I will include some additional pictures of the Palace as the restaurant, although located inside the Palace, just consists of a couple of non-descript rooms that have been allocated to the restaurant (possibly a kitchen dining area from the past) besides how can I not include photos of the most expensive building in the world (based on total construction cost). The meal that we had at Angelinas consisted of of two simple and one amazing dish, the first was a caviar appetizer on toast, it was unconventional in that it did not have any of the garnishes that I’m accustomed to, such as diced purple or white onions, boiled eggs, yellow part only, sour cream and diced green onions. I believe it was a cucumber parsley sour cream on toast, not the best but not bad at all. Contrary to what I always state about ingredients in the case of Caviar (unless you are eating it straight out of the can or on a toast with no garnishes) you do not need an expensive caviar if you are to place it on a toast with all of the garnishes I mentioned, it is like using an expensive tequila for a margarita, it is a waste of money.  Remember to sprinkle the caviar with fresh lemon juice. The other meal, a Turkey Club Sandwich, although simple and common, was exceptional. It consisted of fresh thick cuts of turkey, fresh tomatoes, sliced hard boiled eggs,  well toasted bacon, cucumbers and other ingredients not readily identifiable but equally delicious and very good toasted french bread. I can unequivocally state that this is the best Club Sandwich I’ve ever had and I have had many. This is not an easily duplicated dish, starting with the fact that you would have to cook a turkey. So if you are looking for a great Turkey Club check for fresh ingredients, starting with the Turkey.

Caviar, cucumber parsley sour cream mix and Turkey Club Sandwich

Palace de Versailles

Le chat Noir (The Black Cat) is a Cafe that is located in Moulin Rouge and supposedly established (In the current structure but with more modern furnishings) back in 1881. They serve all of the typical French fare and anything else will of course have a French influence. In our case we had a Pasta Bolognese Sauce which is a very simple dish but quite delicious if the sauce, meat and cheese are up to the levels this one was. It is an easy dish to prepare but it is so good if done right. You do not need meals to be complicated or elaborate in order to insure they are good or even great, again, as always, the key is the ingredients and second is the elaboration or preparation of those ingredients. I have also included a picture of Escargot, served here in a less classic but probably more prevalent manner which consists of not using the shell but serving them in a special crock, it is much easier to prepare & eat this way and just as tasty if prepared correctly, it is also much easier to dip the bread in the broth of butter, parsley and garlic which for some is probably an equally enjoyable part of the overall experience as is the case for me. Again, both of these dishes are easy to prepare and there are many recipes readily available online, in the future I will include my own recipe as you should always (in my opinion) include your own personal signature to anything you prepare using your personnel tastes and experience.

Penne Pasta Bolognese, Escargot and of course Whiskey in lieu of a fine wine.

I’m not quite sure what a Traditional French Restaurant is supposed to be like but if we judge by the name, this is supposed to be one. It certainly had all of the kinds of foods you would expect to find in a French Restaurant, let me talk about each of the appetizers and main courses we had.  We started with the French Onion Soup, this is not difficult to make but to enjoy one as good as this one you may not have to travel to France but you will have to go somewhere that uses the genuine cheeses that they use in France. I’m sure that some use their own unique blend of cheeses but most recipes call for Gruyere or Swiss cheese on bread, so two key ingredients that we would be missing is the amazing French Cheeses and their delicious breads, but having said that you can prepare a reasonable facsimile following any one of the recipes available on the internet. The second appetizer we ordered was the always popular Escargot, it is typically stated as having butter and parsley, it should and usually does have garlic but as it turns some people off they just don’t mention it. In the US many restaurants flambe the Escargot in Brandy and always tell you that it will evaporate and leave no taste of the brandy, I disagree and do not like Escargot Flambeed in Brandy, so ideally you want it in it’s shell with butter, garlic and parsley baked in an hi heat oven, it can also be served out of its shell in a ceramic plate made especially for making and serving escargot. This is a very easy dish to prepare yourself and pretty inexpensive compared to restaurant prices, you can find the can of escargot and reusable shells in most supermarkets and the prep time is probably less than 15 minutes (the first time) for a dozen to 16 Escargot in their shell. Our main courses consisted of a vegetable (potato, carrots & mushrooms only) beef stew and as all of the ingredients were fresh and the meat was very lean the taste was just right, this is also a simple dish to prepare following your preferred internet recipe. The second main course dish that we ordered was a Chicken Pasta dish, which, as  you can partially see ( I apologize for the picture being out of focus) the chicken has a broth of some sort and the pasta has what looks like a prawn for a bit of a seafood flavor, believe me it works, a simple touch but it makes for a unique pasta chicken dish. Proving once again that with the proper ingredients and just a few small touches you can take an ordinary dish and make it extraordinary. All it takes is a little imagination based on your own personnel tastes, just by adding a few extra ingredients you can transform any meal into something memorable, like any new “experiment” you may not be successful the first time around but be brave move forward and keep trying.

Escargot, butter, garlic & parsley, French onion Soup

Chicken Pasta Dish-Beef Stew & Vegetable Platter

Menu Restaurante Traditionnel Francais

Although my focus is on food you cannot travel to wonderful cities like Paris, France and not visit classical and historical restaurants along with the more “mundane” ones.  Le Train Bleu is all about history, it has been around since 1900, it is where people had their last meal in Paris as they waited to board the famous, Orient Express. I will contradict myself and state that sometimes the location and the ambiance of the restaurant or wherever you are enjoying a meal can make (ok, does make) a big difference. This is such the case here. Talking about history, we had just come from the Palace of Versailles where we also had lunch at their Restaurant (Angelina). The reason I mention this is because of the history of the Palace, which was the seat of of political power in France since 1682, and how appropriate it was to transition to dinner at Le Train Bleu rather than a more modern or typical French restaurant. Surprisingly, for me anyway, not every restaurant has Escargot, so I was unable to try theirs as an appetizer but they had an excellent sommelier that helped me pair our meals with the right wine. We had an excellent Breaded Veal Chop au juice with vegetables, we also had a Beef sirloin in a mushroom reduction sauce with carrots on a bed of mashed zucchini and potatoes, never had anything quite like it but it was very good and as I’ve mentioned before about France, it is all about the sauces that can enhance and make any dish both better and unique.

Beef Sirloin in a mushroom reduction sauce & Carrots on a Bed of mashed                           zucchini and potatoes.  Breaded Veal Chop au jus with vegetables.