Anniversaire Les Halles

Paul and I commemorated 6 months from our first date with a trip to Les Halles. Some weeks after our romance began I lent him a book I have lent everyone I've ever met, the notorious Kitchen Confidential, which he of course loved (our second literary synergy, after Douglas Adams). So it was a cold February evening and what else to do than tuck in to some hearty bsitro fare?

I ordered the Choucroute Royale (February is Choucroute Month at Les Halles!) and Dr. Atkins would have been proud. But for 2 potates fumée (boiled potatoes), I found before me a heap of pork on a bed of champagne-braised sauerkraut.

Vegetarians, do not read on. Choucroute is actually French for sauerkraut, choucroute garnie (literally dressed sauerkraut), an Alsatian recipe for preparing sauerkraut with sausage and other salted meats. The Les Halles special I ordered included, if memory serves, a smoked pork loin, boudin noir, smoked bacon, frankfurter, salami and salted pork belly. Not a trace of green or any other vegetation, this was rustic, working class fare (for a not-so-working-class price). I only managed one tiny taste of pork belly, with the affirmation "Tony (Bourdain) would want me to." (In the book, Bourdain is vocal in his disdain for the squeamish.) My experiment yielded an unexpected appreciation for sauerkraut and an not so surprising distaste for organ meats. Hey, don't knock it till you try it.