File under "Reasons you love living in France":

Went to the Breteuil market this morning to pick up the ingredients for dinner tonight. When I saw the most beautiful veal chops, the plan started to take shape. Looks like we're going for pounded veal chops with a veal jus. I couldn't pass up the gorgeous porcinis either, so we'll go for a bit of oven-roasted porcinis with butter, garlic, and sage and then perhaps a celeriac mash.

I have a pretty good idea of how to prepare the veal, although I've never done it before. So if anybody has any tips, they are most welcome.

I'm heading to London tomorrow, so I also stocked up with cheese and charcuterie at the market to bring along for my friends up there.

It's always a joy to bring a bit of local flavour to and from wherever I go. Going from France, bring along cheese and wine. Coming back from Spain, bring back ham, tuna, and -- uh -- wine. Go to Germany, bring back sausage and wine (depending on the region). Go to Britain, bring back asian spices that are nearly impossible to find in Paris, but not wine.

These are the joys of living in Paris and having a car in the age of the European Union. You can load up the damn thing and head to your choice of eight different countries (speaking 6 different languages) within 6 hours' drive, and bring back whatever suits you without having to worry about customs border checks.

On the other hand... could somebody here please figure out how to make a good bagel?

Posted by ElectricOrange at 2:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's been a long wait for this one. Almost two years ago, I wandered into FNAC in Paris and walked out with a CD called "(How To) Kill The DJ [part one]" -- on a complete lark. Ivan Smagghe's mix was brilliant, a clarion call to a new generation of dirty, punky, funky electronic music.

Now comes the long-awaited, oft-delayed release of [part two], mixed by Scottish/Irish duo Optimo. I've not yet given it a full listen, but from what I have heard it is amazing. It's all over the place -- throwing in everything from pure punk, to funky house, to countrified tracks, to gospel, to old-school funk, right down to the Langley Schools Music Project's outrageously trippy echo-chamber choir version of the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations." They even sneak in a few familiar bars of The Meters' "Cissy Strut."

Kill The DJ, by the way, is a regular night at Paris club Le Pulp, on the first Thursday of every month. If any of you is wondering what the Paris sound really is (or should be), check it out.

"(How To) Kill The DJ [part two]" is out now on Tigersushi Records.

Posted by ElectricOrange at 9:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today I mailed my official County of Palm Beach Florida Absentee Ballot, sealed and signed, to the offices of Theresa LePore.

So if it comes down to just one vote in Florida this year, and Kerry wins it by one, you'll know why.

Posted by ElectricOrange at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Had dinner the other night at Flora, a relatively new restaurant on Avenue George V (across from Hotel George V). What a spectacular meal.

The general style is Provencal French, and it was executed, literally, to perfection.

I had Artichoke Ravioli with Langoustine tail in broth as a starter, and a gorgeous veal chop as a main.

Another starter on offer was foie gras served three ways -- smoked, seared, and cured. It was a massive plate and particularly the smoked was delicious.

But the star dish at the table was a ridiculously large Dover sole, sauteed in butter with an absurd amount of black truffle. Literally, you could smell the truffles coming from across the restaurant.

Also, all of us at the table were in agreeement: this restaurant struck the perfect balance between elegance and informality. It definitely aspires to gastronomy (and largely succeeds), but you're not paying for a Michelin star. The food is spectacular, and for the quality you get, I think it's priced very reasonably -- only the sole was out of the EUR 20-30 range, and that's because truffles are expensive.

So give it a try, and please invite me when you do.

Posted by ElectricOrange at 1:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Welcome, one and all, to ElectricOrange's "Blah-Blah-Blog," my latest attempt to keep all three of you up to date on my thoughts and ideas. Since my last non-Jazzfest entry in my "Diary" was in February 2003, I figured it's time I get cracking on this.

Why the sudden jump onto the weblog bandwagon at this late date? It's a hell of a lot easier than putting together the mini-sites I used to do for my diary. Thanks to the kind people at Movable Type, I can run my own blog server here at home at no incremental cost.

What can you look forward to? More frequent (and possibly less meaningful) updates on my whereabouts, opinions, concerns, ideas, and readings. Probably at least a few reviews... restaurants, music, movies. And maybe even a few recipes if I come up with something good.

Also, I've imported all of my old diaries (except the Jazzfest ones) into my blog -- which accounts for the archives from as far back as 2002. See? I predate the bandwagon. The original diary mini-sites are available, as always, at The ElectricOrange Archive.

So enjoy, and please don't crucify me if "more frequent" becomes "less frequent."

Posted by ElectricOrange at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)