Restaurants

La Promenade des Anglais

The Accidental Locavore found that one advantage of having had a hand in a splint (and trust me, in NYC there are only a few and why don’t they make splints in safety orange?) is that from time to time people would comment on it and once a seat on the subway was offered to me. The splint turned out to be how I met the extremely handsome, charming and French chef de cuisine of La Promenade des Anglais  – Alain. Oh, and did I mention he can cook?

While the menu, at first glance, looked a little disappointing, it was only because I was somehow thinking it would be a replica of le Safari, our favorite place in Nice. The restaurant itself is lovely, with big marble bars and a warm staff that made me feel welcome just walking in off the street. I was there, meeting some people for a drink before the holidays and we had a great time, sitting in the back bar, drinking.

Suddenly, this extremely handsome man in chef whites, came over and was asking about my hand. We all got to talking and it turned out that he was the chef de cuisine there. Alain has also worked in some of the finest restaurants in France, so has an impressive CV. We asked him for some appetizer suggestions and decided on the burrata and some roasted baby artichokes. Both were delicious, the burrata being properly buttery and accompanied by grilled hunks of bread. The artichokes were small, cut in half and roasted, served with a smear of a lemony anchovy sauce, to run them through. Oh, and did I mention he was handsome?

Now that my husband is back from exile, we grabbed a couple of friends and made a reservation for dinner so we could really enjoy the whole menu. One of the advantages of going with a group of food lovers is that everyone is willing to share and there are a lot (maybe too many?) “dishes for the table,” which essentially means that we ordered too much food.

In general, the appetizers were the high point of the meal. The Locavore had the veal tartare which was slick (in a good way) with olive oil and lots of grainy Dijon. A surprising hit were the croquettes, but then how could you go wrong with fried food? The fish soup was a quick trip back to the South of France, in a bowl.

The main courses weren’t as successful. For once, we really didn’t order any meat, sticking to pasta and fish. I had the swordfish with harissa. The fish was perfectly cooked to a just past quivering point, however the harissa lacked heat. The winning dish was the paccheri (a large tube pasta) with rabbit and hazelnuts—a great combination. Other fish and pasta dishes were tasty, but everything just seemed a little safe.

And Alain? Still looking good and a perfect host, stopping by our table to meet everyone and comparing notes with the other “Nicoise” chef in our midst. Added bonus, he’s going to fill us in on where to eat in Nice for our upcoming trip!

 

Organic Restaurants: What Top Three Traits do They Share?

Is the Accidental Locavore  the only one who finds that “organic” restaurants all have some unfortunate traits in common? Granted, there are places (Candle 79 comes to mind) where you might never know you were eating organic, vegan, vegetarian or (so trendy) gluten-free. However, most of them seem intent on making you painfully aware that you’re eating healthy.

Let’s start with one of the Locavore’s pet peeves, room temperature water. What is wrong with adding ice to water? After all, ice is a form of water, occurring naturally more often than hot water (generally more accepted — think soup, tea, coffee).

Unfortunate trait number two: an extraordinarily casual wait staff. Where is it written that to work in a natural food restaurant you have to look and act like the last refugees from (pick one) Woodstock or Sedona? Is it because “Organic fruits and vegetables are not always the best looking,” so your staff needs to match the carrots? And if your bartender can’t even put together a drinkable Bloody Mary, hire someone who can! When the concept behind these restaurants is to champion local, organic food, why insult the farmers who took the time and energy to raise the food by having it tossed on the table by someone who looks like they might have showered and shaved at least once this year?

Third issue: not to sound like a broken record, if the food is good enough to be certified organic  could you please not torture it into something it was never meant to be? Hemp empanadas? Quinoa linguini? Please…

So how did this all come about? A friend of the Locavore’s wanted us to try Gustorganics, the first certified organic restaurant in New York. After you wade through all the foolishness, (and spare me: what on earth is an “organic reservation”?), the food was fine. Grilled pizza had a nice, thin, crispy crust and tasty sauce. The pallid tomato added nothing but a reminder that it is still January. A Tuesday special of lemon chicken was delicious, mostly because it had been doused in (organic) butter. Desserts were forgettable, especially a carrot cake made with quinoa (see above) and frosted with a coconut & soy cream.

Would I go back?

 

 

Fall in Maine II: the Accidental Locavore Eats Local

Do you think that the ratio of good restaurants to bad is consistent throughout the world? The Accidental Locavore was pondering this idea the other day. For every great restaurant in Paris is there a number of equally crummy ones? Or do certain chefs start to create order out of chaos? Case in point: Rockland, Maine (for that matter the entire coast of Maine). Once kind of a dumpy town, certainly overshadowed by its glitzier sister-town, Camden (full of former CIA operatives), it’s now become a cool place to be and certainly a much easier place to stumble upon interesting restaurants. Granted, there are certainly a fair amount of fast food and seafood joints serving fish both boiled and fried, however there are more and more really good alternatives for meals at any time of day.

Besides our “old standbys” to quote my mother, we’ve added some new standbys to the roster. This of course, is going to mean that we’ll have to spend more time in Maine, or eat a lot more, or cut back on some of the favorites, none of which is a viable alternative. And the Locavore just spent four days there without enjoying a morsel of lobster or crabmeat! How did that happen?

Well, we did hit Café Miranda even though Kerry was busy catering the Camden Film Festival (who knew?) and he’ll be happy to know his associates fed us well. A dinner at Lily Bistro for my father’s birthday had us dining on locally foraged mushrooms with gnocchi and French onion soup (for comparison, of course). But where did we end up almost every morning? Home Kitchen Café.

You probably don’t know that the Accidental Locavore is not a big fan of breakfast. It has to do with a general non-interest in eggs, especially runny ones, which as everyone knows is a major component of breakfast. Take away eggs and what’s left? However, Home Kitchen Cafe has a large menu, with a lot of well-disguised (and well-prepared) eggs, a willingness to cook a poached egg until it bounces (sorry, but that’s just the way it has to be), homemade bread and a hollandaise sauce that will make you a breakfast/brunch believer again!

So that’s how a group of chefs has changed the ratio in a town like Rockland, with the added bonus that they’re all working with local famers and purveyors to keep it all local and fresh. Has it changed in your town?

The Accidental Locavore Visits Serevan Restaurant

The Accidental Locavore wants to know — what happens when you mix a really good restaurant with a truly professional chef? You get a great place like Serevan. Besides making delicious food, Serge, the chef, makes everyone feel welcome. If it’s your first time, celebrating a special occasion, or you’re a regular, he goes out of his way, literally and figuratively to make you feel at home (only with better food). Even a large group on a rainy Saturday night, when the place is packed, is given a warm reception and a call is made to another restaurant to save a table. His generosity extends to sharing recipes and giving cooking tips. Without him, I’d still be dealing with yogurt sauces curdling; he taught me to beat in a few egg yolks and cook it gradually and I’ve been grateful ever since.

The food has a Middle Eastern bent to reflect Serge’s Armenian/Iranian heritage, but it’s not your traditional falafel and hummus (although the falafel and hummus are rather spectacular). The chicken bastilla is probably the most traditional dish he serves…it’s what chicken pot pie wished it could be! Serge sources as much of the menu items as he can locally (see below for some of his local sources), even arranging a very early morning sour cherry picking expedition. A question about basturma, an ingredient with the striped bass special, was answered with an education in the origins of food (and Serge).

If you’re a Facebook follower, you’ll get teased on an almost daily basis with pictures and descriptions of what he’s cooking up for that night’s specials. I’ve found that it’s often better just not to look, especially if you’re hungry. Or just to give in to temptation, pick up the phone and make a reservation.

When you get there, if he has stew on the menu, it’s a must-have. Whether it’s lamb or beef, sauced with yogurt or more recently, a reduction of eggplant and heirloom tomatoes with what looked like peas (boring) and turned out to be verjus (infant grapes, a tart and delicious surprise), it will amaze you. Other favorites, surprisingly, the BBQ ribs, the scallops with merguez, any fish special, and for my husband, the beet salad. Serge told the Accidental Locavore that the only reason I loathe beets is because I’ve never had them cooked properly. Duly skeptical, after making sure there was enough bread and wine to kill the taste if need be, I had a small bite. If I was ever going to be a fan of beets, this would be the dish that would do it. Bread and wine not touched (for that moment anyway).

If there is anything for the Locavore not to love, it might be the desserts. Since I’m not a fan of what my friend Leslie describes as “beige, toothless desserts”, and can’t eat nuts, most times the only option is a dense sticky chocolate apricot cake. But that’s ok, because usually there’s so much great food before that, there’s absolutely no room for a sweet.

Now I’m looking forward to the fall and the promise of cooking classes with Serge. Until that happens, I’ll continue to be teased with the specials he’s posting on Facebook and keep making something I do well… reservations.

The farms that Serge uses most often are:

Montgomery Place Orchards — for produce and fruits
Migliorelli Farms — for produce and fruits (they’re also at the Union Square Greenmarket)
Sol Flower Farms– for produce
Old Farm Nursery — for specialty herbs, flowers and produce
Quattros– for specialty meats, organic eggs (they’re also at the Union Square Greenmarket)

And a very big thank you to Serge for the beautiful photos!

The Accidental Locavore's Guide to Eating Local and Fresh in Maine

So when the Accidental Locavore isn’t hanging at the bar at Cafe Miranda, what else is she eating that’s local and fresh on the coast of Maine? If you happen to be heading up to the Maine Lobster Festival this weekend, here are some food ideas to get you away from the crowds.

How about water buffalo burgers sourced from the farmers’ market in Camden  stuffed with cheese from Hahn’s End, one of the artisanal cheesemakers there too? Delicious and a healthy alternative…well, except for the cheese…to a beef burger. Grab a piece of their “Petit Poulet,” an ash-rubbed semi-soft cheese to nibble on. If you go to the market on a Saturday, Uproot Pie Company is there with a portable wood-burning pizza oven turning out great looking pies. Wouldn’t that be great (and mobbed) at the Greenmarkets in New York?

Another favorite place is your typical lobster joint, Waterman’s Beach. The Locavore thinks it’s pretty safe to say that most fish places on remote beaches have amazing food, world-wide. Waterman’s was actually the recipient of a James Beard Award, but that hasn’t gone to their heads. Lorri and Sandy and their crew serve great lobsters, crabmeat rolls, clams and a lobster roll that the Daily Meal rated one of the best in Maine. Me, I like my lobster straight-up with melted butter and possibly a second “twin” lobster to keep it company. Or if it’s lunchtime, their crabmeat rolls are great. What’s cool at Waterman’s is that you can bring your own wine and when the bottle is empty, add it to the eclectic collection lining the railing. Last summer we spotted an empty bottle of La Tache, supposedly a gift to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and now in my mother’s collection (to disguise the two-buck-Chuck?).

Since Manhattan, for all its good qualities, still hasn’t learned to appreciate a decent fried clam, the Locavore waits all year to hit Maine for real fried clams (the difference? Whole clams vs. strips). This year we found good ones at a friend’s restaurant, the Slipway in Thomaston and really good ones at the Happy Clam, a German restaurant in Tenant’s Harbor.

And the last of the local food? Besides a quart of Maine blueberries on the trip home, what’s become a must-stop for my husband is Morse’s. Maine is full of great places for food in the most unimaginable locations and Morse’s, ten miles off the highway, is really in the middle of nowhere. Their specialties are their own sauerkraut, beet slaw and pickles. There’s a restaurant serving Middle-European breakfast and lunch and the store has charcuterie from all over the world.

So, well-stocked and well-fed, we hit the road, vowing once again never to eat again…

Maine Vacationland: Accidental Locavore at Cafe Miranda

At some point during the summer, the Accidental Locavore and Frank drive up to Maine to visit the parents and help deplete the lobster population. Along the way, there’s usually a stop or two for fried clams, crab-meat rolls and Frank’s favorite restaurant this side of the Cote d’Azure, Cafe Miranda. Miranda is a unique place to eat for many reasons, probably mostly because of its owner and chef, Kerry Alteiro whose stamp is on everything and without “that crazy bastard” the restaurant, while still good, loses something in translation.

What also makes Cafe Miranda unique is an extensive menu, consisting of about 50 small dishes (and I use the term small, only to distinguish what might be considered an appetizer from a main course) and the same number of entrees. If that’s not enough, there’s a separate hamburger menu, with another dozen or so burgers, hot dogs and sandwiches. And each menu item has multiple components. Even an ear of corn is dressed with cheese, cilantro and finished with a blow torch.

The centerpiece of the restaurant is a wood burning oven in which almost everything is cooked. If you’re cool enough to score a seat at the bar, you get to watch Kerry and his crew in their frenetic ballet, juggling dishes in and out of the oven, prepping plates, adding sauces, garnishing and, if he thinks you’re not paying enough attention, squirting a stream of oil over his shoulder and landing it exactly in the middle of the bowl of greens he’s dressing.

But what if you’re just there to eat and don’t have a view of the show? How can anyone possibly have a menu with so much on it and not have a bunch of so-so food? And in Maine, of all places, not have lobster featured front and center? Well he does, the food is great and you won’t hardly miss the lobster (although it has been slowly making its presence felt on the menu).

For all the meals the Accidental Locavore and family have had there (and Frank could eat there every night), there’s never been a dud. Usually it’s quite the opposite. From the aforementioned torched corn (makes it taste like popcorn) to his riff on kimchi (some of the best you’ll ever taste) to a steak perfectly cooked in the fire and topped with blue cheese, this is just good solid cooking…only better! Even something as mundane as nachos gets deconstructed: cheese, chiles and peppers popped into the oven, chips on the side (they kept catching on fire in the oven), with homemade salsa and made into something wonderful, a “fat delivery system at it’s best. A recent special was monkfish chowder with corn and potato “croutons” (yes, they do look like fries, don’t they?)…as good as it looks!

If there’s a downside, it’s that portions are big, huge in some cases, and the selection can be daunting…everything just sounds so intriguing. Sitting at the bar just makes it worse because you get to see all the dishes being made and they all look delicious. What it takes to prep for service…no never mind…what it takes to remember all the dishes and what goes into them, is one amazing feat! And for years Kerry has sourced his ingredients locally as much as he can.

Cafe Miranda is a restaurant that’s a little off the beaten track, for its cuisine as well as the location, that should be consistently on everyone’s list of best Maine restaurants. It’s certainly on ours! If you’re in Rockland for the annual Maine Lobster Festival make sure to check it out.

 

The Accidental Locavore’s Day of Trendy Eating: Beecher’s & the Dutch

Every now and then, the Accidental Locavore needs a break from the kitchen. Tuesday I met some friends down at the new Beecher’s cheese store and café for lunch. They must have a great press person and have been mentioned in countless publications as the cheese/foodie destination of the moment. Part of the allure might be that they are making cheese in the store. OK. If you have a need to look at cheese curdling, far be it from me to stop you.

You know the Accidental Locavore is a sucker for (almost) anything cheese, so an early trip to Beecher’s was a must. Now I can save you from making the trip, unless your taste in cheese is a few steps up from Velveeta. Beecher’s signature cheese is, according to them, a mix of cheddar and Gruyere. Kind of insulting to both…

While not crazy about the signature product, it does make a good grilled cheese sandwich. Which is good because that, along with the “World’s Best Mac & Cheese” is most of the menu. And trust me, it’s NOT the world’s best mac & cheese (they were finalists in 2005, what we tasted would not cut it in 2011). The locavore may be a little cranky as it’s currently in the low 90’s and the menu at Beecher’s consisted of a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches, a lackluster salad and the mac & cheese. Not exactly summer lunch food.

But why Beecher’s? As a locavore, I appreciate that they are using local milk for their cheese, but it’s just not enough. This city has amazing cheese shops, some even with restaurants attached. To compete with the likes of Artisanal or Murray’s you need something unique and unfortunately, Beecher’s isn’t it. Guess I won’t be getting invited to their tasting panel…

I’m sure there exist trendy restaurants, well reviewed by the NY Times, that are worth the wait, decibel level and general hassle, but the Dutch isn’t one of them. In my many years of living in Manhattan, I can honestly say there are almost no highly reviewed restaurants (or musicals for that matter), worth the hassle of being the first on your block to have been there.

Tuesday night at the Dutch was just reinforcement of that credo. After the obligatory twenty-minute wait (with a reservation), we were shown to a large table in the middle of the bar area. Great, as long as you’re willing to forgo conversation and just text your dining partners throughout the meal… Another twenty-minute wait for a more suitable table. Oh, and did I mention that air conditioning was more of a concept than a reality? Tepid water and not-chilled-enough white wine kept the uncomfortably warm theme consistent throughout the evening.

After all that, the menu wasn’t terribly interesting. Six or so fish dishes, a duck pot-pie, some steaks and oysters. Yeah, OK… I had a beautifully cooked piece of cod in a broth with a strange spicy element (superfluous) and smoked mushrooms served about two hours after the time we had booked the table for.

The highlight of the evening? Great conversation and torrid gossip among friends…but I’m sworn to secrecy.

 

Thanks to my friend Robin Baron for the photos of the Dutch. She shares her views on our dinner there on her site: Simplifying Fabulous

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