A Seafood Thanksgiving on Cape Cod

We are not big fans of turkey but are of seafood. The last time we had a "fried" turkey, it was truly something out of "Christmas Vacation" where the turkey was pierced after cooking and it literally exploded! So off to Eastham MA on Cape Cod we went to celebrate our T-Day. But first we made a stop to our friends, Eli and Claudia who reside in the beautiful town of Scituate MA. They know we love to dine and wanted to treat us to something special. The chef, Robin King starred in an episode of "Chopped" and his wife Jill is at the front of the house. Oro is located at 162 Front St, Scituate MA (781) 378-2465 right on the harbor. We started with the butternut squash soap with braised pork cheeks , apple and a fried sage leaf. It was divine, rich, creamy & so tasteful !

I started with a spiced lamb carpaccio with lemon ailoli and pomegrante syrup- that was wonderful...

By this time we were fairly satisfied but decided to move on and share an entree. Something light, like the lobster cakes with lobster tomato crema topped with shaved fried sweet potatoes!

Normally the entree portion is two of these, it is delicious but very rich, especailly when combined with our earlier choices. We were certainly glad we shared this. Claudia and Eli were gracious enough to let us stay overnight in their home which was built in 1750 so that we didn't have to find our way for the 1 1/2 hour drive in the dark. On to Cape Cod the next morning !!

With our GPS on we had no trouble finding our little rental cabin- how charming was this! Perfect for our needs but where to go for lunch? Bear in mind most places are closed for the season & we really had to look. Always ask the locals- we found Sir Cricket's in Orleans. What a find, it's attached to a terrifc seafood market, has 5 tables and you walk up to the counter to order- old school.

Naturally we ordered the fried clams, not the strips but the whole clams, and an order of the onion rings. You don't have to be from the Northeast to truly appreciate how good this combo is!

Of course we stuffed ourselves like little piggies; the food was so good, we returned for the clam chowder (the best I've ever had) and Terry had the fish sandwich, only fish this fresh can taste so good. Terry's son Ben will be joining us later- we ordered broiled scallops "to go" for him- can't wait to try those later!!

P-town (Providencetown) at the very tip of Cape Cod, is known for it's art galleries, restaurants and alternate life style community. We stopped at a Kiehl hair and skin care shop where Mercado Said showered us with information and gobs of samples. Evidently vitamin C is the wonder element for skin. A P-town tradition is the Lobster Pot located on 321Commercial Street which is the main drag (508 487-0842). During the summer months the line goes out the door even though the restaurant is very large. At this time of the year we breezed right in. The kitchen area is very long and narrow and constantly bustling with cooking furor.

We were restraining ourselves in order to be able to have a decent dinner, so ate fairly lightly. Clam chowda was the first course- creamy and chock full of clams. I ordered the scallops au gratin as a starter- gorgeous and delicious.. Ben ordered the fish sandwich and Terry opted for the mussels Algarve.

Unfortunately the mussels were sandy and chewy, so they went back. The experience was still wonderful but we missed our friend Cassie, who makes the best mojitos in the world.

Tonight we're off to a wonderful place in Wellfleet- the Bookstore. Ben was on a quest for the perfect clam chowda, I ordered the littleneck clams- I think they're much tastier than oysters. For our entrees, Ben ordered the scallops au gratin, while Terry and I shared the "Fishpot" which seemed like it would be very tasty with scallops, mussels, clams and fish in a buttery wine sauce. Descriptions can be a real fooler! The dish was overcooked and really quite tasteless...

Ben's scallops were much better. This was a real disappointment as we have been here many times in the summer. Perhaps the more experience chefs are here only in the warmer months as many places are closed from October to April.

More adventures tomorrow!

 

 

 

 

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Brand New Eatery in Montgomery OH

Anea Bistro- "Fresh from Land and Sea"

9721 Montgomery Road, Cincinnati, OH 513 891-4333

Chef/owner Gary Bassett, a former real estate developer and who most recently worked at Jean-Robert's Table, is the newest restauranteur in the suburb of Montgomery. The only way we were able to secure reservations was because another party had cancelled at the last minute.When we went with our friends Roy and Betty Lou, the place had been open only 10 days. Our server, Gloria, was terrific but there were a few "spotty" areas which time will smooth out. We started with a cup of the carrot cumin soup which was superb! Gloria warned us there was only one serving of the braised pork cheeks on polenta, so Terry had that held while we had our cocktails. I love oxtail so I ordered the oxtail ragu over pasta. Betty Lou had to choose between the ravioli and the vegetarian lasagna- the ravioli won.

Roy knew right away that he wanted the duck breast with farro.

The evening was made a bit more exciting when a fellow diner was squeezing by our table. He bumped the corner with his hip which caused Terry's water glass to shatter on the floor, his wine glass tipped over and the bottle of wine hit the floor as well. The weird part is that I don't think he even realized what he did! I guess alcohol can do that... Gloria was very quick to replace everything and to open a fresh bottle of wine. We normally don't order dessert but Betty Lou strong armed us to increase our caloric intake!

 

Yes, we ordered THREE- chocolate hazelnut torte, pumpkin cheesecake AND, of course, the chocolate mousse. Delicious! The restaurant is cozy and the staff attentive, we will definitely be returning.

 

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Hidden Gem

How is it that this fabulous restaurant has been open for four years right under our noses and we have just now found it? The name is "Bite" located at 1279 State Route 131 in Milford, Ohio. Their phone number is 513 831- BITE (or for those of us who dislike translating letters into numbers-2483). This is a place that should be packed for lunch and dinner, but the times we've been there it is surprising not. It is in a very nondescript ranch style house, so it's easy to miss. The food is some of the tastiest we've had in a long time. The Cuban pork was delicious from the first bite to the last, how many dishes can you say that about?

Bite is rather funky, beverages are served in Mason jars and a real plus for some of us is that it is BYOB- bring your own booze! Yes, that includes beer, wine and liquor! This has significantly cut down on our bill. Donny our server was terrific, knowledgable and funny. They do not use GMOs (genetically modified organisms) and many of the dishes have a choice of gluten free, chicken or tofu. Don't get me wrong, for the specials they also had a venison burger and rib eye steak. The menu is very complete from "Happy Beginnings" to salads to sandwiches, pasta and entrees. Being light eaters for dinner we opted for the mussels, cheesy grits and shrimp skewers.

 

Desserts are also wonderful- Bite has a great variety from light to decadent. In addition there are several items that can be purchased such as free range eggs, local maple honey, etc.

Don't miss the beautiful Easter Egg chickens in the back of the restaurant.

So named for the colorful eggs they lay. Don't they look like models coming down a runway ?

 

Bon Appetite and Safe Travels-Our hearts go out to the Citizens of France...

Vivien and Terry

 

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Car Rental in France- A True Adventure!

We reserved a car through Hertz online. The pick up place was 99 rue de Rivoli close to the Louvre Museum. Not a problem, we certainly knew where that was ! Ha, famous last words. It is located in the Carrousel de Louvre which is a giantic shopping mall with countless floors, a total of over 10,200 meters (that's 109,792 square feet to we non-metric folks). Carrousel employees tried to give us directions by doing a lot of pointing. At one time we actually went around in a big circle. After much frustration we finally tracked down the familar yellow and black business. We were told that the Carrousel de Louvre management did not care for the corporate colors, hence no signage! It was the first day on the job for the gal assigned to us and she commensurated with us as she had a difficult time finding her place of employment. Finally all was going well until we were given instructions as to how to exit the garage onto the main highway. "Just drive in the lane that says buses and trucks only." Okay..

As we were exiting, Terry found that truck exit. And it was true, the traffic for the car lane would have had us in a one hour traffic jam. The "get out of jail" lane was totally free!

Our Trusty Renault

So we drove via GPS to many tiny towns and enjoyed the scenery and vineyards. Now for the return of the said vehicle. The plan was to pick up in Paris, drop off in Dijon, take the SNCF train back to Paris. On a Sunday Terry suggested we find the drop off location one day earlier since we had a train to catch early the next morning. Guess what, GPS does not work in the Old Town. Let me tell you about the narrowness of these streets- yikes. By dead reckoning we stumbled upon 44 ave Foch. One small glitch, ave Foch is a tram and pedestrian-only infested street. Yes, that is the mailing address but it is also where the trams travel! We actually did turn on that street, realized what it was, then put the car in reverse and got the _____ out of there! We made a plan for the next day to drive up the parallel street

Terry would "stand' in a parking lot entrance and let me out to walk around the corner to the Hertz office. I was very interested to see what they would say about the situation... the Hertz dude walked with me back to Terry and the car, got in the driver's seat and proceeded to drive on the sidewalk. Since there was no "parking spot" on the sidewalk, he left the car right there... hey, gives new meaning to "If you don't like the way I drive, get off the sidewalk"!

Au Revoir, France.

Bon Appetite and Safe Travels-

Vivien and Terry

 

 

 

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Burgundy, yes like the wine!

 

Once outside of the Peripherique, the highway which goes around the city of Paris, the countryside rapidly becomes the food provider of France. We headed to Baune, just south of Paris and came across an amazing farmer's market.

The freshest mushroom's sausages, flowers, nougat, you name it!

 

Yes, even a basic jean skirt, I have been searching for!

On to Dijon- the mustard capital of the world.

In this store the mustard was in little pumps where one could put a bit in a little spoon to taste it. More different ones that you can imagine and yummy! However, it was odd that very few of the dishes in the Dijon restaurants had mustard included. We were told it would be more prevalent with the cooler weather.

Does someone look familiar???

Okay, so we do other things aside from dining... the Musee des Beaux-Arts in Dijon is a wonderful diversion, which is free to the public. Many interesting things to see while digesting!

This is the coffin of the Duke of Burgundy, the museum is his former palace.

Sundays and Mondays most restaurants are closed. We were lucky to find a wonderful place called Editos which is always open- 2 Place Dacy in Old Town.

As the name implies, it had books everywhere, even the steps had books covered in glass and there proudly stood a Heidelberg Press. This is the same printing press that Terry's father used, the first one in Pennsylvania . This brought back a lot of memories for him.

Back to the food!

This region is known for escargot. Many times this special dish is not prepared properly and can be very chewy. In Burgundy they are done to perfection... soft, garlicky with lots of butter and parsley.

We were inquiring about the burnt raspberry creme... our server suggested we try the dessert special which included this item. Who are we to argue??

We were NOT disappointed ( the burnt raspberry creme is to the bottom right). As I mentioned Sunday and Monday most restaurants are closed in Dijon. We inspected a possible victim during the day by reading the posted menu and felt a sense of relaxation. Guess what- when we approached the establishment for dinner- mon Dieu, it was closed!

Terry remembered a place we had passed earlier in the day, "Enfant Terrible". He remembered that the menu sounded interesting, so off we went to 2 ru Jean Jacques Rorsseau. The place was indeed open and charming. But the best part of the evening was that we met a very interesting person, Philippe. He spoke English without a hint of a French accent, yet helped us naviagate our meal with the owner that spoke only French ( we were embarrassed for our lack of knowledge). He had spent 40 years in the U.S. doing business and was returning to France. It is this sort of international communciation that is so needed to understand each other.... here is the owner and moi after a satisfying meal.

Another wonderful experience easily found in Europe is travel by train, we traveled from Dijon to Paris.

First class travel by train is only a few Euros more and definitely worth it- Terry and I were both rocked to sleep on our way back to Paris.

Hopefully you've enjoyed our high jinks... just a bit more to come !!!

Bon Appetite and Safe Travels!

Vivien and Terry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Beyond Paris

What a delightful out-of-way town is Troyes! The Old Town is charming with these ancient leaning half timber buildings. Relying on Trip Advisor we found the best ranking restaurant in Troyes - "Valentino" located on 35 Rue Paillot de Montabert. It was a treat to be able to make a last minute reservation.

As with many "gourmet" restaurants, it's not only what you actually order, but the different in- between surprises offered.

Our pre-amuse bouche was cheese croquettes and onion tarte. We were somewhat fascinated with the floral arrangement of fresh cherries surrounding a rose!

I have to say there were two outstanding items before our main course. One was an egg cooked for one hour at 64 deg. C with jambon, asparagus and balsamic vinegar. Fantastic. The other was escargot in a zuchinni puree topped with a whipped creme fraiche.

That was the good news, the bad news- our entrees were oddly quite tasteless! Terry ordered lamb with apricots accompanied with a broccoli and cauliflower couscous. The couscous was terrible! I ordered the sweetbreads with medjool dates. Ugh, overbearing with the dates! We did mention this to our server and were comped two glasses of rose champagne!

The saving grace was the cheese plate and the dessert.

One of the most wonderful dining experiences was in Auxerre, France at Jardin Gourmand located at 56 Boulevard Vauban. It is everything that makes a dining experience heaven! The dining room itself is soft, soothing and gives a hint of what is to come. There is a garden directly outside, hence the name "Jardin". Oliver Laplaine was our guide and truly made this so special.

The amuse bouche was a celery coulis with smoked salmon, veal with gelee and lobster creme with roe.

I am smiling now, recalling the incredible presentation and tastes! I ordered the venison, tiny pumpkin stuffed with pumpkin, celery and celeriac. Terry had the pheasant with green fig sauce.

We usually do not order dessert, but in France, a bit of sweet is included with the meal.

What can I say... tres bon!

Here Oliver is demonstrating a very old hand cranked machine to slice the wonderful ham- jambon. They use this instead of a mechanical one because the heat from the mechanical one is thought to destroy the fibers. This is why we love dining in France!

 

Our last journey to Dijon is upcoming! More adventures involving food, friends and rental cars...

Bon Appetite and Safe Travels.

Vivien and Terry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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