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Foodie Wednesday, French vocab, and a blog I like
By Ann | November 13, 2008
Welcome to our weekly review of (some) French foodie news!
This week’s Le Figaroscope focuses on wine, offering a round-up of ten new Parisian hot-spots where wine is the raison d’être.
Among the “caves” or wine-cellars where you can eat, La Cave Edmond sounded intriguing. Le Fig says: Owner Thierry Burlot has filled cubby-holes with some 60 recommended wines, arranged ten stools and offers cold and hot plates (razor clams en papillote, lamb shoulder with artichokes…) at bistro prices. A sommelier ties everything together, playing in the depths of the cave with recent, clever vintages. In this overlooked neighborhood, this small, gourmet cave is a stroke of luck. (10, rue de Nicholas-Charlet, 14ème, tel: 01 47 34 10 62, from 15-25€)
Contrecarrer, a wine-centric bistro, also sounded interesting. Le Fig says: Burgundy is represented with infinite modesty by a mother (from Savigny, in the kitchen) and her daughter (from Beaune, in the dining room), especially through the small selection of wine (4 vineyards, about 20 types) and their prices… As for the food, fricassée of escargots d’Auxonne, andouille sausage Dijon-style, boeuf bourginon, all are carried out well. We wish that they had taken more advantage of the regional flavors (ham with parsley, gougères (cheese puffs), etc.) and that one day this adorable place will “muscle up” its wine list. (113 rue du Faubourg-Poissonière, 9ème, tel: 01 45 26 55 04, from 25-30€)
Finally, among wine bars, Porte Pot; Le Fig says: “The owners began this place with about fifty wines… including the saumur du Château Yvonne, J-P Brun’s beaujolais, and J-B Sénat’s languedocs, with Radio Nova in the background, the simple bistro-style dishes and generous tartines made from quality ingredients (the tartine with piquillo peppers and sardines is very good). Regulars love it. (14 rue Boutebrie, 5ème, tel: 01 43 25 24 24, from 30€)
*French nerd alert
Here are a few vocab words I learned while reading the article above:
référence (f) — recommendation, or suggestion, as in the wines on offer. E.g. D’une soixantaine de références
millésimé(e) – vintage
tabouret (m) — stool
cépage (m) — vine, but also refers to the type of grape used to make a wine, e.g. Chardonnay, merlot are both different types of cépages.
Finally, in the “Totally unrelated to food” category:
I don’t know about you, but I love The Office, and I particularly love actress/writer/producer Mindy Kaling, who plays the relentlessly effervescent Kelly Kapoor on the show. I recently discovered that Mindy has a blog, things i bought that i love, about her shopping discoveries and other observations on life that will make you giggle. Check it out! You will laugh.
Topics: Totally unrelated to food, In the news |
One Response to “Foodie Wednesday, French vocab, and a blog I like”
Comments
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November 13th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
It’s great! Bookmarked and subscribed, thanks!