Tryphoon's Lair

Tip the world over on its side and everything loose will land in Los Angeles

Langres, France (part 2, "Le Cheval Blanc")

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The same way I would make sure that I come to Langres every time I come to Europe, I try to make sure I pay a visit to my old friend Yves Chevalier (and family) each and every time I visit Langres, or to be more precise, to his restaurant, "Le Cheval Blanc", taking my parents out there, enjoying some champagne and petits-fours in the petit salon, surrounded by paintings of local artists and friends (PKB, you know who you are). 

 

This trip was no exception and the tribe (4 adults and 2 kids) invaded the place for a couple of hours of culinary pleasures washed by some fantastic wines, a visit between coté mer (seaside, mainly seafood) and coté terre (inland, earthy meats and flavours). 

 

If you ever drive by Langres, you absolutely have to stop by Yves' place and tell him I said "Hi!".

Pho Sure!

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Recently, a new Vietnamese restaurant opened by our little street mall. Their speciality and almost sole dish on the menu: Phở (Phở is a Vietnamese noodle soup, usually served with meet and vegetables).

So Loulou, Thia and I had to try it while Sarah was out and it was a great success. Both girls loved it.

Loulou even managed to eat all of her noodles using chopsticks, out of a bowl that was twice her size!

To be done again, I guess

The Omnivore’s Hundred (Internet meme)

I just received a note from a colleague of mine, probably mocking the fact that one of our main effort currently going on at the office is based on the name of a French delicasy I call "Andouillette" and they call "Stinky Sausage". The note was pointing to some web site and contained this meme..

Below is a list of 100 things that I think every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food - but a good omnivore should really try it all. Don't worry if you haven't, mind you; neither have I, though I'll be sure to work on it. Don't worry if you don't recognise everything in the hundred, either; Wikipedia has the answers.

Here's what I want you to do:

  1. Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
  2. Bold all the items you've eaten.
  3. Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
  4. Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

 

The VGT Omnivore's Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat's milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald's Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S'mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs' legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare 87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Having finished the list, I realise that having grown up in Europe and travelled around the world, some of my eating habbits got me to try at least once most of what on this list except some due to lack of chance to try them:

26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
43. Phaal
59. Poutine
95. Mole poblano
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee

Or some simply by choice...
42. Whole insects
89. Horse
100. Snake

Some things are missing from the list but as I'd love to still speak to some of my coworkers here in the US, I might prefer to not describe these here. Now, your turn!