]

I miss Pret-a-Manger too, but that doesn’t really count as English food. I also miss my favorite London restaurant, Mildred’s in Soho. The waiters are rude, but they have an excellent vegetarian/vegan menu. I’ll only be back in London for two days before leaving for Paris, but I’m sure I’ll find time for Mildred’s. Oh, and I’ll need to fill my suitcase with boxes of oat cakes too. Taking English food to France — how subversive!

4 August, 2006 | 9 Comments

True confession: When I was in London, I rarely drank tea. My flat came furnished with an electric kettle that I put in the cupboard on Day 1 and never removed.

But now that I’m back in the U.S.A., I’m drinking tea every day. Mint tea with breakfast, iced tea with dinner, tea tea tea. At first I was baffled by my twisted behavior, but then I figured out the reason: American tea just tastes better than English tea.

29 July, 2006 | 2 Comments

Yesterday we went for lunch at the trendy Real Food Daily (RFD) in West Hollywood. It’s an organic vegan restaurant with its own cookbook, so you know it’s good. I’m not a vegan or a health-food fanatic (by any means!), but given certain food intolerances I have, vegan food is always “safe” for me and I love to visit vegan restaurants. (I’m guessing there won’t be many of those in Paris.)

My sister is a very picky eater and the thought of going to a vegan restaurant literally nauseated her, but she put on a happy face for me. We ordered Better with Cheddar Nachos to share, which are made with the restaurant’s famous cashew cheddar cheese. (This vegan cheese is made primarily from cashew nuts, nutritional yeast, soy milk and miso.) If you’re vegan or otherwise dairy-free, you know how difficult (nearly impossible) it is to find good cheese substitutes. As such, I was really amazed by how delicious the cheese was. It was melted with the exact consistency of nacho cheese. My sister didn’t like it, but as someone who hasn’t eaten real cheese in almost two years, I thought it was fabulous. The nachos were topped with black beans, guacamole, tofu sour cream, pico de gallo and seitan chunks cooked in taco seasoning. I must tell you it was one of the tastiest dishes I’ve had in years.

Not everything I tasted was as good as the nachos. When vegan/vegetarian cuisine tries to mimic very meaty dishes, the results are often hit and miss. But overall I was very impressed and the servers there were probably the friendliest I’ve ever encountered.

After RFD, we drove to Beverly Hills and stopped at a tiny hole-in-the-wall called Sprinkles, a cupcake bakery. My sister needed to get a dozen for a special occasion. The queue was outside the door and down the street. This place has always had a cult following, but recently it was mentioned on Oprah so now it’s legendary. I really shouldn’t eat cupcakes (!), but I took a bite of my sister’s red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting and it was super yummy. However, I still prefer the Buttercup Bake Shop in New York, whose cupcakes are also much cuter. Cuteness cannot be underestimated when it comes to evaluating cupcakes.

So if you’ve been following my trip to LA so far, you know that the highlights have revolved around food. There aren’t too many things I’ve missed about America, but I’ve missed the food.

Tags: Real Food Daily, Sprinkles, vegan

14 June, 2006 | 2 Comments

I haven’t had a good day. Actually, the past two days have sucked. So anyway, I went to Sainsbury’s to find something for dinner, but was not successful. I walked around the aisles zombie-like under the fluorescent lights. And then I saw a bag of what I would call “gummi bears,” but Sainsbury’s calls “jelly babies.” So I decided to have that for dinner. And when I got home and opened the bag, I discovered that the jelly babies (which are much softer and plumper than gummi bears) have been dipped in powdered sugar. And that just made my day. So the moral of this story is that even when life screws you over, there’s always sugar to lift you up and make things right.

10 June, 2006 | 4 Comments

Borough Market was on my list of places to go for ages and I finally made it there yesterday. It’s the oldest market in Britain, located under the elevated railway arches of London Bridge station and in the shadow of Southwark Cathedral. During the week it’s a wholesale market that sells to all the top restaurants and chefs in London, but on Friday and Saturday it’s open to regular folks. It’s the perfect place to shop if you’re going to throw a dinner party. However, since I am not in possession of a real kitchen or even a dining table, I just went for the sheer spectacle.

I wasn’t sure if Borough Market would live up to the hype, but I was pretty amazed by what I saw. I had fun just browsing around the greengrocers, who must sell the most photogenic fruit and veg in the UK.

For sale you can find artisan breads, stinky cheeses and fish, wine, all sorts of carnivorous delights (including ostrich), jams of every flavour, honey, pastries and of course – flowers. There are also French, Spanish and Italian goods aplenty and circling the market you’ll find pubs, cafes and bakeries. Not surprisingly, nearly every person walking around the market was noshing.

[Emmerdale is a cheesy soap opera.]

My food choices are limited due to my swinging non-dairy, non-red meat lifestyle. But even I managed to find something to buy (like there was any doubt). I found a vegan stall selling brownies, raw carrot cake and veggie burgers. I also bought a loaf of 100% complete rye bread (a real treat!) from De Gustibus and I looked around the pastry heaven known as Konditor & Cook, who very helpfully have a handy guide for the picky eater, detailing what’s diary free, egg free, wheat free, low sugar and even low fat (uh, why bother?). And the pub a few doors down has a nice loo (always important).

I couldn’t leave without buying flowers, of course. I snatched up a bunch of Sweet William, which attracted many envious stares from the harried commuters I passed on the tube ride home.

As I emerged from King’s Cross station and walked down Euston Road, a shirtless and rather adorable young man behind the wheel of a delivery truck that was stopped in traffic called out: “Did you buy those for me?” You see, money spent on flowers is never wasted.

Tags: Borough Market

22 May, 2006 | 4 Comments

I am a total egg addict. Seriously. This morning I skipped breakfast (deadline fog) and so for lunch I needed my fix. But when I pulled one of the two remaining eggs out of the carton, it felt furry. And when I turned it over I discovered it had a giant feather stuck to it. My eggs often have tiny feather remnants stuck to them, but nothing like this. It was a little bizarre. Who really needs to be reminded that their egg came out of a chicken’s butt?

So I crack open the egg and it has two yolks in it and that just freaked me out to no end. I didn’t know if could eat a set of twins. I cracked open my last egg – my only hope – and it also had two yolks in it. So now I’m convinced this poor overworked Sainsbury’s hen was trying to send me a message. Help me! How very upsetting.

Tags: eggs

30 April, 2006 | Comments

After seven months in London, I’ve finally dined on sausage and mash! Well, not quite.

While I was in Marylebone this afternoon, I stopped for an early dinner at Eat and Two Veg, the world’s first meatless diner. I have been dying to try this place and today I found myself right in front of it. I ordered the classic English dish of sausage and mash, but with a twist. My meal was soy sausages with vegan mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy. It was quite tasty, though soy sausages will never taste like the real thing. It’s impossible to replicate the texture of real sausage. It just reminded me of how much I miss sausage, which I will never get to eat again! Wah! But I don’t want to give the wrong impression – it was a delicious meal. I haven’t had mashed potatoes in over a year. I’m too lazy to make them myself and there aren’t many places that serve dairy-free mash.

Eat and Two Veg is primarily a vegetarian restaurant, though they do have vegan options. A few items on the menu that caught my eye were the BLT (soy bacon, of course), the all-vegetarian Lancashire Hot Pot and even a Sunday roast dinner, complete with Yorkshire pudding. (You foodies out there can download the whole menu from their website.)

Now, I understand that many of you probably feel ill just thinking about this kind of food. And until I remade my diet about a year and a half ago, giving up dairy and red meat, I probably would have been sickened as well. But circumstances have forced me to embrace this culinary freak show and I must admit it’s fun to try all these new things. I appreciate food more and what I eat is healthier for me and the planet. So there!