Try the World Review

I don't know if Try the World has been blowing up your Facebook newsfeed with their sponsored posts, but they sure have been on mine!  The posts keep featuring Paris, which brings back lovely memories of buttery croissants and decadent french cooking.  So after reading some reviews, I decided to give in and try a three box package which came with a free sampler box too!

It took a couple weeks to get the first box and the free sampler box came within a few days of the Paris box... so back-to-back surprises.  :)  The box is in my favorite color... but it is what's inside that is important.  The sampler box came with a thank you note and a sampling of several future cuisines we'll get to try including French, Belgian, Japanese, and English.

 

The second box was the Paris box which had a card with descriptions of the contents, a little book about Paris (including some music, movies, and poetry to really get you in the French mindset), and several more items than the sampler box.  It included caramels, dark chocolate, whole grain mustard, fruit jellies, fig jam, cookies, and this thing called chestnut spread.  Oh man, this chestnut spread was delicious!  Coincidentally, we had some croissants from Pistacia Vera, so I put some of the chestnut spread on the croissant (with my homemade espresso) and it was just like being in Paris!  It reminded me of the almond pastry filling and a little bit of Nutella without the cocoa.  Mmm!  I remembered seeing horse chestnut trees (which look like buckeye trees) all over Paris, so I can totally see how this is a French favorite.  :)

 

We have to wait two months for the next box, which is probably either Italy, Turkey, or Japan based on the previews and reviews I've read.  At $35 a box which includes the shipping, it's a little expensive, but so far, definitely worth it!  :)

(This is not a sponsored post.  All opinions are both honest and my own.)

Eating in London

It's hard to believe it has been almost two months since we were in London!  Life has been a bit of a whirlwind since then, but is finally starting to slow down... right before the holidays.  :)

While Paris was my favorite city and Switzerland had my favorite moment of our European vacation, our days in London were full of planned events we could only do in England.  It started with seeing Shakespeare's A Comedy of Errors in the Globe Theatre (a rebuilt replica of the theatre Shakespeare got his start that burned down to the ground, twice).  Then two shows at London Fashion Week (Fyodor Golan and a trend catwalk show, the song Habits by Tove Lo always takes me back to this moment).  And then to a English Premiere League football match between the Tottenham Hotspurs and West Brom (although we were hoping to see ManU play in Old Trafford).  

While in London, I had to go to one of my favorite chef's restaurants... Jamie Oliver.  We actually went to two of his restaurants, Jamie's Fifteen and Jamie's Italian.  And then, of course, we had to have some fish and chips.  Outside of those three must haves for me, London is kind of a melting pot of food culture.  We went to this bakery every morning that was on our way to the closest tube stop and had croissants (couldn't get over the French lifestyle).  There were Italian, African, French, American, Indian, and Asian restaurants.  And there were TONS of old pubs.  Many around for centuries (a couple we saw had been around for over 400 years)!  But if you're looking to eat out on the weekends, you better know someone who has reserved the restaurant for the night because apparently that's a thing.  We walked around for a couple hours on Sunday trying to find a pub that didn't have a 'closed for private party' sign on the door.  

 

Our first stop in London was basically as soon as we got off the train.  We went to Jamie's Fifteen for a late lunch and by the time we were done, we had the place to ourselves.  Jamie Oliver's idea for the restaurant is to take 15 "troubled" youths and train them in the culinary arts and start their careers.  Our table was close to the wood fired oven and pastry prep area so we were able to witness some of the training moments while we ate.  On the walls they had pictures of the "graduating classes" with Jamie.

I had one of the lunch menus, which is a preset 3 course lunch.  Ordering from each section (appetizer, main course, side, dessert) is technically called a la carte.  My lunch included a salad with fried egg, smoked salmon and potatoes, and cantaloupe sorbet.  I also had a Southside, which was their interpretation of a mojito.  My husband had rabbit and potatoes.

 

Like I said earlier, we couldn't get out of the French way of doing breakfast.  Once we had the almond croissants in London, we couldn't help ourselves.  I started putting almond extract in my pancakes about a year ago, but those almond croissants made me think I should be putting that extract in everything.

 

Our first full day in London we went to Jamie's Italian for lunch.  It seemed like Jamie Oliver's fast-casual chain since there are several of them throughout England.  We ate outside since the weather was so nice (and not normal for London), but I noticed on the way out that the restaurant had a small grocery area too.  

We had some drinks and bruschetta to start our meal, which wasn't your typical bruschetta.  In fact, the only thing it had in common with the wiki definition is the toasted bread, but it was still very good with gorgonzola, prociutto, pear, and walnut.  For the main course I had gnudi, which are basically ricotta balls, or as Jamie explains it... "naked ravioli" (recipe here).  Oh, and cime di rapa as my side dish, which is cooked broccoli rabe and leafy greens.  My husband was finally able to find some lasagna after searching all over Rome for some.

   

On our touristy day that we didn't have anything planned but to see all of the famous sites, Harrod's was a must on my list.  You could spend days in that department store.  And you'll most likely get lost too... but you won't mind since there is fun shopping on every level and every corner.  So I looked online for some places to eat in the area and found Richoux rated highly and had the fewest dollar signs by the name.  London is an expensive city, if you don't do your research, every meal will be over 100£ (which is about $175 USD).  We had sandwiches and afternoon tea while we rested our feet.  We also enjoyed a couple rich pastries.  All for under 35£ which felt like a steal!

And for the mandatory fish and chips we went to the Anchor after literally running through Tate Modern and before the play started at The Globe.  We also grabbed a couple pints... my favorite, which I have to assume is an English classic, Black Velvet, which is Guinness floated on top of hard cider.  After running around to what seemed like every pub in London and seeing "closed for private party" on every door, we settled for these "salad pizzas" at Pizza Express.  And then we found another pub by our Air Bnb apartment where we enjoyed a few more pints and bagpipers playing (ironically, right after Scotland decided to continue being a part of the UK.

 

All in all, London both defied and explained the stereotype that London has the "worst food in Europe".  There were so many examples of great food, but there were also the occasional duds and areas it was hard to find places to eat.  Stick to a few restaurants that are trending (and likely expensive) and fill in with some neighborhood pubs for a great range of English food.

Eating Our Way Through Paris

Paris!  I think many girls daydream about Paris, the city of light.  So romantic, so fashionable, so beautiful.  Filled with wonderful monuments, gardens, boutiques, and pastry shops... what is not to love?  So I may have came to this city with a fantasized ideal, but Paris lived up to all of it.  

Here is what we ate while we were in Paris with some tips and what to expect for when you plan your Parisian adventure.  I will be attempting to recreate some of these meals and will post recipes so everyone can get a taste of France.  :)

Our first meal in Paris was at Bar du Central.  We weren't really hungry, so we just ordered some sandwiches and espresso.  I got the croque de madame and was excited to see vegetables (salad) on the plate after being hard-pressed to find any in Rome or Switzerland.  My husband had a club and french fries with mayonnaise for dipping.

Grabbing a sandwich and eating in one of Paris' famous parks is apparently what all the Parisians do.  So on our first full day, we ordered a chicken and brie baguette and a crepe with prosciutto, egg, and tomato and then strolled toward Luxembourg Gardens.  Interestingly enough, we ate our sandwiches under some buckeye trees (Ohio's state tree) which seemed to be everywhere in Europe.  Based on Paris, they must be easy to shape into, basically, tree hedges.  It was such a beautiful day, it seemed like all of Paris was lounging by the fountains taking it all in.

 

Chances are if you have ever thought about visiting Paris, you have heard of Laduree.  Probably the most famous macaroons in the world.  They are mentioned in most Paris guidebooks and travel blog posts.  This was never on our itinerary... I don't even like macaroons.  But we were walking down a side street full of boutiques, but very few people, and stumble upon one of the Laduree houses.  With not a single person in line we popped in, ordered a few macaroons, and we were back on our way to the Louvre.  We ate our little french cookies while waiting in line at the museum (which moved quickly).  There were so many flavors but we picked rose petal, salted caramel, chocolate & coffee, and orange blossom.

 

Since our Airbnb apartment was close to the Eiffel Tower, based on our learnings from Rome, we walked in the opposite direction.  There was a neighborhood restaurant not far away that seemed pretty homey with lots of french classics on the menu.  We tried escargot for the first time.  It wasn't bad.  Kind of like oysters.  A little chewy with this kind of pesto sauce that it was cooked in.  Definitely worth trying at least once.

For my entree I had roasted chicken, a little salad, and some frites.  Real french fries seem a little more like steak fries and are usually in some sort of scoop shape, probably for scooping up mayonnaise, but they are good on their own.  And since we were doing french specialties, of course we had to have creme brulee for dessert.  Makes me kind of want my own little kitchen torch to brulee things at home.  Mmmm.

 

Every breakfast in France should include a croissant... so flaky and buttery!  I have always loved croissants, but french croissants... a total other level!  And the pastries... oh so good.  I'll definitely be trying to replicate this raspberry pastry when berries are back in season.  :)  It was like a thick shortbread cookie with a vanilla cream, raspberries, and powdered sugar.  Seems pretty simple, but so perfect.

The most expensive restaurant we went to in Paris was in a hotel, which it seemed like some of the best, highest rated restaurants in Europe were in hotels.  We only stumbled upon this place after being turned down from several recommended restaurants because we didn't have a reservation (most had ten or fewer tables, we should have known!).  Thoumieux had kind of a retro feel and our waitress was so nice.  She read the entire menu to us in english after seeing our confused looks as we tried to translate ourselves.

We started with a pizza souffle, which was kind of a thin pastry shell to a ball of air (hence souffle) with pizza toppings.  When our waitress brought it out we thought it looked like so much food and worried we wouldn't even begin to have room for our entree.  But then we cut into it and it deflated to a much more manageable sized first course.

For our entrees, I had filet mignon for the first time ever.  Not sure I appreciated as much as a steak lover would, but it was good.  The mashed potatoes had purple potato chips on top, kind of a mix of the softest and crispiest form of potatoes.  My husband had white fish on a bed of purple cauliflower and potatoes.  For dessert we had a cup of vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce and candied hazelnuts.

We were so tired after walking around Versailles all day, we really just wanted to collapse in our apartment and pack back up for London.  So we crossed the street and ate on the terrace of Cafe Central.  Most of the restaurants in Paris had more seating outside than inside, which made me wonder what they do in winter trying to seat just as many Parisians.  

On the train ride to Paris I was listening to an audio guide of tips for eating in Paris on Rick Steve's travel app.  In the audio, an expat mentioned one of her favorite meals was duck confit with potatoes cooked in the remaining duck fat.  Your really have to wonder how everyone in Paris is so slim if they are eating things like this regularly.  I noticed this exact meal was on the menu, so I figured it was my last chance and had to order it!  I had only had duck once before this time, this definitely changed my stance and I'll be trying to recreate this at home as well.  Oh... and we had another one of those raspberry pastries... so good!

 

To finish off our last night in Paris, we had to have some real french champagne!  We picked it up from a little shop on the corner and sipped champagne while packing and watching Family Guy in french.

Eating Our Way Through Rome

When people found out we were going to Europe, and more specifically going to Italy... almost everyone said that we were going to love the food.  That it may even be the best part.  And for someone who loves to cook and loves to learn and talk about food, I was ready to eat.

Good thing Rome doesn't have much public transportation because we were able to walk off all of the pastries, pasta, and gelato.  We ate at a wide variety of places including touristy (we were too hungry to walk further) to places at the end of alleys with only a few tables.

The slow food movement is strong in Italy, but breakfast is quite the opposite.  Italians zoom by on their scooters in their suits stopping for a few moments to order an espresso and a pastry then consume it faster than it took to order and off they go.  Not sure if it is just the ancient capital city's way of life or if it is an Italian thing, but the first day we enjoyed our cafe lattes and pastries on the patio and took our time... everyone knew we were tourists.  By day three, we were downing espresso at the bar as fast as the Romans.  You know, when in Rome...

Speaking of that old cliche, it really does carry a lot of merit.  After a couple meals closer to touristy areas, you must look at who is already dining.  If no one, including the waiters, look Italian... chances are you should keep walking even if your feet are tired and your tummy grumbling.  You only need to get a block or two away to find something more authentic.  And you won't find any Italians eating lunch at noon or dinner at 6:00 (or 18:00), meals seem to start about two hours later than our usual American schedule and last much longer.

......

After a long day of flying (and three hours of delays) we finally arrived in Rome.  Tired and hungry, we stopped at a little pizzeria and ordered some cafe lattes.  Italian pizza is a crispy thin crust and usually has some fresh produce on top, kind of like a flatbread.  We sat on the patio and watched as people walked by ruins that were unearthed in the 1700s where they were planning to build apartment building.  Now the ruins are an alley cat paradise.

 

Enjoying cafe lattes while Italians rush past our table on their way to work.  Oh, and then enjoying some gelato.  Tip, always get gelato in a cup, it melts quickly in the Roman heat.

The first day we wanted to get our bearings on the layout of Rome.  We stayed near the Pantheon and then a downhill walk to the Roman Forum and Coliseum.  There was a restaurant with a beautiful grapevine canopy.  Although it was touristy, the restaurant was packed and the food was good, also, surprisingly reasonably priced.

At the end of the alley we were renting an apartment at was another restaurant with a grapevine canopy.  Off the beaten path, the place was certainly more authentic and quite delicious.  Wine and champagne, homemade noodles, and fresh seafood.  We finished it off with some tiramisu while a street musician strummed his guitar and then walked about 20 meters to our door.

The next day, while we waited for our Coliseum tour time we found a little pub squeezed between all of the wine bars.  Although I cook with wine, I haven't developed to taste for drinking it, so we were glad to have a couple brews.

 

   

On our way back from the Vatican, we stopped for some gelato.  You can watch them make their gelato from the window so you know if is prepared fresh and in house.  This gelateria has won several awards and been featured on several travel shows.  It also has a cute little alley area for sitting and enjoying your treat.

Oh man did we get suckered into this one.  We were checking out some of Bernini's fountains at night in Piazza Navona and got some excellent photos.  However, we were trying to find a place to eat and the waiters were ushering us into this restaurant that had a giant fish tank (so maybe fresh fish?).  I mean, it was good... but like, Italian food in America good, not Italian food in Italy good.  Too bad we learned this mistake in Italy, but at least we didn't make it again the remainder of our trip.

 

Seriously, the pastries are outstanding in Europe.  I will definitely be trying to recreate this little Nutella tart.  We also poked around in the grocery store near our apartment... not nearly the size of a Kroger or even Trader Joes.  This place had noodles, meats, cheeses, oils, and wine... that's all you need... because that's all you seem to eat in Rome.  :)

After finding the Trevi fountain and Spanish Step under renovation, we did some window shopping and found a cute little panini shop for lunch.

 

Our last dinner in Rome was maybe the most traditional.  The menu was handwritten and there wasn't any english.  We used our phones to translate and speak to the waiter/owner who spoke very little english and was our first of two times we had a language barrier in Europe.  While we ate, the skies opened up and started raining on the city and cooling the temperatures.  The bruchetta was basic and so so good.  The pasta was homemade and just perfect.  A great last meal.

Oh, and I have another picture of gelato, but can't remember where in the timeline it fell... so here it is at the end.  :)

 

** For more information on the restaurants, please click the hyperlinks in each description.