Stuff | Wine

Appreciating Vermouth

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According to Wikipedia, vermouth is defined as “an Italian aromatized, fortified wine, flavored with various botanicals (roots, barks, flowers, seeds, herbs, and spices) and sometimes colored, produced mainly in Italy, France and Spain. The modern versions of the beverage were first produced in the mid- to late 18th century in Turin, Italy”. Fair enough. I […]

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According to Wikipedia, vermouth is defined as “an Italian aromatized, fortified wine, flavored with various botanicals (roots, barks, flowers, seeds, herbs, and spices) and sometimes colored, produced mainly in Italy, France and Spain. The modern versions of the beverage were first produced in the mid- to late 18th century in Turin, Italy”. Fair enough. I

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France | Recommendations

Paris dining for 20 somethings

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                                                                     Abri Soba, Paris 10eme I recently received this question from a reader named Brian: “Our son and his girlfriend will be

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                                                                     Abri Soba, Paris 10eme I recently received this question from a reader named Brian: “Our son and his girlfriend will be

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The Garden

Bitter winter greens

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Wow, what a cold snap we had here in early January!  OK, it was cold for the SW of France, which, of course, is not the same thing as cold for a lot of people.  But we had a long stretch of nights in the 20’s and days not getting above 40.  The peaks of

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Wow, what a cold snap we had here in early January!  OK, it was cold for the SW of France, which, of course, is not the same thing as cold for a lot of people.  But we had a long stretch of nights in the 20’s and days not getting above 40.  The peaks of

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Stuff

Treats to ring in 2026

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Our Holidays here in Orthez are generally pretty quiet;  we usually avoid the crazy holiday travel rush by staying home and most all of our new friends here in France are off celebrating with their families.  But then, quiet Holidays is a tradition with us since the days when I worked in restaurants and Sheila

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Our Holidays here in Orthez are generally pretty quiet;  we usually avoid the crazy holiday travel rush by staying home and most all of our new friends here in France are off celebrating with their families.  But then, quiet Holidays is a tradition with us since the days when I worked in restaurants and Sheila

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Stuff

Fond farewell to Armandino Batali

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Here in France, I was late recieving news of Armandino Batali’s passing on November 28, 2025. It was not until a Seattle friend sent me Le Pichet’s Instagram post about it that I had the news. A very sad day and I am so glad that Michael and  Marcel took the time to point out

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Here in France, I was late recieving news of Armandino Batali’s passing on November 28, 2025. It was not until a Seattle friend sent me Le Pichet’s Instagram post about it that I had the news. A very sad day and I am so glad that Michael and  Marcel took the time to point out

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Stuff

Bistrot Vivienne, Paris 2eme

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One of the joys of living in France is that you are never more than a train ride away from Paris. From our TGV station in Orthez, you can leave in the morning and be in Paris in time for a lunch reservation. A few weeks ago, we took advantage of the great French train

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One of the joys of living in France is that you are never more than a train ride away from Paris. From our TGV station in Orthez, you can leave in the morning and be in Paris in time for a lunch reservation. A few weeks ago, we took advantage of the great French train

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Stuff

French “Joy of Cooking”?

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I recently had a note from Brant asking the following question:  Is there any French cookbook that’s in the same vein as “The Joy of Cooking”? Good question and thanks for asking Brant! First off, I have to admit that I am not that familiar with  The Joy of Cooking.  Written by Irma S Rombauer

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I recently had a note from Brant asking the following question:  Is there any French cookbook that’s in the same vein as “The Joy of Cooking”? Good question and thanks for asking Brant! First off, I have to admit that I am not that familiar with  The Joy of Cooking.  Written by Irma S Rombauer

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The Garden

Everything with grapes

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Grape harvest has arrived! This year, we harvested almost three kilos of grapes from our three grapevines, not a ton, but plenty for the two of us. Enough that we have explored new culinary combinations with grapes: grapes as an apéro snack, grapes with roasted pork, grapes with charcuterie, grapes in smoothies…  Seasonal eating means

Everything with grapes Read More »

[portfolio_slideshow]

Grape harvest has arrived! This year, we harvested almost three kilos of grapes from our three grapevines, not a ton, but plenty for the two of us. Enough that we have explored new culinary combinations with grapes: grapes as an apéro snack, grapes with roasted pork, grapes with charcuterie, grapes in smoothies…  Seasonal eating means

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Stuff

Send me your questions

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During the time that I was chef and owner of Le Pichet and Cafe Presse, I was always happy when guests would ask me questions about myself or the restaurants.  It’s fun to share what I have learned or experienced over the years and questions (usually!) mean that people are interested. Have you got questions

Send me your questions Read More »

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During the time that I was chef and owner of Le Pichet and Cafe Presse, I was always happy when guests would ask me questions about myself or the restaurants.  It’s fun to share what I have learned or experienced over the years and questions (usually!) mean that people are interested. Have you got questions

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Le Pichet

Le Pichet birthday wishes in the Seattle Times

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Check out today’s Seattle Times, for a very nice article penned by Bethany Jean Clement, celebrating 25 years of Le Pichet. I was so glad that Bethany especially featured the wonderful group of people who have worked at Le Pichet during those 25 years, who prepared the meals and washed the dishes and brewed the

Le Pichet birthday wishes in the Seattle Times Read More »

[portfolio_slideshow]

Check out today’s Seattle Times, for a very nice article penned by Bethany Jean Clement, celebrating 25 years of Le Pichet. I was so glad that Bethany especially featured the wonderful group of people who have worked at Le Pichet during those 25 years, who prepared the meals and washed the dishes and brewed the

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