London and Paris
Sorry, Ottowa, it is time to move on to London and Paris. My family and I were in London and Paris over the holidays. There is a fun Pan Asian restaurant in London called "Inamo". The tables are the equivalent of a computer screen in which you view the menu and photos, order your food and drink, view your bill, play games and even order a taxi. The food and drinks were very good. The cafe at the Tate Modern Museum has great views. The best hot chocolate in London was at a small shop in the Borough Market which served Vahlrona Hot Chocolate. On a cold day in December, it tasted great.
We dined at J. Sheekey which is in all of the guidebooks and even in Zagat's World's Best Restaurants. The Dover Sole was divine but most of the other food was just o.k. We saw "Hairspray" which was a fun play and the actors were amazing. If you've seen the movie, you know that John Travolta plays the mother. In the play, I sat there and wondered the entire time if the mother was played by a woman or a man. I won't tell you the answer, but suffice it to say, the actor/actress was amazing! If you are looking to see another play in London, Billy Elliott, is supposed to be the play to see above all others.
We tasted hot chocolate and Nutella crepes all over Paris. The best hot chocolate was definitely at Angelina's. The best crepes were at one of the stands along the cafe strip on the South side of Notre Dame. Interestingly, the crepe is made on a rectangular shaped grill, as opposed to the large circular ones, seen in most places.
We originally had a reservation at L'Atalier Joel Robuchon in London (use Toptable.com for London and some Paris reservations). We needed to cancel it but I had read such amazing reviews about the food that we fit it into our Paris itinerary. It was probably the best food and decor of any restaurant I've been to. This comes with a relatively large price tag-about $400 per couple (including one bottle of house wine). There is a Las Vegas location, as well, if you aren't going to Paris or London anytime soon. We also dined at Jules Verne in the Eiffel Tower. It was an experience not to be missed if your pocketbook is ready for it. The food wasn't as good as Joel Robuchon, but the whole experience was unbelievable. From the minute you set foot in the private elevator and wave to the mile long line of people waiting in the "peasant's elevator" line below to the 5 star service and the breathtaking views of Paris, it's a once in a lifetime experience.
Another fine restaurant is Z Kitchen Gallerie in Paris. The wasabi ice cream with caramel and meringue dessert was delicious (sounds strange, I know). The dishes are all very creative and very very good. We took a pastry class at Cook'n with Class in Monmartre. It was probably the best family experience of our entire trip. We all had so much fun. It was so hard to leave Paris! I would go back in a minute!
Ottawa Illinois? mv
The new foodie capital of the US? Not quite, but if you are ever wandering through central Illinois along I 80 there are some surprising food stops. (Below, take a look at the view of the Ottawa River from Starved Rock State Park). And, if you want a decent lunch or dinner, stop in La Salle (south of I 80, off Hwy. 351) at the Uptown Grill
The restaurant is pretty innovative for the area. While regional foods are available (and the gigantic pork tenderloin sandwich is my fav regional dish), you can also sample a portobello tenderloin or an artisan cheese plate. The quality of the food tends to be high but the more the menu seems to veer from its regional roots, the more the food seems to suffer. A house salad with bacon, raspberry vinaigrette and pine nuts (though dated) is fresh and flavorful. The pork tenderloin is lightly breaded and not oily. It's huge though so you might want to share. Housemade chips are great, but the artisan cheese plate was lack luster and boring even though the cheeses sounded interesting. A pasta bolognese was almost inedible. Not sure exactly what meat went into it, but it was chewy and tasteless. On the other hand, the chocolate chip cookie sundae was one of the best I've had at a restaurant. The cookie was fresh, with big chocolate chunks, not too hard and not too soft. It too was gigantic though, and we took half the cookie with us.
The wine list was decent although the Margaritas seemed to be the favorite. The two our group ordered were excellent and also huge. You probably don't want to drive anywhere after drinking one or two of those. Grab some jelly bellies from the counter dispensers on your way out.
Just down the road in Utica, is a wonderful, local bookstore, Common Grounds Book Cafe on Clark St. Recently, the store was even written up in the New York Times. Ironically, the Sunday we were there, the proprietor of the store told us eagerly about the article, unavailable in Utica where, apparently, the NYT is not easily found. We happened to have a Friday copy in our bag and after reading the short article on travel opportunities in this area, we gave it to the eager owner.
Unfortunately, the bookstore is set in a rather unattractive strip mall (also home to an Illinois wine tasting facility which, I must say, defies any definition of wine that I'm familiar with but perhaps is a harbinger of bigger, better (drinkable) things). And the bathrooms are accessed through a closet sized storage room. We were told to use the "back facility" because the front one hadn't been cleaned by the person whose turn it was. And, I must say the "back facility" wasn't too hot either!
Don't let the exterior deter you. The bookstore was worth a stop not only for its food but for its distinctly local flavor and cheerful owner. The owner is friendly and knows her small book collection well. She welcomes each visitor with an orientation to her layout including a large locals selection at front, an exceptional children's selection (for such a small place) and a variety of other books all at discounted prices.
She serves a variety of coffees, teas and sandwiches. A local woman makes her scones but, unfortunately, she was out when we were there. The diverse menu included $2 hotdogs that the kids loved and panini we ordered with egg, ham and curry (an extra she added for us). The sandwich was made with a local homemade whole wheat bread that was excellent. The milk shake, on the other hand, was surprisingly reminiscent of runny chocolate milk. My husband said that the day before she had made a wonderful iced coffee drink so perhaps we just got the shake on a bad day. There is a big garden outside the back where kids could run around while adults had a coffee at the tables inside. We parked ourselves at the bookstore for over an hour, reading quietly while sipping our tea and nibbling our snacks.
