Quelqu'un m'a dit que Carla aime les half smoke

By now it's old news that President Sarkozy, his younger son Louis and First Lady Carla Bruni Sarkozy ate at U Street fine dining establishment institution Ben's Chili Bowl. What never gets old are some of the joke and comments the visit brought about. Here are some of my favourite, please feel free to add yours in the comment section!

From President Obama: Now, I have to point out that the French are properly famous for their cuisine, and so the fact that Nicolas went to Ben's Chili Bowl for lunch I think shows his discriminating palate. (Yes, I take that one as a joke)

From fellow frenchie in D.C. @OKnox: Sarkozy goes to Ben's Chili Bowl. RNC aides go to Voyeur. Guess which one the NYTimes brands "a faux pas."

From @willcfischer: Sarkozy: "Je voudrais quelques pommes frites." Dude at register: "What's that?" Sarkozy: [sigh] "Freedom fries..."

From The Washington Post: Obama, Sarkozy forge a new bond: the half-smoke.

From NBC Washington: France's first couple lunched at Ben's Chili Bowl, putting undue pressure on the White House chef...

From MSNBC: French President gases up for dinner at the White House at Ben's Chili Bowl.

From The Guardian: Barack Obama and Sarkozy stand side by side on Iran – and hamburgers.

From The Sydney Morning Herald: Sarkozy woos US with sausage diplomacy. French diplomacy came to the US capital in the form of 120 grams of smoked sausage on a soft bun with mustard and onions

It seems the media is fascinated by the fact a French president could dispense with (the perceived) Gallic fussiness on food to eat at one of the cheapest (and greasiest) joint in town. Apparently hot dogs win over calls for tougher sanctions on Iran...

French Women Do Get Fat

French Elle got a lot of attention a year ago for their "Stars Sans Fard" covers which featured Sophie Marceau and Monica Bellucci without makeup and in unretouched shots. Well, French Elle is challenging industry standards once again with a "special rondes" edition out to prove that, contrary to what Mireille Guiliano would like you to believe, French women do get fat.

Elle's April issue featuring a twenty page spread on plus size fashion comes a month after Italian Vogue launched an online section called "Vogue Curvy" dedicated to fashion and beauty for non-size 34 women. So French and Italian women can be young, fat and fabulous. Gotcha.

I love that French Elle is challenging the national stereotype of the slender, chic Parisian woman... but wouldn't it have made more of a statement if the model on the cover were actually French instead of American? I personally feel that this issue is a gimmick and not a lasting trend in an industry. And it works. Afterall, I'm talking about it aren't I?

(French) Snacks on a Plane

Remember the Top Chef, Season 3: "Snacks on a Plane" Episode? Under the watchful eyes of guest judge Anthony Bourdain, the cheftestants had to create dishes that could be served on Continental Airlines’ Business class. Chefs creating menus for airlines is about as new as fashion designers dressing cabin crew in haute couture uniforms. Air France business class passengers, for example, can currently snack on (3 Michelin star) chef Guy Martin’s red pepper, cucumber, and parmesan tartare while admiring the Christian Lacroix outfits of the stewards serving the meal. Fancy schmancy.

The latest chef to try his culinary hands at airplane food is DC-based French chef Michel Richard, of Citronelle and Central fame. In addition to working on opening his third DC-area restaurant this fall (Michel, in the former Maestro space in the Ritz Carlton Tyson Corner) the celebrated chef will develop in flight menus for OpenSkies, British Airways’ new all-business class airline. Discerning Paris travelers will be able to enjoy authentic French cuisine on New York-Paris and Washington, D.C.-Paris flights for two months starting this June. With roundtrip fare starting at $1,650 I think I will have to “settle” for Air France’s Guy Martin for my next trip home but if Michel Richard's French snacks in a plane are tempting you can always use the discount code TWT10OFF before April 30 to get 10% your flight departing before September 2010.

Bake Sale for Haiti

I never got to participate in any bake sales when I was a kid, so consider this my attempt to make up for lost time. If you're heading to the Dupont Circle Freshfarm Market this Sunday morning, drop by Zorba's Cafe for some home baked goodies.  Bloggers Thrifty DC Cook, Adventures in Shaw, Not Derby Pie and One Bite at a Time have put together a bakesale to benefit Doctors Without Borders's Haiti relief efforts. I will be contributing some petits pineapple upside down cakes and pain au chocolat. So be sure to come by Zorba's Cafe between 9 and 11 am on Sunday March 28th.

Participating bloggers include:

• Macheesmo
• Florida Girl in DC
• Pete Bakes
• 1 tsp love
• One Vanilla Bean (whose banner I *adore* by the way... check it out!)
• The Passion Fruits
• Don't Forget the Flour
• and moi!!

Sweet dreams

Ugly and yet oddly appealing, these macaron pillows from Bonjour mon Cousin might just be what you need for a good night of sleep with sweet and saccharine dreams.

And if you're on team cupcake... Bonjour mon Cousin also has just the pillow for you:

Macaron overkill? 

Parlez-vous français?

I do! And so do over 200 million people around the globe. But there’s more to being a francophone than the shared memories of countless hours frantically searching through the Bescherelle for the proper imparfait du subjonctif of the verbe venir (that would be que je vinsse… in case you’re wondering). Because there’s so much culture and history associated with Molière’s language, there’s also a strong shared cultural identity between those whose mother or custom tongue is French.

Each March 20th, the francophone world celebrates the community of people and countries who use the French language with the Francophonie International Day. Throughout the world, events are organized and the DC French community is involved as well with a month-long cultural festival. The festival kicked off on March 5th with the Grande Fête de la Francophonie at the French Embassy and features numerous cultural happenings such as movies or concerts through April 11. On March 19th, French speakers will turn to the international language of techno and transform the National Postal Museum into a discothèque. French DJ duo Make the Girl Dance will spin tunes from 9pm until 1am. The $30 ticket ($25 for Alliance française members) includes appetizers provided by Dutch Valley Foods as well as an open bar sponsored by Heineken, Cap City and Calypso Organic Solution wines.

Joyeuse Sainte Patrique!

Didn't think I could come up with a macaron-related St Patrick's day post? Think again! Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone.

Macaron Madness

March 20th is more than the first day of spring or the beginning of March Madness in NYC. It's officially the launch of macaron madness! A few weeks ago, I was quoted in a Wall Street Journal arguing (well, the word the WSJ chose to use was sniffing) that "macarons are not meant to be mainstream." I fully stand by that statement and thought I had an ally in New York based French pastry maker François Payard.

Boutique Pierre Hermé in Paris

Last fall, Mr. Payard took the macaron as culinary jewelry analogy up a notch. Pierre Hermé, the Picasso of macaron, exposes his sweet creations in a tiny parisian shop designed to look like a jewelry store, with gloved vendeuses handling the delicate treats. Part of the experience of enjoying a macaron is the packaging, the presentation and that's why I cry when I see macarons sold for 90 cents next to your average croissants and pains au chocolat at the McCafé in the Louvre. François Payard seemed to share that concept and even brought macarons to an actual jewelry store when he opened a chocolate bar on the fourth of Mauboussin's Madison Avenue flagship boutique. And yet, as the sponsor of the 1st annual New York Macaron Day on March 20th, he seems keen on bringing the macaron craze to the masses, even stating on the front page of the event's website that *le sigh* macarons are the new cupcakes.

Macaron Day NYC is inspired by and will coincide with the 5th annual Jour du Macaron in Paris, organized by Pierre Hermé. Several New York bakeries will give out free macarons all day. The participants include Almondine, Bouchon Bakery, Burdick Chocolate, Butterfield Market, DessertTruck Works, FC Chocolate Bar, Macaron Cafe, La Maison du Chocolat (home of the best vanilla macaron I have ever had!), Mad-Mac at Bernardaud, Madeleine, and Silver Moon Bakery. Now of course, anyone who appreciates macarons knows that one is never enough. While you will receive one free macaron at each participating location by mentioning the promotion, some of the bakeries are eactually encouraging you to have more by donating a portion of the day’s macaron sales to City Harvest. Hum... perhaps I should organize a macarons bracket...

Food Meets Sports Meets Drinks

I'm more into FIFA's World Cup than March Madness but I do love the concept of this happy hour. Afterall, I love food... and I also love sports, just not the same sports that the majority of people in DC enjoy. This Tuesday, March 16 from 6-9pm, Join DC’s Food Bloggers and DC Sports Bloggers for a March Madness happy hour at Clyde's of Gallery Place. The happy hour will take place in the Sports Room which is most easily accessed from the Clyde’s theater entrance. Come meet, drink, and mingle with your favorite food and sports bloggers. If you're thinking about joining us, please rsvp here.

Affordable solutions for better living riding

Don't get me wrong, I love living in D.C. and in the United States in general. But every once in a while, like when I think about the health care system or the six weeks of paid vacation time, I can't help reminiscing about life in France. There are just some things that the French do better. Apparently even minute things like Ikea ads ;-)

So back in January of 2009, my metro station, Gallery Place, was taken over by Ikea. As D.C. prepared for inauguration of Barrack Obama, Ikea released a yellow and blue "change begins at home" poster style campaign. Not bad.

Now in Paris, Ikea is actually inviting metro riders to test two of their popular couches: “Ektorp” and “Kalstad”, in its Paris métro stations: St Lazare, Champs Elysées Clémenceau, Concorde and Opéra. Literally, test them out in the metro! One notch better!

What do you think of Ikea's buzz marketing campaign? Would it make you want to buy a red and white striped “Ektorp” couch? I'm sure the homeless people who roam the Paris metro all day must think it's really awesome! Though I'm not sure they'll be buying Ikea couches any time soon...

Taste the "Luck of the Irish" at Againn

You don’t have to be Irish to celebrate St Patrick’s day right? I hope not because Againn’s March 17th festivities just sound too fun to miss!

On Wednesday between 5 and 10 pm, the downtown gastropub will transform its raw bar into a Guinness station. Drinks such as Guinness drafts, Kilkenny Irish Ale, Irish coffees and Irish Old Fashions, topped with Jameson Irish Whiskey, will be $5. Traditional Irish fare courtesy of Executive Chef Wesley Morton will also be on hand with standouts including Guinness braised lamb shank with local carrots, and butterball potatoes; house made pretzels with sea salt and spicy mustard; house made corned beef and cabbage as well as smoked Scottish salmon served with brown butter, and pickled cucumber. Additionally, guests will enjoy Irish tunes courtesy of O’Kane Mutiny and are encouraged to wear green of course!

And if you can't wait until Wednesday, Friday is officially St. "Practice" Day at Againn. Enjoin pre-St. Patty's Day specials including $5 pints of Guinness and Kilkenny, $5 Bushmills cocktails, Irish Old Fashioned, Hot Toddies, and Irish Coffees. Whisky Master John Heffernan will also be pouring tastes of Bushmills and comparing their different styles.

Macaron: fashion victim?

Macarons and fashion go hand in hand and my favourite parisian pastry will not cease to inspire the hottest designers!

In 2009, the prince of red soles paired up with the king of macarons to design a limited edition Louboutin gift box sold exclusively in La Durée stores.

Last fall, Helena Rubinstein created a Delicious Beauty make-up collection inspired by the Picasso of Patisserie, Pierre Hermé. His caramel-lavender macaron was at the heart of the advertising campaign for the line, which featured glosses and lipsticks parfumed with lavender and caramel.

This spring, you can also smell like a macaron thanks to Marc Jacobs. His Splash perfume line declines the macarons in three sweet and playful flavours, I mean scents, Apple Splash, Biscotti and Pomegrenade Splash.

The latest brand to jump on the macaron trendwagon is probably the most surprising: Nike! The sneaker giant is releasing a Nike Air Royal "Macarons" pack. Each shoe is entirely monochrome, stitching and soles included, and comes in lighter pastel shades of raspberry, pistachio, lemon and almond. The Nike Air Royal Mid Macarons Pack release date is set for April 1st at the ever trendy Colette.

Colette, by the way, used to retail a specialty cotton candy in a delightful polka dot box excusively in its store last winter.

So what do you think... macaron fashion? Or macaron fashion victim?

Eat Out, Do Good!

When food and charity unite, something that seems to happen quite often in this town (and something you won't hear me complain about,) it's a win-win situation for everyone involved! Don't miss an opportunity to eat and do good tomorrow. For Dining out for Life, enjoy a meal at one of the 150 area restaurants participating in the event and a portion of the proceed will be donated to Food & Friends, a Washington nonprofit group that provides meals and groceries at no cost to people living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-challenging illnesses.

If you work close-by, why not grab your colleagues and head to one of my favourite French restaurant in town: Bistro du Coin. The Connecticut Avenue eatery is donating 50% of its lunch proceed to Food & Friends. Also donating 50% of their lunch proceeds are Cafe Luna, Skewers and Spezie. A slew of other restaurants are donating 20-35% of their lunch proceeds. For dinner, why not meet up with your friends at Annie's Paramount Steakhouse, Ristorante Tosca or Posto, all of which are donating 100% (yes, 100%!) of the evening's proceed to the charity. For a complete list of participating restaurants, check out Dining out for Life's website. Eat out, do good... it's a win-win!

A Foodie Friendly Environmental Film Festival

The DC Independent Film Festival is still underway that already another exciting movie event is kicking off in the nation's capital: the DC Environmental Film Festival. The 2010 Festival explores the vital connections between food and the environment so it's not surprising that it opens with two events focused on food. The first, a special screening of "What's on your plate?", occurred at the Warner Theater earlier today. The second, the Festival's Launch Party at the Warner Building Atrium (6:30 pm, March 10th, $20, rsvp at effrsvp@gmail.com) features Nora Pouillon, a local pioneer of the organic and local food movements who opened the nation's first certified organic restaurant, Nora, and helped establish the FRESHFARM markets, as its featured speaker. 

The festival kicks off this week and runs from March 16 to 28.  Green-minded film buffs and environmentally conscious foodies can gorge on more than 155 showings at 56 different venues throughout the city. Here are a few screenings and events that I noted:

• Utopia at GALA Hispanic Theater, co-presented by the Embassy of Spain (March 16, 7pm, free) suggests a few possible formulas to bring us closer to a utopian world where environmental, social and spiritual crises are no longer a threat. A discussion with filmmaker Alex Ruiz will follow the screening.
• FRESH at National Geographic Society (March 17, 7:30pm, advance purchase required, $15 or $18) celebrates the farmers, thinkers and businesses people across America who are re-inventing the food system. The screening will be followed by a discussion with filmmaker Ana Sofia Joanes, Ann Yonkers, Co-Director of FRESHFARM Markets, and, by phone, with Joel Salatin, owner of Polyface Farms.
• Terra Madra at E Street Cinema, co-presented by the Italian Cultural Institute (March 18, 7pm, $10), explores the slow food movement through individual cases of local farmers.
• Ladies of the Land at the National Museum of Natural History's Baird Auditorium (March 20, 2pm, free) profiles women farmers.
• Homegrown at the National Museum of Natural History's Baird Auditorium (March 21, noon, free) spotlights a 21st century organic family farm operating off the grid in urban Pasadena, CA. Homegrown is followed by a screening of Ingredients, a film that celebrates the farmers and chefs who are creating a truly sustainable food system (March 21, 1pm, free).
• Lunch at American University's Wechsler Theater, co-presented by Earth Day Network and the Center for Environmental Filmmaking (March 22, 7pm, free) looks at the nation's school food program through the meals offered by the Baltimore Public Schools. The screening of the 25 minute film will be immediately followed by a screening of Potato Head.
• Nora at the International Student House (March 23, 7pm, free) will be followed by a discussion with Nora Pouillon.

And of course this wouldn't be FrenchTwistDC if I didn't point out some of the French related showings: Tabarly about the famous French sailor will show at the French Embassy on March 21 (4pm, free, rsvp to philippe.berthier@diplomtie.gouv.fr) and a Jacques Tati retrospective at AFI Silver Theatre will take place throughout the duration of the festival.

There's more to Idaho than potatoes!

To say that I had low expectations when I ordered a Riesling from Idaho during the DC food blogger happy hour at Vinoteca last night would be quite an understatement. But the 2008 Sawtooth Riesling came with a high recommendation from Jenny from Eating with Pleasure so I decided to give it chance. And I’m sure glad I did.

The saying is “you learn something new every day” right? Well, I learned that there's more to Idaho than potatoes! The Northwestern state produces a decent Riesling! Apparently, Idaho has a long wine producing history, with the first vineyards there being planted here in the 1860s. The prohibition essentially wiped out their wine industry and when it resurrected in the 1970s, Idaho began producing cool climate white varietals like Riesling, Ice Wine, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer. The majority of the state's wineries are located in the Snake River Valley, west of Boise, and that’s exactly where the Riesling I tried last night was from. Sawtooth Winery is Idaho State’s second largest winery and it produces several European wine varietals, including Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. The fresh, off dry Riesling, which features hints of pear and peaches, is available for $8 ($5 during happy hour between 5-7pm) by the glass and $32 by the bottle at Vinoteca. Try it next time you’re out there, you might learn that you like it too!

Movie Review: Alice in Wonderland

Last night I had the opportunity to preview Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, which is slated to open in DC theaters on Friday March 5. Throughout the story, Alice gets accused of not being the “real Alice” and if you are a true fan of Lewis Carroll's original tale, Tim Burton’s version may not be “real Alice” enough for you. But it is an enjoyable version nonetheless.

Rather than update the original story, Tim Burton appropriates Carroll’s characters and uses them in his own modern-fantasy film. In his version, the story begins with an older Alice, attending her proposal party. The “adults” in her life are in essence telling her what her life ought to be: to marry a Lord she doesn’t love and take her place in society. Unconvinced, she drops out of the party and falls down the rabbit hole into a visually stunning -if dreary- Underland. There, she carves her own path towards not only defeating the Red Queen but also finding out who the “real Alice” is and what her personal path in life shall be.

Johnny Depp - Mad Hatter, Helena Bonham-Carter - Red Queen

 in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland Photographs by Mary Ellen Mark

I felt the movie lacked a bit of humour and did not enjoy the 3D experience. Alice in Wonderland was originally shot in 2D then transferred to 3D but the effects are more distracting to the plot than spectacular and while children might enjoy them, I would recommend that grown-ups save the extra bucks. The true wonder of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, for me, was the visual universe of the film, of which the costumes play an important part. For Alice, Tim Burton hired one of Hollywood’s most sought-after designers, Colleen Atwood. The American designer, who has been nominated for 8 Oscars throughout her career and has won two, is no stranger to the creative universe of Tim Burton. If Alice in Wonderland, marks the seventh collaboration between the director and (France resident) Johnny Depp, it also marks the fifth time he has worked with Colleen Atwood. Her creations, from the various dresses that Alice dons as she switches sizes to Johnny Depp’s colorfully punk rock Mad Hatter outfit or the thigh high poker print stockings worn by The Red Queen are visually stunning and have already fuelled Alice-inspired fashion and beauty trends throughout the world. I certainly will not be surprised to see Ms Atwood's listed as a best designer nominee for the 2011 Academy Awards.  In meantime, tune into this year's Oscars to see if she takes home a golden statuette for her work dressing Marion Cotillard and Penelope Cruz in Nine.

Bottle Shock: Screwtop Edition

Call me French but comparing France and California is a little like comparing apple and oranges. In my biased French opinion, of course. Yes, California is roughly the size of France and yes the West Coast state has about the same global economic heft as my homeland. In economic terms, if California were its own country, it would be the 5th largest economy in the world. France is at best number 6 or 7 depending on the year. But we're not talking about GDP in this post, we're talking wine and cheese!

Well, as it turns out, California, in addition to being a heavy weight in economic terms, is also a heavy weight in the wine world. Indeed, California alone is responsible for some 90% of all the wine produced in the US and if it were its own country, it would be the fourth biggest wine-producer in the world with some 1,200 vineyards turning out everything from mass produced bottles of $7 Korbel sparkly to world class pinot noirs. Ever since the 1976 "Great Vinous Smackdown" known as the Judgement of Paris, France has had to come to terms with the fact that it is not longer THE player in the international wine arena, but just A player. Of course, you'll never hear a French girl admit that ;-)

 

The movie Bottle Shock retraces the early days of California wine making

leading to the 1976 "Judgement of Paris" blind tasting.

In a fun, local rematch of the legendary tasting which saw California Chardonnays and Cabernet Sauvignons beat out their French equivalents in a blind tasting, Screwtop Wine Bar is throwing a France vs California Wine & Cheese Throwdown on Sunday March 28 (6:30-8pm, $59 per person). Six wines and six cheeses will go head to head (and possibly to my head too) during this special class/tasting. Now, I'm willing to accept the wine challenge but I'm going to go on the record questioning the cheese portion of the throw down. I know that happy cows come from California but c'mon, French cheeses have their own laws! Oh my... I'm starting to sound like Steven Spurrier - the overconfident organizer of the "Judgement of Paris" wine tasting... not the football player. I hope that's not a bad omen for my dear fromages!