By J.M. HIRSCH

Want my trick for starting the year off on a fun and healthy note? Drag out the fondue pot!

Fondue is a casual and social way to celebrate. The trouble is, fondue — especially cheese fondue — can be incredibly unhealthy. A classic fondue starts with rich cheeses blended with a little spice and some white wine to create a thick, savory sauce for dipping chunks of bread and other morsels.

Delicious, but dangerous to your New Year’s resolutions. So I decided to make a recipe that lets you eat sinfully without the sin. The secret is in the blend of cheeses: I used a low-fat Jarlsberg, a creamy light brie and already low-calorie pecorino Romano to make a rich fondue that no one will guess is low in calories and fat.

For the liquid, I chose dry Champagne — one of the lowest calorie adult beverages you can serve — and a thickener similar to cornstarch called arrowroot (which has virtually no calories) in order to get the right consistency and flavor.

Fondues are outrageously easy to prepare — virtually no cooking skill required. For starters, allow the cheese to stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before making the fondue so it will melt more quickly and incorporate more smoothly. Then simply stir together the ingredients in a saucepan, blend well and heat.
Read the full story

Diane Boehm Himmich and her husband Beni Himmich at their new restaurant Paris in Town Le Cafe in Downtown at the Gardens. (J. Gwendolynne Berry/The Palm Beach Post)

Paris. It’s her favorite city in the world. It’s where she met her husband, where they fell in love. Now 15 years later, life has come full circle for Diane and Beni Himmich. The owners of Paris in Town Le Café have made a home in Palm Beach Gardens and this is the grand opening week of their second restaurant, Paris in Town Le Bistro, in Downtown at the Gardens.

It’s a light, airy space modeled after a 1920s French bistro with copper tin ceilings and a zinc-topped wooden bar. A long red leather banquette runs along the dining room wall, looking out large windows to an outdoor patio. There are décor elements tied to the café, but with a decidedly more upscale feel. Read the full story

The crème brûlée at Le Rivage, a dessert not to be missed. (J. Gwendolynne Berry / Palm Beach Post)

More: Directions, leave a review

I was floating in a cloud of vanilla. It was creamy yet crisp, warm and sensuous. The texture was unbelievable. A thick layer of caramelized glass gave way to the softest and silkiest custard that enveloped my tongue like a fine cashmere wrap. It was the best crème brûlée of my life.

For a moment, I was in heaven. And then I was back at Le Rivage, an unassuming and decidedly quaint French restaurant nestled in a nondescript Boca Raton strip mall. "Wow!" I said to my husband, "this is a serious crème brûlée."

We were at the end of a delightful dinner on a quiet Thursday evening. Getz & Gilberto played softly in the background as we finished the last bites of a decadent meal. The jazzy hum of the music mingled with hushed conversation from the last few diners. We were relaxed and happy.

Read the full story

Restaurant Listing: Reviews, directions, more

Some culinary tie-ins make perfect sense. Think baseball and hot dogs or the blues and barbecue.

But sex and steak frites?

In a sense, that’s what Carousel Can Can Café, one of the splashier eateries to open at West Palm Beach’s CityPlace in the past year, is all about. Karim El Sherif, who previously headed the now-closed Metronome bistro in Palm Beach Gardens, has wedded the naughty-girl spirit of France’s can can dance to a brasserie-style menu of French favorites — coq au vin, crepes Suzette and, yes, steak frites.

Food-wise, he’s delivering in a solid way — much as he did with Metronome. (It’s no wonder that El Sherif has also run a successful French restaurant in New York.) But conceptually, Carousel Can Can Café needs some tinkering. The place is apparently buzzing on Saturday evenings, but on slower weeknights it lacks a certain cheeky and amusing spirit that seems inherent in its vision. I’m not saying Can Can is Can’t Can’t. But some tinkering would go a long way in making this a uniquely special restaurant for our area.

Read the full story

Chef Christian Alumno

Restaurant Listing: Review, directions, more

If you consider the way Americans traditionally have viewed French cooking, it’s almost as if every meal must be an occasion, replete with elaborately sauced dishes and white-glove attention to detail. Don’t the French ever just want to grab a bite?

Of course they do. And I suspect that’s what’s behind the success of Jupiter’s Le Metro Neighborhood Bistro, which appears to be going strong after a year in business. Read the full story

The Four Seasons' Restaurant's newest menu selections are courtesy of chef Daryl Moiles. (Brandon Kruse / The Post)

Change is coming to Palm Beach’s Big Three.

I’m referring to the restaurants on the island’s three major resorts: The Breakers, The Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons Palm Beach. In keeping with the trend toward lower prices (yes, even Palm Beachers are feeling the pinch) or the trend toward more eclectic or casual dining, each hotel has tweaked its culinary formula in recent months.

‘Uncomplicated good food’

The Four Seasons (2800 S. Ocean Blvd., 561-582-2800, fourseasons.com) is perhaps making the most dramatic changes. At one time, the resort’s main eatery — simply called The Restaurant — was Palm Beach County’s premier destination for high-end dining, famous for a tropical-gone-gourmet approach in a very formal setting.

Now, the resort has redesigned the dining room, letting in more natural light and opening an adjoining outdoor lounge. It also has lightened up the menu — taste and price-wise. Think more Atlantic seafood and more entrées in the $20-30 range (a dish of sea scallops goes for $21); a four-course tasting menu runs $60.

Among the menu’s newest sensations, courtesy of chef Daryl Moiles, is a dish of prosciutto-wrapped halibut with roasted beets. (By the way, Moiles continues the restaurant’s tradition of having an in-house organic herb garden.)

As for the resort’s more casual restaurant, the Ocean Bistro, the focus is on “uncomplicated good food,” says Four Seasons General Manager Kathleen Horrigan. That translates to such dishes as meat loaf and fried chicken.

And the resort’s Bar and Lounge is putting an emphasis on serious mixology, as in cocktails crafted with native nectars and herbs. We’re tempted to stop by for the signature Herb Garden Mojito.

Ritz-Carlton stressing value

Similarly, at The Ritz-Carlton (100 S. Ocean Blvd., Manalapan, 561-533-6000, ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/palmbeach), there’s a move to put a higher value on, well, value.

The resort is no longer making use of its formal dining room (called Angle), but is instead repositioning its indoor/outdoor casual restaurant, Temple Orange, as a destination for Italian comfort food.

That translates into house-made pastas and risottos and thin-crust flat breads, all courtesy of chef Ryan Artim. Prices are kept relatively in check — pastas start at $16, entrées at $21. And if you step outdoors, you’ll even find telescopes to help you with your star-gazing.

The resort is also rebranding its even more casual Breeze oceanfront eatery — it’s now billed as a “burger bistro,” serving gourmet burgers (plus sandwiches and salads). Plus, The Ritz is still going strong with its Stir bar, which emphasizes specialty cocktails.

French fare, contemporary approach

Finally, The Breakers (1 S. County Road, 561-655-6611, thebreakers.com), with the largest number of restaurants of any Palm Beach resort (including ones outside the main property), is making some big changes, too. Topping them all is a new concept for the resort’s signature restaurant, L’Escalier. The Breakers is no longer splitting the restaurant into two entities — formal and brasserie-style; instead, it’s one eatery — and a very creative one at that.

Chef Greg Vassos, who trained under culinary giant Eric Ripert (of Le Bernadin), has put an emphasis on French fare done with a striking, contemporary approach. That can mean a foie gras “brûlée” or a duck l’orange “roulade.” Tasting menus start at $90 (with a $50 wine pairing) — in other words, serious food at serious prices.

At the same time, The Breakers is offering savings at some of its other restaurants: The Flagler Steakhouse has a three-course dinner for $49 and a new three-course Sunday brunch for $35. The family-friendly Italian Restaurant has a three-course dinner for $35. And the deservedly beloved Seafood Bar has a new late-night happy hour (11 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.) with half-off specials on well drinks, house wine and beer.

CHOWDER ON SALE

Cold times call for hot soup. So it’s no surprise that January is National Soup Month. In recognition of that fact, Legal Sea Foods, situated at Boca Raton’s Town Center mall (6000 Glades Road, 561-447-2112, legalseafoods.com), is offering its famous New England clam chowder for 60 cents a cup (with purchase of an entrée) on Jan. 20. Why 60 cents? The date also happens to be the Legal chain’s 60th birthday.

THE WEEKLY NOSH: Carved meats at The Carving Station

You have to know a restaurant that calls itself the Carving Station would serve a nice roast or two. And that’s very much the case at this Lake Park favorite (720 U.S. 1, 561-842-7791, carvingstation buffet.com).

It’s been at least a year since my last visit to the buffet-style restaurant, which I named Best Dining Value in my 2007 Hungries awards. And I forgot what a true value it is — just $9.59 at dinner for the all-you-can-eat spread (drinks and dessert not included).

But key to the spread are those carved meats — we’re talking roast turkey straight off the bird, roast beef in all its juicy glory and more. When I came for dinner, they were carving the most perfect roasted pork loin — a Sunday special. And all this comes with terrific sides (love the stuffing and the spaghetti and meatballs) and a decent salad bar.

Needless to say, I won’t wait another year for my next visit.

MADRID — Leonard Cohen is recovering after collapsing onstage while on tour in eastern Spain, his music company said Saturday.

The veteran poet and performer has been released from hospital after suffering from a stomach complaint, Doctor Music Concerts said in a statement.

Cohen was part-way through his song “Bird on the Wire” in Valencia when he fainted, causing the band to stop playing to rush to his aid as concertgoers watched. The concert was stopped.

A video showing Cohen kneeling down several times during the performance and then keeling over sideways during a saxophone solo has been placed on YouTube on the Web by a fan.

The Canadian-born musician, who will be 75 years-old on Monday, was taken in an ambulance to the Nueve de Octubre hospital in Valencia but released early Saturday, Barcelona-based Doctor Music Concerts said.

Cohen was due to perform the last show of his Spanish tour at the Palau Sant Jordi concert hall in northeastern Barcelona on Monday. Trucks carrying Cohen’s show had arrived at the hall on Saturday morning and were to set up as normal, a spokesman for the concert hall said.

Cohen had to come out of retirement five years ago when he discovered that most of his retirement fund had disappeared in a disputed case of mismanagement.

After leaving Spain, Cohen was due to perform next at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise on Oct. 17, his Web site said.

Palm Beach - From left, The Breakers Palm Beach Food and Beverage Director Nicholas Velardo, Master Sommelier Virginia Philip, and Master Sommelier-L'Escalier Juan Gomez inside the wine cellar at the The Breakers holding a sellection of their house wine. Brandon Kruse/The Post

When you’re a century-old Palm Beach resort with a storied history and a celebrated team of sommeliers, can you settle for any old house wine?

Such was the question that The Breakers asked itself a few years ago. Finding an answer proved no easy task.
Of course, the resort could simply pick a reasonably priced mid-quality red and white from California and pour away. Or it could find a vintner who would offer much the same wines but let The Breakers, or any restaurant or hotel, slap its own “private label” on the bottles. But all that meant The Breakers would be offering a wine that wasn’t unique to the resort. It also meant that consistency couldn’t be guaranteed from

The final solution? Head to France and make a Breakers-branded wine from scratch.

“You have to go to the source,” said Virginia Philip, the master sommelier who’s headed The Breakers wine team since 2000.

It amounts to an extraordinary investment of time and effort. Since 2004, The Breakers has sent up to five employees from its food and beverage department to Domaine du Tariquet, a winemaker in a small town (Eauze) in the south of France, to create the ideal blends for four house offerings: a cabernet sauvignon, merlot, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc.

Sure, The Breakers could have left it all in the winemaker’s hands. But the challenge was to come up with something that would fit The Breakers clientele’s “international palate,” as Philip explains it. That meant food-friendly wines that would suit tastes both American (meaning on the fruit-forward side) and European (meaning more balanced).

Get it wrong and you could be stuck with a lot of leftover vino. The house wines are more than just the everyday pours at the resort’s nine restaurants and one free-standing bar. They’re also the go-to wines for umpteen catered events, from weddings to society balls.

Add it all up and The Breakers goes through as many 3,300 cases, or nearly 40,000 bottles, of house wine per year.

Summer trip to France

The process of making the wine begins in the vineyard and continues through to the pressing, of course. But the tricky part comes when The Breakers team arrives every summer for the blending. In a laboratory-like setting, The Breakers staff tries one version of the wine after another, each with slightly different tweaks. One merlot might be a blend of 85 percent merlot and 15 percent tannat (the latter adds some spiciness to the former). But another might be 85 percent merlot, 10 percent tannat and 5 percent cabernet. And still another might substitute syrah for the tannat.

In other words, this is when wine becomes the domain of a mad scientist. Or, at the very least, a culinary professional with a great deal of patience — and an ability to swirl, sip and evaluate for hours on end.
“You walk out and your teeth are purple,” said Kevin Walters, The Breakers’ vice president for food and beverage.

And the process must be repeated year after year, since no two harvests yield grapes with the same exact profile.

The Breakers is careful about whom it picks to make the annual trip to France. Certainly, members of the wine team, including Philip and fellow master sommelier Juan Gomez, are typically aboard. But the resort is careful to include staffers with more “consumer”-style tastes — in other words, the kind of people who might order a glass of house wine for $7 (what The Breakers charges at its restaurants) rather than a bottle of first-growth Bordeaux for $5,000.

“If all these people are in agreement, chances are you have a really good wine,” added Walters.

Getting an education

Finally, since the team is already heading to France — the blending sessions take at least two days — why not extend the trip to learn about winemakers in other parts of France and throughout Europe? Last year, Breakers staff also visited the Cognac and Bordeaux regions in France and the Rioja region in Spain. It’s all part of the education that goes into building a resort cellar that has as many as 28,000 bottles at any given moment.

But there may be need for more travel: The Breakers is considering expanding its signature line to include a Breakers sparkling wine and even a Breakers vodka.

In the meantime, the blends created on this year’s trip will start arriving at the resort next spring. And if the wines are as highly regarded as the ones from past years, chances are more than a few resort guests will decide to take a sip of The Breakers home with them. The bottles are available for purchase for $20 each at the resort’s News & Gourmet gift shop.

“Some guests will buy a case or two of each wine,” said Philip.

The Breakers’ wines: Recent vintages

Sauvignon blanc 2007

(95 percent sauvignon blanc and 5 percent colombard , aged in stainless steel tanks)

The Breakers’ master sommelier Virginia Philip’s tasting notes: “Medium-bodied with notes of grapefruit, green melon and lemon on the nose. Crisp acidity, refreshing palate and a medium finish round out the wine.”

Chardonnay 2006

(100 percent chardonnay, half aged in new oak and half aged in used oak barrels)

Philip’s tasting notes: “Full-bodied with notes of golden delicious apple, pineapple and candied lemon, the wine is creamy and has a long, elegant finish.

Merlot 2006

(85 percent merlot and 15 percent tannat, aged in a mix of new and used oak barrels)

Philip’s tasting notes: “Medium-plus-bodied with notes of red cherry, blackberry and red plum, the wine has a hint of cinnamon and clove on the finish with grippy tannins.”

Cabernet sauvignon 2005

(75 percent cabernet sauvignon, 15 percent merlot and 5 percent tannat, aged in a mix of new and used oak barrels)

Philip’s tasting notes: “The wine is full-bodied with notes of black cherry, blackberry and a hint of blueberry and is well structured with medium-plus tannins and a long finish.”

In a pitcher, combine fruit and liquids. You can serve immediately or let sit overnight for the fruit to macerate . Either way, serve in a glass over ice with a splash of Sprite.
year to year.

The Breakers’ sangrias

Although The Breakers’ house wines are plenty popular on their own,
they also go into the resort’s sangrias — both red and white.
Here are recipes for each:

White Sangria

1 bottle Breakers sauvignon blanc
6 ounces X-Rated Fusion Liqueur
2 ounces Grey Goose L’Orange
1 ounce Cointreau
Juice of 1 orange, squeezed
Cut-up pears and oranges and sliced grapes (with seeds and stems removed from all fruit)

In a pitcher, combine fruit and liquids. You can serve immediately or let sit overnight for the fruit to macerate . Either way, serve in a glass over ice with a splash of Sprite.

Red Sangria

1 bottle Breakers cabernet sauvignon
2 ounces Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum
2 ounces limoncello (no preferred brand)
2 ounces triple sec (no preferred brand)
2 ounces simple syrup
2 ounces blackberry brandy (no preferred brand)
Cut up oranges and apples and sliced grapes and strawberries (with seeds and stems removed from all fruit)

In a pitcher, combine fruit and liquids. You can serve immediately or let sit overnight for the fruit to macerate. Either way, serve in a glass over ice with a splash of 7 Up.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Protect your wines during the hot summer (sommelierindia.com)