Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

One of the Best Things I Have Ever Had for Dinner

2013-08-17 21.25.56

It was the last night the chef would cook at my favorite restaurant in Carpentras. Luckily, I did not know that before I had my meal. How sad I would have been learning I would never again taste the deliciousness that he prepared.

A tomato macaron with a chilled pesto filling served with a roquette sorbet.

We had dinner outside; I grabbed my cell phone and took a photo, not caring that it would not turn out as transparent as I would like… a photo for memory's sake;

I wish I could say I invented this; taste buds kissed with perfection.

The rest of the meal was equally as good. But the tomato macaron took the gold star.

Restaurant Hibiscus, Carpentras

 

What is one of the best things you have had for dinner recently?

(PS. Thank you for your responses yesterday; I loved hearing about YOU and what you were up to. It is the best part about blogging, the contact, the friendship!!

Comments

22 responses to “One of the Best Things I Have Ever Had for Dinner”

  1. Diogenes

    Well it looks amazing! I assume it is a chilled summer salad, but my eyes see the macaron and I think dessert. Speaking of dessert one of the best things I’ve eaten recently was a whipped cream cake with raspberries from Sweet Lady Jane, a famous bakery here. One slice was probably my calorie allotment for 2 days.
    And recently opened a couple blocks from us is Lady M Cake Boutique which makes mille crepes cakes: http://www.latimes.com/features/food/dailydish/la-dd-lady-m-mille-crepes,0,5783695.story
    BTW, how was the roquette sorbet?

    Reply
  2. Julie Loeschke

    The “Dragon’s Tongue” beans from my garden. 🙂

    Reply
  3. Rhonda

    My homemade baked cheesy tortilla casserole, it is amazing. Spicy hot and great with tortilla chips & salsa.

    Reply
  4. paula s in new mexico

    Rhonda – that sounds wonderful! Share with us!
    Best lately has been home grilled filet. Hard to beat a great piece of beef. I marinated them in a concoction of leftover condiments. Then made a port reduction with blue cheese and mashed spuds. Heaven.

    Reply
  5. martina

    Caprese salad with tomatoes and basil from my garden and mozzarella from the store. Oh if only I could grow mozzarella 🙂
    Rhonda-please give us the cheese tortilla casserole recipe!

    Reply
  6. Bev S.

    My mom’s wild blackberry pie which she made for my 50th birthday a couple of days ago.

    Reply
  7. Lyn

    Thistle down cake which my mum made for my birthday when I was a lot younger. I have never been able to find a recipe for it.

    Reply
  8. Chico Sue

    Your description of that tomato macaroon sounds phenomenal! The most memorable meal I ever had was one that looked rather ghastly as described on the menu, so I just had to order it for the adventure, and I am glad I did. It was sautéed chicken livers in butter with fresh strawberries on a bed of saffron rice. That was fifty years ago and my mouth still waters at the memory.

    Reply
  9. Peggy Braswell

    The best thing is a lemon meringue pie my mom use to make. Yummy! that tomato dish looks fabulous. xxpeggybraswelldesign.com

    Reply
  10. Nikki Maxwell

    A freshly caught tuna steak, barbecued over wood in a cleaned out and halved oil drum and eaten within 30 minutes of the catch, on a small island off Ixtapa in Mexico – when I was 13. I’m now 49 and boy – never been surpassed!

    Reply
  11. Kit

    Wow, what a stunning combination of flavours and beautiful too! Very sad that he is no longer cooking there for you. I would have loved to try that dish.

    Reply
  12. Gracie

    I finally had time to catch up with your blog updates and it’s been a pleasure as always…I’m updating mine too (slowly) but I had to stop by and say Hi…

    Reply
  13. Dd

    Linguini w grilled shrimp and cilantro pesto. It was yum!

    Reply
  14. La Contessa

    I can recall seeing CARPENTRAS scooting around your neck of the woods!Its a pretty big city yes?Glad you snapped the photo!I bet its good to be home for awhile……..although I cannot wait for further updates and photos of the Petite apartment in PARIS!

    Reply
  15. Lindarose

    So sad that your wonderful chef is no longer cooking for you. It is difficult for me to imagine what a tomato macaron might taste like, but it looks stunning in the photo.
    my recent favorite meal would have to be fresh figs and local goat cheese for lunch. It will likely be my lunch fare until the figs are no longer in season. I grew up enjoying my grandmother’s homemade fig preserves until one day (when I was tall enough) I snatched a ripe fig from the tree in her back yard. From that moment the preserves took second place to the fresh ones and I was only allowed to eat what I could reach, otherwise I would have eaten all the figs on the tree!
    We are blessed with several goat cheese makers in our area. There is quite a variety from which to choose. My favorite, however, is plain very fresh cheese.

    Reply
  16. Noelle

    Don’t laugh…bbq hamburger, homemade potato salad and my Grandma’s Angel Food Cake. Everything else pales.

    Reply
  17. jeanie

    Well, I certainly have never had anything that wonderful! One of my great dining experiences was in France (of course) at a very tiny restaurant called Verjus on Rue du Richelieu. Oh, every course was ecstasy! My photos were terrible. But the memory of the heart is exquisite!

    Reply
  18. Marilyn

    That is the most amazing sight of food. Oh I would love this. Now my mind is running away with the possibilities of making something fun like this, but no I will just dream of it. Amazing foods, oh I am not sure. But when I go to the garden and pick a sun riped tomato right now the smell is intoxicating and the flavor delicious.

    Reply
  19. Franca Bollo

    Franca can’t think of food because she can only think of being lost in Carpentras with Mardog in a rental car illegally taken out of Spain.

    Reply
  20. Joanna

    Salted sea salt caramel ice cream from Perry Ice Creamary in Santa Cruz, after a surfing lesson. My God!!! Literally the best ice cream I’ve ever had in my life?

    Reply
  21. Kathie B

    Sweet vine-ripened juicy local cantaloupes from the farmers’ market. Remind me of the wonderful California melons of my youth. Also Romano (flat Italian) green beans, Silver Queen (white) corn (which has a “cornier” flavor than the newer sugar sweet corn varieties), steamed Swiss chard thinnings from our garden… It’s harvest time here in the Northern Hemisphere!

    Reply
  22. Kathie B

    If you Google on the words “tomato” and “macaron” you’ll find a number of recipes listed.

    Reply

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