JEK
Senior Insider
From Facebook link http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Seven-Stars-in-24-Hours-.html?soid=1101539496221&aid=dmxYP5-_wRY
September 2010
Eiffel Tower
Kara and I have recently returned from France where we treated ourselves to some amazing food including two lunches and a dinner at three Michelin-starred restaurants - all in the span of a single day. Our gastronomic grand tour began at L'Arpège, a 3-star restaurant, just a stone's throw from Les Invalides and the Rodin Museum in the Seventh Arrondissement, whose chef, Alain Passard, is famous for having thrown caution to the wind and put his Michelin stars in jeopardy by foreswearing meat and focusing his entire menu on vegetables. He needn't have worried. The food at L'Arpège is fantastic and demonstrates the limitless possibilities of vegetable-centric cuisine. The next day, we hopped the TGV for Burgundy, picking up a rental car in Dijon, and, hungry for lunch, popped into Restaurant Stéphane Debord, a 1-star husband and wife operation on the outskirts of the ancient part of the city that should make Dijon a dining destination in its own right. That evening, after checking into our room at La Maison d'Olivier Laflaive, operated by the family that also owns the Olivier Leflaive vineyard in the tiny town of Puligny-Montrachet, we dined at the 3-star Lameloise in neighboring Chagny.
Our purpose in engaging in this admittedly somewhat gluttinous extravaganza was not to set some kind of record or add as many notches as we could to our "Famous Restaurants We Have Eaten At" belt but rather to take advantage of the opportunities to experience extraordinary food along our travel itinerary, and it is a testament to all three restaurants that we finished each meal debating whether it had been the best dining experience in our lives.
Our most vivid culinary memories, however, come from the experiences we had that French people living in Paris and beyond experience everyday: buying our daily baguette aux cinq céréales each morning at our neighborhood boulangerie, Bread & Roses, that is located right next to the Jardin du Luxembourg in the Sixth Arrondissement; enjoying a late afternoon or early evening Muscadet or Saumur Champigny at Café de Flore in the Latin Quarter; purchasing chocolates at Cacao et Chocolat, also in the Latin Quarter, to bring home to family and friends; and shopping for meals -- many of which we prepared in our apartment -- at either La Grande Épicerie adjacent to the Bon Marché department store or our local outdoor market on the Boulevard Raspail.
Raspail Market
It was indeed at the latter that we had a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Kara was purchasing langoustines for our Sunday lunch and asked the fishmonger how he would prepare them. He responded by saying: "Why don't you ask the master?" and gestured to Joel Robuchon, who holds more Michelin stars than any chef in the world (26) and was patiently waiting in line behind Kara. Chef Robuchon smiled at Kara and said: "Boiling water, a little salt, three minutes, voila!" Kara did as instructed, and the results were nothing short of amazing.
The memories of our trip are too numerous to recount in their entirety, but, as restaurant owners, we were reassured to spend time in a country where food occupies such a central and important role-not as something to be endlessly dissected by so-called experts and "foodies"-- but as an integral part of everyday life, something that nourishes body and spirit, brings family and friends together and reaffirms cultural traditions. Like the French, we take food seriously but try not to take ourselves too seriously in doing so. Food is a means to an end, and that end is a fuller and better life.
Rocambole Garlic Soup
Not surprisingly, we have brought a little of that inspiration back to Still River Café. Recent menu additions include a North Ashford Farm roasted rocambole garlic vichyssoise with black garlic aioli, a entrée trio of Block Island yellowfin tuna, and desserts including an apple and cinnamon-spiced custard napoleon with an apple-celery sorbet, and corn and pumpkin mini cheesecakes. After a very warm and often oppressive summer, we cannot imagine a more perfect place to enjoy great food with family and friends than Still River Café. There is a snap to the air that lifts spirits and sharpens the mind and appetite alike.
Bob and Kara Brooks
Still River Cafe
134 Union Road
Eastford, CT 06242
Reservations -- 860.974.9988
Become a "Fan" on Facebook
September 2010
Eiffel Tower
Kara and I have recently returned from France where we treated ourselves to some amazing food including two lunches and a dinner at three Michelin-starred restaurants - all in the span of a single day. Our gastronomic grand tour began at L'Arpège, a 3-star restaurant, just a stone's throw from Les Invalides and the Rodin Museum in the Seventh Arrondissement, whose chef, Alain Passard, is famous for having thrown caution to the wind and put his Michelin stars in jeopardy by foreswearing meat and focusing his entire menu on vegetables. He needn't have worried. The food at L'Arpège is fantastic and demonstrates the limitless possibilities of vegetable-centric cuisine. The next day, we hopped the TGV for Burgundy, picking up a rental car in Dijon, and, hungry for lunch, popped into Restaurant Stéphane Debord, a 1-star husband and wife operation on the outskirts of the ancient part of the city that should make Dijon a dining destination in its own right. That evening, after checking into our room at La Maison d'Olivier Laflaive, operated by the family that also owns the Olivier Leflaive vineyard in the tiny town of Puligny-Montrachet, we dined at the 3-star Lameloise in neighboring Chagny.
Our purpose in engaging in this admittedly somewhat gluttinous extravaganza was not to set some kind of record or add as many notches as we could to our "Famous Restaurants We Have Eaten At" belt but rather to take advantage of the opportunities to experience extraordinary food along our travel itinerary, and it is a testament to all three restaurants that we finished each meal debating whether it had been the best dining experience in our lives.
Our most vivid culinary memories, however, come from the experiences we had that French people living in Paris and beyond experience everyday: buying our daily baguette aux cinq céréales each morning at our neighborhood boulangerie, Bread & Roses, that is located right next to the Jardin du Luxembourg in the Sixth Arrondissement; enjoying a late afternoon or early evening Muscadet or Saumur Champigny at Café de Flore in the Latin Quarter; purchasing chocolates at Cacao et Chocolat, also in the Latin Quarter, to bring home to family and friends; and shopping for meals -- many of which we prepared in our apartment -- at either La Grande Épicerie adjacent to the Bon Marché department store or our local outdoor market on the Boulevard Raspail.
Raspail Market
It was indeed at the latter that we had a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Kara was purchasing langoustines for our Sunday lunch and asked the fishmonger how he would prepare them. He responded by saying: "Why don't you ask the master?" and gestured to Joel Robuchon, who holds more Michelin stars than any chef in the world (26) and was patiently waiting in line behind Kara. Chef Robuchon smiled at Kara and said: "Boiling water, a little salt, three minutes, voila!" Kara did as instructed, and the results were nothing short of amazing.
The memories of our trip are too numerous to recount in their entirety, but, as restaurant owners, we were reassured to spend time in a country where food occupies such a central and important role-not as something to be endlessly dissected by so-called experts and "foodies"-- but as an integral part of everyday life, something that nourishes body and spirit, brings family and friends together and reaffirms cultural traditions. Like the French, we take food seriously but try not to take ourselves too seriously in doing so. Food is a means to an end, and that end is a fuller and better life.
Rocambole Garlic Soup
Not surprisingly, we have brought a little of that inspiration back to Still River Café. Recent menu additions include a North Ashford Farm roasted rocambole garlic vichyssoise with black garlic aioli, a entrée trio of Block Island yellowfin tuna, and desserts including an apple and cinnamon-spiced custard napoleon with an apple-celery sorbet, and corn and pumpkin mini cheesecakes. After a very warm and often oppressive summer, we cannot imagine a more perfect place to enjoy great food with family and friends than Still River Café. There is a snap to the air that lifts spirits and sharpens the mind and appetite alike.
Bob and Kara Brooks
Still River Cafe
134 Union Road
Eastford, CT 06242
Reservations -- 860.974.9988
Become a "Fan" on Facebook
8 years on here- my word.
