Salade Niçoise with Salmon at Chez Philippe in Los Gatos, California by Ruth Paget
Rainy and foggy weather in Los Gatos, California located in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains whets the appetite for three-course lunches at Chez Philippe.
On a recent visit for my husband Laurent’s birthday with our daughter Florence Paget, we all started our meal with escargots, snails baked with butter, parsley, and breadcrumbs. The sauce was excellent for dipping baguette slices in.
For our main dishes, Laurent ate mussels steamed with white wine and crème fraîche with chopped parsley added at the end with fries on the side while Florence ate steak with fries. Both were reliably great and delicious just like in UNESCO world heritage bistros in Paris.
It was not my birthday, but I think I got the best main dish – the salade Niçoise with seared wild salmon. Every French chef who lives near Alaska or the Alaska Current in the Pacific would probably choose to use “local” salmon in their American renditions of this classic French dish.
At Chez Philippe, this spectacular salad comes with:
-6 seasoned and seared chunks of wild salmon
-slender French green beans cut into one-inch segments
-slices of white onion soaked previously in water so they taste sweet
-meaty anchovies
-sliced boiled eggs with canary yellow yolks
-tomato slices
-black olive slices
-sweet red pepper slices
-boiled potato wedges
-fresh baby greens
This wonderful combination was tossed with a vinaigrette made with the addition of Dijon mustard. (Champagne would probably go well with this dish or a Bloody Mary cocktail.)
Laurent ate a birthday mousse while Florence and I shared a crème caramel.
We all had fun and ate very well at Chez Philippe in Los Gatos, California for Laurent’s birthday.
For French food in a relaxed atmosphere, Chez Philippe is the place for lunch Los Gatos.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
