Paris & Whiskey

Another night in Paris, oh what fun it is! Truthfully, most of my evenings are spent cuddled up with my heatilator bunny nuzzled up against an aching ankle, hand or back, surfing the intertubes, but as I make friends & meet people, I am going out more and more, TFG.

I met up with American George on the Champs Elysee to tour the holiday lights, but he needed a drink, so a quick yee hah at the lights and we went directly to Market, at 15 Rue Matignon. They had some lovely bourbons at the bar and that was greatly appreciated. I miss whiskey, it's not easy to enjoy in Paris or Europe for that matter, but I was a great afficianado back in the States. I had many memorable evenings enjoying good bourbon, always straight double with an ice water back. I couldn't stand American beer, the standby beverage in most bars, and when I discovered Belgian beer, I learned what real beer is all about, finally. I totally get it, the connoiseurs raging about Trappist Belgian beers made by monks. I haven't yet found a Belgian beer I don't like, even the cheap, .63c by the can stuff, Leffe. And I found I can get good beer, really cheap in the Chinatown area, and rarely pass up Tsing Tao, since it's so cheap. It's nice to keep a can or two in the fridge for those hot August in Paris days (and nights)! Don't get me wrong, I love wine; my motto is, never buy cheap French wine and never pass up cheap Italian wine. The French get it right with their expensive wines, that's an absolute, irrefutable truth. But their cheap wines are horrendous. Just don't do it. However, cheap Italian wines are sheer bliss! My favorite is Pinot Grigio from Venezia. When I was living in Cannes, I'd drive up to San Remo and buy cases of it for less than a Euro per bottle. I love that stuff!

Before I moved to Europe, I took a quick trip to Venice with Doctor Heather. We found a deal we couldn't pass up, something like 500 bucks for round trip airfare and hotel, LA to Venice for 4 nights, just after Mardi Gras. I also happened to score tickets to the newly re-opened Fenice, truly one of the grandest opera halls in the world. It was a presentation of Mozart's first opera, written when he was 12.

Word of advice, never eat the veal on Air France. By the time we were crossing the Atlantic, I was quietly barfing every few minutes into a very elegant bag kindly provided by the airlines. Doctor Heather said I was the most discrete barfer she's ever known, and once again, she played Doctor as best she could. As Shrek says, better out than in, and the upside was that the air crew got us off the plane first and headed to the infirmery. We had a connection to make, and by gum, we made it and got to Venice in the early evening. We stayed in a stunning little hotel  near the Grand Canal and quite close to the big Piazza bus terminal, where we found a great little restaurant for the locals, and I even had a delicious chicken soup, restoring me to health and vigor very quickly.

It was so magical, that first night, even with some residual pains, but we were in Venice, in the middle of winter, in February. The cobbled streets were adrift with light snow fall mixed with sparkling confetti, We spent hours that night wandering those empty streets and canals, it was so quiet and the fairy dust was everywhere...

The next night was our Opera night and we went to the Fenice, only to find that the spectacle had been moved to another Opera house! So we raced through the streets with another couple, in our heels, long coats, gloves and scarves, twisting and turning through alleys and narrow passages following and trusting our new companions, to the other Opera house. I was really disappointed that it wasn't the Fenice, that was the point after all, so we enjoyed it for an hour and left to find dinner at about 10:30pm. I don't remember much about the meal, but I do remember the wine! Served by the pitcher, that house red was the most delicious red wine I'd ever, ever indulged in, so completely different from anything I'd experienced in the states. It changed everything for me, from then on in my little wine world. Since then, in my expert analysis and research, my Wine Rule has proven itself time and again. Never drink cheap French wine and always drink cheap Italian wine. Works every time.

If you know nothing about wine, just stick to that rule, you'll be fine.

Right, so dinner at Market, 15 Rue Matignon, Paris, just off the Champs Elysee. Lovely place. Modern, sleek, dark, beautiful room, discrete, quiet, very good service. The bread girl was very nice.  I had a killer calamari starter with a horse radish sauce, one of the best I've had in France. I had a pork chop glazed with something or other, and that thing was like a dinosaur bone. The French style of meat leaves a lot to be desired. Usually they remove any trace of fat or just avoid it altogether, and I think that's just wrong. Pork and beef need their fat, and I refuse to back away from that assertion. This was just a wad of meat on a stick, the bone as it were. It wasn't overcooked for what it was, it was perfectly cooked and not too dry, but it had no flavor and it just wasn't interesting. Not like the onglet of beef I'd had the day before out in Versailles.

We finished the meal with their cheesecake, which again, left a lot to be desired. It was nicely presented, but boring. A bit too gummy, and the sweet croustelant it  was sat upon was a bit rancid. It came with a portion of pretty red berries in a sauce, presented in a wrapped wafer cup, but it was too gummy and thick to be really enjoyed. Reason number 10,324 of 'why I learned how to cook'. Because I can make it better at home and make myself really, really happy. And yeah, I could definitely turn out a far better pork chop and cheesecake than Market did, that's for sure. Someday I'll tell you about my baby back ribs recipe.

If you ever want to make the very best cheesecake on the planet, simply google Cheesecake Factory copycat recipes. Honestly, yeah, it sounds cheesy, but they are the best, you can't go wrong. I tweak the flavors a bit for the base and say for lemon or lime, etc, but the technique, portions and methods are spot on and if you follow the recipes exactly, you will be very pleased!