“Green arsenic smeared on an egg white cloth, crushed strawberries! Come let us feast our eyes.”
Ezra Pound
With a little imagination you can find the signature of Paris just about anywhere. On a recent trip to San Francisco I was transported to the City of Light by the glimmer of sunshine on the gilded dome of City Hall.
Under the azure blue sky, I strolled the downtown streets till I reached the SE corner of Bush and Grant. At this intersection I found Montparnasse ambiance at the Café de la Press, a bistro offering authentic French cuisine. I tucked myself into a little sunlit corner and sipped a delicious bowl of café au lait and the best warm, flaky croissant this side of Bakery Nouveau in West Seattle, Washington.
Feeling fully sated I leisurely strolled through Chinatown, the largest Chinatown outside of Asia, to the City Lights bookstore in North Beach, the nation’s first all paperback bookstore featuring poetry, fiction, translation, art and politics. Begun by Lawrence Ferlinghetti in 1953, City Lights published books by counter-culture authors such as Keroac, Ginsberg, Burroughs and Rexroth. Of course, Paris, had Sylvia Beach’s Shakepeare & Co. on the Left Bank. Similar to Ferlinghetti, she published controversial books by Hemingway, Nin, Joyce and Stein. Not needing any more weight in my suitcase, I ventured on to the Ferry Building Marketplace. This wonderful interior and exterior marketplace offers everything from fresh cut flowers and seasonal fruits to French pastry and chocolate shops.
Miette, a shop that sells hand made chocolates, cakes and French style macaroons using only organic ingredients tempted my palate, but I knew I needed to save my appetite for a little café I’d heard about hidden in an often overlooked alley on Claude Lane.
Café Claude, is famous for its salade nisçoise as well as its weekly jazz offerings. I’m glad I waited because my late afternoon lunch was simply delicious.
Taking a walk in a completely different direction, I went searching for French antiques and found some of the best examples at a shop called The Butler and the Chef located on Utah St. in the Portrero Hill district.. Though expensive, the quality and selection were a perfect counterpoint to the antique stores I’d browsed in Paris.
The following morning I took a long walk into the Mission District and found the Tartine Bakery & Café. By 9 a.m. the line was already out the door. While waiting to place my order I was afforded a bird’s eye view of the kitchen. I watched as a pâtissière created a delectable dessert.
Now that I’m home, I think I’ll crack open the one book I finally succumbed to, David Lebovitz’s, “The Sweet Life in Paris” and enjoy a small dish of freshly made red wine sorbet. After all, Paris is a state of mind.
Red Wine Sorbet
9 ounces superfine sugar
3 +1/2 ounces orange juice
1 cup red wine
Dissolve sugar in ! cup of boiling water ,stirring until it has completely disappeared and melted. Add the orange juice and red wine and mix well. Churn in an ice cream maker following the manufacturer’s direction for making sorbet OR pour into a plastic freezer box, cover and freeze. Mix every 1/2 hour with a whisk to break up ice crystals until the sorbet has a blended texture. Freeze overnight with a layer of plastic wrap over the surface and the lid over the box. Keep frozen until ready to serve.
