Eating Well is the Best Revenge

Everyone thinks that buying posters in France is super sexy.  I hate to disavow poster fans, but it’s rarely pretty business.  What I find is usually really exciting, but actually getting to the goods  can be dirty, dangerous, and always involves some risk.

Dusty, messy poster horde

In order to make the best of any situation, I have always tried to live like the French, and have a long lunch.  Work hard in the morning, sit down for 2 hours and read the menu with care, eat things which are hard to find in the states, and then go back to work until 7 or 8.

Delicious first lunch in France

On the last trip, I managed to try some really unusual foods. My first good meal was octopus salad and a bottle of Rose.  It is really hot in the summer, and hot weather demands Rose wine.

After 4 days of work, I caught the train to Bordeaux for a much needed vacation with my family.  A friend loaned us their beautiful beach house, and using it as a base, we were able to explore Cap Ferret, Ares, Andernos and the City of Bordeaux.  Apparently, in this region, oysters are always served with tiny sausages as a garnish.  Here are the oysters at L’Escale restaurant in Cap Ferret.

Oysters on the half shell with mignonette and white wine sausage.

Children of course, can be picky eaters.  Luckily the French do a bang -up job with French Fries, although I’m told that French Fries were actually invented by the Belgians.  Here is my son eating French Fries in Cap Ferret. I must point out that while I don’t have a photo of my French nephew at dinner, that what they say about French kids and food is absolutely true- they are adventurous eaters with good taste.  While my son had fries, his cousin, aged 12 ordered prosciutto with melon and duck breast for his meal.

French Fries are better in France

The other thing that really rocks in France is lardons.  We don’t have these here.  We have bacon and we have pancetta.  I guess pancetta is the closest thing to lardons, but it doesn’t really crisp up the way lardons do.  Lardons are a bacon-y morsel, sold pre cut into little baton shapes in plastic packages, very cheap, very fast to cook and absolutely delicious.  Because of lardons, we made pasta carbonara for our kids many nights, although strangely enough, this didn’t stop them from ordering this rich, creamy pasta in restaurants as well.  Here is my son eating spaghetti carbonara in Andernos.

My son with the real lardon version of Pasta Carbonara in Andernos.

Moules Frites in Andernos

Another real treat in France is Moules Frites.  Mussels, cooked in white wine with shallots, and served with a big bowl of French Fries.  This is considered the working man’s lunch, it’s delicious, and it’s usually very cheap- about 10 Euros.  It’s always big enough to share!

Next week, August 23-26 we are excited about our 14th Annual Preview Show.  The event will be catered by Grace Street Catering.  Last  year, I worked with Grace Street owner Erin McKinney, describing the foods I had tried in Provence, and he created a mouthwatering menu designed to bring our clients a fast of the South of France.  This year, I wrote to him as I tried new and unusual foods in Bordeaux and in Paris, and once again, Erin has dreamed up a divine menu, designed to transport you to France. Grace Street’s Menu will be published in the next blog post.

Elizabeth Norris

Owner

Vintage European Posters

Founded 1997

2201 Fourth Street

Berkeley, CA 94710

510 843 2201

www.vepca.com 

Kids Dream Food in France, Pasta Carbonara

A trip to France is never complete without moules frites.  This is considered the working man’s lunch- mussels cooked in white wine with shallots, and served with their broth, and a bowl of french fries.  It’s a very cheap lunch, and yet it is always unforgettable.

Don’t miss our 13th Annual Preview Show Aug. 19-21

Dear Clients and Friends,

The Posters Have Arrived!

It is with great pleasure that I invite you to our 13 ^th Annual Preview Show August 19-21 at our showroom in Berkeley. Please, save the date! This is the show we have all come to look forward to: it is your chance to see the new acquisitions from my summer buying trip.  This year I have found some incredible things!  All told, I added 101 posters to our collection, and I hope you will come enjoy the first chance to see these treats.

A Paper Hoard!

Original vintage posters are hard to find. Paper was thrown away, paper disintegrates, paper is fragile, it’s transient, it’s ephemeral. Luckily, there have always been some collectors, and there have always been some hoarders, and so some paper did survive, intentionally and by
chance.

I have been searching for these collections, these piles, these stashes and hoards for many years now.  Once I find a stash, I try to visit a few times and then step back, to wait for more good things to sift their way up the pile. The nature of a paper hoarder tends towards the disorganized and it is rarely possible to see everything in one week.  On this buying trip, I revisited some places I haven’t been in years and I was richly
rewarded.

We have treats this year beyond posters. I am also pleased to announce our partnership with Grace Street Catering, and with our neighbor Wine.com. I think you will be delighted with their offerings.  The menu and the wine have been curated to evoke the South of France.

We have changed the venue! Many of you are accustomed to attending our preview show at Fort Mason.  This year, we have moved the event to our showroom in Berkeley and it will be better than ever.

Please mark your calendar! I look forward to showing you all of the new treats in our
beautiful Berkeley showroom.

Friday hours 11-7
Saturday 10-7
Sunday 12-5

With Every Good Wish,

Elizabeth “I sift through paper so you don’t have to” Norris

www.vepca.com
2201 Fourth Street
Berkeley,
CA  94710
510.843.2201

 

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