Restaurant Visit: La Capannina (IT)

So, here I am ... this time I would like to share our impression of another restaurant we visited in our wedding break. This time after the wedding in our (rainy) short honeymoon preview in Capri (since the real one will be in July touring South Africa). Our first restaurant stop was in "La Capannina". A restaurant famous because of all VIP visiting it in peak season as witnessed by the photos on the wall.

The short review
After a disappointing meal in a starred place, this taverna-like restaurant was a good surprise. I would not say it was great food, but surely honest and enough tasty ... a tad pricey (like everything in Capri).

The long review.
The place really looks like a taverna with walls full of photos of celebrities. I have to say that the decor is a bit old-fashion but ok ... a but turistic, but ok. Better if you can get to the 'veranda'. Service is ok. An honest place (let's forget the price here ... it is Capri).

Food was not too bad. The starters were a carpaccio or octopus and green asparagus with rucola & Parmesan shaves. Nothing fancy but all tasted as it should. Presentation was not great, but again the taste was as it should.
As main course, I took squids filled with ricottina (a kind of firmer ricotta cheese) and Elke a lasagna with provola (semi-soft cheese) and aubergine. I really liked mine. A good combination my parents got once served in a starred restaurant. Elke seemed to enjoy hers as well ... it did looks tasty. Again two dishes without surprises. Tasted good and were simply presented.

All was with a Greco di Tufo of Feudi di San Gregorio. Nice.

No dessert (it was the day after the wedding .... ).

All in all, it was expensive. But ... we have paid the same amount everywhere in Capri. So when we consider we paid a standard price, we got a good meal. If in Capri I might go back there when I feel like I need a decent meal with no surprises (excluding celebrities of course).

Restaurant visit: Il San Pietro (Positano - IT)

Here I am back the keyboard trying to blog all about the food which we tasted and cooked in the past weeks, which were heavily disrupted (blogging speaking, of course) by the wedding and work. How could we come to Italy and not pay visits to some restaurant? Well, of course we did. So I want to start with the only Michelin starred restaurant we visited: Il San Pietro * ... placed in the San Pietro hotel a couple of kilometers out of Positano.
Why did we choose it? It has a very nice description in the Michelin guide, located very near our hotel, Belgian chef (so intrigued by it) and a menu seeming to scream about fresh products.

The short review
What a waste of time, calories and money this has been! And we even brought my parents along to try and offer them a great meal.

The long review
The restaurant is on a fantastic spot, but the view is wasted. Most tables are inside and the view on the terrace is basically nothing special and mostly dominated by the large pizza oven ... and the pizza is not on the menu! The decor is 'grand' ... in Las Vegas style. Kind of like the Caesar Palace ... statues, fake bronze, etc. etc. Not my taste ... but hey that's personal.

The service ... lot of people. Talking as the place is heaven, but clearly not having a clue about the food itself. Very very fast ... a bit over an hour for a complete meal! Tables not well made ... I mean we were four and I was destined to have a dish completely not fitting with the rest. I know that the famous Vietri China is always different .... but there is always a theme. Service here messed it up.

Ah, and the food ??? Let's go a course a time.

Amuse. A slice of pizza for each of us. Probably the best pizza I have eaten in a long time. But does it fit with a glass of champagne (the aperitif we were suggested)? Not to mention they tend to push people to get a Dom Perignon with it. Besides, a bit too little for a starred place.

First courses. My father and I took paccheri (a large pasta shape) with vongole, patelle and squid. The sound of it is delicious ... the taste ... well, I could barely taste the fish. There was very little in portion as well (was it 5 paccheri?!). Elke and my mum took "Ravioli filled with escarole and scampi on a tomato comfit". No taste of the scampi and the comfit taste killed everything else (it was more like a concentrated tomato juice). Very disappointing.

Second courses. Here it even got worse! My mum and I took red mullet with a squid sauce and fried gnocchi. The sauce was ... well almost absent, but fantastic. The mullet was tasteless and definitively stale and old. The gnocchi disgusting! Must have been some supermarket stuff. My father had rosemary-scented baccala' on polenta and vegetables. The fish tasted ok, the poleta was water (I mean really yellow water like!) and the veggies ... I could not see them. Elke took Seabass with asparagus ... Elke is Belgian and the chef too. They both must know out of years of eating them that white asparagus should be well cooked. Well they were served somewhat raw and crunchy. The fish nothing special. This course is a shame for any Michelin chef.

Dessert. We looked at it, but after two disappointing dishes and seeing some guests not enjoying it, we passed on. Not for us. We told ourself: let's go to Amalfi and get a decent dessert there.

Coffee. No coffee, but we got some little sweets anyway. A chiacchiera (fried pastry) which was horribly oily. Decent chocolate truffle and marshmellow. An horrible lemon whatever.

The positives of this restaurant are its price (not less or more than other restaurants in Positano or Capri) and the wine list (nicely priced and really with interesting wines).

Avoid this place if you can .... their vallet even scratched my dad's car at the guarded parking!! I only once had a similar experience in a starred place (Maison Vandamme) and they lost the star the year after. I wish that "Il San Pietro" either improves or looses it for the sake of everybody visiting such a marvelous spot like Positano.

Oud Sluis ***

(Photo@ulteriorepicture)

I am here on the belgian coast typing ... still a bit confused ... my aim: to catch my feeling about this restaurant before it is only memory ... no internet right now.

Oud Sluis or better restaurant number 19 in the Top50 list, 3 Michelin stars, named best restaurant of the Netherlands by Lekker for a few years in a row, best restaurant in the Benelux and realm of Sergio Herman. What did I think about? Let’s say it was not perfect, but very close. It was the best experience ever, something that gives a real meaning to all these awards. We noticed what 2 stars mean, now we know the difference between two and three (when properly given).

The outside is very deceptive. A simple traditional house. The inside ... very nicely decorated. Modern in look, feel and background music. Refreshing from the stiffness of France, the oldness of Italy, the show-off or excessive modesty of Belgium. The food is simply divine despite a couple of extremely minor things. The ambiance and the staff are what really stand out. They make the visit a real experience. From the asking “how was our trip” to explaining the dishes but only when interest was felt. We felt they knew what they were talking about, we felt cared. The pace was perfect: from the immediate amuse to bring us in the mood to the pauses.

What about the food and wine. Fantastic menu, impressive wine list ... prices were not taking advantage of the 3 stars. Wine wasn’t cheap, but not more expensive than any other restaurant. Let’s see what we got. As soon as we arrived, we were asked if we wanted something to drink (champagne for us, Gosset was served this night). Two minutes passes by and we get presented two frozen balls of a kind of wasabi sorbet. Sharp. I suspect it was meant to wake up our taste buddies and give it a cleanse. Couple of minutes after a warm little saffron and mussels soup. Tasty and good at warming us up given the chill outside.

We receive the menu and we had all the time we wanted to look at it. No pressure from the staff. Actually, the staff tries to help in composing the dinner in order to have not an overly large or unbalanced meal (including wine). Difficult to choose ... but in the end we went for the large ‘pere et fils’ ... difficult not to. Sooo attractive. I can’t really put in words the amazing flavors of every dish. One thing was clear, Sergio has a very strong personality, which reflects on the place, his staff and his kitchen. No middle terms in his food: great ingredients, sharp flavors, techniques and innovation. If you like mild flavors, do not go there. If you like purity of ingredients, go there at once.

This is what we got. As amuse, a sugar cone with gorgonzola icecream and apple, marinated haring with soy foam and a soy gelee, a mousse of cucumber with gray shrimps, marinated salmon with a olive tapenade. Apart from the last one, this was simply fantastic. First starter, three structure of scallops (tartar, grilled, sashimi) with citrus ricotta, fois gras and on-the-table grated (in generous portion) truffle .... this one was tricky. We had to eat a frozen emulsion of fois gras first (which gave an intense shocking amazing flavor) and, then, the rest. Reason is that such a strong flavor was there while we were enjoying the scallops. So, intense and fantastic ... Elke simply stated “the best dish I ever ate”! True ... but not for long. The second starter was actually divided into two servings as it was two preparations of oysters. The first was marinated oyster in shiso with frozen oyster emulsion. The latter was a poached oyster with gold!! I loved both and still crave for the former. Elke exactly the opposite. The frozen oyster emulsion was the most intense and pure way of taste oysters. The flavor stayed so long in my mouth despite having drunk water and wine. Simply the best dish of the evening .... so far. Third starter, two preparation of crab (tempura of soft-shell crab and tartar of spider crab) and roasted Dorade. The Dorade was ... well, nice fish but the preparation was something to forget. The crab was simply divine. Were the Dorade on par ... I would have called this the perfect meal. Main course ... this was the climax of the dinner. Deer filet prepared with Alpacho (66%) chocolate, coffee and parsley root pure. I wish I could eat it again. Served with a dry and really well matched wine. I find no words to express how perfect the coffee and chocolate were at bringing out the gamely flavor of the deer. Simply the best game dish I have ever tasted, if not simply the best dish. Surely the best of the evening.

The dinner was closed by three small desserts. Again very intense flavors, but in a very harmonious way. We, then, got coffee ... with again very tasty little things closing with a little icecream and a lollipop of eucalyptus, which cleansed our mouth. What else can I say ... we paid a lot ... we ate a lot ... I drunk a lot (luckily I was not the one driving tonite) ... we do not regret even a little bit.

If you are in the area and manage to get in (there is a long waiting time) ... this will be just the best meal and meal experience. Worth every cent!! Wasn’t for Elke putting some sense into me, I would have booked for next year already.

Back in Reims, back in Le Foch

It is a time with many travels. Some are for work and some are for pleasure. Last week-end we decided to take our annual break to Reims for visiting our favourite Champagne producer Boulard and ... why not ... stop at the restaurant Le Foch*. We had a very good memory and our visit last saturday simply confirmed what of good and bad we remembered.

Let's start from the negative remarks. Service is fast until the cheese tray, when it slows down. We all felt we had too many dishes in a hour and were relieved when the simply slowed really down. The place is a bit crowded and on the decor is not our taste. The host ... well, she is a not friendly at all. Almost arrogant ... but we dealt with her only for the cheese. So, fair enough.

Let's talk about food and wine. Wine first ... impressive list of champagnes. We are in the area and we expected that. Price-wise, the list is not too bad. Between 100% to 50% mark-up on prices is much better than many other places (where we speak about 3 times ...). We choose the same of last time (different year): a Charles Heidsiek brut mis en cave 2001. One of my favourite among the big names.

Food was not only extremely tasty but extremely well presented. When you go there, do not be fooled by the menu as you will never understand how the names relate to what you get. The meal started with few amuse (parmesan frico, tuna & potato sushi, beet-root gaspaccio, foie gras foam with port gelee) of great taste. The foam was particularly remarkable for its lightness. As starter we went for foie gras ... well, what we got was a sort of foie gras pudding with wild sauteed mushrooms. The scent was amazing, the taste delicate, light and unforgettable. I will try and replicate this superb dish at home. After a silly mystery drink (an orangina and coconut beer-like drink), we got as main dish the turbot. Well, it was turbot but with a big crab ravioli, a tempura of squash flower and a light foam of crayfish. Sensational, the foam and the ravioli were simply perfect. Cheese was ok, but rather small. As dessert, a perfectly baked souffle flavored with Grand Marnier and oranges served with Grand Marnier and oranges wedges marinated in coriander. Nothing memorable, but nice.

All in all, the meal lasted quite a bit, even if the cheese and dessert took as much time as the rest. Price is fair. Even the coffee is a nice experience as you get a menu of various coffees to choose from (we went for the Guatemala ... really good). The Michelin star is deserved. It needs some more polishing in the service, but we will go back (when we are in the area).

Den Gouden Harynck*

Sometimes curiosity killed the cat ... in this case, curiosity led to a disappointing dinner. It was quite some time we wanted to go to Brugge (Belgium) and try either the Karmeliet*** or the Den Gouden Harynck* (read * as michelin star) normally described like the tradition of vlanderen and the modern view on flemish cuisine. Highly praised. As we managed to book another triple star (that is an 8 months waiting list!!!) we decided to opt for the modern praised Den Gouden Harynck*.
This is how it went ... yesterday evening.

Good start. Very friendly and nice atmosphere even if it felt that the tables were crammed as much as possible to get as many people in as possible. We get promptly the menu and our glasses of champagne .... we wait quite a lot to order. Well, we though they do not want to be oppressive. Our choice was the season menu with the wine arrangement (4 courses) ... with the idea to also get the optional cheese tray.

Amuses arrive right after we ordered. The first was some sort of solidified broth cut in tagliatelle style with some gray shrimps. Now ... nice effect but my fiancee comment (after 2 weeks of good fish in Italy) was something like: "Does it have any sea taste?". The second amuse was a strip of haring with a drop of roasted pepper cream. Tasty ... but small.

Dishes go .... first starter arrives ... ops! Are they gonna rush us into eating here?? We'll see. This was nice. The smell was fabulously of lobster and it was indded half lobster tail in a lobster bisque with cardamon and turmeric (kind of curry-like) with a rhubarb compote. Nice combination, sauce of great taste. Lobster taste ... only in the smell. Overall a good dish. Served with a very young german riesling. Good choice.

We waited one hour for the second starter ... and I noticed the reason was that they synchronized us to a recently filled table. This was the best dish of the evening. A little stripe of sole slightly fried in oil with soy sauce with some soy sprouts, tomato compote and a parmesan foam. Great stuff .... next to it some useless mini stuffed pasta they dared to call cannelloni. Well, this kind of pasta I would not tolerate in any restaurant, but given the beautiful sole ... I was very happy. Even more impressive was the wine, a Pecorino Terre di Chieti I now want to seek and buy. A fantastic white wine. We were really thrilled to get the main dish.

Now ... after more than an hour we got a sort of main dish. Again a delay due to the synchronization to yet another late coming table. Unacceptable in a michelin starred restoraunt! This was no main course ... two mini pieces of lamb fillet with a spoon of peas. Peas tasted frozen and full of lemon. The lamb ... was it lamb? It tasted only of pre-made curry. It was a 3-bite main course of poor taste and execution. Wine was just ok. I went berserk with this dish ... the cheese trolley, no way! It seemed poor and I even saw a supermarket cheese!

The dessert arrived 10 minutes after the main course. A red fruit compote with a prosecco granita. I hate red fruit and I left the dish untouched (so no comment). The dish was taken away with no comment whatsoever on the fact that it was untouched. This is an unacceptable behavior in such a place. The service treated us like just a number. Maybe we were too young to be there ... bah! We did order like most other people, though.

We paid the nice sum of 210 euros for this. Way above its real value and quantity. I would have been ok with 120 or 130 "at most"! I wanted to stop and buy fries on the way home. The level of service and care of the customer is really low. It is simply a show-off place ... you go there to say I was there. The food had one great moment and too many poor ones.

Will I go back? Only if I do not pay and drive (wine is good). Not worth it otherwise.