White Truffles in Marfa, TX?

Years ago, Adrian made a pit stop in a tiny remote town in the high desert called  Marfa, Texas. He was on a long road trip making his way down to his family's house in coastal Mexico. He felt the magic right away. He ended up buying a little fixer upper house and we've made a point to circulate Marfa into our lives when we can. Marfa was put on the contemporary art map when American modern sculptor Donald Judd took residence there in the 1970's. With the help of the Dia Foundation, he bought several large buildings as well as the decommissioned Fort D.A. Russell to house large scale bodies of his work along with pieces by other artists. Both the Chinati Foundation and the Judd Foundation continue to manage these spaces and keep his art history legacy alive.

 Donald Judd's aluminum pieces in one of the fort's large buildings that comprise the Chinati Foundation

  Judd's wood furniture design pieces and permanent work by Dan Flavin at the Chinati Foundation

We recently had a sweet little excursion over to Marfa last month to check up on our house, soak up the sky and to celebrate my birthday with my twin sister Simone. Last year, we spent our birthday together in Piedmont, Italy, and ate white truffles at the source. This year, we did it again, but in the high desert! Simone scoured the internet and found a source that shipped white truffles directly from Alba to us in the middle of West Texas. Simone and her boyfriend Rob run the best coffee shop in all of Texas ( Ok, I might be a little biased but still). Their coffee shop is called Do Your Thing, and has become the go-to spot to catch up with locals, find out about what's going on that day, and to enjoy the high quality coffee and tasty rad café breakfast grub.

 

One of the neighborhood horse buddies ... Me n my twin sister, Simone

 A porridge bowl and DYT coffee...and a "modern", my favorite drink at DYT

White truffles were purchased for the big birthday dinner... Mary Farley's beautiful eggs from down the road.

Simone rolls out pasta with Chinati foundation director, Rob Weiner

Seared pork loins encrusted with Sarawac peppercorns... soon to be dressed with a cognac, pepper cream sauce

Mary's eggs getting separated by Simone and dear friend, Buck Johnson of the always amazing Wrong Store

A singular ricotta and egg yolk raviolo, with brown butter and white truffles from Alba

Old TofC friend, Janella Fox, made two magical dark chocolate Guinness cakes with cream cheese frosting for our birthday...  DELISH!

Sunset walks in Marfa are beyond

The Côtes d'Armor in Brittany

Before heading west to California, we frolicked on one of our other favorite coastlines, the Côtes d'Armor in the Brittany region of France. From fresh mussels, clams, oysters and scallops to buckwheat crepes in their place of origin and lots of incredibly beautiful cove beaches... the Brittany coast is one of the most magical places on earth.

Les Bouchots, the mussel farms in the Fresnaye Bay

The best fresh steaming mussels from the seaside flea-market stand for only 5 Euros

Quilles, a wooden vintage french bowling game found at the flea market. Love the breton striped men with berets!

Saint-Malo

Anton and I chilling by the Erquy lighthouse

two favorite plages sauvages, Plage Lourtouais and Plage Portuais & oysters from Nicolas Nonnet

We have finished filming! It's a wrap!! A dream has been realized, and a film has been shot. The footage is so incredible and the actors brought the script to life in ways we never imagined. We are so proud and happy to be making "Prestigious Ingredients" ! Follow our production diary and all film related news here.

Because of YOU...

We are so eternally grateful to all our backers for supporting our dream and vision. We successfully raised enough funds on Kickstarter to produce our first food-centric short film, "Prestige Ingredients". It's been written in a fictional narrative format and stars Alia Shawkat and Paris based chef, Pierre Jancou.  The story is about an out-of-work young actress in LA who gets hired by a chef in Paris for an unlikely job. Lots of surprises and meals will be woven throughout this poetic tale. We will be filming a scene with James Henry (Bones Restaurant), at Au Passage and at the Clavisy lamb farm in the medieval town of Noyers-sur-Serein to name just a few of our locations.

We created a production diary and blog dedicated to our Trail of Crumbs Productions universe where we will be publishing behind-the-scenes stories and photos!

We begin filming on May 26th and will keep you updated on the fun Trail of Crumbs production antics!

-Danielle & Adrian and the "Prestige Ingredients" team

We Are Making A Short Film called "Prestige Ingredients" - PLEASE HELP US!

We are making a short film next month about modern french cuisine. It stars Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development, Whip It) and it's about a stifled Hollywood actress who gets hired by a chef in Paris (Pierre Jancou) for an unlikely role. This film features modern french cuisine in a fictional narrative format, which makes it unique among all the reality/documentary food based content out there.

There's still time left for our Kickstarter campaign and we would love any support possible to reach our goal. If we do not reach our goal by May 14th, we will lose all pledged support... so please help us spread the word! We really want to make this film to be put out into the universe.

We've got lots of great prizes for those that donate... some handmade cheese boards by Adrian Rubi-Dentzel,  who has designed furniture for many top new Paris restaurants, original drawings by Alia Shawkat, Pierre Jancou's inscribed and signed new cookbook... and many more to come.

Please watch this video about our film and click here for more details on how to support us!

Hero - Korean Fried Chicken in Paris

A big perk of being creatively involved with new restaurants is being able to go to fun things like test dinners.  Last night we tasted much of the new menu at Hero, the new cocktail restaurant from Josh, Adam, and Carina of Quixotic Projects (Candelaria, Glass, Le Mary Celeste).  Haan Palcu-Chang's food program is centered around Korean fried chicken.  Available by the whole or half bird, the chickens are quartered, fried to a thoroughly-crispy, dark brown and dressed in one of three sauces:  regular, sweet garlic, or spicy.  Luckily ours was a table of four which warranted getting a whole chicken moitié/moitié, half in spicy sauce, half sweet.  Thankfully, Haan is a stickler for certain cutural necessities of cooking, and does not hold back on the chiles in the spicy sauce.  There will be french people who cannot handle this, and that is fine.  The menu is full of great antidotes to a mouth on fire: two delicious tapioca pearl drinks, the zenned-out seawead rice, the fresh and bright noodle salad, tangy rich kimchi mac 'n' cheese, and of course the light Hite Korean beer.  Haan's cooking never disappointed at Le Mary Celeste, and Hero is no different.  The dynamic range from acids, saltiness, spice and sweet is perfect alongside cocktails that managed to further surprise us in how crazy, new, and fun a beverage can be.  The interior design by Jeanette Dalrot and Safari Sundays takes you from chic Bladerunner to 80's Santa Monica beach house and downstairs to a woody kitchen dining bar.  Downstairs, dubbed Superhero, will soon be home to a nightly six-person tasting menu service, for which our own Adrian Rubi-Dentzel designed and made the bar top.

The sweet half of a "moitié-moitié " pile of fried chicken. This stack is a whole chicken half in sweet sauce, half in spicy. "Bubble Trubble" cocktail made with tapioca pearls, absinthe, bekseju, young almond syrup, and almond milk. One of our favorites and a perfect antidote to the truly spicy chicken.

Two of Hero's cocktails: "Nice Legs", Litchi, pink pepper, soju, Aperol, prosecco, and "I Woke Up Like This", Tapioca pearls, young almond syrup, almond milk and blue.

"My personal favourite for the Hero menu: seared rice cakes, ragout of mushrooms, Chinese salted radish, and gochujang on purée of soft tofu."                      - Quote from Haan's instagram @haanpc

Kimchi mac-n-cheese, tastes like the old school mac-n-cheese you want but bright, tangy and a little spicy

 Two Hero cocktails, "Nice Legs" (left) and the pretty "Thug Life", soju, mescal, cognac blanc, gin, yuzu, lemon, ginger beer, cranberry, bitters, antesite

Steamed and fried bun with samjang glazed pork ribs, korean mayo, and pickled cabbage

Spring vegetable, cold noodles, pickled daikon, seaweed and egg

buns chilling on the chef's table in the basement level called Super Hero with a six seat tasting menu

Hero's chefs prepping for their first dinner service behind the wood and resin bar by Adrian Rubi-Dentzel

 Short round on the shirt (soon for sale) / Haan and Adrian in Super Hero

Detail of Super Hero chef's table, european chestnut wood and hand tinted resin pools

Upstairs dining room by swedish designer Jeanette Dalrot and NYC design firm, Safari Sundays

Central wash basin for those fried chicken sticky fingers

 Pink lit stair case lined with cinder block planters, the upstairs back counter dining area

Hero
289 Rue Saint Denis, Paris, 75002
+33 1 23 45 67 89

A Few Wintery Days in Copenhagen

TofC contributor, Ingrid Pankonin, has recently taken a trip to Copenhagen with some friends and has shared her experience here on the Trail of Crumbs. Ingrid is a private cook ( Miel Cooking ) and close friend who lives in Oakland, California. Thank you Ingrid!

When a dear firend invited me to join him at Noma, the celebrated Copenhagen restaurant, I pretty much HAD to figure out how to get to Denmark! I was to join a group of friends, and we found a really lovely home on AirBnB. Traveling to Copenhagen could not have been easier - there is an excellent public transit system. Once we had al arrived, we hit the ground eating!

Despite the cold weather, the citizens of Copenhagen were out in full force - shopping and drinking mulled wine from stalls in the outdoor markets. The architecture was beautiful and I loved the mix of old, old buildings with all the mid-century design.  We definitely found some amazing eating and shopping… 

No. 2

Our first, jet-lagged dinner of Copenhagen was at this modern, very open waterfront restaurant.  The vast space somehow managed to feel cozy, and the food was surprising, yet still recognizable.  Nice wine list, smart service, and literally one of the best tartares I've ever eaten - veal with tarragon and egg yolk.  It had all of the elements you want in a tartare, while opening your palate to something different, and with an obvious sense of place.  We also had delicious cocktails, like the Nordic Negroni, a twist on the classic using science-project techniques for marrying the flavors under pressure.

Lunch at Slotskælderen - a typical smørrebrød - the iconic Danish open-faced sandwiches - restaurant.  We somewhat stumbled upon this one, reputed to be the best in Copenhagen, and somehow snuck a group of six of us in at the last minute.  Apparently everyone in Denmark likes to have these lavish lunches around the holidays, and in general, reservations are recommended well in advance.  We started with special holiday-edition aqvavit, which had travelled around the equator twice, picking up spices along the way to infuse in it.  Skål!  We had beautifully fresh oysters, many sandwiches - tiny bay shrimp, fried and marinated herring, pork belly, hard-cooked eggs, lots of mayonnaise and the requisite capers, red onions and dill on most of it.  So delicious!  And all amongst a super cozy, family vibe - we left with warm hearts and bellies!

Changing of the Guard at Amalienborg Palace

Every day at noon, the changing of the guard at the Queen's palace happens - think Buckingham Palace-style uniforms and stern faces.  This was an amazing display of history and tradition, not to mention hardiness against the cold, in the plaza between the four identical palaces that comprise the Danish royal family's winter residence.

Lunch at Noma

Words can't really describe how amazing this meal was - from the cozy setting, to the flawless and super-personal service, to the mind-blowing food and wine and juice.  Believe the hype.

Shopping and Eating at Torvehallerne Food Hall

This is a gorgeous, modern, indoor-outdoor food market located just a block or so away from Nørreport Station - one of Copenhagen's central metro stops.  There are two large, glassy halls and a central outdoor area between them, filled with stalls selling everything from fresh produce to wine to Danish cheeses to seafood to artisanal licorice.  This is a wonderful place to have a casual lunch at one of the restaurant-y stalls, and to pick up typical Danish products to bring home.

Shopping in Ravnsborggade

This is a sweet little neighborhood with lots of vintage shops, little cafés, clothing stores, and galleries.  The vintage places range from fully-curated mid-century design emporium to sardine-packed bric-a-brac mess - which makes for a fun shopping experience!  The lovely Frederiksen boutique has a great selection of women's clothes, and Bevar's serves a cozy, slightly hipster smørrebrød lunch.

Geist

We made a reservation at Geist for the evening after the Noma lunch, cancelled it due to overwhelm, and then ended up in their lounge/bar area for a light dinner anyway!  As with pretty much anywhere we went, the staff was incredibly nice and helpful, with the bartender offering great advice on their interesting wine list.  We had just a few dishes, but they were delicious and inventive.  The suckling pig and crispy artichokes were rich and comforting, and the baked celery root and chestnut dish was a STUNNER.  The well-heeled, slightly older vibe matches the inventive but not bewildering cuisine.  

Almanak

Our last meal of the Copenhagen days was at this modern smørrebrød restaurant nestled inside the Standard Hotel along the canal front.  An airy, comfy space and an open kitchen started out lunch off right, and the updated versions of the sandwiches were exciting and still grounded in tradition.  As with all the restaurants we visited, there were myriad aqvavit selections, as well as nicely chosen beer and wine lists.  A perfect send-off, wrapping us in a Danish modern hug and leaving us wanting more!

All photos and text: Ingrid Pankonin