John Talbott

This Thursday's Paris Vendu mentioned one more - Classe Cuisine, 80, rue des Tournelles in the 3rd, 01.44.54.02.18, Metro Chemin-Vert, 60 Euros for an evening course starting at 6:30 PM. Info here. NB; they're having a special course on cooking foie gras Dec 15-30, sign up before Nov 30 though.

On the occasion of the publication of the second edition of "Comment se faire...." and for the interest of Simon hunters, Metro yesterday published an article with some identifying info on this elusive, opaquely-tongued but imaginative critic who proportedly has never been photographed. He dresses like a "dandy," rides a bicycle, stands 1.72 meters tall and weighs 68 kilos (5 feet 6 inches & 150 pounds). NB: he has some harsh things to say about those who do not review anonymously, take free meals, etc. saying that they get the red carpet treatment and cannot report unbiasedly. He also says he gets the French equivalent of hate mail, esp from those (eg, Guy Martin of Le Grand Vefour) he's criticized.

Click the "liens" link. It will take you to their Epicerie équitable and online sale of their products. ← I was looking for where I could actually enter a store and see the stuff and buy it in reality not virtuality.

Do a search with their names and my name and they'll be there in reviews I've done this year.

See if you can get a brochure with their locations. Their website is neat but uninformative as to "where to get/buy."

Yes and don't pass up their off-shoot - l'Ecallier du Bistot, practically next door; awesome Utah beach oysters. However, do pass up this Sunday's Washington Post article that correctly says the 11th is the happening place but misses all the great new restos in the 11th (eg Temps au Temps, Vieux Chene, Le Sot l'y laisse, Les Bas Fonds.)

For those still interested in the ratings of macaroon places, Saturday/Sunday’s Le Figaro had ratings from 5.5-15 of 22 places by Alexandra Michot, Alexandra Bardini, Floriane Ravard and Francois Simon. The results: 15 Jean-Paul Hevin, Pierre Herme, Laduree 13.5 Fauchon, Paul 13 Maison du Chocolat, Lenotre, Aoki 12.5 Arnaud Laurier 11.5 Gerard Mulot, Rollet Pradier, Gregary Renard 11 Cacao et chocolat 10.5 Fouquet 10 Laurent Dichene, Kayser, Dalloyau 9.5 Boissier 8 Stroher 6.5 Le Valentin 6 Carette 5.5 Malitourne

The Week of October 31st, 2005 In his ”Croque Notes” in Le Figaro, Saturday, in a piece called “La Bluff de la Truffe” Francois Simon visited the well-known restaurant Guy Savoy where he had his signature artichoke soup with black truffle(s) for 78 E and some game for a total 500 E for two (a sum that he notes could have fed 10 persons at a stunning Paris bistrot.) Simon’s moral: when top places are good, they're great; if not, they're sad. Monday in “A Nous Paris,” the staff wrote about places that feature brunch. Their ten preferred places are: La Ferme, Scoop, B. Tea’s, Le Murano, La Foret Noire, Le Flora Danica, Trema, Le Kiosque, Cinnamon + Troubadour Coffee House. I missed “digesting” the restos in the issue of 17-23 October, so here they are: Philippe Toinard gave 3/5 blocks to Le Pergolese coordinates already given, where he had a good 38 E menu serving bourgeois food. Less successful was Jerome Berger who gave only 2/5 blocks to the Italian restaurant Sole in the 9th. Sebastien Demorand, in this Wednesday’s Zurban reviewed two Chinese restos specializing in the cuisine of the teochew region: La Mer de Chine + Li Ka Fo, which because of my rules, I’ll not detail, {EN: which is almost unfair because he loved them so}. In his Casseroles section he covered a bar-resto-piano jazz place - Ternes 43, 43, avenue des Ternes in the 17th, 01.43.80.19.28, closed Saturday, Sunday and Monday lunch with formulas and menus at lunch from 22-28€; a la carte = 38-40€, serving nems and too spicy but impeccable wild duck; Maxan, 37, rue de Miromesnil in the 8th, (in the old Poele d’Or space), 01.42.65.78.60, closed Saturday lunch, Sunday and Monday nights with a luncheon formula at 30€ and a la carte : 50-60€, serving “serious” good solid classic food such as giant snails with parsley, a beautiful duckling with black olives and mussels with coco beans; and the beautiful but lacking neo-bistrot - Le Café noir, 15, rue Saint-Blaise in the 20th, 01.40.09.75.80, a la carte about 30€, serving blinis with potatoes and haddock, saddle of lamb and rice pudding with pistachios. In Figaroscope's "Dossier," Rubin et al discussed Tea Places. They were: Classic Les cakes de Bertrand L’Artisan de Saveurs Cristal Room Baccarat Food in Shop Maxim’s Salon de Thé Café Ventilo Japanese Kilali Chajin Commerce Equitable India Kala All bio La Pharmacie Chinese La Maison de la Chine Miss China Tea Bazar Esprit Souk Marhaba In the same vein, Francois Simon’s “Hache Menu reviewed Bong, 25, rue de la Pompe in the 16th, 01.40.72.70.00, closed weekends, where for 24 E he had a not warm enough tea (61 °C), which was OK because he came for the ambiance anyway. This week’s l’Express had a mix of articles, reviews and book reviews. The big piece by François-Régis Gaudry was about Hélène Darroze, talking of her history, restaurants, recipes and book. The two reviews were by Jean-Luc Petitrenaud: the first, the wine bar/resto Le Vin dans les Voiles, coordinates given before {that took over Les Ormes old space} whose menu = 28 E and Benoit, ditto for coordinates given before, with a menu at 38 E. Finally, Guillaume Crouze and François-Régis Gaudry reviewed Guy Martin’s (of the restaurant Grand Vefour) new book Les Pâtes, Editions Chêne, 40 €. Gilles Pudlowski, in his usual mix of products, restos and other food related items went to Breve-la-Gaillarde and wrote up a recipe and review of the resto – Les Arums; wrote a piece about the “whiskey of the North,” a juniper concoction made by the Distillerie de Wambrechies in Wambrechies; and some reviews of restaurants: the Le Coq Gadby, entitled the “Great Gatsby” in Rennes, Lard et Bouchons in St-Emilion; and places in Paris - the first – a place to watch - Le Gorille blanc, 11 bis, rue Chomel in the 7th, {the ex-Cigale space}, 01.45.49.04.54, a la carte : 35-40 euro for the rouget salad, escargots with pesto, sautéed chipirons and nougat glace, all prepared by a chef trained by Detournier; then two established ones that are still good – Le Duc + Georgette, and finally a disappointment – the newly-redecorated {and taken over by les Freres Blanc of Au Pied de Cochon fame} brasserie Lorraine. Thursday-Friday, in his “Toques en Pointe” in Le Monde, Jean-Claude Ribaut revisited three bistrots, all of whose coordinates can be found here or elsewhere: La Bastide Odeon for its well-priced lunch formulas : 26 € for either three plates (starter, main & dessert) or two plates, a glass of wine and coffee {sounds just terrific as it always has}; the Bistrot de Breteuil for its inclusive menu (aperitif, starter, main, dessert, coffee and ½ bottle of wine) for 33 € which he calls a “windfall;” and La Pibale which has a new décor in this {what I think is great} Basque place where the lunch formula is 19 €, the lunch menu = 22 € and the dinner menu-carte : 30 €. {They all sound like they are holding up just fine.} Friday in Les Echos, Jean-Louis Galesne wrote a piece on his return to three “M” places Marcel, Murano & Market saying that while Marcel was not great, it’s gotten better, while the other two have kept their standards up, {although with 100 covers, Murano stretches}. Saturday, Francois Simon’s “Croque Notes” dealt with one place in Sens – La Madeleine and two in Dole – La Chaumiere de Joel Cesari + Le Bec Fin. The rest of the page was devoted to articles and ratings of macaroon places by Alexandra Michot, Alexandra Bardini, Floriane Ravard and M. Simon. The three top places at 15 points were: Jean-Paul Hevin, Pierre Herme + Laduree; close behind at 13.5 were Fauchon + Paul. I have been remiss in digesting some prior weeks’ GoutResto pages on Saturday/Sunday; for instance, 22-23 October, Francois Simon salutes seven of the “old guard” without whom cooking in France would be lukewarm - Paul Bocuse, Gerard Ryngel, Lucette Rousseau, Louis Grondard, Bobosse, Jacques Maximin + Gerard Besson. Simon and Michot also announced some changes: Jean-Andre Charial of l’Oustau will be turning over his piano to Sylvestre Wahid whilst coping with some legal difficulties; the Hyatt will henceforth have a “Chef’s table” for 1300 E for two; and the Pourcel brothers have opened a new resto this month in the old Tanjia space, 23, rue de Ponthieu. Saturday/Sunday, Margaret Kemp had a review in Bonjour Paris of Music Hall, coordinates given already and John Talbott had a piece called “Who do you trust?” {for restaurant reviews.} Please post comments here and not in the Digest thread.

Yet another article and list from l'Express: Hélène Darroze, chef étoilée Akiko Ida, photographe gastronomique Julie Andrieu, journaliste culinaire Christine Ferber, pâtissière Valérie Lhomme, styliste culinaire Linda Grabe, sommelière Sonia Ezgulian, cuisinière

This news is a bit old, but in the run-up to the release of the Michelin in New York, Oct 29-30, Le Figaro listed the favorite places of Ruth Reichl (Masa, Le Bernadin, Babbo, Pearly Oyster Bar + Peter Lugar), Anya Von Bremzen (Cru, Bouley, Landmarc, Masa + Momofuko), Jeffrey Steingarten (Kurumazuchi, Katz, Le Bernadin, WD-50 + Four Seasons Grill Room) and Nina Zagat (Le Bernadin, Sushi Yasuda, Babbo, The Modern + Oriental Garden).

Yup, altho' not quite what it was when Phillipe Tredgeu was there, tho.'

It's interesting how crosnes shows up here from time to time; it is a funny looking but moderately frequently used ingredient.

Great new info (to me). Thanks much.

Well, I found much to my surprise, I could get almost anything either shipped from the producer or buyable in Paris at the same price at at the origin.

Chez Michel, 10, Rue de Belzunce 75010 01 44 53 06 20, a coupl'a hundred meters away. Great game, good season, good luck. Back up, Terminus Nord, std brasserie stuff but convenient.

I wonder why LA and Las Vegas? My only thought here is Michelin may be more concerned with the status of cities as tourist destinations. In that case, I suppose I answered my own question. ← That is my understanding; Los Vegas is a primary destination for many French tourists and LA = Hollywood. Maybe #4 will be Graceland/Memphis.

Timidly joining the discussion here as someone far away from the NYC cuisine scene since '85, I would suggest that the Red Guide to Switzerland holds the answer to your question. For the French places in the French cantons, its standards are pretty much as they would be a few miles over the border, but regarding German places in German cantons, it's much less useful and comparable. I agree with Bux that in Spain it gets even dicier, although in Italy it's often OK. My sense is that when outside France (excepting French places in Switzerland and Belgium) one is better off purchasing and trusting the local guides (eg Gambero Rosso, l'Express) than the Michelin, although I always have it in my car for hotels, rural places and Bibs.

In an article in Le Monde, Wednesday Nov 2, Jean-Claude Ribaut, their food and wine critic, wrote about the release of the Red 2006 NYC Michelin in an article that essentially said there were no surprises at the top and Michelin was proceeding cautiously in New York before tackling Los Vegas and Los Angeles.

There's another trick I've found useful when there is not a degustation menu - to ask the chef to serve me what he does best and likes that day. This invariably works well because the chef and waiter know you're paying attention. Vmilor's post reminds me that too often Americans are reluctant to deviate from what's printed on the carte or on the "menu" etc. I recounted recently how a Japanese visitor ordered veal liver (which was mentioned in that day's Figaroscope's review of the Cafe des Musees - it wasn't on the carte but they came up with it). Likewise, I came into a hotel late at night in Sicily and was hankering for linguine with clams and it was nowhere to be seen, but again they were most accommodating.

So Moby, perhaps that explains why it's the favorite restaurant of the President of the Republic.

Agreed on TB; new menu, prices, stunning.

A recent thread started by eatmywords asked for our suggestions on places between those for folks As many of you may know, the Food Media and News Forum has a thread running on places in NY that got, deserve or don't deserve their Michelin ratings, as does the NY Forum. I'm curious to know what places members think merit a star in Paris. Don't just pick the easy ones for this year, eg Senderens, Dominique Bouchet, Relais St-Germain - stretch............

Now that we have initiated the new "What's Happening" service that Felice is writing, editing and coordinating, I wanted to pull up this ancient thread for two reasons. First, to highlight how we can link the "What's Happening" and "Events Calendar" events members are interested in to threads such as this and this about two "salons" (chocolate and farm) that just occurred in October. Second, because it was Margaret Pilgrim's interest in food events and suggestion that we make the Calendar work better that inspired us to initiate the "What's Happening" service on the French Forum. In truth, Fat Guy had already asked all forums to do such a while back but we lagged a bit behind some others, eg NY. Anyway, thanks to Margaret and Felice.

I'm not the best person to answer this question because I eat almost exclusively in French french places except for neighborhood pizza and sushi places on the "Cook's night off." I have sometimes been pleasantly surprised by some Asian chefs use of French products in Paris, making the dishes taste better than in their home country or the US. As an example, I liked the Thai food at the Blue Elephant a while back and Viet-namese food at Xinh Xinh for a passel of kids - but they're not places I'd write home about. There have been several non-French places highly rated by Figaroscope + Zurban that I recounted briefly in the Digest this fall - you can check them out.

Androuet's resto-cheese shop at 6, rue Arsene Houssaye has closed and was taken over by Gilles Epie's Citrus Etoile this fall and I believe of the original 4 stores only the one on the Rue St-Dominique remains. I'm not sure about the Ferme Saint Hurbert, the yellow pages still shows it there but gives the name as the Terre des Truffes. As to another restaurant like these, there really is no replacement, I think the best you can do is pick a wine bar with great platters of cheese; you can find many on prior threads; their selections vary from a few to a lot. This thread is one example, but Freckles asks each month for others so if you do a search you'll come up with many ideas. Keep us posted please.