in Rio di Janiero choose ORO for a golden dining experience (12-14-19) 1 post by 1 author

After flying overnight to Rio you might think that a late dining experience is not in order, but with three nights, don't skip ORO where the Michelin Star is well earned and the experience is super fun.

On arrival we got a mini gin and tonic and a choice of menus: Criatividade for R$555 (there are just over 4 reales to the dollar, so this is about $110US)

or Afetividade for R$615. We went with the lesser menu which included all the pre-main course "With hands" courses as well as two main courses each and dessert. It's way more than enough and with the paired wines it comes to R$735, just under $180US. See the FB photos to realize what an amazing deal this is!!

Cave Geisse Brazilian Blanc de blanc sparkling wine arrived and if you know anything about Brazil, it is indeed a wonderful wine country, though limited export. Our server James was from Australia and we explained that we like to dine slowly and savor everything(with extra wine pours) and he was fine with that. Sam ordered a Brahma beer which was so huge it lasted through the entire 3 hour meal!

First came the Oyster on pork crackling with caipirinha sorbet while Sam got a gazpacho with smoked veggies(as he does not eat fish).

Next was shrimp with pumpkin on a tapioca crisp(not sure what Sam got) with Ximxim or local chicken stew with yucca, okra and dried shrimp that had a nice spice to it. Salted cod arrived on a kale chip with chorizo and then the piece de resistance was the Rump steak tartare with squid ink(none for Sam) and bone marrow that was out of this world.

Grilled bread with butter also arrived as we switched to a 2017 Cantarutti from Fruili in Italy. Another set of "with hands starters" arrived as they come in groups: Corn bread with coffee and fennel seed(no licorice taste here) was paired with Squid, fresh coconut and moqueca(Sam got a blini with polenta)

as well as Oxtail with heart of palm and watercress mousse.

So you thought the starters were finished! NO WAY! Intense umami-based eel with rice and apple mousse was next with a Quail egg tempura with charred apple and quid ink.

The final "with hands" dish was Pork rib with pickled pineapple" and by now we had switched wines to a 2013 Riesling Kabinett from Baron K. Knyphausen in Rheingau, Germany which Will quickly dismissed as too fruity and sweet and got a replacement chardonnay or such.

The servers work in teams here and while James explained most of the dishes, all were timed perfectly and we truly appreciated the excellent service and attention. The main course wine was a Chateau Ksara Cinsault/Carignan/Grenache/Mourvedre blend for the Octopus, Collard Greens Sauce, Kale and Biquinho pepper vinaigrette. Will continued with the Por Short rib with white Baroa potato, vanilla and Belgian black beer(which was also Sam's first main course). Sam and I went for the Beef rib and black tucupi(mantioc) and yucca with BBQ sweet potato and a bit too much sea salt. This was paired for me with a Guaspari 2107 Syrah from Sao Paolo region in Brazil that was superb.

Yes there were desserts and we chose one of each to share which were all quite amazing:

Green papaya pollen with fermented honey and Tulha cheese(from a local farm in Sao Paolo) french toast 

Corn cake with peanut ice cream and guava with acai

but the winner was the Chocolate cream biscuit with Banana and Passion fruit ice cream.

An amazing Madeira was paired with the desserts and I recall ordering an Uber to get us back to the hotel 15 minutes away after an exhausting first day in Rio culminating in what was a truly memorable meal!

Versailles "Derriere l'Eglise" is fabulous for French bistro!(12-8-19)

After the matinee at the opera(The Ghosts of Versailles) in the 18th century opera house at the chateau here, we took 10 of the singers to dinner at a nearby bistro, one of the few places open on a Sunday in town. It is right next to Notre Dame here in Versailles and hence called "Derriere l'Eglise" or behind the church).It was a superb experience with super wines, service and great fun for all. Pictures are available on my FB page. We started with some of the superb Charcuterie p[lates but I ordered extra pots of the Rillettes of Goose Liver that was sublime. We downed some Rose, Cotes du Rhone red and an awesome Medoc from Bordeaux 2014 called Victoria II.

Plated varied from pasta ro escargots(they were the best), but so many of us ordered them, they did not have enough small forks for the snails! I think we overwhelmed them with our large group, but the staff were so kind.

Main courses included the rich cheese ravioli, steak tartare that was superb, many various steak/steak-frites dishes and a superb veau special.

Desserts included Creme Brulee, a chocolate salted caramel dish and my cheese plate that had 3 difference cheeses that were superb.

When we started to sing Happy Birthday to one of the singers, one of the team walked out with a lit candle in his hand for Tucker to blow out! I think the entire place went numb with so many opera singers singing at full voice!

What fun. I hope we return to Versailles again, and may do indeed as the Glimmerglass Festival is considering returning again!

Versailles LA TABLE DU 11 offers a supreme dining experience(12-7-19)

We headed to Versailles for the last 2 nights of our Paris/Versailled long weekend to be close to the chateau where we would attend the French premiere of the opera GHOSTS OF VERSAILLES in the 18th century opera house of the chateau! We had a free night and I found the top place in town where chef Jean-Baptiste Lavergne-Morazzani and his team earned one Michelin star(they deserve more!) four years ago when he opened the place at age 24!

The place has indeed only 11 tables and everyone here was French with no tourists(save for us!). The manager Laurent welcomed us warmly and we sat down in the modern setting with cushy fabric chairs facing the open kitchen (even the bathroom was gorgeous porcelain walls and décor!) for what would turn out to be truly a gastronomic performance. The menu is simple listing a 5 course or 7 course(110Euros) option with courses being listed only by several ingredients (Cabbage, Ginger for example). We also opted for the Prestige paired wines and settled in as the sommelier, Enzo, poured Robert Moncuit Grand Cru Champagne that had a gutsy terroir and as we prefer, not a ton of gas. Of course, the water was Badoit, but we now realize we have to ask for that as the French seem to always serve Pellegrino!

Homemade grain bread arrived with emulsified wasabi-infused butter. Each plate had a small brown ostrich leather "place round" to keep them from sliding around on the wooden round tables. The first pair of amuses arrived and I don't have a clue what they were, and then I forgot to photograph the second one which was an amazing Beetroot emulsion with Smoked Eel and Purple Mustard that was like eating air! The wine was one of my favorite varietals, a Condrieu from the Rhone winemaker Montez, 2017 "Les Grandes Chailles." The wine also paired with the first course of Cabbage pressed and cooked and marinated in Ginger Vinegar with Sweet Red Chili Chantilly, Coffee and Mustard Seed. There are photos on FB of the rest and you can see how complex each dish was and how much love and work went into each course.

By the second course we figured that our server(they really all work as a team), the most handsome Clement, spoke perfect English as was able to tell us what we were served in English: Normandy Scallops came with a coiled barely cooked Butternut Squash topped with Lemon Finger Citron "caviar" and a Fish & White Balsamic Vinegar Sauce!! Pulilgny Montrachet 2015 from Monnot was another amazing gem of a wine that Enzo served with wonderful explanations(in French, of course).

The third course had us switching to another Monnot wine 2017 Mersault Xavier  "Les Chevalieres." We oohed and aahed at each wine and each bite; perfect pairings throughout. Monkfish with EVOO, Sweet Onion Extraction, Fennel Emulsion, Crispy Turnip and Dill with a dab Organic Orange as a condiment on the edge of the plate. We were warned by Clement that it was intense and only to take a dab. It was the perfect foil to the amazing fish dish as long as you did take just a dab. 

We moved to red wine with a superb Nuit Saint Georges "Vieilles Vignes" 2017 from Domaine Alain Michelot which had huge legs and an intense earthy terroir, paired with Lelandes Organic Poultry from Arnaut Touzen with Jerusalem Artichoke puree, Salsify and again a Menton Lemon Organic Condiment also on the edge of the plate. We opted for the supplement of superb white truffles which Laurent shaved over the dishes with flair. The meat was more gamey than your usual chicken and reminded us of what we get at our farmer's market back home; the dish won our applause!

The Burgundy remained for the "cheese" course of Brie de Meaux(which we learned is actually a locale where the specific brie is made!)which camed whipped with syrups and sauces and natural ash, muesli mix, nuts, pumpkin seeds, etc and pear. This was a novel take on the cheese course where chefs are now preparing a dish around a specific cheese and we always love it.

Clement (ever so adorable) explained the next dish was Tegete flower with Tagete Ice Cream, shortbread, apple and tuille. I googled it and discovered it is marigold! The flower and ice cream were almost minty with intense flavors, but a wonderful refreshing idea and paired with a Chenin Blanc "Les Grenouillieres) 2017 La Grange Tiphane.

The last course of the set menu was Chestnut, Citrus from Corsica, Crema yogurt & Chestnut Crisp served with an amazing Josmeyer 2015 Late Harvest Gewurtztraminer from Alsace that was truly a climax and conclusion to the perfect meal.

Plates with Apple Gelees and Lime Meringues arrived along with a presentation of Chocolate praline truffles.

I would come back to La Table de 11, even if we were not in Versailles; it is worth the trip just for the meal! 

Paris' L'AMBROISIE has three deliciously magnificent Michelin stars (and prices to match) (12-6-19)

I chose L'Ambroisie earlier this year and I think it must have earned it's third Michelin star since then and raised their prices as well, but it was a superb and scrumptious meal well worth the cost. The décor is warm and cozy with an original Aubusson tapestry in our room(of Alexander the Great in battle beheading someone), crisp white linens, beautiful silver, but oddly, not the fine crystal one expects when spending a lot of money on the wine. 

The menu featured about 5 each of appetizers(100-150 Euros each), fish dishes(100-150 Euros each) and meat dishes(100-130Euros each) and the cheese and desserts(35-52 Euros each). 

We were first brought some puffy gougeres followed by an superb amuse bouche, that was actually quite large at 4 bites or so, of cooked and smoked salmon with gaufrettes(potato sticks) and a dill & lemon creme fraiche garnished with a hefty spoonful of caviar(photos all on FB).

Bread arrived with several types but the most amazing was what they called "rye" which was a brown bread that flaked like a puff pastry and was truly miraculous. We ordered sparkling water and were surprised when the Perrier bottle arrived, but then noticed the new label with "fines bulles" and it was indeed very light and fine bubbles and quite nice, but not as good as Badoit.

Our first wine was a white Saint Joseph Le Bercau from the Rhone winery of B. Gripa 2018 which was creamy and rich and loaded with flavor. It was an ideal pairing with Will's Ile flottant a la truffe d'Alba, emulsion de topinambours, a poached egg in Jerusalem artichoke "soup" smothered with shaved white truffles. My Feuillantine de Langoustine aux granes de sesame, sauce au curry was three huge langoustines covered by a sesame tuile on a bed of spinach and a mild curry sauce that had me oohing and aahing with every bite.

We had plenty of time between courses to open our red, a Fixin 1er Cru "Clos Napoleon" 2015 from Burgundy's Domaine Pierre Gelin that the sommelier recommended and was indeed brilliant, and one of the lower prices gems on a wine list where many prices exceeded 10,000 Euros! It was the perfect Pinot Noir for our perfectly cooked Cote de Veau Double roti, etuvee de salsifis a la truffe blanche. The veal loin was for two people and knew we had to have it and a huge chop also came with the thickly sliced meat done tableside in its own rich jus and braised leeks. The salsify was in a separate with more white truffles. It was a huge portion and the maitre d' urged us to pick up the bone to enjoy it best and then brought a finger bowl of hot lemon water! All was truly perfect, although I did find it odd that they did not fold the huge white linen napkins when I took a break in the toilette.

We chatted with a couple from Kalamazoo at the next table and got to bashing Trump and the new taxes on French imports and the maitre d' (beaming with glee) quickly brought over a huge laminated picture of the Chef Bernard Pacaud and the entire team with President Obama who had dined there when in Paris during the last year of his presidency! We were in good company.

We decided to forego the cheese and share two desserts as they offered to do two half-size portions for half the price as we could never have finished any more. Of course a pre-dessert arrived in the form of Coconut Sorbet with Passionfruit/mango/banana and tuile.

We ordered some dessert wine and the Aleatico Orenga de Gafforey "Rappo" was like a light port, yet extremely aromatic and herbal and with long legs to boot. Our two desserts were the Souffle chaud aux pralines, coulis de mangue et Kirche de Fargerolles that was an amazing souffle with mango and cherry from the kirsch, but it was the Tarte fine sable aux cocoa amer, creme glacee a la vanille Boubon that blew us away. A slice of chocolate tarte with the most amazing vanilla ice crea; so simple yet heaven.

Of course one does not leave without mignardises and we got miniature Baba aux Rhum type cakes that were crunchy and filled with custard, apple with puff pasty and chocolate custard with raspberries. In addition a huge bowl of hazelnut crunchies covered with chocolate came, and we took them home with us for a later time(after tasting a couple!).

A truly brilliant meal in every way. Tonight we are off to La Table du 11, a small place here in Versailles where we moved for the last 2 days of our short trip.

We had an okay lunch at the chateaux todays at Alain Ducasse's Ore, but really are looking forward to this small place for dinner which has one Michelin star!

BISTRO ARACOSIA is always amazing and so close!(12-2-19)

When the weather gets cold we head down the street to BISTRO ARACOSIA as the food is filling, tasty and being Afghan on the heavy side, so pefrect for winter.

Four of us headed over the other night and got our amazing warm welcome and the manager Steve immediately sent out an appetizer plate of Spicy Beef & Lentil Dumplings(with powdered sugar & cardamom called Sambosa), Butternut Squash dumplings(Kadu), Roasted Eggplant dumplings and Shabzi, the wonderful dumplings filled with greens.

The phyllo on all was perfection and the garlic/yogurt dipping sauce with dried mint was supreme.

We had ordered several "do you love yourself more than you love me" drinks(they have a new drink menu) which was Casamigos Reposado tequila, Chichicapa Mezcal, Agave Nectar, Spicy Bitter and Lime which were a huge hit. The wine was recommended by our French server Floriane, who was a gem. The Domaine Bruyeres 2017 Viognier "Les Monestiers" was full of earth tones and perfume and the intensity was great with the spice, especially with all that Afghan bread and the four dipping sauces!! They start mile with avocado onto mango-spice, then go green with tomatillo and ultimately spicy red chili. YUM!

Our red wine was a Cune 2016 Crianza from Rioja. They have many new wines in the 30-$50 range which makes me happy as well.

We decided to skip the appetizers as we had so much and indeed some of us ordered appetizers for mains such as the Pumpkin Dumplings with mint & cayenne yogurt dipping sauce. I had two: Quail in Spice which was charbroiled and while delicious, not as good as the ones I had previously there. My other appetizer was a revealtion: Zubaan or braised tongue with a sauce of beans, chickpeas and roasted peppers. The Red Beet Tosh Payra comes veggie or meat filled and Will went with the latter for these spicy beef dumplings in a rich red beet stew. Veal & Mushroom Sabzi Lawaan is another superb stew and one of the best dishes always on the menu.

There was space for dessert:

Baklava here is made with cardamom, Tres Leches Cake is an Afghan take on the Mexican treat. Ricotta with Pistachio cake is another hit and Cardamom Ice Cream is refreshing.

Whatever you have here it's a hit and the service is super friendly and generous. We are happy to have Aracosia here and the new location in McLean is scheduled to open this month or next! Another great idea is that the bill comes with each person's choices itemized and a total by person; a novel thing that should be on every tab!