John Talbott

We ate there for lunch but it was a few years ago but I recall there were locals (eg non hotel guests) eating.

Since we're into nostalgia here, I too have not been to Les Crayeres in a while, but after what was in the 1980's - a three-star meal, we retired to what cannot but always be a three-star room and waking up the next morning gazing down that expanse of lawn to Reims was something I'll never forget (and Colette reminds me of missing frequently).

You are absolutely correct Zouave. My apologies. I conflated when I wanted to eat at Aux Marches du Palais (Sun) and the day the market was open (Sat).

The Week of May 2nd , 2005 Monday, Francois Simon’s Tables a’Affaires reviewed Chez Flottes, 2, rue Cambon in the 1st, 01.42.60.80.89, open everyday, where he rates the cooking 2/5 and price quality 3/5. {Ed Note:So why did he write it up in this precious space largely regarded by business-folks? Apparently because the welcome and atmosphere are 4/5 and it’s as much a tonic as liters of orange juice.} It features cooking of yore (beef tartare, roast farm chicken, sausage, sole meuniere) and pricey wines and he wants to go back. Monday/Tuesday, A Nous Paris’s Philippe Toinard gave 4/5 blocks to two places : La Chopotte, 68 rue Alesia in the 14th, 01.45.43.16.16, count on 20-45 E a la carte, serving typical bistrot fare (Salers beef, andouillette, tartar of beef, tete de veal, etc.), closed Sunday nights (eg open Saturday & Sunday lunch – not always easy to find in Paris), {for my views see here} and Le Petit Pergolese, 38, rue Pergolese in the 16th, 01.45.00.23.66, count on 35-50 E a la carte, closed weekends, serving filet of dorade royale, kidneys and crème caramel, where, while the name derives from the street, the dishes do have Italian twists – e.g. parmesan, risotto, polenta. In his bigger space this week, Sebastien Demorand in Zurban, reviewed two wine bars; La cave a vin, 52, rue Legendre in the 17th, 01.42.67.00.21, formula at 12.50 Euros, a la carte 20 and Le Porte-Pot, 14, rue Boutebrie in the 5th, 01.43.25.24.24, about 25 E. The problem with the first was that despite their serving simple but not bad food, instead of using the best wine store in the area which is nearby, their stuff was selected by “winepassion.com,” whose website says they pick wines for the best restos in Paris {Ed Note:listing none of course}. On the other hand, the second place he liked better for both the food and wine. In his “Casseroles” he covered three places; a pretty good neighborhood bistro with good food and wine - Vin de Soif, 24, rue Pierre-Leroux in the 7th, 01.43.06.79.85, closed Saturday lunch and Sundays, a la carte about 28 E; a new modern brasserie Harold, 48, rue de Prony in the 17th, 01.47.63.96.96, open everyday with a formula costing 19.50, a la carte 50-60 E, chef’d by a graduate of Ducasse’s, serving a lot of non-brasserie food (nems with Thai sauce, sushi, Italian-style calamari, Caesar salad with lobster) along with more traditional stuff (gravlax, veal liver, sole); and a Japanese place that says it serves tapas and tempura Isse, 45, rue de Richelieu in the 1st, 01.42.96.26.60, closed Saturday lunch and Sundays, menus running from 16-18 at lunch and a la carte 25-40 E for dinner, which is nice looking and has good food. Wednesday, Figaroscope’s “C’est nouveau” was very disappointing with 5 one heart places, which I’ll really just list: a well-intentioned bistrot Miss Betsy, 23, rue Guillaume Tell in the 17th, 01. 42.67.12.67, open every weekday; an intellectual nightclub jazz brasserie K, 3, rue du Sabot in the 6th, 01.40.09.07.48, open everyday, an Italian place Il Settimo, 57, rue Bellechasse in the 7th, 01.45.50.39.27, also open everyday, a neighborhood cheese shop cum resto la Tete Dans le Fromage, 20, rue de la Grangeaux in the 10th, 01.42.08.30.44, closed Mondays and a Korean BBQ place Gaon, 13, rue Dauphine in the 6th, 01.43.54.18.88, open everyday. The “Dossier” is not much better, this week providing a bunch of tapas bars, et to go to for aperitifs in the happy hours between 6 and 8 PM: Trema Chez Carr Bellota-Bellota La Blancheisserie Anis Gras Le bar au Plaza Le Music Hall Asian Lavinia Casa del Campo Da Rosa Le Refectoire La Tete ailleurs As usual, Francois Simon writes up one of the examples of the above, in this case Le Bar Chinois in the Hotel Paris Vendome. He asks should you go and in English answers; “Why not?" I don’t usually report on cafes, but the photo of this one in the gardens of the Palais Royal looked so great I’ll refer you to “Postcards from Paris’s” website. The place pictured is the Café Corazza, 12, rue Montpensier in the 1st, 01.42.60.13.52 and Amber Garrison notes that it serves Sunday lunch for about 20 E in addition to the usual coffee and ice-cream. In addition she recommends a places for steak/frites, Le Relais de l'Entrecôte on the rue St Benoît, no reservations, which has only one menu for 20,80 Euros for which you get salad, steak and frites; desserts are 6 Euros more. Sunday New York Times’ Magazine had an article by Christine Muhlke, entitled “Paris is Losing It,” that announces the new Karl Lagerfeld Diet Book that I haven’t yet seen mentioned in the French Forum. Remember to order it – if you do - though the eGullet link. Margaret Kemp, in this week’s Bonjour Paris covers a lot of places along the Riviera to help those going to the Cannes Film Festival no doubt; because they’re not really reviews and outside Paris I’ll just list them: Le Vistamar, Hotel Hermitage, Restaurant Fuji, L’Oasis, Parcours, L’Ane Rouge, Lou Cigalon, Hostellerie du Vieux Moulin and if you want you can read the piece here. Please post comments here and not in the Digest thread.

I hesitate to compare kids and dogs, but.... My wife and I were eating at Camelia in Bougival (en route to Giverny) on a lovely Sunday afternoon and the restaurant's peppy dog attempted to engage a dining couple's dog and he/she just lay there unexcited. I asked how it was that all French dogs were so well-behaved. Answer: The ones that aren't don't get taken out.

Your experience sounds horrendous. I've been lucky, I guess, in that when there are kids at a restaurant it's either for Sunday dinner (that is lunch) with a big crowd of family and friends or it's people travelling with well-behaved kids. I've eaten out a lot with our kids and grandkids and I've found that that as an American with a young child, both of us are treated very nicely (the younger one often being offered salami, ice cream, etc. not listed on any visible menu). Yes, we take/took paper, stickers, crayons, books, a jump rope, etc. (Now the place we (with kids) were treated most royally, though, was Japan - they love kids at meals).

A tough question to answer. Maybe both. But as is the case reading movie or restaurant critics, (for me anyway), it's as useful to know with whom you disagree as much as agree. I think I have less tolerance these days for folks trying to push the culinary envelope (recent examples are l'Astrance, La Famille and Lucullus, esp when they go too far, eg Vagnon's lieu that is so slightly warmed you'd mistake it for sashimi; which I love but would rather not be surprised by). There are big arguments raging now that seem to be playing themselves out in the "Generation C" newsletter Omnivore as to whether this new breed constitutes the equivalent of the crowd that produced nouvelle cuisine or the stimulus will come from Spain (you know who), Asia, etc. The contrary to my intolerance for the envelope-pushers is my refound love for places that know how to do the old stuff well, and here I'd cite Le Cerisaie, Cinq Mars and Au Bon Acceuil not to omit Constant's places and culinary children. Finally, I do suspect that I hit off days at Au Lyonnais and Fables of Fontaine, which happens. My argument would be; if you can find places that are never off, why not patronize them? as well as the fact that with 5 new places opening a week, there's plenty of new territory out there and new chefs to be discovered.

Out in front of Rouge Tomate in the Marche St Honore in tomato season there is a display thing with heirlooms. I'm told that there's a guy in the Sunday market right in front of the Palais de Tokyo (Av Pres Wilson) who has an incredible selection. And finally, I'll bet Hediard has good but pricey ones; never looked specifically, but given their target market, it's a pretty good bet.

Wow. And Pierre45 says I was on a marathon. Great list; I'm enthusiastic about almost all except ones I comment on). I do have some very personal responses below, I'm sure not shared by all: Dinner: l’Astrance (I've soured on their pushing the envelope too much; let us know if you think I'm too stodgy) Au Bon Accueil (consistently just fine) Les Ormes (price/quality issue since relocating) La Braisiere (I had a very disappointing meal there despite the NYT's endorsement Dominique Bouchet (I love him) L’ Angle de Faubourg (? price/quality) Aux Lyonnais (I had 1/3 meals off there) Thierry Burlot (now priced sensibly) Le Pamphlet (off meal there too, 1 of 2) La Cerisaie (simply wonderful, consistent, charming) Lunch: Le Café Press (never been but menu/ardoise not exciting) Avant Gout (gotten a bit more expensive but tables now not so jammed together) Les Fables de la Fontaine (1 of 4 off) Cinq Mars (best new place of the Spring) Other fading dinner possibilities: La Table de Lucullus (Nicholas Vagnon will probably be installed at his new Ile de Yeu resto by then and will William Ledeuil of Ze Kitchen Galerie have taken over?; who knows?) La Bastide Odéon (why fading, it's pretty consistent) L’Ami Jean (not for me, faded out) Pinxo (I like it) I'd add Ze Kitchen Galerie even though folks say you can get this food in NY or LA. Also Maison du Jardin, Temps Au Temps, La Grande Rue and for Sunday lunch, the Brasserie Lorraine, which since its takeover/refurbishing is great.

Hi, this is one of those inquiries you either love or hate. I'll be attending a meeting in Milan at the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia, Via San Vittore 21 and want to spring loose for lunches at places I can walk to. Any ideas gratefully received. Many thanks. Edited by John Talbott to add city.

The Week of April 25th, 2005 Monday, Francois Simon’s Tables d'Affaires reviewed the non-new but non-ancient restaurant Le Celadon, corner of the rue Daunou and rue de la Paix in the 2nd, 01.47.03.40.42, formula with wine and coffee at lunch = 51 E, a la carte much pricier {Pudlo estimates it at 100-120 E), giving it 3/5 for welcome and cooking but only 1/5 for price/quality and atmosphere. Monday as well, Kathleen Peddicord of Postcards from Paris wrote of a place, {we can send our backpacking relatives to} le Bleu Canard in the Place de la Madeleine where take-out is 10 euros for a salad or sandwich, drink and desert for 9 Euros. And on Thursday she told of two other places in the area (the publication just moved into the Madeleine quartier) – Le Relais Madeleine + Le Royal Madeleine, the first a classic brasserie that serves “classic crème brulée,” escargots, onion soup, cote de boeuf (for two), etc for 40 E (ironically, it’s less costly at night); the second much pricier. Monday/Tuesday, in A Nous Paris, Jerome Berger gave brief reviews of several established fish places : he awarded 4/5 blocks to l’Ecallier du Bistrot + La Table de Lucullus; 3/5 blocks each to La Cagouille + l’Ecume Saint-Honore and 2/5 to Chasse Maree. Wednesday’s Figaroscope’s “C’est nouveau” gave out one-heart to only one French resto – l’Echapee, 38, rue Boyer in the 20th, 01.47.97.44.58, closed Tues, Sat and Sun lunch and all day Sunday, costing about 30 E but with formulas at 11, 12 and 15 E at lunch and 16 E at dinner which Rubin comments has “good intentions.” The other hearted places are foreign; 3 hearts to a non-sushi, non-sashimi Japanese place Isse in the 1st, 2 hearts to an Italian place Da Rosa in the 6th and a lebanese offshoot of Noura, Nai in the 8th. Rubin also gave a broken heart to a tart and quiche place, Chez Vous in the 4th. In this week’s Dossier, the Figaroscope team covered veal in every form: Tete de veau Le Passiflore Brains Le Duc de Richelieu Cheeks Caius Breast Mon Vieil Ami Liver Le Pavillion des Princes Kidneys La Terrasse Mirabeau Rib Bath’s Meating Sweetbreads and Kidneys Au Trou Gascon Quasi Bon 2 Blanquette Chez Rene Tante Jeanne Osso buco Bocconi And, as usual, Francois Simon reviews a place where he has veal in this instance, a cote de veau, at La Chopotte, 168, rue d’Alesia in the 14th, 01.45.43.16.16. Asking himself – it is expensive? – he say’s 59 E (for a not very good meal, eg over-cooked daurade, tartar of salmon so bad they took it off his bill). Should one go? His answer [sic] “Humpf.” Wednesday, as well, Sebastien Demorand in Zurban devoted his major review to Mémère Paulette, 3, rue Paul-Lelong in the 2nd, 01.40.26.12.36, closed Saturday lunch and Sunday, which has great wines, an inexpensive menu-carte (17.50 E) but whose food doesn’t quite measure up; Le Café Noir, 15, rue Saint-Blaise in the 20th, 01.40.09.75.80, closed Sundays, also reasonable (lunch formulas = 10, 14 and 17E) but where he went under the misimpression that the management had changed; Ici et la, 39, rue des Vinaigriers in the 10th, 01.40.36.08.31, closed Sundays and Mondays and Tuesdays and Wednesdays only open til 7:30 PM, which runs about 15 at lunch and 25 E at dinner, which he subtitles “a girl’s deli” {my trans}; and Mon Marché, 31, rue Guillaume-Tell in the 17th, 01.43.80.04.73, closed Sundays and Saturday and Monday nights, a la carte about 28 E, which he calls a “bistro-cave,” has a very nice looking photo of charcuterie and serves classic bistro fare and good wine. In Thursday-Friday’s Le Monde, Jean Claude Ribaut reviewed three places; the quite popular Refectoire, coordinates already given, which he notes serves “playful” cuisine; a South Indian place -Yugaraj in the 6th, and Michel Rostang, coordinates in the guidebooks, which {I guess he’s re-reviewing because it now} has a spring menu of asparagus (in consume, with langoustines, caviar, lobster, or sweetbreads) and creamed deboned Bresse chicken with morilles and wine; Spring menu = 175 E. Friday, Figaro had an article by Laure Gasparotto on the 134 wine growing plots in the Ile de France, of which nine are in Paris. Please read the original if you’re curious about sampling them. Friday-Saturday in the FT, Mike Steinberger had a diatribe entitled “Cooked Senseless” on places that serve too many (in at least one case, tasteless) dishes at each meal. He singles out El Bulli, where he’s never eaten, as serving 25-30 and the French Laundry, 9-10, where he notes Keller has never tasted his signature dish - “oysters and pearls.” What makes the article appropriate for this Digest is that he ends up contrasting this excess with a meal at Ducasse’s Louis XV, which started out with raw vegetables that were delicious, signaling to the author that he was in store for a meal featuring “flawless ingredients and simple preparation….no pink bubbles, foams or froths.” Another food news item was on page 1, column 1, entitled “EU farm chief plans to dry up wine lake,” about efforts to stem the over-production of wine, principally in France and Spain, by giving them 145 million Euros this week. Saturday, Francois Simon, in Figaro’s Croque Notes, Francois Simon pulls his punches when talking about Refectoire, coordinates already given. On the one hand, he seems to be encouraging their young (adolescent) spirit that appears to impress their bobo clientele, but on the other, notes that something like lamb with a parmesan chantilly sauce with a nut waffle may sound good but doesn’t pan out (so to speak) on the plate. He winds up calling it “no-food” {cf slow-food I assume} which is superficial to bored adults. His second paragraph is devoted to the resto Lei Mouscardins - the best place towards St-Tropez. And third, he notes that l’Auberge du Pas de Vent in Pouillon serves a “moguette” (a vegetable apparently) of veal. Sunday last, I omitted an interesting article for Illy Coffee devotees {mark me present and guilty} in the JDD – Illy , the “aristrocrat of espresso,” will go head to head with Starbucks, and soon will establish beachheads at Roissy and Orly. In April’s Where, Alexander Lobrano praises Auguste, coordinates already given here; then mentions several brunch places: Café Jacquemart-Andre, La Gare, Rose Bakery, + Le Village as well as places near museums: Le Pre Verre, near the Cluny, Chez Omar near the Picasso, Le Dauphin, near the Louvre, George, in the Pompidou (Beaubourg) and Au Pied de Fouet near the Rodin. The Spring 2005 Town & Country Travel had an article by Mimi Sheraton on her favorite bistros {which I seem to have seen a dozen times already} including: Chez l’Ami Louis, Aux Lyonnais, Benoit, Allard, {the latter very thoroughly criticized - see immediately below.} In Secrets of Paris, Heather Stimmler-Hall wrote of her disappointing experience at that once-great place Allard, 41, rue St-Andre-des-Arts in the 6th, which was almost totally populated by Anglos, she had to wait even with a reservation for a lousy table and was charged 150 E for snails, oysters and Bresse chicken. Postcards From Paris’s Amber Garrison recommends an Italian place Sardegna a Tavola in the 12th which she says serves the “most authentic Italian cuisine” in Paris. Please post comments here and not in the Digest thread.

I'm not sure if this has been reported yet but the weekend's Figaro reviewed his new book "Une cuisine contemporaine" with Anne Testut & Alain Willaume, Flammarion, 45 E.

I should start a business where I take visitors to Atlanta to cool ethnic restaurants and markets. ← OK let me stretch you helpful folks a bit. I too have to be in Atlanta for a few days myself but downtown. It's my tradition to take my French buddies out for an ethnic lunch(in this case it means crabs in Baltimore, New Orleans in New Orleans, Mexican in Dallas, Asian in SF, hot dogs in Chicago, BarBQ, well you get the idea). We will be between meetings so it can't be haute cuisine (but that we do here anyway) but I strive to find places they wouldn't ordinarily go to nor tumble on. Any ideas - no cabs - all walking.? Thanks.

April – 11 New Restaurants: Meating, L’Instant Gourmand, Goupil, Louis Vins, Tandem, l’Ecalier/Music Hall, Bas-Fonds, l‘Auberge Bressane, Refectoire, Chez les Anges, l’Echappee Do you read restaurant and movie reviews like I do, first paragraph first, then last sentence, then decide whether to read farther/further? If so, read no farther/further, because April was a pretty fallow month for new places (some readers have queried why I’m active some months and not others, for the answer read the footnote*). However, here are the details: Let’s start with Meating, another new “theme” restaurant (along with Pomze, Spicy, Rouge Tomate, etc), which is, you’ve got it, devoted to meat and meeting important people. It’s way out in the 17th, at 122, avenue de Villiers, 01.43.90.10.10, (the ex-Apicius space, ah, but that’s another story), chef’d by a young Rostang-ite. You ask - Why on earth would I, who am basically a non red meat type, usually refuses to eat at non-French places in Paris and can have the best US beef in America for a pittance, or any American, be bothered with the French version of American meat (the menu gives you a whole rap about importing American stoves and ovens, serving US BBQ sauce, etc, etc, etc.). Well, as I indicated above, April’s been a cruel month for new places; it was Saturday lunch and the choices were few; it was rainy and I needed comfort food; and the reviews hadn’t been all that bad. So out I schlep to the PC and enter a very fancy place (voiturier at Saturday lunch, no less). Oh oh, budget in trouble. But all I wanted after my magnificent meal of stir-fried broccoli and beef last nite was a light tartare and voila, instead of paying 50E without wine, I had the “menu” with two tartares (first tuna and then beef, the beef tartare prepared properly and wrapped in thinly sliced carpaccio of beef, quite good) for 31E. I loved it. And, the other stuff I saw served; e.g. firsts of thinly-sliced avocado stuffed with crab, 7 or 8 veggies in a broth; seconds of beef in all its forms, included the biggest bone on at cote de boeuf I’ve ever seen, looked equally good. The frites were about average for the US or France, which means pretty bad. The bread, wine (a serious international list) and coffee were quite acceptable, however. Will I return? Not with Colette (although there were 4-6 fish/fowl dishes - beef is clearly their biz). And here I experienced a first in the US or France, the “management” came over to tell a guy yelling into his “mobile” to tone it down – of course, 3 tables of French folk and I had already asked him to, but still…. Give full credit to Francois Simon (founder of the Figaroscope’s foodie section/idea ten years ago, according to my food historian friend, who is seen by some as over the hill) for finding places that no one else has. In this case, l’Instant Gourmand, 113, rue Louis-Rouquier in Levallois-Perret (92), 01.47.37.13.43, closed Sat lunch and Sundays. It’s accessible by 4 buses (the 53, 94, 165 and 174) but it’s (horrors) 400 meters outside the peripherique, so I’m sure no one reading this will ever go, unless they’re staying at the Sofitel; too bad! Like other places a bit distant, for example, Les Magnolias, it’s outside the normal traffic patterns; like La Table des Blot, it serves honest good food in a grand manner in a nice setting; and like Les Trois Marches, it combines the good old and the inventive new. But it’s in Levallois-Perret, where, you ask? You enter the area (at least in April) surrounded by flowers, flowering trees and plants and while the high-rises (with a few HLM’s thrown in) are a bit disconcerting, it’s like the country. Ok, how about the food?; very, very respectable. An amuse-bouche of a veloute of carrot (delicious), bread that looks like Banette but is not, a starter of small chicken nuggets sitting on beds of forcemeat with wonderful fresh spring herbs in the center; a main of quail cooked two ways with much too much wild grain (is it just me that thinks the French are overdoing the purees, grains and pasta sides or am a too much a child of the Zone?); a wonderful, broad, informed wine list, decent coffee, and fine mignardises. 2 dishes = 29; 3 = 31 E, my bill was 42 E. Defect, I couldn’t find one. Thanks M. Simon. Goupil Le Bistro, 4, rue Claude-Debussy in the 17th, 01.45.74.83.25, was another unexpected delight. Why? It’s in another weird location, e.g., near the Caserne de Pompiers, up from the Palais de Congres and the Porte Maillot, almost no one has written it up, its chef’d by a 23 year old - but it was packed and with suits. We had the tuna tartare (nice and thick and well-seasoned, e.g. just the right amount of spiciness) and boudin wrapped in not as crisp as they should have been, packets; then pintade that was done to perfection and rougets that were fresh and tasty when eaten with the tiny green asparagus whose bases were wrapped with microtomed bacon; the St Marcellin was also just right and the pear sorbet with eau de vie topped it off. Wine (Cote d’Auxerre) excellent; bread and coffee banal. Bill somehow crept up to over 100 E for 2. Louis Vins, 9, rue de la Montagne-Ste-Genevieve in the 5th, 01.43.29.12.12, open everyday, formula 23, menu-carte 26 E, has really gotten all the critics’ applause and there’s much to praise about it. First, it has girl-food (I know, I’m a sexist, but I can’t eat alone all the time). Second, there was a big no smoking section. Third, the décor is spectacular, the host formidable, with a great moustache/beard, but then I’m partial to that. And, they have interesting food, a fine wine list and for the present, not a lot of customers (but wait ‘til the Americans find this place). The amuse bouche of liver pate was straight from the ‘50’s (that’s good), the white asparagus was correctly cooked but with a truffle sauce I didn’t love, the veal liver was like it used to be at Chez les Anges, accompanied by rounded out spring potatoes stuffed with potato (that’s right) and they cure their own camembert (it’s much like that at L’Auberge Pyrenees Cevennes in the old days,) and it is terrific. The place is best described as a cross between the new Le Regalade and the old Chez Catherine. It is not the Cinq Mars, but it may be April’s next best and is worth another visit. The bill = 47.50 E. You know how at the Cannes Festival (topical reference; starts next week), some movies are shown outside the competition. Well, some eating places should be too; principally, “natural” wine bars; there are so many are opening in Paris that it’s difficult to track them and rate them. (I hope Figaroscope does a “Dossier” one day on all the new ones.) The latest, for me anyway, is/was Tandem, 10, rue, de la Butte aux Cailles in the 13th, 01.45.80.38.69, closed Sundays, run by two brothers (Tandem, got it?), next to the Café Fusion, which serves wonderful unfiltered, unsulfured, etc. wines (I had one of four Auvergnes), decent food (a so-so salad with gesiers {but there was also six other choices from sardines to chevre} and a marvelous platter of six assorted French and Spanish charcuteries {there was also fish, boudin and assortments of cheese}) and coffees made to order (short, strong = just right) - they also had a clafoutis of kiwis, mousse of chocolate and pot au crème. It’s a charming place, which, if I lived nearby, I’d drop by occasionally to have a quick aperto and a little ham. My bill – 32 E. “Grazing,” while old hat in New York, is new to Paris. A few years ago, my oldest food finder friend suggested that we and our charming wives go to Nantes to eat at l’Atlantide, when it was just in ascendance, but improvised that in the late morning, while they were off doing gardens or cathedrals or whatever, we put down a few dozen oysters. It turned out to be a capital idea. Thus, when my newest food finder friend said that two new places in Paris were interesting, but for different ends of the meal; I thought “good idea.” Thus, I started at L’Ecaille de la Fontaine, 15, rue Gaillon in the 2nd, 01.47.42.02.99, closed weekends, where I had the amuse bouche of periwinkles and then a half-dozen each of Specials #2 and Creuses with a wash of white wine. The oysters were very good, not up to the Utahs at l’Ecaillier du Bistrot, but holding their own with the Specials Fine de Clair at l’Huitrier. The price of your meal, of course, depends on the oysters you want/order (18-36 E a dozen), but they also have everything from bulots to clams to langoustines; the formula (9 creuses, a tarte [today fraises] and a glass of wine = 19 E) and a big platter of everything for two was 62 E. They also had a salmon tartare and raviolis of langoustines and 4 desserts. Half-liter carafes started at 14 for the white; 10 for the red. The setting is post-modern but very bright and nice; it’s small (if you want big, Depardieu and Carole B’s other place - La Fontaine de Gaillon, 50 feet across the square, has not bad prices and a lot of shellfish and other seafood); and while I usually detest the brown bread served with oysters, this was excellent and toasted. OK, good start. Then, schlep across town, not far, to Music Hall, 63, ave Franklin-Roosevelt in the 8th, 01.45.61.03.63, open everyday all day except 6-8 AM and 10-11 AM, well-reviewed, especially for its deconstructed desserts. You know how when entering a place, you know you’ve made a big mistake and spend the rest of the time trying to figure out how to extricate yourself. You got it! I’d been warned, I’m a consenting adult, but these were all 8th Arr. Bobo’s without a touch of the bohemian. If they didn’t know food, neither did the hapless staff. Can a place be both pretentious and inept? ‘Fraid so. The women wait-people were young, eager actress-types, wearing fashionable, skin-revealing dresses; the men alternated between stodgy malfitting suits and hip malfitting Eurotrash stuff. The one female waitperson serving inside (there were many tables outside) kept colliding in mid-course with three equally eager busboys, no one knowing what dish went where. Meanwhile, two young folks who looked like the son and daughter of the syndicate’s principle owner were either (she) preening herself and (he) looking dopey (I’ll leave you to imagine why) or talking to other managerial staff, while this colliding dance of underlings went on in front of them. What did I eat in this theater of the absurd?; a dessert of macaroons filled with lemon curd accompanied by a sweet dessert wine; not bad, but not worth a return visit to see if they’ve got it together. The menu was reasonable and dishes I saw delivered did not look bad; but no one was there to eat; this place is for business and/or to be seen. (Oh, yes, the Music Hall theme includes dressing- table lights, flashing colors, etc). Can I say anything nice about it? Yes, they offered a carafe of water without ice and 70% of tables had it, not the higher-priced spread. Les Bas-Fonds, 116, rue Amelot besides the Cirque d’Hiver in the 11th is great looking; big open front windows, lovely place settings, nice (well-priced) wine, including California ones, displayed all over. I had what was called a shrimp pickle but was really a quite good nem with a sweet-sour cilantro sauce; then a huge but OK piece of cod with a very intriguing puree of potatoes with tiny shrimp and herbs. It was so huge that even without finishing it, I couldn’t face dessert. Nothing was bad, nothing was disgraceful, nothing sent the heart racing, however. Bill = 41.50 E. A few years ago, my then-French teacher (yes, in a fit of madness I thought I’d learn the language of Moliere rather than blunder on forever) asked me, after a long rant about how Paris was ruined by the Tour Montparnasse, Beaubourg and Pyramide du Louvre, if I really wanted the city to be a museum. “Yes” I said without hesitation. And indeed, I did and there’s a museum of a restaurant that reminds you of what they all were like 30-40 years ago. While l’Auberge Bressane, 16 av de la Motte-Piquet in the 7th, 01.47.05.98.37, has recently undergone a change of management and/or chef, its décor and menu (looking like it’s typed on your Grandmother’s Remington) are perfect. Unfortunately, the food is only OK, but no more so. Two of us ate there; first we had escargots with a rich sauce and potatoes and tiny fried lake fish (like lisettes) with an herb I couldn’t identify; second, sautéed foie gras that was properly swimming in fat and veal cooked correctly as well, but both products were not up to the price; finally, I had the chocolate souffle, which had little character. We had a great aperitifs : cerdon du Bugey, plus a wonderful wine : Chorey les Beaune and a splendid calva, but one doesn’t pay what we did for the boisson alone. One could have the menu for 29 E and probably get out for 50-60, but we didn’t. If you’re lodging in a nearby hotel, go and prove us wrong, almost nothing would make me happier. Some eGullet member very nicely suggested that I was a restaurant critic, but no real critic (that is, gainfully employed to review restaurants), would eat at a place like (Le Refectoire, 80 bd Richard Lenoir in the 11th, 01.48.06.74.85, open everyday with menus at 12, 15 and 17 Euros), well-reviewed by real critics, on a Sunday when there was only one dish available in addition to “brunch” (which I hate in Paris, but I knew it, so there was no misrepresentation there). However, it was Sunday lunch (e.g. few choices among new places), and despite my steadily rising disappointment with the La Famille gang, I went for the chicken and fries. (Digession for two stories: first, Bocuse, (indeed, it was probably Point, if not Escoffier or even Vatel) was reputed to say you can best judge a resto by its sliced tomato, so why not judge Le Refectoire by its plain chicken? Second, I took a close French friend to America’s best restaurant at the time (Alice Water’s) and was chagrined to have to inform him that, that day that we were forced to have steak and fries, so why not fries?). Anyway, here, I deserved what I got. They were very nice, young, unprofessional, clueless but enthusiastic types who, one would know, in Greenwich Village, were your college roommate’s grandkids. The place is terrific, facing the marvelous Richard Lenoir parklette, bright, airy and welcoming. And, they had a nice wine list and, at least the host knows his stuff about wine and advised me correctly about an assertive, interesting bio wine (which he insisted I sample first). OK, as my kids say – “get to the point!” The chicken was OK, about what I can buy on my street for 5 E, but nowhere near what the pintade was at Goupil Le Bistro; with it came inviting looking, thick fries – however, they were banal and tasteless, but also – surprise – it came with great roasted cherry tomatoes. I was about to fold my cards and leave when I saw a great looking dessert of chopped fruit. Mistake! They were an homage to the cold, unripe, diced fruit United Airlines serves at 5:45 AM as you zero in on Charles de Gaulle. Bill = 25 E. But, I gotta say it – they have the coolest restaurant bathroom in Paris, almost worth the 25 E. Chez les Anges, 54, bd de la Tour-Maubourg in the 7th , 01.47.05.89.86, closed Saturday lunch and Sundays, a la carte 45-50E, ex-Michelli, ex-Chez les Anges. Oh boy, did I want to love this place, for several reasons: (1) in the late 1960’s, Colette and I used to hop off the plane and head here for the tremendously thick, melt in your mouth, almost raw liver, (2) it has been taken over by Madame and some of the bunch from Au Bon Acceuil, (3) my two best food-finder pals ate there earlier and loved it. So, I must have ordered the wrong thing, it must have been an off day for the chef, it must be my taste buds, it must be the pollen on the Esplanade des Invalides, etc, etc., etc. The first hint of trouble came when they didn’t have the lisettes starter, clearly still on the menu. Then the vichyssoise of lobster was funny tasting, as if the bottom of the pan had burned; the ris de veau was enormous and (properly) crisp on the outside and (properly) almost raw on the inside, but, you’ve got it, it tasted funny; and finally, the chocolate mignardise was funny tasting too, but this time – it was a delicious taste. The topper came when they couldn’t locate the digestif I had ordered. My bill; a gentle 37.50 E and not a whiff of smoke. I must have ordered the wrong thing, it must…….. l’Echappee, ex-Chez Jean (Jean has departed, thus Echappee, got it?), 38, rue Boyer in the 20th, 01.47.97.44.58, closed Mondays (lunch is Weds-Fri; dinner Tues-Sun), menus at 18.50 E (lunch) to 23 E (dinner), 01 47 97 44 58, has several strikes against it and let’s start with these: it’s to hell and gone in the 20th and unless you’re familiar with Menilmontant which I am (don’t ask), it’s a bit out of the way; it’s not haute or even demi-haute cuisine, it’s a sort of 1950’s N6 truck stop food (that’s not bad, just descriptive); and the cooking while not dishonorable, was not impressive; e.g., the home-made terrine was only passable and the bread on which to spread it was horrible, the boeuf bourguignon had a very dark brown sauce (good) that tasted like, let's say, yesterday's laundry (bad) and the creme brulee with lavender is the same that everyone in Paris this spring seems to be doing, OK. The reggae music was a bit much too, but when it shifted to Latino, things got better. How about the great bio wines? – fine for the Corbieres I had. Now the other side: they are really nice, nice, very nice people, they have good, good, very good prices, more than good wine, a great calva for 4 E and coffee for 1.50 E. The rest? As I said - they were very, very nice people. And I’ll bet when the chef has a few more years under his belt, he’ll be stunning. He has good ideas, they’re not stamped out of the Paris new bistro book; and as someone said about the M6 TV chef, Cyril whatever, he needs time. But, if you’re in the area, want a 8.50 E main, 3 E glass of wine and a 1.5 coffee and no Bobo’s or Yanks, drop by/in. Bill = 29 E. *Most months I search out new places, but four times a year, I’m with my wonderful wife and best friends and tend to eat at “golden oldies;” eh voila.

Yes Yes It is too small to have smoking and one MUST have a reservation; I've seen folks turned away without one.

All of the above is correct. I would only add that my limited experience as a guest of someone who was using the "ticket" is that the restos/meals obtainable with these benefits are not what eGullet members come to France for and second, that to the contrary, when big companies, eg banks, have dining rooms, they can be elegant and serve terrific food.

The sushi place is Yunpana, Nems at Lotus de Nissan, wide fire grilled stuff at l'Auberge de Belleville, sorry I didn't specify above.

It's hard to answer your question, where is your hotel? Why are you delaying at Le Train Bleu? See your friends later. By my calculus, Mon Vieil Ami is 1,4 km from le Gare de Lyon, Le Repaire de Cartouche 1,7 km for a less great meal. My advice, you'll make it. Take a cab.

Yes. And the new Museum of the Shoah, 17 rue Geoffroy l’Asnier in the 4th is also worth a visit as is the Memorial to the Deportation which is just at the SE end of the Ile de la Cite facing Notre Dame.

Oh my so many choices: La Cerisaie, Le Bistrot du Dome, Regalade, I know, I know, I still think it's good even without Yves C. ← La Cerisaie is awfully small for a group dinner. ← Quite so, good thinking. Sorry. I was jumping at the opportunities. With that in mind, at Le Regalade you'd probably have difficulty communicating from one end to the other - so I'd go for the back no smoking space in the BdD; it's slightly isolated and allows discussion.

The two I've heard recommended (but not been there) are l'Estiminet du Marche + Le Barricou, both fairly new.

Oh my so many choices: La Cerisaie, Le Bistrot du Dome, Regalade, I know, I know, I still think it's good even without Yves C.

Yes, the Marais (4th) is where to go. There are 2 Goldenberg's, one in the 4th and the other is in the 17th. Timeout also lists l'As du Fallafel, Chez Marianne, Pitchi Poi, Les Ailes + Benittah. Emmanuel Rubin's Gourmet Paris also lists Le Train de Vie, Au Puits de Jacob, Hamman Cafe, l'Auberge de Belleville, Lotus de Nissan, Yunpana, Bistro Blanc, Natanya, Chez Jonatrhan, Mi-Va-Mi, Cafe des Psaumes, Chekel Cafe, + a la Libanese . Except for Goldenberg's from which I've had take-out I cannot counsel you.

You're the second person I've heard express that; but for those of us who no longer live in NY, it's OK.

I too want to avoid too much disputation but I must note that I was very happy with Pinxo a few months ago. The staff was ultra-sympa, the food very good, the prices quite soothing. I saw it as a very different experience than my experiences at l'Atelier which (I felt) was straining to be serious not sympa, great not just good, and expensive not affordable. I think we are, as someone said earlier on this or another thread, dealing with apples and oranges. And I think Robuchon and Dutournier are not necessarily stamping out the same food in their separate places any more than Les Anges is a copy of Bon Acceuil or Refectoire a copy of La Famille.