New Year Greetings Readers:
Some changes have been underway, the fruit of which you can see here.
eat : art : joy is the new home for theyhadmeathelado.
cheers!
I can’t help but wonder if London’s food scene will capture the world’s attention as the next explosive international gastronomic playground. What with Jamie Oliver attaining the 2010 TED Prize with a continued goal of combating childhood obesity in the U.K. and a new goal of similar merits for the U.S. beginning in 2010, a robust, thriving city farmers’ market system, gastronomy, farming and community-inspired creations sprouting across the city plan, restaurants in uncommon locales: http://www.root-master.co.uk/, a family of shops dedicated solely to the art and joy of artisan cheese production and procurement–just spend 30 seconds sampling a cheese, such as Montgomery’s Cheddar, in the climatized shop-that-should-be-more-aptly-called-showroom complete with actual dripping waterfall to maintain proper humidity, and finished with cheese enthusiast slicing your taste behind the counter, just oozing elation at rinds, curing technique, moisture content, and personal vocabulary to relay stink-factor. Better yet, snag an internship with the company next time you have a quarter free in your life schedule to dedicate to fermented dairy.
Finally, worth a trip alone: Sarah’s Bakery @ Queen’s Park Market for a slice of beetroot hazelnut cake . . .
Browse here for a list of locales and discoveries when in London… cheers!
Le Fooding, smart Parisian gastronomic critique organization who produces an annual guide to eating in style in France (style ranging from chic interior design, creative a/o complex menu, keen use of sustainable ingredients and operation practices, innovative concept) hosted its annual week of food, La Semaine du Fooding, the first week of December. This year’s extravaganza unofficially highlighted the year of dining in unconventional locales, exemplified by hosting the festivities in an abandoned, colorful graffiti-tagged swimming pool.
For an idea of what the inaugural evening was like: http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/14/in-paris-politically-incorrect-dining/?emc=eta1
My hat is off to Ms. MarmiteLover. 
How one woman can prepare a 4-course dinner party for 30 guests including accommodating a handful of last minute vegetarian requests, organize and dedicate regularly one-half of her house, scrap an expensive, labor-intensive dessert hours before a weekly dinner only to scrounge up an ample recipe and rush out to the market to collect ingredients, return and prep thirty desserts de nuevo, and raise a teenager mystifies me. It also inspires. 
If you find yourself in London anytime soon, dinner in her charmingly quaint and welcoming home is worth a spot at the top of your list: http://marmitelover.blogspot.com/ 
She even sports–and triumphantly puts to use–an Aga in her English kitchen. Now that’s an underground restaurant worth patroning.
When in Paris I suggest the following, and above all, follow the wise compass of your own palate and nose….
Veronique Mauclerc : Rue de Crimee : 75019 : Paris quite possibly one of the best boulangeries in Paris
Blé Sucré : Square Trousseau : 7 Rue de Antoine Vollou : 75012 : Paris perfect baguette, impeccable pain au chocolat, great setting alongside small neighborhood park just a stone’s toss away from the Marche d’Alligre
La Grande Epicerie de Paris : 75007 : Paris extravagant food center sensory overload!
Art Home, Palais du Tokyo : 13 Avenue du Président Wilson : 75116 : Paris working urban dining experience art installation through summer 2010 
Poilane : 8 Rue du Cherche Midi : 75006 : Paris classis French boulangerie. Shipped all over Europe
Merci : 111 Boulevard Beaumarchais : 75003 : Paris new concept store including flowers, home, entertaining, clothes and bookshop cafe; fair trade
Pierre Herme : 72 Rue Bonaparte : 75006 : Paris delicious macaroons
Marche d’Alligre bustling morning covered and street market. some organic.
Spring Boutique : 52 Rue de l’Arbre Sec : 75001 : Paris hats off to this expat team. look for restaurant to be opening across the street in the springtime!
Du Pain et des Idées : 34 Rue Yves Toudic : 75010 : Paris truly artisanal bread and only place with pain au chocolat avec banane
L’As du Falafel : 34 Rue des Rosiers : 75004 : Paris quite possibly the best falafel sandwich ever to cross my lips 
Rose Bakery : 30 Rue Debelleyme : 75003 : Paris trendy British petite restaurant. all organic.
Yomal delights locals and tourists alike in his centrally located French-inspired eatery and take-away. A transparent cold case showcasing freshly baked apple and fruit of the forest tarts, carrot cake, dark chocolate tortes, half a dozen varieties of seasonal quiches including spinach and onion with Emmental, traditional ham and cheese, and squash…among other mouth-watering sundries. 
He bakes everything himself and runs the entire operation, always sporting a smile.
If your eyes don’t catch the tiny outpost on a casual stroll by the café, your nose most certainly will. 
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Chef! Traiterie | Raamsteeg 1 | Amsterdam
Perhaps one of Barcelona’s most creative, authentic, and sustainably-minded chefs, Santi, delights citizens and tourists alike with his daily vegetarian and organic specials. Centered in the heart of Barcelona’s El Raval neighborhood and located a mere stone’s throw away from the famous Mercat de la Boquería, Organic, the restaurant—and more appropriately, the kitchen—over which chef Santi presides bustles with vibrant energy, mastered flow, and fragrant aromas spilling forth from the open kitchen.
Santi has served as chief culinary genius for the past six of the restaurant’s seven years, creating seasonal and colorful dishes to order. Sourcing most of his products directly from the Boquería market and the remainder from local natural food shops and distributors, nearly all of the products used at Organic come from within the Catalunian province, including even the wine served. Although Santi possesses no formal kitchen training, he pulls polenta and chard cakes from the oven, enriches a butternut squash soup with a swirl of a spoon of curry powder, and adds the finishing touch of hijiki (seaweed) to a tasting plate of a mixture of legumes and vegetables like a seasoned professional. 
Interestingly, the majority of his clientele is not vegetarian, nor is he. “People are increasingly searching for healthier options for dining out in the city,” he explains. He caters to many mothers and women, though the numbers of males customers are increasing compared with past years.
“From where is much of your inspiration derived,” I asked. “When I was first learning to cook, a creative chef in the city took me under his wing, and from there I learned the basics—bases, sauces, soups, etc.—and I began to experiment, to investigate new flavors and work with different combinations of ingredients, and got really creative,” Santi responded. “What I enjoy most is the contact with the people, serving them their plate of food through the open kitchen window, and being able to see their reactions to the different flavors, textures, and aromas,” he added.
A usual day for Santi begins when his wife wakes him up, usually just 15 minutes before he leaves the house to head to Organic, and just enough time to take his first espresso of the day (he averages 4 or 5 per day at the moment). He finishes his espresso while sitting on his couch with his cat, then mounts his motorcycle and heads off to meet the morning produce purveyor at the restaurant. Come 8:30 AM Santi is in the kitchen, prep list in hand, eyeing the fridge to see which ingredients remain from the day before. During this time he whips eggs, prepares a dessert or two, ignites the fire on the large gas stove and gets the ovens cranked up to temp. Next it’s time for his second espresso of the day which he is served at a nearby café. Everyday he picks up a newspaper along the way and reads it at the bar. Santi is back at Organic by 9:45 AM where he finishes the prep for the evening and the next day until service begins at noon.
Although he doesn’t find the time in his schedule currently to pursue other interests, Santi would like to start offering cooking courses and to be able to incorporate internship and apprenticeships in the Organic kitchen. Until then, however, he passes the few spare moments he finds in the day trading on Wall Street and making an occasional trip to the gym.
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Organic : c. de la Junta de Comerç : Barcelona http://www.antoniaorganickitchen.com/home.html
If you go…make sure to try the vegan orange sauce from the salad bar, any of the desserts from the cold case (mousse du chocolat and the crema catalana are especially good), and of course you can’t miss with any of the specials. All pizza dough is made in house and hand tossed to order.
Bon appétit! 
