One of the things I love as a tourist is to do what the locals do. Go to the cinema! And preferably the art house ones. Just to experience the sphere of a city and its folks. We were planning to check out Ides of March and dine at the Grosvenor Cafe first. A venue with a cafe slash restaurant in the loft of the building, a bar and cinema downstairs.
London Breakfast TIP
Crime: Fruit salad and coffee
Scene: The Breakfast Club, 2-4 Rufus Street, Hoxton, London
Investigation: Had breakfast here with my girl Sjzerdene. A lovely place to start your day. Have you ever seen the world’s smallest disco? You can find it here!
London
I’m back from London and have a lot of to go’s to share. Have been all over the place and noticed that you could get proper food wherever, whenever. Doesn’t matter what kind of budget you have. The diversity in culture and cuisine is just awesome!
The locations where I had great food and ambiance where:
Benugo Cafe Deli, Ladbroke Arms restaurant, Brawn, The Breakfast Club, Albion, Gail at the Frieze Art Fair, Sake No Hana and ICN Global!
Will be back soon for burgers! Damn you placemats!
Rapa Nui
Crime: BBQ chicken sate, salad, corona and Toblerone chocolate mousse
Scene: Rapa Nui Strandtent, Boulevard Barnaart 27, Zandvoort
Investigation: I’m not a fan of beach clubs. Love beaches, but can’t stand sand in my seat and food hahah Anyhow, Rapa Nui is the closest place I can go to by car where I can enjoy beautiful sunsets. The food is ok, the service could be tighter, the music is not really my style (if you don’t sit near the speakers you won’t hear the tunes haha), but the terrace is somehow ideal for beers and wine with the right crowd.
Place to enjoy the sun: Yes! Lovely view of the North Sea and the beach? Yes! The best food? Nah. It’s ‘aight’. Their kitchen serves typical “brown cafe food” like the Dutch version of the chicken sate with peanut sauce, steak frit, salad, freestyle pasta and the famous Dutch ‘borrel happen’. I’ll return soon to upgrade my tan if the weather lets me. Next stop: Timboektoe at Wijk aan Zee with their nice menu :)
Let the wine tasting begin
Yesterday, we visited two chateau’s with two different concepts:
First we visited Chateau d’Arsac. A Chateau renovated by Phillip Raoux a contemporary art lover, the fourth generation of wine distributors and now also a producer of red and white wines from the Margaux area. A beautiful area where the Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Merlot Grapes are cultivated.
What fascinated me was his refreshing view on running his chateau. Next to buying a Chateau in a good area with a great climate and good soil for his vineyard, he made an oldskool vs contemporary art location.
His love for art can be seen in his Chateau, warehouse for the barrels and his sculpture garden. This way of running the Chateau makes the introduction to drink wine, very accessible for the New generation wine lovers.
It was very surprising to hear that the youth from Bordeaux lost it’s touch with their pride for their famous wine culture. Nowadays youngsters drink to get drunk fast instead of challenging their tastebuds and enjoy the experience of drinking good wine.
Phillip Raoux came with a concept to experience wine by opening his Chateau to the public and opening La Winery with a large collection (more than 1000) of its favorite wines for individual buyers, organizing wine tastings for beginners and restaurant the Wy.
The nicely furbished restaurant (with art of course), serves a menu with french and other cuisines. The Wy offers you the possibility to walk to La winery after ordering your meal and look for a bottle of wine which fits your dish, and not for restaurant prices. Like this formula.
After a lovely meal there’s a possibility to have a walk through the sculpture garden where you find Mr Raoux investment in art. Every 15ct of his sold bottles goes to art. Noble gesture.
In general a good concept to experience wine by visiting the vineyards, the barrel warehouse, do the wine tasting, check the Winery out and the restaurant where you drink the wine in combination with food in a pleasant environment.
I can give a positive verdict on experience …about the dishes…need to come to the resto more often ;)
Le Petit Commerce
Crime: Menu for two with salad des moreu* (cooked salted cod), des moules cooked in their own ‘juices’ like what the garçon said, razor clams, crevettes en sardines. The best options of the house with a bottle of cold white wine.
Scene: Le petit Commerce, 22 Rue du Parlement Saint Pierre, Bordeaux open every day
Investigation: Le petit commerce, a well know seafood restaurant in the hood is located in the centre Ville. In a narrow street with a bunch of restaurants and bars. Le petit commerce has a simple interior inside and simple terrace in the sun with excelent service. It is always packed with locals and tourists, so make sure you’ll make a reservation in advance.
The restaurant offers a lot of seafood, check their menu in the picture. Everything is Made as simple as possible. No sauces. Just good seafood prepared with some high quality oil and herbs. An oldskool concept, but the vibe was refreshing. Maybe because of the relative young personel and company logo. House styles can make a difference in presentation ;)
The Friendly Bordeaux people don’t speak a lot of english. Actually a large part of France, mais n’est pas de problem. Unless the menu is in French haha, so order the best from the house according le garçon and be surprised.
Loved the mussels, razor clams, shrimps and salad. The sardines were delicious too, but the bones are a hassle haha. Verdict, a very good place to experience seafood and to get your tan on in the sun. I’ve enjoyed the place and am going to recommend this joint. Very ideal for lunch when sightseeing in town and a nice place to have a late summer dinner before heading to the bars in the neighborhood during the weekends.
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* the salad had the following ingredients, so I think it’s easy to make.
- In water cooked salted cod, cool, shred and add
- Parsley
- Black olives
- Chickpeas
- Lemon juice
- Olive oil
- New potatoes
- Lettuce
Les Bouteilles, Nantes
Le Velo Noir
Crime: Tartar of fishes of the day in pea gazpacho, grilled maquereau (mackerel) filled with preserved lemon and tarragon with pomme de terre, Fraises du Velo Noir.
Scene: Le Velo Noir, 13 Rue Vieil Hôpital, Noirmoutier-en-l’Île
Investigation: We entered the island by car via le Passage du Gois. A road which could only be used/entered at low tide. Little did we knew… the tide was already rising haha.
Just followed the route via the car navigation and discovered this beautiful site. Left and right locals and tourist with their buckets and shovels, in their pants rolled above their knees to find some clams and oysters to bring home. In my experience a cool way to collect your snacks ;)
After some sight seeing and advice from our contact at Ile de Noirmoutiere we checked out Le Velo Noir (the black bike, which hangs on the facade) in the historic centre of the island.
The interior of the restaurant was so cute. The owners collected stuff about the island and antiques to decorate the restaurant. It felt very French! Despite the latest Sade album they on had as background music haha
First we got an appetizer of chicken with vegetable puree. The chicken reminded me of my mothers lemper (chicken rolled in coconut rice) and tasted like chicken with garlic, ginger and lemongrass.
Followed by a tartare of fish of the day from the market with coriander and lemon. Great combination and easy to make. Then two of the stars of the island. The maquereau with the pomme the terre.
Inspite the fact that I was quite satisfied, I ordered the tip from my contact madame Bruley: the strawberries in mint and vanilla cream accompanied with a macha/sesame cookie with a “woojooo” level. And she was right. The creamy substance in combination with good strawberries with a subtle hint of mint made me go wow, need to make this myself!
If you like a picturesque restaurant which serves good quality island food and great service, please visit Le Velo Noir. Not in the neighbourhood? Get inspired by the dishes and create something a like at home.
Rouen
Normandy, France
After a long drive yesterday we arrived at our hotel in Rouen. A charming medieval city which used to be the biggest city after Paris with a lot of history. The story of Joan of Arc, the 19 year old heroïne who organised an army which led to several victories of The French army, captured by the English then prosecuted by the archbishop of Rouen to à scentence of death. On the market square around the corner of my hotel…
Ok, our quest for food. Chocolaterie Auzou was almost closed, this was the place were thet sold Joan of Arcs tears. A must for tourist, but was still caught up with the story of Joan that I wasn’t into her tears. Most of the restaurants where closed because it was Monday which left us with 16/9. A kinda ok restaurant at Rue de Socrates. Had my veal prepared the Normandy way and my first cheeseplate of the coming two weeks consisting of Camembert, fromage du chevre from the Loire Vallee and delicious Beaufort from Auvergne.
We will spend a few days in Normandy, Seine Maritieme home of the Camembert, Calvados and Neufchatel, The hearts Cheese. Once made by the French ladies for the English soldiers during the 100 years of war. To show their crush, because of the language barriere hahah a lot of tasting ;)
To check if there’s a barriere between us and the locals we are going to look for a good boulangerie pour une bon baguette sil vou plait.
