Saturday, November 30, 2019

A Benoit Thanksgiving

Thank you Benoit for thinking of hungry Americains👍🏻 And for thinking you are serving a Very American traditional dinner. And thank you PBers Bonnie and Rob for taking me to divine Benoit at 20, rue St. Martin. BENOIT  opened in 1912 by the Petit family. Alain Ducasse took it over in 2005 but has maintained all their classic French bistro traditions. 

The special menu says 'Dinde fermier (free-range)something something aux champignons airelles (wild mushrooms) something something' with cranberry sauce and gravy (46€).
Reading it on the menu it didn't sound like 
that much, so I ordered my fav starter, snails. Big mistake. I am still repenting. Splish splash 🏊‍♀️
They didn't mention we would get an 'amuse bouche'..a tiny cup of velouté(creamy soup) de panin(a kind of white turnip) with crunchy bits of chestnut in the bottom for contrast.
Why did I eat every snail🐌? If anyone had said to me you will someday move to Paris and eat snails 2 days in a row I would have socked them silly.
Ahh...the main course. The stuffing is the squarish block of wild mushrooms, plus mysterious bits. We got both dark and white turkey meat. Très riche. FYI I read somewhere turkey breast/dinde is the most often eaten meat in France. The little pan on the left contains an individual escallop
 of potate douce (sweet potato to you) with plenty of maple syrup (something else the French are mad for - usually Canadian). Just above - a big slab of butter from their own fermier. We were told this after the dinner. I wanted to ask for the butter back but was restrained by my companions. On the left a small bowl of cranberry sauce. Fortunately my dear friends from Vermont wanted none, so I ate all of the lingonberry sauce myself. Bear helped out. I passed on the gravy so it balanced out. The 2 whitish strips are turnip again.
The waiter assured us they do not normally serve American-style food like this. Does this look American to you aside from the gravy boat. Not that I'm complaining just stating a fact. FYI it was all extremely
 delish with great service. Benoit gets E for effort. We were hesitant whether to get a dessert.
Their baba au rhum is famous. We settled on 1 order of 3 flavors of home-made ice cream (from their farmer)as sort of a digestive. They kept bringing us freshly baked madeleines. A little plate of marshmallows, more madeleines and little ganache chocolates. I imagined we would be skipping the usual I-ate-too-much feeling. No way. We needed cranes to get out of there. 
             Oh la la la la la.
Outside a Christmas marche by Tour St. Jacques. And crossing my bridge a lovely light show as always. 
I hope you very much enjoyed your turkey too🎉. Keep Bear in Paris with letter subscriptions from my Etsy shopFYI 🐻is 🏊‍♀️🏊‍♀️🏊‍♀️like crazy to work it off today and the rest of the week.

22 comments:

  1. Love your aquarelle of le resto!Perhaps it was panais=parsnip..
    IMHO;);)
    Thos madeleines..I kust love madeleines..and I love great escargots and those look great.
    I would recognize you anywhere!
    So individual..like..an icon.:)!

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    1. Exactly. You got it
      Panais. Such an odd non-descript ground veg. I dont know what they see in it...hardly any taste to speak of. Def not a Thanksgiving regular...imho.
      Madeleines are not either but please pass them this way 👍🏻

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    2. Monique and Carol, I thought the same! Rare to see your photo, Carol, but you are an icon! Love the red glasses! I so wish we had met at some point in Paris. And yes again, please share the madeleines. Wishing I had one or two for my morning treat. Carol, thanks for sharing this Parisian Thanksgiving. The menu is a little work of art.

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    3. The menu art at Benoit is by the original Madame Petit...simply adorable. I meant to show more but...

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    4. I can't tpe for beans..or panais;)

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  2. So lovely. Thanks for a great look at your day.
    Ours,too, was delicious and yes, very American. All my family were here, all 18 of us!!!! Keep up with your dream life in Paris and I appreciate that you share it with us all. Merry Christmas.

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  3. Is that you with the red glasses? I enjoyed reading this story of Thanksgiving in Paris.

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  4. That was delightful, Carol!! You forgot to mention the gougères...2 each!...how could you forget, I can’t...YUM...if there were more, I would have eaten them.
    Glad you and Bear had a good time

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    1. Its true I forgot the Burgundian gougeres with the crunchy bits on top for contrast of course...another non-traditional Thanksgiving idem. I did show them though...
      Thank you so much for taking me Bonnie!

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  5. Looks to die for! YUM! And I loved the watercolor!

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  6. this looks delicious ��. I always look up the place you talk about
    Benoit interiors are beautiful! It’s on my list for the next time we come to Paris

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  7. Snails . . . yum . . . but it's really the garlic butter, isn't it?

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    1. Its true. And they do sell nice size sticks of the greeny garlic butter
      I've flirted with it often...afraid to indulge more than I already do.
      One does not want to think about all the butter one inhales over here...

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  8. I think I would love this distinctively French twist on Thanksgiving (except I can’t abide the idea of snails as food) ... I have the same Madeline pan ... I enjoy making them as gifts. Happy TG, Carol. I must remember to contact you about that dog portrait!

    Geri NJ. Idk why my Google ID is showing up differently.

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    1. Its the green butter/garlic/parsley stuff that attracts.
      And because cherrystone clams are impossible to find here.
      Granted the two have very little in common but one makes compromises living abroad...whilst becoming broader :))

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  9. Ate at Benoit & loved it - We shared those snails and dessert but loved the butter gougeres, marshmallows and all the after dessert desserts. Your aquarelle of the restaurant is perfect - would love to see some of the inside as it's so charming. Glad Bear got to go along and we also got to see pictures of you.

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    1. Of course you ate there Suki.
      I forgot to take more pictures inside...dont know why? It fulled up quickly with other turkey-eaters and one does not want to impose I suppose?

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  10. What a treat you and Bear had with Bonnie and Robb. I’ve gotta say that you looked quite elegant and ready for Benoit - and you’re supposed to overeat on Thanksgiving - it’s part of the tradition! I don’t know how you hit the pool in the winter in Paris weather - that’s discipline, Carol!

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    1. The pool is my only salvation in Paris.
      Without it I would look like a Jeff Koons Balloon Venus :((
      No kidding 🏊‍♀️🏊‍♀️🏊‍♀️
      http://www.jeffkoons.com/artwork/antiquity/balloon-venus

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  11. I always LOVE the photo(s) you post at the end of Paris Breakfast of your journey home amidst the beauty of the city of light……or the scene during the day that you capture on the street…I love them as much as I loved Bill Cunningham’s ON THE STREET…..

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    1. Big Merci!
      A final touch of Paris is essential non?
      The best ending to any story and around here it is especially beautiful 🎨

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