I'm going to make you sooooo jealous! This morning I went to hotel Le Bristol for a press conference (something about Samsung partnering with a food guide) and I was lucky enough to sit next to one of the most talented chefs in France: Michel Roth from the Ritz (more precisely from L'Espadon, the Ritz restaurant). I asked him all the stupid layman questions but he was really cool about them and answered very nicely. BTW, as you may have guessed from the photo, I had Foie gras (see another photo here) Eric Fréchon's style (the Bristol chef). Pretty unusual for breakfast, but sooo good!
Ooh, you made me hungry! Time to go home for dinner. Great photo.
ReplyDeleteMiam miam! I am jealous! We can no longer get foie gras in California :(
ReplyDeleteDu pain fourré au foie gras?? Huuuummm even for breakfast I'll say yes! You're too lucky Eric, it's unfair. Really.
ReplyDelete(I had a little scream of disgust first, when I didn't know what it was. Well, I regret it...)
Jealous? moi?
ReplyDeleteYep! Supremely jealous I'm afraid, but thanks for sharing!
What a lovely Parisian breakfast! Poor Samsung, upstaged by fois gras -- what were they thinking? If they wanted anyone to pay attention to their presentation, they should have served those dreadful American breakfast pastries that show up at morning news conferences here!
ReplyDeleteIndeed, it really makes me feel sooo jalous at this moment, and above all very hungry ! Hope you enjoyed it for each of us !
ReplyDeleteOMG! Foie gras has been outlawed by the Chicago City Council, so we have to sneak to the suburbs to get a bit now and then. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI bought a $40 jar of foie gras on the Ile Saint-Louis and then couldn't get it open! It makes a nice paperweight on my desk. OMG. OMG. Let's all just go to Paris right now and have breakfast with Eric tomorrow!
You know, this may surprise you but I'm definitely not jealous, as I wouldn't dream of eating foie gras for breakfast. Ughh.
ReplyDeleteNow, cold pizza right out of the box, on the other hand ;)
Eric,
ReplyDeleteYou're taking "tourist photos" - half the album of our trip to France is what was on our plates!
Tonton_flaneur,
That was a lovely youtube link you posted yesterday - France sings USA. I've sent it to a few friends and we all love it - and we're Canadian!
Is there a PDP picnic this year? I've been checking the posts but haven't found it. If it's in May, I can bring the fois gras.
While I am very jealous that you got to sit next to Michel Roth and quiz him, I most certainly am not jealous of what you ate for breakfast! Quelle yikes! I am definitely not a fan of the foie gras. Glad to hear you enjoyed it, though :)
ReplyDeleteTomate, may I have a slice of your pizza?
Ew. I am not jealous! I like my pain avec a bit of Mirabelle Bonne Maman.
ReplyDeleteGuille, I might just hire you to send me a jar!
Buzzgirl, You can get Foie Gras in California -- at this cafe in San Francisco, Cafe Bastille, on Belden Place. They make a seared Foie Gras, it's on their dinner menu under Appetizers. I had it, and it was really good. Here is a link to their menu. If you do go, tell Olivier that I said, Hi. He is one of the owners -- the other one is Eric.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cafebastillesf.com/03_dinner_02.html
This Charcutier is in Hayward *Proud Provider of Foie Gras, Patés to the White House*
http://www.fabriquedelices.com/about.htm
Also, I hear Trader Joes carries Marcel & Henri Foie Gras.
Love foie gras...but I also love cold pizza for breakfast, so that perhaps destroys any credibility I might have had in the culinary department. I do consider you extremely "lucky" to have chatted with Michel Roth. You are as we would say, "Johnny (Eric)on the spot!"
ReplyDeleteYuck foie gras. Yuck.
ReplyDeleteNow if it were pain au chocolat instead...
:)
I just love this photo, as I'm a sucker for good food photography (oh to be a real Food Stylist!) The bread looks like I can just pluck it off the plate and take a bite! Not sure if I would for breakfast though, but I would definitely eat it later in the day. Very cool you got to sit next to a top chef from the Ritz Eric. One day you're skiing in Chamonix, the next you're hob-nobbing with top French chefs! Not too shabby.
ReplyDeleteTomate you're acting like such an American to say you'd eat cold pizza for breakfast!
I'm afraid my palate is not only not French, it's also not adventurous. During our visit to Paris I lived on love for the city, because even though we dined at Tour d'Argent, Pre Catalan and other fantastic places, I found little to eat.
ReplyDeleteI realize this makes me one of two things: either an idiot when it comes to ordering in French, or simply a cretin in general.
"One day you're skiing in Chamonix, the next you're hob-nobbing with top French chefs!" Katie's right, Eric. That's what I envy you for.
Ahh, what Laduree macarons are to Monica, foie gras is to me. It looks like it warm and enrobed with a fig confit. A glass of sauterne and voila... I have gained 10 pounds, and that is just from looking.
ReplyDeleteMany countries in Europe and many places in the US have banned foie grais. Why you say? It's only liver, right? Wrong.
ReplyDeleteTo see what foie grais really is http://www.goveg.com/feat/foie/
I am not preaching by any means. I was just not aware of what happened to these animals.
I have been visiting your blog on and off for while and have decided that I must fo to Paris sometime in my like if for no other reason than the food.
ReplyDeleteVery tempting photo without a doubt. For those who are into foie gras I mean. I'm not but it doesn't mean I can't appreciate a nice picture.
ReplyDeleteApparently someone at L'Espadon think I've got my pocket full of euros, cause I just received an email from the restaurant with an invitation for dinner there. Not for free though. You book a table at the restaurant til April 25th and get a special menu with a cortesy bottle of Ritz Brut Champagne.
(To be more clear: Cortesy = 250 euros per person)
Phx I didn't know you were such a big fan of foie gras. If it's not available in the US, than good for you that you have your layovers in Paris
ReplyDeleteMonica, Foie Gras is available in the US. I was out to dinner and my date said, that's really good. It was an appetiser of three different types of Foie Gras. When it arrived at the table, he started telling me how they make foie gras. I put down my fork -- I lost my appetite.
ReplyDeleteI eat chocolate or drink chocolate for breakfast. I really like Nutella Chocolate Hazelnut Spread on toast.
I don't eat the duck liver that you can buy in a jar, it tastes like tin. I don't like the ones in the glass jar preserved in fat either. I like the whole piece cold, warm ,sauteed whatever. Goose liver is even richer. I see foie gras in all the food stores around Christmas time in Paris, so I guess it is traditional to have a meal with it then. Guille help me out!
ReplyDeleteI can't think of the famous restaurant in Les Halles, I think it was Pied au Cochon(? )where I had a meal from appetizer to dessert with foie gras. I even had a foie gras souffle at La Cigale Recamier. For those of you who are in revulsion, I can only applaud the French for their inspired inventive cooking!
All this talk about foie gras made me hungry. Thankfully, I had some pate, cornichons, french bread and mustard (I mean, I didn't have to go to the store). It's not foie gras -- it was a good substitute, and cured the craving. Bon Appetit
ReplyDeleteAnonyme a dit...I appreciate the info. on the other side of foir gras production. Suddenly, I don't have quite the appeitite. Cold pizza suddenly doesn't sound so bad!
ReplyDeleteSorry "foie" not "foir"...my typing is horrid tonight. Too much basketball!
ReplyDeleteOh Eric, you are so lucky!! I read an interview with the author Joan Didion and they asked her what her idea of heaven was and her reply was "to go to Paris and check into the Bristol"!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a bit of heaven to me as well!
Pont Girl: Tomate, may I have a slice of your pizza? Glad to mail you a piece! I'll do it, too! ;)
ReplyDeleteKatie: Acting like an American? LOL... if you only knew what else I do ;) !
I just checked PDP (it's 9 am here) and looking at this photo made me hungry again.
ReplyDeleteLooking at your comments made me smile ; I surely can understand that some of you dislike foie gras. After all it looks pretty disgusting. But tastes so good...
I did know there where some problems with the regulations on foie gras in some places, but I did not know it was banned from many places (well apparently, from what Lois says, the prohibition did not strike La Bastille café in SF yet!)
Here it's so embedded in our culture that very very few French people even think of banning it (even though every year on television we see hos bad the poor gees are treated...
Barbscoot. There will be a PDP picnic this year. Early May. I'll keep everyone posted.
Katie, Petrea: "One day you're skiing in Chamonix, the next you're hob-nobbing with top French chefs!"
You're right, I should be happy with that, but sometimes I think my life is soooo boring! I guess the grass is always greener...
I understand Petreas but the thing is that it is the people you share it with that make it special too in France. And Food it is very related to memories if you had the chance to discover it during family meeting if your grandma in Alsace cooked it for you before the way she watched you it eat …
ReplyDeletesorry Petrea don t know why i put an 's'
ReplyDeleteI went on a "foie gras" weekend in the Perigord years ago. There were ten of us, some restaurant owners, but most just food lovers. We stayed with the farmer who raised the geese, ate goose/cooked in goose fat food all weekend, but we didn't attend the "gavage" (force-feeding) procedure. We saw live geese outside,but we were left to learn about foie gras, confit d'oie, etc. and assist in the canning process. And we were able to buy what we liked at really good prices... Slurp.
ReplyDeleteHe he I just saw that I had one traditionally made foie gras hidden in my cupboard kitchen!!
ReplyDeleteI think my dinner will be great...hummmm
Suzy, Bonne Maman jam? I'm a huge fan. so, a jar? ;)
Phx,"I guess it is traditional to have a meal with it then"
Well,it's NOT traditional! We eat foie gras between december and january, and for special events.
My special event is that I have friends who come to have dinner. LOL
Eric, your life, boring?! Pleaaaaaase...:)
The photo is delicius - I wouldn't want it for breakfast though. So I'm not jealous on that - BUT your boring life I do envy you a little :)
ReplyDeleteI'm on my lunch break at the moment, but unfortunately I'm not being served Foie gras.
Lois said: "I eat chocolate or drink chocolate for breakfast. I really like Nutella Chocolate Hazelnut Spread on toast." Me too Lois, that's my kind of breakfast!
ReplyDeleteEric, your life is not boring at all. You live in Paris!!!
Guille these dinners you announce here sounds so nice. You must be an excelent cook to have guests for dinner so often!
Sure looks good. I haven't had breakfast yet.Elaine Cooke
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've ever had foie gras for breakfast or any other meal for that matter. I would try it though.
ReplyDeleteFor breakfast, I think I'm with the person who wanted pain au chocolat!! *sigh*
I would love to eat what is on that plate, I must say. Wonderful picture!
And we all need to remember that we are very blessed to live where we do and have the lives that we have, it could always be so much worse! I'm thankful that I live where I do--I love it here--but I have always wanted to live in Paris or London. My hubby and I thought about moving there when we were first married and even made some plans, but his job is here right now, so those plans are on hold for now. But he is so good to me, he told me to plan for a month long visit when the kids are out of the house! I am coming to Paris by myself for 3 weeks, and he'll join me the last week to see the highlights. I have a feeling that the 3 weeks for me will seem like highlights. But, only 15 more years to plan and save! :) It's good to have long term goals, right?
Here's how I view what I know of your life Eric. After work, you are invited to events like art openings, dinner in plein air with the stars above on a side street,and running with your camera to newsworthy events. You are examining your city with the excitement of a first time tourist and seeing what others may miss ,all in an artistic way with with your camera--for the enjoyment of , shall I daresay.....millions?Then you still make time for play(skiing) and seeing an elderly aunt in another town. Pretty well rounded and rich life to me!
ReplyDeleteOh, please email me THE MINUTE plans are made for the picnic as I have to make a schedule starting April 16th.
Guille i emitted a small squeal too but ... yum! I'm curious to know what your layman questions were. I do hope you didn't ask him for the best tip to boil an egg. he he you do get to go to the best places; i'm so jealous and to sit next to someone like that too....sigh... did you give him my number and tell him to come and sit next to me next time in Cheltenham? I do hope so.
ReplyDeleteTo quote Shania Twain: "That doesn't impress me much!"
ReplyDeleteI find foie gras delicious to eat, the texture and taste of a top foie gras is perfect.
Unfortunately, I strongly disagree with the way they force feed the poor birds (this is the bit that make it illegal in many countries) that they get a liver 3 times bigger than the liver of a normal goose or duck.
So, Eric, I will eat with Pontgirl and Tomate if you don't mind...
Thanks, Tomate - I may have to take you up on that! Please do join us, Rose.
ReplyDeleteI am also with Monica & Lois re: the Nutella - yum-eee!
I did think of something I would prefer to slather on my bread, though. Has anyone tried Hediard's Caviar des Aubergines??? It is seriously, insanely, undeniably delish!! I highly recommend it.
And, dear Eric, lest you think I am not adventurous, I have tried the foie gras, and can manage one bite. Then, I start having issues...
Nutella. Now we're talking! Forget the bread. All I need is a spoon.
ReplyDeleteGuille, it has to be Bonne Maman Confiture de mirabelle. Though we get other Bonne Maman jams, we don't get Mirabelle here.
Eric, I think it funny you said sometimes you think your life is soooo boring because I recently realized that YOU make my own life being less boring, even if I should be more than happy with mine ! PDP makes me breathe and dream of what I don't do at all. I do admire your creativity and your freedom. I guess you are perfectly aware of that.
ReplyDeleteYes, the grass is always greener.... Real life makes us being different... Please keep me dream in my virtual life on PDP...
As you know I am reading Madame Vigee LeBrun. I am at the part where she said, "At last a dish of frogs' breasts was served."
ReplyDeleteCome to think of it, I don't see frog's legs on the restaurant menus anymore. I think I have only seen it once or twice in the past ten years. Is it out of vogue?
Just popping in for a quick "bonjour" then off to bed.
ReplyDeleteLove the discussion around Foie gras. I love it, despite all the different issues. However, no matter how good this photo is technically, even I wouldn't eat this one. Just a bit too runny for me.
PHX-CDG...what's up? I just read that "American Airlines canceled more than 1,000 flights Wednesday, more than one-third of its schedule, as it spent a second straight day inspecting the wiring on some of its jets -- the same issue that caused it to scrub hundreds of flights two weeks ago."
Is everything okay? Will you make it to the picnic?
Those still interested in the Olympic Torch relay in San Fran - it appears as though SF has canceled the relay altogether. Live coverage at
ReplyDeletehttp://abclocal.go.com/kgo/feature?section=news&id=6069106
Oops, I may have spoken too soon - looks like they've changed the relay route without telling anyone!
ReplyDeleteI've seen a couple of runners and a torch, but I still haven't seen an actual flame yet.
Lois
ReplyDeleteThe other day we went to a local restaurant and in the Menu they had something called Witches Cauldron. It contained frog legs, crocodile tails and snails.
I was tempted but changed my mind after my family told me if I had that dish, they would have to sit at another table...
I hate eating alone, so I gave in...
Rose, you crack me up!
ReplyDeleteBTW you said "So, Eric, I will eat with Pontgirl and Tomate if you don't mind..."
Hey, I love cold pizza too. I wanna sit at the same table!
Suzy, thanks for the update on the torch. I'm currently following its progress on my twitter feed
Rose, I laughed out loud, you are too funny.
ReplyDeleteThe are running with the torch -- when I saw it, there was a flame. It appears they are having a BIG PARTY at Justin Herman Plaza and a demonstration. San Francisco cannot make up her mind what she wants to do about this event. Dah
Monica "You must be an excelent cook to have guests for dinner so often", he he i think you can't imagine, just come and try!! ;)
ReplyDeleteSuzy, you love Nutella? Forget it, try the OVOMALTINE CRUNCHY CREAM!!! The problem? It's sold only in Switzerland. What a pity...it is SO good, I was a huge fan of nutella but this chocolate paste made me crazy. Arg. Fortunatelly, I have still two jars of it (I have some connections from there he he).
Guille since you offered, don't be surprise if next time I'm in Paris I show up at your door!
ReplyDeleteOvamaltine? Did I hear you say Ovomaltine? I love it! The most popular way to have it here is the Ovomaltine shake. Delicious!!!
(seems like CNN was reporting the flame route all day long today...)
I spoke to soon. The ban will not go into law until 2012, but the ban was instituted last year. We're in a "grace period" in California.
ReplyDeleteLois, I know Claude from Cafe Bastille - our kids go to school together!
You guys think I am joking?
ReplyDeleteIt is true!
Before getting our studio, we often stay at the Bristol (when the company was paying!) I find it to be the best upscale hotel, not tape-à-l'oeil like the George V or people like the Ritz. It feel they have nothing to prove, they simply do things well.
ReplyDeleteDans un autre ordre d'idée, avez-lu l'article sur le 9ème dans Anous.fr? l'article est bon mais les commentaires sont savoureux. Voici le lien
http://www.anous.fr/83-21-4354/le-9e-arrondissement.html
Yes, I am sooo jealous! I love foie gras. I am sure it was delicious.
ReplyDeleteOK, I'm a vegetarian, so add me to the list of folks who weren't salivating over the foie gras. :) But I had to ask Eric ... what did that famous chef think when you pulled out your camera and took pictures of the breakfast? I can just see the look on his face now! (Actually, though, now that I think about it, he probably understood completely your reasons for doing so.)
ReplyDelete