John Talbott

It's OK, I'm just not wild about it. Not quite sure why, I guess I like the first five a lot more and that's it. For a 10 year old tho' it's a great space to run around, so maybe a good idea.

After reading the many questions about what’s open in August and on Sunday nights as well as what places are in which arrondissements or near which subway stations, it occurred to me it might be useful to put up the websites that we Parisophiles find most helpful to determine addresses, opening and closing dates, descriptions, etc. I hope others will add site they find useful. (I’ve omitted some that are more on the review/evaluative side, such as Forbes and Adrian Leeds.) NB: As with the printed guidebooks, there are errors in almost all them about some details - one must always double-check. Eat in Paris RestoaParis Michelin Concierge.com Gayot Zagat Paris.org Fodor Yahoo

Check out the thread a bit below. Also Plato at Aspen Meadows is not bad food in a great setting and Merlin's Gourmet Pizza has the best pizza in town; lots of kids there the day we dined.

I will not be putting the Digest up until the end of August, it being a slow food-news month in France, but there may be members who are now in Brittany who will want to consult RW (Johnnie) Apple Jr's Wednesday New York Times article on langoustines and where in Brittany to eat them. So as not to double-post, I'll let such folks click on the link (interestingly the webpage has a different title than the print version).

A big problem. But not insurmountable. My thoughts (these are open Sunday lunch - double-check about evenings, esp Le Soleil, rank ordered as usual: Le Reminet, 3, rue des Grands-Degres, 5th, 01.44.07.04.24 L'Equitable, 1 rue des Fossés Saint-Marcel, 5th, 01.43.31.69.20 La Mediterranee, 2 pl de l'Odeon, 6th, 01.43.26.02.30 L'Ardoise, 28 rue du Mont Thabor, 1st, 01.42.96.28.18 Cap Vernet, 82, ave Marceau, 8th, 01.47.20.20.40, just had a decor change La Cagouille, 10 Place Constantin Brancusi, 14th, 01.43.22.09.01{mainly for burned finger moules and buttered coques} Le Soleil, 109 av Michelet, in St Ouen (opposite the flea market), 01.40.10.08.08 Mon Viel Ami, 69 St Louis en l'Ile, on the Ile St-Louis, 01.40.46.01.35 {off last time} Brasserie Lorraine, 2, place des Ternes, 8th, 01.56.21.22.00 {off last time}

Much nearer Parmentier.

Yes as to Le Comptoir serving. As for your list I'd pare it to (in rank order): la Cerisaie, Ze Kitchen Galerie. Maison du Jardin (I snuck that one in) Au Bon Acceuil, Violin D'Ingres (pricier than the rest) le Troquet, Temps au Temps. As for the mix: la Cerisaie is small, new, charming, but with an old feeling, nice pair running it Ze Kitchen Galerie is bright, brassy, great contemporary food Maison du Jardin classic, small, suits and good eats Au Bon Acceuil not so different from Maison in its "feel" Violin D'Ingres classy, elegant, M. Constant at his highest-level le Troquet fun, more bistro-ish than the rest Temps au Temps new bistro-ish, small, intime, again a nice pair running it. Sunday night, that deserves a whole other thread. And lunches, well, heck, just go to the others you don't go to dinner at.

Growing up here, the cheese course was always served in Vancouver restaurants and homes after dessert, at least until the resurgence of independent French dining rooms in the early 70s. It was for precisely the reason that you cite, Bux--it is British Columbia, after all. Or as my father said, You eat the pudding, the women retire, then cheese and any old Port in a storm (i.e. pitched debate on the issues of the day). ← After double-checking my memory with Marlene, I can confidently report that at least when I was a kid, my anglophilically-obsessed Toronto-raised mother and family served cheese after dessert, so it's not just a Western Canadian thing. It was only on moving to Boston that I saw cheese and salad served together before dessert.

For the record: Today's Secrets of Paris Newsletter #63, written by Heather Stimmler-Hall, notes that "although most Parisian establishments participate in the Great August Shutdown, many of the bars and restaurants in the 13th are still open. Even the cafés and bistros on the Butte-aux-Cailles are open...." And, I just recalled that last year, I'd posted some reviews of places open in August and early September that included: Pinxo, La Régalade, L’Abadache, Authenti©, Bistrot Paul Bert, La Petite Cour, Le Cannibale, Le Point Bar + Le Sot L'Y Laisse.

I'm back to my notes on what's open in August. The following places reported that they were open everyday (all but the last three are relatively new or have new chefs and come from the Digests of 2004 and 2005) BUT CAUTION: I don't trust what they told the reviewers/fact-checkers/etc, and even though they might be open everyday from September to July, one has to check oneself about August: La Gare Cafe de l'Homme Le Polidor 123 Cafe Guitry Caffe Leffe l'Actuel Thoumieux Cap Vernet Hotel du Nord Barlotti Duke's Bar Le Passage Le Soleil Les Galopins Chez Flottes Bouillion des Colonies Noura Pavillion l'Absinthe Cafe Autour de... 46 Avenue Bistrot B La Plage Parisienne Le Pub St-Germain Vin de Soif Bouquet des Archives Petrus La Chopotte Les Couleurs Fontaine de Mars Refectoire Casa Alcade Bistro du Dome l'Etoile Marocain

The Weeks of August 1st and 8th, 2005 Before the vacation period, I received a special edition of A Nous Paris, courtesy of Felice, with two parts of “Favorites”, the first along the lines of (if I’m correct) Russell Lynes’ “What’s In and What’s Out” declarations; theirs is called Up and Down. Among the Up’s were: Le Timbre, Le Saint Amour, le Square, Goupil le Bistro, Mum Sabai, Le Temps au Temps, Meating, le Refectoire, Louis Vins, Le Comptoir + La Cafetiere and the Down’s mentioning The Place, le Titi Parisien, Harold, Café Charbon, Favela Chic, Chez Dom’, Chez Prune. The second feature was a listing with reviews of the favorite places in each arrondissement written by Jerome Berger and Philippe Toinard, that included: 1st – l’Autobus Imperial, Le Point Bar, l’Ecume Saint-Honore, Maceo 2nd – Le Saint-Amour, Café Moderne, Un Jour a Peyrassol 3rd – Les Don Juan 4th – Dans le Noir, Au Grain de Sel, Le Curieux Spagetti Bar, Berthillon 5th – Fogon Saint-Julien, Les Delices d’Aprodite 6th – La Cafetiere, Mum Sabai, Le Timbre, Damman’s, Boucherie Rouliere, Le Bac a Glaces 7th – Le Bamboche 8th – La Cuisine, l’Atelier des Chefs, Le Resto, Le Cap Vernet 9th – Le Café Guitry 10th – Le Verre Vole, l’Etage 11th – Le Temps au Temps, Le Refectoire 14th – La Cagouille, Millesimes 62, La Chopette 15th – Cave de l’Os a Moelle 16th – Le Petit Pergolese, La Table de Joel Robuchon, Le Bistrot de Cancale, Bon, Pascal le Glacier, Tokyo Eat, Frugier 17th – Trendy’s, Goupil le Bistro, Meating, Sora Lena, Fuxia 18th – Chez Eusebio, Le Square 19th – Chapeau Melon 20th – l’Echappee Sunday, July 31st, the New York Times had an article by Seth Sherwood on St. Tropez that suggested several restaurants: Villa Romana, L’Escale, Spoon Byblos, Café des Arts, + La Tarte Tropezienne. Monday, August 1st, David Rosengarten’s Report recounted his quest in May for the replicas or at least the progeny of Yves Camdebord’s creation of the “neo-bistro.” He was disappointed by the current Regalade + Epi Dupin but liked l’Ourcine, l’Ami Jean, Au Vieux Chene + l’Ami Marcel. He also revisited l’Ami Louis + Benoit, the former inducing sticker shock and the latter, pre-Ducasse/de la Brosse, the accolade of “bistro heaven.” A subscription to the report is obtainable here. Wednesday, Sebastien Demorand, in this week’s Zurban continued his “monochromatic” quest to the color beige at Pascal Barbot’s l’Astrance, 4 rue Beethoven in the 16th, 01.40.50.84.40 where he gives the recipes for pintade, a mushroom galette, caramel dessert and a coffee “water-shake.” The week following he went for the color red with Bruno Viala, the recently hired chef at La Famille, 41, rue des Trois-Frères in the 18th, 01.42.52.11.12. The feast includes tomato gaspacho, wok’d tuna and strawberries. Thursday/Friday, August 4/5th, Jean-Claude Ribaut, in Le Monde’s « Toques en Pointe » reviewed Le Fin Gourmet, 42, rue Saint-Louis-en-l'Ile in the 4th, 01.43.26.79.27, closed Monday and Tuesday lunch, formula at 27, menu with wine and coffee 35, a la carte 40 E. Its chef is David Magniez, ex at Guy Savoy; Ribaut calls the fare well executed and good with identifiable products. The article also reviews the rather old La Rotisserie d’en Face, 2, rue Christine in the 6th, 01.43.26.40.98, closed Saturday lunch and Sundays, with classic mains, succulent desserts and good wines, formula is 18 at lunch, menus 25 and 28, a la carte 40 E. Next came that old film favorite now frequented by hip young types - l’Hotel du Nord, 102, quai de Jemmapes in the 10th, 01.40.40.78.78, open everyday from 11 AM til 2 AM, a la carte 40 E, where chef Pascal Brebant, ex at Guerard puts some spice and Asian twists to classic dishes. And finally, he reviews L’Auberge Bressane, 16, avenue de la Motte-Piquet in the 7th, 01.47.05.98.37, closed August 6-20 and Saturday at lunch where the classic food cost about 45 E and you eat amidst the ancient bistro decor. See here for my take. Saturday, August 6th, in the FT, Nicholas Lander wrote an article available at the FT’s website now only by paying, but available free on his wife, Jancis Robinson’s website, on finding “the most authentic bouillabaisse in Marseille. His top rating went to Chez Fonfon, followed (if I read him correctly) by L’Epuisette + Michel, largely because of the service at the latter. If you’ll recall, July 8th, Ms Wells had an equally tepid reaction to it. Sunday/Monday, in Bonjour Paris, Margaret Kemp wrote a piece called “Summer Buzz” which told of chef comings and goings and restaurant changes. She noted that Toni Vianello of L’Osteria was soon to depart for Caboverde; that Dominique Bouchet was closed for August and will be opening a “salon below [the] stairs” in November; that as previously reported Gilles Epié, ex-Miravile, La Petite Cour, Pavillion des Princes will soon open Citrus Etoile in the old Bouchon de Francois Clerc space; that Cap Vernet has been redecorated by Daniel Magnac, with a self-taught and Gagniere-trained new chef Jean-Marc Lemmery, open everyday, 50 E plus wine; that the Philippe Starck decorated Cristal Room at Baccarat, where it’s hard to book for dinner but easier at lunch, lunch 40, dinner 80E before wine has a menu by Thierry Burlot of the restaurant of the same name; and that Le Bamboche is hopping under Serge Arce and Philippe Fabert, closed Sundays, lunch 28-35, dinner 56, surprise degustation menu 70 plus wine. Sunday, August 14th, Florence Fabricant in the New York Times, proposed two restaurants in Troyes – a branch of the brasserie chain La Taverne de Maitre Kanter + le Creperie la Tourelle. {Ed Note: in the spirit of this Digest’s purpose, reportage, these are the facts, but for those wishing to visit Troyes, I’d suggest consulting the food guides for many 12-13/20 and 2 fork and spoon places, not to mention starred and Bib Gourmand suggestions.} The same day, Julia Chaplin suggested several places in Marseille – Au Lamparo, Pizzaria Etienne, Restaurant du Tagine, Michel + Le Crystal. {EN: same comment, but noting that here there are an even larger number of choices with higher ratings.} Please post comments here and not in the Digest thread.

Since I posed the question originally and am always interested in Chef and Restaurant changes, I thought I'd update this Forum on the Aspen situation as of August 2005. Since November, Gusto has had a new chef, Anthony Compagni, whose cooking is quite nice. Takah Sushi has moved into a wonderful new, big space around the corner and has quite successfully increased the number of seats and offerings. Coming into its old space is Zocolito, a terrific Mexican/Latin American place previously sited in Carbondale. And finally, a place we loved in the past, Conundrum has closed and its space now houses a bank, whatever that tells you about Aspen.

Doc - From your previous list of: I suspect you really only need to call L'Astrance, Pierre Gagnaire, L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Le Comptoir and Dominique Bouchet ahead of time (? from Barcelona the week before). The others should be bookable the day you hit Paris. Experience tells me that during the first two weeks of the re-entree, restaurants are really not packed solid.

Carlsbad, I cannot tell you how long it took me to get past the name; but it's worth it, day in and day out. And don't listen to the NY & LA folks who tell you they can get the same food every day at home; they can't. Thanks too Felice; I ate at Regalade last August 24th, the anniversary of the day of the liberation of Paris, so that info sounds correct. No one should despair about August; between the guidebooks and telephone, there's no cause for worry.

I am away from my library and archives so I'm of little help. Next year we'll post a list well in advance since there are enough good places open. However, aside from the terrific ideas thrown out so far, in addition to the Michelin, buy Lebey and Pudlo and frequently one of the three will have accurate dates. Unfortunately, since they're written in November-January, they're often inexact and calling is the the only way to be certain the two weeks of August they are closed are 1st or middle or last ones. I do not yet have Zurban's list of places open this week. By the time I post them in the Digest it'll be too late anyway (there's so little news in August I'll probably just have two posts) - Felice - why not put them up yourself please? - from PM's and posts I'm aware lots of members are in Paris right now and need help.

Getting back to the original query, I think in city places are not as great for picnics with kids as are parcs outside (Boulogne, Vincennes, Versailles, Chantilly, St Cloud, etc.)

OK for running around, tiny swing area. Best roped off playground, ponies and Guignols - Luxembourg Biggest slide and nice playground - La Villette Best seclusion with playground, train and water - Boulogne Nice water and duck chasing - Citroen Best sitting and watching and small swing area - Monceau Best flowers, bikes - Vincennes (Zoo is pathetic and being renovated)

The Week of July 25th, 2005 This week, there were two articles in Bonjour Paris about food; one by Monique Wells on the newest Bar… restaurant (e.g. after Barfly, Buddha Bar + and Barrio Latino) in Paris, Barlotti, 35, place du Marché Saint-Honoré in the 1st, 01.44.86.97.97, open every day from 12 noon til 2 AM that since July 1st has offered 8 risotto dishes at dinner. The second, by regular food critic Margaret Kemp, concerned La Mas de Pierre in Saint Paul de Vence, which houses a restaurant La Table de Pierre chef’d by an ex-Guerard sous-chef. Sebastien Demorand, in this week’s Zurban extends his color palate to yellow with a piece on Sylvain Sendra’s cuisine at Temps au Temps, 13, rue Paul-Bert in the 11th, 01.43.79.63.40. Featuring all things yellow from sunflower on the tables to lamb cutlets with lemon and corn; plus zucchini flowers stuffed with tuna (as is his want this summer, he provides cooking instructions), bar with yellow peppers and a delicious sounding lemon dessert. It sounds like Temps Au Temps continues to be great even in the heat of summer. This week Expatica had an article on Didier Elena of Les Crayeres in Reims, calling him the “Piet Mondrain of haute cuisine” but saying that he'd not yet proved himself outside Ducasse's kitchens. The US version of France Magazine had two articles in the Summer issue; the first by Alexander Lobrano entitled “Culinary Empires” in which he points out that there are three types of such: the first, run by global “gastro-entrepreneurs,” such as Ducasse + Robuchon; the second, the Parisian “bistrot annex” bunch, such as Rostang + Savoy; and the third, his preferred group of chefs running “local empires,” exemplified by Olivier Roellinger of Cancale. The second article, by Susan Herrmann Loomis (she of the new book “Cooking at Home on Rue Tatin”), talks of chefs who are moving to set up smaller places, notably Dominique Bouchet, l’Atelier de Joel Robuchon + Le Troquet, the latter headed by Christian Etchebest. August’s Gourmet has a delicious article by Pulitzer Awardee Stacy Schiff (the Franklin expert) on cultural differences emerging during her stay in France with her French husband and three children, ages 1-10; it’s not all about food, so members intending to live in France or take sabbaticals or prolonged first-time visits will benefit from it. In that vein, and even farther off-topic, but fascinating for those interested in cultural differences between US and French university pedagogy is this piece in Harvard Magazine. N.B. When I started this Digest I stated I would primarily cover French restaurants in Paris, but summer presents a problem for me and an opportunity for you who vacation outside the peripherique; my suggestion: search the Figaro site using the city you’re near using Miot, Simon and Michot as well as “Vivre l’été,” the name of the section they file “La Table” pieces in during the summer, but it’ll take some searching since they’re not listed in the usual “Cuisine & Vins” category.(Reprinted from last summer) Please post comments here and not in the Digest thread.

The subject of consistency/inconsistency in places arises again with the report of two recent meals at Le Meurice. Elsewhere I've talked of the sophomore jinx, eg, second meals not coming up to the level of first experiences. There are lots of reasons for this phenomenon that members and I have noted. But then we have Le Meurice and Le Comptoir with equally puzzling variances, sometimes (in the case of another member and I) where two people agree 100% when together and 0% when dining separately. Is this inconsistency, is it the situation/company/mood/chef/absence of same/etc.? It cannot be ascribed to dining alone, since I've had it happen equally as often when alone as when dining with others. And let me cite another example - the Fables of Fontaine - where I've had 2 great meals alone and 1 with others, 1 disaster for 4 of us, and the most recent one - a 50% redemption where there was 1 hold-over from the disaster (Colette) and 2 new folks. And yet another puzzle - the 33% situation, eg Auguste, where 3 of us ate and where A's entree, B's main and C's dessert passed the test, but all 3 of us agreed the other dishes failed. What's going on? Anyway, I hope others will chime in. Edited and moved by John Talbott Friday Aug 29th, 2005.

You've done us a great service ludja; my "further comment" is that they're wonderful.

Both days I had lunch I came just after noon (unfashionable but effective); both times there were folks seated.

Michel Chaudun, not Chaudron. This can only mean that John has never been there... What a shame. ← Sorry for the misspelling, and yes I go there frequently, usually around a visit to Au Bon Acceuil; I can even do a fair imitation of the caution to keep them cool and eat them fast.

Just to add to the chorus of approval for Roellinger, this month's US version of France Magazine had a nice article by Alexander Lobrano entitled “Culinary Empires” in which he uses Olivier Roellinger as his model of a good/great chef building a local empire (as opposed to the global or bistro annex empires).

Today's Expatica had a nice article on him saying, though, that he'd not yet proved himself outside Ducasse's kitchens.

Well, I'd guess it's the first since it's the most purple/violet and gentian violet stain for tissue derives from it. On the other hand, the Google images look nothing like any of the above. In any case Adam, these are spectacular pictures. Thanks.