John Talbott

I'm afraid not. I've been to A la douceur Angevine and was not impressed. There are a couple of new places on the Southwest corner of the Library but I've not been inside. I suggest you get back on the handy-dandy #14 and high youself back to the right bank fast or schlep up to l'Ourcine .

Here are two threads on the subject: Solo Dining and Dining Alone Sunday.

We have done both and I think while it's fun to be in Dijon and Beaune at night to sup and walk, it's more fun to have lodgings in the country in a Chambre d'hote (read B&B) of which there are a lot in Burgundy. Order the book through eGullet's Pantry and help us with the cut, thanks.

As a male who eats alone much of the time, I'm not sure I'm qualified to answer, but I've only encountered a problem once. I've heard that the starred restos at night resent not having a paying customer at each seat, but as I say, it's not been my experience save for La Maison de Charly, where when my wife Colette tried to simply have some salad and wine while I had the big menu and they refused to take the order. Benoit is a classy place with classy waiters; I can't imagine such a thing happening there. PS I also think it's over-priced unless you take the extremely limited "menu," as well as full of Americans, but those are other issues. Finally, if you do a search I'll think you'll find a lot of discussion of this on past threads.

I have here:

My Monoprix carries it; no need to look farther.

It's free and under restaurants not on the home page - not sure why. Edited to add url

Any wine meant to be consumed within a short time after bottling really has no excuse not to go to a non traditional cork enclosure. The problem --yet to be resolved--is the impact of screw tops etc upon a wine's aging over long periods of time. ← I'm in no ways an expert, consider me the messenger, but the article quotes Jean Luc Zell, director at Chateau Agassac (with neat music), saying "It is a myth that red wine needs air to age."

I'm getting a bit wary of posting info on every darn bird that dies in France. I don't want to fear monger, but Expatica/AFP did say one more wild swan died in Saint-Mitre-les-Ramparts near the Berre lagoon, close to Marseille of the H5N1.

March 3rd, Expatica and AFP published a piece by Sophie Kevany on screw tops that says Bordeaux's Andre Lurton will go entirely to such tops but Chat. Margaux will not.

In one of those eGullet moments, last night I found myself at the Oval Room discussing food and eGullet's accuracy with Chef Matt Secich who spoke in glowing terms about John Sconzo and Charles Sweeney. But to the food first. A caveat; it was a dinner for about 30 persons; ergo forced limited choices, but pretty good and worth a retry for sure. First were butternut squash soup with walnut foam and baby lettuce with a truffle vinaigrette and warm Blue Ledge Farms Chevre - both fine. The mains were also good but of the three, I give the award for product to the grilled rib steak with pureed apple and a divine sauce although the scallops with a truffle cleriac puree were close behind. The cod with stuffed fingerling potatoes was not out of the ordinary. Both desserts - a chocolate tarte and creme brulee - were while standard fare, made correctly.The wines for a group dinner were also quite good - a white Carmel Road Chardonnay and red Grant Burge Shiraz. The bill? I have no idea, wasn't paying. But it's clear Secich profited from his stages at lunch with Guy Martin of Grand Vefour and Pierre Gagniere.

A member sent me a query about what wine shop in Paris would have a "decent selection" of Alsace wines. My first guess would be Lavinia, but I thought I'd put the question up for grabs. Ideas?

The Week of February 27th, 2006 Monday, Le Fooding’s news was that the first Sunday of the month the resto in the 18th much beloved by the “Fooding” bunch, La Famille, 41 rue des Trois Frères, 01 42 52 11 12, hosts a different outside chef in a “ping-pong” event with the resident chef – Bruno Viala. In February it was Angelo Capasa of Marcel at the Drugstore Publicis doing 11 colors in 11 dishes; in March it will be Flora {Mikula} doing classics such as cassoulet, choucroute, etc.; and in April the Irish-born cookbook author (Cooking with Friends) - Trish Deseine – who lives in France. No reservations are taken; it's held between 8 and 11 PM. Monday/Tuesday A Nous Paris gave 3/5 blocks to two places: Jerome Berger ate at the Seafood Bar at the Caviar House Prunier, 15, place de la Madeleine in the 8th, 01.47.42.98.98, open Monday-Saturday 12 noon to 1 AM without interruption, formula at 19, a la carte 50 E for everything from salmon to caviar and lobster{it’s described before above}, where he only complained about the smoked salmon; Philippe Toinard, meanwhile, ate at Jarasse, another seafood place, described before, where he only disliked the small range of wines by the glass. Of note too, Market in the 8th, now serves 18 {very American sounding} cocktails with accompaniments, such as oysters, pecorino and grilled wantons, for 15 E from 6-8 PM. If you’re interested in learning about digestifs, Tuesday’s Paris Voice had an article by Laura Van Iterson explaining the differences between liqueurs and spirits, single and double distilled, crèmes and Génépi. Wednesday’s Figaroscope’s C’est nouveau gave the featured photo and lead to but a one-hearter - Jules, 2, rue de Sfax in the 16th, 01.45.00.37.19, closed Sundays, lunch menus 17 & 21, a la carte 35-40 E while giving two hearts to the zen-spaced Fontaine Fiacre, 8, rue Hippolyte Lebas in the 9th, 01.53.20.88.70, closed Saturday lunch and Sundays, with a weekday lunch formula of 12,50 E and other menus at 21 and 27, a la carte 45 E for rabbit rillettes, scallops and a perfect parfait. The other three restos included: the cheese bistro run by an ex-Androuet person, La Table de Marc Labourel, 6, rue Ernest Renan in the 15th, 01.43.06.84.75, closed Sunday and Monday with a cheese menu at 49 and regular menu at the same price, a la carte 35-60 E (one heart only); the Indian Old Jawad in the 2nd (two hearts); and an Italian place – Il Naturale in the 17th (one heart). The “Dossier” this week featured meals in or around movie houses, specifically: Brasserie du Publicisdrugstore Le Pere Lathuille Bistrot Latin Le Rendez-vous des Quais + Cafebibliotheque. And Francois Simon went to l’Entrepot, 7, rue Francis de Pressense in the 14th, 01.45.40.07.50, costing 81 E for two before a show, but the food albeit seasonal was slow in coming and served on cold plates. Zurban’s guest critic Pierrick Jegu devoted his major space Wednesday to a review of Mori Venice Bar, coordinates given before, a Venician restaurant, which he liked {as did Figaroscope several weeks ago.} The restos “in the casserole” included:144 Petrossian, coordinates given and many dishes already described, which he liked; a neo-bistrot Chez Corto, 47, rue Rodier in the 9th, 01.49.95.96.80, closed Saturday lunch and Sundays, formulas = 15 (lunch)and 22 (dinner), menus 20 (lunch) and 28 E (dinner) for an “honest” soup of mussels, lamb orientale (ditto) and classic moelleux of chocolate; and a pan-Asian place called Asianwok in the 11th. Thursday in l’Express Jean Luc Petitrenaud did his usual thing, reviewing one in Paris and one outside. The Parisian place was La Stade {you’ve got it, right near the three stadia and in one of them, Géo-André } 20, ave de la Porte de St Cloud in the 16th, 01.40.71.22.22 serving food of the auvergne in a frequently changing carte on a 21 E menu, 35 E a la carte. His out of Paris place is the Café de l’Esperance in Bouliac. Also on Thursday, Gilles Pudlowski in Le Point ate at and liked the Corsican place near the Palais Royal, A Casaluna, Liza the Lebanese place and Bambou a Viet Namese resto - coordinates already given. He also says that Le Divellac + Caviar Kaspia are in good form and recommends the venerable resto Gill as well as the Poissonnerie des Halles in Rouen. As for products he likes the Laiterie Bayard’s cheeses and gives a recipe for a gateau basque from the tongue-twisting Maison du Gâteau Basque - Etchebaster in Saint-Jean-de-Luz. Jean-Claude Ribaut, in Thursday-Friday’s Le Monde mentioned two Italian places in Paris that are receiving a lot of buzz now Il Settimo + Mori Venice Bar. He also announced that the prestigious “Best worker of the Year” awardee Philippe Jego, of La Table de Philippe, at the {would you believe?} Fairplay Golf Hôtel & Spa in Benalup south of Seville was hosting the 51st convocation of best workers this week there. Friday in Les Echos, Jean-Louis Galesne talked of tea-rooms and mentioned four in particular: the well-known chocolatier Jean Paul Hevin, the left bank institution Laduree and two where Japanese chefs, in the latter case all women, reign – Fauchon + Mamie Gateaux, 66, rue du Cherche-Midi in the 6th, 01.42.22.32.15, open 11 :30 AM – 6 PM, closed Sundays with formulas at 9 and 13,50 E, a la carte 15-20 E. In Saturday’s FT, Nick Landers interviewed Alain Senderens in which he notes that the restaurant is now more profitable and the chef is getting to chat with and know his customers better. Sunday’s New York Times Travel Section concerned Chamonix. In an article “In the Alps, Wide-Open Slopes and Crowded Bars,” Heather Timmons mentioned Le Panier des 4 Saisons + MBC and several bars. Meanwhile I the Washington Post Terry Ward discussed a host of places in Toulouse that included: Le Florida, Cave des Blanchers, Le Sherpa, Tantina de Burgos, Le Barbu, La Brindelle, Chez Carmen + Le Marrakech. {I cannot imagine why you’d be interested, but} Liberation’s cultural critic wrote an article Friday on the French and non-French chefs, sommeliers and pastry chefs in Los Vegas mentioning: Gamel Aziz, Paul Bartolotta, Jean-Georges Vongterichten, Daniel Boulud, Alain Ducasse, Guy Savoy, Franck Savoy, Damien Dulas, Hugues Poujet, Eric Mancio, Joël Robuchon, Antoine Hernandez, and François Benot. {Gayot.com came in for some criticism here recently so maybe this news is no news but} they recently listed their best 10 bistrots (all got 13/20 except l’Ami Louis which got 15/20 and Chez Georges + le Bistrot de Cancale which got 14/20. They are: Allard, Aux Lyonnais, Chez Georges, Chez Rene, l’Oenotheque, l’Ami Louis, Bistrot de Cancale, Le Comptoir, Au Petit Riche, Le Vieux Bistrot. Saturday-Sunday, in Bonjour Paris, Margaret Kemp published Literary Lunch Buzz about the Pavillon de la Grande Cascade and John Talbott, one on Restos for under 30 Euros. Please post comments here and not in the Digest thread.

Well, I'm not willing to drive to Hamilton but anywhere reasonable with public transportation is OK. I'll come back to the "Canadian" lunch place later.

I would add one other tip; look at the license plates of the truck that brought the vendor and produce there, it's usually just in back of their stall; if 75 or the 90's it's local. Also the boxes produce is in are usually not recycled and those containing, say, Norwegian fish and Dutch tomatoes are quite clear.

I'm glad you asked for SW cooking not SW restaurant because that allows me to suggest Le Repaire de Cartouche which is not listed everywhere as a SW Resto but does SW cooking. Next would be Les Papilles and for lamb J'Go - gigot, got it? Finally, this will, as usual, land me in hot water, I'd advise against Helene Darroze, in my estimation one of the only reasons the French PR business deserves a big round of applause.

Oh boy, I think only a marriage counsellor should answer your question. But by the end of your post I think you answered it yourself. Is it worth it vs your wife's plans? No. I think the Salon is fun to go to once in a lifetime if you have loads of time, like State Fairs and want to chow down to some simple but hearty fare. I don't recall many samples, and if sampling wine, I feel obliged to buy and schlep some home.

Wow, you guys are awesome. I realize (esp with Marlene watching) that we're not supposed to waste space saying thanks, but thanks. I summered in Toronto during "the War" (I guess my folks' theory was that the U-Boats would have greater difficulty navigating the St Lawrence than the Atlantic Coast) and am constantly amazed on returning every few years at the number of great new places to eat. I'm saving up a question on "typical Canadian food" for closer to my trip, but I'll be back in a month or so.

Me too. Thanks.I have much the same question, and I too hang out elsewhere - the France Forum. But since I'm staying near the ballpark, are my evening ethnic choices any different than the suggestions you gave helenjp? I'm interested (if you're not familiar with my quirks) in good food, damn the decor and reasonable prices. Thanks.

Yesterday, Gilles Pudlowski in Le Point gave a recipe for a gateau basque from the tongue-twisting Maison du Gâteau Basque - Etchebaster in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, which sounds like it's a must-go-to-place.

Expatica quoted the AFP today as saying that live French poultry exports were off 44%, that 43 countries had joined the ban and that non-EU foie gras was off 14%.

Well, I wouldn't swear to it, but maybe Market's been doing some marketing (sorry) because today, Felice carrier-pigeoned me Tuesday's A Nous Paris that announced in a side-bar that it now serves 18 {very American sounding} cocktails with accompaniments (oysters, pecorino, grilled wantons) for 15 E from 6-8 PM.

You've got me thinking. I especially like the dry harissa that Magrebian restos serve; I have no idea where to get it (Izrael maybe) but oddly enough Google reveals that a California woman Kathy Fitzhenry of Juliet Mae Spices sells it in the US. I'll betcha ChefZadi knows where in Paris to get it.

This is just in from Postcards from Paris "go to Market, the most nearly-NYC restaurant in Paris."

Nah, I have major differences; up at 6, the usual Amurican exercise stuff 'til 7, breakfast with les Matinales and Euronews (recorded) and Telematin, work, then lunch and the rest I agree on, except for the dancing (which, as a geezer I don't indulge in, except on/in Barcelonetta).