Paris jaunt–

Newark to Paris…no fuss, no muss…we highly recommend.

Just in time for asparagus season…YES!

Strawberries are happenin’ now, too…OUI!

Champagne is always in season…magnifique!

Delectable roast chicken is ubiquitous…always a winner.

Gobble it all…jaaaa!

Walk it off…gotta stay fit for more good stuff to come…sante!

Popping over to Paris from NYC is as easy as ever now…we highly recommend the new-ish airline called La Compagnie. They are business-class-only…they do extremely easy check-in at Newark Airport…boarding is simple and jostle-free…get seated…plane takes off…no announcements onboard…eat a meal…sleep a few hours…and BOOM you arrive at Orly…then a smooth 20-minute cab ride, and you are in the Left Bank. . .wonderful!!

We drop bags at our hotel and head out to Rue Cler for all the snacks and beverages we need to get acclimated. . .as you can see above asparagus are in season now, strawberries are wonderful now, roast chicken is always a winner–can never go wrong with this…and champagne is welcome, ubiquitous and delicious–mmm, aaaahh!

After indulging a bit we always remember to ‘walk-it-off’. . .strolling here, there and everywhere. . .and doing serious “walkies” every morning…this is a must to help us stay fit and prepared for the great meals to come. Make sure you stay fit, and you, too, can eat and drink to your heart’s delight as we all do our best to keep enjoying the passage of time.

This will all be over soon…so enjoy everything NOW…

…and Paris, as you know, is one of the greatest places to do this…

…keep her in mind…

…she will always be here ready to WOW you.

It’s lovely out there.

Extraordinaire Paris dining–

KABOOMY!  Here we are puttin’ on a monumental feed at a quintessential Paris dining joint: Chez L’Ami Louis…let’s check it out.

L’Ami Louis is famous for lots of stuff: gruff ultra-French waiters…a cozy room with shiny rouge walls that could tell thousands of scandalous stories…the glistening gorgeous vent pipe that runs from the wood-burning stove to the opposite wall blowing out who-knows-what to who-knows-where…”outrageous” prices…bricks of succulent foie gras…piles of toasted crusty bread…escargots that make you go “YEE-HAW!”…”the world’s greatest roast chicken for two”…mountainous bloody cote-de-boeuf…occasional celebrity sightings…a lovely wine list…and oodles of charm and atmosphere and je ne sais quoi. . .and you know what?–we love it all!!

In short, this place ROCKS!  Online sites are loaded with complaints about this and that–the prices, the surly waiters, the cramped space, the tourists or whatever. . .believe all of the comments, believe them all, but do know that there is much more to love here than to hate or be annoyed by.

First, we have a reservation…don’t just show up and try to roll on in here…it ain’t gonna happen.  Get your hotel to call a reservation in for you…participate in the full dining experience, and you might have a good time.

Second, my wife speaks French…they like a little French thrown their way upon arrival…our host greets us warmly, offers a choice of seats, and we take the coziest side-by-side seating spot in the house…good-to-go for the rest of the night–c’est bon, baby!

Next, the menu is simple…so we keep things simple: champagne to start, then foie gras bricks, then escargots, then roast chicken for two, then green salad, then berries and cream. . .everything to be washed down with a sweet little bottle of Pomerol…and armagnac at the very end. . .BOOM!…done.  Let the games begin.

Our waiters are lovely, by the way–feelin’ lots of love in here…everything arrives at the perfect time…we gobble the delicious foie gras bricks–none better.  We inhale the escargots after they cool just a bit–none better.  We ingest the chicken down to the last little tidbit on the last little bone–succulent, none better.  The green salad is simple and very welcomed after all of the previous richness–wonderful.  The berries are not as sweet as the freshest ones during April–we are here in February, so understandable–but the cream is rich and gooey and soothing, just as it should be…we are happy, oooooh-sooooooo happy. . .mmm, aaaaahh!

We finish with glasses of armagnac…perfect.

Yes, the prices are high…lots of people comment on this…but sometimes you just gotta say, “what the heck?” and just do it.  If everyone could eat here once, then there would be less conflict in the world. . .this is the way dinner should be…this is magic a la L’Ami Louis in Paris, France.

Eat here some time…you will love it–I gar-ron-taaaaayy!!

It’s lovely out there.

Brasserie Lipp…Paris–

Ernest Hemingway mentions this place a lot in ‘A Moveable Feast’…his wonderful account of becoming a writer and searching for meals along the way during his early days in Paris…it’s Brasserie Lipp–let’s check it out and see what’s goin’ on here.

Lipp is in the heart of the Saint Germain section of Paris on the left bank–Rive Gauche, as they call it.  It is quite serious here…the waiters are on the prowl for rustic gringos attempting to lounge about searching for photo ops and avoiding ordering anything off the menu.

It is best to have a reservation for lunch, as we do.  We are greeted by a host who acknowledges that we seem to know what we are doing and that we are here to put a major feed on. . .my wife knows the ropes having eaten here many times over the years–the host recognizes her seasoned approach, and we are rewarded with a cozy corner table deep in one of the dining areas.

Our main waiter and his assistants now handle us expertly: we order champagne, it arrives toot-sweet…we order our lunch: salad frisee, fish soup, roast chicken, steak au poivre with lots of frites, and a bottle of Macon to wash everything down real nice like.

The food is outstanding…extremely tasty…cooked to perfection…everything arrives on the hottest plates–I LOVE HOT PLATES!  We gobble away joyously…the waiters enjoy our relish.  For dessert I go with the profiteroles. . .these are the softest and most delicate profiteroles I have ever had, and the chocolate sauce poured on top could not be better. . .mmm, aaaahh!

EVERYONE has eaten here: Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Wolf, Dos Possos, us, and so many more.  It is easy to see why Lipp has been in business for so long and why it will be in business for so much longer. . .this place serves great grub with expert flare and a coziness and charm that can only be found in Paris.  Please consider eating here some time before you die. . .you will love it–I absolutely gar-ron-taaaayy!!

To see more amazing images from around our teen tiny planet simply click on a location of your choice in the category menu on the ‘About’ page of this blog. . .do it. . .so much to see and sooooo little time.

It’s lovely out there.

The Charmant Restaurant–

Continuing our culinary tour here in La Crosse, Wiskonsen we find ourselves puttin’ on a real good feed at The Charmant Restaurant located inside, you-guessed-it, The Charmant Hotel, and it is FABULOUS!

It’s still too chilly for the rooftop deck–it will open in April, JAAAA!–so we mosey on up to the chef’s counter where we can warm our bones by the cooking flames and watch our meals being prepared.  On this visit we are gobbling the following: pea and ham soup–clean, soothing, and tasty. . .Lyonnaise salad–we devour anything that has runny egg yolk on top. . .roasted chicken breast–crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside–perfect. . .grilled rib-eye–always delicious here. . .and a dessert of ice-cream and berries–delightful and satisfying.  All of this is washed down with a good Rioja–Spanish and French stuff go together quite well…mmmm, aaaaahh!

This is easily the number one restaurant in town. . .great atmosphere, wonderful staff, solid food, and free-flowing beverages.  If you ever find yourself hangin’ in La Crosse, then you MUST eat here. . .you will love it–I gar-ron-taaaayy!!

To see more magical images from around our teeny tiny planet simply click on a location of your choice in the category menu on the ‘About’ page of this blog. . .do it. . .so much to see and soooo little time.

It’s lovely and tasty out there.

Magical chicken in NYC–

JAAA!  Here we are gobbling away at a relatively new dining spot in town called Le Coq Rico, and this place is FABULOUS!

Le Coq Rico is run by a dude called Antoine Westermann who is serving up some of the best French-style roasted chickens in all of New York City. . .this place transports us to France…French dudes cooking, Moroccan-French dudes serving us, and African-French dudes manning the entrance–c’est magnifique!

Above you see the foie gras terrine that they serve here…this thing is kicking our butts–it is rich, dense, flavorful, and delectable–I can feel my arteries seizing up as we ingest it…so good and tres bien!

And you also see our bird…a particular bird from a particular farm somewhere here in the northeast. . .a real “barnyard bird.”  That is, these birds are raised with loving care, they roam around a lot, are fed lean diets, and this results in a leaner specimen–at least this is what we are told…not a typical chicken that has been artificially fattened with an oversized breast and no flavor.  Then our barnyard bird is cooked in a multi-step process that involves some brining, I think, then some time on a rotisserie, then some time in an oven, then some time to rest before he/she is cut up and served to us on a big platter with some potatoes and veggies on the side. . .mmm, aaaahh!

We gobble all of this in no time at all and take home the bones and remaining carcass for use in a soup at some later time at home…nothing is wasted here and everything is delectable–jaaaa!!

So, if you find yourself wandering around here in Manhattan lookin’ for somethin’ good and soothing to eat, then consider making your way over to Le Coq Rico on East 20th Street. . .settle in at the bar, sip a cocktail, and order up a barnyard bird of your own. . .you will love it here–I gar-ron-taaayy!

To see more stupendous images from around our teeny tiny planet simply click on a location of your choice in the category menu on the ‘About’ page of this blog. . .dive on in. . .so much to see and sooooo little time.

It’s lovely and tasty out there.

Day 102…Nimmanhaeman Road–

POW!  Today we move our base of operation out of the Old Quarter section of Chiang Mai to Nimmanhaeman Road–this is where the hip and happenin’ folks hang out, at least this is what we are told, so we are here to check it all out for ourselves.  We secure a nice room in a new hotel on one of the side streets, we gobble some chicken at a place called Cherng Doi–it is totally tasty, and we have a couple of drinks at a cozy little bar called Manung where they have live music, lots of young folks chillin’ out, relaxed scene, Premiership on the telly, my lady on my arm, etc.. . .damn, all is quite good over here.

There are lots of sleek condos for sale and rent over here, there are lots of interesting-looking shops, a Vespa dealership, wine store, restaurants, outdoor beer joints, etc.. . .we like it a lot here, but the only problem that we can see AND HEAR is that Nimmanhaeman Road lies directly under the path of jets landing and taking off from Chiang Mai Airport. . .feels like we are at the Airport Hilton in Queens. . .hmmmm, not sure we can live with this, and since we don’t have to, we won’t.  But it’ll do for now. . .

I send you sleek and rumbling vibes from “Nimman”. . .feel them. . .they are worthy of your attention, but let the buyer and renter beware loud noises above.

To see more wonderful images from around our teeny-tiny planet simply click on a location of your choice in the category menu on the ‘About’ page of this blog. . .do it. . .you deserve a virtual trip right NOW.

It’s lovely out there.

Masters of roast chicken–

Here we are gobbling the absolute best roast chicken in Chiang Mai at a place called SP Chicken–mmmm, aaaahh!  They also serve up great minced pork laab, Issan-bbq pork ribs, and delectable sauteed veggies known as morning glory.  After our delicious lunch the owner of SP and his son are kind enough to pose for a quick pic with yours truly–thank you, gentlemen!  We love lunching at SP Chicken in Chiang Mai, and you will too if you ever find yourself wandering around in the Old Quarter of town lookin’ to put a feed on.

I send you delectable vibes from SP in CM. . .feel them. . .they are mouth-wateringly good.

To see more fascinating images from around our tiny planet simply click on a location of your choice in the category menu on the ‘About’ page of this blog. . .do it–dive on in. . .you can go just about anywhere that you like right here, right NOW.

It’s lovely out there.

Happy 4th of July…

   …from Chiang Mai, Thailand. . .POW!  Flights from New York were smooth, temperature in CM is 90 degrees, and all is calm and quiet. . .veddy nice. . .mmmm, aaaahh!  We paid our respects at Wat Phra Singh, we lunched on roast chicken at SP Chicken, and now all that we have to do is chill in the heat. . .I can do that, I know I can.

Chiang Mai is as sweet today as it was when we visited in December of last year. . .I have a feeling that we will be returning here again and again and again and. . .

. . .I send you homey vibes from Chiang Mai. . .feel them. . .they are a great place to hang yer hat.

To see more fascinating images from around our tiny planet simply click on a location of your choice in the category menu on the ‘About’ page of this blog. . .do it. . .you deserve a virtual trip right here, right NOW.

It’s lovely out there.

Chicken for your thoughts?

JAAA!  As the snow and freezing rain fall in the northeast of the U.S. my mind returns to some of the tastiest roast chicken that I have ever eaten at a place called SP Chicken here in Chiang Mai, Thailand.  Mmmm. . .aaaaaaahh!  The skin is slightly crispy, the meat is succulently juicy, and the flavor is garlicky and herbally and chickeny. . .plus I can eat one whole bird all by myself. . .most wonderful!  I love SP Chicken, and you will too if you ever find yourself wandering around Chiang Mai lookin’ for somethin’ tasty to jam into your gullet.

I send you mouth-watering vibes from SP Chicken. . .feel them. . .they are oh-so satisfying.

To see more fascinating images from around our tiny planet simply click on a location of your choice in the category menu on the ‘About’ page of this blog. . .dive on in. . .the world is yer erster.

It’s lovely out there.