In the Name of Franco-American Relations

Nous Non Plus ended its Summer 2007 France tour on Saturday night playing to a packed house at the Flèche d’Or, one of my all-time favorite clubs (great sound system, nice people, and a really great vibe).

Seems that the band is inadvertently helping to assuage Franco-American relations and to bolster the “ego national.” For Francophone readers out there, check out this preview that was published in Paris Obs magazine (I’m the band’s “sommelier”):

Rock
Nous Non Plus

On l’a vu avec les Pipettes tout au long de l’année dernière, le pastiche ( ou remise à niveau pour les jeunes générations ) sixties a la cote. Mais quoi de plus flatteur, a priori, pour l’ego national que de voir qu’à New York un journaliste, un champion d’Air Guitar, un sommelier, un professeur de science politique, tous américains, et une artiste française, ont lancé un groupe parodiant, en français et en anglais, Dutronc, Hardy et autres yéyés franchouillards ? Il est même plutôt étonnant de voir dans un club branché de Brooklyn un « Jean-Luc Retard » et une « Céline Dijon » ( leurs pseudonymes-blagues ) chanter avec un accent approximatif des histoires de « Fille atomique » devant un public médusé. Mais quel intérêt pour un public parisien peut bien présenter ce « Grand Guignol bilingue » ? A vrai dire, voir l’héritage musical des yéyés revisité à coups de riffs garage, d’électro et d’autodérision, c’est assez jubilatoire. La mondialisation amusante.

Les vendredi 20 et samedi 21 juillet à 20 h. La Flèche d’Or , 102 bis, rue de Bagnolet ( 20 e ) ; 01-44-64-01-02. M ° Gambetta.

Timothée Barrière
Paris Obs

A Mishap Eclipsed by a Tuna Fish Sandwich and De Vinis Illustribus

The day could have started better: woke up early after a late night at the Flèche d’Or and headed out to Microbe Studios, a recording studio in St. Cloud (in the western suburbs of Paris, about 30 minutes toward Versailles) only to find that the young engineer was nowhere to be found. I decided to eat lunch while waiting and went up the street (in this upper middle-class neighborhood) to the neighborhood bar/brasserie (where a lot of people play Loto). I asked for a thon and crudités sandwich and was rewarded with an indulgent combination of rich flavors: besides tuna in olive oil, lettuce, tomato, and a generous slathering of mayonnaise, the kitchen had poached an egg (and then they must have shocked it in an ice bath because the white was firm but chilled, while the yolk was tepid and wonderfuly runny), sliced, and distributed it evenly along the long roll.

It almost made up for the morning’s mishap (the engineer never showed and I had to lug my gear back to Paris via light rail with a few changes… oh well… a lost morning but great sandwich).

CAFÉ-TABAC
LE BEAU SITE
• Bar • Brasserie • Tabac • Presse
• Loto • RATP
Ouvert du lundi au vendredi
de 7h à 20h.
Le samedi de 8h à 20h.
140, boulevard de la République, St. Cloud
Fax et tél. : 01 47 71 05 23

A good place to visit if you enjoy Loto and gaming.

De Vinis Illustribus - a truly superb wine shop

I went back to the 6th where the band is staying (at Céline Dijon’s parents’ house on the Left Bank), freshened up, and headed up to the Panthéon to visit a fantastic wine store specialized in old wine, De Vinis Illustribus, recommended to me by my friend Frank Butler.

The owner Lionel and his colleague Ghislaine were exceedingly gracious and I chatted at length with both of them about their shop, perceptions about old wine, and the changing landscape of winemaking today. Ghislaine gave me a tour of the cave where she showed me bottles of 1893 and 1921 Château d’Yquem, among many other remarkable lots. “When the sediment in old bottles of Sauternes is light in color,” Ghislaine explained, “you know the wine will not be oxidized, even if the wine has begun to turn brown.” It was fascinating to see the original capsules on these bottles: they didn’t stretch down as far as modern-day capsules and so you could read the information on the corks. This proves extremely useful when the labels have been damaged or destroyed by (desired) humidity in the cellar.

Bordeaux figures predominantly in their library but the Burgundy selection was also impressive. Lionel remarked that many of his clients are moving toward Burgundy from Bordeaux as they find that Bordeaux winemaking practices are changing.

Truly remarkable shop and lovely people.

Yesterday, François Hardonne (David Griffin, keyboard and trumpet player in Nous Non Plus) and I walked all the way to the Tour d’Eiffel from the Quai des Grands Augustins where we are staying. We visited the hardly remarkable and easily forgettable Musée du Vin, which is more of an events space and cheesy tourist trap than a museum.

Above: The collection of old tastevins at the truly forgettable Musée du Vin near the Tour d’Eiffel.

The collection of pre-revolutionary vine tenders’ tools was interesting, as were some of the pieces among the old stemware and bottles. Overall, the museum was a not entirely unexpected disappointment but it was nice to take such a long walk through Paris.

A snapshot of the Tour d’Eiffel as I walked from the studio to the light rail station in St. Cloud:

In The New York Times

Played with Nous Non Plus last night at the Paris Paris, a disco on the Avenue de l’opéra that features bands a few nights a week. Needless to say we performed our “(I Want to Spend a Night in) Paris,” a song about Paris Hilton, at the Paris Paris in Paris.

Paronomasia aside, I awoke this morning to read about Lini Lambrusco (wines that I love) and see myself quoted in Eric Asimov’s weekly wine column in The New York Times.

A super fun show at Francofolies

Today Nous Non Plus shared a bill with Adrienne Pauly (whose career really seems to be taking off in France) at Francofolies in La Rochelle (France). We played a great show to a packed house of 400 people, who, by the end of the show, were dancing in the aisles (it was a seated show, unusual for us). Some pics…

Catering at Francofolies

We drove this morning from Vosne-Romanée to La Rochelle, a journey that took us back up toward Paris on the A6, then over to Orléans, and then on the A10 to Tours and down to La Rochelle (not far from Bordeaux).

The trip took us through the “heartland” of French agriculture and then through the Loire Valley, where we could see signs for (but could not stop at) Chinon, Saumur, etc.

Just outside of Tours we stopped for gas at a rest stop and by chance we happened upon the other members of Nous Non Plus.

We were met in La Rochelle by our handlers Pierre and Pascal from Scène et Public, our agent for France and Europe, who had booked us at the Francofolies festival. After a long day of traveling, everyone was hungry and Pascal was raving about the catering tent behind the mainstage. We checked into our hotel and made our way through La Rochelle, which was in full party mode, with musicians (buskers and festival performers) everywhere.

When we arrived at the tent, even the French among us (including Patrick Woodcock of Mellow, Céline Dijon’s boyfriend) agreed that the spread was the best “catering” they had ever seen at a music festival: summer salads, freshly shucked oysters, fish loaf (which I loved), couscous, saffron rice, a cheese board… amazing… (N.B.: the French use the American word “catering” which they pronounce KAH-tehr-eeng.)

I was happy to eat a meal lighter than my typical Burgundian repast!

It was also nice to drink something a little less demanding on the palate, like the Provençal rosé they served.

I had a great time talking about wine with Pierre and Pascal. Nearly everyone I meet here knows and appreciates wine, although Pascal is not a fan of Italian wine. The French seem to know only Sicilian wine (and occasionally they’ll tell you that they like Lambrusco).

Above, from left, Céline Dijon (Verena Wiesendanger), Bonnie Day (Emily Welsch), François (our sound guy), Pascal (our handler), François Hardonne (David Griffin), Prof. Harry Covert (Greg Wawro).

Halfway through dinner, a huge storm exploded over La Rochelle and everyone poured into the main tent to escape the rain. The tent was transformed into a fantastic party (you can imagine). At a certain point, an African group started up a contagious rhythm by banging empty wine bottles on the tables and the whole tent broke out in song led by the group’s lead singer… A smoke-filled tent of happy happy people, their bellies full of wine.

Despite the rain, the festival went on, and I caught the tail-end of the closing set by ex-tennis star Yannick Noah, who closed the penultimate night of the festival on the main stage. Man, that guy can work a crowd…

“I am not mad for old wine.”

My fortieth birthday celebration ended with a dinner en plein air at the lovely Castel des Très Girard in Morey-St Denis, where we dined only relatively well but drank some great bottles.

Above: the langoustine was melt-in-your-mouth delicate.

This was the last installment of my fortieth birthday celebration and it was time to drink some really old wine.

The Meursault Clos des Perrier 1er Cru 1997 Albert Grivault was definitely up there with the best white wines I’ve ever had. This ten-year-old Chardonnay was harvested right about the time I moved to NYC. Its rich golden color and structure were everything I hoped an old Meursault would be. Grivault rocks…

The floor captain was surprised when I asked him about the Chambolle-Musigny Combe d’Orveau 1er Cru 1985 Taupenot-Merme. To my amazement, the older wines on his list seemed to cost less than the younger. “Well, I’m not mad for old wine,” he said dismissively,” but if you like mushroom flavors, you will like this. It’s good.”

Americans tend to fetishize old wine (and I must raise my hand in this case and say, “guilty as charged”). In my experience in Langhe (Piedmont) and now Burgundy (however brief), I’m convinced more than ever that those misunderstandings otherwise known as the Atlantic Ocean and English Channel have something to do with the disconnect between American and English perceptions of old wine and the feelings and palate of the people who make and live the terroir where those wines are produced. But more on this in another post…

I asked the sommelier not to open the 1985 until the cheese course. The wine (made the year that I graduated from high school) was stellar. We lingered until the restaurant’s terrace was empty, watching the fireworks and sipping this simply gorgeous wine.

Now it’s off to La Rochelle where Nous Non Plus will play a show on Monday night at the Festival Francofolies de La Rochelle (the only American band!).

A Day in the Country (Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune)

Above: Chez Guy, Gevrey-Chambertin.

After a very restful and much needed sleep, we headed to Gevrey-Chambertin (a few kilometers from our hotel in Vosne-Romanée) where we ate Chez Guy in the village center.

Above: the “menu du terroir” at Chez Guy opened with this ham terrine… awesome…

In celebration of my birthday, we ordered an extravagant, fantastic bottle:

Gevrey-Chambertin Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 1996 Dupont-Tisserandot.

The wine list Chez Guy was impressive and included some of Burgundy’s top domaines. I didn’t know this producer but wanted to drink something with some vintage. The wine was tannic and powerful and had that rustic quality that I like in Burgundy red (probably due to my passion for traditional-style Nebbiolo).

The boeuf bourguignon was amazing. We had slept in and missed breakfast so we were both starving. The pairing of the Charmes-Chambertin and the dish might have been more appropriate in winter but its richness and the brio imparted by the wine were exhilarating.

Following lunch we drove slowly along the Route des Grands Crus back to Vosne-Romanée, stopping in the vineyards to relax and take photographs.

After a nap back at the hotel, we headed south to the Côte de Beaune where we stopped in the villages of Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, and Chassagne-Montrachet and visited the 14 juillet fairs. In each town a pig was being roasted.

And in Chassagne we arrived just in time to see the barrel race.

Burgundy!

Above: a view of the famed Le Clos vineyard in Chablis, a perfect amphitheater. When you stand atop, you feel like the conductor of a symphony of vines.

We braved the pre-July-14 traffic and drove down from Paris on the A6 toward the Côte d’Or. We left the highway at Chablis and drove through the vineyards.

Above: cruets, condiments, and garnish at Beaune’s Ma Cuisine.

After a leisurely drive down from Chablis, we made it to Beaune in time for a great dinner at Ma Cuisine, a small mom-and-pop restaurant in the city center, recommended to me by nearly every food and wine writer I know.

The summery flavors of my rabbit compote lingered with the Meursault 1999 La Fon.

The wine list at Ma Cuisine is impressive, although there weren’t many older vintages. The food was simple, country fare, exactly what we needed after a long drive. I believe the proprietor sells most of the labels on his list in his store next door to the restaurant.

Gay Paris (Le Comptoir)

Chic dining in Paris

Above: the Ferris wheel in the Jardin des Tuileries.

I arrived in Paris on Thursday, guitar and gear intact (thankfully).

I dined at Le Comptoir (recommended by Winnie) where I ate exceedingly well and drank a slightly tired but very memorable 1989 Bandol.

The cheese course and soufflé were over-the-top good.

Focaccina at Falai

Saturday night found me walking through the Lower Eastside and then dining at Falai on Clinton with legendary wine industry media svengali Alyson Careaga, who not only knows every wine writer in the world but also — she revealed to me that evening — produced Henry Rollins’ 1994 Grammy-winning spokenword release Get in the Van.

I have met Alyson a number of times over the years and have always admired her work (she use to appear in Jay McInerney’s blog… I mean, wow, it doesn’t get any better than that). When it comes to wine industry media, she’s the top, the Colosseum, the Louvre museum, a Bendel bonnet and a Shakespeare sonnet. But I had no idea that I’d be dining with a Grammy-voting music industry insider!

Walking through a bustling Lower East Side with its humming outdoor cafés on a warm July night felt like a seamless take from a Robert Altman movie. She greeted each restaurateur and sommelier with the grace of a Lauren Bacall and the wit of a Walter Winchell (who, had he written about wine, would have surely been one of Alyson’s closest confidants).

We dined at the super chic Falai on Clinton (I don’t know why they don’t have a decent website yet) where General Manager Alberto Taddei served us warm focaccia that reminded me of the focaccina that I used to eat in Pisa when I studied at the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa: little extra-virgin-olive-oil-and-flour buns, always served hot. Alberto served us a bright Tuscan Vermentino (not entirely memorable but good for a warm night in the restaurant’s patio) and I particularly liked the octupus appetizer which came with a wonderful greenbean purée and a generous dollop of American caviar.

Only in New York do you find such a confluence of interesting people, interesting places to eat, and a thriving outdoor-café culture that rivals Paris and Rome. In a cab, on my way home, I couldn’t help but think of another one of my favorite Cole Porter tunes (from the musical The New Yorkers):

I happen to like New York, I happen to like this town.
I like the city air, I like to drink of it,
The more I know New York the more I think of it.