Country Epicure

Raffles Resort at Canouan Island (Grenadines)

varian and gary — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:38:41 +0000

(June 23-30, 2008). After landing in Barbados, we started filing into the terminal with the rest of the passengers. Before we had gone very far, we were met be the Raffles greeters and whisked into the private aviation area. While we filled out forms, staff gathered our luggage and we were soon airborne in a six-passenger “shared charter” to Canouan. Just the two of us plus pilot and co-pilot.

Such is the pleasure of staying at the Raffles Resort here. The staff is friendly, thoughtful and dedicated to making your stay wonderful. We even had the New York Times delivered daily, or at least the fax copy of the entire paper. The island is a small one, with no real village; and the resort occupies about half of it, spread over several hundred acres. There is nothing within walking distance of the villa, except the other Quintess villa next door, making the two gasoline-powered golf carts a necessity to get to any restaurant, beach or athletic facility.

Because this is definitely low season, we virtually had the place to ourselves. No worry about reservations for meals, tennis or golf. The villa is typically well-equipped, furnished in chic, island style, with several locally crafted pieces.

Raffles, as a true luxury resort, several restaurants, and we set out to eat in each of them once during our stay.

Jambu’s has fusion cuisine, plus pizza, mezzes and a kids menu thrown in. Our mixed mezze platter, split in the kitchen for us, contained hummus, chicken kebab, tabbouleh, olives, artichokes, feta and babaganoush ($15.85). Gary’s fried seafood with basil was similar to those found at typical New York Chinese restaurants, and Varian’s glazed Chilean sea bass had one taste as the Korean BBQ sauce had merged so with the kimchee that neither one was distinguishable from the other.

One night off campus at Raffles’ down-market sister hotel, we ate dinner at Tamarind, located right on the beach and topped with a towering woven roof.

The chicken and sweet corn soup ($12) was tasty as was the pumpkin ravioli with butter and sage ($23). The catch of the day, king-fish with red pepper sauce, was garnished with mashed potato and some bland boiled cabbage, carrots and green peppers ($23). We were driven by there and back because it is too far for the golf carts.

Dinner at Bellini’s, back on campus, was a little more elegant with grilled barracuda and a cilantro line salsa, white asparagus and grilled sliced potato ($36.98).

Up the hill from our villa but quite far from the rest of the resort is Villa Monte Carlo, with a casino and la Varenne, the high-end restaurant on the resort. While we listened to the delightful Dee who moves from restaurant to restaurant within Raffles during the week, we enjoyed tuna slices, seared lightly on both sides with a crunchy crust but nicely “blue” inside ($30.57) and red snapper with a basil potato puree, sauced with a citrus vin blanc ($44.15). They started us off with a tuna and pineapple mix in a black sesame seed coronet and then an amuse bouche of cold pumpkin soup with Parmesan sorbet. An extensive tasting menu was available for $132 for those with bigger appetities than ours that night. We never did get to la Piazza, the fairly up-scale Italian restaurant, where there was a three-course set menu ($75) and a five-course menu ($123) in addition to the extensive á la carte offerings.

One night there was a cocktail party at Bellini’s, which we missed but we did get to the beach BBQ at Godahl Beach. Since this is the rainy season they didn’t set it up as they usually do, with tables in the sand, buffet under the roof and the Kamodo grills in between. Instead, the tables were under the roof. The first course was ordered off the menu and then we stepped up to the Kamodo grills (Japanese-tiled vertical things) and the chefs made plates of whatever you chose among tiger shrimp, rib-eye, ribs, sausage, calamari, red snapper and baked potato. Salad and dessert at the table.Lunch, for us, tended to be at Godahl Beach Bar & Grill, where we tried virtually all the six sandwiches ($18-25) on the menu as well as a pizza ($23 and a large green salad ($12). We did try the Pool Bar one day with its very limited menu, served from Jambu’s kitchen and carried over the bridge to the square concrete bar or to beach loungers. Two pizzas, three sandwiches, one pasta, two Asian dishes and a few appetizers comprise the en tire menu.Because we are not big on breakfast out, we packed a loaf of our favorite whole wheat bread and some jam and honey for it. We also packed lime juice and Agave syrup and picked up the tequila and Cointreau at the duty-free shops at JFK and Barbados so we could make margaritas at home. This strategy worked well for us.

Quintess: Antique Shopping and Buying in Paris

varian and gary — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:31:54 +0000

(May 18-22, 2008 ) On this visit to our Quintess residence in Paris, we wanted to help our American guests decorate their newly-purchased apartment on Fifth Avenue, New York. Ellen and Allen were decorating in Art Deco and wanted to add some very special pieces that they were having trouble finding in New York at reasonable prices (whatever that means).

We introduced them to our good friend, Michael West, formerly the Artistic Director of Faconnable. Michael obviously has great taste and a great eye and has turned his attention from fashion to his long-time passion for antiques. What he does now, in addition to adding to his own fine collection, is to advise clients, mostly Americans in Paris, in finding the best furniture, fabrics and decorations to their taste in Paris and negotiating the best deals for them.

For Ellen, he talked to her about her tastes, set up visits to some of the neatest places on both banks, and led them to things they weren’t finding in New York. And, then, he showed them similar items in other shops so they could get a true sense of the value of what they wanted to buy.

The end result: they were able to buy three pieces at much less than what was originally asked by the store. Must have been worth it, because at the end of the day, they asked that Michael accept more than his fee (300 euros for one-half day) as a nice “Thank you.” He doesn’t work on commission so there’s no incentive for him to make sure you spend too much. Nice! (Michael can be reached at mwest05@attglobal.net ).

Two more London sound bites

varian and gary — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:08:16 +0000

(May 22-25, 2008 ) We had two interesting meals on this brief trip to London. The first at Luciano (72-73 St. James’s Street; 020 7408 1440), across the street from our Quintess apartment, was noteworthy for the place rather than the food. The space inside is terrific with big windows looking out onto St. James’s Street. The tin ceiling and small, hexagonal black and white tiles on the floor add an interesting old-fashioned note in juxtaposition to the modern room.

But now we must mention the food. The menu came and was rather uninteresting but we chose two salad starters, a Caprese which Gary found to be very fresh and a spinach and mashed avocado with a creamy vinaigrette which Varian quite liked. The steak and chips which followed were on the “Florentine” side and tasty but rather basic. As we ate we kept expecting more people to show up. None did. When the bill came, we finally understood. Lunch on Saturday is such a non-event that we were only offered food from the “bar menu.” We asked to see the dinner menu and that reflected more of the quasi-Italian fare one would expect at this latest in Marco Pierre White’s string of London restaurants. Next time we must revisit Luciano.

Another lunch we visited l’etranger (36 Gloucester Road; 020 7584 1118 ) and enjoyed a 19.50£ lunch in an upscale dining room. Mirrored walls float above black banquettes, whose backs form a ledge dotted with flower arrangements, up-lit from behind with purple lights.

The food is not really fusion and not really French but sort of French spin on Asian dishes. Both starters, a medley of spring vegetables and a ceviche, which had been lightly poached and then marinated overnight, set the stage for the main courses.

Gary’s shredded lamb shoulder with apricots, eggplant sautéed with nuts was tender and tasty, and Varian’s red Thai chicken curry a credible version of the classic. Dessert was a “refined” version of our beloved Japanese moochie. The wine, Les Griottes, Val Joanis (www.val-joanis.com), a 2004 Syrah at 34£ was good enough for us to note the web site so we can order some on our return to Nice.

L’Oasis, La Napoule

varian and gary — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:25:08 +0000

From 1970 to its closure in 1988, L’Oasis was one of the few restaurants in southeast France to have three stars in the Michelin Guide. We were fortunate to have enjoyed the famous Loup de mer en croute and the fabulous cellar strong in wines from nearby Cassis and Bandol. Well-aged Bandol red wines were available at very reasonable prices. After Louis Outhier decided to retire, the restaurant was closed for several years. It was reopened under Japanese ownership. In 1999 the chef, Stephane Raimbault, was able to buy it and has been successful in establishing his reputation. Michelin has restored two of the stars. Although we had been to L’Oasis for pleasant lunches in recent years, we had not really had a chance to try a significant meal there. So we went on the evening of June 26, 2008.

The entrance has been significantly changed. One used to enter through the charming patio where one could also dine in good weather. Now there is an imposing doorway and a formal anteroom. But we were happily seated at a corner table in the patio with its overhanging plane trees and lush plantings. We accepted the suggestion of a “Cocktail Oasis,” champagne with a bit of preserved cherry liqueur and a cherry. In addition to à la carte there was a choice of two big menus: one emphasising Asian-French fusion cuisine and the other Mediterranean cuisine. Normally we would have tried the fusion menu, but it didn’t seem as appealing as the other from the descriptions so we chose the Menu “Route du Soleil.”

We ordered a bottle of 2005 Condrieu “Côteau de Chery” (A. Perret,) which was superb. As we were having a large menu and we were staying in a hotel a short walk away, we also ordered a bottle of 2000 Domaine Tempier Bandol, Cuvée Speciale La Migoua. The sommelier was impressed and decanted it into an old carafe.

An amuse-gueule tray with little puff pastry things arrived. It was followed by:

CARPACCIO DE TRUFFES DE LA SAINT-JEAN
Coeur de palmier Frais de Thaïlande et Salade de Mesclun.

These had more flavor than most summer truffles, but I think that top chefs should just forget truffles in the summer. They are supposed to be choosing great products. The fresh hearts of palm were good, but not really appropriate for this menu and were overly vinegared.

PLANCHA DE PISTES TIEDES ET ASPERGES VERTES
En Vinaigrette de Kumquats à la Marjolaine.
This dish with small squid and asparagus was pretty, but had little flavor that came through the kumquat vinegar.

FILET DE PÊCHE LOCALE ET LEGUMES GRILLES (selon le Marché )
Niçoise de Condiments, Herbes Fraîches et Sauce Anchoïade.

The fish of the day turned out to be a piece of fresh, flavorful daurade, nicely cooked, with grilled vegetables piled on top. It was served with a boat of anchovy sauce; you can see a dollop in the upper left. I used quite a lot of it to enliven the otherwise boring vegetables, but Linda thought it was too salty. I enjoyed this dish, but it is really Provençale bistro fare, not two star cuisine.

HOMARD BLEU EN RISOTTO DE SPAGHETTINI “PUTTANESCA”
Sauce Coulis d’une Américaine Légère.
There was a generous serving of excellent lobster, but I don’t know why the chef thinks that he is adding much value with an ordinary tomato, caper sauce and pieces of spaghetti.

POMME D’AMOUR FARCIE “CANNEBIERE“
This pretty little intermezzo was supposed to cleanse the palate, I think, but after I had eaten it, I found that my palette was completely deadened. I’m not sure what was in the sorbet; perhaps the “Cannebière” refers to Pastis de Marseille. Our palates had already been assaulted by two overly acidulated courses and one of tomato and this really killed them. Unfortunately we were just starting on what I imagine was an excellent Bandol at this point, but I was never able to taste it.

FILET MIGNON DE VEAU DE LAIT ET ESCALOPINE DE FOIE GRAS AU VIN DE FIGUE
Compotée de fenouil à la Pancetta et Figue Rôtie

Sorry about the photo, which is almost as fuzzy as my taste buds were at that point. On the lower left is a veal medallion toped with a chunk of sautéed foie gras. Above it you can see greens on top of a little cake of figs and fennel, which really finished off my palate. The sauce of a veal reduction and figs would have been more suitable for pigeon, duck or pork.

PLATEAU DE FROMAGES DE SAISON FRAIS ET AFFINES

This was a nice cheese tray, big enough for a wide selection, but small enough that the cheeses were in good condition. Coating my tongue with one of the creamier cheeses brought back my palate a bit.

Caravane de nos Tartes, Gâteaux & Entremets de Saison

This is somewhat amazing. The chef is supposed to be in the avant garde with his fusion cuisine etc, but this dessert cart was right out of the 1970′s; (maybe earlier, but the early ’70′s is as far back as I go in great French restaurants.) The pine nut tart on Linda’s plate was particularly good, but the rest seemed too sugary.

Mignardises, Petits Fours & Chocolats
The mignardises were served on an iced metal plaque, but we were not really hungry or entusiastic for more at this point.

Obviously we were very disappointed by our meal. I’m sure that the chef, and his two brothers who work with him, have talent, but it was misused this evening. It may be hard for a chef to keep up standards when he is near Cannes and its many festivals. (The film festival is the best known, but nowhere near the biggest.) There were business dinners with pre-ordered dinners in the two private dining rooms, but the rest of the restaurant was just over half full. The kitchen may not take its work seriously when it is cooking for an undiscerning clientèle on big expense accounts.

http://www.oasis-raimbault.com/

Aureole

varian and gary — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 16:39:11 +0000

34 East 61st Street; New York NY 212-319-1660

(June 10, 2008). Who knows what finally lured us to this Upper East Side treasure but whatever it was we are now firm fans.

As usual with a first visit, we had the tasting menu, at $38 for three courses this may be the lunch bargain of the western world.

Our amuse bouche of smoked salmon belly with a chive sauce tipped us off that we were in for a treat. Gary’s chilled asparagus and ricotta with a truffled leek vinaigrette was topped with a sunny side up egg and it all blended together well.

Varian’s soft shell crabs were sauteed and served with mangoes and scallions and an Asian style soy lime vinaigrette.

Gary’s saffron braised rabbit with paparadelle, chick peas olives and parsley made him homesick for Nice, while Varian’s grilled hangar steak with marinated onions, wilted baby spinach and a white bean puree couldn’t have been better.

For dessert, Gary’s plate and a firm chocolate mouse with peanuts and syrup and ice cream with vanilla sauce. Uncharacteristically, instead of cheese, Varian had a bowl of luscious fresh berries.

Throughout the meal we ordered our wines by the glass so we could experiment. The four we tried, two each not four each thank you very much, were a 2007 rose from Mas de la Dame in les Baux and a Sauvignon Blanc Panacea from Napa. The reds were a 2003 Chianti Classico Riserva and a 2005 Malbec and Cabernet from the Mendoza region of Argentina.

The decor is quite understated, leaving room for some dramatic floral displays. Alas, however, this intimate and relaxed address will soon be closing to move to a new one in the Bank of America Building at 42nd and 6th. Lunches will be served at this address only for the next month or two, so get there while you can.

Two “Sound Bites” in London

varian and gary — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 15:57:16 +0000

(May 22-25, 2008 ) We had two interesting meals on this brief trip to London.

The first at Luciano (72-73 St. James’s Street; 020 7408 1440), across the street from our Quintess apartment, was noteworthy for the place rather than the food. The space inside is terrific with big windows looking out onto St. James’s Street. The tin ceiling and small, hexagonal black and white tiles on the floor add an interesting old-fashioned note in juxtaposition to the modern room.

But now we must mention the food.

The menu came and was rather uninteresting but we chose two salad starters, a Caprese which Gary found to be very fresh and a spinach and mashed avocado with a creamy vinaigrette which Varian quite liked.

The steak and chips which followed were on the “Florentine” side and tasty but rather basic.

As we ate we kept expecting more people to show up. None did. When the bill came, we finally understood. Lunch on Saturday is such a non-event that we were only offered food from the “bar menu.”

We asked to see the dinner menu and that reflected more of the quasi-Italian fare one would expect at this latest in Marco Pierre White’s string of London restaurants. Next time we must revisit Luciano.

Another lunch we visited l’etranger (36 Gloucester Road; 020 7584 1118 ) and enjoyed a 19.50£ lunch in an upscale dining room.

Mirrored walls float above black banquettes, whose backs form a ledge dotted with flower arrangements, up-lit from behind with purple lights. he food is not really fusion and not really French but sort of French spin on Asian dishes.

Both starters, a medley of spring vegetables and a ceviche, which had been lightly poaches and then marinated overnight, set the stage for the main courses.

Gary’s shredded lamb shoulder with apricots, eggplant sautéed with nuts was meltingly good and Varian’s red Thai chicken curry a credible version of the classic. Dessert was a “refined” version of \our beloved Japanese moochie.

The wine, Les Griottes, Val Joanis (www.val-joanis.com), a 2004 Syrah at 34£ was good enough for us to note the web site so we can order some on our return to Nice.

Union Square Cafe

varian and gary — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 15:18:22 +0000

21 East 16th Street; New York, NY 10003 212-989-352

(June 9, 2008). For us, this is the NYC restaurant that we try to visit on our two week-long visits to NYC each year. Danny Meyer’s concept of friendly service combined with the always appealing menu never ceases to delight.

Today was no exception. The calamari were cooked to perfection — more fish fewer breadcrumbs. The red oak leaf salad with grated cheese was tossed with a wonderful Dijon vinaigrette. Varian’s usual–tuna burger with Asian slaw and pickled ginger- was as good as ever; and Gary’s real burger the best of its genre.

The only quibble is that his mountain of French fries were just too much for the plate.

Asiate, NYC 2

varian and gary — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 15:05:59 +0000

80 Columbus Circle at 60th 212-805-8881

(June 11, 2008). Intrigued by its Zagat rating as the “best decor in town,” we found ourselves seated on the 35th floor of this stunning restaurant overlooking Central Park and east down 59th Street.

The sides with the view are virtually all glass, and the ceilings run 18-20 feet high. On the back walls there are floor to ceiling glass wine cases which add a nice touch.

The tables are well spaced allowing for your conversation to occur without competing with your neighbor’s. For a place so dramatic we were struck that with 2/3 of the tables full this day at lunch, all but one or two were filled with tourists. Are companies tightening up on expense account lunches?

The menu is fairly limited, with seven appetizers, ranging in price from $15-19 and seven main courses, from $22-28. The tasting menu is two courses at $24.08 with only two choices per course. We both began with a fig slice topping a blue cheese puff and then diverged our separate ways.

Gary decided to choose from the tasting menu, starting with the squid salad with eggplant tapenade and roasted bell peppers and then a honey miso-glazed salmon with Asian vegetables. Varian went a la carte, starting with the green mango and papaya salad with Thai vinaigrette followed by an inspired quinoa-crusted chicken with peas, wild mushrooms on the side.

Between our two courses they gave us a plate of prawn dumplings with garlic, chives, ginger and mountain caviar. The ample tray of mignardises proved wise our choice to pass on the scrumptious looking dessert.

Our Clos du Val Chardonnay at $15 per glass was its usual reliable self but the Mendoza Malbec, at $11 per glass, was a real find.

The Bottle Tree Grocery

varian and gary — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 14:52:13 +0000

1415 County Route 7; Ancram, NY 518-329-0444

Ancram? Yes, Ancram. Sort of in the middle of nowhere, in what used to be a filling station, Liz and Eric Macaire have created a charming and funky little restaurant, open only on Friday and Saturday nights.

Bottle Tree seats maybe 20 people and the $49 fixed price menu offers a choice of two first courses, two main courses and two desserts which change weekly. You bring your own wine.

Obviously this is more a labor of love than a thriving business prospect so we were not surprised to learn that Eric has a modern French bistro in New York City called Jubilee at 347 East 54th and two “Bubble Lounges,” one in New York City and one in San Francisco where there are more than 300 champagnes and sparkling wines on offer along with hors d’oeuvres.

Obviously those pay the rent and The Bottle Tree is a real “hands-on” place where the architect-trained Macaire can indulge both that passion (he did all the renovation of the general store/filling station himself) and the passion for food he developed growing up in France.

Ristorante Cuneo, Ventimiglia

varian and gary — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 07:41:46 +0000

On June 16, 2008, I went to Ventimiglia to pick up Sue, arriving on the train from Milan. I had finished my extensive shopping in the market and shops by the time she arrived, so we went directly to Cuneo for lunch. This has been a solid, but somewhat ordinary, restaurant near the market in Ventimiglia for a long time, but I had not been for several years.

We were offered a slice of torte verde, the local specialty of green vegetables, in this case zucchini, in a flaky pie crust. We ordered a bottle of vermentino, the local white wine which goes very well with seafood.

For our starter we had spaghetti alle vongole, which is done here with plenty of clams, garlic, sweet red peppers, parsley and olive oil.

For our main course we had a Gran fritto di mare with little triglie or rougets, tiny squid, shrimp and rings of calimari. They had been deep fried with a nice light batter. A squeeze of lemon was all they needed. A plate of vegetables was served alongside, but after our spaghetti, the potatoes seemed somewhat redundant. We skipped dessert and had a coffee.

The weekend before had been the annual battle of flowers when floats decorated with flowers and other vegetation are towed in a parade Saturday evening and again Sunday afternoon. They were on display in the square between the town hall and the market. This year’s theme was The Divine Comedy so one can see Dante and several of the grotesque characters which populate his inferno. The battles of flowers in this region are the origin of the ones at the Carnival in Nice and eventually of the Rose Parade in Pasadena.

http://www.ristorantecuneo.com/italiano.html

RISTORANTE CUNEO
Via aprosio, 16/d
18039 – Ventimiglia (IM) Italia
Tel. 0184.33576