Travel News:
PARIS when it sizzles. . .
“We’ll always have Paris,” said Bogart to Bergman in Casablanca, and for some of us, that’s an enduring sentiment. Reading Julia Child’s wonderful final book, “My Life in France,” brings back a cascade of memories, of discoveries gastronomic and certainly otherwise, and even brought me back again to “Between Meals,” A.J. Leibling’s passionate, eloquent love letter to Paris: “If I had compared my life to a cake,” he wrote, “the sojourns in Paris would have represented the chocolate filling. The intervening layers were plain sponge.” He liked a restaurant on Place Gaillon; 80 years later, with a new owner, so do I.
LA FONTAINE GAILLON
Not far from the Tuileries and the Louvre and taking advantage of its corner space with a hedged-in triangular patio that’s a pleasure to eat in when the sun’s out, is this sleekly understated, elegantly chic restaurant, owned by Gerard Depardieu. Inside, it’s done up in leather and suede and dark wood, in shades of brown and gray. Depardieu is often there, messing around in the kitchen—he’s an accomplished cook, and has even published a cookbook, terrific recipes but a hymn to cholesterol. The specialty is fish: langoustine ravioli, a carpaccio of tuna with Provencal olive oil which would make any sushi chef proud, red mullet fricassee with anise, scallops with truffle sauce, and Merlan Colbert, which is a whole whiting breaded and fried in clarified butter, and delicious. Some of the recipes are Depardieu’s own, such as rabbit terrine in aspic (allegedly his favorite breakfast), and a four-meat slow-cooked stew. In the middle of the main dining room is a steel cabinet full of wine, some from his vineyards in Anjou (quite a good Rosé), some from the extensive Bordeaux vineyards of his business partner, Bernard Magrez. It’s not cheap, but not bad value. Across the street, they’ve taken over a small café, renamed it L’Ecaille de la Fontaine—relatively inexpensive, informal, small, seafood with a southern French/Italian accent, more emphasis on Italian wine.
Open: Monday through Friday, lunch and dinner
La Fontaine Gaillon, Place Gaillon, Paris 75002 (2d Arrondissment); tel: +01 47 42 63 22
Nearest Metro: Opera
Liebling also wrote, “Paris is foreign to no literate person.” It’s still true, and provides some of the best armchair travel—Paris seems to be magic for writers: Besides Between Meals, Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast is still thoroughly fascinating (interestingly, both men, and later Julia Child, all recalled quite a bit of Colette-spotting—the long-lived author of the Claudine and Cheri novels apparently ate out all the time, and even had her own regular table at Tour d’Argent). Three thrillers set in Paris are terrifically evocative: In the Blue Light of African Dreams and The Forger by Paul Watkins, and of course Day of the Jackal, by Frederick Forsyth. The most charming recent book remains Paris to the Moon, by Adam Gopnik, one of the few meditations on the City of Light that includes children. If you’ve missed any of these, you can easily order them through the Amazon links on my Books page.
Bubbling up: When we go to Paris, we take Eurostar, easily the best way to go (and now that the British link is complete, quicker by 20 minutes, now less than 3 hours). Part of the pleasure is our point of departure, the completely re-done St. Pancras Station, which boasts "The Longest Champagne Bar in the World." The station is wonderful, quite majestic--someone standing near me once said, "It’s like being in an old movie!" and it is. The bar’s pretty nifty too, open all day (10 a.m. to midnight), starting with a Champagne breakfast, all-day posh snacks, and afternoon Champagne Tea (not exactly a misnomer--you can have both).
EATING OUT IN ITALY:
SELECTED RECOMMENDATIONS
The restaurants below are the ones I always return to. Their food combines regionality with inventiveness and skill, wine lists are well-chosen, prices are at least good value, and service is hospitable.
VENICE
VECIO FRITOLIN
A couple of centuries ago, many restaurants in Venice offered deep-fried fish right off the boat, as a cheap and easy take-away. At this attractive and cozy restaurant, there is still a dish of frittura di pesce, a mix of various fried fish, and as good as it gets in Venice, but there’s a lot more, all fresh, expertly cooked. Much of the daily-changing fish is grilled, with imaginative vegetables (broccoli flan, zucchini marinated with basil, radicchio and tomato confit, for example). Start with a plate of salt-cod quenelles and sweet-and-sour shrimp on polenta, followed by baked sea bass with fennel cream and olives, or a salad of crunchy mantis shrimp with artichokes and then a dramatic presentation of lobster and eggplant tossed with pasta made with squid-ink. The wine list is well-chosen and long, a showcase of Veneto and Friuli specialties, reasonably priced. Irrepressibly cheerful owner Irina Freguia is usually on hand to advise and encourage. (She also operates the splendid café at the Palazzo Grassi museum, on the canal in San Marco.)
Vecio Fritolin, Calle della Regina (Rialto) 2262—actually in the Santa Croce district, near Campo San Cassiano; telephon +39 041 522 2881. Open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Sunday, closed Monday. Reservations essential.
OSTERIA ALLE TESTIERE
Very small (10 tables), slightly cramped, thoroughly informal, very cheery, welcoming, popular with locals, and my personal favorite. The variety of inventive dishes emerging from the tiny kitchen is astonishing–baked clams with ginger, grilled razor clams with garlic, crunchy sauteed baby shrimp in their shells on creamy polenta, grilled vegetables in a tangy wine sauce, and a variety of perfectly grilled fish; the menu, which is recited by the waiter, changes every day. The wine list is broad and carefully chosen, with a rotating selection of nine fine wines available by the glass or medium or large carafes. Osteria alle Testiere, Calle del Mondo Novo 5801, Castello. Tel & fax: +39 041 522-7220. Open Monday through Saturday for lunch and dinner Reservations essential.
RISTORANTE DA IVO
Another favourite, cozy, with whimsical decor and friendly service, notably welcoming; overall, the atmosphere is charming and romantic. There are some Tuscan specialties, like imaginative crostini, grilled game, and Chianina beef, but the Venetian seafood specialties are also sublime: baby shrimp on polenta, soft-shell crab, black cuttlefish-ink risotto, and perfectly filleted fish with vegetable sauces, like John Dory with tomato and olives, or turbot and artichokes in wine sauce. Desserts are simple but delicious. The wine list is extensive, and staff are quite knowledgeable. Ristorante da Ivo, Ramo dei Fuseri 1809, San Marco. Tel: +39 041 528-5004.Open Monday through Saturday for lunch and dinner, closed in January. Reservations essential.
FIASCHETTERIA TOSCANA
Despite its name, this very popular two-floor restaurant is thoroughly Venetian–gnocchi with scampi so light they almost float off the plate, wholewheat spaghetti with duck sauce, John Dory fillets with a sharp caper sauce, sea bass with clam sauce, turbot baked with cardoons, and frittura della Serenissima, a platter of lightly battered and fried fish and vegetables, rather like tempura on steroids; leave room for the rich ice-cream cassata on dense raspberry coulis. The wine list is all-Italian and quite encyclopedic, with an abundance of very good values. Fiaschetteria Toscana, San Giovanni Crisostomo 5719, Cannaregio. Tel: +39 041 528-5281. Open Wednesday through Monday for lunch and dinner. Reservations essential, best to go early, before the crowds, when things get too hectic.
COOKING SCHOOLS (Italy)
We’ve had good vacations at cooking schools, especially in Italy. Most offer room and board and local excursions, and prove to be good value as well as great fun. Those offered at wineries provide that tasty extra dimension, including wine-tastings in their programs. Here is a selection of notable cookery courses, and some further sources:
Badia a Coltibuono, Gaiole in Chianti, Tuscany. Wonderful wine, lovely people, good classes, a view to die for; the restaurant’s terrific too. Information available directly at www.coltibuono.com
Tasca d’Almerita, Tenuta di Regaleali, Vallelunga, Sicily. Perhaps the best of Sicily right here. A variety of classes, or even just a wine-tasting lunch. Splendid. Information available direct at www.tascadalmerita.it
Villa Lucia, Vorno, Tuscany (just outside Lucca). Information from Luxury Destinations, c/o Rhode School of Cuisine, 3 The Street, Frensham, Surrey GU10 3DZ; telephone +44 (0) 1252 790 222, or www.rhodeschoolofcuisine.com
Tasting Places books La Foresteria Serego Aligheri, a pretty estate north of Verona, and a variety of courses from Piedmont to Sicily, with several London chefs as guest instructors. Phone +44 (0)208 964-5333; USA Freecall 1-877 6952469, or www.tastingplaces.com
Gourmet on Tour books many courses and schools, notably Capezzana, Coselli School, and Villa San Michele and the Cipriani, which feature well-known guest chefs: Berkeley Square House #2F, Berkeley Square, London W1J 6BD. Phone +44 (0)207 396-5550, USA Freecall 1-800 504-9842 or www.gourmetontour.com
Some of the most luxurious possibilities are classes at five hotels in the Relais & Chateau group: Hotel Villa del Quar, near Verona; Relais Il Falconiere, outside Cortona in Tuscany; Il Pellicano, on the southern Tuscan shore at Porto Ercole; La Posta Vecchia, on the coast near Ladispoli, north of Rome; and Il Melograno, outside Monopoli in Puglia. Check them out at www.relaischateaux.com