rshorens

I live in Santa Cruz, CA and have been having trouble locating these wines. Does anyone know what wine stores in the San Francisco bay area carry Vincent Girardin white wines? I'd like to try them Thanks, Roz

I stayed in a lovely little Umbrian town called Bevagna 2 years ago in the Hotel Palazzo Brunamonti, a recently remodeled stone house in the center of the town. Our double room was spacious, with a lovely modern bathroom with all amenities. Breakfast was an excellent buffet, much better than your typical roll and coffee, and the people were very gracious. Cost was 70-86 Euros/night for 2 people, everythign included. The town has several wonderful restaurants, an excellent bakery, and is well situated for exploring Assisi, Spoleto, Perugia, Lago Trasimeno,Cortona, Umbertide,etc. Phone number is 011 39 0742 361932; FAX 0742 361948 Address Corso G. Matteotti, 79 BevagnaHotel Palazzo Brunamonti Buon viaggio! Roz

My brother lives in State College, PA. I send him surreptitious cartons of wine 2 bottles at a time and mail it from California via the USPS, under the don't ask/don't tell policy.

Isa, an intimate restaurant in the Marina, serves delicious small plates which are fun to share. Creative salads, fish, lamb chops, wonderful foie gras. I never thought of it as French tapas, but I guess you could consider the food similar to tapas, but very elegantly done. Highly recommended. Good selection of wines by the glass, too Roz

would you please post the address/arrondisement and phone number of Le Clos des Gourmets? Sounds like I have to file this info for the next time I'm in Paris. Merci! Roz

Absynthe is a terrific place. Great location, convenient to symphony/opera/ballet. My favorite items: french Onion soup, excellent bread, Ginger Rogers cocktail, any of their cassoulets, sea bass with fried artichoke and fried fingers of ground chickpeas(sounds weird but very delicious), lavender creme broulee with the best shortbread cookies I have ever tasted. Plus they have a good selection of wines by the glass- they even offer "tastes"(3 oz.) for half the price of a glass. Bustling ambience and good service. Roz

Trio was my favorite restaurant in Puerta Vallarta. Food was excellent, decor was veyr appealing, and very good service. Roz

As a New York native( born in the Bronx, raised in Queens and Freeport, L.I.), recalling my favorite pizza from my youth(Green Acres Shopping Center in Valley Stream), I would say that the 3 main features of NY classic(from the 1960's) pizza are: medium(but not very)thin crust, lots of cheese, and a generous amount of oil on top(don't know if it was from the cheese or added). I agree with Irwin that the very best pizza in the US now is in New Haven. Roz

This thread would have made a great Seinfeld episode plot.... I went into the new Whole Foods south of Market in San Francisco and sampled several different cheeses- didn't feel at all guilty because I ended up purchasing $44 worth of cheese! The reason stores provide samples is so people buy more stuff! It works! It's a win-win situation. Roz

The new Whole Foods store at 4th st. and Harrison has some nice wine selections in the South of Market area.

Yes- sounds like the same book I have. Mine is from 1975(7th printing of the 2nd edition)for which I paid $3.75. The "Collector's" version on Amazon.com, going for $50, is also a paperback but may be an older copy printed in Canada. Maybe I should have invested in cookbooks in 1975- it would have done better than the stocks in my pension account! Thanks for locating the only other copy! Roz

Someone asked Jeffrey Steingarten(when he was a featured guest at a Q&A on egullet recently) why so many food critics were attorneys. Now I know why. Seems like we need a King Solomon here to settle this issue Roz

I love a cookbook called" A Treasure for My Daughter", originally written in 1950 by the Ethel Epstein Ein Chapter of Hadassah in Montreal; my copy dates from 1975. The book is organized into chapters according to different Jewish holidays and family occasions, and the text reads like a mother explaining the religious and cultural traditions and the appropriate recipes to her daughter. The recipes are easy to follow and quite delicious. I wish I could buy new copies for my 2 daughters, but I haven't found out if it's still in print. Roz

Too bad they didn't have any cancellations! Touche!(I hope I spelled this right..don't have a French keyboard for the accent) Roz

Apart from the many valid legal, moral, and business issues discussed in this thread, I find it ironic that the restaurant in question("rhymes with kvetch") was the source of this issue. I had read about this restaurant extensively in the UK thread last fall and was intrigued enough to check out the restaurant on my trip to London in November. We stopped in one afternoon to find the location and look around. We spoke to a pleasant server in the bar, who explained about the different sections and their hours of operation. Then we came back with our daughters to have drinks and a snack after a show and were not admitted by the bodyguard-looking men at the door because we weren't members of the club and we didn't have reservations. Noone ever mentioned this on the egullet thread or at the restaurant itself. They wouldn't even let my daughters take a peek at the decor through a partly opened front door. My impression after all this was that the management was arrogrant. I'm not surprised they charged Clerkenwellian when he cancelled at 3! They're not at all interested in good will. I wonder how their business will fare by this time next year. Roz

I don't think it is fair to generalize and disparage certain professions. I am a physician and I don't charge my patients for no-shows(despite losing 100% value for my time)because it generates loss of good will. As a considerate person who always honors my committments when making or cancelling dinner reservations, I can understand why a popular restaurant would want to use the threat of credit card payment as a dis-incentive to no shows or last minute cancellations. Yet even Avis and Hertz extend a 59 minute grace period to clients returning their rental cars a little late. Hence I feel Clerkenwellian has a valid point. Since the reservation was cancelled at 3 PM, the restaurant could have been more gracious about their time limit. If they had, Clerkenwellian might have felt more inclined to try the restaurant again and recommend it to his/her firends, rather than start this thread on egullet.The loss to the restaurant of good will overwhelms whatever they charged for the tardy but well-intentioned cancellation. Though he may be shy of naming the restaurant in question, I'm sure all his/her friends and family know about it. Being nice to the customer, within reason, is always the best policy, especially when the customer has made an effort. Roz

Here are a few places we enjoyed in summer, 2002. They are all very good value for typical french food at moderate prices, with minimum of tourists: Aux Charpentiers 10 rue Mabillon 6th arrond. 01 43 26 30 05 Gaspard de la Nuit 6 rue des Tournelles 4th arrond. 01 42 77 90 53 Chez Paul 13, rue de Charonne 11th arrond.(Bastille) 01 47 00 34 57 Perraudin 157 rue St. jacques, 5th arrond. near Sorbonne-very good inexpensive lunches 01 46 33 15 75 Angelina for hot chocolate I ate at Fontaine des Mars(on your list) 9 years ago- it was good and moderately priced,mostly Parisian clientele as well as those above L'Epi Dupin 11 rue Dupin, 6th arrond,01 42 22 64 56 Have a great trip, and report any discoveries! Roz

If you go to Payard, try the "Louvre"-my favorite dark chocolate/hazelnut cake. Payard also offers an early bird/pre-theater dinner(usually including excellent appetizer, fish, and your choice of pastry/desserts)which i think is excellent value for the quality. Roz

I also had skate at Farallon for the first time and thought it was fabulous. I always order it in every restaurant when I have the chance. I had it twice in London, at J. Sheeky and at Sweetings. Both were good, but the skate at Farallon was better. Thanks, Merle, for the link to info about the January lunch special deal. I had just read about it in an ad in the SF Chronicle. I'm going to try to get there for lunch on Thursday. Roz

Farallon is one of the San Francisco restaurants that will be offering a 3 course lunch for $19.95 during January. It's a great deal for wonderful food. Roz

An ex-Long Islander, now in California, I like to stay at the Beacon Hotel on Broadway near 72nd when I come to New York because I like to get lox and other deli breakfast goodies at Zabars. Without having to travel too far from the Beacon,where would be the closest good bagel place? Thanks! Roz

I went to London last month; it's hard to keep track of prices since the dollar has been falling, but I would recommend Cafe Espana, 63 Old Compton Street in the theater district for their nightly dinner specials(large plate of meat or fish with vegetables and potatoes for around 6 pounds) and Incognico, 117 Shaftesbury Avenue, also near theaters(pre-theater lovely and delicious 3 course French meal with excellent bread for 12.50 pounds). Lunch was always a problem-expensive and not very good in touristy areas like Trafalgar Square. I'd buy a salad, bread and cheese for lunch. Borough market on Fridays and Saturdays(near Southwark cathedral on the south bank of the Thames) has delicious fresh-cooked venison burgers, scallops, shish kebob, etc. It's true that fine restaurants have more economical lunches than dinners, but even then, 15-20 pounds is a lot to spend on lunch if you're on a tight budget. Have a great time! Report back on any discoveries. Roz

I like the wines by the glass menu at Absynthe restaurant on Hayes Street in San Francisco. They offer a nice selection of wines by the glass(and even by the taste, which is half the size and half the price)in a variety of price ranges. The choices vary periodically. Since I am not a big drinker, the taste or glass option provides me with the opportunity to try different wines, and Absynthe also has a wine store a few doors down which offers a 10% discount on wines by the bottle to take home if you are a restaurant customer. Roz

Very good article. Problem is, these high alcohol fruity wines are very seductive- I went on a wine tasting trip to Healdsburg, CA last September. We stopped at a small new winery and tasted lots of their single vineyard zinfandels with alcohol contents of up to 15%. We usually buy a bottle or 2 at each vineyard, but ended up buying nearly 2 cases at this winery- I think we were very intoxicated! So far I haven't figured out when to drink this wine- maybe I'll have to learn how to cook hot Indian food. Roz

I'm thinking of going to Galatoire's for lunch- what SHOULD I know about ordering? Anything to avoid versus dishes not to miss? Thanks Roz