Georges (Paris)

Talk about a view.

Besides the once-in-lifetime Eiffel Tower setting at Le Jules Verne that my parents and I enjoyed earlier this week, our dinner on the roof of the Pompidou museum was quite possibly the neatest venue in Paris. We took six sets of escalators to reach Georges, a glass window-enclosed dining spot with sleek decor, modern art and 300 degree views of the entire city.

The Justin Timberlake music made me feel like I had entered a nightclub, but the single rose on each white-lit table and backdrop of the Parisian sunset felt like a romantic escape.

To begin, I ordered the lobster salad. Can't go wrong with that. Hannah had the coolest appetizer by far: Caesar salad rolls. Instead of the Vietnamese rice paper roll ingredients, chicken, lettuce and Parmesan were tightly wrapped in rice paper with a tangy Caesar dipping sauce on the side. Such a creative concept.

For the entree, I was impressed by my shrimp risotto: jumbo shrimps covered the plate with the richest, most unbelievable risotto I have ever tasted. Ever. And if you've read this blog, you've seen how often I order risotto. The texture, flavor and temperature made this risotto number one in my book.

The sweetness in our millefeuille and berries & cream was top-notch, and the sparkling Eiffel Tower (which only happens at 11 p.m. and midnight each evening) made our dessert course even more magical. I was so excited to be with my Memphis "family" in Paris!

Le Jules Verne (Paris)

Eating inside of the Eiffel Tower is an absolute treat. There's no doubt about it. After escalating 125 meters in the exclusive Le Jules Verne elevator, we entered a classy dining room and were greeted by about 10 servers as we were led to our window table.

Now, since this is a "critique," I must fill you in on a few details that most reviews won't tell ya.

1) The restaurant is so high in the air...I felt as if I were in an airplane. Couldn't tell many buildings apart, unfortunately.

2) The meal is outrageous. Yes, you're paying for one of the "best" views and dining experiences in Paris...but, come on, a 25 euro glass of wine and 88 euro lobster appetizer is a bit ridiculous, in my opinion.

But now, I'll quit my complaints and show you some of the best quality food and presentation I have seen this trip.

I did mention that each glass of wine was 25 euro on average, yes? Well, we didn't take the (half) glass for granted, ha! A gorgeous basket of breads, ranging from croissants to whole wheat rolls, began our lunch. The embossed butter was a fabulous touch.

Mom ordered the chicken and duck fois gras with purslane and country French bread. We were disappointed with the consistency - I was looking for something much smoother and spreadable. But you have to admit: how gorgeous is that plate?

Dad's salmon marinated in lemon, caviar and vodka with mimosa garnish had killer presentation as well. He described it as "pretty good!" We'll take it.

I saved my appetizer for last, cause it was out of this world. I picked the chilled garden pea soup with wild mushrooms and farm egg, which was lightly fried on top. I enjoyed the contrast in texture and found it interesting that the peas were served whole and as a pureé. I truly loved this.

For our main course, all three of us got the John Dory fillet (cooked in a cocette) with spring vegetables and "condiment." It was grilled to perfection, and we all enjoyed the mix between warm roasted tomatoes and cold cabbage. The dish was light and very tasty!

On a side note, please excuse the photo...I started eating before taking a picture! Welcome to the life of a foodieholic.

For dessert, fruit was the main ingredient. While the portions were tiny, the strawberries were fresh and each complimentary baby macaron and vanilla bean marshmallow popped in my mouth in one bite.

Our unique lunch at Le Jules Verne was a memorable final date with my parents in Paris - we made the most of every minute from the height of the city!

L'oiseau Bleu (Bordeaux)

Nestled in a small strip on the North side of Bordeaux sits L'Oiseau Bleu, a contemporary and creative restaurant known for its attention to detail and finest ingredients. The French menu caused some initial difficulty, but our adorable waiter did his best to translate. I personally found it fun to pick my dishes with slight uncertainty of every culinary flourish - but I knew we wouldn't be disappointed in the outcome. And we weren't!

We began with my new favorite wine of the summer: a 2009 Pomerol from Chateau du Couvent. The ruby red flavor was smooth as ever.

Mom, Dad and Hannah started with a cold carbonara (pasta). We laughed at their plates, because they looked NOTHING like the traditional Italian plate one would expect. A molded cylinder of squid ink pasta sat on a gorgeous layer of white asparagus pureé and white truffle oil. A single uncooked spaghetti noodle added height to the unthinkable presentation.

I decided to be out of the box and try the shrimp appetizer, which arrived as a soup, to my surprise! It of course exceeded my expectations. The slightly sweet cream base had large pieces of wild prawn, chives, baby croutons and some other unknown ingredients. I was infatuated by the flavors.

The key words of our entreé course: "foam overload." We were hysterical over the abundance of different foams on our plates, but it indeed was an interesting concept!

My entree was a gorgeous fillet of redfish with a foam (duh) and sweet potato mash. Dad and Hannah loved their Royal trout with Ethiopean eggplant cream and marinated pepper. My mom's was the winner, though: tender fillet of pork (cochon) with a single swirl sweet potato chip and potato cake made of dozens of layers of paper-thin potato. The skill behind each dish was phenomenal.

We didn't have room for dessert, but baby rum cakes, marshmallows, and jelly candies accompanied our bill.

L'Oiseau Bleu was beautifully original and consistently strong. It was my favorite in Bordeaux, if not all of France!

Saint Emillion Chateaus

After one busy month of fast-paced Paris culture, I was ready to unwind. My parents arrived on Thursday and a sweet reunion was in full swing!

Our five days together in France was centered around a weekend getaway to Bordeaux in the southwestern region of country. The slow-paced city, which has received a cultural renaissance in the past two decades, was filled with quaint shops, restaurants and daring Medeival architecture. I handled the restaurants (with Hannah's spot-on TripAdvisor suggestions), Dad handled the daily activities; all was swell for our Greenstein Bordeaux adventure.

Every meal across the town was a constant hit! I've written up L'Oiseau Bleu and Plume Small Kitchen separately, so be sure to check out those critiques soon. We also felt like locals when lunching at the La Brasserie Bordelaise on Friday AND Saturday. Our sweet waitress Ophelia brought us classic French fare to welcome us to the city on Friday, and we couldn't get enough. While Friday was a heartier afternoon meal of farmhouse chicken with au jus and huge scallops, Saturday's cheese board and juicy tomato gazpacho was a lovely precursor to our Saturday afternoon: Bordeaux 360 Wine Tour.

Yes, Chateau hopping was the highlight. We ventured to the Saint Emillion region in the northeast area of Bordeaux, getting a taste of the wine, land and deep history of the area. Our guide Chloe showed us two Chateaus; the first (Chateau Mauvezin) being a quaint home with a tasting led by a owner, whose family has made wine for 400 years...the second (Chateau Soutard)being a large, modern mansion with tens of acres and fancy shmancy cellars underneath the Saint Emillion layer of natural lime stone. I was equally amazed by both estates; and their red wines (predominantly merlot and Cabernet) were mighty tasty. My dad got a 2005 bottle from Chateau Soutard, which we have decided to wait and open when I get back home to Memphis!

Gusta Pizza (Florence)

If you think you've had the best piece of pizza, you thought wrong. Because the best pizza on the planet is at one place only: Gusta Pizza in Florence, Italy.

From the outside, it seems like a tourist trap; but the spot sits in the local side of the river and hosts hundreds of Florentines daily. We sat at a table inside, yet I noticed that the majority of customers took a pizza to go enjoy on steps of the nearby square.

My friend Ashley said Hannah and I just had to go there. We made it our first Florence stop on Thursday evening. And we were instructed to order our own pizzas.

She was right. These pizzas cannot be shared. And every bite will be devoured, I promise.

I loved watching each pizza come to life in the exposed brick ovens.  The service was friendly and speedy, as these Italian dudes knew what they were doing in the kitchen. I received my ricotta, spinach, pesto and mozzarella pizza within fifteen minutes. Hanna's margarita pizza was even shaped in a heart, signifying love at first sight...with our food.

We enjoyed every bite of the doughy crust and perfect proportion of sauce and cheese. Because each pizza was prepared ready-to-order, ours were steaming hot and basically melted in my mouth. The house white wine on the side was inexpensive and satisfying in the Florence heat.

Basically, make every effort to get to Gusta Pizza while you're in Europe. It is actually out of this world!

Florence Foodie Tour

I call myself a foodie. Not just because of the fact that I love to eat (I swear my diet starts the day I arrive home in Memphis), but rather because of the overarching experience that defines and complements the meals I enjoy. It’s not just the taste, but also the atmosphere, décor, culture, and people behind the dishes that etch true memories in my mind. That’s why I love my Jewish religion: we’re all about food, but we wouldn’t be that way without the family and greater community who prepare and enjoy it!

Our second day in Florence confirmed my foodie-ness fixation. We joined a guided, three-hour tour of the secrets of Florence’s local food and cultural treasures. Café after café and bite after bite, we “oohed” and “ahhed” at the tastes of unique delicacies that define Florence’s quaint and luxuriant lifestyle. I’ll never forget the taste of juicy roma tomatoes at Nerbone and the smell of the Robusto espresso shot, or the sweetness of vin santo wine and the laughter of our Utah group members when realizing how much wine we consumed before 1 p.m. When in Florence, people!

Here’s a summary of each stop on our Florence Foodie tour; and if you’re ever in Florence, please don’t miss these local delicacies. Or just go on the tour yourselves! You won’t find these places in a tourist guide…

Café Chiaroscuro

Known for its diverse blends and imported coffee beans from across the world, Café Chiaroscuro challenged my taste buds and introduced me to some truly bold Italian coffee!  We tried the Indian monsooned Robusto and Mexican Arabica espressos, both of which were very strong compared to my usual Starbucks. In fact, our guide told us that there is only ONE Starbucks in the entire country of Italy in Milan! And it’s not even doing well. Imagine that, fellow Americans.

“Espresso” denotes “express,” so most customers walk in and finish theirs in three sips at the bar to kickstart their day. Those busty flavors surely kickstarted our day too!

Procacci Firenze

A truffle shop. What more could you ask for.

White truffle (the rare, fancy shmancy kind that upscale restaurants like db bistro serve) is in fact found in Northern Italy.  We were served a 3-inch truffle sandwich (panini tartufati) with a secret filling that combines truffle-infused oil, truffle butter and some other yumminess. I savored every bite.

La Divina Enoteca

This treasured restaurant and specialty food store was founded in the early 1800s, serving everything from cheeses and meats to homemade regional pastas, spice blends, beers and wine. We were seated by the store owner at an antique wooden table and led through a delicious food and wine pairing.

Our first pairing was a Bianco di Toscana white with a slice of salty prosciutto on bread and a slice of sheep’s milk with pepper jam.  The second pairing was a ruby red Chianto classico (like the Corsini wine we had tried the day before at the vineyard) with fennel seed infused salami and a sharp but soft pecorino cheese.  I learned that Italians always pair white wines to balance a salty but light prosciutto, fish, veal or light pastas with olive oil. Their reds go with heartier meals from Bolognese to t-bone.

I walked out with a box of homemade pasta that I cannot wait to cook with at home. I’m going to craft an Italian-style recipe to share on the blog!

San Lorenzo Central Market

Our entrance into the San Lorenzo Market allowed us to immediately experience the hustle and bustle of fresh Italian cooking ingredients.  We tasted salted bread, which is unusual for Florence. We learned a rumor that when Florence and Pisa were in battle centuries ago, Pisa placed high tariffs on salt exports, which caused Florentines to cut out salt completely. Imagine that!

Da Nerbone

Within the Central Market sat this busy and exciting café founded in 1876 – the history is consistently so rich in this town!  I tried the best bruschetta (pronounced with a hard “c” – Giada would be proud) I have ever put in my mouth.  Drenched in olive oil, the sweetest chunks of tomatoes and torn basil covered my piece of crostini. I about went to heaven.

Marconcini

Julia, the sweet employee of this impressive wine and olive oil shop, brought dozens of pieces of bread, which she proceeded to drench in two types of olive oil. Both were peppery and much heavier than the typical olive oil at home; rather than using for cooking, these were meant to be dipped in to fully take advantage of the flavors.

Next was a treat. Strawberries were drizzled in 10-year-old aged balsamic vinegar and a pecorino was drizzled in a younger balsamic. As balsamic vinegar ferments, the liquid thickens and sweetens to the point where you can pour it directly on your fruit and ice cream! Such a delicacy.

Fresh prosciutto was next with a glass of Chianti; and then came the real surprise: almond biscotti dipped in vin santo dessert wine, which has aged for at least ten years and tasted close to a liquor. I found my new favorite dessert!

Antica Florentina Gelateria

I thought we had enough sweetness, but there was more. Our guide led us to a local gelateria to pick two flavors of our choice! I picked crema (sweet vanilla custard) and dolce latte (caramel coffee goodness) in a cone.

What a food-filled, fun-filled day! Thank you, Florence Food Tours.