Shopping in Paris II

The food department of Le Bon Marché in the 7th arrondissement is foodie's heaven! Go there for the most amazing charcuterie, breads, macarons, exclusive herbs, extremely expensive caviar, foie gras or just your champagne and fresh truffle. A serious shopping spree at Le Bon Marché will set you back a month's rent for an medium sized apartment in Amsterdam but hey it's all about the experience. When I did my Le Cordon Bleu course in Paris, I lived just around the corner on the Rue du Cherche Midi, the street of the famous Poilâne bakery. So when in Paris I very often wander around in 'my' old neighbourhood. On that same Rue du Cherche Midi we had lunch at La Marlotte, a typical Parisian brasserie.

M had a refreshing  'gazpacho' of artichokes and a goat's cheese cream. It was a silky smooth soup and perfect dish on a hot and humid Parisian afternoon.

My starter was Pressé de jarret de porc, a type of rich ham hock terrine, with a beetroot salad. The terrine was full of tender pork meat, including pork skin and a lot of parsley. Great combination of the rich pork meat and the crunchy, earthy beetroot.

Next for M was a panfried filet of cod with asparagus and a cream of peppers. This was a very forgettable and especially uninspired dish. Overcooked  cod, bland asparagus and a pepper stain? Je ne me souviens pas....

But my main dish made me happy, Aile de raie à la Grenobloise. Ray wing with a wonderfully light lemon sauce with the best capers I ever had, croutons and loads of parsley. The meaty flesh of the ray was beyond amazing and the whole dish came alive with that tarty sauce. 

 

Our wine was a light and fruity Côtes de Ventoux rosé 2008.

Our charming waiter  in front of La Marlotte.

La Marlotte, 55 Rue du Cherche-Midi, Paris

www.lamarlotte.com

A quick dinner at Bridges, Amsterdam

                                                    About ten years ago this former City Hall and iconic Amsterdam building, which is located in one of the oldest parts of the city's historic centre and bordering the infamous Red Light District, was transformed into hotel The Grand. The world famous Roux brothers were hired to set up the brasserie. Their dishes were, as you would expect from a French brasserie, quite rich and old school-ish . A couple of months ago The Grand finished the latest renovations and fortunately the brasserie has gone and made way to a new, may we say more 'hip', loungy restaurant. Although the lounge-concept has been around for as many as ten or fifteen years, it's still a major  improvement.

The food of Bridges restaurant can best be described as modernized brasserie food. After our amuse of Dutch herring (above) we were served a tartare of Yellowfin tuna with pont neuf potatoes. When there are only two or three components on your plate, you want them to be perfect and well they were not. The pont neuf potatoes were a bit soggy and the tartare very chunky, which made this main course a bit of a chewy situation. Hard to digest, especially since this dish will set you back € 26. Our wine to go with our main course was a Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand. Forgot the name of the wine farm but it was a smooth, dry and flavorsome wine. The desserts fortunately made up for former mistakes. The chocolate fondant was cooked to perfection and the (melted) champagne sorbet had a subtle taste. Loved the little chocolate tree! The raspberry dessert, with white chocolate ice cream and meringue had a nice crunch and was a nice and refreshing end to this dinner. All in all we felt that they might need some more time to get into their groove. The service was good though and the friendly waiters took good care of us. We applaud The Grand's glamourous makeover and though the food wasn't quite there yet, we certainly will be back because every one deserves a second chance.

Bridges Restaurant at The Grand,
Oudezijds Voorburgwal 197, Amsterdam.
www.bridgesrestaurant.nl