John Talbott

As they say here, Oui mais.... Nicolas shops vary depending on where they are; in the swank districts one sees interesting stuff; where I live, it's pretty drab. I can vouch for it; first rate. At least, when guests shop there and leave a little offering of old Calva, it's just fine.

Entredgeu in the 17th? I liked Philippe Tredgeu much better at Chez Casimir, sorry, but member Pim thinks it’s super and I respect her opinion.

- Dip (Boulevard St. Michel) Never heard of it; sure that's it, not Lipp; tourist central?? - Dominique Bouchet (8eme) First rate, one of the revelations of the year. - Caius (8eme) Deceptive; front says they have this huge variety of interesting dishes, in fact they have the usual old tired stuff.

Great place, see my review here; it's at 6 rue Lamartine in the 9th, 01.48.78.12.20

The closest that meets your description in the past 3 months that I can come up with is Carte Blanche in the 9th where the chef is from Gagnaire but it's less like Gagnaire than Ledeuil - Ze Kitchen Galerie. I've only been twice since it opened in the late Fall but have been very impressed both times.

Yes and it's free and I got a copy I think at Galignani or WH Smith on the Rue de Rivoli. But they say you can subscribe for the cost of postage only by going to gogoparis.com/subscribe Edited by John Talbott to correct spelling of bookstore Galignani.

It is; as of today - February 6th - it's up and running and full. The salle looks exactly the same, the waiter said they only worked on the kitchen and Mister C. was giving what looked like a wine lecture in the hotel lobby.

Jackal, a bit more info, address, quartier, years, etc?

Yes by now the "leaks" to the papers (not just Libe), that ironically has cut its food news to the bone, probably indicate it's a sure thing.

As an ancien New Yorker ancien (and I use that is both senses of the word, ancien before and after the noun) I think there are a few differences here. Of course, as opposed to the mosquito-infested island on the Hudson, we have five a week open here versus a few there, but who's competitive? First, if whoever the NYTimes critic is, writes up a place positively, one will not get in for years. Here; Rubin gives it three hearts, you call the next day, no problem. Two, buzz here is less intense than NYC. There, everybody who is anybody has friends who call BEFORE it's been reviewed, and if you haven't been before the NYT, faggedaboudit. Three, I have it from trustworthy sources that PR and connections work here, just look at Helene Darroze. Four, places that are terrific here - examples in the last year - Le Baratin, La Cerisaie, Le Pouilly-Reuilly have chugged along for quite a while until one of the big three writes them/it up and suddenly everyone else piles on. Now if you're Ducasse, Gagnaire, Westerman, etc, you don't need the publicity machine for places like Aux Lyonnais, Gaya, Drouant etc. And just look at the threads for Yves Camdeborde and Jamin in the past two years, will he, won't he, when will he, maybe not, oh gosh! I'm as guilty as anyone. Fresh_a says "x" I go by ASAP. Simon says "y" I check it out. I hear a rumor from "z" that the de la Garde folks are relocating, I somehow find myself in the posh part of the 18th. But to be serious. I take it you're asking for places we've been to and not written up and hidden from the world. It's no longer possible with the Internet and eGullet. Remember, these guys have motos and they walk (get a Californian to do that) and everyone is a flanneur. Not to tease, but two places I've been to this week - at lunch mind you - both newly chef'd or redecorated, turned people away who walked in. So Zoe, back to the point, little, intime places open 3 months with great reviews that I love - Ripaille, Ferrandaise, Maxan.

The Week of January 30th, 2006 The week began with A Nous Paris’s takes on two new places: 2/5 blocks to Les Ronchons, coordinates given before, where the food was from another era – too heavy, fatty and rough; the only saving grace was the wine and 3/5 to Namiki, 46, rue Croix-des-Petits-Champs in the 1st, 01.42.60.25.54, open Tuesday to Saturday, lunch formula at 15 E, dinner a la carte about 45 E, which advertises itself as presenting “Zen food a la francaise,” and had some Japanese dishes, some fusion ones (terrine with Japanese ingredients) and some French ones (tarte tatin). In addition, the side-bar on the page announced the availability by the Atelier des Chefs folks of cooking kits for meals for two available at Monoprix Ternes and Daily Monop’ de Paris. Finally, there was another reference to the venerable bistrot Chez Fred in the 17th, celebrating its 60th birthday. Emmanuel Rubin’s “C’est nouveau” in Figaroscope on Wednesday awarded 3 hearts to Le 144 Petrossian, 18, bd de Latour Maubourg in the 7th, 01.44.11.32.32, closed Sunday and Monday, whose black female chef has been getting great press for her 35 E menu at lunch and 45 E one at dinner (a la carte 60-90 E) that ranges from borsht to caviar and piroges to sorbets. {For my view see my review next week.} He also gave two hearts to the second resto of La Robe et le Palais, a wineshop-deli La Garde Robe, 41, rue de l’Arbre Sec in the 1st, 01.49.26.90.60, open every day costing about 20 E for charcuterie and cheese (lunch formula = 8.5 E and Cancale oysters 1 E apiece.) Then there were two one-hearters - Ivory, 74, rue des Archives in the 3rd, 01.42.41.21.96, closed Saturday lunch and Sundays, costing about 30 E with 16 and 20 E lunch menus for food described as between Zen and baroque, offering salmon rillettes, veal goulash and chocolate mousse (all “not bad”) and a resto-bar, Habemus Papam, coordinates given before, which despite the Italianate/white smoke/Vaticanate reference is a French place and serves such fare as coco-lemon soup, shrimp with spices and an entrecote for about 35 E (lunch formula is 14 E.). The final place, Sensi in the 8th got a broken plate. Figaroscope’s “Dossier” gave a series of places serving black food: Black rice from cuttlefish ink Rosimar Mbongo Tchobi Eb’n Lodge Black Tea 1728 Black Truffles Un Jour a Peyrassol Black Coffee Verlet Caviar Prunier, Petrossian, Caviar Kaspia + Maison du Caviar Black Olives Da Rosa Sea Urchins and Mussels Wepler Black SausageChez Benoit Black Mushrooms & Shrimp Imperial Choisy 100% Dark Dans le Noir Francois Simon’s “Hache Menu” dealt with Jules Verne, coordinates well-known, whose décor is black, albeit now a bit tired. Two persons had water, mains and a shared dessert (no wine or entrees) for 154 Euros which even he thought was a bit pricey. Wednesdays, while Sebastien Demorand is on leave, several others will be doing the reviews in Zurban. This week, Bruno Verjus, author of Tous en Cuisine, wrote up the long-standing (20 years) but recently discovered (by the critics) resto-bistro Le Baratin, 3, rue Jouye-Rouve in the 20th, 01.43.49.39.70, open from Tuesday lunch to Saturday night (but not serving Saturday lunch), lunch menu = 14 E, a la carte in the evening about 28-32 E, where he loved all the food, finding the entrees “precise, correctly-made and exciting.” {For my take, I’ll post next week.} Verjus’ “Restos a la Casserole” were two well-known places: Chez Michel in the 10th and l’Ecallier du Bistrot in the 11th as well as a fish store Comptoir Oceanique in the 14th. Meanwhile, Sebastien Demorand, writing in Regal, did a piece on Frederic Crochet of Mon Viel Ami with a recipe for guinea hen with Jerusalem artichokes and potatoes. Wednesday-Thursday, in Le Monde, Jean-Claude Ribaut wrote two pieces, one about “bistrots-cantines” that offer an honest alternative to Anglo-American fast-food. I doubt any of our members/readers will avail themselves of such, but if you’re on the hoof and want a quick salad or sandwich, he suggests you try Cojean in the 9th or Ante Prime in the 8th. The second article concerns Air France’s First Class food and wine, which since December, has used Guy Martin, of Le Grand Véfour and Olivier Poussier, best sommelier in the World in 2000 as consultants to pep-up the fare. L’Express this week had a pull out supplement on bistros in and outside Paris authored by nine critics of whom Emmanuel Rubin and Jerome Berger are probably the best known. In Paris and the Ile de France they included: the Café Constant, Les Papilles, Le Comptoir, Les Gamelles au Plafond in Suresnes, the Café des Musees, Aux Lyonnais, Mon Viel Ami, Le Pre Verre, L’Ami Jean, L’Ourcine, L’Avant-Gout, Georgette, Chez Jean, L’Affriole, La Cave est Restaurant in Montreuil Sous Bois, Le Regalade, Le Beurre Noisette, Le Troquet, L’Os a Moelle, L’Epi Dupin, L’Ami Marcel, Carte Blanche, Le Repaire de Cartouche, Le Villaret, Le Temps au Temps, Thierry Burlot, L’Abadache, L’Entredgeu + Le Baratin. Of interest as well was an article (the second in as many weeks), in which Jean-Luc Petitrenaud revisits Le Pouilly-Reuilly in le Pre St Gervais, just outside the perpherique, where Christian Millet has recently taken over. Thursday in Le Point,Gilles Pudlowski provided his usual array of food items. He likes Reuan Thai in the 11th; says two places are holding up: Mori Venice Bar + Le Train Bleu in the 2nd and 12th respectively; and says one place – the pizza/pasta serving Bartolo in the 6th, is in trouble. Outside Paris he recommends El Castell de Ciutat in La Sue d’Urgell in Catalonia, Le Fin Gourmet in Les Deux-Alpes, La Bastide Saint-Antoine in Grasse and Le Bistrot de la Tranchée in Tours. He also talks of truffles from Alba (Italy) and gives a recipe for risotto with white truffles. Thursday, the freebie ParuVendu had a {strange in my opinion} list of “Best Restaurants” in their editors’ opinion. They were: L’Auberge Nicolas Flamel, L’Orenoc, Le Barlotti, Bound, Le Galvacher + L’Azalee. Friday, in Les Echos, Jean-Louis Galesne devoted his space to four Italian places in Paris: Mori Venice Bar, Il Cortile, l’Osteria + La Baracola in the 2nd, 1st, 4th and 11th respectively. I am indebted to eGullet member Fresh_a who pointed me toward an English publication and its website GoGoParis that has interviews and lists of the “ten best” each month; this month the top place on the website is Le Transversal and the others featured on the hard-copy were: Le Comptoir, Le Temps au Temps + l’Alavi. I missed the December issue but since it concerns Yves Camdeborde, a great subject on this Forum, I thought I’d list his favorite restaurants: the great places where he eats at least once a year le Bristol, le Crillon + le Violin d’Ingres and then the relaxed, reasonably-priced ones: l’Ardoise, l’Ami Jean, Chez Michel, Repaire de Cartouche, l’Ourcine, Cave des Papilles, l’Os a Moelle + le Baratin The February Where featured many new or moderately new places: Alexander Lobrano calls the Pur’Grill in the Park Hyatt Vendome one of the most interesting restaurants in town (dinner only); three places he suggests are especially appropriate for Valentine’s Day – le Meurice, Le Vieux Bistro + Caviar Kaspia; two relatively new bistrots: La Ferrandaise + Le Square; and Drouant, as has been mentioned before, that has been taken under Antoine Westerman and Antony Clemot’s (ex-Viel Ami) wings. I do too little digesting of wine news but will pass this on: Jancis Robinson in this weekend’s FT writes about the 2004 Burgundies suggesting you drink them now but not stock up too much since the 2005’s are supposed to turn out so well. In his “Croque Notes” Saturday/Sunday, in Le Figaro, Francois Simon wrote about le Petit Comptoir in Angers. Also, the Figaro team this week assessed risotto in Paris. The top six places serving this difficult-to-make dish were: Carpaccio, l’Osteria, Il Gusto Sardo, Stresa, I Golisi + Dell’Orto. Finally, as has already been reported in this space, Francois Simon in Madame Figaro announced star-elevations in the forthcoming Michelin Red Guide for France, which can be expected for Olivier Roellinger and doubly for Joël Robuchon. Saturday-Sunday, in Bonjour Paris, Margaret Kemp had a review of Antoine Westerman’s new outpost in Paris, Drouant, coordinates above, and John Talbott had an article entitled Eating in Cantines. Sunday, in the JDD, Michel Rochedy of Coucheval’s Le Chabichou, chose Le Pouilly-Reuilly + Sormani as his two favorite Parisian good quality-price places. In addition, Astrid de T’Serclaes, in JDD’s Femina supplement recommended two foreign restos - the Spanish Fogon and the Italian Fuxia, coordinates already given. Please post comments here and not in the Digest thread.

You are correct, same space, totally new/different crew and stuff, I should have noted that. I'll post my review next weekend (very positive). Well, it is in tourist central and no, not recently, it's been five-six years since I've been. My opinion was that it is what it is and if you hanker for escargots, no better place (unless you buy them in the little shop, l'Escargot de la Butte, on Joseph de Maistre in the 18th and prepare them at home.) (There's another place in the 15th, La Maison de l'Escargot, but I've never tried their stuff).

Yah, I have to agree with Menton. I cannot imagine many areas in Paris that don't have exciting new restos, shops and stuff to see. Quartiers that were once thot out of it (eg the 11th, the 20th, etc) are now branche and expensive and "in." Even where I live, the area that has the most inhabitants who were born in the area, thus, old school, has burst forth with 5-6 new restos in a couple of years. And, as I keep saying, almost any place is but a few Metro stops away.

Rather than use up a whole thread with thin news, here's the news from the little Lebey Paris Bistrot Guide. In the preface he applauds Le Comptoir, the reprise of l'Escargot Montorgueil and the appearance of La Ferrandaise open only two months, which won the best bistrot of the year award.

Well, so far in February, every place I've been in has pumpkin soup, pork and scallops.

For markets check this post that has a great list of all the markets. Either area is safe (indeed no one worries about walking alone late at night anywhere central; it's outside the center and in the suburbs that there's a problem) and both are very near a big street market (Richard Lenoir/Bastille to the Place des Vosges; Place Monge to the Place de la Contrascarpe). I'd make the decision more on the furnishings in the apts and the feeling you're looking for outside - the Place des Vosges is charming and full of tourists; the Place de la Contrascarpe less touristy/more studenty.

What’s in the markets in France – February I’ve gotten a little encouragement to start a monthly series on products in our markets after my response to the thread on March products. So, here’s February – much credit to the Almanach du Gastronomie by Armelle de Scitivaux (Bottin Goumand, 1998, 133 FF) and Regal magazine, (recommended by the LTP of member Paga), featuring a combo of restaurant, product and recipe info that is really cutting edge, by me anyway (unfortunately they have no worthwhile web presence – you gotta call 01.43.23.45.72 or buy a copy which has subscription data). The following are in full season in February (underlined items are biggies and/or have recipes in Regal): oysters, bar, cod, merlan, langoustines, sole, turbot, lotte, oursin, coquille St-Jacques, calamari, coques, herring, monkfish, l’omble chevalier, palourdes, praires, ray, salmon and plie; milk-fed lamb, goose, farm pork and veal; l’Abondance, Cantal, Laguiole, Salers, Mimolette, Comte, l’Epoisses, Maroilles, Mont d’or, Munster-gerome, Vacherin, Ossau-Iraty; avocados, betterave, swiss chard, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, leeks, fennel, dry mushrooms, celery-rave, rutabaga, topinambour, crosnes, salsify, celery, raddichio, cabbage, endives, Soissons beans, lentils from Puy, mache, turnips, parsnips, leeks and frisee; truffles; chestnuts; bananas, kiwi fruits (kiwis are the folks; kiwi fruits the products); yellow lemons, grapefruit, bananas, clementines, mandarins, Seville and other oranges, cumbava, dates and exotic fruits (e.g., mangos, passion fruit, litchis, coconuts, kaki, pomegranates, kumquats, starfruit and ground cherry). Others - please add to it.

Outstanding, joining one of my favorites - La Cerisaie. Bye the bye, I just noticed that Time Out Paris notes no smoking rooms and wheelchair access.

The Week of January 23rd, 2006 Monday, in A Nous Paris, Jerome Berger gave 3/5 blocks to Drouant, coordinates above, where he loved the tapas and scallops but felt the rest, especially the pig’s breast, lacked “rhythm.” Philippe Toinard also awarded 3/5 blocks to Lena et Mimile, 32, rue Tournefort in the 5th, 01.47.07.72.47, formulas at 15 & 21 E at lunch, menu 39 E (with wine & coffee), closed Sundays, where he had the bourgeois bistrot fare of eggs en meurette, lamb stew, raviolis and pears in wine, as well as being awed by the chariot of desserts. Wednesday, Sebastien Demorand filed his major piece on Drouant as well, describing the food as French-tapas with a world food twist, albeit pricey (25 E for the four little plates, 30 E for the pork) but he had the best sauce Bernaise he’s ever had with his Cote de Boeuf. The “Casserole” restaurants, reviewed by three different reviewers were the venerable L’Escargot Montorgueil {which I couldn’t figure out why it was being reviewed}, a merguez-frozen frites “potato bar” Dede la Frite in the 2nd and a sandwich/bagel, “finger-food,” fast-food place 46 Avenue in the 8th. Wednesday, Emmanuel Rubin in Figaroscope’s “C’est Nouveau” gave two hearts to two Italian places: Il Cortile + La Pizzetta in the 1st and 9th respectively and one heart each to: the mezze Lebanese Tine II in the 1st, the light-food-serving resto-epicerie Chacha in Neuilly on the Ile de Jatte and the Basque-esque Pena Festayre in the 19th. The Dossier Wednesday concerned “Politicians’ Favorite Places:” and listed three major categories {I’ll list some of the politicians who frequent them in case readers want to rub shoulders/elbows with them}: Around the Assembly Tante Marguerite Auguste DSK, Debre, Clement, Barnier + Fillon L’Arpege Chez Francoise L’Esplanade Hollande/Royal, Ferry, DSK, Borloo, Sarkozy Thoumieux Fabius, Rocard La Maison de l’Amerique Latine Le Divellec Ferme Saint-Simon Around the Senate Au Bon Saint-Pourcain Au Gourmand La Mediterranee Pasqua La Marlotte Madelin, Hollande La Cigale Recamier Le Dome La Coupole Aubry, Hue, Emmanuelli, Toubon La Closerie des Lilas Lipp Jospin, Pasqua, Glavany, Lang, Vedrine Hoofing it La Manufacture Les Colonnes Sarkozy Foc Ly La Truffe Noir Attali, Lang Le Moulin a Vent Tiberi Les Ormes Balladur, Devedjian The Mitterrand haunts L’Assiette La Cagouille La Gauloise Le Pichet D’Chez Eux Le Procope Lipp Chez Dominique Le Divellec Francois Simon went to L’Assiette, 181, rue du Château in the 14th, 01.43.22.64.86, open only at night except for Saturday and Sundays for lunch, closed Mondays, one of Mitterrand’s favorites, where Simon had consommé, a gateau landaise and a paleron of beef as well as a 40 E bottle of wine and his bill was 145 E for two but as of February the menu, still 50 E, now includes wine. He suggests one go despite some pulling of punches in his review. {I’m sure there have been others, but I recently saw} a review by Moira Hodgson in the January 7th, 2006 issue of the WSJ of the English translation of Herve This’s book Molecular Gastronomy, Columbia University Press, 377 pages, $29.95. Thursday, Jean-Louis Petitrenaud in l’Express reviewed Steak & Lobster, coordinates given before, where he admired the good well-priced wine list and champagne, simple lobster a la plancha, cold with mayo (American style, he says,) beef and fries; also noting that children are welcome – cost = menu of 24 E and a la carte 60 E. He also recommends the Hotel de France in Montceau-les-Mines. Thursday, Gilles Pudlowski Le Point with a Thursday, in Le Point, Gilles Pudlowski offered a grab bag of items: the new places in Paris he liked were: Carte Blanche, coordinates above, where he loved the Basque cold-cuts and scallop carpaccio; Pères et Filles, 81, rue de Seine in the 6th, 01.43.25.00.28 where a la carte is about 45 E for Royan raviolis, cod, veal and pineapple crumble; and the “chic” tea salon Gilda, 73 bis, ave Niel in the 17th, 01.42.27.42.20, a la carte : 25 E for Nordic tartines, tuna, ice cream and sorbets and house pastries. The restaurants he pronounces in good shape are Marius & Janette + La Coupole in the city and La Tourte de Besse in Besse-en-Oisans, La Chassagnette near Arles and the “little sister” of Beaumaniere – La Cabro d’Or in Les Baux-de-Provence. In addition, he wrote about smoked garlic from Arleux near Douai and gave a recipe of soup made with it. {Ah yes, it’s the time for what the French call “winter sports” and} Jean-Louis Galesne reviewed places in the Vosges (Gérardmer) Friday for Les Echos singling out: L’Assiette du Coq a l’Ane, Le Toit du Lac, Le Manoir du Lac, Le Chalet Fleuri, Chalet-Hotel Le Collet + L’Auberge du Val Joli. Friday in Liberation, in an article entitled “Tomorrow the daubes…,” Vincent Noce reviewed two bistrots in the suburbs he says have successfully brought back to life several classic dishes of the Midi: Granterroirs, 27, rue Carnot in Levallois, 01.41.34.39.70, menus at 23 and 34 E (wine and coffee included) and La Tortue, 22, rue Dagobert, 92110 Clichy, 01.55.90.62.32, menu at 19.50 E, closed evenings and on weekends. He describes the former as occupying a vast space where Jean-François Gimenez and Stéphane Sarrut provide bistro fare made with good products at reasonable prices; he serves Lyon sausage, salads, cassoulet and daube. At the latter, they present well made, simple cuisine, such as a tartlette of vegetables, sausage with pureed peas and a well grilled andouillette with fries, but in a smoky setting with a somewhat ungenerous welcome. Le Figaro’s weekend edition had a big spread on Chinese restaurants in celebration of the Chinese New Year. {I’ll spare you the details of the description of the bases of Chinese food, spices, etc.} Their 5 restaurant recommendations are: Chen, Tong Yen, Fontaine d’Or, Chez Vong + La Mer de Chine. In addition there was a “Confidential” piece on the red Michelin saying that it would elevate Olivier Roellinger of Cancale to three stars, la Table de Joel Robuchon to two stars and l’Atelier to one. Then, there were two small notes; that Jamin will close February 7th and reopened under TV-star Babette as a Creole place; and that the Lebey Bistrot book (the smaller of the two) had crowned La Ferrandaise with the top prize for its quality {For my take on it see my post next week}. In his “Croque Notes,” Francois Simon wrote, about how hard it was to be a snob, largely focusing on a 116 E meal at Market where he was treated like a jerk for ordering a carafe of tap water (actually what he wrote was that the waiter treated him as if he had tried to settle the bill with Metro tickets), the toast for the entrée never arrived and the main was banal. To top it off, Simon was dining with a celebrity, not Simon he assures us, and when the staff figured that out, they brought three desserts. I missed recounting an article in last week’s weekend edition by Alexandra Michot and Francois Simon that rated chain restaurants as follows: 4 plates/etc: Hippopotamus 3 plates/etc: Brioche Doree + Flunch 2 plates/etc: Cafeteria Casino, Pizza del Arte, Bistrot Romain, MacDonalds + Buffalo Grill 1 plate/etc: Oh! Poivrier! + Quick January’s Bon Appetit has a huge photo and article by Dorie Greenspan on Yves Camdebode and Le Comptoir. February’s Gourmet had a blurb on the “word of mouth bistro of the moment” Le Bistral, coordinates above, as well as a box on Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s favorite places on the road and in Paris. They included: L’Astrance, L’Arpege + Le Bristol. Saturday-Sunday, in Bonjour Paris Margaret Kemp had a review of Antoine Westerman’s new outpost in Paris Drouant, coordinates above and John Talbott had an article entitled Eating in Cantines. David Rosengarten, in the December issue of The Rosengarten Report says that his meal at Les Ambassadeurs was the best he had anywhere in 2005. He also raved about two meals outside Paris: at La Chapelle St-Martin in Limoges and l’Amphitryon in Toulouse. Please post comments here and not in the Digest thread. Edited by John Talbott to correct mistaken date.

This weekend, Lebey's (smaller) bistrot guide named La Ferrandaise as the best bistrot of the year {my opinion; not bad, not bad at all.}

You'd think this was on a level with the hour by hour recounting of the sinking of the Titanic; but here's today's bulletin: I talked to two carpenters on the sidewalk, aka terrace, fitting wood that looked awfully much like recessed lighting covers and my question: when will you be done?/when will it reopen; ans: either dimanche or demain soir depending on how deaf/unlearned you/I are/am. In any case, if it reopens this week I'll be surprised, it's a shambles. But, these guys said the issue is the kitchen reconstruction anyway.

Wonderful resource Vivre - thanks so much - I almost wonder if we should pin it. Lucy - Joel Thiebaut's stalls at the markets in the 16th (in front of the Palais de Tokyo and besides Radio France) are supposed to have the best tomatoes and other veggies around; my untrained eyes can't see a lot of difference, but chefs swear by them (if you search the Digest you'll find references). I'm sure each of us has our favorite merchant in our local market; I know of one guy on Rue Ordener whose pate en croute is as terroir as it gets. Edited by John Talbott to correct spelling.

Wow, that's quite a damning observation. Do you care to amplify on the bad ones so we can avoid them. PS. I've always liked L'Os.....

Yes see the Digest for many reports of the critics. I'm going next week.

I've never had a problem making reservations for lunch. And there's always/usually/normally a vegetarian dish on the carte.