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John Talbott

eGullet Society staff emeritus
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Everything posted by John Talbott

  1. I'm sure our loyal Paris-lovers will give you lots of ideas; but as you probably know, the Les Halles metro and RER station, albeit grubby, is very central and you can get to almost any restaurant in minutes. Within Les Halles, food is fast, but I'd encourage you to look through past threads and the Digest and not be intimidated if places that sound nice are a few subway stops away (my calculation is 1.5 minutes per station, so even 10 stops with one change is only 15-20 minutes away). You have to refine what you want though; eg wine bars, bistros, starred restaurants, new ones; there are threads on them all. Happy hunting!
  2. We'll look forward to your report.
  3. There are/were two places along the road past Giverny from Vernon but I think they're only open in Summer; we've always eaten in town, usually at Les Fleurs in Vernon (where the train stops) and listed in the Michelin which has a Bib Smiley face; not great but not disgraceful.
  4. Well, I didn’t include Le Sot L'Y Laisse, 70 rue, Alexander Dumas in the 11th, 01.40.09.79.20 in my post of “9 New/Changed Restaurants” last week because it was a “throwaway” (that is to say, I wasn’t sure I’d go there) lunch on the day, Saturday, before I had to leave Paris. But having been urged to by my new food finder, I see why Figaroscope, Pariscope’s Time Out and Paris Parler all liked it. It’s what we old-timers thought almost any bistro around the corner could deliver routinely 30 years ago but now seems to take a trip – good product, honest, inventive cooking and good prices. What can I say: it’s in a part of Paris few Americans are likely to schlep to if they’re there 4-5 days, but it’s great for those who are less transient. It’s run by a terrific, amiable couple, example: he’s chopping onions like one is taught to and throws them in a skillet and it smells great; I re-look at the ardoise and cannot find onions on it so I ask what dish it was for, answer, big shrug, “I don’t know, something in the future, that’s what he does sometimes.” Anyway, I had a wonderful cold tomato soup (it was into the high 80’s that day), cod with an intense sauce of lots of crustaceans and a timbale of squashes and a powerful coffee crème caramel. The prices are indeed easy as noted by the reviewers; my bill was 44.50E, but on weekdays the 2-course formule is something like 12E and the 3-course menu 16E (I could be a bit low). And when have you last seen a real French Chablis for 30E? Finally, when I ordered a wine, Madame steered me gently to a less-expensive one! Go now, they won’t be there in five years.
  5. The week of August 30st, 2004 Monday, August 31st, François Simon returned from the summer to Le Figaro Entreprises with a review of Bioboa, 3 rue Danielle Casanova in the 1st near the Opera, 01.42.61.17.67. He calls it a bio fast food place where a busy businessperson can eat in 2 or 60 minutes. Simon gives it 3/5 across the board, praising its salads, sandwiches and irresistible creamy desserts. He gives no prices but I scoped the chalkboard the next day and sandwiches started at 6E. The décor is strictly comme chez Lina. Strangely, his compatriots at Figaroscope only awarded it one heart earlier. Tuesday, A Nous Paris arrived at my Metro stop with news of La Table de Joêl…., which they gave a 4/5 and has already been reported here adequately, where they noted the only fault was that without a queue as at L’Atelier de…., it cost more. Also noted was Le K, 72ter, route de la Reine in Boulogne-Billancourt, 01.49.09.17.40, which they rated 3/5 and sounded pretty good (beef from “France’s best butcher” – André) costing 30-55E. With La Blanchisserie in B-B getting 2 hearts from Figaroscope in March, it makes you wonder if B-B’s not the new “hot” quartier, albeit a schlep. Wednesday, Sébastien Demorand of Zurban, reviewed 10 restaurants. The longest review was dedicated to La Cigale Récamier, a soufflé place in the 7th, mentioned above and in my review in July. He goes on to discuss Mezzyana 8, rue St-Lazare in the 9th (that’s right, same address as Chez Jean; it’s an upstairs mezza/nem offshoot of what Pariscope’s Time Out’s bunch rated the “best modern bistro” in Paris) 01.48.78.62.73 (same number too, don’t panic); Il Sardo, 17, rue Georges-Bizet, 01.47.20.08.90 (I said I wouldn’t discuss other-than-French restaurants, but Sardinia is close to Corsica and I loved the restaurant in its first location); Le Soleil which I’ve also covered in a prior review, but which apparently now has truly turned over its chef, which I was led incorrectly to believe when I reported on it; Le Vieux Chêne, 7, rue Dahomey, 01.43.71.67.69, in the 11th, a place I’m not aware anyone else has discovered, far less reviewed where the dishes sound Asian-influenced and despite salt and fish-cookedness issues, he found not bad (“pas mal”=pretty good), formula at lunch=13E and à la carte 30-35E; and Le Duc de Richelieu, already discussed by John Whiting and myself. I’ve got to say that any reviewer who can eat at and write reviews on several restaurants in a week deserves our attention - maybe Zurban, which I believe is only four years old and I’ve only quoted once, will fill the trou left by Pariscope’s Time Out’s departure. My gratitude to eGulleteer Le Zouave for pointing me to it and its yearly guide that provides handy maps by arrondissements, not seen by me since the Bottin 2002-3 map and Guide des Restaurants a moins de 80 francs plans (1997). Wednesday, Where’s Alexander Lobrano reported on several new places. Already mentioned here were Les Ormes which he especially loved, Le Sot l’y Laisse for the côtes de boeuf and Le Duc de Richelieu, “a carnivore’s feed,” but he tested several established places that have new chefs: the Café Faubourg, 15 rue Boissy d’Anglas in the 8th, 01.44.94.14.14, Le Marsagny 73 ave Parmentier in the 11th, 01.47.00.94.2535 (evidently incorrectly reported by me the week of May 24th not to have a new chef; they were overlapping), and Le P’tit Panisse, 35 rue de Montreuil in the 11th 01.43.71.37.90 (which Figaroscope only gave one heart to). He also included in the small box at the bottom of the page two places he termed wine bars but which were reviewed comme restaurants earlier this year in Figaroscope: the newly renovated Taverne Henri IV on the Ile de la Cité and the new Temps au Temps, in the 11th. Thursday/Friday, Le Monde’s Jean-Claude Ribaut, already scooped by eGulleteer fresh_a reviewed Le Chiberta, 3, rue Arsène-Houssaye in the 8th, 01.53.53.42.00, at great length. It’s hard to summarize it, but Ribaut says the menu is sober and readable, the offerings extensive (the best of the garden, sea and land), the desserts are like those of one’s childhood and while nothing explodes in your mouth, everything is done properly. He notes the menu costs 60E (lunch or dinner), a la carte = 80E and it’s closed Saturday for lunch and Sunday. Friday, surprise!, Alexandra Michot also reviewed or at least wrote a piece on Le Chiberta in Le Figaro. She noted that Savoy wants it to be civilized and elegant but informal, a place where habitués can drop by for one dish and a glass of wine; in short “a club without a card.” It has “high chairs” like L’Atelier de…., 82 covers and serves everything from a - too complicated to describe here - cream of langoutines dish to a confited veal with a terrine of grapefruit with tea sauce. I recall a thread on Cancale on eGullet so I’ll pass on the info that she also reviews the Epices Roellinger, 02.99.89.64.76 in that city; mentioning its good utilization of spices (eg chutneys, peppers, oils) with the seafood. Just down the page, François Simon, resumes his news of chefs comings and goings in “Croque Notes: Derniers tangos à Paris.” He notes the following: Jean-Pierre Vigato has left Apicius; Gérard Faucher has remodeled his restaurant as a bistrot called 1,2,3 which will re-open mid-October; Phillippe Groult is moving to Montélimar after four more months at Amphyclès; Marc Marchand is moving from Le Meurice to Man Ray; Del Burgho (ex-Negresco, Gordes, Taillevent) will either go to Apicius or Moscow or Shanghai (hey, I just report it); and finally, Jean-Paul Arabian is about to finalize his (long-rumored) opening of the Russian Restaurant Dominique. Another review, this in the Sunday supplement, “Version Femina” to Le Journal du Dimanche of Les Papilles, already well-noted above and in my review. Everybody likes this place for its simplicity, honesty (as befits the gastronomic children of Yves Camdeborde) and prices. September’s Travel + Leisure has an article by Gael Greene, she ex of the New York Magazine, listing her favorite restaurants and bistros. Most are already well-known to eGulleteers and/or are listed in guidebooks, so I will not give their coordinates: L’Atelier Maître Albert Au Bascou Chez L'Ami Jean Aux Lyonnais Chez Michel Le Repaire de Cartouche Three, however, are somewhat newer: L'Absinthe, 24 place du Marché St.-Honoré in the 1st, 01.49.26.90.04 reviewed by me here Bistrot Paul Bert, 18 rue Paul-Bert in the 11th, 01.43.72.24.01and Pinxo, 9, Rue Alger in the 1st, 01.40.20.72.00, both just reviewed by me last week. The Wine Spectator’s Honor Roll of Best Restaurants for Wine Lovers in the August 31st edition, included: Alain Ducasse Au Crocodile Georges Blanc La Tour D’Argent Le Cinq Michel Rostang Taillevent Troisgros Also in the same issue was an article (page 17) denying any link between Pascal Remy’s “exposé” on the Michelin guides and Director Derek Brown’s resignation (at 60). They do have a website but are way behind the mailed copies in posting material. In addition, Metro announced that there’s soon to be a new “Petit Futé: Paris City Guide” for 10 E that lists many restaurants. And finally, some lighter food news, just to see if anyone reads this far; running in the 7th race at Deauville, August 29th was a horse called Stroganoff, which is no big deal, but his/her rider was a D. Boeuf. They finished out of the money.
  6. By coincidence, I read "Comment..." yesterday. It is hilarious and perceptive and great fun. I'll be glad to provide some notes in English when I get the opportunity.
  7. Mme Frechon and one wait-person only stayed under a year, during which time it was OK; but I've been since the whole place turned over and was not impressed. On the other hand, Id love someone else to test it out today.
  8. I've been three times in the last 12 months, all obviously since he left; first was superb, second annoying due to lack of wines by the glass except a sweet white, third as a group of 4 which was good.
  9. To prepare for the rentrée scolaire today, I sacrificied my body on a bunch of places I keep putting on the list of possibilities for “next time.” What is the Rentrée?, readers ask. Well some say it’s when school reopens, others when politics heats up and the restaurants reopen but I know it’s when the blissfully quiet estival Metro cars are alive with the sound of music; and just when you think you’ve heard the last rendition of ‘Those were the days my friend,” enter two guys fresh back from their 2 months at their uncle’s dacha far away, tubas en haut, to give you a new take. (I should note that two of my most trusted advisors, one, a French friend in the cultural service and the other, my wife Colette, love August; he because it’s calm, she because there’s parking everywhere.) I should probably have entitled this “Eating in Paris in August: Dispelling the myth” because I remember the bad old days in the 1950’s and ‘60’s when no self-respecting restaurant was open in Paris in August. But having just finished almost two weeks of constant grazing, things have changed from when the only possibility was either a Vietnamese joint or a brasserie. Pinxo, 9, rue d’Alger in the 1st, 01.40.20.72.00 was one of the restaurants mentioned in Gael Greene’s recent T&L article I report in this week’s Digest soon to posted. I’ve seen it mentioned several times recently but avoided it because I sensed it was one more “world food” Spoonesque place even if the invention of Alain Dutournier, he of le Carré des Feuillants. I was mistaken. While it resembles other new places, with stark furnishings, a “California kitchen” open to the bar and non-smoking room, and an English menu in the window, the similarities end there. The staff is really welcoming, happy and seem to genuinely like working there, the food is inventive but doesn’t push the envelope too far, it’s open 7/7 and the prices are friendly. Plus, when I was there for lunch, everyone else was French, there was a big no smoking room and they had glasses, demi-liters and bottles of wine. Watching the staff work was like theater; they were almost silent, interacted with respect and warmth (the lead guy is a dead ringer for John Malkovitch) and spent more time arranging the food as one would in a Japanese setting, than they did cooking it. Dutournier wrote a somewhat drawn-out explanation of the name & concept of the restaurant which they give you if it’s your first time; pinxo=tapas but except for one table where they shared all the courses like tapas most plates were normal size. They start with an amuse-gueule of green sprouts of something, olives and a nice bread. Then I had small tomatoes stuffed with petit gris and a sauce of artichokes followed by a strip of goose cooked to perfection in its skin with a tube of pasta stuffed with duxelles. But looking around I saw nothing (chipirones, gambas, 3 gaspachos and lamb, tuna and pork) I would not be happy to order next time. Finally, they have Illy coffee, 7 E digestives and my bill was 62 E. I’ll be back; thanks Gael! The friend I trust most to test new restaurants told me a few weeks ago that La Régalade was better than ever. So, despite the mixed reviews in eGullet, I went and boy was he right. In many ways it’s unchanged, e.g. it has the same paintings, smoke, bread on the wall, easy-on-the-wallet menu (30E) and crowd. I know what I’m saying is heresy to the lovers of Yves Camdebord, but Bruno Doucet really has it together. I started with the amuse gueule of a terrine de campagne on wonderful bread, followed by a generous piece of foie gras swimming in a cream whipped up à la Detourbe with girolles; then a piece of veal liver from Corréze with what was understatedly called parsley butter accompanied by tiny shaved and fried Belles de Fontinet (?sp) potatoes and an exquisite salad of tiny greens; topped off by a Grand Marnier soufflé. My bill was 44.50 E and I will be back. After eating at Pinxo and La Régalade I decided to seek a change of pace and chose a place that got two hearts in Figaroscope in January and an enthusiastic writeup in Pariscope in May and that I’d never made it to. I got a surprise, it was no letup in my gastronomically stellar week. Called L’Abadache - it’s located at 89, rue Lemercier, 01.42.26.37.33, in the 17th (Metro Brochant near the Marché des Batignolles) where Anglophones are unlikely to venture to their great loss (I might add that I could never get people to go to the 19th to eat at Eric Frechon’s for 180 Francs until he moved to the Bristol where he gets three times that). The menu at 18 E changes according to the market and what was described in Figaroscope and Pariscope was not there when I ate; what was, however, was very, very good. I had what was called “grilled vegetables,” which hardly fairly described the fennel, carrots and zuccini with goat cheese and a bit of salad, topped off with hot poitrine of pork, followed by wonderfully prepared calamari with a piquant sauce and potato tart. Both were superb so I decided to test M. Piton’s skills by ordering my standard, the moelleux of chocolate, expecting a big letdown. Surprise again; it was not only warm and runny on the inside and hot and firm on the outside but came with a creamy coffee sauce that was divine. I should also mention that others were having a wonderful looking rare, grass-fed Scottish Angus Côte de Bœuf (for 2 at 48 E) that came with about 10 gigantic frites and a salad first and there were two other mains that looked good. My bill was 36 E but like yesterday I toted my unconsumed wine home. To repeat myself - I’ll be back. Finally, I found a change of pace. Authenti© , (sic), 81, rue de Segur in the 15th, 01.43.06.20.20 got a nice review in Figaroscope in March but I suspect since it was reviewed next to the Table de Lancaster, it was forgotten. Too bad, because while it has the appearance of over-designed places like Georges, Flora or L’Atelier de JR with cutting-edge furniture and décor, it is very low-keyed and pleasant and serves food that can be described as either classically modern or modernly classic. There’s no menu but the prices are reasonable and wine can come as a glass, ¼, ½ or bottle and the carte is interesting; I had gambas wrapped in very thin philo with salad followed by a very generous portion of filet de boeuf with rich red wine sauce cooked to (my) perfection, accompanied by a purée of carrots and a timbale of creamy but not creamed spinach. It was so generous I had room only for some St-Marcellin, which I knew was 3 months after its prime, but was a better choice for me than the chevre; in any case, this was the only hitch, since it was cold from either the cellar or frig, breaking Craig Claiborne’s first law of cheese service. My bill was 53 E. Gael Greene eating in a place with a “Turkish toilet?” But yes, at the Bistrot Paul Bert, 18, rue Paul Bert in the happening 11th, 01.43.72.24.01. It’s been well-received in both Pariscope and Figaroscope and is open Saturdays, so it was a logical choice. There’s a menu-carte, menu=26 E, formula a bit less, 18 E I think; I had girolles and cepes in parsleyed butter which were divine and a wonderful incredibly delicious dense coffee granité with chantilly for dessert. For my main I ordered the aile de raie with white beans fully aware that it was not the classic vinegar/chives/etc. preparation and therefore, my less than ecstatic response is tempered by an urge to return to try the rest of the carte. My bill was 48 E. “Why do I go to these places?” my only friend asks, rather than stick with the “old favorites.” Well, in the case of La Petite Cour, 8, rue Mabillion in the 6th, 01.43.26.52.26, because I love the setting, because I can still taste the haricots verts I had there some 20 years ago, because it’s open on weekends, because Gilles Epié (whose cooking at Miravile I loved) took it over several months ago and because Le Figaroscope and Pariscope reviewed it quite well. Isn’t that a recipe for success? Plus it was a mild and bright 73° F., there was hardly any traffic in town (the cars from the Southwest all being stuck on the A63 after an 8-death accident), the breathtakingly beautiful court looked most inviting and it was a Sunday lunch. That, plus I had what the critics wrote up: warm duck sausage with small white beans and avocado, nut-encrusted rollatine of rabbit with tiny fresh veggies and the “vrai” baba au rhum. Nothing was bad, nothing was disgraceful, the service was pleasant (not sullen as Pariscope reported), but there was no pizzazz, no razzmatazz, just plain old around-the-corner food. Lesson learned (yet again): you can’t go home again. Bill=50E and the plates were very slow in coming. If you ever have a young couple call in transition between train and plane in Paris and ask where they can eat in a real French place for nothing because they’re broke after their month in Spain or Greece, this is the answer: Le Cannibale, 93 rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud in the 11th, 01.49.29.95.59. Touted to the skies by Time Out’s print and website editions, it’s located in what must be the biggest concentration of Muslim bookstores and butchers in Paris and it’s cheap (8.90 plat du jour, wines starting at 13E), lively and serves real and honest fusion (franco-australio-magrebian) food. I had a genuinely terrific pastilla of confited chicken, followed by tough but tasty lamb, just like the folks down under like it. Even the pasta with grated parmesan served with the lamb was cooked correctly and my coffee was serré as requested. I’ll bet in the winter the smoke and music (Janis Joplin and Frances Cabrel) are overwhelming, but you can wear anything from grunge to ties, drop in at the last minute and nobody eating spoke English, despite the chefesse’s Aussie origins. For 27.20 E I felt I got a good deal and for what it is, it’s dandy. But make no mistake, it’s not the place to take your Aunt Minnie or your fiancée for a romantic dinner. And while they take credit/debit cards; no checks. Le Point Bar, 40, place du Marché St-Honoré (on the North end), 01.42.61.76.28, is being a bit cute, calling itself a bar when it has no bar (to sit at, at least) and 99% of the patrons (in the US sense) have suits & ties. Jean Miot in Le Monde June 19th, called the décor Zen with echoes of Rorschach tests, but was heartened that it was recently opened by the daughter of Sophie and Jean Bardet, who run Tour’s two-star restaurant/hotel. I’d read and heard mixed things about it, but with that provenance and that of its chef (his father and Pierre Gagniare), I figured I didn’t have much to lose. And, indeed, I did not. The amuse-gueules were little thin-crusted philo-type pizzettas with tomato paste and olives and the bread was by Poujardan. Then I had the stacked, microtomed suchi-esque daurade, mozzarella and tomatoes followed by the veal kidneys à la diable with a ciboulette sauce that was more intensely chivey than I’d ever had, topped off by their individual tarte of the day, mirabelles, which are in full season here, on top of creamy figs with a honey drizzle. All were impeccable. The deal, had by every fancy-Dan businessman the place was packed with, was the plat de jour, a navarin of lamb, with wine and coffee “offered” at 15E, add an entrée or dessert for 5E more and add both for 10E more. I, having had my lamb fix this week, wound up owing 50E with no complaints. One Dutch guy inside was smoking but there are at least 12 covers outside, which on a day like it was, was ideal. The week I was there they said their credit card machine wouldn’t process foreign cards. Iode, 48 rue d’Argout in the 2nd, 01.42.36.46.45 is located on that cute little pedestrian alley north of A. Simon’s shop, where the restaurants, all with tables outside, look identical but their cuisine goes from Italian to cute. I’d read about Iode both in an ecstatic review in Pariscope July 23rd and in various new seafood restaurant compilations and scoped the blackboard the previous day and it looked good. I started with supions which were fried correctly but the husband and wife chef team used the Passard technique of showering the sauce with salt and the result detracted from the excellent product. Then I had the filet de bar which was nothing to write home about and seemed one-step down in freshness and quality of product – it was covered what was described as shaved parmesan but was tasteless. The saving grace was the Illy coffee. The bill 45.50 E.
  10. No, it's in the Pudler and Lebey though. Zouve's suggestions: l'Hermès and Lao Siam are in GaultMillau too, 12 and 14 respectively, if you trust them after their crash. As for your ponderance (is that a word?) about the 19th, it's a mystery to me. I thought Frechon was a genius to go there but it is barren as John Whiting notes and with the Butte there, even denuded of trees, and the little hameaus, it's nice walking.
  11. Ah Bux, you're a genius - a scene. That's straight from the memories of Maxwell's Plum I'll bet.
  12. If you want a place that's consistently good, open on Sundays and very pleasant to eat alone (I do it all the time), I'd recommend Le Reminet, 3, rue des Grands-Degres, essentially on the left bank opp Notre Dame, 01.44.07.04.24. If you want more elegance, I agree with Grace3 that a hotel restaurant works well. I'm not sure how familiar you are with Parisian dining, but in France (as opposed to the US), often the hotels have the best not the worst places. Right now, I'm a bit tired of Celadon.
  13. Zouve - You've raised an interesting issue because to my eye and Figaroscope's reviewers, both the Taverne Henri IV and Temps au Temps are restaurants yet Lobrano called them wine bars in Where. Are Willi's or Les Papilles wine bars? and Le Vin dans les Voiles was reviewed as a restaurant but when I went the patron was clear it was a wine bar serving a few dishes only.
  14. I hesitate to disagree with John, but my one (and only) meal there was not a total success, although we went for pommes soufflees. Anyway given Freckles experience with the treatment of all-women's groups that may not be the ideal place. A wonderful setting on a good day is the Pavillion Puebla; the food is not outstanding tho'. (Bux - my hard and soft cover Michelin's show only 4).
  15. I've been there twice post-Frechon and have dropped it off my list for reasons of mediocrity - but after reading John Whiting's post, I realize I got off easy. Once Mme Frechon left it really went downhill. Why bother when there are so many other great places. I hesitate to imply sexist motivation, but why does it matter whom you're eating with?
  16. FYI – In tomorrow’s Where’s Alexander Lobrano reports on several ”new” places, among them two wine bars: the newly renovated Taverne Henri IV on the Ile de la Cité (already cited in the Digest) and the new Temps au Temps, 13 rue Paul Bert in the 11th, 0143.79.63.40. Enjoy!
  17. Absolutely. We had a birthday celebration at a pricey game place and the negotiated menu was way way under what we would have paid a la carte. And I knew the folks that arranged the Pre Catalan dinner I attended and they too negotiated a very reasonable deal. You know there's also the Pavillion des Princes which is a superb setting too.
  18. Check out the threads discussing the(gastronomic) sons of Christian Constant as well as the Routard: Petits restos des Grands Chefs.
  19. I haven't eaten at Bath's in 3 years or so but did regularly before and it was very good then.
  20. With all due respect - Hippopotamus - serves you right. And gave me a laugh. But seriously, I've had lots a bad meals; I always know they're bad because I don't tip on top of the service charge knowing I'll never return and I immediately start plotting dinner to "make up for my wasted meal." If bad=inedible, let me repeat what I said on another thread about starred restaurants, the worst ratio of reputation/quality I've experienced was at Helene Darroze, on both floors and I gave her/them three chances, figuring I must be wrong if I disagreed with so many others. Next worst was Bertie's at the Hotel Baltimore and then the list gets too long to type. Great idea for a thread. Thanks Ocean_Islands.
  21. I just had a thought in thinking about Le Pré Catalan, which is a great place to have a reception. I once ate there as part of a group function and it got me to thinking of other such events; two of which were in the Great Hall at the Hotel de Ville and the Reception Room at the Opera Garnier at catered events where their caterers were the equivalent of starred chefs. Now I know that both functions were arranged by some pretty branché folks and I suspect it takes some piston with the management of both to arrange these soirées, which may be beyond your capacity or willingness (it is beyond mine), but both were spectacular sites, both meals were wonderful and as a guest I had a great time and will remember them forever.
  22. OK it's time for me to put my two cents in instead of questioning everyone else's suggestions. If 70 E is a possibility I'd say the Bristol because you'll get the "star experience," whatever that is. But if that's not, you originally said it could be near Paris so that makes Les Magnolias in Le Perreux-sur-Marne a great choice at 42E (no matter that the Michelin says 45E. Le Perreux-sur-Marne is easy to get to and I'll give you RER or Metro-bus directions if you decide to go if you send me at PM.
  23. A great question and a great occasion. Mazel tov! Our favorite French couple recently went through this dilemma and settled on Georges at the Pompidou rather than the Jules Verne at the Eiffel Tower - unfortunately I don't know the number of covers in each (their websites should tell). (P.S. they finally held it at the "family estate" on an island off Brittany and that was magnificent). There is a guidebook that lists all the salles particulaires but I can't find it right now. I'll ponder it.
  24. There are two guides published by Albin Michel: Lebey: le guide des Restaurants de Paris 15 E and Le Petit Lebey des Bistrots Parisiens 12,50 E They are "pretty good" esp for coordinates, dishes served, etc rather than ratings. For juicy details on their composition you'll have to consult "Food Business" or this review which says that "Claude Lebey (really Claude Jolly), “the godfather” of the profession, who has written, edited, directed, served as an middleman – in short – “done everything, eaten everything, seen everything” in the business. His reputation was secured in the 1970’s when he signed up for the publishing house of Chez Albin everyone from Guérard to Maximin as well as G & M, Pudlowski and Simon. The godfather role apparently stems from his knowledge of everyone and role as headhunter who is able to hook up chefs with restaurants, etc., as if they were soccer players. The two guidebooks that bear his name are thought by the authors though to resemble reference guides more than food guides do. Now over 80, he’s unable to turn away from the game."
  25. Bruce - I get them (fresh) at the place I named above. Also, I cook them in (horrors) an aluminum 12-snail truc I got there. My little forks and holders came from one of the many La Vaisselleries. I agree with Lucy - they make a great first course.
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