Paris may well be a movable, moveable feast, but the shops of the rue Montorgueil are fixed. Pâtisseries, bars, cafés, sandwich stands, fruit & vegetable stalls, butcher shops, cheesemongers, fishmongers, charcuteries, a florist, a news vendor, they're all on our doorstep.
Bread is essential. An ordinary croissant, pulled apart and dunked into a frothy grand crème while standing at the zinc-topped counter of a corner café tastes astonishingly wonderful. A tartine, French bread slathered with unsalted butter, is even better. The best is a long, thin loaf called a flûte, very Parisian, with Echiré butter (from a remote area of western France where the cows feed on unique local grass). The best of the flûtes is called Gana, invented by Bertrand Ganachaud over 40 years ago.
The Gana difference is a pre-fermentation process that produces a starter known as poolish, which gives the bread a nutty taste. The dough is formed by hand and baked in a wood-fired oven under licenses the Ganachaud family has granted to some 200 bakers across France. Cost of a half-pound loaf? Buck fifty.
French Chef Sally is my friend Sally McArthur, who hosts luxurious,
week-long cooking classes at the Chateau du Riveau in the Loire Valley.
Local Wine Events.com,
the worlds leading Food and Wine tasting calendar. Spirits and Beer events as well. Post your own event or sign up
to be notified when new events are po
sted to your own area.
VinoLover, Seattle wine promoter David LeClaire's bulletin board of tastings,
dinners and special events.
Wine Educator Dieter Schafer maintains a full schedule
of Seattle-area tastings and seminars
for amateur wine drinkers and professional alike.
Nat Decants, a free wine e-newsletter from Natalie MacLean, recently named the World's Best Drink Writer at the World Food Media Awards in Australia. Wine picks, articles and humor; no ads.
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