[3]
By
Published: 2008
Category: Food and Wine [4]
Dollar skidding, plane fare soaring --- it's not likely I'll be having dinner in Paris any time soon.
But that doesn't mean I can't eat in Paris by proxy. Naturally, the lucky stiff who's having the meals I'm missing is an American --- someone with an expatriate's appreciation of culinary greatness. This person can write as well as he/she can enjoy the handiwork of a fine chef. And, finally, this gourmet can appreciate the value of the dollar.
On the basis of Hungry for Paris [5], Alexander Lobrano is my Paris rep.
He's so American: “My first visit was in August 1972, en famille, with my parents, two brothers and sister. We stayed at a now-vanished hotel just off the Champs Elysees and every day began with a glass of warm TANG, which my late father mixed up in the bathroom water glasses, as a bit of thrift.”
Lobrano is an ideal guide because he remembers who he was, how he became the expert he is now, and how you can acquire expertise. And he can do that hard thing --- see what's in front of him: “The French never drink Perrier with meals because they think its large bubbles make it too gaseous to go well with food.” He has a good ear for the quotable restaurant owner: “Come on, eat! Go ahead! I'm going to charge you a lot of money, you know!” He can let it rip: “A heavy rain filled the gutters with bronze-covered chestnut leaves last night, and the city is suddenly the city is nude.”
And, above all, he has an awareness of ultimate goodness: “It is hard to imagine a better lunch than a creamy wedge of Camembert smeared on a torn hunk of crackle-crusted baguette and a glass of red wine.”
But, eat in restaurants he must, so he's off to 102 of his Paris favorites. Some of them are mine, too. Most, refreshingly, are not. And, refreshingly, he's not shy about explaining his enthusiasms. Le Pamphlet: “the best risotto in Paris.” L'Alcazar: “better service, better lighting and a more cosmopolitan menu” than La Coupole. L'Epi Dupin, which he hears about from “the nice lady at the post office.” Le Florimond serves his beloved stuffed cabbage “in a pool of brown gravy so lush it had already skeined on its way to the table.”
Reputation means nothing. Neither does atmosphere. Lobrano is all about what's on the plate. L'Ami Louis is “for high rollers more interested in a brand-name experience than good food.” Bofinger's “beautiful decor...can't compensate for the kitchen's mediocrity.” Le Divellec is “stuffy...and exorbitantly expensive.”
Even if you never go to Paris, this book is wonderfully educational. I've seen aligot on a menu; I didn't know that the whipped potatoes are mixed with Tomme de Laguiole cheese and garlic until they have “the texture of molten latex.” Joel Robuchon makes spaghetti carbonara with Alsatian bacon and creme fraiche --- I'll try that at home. And more, and more, until the meal fantasies merge and I have to... well, if truth be told, I need to pour a small glass of red wine, tear off a hunk of baguette and slather it with cheese.
Alexander Lobrano serves up gastro-porn of the highest order. Other books focus on specific courses. Patisseries of Paris [6] is a pocket-sized guide that's rich in opinions and calories. The Brasseries of Paris [7] is more history than anything else --- you won't learn the bad news about Bofinger here. Historic Restaurants [8] lives up to its billing: gorge on facts! And, for completeness, there's Pudlo [9].
Reading these books reminds I'm not there. But as I read them, I am. Or so I tell myself.
To buy “Hungry for Paris” from Amazon.com, click here. [5]
To buy “The Patisseries of Paris: Chocolatiers, Tea Salons, Ice Cream Parlors, and more” from Amazon.com, click here. [6]
To buy “The Brasseries of Paris” from Amazon.com, click here. [7]
To buy “The Historic Restaurants of Paris: A Guide to Century-Old Cafes, Bistros, and Gourmet Food Shops” from Amazon.com, click here.
[8]
To read more about “Pudlo's Paris” on HeadButler.com, click here. [9]