PaulaJ

Our visits to this bar in recent years ended with our sitting in the 'lobby' bar as first there was a fire [i think I recall this correctly] and then renovation. I can't say that your description makes me want to run to the new venue. I was very fond of the 'old' bar. Is there anything of the former comfy feeling left? Is there piano music still?

We'll be in Paris this fall and it's not too early to think about reservations. The few I just visited were less than compelling. We haven't done AD but then, we haven't even visited him in NY! We've done most of the other major restaurants and although we have enjoyed many, there is not one that I'm "dying" [a thread on the NY site] to return to. We're looking for upscale treat types. Any recommendations?

Small,pretty, flower bedecked room........excellent service....... interesting menu. Prix fixe is $62 and offers a choice in most categories. The seared sea scallop which sits on a tomato confit and is surrounded by a frothy fresh pea sauce and fresh peas was particularly excellent. The potato encrusted black sea bass w. 2 sauces was also enjoyed. The only course which disappointed was the entree--quail in foie gras sauce & lamb w. veggies. Desserts had a strong caramel component [?consistent w. Brittany] as well as the fleur de sel accent.

We were browsing thru Dean & Deluca in NYC yesterday. They have an assortment of imported butters, including 5-7 French selections. Price tags mostly were $5-7 for 8oz.

Where is Indigo Moon located?

I've purchased French butter at both the Cheese Store/Gourmet in Summit and at Fresh Fields/Whole Foods in Millburn. Someone told me that they also carried it at Trader Joe's in Florham Park, but I haven't purchased it there so call before you go.

Thanks for the reference. I read the thread and continue to look forward to dining there. It sounds interesting.

We've booked for this restaurant. Has anyone dined there?

Sorry, I didn't review the dessert menu.

I visited this small restaurant located on rue de la Tremoille/ 8th for lunch. I arrived at 12:30 and within 15 minutes had ordered, received my aperitif, Badoit AND glass of wine, plus some small puff pastries and the mis en place of a morsel of lotte w. asparagus puree. Soon to follow were [the menu, 30 euros] -a farmer's pate which tasted like canned corned beef,i.e. chunky and uninteresting. What could/should have been nubbins of fat, liver or pistachios [or so I had hoped] were filled w. lentils and slivers of carrots. -a generous portion of salmon fillet, cooked slightly on the underside but almost qualifying as sushi on top, sitting atop a bed of [more] lentils -an insipid scoop of vanilla ice cream drizzled w. chocolate sauce,accompanied by a wafer. I didn't care for the pace of service, menu or cuisine offered in this restaurant. I don't understand how it earned a star and won't return.

I enjoyed a comfortable dinner in this reputed traditional restaurant at 5 rue Coq Heron in the 1st arr. There is a gracious reception into this pretty room. The table napery is an underskirt of yellow & rouge print drapped w. a maize top cloth. The china,silver and crystal sparkle and a pillar vase containing several pink roses graces each table. Collections of roosters appear in various nooks and showcases and you will feel welcome here. If language is your worry, English is spoken --- but the staff also gracefully cooperates with all attempts to speak French. Service was attentive but unobtrusive, my favorite combination. However, the sommelier was stretched thin and even his quick movement thoughout the room did not keep my wine glass appropriately filled. The menu 'autour' was 96 euros. It included the seafood salad, a cod preparation followed by duck, then cheese and dessert. I chose to order a la carte. I did select the evening's special, a seafood salad, but clearly should have questionned its contents before ordering. In retrospect, I probably was imagining something similar to an Italian seafood salad. This one was actually a plate that contained several seafood selections [raw tuna/without discernible spices, crab salad, langoustines in a light mayo sauce w. caviar and grilled herring. It simply was not the 'right' starter for me but there was nothing wrong with it either. My veal chop was perfectly grilled, served w a morel sauce and green & white asparagus. I followed this with cheeses, all in their prime and finished my meal w. a tray of petite fours. A pleasant evening, enjoyed....but not exactly exciting.

I will attempt to describe some of the dishes over the next few days. The kitchen abounds with foie gras, lobster and langoustines ...and these items appear in various cloaks each day. The quality of everything seemed excellent. The vegetables were so beautfiul that I found myself thinking that they could be photographed for a food publication! Some replies for now------- No 'formal' meals were included in the program. However, if you chose to dine at Les Crayeres you did receive a discount on the food. I did dine there one evening and very much enjoyed my choices [1/2 portion] of a lobster dish and entree of pigeon. Earlier that day Thierry had inquired what I wished to eat that evening; I had no special requests. I was treated kindly by the waitstaff whom I had been seeing all week. I think that Thierry Voisin, the chef de cuisine, is an extremely pleasant gentleman who is highly efficient in managing the kitchen/staff. He appeared vigilant yet relaxed and in command without being cranky or irrascible. He has enormous grace under pressure. I admired him very much. I cannot comment on his 'cusine/ cooking' as he was functionning in an adminstrative role. My husband and I have previously enjoyed aperitifs in the lovely sun porch or greenhouse style room which I think you are describing. While it was available the night I dined there, the weather was lovely and all guests took aperitifs on the terrace located at the rear side of the chateau and looking out onto its lush fields.

Oh, so many of these menus sound far more tantilizing than some restaurants I've visited recently! I like the I-want-to-try-it, so we're having it approach for some of our dinner parties. Have served seared foie gras w. a mango based sauce, salad w. warm quail, fettucini w. lobster-morel- cream sauce, and rack of lamb. Chocolate souffles or Emily Luchetti [?sp] raspberry champagne cake.

My husband doesn't precisely recall the cost of the program..... perhaps in the range of $2200. The web site for L'Ecole des Chefs seems to give a range up to $2600. Incidentally, does anyone have an address for the corporate headquarters of Relais and Chateuax...or even more specifically, this program? I would prefer to write there and cc: my letter to NY

I have had some requests for an evaluation of the L'Ecole des Chefs program I just participated in. I am in the progress of organizing my thoughts into a letter to them and will post more after that is accomplished. As you may read into this, the experience was not all that I had hoped [to put it mildly!]. However, re: Gerard Boyer's Les Crayeres staff meals---I don't know if breakfast is offered to the 'day shift' as I did not arrive as early as they did [7:30am, I think]. Various sectors of the personnel dine at different times during each meal period. I don't know whether they all have the same menu. [Needless to add, Boyer and upper management have trays sent up to them per their order for the day.] There are 2 kitchen crews; they changeover at 3pm. The kitchen has 11am and, I think, 6 or 6:30pm as their dining times. The diningroom is a simple but neat & clean room in the basement, with simple refectory style long tables and chairs. Food is placed on the table, family style. One lunch consisted of--a platter of hard salami w. cornichons, french baguette & boxes of camembert cheese [hardly touched], boneless chicken breasts w a creamy sauce and a pan of roasted potatoes [devoured]. Water and coffee are the only beverages served. Staff clusters,eats hurredly and then utilizes some portion of the 30 minutes to catch a smoke or breath of outdoor air. Other entrees served during the week included fish fillets [a white fish,unsauced], a veal stew, chicken legs, and beef tongue accompanied by a starch such as tabbouleh, a salad composed of egg, ham, potato and tomato, or a potato gratin. I don't recall any green salad, veggies [unless in the composed salad] or desserts. Clean up is done by a dishwasher. Saturday's dinner looked and smelled v good; it was a quiche w. ham but I was dining at Boyer that evening and didn't partake of the staff dinner In fact, I skipped several of these meals, opting to relax in a cafe after I left the restaurant. That doesn't mean that the food was horrible, just not compelling enough to entice me from this format. Unfortunately, I did not observe the truffle en croute being prepared. [Would you settle for a description of the Pere Meurice salad???] Few seemed to be ordering the truffle en croute, small wonder since this starter was priced at about 108 euros. I always seemed to become aware of it after it was already baking. I think it originated in the far corner of the kitchen, beyond Dante's inferno [the meat section]. I didn't feel that there was any room/space for an observer over there. I'd be happy to try to answer other questions regarding the menu or food prep ..........and will offer my assessment in a few days.

I'd like to include Craig Claiborne's NY Times cookbooks. I feel that they revolutionized the way an average housewife in the 60's could cook....and brought new cuisines into the average home.

Re-reading Winot's note, I realize I omitted the bowl of veggies with geraniums....forget where it appeared in the sequence.

My harrowing and protracted taxi ride and Paris's dank, rainy weather were left curbside once I opened the door to Astrance. What a warm, gracious reception! I respect the way the French seat a female solo diner at a good table and Astrance was no exception. The high- ceiling diningroom has charcoal walls, their darkness broken by occasional gold leafed mirrors. The tables are skirted in white and sparkle nicely w. silver & crystal. The service plates provide bursts of various color and reminded me of lifesavers. Although these were eventually removed, each succeeding plate was as interesting for its appearance as for the cuisine it bore. Service throughout the evening was attentive, warm and professional. After two courses of struggling with ' my french' the maitre d' graciously decided to speak english. He favorite phrase appears to be 'It's a surprise." ...whether its the wine he chooses or a particular course. He and his staff appear to take great delight in your enjoyment of their cuisine. The dinner menu was: --an amuse/ chilled shotglass layered from bottom to top w. lemon yogurt, melon puree and banyuls vinaigrette. Accompanied by a small spoon, I was instructed to scoop it from the bottom [pleasant enough, but not special] --the famous avocado-crab ravioli [very good] --3 langoustines on tomato skin sauce accompanied by red grapes and rocket mousse ...instructions were to eat all tastes together --Mediterranean tuna, perhaps w gingerbread crumbs on the edges... seared, accompanied by 3 wonderful carrots sitting in carrot froth --A surprise; see if you can guess it.........don't worry. No one does. These words accompanied a brown, frothy soup which tasted a bit like coffee but which was toasted bread soup --Lamb tenderloin w. spring veggies, potato and lemon mousse --pepper-lemongrass sorbet w. strawberries & madeleines --sliced straberries w. almonds and cucumber sorbet [!!!] --thinly sliced apricot tart w. peanuts and peanut ice cream --an egg carton containing 1 brown egg shell which was filled with a mixture of milk, egg, sugar & jasmine. "Drink it." I had a lovely evening....and would return...but the bottom line for me is that my palate tilts towards more traditional fare. --

I dined about one week later at L'Astrance and had the Menu for Juin which was 65 euros. Will post as soon as I catch my breath. Had a very pleasant evening but still pondering whether I feel as positively about it as so many other board members seem to.

Thank you for the description of your more favorable experiences w. Les Frenes. Unfortunately --once burned-- I doubt that I will ever book this property again. We too have enjoyed several R&C properties and will continue to utilize them. However, I will not book them again unless I have the time & energy to extensively explore their cancellation policies. Clearly, I found this charge to be egregious. In response to my email complaint, to date R&C has only responded that they rec'd my cancellation and gave me a #. It is Les Frenes which sent an email stating that they had rec'd the cancelation and charged the cancellation fee. Using their linked web page I found the posting for applicable cancelation fees.

I did check the Hostellerie Les Frenes site and found the cancellation fee posted. It is always applicable ........ouch!..... although the amount charged increases 15 days in advance. I can tolerate the latter if this is a resort property [e.g. as some of the islands do over the holidays]. I don't consider Avignon area a resort, but perhaps I misjudge. I did send a note to Relais & Chateaux. They should not allow one of their properties to do this as it will eventually limit peoples' willingness to book with R & C.

Sometimes the lobsters get stunned in the cold. Did you try naturally warming it, out of the Fridge? No tail flap, no eat.

I've read the notes on Avignon and wine tastings in that region. We will be going to Provence in the fall. Eager to learn of your pleasurable experiences. Sharing one horro to date. For 3 days we held a reservation at H. des Frenes. Cancelled it 3 months in advance...all to the tune of a 31 euro cancellation fee. Guess I missed that part of the reservation info.........and will have to bear the responsibility for this............but find the idea outrageous! Has anyone stayed or dined there? Do you run into this problem frequently in Provence. Needless to say, I will never book there again and will be gunshy on Relais & Chateaux proprerties,of which this is one.

We just returned from St Barth's, so I'm offering an update. Orchidee/Christopher Hotel--My favorite for the past 4-5 years, this restaurant can move to the bottom of my list. Menu was changed considerably and while it sounds more elegant, they don't deliver. My lobster-porcini ravioli in bisque were quite awful...tastless ravioli smothered in a dark porcini sauce. Beef stuffed w. foie gras was ok. All 4 of us were disappointed. Service was by some 'interns' from an oriental restaurant school---rather unusual for a french restaurant. Guanahani; Lunches at Indigo [poolside restaurant] were excellent. They included interesting choices such as crab w. grapefruit, seared tuna fillet w. pickled giner & sesame, salad nicoise, grilled fish and wonderful conch-lobster fritters. The chef is not afraid to use spices such as curry and satay sauces... also always has a tartare or carpaccio. Bartolomeo's [dinner ] has significantly improved and was excellent---lobster carpaccio was a standout. Desserts are interesting [e.g. pistachio mousse baked in a crepe] Other dinners: La Case de L'Isle [Hotel Ile de France]--pretentious and inadequate service....upscale menu & prices.....poor preparation. Beautiful setting but we won't return. Zucchini soup was so salty it was inedible. Pigeon over poweringly gamey...rack of lamb left; no one inquired. Francois Plantation--Lovely table settings, Youthful servers. Interesting menu. Foie gras dishes [both seared on corn cake and terrine] are generous portions and excellent. Rest of dinner was rather unmemorable although mostly adequate. Le Gaiac/Hotel Le Toiny--an excellent menu and dinner. Very expensive. Small portions. Lobster ravioli , moules w buerre blanc. Menu over-describes and many dishes sound 'arty' e.g. veal medallions dusted w. licorice---but the end/served product was quite tasty. Chicken cooked in a bag is a speciality. Crepes are flamed w. cognac.

In May '01 we visited Avignon, dining at H-L [awful] and Hotel de l'Europe [disappointing except for cocktails in the garden/terrace]. We did enjoy a very pleasant dinner at a Relais & Chateaux property slightly outside of Avignon proper...Le Prieure. I suspect that it wouldn't compare with Loumarin [where I have not yet dined] but it is a very short distance/drive if that is a consideration.