Bouchon Bakery, New York

Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery in the Time Warner Center is a mystery to me.

Some dishes are consistently fabulous like the soups, the quiches and the desserts (especially the tarte au citron that is one of the best I've ever tasted). The butter is to die for.

However, some others are fairly inconsistent. The bread can be just great or borderline stale. The sandwiches can taste fantastic or like microwave reheated. The salads are at times perfectly seasoned or not at all. The ham and cheese sandwich can be either at par with the best ones you would have in Paris...or not. And the pate de campagne is consistently oversalted.

Other dishes like the terrine de foie gras (bland when I had it) or salmon rillettes (extremely dry) are plain disappointing.

And the worst part I must say is that I've already seen Thomas Keller wandering around (and hopefully inspecting) the restaurant. Which makes me say that he must also have tasted its food and should have realized something was (sometimes) wrong.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not saying you should not go there. As I said it can be really good and it is certainly the best affordable (although it's not that cheap) option in the Time Warner Center. My problem is that you expect more from Thomas Keller. So I just keep on returning in the hope to get a perfect meal. Hopefully that will happen before I leave New York. Or maybe it's just me after all since people keep on waiting sometimes for 40 minutes to eat there.

Bouchon Bakery
Time Warner Center - Columbus Circle
New York

The Pasta match: Batali vs. me?

No, just kidding. I can be (overly?) critical at times of Batali's restaurants but I must admit that Batali knows his pasta, especially when it comes to ragu.

While reading Caroline's post about her meal at Enoteca San Marco, I remembered that I too had tasty bucatini all'amatriciana there when we were in Las Vegas a few months back. Despite all the kitsch of the Venetian's decor, I felt like I was in Venice for a few minutes. OK, maybe not, but that dish and the antipasti we had before were totally delicious. Not cheap by the way but good.

The above slideshow also contains a picture of Spaghetti alla Bolognese I had cooked. The recipe is inspired by that of Batali, published in Wine Spectator in 2007. I had substituted white wine for red one and celery for leek...and also slightly adjusted the quantity of meat (but the 1/3 rule of thumb for each type of meat is quite spot-on).

Enoteca San Marco
The Venetian
3355 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV
Tel: (1) 702 677 3390

Bistronomiques 2008 - Le Chateaubriand, Paris

Inaki Aizpitarte, Le Chateaubriand's chef, is one of those young (and self-taught in his case) chefs who are breathing new life into French bistro food, turning traditional dishes into avant-garde and creative cuisine. Inaki never forgets though that the ingredient is king and that it is it that must shine. Therefore don't expect to find a long menu in his restaurant. Here, for dinner, the only option is a 5-dish prix fixe with seasonal and fresh ingredients.

And it works great. Like this rectangle of boudin noir (blood sausage) served with small cubes of green apple, mango, banana and passion fruit puree as well as two light touches of wasabi. A modern, colorful, almost Asian interpretation of the traditional boudin aux pommes recipe. A sublime combination and balance of opposite textures and flavors. Miles away from the so common stupid fusion and sweet and sour idiocies that come out from so many professional kitchens.

Or this rouget aux petits legumes. Perfectly cooked, the fish shines. The vegetables play perfectly their role, giving some crunch, color and an earthy flavor to this marine dish. Nothing superfluous, like a sauce or a jus, that could have overpowered the purity of the ingredients.

Or this Beef fillet. It could have been boring. Just another beef fillet after all. But a white asparagus lying on top brings some extra texture, some bitterness to each mouthful of the perfectly rare and tender fillet while anchovies happily act as a guest-star condiment. Again it looks simple (it looks, I said) but it's just plain smart.

But sometimes, things go wrong, the chef pushes the envelope a flavor too far and there comes the flop. Like this dish where a bland tofu and the acidic green apple destroyed each other and turned the appetizer into a real disaster. But that's so unrepresentative of the whole meal, that you just think: "oh, well, after all, only the one who doesn't take risks, doesn't make mistakes". And at 43 EUR for 5 dishes, this dinner looked like a steal.

Although it might be considered (by some) exaggerated to rank it number 60 in the World's Best Restaurants, Le Chateaubriand and its chef provide for a sublime (and cheap) dining experience. Fred Peneau and his gang of bearded, Inaki-like sexy waiters also do a great job at the front of the house.

Le Chateaubriand
129 avenue Parmentier
75011 Paris
(33) 1 43 57 45 95

Pierre Herme, Paris

On this sad day for the art of pastry, I thought I would post a few shots taken at Pierre Herme during my last 2 stays in Paris. Herme was a Lenotre apprentice at some point and gifted student as you can guess (or know if you have tasted his sweet delicacies).

Herme's Vaugirard shop also has the huge advantage to be located close to where two of my best friends live. So I obviously never miss a chance to stop by the beautifully designed store when I visit them in order to pick up some chocolate delicacies and macaroons.

My favorite pastry there is "Plaisir Sucre" (sweet pleasure in English). It is described in Herme's catalogue as a "Biscuit dacquoise aux noisettes croquantes,praliné feuilleté, fines feuilles de chocolat au lait, ganache et chantilly au chocolat au lait". The recipe is available in Dorie Greenspan's book "Chocolate desserts by Pierre Herme" if you want to give it a shot. Not sure I need to translate the description for you. It's beautiful as it is and sounds like music to my ears. And the taste and textures are incredible. The kind of sweet that keeps you warmer on a sad chilly winter day like today. Those are the moments I miss Herme...and Paris the most.

Pierre Herme
72, rue Bonaparte
75006 PARIS

185, rue de Vaugirard
75015 PARIS

Gaston Lenotre has just died at 88

(Picture from AFP)

The master pastry chef Gaston Lenotre, who had trained, among other great chefs, Ducasse and Herme at some point in their respective careers, has just died at 88. He had created an empire with shops in 12 countries and a renowned pastry school in France. He was also a household name in France and the rest of the world whose name had become synonymous with excellence in the art of pastry. He will be sorely missed by all the passionate professional and amateur chefs.

Chinatown Brasserie, New York

Chinatown Brasserie is by far my favorite venue for weekend brunches. And the reason I repeatedly visit this place is simple: dim sum! I fell in love with these dumplings when I sampled my first Har Gau as a teenager.

Chinatown Brasserie's dim sum are really fabulous and more than rival those I've had a chance to taste in great Hong Kong places (no wonder it is so since the chef, Joe Ng, is a Cantonese from HK). The variety is stunning (the menu includes nearly 40 different types), the combinations (shrimp/pork/watercress, shrimp/snow pea, shrimp/chives, ...) strike the right note and the presentation/bright colors are enthusing. In a nutshell, a dumplings lover's paradise. Don't forget to taste the Shanghai soup dumplings as well (who knew the flavor explosion had been invented in China and not by Grant Achatz?)

Except for the BBQ tenderloin and the wonton soup, the rest of the menu is rather forgettable (and may have cost them a second star in the NY Times) but, remember, you go to Chinatown Brasserie for dim sum. They are the real stars of the show there.

Chinatown Brasserie
380 Lafayette Street
New York City
Tel: 212-533-7000

No Reservations is back

(Picture by Travel Channel's website)

Quick reminder that Tony Bourdain's acclaimed show kick starts its season 5 at 10pm ET on Travel Channel tonight. Don't miss Tony's adventures in Mexico. I understand that Venice and DC are next in line and that this season's upcoming shows will also feature Azores, Chicago, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. So stay tuned.