LOS ANGELES: A Light Summer Lunch

I admit, I have been eating like an E.U. Ambassador for the past five months.  Now that I am back in the good ol' USA, I thought I'd make a light, refreshing, inexpensive lunch using the summer's finest fruits and veggies, combined with a few ingredients I gathered from my pantry.

On the menu:

-Leek, green pea, and potato soup [pictured below]

-Summer peaches drizzled with goat's milk yogurt and mountain flower honey (from Monsieur Schakmundes @ Les Abeilles in Corvisart, in Paris' 13th arrondisement) [pictured below] 

-Fresh squeezed lemonade

recipe for leek, green pea, and potato soup:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sara-moulton/leek-green-pea-and-potato-soup-recipe/index.html

BARCELONA: Pinoxto (@ La Boqueria)

Pinoxto is a tapas and seafood stand in Mercado La Boqueria.  The seafood is as fresh as it gets, as they get their ingredients straight from the seafood vendors in the market.  Therefore, the menu changes as the market selection changes throughout the day.  Most of the seafood is cooked simply a la plancha, meaning steamed on the grill and then squirted with olive oil.  The man pictured below actually serves you in that same vest he is wearing in the picture! What a chingon!

oh, and you gotta get a copa de cava (Catalan sparkling wine). Amazing.

steamed mussles in yummmmy citrus/olive oil/chive juice

razor clams a la plancha

anchovies and lima bean paste on grilled bread

squid a la plancha with white beans, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic

CAVAaaAAAaaAAaaaA!

"Pinotxo" bar is Catalan for "Pinocchio" bar.  Cute logo!

BARCELONA: Mercado La Boqueria

razor clams ("navaja")

really beautiful pomegranates and cherries

jamon iberico (2 slices for 2 €! aye dios!)

tomates

FAIT ATTENTION! - goat cheese

If you happen to find yourself at Richard Lenoir market (the biggest market in paris, every sunday morning in the Bastille), please look for this goat cheese: 

Bergerie de Cazes - Haut

Cant'Auriol

It's a slightly tangy, mild, runny goat cheese, comes in a circular package and oozes out when you first bring it home and take it out of the packaging.  I say this simply because, it will knock your socks off.

PARIS: Le Baratin, OMG.

Le Baratin is an off-the-beaten-path gem found in the unexpected 20th arrondisement of Paris (Belleville).  Raquel, the chef at Le Baratin, is self-taught and from Argentina.  Her cooking is somehwhat Italian in it's straightforward approach to letting the best French ingredients shine through with simple broths, slow cooking methods, and intense care.  I think Le Baratin wins the best meal I've had in Europe award.  Accolades.

Langoustines

Guinnea hen with spinach, mushrooms, and potatoes.

Beef cheek with fried herbs and carrots

Poached pear

We also ordered baby artichokes, house foie gras terrine, and veal tongue for starters, veal cheek (possibly the best dish) for the main course, and rhubarb strawberry soup, chestnut custard, and apple raspberry crumble for dessert.  The wine selection here is INCRED, featuring many biodynamic wines.  We ordered a Gamay vin de pays de l'Ardeche called "La Souterrone" by Herve Souhaut, which was perfect with that night's mind-blowing, over the top delicious, makes you want to move to Paris and eat at Le Baratin every day dining experience.

Le Baratin

3, rue Jouye-Rouve (20th Arr.)

*15 € lunch menu (three courses)

**my camera had a grease smudge on the lens that evening, sorry for the inferiority of these photos

PARIS: Mmmacarons

Ladurée

75, ave des Champs-Elysées (M: George V)

Pictured Flavors: pistachio, bitter chocolate, blackcurrant violet, berry, rose, salted butter caramel, orange blossom, jasmin mango, vanilla, bergamot orange, lemon.  Personal favorite: blackcurrant (cassis) violet, by a longshot. 

Helpful Hint:: if you act really indecisive about what flavors to choose, they will let you try macarons for free to help you make up your mind.  Or maybe we just got lucky.

PARIS: Falafel-off Post #2 - Maoz Vegetarian

Maoz Vegetarian

8, rue Xavier Privas (M: St Michel-Notre Dame)

Maoz Vegetarian is a falafel sandwich chain, with locations all over the world, including Paris, London, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Madrid, Perth (Australia), Philadelphia, and-THANK GOD- Union Square in NYC.  The chain is aiming to promote the vegetarian lifestyle (so why is this place not in California?), and with food this good, I think they're succeeding.  Here you order the falafel sandwich, which comes with falafael, hummus, and eggplant, and there is a complimentary salad bar where you choose what you want in your pita.  A falafel sandwich you can customize combined with fresh, quality, delish ingredients...shit, why did I not think of this before them???  Salad bar standouts include the vinaigered carrots, beets with mint, tahini, and garlic sauce.  But, if you're like me, you will overflow your pita with a little bit of everything.

Falafel Royal (with hummus and eggplant): 5.50 €

Sidenote: the Maoz website may be the coolest thing ever: http://www.maozusa.com/

PARIS: Falafel Post #1 - Chez Hannah

I've spent a lot of time eating falafel in the five months I've been in Paris.  I would even go so far as to say I consider myself a falafel connaisseur; an expert, of sorts.  For this reason I felt it necessary to blog about all of my falafel experiences comparatively, bringing light to why I love each falafel individually, and ultimately why I, among many, many others, generally love this culinary manifestation of Middle Eastern cuisine.

Chez Hannah

54 rue des Rosiers (M: St Paul)

Chez Hannah is one of the three falafel stands that line rue des Rosiers in the Marais, unarguably the mecca of falafel in Paris.  I have tried all three stands: 1) the famous L'As du Falafel, the favorite falafel of Lenny Kravitz, 2) Chez Marianne, and 3) Chez Hannah.  They are all excellent, have very similar qualities, but I find myself coming back to Chez Hannah time and time again.  The ratio of ingredients is perfect, definitely more veggies than the others, unctuous fried golden eggplant, the spicy sauce (sauce épicée) is on the monnaie, the falafel is crispy on the outside and soft and creamy in the middle, and the pita is always fresh and never too absorbent of the ingredients it holds.  Chez Hannah does not stand out for one specific reason, but because it is a perfect balance of impeccably prepared, quality ingredients.  AND it's the first stand on the street...an added bonus when you've just had a rough night and you need a lil' goodness to get you through the day.

Falafel Special: 5 €

VENICE: Rialto Fish Market >iiilllkk>

The enormous Rialto fish market, or Pescheria, is home to an assortment of dead fish and shellfish, freshly caught from Italy's waters.  Venetians seem to be particularly enamored with squid (pictured below) and any dish you can make with squid ink, including squid ink pasta and riso al nero di seppia (risotto colored black with squid ink).  I took a picture of my friend Pulpo at the market ^

And there was some seasonal, local produce too!

PARIS: fun with produce

Thursday night dinner

Salade de saumon fume: mesclun, cherry tomatoes, marinated olives, chèvre, and salmon fumé (all from the market).  Minimal styling necessary.