John Talbott

The Week of January 16th, 2006 Joe Ray in the Boston Globe had an article, passed on by Felice, on “Bistros with Buzz;” that is, gastro-bistros, including: Le Regalade, Le Comptoir, Senderens, Beurre Noisette, Chez Michel, l’Os a Moelle + la Cave a l’Os a Moelle. Monday, in A Nous Paris, Philippe Toinard awarded 4/5 blocks to gave a rave review of Prunier, coordinates well-known, menu at 59 E, a la carte 47-140 E, under its new chef who serves classic oysters, crab raviolis and superb salmon. He also visited Sens, coordinates above, which he calls a bit too 8th-ish (eg lacking individuality) but lumps the Pourcels in with Ducasse, Robuchon and Troisgrois in the talent but not yet star category. The formula at lunch is 18 E, a la carte 30-74 E for gravelax’d tuna, pork and baba au rhum. Wednesday, Sebastien Demorand filed his major piece on a “squat” in the 19th called La Generale, 10-14 rue du General Lasalle (no telephone, no credit cards, no menu, no prices) where the Japanese “foodista” Kaori cooks up free meals (apparently one can leave some cash if one wants to). She buys up the tired or well-priced products in nearby markets, cooks them up and serves more than 50 people in an abandoned building with 6000 square meters full of artists, etc., who may soon be evicted – on Friday nights when she wishes; never before 11:30 PM, sometimes not at all. {I won’t dwell on this phenomenon too long since I suspect not many members/readers will be trudging up to the 19th for a meal that may or may not happen, even if free.} In his “Casserole” section, he reviews Au Fils des Saisons, 6, rue des Fontaines du Temple in the 3rd, 0142.74.16.60, closed Saturday lunch and Sundays, formula = 26 E, menu-carte 31 E for lavender-perfumed foie gras, chicken with black feet and homemade ice cream, an oyster place, Regis, 3, rue de Montfaucon in the 6th, 01.44.41.10.07 open 11 AM to 12 midnight, closed Mondays, formulas 21.50 – 25 Euros for good belons number 0 and an American-influenced “lunch brasserie” Jet Lag, 4 rue Montmartre in the 1st, 01.44.88.22.30 open every day, costing 15 E at lunch for the formula and 25 E a la carte for “world food,” such as chili con carne, onion soup and cheesecake as well as a not bad hamburger and “edible” frites. Susan Herrmann Loomis had an article in the Winter issue of France magazine on oysters, that had a nifty description of oyster designations and sizes {that I had never seen before in one place.} She also mentioned several places to go in Paris for inventive versions of oysters: Guy Savoy, l’Astrance + Carre des Feuillants as well as the straight stuff: Garnier, La Cagouille + l’Uitr. Wednesday, Emmanuel Rubin in Figaroscope’s “C’est Nouveau” gave two hearts to two hotel restaurants: the refurbished Relais du Parc in the Sofitel le Parc, 55-59 ave Raymond-Poincare in the 16th, 01.44.05.66.10, closed Saturday lunch, Sunday and Mondays, running about 75 with a lunch menu for 45 E, serving a tribute to Robuchon and Ducasse, eg pate en croute, apples Ducasse, Rouget Ducasse and pots of vanilla & chocolate Robuchon and the refurbished Diapason in the Terrass Hotel, 12-14, rue Joseph de Maistre in the 18th, 01.44.92.34.00, closed only Sunday dinner for 45 E (menus at lunch for 22 and 28 E,} serving pumpkin soup, beef and big fries and chocolate tart {for my take see here. Then came two one hearters: the pasta fast-food place Viagio and American-influenced “breakfast place” Jet Lag, coordinates above. Finally came a broken heart – La Cave Lanrezac in the 17th. The Dossier this week covered that quintessential winter dish – pot au feu prepared several ways: Classically Chez La Vielle Le Roi du Pot au Feu Creatively L’Avant Gout Le Cinq Mars Weekly Brasserie Lipp Caves Petrissans Le Balzar Professionally Devez Le Galvacher In that spirit, Francois Simon went to the Meurice, coordinates well-known, and had the Big Pot au Feu Dodin Bouffant in a piece entitled elevator to the scaffold (presumably due to the 554 Euro bill for the 5-course special pot-au-feu). “Should one go?” he asked. “I don’t know what to say” he replies. Wednesday-Thursday, Jean-Claude Ribault had an article in Le Monde on the “Mutation of Cafes,” that discussed the changes in lighting and décor of bistrots, cafes and brasseries under the influence of the Costes and Blanc brothers and the Flo group, moving from formica and leatherette to wood and aluminum and corporate color schemes. {I’ll let you read the details.} About the only thing he says about the food served is that it tends towards “minceur” with hardly anything on the plate. Thursday, Gilles Pudlowski does his usual thing in Le Point with a mixture of recipes (Sophie Bise of Pere Bise’s macaroni with oysters and beaufort), products (gruyere from Beaufort, cider from Rennes), restaurants in the hinterland (Guillaume Brahimi, the French “wonderboy,” at Guillaume at Bennelong in Sydney, Australia and Yves Tou at Le Ruban bleu a diet restaurant and La Salle à manger a regular one, in the Miramar at Port-Crouesty, Arzon, in the Morbihan,) and those in/around Paris: a suburban bistrot of love, Le Pouilly-Reuilly, 68, rue A.-Joineau in Le Pré-Saint-Gervais, 01.48.45.14.59, with a menu at 25 E, a la carte 55, taken over by Christian Millet, son of the famous pastry-chef, serving eggs “couilles d'âne, {OK, you look it up,} pigs’ feet and an entire veal kidney, a French fast-food place on the rue de Seine in the Buci area of the 6th, Da Rosa, two places in good shape - the Atelier de Joel Robuchon + Brasserie de Lutetia, and one in trouble – the two Costes brothers’ places - Indiana Café, in the 9th and 14th. Friday, Jean-Louis Galesne in Les Echos talked of several chefs from the provinces who had opened places in Paris to obtain their “consecreation.” The were the Pourcel Brothers, Antoine Westermann, Grégory Coutanceau, Henry Baché who have opened (respectively Sens, Mon Vieil Ami + Drouant, le Cou de la Girafe + Steak & Lobster.) On the Le Fooding website, Alexandre Cammas wrote a nice piece on Ripaille coordinates given above. In his “Croque Notes,” Francois Simon wrote Saturday/Sunday, in Le Figaro about a restaurant in Paris a reader, Valérie M. told him about – l'Amuse Gueule, 10, bd Morland in the 4th, 01.44.59.85.51-saying it was a true bistro with the charm of yesteryears, and he agrees thoroughly, liking the superb meat but finding the fries a bit soft inside (no big deal though). Sunday’s NYT Travel Section had an article by Mark Bittman on well-known Parisian chefs opening “more casual” places, that included: Gaya, Le Comptoir, Mon Viel Ami + Benoit coordinates for all given before. The week ended with an article in Bonjour Paris by Margaret Kemp on Ripaille, coordinates already given and how it got its name as well as the upscale Chinese place Zen Garden in the 8th and another by John Talbott on eating and culture in the 1st and 13th arrondissements in a monthly feature called “The hot new quarters.” Please post comments here and not in the Digest thread.

Oh boy did I conflate the two Thierry B's. Sorry. I meant Thierry Burlot of Thierry Burlot not Thierry Breton of Chez Michel. I was referring to his eliminating

Since no member has put his/her 10 Best Of for 2005, here are mine to start the ball rolling (not rank-ordered): Dominique Bouchet Goupil le Bistro Le Comptoir evening Casaluna Gaya Guifeli Senderens Carte Blanche Maxan Thierry Burlot's new menu and prices Edited by John Talbott to refer to the correct Thierry (Burlot not Breton).

That is strange since as Felice says, he just renovated it. My two thoughts are he wants more room in the dining area (which without the terrace was not huge) or had a structural problem.

Are you sure you were in the right place? I'm in that area fairly often and am pretty sure I've walked by in the last two weeks and didn't notice anything. It would seem strange for them to renovate so soon, seeing that they haven't been open all that long. ← Ditto; I walked by two weeks ago and saw nothing amiss.

There have been several threads on reasonably priced places, this being one. My list now includes: Le Pre Verre, 8 Thenard, 5th (Maubert/St. Michel) Dix Vins, 57 Falguiere, 15th 01.43.20.91 L'Avant Gout, 26 rue Bobillot, 13th, 01.53.80.24.00 L'Ebauchoir, 43-5 Rue de Citeaux, 12th 01.43.42.49.31 Le Troquet 21, rue Francois Bonvin, 15th, 01.45.66.89.00 Le Repaire de Cartouche, 8 blvd des Filles-du-Calvaire in the 11th, 01.47.00.25.86 L’Entredgeu L’Ourcine Au Gourmand La Grande Rue La Beurre Noisette From picaman's thread there are: Edited by John Talbott to add bolding.

These two threads may be helpful - here and here.

Figaroscope’s “Dossier” last year before St. Valentine’s Day concerned itself with places to celebrate: For up to 60 Euros: Thoumieux Indira Le Petrelle Le Banyan Aux Saveurs de Claude Ze Kitchen Galerie Cafe Moderne Le Jardin d’Ampere Café du Commerce Bistrot Romain {my goodness} From 60-100 Euros: Tante Jeanne Ginger La Place Bon Au Gourmand Maceo Hotel de Vigny Aero-Club de France From 100-200 Euros: Les Ormes Les Muses Les Trois Marches in Versailles Les Bateaux Parisiens you can guess where Park Hyatt Paris – Vendome Over 200 Euros: Cafe Faubourg Michel Rostang Hotel Ritz Hotel Crillon A more downscale list was published in ParuVendu that included: Le Café de l”homme Au Ciel de Paris Le Gailion Le Pavillion Montsouris Le Chene Vert au Lafayette Gourmet Cristal Room Baccarat Le Banyan Park Hyatt Paris – Venome Le Traversiere Au Gourmand

The Week of January 9th, 2006 I missed the Washington Post article by Robert Camuto on the Caves Petrissans in the 17th, on Christmas day, but here it is FYI. Monday-Tuesday A Nous Paris published its Best Of 2005, details can be found in Felice’s post here, but in summary the French ones were: Le Comptoir, Maxan, le Bistral, Louis Vins, Le Casier a vin + le Cave est Restaurant. In a side-bar, they list a number of happenings in 2006: Quai V, 25, quai de la Tournelle in the 5th, 01.46.34.50.99 has been acquired by the Besnard brothers and re-baptised as Les Rochons, see immediately below; Michel del Burgo will resurface at Jamin; Rougui Diu is the new chef at Petrossian, see the Le Monde article below; Philippe Cabale and Etienne Duc are opening Le Tartufo in the 1st; Sophie and Philippe have opened a bar-tapas-mezzes place called and at 17 Caulaincourt in the 18th; and the following have closed: Thym et Romarin, La Table d’Aude, La Table de Lucullus, l’Astree, Les Copains, Yvan and been replaced by (respectively): Gilda, La Ferrandaise, Le Jujubier, La Cave de Lanrezac, nothing yet + nothing yet. Wednesday, Emmanuel Rubin in Figaroscope’s “C’est Nouveau” gave three hearts to Antoine Westermann’s newly acquired operation in Paris – Drouant, 16-18, place Gaillon in the 2nd, 01.42.65.15.16, closed weekends, where for 40-60€ he liked the veggie appetizer and the pork belly poached then grilled. He awarded two hearts to La Ferrandaise, 8, rue de Vaugirard in the 6th, 01.43.26.36.36, closed Saturday lunch, Sunday and Monday, where he had the roast farm chicken, veal chop and crepes with chocolate for about 30-40 €; the menus are 30 et 38 €. Then came to one-hearters: one Italian place and one Korean one Ciao Bella + Kil Son in the 5th, and Les Ronchons, 25, quai de la Tournelle in the 5th, 01.46.34.50.99, closed Saturday lunch and Tuesday (ergo, open Sunday) where he had some “honorable” foie gras, simple cod, ox tail with potatoes and Saint Nectaire for about 40 €. The Dossier this week was quite different, featuring “tubes” of various ingredients; mayo, alcohol sorbets, condensed milk, harissa, peanuts, chestnut cream, anchovies,, tomatoes, mustard, wasabi, horseradish, used by Gilles Choukroun of l’Angl’Opera and at thew Delicabar, purchasable at Bon Marché, and given in recipes in Frederick Grasser-Herme’s book Delices d’inities. In that vein Francois Simon bought a tube of ginger puree for 2.95 € at Bon Marché for his Hache Menu {and while a drole description, I’m not sure what value it has for readers/members.} Wednesday as well, Sebastien Demorand in Zurban, devoted his major space, etc., to a review of Le Casque d’Or, Place Maurice-Chevalier, 1 rue d’Eupatoria in the 20th, 01.43.58.37.09, open for dinner except on Tuesdays and for lunch Saturdays and Sundays, with a formula at 12.50 E, a la carte 25-28 E, which he thought resembled one of those tiny sepia-colored cinematographic postcard places in the Auvergne with two banquettes and a bar serving good wine, Aubrac beef (chili con carne), black sausage, pork and cheese. His “Casserole” reviews were of a mezze-type Lebanese place – Tine in the 1st and a Korean one – Kil Son in the 5th but then he reviewed the La Rochelle derivative - Le Cou de la giraffe, 7, rue Paul-Baudry in the 8th, 01.56.88.29.55, closed Sundays and Monday noon with a formula at 28€, menus : 36€ at lunch and 49€ at dinner, a la carte : 55-60€. He was critical of the prices and service but thought the food (cuttlefish and artichokes with tomato, cod with beans and pineapple with vanilla butter) OK. Wednesday-Thursday, Jean-Claude Ribault had two articles in Le Monde, the first summarizing the food guides for 2006 and the second about two female chefs who are shaking up classic cuisine in Paris. One is Rougui Dia, a 30 year old Senegalese-French woman at Petrossian in the 7th, who had responsibility for their January 13th Orthodox Christmas dinner of 11 hour lamb, curried shrimp, rascasse and mango tarte tatin; the other, Sarah Péronnet of the Vieux Bistrot in the 4th near Notre Dame, who despite her training in Britain and Canada, returns to Lyonnais favorites such as boeuf bourguignon with caramelized onions, lardons and mushrooms, head cheese and quenelles. Then Thursday-Friday, Stéphane Davet had {yet} another article on Helene Darroze. Thursday in this week’s Le Point, Gilles Pudlowski reviews one new place in Paris: Le Gorille Blanc, coordinates given, where he sampled the lentil salad with pigs’ feet and foie gras, the chipirons with risotto, partridge, chocolate tart and crème brulee along with the Beaujolais; follows a sushi bar and Thai place Kaiten + Blue Elephant; and declares Les Ambassadeurs + l’Opportun in good shape. As is his want, he also writes up Jean-François Julliat in Saint-Julien-Vocance in the Ardeche, La Petite Maison in Nice, the cheeses of François Chabert of La Ferme du Clot in Villard-Reculas and the onions of Roscoff in Finistère, for which he gives a recipe for milk soup with onions. February’s American Saveur magazine had five of its 100 “favorite” things relating to France. They were most prominently two photos, a description and recipe from Le Timbre, the organic farm near Arles – La Chassagnette, Cointreau on the rocks, the red wines of Minervois La Liviniere and the cheese-shop, the Fromagerie Pascal Trotte in Paris. On the Le Fooding website, Emmanuel Rubin also has a piece on Drouant, address above, which describes a beef salad, Italianate tarte, sots-l'y-laisse Oriental style and piquillos Mexican style, leeks vinaigrette, rabbit in jelly as well as daily specials (Monday = paleron; Sunday = Barbarie duck) but gives costs that are a bit pricier than Figaroscope – 40-90 €. Saturday/Sunday, Le Figaro’s Francois Simon, Alexandra Bardini and Alexandra Michot listed places to go for business lunches in various categories. {Very loosely translated} they were (coordinates in the guidebooks and all in Paris unless otherwise noted): Respect the calories Apicius Nicolas le Bec in Lyon Le Pont aux Chats in Strasbourg l’Abelia in Nantes Find reasonable “menus” Taillevent Senderens Grand Vefour L’Astrance Michel Sarran in Toulouse Passedat in Marseille La Laiterie in Lille Chic snacks Cojean Secrets de Table in Strasbourg Picnic en Ville in Clermont-Ferrand Snack snobs Hotel Costes Market Spoon l’Artichaut in Montpellier Chez Greg in Bordeaux Eat anytime l’Alsace le Saint-Tropez in Toulouse It doesn’t matter where Ecole de Paris des métiers de la Table, 17, rue Jacques-Ibert, 17th, 01.44.09.12.16 Jules Verne Wagon Bleu Maison Baron Lefevre in Nantes La Mirande in Avignon A good idea: eat at hotel bars Les Dukes au Westminster Happy Food au Hi Hotel in Nice. In his nearby “Croque Notes,” Francois Simon wrote an account of his meal in Bethune (near Lille) at le Bourreau where he dined for 294 Euros plus a 40 E taxi ride. Finally, there was a new feature, “Tables in View,” that highlighted two places: Chez l’Ami Jean + le Transversal. Sunday, the Journal de Dimanche again had a listing of affordable restaurants in Paris preferred by an established chef; this week, Yves Charles of La Maison Courtine, who named: l’Ourcine + le Bis de Severo. The week ended with an article in Bonjour Paris by John Talbott on eating in “The hot new quarters.” Please post comments here and not in the Digest thread.

Yes I call the day before and plead with Madame who shouts down the stairs to ask if it's possible (it always is).

Yes and no. I went by a couple of weeks ago. Nicholas Vagnon is not only definitively gone; the two new guys at the place who took over say they don't know his coordinates but insisted he has opened his new place on the Ile de Yeu. Two friends who live on the Ile de Yeu, which is about 3 miles wide by 20 miles long, say he has not opened anything they've seen. The new place Le Jujubier on the Rue Legendre is not the same (none of his kooky signs, drapery, nappery etc); different sous-chef, different menu, etc. It's simply not Lucullus. Sorry. Edited by John Talbott to add the name - Le Jujubier

Millet on the Rue St-Dominique always manages to scrape up some apples when I threw myself on their mercy out of season. (They think me a bit eccentric asking out of season, but hey.)

Felice: I think it's fine for someone who's eaten in Paris before but I'm not sure I'd take 1st timers there the first night. Cru: Right now I'm taken with Les Anges aka Chez les Anges and La Cerisaie.

Ohhh, forgot about that part. Then Cerisaie is it; no smoking period, modern bistro, great cooking, nice welcome.

Chapter 4 - Nick Lauder Nick Lauder listed among his “Best of” in 2005 in the FT, the following in France: La Table de Mareyeur in Port Grimaud, Le Bistro des Saveurs in Obernai and Le Cinq.

Charles beat me to the punch; of note is that Rougui Dia is responsible for tonight's Orthodox Christmas dinner of 11 hour lamb, curried shrimp, rascasse and mango tarte tatin and that Sarah Péronnet, who despite her training in Britain and Canada returns to Lyonnais favorites such as boeuf bourguignon with caramelized onions, lardons and mushrooms, head cheese and quenelles.

High end glamour le Bristol; straightforward bistro Josephine, Chez Dumonet

Here is an update on a few of these that was originally mentioned in a post moved elsewhere. I’m faced with the dilemma of having several experiences with Paris restos just a few weeks after writing enthusiastically, indeed raving, about them. Starting at the top, I loved Le Cou de la Girafe December 8th, but last Tuesday, taking three others there, I was disappointed. First off, we were not given the “formulas/menus” but only the “carte” and our “soiled” knives and forks were not replaced with clean silverware after we finished our amuse bouches, the wait person just put them on the table (certainly standard for your local cantine but not usual for a place reaching for the stars). Then, the two firsts (frogs’ legs and gambas) were bland, the kitchen was overwhelmed and slow as molasses, they “ran out” of the cheapo wine after our first (“aperto”) bottle and we got no mignardises/friandises/chocolate cookies at the end of the meal when all the other tables did. Second, I loved Pergolese December 12th and returned December 28th to rampant smoking (without adequate ventilation), a much less interesting and in no way dazzling “menu” (eggs, sea trout & rice pudding) than what I had had before (fair enough, but…..) and cold coffee. Then, I took two ladies back to Ripaille, two weeks after my first visit and while one was polite and pleased with her pork cheeks, my wife Colette thought her bar boring and my pavé of biche was just that, paving-stone hard (I know, caveat emptor.) (On the other hand, to be even-handed, I must also report that Chez les Anges, Mon Vieil Ami, Carte Blanche, Thierry Burlot, Pinxo + Le Tяuc held up to my last visits, indeed TB is better than ever.)

Just be sure to go to the photo part of Les Pages Jaunes. I assume you've "flown" over the city via Google Earth, not all the markers you may want but awesome.

Necessarily so, because copy closing dates for magazines like F&W are...months ahead. I imagine they've finished commissioning most of the features for 2006. ← Thanks Magnolia, I think it's difficult for those who live in Paris, New York or LA and read the dailies and listen to radio reviews and pick up culinary gossip to understand why monthlies and yearlies are so "out-of-date." Anyone who has written for non-dailies (disclosure: I have) knows things are out of date the moment you press SEND. I am as intolerant as anyone of last week's news, but let's cut the monthlies a bit of slack.

The Week of January 2nd, 2006 The new year opened with two articles in Bonjour Paris, one by Margaret Kemp entitled “Come celebrate,” that mentioned several places to go for the “fetes;” including: Le Ripaille, le Pavillion Montsouris, Les Trois Marches in Versailles, l’Espadon + Chez Francois and John Talbott on “The New French Resto: Friendly and Terrific” that ironically, also uses Le Ripaille, as its jumping off point. Wednesday, Sebastien Demorand, of Zurban, wrote that he also really liked Ripaille, 69, rue des Dames in the 17th, 01.45.22.03.03, closed Saturday and Sunday for lunch, lunch formulas = 11-15€ and menu-carte : 29€, where he loved the vegetables, pork cheeks with polenta, salmon sashimi and rabbit with wines of the owner. His major space/review, however, was devoted to Le Transvзrsal, located in the Mac/Val {Musee d’art contemporain du Val-de-Marne}, place de la Libération, Dept 94, Vitry-sur-Seine, 01.55.53.09.93, open for lunch Tuesday to Sunday and dinner Thursday to Saturday, lunch special = 12€, a la carte from 15-30€, surprise dinner menu : 40€, where he sampled 50 “propositions” of vegetables of Joel Thiebault or confited tomatoes from Liguria, fish, meat (such as Navarre ham), oysters, etc all day but at night one samples a “performance” of a dozen dishes, that included, the night he ate there – oysters, cod “petals,” scallops & beets, frog’s legs, calamari, rabbit with smoked eel, paleron, comte & pear. He also went to two other French places about he was less enthusiastic – a place he called a schizophrenic bistrot {presumably because the food wasn’t good but the wines were}, Les Rochons, 25, quai de la Tournelle in the 5th, 01.46.34.50.99, closed Saturday for lunch and Tuesdays, a la carte about 30€, where he talks about the foie gras, andouillette and cheese; and the South-west oriented jam-packed Fernandises, 19, rue de la Fontaine-au-Roi in the 11th, 01.48.06.16.96, lunch menu at 15€, a la carte about 30€, where he commented positively on the pastilla of pigeon but was critical of the reheated, too cooked, too dry other things. {For my take on all the above except the third, see here.} Wednesday as well, le Figaroscope published a “Dossier” of vegetarian or vegetarian-friendly places that included: B.A.M. Lena et Mimile Les Vivres Zoe bouillon Naked Biotifull Place Café Guitry Lood Juice Bar And also Bioboa, Colette Au Water Bar, Rose Bakery, Mon Vieil Ami, le Montalembart & Relais du parc. Wednesday/Thursday, Le Monde’s Jean-Claude Ribaut wrote two articles, one entitled “Intimate Service” about catered meals at home that featured: Ghislane Arabian, now head of “production” of Passion Traiteur, 145, bvd de Valmy in Colombes, 01.46.49.45.50 who has 50 cooks and 40 pastry chefs and Prosper & Fortunee 50, rue Broca in the 5th, 06.14.01.90.19 as well as chefs who will come and cook, such as Olivier Quatacker, of Gast'Home, 3, sentier du Clos-aux-Renards in Le Plessis-Robinson, 01.49.73.27.41, those from Vigneau-Desmarest, 107, rue de Sèvres in the 6th, 01.42.22.23.23, "Chef Service", 10, rue du Jour in the 1st, 01.40.13.97.21 and www.chef-service.com, Private Chefs Inc. of Antibes, 04.93.34.62.55 or www.unchefchezvous.com, "Votre chef à domicile", who is an American from Louisiana, Jessie Dardar, 01.40.50.64.33 and Pascal Avignon, 06.70.79.25.46 or www.chefadom.com. Thursday in Le Point’s Gilles Pudlowski continued his usual mixture of products, recipes and restaurant reviews. Two new places he is enthusiastic about in Paris are Carte Blanche + le Café des Musees and the place he feels holds up over time is La Luna, coordinates of all three already given or in the guidebooks. He discusses a bakery he likes - Le Pain de Sucre, 14, rue Rambuteau in the 3rd, run by an ex-Pierre Gagnaire pastry chef and also writes of several places outside Paris - Le Cirque in Scheveningen, Holland, La Villa Lorraine in Brussels, Le Grand Largue in Port-Navalo and Le Pouilly-Reuilly in Le Pré-Saint-Gervais. Finally, he writes of top class sardines from Quiberon and gives a recipe for a sardine sandwich from Michel Rostang. Thursday, L’Express had an article by François-Régis Gaudry on Gruyère cheese implying that the best is to be had at Marie-Anne Cantin, 12, rue du Champ-de-Mars in the 7th, 01.45.50.43.94. In Friday’s Les Echos, an article on Soup by Jean-Louis Galesne suggested them as an ideal after-fete meal and mentioned several top places: Passiflore, La Chamarre, La Galerie du V + Ebis the Asiatic place at 19, rue Saint-Roch in the 1st, 01.42.61.05.90. Saturday/Sunday, Le Figaro’s Alexandra Michot and Francois Simon rated four aspects (appearance, flakiness, interior and taste of it all), of Galettes from everywhere from Pierre Herme (40 E for 6) to Monoprix (4.95 E for 6). Their findings (20 being a perfect score): Pain et Passion 18 G. Mulot 15.5 P. Herme 15 Lenotre 15 Hediard 13.5 Fauchon 12.5 Rollet-Pradier 12.5 Kayser 12 Stohrer 12 Grande Epicerie 11.5 Vandermeersch 11.5 A. Delmontel 10.5 Dalloyau 10 Laduree 9 Paul 8 Monoprix 6 In an adjacent article, the senior author explained how to reheat it, etc. And with a new twist, Poilane, Le Notre, Fauchon + Laruree are making designer jewelry, pendants, and plates cum “feves.” In his nearby “Croque Notes,” Francois Simon wrote that one had to have a license in psychology to understand restaurant functioning; citing the recent takeover of Drouant by Antoine Westermann who designates himself as “consulting chef,” having moved Anthony Clemot here as “cooking director” from Mon Vieil Ami who wants to take a “global approach” to his job. On the one hand he wonders how a chef can cook without being there; on the other hand he says who cares who’s driving if the bus gets where you’re going. He notes that his meal for two was 100 E which is good for the area (Place Gaillon). He then goes on to discuss Bernard Pacaud, who is present at l’Ambrosie, where for about the same price (95 E) he and his co-diner shared the scallops with a truffle emulsion. Tucked into the corner of this page, is a most interesting “ad” revealing that La Cerisaie and its chef, Cyril Lalane, received the grand jury prize of the Trophée Jacquart 2005. Alert reader/member Paga pointed out that Parisien has been touting a different galette des rois on at least three different days this week: Tuesday it was Pain et Passion, Friday Vandermeersch and Saturday Jackie Milcent. Sunday, the Journal de Dimanche featured its traditional “Affordable Restaurants liked by great Chefs;” asking Christian Bochaton of Les Beatilles where to go; his picks – l’Avant-Gout + l’Instant Gourmand in Levallois—Perret, just outside the peripherique {where I can never get anyone to go.} In the JDD Femina magazine, Astrid T’Serclaes had a nifty idea/article, tagging along with legendary food critic Claude Lebey (of the Lebey big restaurant and little bistro guides) for a week’s eating. They went to Senderens bar upstairs, Fogon, l’Opportun, le Meurice, l’Ostreade, le Mathis & le Murano. Finally, for those interested in the traditions of the Three Kings and beans, there was an article entitled “Les Rois mages, Eve et la feve” available for a fee although the newspaper itself advertises its website but may take a while in posting articles. The Le Fooding website had a “News” piece by Elvira Masson about Jean-Luc Poujauran who sold his eponymous bakery and now no longer sells to individuals (eg retail) but to companies or big customers - he can be contacted by telephone at 01.47.05.80.88, or you can eat at l’Ami Jean where his buddy Stéphane Jégo, does the desserts, or failing that get galettes at two places he recommends: Millet + Mulot. The week ended with two articles in Bonjour Paris, one by John Talbott on “Eating at or near museums;” the other by Margaret Kemp wherein she does a review of “Best Of” places for 2005 in an article entitled: “Best of Buzz, Who is next?” She asks whether these places will last and proposes we run to them. They include: Senderens, O Sens, Chiberta, Dans le Noir, Les Fables de la Fontaine, l’Entredgeu, Pasco, Apicius, Dominique Bouchet, Hotel du Petit Moulin, La Table de Robuchon + Citrus Etoile. The Winter Paris Voice had an article by Julie Baker {Ed Note: whose lists are always interesting} with her choices for “Seasons Eatings” that gave: Eugenie, L’Aero-Club de France, Le Club Restaurant de la Maison des Polytechniciens, Passiflore + Market. January’s Where has several contributions by Alexander Lobrano featuring these established places - Le Relais du Parc, Chez Fred, La Poule au Pot, Bound + Chez Ly. Please post comments here and not in the Digest thread.

I hate to get into these competitive situations, (especially with Felice, who really knows this stuff,) being totally passive myself; so I’ll just note that I’ve had three galettes so far this year; the one from my local bakery was OK and cost 6 E; the one from the Poujauran inhertor was quite good and double the price and the one from Jackie Milcent on the rue du Bac, winner of Parisien’s best of the year, the worst and about the same price.

When does criticism become nitpicking and do posters/critics have a responsibility to update/correct/amend their critiques? Because it was thought to be of more general interest I have posted a modified version of what I posted on the French Forum a few days ago; essentially I took the names of the restaurants out and abbreviated some details. A friend, as least he was until he reads this, has the habit of being truthful to a fault; thus if recommending someone for an academic position, he is want to say something like “he’s terrific, indeed perfect, except that he cannot write,” or “he’s good but he picks his nose/sleeps/whatever/etc. in meetings.” Now, is this really necessary; and when does valid criticism pass over into nitpicking? Since I do not have Randy Cohen, like the proverbial policeman, at my elbow, I don’t know the ethical niceties of correcting restaurant reviews. Granted it’s not stem-cell cloning, but to my knowledge only the New York Times + Michelin do or say they will revisit places if they get negative feedback. So, I’m faced with the dilemma of having several experiences at four Paris restos just a few weeks after writing enthusiastically, indeed raving, about them. Their problems, the second time around, included: - not being given the “formulas/menus” but only the “carte,” - not having our “soiled” knives and forks replaced with clean silverware after we finished our amuse bouches, - being served two bland firsts, - the kitchen’s being overwhelmed and slow as molasses, - “running out” of the cheapo wine after our first (“aperto”) bottle, - forgetting to serve us the mignardises/friandises/chocolate cookies at the end of the meal versus all the other tables did, - rampant smoking without adequate ventilation versus no smoking before, - a much less interesting and in no way dazzling “menu” than before, - cold coffee, - a paving-stone hard pave of biche and “boring” bar, - a very assertive, un-announced rosemary sauce on the biche (to my taste it was fine, but should it have been listed on the menu, since it was the principle ingredient in the sauce?) On the other hand, to be even-handed, I must also report that six other places held up to my last visits, indeed one was better than ever. Quiz: My vexation is due to: A. The sophomore jinx syndrome raised by me before. B. The “multiplier effect” of 2-4 persons eating rather than one. C. Inconsistency in the kitchens. D. All of the above. E. None of the above. So to return to my questions: “When does criticism become nitpicking and do posters/critics have a responsibility to update/correct/amend their critiques?” Your thoughts?

Alert reader/member Paga pointed out that Parisien has been touting a different galette des rois on at least three different days this week: Tuesday it was Pain et Passion, Friday Vandermeersch and Saturday Jackie Milcent on the rue du Bac (the first two's coordinates are in the Figaro link given above).

Chapter 2 - Bonjour Paris Margaret Kemp does a review of “Best Of” places for 2005 in an article in Bonjour Paris entitled: “Best of Buzz, Who is next?” She asks whether they’ll last and proposes we run to them. They include: Senderens O Sens Chiberta Dans le Noir Les Fables de la Fontaine l’Entredgeu Pasco Apicius Dominique Bouchet Hotel du Petit Moulin La Table de Robuchon Citrus Etoile.