Rice and Beans - Paris

Why'd She Do It?
The pretty girl with the big tits was tired of being popular.  Or maybe she was just bored when she grabbed the blade and carved up her face.  This was a makeover, but not the usual kind.  Not a change of hairstyle or new clothes, something else completely.  Something deep and disturbing.

Dominique Saibron - Paris

The Drive By Methodology
My girlfriend amazes me.  On a recent taxi ride from Orly airport, as we sped down the street,she tapped me excitedly and said "remember Alesia."  Yep, got it, Alesia, I said, barely looking up.  This, folks, is the "drive by methodology" whereby Dodo sees something as we drive past and makes a mental note.  It's a proven methodology, yielding such gems as Les Pates Vivantes and Jean Millet.  So, this morning when she said "remember that place we saw last week near the Alesia Metro?" I didn't even hesitate.  I jumped up, got on the net and found the name: Dominique Saibron.  Within an hour we were there and folks, it's a keeper.

Joël Robuchon - Monte Carlo

Saving the Best for Last...
.....the best laugh, that is.  Ok, rewind a few days and picture me packing a bag for our trip to Nice that included a Frenchie outfit: collared shirt, zip up sweater, sport jacket and dress shoes.  Dodo was confused: "You never pack any nice clothes."  Well, we might go to Monaco, I explained, it's a nine outta ten on the worldwide schwank scale.  "How do you know" she said, more a statement than a question.  Fast-forward two days: I carefully donned my special outfit and said "Ok, let's got to Monaco."  She slipped into some raggedy jeans and sneakers.  Feigning exaggerated high-steps, she said "these are my loose jeans, the ones I can take big giant steps in, see?"  I tried to talk her out of it but she wouldn't budge.

Chez Pipo - Nice

Trying Out Socca
I didn't know anything about Socca until I arrived in Nice.  It's a regional flatbread made from chickpeas and olive oil.  It's for sale all over the place but I got a recommendation to go to Pipo, which is supposed to have a good version.  We took a long, leisurely evening walk from our hotel on the Promenade des Anglais and arrived at the already packed Pipo at around 7pm.  We lucked into an outdoor table and scanned the menu.  It's pretty straightforward: you either get a single serving or a double serving.  They also serve tapenade, but we mistakenly passed on that.  We should have gotten some since it took quite a while to get our Socca.

Fenocchio - Nice

Warm Enough for Gelato
Having a gelato from Fenocchio is a must in Nice - it's a local institution, churning out over a hundred different flavors.  We perused them all and steered clear of the stranger flavors and settled on a scoop of melon and passionfruit.  We enjoyed them a lot.  The melon was very subtle and did indeed taste exactly like its namesake, not a fake note struck.  The passionfruit was equally true and tangy to boot.

Le Local - Nice

When in Nice, Do What the Romans Do
The Italian border is only a blink away from Nice so there's plenty of Italian food to choose from.  Dodo saw this spot on a quiet alley tucked away from the tourists and started interviewing one of the waiters.  This is a signal for me to sit, which I did but I'd already scanned the daily specials and secretly chosen the pumpkin risotto with pork sausage.  When I didn't open the menu she became suspicious but I beat her to the punch "Dodo, you gonna get the risotto?"  "Nah" she responded with a wrinkled nose "it has pumpkin."  I knew I'd be later sharing half of it - and when it arrived she ooohed and ahhhed and plunged a fork in without asking permission.  After she chewed for a second she said  "Babe, are we gonna do a half and half share?"

Fast & Fresh Burrito Deli - Brooklyn

Diamond in the Rough
I should have my food blogging license revoked since I've walked by this place for years and didn't once poke my head in.  In my defense, all outward appearances suggest it's your typical NYC deli/bodega - the kind that you find on almost every block.  Little did I know that Fast & Fresh Burrito slings some of the tastiest tacos outside of Sunset Park.

Baked and Mile End - Brooklyn

Revisiting Some Old Favorites
It's a struggle when I come back to NYC - do I hit all the new spots or mix in some old favorites?  In the end I do a bit of both.  I've already gone to Iris just about every morning - Tyra Banks keeps sitting next to me but I don't read anything into it (no, I didn't take a photo of her, this in NY not LA.)  Another of my favorites is Baked in Red Hook.  I measure all cupcakes against theirs and none has taken their crown and probably never will.  Some of you will mock me: "the cupcake craze is over!"  I know what you mean, but really, some things never completely go out of style.  It would be like saying "geez, I sure am tired of pussy."

Kappa Sake House - Brooklyn

It Really is a Sake Bar...
....but we didn't realize, we saw the phrase "home-cooked Japanese" and thought Hibino.  We'd just spent an hour at Four and Twenty Blackbirds eating pie and now we wanted some lunch.  Yep, we tend to put dessert first, you never know when you'll absentmindedly step into traffic.

Cafe Luluc - Brooklyn

Best Pancakes in Brooklyn?
No, I wouldn't go that far - but best pancakes on Smith Street, for sure.  The Puffin just arrived from a 20hr Singapore to NY flight and a pancake breakfast at Cafe Luluc was near the top of her list.  The conversation went like this: "Babe, I just flew half-way around the world, are you gonna make me pancakes?"  Me (eyes rolling): "Yeah, I have to go buy ingredients, if you don't mind waiting."  Her: "Never mind, we can go to Luluc."  She brought me a present - a new camera.  The kind that's not dummy-proof, so forgive me as I try to learn the right combination of aperture, focal length and ISO (and I'm not even sure those are the correct terms...)

Francois Payard Bakery ("FPB") - Manhattan

Missing Paris?  Nah, Couldn't Be....
I got the drop on this place from Dessertbuzz.  It's officially called FPB but that P stands for Payard, a big name in French pastry.  It made no sense - I'll be back in Paris in a week, but somehow there I was, ordering French pastries from his new shop on Houston.  Dodo's gonna mock and tease me for sure.  I can't explain it - I guess I was just curious to see how it stacks up against the Paris shops I frequent.  The apricot danish was bursting with flavor but could have been a bit lighter and flakier.  To be fair, I was there at 5pm, they're probably different in the morning, fresh from the oven.

Pies 'n' Thighs - Brooklyn

The Good, the Bad and the Stupid
Back when I had a great life in Brooklyn, I lived close to my boys Geppie, Hatebean, Clinks and Froggy.  We hung out, played sports, joked each other and laughed non-stop.  One by one, they grew up and moved away and Brooklyn's never really been the same.  I'm still here and still immature, which can be a lonely feeling.  This weekend we had a rare "Brooklyn flashback" and everyone except Geppie made the trip.  As usual, they had no eating ideas so I talked them into a breakfast at Pies 'n' Thighs.

Four and Twenty Blackbirds - Brooklyn

They'll Shut Your Pie-Hole
After reading about Four and Twenty Blackbirds over and over on Blondie and Brownie, I jumped the R train to check it out.  Just a few posts ago I wondered if anyone could make a pie in this city, now I have my answer.  I'm a sucker for any salty-sweet combo and their salted caramel apple pie hits all the right notes - flaky homemade crust, tender apples that aren't overly sweet and a salty aftertaste.  I knew this was my kind of place when they confirmed that they make their own whipped cream.