Birthday

So one of the reasons I didn't post for a couple of days was Monday was my birthday. My wonderful family kept me well fed and feted from Saturday through Monday. Saturday night was an intimate, just-the-three-of-us dinner at Le P'tit Paris, a bistro just off Prospect Park on the Windsor Terrace/Park Slope edge in the old Da Vincenzo space, which I was sad but not heartbroken to see close. (Da Vincenzo had excellent pizza and Italian comfort food, but there's little shortage of that in Brooklyn.) We'd been there once before, where I'd enjoyed a lovely rendition of Coq au Vin, but we had not back for quite a while. Saturday the regular special is Boeuf Bourguignon. Braised short ribs are one of life's great comfort foods, and I've experimented with beer and wine on a number of occasions, and the results were tasty. Having classic Boeuf Bourg at LPP left me wondering why I bothered trying to improve on the formula. As is often the case, the French set a culinary standard that bears little room for improvement no matter what fancy techniques or exotic ingredients are employed. That's not to say I won't keep trying nor should you, but every once in a while it's good to go back to basics to remind ourselves of the benchmark. The preparation is normally over pasta, but the waiter happily substituted a mushroom risotto, for me a much preferable choice. (But then risotto is always a winner with me.) I had no prayer of finishing the whole meal, but short ribs and risotto only get better sitting overnight.
I also enjoyed a glass of 2006 Domaine de Beausejour from Chinon in the Loire Valley. Chinon red wines are based on Cabernet Franc, called Breton there I have learned. (The Internet knows everything.) I am by no means an expert in Loire wines, but I enjoyed it and would happily drink it again. A rich dish like BB could have used a stronger pairing though, and I would probably try something a little more assertive from their impressive list by the glass. (It's on the bottom of the menu at the above link.) There are even two selections from Languedoc, a region with which I have no experience at all. Even though it is the largest wine region in France and grows both Cabernet and Pinot Noir, probably scandalizing both the Bordelais and the Bourgognois simultaneously, as well as the Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvedre traditional to the bordering Rhone region. You do not commonly find Languedoc appellation wines in most wine shops or wine lists in the U.S., or at least I don't, but then an authentic French bistro run by two guys named Olivier and Matthieu can be expected to dig deeper. I highly recommend a visit if French comfort food done perfectly sounds remotely appealing. (If it doesn't, I'm not sure how I can help you.)