hmspector

Dined at ECCR on Thursday. The food was sublime. The Lactic Dessert - 5 preparations of sheeps milk confection -- was as inventive and tasty as anything I have ever had. The new location is stunning. The service - for a table of 5 persons - was an absolute train wreck. I have never seen so many people work so hard to screw up service. They could not serve dishes simultanously, even though we all had the same number of courses; we waited (literally) 75 minutes before the first of two bottles of wine was poured, only to be told that they were out of the first bottle we ordered; waited for the check for another 20 minutes. Oddly, on the wine, they brought a different bottle to the table (instead of the wine list) as a proposed substitute but we declined since it was not at all close to what we ordered. Great food spoiled by polite but completely unorganized service. What a shame.

Can anyone recommend a good cheese in Paris shop, even if Anthony's cheeses are not sold there? Apologies for the thread drift. thanks in advance.

Resurrecting this thread, I would welcome a suggestion for anyplace we could stop between Orly and Tours on a Sunday for a late lunch or early dinner. Outdoors would be a bonus. hm$

I am writing each of these places down to enjoy on our trip to Paris next Fall. More! hm$

It's really a small storefront, not a market. He told me today normal business hours, incl. Saturday. Very good produce -- excellent Rainier cherries, Bing cherries, corn, asparagus, mushrooms.... Thanks for sharing this new outlet with everyone. hm$

as far as I can tell, the 2007 English version is not out yet. if i'm wrong, i'd love someone to correct me and tell me where I can get it. h.m.spector

It was quite good -- prix fixe like Lola. they did not quite have their entire act together service-wise, but were extremely accommodating when we asked for variations on dishes. A solid 9 for us on a Dallas scale. hm$

Is anyone aware of a source of independant restaurant reviews for Brazil or Argentina like Gault Millau or Michelin (but on a smaller or less widely published scale)? Thanks hm$

Oh, and the missing dish at Kasra was Ghormeh Sabzi -- sort of like a Chinese resaurant being out of Kung Pao in my mind. hm$

Sure, Richard. First of all, the few Italian dishes from Giovannis I have had were indeed mediocre. Vis-a-vis the persian food, I think the important thing to remember is that Persian food is all about subtle seasoning. For example, without the 2 bitter lemons in Ghormeh Sabzi, all you have is a pretty vegetal stew and beef. At Giovanni's I think I have had the entire Persian menu: Kababs (Koobideh [ground beef], Juje [chicken]), Lamb shank, Ghemeh (lentil stew w/ beef), Ghormeh Sabzi (spinich, parsley, herb stew with beef), Albali Polo (sour cherry rice with chicken), Fessenjun (pomegrante chicken), Kashk Bademjun (eggplant), Zeresk Polo (barberries, rice & chicken). The seasoning may not be quite at the standard of a good Los Angeles or NYC persian restaurant, but they are not far behind andf the meat is always moist. I am personally a big fan of the Fessenjun since it's a pretty difficult dish to make. The Ghormeh Sabzi is quite good as well. We tried about 4-5 of these dishes at Kasra and none were prepared as well; the seasoning was not right on any of the dishes and all left us flat. Never tried the buffet at either place. hm$

We went Sunday and had a range of dishes (Kashk Bademjun; Ghemeh; Zereshk Polo). None compared favorably to Giovanni's (Preston/Frankford) and they were out of one main staple of the menu. hm$

Bill (and others) We dined at Il Cascinale Nuovo on SS231 in Isola d' Asti; I would second your recommendation. We are going back this fall and will eat there for dinner again. Where, close to Asti or even Allesandria, would you suggest for lunch? Gener Neuv, Vittoria or elsewhere? Truffles are a high priority as we are just passing through for the day and want to maximize our white truffle exposure. Thanks, Howard Marc Spector (new member)