The numbered duck (Le número de votre Canard: 1115233)
La Tour d’Argent, a restaurant by Seine in Paris with a view of Notre Dame.
It is hard to not be enchanted by Tour d’Argent. I confess I was a just a touch concerned upon arrival. The downstairs seating area, with its mini-museum display of table settings of the bygone days, was a bit tired looking. However, a quick champagne, hors d’oeuvres and an elevator ride later we are seated at the table of the main dining area where all my concerns disappeared. Dining area is shiny with slivers, crystals and chandeliers. Rapidly, the room started filling up. We were seated at the center of the room. From where I sat, the view of Notre Dame was occasionally interrupted by Jeeves like accoutrement of the servers. Facing me was the duck press station, where an old gentleman went about the task of meticulously pressing ducks. I would have described it as an assembly line process were it not for the exaggerated rituals associated with the task.
Number of servers far exceeded the number of guests. While their movement in and out of the kitchen seemed chaotic, service at the table was a well choreographed dance. A couple of waiters coordinated placing the food on the table while the senior of the two took time to describe the food. A similar coordination took place when plates were removed from the table. Pacing was perfect. Nothing felt hurried, nothing felt delayed, no ho hum moment. One particular ritual felt quaint in this age – my husband’s menu had the prices and not mine. Wine pouring on the other hand could only be described as elaborate. A lot of deep inhalation, swishing and slurping happened before we were served ours.
Day 2 in Paris
Our last visit to Paris was in the interstice between summer and spring. We had tired ourselves walking the greater part of two weeks. By the time my mind was made up about walking up the stairs of Notre Dame church, my feet had defected. So we decided to climb the stairs early on in this trip.
Christian Constant’s Les Cocottes
Christian Constant’s Les cocottes, near Eiffel tower.
This time it was only a week’s stay in Paris. It was colder than last time and a lot less sunny. Not much appeared to have changed for Les Cocottes in two years. We were still one of the first people to arrive at the restaurant and were seated at the same table as last time. The restaurant had filled up rapidly with tourists and locals. I usually decide between tourists and locals by their shoes. If attired in something comfortable and ugly, I put them in the “tourist” bucket. Right in my line of view was an petite old lady who appeared to be a regular. She sat at the counter and ordered a range of different cocottes, and ate with a gusto any young foodie would be proud of. Next to us sat a young dame in red stilettos with a large pet dog at her heels. She had an appetizer and a glass of wine for meal. I am always grateful that there is something to look forward to as we age!
For starters we ordered a cold tuna, eggplant caviar and tomato jelly. The dish arrived in a jam jar shaped glassware with tuna layer sandwiched between eggplant and tomato jelly. Richness of tuna was well offset by the smokiness of eggplant resulting in a refreshing and flavorful dish. For entrees, I ordered the langoustine ravioli. Perhaps I was dreaming of Robuchon’s ethereal langoustine ravioli, and I shouldn’t have.
An incredible 747 flight …
Looking at Endeavour being flown around on top of a 747 reminded me of a baby whale being accompanied by its mother. Following photos are some of my favorite NASA photos (source: NASA flickr photostream) during its flight around Bay Area.
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Metropolis II, LACMA, Los Angeles
Metropolis II at LACMA, click image for slide show
Chris Burden’s Metropolis II is an intense kinetic sculpture, modeled after a fast paced, frenetic modern city. Steel beams form an eclectic grid interwoven with an elaborate system of 18 roadways, including one 6 lane freeway, and HO scale train tracks. Miniature cars speed through the city at 240 scale miles per hour; every hour, the equivalent of approximately 100,000 cars circulate through the dense network of buildings. According to Burden, “The noise, the continuous flow of the trains, and the speeding toy cars, produces in the viewer the stress of living in a dynamic, active and bustling 21st Century city.” – lacma.org
For a movie version, click here.
Atelier Crenn, yet again
Popsicle with eucalyptus
We are bowled over by molecular gastronomy at Atelier Crenn. This time we settled on their five course menu. And yet again, each plate was an orchestra that brought together purity of flavors and textures to form an exquisite whole.
We had the same table as last and a Spanish chef for our neighbor that evening. Even with his highly broken english, it was clear from his explanation to Chef Dominique that he was on food tourism. He had settled for the ten course meal with wine pairings. With each course, his waiter had painstakingly explained the mile long list of ingredients in Spanish. This time I had decided I wasn’t going to write down the list.
First course was “trio of tomatoes”. Saying that the course was tomatoes says nothing. These were peeled, soft textured, cold grape tomatoes in essence of tomato broth with small bits of goat cheese – an umami bonanza. Next course was seafood medley that was infused with dashi. The third dish was soft cooked kohlrabi coated with coffee served on a bed of kohlrabi puree with kimchi sauce. The bitterness of kohlrabi was extended by coffee and kimchi offered an orthogonal spiciness dimension. Who would have thought that an earthy unpretentious root vegetable such a kohlrabi could be served for fine dining and with success. For palate cleanser, we were offered a shiso-ginger ice which if served with vodka would have made for a fantastic cocktail. The final savory item was guinea hen with huckleberries and chanterelle mushrooms. Desserts started with a not so sweet beet sorbet served to look like a beet. The tail bit was made of chocolate and the soil was composed of chocolate, yogurt and oatmeal. This was followed by eucalyptus popsicle served in a eucalyptus bouquet. Finally, some caramels and fruit jelly candy served on an artificial log but with a real acorn bud for decoration. Charming.
We obviously adore the food here but I wish I could see my food a little better. The main courses here were served on dark slate – the kind I scribbled on with chalk while I was a child. Very stylish and personally very evocative for me but I can’t quite see the sauces. The other courses were served on glass which again has a visibility issue for me – too much specular reflection or transparency. Nevertheless, I am waiting for my next excuse to celebrate.
 Trio of tomatoes |
 Seafood medley with dashi foam |
 Kohlrabi special |
 Wild hen with huckleberries and mushrooms |
 Not so sweet beet sorbet |
 Fruit jelly, salted caramel, and marshmallow |
Mi Casa, Hearst Castle at San Simeon
Touristy? Oh yes …
After years of struggling with the idea of going to Hearst Castle, we finally took the plunge one weekend. It was really a gorgeous weekend last summer but it could very well have been this summer. Some things don’t change in a year and the spectacular journey along route 1 from San Francisco to San Simeon is one. Chances are, you will often get stuck behind cars going 15 miles below the speed limit behind nervous drivers who are perhaps more used to the straight roads of middle America. Use these temporary periods of slowdown to enjoy the blue ocean, rolling hills, and fog laden promontories even more. The journey is as much a part of the experience as the castle itself.
An old photograph explained
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These photos were taken from the porch of a motel on highway 15 (Mojave Desert) our way to Grand Canyon in 2002. Finally these photos are explained. In a recent article on DailyMail UK titled, “There’s more to clouds than dull or grey and white and fluffy“, a very similar photo appeared with the following caption “Noctilucent clouds are crystals of ice hanging around 80km high in the atmosphere that catch the light of the sun long after it has set on the horizon. The cloud in this image was formed from the exhaust of a missile launched from a distant firing range.” We were indeed within range of a US army base. So the reason is likely to be identical in our photo.
A summer day in Seattle
Breakfast, pike place market, gay pride parade, view from the space needle, and dinner. For a slideshow, click here.
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Gaultier at de Young Museum
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Gaultier’s exhibition at de Young ended last weekend. The dimly lit cavernous space of de Young felt appropriate for Gaultier’s over the top couture. Projected facial expressions on faces of the mannikins was a brilliant touch that animated the show and added to the sense of engagement.
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Hiking Torrey Pines in San Diego
Torrey Pines Natural Reserve is a jewel in San Diego. Photos below are from an easy two hour hike starting from the visitor center lodge and going down the Razor point and Beach trails. For a slideshow, click on any one of the photos.
Distant relative of Momo Singh
Broiled dumplings
I was really inspired by the crazy funny blog by Odd Ends into making the equivalent of tandoori momo’s that are doused in butter and tossed in desi masala.
This is only the first version and I suspect I will have many variations. I started with frozen shrimp dumplings from Trader Joes’s but you can start with your favorite. I suspect beef dumplings will be the best. I cooked the dumplings as directed. Then I made a marinade with ketchup, melted butter, hot pepper powder, lime and salt. I brushed the dumplings with the marinade, and stuck them under a hot broiler. I got distracted for a few seconds and the dumplings got extra charred but they were tasty none-the-less, crispy on the outside and soft inside.
Serve with chopped coriander or mint leaves, a little lime juice and a pinch of chaat masala.
A hole in the wall …
For the last few months, I have been living in the beautiful city of San Diego. Having spent 12 years in Bay Area, the air here feel fresher, the sky bluer and the sight of the beaches makes me crave a beach bum lifesytle. But it still a little cool to go beach bumming. So instead, I eat…
In fact, this one is about driving all the way to Los Angeles and back with the sole purpose of eating at Antojitos Carmen. And why? It is Jonathan Gold’s description of huarache de huitlacoche – ” … too hot to touch but too compelling not to … … with hell-hot habanero salsa Antojitos Carmen calls El Chamuco, the devil, for its ability to infiltrate your soul. The huarache will make you suffer, first through its physical heat, then through the heat of El Chamuco, then through the jet-black fungus that will paint your teeth the color of charcoal before it oozes down to stain your favorite shirt…”
 Antojitos Carmen in Los Angeles |
 Huarache de huitlacoche |
 Gordita |
 And the old fav, taco. |
Huitlacoche, or corn smut, is a corn disease, a fungus that usually replaces the normal kernels of the cobs with large, distorted tumors analogous to mushrooms. Etymology has something to do with “excrement”. But believe you me (and Gold), it is delicious. It is oozy, mushroom-y, and black. Who can say no to naturally black food? One more color to celebrate on the plate.
Atelier Crenn, Molecular Gastronomy in San Francisco
Composition 8 (Komposition 8), July 1923. Photo courtesy: Guggenheim Museum, New York.
Not counting the occasional foam or sous vide, Atelier Crenn was our first molecular gastronomy meal. My husband and I are both scientists who have spent a significant part of our lives studying molecular interactions, so we were of course delighted when the word molecular started to be part of modern food cuisine. But before this meal, I had occasionally wondered if molecular gastronomy was just clever hype. But after this meal, I think a better way to describe this new cuisine is to consider the difference between abstract and realistic art. Just because art is in one category or other, doesn’t make it good or bad. The artist has to work equally hard to capture the imagination of his or her audience. Molecular gastronomy is abstract art and Dominique Crenn’s creations reminded me of Kandinsky’s composition series – many ingredients playing with each other to create something that was larger than sum of its parts.
Is this the best pizza in San Francisco?
Una Pizza Napoletana
We had seen chef Mangieri on Chow Obsessives. Location of Una Pizza Napoletana isn’t particularly exciting. Except for the oven, the restaurant interior looks like a bare canteen. From a choice of half dozen toppings, we ordered the Margherita. From any table, you can watch him prep the pizza with focus of a meditative monk. There is no aerial tossing, there is not much talking, there is no clinking of glasses, there is no busy moving to and fro from the kitchen… in fact there is no wasted movement, just obsessive placing of basil leaves and cheese on the dough. A baby, who was in the pram next to his station, presumably his, is growing up on the sweet smell of bread and basil.
Jai Yun, Chinese banquet in San Francisco
Even though this one is situated in the heart of Chinatown, this is not your average Chinese restaurant. You definitely can’t go by the yelp averages. Think of it as anti-thesis Chinese takeout – there is nothing fast, cheap or expected about Jai Yun. So be prepared to love it or hate it.
For us, the occasion was my 40th Birthday. What better day to treat oneself to something out of the ordinary. We walked in early that evening to a familiar restaurant. No, it was our first at Jai Yun but their current location is where another unusually good restaurant used to be – The Flying Pan. We ate our way through an upwards of 20 dishes, all distinctly different in textures and flavors. Our server described each dish in detail without which it would have been very difficult to tell what we were eating. Pacing was superb. If I had to pick a single star item, it would be pig ear scented with five spice mix but all the dishes could be described somewhere between competent to superb. Even though each dish was quite light in itself, after the 15th or 16th dish we did get a bit tired of eating.
All in all, definitely something worth doing once – like celebrating a 40th.
 Crunchy vegetables with Goji berries |
 Napa Cabbage |
 Pickled cucumber |
 Vegetarian goose made from soy protein |
 Chinese greens |
 Lotus roots |
 Tofu with coriander |
 Mushrooms with shark fin |
 Pig tongue |
 Abalone with egg white |
 Fried wheat gluten with mushrooms, peppers, and chinese lily flower |
 Fried Enoki mushrooms with basil |
 Tofu skin with edamame |
 Mung bean glass noodles with Chinese bacon and green onions |
 Sea bass with peas and corn |
 Pig ear scented with five spice |
 Loofah squash, woodear mushrooms, and gingko nut |
 Chicken with szechuan pepper |
 Slow braised beef |
 Chinese celery greens, onion, tofu, and pepper |
 Whole fried fish in Chef’s special spicy sauce |
 Fried eggplant with Szechuan pepper and sugar |
Pok-poking in Portland
Event – one lunch this winter at the popular thai restaurant Pok-Pok in Portland, Oregon accompanied by close friends.
 Jackfruit ice-cream with coconut sticky rice |
 Durian custard with sticky rice and salted coconut cream |
While the desserts were last in the menu, let’s start with them first. With a little more salt than you expect and a little less sugar than you want, the dessert at Pok-pok is what I imagine Thai desserts are like – wildly tropical flavors, and rich with coconut milk. One was a brioche bread stuffed with coconut sticky rice, topped with jackfruit ice cream and garnished with crunchy salted peanuts. The other was a durian custard served on top of sticky rice and drizzled with salted coconut cream. While I haven’t eaten durian outside of a restaurant yet, jackfruit has always been a seasonal favorite growing up in India. And these dollops of jackfruit ice cream on a winter afternoon in Portland reminded me of hot a summer day in Kolkata.
Ai Weiwei’s sunflower seeds
Ai Weiwei's sunflower seeds at Tate
I didn’t really know much about Ai Weiwei‘s art until I walked into the exhibit at Tate’s. They had a conical pile of porcelain sunflower seeds in the center of a featureless room, cordoned off with a security guard watching over. The accompanying information said that the seeds were individually hand-painted by hundreds of Chinese artisans! At the time, the display evoked nothing. But the pile of seeds stayed in my head and made me curiouser and curiouser.
Globe Theater tour in London
 Globe theater from Millennium bridge |
 Model of Globe theater |
Visiting Globe like a bystander is perhaps just a little sad. Completely omitting the trip would have been even sadder. I chalked this one up to one of the downsides of visiting London in the winter. It helps a little if you pretend it to be a reconnaissance mission. So, what is it that you can actually see if you are not attending one of the theater’s productions?
View from St. Paul’s Cathedral
If there is something fantastic about a winter trip to London, I will say it is the view from the top of St. Paul Cathedral’s dome. The timing works out rather well in winter when the last admission coincides with sun down. Here are some of the photos we took from up there.
Eating out at Seven Dials, London
Aside from Dishoom that serves reliable roomali roti and chicken tikka, there are several nice eating and drinking spots near Seven Dials. We could only sample a very small subset. Monmouth coffee was one. According to a reliable local source, while tea shops are on the decline, coffee shops are on the rise in London. Monmouth may have been the one that started (~1978) the micro roasting trend. Being perhaps the grandaddy of the business, they didn’t seem quite the coffee police as Blue Bottle or Four Barrel, very few coffee shops are. But they have a large selection of single varietals and brew a good espresso to make a coffee lover happy. The one at Seven Dials attracts a hipster crowd, there is always a long line, tables are shared, and you can get a croissant to go with your coffee. I do think they need some chocolate-y stuff to go with their coffee, say crepes or biscotti.
Neal’s yard dairy has excellent British cheeses and they import Poilâne bread. Like Cheese Board, they let you taste before buying and the staff is super friendly. We bought a variety of cheddars and even some Stilton. You really can live on Poilâne, Stilton and Monmouth coffee if you so wish.
British food in London
Great Queen Street Pub, an easy walk from the British Museum
British food, for the rest of us outside Britain, brings to mind fish and chips or bangers and mash. But if like me, you have grown up with Tuppy Glossop’s midnight adventures with steak and kidney pie, you wish a cook as good as Anatole who can make you just such a pie. Now with the revival of British cuisine and gastro pubs, someone just may serve you one.
Desi food in London
 Dishoom, dishoom ... |
 Dishoom with its seventies look |
 Fried calamari with a set of spicy sauces |
 Shish Kababs and roomali roti, what else ... |
 Chicken tikka |
 Naan with Keema |
A few blocks from Seven Dials, is an Indian restaurant named Dishoom. The sound of a punch landing on your opponent in Bollywood movies has the sound “Dishoom“. Kids when mimicking fights do it with the sound effect “dishoom”, “dishoom”, … So there is indeed something endearing and playful in the name. The restaurant exudes hipness, although like any other Indian restaurant the service is a bit languid. Walls are decorated with an old world charm of mirrors and pictures of Bollywood movies and stars. You can watch the tandoor in action while waiting for food. We ate here a couple times and really enjoyed the “roomali” roti with the shish kababs. Roomal is Hindi word for handkerchief. Yes, sir, these breads are indeed as thin as the handkerchief. The dough is similar to naan/pizza and they are hand rolled like pizza, swirled in air to get the thinness and briefly cooked in the tandoor. I haven’t seen roomali rotis served in Indian restaurants in US. I found the food to be competent but the menu is limited to typical North Indian dishes that westerners associate with Indian food.
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Fast food in London
Pret a Manger sandwich and crisps
It is now a little over two months since our London trip. I hadn’t meant to slip so far behind in my writing but it has happened. I can only hope that the memories have aged like cheese! We had stayed in a tiny but super-cute apartment in London, which was practically on top of the Neal’s Yard at Seven Dials. I am pretty sure that on a summer afternoon, an open window in the apartment will bring in the mingled aroma of aged cheeses from Neal’s Yard Diary. We didn’t open the windows on account of the cold but we did breakfast on their cheeses and their imported Poilâne’s bread.
Makke ki Roti – the way mom makes it
You have surely heard stories of chefs stirring sauces with their hands. My story involves my mother-in-law shaping old-fashioned corn rotis on the hot griddle with her hands. I am presenting a story here and not a recipe. I can’t follow this recipe and I won’t recommend you try.
She estimates amount of corn flour she will need based on how hungry the family is. Adds appropriate amount of grated radish, chopped radish leaves, salt, dry mango powder, hot paprika and water. Kneads to form a pliable dough.
She puts the griddle to heat on medium-high, and keeps following things handy - a bowl of water convenient to dip her fingers in, a tablespoon and a cup of vegetable oil. She shapes tennis ball sized dough in her hands and flattens each into a fat roti with her palms.
She oils the pan lightly, places the roti on the hot griddle, dips her hand in cold water and flattens the fat roti into a thinner one. Then she ladles oil along the edges so the oil slides underneath and cooks the underside of the roti.
These rotis take a few minutes per side to cook. She flips only when the underside is done and repeats the oil treatment. The flipping is done gently as the corn rotis break relatively easily due to lack of gluten.
Voila! They are ready to serve. The rotis are crisp on the outside, melt-y polenta-like inside. Traditionally served with mustard greens that has been cooked for hours into a buttery smooth piquant sauce.
Locomotoring 