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French food news: Paris fish restaurants, Sichuan chilies in Washington, and some pretty pictures
By Ann | April 3, 2009
Bonjour, mes amis, and welcome to another edition of French food news! What’s going on in the French food media this week? In honor of April 1st, Le Figaroscope has a round-up of fish restaurants. Why, you may wonder, celebrate fish for April fool’s day? Well, in France, the 1st of April is known as poisson d’Avril; instead of playing pranks, the French try to attach a paper fish to their victim’s back without getting caught.
I was clueless about this tradition until Wednesday, when I had the luxury of enjoying a glass of Sancerre and some serious people-watching at a sidewalk cafe on rue du Bac. A well-dressed couple, young but serious, marched briskly by, hand in hand. Their faces were very grave, their stride very swift. But after they passed us, I noticed the man’s back — his black suit jacket featured a small, fluttering, white paper fish! He had been “fished” and his girlfriend wasn’t saying a word! The girls next to me erupted in laughter. And then we all checked our backs very paranoidly to make sure they weren’t similarly adorned.
Anyway, I digress. Le Fig’s round-up of fish restaurants includes some of my favorites: L’Ecailler du Bistrot: “Bravo: the wine list, the platters of seafood and oysters, the friendly, smiling service, the fair prices.” Also, Les Fables de la Fontaine: “Bravo: The extremely high quality and the precise service.” For addresses and other recs, check out the article here.
Meanwhile, in their round-up of new restaurants, Le Fig heaps praise (3 stars) on Yam’Tcha, a tiny, Asian-fusion in the 1st: The young, female chef creates a precise yet impressionistic cuisine, a mix of here, France, and the moment. Check out the snippet here.
Not to be all self-promote-y, but I just discovered that a piece I wrote on the lip-tingling dan dan mian at Joe’s Noodle House in Rockville, Maryland, ran in the January issue of the Washingtonian magazine. The photo alone (above) made me drool. Check it out here.
From what I can ascertain from his Bitten blog posts, Mark Bittman is in Paris, eating lots of cheese.
After I posted last week about the exciting (to me) food options at the new Mets Citi Field, the hue and cry over raised prices began. This AP article bemoans the $18 parking fee, which I agree is extraneous. And $6.50 does seem ridiculous for a milkshake, “hand-spun” or not (what does this even mean?). But is $5.75 really too much to ask for a good burger?
Finally, here are some pretty pictures from our excursion last Sunday to Chartres. Not a lot of good eating that day, but much beauty. Anyway, who needs food, when you’ve got a cathedral that dates to 1195AD?
Happy eating and happy Friday!
Topics: Food Wednesday, In the news |
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