Cook's Heaven

Glenda is a seriously good cook. I’m a wannabe cook, but I love to experiment in the kitchen. I’m the one who tries all the weird French stuff by Paul Bocuse, Mère Brazier and her disciples. I have long known that French cuisine is some of the best in the world, and while we are in Paris, one of the things we wanted to be careful not to miss is the cooking. The source for all sorts of cookware used by the best French chefs is the establishment of E. Dehillerin. This store is an Old Curiosity Shoppe of cooking utensils that has been around since the days of Escoffier. It is loaded with pots, pans, skillets, whisks, spoons, knives, tart pans, cake decorators, de-boners, meat cleavers and anything else one can imagine that might be used in a kitchen. We walked into the store and Glenda’s eyes turned upward toward a myriad of shiny, chrome cake pans dangling from the ceiling. We really did want to take home something from this store, but, alas, most of the items we needed were too big to cram into our already packed suitcases. There was a semicircular rocking knife that Glenda really wanted, but since we never check luggage, we’re not allowed to carry knives of any kind in our carry-on baggage. Glenda asked the store clerk about a good place to eat, and he personally took us two doors down to a Middle Eastern restaurant with the very un-Middle Eastern name of “Nelson’s.” As we left the cookware store I wiped the tears from my eyes as I said good-bye to a set of shiny, round-bottomed copper pots and pans mounted on the wall.

At Nelson’s the special for Thursday lunch is a couscous containing a chicken leg, two kinds of sausage, a veal chop, carrots, eggplant and potato. Over all of this one pours as much savory sauce and chickpeas as one wants. Then for the courageous there is a pepper paste that would make a Mexican cry. It was fabulous! What I have learned about French cooking is this: Steak is steak. And anyone can grill a steak. What is amazing about the French food we have enjoyed is the sauces and gravies they put on the steak. Yesterday we had what we would call beef tips at Relais de l’Entrecôte, and the sauce they put on it was delicate, complex—amazing. But even better was the steak we had the night before at the little restaurant next-door to our hotel. It is called L’Ardoise, and the gravy they put over my ribeye is something I will dream about.

Again, walking back to our hotel, we found a wonderful little boulangerie serving dessert and coffee, but since there were no more tables available in the tiny shop, Glenda decided to pass. We got back to the hotel in plenty of time to relax before our 9 pm reservation at Le Soufflé, also a few doors down from our hotel. Their specialty is—you guessed it—souflés. We will let you know how it turns out.Read more