abgilliam's Profile
Best Sushi in Montclair?
I had lunch at nori yesterday. we had rolls, sushi and sashimi and none was better than okay. disappointing as i have really enjoyed it in the past. everything lacked flavor, so maybe just an off day for them...
London, 3 days with 3 kids
If you are in or are passing Surrey Quays, there is an excellent vietnamese restaurant called Cafe East. Very good food, excellent value and kid friendly, as they offer mild versions of sauces. Beware that it's closed on Tuesdays, and they do not serve tap water, only bottled water at 1 pound... no alcohol and no byob.
Saveur Creole in Montclair
We had an amazing dinner last night. This is not a cheap Haitian dive, but excellently executed versions of real Haitian food. I grew up in Haiti, and am an avid cook at home, and was thrilled with the levels of flavors in the food. My husband has never been to Haiti, but has been to many enjoyable dives with me, as well as having great home cooked haitian food. He was completely amazed at the depth of different flavors in the food, as well as the elegant presentation. We had griot pork and goat in sauce. Entrees are served with excellent soup and salad courses. A mixed platter of apps was truly a culinary trip to my old home.... a pleasure for the Haitian at heart to find such a spot!
Titanium Cookware - Is it worth the money?
i have german made, aluminun pans coated with titanium, made by SKK. They are fantastic and really take a beating. they are very sturdy pans and conduct heat well. I use them daily. I just replaced one that was 9 yrs old and was no longer very non-stick. They are expensive, but worth it. and pfoa free if anyone cares.
Paris vs London Restaurants
I have lived in london for a few years, and lived in paris in 2009. We love the ethnic foods in london, and really enjoy some of the english restos in london, (st john, etc.) The higher end london restos, while being perfectly fine, always dissapoint us when we compare to high end in paris. Obviously Paris 3 * meals, like Ambroisie, are an unfair comparison. We have had some very expensive meals at Gavroche and Gordon Ramsey, and were never 'blown away' with the whole experience as we have often been in paris, even at a 1* like Gerard Besson where we spent less money. I guess proper French will always be better in Paris, especially when you can find the fabulous spots with the 35 euro dinner menu.
In both places, do your research. I would say that i have an easier time finding 'random/unresearched ' bad food in London than Paris, though. My average cafe meals (sandwich or salad) at most places in France would outshine a random pub or sandwich lunch in London anyday.
Another Which Non Stick Pan Recommendations - Lincoln, Vollrath, Nordic
I am not sure about availability in the US, but I would recommend SKK, made in Germany. they are allegedly titanium based , and have proven to be hard=wearing excellent to cook with. i just got rid of one that i bought and used daily for the last 7 years. the pans are very expensive but worth it in my opinion.
Why are baguettes in the US so bad?
having lived for 16 years in Germany, the UK and France, I'll say that good baguettes are not easy to find outside of France. and as others note, there is even a lot of substandard bread bought and eaten by french people in france... and in none of those three countries do any of the natives think that mercedes and fords are anywhere near equal. there are a lot more old mercedes around to be bought more cheaply than in the US, but not that many people can afford newer models. the exception being germany where taxis are often mercedes.
le creuset at sainsbury
sainsburys at beckton/london has le creuset seconds at a great deal. 22 cm round for 40 pounds, 26 cm shallow for 45. colors are limited to flame, dune and cobalt.
What do you make that is SOOO easy yet you impress yourself every time you make it?
oxtails are certainly NOT cheap at our butcher in London. where are you buying them cheaply? i am always a bit leary of the quality at the ethnic shops i have seen them...
Buying Cookware in the US vs in France
when we moved our household stuff to france, it was considered used household goods and came through without charge. i found cookware shopping fun there, but agree that prices are much higher than in the US, except for copper. i was able to find the odd super deal on staub and tin lined copper by regular shopping at auchan and carrefour household aisles. when you do find deals, though, there is not much choice or huge amount of stock... i also found good deals on special serving items, like little ramekins, mini hors d'oeuvres servers etc. you do have to spend a lot of time shopping to unearth a good deal in france...
gerard besson paris
i read somewhere that it is smart/business casual. my husband wore jeans and a sport coat. several older clients were in suits. the staff are so gracious that it's hard to imagine you feeling awkward without a jacket, but i would wear one, or at least a nice sweater.
Best enameled cast iron cookware?
i have lived in the UK and have bought both le creuset and chasseur there. i mostly buy from amazon.co.uk and tk maxx. i can not tell the difference in cooking capabilities of either, although some of the le creuset pots have a different curve to them and are more pleasing aesthetically. i am now in france and just bought a staub oval pot at at steal, and am also pleased with its' cooking properties. it has a black matte interior which doesn't stain, but does seem to attract some white residue. am very happy with hit though, as it has a sweet rabbit on the top handle. all three brands are used heavily and cook very well.
gerard besson paris
we had an amazing dinner there last night. amuse bouches featured a stunning foie gras mousse and perfect gougere. the special starter was a warm potato salad with lobster and scallops. potatoes were bursting with flavor and served with a simple dressing. i had a cold lobster salad with greens, also fantastic and simple.
our mains were wild hare ballotine and partridge. the wild hare was something that neither of us had tried, and was served with a duxelle of cep as well as a rich reduction. the wild hard was gamier than i expected, but my husband raved. the partridge was roasted to perfection and served in pieces with a potato gallette and a superb sauce. both mains were simply and perfectly prepared.
our one dessert was a chocolate caramel ice cream wrapped in hard chocolate. this was not ben and jerrys's chunky junk, but rather a smooth ice cream that was lightly chocolate on the bottom and somehow seemed to change into caramel flavor at the top. very subtle and delicious. the mignardises with coffee were also excellent, only we had no space for them....
we ordered wines by the glass, a champagne each, a white each and 2 reds each, and the sommelier made perfect selections. the sommelier also was the spitting human image of the cartoon character/ resto critic in Ratatouille!
we hadn't had a meal that was was so mind'blowingly good since l'ambroisie. the quality of cooking and classical style was quite similar . the service was superb, and also very personable /unstuffy at the same time. i have found that to be a rarity in france. our check was 380 euro, well less than half of what our last meal at ambroisie cost. a fantastic evening!
baumalu copper at carrefour chambourcy
carrefour has a small promotion going with copper (tin lined) pots made in alsace. price is 19.90 per kilo. seemed to be a good deal in comparison with mauviel, etc . small butter melter with pourer was euro12. nice fluted saucepan was euro30.
staub at auchan
i'm not sure if this belongs in cookware or france, but my auchan (in a paris suburb) has a stand of staub enameled cookware, oval with animal handles, in the 27 or 28 cm size, for 39 euros. even if it's a lower end line, it's a very good value pot for the money. they had green with rabbit, yellow with rooster, and reddish with some other animal i can't remember.
paris gastronomique getaway
We live in paris, and would like to travel for a saturday night dinner somewhere with a very nice hotel on premises, or easily accessible. A 3 hour or less train ride would be ideal. Cost is not an issue, food quality is:) Thank you.
chicken stock in france?
i just found and tried the Knorr version of the little pots of congealed stock. you dilute with 1/2 litre of water. they are a definite improvement over the cubes. still not in the league with homeade, or even good canned/bricked, but an improvement nonetheless!
chicken stock in france?
We have just moved to a suburb of Paris. I use a lot of chicken stock , and don't have the fridge or freezer space to store large homeade batches. in the UK and US, I was able to buy canned or fresh stocks easily, but haven't seen any in France. Am i looking in the wrong section of the market, or do French cooks just always make their own?
Thanks.
Dinner in Calais
we have had several very good meals at la pleiade in the last 3 years. last one was oct 2007 though....
KitchenAid Stand Mixer
i just moved from the UK to US, and instead of giving my KA mixer and Magimix away( didn't want to bother selling stuff) i shipped it over. our move was paid by employer, so shipping wasn't an issue. i had been told by an 'expert' at john lewis that i could just change the plugs to US 220 and plug them into a 220 outlet here. An electrician here told me that I couldn't do that, so I bought a step down transformer for about $60. The KA works fine ( have only used it 7 or 8 times), but any hard jobs in the Magimix blow out fuses.
American-style hot dogs in London?
costco has very good hot dogs, sold in packs of 5 or 6, and also in the food court.
Buying cookware
Having just moved back to the US from London, and having shopped for household goods in England and France, I would say that if something is available in the US and France/England, it will most often be much cheaper in the US. The exception to that was Le Creuset which i regularly bought on amazon.co.uk and at TKMaxx for much less than US prices. Also, I bought copper cookware in the French village where much of it is produced (villedieu les poeles) and did very well. I haven't priced Demeyere in Europe, but you can google it in German and French and come up with an idea. I bought Fissler pots and pans years ago in Germany, and they were very expensive compared to similar brands in the US. Great pots, though.
Recession Cuisine
you CAN compare what you get for a dollar vs what you get for a pound, and in that reasoning UK prices are pretty bad. Having just moved from London to NJ, I am still having reverse sticker shock at how reasonable everything is in the US.... and we were/ are paid in local currency both places.
Show Stopping Sauce for Beef Tenderloin
there is a fantastic sauce in the barefoot contessa parties cookbook. basically slowly boil heavy cream (will take 30 minutes to an hour, depending on cream), then add gorgonzola to melt after cream has thickened.
humboldt fog funk????
I just tasted the oft revered humboldt fog today, along with the truffle counterpart. we just moved to NJ from London, and i have been reading rapturous reports of this cheese from afar for ages. I found it today at WF. I was completely underwhelmed, and more than overtaken by a sharp tangy-ness that completely erased any pleasure from taste. I didn't taste any fullness, richness or depth of flavor that i expect from years of eating chevre in europe. The truffled one tasted the same; only with truffles.... Have i tasted a bad batch of the nectar???? Please tell me that all of these months of anticipation haven't been for naught.... Maybe a better source? thanks.
Montclair area; knives and Haitian food?
We just moved to Glen Ridge NJ. I am looking for tips on Haitian food (East Orange perhaps?) and knife sharpening. Any info out there? Thanks
SKK equivalent for an induction hob?
SKK does make an induction line. i ordered from a german website when living in the UK. try googling and see what you come up with. the site i found had an english and german version, but didn't actually ship to the UK, so i had to get it shipped to germany and pick it up.
Bodum Columbia Coffee French press opinions
I have the smallest version. it is nicely designed, but does not keep coffee very warm for long.
