Cooking School Diary: A Basic Pâtisserie Retrospective

Things I made in my first month of cooking school, as I study for my final exam tomorrow…



Diamonts; Tarte aux pommes; Madeleines & Cake aux fruits



Saint-Honoré; Chaussons aux pommes; Palmiers



Éclairs & Chouquettes; Dacquoise; Gateau basque



Tarte merginguée aux poires caramelisées; Palets aux raisins & Bâtons de maréchaux; Tartelettes à l’orange et au chocolat



Moka; CROISSANTS; Brioche



Charlotte aux poires; Mogador; Pithiviers



Sacristains; Bûche pistache-chocolat; Alhambra

Food Diary: Falafel

Yesterday M and I met up in the Marais area for lunch at what is generally regarded by foodies as the best falafel in Paris. Located on the trendy Rue des Rosiers (see previous post), just the queue outside L’As du Fallafel at midday should be an indication that the restaurant is better than all the rest.

If you don’t feel like awkwardly eating on the street trying not to be a a slob in public (a challenge, given how much they pack into each pita), skip the takeout window and head inside to grab a table.

Food Diary: Le Relais de L'Entrecôte

Yesterday I only had one class, after which I met up with a Stanford friend who was visiting Paris with his family for an afternoon of shopping and strolling. Well, I did most of the shopping, but he was a good sport about it.

At my roommate’s suggestion, we started at Montparnasse-Bienvenue and headed toward Saint Germain on Rue de Rennes, making a brief detour at the Jardin du Luxembourg. Rue de Rennes and its many side streets are full of cool, trendy boutiques - perhaps almost too much so. I caught my first real glimpse of French hipsters, and I’d say they’re probably more intimidating (more hip?) than American hipsters.

Rue de Rennes is also notable because it ends at Boulevard Saint-Germain, where the famous Café de Flore and Les Deux Magot (old haunts of philosophers, intellectuals and writers) sit side by side. Originally I thought it would be a nice way to end the evening - eating at a restaurant that Ernest Hemingway used to frequent - but a glance at the pricey menu suggested otherwise.

We continued wandering the neighborhood looking for more affordable fare when, just around the corner, we stumbled upon the popular Le Relais de L’Entrecôte. Judging by the high concentration of English-speakers it’s a big draw for tourists, although I’m not exactly sure why. What it offers is a fixed-price set menu consisting of salad as appetizer, followed by the main dish: steak (drenched in the secret house sauce) and french fries. Not to mention you get a refill on the latter.

We agreed that the food (although tasty!) wasn’t quite worth the long wait to get seated but, all things considered, it was a good end to a good day.

Food Diary: Cantine California

At the recommendation of a fellow classmate, my friend and I tracked down the California Canteen food truck at Marché Raspail near the Jardin du Luxembourg. The owner grew up in San Francisco (hence burgers named Half Moon Bay and California), but decided to start this business in order to fuse American cuisine with high quality French ingredients.

We shared the carnitas tacos and Half Moon Bay burger. Both were delicious. Easily the best meal I’ve had in Paris so far.

Food Diary: La Mosquée de Paris

That time I had chicken couscous and mint tea at the Paris mosque, and had to keep staving off birds from dive bombing my plate. The food was good and the courtyard very pretty, but the whole avian threat thing sort of detracted from the experience. I had my back to the other tables so I’m not sure whether this was a problem for other customers, or the birds were just targeting me. Hopefully not the latter.

Next time I will ask to be seated inside.

Seattle's Best Eats

I was born and raised in the best city of the Pacific Northwest. While I’m a little sad that I can no longer call it home, I feel that it has served me quite well as far as unpretentious yet decently metropolitan areas go. Seattle is hip (just look at all the hipsters!), diverse and has pretty much everything you could want from a city. And did I mention we invented Starbucks?

I compiled this list for the benefit of some friends who will be moving there after graduation (yeah, I’m a little jealous). Note that the category of coffeeshops has been excluded. There are far too many and they’re literally everywhere.

Any Seattlites that take issue with my choices can suck it agree to disagree.

Affordable Afternoon Tea: Remedy Teas (Capitol Hill)

Breakfast/Brunch: Portage Bay Cafe (Roosevelt, Ballard, South Lake Union - best IMO), Geraldine’s (Columbia City), Silence Heart Nest (Fremont; great for vegans/vegetarians)

Burgers: Dick’s (Wallingford, Queen Anne, Capitol Hill)

Cheap Sushi: Sushi Land (Queen Anne)

Chinese Bakery: A Piece of Cake (International District)

Cupcakes: Trophy (Wallingford, University District)

Dim Sum: Harbor City (International District)

Diner: Luna Park Cafe (West Seattle)

Ethiopian: Central District (Lalibela, Meskel)

French Bakery: Le Fournil (Eastlake), Le Panier (Downtown)

Fish and Chips: Ivar’s (Wallingford, Downtown)

Fried Chicken: Ezell’s (Central District)

Happy Hour: downtown Bellevue, Belltown, Ivar’s Salmon House (make sure you sit in the bar area or you don’t get HH prices)

Hot Chocolate: Chocolati (multiple locations)

Japanese (sushi bar/tapas): Kaname (International District), Mashiko (West Seattle)

Mexican: El Sombrero (Columbia City)

Pho: Than Brothers (multiple locations)

Pie: Pie (Fremont). This is a serious recommendation because I have high standards for pie. 

Ramen: Samurai Noodle (multiple locations)

Thai: U District (Appethai, Thaiger Room, Veggie Veggie, Araya)

Traditional Japanese: Fuji’s (International District), Maneki (ID), Maekawa (ID)

Vietnamese: Moonlight Cafe (Central District), Seattle Deli (ID)