jlfischer's Profile
Best Chocolate in Paris?
I'm glad to see someone else loves my favorite chocolate shop in Paris. Gerard Mulot never disappoints!!!
Downhill alert: Gabriel's, Cuyamungue
We have been eating at Gabriel's for years and the ONLY reason we go is the guacamole made tableside and a good, cold Corona. The rest of their food is not really worth the trip. The guac seems best in the summer when you can eat on the patio.
Best of Santa Fe??
Another local favorite is Maria's. Amazing margarita menu and blue corn enchiladas. Can't imagine a trip to Santa Fe and not eating there.
Park City UT recommendations?
Two more to add on Main Street - Cafe Terigo and Purple Sage. Can't take a trip to Park City without eating there. And I second the Wasatch Brew Pub. They drink their share and sell the rest!!!
Paris, Lyon & the Road to Ampuis
If you have a car take a short drive outside of Lyon to Dardilly, Porte de Lyon. There you will find an amazing restaurant called L'Espace. It looks like a roadside truck stop but inside you will find an amazing restaurant run by an amazing chef who will soon be "found"! His food is classic French but with touches of Asian influences and incredible inventiveness. Our first dish was penne pasta with a foie gras and truffle sauce with a lightly fried wonton on top filled with a slab of foie gras and topped by truffle mousse. I could have died right there! It was amazing! Next came a dish of duck confit parmentier also with a slab of foir gras on top! I have never had confit served like this but it was a perfect way to serve it. Dessert was a tarte poire served with green apple ice cream in a dark chocolate cup and slices of green apple with a caramel sauce. Oh my word! We drank a wonderful white Crozes Hermitage from Chapoutier but had a local red with the confit. Morrocan mint tea to top it all off! This meal topped our list of wonderful meals on this trip. If you have any way to get out to this place GO!!! This chef will be discovered soon!! This place is worth the drive!
In Vieux Lyon for the best quennelles go to Aux Trois Maries, 1, rue des Trois Maries. We have eaten quennelles in Lyon at other places but these were the best!
North African restaurants in Paris
We just got back from Paris and last Friday night ate at Chez Hamidi, 4 Rue Boutebrie in the 5th. Right off of Blvd. St. Germain. It is Tunisian and we had amazing couscous. My husband had the grilled steak and I had chicken. It was perfect. The weather was great so we sat on the tiny sidewalk. This place hasn't changed in over 25 years and has been voted the best couscous in Paris. Our Tunisian cab driver said he has been eating there for 25 years too and proclaimed it the most authentic. For 30 euros we had the two couscous, a pichet of red wine and bottle of Pelligrino. Great service and fun atmosphere on a Friday night in Paris. I highly recommend it.
Best Ice Cream Shops in the US?
A person after my own heart! I too am in love with black raspberry chocolate chunk! But, I tried the Bourbon Ball at Derby in Louisville in May and it was amazing. Graeter's really knows ice cream! Wish we could get it in Texas.
Dining in Lyon and beyond
At the top of the Fourviere, to the right of the cathedral there is the Restaurant de Fourvière. It has stunning views of all of Lyon and a typical Lyonnais menu. If you can read French here is a web site with some more details: http://www.fra.webcity.fr/restaurants_lyon/restaurant-de-fourviere_22605/Profil-Lieu. If you go, ask for Eddy as your server. I knew him when he worked in Houston, TX. Enjoy!
Don't forget to go to Bernachon for some of the world's best chocolates too!
Wineries in the Dordogne / Perigord
Just outside of Bergerac you will find Vignobles Lajonie. A wonderful family run winery. Here is the web site: http://www.vignobleslajonie.com/domaines.htm. We stopped there last September. They don't see many Americans in that part of France. The setting is beautiful, at the foot of Monbazillac. Enjoy their wide range of wines including some wonderful Monbazillac. Their shop also sells some locally made pates.
Chowhound from NYC to Lisbon!!
For a fun and inexpensive night in Lisbon go to Bom Jardin, the best roast chicken in the world! Near the Praca de Restauradores. We can't wait for our next trip to Lisbon so we can have that chicken again. The place is lively and fun for a group. You get salad and fries with the meal but don't miss the salt cod fritters for an appetizer. They are to die for!
Senor Lucky's in Santa Fe
We ate dinner at Senior Lucky's with a group of eight over Memorial Day weekend. We were given a table in the middle of a traffic pattern (I realize they don't have that many tables for eight) but we got tired of loud groups coming from the patio passing over our shoulders. Our waitress was less than interested in serving us and it seems like the meal took forever. Just to get drinks took almost 30 minutes and they weren't really that busy. The food was just okay, nothing outstanding at all. I doubt I would go back. There are too many other great restaurants in Santa Fe!!!!
