Food food food

Monday night my dad and I went out to Moroccan food at 404. We were looking up Moroccan restaurants because the one my dad went to in the 90s or whatever had closed. 404 said "cool atmosphere, pretty good food, fashion crowd" and L'atlas was recommended by David Leibovitz for it's vegetarian specialties. I told my dad, the vegetarian, to choose...he chose 404. Anyways, it ended up being quite good. Awesome decor, very low lit, elaborate Moroccan (obviously) themed. The food was not mind blowingly amazing, but all around some very solid couscous and the chicken in my tagine was the most tender I've had in quite a while. Also we had this amazing rosewater cream (like in my specialty rose pumpkin cake!!) date dessert that was to die for.

This morning I met my dad for brunch at Rose Bakery. We got there at 10, but apparently their kitchen doesn't fully open till 11. So he ate what they had already made at 10, and then I ate at 11. Oh well. I had the cheddar and parsley omelet and their amazing organic coffee, he had fruit salad and a root vegetable tart (!) and we shared their salads.

Then I dashed off to a long day of class...there were so many complications filming the project for my atelier. Basically, we're working on a semester long project with French students learning English to make a bi-lingual, five minute film, with the theme "avant-garde". We're doing a parody of an avant-garde cooking competition. It's all well and good, but the teachers are making such a big deal about all the technical aspects of the film. It's like HELLO, I'M NOT IN TISCH. As several people pointed out, we could have done skits to the same effect. So that was exhausting. At least we made some progress without that damned external microphone.

Then at 4 I headed over to musee quai Branly for my Sociology class. The museum turned out to be...an anthropology exhibit about ancient cultural art around the world. Which has NOTHING to do with CONTEMPORARY French Society. I slipped out kind of early. I was so over it. I did not care about the differences between Mayan and Aborigine and Occidental art and their portrayals of the human and non-human. Not what I signed up for.

So because I left early, I had some extra time before meeting my dad, Anne, and her dad for dinner at Laduree. Of course, I decided to wait at the bar for an hour for them. I had a kir royal laduree:

You can kind of see how opulent and princessy the bar is there, which is why I always wanted to have a drink there. While I was drinking, this middle-aged drunk Dutch guy kept talking to me/hitting on me. Thankfully he left before my dad came...he was obnoxious and ignoring the fact that I was turned away from him on my phone the whole time. Anyways, then dinner time. The whole restaurant is amazingly gilded and exactly what you think of when you think of French interior decorating. 

My dad and I split the truffle cupcake for an appetizer...

Anne had a mushroom tarte...with mushroom ice cream inside! That was ridiculous.

My dad was fascinated my the carafe for the water at Laduree. He's been examining all the carafes at every restaurant, but he seemed to like this one the best. So I took a picture.

 Salmon with orange sauce and olive/date things (I forget the more official, culinary name)

Salade Laduree

 And of course, the desserts. That's what you come there for. 

Macaron Pommes Caramel: macaron, caramel cream, roasted apple, more caramel

 Elysees: chocolate cookie, crispy praline, crispy Madagascar chocolate leaves, chocolate cream, chocolate mousse, chocolate cookie, chocolate syrup. 

 And macarons, bien sur.

Also, the Champs Elysee was decorated gorgeously with lights everywhere. And huge ferris wheel at Concord that was pretty but that I am definitely too scared to go on. I tried to take a pic, but kind of failed, so you'll have to use your imagination.