Everything in its place.

German, the language of killing, would have that expression as alles in ordnung. The French mise en place adds charm and subtracts brutality with none of the functional coldness of the English ‘everything in its place’. The beauty of French is at one with the quality of their cuisine.

Mise en place is quite my favorite part of cooking a meal as it forces order without discipline, generating anticipation without apprehension.

Here’s the setup for mussels and clams with garlic and fettuccine – as simple as it gets; the red peppers add a touch of zest in the broth:

The charming end grain checkered cutting board at left comes from Vermont, the last repository of American craftsmanship.

The shaved Parmesan is absent here, as is the white wine in which the shellfish are cooked. A Benriner mandoline is the best way to shave hard cheese into paper thin slices – but watch your fingers! Japanese make fabulous cameras …. and cooking tools. As for the white wine, this is strictly a bottom shelf choice.

iPhone6 snap.

Craftsmanship.

The Library is a restaurant located in the Rockingham Hotel in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

The Langdon dining room.

My son and I enjoyed a splendid lunch here. It’s a haven of tranquility and even the tab is presented inserted in a book – ours came in a Danielle Steel, so make of that what you will!

The Hotel itself was the site of the negotiation of the 1905 Russian-Japanese Peace Treaty whose successful conclusion earned Teddy Roosevelt the Nobel Peace Prize, a far better use of his time than shooting wild game.

Here’s the Hotel from across the road with the African Burying Ground Memorial in the foreground:

iPhone6 snaps.

The real thing

Chef Kurita

Chef Kurita, his stern demeanor notwithstanding, is the most charming of men.

You will find him here. This is world class sushi.

Superb!

Ecco Ristorante in Burlingame has been around since 1986 with the same chef and owner, Tooraj Sharif, a charming man and a great cook. The food is distinguished by subtle flavors and sauces, always beautifully served.

It’s an occasion place, and you mostly see besuited gents eating here, spending someone else’s money.

Click the image for Ecco’s site.

We always ask for our favorite waiter Paul, not just because he is a warm, effusive individual, but also because he runs a racing motorcycle accessories business and always fills us in on the latest dirt!

The other night saw my boy Winston and I celebrating his splendid boarding school entrance exam score and Paul took an absolutely lovely snap of us, which I felt I had to share:

Snapped on my iPhone6.

Lovely colors.

Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco is much more than a tourist trap selling dumb T shirts to white trash which has travelled 3,000 miles from Noo Joisy for no other purpose.

Take the back roads and amble along the commercial fishing wharves and you are met with more subject matter than you can shake a stick at.

All snapped on the ancient Nikon D2x with a 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Nikkor. The early CMOS APS-C sensor in this magnificent body does all colors justice and the body can be found throwaway cheap in mint condition and will certainly outlast you.

With thanks to Keld Helmer-Petersen who taught me how to see in dockland.

After so exhausting a session there’s good food to be had and, yes, it is available among the hot dog stands and pizza parlors.

It comes by the name Capurro’s, has been here for ever and if you search out Paul Capurro, the former marine who owns it, you will be regaled with tales of the mob and Capone’s buddies, back when Big Al was cooling his heels in Alcatraz and Paul was hearing tales on his father’s knee.

Arrive early and you miss the crowds, and mercifully the prices here discourage T shirt shoppers:

Capurro’s snaps on an iPhone6.

Later at the fishmonger’s:

Ready for eating and Made in the USA!

I have the fishmonger break up the shells and then add some lemon from the garden. Delicious!