Kong

I had an excellent meal in Paris this week at a restaurant called Kong.  It occupies the top two floors of the same building as Kenzo (very mod clothes that would probably make me look ridiculous, if I could afford them) on Rue Pont Neuf.  I was in Paris on a business trip, saw a brief writeup on the place in a magazine, and asked the hotel to book me a table. 

From the Pont Neuf, the restaurant looks like a big greenhouse, or maybe an upside down salad bowl sitting on top of the building; from the the inside, it offers fantastic views over the river.

Decorated by Phillippe Starck, the bar feels like some very hip (and wealthy) 28 year old’s living room.  It’s a bit darkand a bit industrial, but still comfortable. Clear acrylic panels between booths are lit from below and have faces printed on them.  Makes you feel like someone’s watching you (with a slightly disdainful eye, of course – this is Paris after all).  The face theme is repeated throughout the restaurant, on monitors in the dining room and on the backs of the acrylic Ghost chairs used at many of the tables.

After dark, you don’t get the same views, but the dimly lit restaurant offers a romantic setting in keeping with Paris’ reputation.  As I was dining with a work colleague, romance wasn’t on my mind (sorry Perry – I’d rather have been dining with Kris…) – I was more focused on the food.

The food was great.  We started with a mixed entree platter of spring rolls, black perch tartare, artichokes poivrade, seared tuna, and california rolls.  Everything but the tuna was fantastic.  The tuna was a bit fishy and not particularly flavorful.  For mains, I had Chilean Seabass (Bar du Chili) with black rice.  Perry had a Filet de Beouf with peppercorn sauce and fries.  My fish was perfectly cooked, and served with an interesting (miso based?) sauce.  Perry’s steak was good, if fairly ordinary, but he said the fries were great.  The food was well prepared and the nicely sized portions were presented very simply.  We split an excellent bottle of bordeaux that went well with both dishes.  A lemon tart and pannacotta with strawberries rounded out the meal.

All in all, a great meal in a great setting.  Expensive, but not over the top.  Well worth a stop next time you find yourself in Paris.

The Holly Bush Pub

We had dinner tonight in a local pub in Hampstead: The Hollybush.  We were invited by some friends who were celebrating a birthday.   Everything about the pub was great except the food, which was pretty mediocre.  Not bad, but not worth the prices they were charging.  It’s a nice, old fashioned local pub, with a bar area out front and a warren of small rooms with tables in the back.  Their selection of beers was excellent, with a range of bitters from smaller breweries, and plenty of lagers, ciders and stouts as alternatives.  The wine list, while pretty short, had a nicely varied selection. They had enough servers behind the bar to cope with the crowd, so you didn’t have to wait too long for your pint.  The servers were all friendly and helpful.  We ordered a few beers to start while we decided on food, then put in our dinner order.

There were about 12 of us, so it wasn’t surprising that the food took a while to come out, but the wait started to seem excessive after about an hour…  We ordered a burger for the kids, which was probably the best of the meals (even if they didn’t eat it), and chicken two ways for ourselves: a goat cheese stuffed breast quarter and a chicken and mushroom pie.  The food was OK.  The burger was nicely prepared, with shreds of horseradish mixed in with the meat and, while a little rare for the kids, was nicely cooked.  The roast chicken and pie were both pretty tasteless, as were the mashed potatoes served with them.

Overall, we had a nice night out with our friends, and really enjoyed the pub.  I’d just suggest you start off there for a pint or two, then move on if you want a meal.

Souvlaki

We went on a family vacation to Greece a few weeks ago – probably our best vacation ever.  Perfect weather, we went to the beach every day, nobody barfed, and everybody slept well.  Pretty much everything you could ask for in a vacation – those of you who have young children will know what I mean.

We stayed at Bungalows Ingrid (highly recommended) – small bungalows in the middle of an orange grove, inexpensive, clean and well maintained, with a beautiful taverna in the middle.  Ingrid made us simple but fantastic breakfasts every day, which we ate on our patio, or at a picnic table surrounded by orange trees.  The bungalows are between the towns of Assini and Drepano, near Nafplio with its Venetian fortresses, shops, and waterfront cafes, about two hours drive south of Athens on the Peloponnese Peninsula.  The town of Tolo, with a gorgeous sandy beach (most of the beaches in the area, while beautiful, are pebbly), is about a kilometer away.  I cannot recommend this place highly enough – we will be going back.

While we were there, we had some terrific meals at local tavernas – The Meat Market (literally, the meat market) in Drepano, the Mermaid in Vivari (the next town to the east of Drepano), and Casablanca in Tolo, where we got our lunch to take away and eat on the beach every day.  Which brings me to Souvlaki – marinated skewers of grilled chicken or pork.  Since we’ve been home I’ve made it three times.  Try this for your next barbecue – you won’t be disappointed.

But first, a disclaimer – I’m not big on measuring when I cook.  There’s a time and place for measuring, and it’s usually when I’m baking.  Otherwise, I tend to eyeball things.  So I’ll try to provide measures in my recipes, but they’ll probably be a little fuzzy.  It’s be my little way of encouraging you to experiment…

Chicken or Pork Souvlaki

Cut chicken breasts or pork chops into 1-1.5 in. cubes (if you make them bigger, it’s less work to put them on the skewers).  If you do pork, leave a little bit of the fat around the edge – it’ll get crispy and flavourful when you grill it.  Drop the cubes in a zip top plastic bag, and for each pound of meat you’re cooking, add:

• The juice of one lemon or lime – cut it in half and squeeze it straight into the bag
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon or so of oregano, preferably Greek
• A slug of olive oil (2 or 3 tablespoons)
• A few shakes of salt and a few grinds of pepper

Seal the bag, shake it all up, and throw it in the fridge for an hour or two.  I’ve also made this on a weeknight, leaving the meat at room temperature on the counter for half an hour, and it was delicious.

When you’re ready to start cooking, go get your grill started.  Then cut up an onion into 1-1.5 inch squares (peel it, cut it in half, pull out the smaller layers in the middle, cut the outer layers to the right size, then break up the layers).  You can also cut up a green pepper into similar sized pieces if you like.

Thread the cubes of meat onto bamboo skewers (I know, I know, you’re supposed to soak them in water first.  I never do and they work fine), alternating a piece of meat with a slice of onion or green pepper.  When your grill’s ready, put the skewers on, cooking on each side for a couple of minutes – they should take 8-10 minutes in all, depending on how big your cubes are.

For a quick meal, serve with a green salad and some fresh crusty bread.  For a Greek feast, serve with Tzatziki, grilled pita bread, and a Greek Salad.

I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m sure you could also just marinate and grill whole chicken breasts or pork chops if you didn’t feel like doing the whole kebab thing.

Tzatziki

Peel a medium sized cucumber (or half a long English cucumber), cut it in half lengthwise, and scrape out the seeds with a teaspoon.  Grate the halves on a box grater, and put the shreds into a colander or mesh sieve.  Squeeze out the extra water (it’ll make your tzatziki watery otherwise).  In a pinch, you could pile the shreds onto the center of a paper towel or dish towel, pull the edges up to make a ball, and squeeze the water out.

Dump the shredded cucumber into a bowl and mix with 1 cup of greek style (generally full fat) or nonfat plain (if you must) yogurt.  Mince one or two cloves of garlic (depending on how strong you like it) and add to the bowl.  Add a squeeze of lemon juice (maybe a teaspon), mix it all up and add salt and pepper to taste.  You can also add a drizzle of olive oil, or just leave it alone.  Serve as a sauce for the meat, and a dip for the pita bread.

This amount of Tzatziki will probably serve 2-3 people (be warned: it’s addictive).

Greek Salad

Peel and seed another cucumber (or the other half of the one you used for the Tzatziki), cut into thick slices, and place in a shallow serving bowl.  Cut a few nice ripe tomatoes into chunks and put on top of the cucumber.  Slice up a green pepper, and half a sweet red onion and put on top of the tomato.  Cut some feta into big chunks, and put on top of the vegetables.  Sprinkle with dried oregano.  Drizzle with plenty of good olive oil and a little bit of red wine vinegar; squeeze half a lemon on top.  Server with a bowl of Kalamata olives.