PaulaJ

The lack of feedback is making me anxious re: this choice. Have no gastropods dined here?

Barcelona is such a charming city that it would be Spain's loss to have it identified as a hotbed of petty theft. On two separate occassions, friends of mine were pickpocketed last year. One was visiting for the day on a cruise ship and admiring Gaudi's work when he was relieved of passport, traveler's checks,cash etc. Spent his Barcelona day in the police station, signing complaints, arranging Am Ex replacement,etc. Second friend was robbed primarily of wallet/money & cards. There is petty crime everywhere..but..Barcelona seems a hotbed and I agree w. above posters re: need for security measures.

Yvonne, If Shack-Shack is still around, do try it on your next trip to Barbados. Open air, sea front terrace, very interesting menu, well prepared. I'll vote for St Barth's. We,too, found our Le Toiny [Le Gaiac] experience very disappointing. Setting is very pretty but cuisine and service left much to be desired. We didn't find Eden Roc to be any better although, again, it had a fine location. We love Orchidee, the restaurant of the Hotel Christopher. The pigeon breast is accompanied by a phyllo encased patty of Moroccan spiced dark meat and whatevers. The lobster w. citrus sections is also very fine.......the 'the hat' is a wonderfully refreshing dessert. This year we will try Francois Plantation and Case de l'isle, both of which have been recommended. Lafayette Club remains an elegant beachfront luncheon venue as does Indigo restaurant at Hotel Guanahani. For casual lunches, I like the composed salad platters at La Reserve [or is it Rivera??]. Also, on Thursday, there is a marina front 'joint' that flies in mussels from France. A heaping bowl, some frites, some wine.........divine!

After reading various notes re: Astrance, I am excited about dining there mid June. Will also dine at Gerard Besson, Ledoyen and Bath's.....all for the first time. Would appreciate any suggestions re; items to choose or to avoid. After reading some reviews of Ledoyen, I am particularly questionning this choice; has anyone dined there?

Grilled chesse sandwich. Although I love mashed potatoes, I don't have the energy 'to give' at such times. Of course, there's homemade chicken noodle soup also.

Scheduled for dinner here in early June..... never been........would appreciate any feedback.

Thanks for the update. I think I'll skip it for a while. Amat didn't lose his star, merely failed to gain the pivotal second, so he must have his talents intact even if currently frustrated. Perhaps with time he will exert more influence on Bon's menu.

-grated parm and gruyere [for quick gougeres] -special stocks -peas, of course -flash frozen porcini -passion fruit puree -homemade french onion soup, the ultimate 'urge' fulfiller!

Steve, The ravioli were served to us pre-dessert, much as the melon soup w. sorbet usually is. Not appreciating the history of this dish, I found them mildly interesting. On our last visit, after the menu degustation, the captain delivered two additional desserts 'for tasting', one of which was the pineapple carpaccio. Again, we certainly were not knowledgable re; this dish....and mostly left it aside in favor of a delicate, tasteful chocolate cake[whose name I also do not know---very helpful here!] Anyway, while I have no complaints re; the desserts, I have never found them stellar.

There was a most informative review of several Beaune restaurants about 2 months ago. It's worth trying to backdate to locate it.

Do you have the address of restaurant BON? And the days it is closed. If Amat is either cooking or strongly influencing, I would indeed be interested in visiting. Unfortunately, my upcoming trip to Paris places me there on Sat-Sun, not the most propitious days to dine. I will dine at Gerard Besson's....has anyone been there?

We have enjoyed several dinners at Bellecour,7e. It is a small, pretty restaurant...very much a family operation...moderately priced...menu is small but you will find several interesting selections, a few leaning towards Lyon. Reserve in advance.

Fabulously enjoyable post............and clearly, fatigue or non, you are enjoying and advancing in your work!

Well, this thread is so-o-o long that I've long my train of thought! Quel dommage......... Have not been to Roellinger's, but [bux] will resist adding it to my character deformities and simply place it on my must do list. Unlike some of you, Meneau's idiosyncratic diningroom...with formally framed paintings hung in front of sunhouse glass windows... touched my fancy, as did a number of his decorations. His diningroom and mine are the same colors, so perhaps I am biased. Chaque a chacun! Madame is not fluent in English, although solicitious. The staff is polished and fun. They brought me so very many desserts one night and giggled at my wine induced merri- ment in exclaiming them. His caramels and macaroons are to die for! We stayed there x3 when he was 3*....but noted a slippage during visit #3 and shotrly thereafter, he lost a star. I hope he regains it if he exerts the effort. He is beginning to move to consulting in St Barth's ,etc. Mainly due to language, I did not find Meneau 's L'Esperance as polished and receptive as Boyer's Les Crayeres. But Meneau's food was quite exciting while Boyer's seemed studied, refined and controlled. I'll do a memory check when I visit Boyer in June.

Bux, The Wine Spectacor article re: Amat indicates that when St James ran into financial problems, Amat took on a 70 % partner. Apparently, the partner became more active in day to day running about a year ago....... was instrumental in the redecorating of the hotel........ and was unhappy when his investment failed to garner the sought after and desired second star. I,also, enjoyed the facility and the cuisine.

I consider Relais d' Auteuil an exceptionally nice experinece. Interesting well prepared food..........artistically {?sp] presented......great service............lovely setting.

I meant my post to be supportive and optomistic; sorry if it sounded otherwise. If I were stuck w. my very limited french I would ask for a la cote and gesture.............but perhaps others will be of more assistance.

TCD, Try Jocelyne's in Maplewood. I agree that it was very enjoyable and I would cop your spot any Saturnday eveing! However, the kitchen could scissor some of those long watercress stems. Personally, don't so much care re; agglutinated clumps of cheese.......P

The current issue of Wine Spectator has an article re: Jean-Marie Amat [st James, Bouliac] being discharged following the failure of the restaurant to garner a second star. What a shame! We had so enjoyed his cuisine on previous visits. Apparently, both hotel and restaurant are closed while the owner revamps.

Well, the good news about having your gall bladder removed is that fats no longer bother you!! Your father may have other reasons to regulate his fats and balance his food groups. Salads are frequently offered as a first course. Consommes are low in fat, although salty. Vegetable based soups such as pistou frwuently appear on menus. Grilled items and 'birds' do abound on most french menus and could could always request the sauce be omitted or placed on the side. Your mother will also have choices involving prawns,lobster and sometimes, crab. Desserts can be fruit based. I suspect that your Dad is probably a pro at selecting what works for him from any menu!

In the midst of yesterday's dark, swirling thunderstorm we entered Manon, a small storefront restaurant awash in Provencal's bright colors and prints. The tables are on the small size and soon we were playing the shell game to pass around the tasty black olives, oil cruet, etc. BYO, my friend's request that her white wine be chilled was gladly met but the only place for the bucket w. ice was on the floor! I would have preferred that the colorful provencal print cloths not have bistro-ish white paper atop and didn't "get' the basket of crayons "to draw while waiting". The menu was small but interesting and there were several daily specials [recited, without prices] which enticed. Some items include salad w. goat cheese or with strawberry-prosciutto-fennel-fava beans, pistou or curried mussel soups, steak w. rocquefort sauce, a pasta w. goat cheese & asparagus, stuffed chicken breast. App were in the 8-10$ range and entrees hovered at $25. My friend chose the watercress,walnut,pear, blue cheese salad which she declared very tasty but hampered by clumped cheese and long watercress stems. I chose the country pate...2 generous slices w. garnishes, but very livery. The house rolls are yeasty golf ball size, so there really wasn't the correct bread to enjoy the pate. Our entrees were the duck w. orange demi glace and a succulent all-crab cake---both were excellent. The accompanying ea pod-carrots had wilted on the hot plates and looked insipid. Desserts are very few but good.......flourless chocolate cake & pear tart tatin [pears undercooked and not very carmelized] were are choices. This is a very good restaurant, which could easily reach for excellent.

I enjoy this thread because it gives me some 'do-able' ideas! This week was roast beef with another night of roast beef open face sandwiches. Chicken curry w. condiments and rice........ This am I dedicated to trying to replicate Paris's [raspberry] macaroons...which we enjoyed w. grilled loin lamb chops, israeli couscous [a frist try...I made it too soggy] and oven roasted ratatouille. Tomorrow is cold poached salmon w. a watercress mayo sauce. We don't do so well w. leftovers around here. I enjoy the fried rice and omelettes.........but not my spouse. I am in the process of marinating some short ribs with the idea of serving them on Sat or Sun.

Cabrales, My program was a gift so I am uncertain of its price. I suspect that you could find answers re; cost on the school's web site. Some chefs provide only the 2 day program [e.g. Marc Meneau] while others offer a 5 day program. This difference would, of course, be reflected in the price of the program.

Have been off-board for a few days. To respond to some: --I'm not certain how we were mesmerized into waiting so long. Others also were waiting....wne helped....we did complain, to no avail....and we were w. another couple who had chosen it for their 4th anniversary dinner. That said, I couldn't get one member to bolt...so there we were. Yes, the food was up to level, even at that hour. --Now, for the revisit on Wednesday evening. What a difference a day makes! The restaurant was about 2/3 full. We arrived early & were seated immediately. Menu, cuisine and serve were the same. A lovely evening. --Yes, the first Bouley was infamous for long waits...but I felt this was egregious and must have reflected poor scheduling/ over-booking.

Also give Marc Meneau's L"Esperance a consideration. It is a pretty location and he has created some fascinating dishes. I love the potatoes stuffed w. caviar and cream and the lobster in the ancient vinegars. Also, the town of Vezelay is medieval and charming.