Strip House, Manhattan

One restaurant that Vikki and I didn’t have time to try in 2012 was Strip House on 12^th Street. This year we found they have a location closer to where we were staying so we decided to go in for dinner.

Strip House Midtown is a large restaurant and bar spread over 2 floors. Rich siren red walls adorned with original Studio Manasse prints of 1930’s burlesque performers and decor that combines old world glamour with modern style and sophistication. The large crystal chandeliers are quite amazing.

We decided to sit upstairs and had a great waiter named Ray. Something about him reminded me of a young Sinatra, he seriously would have fit in with the Rat Pack. Our table overlooked the ground floor so we had a great view of what was happening down there.

Some of the Studio Manasse Prints lining the walls:

Menu and rolls with a glass of rose champagne:

We loved the little covers on the butters:

Gazpacho for our amuse:

Being a big fan of Surf and Turf I couldn’t resist choosing it, along with Striphouse Steak Sauce. The prawn was the largest we have ever seen, almost the size of a marron, the steak was a classic fillet.

Vikki went for the Kobe striploin with caramelised soy, yuzu and radish salad. The caramelised soy was very good, sweet and salty, the salad of radishes and yuzu really cut through that saltiness. We added a side of garlic and herb chips to go with our steaks.

Of course you can’t visit New York without having a New York Cheesecake. This was a huge slice of cheesecake and we were so glad to share it. Served simply with a berry coulis.

We were very happy to be able to dine at Striphouse this year and look forward to going again next time we are in Manhattan. We might try the 12th St restaurant for our next visit.

Vendome Masterclass

We were fortunate to be invited by Caroline to attend a watchmaking masterclass on our last day in Paris. We thought it was a fantastic way to end our great week in Paris.

On arriving we were met by Caroline, Nicolas, and Jerome the watchmaker. We watched as Jerome disassembled a calibre 822 movement in stages with Vikki and I then attempting to do the same stage.

Wow, great admiration for all those watchmakers who do this work daily. At least this time I got my loupe on straight. Amazing how hard it is to handle the small screwdriver and try not to have the screws fly off while working on the movement. I was just glad that the movement was a practice piece as we left a few scratches on the plates. Vikki was a bit more capable with the small parts, which impressed Jerome and Nicolas, she has had plenty of practice due to her jewellery making hobby.

The movement after we broke it down. Thankfully we didn’t have to take the complete movement apart.

Back together again, with a few extra decorative marks on the bridge. Our artistic touch.

Vikki and I with Jerome.

After our little session of stress and fun, we were invited again to the upstairs salon for an inspection of watches. Caroline not only bought out the watches we had seen previously but also the boutique edition Duometre Unique Travel Time (100 pieces) in white gold. The boutique edition features a red 7 and 9 in the date indicator which represents the address of the Jaeger LeCoultre in Place Vendome. This watch was unveiled at the reopening of the Place Vendome boutique last November.

Perhaps this is the watch I should buy for when we travel, although Australia seems to be missing from the map. I wonder if there is a version with the southern hemisphere.

We would like to thank Caroline, Nicolas and Jerome for their time and attention during our visits to the boutique. We thoroughly enjoyed our time visiting the Jaeger LeCoultre flagship boutique in Place Vendome and look forward to returning again in the future.

Banke Hotel and Josefin Restaurant, Paris

The hotel for our week in Paris was Banke Hotel, located on Rue Lafayette, a quick walk from Les Grand Magasins - Galleries Lafayette and Printemps. It was also a short walk from the Opera Garnier, Le Louvre and many other sights.

Situated in a former bank headquarters, Hotel Banke is housed in an early 20thcentury building designed by architects Paul Friesse and Cassien Bernard. The building was refurbished to become the hotel in 2009. The stately facade dominates the corner of Rue Lafayette and Rue Pillet Will with a style that revives the charms of Paris's Belle Epoque.

The hotel makes a statement with it's spectacular mosaic floored lobby crowned with a glass cupola. The lobby retains many of the original bank features like the teller counters and safe deposit boxes. The colours are predominantly deep red and gold, lots of gold. A decor that blends original architectural elements with contemporary design bringing a 21st century touch to a Hausmann style building.

We were quite fortunate that we were able to try two different room types during our stay. Our first room was a Superior room, mid tone woods, rich burgundys and a velvet head board with lots of designer touches. Our second room was an Executive room which had the same colour choices, a bit more room, and the main feature in this room was a leather headboard, leather woven rug and leather sofa. Stencil furniture prints were painted on the walls giving a whimsical touch to the decor. Both rooms had well sized marble bathrooms with good sized tubs and seperate toilet which for some reason made Vikki happy. WHile not the largest room we have stayed in they were very comfortable and had plenty of storage space with great wardrobes and sufficient drawer space.

During our stay at Banke Hotel, we decided to try the hotel’s restaurant, Josefin.

The stunning glass domed lobby is home to the reception desk, restaurant and bar. On one side of the spectacular mosaic tiled floor is the restaurant and the bar is opposite. 

Glamourous gold leather banquettes, dark wood and leather chairs, gold metal and crystal chandeliers with dramatic red and black highlights were the feature of both the restaurant and bar. Along the old teller counters were whimsical little displays, plants and flowers. 

 Our amuse of salmon:

Beautiful freshly baked breads served with our favourite butter, Beurre d’Isigny:

Unusually for us we both opted for seafood entrees. I ordered the tuna Tataki:

Vikki ordered the carpaccio of lobster with aged balsamic and Spanish extra virgin olive oil:

For main Vikki had a panfried duck breast with wok fried vegetables. Which she said was quite light even though it was duck:

I love seafood so I had scallops with a shellfish foam and mushrooms:

We skipped dessert as we had a big lunch.

Banke Hotel is a great spot to drop your bags and stay in Paris, and is easy to walk to most places. Metro stations are a short walk in several directions. We walked from Banke Hotel to Le Tour Eiffel and Sacre Coeur. Both are big walks but enjoyable and you get to see a bit more of the real Paris.

Unfortunately we forgot to take photos of Hotel Banke so have "borrowed" some from their website.

Vendome Jaeger LeCoultre Boutique Visit

On our first day in Paris Vikki and I went for a long walk that ended at Place Vendome.

One of our first destinations to visit was the Jaeger Le Coultre Boutique. Located in one of the corners of Place Vendome, at numbers 7 and 9, it covers 500sq metres over three floors and has an amazing amount of floor space. A watch making workshop is also located within the boutique space so that small repairs and adjustments do not have to make the trip to Le Sentier.

Behind the stone facade lies a boutique that is light and airy, with walls painted in creams and light greys, light and dark woods, wood floors with  rugs in shades of grey and unique wrought iron work, the JLC boutique is an elegant setting for displaying some of Switzerland’s best horological products. Apart from space for the normal display of watches, the boutique also contains space for special exhibitions.

On arriving we were very lucky to be met by Caroline, the Boutique Manager. Caroline quickly realised that we were quite informed about watches and Jaeger LeCoultre. Within two minutes we were whisked upstairs to the salon for high end pieces.

I had a couple of Jaeger LeCoultre watches that I was particularly interested in seeing and Caroline was most helpful in fulfilling my request to view the Spherotourbillon, Gyrotourbillon and the Master Extreme LAB. First up was the Master Extreme LAB, in both titanium and in rose gold. 

Next up Caroline  upped the ante on the Spherotourbillon and the Gyro Tourbillon by showing us the platinum cased versions with diamonds. We were wowed by the beauty of both the Master Gyrotourbillon 1 and the Duometre Spherotourbillon, and if the platinum and diamonds weren't enough dazzle both watches had an amazing blue aventurine dial which really made a statement. The aventurine has a subtle sparkle to it that is hard to capture in photographs.

Another favourite that I got to see was the Reverso GyroTourbillon 2, a stunning watch from any angle.

Vikki and I always love to look at the JLC Atmos clocks, and the Vendome Boutique had two of the most unique and amazing Atmos clocks on display. Both have a marquetery external box with a hidden button to open them. The first was a design of a Klimt pattern, you can see the button when the box is open, but when closed it combines as part of the design.

 The second Atmos marquetry piece was very subtle, being a patch work of thousands of precisely angled slithers of wood. Each piece so well pieced that Vikki at first thought it was heat treated titanium. The technique is known as straw marquetry.

We also got to see some of the enamelling that JLC is renowned for. This example is a reproduction of the famous Klimt painting “The Kiss”. Not only was it an enamel dial but it also has the roll away curtain, meaning you can display the dial when you like.

After a great conversation with Caroline, we were invited to a masterclass which we were happy to say yes to. 

More on the Masterclass in the next post.

Dinner By Heston, Mandarin Oriental, London

After working out that a trip to The Fat Duck in Bray was not feasible for our one week stay in London, we decided that Heston Blumenthal’s other restaurant Dinner By Heston, would be a lot easier to get to. Thankfully we booked well in advance (February) and were able to get a reservation. Dinner By Heston is located in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Knightsbridge.

On our visit to Dinner By Heston, the day was spectacular, sun shining, bright blue skies. Not what you expect for a British summer’s day. Our walk was very pleasant indeed.

The restaurant is located through the lobby toward the Hyde Park side of the hotel building. Large expanses of glass let in light and afford a great view of Hyde Park. 

Custom-made porcelain light fixtures modelled on antique jelly moulds are a quirky touch to the walls, vaulted ceilings enhance the height of the rooms and lots of large mirrors, wood, leather and ivory paint is used for walls and furnishings. Floor to ceiling glass separates the diners from the kitchen where the feature is the pulley system used to rotate the spit.

Dinner By Heston has dishes inspired from historic British gastronomy. Each dish has a year date indicating the period in time the original recipe was formulated.

I got a little confused and thought we had been given the dinner menu instead of the lunch menu, until Vikki reminded me that the restaurant was named Dinner. We decided on the 3 course set lunch menu with matching wines (all up £147 approxAUD$256). As there were two choices per course it was just a matter of deciding which of us wanted what more than the other.

 I love snails so I had to have the dressed snails(c.1884), parsley, beetroot, salty fingers and red wine sauce. This was matched with a  Schiopetto, 2010 Pinot Grigio from Collio in Italy.

Vikki is not in to snails( she thinks they should only be trodden on when found in the garden) so she chose the Salamagundy (c.1720), smoked tomato, celery, buckler sorrel and lovage. This was matched with Weingut Loimer, 2012 Gruner Veltliner ‘Lois’ from Kamptal in Austria. I was quite surprised when I tried a bit of the tasty heirloom tomatoes enhanced with a light touch of smoke.

For mains I ordered something I haven’t tried before, roasted ray wing & admirals sauce (c. 1826), sea aster, shallots, peas, brown butter and capers. This was matched with Ata Rangi, 2012 Sauvignon Blanc, Martinborough, New Zealand. Sea aster is a plant that grows along the coast line and has edible leaves.

 Vikki opted for roast quail (c.1590) with cabbage, onion and smoked chestnut. The quail was taken of the bone for plating and sat high on the mound of cabbage, onion and chestnut. This was matched with a Casale Dello Sparviero, 2009 Riserva Chianti Classico from Tuscany in Italy.

Desserts saw us have a little tiff over who got the Millionaire Tart (c. 1730), crystallised chocolate, with vanilla icecream (so smooth!!). This was served with Domaine de la Tour Vieille, NV Banyuls Reserve from Roussillon in France. The tart was a nice crumbly base with a rich chocolate topping with little ‘gold’ nuggets on top. Vikki won that one.

I had the Shrewsbury Gooseberry Tansy tart, gooseberry, rose and caraway. This was matched with La Spinetta, 2012 Moscato d’Asti Bricco Quaglia fro Piedmont in Italy. This tart was light and lovely. The crust from caramelisation was just right and the moscato was the perfect wine to go with such a light dessert.

A post dessert was also bought out. It usually comes with the coffee but Vikki and I seldom order coffee after a meal, so it came out any way. A little glass cup of dark chocolate ganache with a crisp wafer. Thank goodness we walked back to our hotel.

A great lunch to go with a great English summer day. Next time we might have to stay a bit longer in London so we can make the trip to Bray.