The Making of Bisque

You know, finding a half-full crate of supermarket prawns in the fridge is quite traumatic. First of all, it's the raw shrimpy smell wafting out from the crumpled platic bag balanced on top of the three-day old cheesecake and the chimichurri sauce. I needed to somehow cook the damn thing before it died, and I didn't want to make a shrimp curry once again. So there's only one thing to do: make bisque. I started promptly butter-sauteing the shells, and then pouring water in with the appropriate amount of herbs and reducing it down to a tasty roux. The result of a hour's work was a thick, beautiful bisque that then I lapped up in three minutes flat, with all the shrimp.

Tribute (finally) to French Food

Has anyone noticed that there has not been any Komida posts on French Food? Surely not a coincidence among our circle, and surely we feel it's a low blow to take such a cheap shot at "ze freeench" but here I am living in Paris, and while many things like the postal service or the metro escalators could learn a thing or two from modern theories on efficiency (and I thought I was a strict anti-taylor type of guy until I came here), I feel nevertheless that I should finally pay a tribute to one of the wonderful aspects of this country: its food, despite our knee-jerk reaction against it, is quite wonderful after all. So here goes.

The classic breakfast here-- and seriously, who could begin a day in Paris without a croissant. This one just has to be perfect-- the dense rippling interior texture, the flaky crust glazed with butter, the rich buttery aroma... (from a cafe by the Madaleine)



















And this: the one under-exposed french food that I know of. The "tarte salee" which cousin, the quiche, is widely recognized. But tartes of this variety are not common even in the authentic french-type cafes one finds in downtown. This tarte (made of caramelized onions and bacon bits) was particularly savory, just salty enough but also with a sweetness from the onion strips.



















The ever-present creme-brulee. This was one in a very picky old cafe run by three gay guardian wraiths guarding the tarte stand. I managed to sneak a picture at great personal risk. The brulee is actually made with organge-flower and its attendant mild-sweetness and citrus fragrance. Delicious!



















One of the issues with French food is that we forget its deep dark continental origins... it evolved from what the Franks ate so it's basically barbarian food... but with more sauce. So this is an authentic robust pot-au-feu, made a la tradition, in one of my favorite restaurant spots in the Marais. The drollops of bone marrow, the thick slices of the stewed beef peppered and eaten with mustard.

Sushi culture on youtube

This video is awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCpbBVthD7o

Shota's advice for gaijin in Tokyo on expense accounts

Here are the Japanese places I recommend. Except for the last place listed, I’d get a Japanese person to make the reservations and print a map.

(1a)
Sushi-- “Sukiyabashi Jiro” They only have one course menu, so it’s easy. It’s the best sushi in Japan, period. If you like sushi.
Tel. 03-3535-3600

(1b)
Tempura-- “Kondo” It’s also a tiny counter place, but the best tempura, period. If you like tempura.
http://gourmet.yahoo.co.jp/0000607394/P055083/
Tel. 03-5568-0923

...My recommendations are the following, however, since you guys are in Japan you might as well start with the full-on Japanese course menu called Kaiseki consisting of 6-10 different small plates of seasonal dishes.

(2) “Komuro” -- in Kagurazaka.
http://www.brutusonline.com/brutus/regulars/gourman/shop.jsp?issue=186&backTo=list.jsp
tel. 03-3235-3332

Authentic Japanese kaiseki food. My personal preference is always the more sublime cuisine of Kyoto, but I think that Komuro is definitely one of the best in Tokyo— the chef has the magic touch. I think they have two dinner courses, both exquisite and in my opinion much better than the (even more) expensive stuff that’s too-well known. It’s in a back alley of one of my favorite neighborhoods-- the former geisha quarter in Tokyo where I used to live. Quite classy and quiest. But it’s hard core— this is where I’d take you if I were with you.

(3) “Kozue” in Park Hyatt hotel, Shinjuku.
http://www.parkhyatttokyo.com/hyatt/dining/kozue.html
This is really really good food— like the “Komuro” place above, but also accessible to Gaijin. I took my Insead friends here, and they all loved the food— even people who had never eaten real japanese food before. Not bastardized, but also they are used to foreigners so it would be easy to go here if you don’t have a Japanese guide. Also, the match between the Japanese kaiseki course cuisine and the endless cityscape of nighttime Tokyo is amazing. I definitely recommend this place.

Go wild.