PARIS' 17ème: Rue Poncelet

Alleosse Fromager (17éme, 13 Rue Poncelet).

This cheese shop is the only fromager in Paris with a cellar for cheese ageing underneath the store.

Market lettuce

[Pictured above]: Ash rine goat, champagne washed-rind cow, comté

[Pictured above]: Sharp, creamy Saint Agur Blue

PARIS: CHEZ GLADINES Rocks My World

Chez Gladines, a Basque restaurant in Paris' 13th arrondisement, is crowded, cosy, homey, inexpensive, inviting, and more than any other Parisian establishment makes me feel like I belong.  This is a great place to gather with friends, eat enormous salads served in no-frills metal mixing bowls, complete with gooey cheese, fried potatoes, delicious cuts of meat, and fried egg.  They provide the cheap Cote du Rhone, delicious, authentic food, fun ambience, and all you need is a few great friends to help you enjoy.  You may have to wait up to two hours for a table, but they provide you with 2€ cups of sangria to sip on while you wait.  And, waiting outside the restaurant feels more like attending a block party than a hassle.  
Megan eats: A gargantuan basque salad consisting of fried potatoes, fried egg, ham, and cheese.
Salad du Cinq Diamants [pictured above]- Basque salad consisting of liver, fried potatoes, fried egg, some type of delicious cheese, tomato, and (because that really isn't enough), bread slathered with goat cheese.  Oh, and I think there was a little lettuce mixed in there.

The salads range from 9€ to 12€.  A steal!

Chez Gladines: 

30 rue des Cinq Diamants

Metro: CORVISART

BRISTOL, UK: Arch House Deli

Maddy eats: Leek, potato, and tarragon soup with a dollop of fresh cream, and a side of chickpea salad.

If you happen to find yourself in Bristol, UK (just 105 miles West of London), do yourself a massive favor and go to Arch House Deli.  It was awarded the Best New British Cheese Retailer Award in 2007 by Specialty Foods Magazine. Haha.  The quaint, charming deli offers british and french cheeses, deli case salads, soups, and gorgeous bread and baked goods.  The owners come from Provence, and have created the perfect establishment based on a French appreciation for cooking and ingredients combined with the freshest produce and delicacies England has to offer.

LOS ANGELES: Scoops Ice Cream (suck it, frozen yogurt)

712 N Heliotrope Dr Los Angeles, CA 90029
Cup #1:Banana/Cookies and cream (vegan)

Cup #2: Brown bread (made with GrapeNuts and caramel) and coffee white chocolate

$2.75 for two scoops

Some of owner and ice cream genius Tai Kim's other flavors:

-black currant lychee

-strawberry balsamic vinegar

-banana avocado

-roasted rice black sesame

-honeydew champagne mint sorbet

-olive oil

-FOIE GRAS!

Check out this neat NPR article about Scoops, among other LA ice cream destinations.

Homegrown goodness (and a Japanese market)

Salmon and albacore sashimi, homegrown lettuce dressed with a miso/ponzu/balsamic dressing [pictured above].

We bought this lovely sushi-grade fish at Mitsuwa Japanese Market on Centinela Blvd. in Santa Monica.  The market is a Japanese food paradise comprised of rows and rows of intriguing Japanese ingredients, including the freshest sushi-grade fish, an isle's worth of green tea, and at least 200 different kinds of rice.  The market also has a food hall in the back where you can get yummy bowls of ramen with salt or miso broth, among other delicacies.

Mitsuwa Marketplace

3760 Centinela Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90066

This is a ripe, luscious, immaculate strawberry grown by my father.  He has started a rather impressive backyard garden, in which he grows strawberries, a variety of lettuce, zucchini, tomatoes, and herbs.  It cannot be denied that cooking with freshly picked, home-grown ingredients elevates one's cooking to another level entirely.

Blueberry Oatmeal Scones: Sconetastic!

I recently made scones from a recipe based on that of the Standard Baking Company in Portland, Maine.  The scones are barely sweet, crumbly and flakey like biscuits, and freckled with blueberries. Sconetastic!

LOS ANGELES: Canelé

3219 Glendale Blvd

(Atwater Village)

Recently, I have found myself without expendable income to indulge in a certain echelon of LA dining experiences.  Yes, I am without a job.  Want to hire me??  Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised when, last night, my generous and thoughtful brother took me out to dinner at Canelé in Atwater Village.

The restaurant space itself is tres chic, with exposed hanging lights, elegant light wood tables, a big chalkboard menu, and the sweetest exposed kitchen I have ever seen, running almost the entire length of the restaurant.

Pork liver terrine served with pickled onions and green peppers, dijon mustard
Dandelion greens with capers, parsley, garlic, croutons, and sherry vinaigrette

Duck confit with wilted spinach, roasted mushrooms, and cherries

Herb-roasted leg of lamb with stuffed tomatoes, roasted potatoes, and olives

We started with a pork liver terrine that was rather, well, "liver-y", but delicious when paired with pickled onions, peppers, parsley, and dijon mustard. We also shared a dandelion salad, dressed in a sherry vinaigrette that was sooo right on the money. The vinaigrette, as well as the croutons and celery paired with the bitter dandelion greens really made this salad vibrant. I ordered the duck confit as a main. I'm ashamed to admit this, but I liked this version of duck confit more than any I had eaten in Paris. The duck was of superb quality, and the cherry reduction chilling at the bottom of the plate, when seeped up with the tender shredded morsels of duck leg, was divine. My brothers lamb was delish, if not slightly under seasoned. The potatoes that came with the dish were cooked to perfection, tossed with garlic, parseley, and olives. A killer side! Owner Corina Weibel knows what she's doing.