Hungry Frenchman

One day at El Bulli

My friend Lucas just gave me this link to a one hour video of a documentary made by the spanish tv station of a full day at El Bulli, the famous restaurant of Ferran Adria. In Spanish, but totally worth it for food lovers! Thanks Lucas!

http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/player/501930.html

Georges Blanc: the place to go if you visit France

Georges Blanc, in Vonnas, is the best restaurant in the world. I've never had a better experience anywhere else. It puts the French Laundry to shame for those of you who have been there. This is not going to be a long post since this blog is about San Francisco, but if you happen to be in France, and you have some money to spend, Georges Blanc is the place to go. 

Gamine, San Francisco

Gamine, in San Francisco, on Union St @ Fillmore used to be called Chez Maman. Stephane, the owner, changed the name (with some ownership status as well) several months ago and him and his wife Suzanna are now running the show.

This is no restaurant like any other. Stephane knows most of his guests, most of them being regulars, and appreciating his friendliness and kindness. You'll see him going for table to table, sharing a glass of wine and probably trying to convince everybody that Marseille is the best soccer team in the world. Nobody being perfect, we'll forgive him the Marseille part.

The food at Gamine is traditional french cuisine. It's really like eating in France, in a casual atmosphere, where the food is good, company is great, and you drink lot of wine. That's what Gamine represents, which is, in other words, some of the best aspects of France. I love the "escargots", the "moules marinieres", or even the goat cheese salad as starters. As a main, I usually get the steak with the fries and the sauce bearnaise. You just can't beat that. I'd also have to say that the lamb is quite delicious.

I've been at Gamine, many, many times. You're guaranteed to have a wonderful evening, with a fantastic host. I don't seem to be the only one to think like this. Most of the reviews on Yelp are actually confirming my opinion!

Gamine
2223 Union St
(between Fillmore St & Steiner St)
San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 771-7771

Bay Area Eats: Hog Island Oyster Farm | Serious Eats

I love Hog Island Oyster Farm, and just came to this article on Serious Eats. Wanted to share it with all of you as I know you're all huge oysters fans! 

Bay Area Eats: Hog Island Oyster Farm | Serious Eats.

Fat Duck Has Reopened - Diner’s Journal Blog - NYTimes.com

In case you wonder, the Fat Duck has reopened, two weeks after closing down because 400 people got sick after eating there. Who thinks this may be the end of Heston Blumenthal's status? 

Fat Duck Has Reopened - Diner’s Journal Blog - NYTimes.com.

Zare at Fly Trap, San Francisco

Zare at Fly Trap, on Folsom street in San Francisco, between 2nd and 3rd, is my new favorite restaurant in the city. It's quite interesting how those things work. It's not the fanciest. It's not the best. It's not the cheapest. And yet, I think this is where I've had 2 of my top 5 meals in the last 5 months.

First some history: Hoss Zare moved from Iran in 1986 and first worked at the Fly Trap. More than 20 years later, he decided to purchased the place (he had moved on since). I loved that story. Someone who cares! If he cares about the place, he must care about the food. I often say that the food you cook is a representation of the type of person you are: generous vs cheap, emotional vs dry, etc... It also works the other way around. Who you are will impact the food you cook!

Zare created a very relaxed atmosphere in his restaurant, probably due to his roots, where food is a social thing, where people just sit around a table, not to put things down their stomach, but to spend some time together. In my mind, that's the spirit of Zare.

This relaxed but classy atmopshere goes very well with the food that Zare serves. It's hard to describe, so I'll just say it's THAT good. Simple, fresh, & tasty. No fancy crazy stuff. Just good food. The lamb shank is a must have, served in a fantastic broth (so light!), with flageolets, potatoes and torshi (combination of pickles). My goodness, just talking about it makes me hungry! I go there these days just for this dish.

There are also some really interesting starters, my favorite one being the menage a foie, which is a combination of livers: foie gras, sheep liver and chicken liver. I'm a huge fan of bone marrow, and I wasn't disappointed! Finally, I was really impressed with the cinnamon braised lamb tongue. That was really something unique, and very hard to do at home (so order it in a restaurant!). 

As far as the wines are concerned, we've tasted several, and I may say that they have an amazing Santenay (from Thevenin) which is clearly on the pricey side ($50), but totally worth it.

If you want to know more, visit their website, or pay them a visit and say hi to Zare! He'll be around!

"Fat duck" closed as 400 diners taken ill!

LONDON (Reuters Life!) – British health officials said on Friday they were investigating 400 potential cases of food poisoning linked to top-rated Fat Duck restaurant, run by celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal.

The award-winning restaurant in Bray, Berkshire, is known for its chemistry-inspired dishes such as bacon and egg ice cream and snail porridge, with many courses frozen in liquid nitrogen.

Blumenthal voluntarily closed the restaurant last month after around 40 diners complained of diarrhea and vomiting.

The Health Protection Agency said the number had risen to 400 after media coverage of its investigation.

"This is a very complex outbreak," said Graham Bickler, a regional director at the agency.

The agency said its probe would extend to all those who had eaten at the restaurant since late January, whether they reported being ill or not.

The restaurant, which has had a three-star rating from the Michelin guide since 2004, is co-operating fully with the investigation, the agency said.

Diners often wait months for a reservation at the Fat Duck, which seats 40 people and charges 130 pounds ($185) a head for its 17-course tasting menu.

Blumenthal has said he is mystified by the outbreak, as the restaurant conducts weekly infection tests and nothing has been discovered.

"It was out of the blue ... I'm as fastidious about the hygiene side of things as I am about the actual cooking processes," he told the Guardian website in a video interview.

"The last thing you want is somebody to leave the restaurant with so much as a slight headache."

(Reporting by Tim Castle, editing by Paul Casciato)

Fresh spring rolls from The Slanted Door

I just ate 6 fresh spring rolls from The Slanted Door, bought from the ferry building out of the door store, and I just wanted to say it again: those are the best spring rolls ever! EVER! I already wrote about The Slanted Door, so I won't repeat myself too much. But boy, it was good... 

Have you ever tried them? Let me know in the comments section! 

Boulevard, San Francisco

It was about time. For ages, I've heard about Boulevard, at the end of Mission Street next to the Embarcadero in San Francisco. I've walked by it so many times. And yet, i've never paid a visit to one of the most famous restaurant in the city.

A few nights ago, a few friends and I decided to go. Just like that. Because when the economy goes down, you need to find a few crazy things to keep you alive: your family, your job, and of course, good times with friends. It's on this last option that we bet on for that night. And it worked!

Tataki Sushi Bar, San Francisco

Yesterday dinner, we went to Tataki Sushi Bar, on California Street in the lower Pacific Heights area of San Francisco. It's just a few seconds walk from where we live and we had never tried it!

Tataki is tiny and very well decorated. We had no problem to sit at the bar (which is our favorite spot as you all know by now!) and we started reviewing the menu.

First of all, this place is all about sustainable food. I actually quite like that, especially since it was very discrete. I had read some reviews indicating that they don't stop explaining why sustainable is, why they're supporting it etc... Well, either this wasn't true, or they've changed something, but there was zero mention of sustainable food by anyone there. Just a card on the table to make us aware of the issue, which i found quite subtle.

Like any good sushi place, you can find the classic sashimi, nigiri sushi and rolls. But Tataki is very good for the funky stuff...