For some time I’d been wanting to try Jean Pierre’s Bistro, a French bistro and bakery in Water Tower Place, the cute shopping village in front of Disney’s Celebration. Orlando doesn’t really have any true French bistros, with the possible exception of Chefs de France at Epcot, which isn’t exactly convenient—or cheap.
I had some doubts when we arrived at Jean Pierre’s for dinner, because the place was deserted, and quite brightly lit, more like what you’d expect from a bakery or a sandwich shop—both of which it is, during the daytime. So it wasn’t exactly the ambiance I was hoping for from an evening bistro. But the food was everything I’d hoped for.
We started with the house made paté, a cheese plate, smoked salmon, and a salad with traditional French vinaigrette. All were excellent, especially the pate (really a terrine), which was fresh, flavorful, and had a wonderful mixture of spices on the outside. We could have used some soft, stinky cheeses, but I understand why American tastes run to firmer, less fragrant ones, and the half dozen choices were all very flavorful. The salmon was fresh and very smokey, with just the right accompaniments, and the salad was perfect, just like in Paris.
Our main courses were Beef Bourguignon and Chicken in a mushroom and madeira sauce. Both sauces were excellent, and each was accompanied by a rich, creamy dish of scalloped potatoes. A particular highlight was the fresh baked French baguette, which was plentiful and very authentic. As parting gifts the owner bestowed upon us glasses of Muscat and a fresh loaf of this wonderful bread to take with us.
I was impressed that the owner, with little assistance, could turn out such a diverse offering in so little time; and there were at least twenty other dishes we could have chosen. Prices are very reasonable, and the wine list has a couple of nice choices at good prices. It’s too bad his location isn’t higher profile, and that his website is fairly poor, because this is just the sort of French bistro Orlando needs.
We had a great time at the Alcorn McBride Christmas party last night. This year we hired Puff ‘n Stuff to cater the event, and they did a great job. It was nice to have more time to spend with our friends, and to have the house all put back in order at the end of the evening. My favorite foods were the cheddar and bacon dip, poached salmon, beef empanadas and the mashed potato bar.
We poured a half dozen sparking wines, of which I thought the best were the Piper Heidsieck Brute Champagne, Iron Horse Fairytale Cuvee (the only non-Champagne entrant) and the Moet & Chandon Brut Imperial. The two nectares from Moet & Chandon were too sweet for me.
All of the red wines poured were made by Sparky Marquis from Shiraz, but they were all different. In descending order of my ratings: 2003 Henry’s Drive Reserve Shiraz, 2002 Marquis Philips 9, 2009 Mollydooker Blue Eyed Boy, 2009 Mollydooker The Boxer. Perhaps not coincidentally, that’s also descending order of price!
We were very lucky with the weather. After two weeks of very cold (for Orlando) weather, with some nights dropping into the 20s, Friday was in the mid 70s, and the evening was warm enough to sit outside until after 10pm. The next morning we woke up to rain, so our timing was perfect!
We’re spending Thanksgiving week in Los Angeles with Linda’s mom. It’s given us an opportunity to catch up, since we haven’t seen her in two years. Dani flew in from Chicago on Wednesday, and we met her at LAX, where the theme building has been refurbished and has some really cool lighting.
The week is affording us an opportunity to visit some favorite restaurants: El Cholo, Smoke House (world’s best garlic bread), Stan’s Corner Donuts (world’s best donuts), Tommy’s (world’s best chili burgers) and Duke’s (world’s best, um, nothing).
For Thanksgiving we had dinner at Craft with Marjorie, Linda’s cousins, Adele and Vicki, Vicki’s daughter and son Leslie and Matt, and Matt’s wife Lauren. It was really a good place for a holiday dinner, because they had lots of large tables, and the food is always served family style. Everything was delicious, especially the veggies, mushrooms, pureed squash and bread stuffing. Dani’s and my favorite dish was the baby brussels sprouts(!) There were also lots of desserts, interesting ice creams (sour cream, a favorite flavor), and many leftovers to take home. We ordered a wonderfully creamy Delamotte Champagne off the list, and we brought a buttery 2006 Ramey Ritchie Vineyard Chardonnay, and a somewhat lightweight 2005 P. Dubreuil-Fontaine Corton Perrieres Burgundy that we’d obtained the day before at Moe’s Fine Wines.
Elton John has devoted this year to resurrecting the career of Leon Russell, his early inspiration. At Daytona Beach last night Sir Elton even came out first to introduce Leon’s half hour set. Leon’s long white hair and beard make him look like Santa Clause wearing a white cowboy hat. He’s frail, and shuffles onstage with the help of a cane, but his piano playing is undiminished, and his style is so similar to Elton’s that it’s often hard to tell who is playing.
Leon’s opening set ran 30 minutes, and included only two songs we knew, Tightrope and Song For You. Then he took a break and Elton took the stage, perking things up with Saturday Night’s All Right For Fighting, and a half hour of other hits.
The center piece of the concert saw Leon return and the duo plus large backing band played nearly all of their new album, Union. Listening to the album on the way to Dayton, Linda and I found it slow and somber, but at the concert they performed a complex, uptempo version that was better. As Elton noted, “It’s hard to listen to new music,” but the crowd was enthusiastic. Elton was clearly delighted that the two of them had an album at number five, their first top ten “in decades.” The best song is probably Shilo. The final number, a gospel solo by Leon, is a song he wrote to thank Elton for being his “angel.”
The album complete, Leon headed for bed, and Elton played his hits for more than an hour. The audience was on its (overweight, middle aged) feet after every song. For me the highlight is always his improvised introduction to Take Me To The Pilot. If you haven’t experienced his phenomenal piano improvisations, check this out on youtube.
Well past the three hour mark, Elton returned for an encore of signing autographs and finished where he began his career, with a heartfelt Your Song, dedicated to the audience.
As we filtered into the parking lot we reflected on how nice it was to see a concert by someone who clearly wanted to be there, sharing his music with the audience, completely the opposite of our experience with The Eagles.
This concert was extraordinarily loud. Even with earplugs I’m still a bit deaf in one ear. I feel sorry for those who didn’t have them. It’s a shame they insist on cranking the music so loud, because it creates echoes in the arena. The sound was much better on the softer numbers.
Before the show we had dinner at The Cellar, a favorite restaurant in Daytona Beach. It’s in the basement of Warren G. Harding’s home. No kidding.
Last night we enjoyed a wonderful evening at Victoria and Albert’s Chef’s Table with Ron and Bev and some new friends, Keith and Parlo Edwards and Adam and Gigi Chilvers.
Chef Scott Hunnell
Chef Scott Hunnel outdid himself with the ten course tasting menu, incorporating our favorite salmon from the Victoria Room menu, and even coming up with some foie gras, which is no longer available at Disney.
Enjoying the Foie Gras
The most spectacular presentation is also my favorite course, the chilled curried lamb, which is served over dry ice that engulfs the table in fog.
Maitre d'Hotel Israel Perez with the lineup
Israel Perez was his usual charming self as our host, and Brian Koziol, a master sommelier, volunteered to open and pour our wines.
Burgundy and Bordeaux from '47, '53 and '55
Ron asked me to bring two old Bordeaux and two old Burgundies, and combined with his and the other guest’s wines, we ended up with twenty rather amazing selections, served—more or less—in pairs to accompany the courses.
Maitre d’Hotel Israel Perez with the lineup
Burgundy and Bordeaux from ’47, ’53 and ’55
Chef’s Table
Enjoying the Foie Gras
Chef Scott Hunnell
Menu
Chocolate
Cheese
Wagu
Elk
Foie Gras
Chicken
Loup de Mer
Salmon
Lamb Curry
Tuna
Amuse Bouche
The Wines
Champagne Flight
75 Dom Perignon late released Ron 96 points
Vanilla Creme brûlée, caramelized peach compote, limestone, excellent match with the entire amuse bouche
88 Krug 90 points
Green apple, candy, vanilla, seemed very awkward after the Dom
White flight
96 Haut Brion Blanc Ron 98 points
Chalk, lemon, burnt sugar, candle wax, amazing white, as always; I nursed this for four hours
07 Kistler Vine Hill Adam 95 points
Toast, smoke, Creme brûlée, considering it was poured next to Haut Brion Blanc, this really showed amazingly well; excellent wine
04 Louis Latour Corton Chalemagne Keith 90 points
Very pronounced nose like that white powder on “Double Bubble” bubble gum(!), seyval-like aromas
Burgundy Flight 1
1947 Thorin Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru Steve 96 points
Big fruit, iron, pine, perfect with curried lamb; one of those magic bottles
1947 Remoissenet Chambertin Clos de Beze Grand Cru Ron 98 points
Youthful, smoke, milk, drawn butter, minerals, salt, mustard, sweet mint, mushrooms, bacon; initially not as interesting as the Thorin, but incredibly youthful, it evolved for four hours, becoming the red wine of the night
Burgundy Flight 2
1955 Louis Latour Chambertin Grand Cru Steve 96 points
Very chewy classic chambertin, cherries, menthol, vanilla; a contender for red wine of the night. I got the last pour of every wine, so mine was a bit muddy, since we don’t decant these old wines.
1955 Louis Latour Corton Grancey Grand Cru Ron 83 points
Bubble gum, wax, bowl of melted butter; this was a really weird wine
Bordeaux Flight 1
1953 Chateau Latour Ron 93 points
Classic latour, dust, green beans, graphite, walnuts, meat; a great wine, but Burgundy is a tough act to follow
1955 Chateau Latour Steve no score (defective)
Sweet, fruity, big, cat box, occasionally quite stinky; something wrong with this bottle, for sure
Corky, Minty, feminine, this bottle had a low fill, perhaps the result of the bad cork. I was a bit disgusted that I had two out of four bottles defective, but at least we had lots of other wine, and fortunately the defective ones weren’t the Burgundies!
California Flight
2007 Hundred Acre Ark Vyd Adam 95 points
Vanilla, mint chocolate, soft, balanced, port like, peppery, syrupy in a good way; may not age but a really pleasant drink right now
2007 Colgin IX Propretary Estate RP 100 Adam 97 points
Bell pepper, cab franc, merlot, earthy, structured better than the Hundred Acre, so it may age, although I liked the Hundred Acre better
Rhone Flight
1992 Guigal La Landonne Keith 90 points
Earthy, chalky, tight
1995 Beaucastel Hommage du Jacques Perrin Keith 94 points
Opulent, chalk, meaty, good acid, classic Rhone
Dessert Flight
2001 Chateau Climens RP 100 Ron 100 points
Vanilla, balanced, Long, peppery, peppermint, clean, refreshing; this wine outshone the 2001 Yquem and Suduiraut we’ve had before, with a bit less botrytis but much more balance. We actually had this with the foie gras, and it was the perfect match.
2001 Rieussec Ron 90 points
Yquem like nose, low acid; Considering how great the other 2001 sauternes have been, this was a disappointment, a bit flabby and uninteresting other than the pronounced botrytis nose
1860 Justino Henriques Madeira Fanal, Ron 100 points
Wow! There’s nothing better than an ancientMadeira in perfect shape. Alive, great acid balance, citrus, smoke, cherry, bark, vanilla, sea salt, Wine Of The Night. We should have tried this with all the other courses, but it would have blown the other wines (and our palates) away!
Via Napoli is a new pizzeria constructed at the rear of Italy at Epcot. Their claim to fame is that they import their flour from Naples and carefully match the water used to make the dough. Linda and I tried it when I went to let Ryan into Epcot, and it was pretty authentic. The place is very loud, so I don’t think I’d go out of my way to go there, but that pizza in a different setting would be a favorite.
This weekend is the 35th annual Festival of the Masters at Downtown Disney. Linda and Ryan and I went to Paradiso 37 at Pleasure Island. (Ryan is a programming intern from England, working on iPad apps. He’s here for IAAPA.) As always, the food was really tasty, although we couldn’t get Chaz, our favorite server because they were busy. We tried a couple of new things because Ryan is a vegetarian, and I really liked the corn on the cob appetizer.
Afterwards we walked through the festival, which features 150 artists. There’s a lot of rather crude folk art, but there were also some nice things. The emphasis this year seemed to be on jewelry and art glass. Sue Archer, who painted the picture in our foyer some 25 years ago, had a booth, but I didn’t see the guy who sold us the lenticular photos last year.
They certainly had beautiful weather for the event this year, with 80 degrees and a light breeze all weekend. Of course, as a result, there were lots of people there!
For dinner I made Bacon Wrapped Scallops and Cilantro Lime Rice. That meant a trip to Whole Foods for wild caught sea scallops and uncured hikory smoked bacon. Whenever I go to Whole Foods I like to stop in at Delish New York Bakery for a cup of coffee. (I do this partly because Barnie’s is next door, and I loathe chain store coffee.) The baker here is a true artisan; she showed me photos of some of the fabulous cakes she’s made, including one that looked just like a Louis Vuitton purse—she had to paint on the frosting. Today she was getting ready for Christmas, making samples including this cute little Christmas tree cake that is $4.99. There’s a little Hanukkah cake behind her, too. It’s really great that there are still a few small businesses like this; I should work harder to patronize them.
The Eagles played the first big concert at the new Amway Center. The event was actually rescheduled from an earlier date because Don Henley was sick. At nearly the last minute we decided to get tickets and were surprised at being able to get seats right next to the stage, although a side view.
Since it was Martin’s birthday, we took him to Shari Sushi Lounge for dinner before the show. The sushi was quite good, and the place has a nice vibe. And we were there so early that all the sushi items were $3.75. Such a deal.
The new Amway Center is bigger than the old Orena, although the major difference is lots of skyboxes and club space. There are supposed to be restaurants and bars, but these weren’t open. I don’t know if that’s because they are only for Magic games, or if they aren’t ready yet. There’s also a lot of bars on the club level that you can only get to if you have seats in that area, which is weird, since they aren’t really great seats.
For the most part the facility is quite nice, but there are a few things that need to be worked out. There were lines for the restrooms — even the men’s restroom — and the causeway to the parking garage is an obvious bottleneck. For the most part, though, it’s a fine facility.
When we went to our seats we found out why we’d been able to get them at the last minute. One of them didn’t exist! Fortunately, they knew they’d made a mistake, and the usher had replacement tickets for us, even closer. In fact we were in the second row. This was the view from our seats:
Unfortunately, there was a hyper active druggie — a middle aged woman with enormous fake boobs — next to us who continually bounced in her seat, rocking the entire row, even between songs, until we thought we were going to be sick. This was worsened by the fact that our section was a movable scaffold, rather than concrete. So, before the whole thing collapsed or she blew out a boob, for the second half we moved to the empty nose bleed section behind the stage. This was the view from our new seats:
As it turned out, they were pretty good seats, because we could watch the video, and the music wasn’t deafening (mostly). I found that watching everyone play guitar left-handed from behind the rear projection screen didn’t bother me, but the piano playing was a bit weird!
The band is really tight, and they can still hit those high notes, after almost 40(!) years. For some reason, though, they seemed to have no energy during the first half, and things really dragged. But, mysteriously (energy drinks? wink, wink), they came out after intermission completely energized, and the second half was excellent. They have about ten backup players, four different keyboard stations with at least seven keyboards, two drum sets, nine spotlight operators, at least five HD camera operators, and a mixing area that occupied the space for 100 seats. This is not a small operation. The video wall behind the band is one of those RGB LED curtains (I think) about 30 feet high and 40 feet wide. While my favorite songs are by Don Henley, the Joe Walsh numbers really got the audience excited. The country songs, performed by Glenn Frey and Tim Schmidt, seem light years away from the newer material.
The band was very generous with their time, and played for 3-1/2 hours. Definitely an excellent concert. And yet… it’s funny. I go to concerts to get to know a band. It’s the stories and interaction that make them interesting. If I want to listen to the music I have an iPhone. While they expended a great deal of effort and were generous with their time, I never really felt like they were there onstage. I suppose I’d have trouble with that, too, if I had to play the same song and go through the same patter every night for forty years.
Today we went to St. Petersburg for a book fair, to hear a presentation by Michael Connelly, whose latest book, Reversal, is number one on the bestseller lists this week. He signed my copy, and also a small chapbook he’d sent me for a picture I posted on his Facebook site. His presentation was well attended with at least 500 people there. After browsing the fair we took a scenic drive down to Sarasota and then returned to St. Pete for dinner at a restaurant we hadn’t been to before, Chateau France.
It was really delightful, and we felt bad that we were the only ones in the place for most of the meal. Eventually, two other tables were seated. The restaurant is in a charming house built in 1905. In many ways it reminded us of Linda’s mother’s house. They’ve been in business for fourteen years, and the chef is from Nice. He is particularly adept at souffles, and the ones we had were easily the best we’ve encountered, even including the one we reminisce about from Marrakesh, twenty five-years years ago.
But the highlight of the meal was the wine. When the one I ordered wasn’t available, they offered us one that wasn’t on the list, at about 30% of the normal price: a pristine bottle of 1959 Gevrey-Chambertin from Louis Trapet Pere & Fils. It was the finest Burgundy we’ve had from a restaurant wine list in several years. It’s also the first bottle I’ve had that came packed in an individual wooden case lined in straw. It was one of those magical bottles of Burgundy that evolved for two hours: fruity and earthy, with pronounced favors of red berries, flowers, leather, tar, coffee and much more.
All in all, a delightful evening, and I’m sure we’ll return.
Tonight we had dinner at Thai Blossom in Winter Garden, a restaurant in the Edgewater Hotel around the corner from The Chef’s Table. The Thai food was mostly quite good, and the place was packed by the time we left. Our wine was opened by the owner, who then left to get ready to be in the show playing across the street at the Garden Theatre.
After dinner we listened to the jazz band that plays on the fourth Friday of every month, then strolled to the theatre and chatted with Becky Stafford, its president, who is the mother of a boy Dani performed with at Trinity.
Then we went in to see the play, a farce called Noises Off. It was entertaining, at times frenetic, but never quite the uproarious comedy intended. It’s divided into three acts, each of which contains the same play-within-a-play. In the first act it is being rehearsed by a band of fairly inept actors. In the second act the set is reversed, and we watch them fight backstage during a performance. In the final act things are flipped back around, but the production comes completely unglued. Good fun.
Since it won Scott Joseph’s readers’ poll of best hamburger in Orlando, Tommy and I decided to check out Hamburger Mary’s downtown on Church Street. While the rest of Church Street is still in the early stages of recovering from its demise in the 1990s, Hamburger Mary’s was certainly doing a brisk business. We both had the Barbra-Q Bacon Cheeseburger, and I have to say it probably is the best burger in town: perfectly cooked, with a tasty balance of sauce and a good bun. I would have preferred my bun toasted and the bacon a bit less durable, but I’d give it a 9 out of 10.
Tommy couldn’t resist the deep fried Twinkie for dessert, which actually wasn’t as strange as I was expecting — basically a creme-filled donut.
I wouldn’t say we’re thick, but even though the place’s slogan is “Eat, drink and be Mary,” it wasn’t until the check showed up in a high heeled shoe that we figured out the transvestite theme.
We loaded up three cases of empty wine bottles and took them up to one of our favorite restaurants, The Chef’s Table at the Edgewater Hotel in Winter Garden. They’re going to use them to decorate their new dining room. These bottles ranged from the 1950s through 1970s, and included a lot of wines I wish I could drink again! Even with the donation, we’ve still got a full shelf of collectible old ones, dating back to the 1920s. I wish those two 1947 Cheval Blancs still had wine in them!
While we were up there we had a very tasty lunch at the Winter Garden Pizza Company, a place we hadn’t tried before. They definitely have some of the better pizza in town, and their buffalo chicken strips were good, too. The place was much larger than I thought, and was packed.
Afterward, we hurried home so Linda could take delivery of her new treadmill, which has much higher torture settings than the old one.
It’s been more than a couple of years since we’ve been to Del Frisco’s, and it was near the Shakespeare Center, so we decided to have an early dinner there on Friday. Since our last visit they’ve completed the seamless connection of two different buildings, and created a new, large entry hall between them.
I still think Del Frisco’s is the best steakhouse in Orlando, even with the explosion of competitors in recent years. The difference is that red-hot metal plate that lets you finish cooking your sliced prime strip steak any way you like (and the butter all over it doesn’t hurt, either). The spinach, sauteed onions, and house salad are really better than the other steakhouses’ also. It’s not a low-cal place, and it’s even more expensive than Morton’s, but when you want the best steak, it’s the place to go.
The 39 Steps is a comedic version of the classic Alfred Hitchcock film. It combines the original (fairly inane) plot with zany action made even zanier by the fact that four people have to play all the roles. It becomes increasingly manic, and by the end some of the characters are having conversations with themselves. Monty Python meets Alfred Hitchcock is a fairly good description. One fun aspect of the play was trying to find all the references to Hitchcock’s other films (in the scene at right, he’s about to climb through the “Rear Window”). It was quite amusing, although perhaps not quite as gut-bustingly hysterical as claimed.
This is the first year for a new event at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival. It’s called First Bites, and it gives you the opportunity to sample some of the food and wine that will be on the promenade, but in the air conditioned comfort of the seldom-used Wonders of Life pavilion.
I can’t say I really recommend this event. At $200 a head (thank God we didn’t pay that) it’s very overpriced. There were a dozen foods, a few of which were very good, a few of which were impossible to eat, even with table seating. Particularly indestructible were the grilled bread served with several dishes, and the Korean beef. There were also a dozen wines, but the only truly good one was the Chateau Ste. Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon that was only poured as part of a seminar.
Probably the single best food item was the tiny white chocolate pumpkin truffle, which was served during the cooking seminar. So the two best items won’t even be available to Food and Wine Festival guests.
The “ambiance” of Wonders of Life is also questionable. It’s basically an abandoned attraction that has been repurposed with tables and chairs, but the bright spotlights pointed this way and that don’t really create a pleasant environment.
I felt sorry for the four piece jazz combo that played to an empty seating area for an hour. The event came to a sudden end at 8:45, when we were driven from the building by the deafening and talentless Taylor Dayne.
Noteworthy Dishes:
Korea – Lettuce Wraps with Roast Pork and Kimchi Slaw
Tasty but not at all spicy. The Korean beef dish had a wonderful spicy sauce, but the beef was inedible.
Singapore – Shrimp Cake with Singapore Noodle Salad
Like several of the hot dishes, it was a bit startling that the underlying noodles were chilled, but I really liked them. Some said the fish sauce they were made with was too salty.
Puerto Rico -Asopao de Pollo
That’s chicken soup to the rest of us. The green olives in it were delicious, not overpowering.
Ireland – Lobster & Scallop Fisherman’s Pie
Basically mashed potatoes on top of mixed seafood. This is a large, filling dish, and is probably the smartest buy out on the promenade.
South Africa – Seared Beef Tenderloin with Sweet Potato Puree & Mango Barbecue Sauce
This had way too much sauce, but the elements were very tasty. The Australian lamb served at the same table was okay, but another of those hot dishes served on top of jarringly cold starches.
Today marks the last day of Orlando Magical Dining Month (although last night was our last foray, since tonight we’re going to “First Bites,” the opening event in the Epcot Food and Wine Festival). During September, a wide array of Orlando restaurants offered a special three course dinner for $30. At some of them it was quite a deal. Although we were out of town for most of the month, we did have a chance to try Morton’s, Nine 18, Big Fin, The Boheme and Ocean Prime. (We also went to Everglades for a wine dinner and Season’s 52 for lunch, but not as part of this event.) We enjoyed all of them, but Big Fin (the only one new to us) is the place that sticks in our memory. We liked the casual atmosphere, good food with a Cajun twist, and friendly service.
Our Wine Syndicate group met Saturday at the Bull & Bear in the Waldorf Astoria. It was one of our best tastings ever, focusing on the 1961 Bordeaux vintage, perhaps the best of the century. The two vintages of Chateau Haut Brion were the overwhelming favorites, with the 1961 Haut Brion widely being awarded 100 points and scoring a unanimous first place. I think that’s the first time that’s ever happened. The chef really rose to the occasion, preparing a tasting menu that outdid the fancy Gordon Ramsay restaurants we recently visited in London. Quite a surprise, coming from a steakhouse!
Martin and I (Linda has a cold) went to the periodic Vine & Dine event at the Everglades restaurant at the Rosen. They always do a nice job at these events, which allow the chef to experiment outside of his normal menu. I like the venue, because the group of about forty guests is divided into four or five long tables, which allows you to meet some other wine and food enthusiasts, but avoids the giant round table syndrome that bogs down a lot of social events. Wines were provided by Southern Wine & Spirits, and consisted of a refreshing Elderflower champagne cocktail (made with Proseco, elderflower liqueur and a twist of lemon), a very good Chilean Chardonnay, a Sardinian Vermentino, Argentine Malbec and a Moscato d’Asti Proseco. The food was themed after the four seasons: asparagus, shellfish, pheasant, snow eggs. The dessert of snow eggs was the best; they are balls of meringue that have been poached rather than baked, served with a delicious and complex Creme Anglaise. A fun event. The next one is on my birthday.
After the always superb lunch at Jean Georges (perhaps my favorite restaurant in the world), we strolled down Broadway, which becomes a giant flea market closed to traffic on Saturdays. Then, in the evening, on the spur of the moment, we went to the revival of La Cage Aux Folles starring Kelsey Grammer. It was fun, as always, but I wasn’t sure it deserved its Tonys; I couldn’t help thinking that parts of the Trinity High School production had been better!
For dinner we walked to Hell’s Kitchen and had an nice French meal in the darkly romantic and jazzy Chez Josephine‘s, with live piano and trumpet jazz. Occasionally a patron would play a set; an elderly black woman really impressed with her sultry voice and lightning riffs.
Sunday morning our three-week adventure came to an end, with Dani winging her way back to Chicago and Linda and I headed back to Orlando.
I’m baffled by the mediocrity on-board the middle-brow cruise lines such as Princess. It’s not from a lack of quality ingredients: the ships hold produces amazingly fresh (albeit often previously frozen) lobster tails, lamb chops, beef, fruits and vegetables through every day of a two-week cruise. And it’s not due to a lack of talent on board: the kitchen staff is capable of producing a few (very few) truly good dishes, when given the proper recipes. No, the problem seems to be an intentional decision by the corporate office in California to produce weird food. Here are a few of the more obvious examples:
On Princess: Flour tortilla containing fish atop a bowl of flavorless kraut-like substance and corn niblets.
Shrimp “Fra Diavolo”
Everywhere Else:
Shrimp with a zesty marinara sauce (exactly how it’s described on the Princess menu) on a bed of linguini.
On Princess:
Shrimp coated with bland cream of tomato soup next to bland white rice.
Pasta e Fagiole
Everywhere Else: Minestrone soup with grains of pasta
On Princess: A cross between Tuscan bean soup and enchilada sauce.
“Montecristo” Sandwich
Everywhere Else: Slices of ham, turkey and Swiss cheese on bread, battered and deep fried, served with jam.
On Princess: Slices of ham and turkey (or possibly chicken) on French toast, served with shrimp sauce (WTF?!)
In each of these cases, the normal ingredients were readily available, and often appeared in other dishes. For example, cilantro, usually a Mexican staple, kept showing up in the Italian food.
And there are a few noteworthy dishes (rare enough to list here, in their entirety): the lamb carpaccio at Crown Grill, Mussels in garlic broth at Crown Grill, the brown butter at Sabatini’s, guacamole and tortilla chips in the dining room, and the chocolate and almond croissants at The International Cafe (when fresh — in fact, all the baked goods are well made, just bland.)
It’s true that the Executive Chef is talentless. The foie gras pate he spent the day making for the chef’s table dinner was nothing so much as baby food. But this food is constant across the entire cruise line. In short, they’re making it this way on purpose. Why that is, baffles me.
You can’t blame it on the international crew, or international tastes. The line is American owned, managed and the vast majority of passengers are Americans. They know what goes on a hamburger or hot dog. Just watch them, up at the grill by the pool looking for onions, pickle relish and French’s mustard. They won’t find them. Just mayonnaise, ketchup and Dijon. Perhaps the Princess management needs to get out more, and visit some exotic restaurants. Like Red Lobster and McDonald’s.
We had an interesting experience tonight after a quiet day at sea. The Crown Princess Chef’s table is a dinner for twelve offered three times during the cruise. It begins with a tour of the kitchen conducted by the ship’s food and beverage director and the head chef.
There are eleven kitchens on The Crown Princess, including five massive ones. We suited up in white smocks and washed our hands, then toured the various prep stations. Considering the over 500 employees involved in food and beverage service, the environment was surprisingly calm, even though it was dinner time. In an out of the way corner of the kitchen we had Heidseck Champagne and several appetizer courses (lobster cocktail, quiche, foie gras, caviar), then adjourned to a table in the dinning room for carpaccio, lobster risotto, a main course of veal shank, beef and lobster tails, cheese, panecotta and cookies. Yes, there was a lot of food! Also Ferrari Carano Chardonnay, Louis Latour Pouilly Fuisse, and a homemade Limoncello.
The event illustrated what Princess does well and does poorly. Admittedly we are spoiled, having done chef’s tables around the world, and admittedly our companions were very impressed with the food, one couple declaring it was better than they’d had at high end restaurants in Paris. But let’s face it, it was, in Dani’s words, “Outback tries to do a chef’s table.” The ingredients are good, aside from the fact that they all have to have been frozen, but flavors never come together to create anything more than the sum of the individual components. Yet the service was gracious, almost to the point of being ingratiating, and they gave the ladies roses, very expensive cookbooks, and even took couple and group portraits which they printed and distributed at the end of the meal. On the whole a very interesting, if not culinary, experience.
We awoke in the harbor at Fallmouth and tendered over (a slow process because of the small dock) for an hour drive to Lizard, the southernmost point of England. There we took a five-mile two-hour coastal hike along the perilous cliffs of Cornwall. Seeing the caves, smugglers’ lairs, and rocks where hundred of ships have wrecked reminded us of Poldark.
After a superb fish and chips lunch at The Witch’s Ball we retraced our steps and returned to the ship for rest, showers, and the first formal night, where we opted for the other cover charge restaurant, Crown Grill.
Today we bid farewell to London, and its extraordinarily nice weather during this week of gastronomic exploration.
We had a painless transfer by private car to Southampton, a 90 minute drive south. The boarding procedures in the new terminal were quite efficient, and soon we were settled into two cabins. Unfortunately, the two cabins are about a quarter of a mile apart (and that isn’t really hyperbole). Because Dani isn’t twenty-one, Linda and she are technically sharing an outside cabin and I have a mini suite. I have to say that there isn’t a tremendous difference between them, space-wise or in their outfitting.
Since we’re old hands at this cruise thing, the first thing we did was get on the phone and reserve tables at the various specialty restaurants for about half the nights of the cruise. (As it turned out this was unnecessary, as on this cruise the specialty restaurants were not well attended.)
There’s a new event, a chef’s table that sounds interesting.
After the traditional lifeboat drill (which is indoors in the lounges these days) we set sail for the southwestern tip of the UK.
For dinner American Express comped us into Sabatini’s, the Italian specialty restaurant on all Princess ships, and we had a nice meal (and a lovely bottle of Ornellaia) with a sweet server named Yana.
We had lunch at Benares, an Indian restaurant near our hotel. It’s run by a chef with one Michelin star. I was a bit disappointed, as I didn’t really find the food to be the creative twist on Indian cuisine we’d been promised, but Dani and Linda liked theirs. The place is a neat two story building off Berkeley Square with a lily pond on the second floor.
We finished our London stay with a visit to L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Covent Garden. It was easily the best meal of the trip. It’s a dark place with spotlights on the few bar-height tables; most of the seating is at what looks like it was once a sushi bar, but since there were three of us we got a nice table. Service was great (the waiter really reminded us of a twenty-something Henry). Each of the three courses I had were the best version of that dish I’ve encountered: scallop ceviche, caramelized foie gras with cherries and lime bits, and quail. I’m glad we saved this for last, as it blew away Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants, and the scallop put Nobu to shame.
For the past month I’ve had sinus headaches and jaw aches, but when I went to my dentist at Starbase Dental last week he couldn’t identify a particular tooth that was the problem. He prescribed antibiotics and told me to check back after vacation. But the problem has been getting worse, with hot or cold foods causing a headache. The trouble is that nothing hurts except when I’m having the problem, which occurs only every few hours (or as soon as I lie down). Now I’m fairly sure the cause was my upper left wisdom tooth because that one hurt (but only when I was having a headache) if I wiggled it.
So rather than put up with another three weeks of sleep deprivation and headaches, today I went to the Carnaby Street Dentist and had it pulled. What a great place that is, with really friendly people; Sarah, who offered me several options, pulled it with absolutely no pain. She sent me off with hand-written instructions and some antibiotics. I’m sure it will hurt again later, but right now my head feels better than it has in a month.
Dani likes this sign because it’s the name of a Star Trek DS9 character. Well, the character’s name is Curzon Dax, not Curzon Plaza.
Earlier today we went to lunch at Nobu, the famous sushi place. We had… sushi. It was… sushi. Hmmm…. I must be missing something. Why is this famous?
Tonight we had theatre tickets to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new show, Love Never Dies, the sequel to The Phantom of the Opera. (Full disclosure: I’ve always thought that Phantom was a dumb show with good music and staging.) In this version the Phantom has moved to New York’s Coney Island, and guess who happens to also show up there? This was an odd show that has proven to be unpopular, as shown by the half empty theatre. Defying the odds, I liked it the best of the three of us. The voices were superb, much better than any other Phantom production I’ve seen. Dani hated the music, but I thought most of the second half was very good. The problem is that the first act sucks dead toads. Then, weirdly, the second act manages to tell a more cohesive story than Phantom ever did. Unfortunately, it’s a tragedy. Between that and the rework needed on the first act, we’re betting it never opens on Broadway. Then again, we made the same bet about The Addams Family.
We had a late supper at Clos Maggiore in the theatre district, a romantic little restaurant with good food, a fantastic winelist and disjointed service. Then home to bed, my toothlessness still not a problem. Yay!
We tried another Gordon Ramsay restaurant for lunch, Maze. It was a short walk through Mayfair, a really charming part of the city.
Maze is near all the embassies that cluster around Grosvenor Square. It’s fairly different from Petrus, more casual, with lots of small plates to graze upon. Same pricing: reasonable at lunch, crazy at dinner.
For dinner Dani wanted something simple, so we walked a few blocks to Delfino Pizzeria and had a very pleasant (outdoor!) dinner with a nice bottle of Amarone. Who would have imagined we’d be dining Al Fresco in London?
I loved the note at the bottom of the restaurant’s menu:
“Health and Safety Compliance Notice: Some dishes may contain nuts, olives may contain stones, wine contains alcohol, knives can be sharp, coffee can be hot…ENJOY YOUR MEAL!!”
I was awakened by Linda informing me it was 11:30AM and we were about to miss our lunch reservation! A quick shower and short cab ride took us to Petrus, one of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants, where we had a leisurely, expensive, pleasant but not remarkable lunch. The room and service were great, and I’m glad we had a chance to check it out at one fourth of the insane dinner prices.
Afterward, I was proud of myself for successfully navigating the surrounding residential area to take us straight to Harrods, where we laughed at the prices and bought some cheese, ham and bread for a picnic.
In the evening we went to our favorite London venue, the enchanting Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park. There’s something magical about theatre in the woods, all the more so since the show was Into the Woods! We enjoyed a bottle of wine, some stinky cheese and French bread at a picnic table and then went in to the show, where we had front row seats due to our extreme advance planning. This is the fourth show we’ve seen here, and while all were good, this was superb. As always, Sondheim’s material is challenging to both performers and audience, and the second half of this show is somewhat expendable, but the cast was fantastic, and the direction was genius. In fact, the director discovered a whole second show in the role of the narrator, who he cast as a young boy lost in the woods, telling the story using his toys. Wow!
There’s something truly fascinating about the indescribable awfulness of airline food, especially the food on American-based airlines when they try to compete internationally. It begins right in the international departure lounge, where the cheese tray offers:
Yes, that says it’s “Gouda-Type Flavor Cheese Food.”
Then it’s on to the flight, where dinner is a fascinating game of trying to guess the relationship between what is served and the delicious descriptions featured on the menu. But breakfast is the real show stopper:
The object in the foreground is a “croissant,” but it was nowhere near as wondrous as the texture of the eggs, which mimicked fresh Spackle with chunks of embedded foam rubber. I do give points to the salt and pepper shaker designer, though, who came up with this clever stacking Delta logo. It couldn’t hold a candle to the previous night’s, though, which somehow brought Madonna to mind:
And so we set out for a three week adventure, first to London, then a peculiar repositioning cruise that will take us to odd places on the way back to New York. Our morning flight from Orlando left us a loooong layover in Atlanta, the price to be paid for free first class tickets on the red eye to London. After hanging out in the Delta lounge we head out over the Atlantic.
I spent today getting organized for my brief week back in Orlando, sorting mail, going to the office to pick up boxes (mostly wine and books), and getting AAA to jump start Linda’s car, which had a dead battery due to my not catching that the valet switched the headlights out of auto. For dinner we tried a new restaurant on Sand Lake road (number 60 or so in four blocks) that serves creative sushi and char grilled skewers cooked using a technique called robata grilling. I really liked the trendy yet intimate decor, muted techno music and subtle lighting. Although we didn’t fall in love with anything we tried, I think we’ll definitely go back.
For some time I’d been wanting to try Jean Pierre’s Bistro, a French bistro and bakery in Water Tower Place, the cute shopping village in front of Disney’s Celebration. Orlando doesn’t really have any true French bistros, with the possible exception of Chefs de France at Epcot, which isn’t exactly convenient—or cheap.
