Yeah – I know I am a week late, and for the record I am several dollars short because I just finished my expense report from Vegas Uncork’d. So that’s why I am late, I was just flat out exhausted and had to play catch up on my OTHER stuff for a few days. I will say I LOVE working Uncork’d – it’s fun, fast paced, and allows me to use a skill set I have developed over the years (mainly being bossy and problem solving). This year I was even able to use some local talent to help the event along for Texas Pete. Many thanks to John Courtney, Mike Klinger and Cutthroat Culinary Christian Dolias for stepping up! I SO appreciate it. We couldn’t have done it without you!

Speaking of John, a few months ago he introduced me to his terribly French boss, Chef Eric Lhuillier,¬ and I have been enchanted ever since. Eric is the Executive Chef at Pinot Brasserie in the Venetian/Palazzo Restaurant Row. If you have been following along you all know I love the “Frenchies” – Hubert, Michel, Guy, Joel…you get the picture. I think I know why. Upon meeting French librarian Mrs. Wintje in elementary school, I immediately wanted to go to Paris and see the Eiffel Tower (something I have yet to do). I took my first French lessons from her. I wanted to eat French food, and wear French clothes. I wanted a black beret, a striped boat neck shirt, and a scarf tied around my neck. I wanted to smoke Gauloises and wear heavy eyeliner which I imagined to be tres chic. I thought if you were French, there were no problems, because French people weren’t poor and they didn’t have problems, or if they did have problems, they didn’t seem to care, shrugging with Gallic indifference. Or maybe I would have had the same problems, but it wouldn’t seem so tragic because they were French problems. I basically drove my mother crazy. KNOWING that someday I would get to Paris, I took French for 4 years. I was never fluent mind you, but I understood well enough and I could get my point across and read a menu. Chatting with Eric has brought back SOME of my French, although it is pathetic, so I am trying to find a tactful way to MAKE him speak to me so I can get better. I listen to myself speaking French and all I can think about are those horrible caricatures of bumpkins trying to be Continental and saying, “mercy buttercup silver plate” instead of “Merci, beaucoup, s’il vous plait”. And for the record, I love to listen to Eric and the other Frenchies speak.

In 1988 I moved to Madrid and I lived in Spain for more than 3 years. When the locals spoke to me, because French was the only foreign language I knew, I expected them, in some small childish part of my brain, to be speaking in French. Of course I was completely affronted when they didn’t understand me, and utterly confused when I didn’t understand them. I was forced to learn Spanish on top of my already floundering French, and now listening to someone speak a Romance Language is confusing for me. I HEAR what they are saying and in what language they are saying it, and most times I can decipher it, but I invariably revert back to Spanish when trying to answer because I don’t have as much experience speaking any other. Compound that with my normal hearing difficulties and I have a real problem. I normally have to read people’s lips if I am in a loud environment, but when someone is not speaking English as their first language, I find myself nodding along sometimes and agreeing with everything they say, simply because I can’t understand them (Moment of Truth – I sometimes wonder if they KNOW I am agreeing so as not to admit to my complete lack of understanding and I wonder if they make up nonsense stuff just to test me). That’s how it is with Eric, unless I have been drinking…then my brain stops trying so hard and I am able to HEAR AND SPEAK in broken French, enough to the point that I am understood – or at least I THINK I am understood. I thought it was just me, but my husband and my son say the same is true for them with a foreign language.

So Eric invited me and friends Lynn and Laurie to come have soft shelled crabs for lunch one day at Pinot Brasserie. I, of course, was late and upon my arrival I was told there were no crabs. I made a big show of being so disappointed I would just as soon go home for lunch – I think we all knew I was kidding. At least I hope Eric knew I was kidding, because he proceeded to spoil the 3 of us for lunch and I pray it wasn’t out of guilt over not having the promised crabs.

Enjoy the pics below – and for goodness sake if you are in the Venetian/Palazzo go and have at least the charcuterie and the cheese. BOTH are magnifique!

The Charcuterie and Cheese

Friends Laurie, Lynn and I with Chef Eric

A lovely Salade Nicoise

Elevated Melon and Prosciutto with compressed melon and Midori

I am not sure who told Eric that Maccarons are my fave dessert, but these lovelies were filled with sorbet!