Scene and heard

My birthday celebrations continue. On the day itself, I went back to St. Andrew’s for another couple of pints of my favourite tipple, Blackthorn Cider, courtesy of Trish. Tomorrow, Hannah, my daughter, is taking me to NoNo, a really good Cajun place at 7th and 7th in Park Slope. As I lived in New Orleans, I know the difference between fake and real Cajun, and good and bad. NoNo, incidentally, stands for North of New Orleans.

Last night, Carrie, who is my only real foodie friend, took me to l’école, at the corner of Grand Street and Broadway in Lower Manhattan. It is a gourmet restaurant where all of the cooking is done by students of The French Culinary Institute and it really is an absolute must for all lovers of fine food. They apparently have sittings with a 4 course prix fixe menu which you can book up to 7pm every day except Sunday, but the later sittings, between 8 and 9pm are 5 courses, and the same $42 price. This place is so good that you need to book at least a week in advance even for midweek. I have to guess if you want to book for Friday or Saturday, you should do so rather more than just a week in advance.

I had a Duck Consommé with Foie Gras, Trout, an amazing Lamb Chop meat course, and what they call a Digestive Salad, followed by a desert, the name of which I don’t recall, but I can assure anyone, was superb. And they bring complimentary dishes with the main and dessert and started us with a taster of some delicious gazpacho

This is food to be savoured; eaten in small bites and chewed slowly. To do anything else would be a waste and you should eat elsewhere! The service is superb. I will most definitely go back. This is a super treat for the palate and a great way of spending 2 to 3 hours – easily the best restaurant I have been to in New York, at a fraction of he price of anything that might possibly be comparable..

Just before we left, I thought I saw the celebrity chef Jacques Pepin, who is one of the teachers at the institute. Carrie confirmed it was him and went over to chat with him. She complimented him on the food and he responded that he had been waiting for her to come over all evening. I too complimented him. He is a charming man who had a table of young men laughing out loud when he entered the dining room and bantered with them.

GO THERE!