A short introduction:
Our friend Jay Erisman, from the EQ Center @ the Party Source, took a trip to Bordeaux last year. A while back, he introduced us to Part I of his journeys starting in Cognac. Since Kevin & I are in Texas, Jay has graciously offered to share some more pages from his travel diaries. Enjoy!
PartIIa: Bordeaux
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Bordeaux: Cold Oysters and Hot Lamb
Saturday served up a culinary double whammy, with two of the most memorable meals of the trip. Up first were the oysters. I have a serious love for oysters. If you don’t like oysters, on account probably of the texture that falls somewhere between gelatin and mucus, know that we oyster lovers don’t eat them for the feel. Oysters for me are all about the flavor, the secondary and tertiary notes that happen as you roll an oyster around your mouth. Truly, a good oyster works like a wine, with an initial sweetness or saltiness, and a slowly emerging midpalate. And the finish can last for minutes: saline, earthy, mineral-metallic, maritime.
Jon Reeves, Yorick’s wine manager who would later drive me around Armagnac, had mentioned a Bordeaux restaurant specializing in oysters. Sure ‘nuff, while strolling about the Old Town, I found “La Maison de l’Huître” (House of the Oyster), formally known as Chez Brunet. I found absolutely the best oysters I have ever had, anywhere, from any coast. The entry level oyster, Marennes Fines de Clairs, was awfully good eating, and the enormous, elongated Pleine Mer de Quiberon probably could take me in a fight. But the holy oyster grail was at hand, I had never had one before: the Belon oyster, for a whopping €25 a dozen. Would that I had eaten twelve of these sublime bivalves, but I settled for two of them in a tasting flight of eight oysters. The Belon deserves its place as the greatest of them all, with the same sense of effortlessly balanced, highly complex flavor one finds in the very best wines. A phrase I learned in Cognac applied manifestly to the Belon: longeur de bouche, or “length in the mouth,” which indicates the slow development of flavors and an extended finish. I also discovered the great compatibility of charcuterie with oysters. I had a rillette on the side—a sort of pulled pork in its fat, spread on bread—that went great with the clean and brisk oysters. The surrounding diners enjoyed small fried sausages.
Oyster House!
I half expect a horse drawn carriage to pull up at the Old World façade of La Tupiña.
Continue reading "A Few Days in France Part IIb: Bordeaux Continued" »
." On the cover he distills his entire thesis in just seven words: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
After playing around with several 3-2-3 combinations, I ended up with 3-3-1. I also had some fun with a thesaurus, in search of the perfect finishing word. Cheers to hoping a haiku-inspired entry isn't cheating.
On a cell phone? 
