poetic interlude 1

Embrace
...
Hot coffee with fresh cream, mimosas, eggs the fluffiest thing
your tongue ever pressed, roasted red pepper smooth as saliva
sliding down your neck. Tiny French pastries so sweet
you can't pronounce their name...


bloginfo: excerpt from 'Embrace' by Michelle Bonczek and published in Green Mountains Review; Vol. XXII, No. 1

meet me for lunch in...springfield

Christmas lunch today at The Student Prince in Springfield, Massachusetts. The restaurant was decorated beautifully for the holidays. There are so many rooms there you can get lost; we sat in the Annex room which was nice and private.

We both ordered from the daily specials and were very pleased with the offerings: Veal Sage Sausages with sauerkraut and buttered noodles and my German Sampler. The sampler had good sized tastes of Bratwurst, Goulash and Roast Pork with sauerkraut and the buttered noodles. I had a Weiss Bier [wheat beer] to accompany my lunch. Rye and Pumpernickel breads at the table [the rye was my favorite]. The dessert menu made for very hard choices but we settled on a shared Flourless Chocolate Torte. The torte was moist and had a delicious chocolate frosting along with the whipped cream and vanilla ice cream. Glad we decided to split one dessert. Fresh brewed coffee was added to the end of a great meal.

bloginfo: This is a Gourmet magazine one of "21 Legendary Restaurants You Must Visit."

blognote: Next time I will go for dinner and use the valet parking. We used street parking two blocks away because the restaurant gets packed at lunch. Fort Street is one-way which adds another dimension to finding a parking place.

meet me for lunch in...paris

Have always wanted to eat at Jacques Cagna and got my chance here at his 'other place' in the Left Bank, 6iéme arrondisement, where I stayed for the weekend. I made my reservations by internet several weeks ahead of time and had to call that morning from the hotel to reconfirm. My reservation was for noon and I was the first to occupy the dining room but it shortly filled up.

It turned out to be a very relaxed, down home type of meal. The service was elegant but friendly. The room was along the lines of a fine farmhouse dining room.

The menu was the starter+main+dessert [or any combination thereof] formula. I opted for the starter+main.

Lunch began with Whole grain bread made on the premises served with a sealed pot of butter.

Ordered eau gazeuse [sparkling water] and a glass of Sancerre white wine to go with meal.

My starter is not on the website menu. It was Eggs Farmer Style, the eggs being 'bio-fermier' or organic. This was served in a large ramekin: two eggs sunny side up with three coins of foie gras and diced tomato. Delicious and sopped up with the bread, more delicious.

The main was the Poulet Fameux [famous chicken], again organic. This serving was a breast with wing attached, cooked perfectly moist with crispy skin. Puréed potatoes and gravy [more sopping up].

Skipping dessert I had my usual Café Noisette [espresso with a dollop of milk this resembling the noisette 'almond']. The coffee usually comes with a little cookie so that was my dessert.

bloginfo: The restaurant was not easy to find as rue Christine is a very small street with not much else on it.

blognote: This was not the most exciting meal I had this weekend in Paris but probably the best cooked. Cost: €43.10 and left change for €45 total.

See my other website for the rest of the meals.

meet me for lunch in...hartford

I have heard so much about this restaurant I knew I needed to add it to my special meals blog. Here goes:

In a word this place is awesome; from the view [outstanding from the 20th floor] to the decor [earth tones, tortoise shell chargers, brown/yellow orchids on the tables] to the service [Danielle] and to the food [read and weep]. No need to search further for that special place to dine. I will return and often. This is a Hartford gem!

Went for the $35 prix fixe luncheon and enjoyed one of the best meals ever. It could be the fact that the chef kept sending out more and more food to taste. The deal is one starter, one entrée and one dessert. This is what I had:

bread: Sea Salt Focaccia and warm Whole Wheat

amuse bouche: Rock Shrimp Fritter in a Coconut Cream Cilantro Sauce

starters:
Seared Ahi Tuna with poached Quail Egg over frisée and tapenade
Grilled Baby Octopus over caponata
Seared Diver Scallop with bitter red cabbage and Crispy Pork Belly

entrée:
Maine Lobster and Tasmanian Crab Ragu over chef made/chef cut pappardelle pasta with lobster cream foam

dessserts:
Taste of Apple Tatín Ice Cream
Passion Fruit 'Tart' over pomegranate syrup and pomegranate sorbet
Assortment of mini cookies and truffles

beverages: Sparkling water [$7] and coffee [$2.50]

bloginfo: website
blognote: parking [$6]
tip was added to bill by establishment [22%]

meet me for lunch in...havana

Plaza Vieja, Habana Vieja in el Palacio St. Angelo was the place for a special lunch on my last full day in Cuba. We had celebrated here for my birthday the week before so I wanted to end my stay here with a quiet solo lunch.

Started with great Cuban bread and a Cristal beer. Then had the special Red Snapper with Almonds accompanied by Congrí [rice and black beans cooked together] and Tostones [fried plátano]. Skipped dessert and had a Café Cortado, just the way I like it.

The same musicians were there and even remembered me. I guess dancing with maracas on the terrace on your birthday does single you out! This was not the best meal I had in Cuba but it was special for its memories and solitude as I got ready to leave this special island.

bloginfo: I was in Cuba on a Humanitarian Mission.

blognote: Check out the other meals in Cuba on my Mofongoman blog.

meet me for lunch in...belo horizonte

This is a great restaurant in Brazil specializing in Mineiro cuisine which is "miner's food". This is very hearty food presented as it would be at home. Fantastic ambiance in that you sit at wooden plank tables on benches under a 'thatched' roof with open sides. The place is huge and can seat well over a hundred.

For appetizers we [five of us] ordered Bolinho de Mandioca [balls of fried manioc] and a grill platter of Linguica with onions which was perfectly split and grilled.

Main dishes: a 1/2 order of Frango con quiabo [Stewed chicken in okra], Moranga [a pumpkin stuffed with dried beef and cheese and baked in the oven] which was certainly the specialty of the day as we saw it being served at many tables in many sized pumpkins. It was delicious and beautifully presented. The final entree was a Picado filet [pieces of steak in a delicious sauce]. The table was also laden down with various extras: rice, beans, vegetables and then there was the sauce and condiment tray. We ate for two hours.

We skipped the dessert [sobremesa] course which was another complete buffet. We did enjoy [included with the dinner] cups of strong Brazilian coffee, espresso quality, with cookies and cake.

The entire meal above [including tip] came to R$230.23 which converts to less than $100. Find that around here!

bloginfo: check out the website
blognote: the restaurant is a little hard to find at Rua Mandacaru - Trevo but I saw directions and map on Google