Lunch…Hawksmoor…NYC–

A cocktail before lunch?…uhm, okeedokee!

Ersters, gone jus’-like-that…quite yummy.

Steak frites, Hawksmoor-style…not too shabby.

Sticky toffee pudding…correct…delectable–jaaaa!

The gringo is satisfied yet again.

Lovely post-lunch walk home…mmm, aaaahh!

So, Hawksmoor is supposed to be one of the world’s great steakhouses…in LONDON! Now there is one here in New York City…a town loaded with great steakhouses…can the Hawksmoor folks really make it here? Not sure…let’s pop in for lunch and see if there is any hope for them.

We are here on a Wednesday afternoon…the joint is basically empty…about 8 or 9 folks in the big dining room…and about 6 or 7 folks hangin’ at the bar, sipping beverages, chatting…not eating.

We sit at a cozy table in the back…we can sit anywhere…the place is, again, empty.

Nice room, I guess…cavernous…

…nicer waiter, fortunately…we get water and martinis going.

House martini…icy cold and delicious…feelin’ better now.

We get a dozen oysters…tiny, from P.E.I….sweet and delectable…could eat a hundred of these, no problem.

Now I get the house steak frites…a 10 oz. rump steak, crispy delicious frites cooked in meat drippings or something…

…a small hunk of bone marrow on the side with a small bunch of greens.

The meat is a perfect medium rare…well-rested…easy to eat…

…I gobble the entire plate with no trouble at all…very nice for lunch.

I wash this down with a tasty glass of Rhone red…lovely.

My wife inhales a wonderful hunk of halibut…slight char on the outside, delightfully cooked on the inside…

…presented on a hot-hot plate…mmm, aaaahh…

…and served with mashed potatoes and gravy…and sautéed mushrooms…all very nice.

For dessert we do sticky toffee pudding…

…it is wonderful…

…we slurp down every last morsel/drop.

We enjoy our time here in Hawksmoor…try it…I bet you will like it, too.

But, I still love Keenes and Sparks more…ah well…

…maybe we’ll come back for the Hawksmoor cheeseburger someday…

…maybe…

…on to our next lunch.

It’s lovely out there.

Great grub, MKE…thanks, Dorian–

WOW!  We do some din-din in a joint called Fauntleroy here in Milwaukee because Dorian has dissuaded us from venturing down to the beach, and we are quite satisfied…let’s check this place out–mmm, aaaah!

Fauntleroy is owned and run by the Dan-Dan fellas–two local guys named ‘Dan’–who also run a few other delicious dining spots in town, including the famous ‘Dan Dan Noodles’–a really good Asian-inspired noodle restaurant that we have eaten at and enjoyed.

Fauntleroy is a French-inspired operation, and they are doing a good job with this.  The location is in the Historic Third Ward…easy walk from our hotel just a few blocks away.

We arrive, we announce our reservation time, the hostess says they are ready for us and we are whisked through the bar to our table in the back.  Good dim lighting, cozy-looking bar, more soothing lighting in the back, nice table for two not too close to other diners…so far so good.

Our waitperson is professional, welcoming and efficient with us…we feel even better.

We order: French onion soup, frisee salad, roasted halibut and steak frites.  The soup and salad arrive–they are both delicious.  The fish and steak arrive–they are both cooked perfectly and delectable.  We wash everything down with a 1st cru white from some lovely place in France–Burgundy, I think…we are happy and satisfied.

Then we do a crunchy berry mousse dessert thing and all is good.

We love Fauntleroy in the Historic Third Ward of Milwaukee. . .please consider checking this place out the next time you find yourself hanging out in these parts. . .we are confident that you will love it, too.  Thank you, Dorian!

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.

4 steaks 4 us…

POW!  We love dining with fellow meat lovers, and there is no better place to gobble tasty slabs of meat than at Raoul’s on Prince Street in the Soho section of Manhattan, New York City. . .mmmm, aaaahh!

Raoul’s recently turned forty years old so you know it’s good. . .a restaurant does not survive this long in New York without rockin’ and rollin’ it each and every night.  The steak au poivre is the most famous dish here…all four of us order it cooked a perfect medium-rare with extra au poivre sauce on the side and a healthy mound of fries cooked in duck fat or some kind of fat that makes them ultra-delectable.  All of this goodness is washed down with a red burgundy chosen by our waitperson, Alex. . .jaaa!!  This meal makes us happy…real happy.

We hope that Raoul’s lasts at least another forty years or so. . .and we especially hope that you will pop into this place some time and experience all of the goodness that they have to offer you: great atmosphere, great staff, great drink, and great food. . .you deserve all of this right NOW.

To see more fabulous images from around planet Earth 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.