Aaron Paul
and Bryan Cranston in "Breaking Bad"
❖❖❖
IN THIS ISSUE À LA RECHERCHE DU PARIS, Part Two By John A. Curtas NEW YORK CORNER KANOPI By John Mariani ANOTHER VERMEER CHAPTER THIRTEEN By John Mariani NOTES FROM THE WINE CELLAR The
Wines of Herdade do Esporão ❖❖❖ On this week's episode of my WVOX
Radio Show "Almost Golden," on Wed. March
30, I will be discussing with jazz
musician Jerryl Bell the Be Bop Movement
of the late 1950s. Go to: WVOX.com.
The episode will also be archived at: almostgolden.
❖❖❖
❖❖❖ À LA RECHERCHE DU PARIS, Part Two By John A. Curtas Diane Keaton, Keanu Reeves and Jack Nicholson at Le Grand Colbert in "Somethin's Gotta Give" (2003) LE
GRAND COLBERT As brassieres go, they don’t come much grander than Le Grand Colbert— a Right Bank institution since 1900)—which we approached at 5:30 pm, ravenous and ready to gnaw an arm off, even though the sign said it didn’t open until six. As we turned away, ready to concede defeat, a voice wafted from the doorway in that sing-song-y cadence so beautifully employed by French women. “Bonjour Monsieur et Madame. I saw you walk by a few minutes ago. Yes, we are open." Within seconds we were whisked to a corner booth in the eye-popping, Art Nouveau space and had menus in our hands. At this hour, only a skeleton crew was holding down the fort, and a young French couple were the only other diners basking in its Belle Époque splendor — by equal parts spacious, romantic, dramatic and cozy. No mean feat that. But the tuxedo-ed waiters treated us like we were regulars, and within minutes we were being happily sated. The menu is as comfortable as the design is spectacular. Nothing fancy, just French comfort classics like blanquette de veau, smoked salmon with blinis, Breton skate wing swimming in butter with capers (right), and the ever-present île flottante (left), which we could eat every day (and almost did). We polished these off with an alacrity that probably confirmed a few stereotypes to our hosts, but they served everything in good cheer to a couple of famished, appreciative Americans. A half-carafe of house Sancerre rounded things out, and it was as satisfying a meal as we could've hoped for at that hour. (All of it coming to 131 well-spent Euros.) Le Grand Colbert wears its casual elegance the way only a one-hundred and twenty-two year old Parisian icon can. It is one of those places where everyone looks great bathed in its golden glow, and you can just as easily envision people dressed to the nines there as you can a bunch of businessmen or a mysterious couple pursuing an affaire de coeur. No wonder Jack Nicolson, Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves rendezvous at the restaurant in the 2003 movie “Something’s Gotta Give.” There's nothing stuffy about it, the service is sincere and the cooking keeps everyone happy, whether you're a local or a hungry tourist looking for a plate of honest grub. Restaurants like this simply do not exist in the United States. They are one of the great treasures of France, and reason enough, all by themselves, to hop a plane across the pond. CHEZ L’AMI JEAN
27 Rue Malar, 75007 “I
have been in Paris
for almost a week and I have not heard anyone
say calories, or cholesterol, or even arterial
plaque. The French do not season their food
with regret.”– Mary-Lou Weisman Watching your calories
is the last thing you want to do at L’Ami
Jean, the au
courant favorite of Parisian foodies and a
bistro that resists mightily the Brooklynization
of casual Parisian dining, preferring instead to
dish up gargantuan portions of French comfort
food. As with L’Ami Louis, its slightly
older cousin across the Seine, you enter
something of a time warp when you cross the
threshold into a crowded, narrow room whose
general appearance hasn’t changed since Maurice
Chevalier was breaking into talkies.
Unlike Cousin Louis, Jean was given an infusion
of new cooking blood twenty years ago when
Basque legend Stéphane Jégo took over the
kitchen, apparently bringing his “too much is
not enough” philosophy with him. Now he commands
his tiny brigade from an open window for all to
see, and when he isn’t barking out orders and
expediting plates, amuses himself by watching
his customers waddle out the door. WILLI’S
WINE BAR “In
wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom,
in water there is bacteria.”– Benjamin Franklin
Calling the First
Arrondissement a “target-rich environment” for
oenophiles is like referring to the Louvre as a
nice art gallery. The same advice I give about cafés
above applies to wine bars: Find one, make it
your daily watering hole, and you’ll be quaffing
like a native in no time. There
is wine aplenty in the area — Juveniles, Le
Rubis, À L’Heure du Vin — so finding one is as
easy as stepping in dog poop. (Yes, it is still
a problem, and the only thing we dislike about
Paris.)
John A.
Curtas is a food writer and author of Eating
Las Vegas: The 52 Essential Restaurants
❖❖❖ NEW YORK CORNER
KANOPI
The Opus
Westchester Hotel
1 Renaissance
Square, White Plains, NY 914-761-4242 By John Mariani I have
long followed the culinary career of Anthony
Gonçalves since, as a self-taught chef, he
owned a popular restaurant in the New York
suburb of White Plains named Trotters,
before being hired as executive chef at the
Ritz-Carlton Hotel that went up nearby. His
talent was evident immediately, proudly
based on Iberian traditions, although in the
aerie on the 42nd and 43rd floors of the
hotel, his cuisine became more expansive and
a bit self-consciously modernist, based on
the fad for extravagant compositions
pioneered by Spanish chef Ferran Adrià.
Gonçalves also had an adjunct where he
served tapas in wistful ways. Kanopi is open
for dinner Wed.-Sat. Free valet parking.
❖❖❖ ANOTHER VERMEER CHAPTER THIRTEEN
While Katie was at Art Today,
David was sleeping off his jet lag, rousing
himself around noon, having something to eat,
then heading to the local library to use the
files of The New York
Times
on microfiche, first using the printed index,
then winding the wide negative film strips to
articles on art forgery published over the
past few decades. There wasn’t much, but he
took notes, along with checking out the only
book on the subject in the stacks. He needed
to bone up fast on the general nature of
forging art works and seeing what kind of
people were involved, since he was pretty sure
they all had to have had much better brains
than the thugs and mobsters he’d gone after
during his police career.
© John Mariani, 2016 ❖❖❖ NOTES FROM THE WINE CELLAR
The Wines of Herdade do
Esporão
In preparation
for a Webinar about the estate and its wines I
recently had the opportunity to sample eight of
the current offerings of Portuguese producer Herdade do
Esporão. And, as discussed below, overall, I
found the wines quite
enjoyable and well worth their usual price. Also,
while surprisingly little known by most American
consumers, the wines are widely available at
retail outlets in most regions of the country. Of
note,
Monte Velho White 2020 ($10)—This simple white
bargain from the Alentejo in southern Portugal shows
a bouquet and taste of lemons and pears with hints
of grapefruit in its finish. It mates well with
pasta primavera, grilled shrimp or sea bream. Esporão Colheita White
2020
($15)—This wine was made from a blend of certified
organic grapes and shows a bouquet and taste of ripe
grapefruit and gooseberries with notes of pineapple
and a long finish. It made good accompaniment for
pork chops and grilled swordfish. Esporão Reserva White
2020
($17)—Made from a blend of organically farmed grapes
aged for six months in a combination of new American
and French oak barrels, this wine’s bouquet and
taste were similar to that of a South African
Sauvignon Blanc with a bold bouquet and taste of
grapefruit, lychee and pineapple. Try it with
seafood stews, grilled trout or shrimp scampi. Esporão Private Selection
White 2017 ($31)—Fashioned from 100% hand-picked
Semillon grapes, this elegant white shows a bouquet
and taste of peaches and tangerines with notes of
toasted oak and spice in its lingering finish. It
marries well with grilled scallops, as well as
paella and other fish stews.
REDS Monte Velho Tinto 2020 ($10)—This light, easy
drinking red shows a bouquet and taste of ripe
cherries and plums, with some spice in its finish
and goes well with hamburgers, pizza and spicy
chicken wings. Esporão Colheita Red 2020 ($18)—Made from
organically farmed grapes, this wine has a bouquet
and taste of ripe blueberries and plums, with a
long, elegant fruity finish. It mates well with veal
chops, duck breast and baked rock Cornish game hens. Esporao Reserva Tinto
2019
($20)—Aged for 12 months in oak barrels (60%
American and 40% French) this blend shows a bouquet
and taste of ripe plums and toast, with hints of
chocolate and licorice in its long finish. Marry it
with lamb or pork chops or brisket of beef. Canto
Do Ze Cruz Aragonez Tinto 2014 (
$38)—This elegant wine was made from 100%
hand-harvested Aragonez (Tempranillo) grapes aged in
new French oak barrels for 12 months before bottling.
It has an intense bouquet and vibrant taste of ripe
red berries and plums, with hints of cranberries and
some tannin in its finish. It made great accompaniment
for a range of fare from grilled swordfish to veal
Marsala, and even well-aged cheddar cheese. Dr. Geoff Kalish has been writing professionally about wine, food and travel for over 40 years. ❖❖❖
HMM,
YOU’D THINK WE WOULD HAVE NOTICED “How Creole Cuisine
Became the Unassuming Cornerstone of LA’s Food
Landscape,” by Anneliese
Wilson, Eater.com
(3/1/ 2022)
❖❖❖ Any of John Mariani's books below may be ordered from amazon.com. The Hound in Heaven (21st Century Lion Books) is a novella, and for anyone who loves dogs, Christmas, romance, inspiration, even the supernatural, I hope you'll find this to be a treasured favorite. The story concerns how, after a New England teacher, his wife and their two daughters adopt a stray puppy found in their barn in northern Maine, their lives seem full of promise. But when tragedy strikes, their wonderful dog Lazarus and the spirit of Christmas are the only things that may bring his master back from the edge of despair. WATCH THE VIDEO! “What a huge surprise turn this story took! I was completely stunned! I truly enjoyed this book and its message.” – Actress Ali MacGraw “He had me at Page One. The amount of heart, human insight, soul searching, and deft literary strength that John Mariani pours into this airtight novella is vertigo-inducing. Perhaps ‘wow’ would be the best comment.” – James Dalessandro, author of Bohemian Heart and 1906. “John Mariani’s Hound in Heaven starts with a well-painted portrayal of an American family, along with the requisite dog. A surprise event flips the action of the novel and captures us for a voyage leading to a hopeful and heart-warming message. A page turning, one sitting read, it’s the perfect antidote for the winter and promotion of holiday celebration.” – Ann Pearlman, author of The Christmas Cookie Club and A Gift for my Sister. “John Mariani’s concise, achingly beautiful novella pulls a literary rabbit out of a hat – a mash-up of the cosmic and the intimate, the tragic and the heart-warming – a Christmas tale for all ages, and all faiths. Read it to your children, read it to yourself… but read it. Early and often. Highly recommended.” – Jay Bonansinga, New York Times bestselling author of Pinkerton’s War, The Sinking of The Eastland, and The Walking Dead: The Road To Woodbury. “Amazing things happen when you open your heart to an animal. The Hound in Heaven delivers a powerful story of healing that is forged in the spiritual relationship between a man and his best friend. The book brings a message of hope that can enrich our images of family, love, and loss.” – Dr. Barbara Royal, author of The Royal Treatment. ❖❖❖
❖❖❖
FEATURED
LINKS: I am happy to report
that the Virtual
Gourmet is linked to four excellent
travel sites: Everett Potter's Travel Report: I consider this the best and
savviest blog of its kind on the web. Potter is a
columnist for USA
Weekend, Diversion, Laptop and Luxury Spa Finder,
a contributing editor for Ski and a frequent contributor
to National
Geographic Traveler, ForbesTraveler.com
and Elle Decor.
"I’ve designed this site is for people who take
their travel seriously," says Potter. "For
travelers who want to learn about special places
but don’t necessarily want to pay through the nose for
the privilege of staying there. Because at the end
of the day, it’s not so much about five-star
places as five-star experiences."
Eating Las
Vegas JOHN CURTAS has been covering
the Las Vegas food and restaurant scene
since 1995. He is the co-author of EATING LAS
VEGAS – The 50 Essential Restaurants (as
well as the author of the Eating Las
Vegas web site: www.eatinglasvegas.
He can also be seen every Friday morning as
the “resident foodie” for Wake Up With the
Wagners on KSNV TV (NBC) Channel 3 in
Las Vegas.
MARIANI'S VIRTUAL GOURMET
NEWSLETTER is published weekly. Publisher: John Mariani. Editor: Walter Bagley. Contributing Writers: Christopher
Mariani, Misha Mariani, John A. Curtas, Gerry Dawes, Geoff Kalish.
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