Global Corners

Rainbow Grocery

2005-01-28T05:38:00.000-08:00

Rainbow is one of those organizations that traces its origin to the efforts for an alternative people’s political and economic system in the 1970's. The success of the experiement may be debatable, the grocery has, nevertheless, become an insititiona for those who support social causes from organic, anti-GM foods, to Fair Trade. For others, yours truly included, the combination of an ever-changing, fascinating, and wide-ranging selection of items at affordable prices is the key draw. Where else can you find no less than 13 and mostly organic sweetener alternatives in one spot or the cheapest Badoit bottled water in the San Francisco area. Oh, and the vast bulk item section of Rainbow is not to be missed.

Of course, you need to be willing to accept some degree of chaos as the clerks and patrons jockey for position to get at the groceries and re-filling the empty containers. Similarly, you should bring your own containers for bulk items to avoid paying for containers As Whole Foods gets more ubiquitous and blah, Rainbow offers a great alternative in both costs and entertainment value.

With or without the social causes.

Rainbow Grocery
1745 Folsom St.
San Francisco, CA. 94103
T: 415 863-0620
F: 415 863-8955
www.rainbowgrocery.org

Hours: 9 – 9pm Daily

(C)2005 GlobalCorners About

Amoeba Music

2005-01-28T05:35:00.000-08:00

When the term "independent record store" ilicits a pitying look in this age of mega chain stores and internet shops, Amoeba is a proud and thriving operation (and I am glad.) Considered a destination, it caters to specialized interests where the gray haired professorial types hunt down Funeral by the Arcade Fire in the midst of body pierced youngsters lusting after that elusive copy of Presti and Lagoya playing Sor's composition on vinyl.

Speaking of vinyl, Amoeba has rows of LP's. Each row has two levels - one waist high, the other on the floor level. Mostly classical and Jazz, the used LP generally sells for less than US$2 per disc. If you do not mind crouching on the floor to sort through the selection, the scavenger hunt for a good deal on an used disc is kind of fun.

Despite the fact that the Berkeley store has the better LP selection, it is still difficult to come out of the Amoeba San Francisco without armfuls of LP's, a full grin, and secured in the knowledge that a disc-washing party is coming again.

Amoeba Music San Francisco
1855 Haight St.
San Francisco, CA 94117-2711
T: 415.831.1200
www.amoebamusic.com

Hours
Mon-Sat 10:30-10
Sun 11-9

(C)2005 GlobalCorners About

Asian Art Museum of San Francisco

2005-01-28T05:25:00.000-08:00

With a majority Asian population, it is fitting that the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco is the largest American museum focused on Asian arts. Designed by Gae Aulenti, who also designed Musée d'Orsay, the Asian Arts blends modern technology and comfort into spaces for permanent collection and special exhibits amongst its three floors. Third floor focuses on West Asia, South Asia, Tibet and early China. Second floor showcases China, Korea, and Japan. First floor is for special exhibits. It also offers a plethora of amenities from self-guided audio tour to a museum shop and a café.

Truth be told, for a comprehensive historic survey of Asian arts, one might do better with a visit to the British Museum or Taiwan's National Palace Museum. Nevertheless, there is something to be said about getting a good introduction to the culture and arts of the Asian continent without overwhelming a novice. For example, notes on the interactions of Jainism, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Buddhism in the southern Asian continent provides enough detail to make it interesting without being weighted down by minutea. While the East Asian antiquity tends to be the run-of-the-mill items regularly found in the auction houses of Sotheby's or Christie's, the modern East Asian collection is rather interesting. A series of Japanese bamboo work from the 1960’s in familiar 3-D forms using complex patterns are particularly exquisite.

Be warned. Not unlike an one-day visit to "finish" the Louvre, taking in everything at the Asian Art in one day is a Sisyphean task. For me, I look forward to visiting it again to see the special exhibits and the Tibetan collection.

Asian Art Museum
200 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
T: 415.581.3500
www.asianart.org

Hours
Tue-Sun: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Thu: 10:00 am to 9:00 pm.
First Tuesday of every month free
Closed Mondays, major holidays (New Years Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas)

(C)2005 GlobalCorners About

Therapeia

2005-01-16T13:37:00.000-08:00

It is an indictment of modern life that tranquility and self-awareness are, by themselves, sufficient selling points. Whining aside, massage helps to put up a gallant fight in the face of modernity. On the other hand, a bad masseuse can cause more grief for the body, mind, and wallet while driving away the hoped-for illusive tranquility or self-awareness.

Inbar, that is her name, gives a deep tissue massage that hits the spot. Her ability to stay on that strip of tense muscle from lower shoulder to the neck – to be more anatomically precise, sternocleidomastoid and trapezius – is gratifying. This is not a job for brute force; it takes a rare combination of precision, strength, and experience. Noticing tight shoulders and neck like so many of modern denizens, she also gives a series of stretching exercises designed to loosen up the shoulder and neck muscles so she can work on something else next time.

In case your neck and shoulders are stiff too.

Therapeia
1801 Bush St.(cross Octavia)
San Francisco, CA
T: 415 885-4450
www.etherapeia.com

(C)2005 GlobalCorners About

Ferry Plaza

2005-01-14T13:26:00.000-08:00

For the longest time, Ferry Plaza means a large organic and gourmand farmers market in San Francisco. The farmers market endured while the location merged with the name-sake building - One Ferry Building. So, in addition to the make-shift farmer stands, there are some 40 permanent shops serving specialty, regional, and gourmet products.

It is a historic building with tall ceiling and lots of light and a gregarious traffic flow - an ideal location to scrutinize the latest chocolate concoctions of Scharffen Berger, sample the delicious fruit and fruit pastry of Frog Hollow, and munch on fish taco of Mijita. Of course, with shops and restaurants in twelve categories from antiques, bread-cheese, meat-poultry-fish, to wine-spirits, there is something for everyone.

For a tourist trap, it is a fun place to visit for a lazy afternoon.

One Ferry Building
San Francisco, California 94111
www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com

Hours: M-F 10 – 6 p.m, Sat 9 – 6 p.m, Sun 11 – 5 p.m

(C)2005 GlobalCorners About

La fête du Beaujolais Nouveau, 2004

2005-01-10T17:07:00.000-08:00

Gamay is one of those neglected wine grapes that does not get much respect. Light bodied, fruity, and high acidity, the most famous incarnation of this grape can be found in Beaujolais Nouveau from the Beaujolais region of France. For a lightly fermented grape juice, it really is more of a testament to the power of marketing and the tendency of the consumer society to seize on a good party - each year's Beaujolais Nouveau are released worldwide at the strike of midnight on the third Thursday in November under the watchful eyes of the waiting patrons.

For this release, it is November 18, 2004.

Of course, on a personal level, the real attraction is the fact that Café Fanny and Kermit Lynch throw a heck of a Beaujolais Nouveau party on the Saturday following the release. Kermit Lynch is a redoubtable, if controversial, American wine merchants worth a visit because of the wines they carry and the friendly service. Café Fanny is a little gem of Berkeley serving excellent food using mostly organic ingredients and is part the culinary empire started by Alice Water.

In the small parking lot in front of Café Fanny and Kermit Lynch, a large tent is pitched with chairs and tables. People of all stripes, it is Berkeley after all, can be seen sitting next to each other enjoy the food, wine, and company. An accordionist plays music ranging from French chanson to Argentine tango accompany the line of people snaking around the block to get a plate of food and a glass of wine. With a slightly chilled air and bright sun overhead, it is a small piece of the illusory paradise that we should all escape to sometimes.

The Café Fanny stall served a freshly made sausage using a blend of spices that was as good to eat as it smelt on the grill for the 2003 event. I have been dreaming about the sausage for a year. This longing is not to be sated because sausage was served in another event a few weeks ago. So, I have to make do with rich and fragrant lamb stew made with lots of herbs and spice. The Beaujolais Nouveau is a bit darker this year but offers a crispy acidity with a nice fruity nose to make it a well balanced wine. And, whether accompanied by a piece of lamb or a piece of bread soaked in stew juice, the wine and food compliment each other with grace.

Now, a bit of dirt on the event. The Café Fanny crew for the event was fairly green and the initial servings of the lamb stew were in the supersized portion. It was a great deal for the lucky ones who came to the event early, but, for the latecomers, there was more stew juice than the stew.

So, mark your calendar, wherever you are, for November 17th, 2005. The next batch of the lightly fermented, acidic, and very fruity Gamay juice will be waiting. As for me, I hope they serve sausage on the 19th.

Beaujolais
www.beaujolais.com

Café Fanny
1603 San Pablo Ave
Berkeley, CA 94702
T: 510 524-5447
cafefanny.citysearch.com
Hours: Mon-Fri 7:00am- 3:00pm, Sat 8:00am- 4:00pm, Sun 8:00am- 3:00pm

Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant
1605 San Pablo Ave
Berkeley, CA 94702
T: 510-524-1524

(C)2005 GlobalCorners About

Tour de France 2004

2004-12-22T23:55:00.000-08:00

(Bedoin - a town near Carpentras)

Paris may have the gliters but a traditional French vacation traverses Burgundy and Provence on route nationale 7 for "l'amour joyeux est là qui fait rosette (the merry love is there which makes nice smile)" according to crooner Charles Trenet. Just think about it, while the world slaves away in the face of geopolitical uncertainties, nothing beats driving amongst fellow motorists outside of Paris to visit the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes of Champagne, pay homage to the La Chapelle in Hermitage, brave the wind of Mount Ventoux, peek at the big dig of Vaison la Romaine, see the red rocks of Chateauneuf du Pape, and bath in the full glory of papal decadence in Avignon.

Of course, there is no point in avoiding wine when traveling through Champagne and the Rhone Valley. And, in the best Michelin tradition, there are restaurants to fuss over while Le Club des Croqueurs de Chocolat shows the way to chocolate shops. With or without gliters, there is much to recommend of Paris from the exotic ham, treats, to art works.

Extremely unfavorable exchange rates be damned.

Route nationale 7 awaits.

(Gotta love 'em Greens)

France 2004 October and November for 10 days.

Special thanks to Rob M who provided the technical support for image capturing and Joel P who oversaw the Champagne logistics.

Global Corners

(C)2004 GlobalCorners About

Driving in France 2004

2004-12-22T19:54:00.000-08:00

(Driving in France)

Having to drive in France is not the end of the world.

Myth number one, you have to know how to drive a manual car.
While this automotive skill will serve you well in general, a bit of research and advance planning will yield an automatic subcompact Citroen rental from the Paris CDG airport. On the other hand, counterintuitive truth number one, a Citroen subcompact can be spacious. Although the first glance in the rental lot conjures up the image of knees up to ears, a tall ceiling, like a modern VW Bug, makes it a humane transportation option - with trunk space to spare if you travel light. Counterintuitive truth number two, the turning radius is gigantic for its size and discussion of turning radius quickly loses its academic sheen when you have to make an U-turn on an unlit two lane highway after sunset - a somewhat frequent occurrence until you have figured out how to match the map with the road signs. Counterintuitive truth number three, the Citroen subcompact comes with cool functions. The most impressive one is the windshield wiper that automatically adjusts the wiping speed to the raining conditions outside.

Myth number two, European drivers are crazy and the French drivers are doubly so.
Not true - never forget that you are in a rental car and, if you think clearly, have full insurance. While French motorists are no worse than the average fellow commuters next car over, the niggardly lighting on the national highways, route nationale, is disconcerting. Admittedly, if your sole aim is to get from point A to point B, there is a potpourri of options outside of the national highways - from the well-lit and multi-lane toll roads, TGV's, to airplanes. On the other hand, if your aim is to wander an unfamiliar region, lit highways would be nice. Fortunately, maps and road signs are generally excellent even at night, as long as you figure out how to read them.

Finally, French highway planners love rotaries, a.k.a. traffic circle or roundabout. The initial ambivalence quickly fades as soon as its ability in inducing self-regulating traffic pattern without the aid of traffic lights becomes apparent. Furthermore, those rotaries offer the benefit of allowing car and driver to keep going in a circle until a decision on which outlet to take has been made – it might sound silly but is better than going in the wrong direction. On the other hand, one does wonder if some traffic designers may be taking roundabouts too seriously when there are severals within 200 meters of each other.

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Champagne 2004

2004-12-22T18:54:00.000-08:00

(Reims)

Champagne, the region, is 90 miles northeast of Paris and counts Reims and Epernay as some of its major towns. Beyond being the home to several major champagne houses, Reims is known for the cathedral where French coronations took place, including Charles VII’s made possible by Joan of Arc, until Louis XVI who lost his head during the tumult of French revolution. The cathedral is a dignified architecture that has obviously gone through the best and worst of human history and, despite the non-stop flow of visitors and chatters, there are still areas and corners for respite and meditation.

(Cathedral, Reims)

Epernay

Epernay’s Avenue de Champagne boats a parade of champagne houses with imposing facades where you can take pictures in front of the likes of Moet & Chandon, Perrier-Jouet, and Pol Roger. Of course, if these names are a bit too blue-blooded for you and you want an easy primer on the history and making of the bubbly, visit the house of Mercier at the far end of the Avenue de Champagne. As one of the local boutique champagne houses noted with considerable tongue in cheek, Mercier is like Disneyland. The tour is replete with movies, models, a laser-guided tram around the tunnels of the cellar, a guided tour with tall tales, the world’s largest champagne cask (winning the second prize at the Paris World Expo with the top prize going to Mr. Eiffel of the tower fame,) and a glass of Mercier champagne.

(Mercier tour: storage cave)

A side note on the champagne house classifications that is not often obvious outside of the region.

There are five categories of champagne makers: NM, RM, CM, RC, MA. Majority of the selections seen outside of the region come from one of the major houses categorized as NM such as Moet & Chandon – think Dom Perignon for Ian Flemings’ James Bond. On the other hand, if you can find a bottle by an RM maker, for example, it is often an excellent value because there is no extra margin for the marketing budget.

How do you tell? Look closely at the label for, usually very small, a print showing the classification and the registered number. For example, a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin is NM-157-001, whereas a bottle of Marguet-Bonnerave is marked RM-26305-01. Just imagine, after some wine geek exhausted his commentary on the mousse (bubble) of the champagne in the next party, you can sound awfully well informed by complimenting the hostess for her good taste in getting an RM bottle…

Champagne Classifications

N.M. (Négoçiant Manipulant) Majority of the well known brands - buy grapes in bulk from other growers to make their own champagne.

R.M. (Récoltant Manipulant) A house that grows its own grapes and makes its own champagne - could also sell grapes to others or buy grapes to augment production

C.M. (Co-opérative de Manipulation) Several growers who produce champagne under the CM’s brand(s).

R.C. (Récoltant Co-opérateur) A member of a co-operative who sells a co-operative produced champagne under his own brand.

S.R. (Société Récoltantes) Growers who pool their resources but is not a co-operative.

N.D. (Négoçiant Distributeur) A merchant who sells Champagne from other producers under his own brand.

M.A. (Marque d'Acheteur) Buyer's brand, private label products, made by one of the above.

A novelty that is difficult to get outside of Champagne is the regional flat wine - Coteaux Champenois. It pales in comparison to its world renowned sparkling siblings and deepens your admiration for the pioneers, embodied by Dom Perignon in the lore of Champagne, who came up with the way to transform the same ingredients that makes a coteaux champenois into the elixir that is champagne. Nevertheless, treated as a simple table wine, coteaux champenois’s acidity and structure is a very pleasant accompaniment to the regional cooking.

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La Chapelle, Hermitage 2004

2004-12-22T17:53:00.000-08:00

While chapels are dime a dozen in France, for wine drinkers worldwide, La Chapelle refers to the structure belonging to the Jaboulet family in Hermitage built by the 13th century crusader, Henri-Gaspard de Sterimberg. While the original chapel did not withstand the vicissitude of time, the current St Christopher chapel is the namesake for La Chapelle, formally known as Paul Jaboulet-Aine Hermitage La Chapelle, a dry red wine that dreams are made of.

The 1990 La Chapelle, a perfect 100 point according to Robert Parker, is beautiful, continuously evolving, and structured without being austere; this is a wine that can help you appreciate why some are worth the zeros behind them. Ironic bit number one, although the Jaboulet family produces La Chapelle, the wine, and owns La Chapelle, the structure, the Les Bessards vineyards immediately surrounding the chapel are owned by a rival winemaking family, Chapoutier. Ironic bit number two, La Chapelle uses mostly syrah grapes not from vineyards of Les Bessards but La Meal. So, if you throw in the Valrhona shop where patrons are encouraged to sample mountains of chocolate bonbons, there is no excuse for not visiting the town of Hermitage.

Unless, of course, you get caught in traffic and it gets dark before you have arrived. A sad story.

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Mount Ventoux 2004

2004-12-22T16:53:00.000-08:00

(The view to be seen)

Mount Ventoux is known for a number of reasons. For students of ecclesiastical history, Pope Innocent III climbed it. For Renaissance philosophers, reason for the papal visit, to see the view, marks a new humanistic approach for the era. For cycling enthusiasts, it conjures up the image of the notorious northwest Provancale wind, Mistral, known for forcing cyclists off their bikes. For Lance Armstrong, this is stage 14th of the 2002 Tour de France – okay, he did not win this stage, but he won the tour.

A barren and solitary peak in the middle of Provence with the best vista for the whole region, Mount Ventoux provides a good way to blow a few hours of wanderlust with mother nature after the stimulation of civilization, culinary concoctions, and road rage. The winding road up the peak is a comfortable drive if you do not look too closely at the determined grins of the hardy cyclists huffing and puffing the climb. The mistral is indeed ferocious and relentless but, the view is spectacular. Clusters of villages and towns in terra cotta buildings surrounded by parcels of farm fields in different hues as far as the eyes can see - Mr. di Segni, Pope Innocent III, has good taste.

(View from road to Mount Ventoux)

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Vaison la Romaine 2004

2004-12-22T16:52:00.000-08:00

(Window of a room for rent)

Vaison La Romaine, the largest archaeological site in France, is a beautiful environ with ancient structures, narrow pathways, history in every corner, and the devil-may-care bohemian air of the fabled life in Provence. Therefore, it is not without a bit ironic that the most vivid memories are the drive there and the hotel-castle.

(12th Century Comte Toulouse Castle)

It was a dark and stormy night... Rain drops the size of grapes carried horizontally by the mistral winds smashing onto the window shield marred the vision on the roads to Vaison La Romaine. It is bad enough to driving in an unfamiliar region. Add cloudy darkness, relentless rain, small road signs, and car headlight as the sole illumination source, it makes for a recipe of death grip on the steering wheel with hair standing at full attention on the back of neck. Funny how light-pollution of a town can be so welcoming.

www.vaison-la-romaine.com

(View from the castle)

Le Beffroi, in the heart of the old town, is reputed to be the best known inn of Vaison la Romaine. Despite the worn stone stairs and wears and tears of a 16th century building, the inn is cleanly kept and well lit. While the room boasts a mini-bar, a TV, and in-room plumbing, the combination of modern conviniences in its historic setting is seamless. Parking can be a bit of a problem since the original builders of the old town were not really thinking ahead, but the innkeepers can take care of it. If you do not have the time to rent a room with fancy windows, Le Beffroi serves an excellent and hassle free alternative.

Hostellerie Le Beffroi
Rue de l'Evêché - Cité Médiévale - BP 85
84110 Vaison La Romaine
T: 04 90 36 04 71
F: 04 90 36 24 78
www.le-beffroi.com

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Chateauneuf du Pape 2004

2004-12-22T15:52:00.000-08:00

(Galets roules of Chateauneuf du Pape)

While some are mesmerized by Bordeaux first growth makers and others are chasing that elusive perfect Burgundy bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, the pebbles of Chateauneuf du Pape in southern Rhone Valley are awe inspiring in their appearance and resultant wines. Meaning "the little chateau of the pope", Chateauneuf du Pape gets its name when Pope John XXII (1316-1334) set up a summer residence that withstood the vicissitude of time until blown up in 1944 during the waning days of WWII.

Known for its fine red wine, Robert Parker considers the region “the Bordeaux of the Rhone” where the vineyards are littered with rocks, galets roules, as a result of pre-historic Alpine glaciers. While tending to the vine and grapes is backbreaking with those small boulders in the way, absorbing heat and reflecting it back onto the vines and grapes is an unique feature not seen anywhere else in the world. There are oceans of rocks in the north and northwest vineyards of Mont Redon, Cabrieres, and Maucoil. However, in the vineyards of La Crau, due east toward Bedarrides, are some of the finest microclimates and vineyards with gigantic galets roules owned by Vignobles Brunier who makes the famed Domaine du Vieux-Telegraphe.

(Galets roules in action - La Crau)

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Avignon 2004

2004-12-22T14:51:00.000-08:00

With a beautiful medieval papal residence, a medieval bridge, and a major festival, no wonder Avignon is a destination.

(Papal palace: where judgement is pronounced)

Selected as the seat of the Papacy during the period referred to as Babylonian Captivity (1309 - 1377) and remained as a papal possession until the French Revolution, Avignon has got history. Known for extravagance, corruptions, and two antipopes stemmed from the Great Schism, a visit to the papal palace is eye opening. The ticket includes a self-guided tour where every room and nook has a mind bugling stories from the numbers of cows, pigs, chickens, and games of all sorts are consumed in a feast to the cavernous halls size of football field where popes were selected, church justice was pronounced, and all sorts of creepy, exuberant, and mundane acts took place. If you enjoy history, the palace is worth the time and effort.

(Papal palace: where the pope received greeters)

Pont d'Avignon is really Pont St Benezet, a seemingly minor subtlety whose import would be obvious until you see only street signs for Pont St Benezet while trying to get to Pont d'Avignon. With only four arches remain, this bridge, meant to straddle the Rhone river and connect the towns of Avignon and Villeneuve Les Avignon, was in a constant state of collapsing until the locals just gave up on repairing five centuries after its initial completion in 1185. A beautiful bridge in its own right where a self-guided tour is bundled with a visit to the papal palace, the far end of the bridge offers the best vantage point to take panoramic pictures of the Avignon old town.

(Avignon as seen from Pont St Benezet)

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Wine and their makers

2004-12-22T13:50:00.000-08:00

There is no point in avoiding wine while in France.

(Champagne making tools: champagne museum of Launois)

Champagne Launois Père et Fils: A museum that covers all things champagne - land, vine, production methods, history, labels, corks, bottle making, and whatever else you can think of.

Champagne Marguet Bonnerave: Benoit, the winemaker, is experimenting with bio-dynamic farming methods.

Champagne Voirin-Jumel: Ages some of the champagne in oak barrels for six months to extract the vanilla flavor.

Pol Roger: the 1996 Reserve Brut has a Zen-like effortless modesty - part of the review on La Briqueterie.

Domaine du Vieux-Telegraphe: of scions, school hours, and fine wine.

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In Michelin we trust

2004-12-22T11:50:00.000-08:00

(adoise)

The story goes that Michelin, the French tire company, started the Michelin Guide ratings French restaurants to increase the amount of driving and, logically, boost the consumption of car tires. While one can dispute the relative merits of its tires today, the Michelin Red Guide and their three-star ratings are recognized worldwide as the final words in fine dining. To wit, an one-star rating means the establishment is worth a stop if it is on the way, a two-star denotes it is worth a detour, and a three-star is worthy of a dedicated trip.

www.viamichelin.fr

(Cheese cart of La Briqueterie)

Restaurant Notes (in order of most to least Michelin stars and forks)

Troisgros: three-star in the middle of a town that you will never go otherwise

La Briqueterie: one-star outside of Epernay in Champagne

La Beaugravière: impressive Rhone wine collection in the middle of truffle country

La Fourchette: fish and hearty stew of Cuisine Provençale

Le Central: Charollais steak tartare, 'nuff said

L'Avant Gout: getting off the Michelin race with good result

L'Ourcine: absinthe induced madness

(Charollais herd)

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Le Club des Croqueurs de Chocolat

2004-12-22T10:35:00.000-08:00

While French may not consume chocolate in as much abundance as their Swiss or Belgian brothers, it is nevertheless a serious business, commercially and gastronomically. So, it is more of a surprise that the somewhat secretive and invitation-only association of Le Club des Croqueurs de Chocolat, Club of Chocolate Munchers, formed only in 1981. A perspective member must be sponsored by current members and answer a series of chocolate questions to join the rank of the 150 croqueurs, a who's who list of the French culinary and media world. Croqueurs meet four times a year to rate chocolate bonbons from none to five chocolate-bar where five is the best.

The rating publication, Le guide du Club des Croqueurs de Chocolat, is touted by French chocolate makers like the Michelin guide for restaurant operators. With the most recent edition, 2003, in hand, you too can stalk across France like a Safari big game hunter, sans bullets...

(Church in Carpentras - home of Jouvaud - Le Club des Croqueurs de Chocolat 4 bar)

www.croqueurschocolat.com

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Rating chocolates and chocolate ratings 2004

2004-12-22T09:27:00.000-08:00

(Seve)

For each shop visited, a box of freshly made dark chocolate are tasted and rated on the following independent dimensions: texture, aroma, balance, and intensity plus an overall impression where five is the best possible score with three being the average, defined as a Valrhona equivalent. While each chocolate is rated based on its own type, since it makes no sense to compare the texture dimension between praline and ganache, only the composite score is tabulated and noted. Like all ratings, these contain a good deal of taster bias and idiosyncrasies, despite rudimentary statistical techniques to minimize the impacts, and should be used with these issues in mind.

A quick note on terminologies for the ratings

Bonbons: chocolate candies

Couverture: chocolate or, specifically used in these rating, the chocolate coating on the bonbons

Fourrage: filling/heart of bonbons

Ganache: fourrage made with chocolate, cream, and infusion of flavors

Praline: fourrage made with crushed, carmelized nuts

Tasting Notes

Les 5 Tablettes

Jean-Paul Hévin: beautiful bonbons, lousy tea (service)

Les 4 Tablettes

Christian Constant: a thoughtful poet of chocolates and maker of pastry with precision

Gérard Mulot: the ultimate neighborhood chocolate shop

Jouvaud: how to bribe a kid

Pierre Hermé: pastry and chocolate as an exuberant art

Sève: how to bribe an adult

Vincent Dallet and Near Misses: Au Parrain Genereux and Terroir: sometimes, being there is more important than having the numbers

Les 3 Tablettes

Pralus: must have been a bad day

Joel Durand: crunching away without couverture

No rating

Puyricard: conspiracy theories abound

Not Rated

Valrhona: not sure who is more insulted, McDonalds or Valrhona

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Bellota Unico

2004-12-22T08:48:00.000-08:00

There are worse vices than liking cured meat and, unlike the more familiar Serrano variety from Spain, Jamon Iberico, made from the darker and leaner flesh of Iberico pigs native to the peninsula, is a highly sought after item inside and outside of the Iberian peninsula. Jamon Iberico made from pigs raised on a diet of acorns, bellota, get the rarified official designation of Jamon de Bellota. Since commercial Jamon de Bellota hogs can be up to 25% Duroc-Jersey pig, while an unofficial designation, artisan makers who use 100% Iberico breed add an Unico label to their Jamon Iberico.

Jamon de Bellota Unico has a delicate yet clear acorn note minus any hint of "off" fatty flavor common in pork. It is one of the ultimate gastronomic indulgences blending the sheer forces of human and nature in each bite. The gold, no, the diamond standard from which all cured meat should be measured.

(Da Rosa's cellar. Puhhhhhhhhhr.)

Tasting Notes: Lafayette Gourmet and Da Rosa Epicerie Fine

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Parisian treats

2004-12-22T07:48:00.000-08:00

(Welcome to Paris)

Food Lover’s Guide to Paris, by Patricia Wells the food editor for the International Herald Tribune and the only non-French to serve as food critic for the French weekly L’Express, is one of the standards to be consulted before heading to that erstwhile city. After all, there is more to life than what is penned by the folks of Michelin Guide and Le Club des Croqueurs de Chocolat.

Tasting Notes:

Calixte: the croissants and pains au chocolate to end all croissants and pains au chocolate

Boulangerie Eric Kayser: walk like a Parisian

Mariage Feres: SFTGFOP-1 stands for Super Fine Tippy Golden Orange Pekoe Grade 1

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Seeing colors and shapes

2004-12-22T05:54:00.000-08:00

If you are looking for artworks that are worth collecting in Paris, Place des Vosges, with galleries sitting right next to each other offering a full range of human expressions in physical forms, is probably a better location than the hilly streets and squares of Sacre Coeur dipicted in movies. Of course, the fact that it is the oldest square in Paris and counts L’Ambroisie, a Michelin 3 star restaurant, amongst the tenants only add to its charm and allure. Amongst the many galleries worth visiting, José Antonio Diazdel’s choices of shapes and color combinations can be found at Galerie Lisette Alibert.

Of course, you do not have to be in Paris nor inside a gallery. Outside of Paris, hung on the stairway toward the library of Troisgros in Roanne, another Michelin 3 star restaurant, is an oil on canvass painting by Pia Fries with bold strokes and stark white space.

(Sempé, 1987 - partial view)

Involving no Michelin star, the cartoonist Jean Jacques Sempé, whose Le Petit Nicolas reaffirms the simple goodness of life for kids and whose well articulated and sparse lines shown in New Yorkers and other periodicals exposes his gentle cynicism of humanity in a tranquil world on the road paved with good intentions, can be found at Galerie Martine Gossieaux in Paris. A colleague of Sempé in an ad agency way back, Martine has an impressive inventory of post cards, books, lithograph, posters, original works, etc. If you are a fan, a visit to the gallery is like a visit to a chocolate shop where eyes are always bigger than stomach or wallet. Fortunately, tasting is allowed and the indulgent clerk will take out every single work for you to see - as long you do not mind hearing yourself saying: "wow!", "look at the lines!", "yeah, that was exactly how I felt.", "hahaha!", "don’t put it back yet!"

Galerie Martine Gossieaux
56, rue de l'université
75007 PARIS
T: 01 45 44 48 55
F: 01 42 84 00 17
Galerie Martine Gossieaux

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2004-12-21T14:34:00.000-08:00

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