NYC Tastes

Our last morning in Paris I woke up early and headed out for some important final vacation food- crispy almond croissants, champagne and orange juice. We had such a lovely little patio I thought it would be delightful to start the day with some delicious pastries and bubbly. And it  was  lovely, until a swarm of bees came and drove us out of our patio space for good.   However that gave us a few hours to hit up some last minute Paris food stops. First escargot at L'Escargot Montorgueil. This restaurant was absolutely gorgeous and the escargot were plump and juicy with a fantastic garlic parsley butter sauce. We added on one more incredible cheese plate. And a final stop Cafe Tournon for a delicious Croque Monsieur.    Then we hopped on a plane and eight hours of The Greatest Showman later (my personal choice) we were back in NYC, exhausted but filled with wonderful memories from a fantastic ...

After our amazing lunch at La Condesa we toured around that area and then up to Montmartre, a large hill in the 18th Arrondisment known for the beautiful Basilica of Sacre-Couer and the most charming streets in all of Paris. The weather was absolutely perfect, so we spent the day just enjoying the sunshine until it was time to meet up with friends at Bar Hemingway in the Ritz Carlton Hotel. This famous bar where Cole Porter, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Hemingway spent much of their free time was almost exactly as I imagined it;  small but elegant with leather cushioned seats, tiered silver platters on each table and a list of classic Hemingway cocktails including the Picasso Martini, Serendipity and French 75. Of course being such a small, special place the prices fit the atmosphere with cocktails starting at  30€.   I was a little shocked at first, but once I received a lovely peach rose in my drink it seemed slightly justified :)   After the Hemin...

It's always hard to choose our dining spots in Paris.  There are so many places the decision seems absolutely overwhelming.  However after a ton of research online and fantastic advice from the great people on  Chowhound , I settled on La Condesa and it ended up being one of the best decisions of the entire trip. We were the first ones to arrive for the lunch and although we were incredibly early they welcomed us warmly with a seat at the window overlooking some beautiful flowers and a lively street in the 9th Arrondissement.   La Condesa has no set menu; guests simply choose the 3, 4 or 6 course tasting and everything is left completely up to the Chef.  Since we were planning to spend most of the day eating we decided on the 3 course tasting and kicked things off with some Crémant as the parade of food began. Amuse Bouche~ Crispy Corn Galette with whipped corn mousse Amuse Bouche~ Mushroom Tempura with Sorrel mayonnaise 1st Cours...

Paris mornings mean one thing~ pastry time at two of my favorite spots Poilâne Bakery & Pierre Hermé.  I almost always begin at  Poilâne  for a fresh loaf of sourdough bread and a cinnamon dusted Apple Tart. Then over to Pierre Hermé for a glazed Rose Croissant, Raspberry Tart and my absolute favorite the 2000 Feuilles studded with praline & hazelnut.  These delightful pastries are always fantastic, but enjoying them on our patio under the bright blue sky just made everything that much better. Poilane Bakery 8 Rue du Cherche-Midi 75006 Paris, France Pierre Herme 61 Rue Bonaparte 75006 Paris, France

After our wonderful wine excursions in Bordeaux, we hopped on a train to Paris for the final leg of our European vacation.  Mr. T and I have been to Paris quite few times and the energy is so similar to NYC it always feels a bit like coming home.  We got in late afternoon and leisurely walked around the bustling Saint Germain and Île de la Cité before landing on the quiet island of Île Saint-Louis.  This is the perfect spot to relax at one of the many outdoor cafes with a bottle of wine and a view of the beautiful Seine River. Then we made our way through the Louvre and Arc de Triomphe and over to Harry's New York Bar. This kitchy spot is said to be the birthplace of cocktails such as the French 75, Sidecar and Monkey Gland.  So a round of drinks including all three was absolutely necessary for the sake of history. Harry's is covered in old college pennants and somehow we found ourselves right below our alma mater St. Bonaventure; whi...

After our lovely little meal at Septime and a stop at Brewberry I felt like I could continue on with our plans for Valentines evening with dinner and drinks at La Fine Mousse. Unfortunately there was really no great way to get there from Brewery so we decided to make the hour long walk...which is the stupidest thing you can do when you've been having stomach pains all day. An hour later we had finally made it to La Fine and even with the delightful array of craft beers on tap and fantastic bartenders I knew things were about to be officially over.  We cancelled our reservations for dinner, hopped on the subway back to our hotel area and then finally, after a full day of saying "Mind over matter- you can do it!" my stomach said "I'LL SHOW YOU" and it certainly did.  It was awful- the only slight solace I had was that now whatever was making me sick just HAD to be out of my system; I had nothing left inside.  Maybe I would wake up the next day and feel f...

After bringing home some of those delicious Stohrer pastries for Mr. T we headed out the door for what I was expecting to be one of the best days of our trip.  It just happened to be Valentines Day and even though I hate that holiday I was beyond excited for our lunch at Septime; the Michelin starred spot by Chef Bertrand Grebaut's that's currently on the World's 50 Best Restaurant List  and also one of the most difficult restaurant reservations to achieve in Paris.  I was so looking forward to a long, relaxing lunch with nothing to do expect drink wine and bask in some delicious food.    Unfortunately I started feeling a bit ill on the walk over to Septime; actually very ill. Something from breakfast had sent stabbing pains to the sides of my stomach and sweat was beginning to streak down from the top of my head.   I had moments where I thought I might just pass out right there on the sidewalk; but I absolutely refused to get sick a...

Day two in Paris I woke up bright and early to do what I always do in this lovely city- go exploring all the wonderful Patisserie's!  Mr. T always jokes that Paris is magical because whenever he wakes up an array of pastries seem to wondrously appear in the hotel room.   I have a bit of a problem limiting myself while on vacation and this morning was no different.   I stopped into three different croissant shops, grabbed a breakfast sandwich (which would later lead to my demise) and finally landed at Stohrer the oldest pastry shop in Paris. This tiny little bakery was opened back in 1730 by Pastry Chef Nicolas Stohrer, who just happened to be the pastry chef for Louis XV.  In addition to being credited with creating the very first Baba au Rhum they are also known for some of the best eclairs in Paris and I have to agree.  The outside was light and crunchy with creamy custard inside and a gorgeous vanilla ganache on top that seemed to sparkle in the morning s...

Day Two of our trip Mr. T and I woke up in London, having had a successful long sleep (which hardly ever happens to us) and hopped on a train to Paris. We arrived right around 5:00 and had just enough time to check into our hotel and grab a quick cocktail at Lockwood before heading to Frenchie Wine Bar for dinner. We had such an incredible meal at Frenchie proper last time (aka  Gramercygate ) we just had to check out the more causal sister restaurant across the street-Frenchie Wine Bar.  We started with a lovely bottle of Pinot Blanc and a bowl of creamy Burrata studded with bright yellow cherry tomato, fried onion and pumpkin seeds. Black Truffle Tortellini with smoked cauliflower followed...a delightful explosion of rich, earthy umami flavors that tasted sinfully decadent but were actually light as air.  This was a dish we both inadvertently ate with eyes closed, lest nothing interfere with the incredible flavors taking over our taste buds. ...