Donald picked the wine. (Wendy, this post contains chocolate!!!)

[Katy Noelle]

It's a funny coincidence that my "In Conversation With" went around again because, in it, I describe my favorite place to eat and what I would have. Well, here it is in pictures. A birthday lunch... (my birthday is long gone, though.) It was just pleasant to sit and enjoy my husband and the atmosphere and the food and the light and to take a photo when I saw it. What do you think?

#1 Artisinal Cheese Board (Vermont is not only proud of its dairy farming heritage but very focused on small, independently run farms and organic and gourmet products.) (Donald, first I had: Louis Latour 2006 Chardonnay, Coteaux de L’Ardèche, France.)



#2 Donald knew where and when Tom and I were going and recommended a Beaujolais

I had the Domaine Dupeuble 2006 Beaujolais, France with the main course. (So, I had to take a photo for Donald.)



#3 warm goat cheese, walnut, endive and watercress with a honey drizzle.



#4



#5 macarons (really 'Luxemburgerli') that I wish had a titch more dof.



#6 L.A. Burdick's is really famous for their chocolates. (There's a lot of noise and the lights were terrible but I had to put this in for Wendy...and, Steve, come to think of it.)



#7



#8 Ambiance!



(This last one is my favorite and I have decided that I don't care if it's blurry.)

Oh, wow! You're still here. Thank you for looking! C&C welcome on any of them.

[Donald]

This need to go to Vermont just gets greater. That restaurant looks superb (but you could tell that from their website).

They've got a very French-dominated wine list (good people) and, as we can see, serve the wine in proper glasses, not some of the stupidly coloured and shaped monstrosities that you see in some places.

I hope you enjoyed the Beaujolais and as for the Chardonnay, well Louis Latour is always reliable and I'm sure it would have been good.

And, oh yes, photographs. I particularly like the Cheeseboard (#1) and the Salad (#3). Two excellent food images.

[JK6065]

Not a good time to visit this thread even before I have breakfast. I'm getting really hungry know, but I have to please myself with only a bunch of sandwiches this morning

#1 is such a great shot. It would do as a photograph for a Michelin Restaurant and certainly It would convinced me that I have to go to this Restaurant for dinner.
The salad looks great in #3 although the background doesn't work that well for me. The idea of the blurred glass of wine and water in the background is good, but it doesn't work out like it should.

[Clactonian]

Hmmmn, nice!!
Thank goodness the final countdown has started for my trip to La Belle France.

[Markvetnz]

Katy - love No 1.

And ...... the answers are 1. Blue Cheese 2. Blue Cheese 3. Blue Cheese

Vermont sounds a bit like NZ. We have fantastic cheese and very good wine, especially Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. The red does not agree with my head though.

[Vandenberg]

I like it, no1 is my favourite

[wilgk]

All the elements in # 1 just worK perfectly excellent well done.... Oops excuse me I am drooling yikes!

[Wendy Stanford]

Sounds like you had a lovely time
All looks very nice, #1 says it all, great angle and composition

[Katy Noelle]

This need to go to Vermont just gets greater. That restaurant looks superb (but you could tell that from their website).

They've got a very French-dominated wine list (good people) and, as we can see, serve the wine in proper glasses, not some of the stupidly coloured and shaped monstrosities that you see in some places.

I hope you enjoyed the Beaujolais and as for the Chardonnay, well Louis Latour is always reliable and I'm sure it would have been good.

And, oh yes, photographs. I particularly like the Cheeseboard (#1) and the Salad (#3). Two excellent food images.

Thanks, Donald! I loved the Chardonnay - I wanted it to go on forever. However, by the time I got to the red, well, I couldn't go on forever. sigh. It was a fascinating wine - there were three sensations with every sip and the most curious finish. (I am not a wine expert but I've had so many lovely ones.) I did like it but Tom had to do it all in for me!

As for the restaurant (and glasses), it isn't trendy. It's very European. I was quite proud of myself, actually, because I was talking to Tom about their decor - not French, more Belgian, with a strong feeling of Swiss. As it turns out, that's exactly where their chocolate tradition is from. I only had the 60mm prime and just couldn't get enough of the interior in for a decent shot. Also, it's the first time I've been there that they didn't have a spectacular bouquet of flowers to greet me.

[Katy Noelle]

Thank you Mike, Vandenberg, Kay and Wendy! I very much trust your judgement; so, positive feedback from you makes me very happy!

Food photography looks so easy.... but, what does one include/exclude, what angle and, then, that darn lighting - OI!!! Then, when I'm on my own - cooking, styling, photographing AND eating - phew, it's a lot of work. I think having someone else prepare it definitely has it's advantages!

(Mike, I'm excited for you and your trip to France!!!)

#1 is such a great shot. It would do as a photograph for a Michelin Restaurant and certainly It would convinced me that I have to go to this Restaurant for dinner.

Oh, I am so glad that you said this! I was very pleased with #1. (Indeed, iphoto did something curious with it and it disappeared. I had to figure out how to get it back - it was telling me that the file was corrupt but, apparently, it wasn't. So, "whatever"!) Anyway, I think I'm getting better with food photography. My first attempts were a little frustrating.

The salad looks great in #3 although the background doesn't work that well for me. The idea of the blurred glass of wine and water in the background is good, but it doesn't work out like it should.

I wonder, if there was wine in the glass (I'd just finished) if it would look better? Do you have any ideas why you think it doesn't work?

Not a good time to visit this thread even before I have breakfast. I'm getting really hungry know, but I have to please myself with only a bunch of sandwiches this morning

Jeroen, that's so funny! Because I look up to you so much as a mature photographer, I forget that I probably could look up to you as a growing boy. How old are you, now? twenty? You probably eat like my sons (skinny bean poles they are, too, for all of the food they ingest!)

[Katy Noelle]

Katy - love No 1.

And ...... the answers are 1. Blue Cheese 2. Blue Cheese 3. Blue Cheese

Vermont sounds a bit like NZ. We have fantastic cheese and very good wine, especially Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir.

If you like bleu cheese, then, you would have loved this! They were all locally made cheeses but, like Donald pointed out, the wines were mostly from France. (VT is famous for it's milk! very wholesome!)

The red does not agree with my head though.

er, do you mean as a choice with the meal? It, actually, went with the polenta cake, spinach, mushrooms, etc. - very savory main part of the lunch.

Hey, Mark, I like your new avatar.

[jjbacoomba]

Katy, I love all your shots. Mouth is watering now. Now I am craving some bread and cheese,,,,,,,,oh and chocolate

[Katy Noelle]

Katy, I love all your shots. Mouth is watering now. Now I am craving some bread and cheese,,,,,,,,oh and chocolate

heh, heh, heh! Thanks, Joe! Their chocolates....their desserts....and the lovely cup of coffee that goes with it....oh, my, wonderful!

[Markvetnz]

er, do you mean as a choice with the meal? It, actually, went with the polenta cake, spinach, mushrooms, etc. - very savory main part of the lunch.

Hey, Mark, I like your new avatar.

No. I mean that if I have too much my head tells me so the next day. I learnt my limitations long ago. Student days ----- Ah

[Katy Noelle]

Student days ----- Ah

Ahhh...!

And, here's another shot of the salad (not to beat a dead horse.)



Well, anyway...