Chez Vin
A few things I forgot to mention in my previous post.
1) On the flight from Geneva to Nice I saw Mont Blanc out the plane window. The peak was poking through the clouds. Now that is a big friggin' mountain.
2) So far I have taken 6 flights, 6 trains, and 3 buse. No cars. Viva la transportacion public!
3) I learned how to say hello, goodbye, and kiss my ass in Irish Gaelic. These are all essential.
Okay, so now on to the highlight of my trip so far, my first meal in France. For lunch I went to Le Part des Anges, a little wine shop and bistro about a 10 minute walk from the "Old Town" Nice. I was pointed there by my buddy Andrew, who lived in Nice, so I knew it would be good. Needless to say I was excited.
The place is divided into two sections, the first was the wine store, and it looked, well, like a wine store. The second half of the room was the bistro, which was a simple arrangement of about 8 tables, a kitchen in the back, and more wine for sale lining the walls. The menu was a chalkboard on the wall with (thankfully) legible writing.
The waitress spoke english and translated the menu for me. I was surprised that I didn't need too much translated, I guess if I have a strong point in my french vocabulary it would be the food. I chose the Tartaine de Rillettes Canard to start (10 Euro), Linguini with ausperagus, pancetta and parmesean (13 Euro), and a 2002 Bandol from Chateaux St. Anne (not that I know what a 2002 Bandol is).
The Tartaine de Rillette (duck meat pate on toast) came with the toasted sliced bagguette still warm, two cornichone (little pickles), and some greens. The dish was perfect, the rillete was rich but not heavy and the toast was incredible. How do the french know how to bake such incredible bread?! I'm also a huge fan of cornichone with this kind of dish, so that was a most pleasing inclusion.
The linguini was also good but a little surprising. The panchetta was not italian pancetta (italian bacon), like I'm used to, but instead sliced meat served over a heap of noodles and asparagus. The pancetta was tasty although a little gamier than I would have liked, and the noodles were pretty ordinary (but hey, they are just noodles). From what I have been told, the real star of Nicoise cuisine is the vegetables. This dish certainly proved that to be true. The asparagus were absolutely amazing, with a bright but mellow flavor, if that's even possible.
The wine was also good. Tasted like red wine. Nothing really surprising there. I'm not a wine critic, so I'm not of much use here. But I certainly enjoyed it.
1) On the flight from Geneva to Nice I saw Mont Blanc out the plane window. The peak was poking through the clouds. Now that is a big friggin' mountain.
2) So far I have taken 6 flights, 6 trains, and 3 buse. No cars. Viva la transportacion public!
3) I learned how to say hello, goodbye, and kiss my ass in Irish Gaelic. These are all essential.
Okay, so now on to the highlight of my trip so far, my first meal in France. For lunch I went to Le Part des Anges, a little wine shop and bistro about a 10 minute walk from the "Old Town" Nice. I was pointed there by my buddy Andrew, who lived in Nice, so I knew it would be good. Needless to say I was excited.
The place is divided into two sections, the first was the wine store, and it looked, well, like a wine store. The second half of the room was the bistro, which was a simple arrangement of about 8 tables, a kitchen in the back, and more wine for sale lining the walls. The menu was a chalkboard on the wall with (thankfully) legible writing.
The waitress spoke english and translated the menu for me. I was surprised that I didn't need too much translated, I guess if I have a strong point in my french vocabulary it would be the food. I chose the Tartaine de Rillettes Canard to start (10 Euro), Linguini with ausperagus, pancetta and parmesean (13 Euro), and a 2002 Bandol from Chateaux St. Anne (not that I know what a 2002 Bandol is).
The Tartaine de Rillette (duck meat pate on toast) came with the toasted sliced bagguette still warm, two cornichone (little pickles), and some greens. The dish was perfect, the rillete was rich but not heavy and the toast was incredible. How do the french know how to bake such incredible bread?! I'm also a huge fan of cornichone with this kind of dish, so that was a most pleasing inclusion.
The linguini was also good but a little surprising. The panchetta was not italian pancetta (italian bacon), like I'm used to, but instead sliced meat served over a heap of noodles and asparagus. The pancetta was tasty although a little gamier than I would have liked, and the noodles were pretty ordinary (but hey, they are just noodles). From what I have been told, the real star of Nicoise cuisine is the vegetables. This dish certainly proved that to be true. The asparagus were absolutely amazing, with a bright but mellow flavor, if that's even possible.
The wine was also good. Tasted like red wine. Nothing really surprising there. I'm not a wine critic, so I'm not of much use here. But I certainly enjoyed it.
posted by LoJazar at 5:56 AM
2 Comments:
Joe,
"Gamier" - don't forgot your roots, my friend.
Good question - "why do the French make such good bread?" Simplicity and thousands of years of practice.
G
Hi Joe!
I love your blog--I am so envious of all of your adventures abroad!
Love,
Alex
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