(Long Island, NY) When celebrities, fashion designers and fashionistas gather together, conversation invariably turns to French Champagne, dining, good wine cooking and restaurants. Dressed in a gown designed by fashion designer Count Vlad of Vladicouture I began my evening with my two companions my stylist, Count Vlad and publicist Ron Caparella. Our first stop was the elegant La Baraka Restaurant.
Abundance of food is a maximum of significance at La Baraka Restaurant in Little Neck, Long Island. French Provincial food that demands vigilant prepping and the lightest delicate touch. My elegant evening began at La Baraka Restaurant when my guest and I arrived at the dinner hour of 6:00 P.M. We were greeted warmly at the door by the proprietors Jean Luc and Madame Lucette. The petite cozy dining room is full of stucco and dark wood, copper pots, painted plates, an old yoke to continue the provincial theme.
At the restaurant their are oodles and oodles of charm, romance and French ambiance. Bring a ravenous appetite you will most definitely need it. You will relive your moments in Paris as you fall in love all over again.
Madame Lucette with Cognac Wellerlane at La Baraka Restaurant in Little Neck, Long Island
During my interview with Madame Lucette she explained her passion for French food and why she and her husband decided to open this charming French Provincial Bistro. “There really was no French restaurant of its kind and the people in the neighborhood truly embraced us,” she so eloquently expressed. I inquired, “what are your wishes for the restaurant in the 21st Century.” “I would like to see more young people enjoying dinner at La Baraka,” expressed Lucette.
Executive Chef Jean Luc added in our intimate interview that the restaurant is also famous for its Couscous, the grainy semolina that’s a staple exotic dish in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. Our meal began with a triangle of meat-filled pastry, cumin-spiced chickpeas, escargots that were plump and very good, dressed to ensure you’ll turn your bread into a sponge. We also enjoyed the tres rich goose liver mousse pate du jour.
The quiche Lorraine, which instantly transports you to another decade was especially good. The spinach quiche does also the same, just perfect to wet your appetite. For dinner my guest and I enjoyed sampling a fine l’orange roast duck with sauces of peach and raspberry, the filet mignon au poivre tasting very tender and the lush sauce has just the right amount of tang and lastly for dessert Jean Luc and Madame Lucette finished our dining experience with profiteroles, pastry puffs here filled with ice cream and capped with chocolate sauce; a wobbly creme caramel; the poached pear with ice cream and chocolate sauce; fruit tarts, cheesecake and President DeGaulle would have approved of the respectable chocolate cake.
Not only was the dining experience magnifique, my celebrity guest, stunning Loreal Spokesmodel Janine Green and her Stylist Rick Ramsey complimented a fabulous evening in New York City. Ms. Green has had a long and successful career in modeling which has taken her to the fashion capitals of Paris, Milan and New York. She has been a Loreal model for 10 fabulous years. Ms. Green has also has had many acting accomplishments under her belt.
Loreal Spokesmodel Janine Green and her Stylist Rick Ramsey with Cognac and fashion designer Count Vlad of Vladicouture (far right).
I most enjoyed her performance in Director Charles Randolph-Wright’s film “Preaching To The Choir” a righteous tale of sibling rivalry and divine intervention. Ms Green portrays as an attractive churchgoer Kia — a no-nonsense woman of God who holds Harlem’s rich history near and dear to her heart. The film tells the story of a pair of estranged twins driven apart by the death of their parents find reconciliation and redemption after following radically different paths in life.
My entourage and I decided to top our fabulous evening off by wishing Happy Birthday to our favorite resident fashion dandy Fashionista Patrick McDonald at Kino 41. Suzanne Bartsch and Kenny Kenny hosted the Birthday bash with a performance by worldwide famous burlesque sensation Dirty Martini.
To learn more about La Baraka please visit www.labarakarest.com and for more information about Spokesmodel Ms. Janine Green, please visit www.janinegreen.com.
