Running A Classic

Le Bernardin is one of Manhattan's culinary landmarks. It literally has put New York city on the radar of serious critics and food lovers. One woman is behind its' success Maguy le Coze. Her life has been the industry Her life is the restaurant.

Alan Richman, food writer for GQ Magazine conducted the interview with Mlle. Le Coze for today's New York Times Food section. Hers is a story of duty and the familiar. She was the daughter of hotel owners in Port Navalo,Brittany , France and was waiting tables in their restaurant at the age of twelve.Her parents wanted her to take the route they did. Marry a chef, tend to his customers, be the face of the restaurant and don't look any further than the front door. That was not Mlle. Le Coze. She came of age in the militant, swinging Sixties of France.She understood their wants but realized it was not for her. She and her brother, Gilbert,  was eighteen months younger,left for Paris , He worked in the City Of Lights as did she, but modeling for the fashion houses along with working for a hairdresser.. Summers were still spent in Brittany, helping their parents. Their restaurant began in 1972  in Paris.with Gilbert adopting Japanese ways of cooking seafood. It was not an easy time. They coasted after their first good review. A second review, a disaster according to her, destroyed them , The restaurant closed after they forgot to pay taxes and the government stepped in.

Gilbert redid the menu and reopened the eatery. Thankfully there was a good review from the renowned chef, Michel Guerard, and it revived Le Berardin, named for a song their father used to sing to them.Gilbert was smarter this time. They made money with Maguy the showpiece. The money allowed her to, take  lark holidays every summer in St. Tropez. It was at this time the restaurant moved to the chicer neighborhood around the Eiffel Tower. Fascinated by New York, they branched out to Manhattan in 1984.It would not be without sadness. Gilbert died of a heart attack at age forty-nine.It still pains her to talk about it. Yet ,Le Bernardin continues to this day. in the city. The main one was sold. The chef and co-owner, Eric Ripert, still follows the basic seafood menu that Gilbert created in the early Seventies.It's mega expensive but well worth it. The vegetable tasting menu is $172 dollars. for a select range of vegetables in sauce.The chef's tasting menu is close to four hundred dollars (!) but has such dishes as caviar along with langoustime with a balsamic glaze.  Le Bernardin hasn't escaped the MeToo movement. There have been lawsuits by former workers about sexual harassment. Even one worker has accused her of fat shaming her after giving birth. Mlle. Le Coze denies it. She is frank and sensible but not relentless with her staff. She is simply a restaurant owner.

Le Bernardin will be around for a while as will Mlle. le Coze. She is  the backbone of this New York classic.She brings joi de 'vivre to the city's restaurant world.

Crepes Celeste A Taste Of France

Food court food is just that , your usual mix of tacos, burgers and pizza.If you're lucky there is more exotic fare like teriyaki or spaghetti. Luckily there's an upstart in the group, Crepes Celeste. It a breath of fresh French air for the palate.

Crepes Celeste brings French crepes to the masses.Forty years ago most malls and downtowns had A Magic Pan Restaurant This chain was great. They offered all sorts of lunch, dinner and dessert crepes. along with Salad Nicoise. They continued until 2005 when they were bought out by a company called Lettuce Entertain You,,They disappeared  and anything even vaguely Gallic disapeared from the landscape. Crepes, both savory and sweet were now hard to find. Luckily Celeste's came in and brought two favorites, crepes and macarons. The creators combined American flavors with artisanal French city and country cooking,For crepe lovers this is a dream come true. There are fresh veggies that can be combined with meats and cheeses.Celeste's even offers a breakfast crepe that you can order at any time.There are also turkey crepes as well along with one based on a roast beef sandwich.There is even one with a Mexican twist to it and one with pesto. The sweet crepes feature the classic Parisian street crepe with sugar and butter topped with a squeeze of lemon.There is also a clever Gallic homage to  s'mores, full of marshmallows, dark chocolate and Graham cracker crumbs.

I have tried both their ham and cheese along with the vegetable one. Both have made me their number one fan. The crepes are made fresh, right in front of the diner, They are the traditional  crepes of Brittany in northwestern France where the dish orginated. They are the perfect bed for the ingredients.I tried their ham and cheese, good and the vegetarian even better. I love this last. A smear of creamy ricotta is slathered on the crepe , then fresh sauted  veggies, such as eggplant, onions and tomatoes isthen laid on top. The crepe is then deftly folded into thirds so that the filling is safely tucked inside. A decorative blob of more ricotta is put on top (the ham had a curl of extra ham on it) with a squiggle of cooked pepper. The flavors are so perfect together, the cheese's creaminess mixes with the tang of all the veggies cooked together. The accompanying slad of just romaine and shredded carrot was also perfect, especially with the sublime French dressing. This week I am adding one of the dessert crepes for dessert.

Celeste Crepes brings back the return of Gallic fare to the malls .It is a breath of l'air fraiche to a landscape  full of burgers and tacos. Try one and enjoy the sophisticated simplicity of it

Quick Elegance Crepes

There’s nothing like the quick elegance of crepes. They’re the easiest to make out of all th sophisticated dishes. There’s no worry about them falling or over broiling. There’s no fear that you’ve; over cooked or over whipped them. They can be made a variety of ways for a variety of moods. They’re just great to serve - especially during this holiday season.

Crepes are as French as the French themselves. The name derives from the Latin word crispa meaning curled. Crepes started out as buckwheat pancakes in the northwest province of Brittany where they ‘re still made today with the original recipe. They’re traditionally served with cider . For main courses their known as galettes or galettes samasine. Nowadays, crepes can be found all over France and you can easily buy them off street vendors from Paris to Lyon, from Toulouse to Marseilles and Nice.

Crepes are more or less easy to make. Take a batter made from flour, eggs, milk and a pinch of salt and spread thinly over a well oiled or buttered (I prefer butter) frying pan fro just a few minutes. Using a spatula , delicately turn the crepe over and cook the other side. How you stuff them is up to you. I like mine with cooked spinach and a simple béchamel sauce. Another way is just with a sprinkle of lemon and granulated sugar Parisian style. .

Crepes may be a snap to make but they’re also the most elegant. You can serve them as a treat for yourself or for an holiday party. Either way they’re just a great touch to everyday eating.

Voici - Toute La France Pour Le Jour De La Bastille

Today is Bastille Day French pastries, I thought I'd dedicate the entire entry to the various foods of France. The French landscape is a wide and varied one. It has the wine region in the Southwest while the Southeast has the Alps and fertile fields of the Mediterranean basin. The North is a mixture of land and sea, evident in their various dishes. French cooking is the most varied, owing to the climate and landscape.


Provence provides France with the rich cooking of the local farms and a bounty rich sea, Here you can find olives, fish, tomatoes and onion. There's nothing like a briny, saffron infused bouillabaisse with fresh made, crusty bread. Another treat is pissaladerie. which is a Provencale pizza made with ground olives on toasted bread. Travel a bit north and you get the Alpine cooking, such as the Swiss influenced fondue and raclette . On the other side of southern France there is the Burgundy wine region where the best wines and champagnes are made. Here is also good cuisine, escargots, snails drenched in butter and parsley and the famed jambon persille ham cured with again parlsey. Burgundy is also known for its' rich potage bourguignonne, a vegetable soup flavored with bits of bacon and ham.

Northern France is loaded with history and a history of good food as well. It is here that the famous sea salt, sel du St. Michel is mined in beds near the Monastery of St. Michel in the English Channel. In neighboring Brittany crepes , a true symbol of French cuisine, have been made for centuries and originated there. There are gallettes or crepe stands all through the towns of the region. Brittany is also known for its' mussel or moules, steamed in white wine. Then there's the part of France that borders Germany in Alsace. The region is a mix of Gallic and Germanic foods.

France - it's not just the cultural capital of the world. It's also the culinary one too. Celebrate it . Discover the wonders of French cuisine aujourd 'hui.