A little bit of nature

Scenes from the countryside of Germany!

After the hustle and bustle of some rather metropolitan European cities, I managed to escape to some peace and quiet in the Black Forrest of Germany (erm plus a detour in Zurich). Specifically, I got to see the quaint town of Titisee along with the "mini" city of Freiburg. 

But first, a few quick eats in Zurich: 

Macarons!!! I was so excited to see a Laduree in Zurich. I had no idea these places existed outside of Paris. Granted this one was much tinier and only sold the mini versions of macarons but still...I told my friend to get the caramel (best flavor!) while I opted for two more adventurous ones: chestnut pear and plum. 

We had lunch in Zurich at HITL, apparently a very popular lunch destination. There is option of a buffet downstairs or a sit down upstairs. I kind of hate buffets so it was a good thing we had made a reservation. I had the brown rice with wild mushrooms which was pretty fantastic.  After lunch, we were in a food coma for the rest of the day and could barely muster the energy to explore the rest of the city...but I did manage to accomplish my main mission: buy chocolate.

With my remaining 20 something Swiss francs, I went and bought about 10 bars of chocolate. Needless to say, it is some AMAZING chocolate. Don't worry dad, I'm saving you like 6 bars.

In Freiburg, I also got to try the delicious looking concoction on the right called a "flame cake" or tarte flambee (not sure what its called in German). It comes from the Northern part of France, specifically the Lorraine region. Its very thin bread dough covered in creme fraiche, lardons aka bacon and thinly sliced onions. It was fantastic. And according to wikipedia, "it is one of the most famous gastronomical specialties of the region". Nice. There's a nice recipe for it here. I'm hoping to try making it when I get back to the states. 

Ok so the pictures aren't very good, blame it on the awkward lighting but doesn't that cake LOOK good?
Apple cake on the left and an original Black Forrest Cake in the Black Forrest. Whaat. So yea my mind was blown as this cake pretty much destroyed all previous conceptions of a black forest cake. I've never ever ever ever liked any desserts with cherries on it but who knew it would taste so good when it was made with fresh cherries?? And the normal icky icing was replaced by a light, creamy mousse that rounded out the darkness of the chocolate perfectly. So ok maybe I didn't eat Swiss cheese in Switzerland, but this is a lot cooler :)

+snowballs in vanilla sauce with caramel
+...erm another rendition of a snowball?
+ onion soup with homemade croutons
+ not shown because I devoured it too quickly: trout mousse on rye bread and a liver/apple dish

Apparently my step-sister's friend is a total foodie and I was super lucky enough to be in town when he was hosting one of his famous dinner parties. Four (and a half) courses of authentic German cuisine (unique to the Titisee region?) plus loads of delicious wine and I was full to the brim by the time the 3 hour affair ended. Sadly, I was too busy eating to take pictures of all of the dishes but I did remember to get a picture of the soup and the dessert.

German snowballs are a culinary treat consisting of whipped egg whites (among other ingredients) and they are quite difficult to make so I was extremely impressed  by the dish along with the homemade caramel sauce and vanilla sauce.  Have I even had homemade vanilla sauce with real vanilla beans? don't think so...

All in all, a quite satisfying foodie weekend. For those who are confused about where Titisee, Germany actually located is (like I was), you can check it out here and see that it is about 1.5 hours north of Zurich and right by a GORGEOUS man-made lake.  And because the entire place is just too pretty, I had to post a  picture or two.

So much pretty in one picture.

Dinner Cruise on the Seine

A dinner cruise: ranked one of the top 10 touristy things to do in Paris so naturally, we had to do it. For a tourist trap, the dinner was surprisingly tasty and came with unlimited supply of champagne and wine (both a good and bad thing). The bubblys coupled with a three-course meal meant it was more than enough to satisfy our bellies.

+ Program of attractions for the night
+ Bread
+ Mini olive muffins

Of course the best part about dinner was the spectacular view of all of the sites of Paris lit up at night. The dinner cruise timed it so that when we got on and off the boat, the Eiffel tower was glistening with its sparkly lights - which only happens for the first 5 minutes of every hour. Fun fact: the light bulbs are replaced by an experience crew of rock climbers every few years (learned that on our bike tour earlier that day...hehe).

+ Bisque soup with lobster
+ Scallops with truffle and leek

I think the appetizers was actually my favorite part of the meal. The mushroom bisque soup had massive chunks of lobster floating atop. I couldn't quite place the taste of the bisque because it was incredibly earthly but the cream thinned it out a bit and everything came together quite nicely. The scallops were also cooked to the perfect tenderness level and even better that it came with a brothy sauce. yums.

Le Grand Vefour

Well here it is. The frenchiest of the french. The most french meal I have ever had in my life. Final verdict? Still somewhat ambivalent. I can never say no or not experience fine dining but I might opt for something other than foie gras the next time around...

Le Grand Vefour is one of the oldest dining institutions in France frequented back in the day by Louis VIX, Napoleon, Victor Hugo, Jean Paul Sartre, Julia Child and more. V. cleverly reserved us the table of Napoleon which was quite a treat :) 

Everything in the dining room was impeccable down to the tiny silver trays the butter was served in (see below): in both salted and unsalted version! Our waiters, dressed in black suits with bow ties reminded me penguins (yup, I'm so mature). 

+ A very frenchie menu (no there was no English version....shouldn't have asked haha)
+ Amuse Bouche of Oyster
+ French Baguette
+ Yummy yummy butter

After traversing the crowds of the Lourve for an entire morning, we were STARVING and quickly devoured all of the crusty bread (with lots of butter) before the arrival of first course. Terrible mistake. Who knew that 3 courses also meant an additional cheese tasting, various petit fours (not including dessert) and a wide array gastronomical candies? 

And then there was the foie gras. 

+ Fish tar tar with salad
+ Foie Gras with citrus fruits and jelly

Au Revoir Canada, Hello Penn

One more day until I head back to Penn. I still refuse to believe that it is September already as I have been insulated in the bubble that is suburbia Pennsylvania for the past 2 weeks. Outside of reading, sleeping and eating - I haven't been doing too much else. Its also hard to do much else when you are waking up at 3:00pm everyday. ha. My justfication to my dad was that I was building up my sleep bank.

Water Chiller, Bread&Butter, Escargot.

Our final dinner in Montreal. It was about time that we had an authentic French meal. So authentic in fact that everything on the menu was in French with no English translation. We managed to fumble our way through the menu an settled on some delicious albeit safe options.

Chicken stuffed with bacon and brie cheese with fresh vegetables.There is of course a more official and French sounding name for this but I have no idea what it is.

Coq au vin (actually translates into rooster in wine...huh, how did that not dawn on me?

I was so so in the mood to order some froi gras but my dining companion was in mood to eat liver. Alas I missed out on my chance to redeem froi gras - the first time I had froi gras dish, I was 12 and thought I had ordered something akin to fried duck - imagine my dismay when the dish turned up to me mushy goo with a side of caramelized apples. Fortunately, my palette has developed somewhat since then.

[A rather large serving of] creme brulee which of course we finished.

My kind of flowers

This place takes flowers to a whole new level. Every ingredient, baked delight, afternoon snack and cafe drink had flowers as one of the ingredients. And to boot, there were the most gorgeous bouquets scattered around the tiny 3-table shop.  We happened to serendipitously stumble upon the corner cafe after breezing through St. Laurent but came back on our last day to savor a light brunch and some more floral beverages.

Check out the ambiance! I sure did. The cafe used to be a local corner store which is where the old looking wooden shelves and flooring comes from. Fortunately, everything was still immaculately preserved and even the round tables' tablecloth had matching flowers with an old-time feel. 

[Gorgeous magenta colored flowers; Scrambled Eggs, Tomoato & Polenta; Side Citrus Salad.] Everything was served on either vintage-y china or in these adorable mason jars. Everything sure looks a lot cuter in mason jars. 

Orange Blossom French Cake (I don't know what it was called, caramelized on the outside, almost custardy on the inside), & Cinnamon Pasty with Fresh Fruit. 

Iced Dark Tea, Orange/Rose Infused Soda Water, & Rose Infused Lemonade.  The soda water and lemonade smelled like a bouquet of fresh roses.  Who needs roses when you can have rose lemonade? :)

Rose blossom Sugar Cookies, a gorgeous arrangement of flowers & a jug of crisp water against the setting sun.

More flowers, a vintage couch in the background.

LOVED LOVED LOVED this place. I think we marveled in everything for a good twenty minutes, and then again the next day. Capo will never feel the same after this but such is life.

Bonjour Canada

Yea yea its still Canada but its as close as I'm getting to Europe this year. Although a taste of Montreal makes me want to hop on the next red eye to Paris.  Its actually true what they say - turning any word French automatically makes it sound infinitely more romantic. We just about died every time we passed by a chocolatier or saw the words creme glacee.

Mont-Royal

A (late) breakfast in Mont Royal followed by walking, exploring and shopping, Mont Royal vaguely reminds me of East Village in NYC.  Its filled half with up-and-coming restaurants, boutiques, ethnic cuisine and half with gorgeous residential apartments and hostels. We ventured to the famous 24 hour-a-day/7-days-a-week La Banquise for the famous Canadian poutine later in the afternoon.

Finally tried the much-heralded poutine! And from supposedly the most famous place in Montreal no less. Final verdict? Ambiguous. We ordered the classic which is french fries with gravy and cheese curds and got some bacon thrown in. The fries were not your typical golden diner fries which in this case still worked. The whole mess reminded me of the kind of cheese fries you order from Allegro's at 3 in the morning....I guess that's why this place is open 24 hours. 

Escargot, Salad and Belgian Fries in Mont Royal; My travel companion is absolutely in love with escargot from her travels in France (major jealousy over here) although I've never been very fond of the butter-soaked aspect of the dish. That was until I realized they aren't always soaked in butter. Huh. Well, I still think they aren't that exciting given the other options that exist on a menu. 

Vieux Montreal

Ham quiche with beet salad at an adorable chocolatier/cafe by Notre-Dame Basilica (pictures forthcoming!).  This light and airy quiche inspired me to make quiche on my first full day home...which my father promptly gobbled up. haha.  

A life-changing panini. Sure it looks unassuming but man what a flavor combination: smoke salmon, cream cheese, roasted eggplant, capers, peso and arugula.  I am tying this one at home kids. \

Lunch at Jardin Nelson in Old Montreal. We were fortunate enough to experience gorgeous weather all week and this day was no different.  Every restaurant we passed was filled with bustling diners sitting on patios, by windows and in the open sun. Jardin Nelson took this to the extreme and had two dining terraces as well as an open roof available for locals and tourists alike. The crepe was rather disappointing but  the live jazz music was quite enjoyable. 

A flaky and delicious chocolate croissant and brie cheese fondue with baguette and grapes. I never really got the whole fruit and cheese combo but I always like anything I eat enough times :)

Downtown Montreal

(Left) Portobello burger with sprouts, tomato and some sort of amazing creamy cheese...might have been cream cheese haha. (Right) Burger with brie and bacon. A late (a little too late) spontaneous dinner at 10pm after a 3 hour nap left our stomachs grumbling. This happened to be one of the few places where the kitchen was still open at 10pm (don't ask me why everything closes so early).  The burgers seemed like a safe bet off of the pretty Americanized menu but they were DELICIOUS. I think adding brie to anything just makes it taste good. Funnily enough, they didn't ask us how we wanted our burger cooked but even the medium-well quality left the burger nice and juicy. 

Forthcoming posts: the official most adorable cafe in Montreal (which we went to 2 days in a row even though it was on the other side of town), a good old fashioned French dinner in the Latin Quarter, and a great big bunch of gratuitous scenic shots.

A table for two please

Some places were meant for first dates: low lighting, hushed atmosphere, and of course, impeccable food and service that won't drain your wallet. I love first date restaurants regardless of who you are dining with because the food never disappoints.

Creperie Beaumonde 

Located by 6th and Bainridge, the creperie is one 1 block south of South Street which meant it was the perfect ending after a long day of meandering and wandering.  The food was definitely on the pricier side but it also offered some of the best crepes I've had outside of Montreal. 

[Savory Crepe] Shrimp with Chives and Seafood Sauce 

[Sweet Crepe] Pears, Chocolate & Creme Anglaise

Creeping a little on the guests but look at that adorable couple by the window :p

Garces Trading Company

11th and Locust. This place wins my vote for a first date, second date, whatever date restaurant. The moment I entered the place, I was in love. The restuarant is an amalgamation of an upscale farmer's market, cafe, bakery, wine shop and eatery. Basically everything related to food that I love all mixed into one.  In my opinion, Garces has officially won in the Garces vs Starr challenge.  We stopped by after a very filling in Han Dynasty for their adorable macarons but I cannot wait to go back for an actual meal. 

Full deli counter of cured meats, cheese, honey, and an entire array of balsamic vinegars including truffle oil and black raspberry.  Garces somehow also managed to finagle his own wine store right in the restaurant where you can buy the wine and drink it with your dinner [or lunch]. Prices are absurdly reasonable with a typical Riesling selling for ~$12/bottle. Apparently, the other restaurants in the area threw a big fit about Garces' personal wine store but I guess the protests weren't very effective. lol. 

Pastry counter with wide selection of desserts although I mostly focused on the macarons. 

We sampled one of each of the macarons: passion fruit, peanut butter & jelly, coconut, dark chocolate, salted caramel, and pistachio. I think my favorite was surprisingly the peanut butter & jelly since they it was so cleverly made. Half of the filling was grape jelly and half was peanut butter ganache with 1 purple side and 1 tan side.  Oh yea and in case that wasn't enough, we threw in a apple strudel which featured little cream puffs on top and a walnut filling center.