Paris Day Three: Sunday Sweets & Soup

I'm continuing to have a great time exploring Paris, especially the food.  Seriously considering abandoning the whole law school thing and simply attending cooking school here in France.  I have a few more days until I need to decide whether I come home or not. In the meantime, here are the quickly accumulating backlog of pictures documenting my food adventures.

(Note: For the sake of time, I'm simply throwing up the pictures with limited commentary.  Will go back through and edit more once I have a bit more time.)

Macaroons! My first ever legitimate macaroons!  They were delicious!

I got them from this lovely little pastry shop in the Montmarte neighborhood.  The most adorable French young woman waited on me.

I also got a madeline and another pastry (I can't remember the name right now!)- also fabulous. 

Caitlin ordered this yummy quiche- also delicious. 

Most of Paris shuts down on Sunday nights, so we had slim pickings for dinner.  We are staying in a pseudo-Japanese neighborhood (at least a neighborhood with a very high concentration of Japanese restaurants), so we got noodle soup for dinner- cold weather = soup.  Very tasty. 

And Then I Got Pie....

I love me some pie. Particularly apple and berry pie. So when I heard about Chile Pies & Ice Cream on one of the food channels, I put it on my "to eat" list.  Some people have "to do" lists or bucket lists- this girl has a "to eat" list. Because this place is a little bit off the beaten path, it took me awhile to get to this item on my prized list.

Thanks to my roomie renting a car for the weekend, I finally got a chance to try this place...and it was worth the wait.

Here are the deets: this place is known for putting unique ingredients in otherwise traditional flavors of pie.  For example, they put green chili and cheddar cheese in the crust of their apple pie.  Might sound weird, but these unique ingredients really compliment the traditional flavors of the pie.

Here's the apple pie with a scoop of Three Twins Organic Vanilla Ice Cream.  Fabulous- absolutely exceeded my expectations.  Great crumble topping, nice flaky crust with a pit of a kick of spice from the chili (not spicy by any means, just a little bite of flavor).

The ice cream was super tasty.  You can tell they make the ice cream from real vanilla beans.  Super creamy.  I have heard rave reviews of Three Twins before, but have never had a chance to actually try them.  Added them to my "to eat" list.  A little pricey at $8, but the portion size is very generous, so you can split with a friend and still walk away happy.

Chile Pies has both sweet and savory pies.  I figured I had to try both varieties...you know, for my blog.  

Somewhat blindly, I ordered the frito chili pie.  There was a bit of a crowd in the store at the time, everyone seemed a bit confused and there was no clear line.  Caught up in the chaos, I started to panic that I wasn't going to get food.  When I finally caught the staff member's eye, I desperately pointed to the frito pie on the menu without really knowing what I was ordering, afraid that if I didn't order now, I was never going to eat.  Ever.  I'm a bit over-dramatic, but hey, I was super excited about this pie adventure and didn't want anything to screw it up.  

Back to the frito pie...

  

The ingredients were pretty simple.  They simply opened up a bag of frito chips, poured some vegetarian chili on top (they have meat chili available too), topped it will yummy ingredients and you are good to go.  Simple but very good.  My only complaint is that it was pretty pricey for what it is.  At $6 a pop, I expected something more (organic, locally sourced corn chips...I don't know).  

One of my friends ordered a chicken pot pie...

She cleaned her plate, so I am guessing that it was good.  Again, great crust, yummy insides and a nice serving of gravy on the side.  Perfect for a cool fall afternoon. 

In addition to pie, they had two varieties chili and stew available by the cup or the bowl.  If you order by the bowl, you get a yummy looking corn muffin.  Looked and smelled good, so I plan to order this next time. 

You can order a whole pie or by the slice.  Each day, the selection of pie changes, but I think they always have their signature green chile apple pie.  

Overall, definitely worth checking out.  Two chubby thumbs up from this fat kid.  

Dynamo Donuts, the Fat Kid Crack House

Dynamo Donuts ranks right up there with Mitchell's as my favorite places to score my sugar hits in San Francisco.  They specialize in gourmet donuts and use fabulous fresh ingredients.  Their menu rotates daily depending on what is fresh, but they almost always have a few standard flavors, including their famous bacon apple maple donut.  Check the website and the twitter feed for the daily menu.

Unfortunately, Dynamo is one of those places where if you try once, you can never stop.  Although I have no personal knowledge, I imagine it is a similar experience to crack, except you get fat instead of skinny when you abuse this substance.  Small details.  So my new rule is that I can only eat their donuts if I walk to the shop, which is 2.3 miles away from my apartment.  Yes, I know the exact distance.

Here are some pictures collected over my multiple visits to Dynamo.  No, I didn't order all of these donuts in one sitting...but I can't say that I haven't been tempted.

Meyer Lemon Huckleberry.  This is what I got on the most recent trip.  Berry was the dominant flavor, but the lemon added a bit of a kick.  Yummy.

Bacon apple maple donut.  So flippin' good.  This is their local claim to fame and Dynamo absolutely lives up to the hype.  The picture isn't great- I am always so excited to eat this donut that I forget to take a picture before I have nearly demolished it.

I think this is the vanilla bean donut, but I'm not 100% sure.  Very good.  They actually use real vanilla bean in the batter and you can see chunks of it in the donut.

Caramel del Sel (bottom left) and spicy chocolate (top right).  Both are solid.  The caramel has hints of orange zest in it.  Simple, but really, really good.  Goes great with coffee.  The spicy chocolate is super rich, dense and cake-like.  I think they put chipotle powder in the sugar, making it a tad hot.  I think it is a sleeper hit and is one of my favorites.  A great choice if you want something to dunk in your coffee without getting your fingers all sticky with icing.

Chocolate rose.  Same batter as the spicy chocolate, but infused with rose water.  Very good.

Lemon thyme (left) and strawberry something (right).  I can't remember what other flavor the strawberry was paired with- on the website, it lists strawberry early grey, but I don't think this is what it was.  My bf, M, loves lemon flavors, so the lemon thyme was a big hit, but we both thought it could use a stronger lemon flavor.  The strawberry was very good- you could taste that the strawberries were fresh.

One of my all time favorites isn't included in my pictures, but it is on the website- banana de leche.  At first, M and I hesitated to get this because we were afraid that the banana flavor would overpower the donut.  We absolutely underestimated the talents of the Dynamo baking staff.  Everything was perfectly balanced, so amazing.

Looking over their website, it seems like they are adding a new batch of recipes into the rotation.  A must try: Monte Cristo.  Ham, gruyere cheese and homemade jam.  It looks like it has been deep fried (ok, I realize that they all have, but this especially looks deep fried).  Are you kidding me?!?!  Another one: Molasses Guinness Pear.  Come on now.

I think another Fat Kid Reunion is in order- who wants to join?

Fat Kid Mecca: Mitchell's Ice Cream

I love Mitchell's Ice Cream.  No, seriously.  I love this place.  So much that I am planning on naming one of my children Mitchell.  It helps that its a family name- I can at least pretend like this is my reason.  It will be served at my wedding and my funeral.

For those who haven't had the honor of trying this place, here's the low down.  It's claim to fame is its original tropical flavors.  These flavors include Ube (Purple Yam), Avocado, Green Tea, Mango and others.  Sounds strange, but I promise you, it works.  They also have a stellar traditional flavor menu.  Some of my favorites are Kahlua Mocha Cream, Peanut Butter Indulgence, Thin Mint, Grasshopper Pie and Espresso Toffee.  You really can't go wrong with any flavor at this place though.  They have a set of seasonal flavors as well.  During the summer months, they have Peach and Cantaloupe.  Around the Winter Holidays, Eggnog and Pumpkin are pretty solid.

In addition to the variety of flavors, Mitchell's also has tons of options for customizing your ice cream.  Cup, regular cone, sugar cone, waffle cone and waffle bowl.  Ice cream cookie sandwiches.  Milkshakes.  Sundaes.  Chocolate dip.  Chocolate dip with sprinkles.  Tons of toppings.  All pretty reasonably priced.  I always go with waffle cone and chocolate dip.

Jay rocked the Ube on a waffle cone.  The tip broke, so she accessorized her ice cream.

Ube was a big hit this visit.  

Not sure what flavor Suzan got, but she was keeping a watchful eye on Chou.  You can never be too careful when it comes to Mitchell's.

Food Carts = Fat Kid Reunion

Finally, a true Fat Kid outing- Off the Grid!  Off the Grid is a local association of mobile food carts that host weekly events throughout the San Francisco.  They host these events in "food deserts"- places with a lot of people, but few restaurants.  They host an event every Friday night out at Fort Mason.  This is the largest event with over 30 street food vendors and live music.

A group of Fat Kids decided to have a mini-reunion Friday night at Fort Mason.  It was a beautiful day in San Francisco and we hoped to take advantage of the sunshine.  After battling to find a parking spot, we realized that we weren't alone in this logic.  Although it was ridiculously crowded, the Fat Kids weren't deterred- we toughed it out and braved the lines.

First up, the JapaCurry truck.

So, I was starving at this point and forgot to take a picture.  Aftermath picture coming though.  They only had one food option, so the line was relatively short.  They were serving Katsu Curry and you had the choice of Pork or Chicken.  Super tasty sauce.  

Next up, the Curry Up Now truck. Here's the menu:

So their signature item is a Tikka Masala Burrito.  Genius.

Needless to say, I was pretty excited.  The dark horse, however, was the deconstructed samosa.

The pictures don't do it justice- seriously, so good.  It was almost like a chili, but better.  Hard to describe, but just amazing.  Would definitely order again and absolutely worth the wait.

We decided to divide and conquer, so a few of the other Fat Kids visited other trucks.

Korean tacos.  I'm not sure what the truck name was, but this got good reviews.  One of the tacos was really, really spicy, so word of caution to those who don't like hot sauce.

For dessert, we hit up the Creme Brulee cart.

Flavors of the night were nutella & strawberries, chocolate, caramel, and vanilla bean.

Needless to say, it got rave reviews. 

A shot of the nutella flavor.  Pretty tasty.  By the way, the Creme Brulee man charges $5 a pop.  The line was 30 people deep for the entire two hours we were there.  They must have been brining in cash hand over fist.  Starting to rethink this whole law school thing. 

Overall, a good food night.  Next time, we are going to try to make it right when it opens to avoid the lines.  Hope that it makes the whole experience a lot more enjoyable.  Nonetheless, a fun outing.  

Fancy Pants Fat Kid Dinner

Some people splurge on expensive clothes, cars, or concert tickets.  My splurge is nice restaurants, obviously.  Although Fat Kids enjoy a good deal, I am willing to spent a little more to get the experience.  For the last few bithdays, instead of gifts, M and I have taken each other out for fancy pants dinners.

This weekend wasn't for any special celebration- just a spur of the moment trip.  As part of our hotel deal, we got a $100 gift certificate to use at one of three restaurants nearby.  We selected Morimoto, the solo restaurant venture by Iron Chef star Masaharu Morimoto.  

We decided to splurge and go for the tasting menu.  So worth it- we got to sample dishes that we otherwise wouldn't have thought to order.  It was an incredible experience. 

First course: toro tartare.

The dish came in a wooden bowl packed with ice.  The tuna was packed into a dish similar to a cutting board.  At the bottom, there was three sets of toppings- wasabi & (something I can't remember), sour cream & chives, and guacamole & rice crackers.  Morimoto is famous for coming up with interesting combos and this dish definitely lived up to his reputation.  They also included teriyaki dipping sauce and a little pitted fruit (name I can't remember) to eat as a palate cleanser.  You scoop up the tuna with this utensil that looks like a paddle- can't really see it in the picture (sorry).

A closer shot.  So tasty.  Never had anything like this before.  Incredible presentation.

Second course: I can't remember the name, but it was a thin slice of fish, seared and stuffed with mushrooms and topped with micro-cilantro.

It was tasty, but not memorable.  Given that the first dish was so amazing, I think it was hard to follow up. (Sorry for the terrible pictures- I was trying to be polite by not using flash.)

Third dish: bagna cauda.

Apparently this is an Italian dish that Morimoto adapted.  In the white dish, there is olive oil with a garlic paste and this combo is heated by a tea candle underneath.  It comes with an assortment of items to dip in the oil, including bread, broccoli, cauliflower, beets, brussel sprouts, onions, and tempura, among others.

So the garlic mix doesn't look appetizing, but I swear it was amazing.  Very simple dish, but so tasty.  Beautiful presentation.

Fourth course: soup

Again, I can't remember the name and it's not on the menu.  I think it was a miso base with foie gras.  The green fleck on the left was wasabi.  We scooped up a bit of the wasabi and then got a spoonful of soup.  It gave it a great kick.  With or without the wasabi, it was very tasty.  We scraped the bowl as dry as we could get it and would have licked it clean if were weren't in public.

Fifth course: sushi!

From left to right: oh-toro (fatty tuna), hamachi (yellowtail), sake (salmon), saba (japanese mackerel) and tako (octopus).  At the bottom right, pickled ginger.  Our favorite was the tuna, yellowtail and salmon.  Some of the best fish I have ever tasted.

Sixth course: porkbelly, wagyu beef and lobster with lemon creme fraiche.

Maybe this only happens to me, but when food is super, super tasty, I impulsively slap the table.  It is an involuntary response.  It happened when I ate this dish.  A bit embarrassing, but couldn't help it.

 This was the pork belly.  It was set on a base of polenta and topped with micro greens.  It was so tender, it literally melted onto my fork.

The wagyu beef.  I'm not the biggest beef fan, but this was delicious.

Finally, the lobster tail.  It was a tad spicy- surprising.  It sat on a bed of fava beans, kale and pomegranate
seeds.  Yum, yum, yum.

Last course: dessert!!!

Carrot cake with vanilla bean ice cream, candied carrot and fruit slices.  Not what I expected from this place, but then again, I don't think I could have predicted anything we were served.  Fresh tasting and a nice blend of flavors.

Could not say enough good things about this place.  It was one of the all time best meals I have ever eaten.  Wonderful experience.  

Eating My Way Through Napa

It's Spring Break and while I have tons of work to catch up on, I decided to go on a quick vacation with my love to Napa after finding an amazing travel deal on Living Social.  Most come here for the wine, but I find the food just as a compelling reason to visit.

First stop: breakfast at the Dipsea Cafe.

Our starter course: a biscuit.  This was a late addition- we had to add it on after seeing another customer eating one at a neighboring table.  

M's dish: whole wheat pancakes with fresh blueberries, homemade breakfast sausage (huge link) and home fries.  He was pretty impressed- said it tasted very homemade. 

I had a special: zucchini, carrot and dill pancakes, chicken apple sausage, sour cream and homemade applesauce.  De-lic-ious.  Huge portions, so I didn't get through even half of it.  

This was a fun first stop.  We were worried at first because there was a good 30 or so people waiting for a table, but they moved through the list fast.  I think we only waited about 10 minutes.  Tons of babies- so adorable.  Made my ovaries ache.  It was a tad pricey, but the portions are so large, you could easily split a plate and help stretch your dollar.

Next stop: ironic dim sum for a snacky lunch at a food truck in Napa called Dim Sum Charlie's.

It was it in a Air Stream trailer.  They were camped out in this random dirt lot next to Gott's Roadside and I'm sure they swiped a few customers who didn't want to wait in the ridiculously long lines that are always at that place. 

The prices were really high considering that you could easily get the same meal in San Francisco for half the price.  That said, it was pretty solid.  We got the "Ten Dolla Makes You Holla" deal, which include a steamed  pork bun, a honey pork bun and 5 assorted pieces of dim sum.  

I forgot to take pictures until we got down to the last two pieces.  The one on the right was our favorite.  I have no idea what it is called, but it is super tasty. 

A couple next to us had huge steaming bowls of ramen that smelled wonderful.  Again, far too pricey, but that's true for almost everything in Napa.  

Finally, dessert from Sweet Pies, a bakery next to our hotel. 

Red velvet whoopie pie with cream cheese frosting.  Far bigger than I expected.  Pretty good, but way too big to finish.  They had some other goodies that looked very tasty- cheesecake, creme brulee, cookies, and cupcakes.  Pretty good prices, especially considering that everything is big enough to split with a friend. 

We finished off the day with a fancy pants dinner at Morimoto's, a restaurant owned by the Iron Chef star Masaharu Morimoto.  That meal was deserving of its own post- to come shortly.