Conde Nast Traveler USA - July 2013

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welcome visitors. There were no lines, no traffic, no

hustle , and you could park anywhere."Once they built the highways between Toulouse

and Bordeaux, Toulouse and Biarritz, no one had

reason to stop here," Daguin, who grew up in the

town of Auch, smack in the heart of Gascony, hadtold me. "So tourism has deserted Gascony."

"WHAT COMES FIRST when you barbecue the

spareribs?" Kate asked me as we barreled betweenpastures toward Chapolard' s farm in Mezin. "Not

the meat. It's the seeds." Theseeds that were everywhere around us. The grains that Chapolard and hisbrother grow on the ir farm, a colorful, diverse mix

of corn, wheat, barley, oats, sunflower seeds, and

feverole to feed the animals they breed. We bumped

down a long road between pastures shorn of the

seed crops, parked by a crumbling stone barn, andexited into the midday hea t of rich barnyard smellsand the sound of clucking chickens. Kate walked usaway from the centuries -old wreck toward more

S'IL VOUS PLAiT

1. Staff like self-described "culinarygypsy" Felix King live incampers at the Kitchenat Camont school.2. The Prince Noir hotelhas luxe rooms and apool for hot summerdays. 3. Breakfast at theKitchen at Camont:eggs from Agen's Placedes Laitiers market,local peaches, andsunflower honey.4. Setting up for dinner

at L'Escale in Montreal.

recent construction, where the

pigs were rutting in open-air

pens. Their sows give birth topiglets that th e brothers raise(on the day we arrived, a hun dred or so piglets were in the

weaning barn, kept very warm

even in summer). When they're

big enough to live outdoors,

they're moved to spacious pens

where they get plenty of freshair . The mature hogs seemed

happy, rushing to us when we

approached their pen.When they reach between

350 and 400 pounds , they're ready for the abat

toir, in nearby Condom. Eight to ten pigs a weekare slaughtered and chilled. I was there on a Tuesday as Dominique, his wife, Christiane, and two as

sistants transformed five of the beasts, making useof all parts of th e an im als they'd ra ised: everythingfrom belly to pork chops, to hams , both fresh and

cooked, to hund reds of pounds of sausage. Theyhave a fe rmenting chamber and dry- cur e rooms

where colored st ring indicates the number of

weeks each sausage has been drying.But it wasn't until the following day that the full

circle was apparent, at the morning market in La

vardac. Dominique had traded a butcher's hairnet

for his red beret as he and Christiane- using a scale,

a cutting board, and a knife- sold all their pork outof a small deli case to a line of customers that had

formed at 7 A.M. and didn 't cease for more than

four hours."When I' m here , it 's like I' m on stage," said

Dominique, taking a break when the crowd hadthinned. He seemed to be always grinning and happy. The decision to quit his job as a school admin-

istrator eleven years ago and return to the family

farm to work with his brothers agrees with him. "Iwant to share our philosophy with people and forthem to understand the chain of production. Part

of it is protecting the southwest of France and the

region 's producers. A fight against modernization,to keep th is way viable."

Everything is about sharing, he said."Tout seul, tumeurs, "h e said. All alone, you die.

"You can't be a solitary farmer. We all need to relyon one another, share equipment, share knowledge,help with work, share the abattoir."

He returned to his wife's side to continue sell

ing. When they'd begun, their case was packed

with belly and chops and loin and sausage and dry

sausage and small cuts of dried ham, paupiettes

(lean pork wrapped in bacon), slabs of head cheese,

crepinettes (sausages wrapped in cau l fat), short

pieces of ribs for stews, pate, blood sausage, and

offal- heart, tongue , kidneys, liver, brains , ears.

Now it was empty. But their work was not done:Dominique and Christiane would break down the

remaining hogs the following day for the Saturday

morn ing market in Nerac.

WHILE THE CHAPOLARDS' seed- to -table philoso phy is uncommon, their earthy ethos is not. Everyone in Gascony seems to not simply revere food but

take the time to appreciate it (Dominique and Chris tiane Chapolard return home daily to eat lunch to

gether). Whenever we arrived somewhere, the firstquestion was inevitably, "Have you eaten?" Katenoted that when friends leave one another at mid

day, they say "Bon appetit " rather than "See you

AFTERNOON DELIGHTS 1. Mushrooms and eel fromthe Garonne River, prepared by Michel Dussau at

Agen's La Table d'Armandie. 2. Flowers are arrangedin antique pitchersat the Kitchen at Camont .

When friends leave one another at midday, the! say"Bon appetit"rather than "See you later,'

because it's presumed you are going to

sit down to a mealJ

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later," because it is presumed you are going to si t

down to a meal. As we did on the day we strolled the

lovely main city of the region, Agen. We had a fab ulous lunch at La Tabled'Armandie, which serves

contemporary Gascon cuisine like a big bloody cotede boeuf for two, smothered in raw shallots and

carved tableside. We ate foie gras three ways, sau teed magret, a dish of fried eel and one of lamprey,

both aquatic creatures from the Garonne River. And

we drank local wines: a white made from Ungi blancand Colombard grapes and a red from Elian Da Ros, a

Cotes du Marmandais, an appellation at the westernedge of Lot-et -Garonne that, until Da Ros returned

from Alsace to his homeland and began producing

wines, was not on the map even for people who careabout wines.

Armagnac is another astonishing product of the

region. In the town of Fources, rightly designated

one of the most beautiful villages in France, af

ter a lunch of conftt de canard for me and a salad

of gizzard confit, gesiers, lardons, and foie gras forDonna, we stopped in on Alexandre Ladeveze inthe small shop where he sells the Armagnac that

he makes from grapes grown on the family's vines.While brandy from Cognac is better known and bet

ter marketed by big houses, Armagnac is created bynumerous small producers and therefore is more

individualistic and eccentric (boastful Gascons willadd "superior" to that list). Ma ny produce rs, in cluding Ladeveze, share a communal, traveling dis

tillery each fall.

VINTAGE FINDS 1. Gascon wines from vineyards such asthese in Moi rax are stepping out from the shadow of theirBordeaux brethren. 2. Alexandre Ladeveze's wood barrelsfor ag ing Armagnac, the region's fe isty answer to Cognac.

Ladeveze gave me a lesson in proper Armagnac

tasting, show ing live different levels of complexity

and quality by carefully turning the glass to aera tethe brandy but holding his palm over the opening

as he did so. After several minutes of such tw ist

ing, and sniffing to ensure all the harsher attributesof the alcohol had lifted off, he would pronounce it

ready to taste.It's a measure of the openness and friendliness

of the people that the following day, as we wereexploring yet another "most beautiful" village

Montreal-in the early evening, Ladeveze spotted usfrom a table at a cafe and, cigar in hand, invited us tojoin him and his friends for a glass of wine at one of

the town 's most notable establishments, RestaurantDaubin.

The next afternoon found me again barreling

along empty, cu rving roads, sided by th e most

gorgeous fields and pastures I've ever seen. I was

headed up in to the hills north of t he Garonne,

to La Ferme du Roe, above the town of Port- SteMarie, where the seed- to - table connection comesin th e form of bread. Jean-Franc;ois Berthellot calls

himself and his team paysans-boulangers ("peasant-bakers," the word peasant being one of deep

pride). He grows small amounts of 250 varieties ofwheat and sells the seeds to other growers. In so

doing, he joins th e movement against monocul

ture- the planting of a single species across a widearea, which makes the entire crop vulnerable to

disease. Be rthellot has also created his own blendsof wheats, which he and his wife, Cec ile, mill forbread that they bake in their large wood- fired

oven .

THERE'S NO AVOIDING foie gras in Gascony, and

I was curious to visit Souleilles, a foie gras farm in

Frespech. As an advocate for humane animal husbandry but an opponent of the anti- foie gras legislation in the United States, I had yet to witness the

controversial practice known as gavage, in which

corn feed is delivered by tube into the duck . Forthose who are passionate vegetarians, there are the

same compelling arguments against gavage as there

are against the treatment of any of th e animals weraise for our food, such as, How can we justify do

ing to animals what they wouldn't do naturally on

their own?T arrived at Sou lei lles and was greeted by Yves

Boissiere, whose large mustache rivaled Chapo

lard's. He and his wife have created a foie gras mu

seum and put huge windows on the gavage pens sothat visitors can watch. We passed the open field

where the ducks spend most of thei r lives waddlingthe hundred or so yards across the grass from one

feed box to the other , to encourage plenty of healthywalking. The gavage (Continued on page 102)

Row after row of tables, eaCh a hundred feet long,were paCked with friends and family and neighbors eating anddrinking- confttde canardand duCk fat- fried potatoes,

escargots, sausages, broChettes, Cheeses, bottles of winein the lovely summer twilight



0 10

MILES

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.____ ~ ..../ oulouae •

GA SCONY

PLACES & PRICES

The Gallivanting Gourmet-'

Gascony is relatively untouristed,which may be why everyone I encou n

tered was uncommonl y friendly. All of

th e towns were an easy pleasure to be

in , whe th er t iny (such as Moirax,Mezin, or Larressingl e) or larger(Nerac, Cond om, Lectoure, and

Auch). Fources and Montrea l havelovely centers (Fources's is circu lar),

and Agen is a substantial c ity on the

Garonne River with an excel lent pedestrian shopping bou levard and a

great food market.In rural France, luncht ime-rough ly

12:30 to 3 P.M. - is sacrosanct, and most

stores close. Be sure to eat wh en the

locals d o or you'll go hungry. Many of

the better restaurants are openWednesday through Sunday only, sophone ahead. For food on th e go, consider all road signs announcing a prod

uct (fruits and vegetables, b rand y,

wine) an open invitat ion; you will oftensee a grandma ou t front who, upon

you r arrival, wi ll holler for someone to

come help-provided it's not lunch

t ime. Road signs are excellent th rough out the region, and I navigatedcomfortab ly with my iPhone.

The cou ntry code for France is 33.Prices quotedare for July 2013.

LODGING

The Chiiteau de Lassalle, near Agen, is

a restored country house with spacious

rooms, a poo l, and lovely vistas of thecountryside (5·53·95·10·58; doubles

from $150). In Serignac-sur -Ga ronne,the Prince Noir was or iginally a con·vent in the 17th cen tu ry. While it lacksviews, it's still comfo rtable (5·53·68·74-30; doubl es from $100). The Henri IV

hotel, in the center of Nerac, has rea·sonably priced rooms and makes a finebase from which to enjoy the town's

Tuesday night markets (5·53·65·00·

63; doubles from $70) .

DINING

You'll find upscale Gascon fare in a mascul ine ch ic setting at Agen's La Table

d'Armandie, including cote de boeuf

for two carved tableside, d eep-fr ied ee l,lamprey from the Garonne River, ma

gret (duck breast), and foie gras cookedth ree ways (1350 ave. du Midi; 5·53·96·15-15; entrees from $30). I had a lovely

dinner on the terrace of the Auberge du

Prieure, n Moirax, one of a number of

villages so tiny and quaint you wonderwhat on earth the people who live theredo (5-53-47-59 -55; dinner p rix fixes

from $70). Th e Auberge de Fources, acasual res taurant, serves great duckconfit (Pl. Armand Fa llieres, Fources;

5·62·29-40·10; entrees from $15). Thet iny L'Art de Vivre, in Nerac, serves per

fectly cooked hal ibut and sa lmon.Reserve ahead (7 rue du Chateau; 5·53-

65- 69 ·43; entrees from $20). The casu-

QUESTIONS OR COMM ENTS? E-ma il th e editor:[email protected].

al La Cheminee, also in Nerac, holdsits own wi th steak fri tes slathered with

sha l lots and a sa lad featuring duck

g izzard con fit (28 Allee Centre; 5·53·65 -1 8-88; entree s from $20).

In summer, th ere are 19 marchesnocturnes in the region, and t hey are amust. (I'd have happily gone to one

eve ry night.) Bottles of g ood cold

wine start at $7, and plates of food

rarely surpass $13. Among the excellent ones are those in Vianne andFrechou (Frid ays from ea rly June

through ear ly September) andNerac (Tuesdays in July and August).Fo r a complete list, go t o tourisme

-lotetgaronne.com.

I didn't have a bad meal in Gascony.Even the no-frills Le Toucan, where

truckers eat, across from the supermarket in Roq uefort, serves an excellentduck confi t (2 Rte . d'Agen; 5-53-67 -23-

29; entrees from $13).For those who'd like to br ing more

th an a t in of foie gras home, Kate Hil l

offers cooking courses at the Kitchen

at Camont, in Ste-Colombe-en

Brui lhois, including a two-day female·on ly Grr ls Mea t Camp Workshop,a th ree-d ay Whole Duck: From Foie

Gras to Confit course, and an in tensive, monthlong French butchery

and charcuterie program (5-53-47-56-

29; ka [email protected]; courses

from $330). - M . R.

ODFOR A PHOTO

PORTFOLIO OFGASCONY'S FOOD

AND PEOPLE.DOWNLOAD OURDIGITAL ED ITION OR

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PLUS

The food trendsfrom Par is (ka le?strange but true)

to Tokyo.

CUTTLEFISHWITH SQUID

INK SAUCE

Try it at: MoVida Sydney(see page 90).

WHERE TO EAT

AND

The ultimategourmet souvenirsyou' ll make room

for in your luggage.

LONDON • PARIS · TOKYO • MANHATTAN AND BROOKLYN · SHANGHAI • SYDNEY

Some of us want to see a city from the inside of a museum or through a nighttime stroll. But some of us are

perfectly happy spending all our time in Paris or New York or Tokyo sitting at a table, eating something delicious.

In this, our fifteenth annual Hot Tab les spectacular, we asked our favorite food critics, bloggers, and writers

from around the wor ld- the experts, in other words-to come up with their favorite new restaurants in seven of

our favorite foodie cities. The result? Seventy eateries so good that you may never want to go home again.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ROLAND BELLO ILLUSTRATIONS BY JOE MCKENDRY

80 CONDE NAST TRA\.ELER JULY 2013



FISHSAUCE WINGS

Try them at: Pok Pok Ny,Brooklyn

(see page 84).

PLUS

ucan find our nine favorite finger-licking-good

new restaurants in the American South-with

sin Atlanta, Charleston, Dallas, Houston, Memphis,New Orleans, and Washington, D.C.-only on

our digital edition.

AND

Because too much is never enough, headour digital edition and to condenasttraveler.com for even more of this year's top

tables .. . as well as additional photos.

THE MOVEABLE FEAST.

FIRST COURSE

Some of our favorite

appetizers and primi from

th is year's batch of top

restaurants from around

the wo rld.

DUCK SAMOSAS

Try them at: AubergeFlora , Paris

(see page 86).



LIJIDJQJIThe nominator: SOPHIE DENING

Her credentials: London-based food wr iter for Evening Standar d Food Quarterly, Olive, and the Web site Square Meal,and former editor of the Harper's Bazaar restaurant guide. Follow her on Twitter @sophiedening.

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Bone Dad dies offers slurpy ramen (and bibs).

BONE DADDIES

The scene: So ld as a rock'n ' roll ramen bar and dulyplastered with portraits of

Tokyo rockabillies, th is

hopping 65-seater in aonce-grubby corner of

Soho is a favorite among

food bloggers and their

disciples. The rock play

list runs from the Stonesto AC/DC, and it's alwayscranked up.

The food: It's a Japanese

obsession with Chineseorigins, as interpreted by

an Australian in London. . . yet nothing gets lost intranslat ion. These steaming, umami-rich bowlfuls

are built on serious chicken or pork broth, thenlaced with soy, egg,

spring onion, and seaweed served over elasticwheat noodles.

Dish to get: The sesame

injected tantanmen.

Take a run beforehand towork up an appetite (30 -31Peter St.; 44-20-7287-8581; ramen from $12).

BRASSERIE CHAVOT

The scene: Behind a redawn ing a five-minutestroll from the posh

shopping dest ination ofBond Street, thi s smart75-seat dining room is

a most absurdly French,

with Ricard on the shortapero list and Ca rla Bru

ni's fir st album waftingover plush lea ther banquettes. Never mind the

democratic-sound ing"brasserie" tag: This is

CEO centra l by day and

fashion tr ibe hangou tby night.

The food: Eric Chavot'sprevious London kitchen

won two Michelin star s,

so his Gall ic classics-

such as steak tartare,

sna i ls, daube de boeuf

and rum baba- are so phisticated and techni

ca lly sure-footed.

Dish to ge t: The Rolls

Royce of choucroutes

garnies, authent ica llycooked with juniper, bay,and Riesling (41 Conduit

St.; 44-20 -70 78-9577; entrees from $25).

82 CON Dt NAST TRAVELER JULY 2013

BUBBLEDOGS&

The scene: You'll have to

jo in a hyped-up, hungry,high-net-wor th line to

check out Sandia Chang's45-seat champagne barin bustling Fitzrovia,

whe re the snack menu is100 percent hot dogs.

Despite the unlikelihoodof the pairing, this is anultra-fun spot decorated

with cartoon art on the

walls. In the back there's a

second restaurant, Ki tch-en Table, where the cognoscenti gather for

tasting menus.

The food: Top-drawer

Americana, from the

New Yorker, fes toonedwith sauerkraut, to the

chili-and-cheese- loadedSloppy Joe .

Dish to get: Any dog youwan t : You're here for the

bubbly. Try a bottle of

brut nature from biodynamic produc er Chris

tophe Mignon (70

Charlotte St.; 44-20-7637-7770; hot dogs from $9;

Kitchen Table tastingmenu, $106).

CEVICHE

The scene: Jammed fromthe minute it opened onFrith Street (a much-loved

Soho strip of bars andrestaurants, and home as

well to udon purveyorKoya and ta pas top dog

Barrafina), Cevic he pulls

in pop legends, Peruvianexpats, and West Endworker bees with its pis

co-fueled escapist vibe.The 60-seat rear d ining

room is bright-eyed andopt imistic, with psychedelic posters and vintage

mirrors; the 20-seat bar ispacked from noon untilnight. Note, too, the old

Peruvian radio showspiped into the loo.

The food: Refin ed, acceptably authentic ver

sionsof Peruvianseviches, tiraditos, andst ir-fries, all made piquantwith recherche c hili pep

pers, salsa crioffa, and

huincaina sauce.

Dish to get : The Don Ceviche, a house ma instay of

sea bass marina ted inlime juice and aji amarillochilli. It's perfectly sour,

fresh, and clean (17 FrithSt.; 44-20-7292-2040;

seviches and small platesfrom $9).

Saturday's Maltby

Street Ma rket a South

Bank phenomenon- is

crowded wi th art isanal

purveyors includingKernel Brewery, one of

the most exacting andcreative of London's

microbreweries. Buy itat: The Brewery's

stand. Arri ve between9 A .M . and 3 P.M . at

Arch 11 on Dockl ey

Road to sample its

chocolaty London Porter or crisp lemonyChinook Pale Ale:

They' re the perfect

taste of London (thekerne lbrewery.com).

THE (AFFORDABLE)

WINE BAR

There's been aLondon trade in fme

wine since at leastthe time of Henry 11 ,but until recent ly,

it was tough to find anin teresting glass that

wasn' t a splurge.

Find it at: Bottle shop /

bistro hybrids li keChampagne & Fromage

(22 We llington St.) ,Dalla Terra (25 SlingsbyPl.) , and t he wonderful

40 Maltby Street.

ODGO TO CONDENASTTRAVELER

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DISCOVER LONDON'S OTHER TOP

NEW RESTAURANTS: NEWMANSTREETTAV ER N, PATTY & BUN,

AND QUALITY CHOP HOUSE.

CONDENASTTRAVELER CO M



THE CLOVE CLUB

The scene: Sparselydecorated, and packedwith au courant Londoners and visiting chefs

from Paris and the UnitedStates, the Clove Club isboth a lively 40-capacitydining room and a gourmet bar that seats 35.

The food: For-and -bythe-young gastronomy,with an emphasis on British produce, seasona lity,and creativity. In earlyspring, whole radishesare paired with smokygochuchang mayo for adistinctive snack, leeksare studded with smokedmussels, and a bar dishof lemon sole is pairedwith Indian-spiced raita.

Dish to get: The din ingroom has aset menu, butbar diners can pick andchoose: In either case,make your first bite thesignature buttermilkfried chicken (ShoreditchTown Hall, 380 Old St.;44 -20-7729 -6496; setmenu,$73;barsnacks

from $7).

CONDE NAS TTRAVELER.COM

GREEN MAN &FRENCH HORN

The scene: This sliver of

an ex-pub in Theatrelandhas room for 60 diners atits companionably closetables. It's heaven for anyFrancophile-that's a

French jazz station youhear humming th roughthe speakers.

The food: Not-the-usualFrench bistro offerings,the fare is inspired by thetu I leng th of the LoireVa lley and is particu larlystrong on fish and sea

food : Clams come withbacon and cid er,poached Cornish codwith brandade, lemonsole with seaweed butter. There's also lots ofgood fat: rillettes, rillon,black pudding, andbaked Machecoulaischeese.

Dish to get:Turbot orzander with anastonishingly fine beurreblanc {54 St. Martin 'sLane; 44-20-7836-2645;entrees from $17) .

SALON

The scene: The 30-seatSa lon is above a Britishdeli in one of Brixton'snewly trendy coveredmarkets. Here, everyth ing is young, from thefresh-faced chef and in genue staff to the twentysomething regulars.

Inside, there's a bar hewnfrom reclaimed Douglasfir, stri pped walls, andsalvaged chairs.

The food: Casual noseto -tai l, all sourced from

small British farms: Awholemutton carcassmight offer up braisedshoulder, roast leg,and c rispy belly. Thespring menu featuressuch foragers' favoritesas sorrel, monk's beard,and ramsons.

Dish to get: It's a se tmenu- and one of thebest va lues in London

so you get what you'regiven (18 Market Row;44-20-7501-9152; setmenus from $20).

The nominator: ALAN SYTSMA

His credentials: New York City- based senior editorof New York magazine's Grub Street (grubstreet.co m).

Follow him on Twitter@asytsma.

ASKA

The scene: One of NewYork's most intriguingnew places is also one ofits most peculiar-a tast ing menu-focused 24-

seat Nordic restauran ttucked into Kinfolk Stu d ios in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood.

The food: Swedish chefFred ri k Berselius's nightlychang ing menus progress expertly and includestandouts like a "whole"herring (actually a crispyfried head and tai l with anart fully composed soft fil let in the midd le) and abeet slow-roasted until it 'sas tender as beef.

Dish to get:You can order

snacks at the bar- l ike theSwedish hot dog, a snappy sausage tucked into

Scandinavian flat breadwi th spicy mustard anddill (90 Wythe Ave.; 718-388-2969; tasting menusfrom $65).

ATERAThe scene: A comfortable 18-seat tastingcounter in TriBeCa withone of the c ity 's most inventive kitchens.

The food: Most Manhattan tasting menus are for

moneyed food loverslooking to splu rge onbites of wa gyu beef andfoie gras. At Atera, chefMatthew Lightner givesdiners something else: aterroir-d riven, multi

course feast of wild andforaged foods, includingbag uettes made to re semble edible clamshel ls, slow-roastedbeets with a tres Frenchseafood emulsion, andleeks battered with ashstained tempura.

Dish to get: It's a tastingmenu, but keep an eyeout for frozen "peanuts"tha t are actually foie gras(77 Worth St.; 212-226-1444; tasting menu, $165).

JULY 20 13 CONDE NAST TRAVELER 83



1. Chef Matthew Li ghtner get s creat ive w ith flower petals in the d ishes at Atera, in TriBeCa. 2. Mission Ch inese

Food serves super-spicy fare with a party atmosphere on Manhatt an's Lower East Side.

CHEZ SARDINE

The scene: The name is asweird as the scene at this

30-seat faux izakaya (Japanese pub) in the Wes t Vil

lag e from rest aurateurGabriel Stulman andFrench-Ca nad ian chefMehdi Brunet-Be nkritly

(note the Mr. Miyagi port rait above the bar).

The food : Nouveau sushi(chopped beef with uni,

scal lop wi th a quai l egg)and unusual small plates

(foie gras gr illed cheese,savory pancakes with yogurt and sa lmon roebetter than it sounds) to

pair with th e spot 's cocktails, wines, and sakes.

Dish to get : The superrich hal f a salmon head,

g lazed w ith miso and map le sy rup -dit t o on way

better-than-it-sound s(183 W. 10th St.; 646-360-

3705; entrees from $1 7).

MISSION

CHINESE FOOD

The scene: A high-energy, 41-sea t Manhatta nspace full of loud music,

hipster d iners, and foodadventurers-it's like a

frat party in a Chinesetake-out shop.

The food: "Americanized"ri ffs on As ian dishes,pushed as spicy as they

can go: The c um in-blas t

ed lamb breast arrives atyour tab le still sizz l ing,

and even tofu is madetongue-numbingly hotwi th the add it ion of

Szechuan peppercorns.

Dish to ge t: Kung Pao Pas

trami that will oblitera te

your taste buds (in agood

way). Embrace the sensory assault and spend therest of the ni ght coming

down from the high (154

Orchard St.; 212-529 -8800 ; ent rees from $11).

Chez Sa rdine is an eclect ic take on a traditional izakayain New York City 's We st Village .

84 CONDE NAST TRAVELER JULY 20 13

THE NOMAD

The scene: Power play

ers commi ngle with anafte r-work bar crowd in aplush setti ng beh ind theNoMad Hotel 's lobby,

north of t he Flati ron Dist rict. The vibe is buzzyan d energetic - eve n on

wee knights, the bar isthree deep. If you wan tto try one of barman LeoRobitschek's justif iab lycelebrated cocktails (like

the Fig and Thistle- ablend of Exce ll ia Blanco

teq ui la, Cardamaro, f ig

preserves, and lemon),attempt to nab a sea t in

the hotel's library.

The ood: Urbane c lubfood as reinvented by

chef Dan iel Humm(whose other restaurant,

Eleven Ma dison Par k,

holds three Michelinstars) . Think marrow

crusted beef tenderloin,ornate sea food platters,

and suckl ing pig conf it.

Dish to get: The roastchicken for two. The bird

is stuffed wi th foie gras

and tr uffles, p resented

whole tab leside, and

the n whisked away andcarved and p lated in thekitchen {1170 Broadway;

347-472-5660; entreesfrom $20).

POK POK NY

The scene: Most restau

rateurs do everythingthey can to find a location in a packed area,full of foo t traff ic (and

potent ial customers).But when Andy Ricke rimported his Thai se nsa

t ion Pok Pok from Port land, Oregon, to New

York, he chose a remotestretch of Brooklyn 'sColum bia Street Water

front Distr ic t. Themishmash of dini ngrooms- a smal l main

room, a covered deck,and full outdoor sea ti ng

when it's wa rm , for a total of 65 seats - feels asclose to Bangkok asyou'll ge t n Brooklyn.

The food:James BeardAward-winnin g chef

Ricker reinterprets Tha ist reet foo d with a devo

t ion to aut henti city; indishes like Laap Petlsaa n (a lime- and fi sh

sa uce-spiked duck sa lad) and Chiang Ma i

sausage with spicy c hi l idi p, Ricker even usestrad itiona l Thai herbs

from the lone Americanfarmer who grows them.

Dish to ge t: Ike's Viet

namese Fish SauceWings might not be t hemost t raditional Thaid ish on the menu, but

it 's easily one of the favor ites (127 ColumbiaSt.; 718-923 -9322; en

t rees from $9).

A AR OF EMPIRE

MAYONNAISE

Stop in to a gourmetmarket or Empire Mayonnaise's own Brook

lyn storefront in

Prospect Heights tograb what has to be themost unusual of Brook

lyn 's ever growingroster of artisanal

foods: homemade may

onnaise from fo rmerpast ry chef Sam Mason.

The ars are nicelydes igned and filled w it h

colorful mayo flavored

with epicurean ingre

dients like smokedpaprika, baco n, or

French curry. Buy it at:Empire Mayonnaise

(564 Va nderbilt Ave.;718-636 2069;

4 oz. jar , $6).

It isn ' t enough for some

New York chefs tosimply buy their ngre

dients from th ebes tfarmers -many head

out to the w il d (or

hi re somebody) to

search for t he freshestmushrooms, th e

strangest herbs , andthe most flavor ful

roots. Once th ese chefs

get their handson theingredients, th ey

transform th em intothings like burdock

branch liqueur at Askaand black , br iny

lichen crackers atAtera.Find t at: The

Marrow-get th e wholeroa sted hen-of -the

woods mushroo m w ith

truffled jus (see thedigi tal edit ion).

ODGO TO CO NDENASTTRAVELER.COM/ FOOD ORDOWN LOAD OURDIGITAL ED ITION TO DISCOV ER

MANHATTAN'S AND BROOKLYN'SOTHER TOP NEW RESTAURANTS,

THEMA RROW AND LA VARA .




THE MOVEABLE FEAST.

SECOND COURSE

Must-eat entrees from this

year's top tables, with stops

in Manhattan (upper left),Shanghai (upper right), and

Sydney (right).

MISO MAPLE HALF

SALMON HEAD

Try it at: Chez Sardine,Manhattan (see page 84).

SHORT RIB WITH POTATOES

AND PEARLONIONS

Try it at: Elefante, Shanghai(see page 87).

JULY 2013 COND f KAST TRA\'ELER 85



PlllSThe nominator: ALEXANDER LOBRANO

His credentials: Paris-based former European corresponden t for Gourmet andauthor of Hungry fo r Paris (Random House, $17). Follow him on alexanderlob rano.com

and on Twitter @aleclob rano.

ABRI

The scene: Despite ascruffy ten th-arrondissement loca le, this shopfront is a hit thanks to chefKatsuaki Okiyama's Franco-Japanese food . You

might see Hermes ties at

noon, but later it 's bobos

with stubb le and tat toos.

Thefood: The Japan-born

chef's Ga llic techniquemarries beautifully withhis As ian palate and aesthetics.Vivid ly fresh andjudiciously seasoned dish es include mackerel marinated in ayuzu vinaigrett ewith fine slices of cabbage, fennel, and carrots,and but ternut sq uash withcoffee-flavored foam.

Dish to get: Paris's bestsandwich- tonka t su pork,kimchi omelet, meltedcheese, and umami-heavysauce on toast-is served

on Mondays and Saturdays from 10 A.M. to 7 P.M.

Note: They se ll out fast (92rue du Faubourg-Poisson

niere; 33-1 -83-97-00-00;six-course d inner, $50).

/

AUBERG EFLORA

The scene: Flora Mikula,who earned a name as thegutsiest female chef in

Paris wh ile cooking at LesOlivades on the Left Bank,now runs a funky but

sleek auberge with 40-

odd seats in a trendy

part of the eleventh arrondissement. Sit near

the subway-tiled bar fo rcasual eats, or choose theteal-blue dining room andthe prix-fixe menu.

The food: Mikula f inds inspiration in the kitchensof so uthern France andfrom the cuisines of

Spa in, Italy, Greece, Tunisia , and Morocco.

Dish toget: Menus followthe seasons, but if youcan, start with duck samosas and gri lled vegetableswith melted burrata; fo llow with the roast pork

with fava beans, mushrooms, and black olives;and fin ish with the lavender tart (44 blvd. RichardLenoir; 33-1-47-00-5 2-77;

set menus from $59).

Chefs Michael Greenwold and Simone Tondo at Roseval,

an unpretentious- but impressive- restaurant in Paris'sboho neighborhood of Belleville.

86 CONDf NAST TRAVEL ER JULY 20 13

Bonito with salted driedtuna at Bones, where smallplates are served at the bar.

BONES

The scene: In the hipsterpacked eleventh arrondissement, Aust ra lianchef James Henry gut teda fo rmer Irish pub down

to its brick wa lls. Beyondthe white marble bar is

the 25-seat dining roomba re wood tables lit byold industria l lamps-and

an open kitchen. Reservations are essential.

The food: Henry makeshis own sausage, churnshis own butter, andbakes his own bread. Hissimple, satisfy ing cookingrecalls solid, who lesomeVictorian working men's

food of yore-good meat,vegetables, and pota

toes -all pa instakinglysourced and styled.

Dish to get:The menuchanges almost dai ly, butdon't miss Henry's

smoked trout wi th sa lmoneggs, or his roasted pi

geo n with ka le, potatoes,

and a giblet puree (43

rue Godefroy Cavaignac;

33 -9-80-75-32-08; setmenus from $52).

LA REGALADE

CON SE RV ATOIRE

The scene: Occupying astrategic sidewalk-levelcorner of the gorgeousnew Hotel de Nell, this is

the th ird address of chef

Bruno Doucet's La Re

galade, the bist ro he pu rchased from foundingchef Yves Camdebordeand b rilliantly rebooted in2004. With a sleek decor

that includes picture w indows overlooking aqu iet,

atmospheric corner of

the ninth arrondi ssement,a black-a nd-white check

erboard floor, and handsome solid-oak chairs,

thi s 46-sea t place f ill sw ith executive sui ts of

both sexesat noon and anarty international crowd

at d inner.

The food: Douce t 's sig na tu re dishes juxtaposeunexpected tastes likecoconut milk, lemongrass, and tamarind

wi th traditional Ga llicingred ients.

Dish to get:The menuschange constan t ly, butdon't pass up the complimentary terrine de campagne or classics li ke thehalf-sa lted cod with shell fish and the best riz au lait

(rice pudding) in Paris(7-9 rue du Conservatoire;

33 -1-44-83-83-60; setmenu, $46).

LE 6 PAUL BERT

The scene: After the success of his cul t fave bistroLe Bistrot Pau l Bert an d itsseafood sibling, LEcail lerdu Bistrot, BertrandAuboyneau does modernFrench bistro cook ing as

executed by edgy youngMontrea ler chef LouisPhi lippe Riel. With a grocery up front and a varietyof different seating opt ions (there are 30 sea tsin total), his newest address, in the eleventh arrondissement, is packed

wit h a mix of food- lov ingtravelers and Par isians.

The food: Riel riffs oneverything from Montreal's deli tradition to

American fu sion kitchenslike David Chang's whilecon tinu ing to use theglories of Ga l l ic bistro

cooking as his compass.

Dish to get:The smallp lates menu reboots fre

quently, but keep an eyeout for the pickled herring with red onions and

dill pickles; the veal tartare; and the ba rbecuedpork with carrot panca kes (6 ru e Paul Bert;33-1-43-79 -14 -32; sma l lplates from $10).




ROSE VAL

The scene: Serious foodlovers know that, these

days, many of the bestnew restaurants in Parisare in outlying quartiers

far from the tourist-heavyareas. So hop on the

Metro and head for Menilmontant, in the twentietharrondissement, wherethi s very charming 26-

seat neighborhood tavern

with wh ite walls and baretables has been attractingintrepid Par isian gourmands since it opened

last summer. Here, chefsSimone Tondo, an Italian,and Michael Greenwold,

an Anglo-American, servenouveau French food to aready-for-Hollywood vi

sion of the contemporary

Parisian bohemian set.

The food: The menu isbased on best-of-market

seasona l produce, umami-rich layered flavors,and contrasting textures.

Dish to get: Pounce on

anything pasta: It's all

homemade and unfailingly excellent. Other

wise, the menu is aconstantly changing ka leidoscope, bu t if you

spot anything containingpork belly or langoustine,you're seriously in luck

(1 rue d'Eupatoria; 33-9-

53-56-24-14; set menusfrom $52).

CO NDENAS TTRAVELER.COM

APPLEWOOD

SMOKED SEA SALT

Since just a pinch ofthis fragrant blacksalt powers up theflavor of even the

quietest ingredi ents

cottage cheese, for

example - it 's greatatop anything fromsliced tomatoes to

steamed salmon.Buy it at: Causses (SSrue Notre- Dame de

Loret te, 9th arr. ; 33-1 S3 16 10 10).

Thanks to the Kale

Project (thekaleproj ec t.wo rdpress.com )- a

one-woman crusade by

an intrepid Amer icanex pat to in troduce theleaf to France , w here it

had gone moreor less

undiscovered thismuch- loved hipster

green is fin ally showi ngup on Paris menus.Find it at : Bones ,wh ere it recentty

accompanied roastedp igeon, and Abri,

w here the chef li kes topair t w ith fish.

00GO TO CONDENASTTRAVELER

.COM/FOOD OR DOWNLOAD

OUR DIGITAL EDITIONTO

DISCOVER PARIS S OTHER TOPNEW RESTAURANTS , SEMILLA

ANDVIVA NT TABLE.

The nominator: CRYSTYL MO

He r credentials: Food ed itor of Time Out Shanghai; former Chinacorresponden t for AsiaWeek Magazine.

COLAGRECO ELEFANTE MERCATO

The scene: Lipstick-red The scene: A vibrant The scene: It 's so hard to

leatherfurni tu re and her- 120-seat place in a get one of the 250 seatsringbone wood floors set French Concession villa at Mercato, Jean-Georg-

a seductive retro vibe in helmed by the beloved es Vongerich ten's sec-this 60-seat Bund-side Spaniard chef Wi l ly Trul- ond Shanghai eatery,

dining room helmed by las Moreno. that the hours have beenMauro Colagreco, the

The food: The menu fea-extended to accommo-

only Argentinian che ftures dishes from Spain,

date the throng. Though

wi th two Michelin stars.the south of France, and

housed in the grand 1916

The food: Molecular Italy-there's scampibuilding Three on the

meets sculptural. Start- huevos fritos, a knockoutBund, the place has very

ers such as "Sea Tartar burrata and black t rufflenow decor: exposed

in Different Textures" salad, and a fu l l page ofsteel, reclaimed wood

and pan-fried an d raw meats and fish cooked floors, and a pizza oven

scallops with parsnip on the charcoal gril l.in the middle.

and t ruffle are arranged Enticing starters include The food: Pizzas and pas-

on plates like min i diora- the steak tartare with tas are on the simple,

mas to resemble sea sharp mustard ice well-executed menu,

sponges, mosses, and c ream and hot potato along with ricotta with

autumn leaves. Colagre- wedges: It's like a beef y seasonal fru it (strawberryco uses produce grown patatas bravas. is ou r favorite) and opal -

on his farm outsideDish to get: The giant

escent kingfish carpaccio

Shanghai with seeds he24-hour slow-cooked

laced with crushed olives.brought from his garden

and char-grilled Angus Dish to get: The ovenin France.

sho rt r ib is bathed in a turns out pizzas that are

Dish to get: The popular rich and salty brown chewy-crisp in 90 sec -starter "The Forest"- sauce and paired with onds; the pies' charredwi ld mushrooms and qui- tiny potatoes, pearl on- crusts feature toppings

noa clusters arranged ions, and who le cloves of like wild mushrooms with

like trees around puddles garlic that are so soft three cheeses and anof Parmesan cream they're almost liquid. egg cracked in the mid-

(Three on the Bund, 2nd Arugula adds a refresh- die (Three on the Bund,Fl., No. 3 Zhon g Shan ing bitter note {20 Dong - 6th Fl., No. 3 Zhong ShanDong Yi Lu; 86-21-5308- hu Lu; 86-21-5404-8085; Dong Yi Lu; 86 -21 -6321 -

5399; ent rees from $32). entrees from $10). 9922; entrees from $11).

JULY 20 13 CONDt NAST TRAVELER 87



One of the world's largest TV towers is best admiredfrom Colagreco's d ining room.

SCAR PETTA

The scene: ChineseAmerican investmentbanker turned res taura·

teur John Liu attractscrowds of his peers-rich,

worldly Chinese-to this

30 -seat dining room in the

central Luwan district fu r-nished with distressed

painted-wood tables andchairs and exposed brick.(I t's unrelated to New

York's restaurant of the

same name.)

The food: Without a dayof professional cooking

on his resume, Liu developed Scarpetta's menu

by testing hund reds of

recipes. The result ingpan-Italian cuisine is surpr ising ly well executed,

with unpretentious foodth ink garlic, fennel, andhoney slow-roasted pork

spare ribs-served onwooden boards and

butcher paper.

Dish to get: Liu createdan unusual mixture of

flours and a three-stage

rising process to makepizzas with springy,chewy crust s. The gar·licky clam pizza with

white wine is like the piz·

za version of a delectablepasta al/a vongo/e (33Mengzi Lu; 86 -21 -3376·8223; entrees from $19).

ULTRAVIOLET

The scene: French chefPau l Pa iret's avant-gardeone-table, t en -sea t res

taurant has received somany breathless acco·

lades that it 's hard to be·lieve the place is on ly a

year old. Housed in awarehou se in a secret lo

ca tion on the Sund, the

"multisensory" Ult ravio·let is part IM AX, part mo

lecular gastronomy.

The food : Each of 22technica lly daringcourses is paired with

surround-sound music,videos on the screens/walls, lighting cues,

scents, and liquids from

a Grand Cru riesling to astrawberry gazpacho.

You start wi th a foie gras"cigarette" wi th cabbage

ash and finish with an"lspahan Di shwash": lychee, rose essence, and

raspberry foam.

Dish to get: Early visitor

Alain Ducasse was im·

pressed with the sea

bass Monte Ca rlo: awhole fish baked in a baguette and f in ished with

vierge sauce tableside,to the accompanimentof Debussy's "Clair de

Lune" (book at uvbypp

.cc; set menu, $406) .

88 CONDE NAST TRAVEL ER JULY 20 13

SHIKUMEN

YELLOW WINE

Huangjiu, or yelloww in e, has been brewed

at the Jinfeng Wine

Co mpany, Ltd., since1939. It 's essential

to an important seasonal dish involvingcrabs boiled in water

with a splash of thew ine, then served with

a cup of the warmed

wine. Buy it at:Supermarkets. The real

Shikumen yellow

wine is inexpensive

(about $6). Beware thefakes: Be sure

the label says"JinfengWine Company."

The Shangha in ese

have long favored Ital

ian food over all other

Wes tern cuisines:

It 's unintimidat ing

and often served fami

ly style like Ch inese

food. Th eir devotion

has bee n amped up byth e arriva l of pizza and pasta focused

restaurants. Find t at:81'2 Otto e Mezzo

Bombana, Jean

Georges Vongerich -ten s Mercato,and cozy, neighbor

hoody Scarpetta.

ODGO TO CONDENASTTRAVELER

.COM/FOOD OR DOWNLOADOUR DIGITAL ED ITION TODI SCOVERSHANGHAI'S OTH ER

TOP NEW RESTAURANTS' 8%OTTO E MEZZO BOMBANA, XI

NA , AND XINDAU JI .

llDJlllThe nominator, TERRY DUR ACK

His credentials: Restaurant critic for The Sydney

Morning Herald: for mer restaurant cr iticfor London·s Independent on Sunday; author of

six books, including Noodle (Bay Soma Publishing,

$50). Follow him on goodgu ides.com.au.

CAFE NICE

Thescene: Theteambehind Sydney's very Ital

ian Fratelli Fresh storesand restaurants went

Gallic with their new 120·seat bebe near the water

at Circular Quay. The viewfrom the restaurant is allAussie-a harbor full of

ferries and the SydneyHarbour Bridge-bu t the

delicate Proven9al menuwill transport you to the

flower market in Nice.

The food: A Ni9oise blend

of French and Italian, in·eluding pissaladiere

(Provence's answer to

pizza), spaghetti with pis·

tou , and ra tatouil le .

Dish to get: A pretty,

tossed -at-the-table salade ni<;oise (2 Phi llip St.,Ci rcu lar Quay; 61-2-8248-

9600; entrees from $21).

CHINA LANE

The scene: Tucked awayin a quirky mid-city lane·way cafe hung w ith bird

ca ges an d filled with

haunting recordings of

lost birdsong, China Lane

serves lively, modern

Asian cuisine like that of

its older siblings, China

Doll on WoolloomoolooWharf and China Beach in

Manly. But th is 140-seatdining room has a kitschy,clu bby, sixt ies-meets

Shanghai vibe, completewith miniature TV screens

in the Pi relli rubber

padded ba th rooms.

The food: The sp ice- lad·en mix-and-match menuruns from delicate lob

ster, ginger, and truffledumplings t o hearty slowbraised wagyu beef sh in.

Dlshtoget: A feisty sa lad

of slow-roasted po rk belly,prawns, pomelo, and jellyfish with fish sauce-it's a

happy mix of just about

every known texture (2Angel Pl.; 61 -2-9231-3939;

entrees from $10).

John Dory with coconut sambal from China Lane.

CONDENASTTRAVELER COM



THE MOVEABLE FEAST.

THIRD COURSE

What's the perfect meal without

dessert?We know where to

indulge your sweet tooth in Paris

(left}, Manhattan (center}, and

Tokyo (right).

CONDENASTTRAVELER.COM

GINGER STOUTCAKE

Try it at: The Marrow,Manhattan (see the

digital edition) .

RICE PUDDINGTry it at: La Rega adeConservatoire, Paris

(see page 86).

MILLE-FEUILLE

(also on cake stand at left)Try it at: Le Salon JacquesBorie, Tokyo (see page 91).

JULY 2013 c o r m ~ NAST TRA \ 'ELER 89



1.There are more than 60 Cantonese cho ices on the menu at Mr. Wong. 2. The ca/los Madrileiios, a stew with tri pe,ch ickpeas, chorizo, and lots of paprika at the buzzy MoVida Sydney.

4FOURTEEN KITCHEN BY MIKE MOYIDA SYDNEY MR. WONG

The scene: Gutsy nose- The scene: Having cu t his The scene: Aft er setting The scene: What wasto-tail cooking in the gas- teeth in some of the up three of Melbourne's once a heaving basement

tronomic heartland of world's finest din ing best-loved Spanish res- nightclub in downtown

Su rry Hills. Popular rooms-from Rockpool in tau rants, chef Frank Sydney is now a moodilyIrish-born chef Col in Sydney to Pharmacy in Camorra has finally hi t lit, 240-seat den devotedFassn idge-who made a London-chef Mike Sydney's Surry Hills. And to dim sum and seriousname for him se lf with his McEnearn ey decided to he's done i t in style, with cocktails, with a c lubby12-hour slow-cooked lamb "get real." So he set up a an always-packed, bode- Shanghai teahouse vibe.shoulder at Paddington's 120-seat self-serve break- ga-like space fitted with a A mix of soul and R&B

highly rated Four in Hand fast and lunch canteen in generous wood bar for hums away as the dinner

Dining Room-is serving an all -Austra lian design tapas din ing, as well as crowd shifts from cityall manner of nnards in warehouse in the suburb slide-in black-leather su its to a younger, sl inkierth is stripped-down, low- of Rosebery, whe re he boo ths and a mix of high set as the night wears on.tech warehouse space began making ethically and low tab les grouped

Thefood: New-waveandwith room for 75 at a sourced dishes that are around a busy kitchen

classic Cantonese, frombar, a kitchen counter, served on enameled-tin (about 90 seats in all).and a few low-s lung plates .

top-level dim sum to lac-

banquettes.The food: A mod-meets- quered roast duck from

Thefood: Whatever trad take on Catalan and young chefs Dan Hong

The food: Expect lots of McEnearney has found Spanish cooking, from in- and Jowett Yu, and formerbones and unmention- at the market tha t day. dividual tapas (anchovies London Hakkasan dimable bits- bread ed pig's There's always wood -fired wi th smoked toma to sor- sum chef Eric Koh.tail and cracklings; black pizza , kill er salads, bet) to larger, shareable

Dish to ge t: Wok-friedpudding with prosciutto wood-roasted meat, racione (octopus with

pippies (clams) with XOand apple sauce; and and brilliant bread with warm potatoes and

ch i li sauce, and scallop-cha r-grilled ox tongue. the local Pepe Saya smoky paprika).

topped siu mai dumplings

Dish to get: The lunch-cul tu red butter.

Dish to get: Ca/los with flying fish roe (3t ime suckling pig platter Dish to get: Succulent Madrileiios, a lovely, Bridge Lane; 61-2-9240-of tender ribs, loin, kid- braised Kurobuta ham messy, paprika -laden 3000; entrees from $26).

neys, and crackling crisps with mash and Cumber- stew of honeycomb tripe,st rewn with prunes, caul i- land sa uce (85 Dunning chickpeas, and chorizoflower, and pistachio pes- Ave ., Rosebery; 61 -2- (50 Holt St., Surry Hills;to offered on Fridays and 9045-0910; lunch en t rees 61-2-8964-7642; entreesSaturdays {414 Bourke St., from $13). from $10; tapas from $4).

Surry Hills; 61-2-9331-5399; entrees from $29).

90 NAST TRAV ELER JULY 20 13

WILD HIBISCUS

FLOWERS IN SYRUP

Lee Etherington of

Kurrajong AustralianNa tive Foods was at a

party when he droppeda w ildflower nto a

flute of champagne; the

guests watched,entranced, as it danced

and bubbled. Now

you too can liven up

your own cocktailswi th hibiscus and asplash of thissyrup ,

which hasa sed uctiveraspberry-blueberry

flavor. Buy it at: Stores

li ke David Jones andDan Mu rphy's, or on

line at bushtuckershop

.com (9 oz. jar, $11).

NATIVE AUSTRALIAN

FOODS

Like Austra lians,

the count ry's indige-nous ngredientsare no

shrinking violets:

On ly in Auss ie flavorscome in ac idic

muntries (akin to cran-berries) , iron- rich

warr iga l leaves, and

tender wall aby (above) .And whe reas native

food was once gim -

micky , it's now eth i-ca lly harvested and

used in creative ways.Find it at: The Woods.

ODGO TO CONDENASTTRAVELER.COM/ FOOD OR DOWNLOADOUR DIGITAL ED ITION TO

DISCOVER SYDNEY"S OTHER TOP

NEWRE

STAURANTS:HARTSYARD, MONOPOLE,SIXPENNY, AND THEWOODS.

CONDENASTTRAVEL ER CO M



11111The nominator : YUKARI SAKAMOTO

Her credent ials: Tokyo-based chef, sommelier. and shochu adviser; author o f Food Sake Tokyo,

a guide to the city's restaurants and food ha lls (Little Bookroom, $30).

Follow her on foodsaketokyo.wordpress.com and on Twitter @yukarisakamoto.

CICADA LA SORA SEED

The scene: This is the The scene: It's all drama

kind of easygoing restau- at this thir ty-first-floorrant you wish were in your space in the Oshiage dis-

neighborhood. The vibe tr ict. where floor-to-ceil-is relaxed, the music is ing windows offer viewsloungey, the service is of the world's largest

friendly, and the menu is communications tower,solid. Run by a former Tokyo Skytree.New Yorker, David Chid-

The food: Tokyoites useddo, it has room for about

to ourney four hours to50 and is in the Ornate-sando shopping dist rict ,

chef Masayuki Okuda's

just down the st reet from restaurant, Al-che-ccia-Comme des Gar9ons.

no, for Italian dishesmade wi th Japanese

The food: Mediterra- fa rm products. Now theynean-influenced ta pas can eat his flavorfu I food,

and meats with an eclec- like bamboo shoot risot-t ic wine list. Rea lly, to wi th boar pancetta,though, you're here for roasted baby sweetfish,the beer. Craft beer is a and red eggplants, righ t

trend in Tokyo (see "Craft in town.Brewing;· right ), and Ci -

cada is one of the fewDish to ge t: Try the lunch

places that successfullybuffet of vegetables

pairs brews with food.served raw, steamed,

and roasted. You might

Dish to get: The meze find eight types of heir-

plate of cheese, meats, loom tomatoes, steamedand dips served with fla t white sweet potatoes,

bread (the select ion and sauteed mushrooms.changes weekly) and a Just spritz them with saltglass of the on-tap Tokyo- water and they're readybrewed TY. Harbor to savor (Sumida-ku, Os-(Minato-ku, Minami-Aoya- hiage 1-1-2 , 31st floor; 81-ma 5-7-28; 81-3-6434- 3-5809-7284; se t menus

1255; entrees from $18). from $77).

LE SALON

JACQUES BORIE

The scene: Classical mu-

sic provides the soundtrack for th is 35-seat sa-Ion on the fashion floor

of Isetan, a premier de-partment store in the

shop- and bar-filled Shin-

juku district.

The food: French clas-

sics (quiche lorraine and

sauteed foie gras) by oneof Japan's most famous

French chefs, JacquesBarie, who oversaw To-

kyo restau rants L0 sierand Shiseido Parlour.

Dish to ge t: The maincourses are terrific, but

the real prize is Borie's

dessert wagon, wh ich is

piled with tradit ional pas-

tries such as vacherinmer ingue, tarte Tatin , andile f/ottante, an airy me-

ringue dotted with nuts.After, visit lsetan's depa-chika, or basement epi-

curean floor, which hasth e city's best select ionof prepared and pack-

aged foods (Shinjuku-ku,Shinjuku 3-14-1, Shinjuku

Isetan 4F; 81-3-5363-5688; set menu, $58).

Dessert is the specialty at

Le Salon Jacques Barie.

MENYA SUMISU

The scene : At this bustling bare-bones 18 -seatramen jo int in the resi

dential Minam i-Aoyama

district, businessmentuck paper bibs into theirco llars and slurp up noo

dles. Don't expect fi nesse: The lighting isaggressively bright, and

J-pop mu sic blares from

th e speakers.

The food: Why is this, of

all ofTokyo's many ramenshops, getting such rave

reviews? Because of ts

ch icken stock. Whilemany ramen restaurantshave turned to th ick po rkbone- based stocks,

Menya Sumisu uses a verysimple ch icken stock. The

result is a bowl of noodlesthat's sat isfy ing yet no t at

all heavy.

Dish to g et: Salt or soysauce ramen: thin noo

dles with smoky grilled

chicken and a chickenmeatball studded withbits of crunchy cartilage(Minato-ku, Minami-Aoyama 2-2-15, Win Aoyama 1F;

81-3-3497-58 28; ramenfrom $7).

ODGO TO CONDENASTTRAVELER.COM/ FOOD OR DOWNLOADOUR DIGITAL EDITION TODISCOVER TOKYO'S OTHER TOP

NEW RESTAURANTS, DA OLMO ,

OHARA, ANDUDO N MARUKA.

YOU'LL ALSO FIND OUR GUIDE TO

THE NINE BEST NEW TAB LES IN THEAMERICAN SOUTH, WITH STOPS I N

ATLANTA, CHARLESTON, DALLAS,HOUSTON, MEMPHIS, NEW

ORLEANS, AND WASHINGTON, D.C.

DASHI GA YOKO

DERU SODAGATSUO

For loversof umami,the rich " fifth taste" of

meats and mush

rooms, there's dashi

ga yoku deru sodagat-suo: mackerel that 'sbeen smoked, fer

mented, cured, and

bottled. Add soy sauce

and refrigerate for l woweeks to make an

umami - heavy brew to

paint on meats, drop

into soups, or sprinkle

over tofu. lt lasts for a

year if you add soysauce as needed. Buy t

at: Marugoto KochiAntenna Shop (Chuo

ku , Ginza 1-3-13).

CRAFT BREWING

Tokyoites are seriousabout beer , but craft

beers are only now tak

ing off, and brew

based bars are popping

up all ac ross t he city.

Find it at: Bars like The

Taproom in Harajuku

(Shibuya - ku , Jingumae

1 20 13, No SurrenderBldg. 2F), Watering

Hole in Yoyogi

(Shibuya ku , Sendagaya 5-26-5) , BiiruyaPururin in Ginza

(Chuo ku , Ginza 6 7

7),and Swan Lake Pub

Edo near Tokyo Station

(Chuo- ku ,Vaesu 2- 6-

5) have as many as

30 craft beers on tap.

CO NDE NASTTRAVELER.COM JULY 20 13 CONDt NAST TRAVELER 91





populated capital on the southern

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of an English captain who once

sailed his convict ship through

these waters (though it's not pro

nounced as you'd expect), and its

three major archipelago groups are

easily traversed by turboprop. You

may get a hoot out of spending

Christmas on the largest atoll orinvestigating the whereabouts of

an ill-fated aviatrix. If you want to

soak in more of the region's

sparkling-b lue waters, take a trip to

the new California-size mari time

protected area, the first of its kind

to encompass massive seamountsa rich deep-water habitat.

ording to the local culture's

I values, all resources

ared among the peo

ns you've got a stake

· ht down to the

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PLAY THE li&llEPlease identify the locati on shownby atoll and country. For the answer to the Maypuzzle and the winner of the March prize, turn to

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PG96JU LY 201 3

• COND E NAS T

TR AVE L ER

DNNERT IME IS UPON US. STARS ARE ALL HOUND US. AND

what's before us on this blissfully balmy night

in Colombia is no mere restaurant. It's a whirl ing, twinkling dream, a wonderland of colored

lights- on the steadily rotating blades of the

decorative windmills that line the street in frontof the place; on the gently swaying branches

of the trees skirting it; alongside the paths that

lattice the parking lot, which is as vast as anyamusement park's. As we shimmy into a spot, I

catch my reflection in one of the car's windows.

When do Iever smile this widely?I was prepped. I was stoked. At least half a

dozen globe- trotting friends, savvy diners all,told me that Andres Carne de Res , this steak

house cum fun house about forty minutes (with

out traffic) from the center of Bogota, was un like anywhere they'd ever eaten , and that they

couldn't fathom why it wasn't known and chat tered about the world over. Already Ican't fath

om that either.

My companions and I step giddily through

the front door, and it 's like passing through the

looking glass. Two hosts wearing sombreros andMexican- style ponchos hand us hollowed-ou t

lime halves with pools of golden tequila inside.

Another host leads us to our table, through alabyrinth of rooms that aren't so much designed

THENEW CHILL 1. The Central Park Swizzle, a gincocktail with spearmint and bitters at Gordo, one of

Bogota's many new New York-inspired restaurants.2. Dining alfresco in the buzzy hood of Zona T.

as deluged with sculp tures made from scrap

metal and kitchen castoffs, including a giant

crucifix of bottle caps. Shelves along the wallsare stuffed with religious icons, masks, and odd

ball objets d'art. The ceiling, where illuminatedred hearts and other ornaments dangle, lookslike the world's largest, most hectic mobile. I f

the ghost of Salvador Dalf did the stage set forHoarders: Restaurant Edition, he' d come up

with something like this.

Its demen ted glory was decades in the mak

ing. Back in 1982, Andres Jaramillo, a Co lom

bian hippie with a Jimi Hendrix fixation and an

old Fiat, decided that it was time to s top roaming

aimlessly around the country and start a business. He opened a roadside grill with ten tables.

At first, customers were hard to come by."I'd be in the middle of

the street with a red napkin, waving people down,"

recalls Jaramillo, nowfiftyseven. "Itw asverylonely."

Then it wasn't. The ten

tables filled, so he added

more, and then more, and

then more after that. He's

still adding them. AndresCarne de Res now accom-modates about two thou-sand diners at a time, along

TASTE AND SEE 1. Theold historic center LaCandelaria is packedwith atmosphere-

and food vendors.2. Uchuvas, amongthe many Colombiangrown fruits used inthe dishes at the

restaurant Abasto.3. La Fama's brisketsandwich. 4 . A rarequiet moment at hot

spot Andres D.C.

with another thousand or so revelers who justjam the spaces between and near the tab les todance and maybe sing and most definitelydrink.

It's a gargantuan frat party with fried plantains,a ravewith empanadas. The party goes on in Bogota's city center too, where, in 2009, Jaramillo

opened a scaled-down version of Andres Ca rnede Res called Andres D.C. (Another, La Plaza de

Andres, is a mall food court extraordinaire,done

to Jaramillo's grand, gaudy specifications .)

But nothing compares wi th the mothership:Spread out over at least four football fields' worth

of space, Andres Carne de Res is a small city un toitself. There' s on -site child care, with a kiddie

soccer field, a kiddie dance studio, and a kiddieclimbing wall, as well as workshops that provide

nearly all the furniture and dishes the restaurantneeds. Th e staffof seven hundred include not just

cooks and servers but also disc jockeys, jesters,a marching band, and "angels" who will relieve

you of your car keys so that you can have as muchtequila as you like. At night's end , which means

three or four or even six in the morning, they'll

"ANGELS" WILL RELIEVE YOU OF YOUR CAR KEYS SO THAT YOU CAN HAVE AS MUCH

TEQUILA AS YOU LIKE. AT NIGHT'S END, WHICH MEANS

THREE OR FOUR OR EVEN SIX IN THE MORNING, THEY'LLTAKE YOU BACK TO BOGOTi IN YOUR OWN CAR







P A T i l l . ~ .... ___ .:

11A S \900

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_........ - - · ~ ~ ;lllDlS ClllllUS

·-··· .......

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BREAKFASTOF

CHAMPIONS It's not

your typicaldesayuno fare at

Masa, where the daymight start with abroccoli frittata and

)

some of the finestb r e a d on thecon t inent. (ChefSi lvana Villegas

trained in New Yorkunder Jean -GeorgesVongerichten.)

P, 99JULY 2013



PGIOOJULY 201 3

• CON D E NAS T

TRAVE L ER

DIBS ON RIBS La Fama takes a page from the American

South's book with barbecue staples like baby back ribs,pul led pork, and smoked ch icken.

take you back to Bogota in your own car , so you

don 't have to retrieve it the next day.

One of my companions volun teers to be ourgroup's designated driver, and we get down to

meaty business, ordering sausages, lamb chops,salt-crusted sirloin. ·n1e food should take fo reverto arr ive, given the acrobatic slalom that serversmust perform to carry sizzling platters th roughthe tangle of bodies everywhere. But it showsup without any delay. And it's not t he forget table grub that you brace fo r in an operation

th is massive and frenetic. It 's first-rate: beef ofrobust flavor and uncommon juiciness; roast ed , marble-size criolla potatoes that pop in my

mouth like gra pes. I'm floored , delightedly, bythe restaurant's ability to pu ll th is off. But thenI'm floored, delightedly, by all of Bogota and its

dining scene-one of unexpected dynamism and

uncommon joys.

OVER THE LAST FIVE mu. WHILE THE UNITED STATES AND

Europe sputtered economically, several coun tries in Latin America we re taking off, and Co lombia was one of them. It took bet ter control

of the political turmoil and pervasive cr im e that

have long prevented it from realizing the fu ll

Tl•• •~ ~ •EN PORK BELLY BAKED SNOOK

TASTES" TATER TOTS" atAbasto

at Gordo A flaky

WORTHPo rk nuggets Ca ribbean fish ,

cooked fo r served here

THE twenty-four with mango

TRIPhours sous vide, and avocado

then breaded relish and

and fried. coconut rice.

potential of its rich natural resources. It imple

mented free- trade agreements. Foreign invest

ment poured in; buildings rose. All around the

Bogota me tropolitan area, wh ich is home to

some nine million people, you see cranes, con

struction crews, and recently opened stores and

businesses. The main airport added a gleamingterminal las t year, which it's still expanding.

Boutique hotels are joining t hose run by the

usual chains.And while much of Bogota still has a Third

World capital's slapdash structures and genericsprawl, it' s a more topogra phica lly impressivecity than is often mentioned, wi th peaks and

ridges all around it . The main ridge, tall and

Jong and green, traces central Bogota's easternedge in much the way that the less verdant Santa

Monica Mountains form a spine for Los Angeles,

and the nicest neighborhoods on the slope that

looks wes t to the center of the city are affluen t

enough to bring to mind Brentwood, Beverly

Hills, West Hollywood. You move through them

as you would through that enc hanted Southern

California corridor , on a long artery that curvesand rises and dips like Sunset Boulevard, mar

veling at the spiffy apartments and residences,the busy restaurants, the sharp grade of the land,the beautifully manicured vegetation, the views .

This surprises me more than it should, givenall the buzz about the city that I began hearing

late last year from people I know in the restau

rant business. Mic hael White, venerated for hisItalian cooking at Ma rea and Osteria Mo rini inManhattan, had been to Bogota. So had Lauren t

Tourondel, who is the L and the Tin the BLT

restaurant group, and Jordan Salcito, the winedi rector for the Momofuku empire in New York.

Their interest in Co lombia is attributable inlarge par t to the Bogota Wine & Food Festival,wh ich was inaugurated in 2011 and w ill be staged

for a third time in August , bringing internationalcu linary stars to the city in order to expose localrestaurateurs to the world 's best cooking and to

show the culinary world the remarkable stridesthese restaurateurs have already made. The fes tival perfectly exemplifies the eager outreach

that Co lombia, determinedly shedding its image

as a dangerous haven fo r drug lords, is doing. Italso expresses the welling confidence ofboth the

coun try and its capital.Sa lcito encouraged me to mee t Laura Cahn

speyer, who runs a local (Continued on page 102)

,........4

1··,.\.. l.?'1•'=MORA JUICE ALMOND CH/CHARRON·

at La Plaza de Andres CROISSANT CITOS

in El Retiro mall at Masa at Club Col ombia

Made with a Layers of butter Chun ks of porkCo lombian ber ry and dough that rind with a bit of

that has a tangy are baked, then meat attached ,sweet flavor- the coated with spiced and then

smoothie is pretty almond cream fried to a crisp .

great too. and baked again.



PLACES & PRICES

Taking a Big BiteOut of BogotaAlthough less frequ ently visited thanmany other foreign capitals, Bogota is

as accommodating as any of them:

easy to reach, easy to master, andbrimming with pleasures.

The country and city code fo r Bogotais 57-1. Prices quoted are for July 2013.

LODGINGBogota isn't as chockablock with hotels as some other capitals, but both

the number and the quality of accommodatio ns are steadily rising, with

some notable additions over the lasttwo years. Splashiest among them isthe B.O.G. Hotel, which was included

on this year's Hot List (condenasttraveler.com/hot-list/2013). It's a sleek,

slender tower with 55 rooms and arooftop pool and lounge in a primeshopping and dining neighborhood

(639-9990; doubles from $312). Far

ther north and less expensive, the relatively new Hotel Cabrera Imperial has39 beaut ifully furnished, light -filled

rooms (636-0699; doubles from

$243). For a much different experience, the Hotel de la Opera is a sump

tuous early-nineteenth-century oasisin the historic center, La Candelaria,

which oozes character but feels lesscomfortable at night than during the

day (336-2066; doubles from $172).

DINING

For an introduction to traditional dish

es and to the scale and luxury thatcharacte rize many of Bogota's most

popular restaurants, head to Club Co-

lombia, a co llaboration of the city'smost prolific restaurateur, Leo Katz,and perhaps its most revered chef,

:;, Harry Sasson. In an old stone estate, ithas clubby rooms with tufted leather

furniture and patios with a tropical Ian':!! guor. The weekend brunches are es-

§ ! ~ ' . ~ ~ 8 ~ ; : : e ~ ~ - o ~ · ; 5 ~ : ~ ~ ~ ;if>

great-looking and justly popular plac-

<( es in the Rosales neighborhood are

0 the pastry shop Grazia (Ca lle 69, No.

5-04; 702-1115)and Silvana Villegas'sw Masa (Calle 70, No. 4-83; 211-0899).

gA good mid-a fternoon stop is LauraCahnspeyer's tea shop, Taller de Te

(Calle 60A, No. 3A-38; 255-4128), or

E&D Cates, a coffeehouse cum lab

_,, •BRAISED AREPACON

COUNTRY QUESO

CHICKEN ANTIOQUENO

at Mercado MOL/DOat Andres

Locally raised Carn e de Res a nd

chicken Andres D.C.

marinated in a Corn cake toppedtumbler. with crumbled

farmer's cheese.

(Carrera 4, No. 66-46; 248-6955). In

the same hood are the New York City

inspired spots La Fama Barb ecue,

where you tuck into ribs and pork loinat picnic tab les (Calle 65 Bis, No. 4-85;644-7766; entrees from $8}, and Gor

do, Daniel Castafio's paean to Brooklyn (Carrera 5, No. 66-84; 345-5769;entrees from $13). Bruto is packed at

lunch and at dinner with food-savvyColombians eager to try the impres

sive Basque cooking (Carrera 10A, No.70-50; 249-0314; entrees from $14).For empanadas, my friend John Maga

zino swears by Em panadi tas de Pip ian(Carrera 9a, No. 73-11; 211-6514; empanadas from 50¢).

For a tighter focus on Colombian ingredients, there's Abas to, occupying

a two-story house in the Usaquenneighborhood that seems like somebody's fetch ingly rumpled home

(Carrera 6, No. 119b-52; 215-1286; en

trees from $12), and Mercado, a new

casual addition to the growing empire

of chef Leonor Espinosa (Calle 93a,No. 12-73; 236-2500; entrees from

$9). Nearby is the newest of the three

Burger Ma rkets, which secures itsmeat from a local university (Calle93a, No. 13b-56; 635-3048; entrees

from $9).Forty minutes outside the c ity, in

the suburb of Chia, you can savor the

singular spectacle-and excellentgr illed meats-of Andres Carne de Res

(Calle 3, No. 11a-56; 863-7880; entreesfrom $9). If you'd rather not make thetrek, try the newer, closer outpost,

And res D.C. (Calle 82, No. 11 -57; 863-

7880; entrees from $9).This year's Bogota Wine & Food Fes

tival is August 28 through September 1(tickets from $20).

SIGHTSEEINGAND SHOPPINGBe sure to walk around La Candelaria,where many of the lovel iest nine

teenth -century bui ldings are situatedaround the Plaza de Bolivar, the mainsquare. Nea rby, you'll find the terrific

Botero Museum in a colonial mansionon Ca lle 11 (343-1212). The shopping

center El Reti ro is leagues better thanyour typical mall and has Andres Jaramillo's remarkable foo d court (Calle 81,

No. 11-94). For the best view of the

Andean peaks and ridges around Bogota, take the fun icular or tram to the

10,341-foot summit of Monse rrate.There you'll find a seventeenth-century

church as well as places to eat and

drink (cerromonserrate.com). -F. e.

UI

\JW!I •.... ---MPANADAS COFFEE

DEP/PIAN at E&D Cafes

at Empanad itas Co ffee made fromde Pipian a wide variety of

AColombian Co lombianstaple stu ffed beans ; tastingswi th roasted and roastingpeanuts and workshops are

potatoes. offered.

QUESTIONS OK COMMENTS? E- mail tile editor: deborall@co11de11asrtrave ler .com .

ODFOR PETER FRANK

EDWARDS'S PHOTOS

OF SEVEN STANDOUTRESTAURANTS IN

BOGOTA, DOWNLOADOUR DI GITAL EDITIONOR GO TO CONDENAST

TRAVELER.COM/FOOD.

~SQUID

CROQUETAS

at Bruto

Crisp orbs tilledwi th creamybechamel and

squ id ink; served

w ith ai"oli.

'\CHIA

La Bodega de Abasto•

Abasto •Bistronomy

Bogota BeerO.Company

USAQUEN

(Andres Carne de Res)

0

\ANAMA

VENEZUELA

• Bogota

COLOMB IA

ECUADOR BRAZIL

Cll.LLE9A

Mercado

BurgerMarket C/l.LLE 92

1/4 MILE

0

\ LACABRERA

"' Monserrate-7

CALLE85

El RetiroShopping Center

Hotel Cabrera Imperial

ii\ Club Colombia

..

AndresD.C.

EL RETIRO

C/l.LLE 76

\!!Harry Sasson

Empanaditasde Pipian

CHI LE/C72

La Leo Cocina Mestiza/

B.O.G. Hotellit . . . • Masa

Criterion ~GraziaBruto G o r d oE&D Cates .!!

La Fama B a r b e c u e

CHAPINERO

ALTO

Ta ller de Te-.

LA CAN DELARIA \(Leo Cocina y C a v a ; ~

Hotel de la Opera;Plaza de Bolivar; Botero Museum )

PG IOIJULY 201 3

• C ONOJ!: NAST

TRA VE L ER



GasconyCONTINUED FROM PAGE 78

was done by an old woman in a hairnet

who carried a stool from pen to pen , holding the ducks between her legs for their

twice -daily feeding. The ducks pointed

their beaks skywar d ; she inse rted the

tube and then spent a few more second smassaging the food toward their gizzard.

Fed, t he du cks waddled off squawk ingand flapping.

And this was day twe lve of the fo ur

teen-day period of gavage. "On Monday,they go into the casserole," said Bois siere. Then , quietly, "But don't tell them

or they'll go on st rike."Bo issiere raises and dispatches between

ten thousand and twelve thousand ducks

a year. "I helped my father do this, and

I enjoyed wo rking with him ," he said. "Iwant to maintain the tradition and move

it into the fu ture." He spoke proudly ofthe quality of th e grain he used, and I no

ticed that his care of the an imals was ev erywhere on view , from the clean barns

and t he healt h of the du cks, vigorouseven at the end of gavage, t o his pride in

a foie gras tasting he gave me in the store.And th e reg ion 's history speaks th roughhim, li tera lly: When alone with his fa m ily, he speaks the Occitan language com

mon to the area in Roman times.

I was beginning to unde rs tan d what

had a lways been at th e bo tt om of myneed to wr it e about fo od: people. Here

I was in the heart of French pa radoxcountry- where people who don ' t diet or

avoid food but embrace it with vigor live

longe r , with a lower incidence of heart

disease than we in the land of chicken breast -on -salad. It 's because they con

tinue to grow, cook, and ea t food much

as they have for centuries, a fact that theChapolards , Ladeveze, Boissiere , and the

Berthe llots embody with their lives.On our final night in Gascony, we had

an aperitif at Ka te 's far mhouse, which

had filled to bursting wi th culinary gyp sies, and headed to a marche nocturne, a

night market, perhaps the truest expres sion of the terroir we'd experienced.

I' d noticed throughout our t rip how

love ly it was to tour towns and vi llagesthat were so untouristed , so tranqu il.The nigh t market was in Nerac , home ofFrance's Henry JV, or Henry the Great,the sixteenth - century k ing known, itmay be no sur prise, for his emb race of

peasant far mers, beli evi ng th at th ere

would be peace in th e land if the peoplecould grow their own food and promis

ing a chicken in eve ry pot . During the

day , we had dined and shopped along the

town 's uncrowded st reets .But on the night of the marche nae -

102 CONDE NAST TRAV Ei.ER JULY 20 13

turne, we could scarcely find a place to

park. Crowds streamed ove r the bridge

from the ci ty dow n to t he canal, to alarge open area that had been trans

fo rmed into a gigantic dining room. Theregion's fa rmers, chefs, and winemakers

had come to sell their food and drink. An

African ba nd was on stage, and people

were dancing. Row after row of tables ,

each a hundred feet long, stretched in thecen ter , packed wit h friends and family

and neighbors eating and drinking. Herethere were lines, many lines, people wait

ing hungrily for plates of conftt de canardand duck fat-fried potatoes, escargots,sausages, brochettes, cheeses , bottles of

wine, to ea t and drink in the lovely sum

mer tw iligh t.We staked out a circu lar tab le at which

to stand and eat and were joined by sev

eral strangers. It was as if the entire to wnwere one big family that had come ou t toce lebrate food and wine and each other.

Two years ea rlier , I' d bee n powerfullymoved by th e honesty and in tegrity of

Dominiq ue Chapolard-no t by his knife

sk ills but , I knew now, by the way heembodied the land he comes from. Dominique found us at the night market inNerac, music rocking, seven- dollar bot

tles of rose spread on the table, containersfilled with snail shells, plates of sausageand pot atoes, and andouillet tes, du ck

and Gascon beef- a carnival of food and

wine and music and communi ty. Go newas the hairnet from the butchery, gone

too the beret and apron from the market.

He was dressed in shorts and a summershir t , with a grin so big a silver pre molar

caught the low sun.I thanked him for showing me his work,

how he broke down the hogs, an d the

drying roo ms where his sausage cu res.

He became serious and shook his headno. Kate was on his left , and he looked to

her, urgently, because he leaned on her totranslate for him , but t hen tu rned to me

to say something in my language, though

it was difficult.

He touched my chest with h is fingertipsand said, "You honor us by being here."

I was struck by a thought- more a feeling, really- t hat was hard to put int owords. Istood before a man who qui t hisdesk job at age fo r ty - four and took up

hog fa rming in probably the most physica lly grueling way possible, whose wifechurned out hundreds of pounds of meat

daily beside him and st ill found time tostop midday and join him for a home cooked lunch , a man with a mu stache

bigger t han his head who' d re turned to

his land because he knew what mat tered

and said so with his very li fe, in the midstof a throbbing , dancing, chomping, swill

ing crowd - a people to whom that was nosurprise at all . D

Bogota

CONT INUED FROM PAGE 100

tea shop, so tha t 's where I head on my

first morning. As my taxi moves throughthe shopping district around my hotel and

then up and across those posh neighbor

hoods on the slope, I'm st ruck again by

how lush the city is: by how many build ings have balconies and patios and gar

dens. This reflects the gent le weather,

where the usua l daytime high throughoutthe year is in the sixties.

Cah nspeyer 's tea shop, ca lled Taller

de Te, is in the Chapinero Alto neighb or hood, whose rapid, ongoing gentrification

it embodies. She's taken the lower floor of

a humdrum limestone house on a largelyresidential street and turned it into anadorable refuge where she makes, sells,and serves custo m blends with tea leavesimported from other countries, but most

of the herbs, spices, and flowers are grownin Colombia. In fact, some of the Englishmint, lemongrass, and lemon verbena sheuses comes from flowerpots in Ta ller deTe' s backyard.

She serves me a sensationally fragranttea seasoned with cloves, nutmeg, an d

marigold."I hope it's caffeinated," I say, explain

ing that I'm feeling strangely depleted ,

though Ican' t figure out why, s ince Bogo

ta and New York are in the same time zoneand I shouldn 't have jet lag.

She laughs: "Maybe the altitude? " I for

got somehow that Bogota is, at 8,500 feet,the third- highest capital in South America, after Quito and La Paz. And here in

Chapinero Alto, maybe a third of the wayup the main ridge, we ' re another severalhundred fee t higher than that.

The two of us wa lk to lunch, and along

the way she points to restaurant after restaurant that has sprung up in the last year

or two. We pass La Fama, which opened

in November with the he lp of a pit masterfrom New York and specializes in Ameri

can-style barbecue- smoked brisket, babyback r ibs, sweet corn. Then we pass Gor

do, which opened around the same timeand promi ses its diners the excitement and

food not of a region of Italy or France but ofBrooklyn. Yes, Brooklyn .

We cross in to Quinta Camacho , where

the s idewalks are crowded wi th na ttily

dressed ban kers heading out for a middaymeal, and arrive at our dest ination, Bruto, yet another new restaurant, this oneserving Spanish food in high -cei linged,brick -walled, handsome rooms. It 's bus tli ng, an obvious favo rite of th ose bank

ers, and for good reaso n. Everything Isample - in particular the salads and the

squid croquetas, which are crisp orbswith an oozing cen ter of bechamel an d

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Bogota

squid ink - is superb. I send my compli

ments to the chef, Felipe Arizabaleta,

who knows Ca hn speyer and drops by our

table to say hello.Arizabaleta, thirty- six, grew up in Co

lombia but left in 2003, sickened by the

violence, discouraged by the economy,and convinced that the country was no

place for him and his wife to raise their

newborn daughter. They started over inSpain, where he trained and worked as a

chef. But by 2009, when he hungered fo r arestaurant of his own, Colombia seemed abetter bet than anywhere in Europe. "It's

incredible the way things turned around

here, " he te lls me. He returned and soon

joined forces with other investors to opentwo places in Bogota, a hugely popular

French bistro named El Bandido and, latelast year, Bruto.

The migration back to Colombia ofyoung entrepreneurs who thought they'd

have to make their fortune elsewhere explains the country' s culinary coming-of

age as well as anything else. Cahnspeyer,thirty - two, opened Taller de Te in 2012,

after eight years outside her country ona hunt for a better educa tion and jobs inthe United States, England, Germany, and

Spain.

A stunning new pastry shop and cafe

named Grazia, in the tony Rosales neigh

borh ood of Bogota, belongs to a hus band-and -wife team in their early thir

ties-she's Colombian, he' s French-whorecent ly moved here from Ne w York,where he was in charge of desserts at twoof Daniel Boulud 's restaurants. One block

away from Grazia is a fantastic bakery and

sandwich spot, Masa, that was started in

late 2011 by yet another returning Co lom

bian, Silvana Villegas, twenty-eight, whoworked in New York for Jean-Georges

Vongerichten.And the reason that Daniel Castano ,

the thirty - five -year -old chef at Gordo ,

can summon Brooklyn is because he livedthere, in the Williamsburg neighborhood,

until 2009 and in Ma nhattan until just lastyear. All to ld, he spent more than a decade

cooking in New York-part of that timein several of Mario Batali 's restaurants before moving back to Bogota, whichwas sudden ly the city wi th the brighte ropportunities.

I'M DYING to experience Brooklyn in Bo

gota bu t dec ide to wait until my friendJohn Magazino , a New York specialty- foodimporter, joins me. He's been to the city

twice over the last year , and those tr ipshave converted him into a bona tide evan

gelist for the place, in tent on flying in toshow me around.

10 4 CONDE NAS T TRAVELER JULY 2013

Shortly after he arrives, we grab lunch

at Club Colombia , one of Bogota's most

beloved shrines to such traditional Co lombian dishes as chicharrones, which

are fried pork rinds with some meat and

fat att ache d; empanadas de pipicin, en

velopes of fried cornmealstuffed with pota to and served with a pean ut sauce; and

ajiaco, a shepherd's pie of a soup with

chicken, potatoes, corn , sour cream, andavocado. But what John wants me to focus

on is the twenty -odd types of common

and uncommon fruits that Club Co lombiawill turn into fresh juices or smoothies.

Fruits both familiar and exotic th rive inCo lombia, with its equatorial climate and

vast patches of Amazonian forest. On myweek long eating expedition, I try manyof them. We have one smoothie, for ex

ample , made wit h feijoa, also known as

guavas teen , which has notes of cucumber

and basil. Another spotlights guancibana,or soursop, which strikes me as the love

child of a coconu t and a banana. The lastan d best showcases mora, a purplish

berry with a sweetness and tartness allits own. When I later fmd mora jam in astore, I buy three jars and squi rrel them

away in my suitcase.Afterward, John insists we take a thirty

mi nute dr ive nor th to walk off all thosesmoothies in Bogota's old histo ric center, La Candelaria. It' s not so central any

mor e, and it's poorer and scruffier than

the areas of the city that tourists favor ,

but it has a special look and magic, wi th

a maze of narrow streets flanked by red roofed houses painted in a kaleidoscope

of colors. We linger in the main square,

admiring the tableau of the neoclassicalcathedral and o ther colonial-era build

ings against a backdrop of green moun

tain: Europe meets the Andes. Then we dip

into the nearby Botero Museum , housinga collection of about two hundred paint

ings, drawings, and sculp tures that wereeithe r done by, or belonged to , one of the

country's most renowned artists, Fer

nando Botero. It' s nearlyempty, and that,

coupled with its size, makes it unusuallymanageable and peaceful, not to mention

a prudent breather before the commotionof Gordo.

We go that night, and it 's packed with

fashionably dressed young Co lombians.Although the restaurant is na med forCastafto's dog, the rest of it pays tribute

to America. The tin ceiling is made of tilesimported from Brooklyn. On the far en d

of the packed bar is an enormous sign, al

most two stories tall, listing some of the

borough's best-known thoroughfares and

neighborhoods: Co ney Is land , BrightonBeach, DeKalb Avenue, BushwickAvenue.

Near that is a display of condiments eitherclassically American or in vogue in Brook lyn kitchens, including Heinz ketchup ,

Gulden 's mustard, and Kewpie mayon-

Word TripsByEmi ly Cox and Henry RaLhvon

EAST SIDE, WEST SIDE

In the middle of this crossword gr id, the east- west answer for 13 Across in tersectsthe north-south answer for 6 Down.Taken tog ether, these answers comprise fourwords that reveal a familiar sung-about locale-thesolution to this month's puzzle.

ACROSS

5 Island partner ofTrinidad

7 Captain Sparrowplayed by Johnny Depp

8 Hollywood Walk ofFame feature

9 Where Oslo is capital

11 Collector's13 See instructions15 Instrument played by

Orpheus16 Hop i home18 Mongolian desert20 Front of a ship21 Home state of Dorothy

and Toto

DOWN

1 Italy's shape2 Spain's Museo del

Prado site3 Partly open4 Wet qu intet including

the Indian6 See instructions

10 Epps, Sharif, orBradley

12 William who shotarrows

13 Typical plaza shape14 Folk tale, as of Sleepy

Hollow

17 Try for a strike

19 Lima or fava MAY'S PUZZLE ANSWER: See pag e 105.

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naise, a Japanese import that discerningNew Yorkers relish.

And the menu reads like a love letter toCastafio's favorite Brooklyn haunts (DuMont, Marlow & Sons, Prime Meats) and

American dishes (chicken wings, maca-

roni and cheese, grilled cheese). His friedchicken in particular impresses me. lt 's

juicy and crunchy in just the right com-

bination and could hold its own in any ofNew York 's five boroughs.

Gordo illustrates th e variety an d in genuity of Bogota's burgeoning crop ofrestaurants. Another night, John an d Iea t at one of the three locations of th e

two -year -old Burger Market, a chain ofeateries that has ratcheted up the Ameri

can an d European obsession with local

sourcing: It makes its pricey steaks an d

hamburgers with kosher beef from a local

university' s own crossbreed of Angus and

wagyu cattle, and its lettuce is grown hydroponically inside the restaurants them-

selves, on walls that turn roughage intoleafy de co r. The newest Burger Market,which opened in February and is the one

we visit, has cherry tomatoes dangling

like ornaments from vines that crawl up a

fence hemming the outdoorpatio. They'reused in salads, though patrons have been

known to furtively pluck two or three and

ea t them on their juicy own . (We ll , thispatron has.)

Without John I poke my head into Har ry Sasson, one of the most gorgeous res tau rants I've ever laid eyes on. It's named

for its in ternationally celebrated chef,

and a prior version of it existed for manyyea rs in a different spot a few miles away.But in mid -2011, as Bogota's fortunes

improved , Sasson relocated to a sprawl-

ing, regal manse built in t he 193 0s. Thedriveway in front curves around massive

trees more than a hundred years old. Thepatio in back, which has space for scoresof diners, is floored in gray marble an d

dazzlingly roofed by what brings to mind

a gargantuan modernist glass sculpture.Inside and upstairs is a bar made from

more of that signature marble, wi th three

ornate glass chandeliers from Turkey an d

stools upholstered in calfskin. Rarely hasa martini had such a sumptuous stage to

Word Trips

FOR TH IS M ON TH 'S CO NTEST, SEE PA GE 104

"Travel Tips" (May 2013)

PUZZLE ANSWER: THE FIRST LETTERS

SPELL TOWER OF PISA.

Answers to clues, in th e ord er in which

they're given: PUTTER, IRI SES, RANGER,

FLAMES, WINNER, SADDLE , OLIVER,

EASTER, ORANGE, TRAINS, ALI GHT.

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Bogota

preen upon."I get travelers from the United States,

and they say to me, 'This is the best-kept

secret , '" Sasson tells me, and he' s refer ring not so much to the restaurant, whose

international menu has a more Continen

tal than Colombian bent, as to Bogota it self. "It's the nueva Colombia, we call it."

One of its g rea test bene ficiaries and

promoters is also one of th e country's

food-te levision stars, Leonor Espinosa,

nicknamed Leo. Since June of last year ,she has opened two fo llow - ups to the Bo

gota restaurant Leo Cocina y Cava, which

initially brought her international atte n tion. The frillier an d more expensive ofthese sequels is La Leo Coci na Mest iza,in the sleek new B.O.G. Hotel in El Lago.

Cocina mestizameans mixedcuisine, and

that phrase evokes the menu' s mingling

of various influences that have shapedt he country 's cooking-Arabic, Afr ican, Caribbean, and of course European.La Leo's hummus, for example, is madewith guandul, a less aggressively starchy

Colombian bean tha t yields a silkier pastethan ch ickpeas, and it 's scooped up not

with triangles of pita but with rice crackers that evoke arepas.

Her other new restaurant , Me rcado

on Parque de la 93, a modest urban greenam id Bogata 's bustle-is a more casual

showcase for her outspoken advocacy ofcooking with Colombian ingred ients. The

restaurant' s signatu re braised ch icken ,served in an enor mous porcelain po t

with four dipping sauces on the side, uses

plump birds from a nearby farm. Skewered cubes of opulen t bison mea t are alsolocally sourced and are indicative of the

quick ly improving quality of wha t Colombian far mers an d ranchers are produc ing . Since it' s lunch time and John and

I are trying to pace ourselves, we forgowine or beer an d instead order two ofMercado's house- made sodas, one with

strawberry and passion fruit , the other

with watermelon and basil. They 'r e fur

ther affirmation of the count ry' s fruityblessings.

That night we head to Usaquen, wh ich,like La Candelaria, is one of the few neigh borhoods in modern Bogota with the ar chi tecture of th e ci ty 's past. Unlike LaCandelaria, it has been transformed overthe last five years into a stylish playgroundfor th e increasing number of Co lombi ans with money to burn on restaurants

and bars. There's a branch of the ever expanding Bogota Beer Company, which

makes its own brews; three splashy megarestaurants (one Peruvian, one Italian, one

steak house) by the prolific Bogota restau rateur Leo Katz; and Bis trono my, which

106 CON DE NAST TRAVELER JULY 2013

belongs to the brothers Ma rk and Jorge

Rausch, celebrity chefs in Colombia whoseflagship restaurant, Criterion, is considered one of a handful on a sumptuous par

with Ha rry Sasson.But we're having dinner at Abasta, an

Usaquen pioneer that took root just be

fore the area's transformation, helping to

nudge it along. I've been told tha t Abast a

demonstrates a special commitment toCo lombia's delicious natural bounty, and

that's instantly clear from the devotionof about a quarter of the space inside the

two- story restaurant to a grocery store

that showcases the Colombian produce,grains, and meat being used in the kitchen. "All of this has been here all the time,"

Abasto's chef, Luz Beatriz Ve lez, says asshe s hows me around the store. Yelez isreferring to her country's indigenous in

gredients, which she tells me were over

looked and underappreciated fo r too long."We weren 't really aware of what we had.

We weren' t aware of its richness, its diversity. But that's changing fast." Ye lez then

takes me on a hike up the steep hill abovethe restaurant to its sp in -off, La Bodegade Abasta, wh ich ope ned about two yearsago in a warehouse - like space ini tiallyintended to be an artist's studio. La Bo

dega specializes in rotisserie chicken and

has equipment for roasting coffee beans,which Yelez does herself.

Back at Abasta , John joins me. The din

ner menu leans hard on seafood from Co lombia' s long coastline, which has both

Pacific and Caribbean stretches, and on

terrific vegetables. She slices fresh hea rtsof palm into strands of what looks like

fettuccine, then dresses a loose b raid of

them lightly with vinegar an d pink pep

per. She accessorizes seared octopus withcooked red and yellow peppers of exqui

site sweetness. We can see her toiling inthe ope n kitchen with th ree helpers. It'san all -wo men team.

Later she ap pears at our table to checkon us and to apologize: She can't work a

full shift tonight and has to leave, becauseshe has fo reign friends in town an d th e

restaurant she wants to show them is a bit

of a drive away.

"It's ca lled And res Carne de Res," she

te lls us , then asks us if by chance we've

heard of it.

John and I look at each other and smile.Oh yes, we have. And the way Bogota isbuzzing, we're bet ting t ha t plenty more

people will be hearing about it soon

enough. 0

CREDITSPage 8: From top: Courtesy Kingsford Homestead;

courtesy CN Traveler lnstagram, photograph by Su

san Hack; courtesy CN Traveler lnstagram. Page 10:

From left: Cou rtesy Peter Frank Edwards; courtesy

Tom Pa rker; courtesy Ba rbara S. Peterson, photo

graph by Paula Markow i t z Wittlin; courtesy Michael

Ruh lman, photograph by Donna Turner Ruhlman .

Page 14 : Bernd Jonkman ns/ laif/Redux. Page 20 :

Courtesy Domaine de la Bau me. Page 22 : From top :

Cour tesy Rajasthan; photograph by Greg Miller. Page

33 : Get ty Images. Page 40: iStockphoto. Page 56 :

Courtesy Quinary. Page 58 : Co ur tesy Mezcaleri a

Quiquiriqu i (2).

WHERE TO BUY IT"The Global Bar Hop": Page 55 : Her dress by Ro land

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Conde Nast Traveler USA - July 2013