John Talbott

Yup, I ate there shortly after he moved from Chez Michel (which I must have eaten at 10 times and always loved) and was not blown away; but I'm willing to try again and the reviews (not only Figaro's) have mostly been positive. Caution: it's hard to find as the streets are all strange there.

That's strange; I ate there Monday lunch, March 29th as I reported in a prior thread and others confimed the Monday opening off line to me.

As of September both Bon Acceuil and L'Ourcine are open Monday lunch and great; see other threads for more.

I agree that the Dome poisonnerie is good (recall that it's not on the Blvd Montparnasse but Rue Delambre between Le Dome and Bistrot du Dome); also the fish at the Grande Epicerie at Bon Marche.

Good question. Aside from the non-inspirational brasseries, you've picked a double challenge, Monday and August. I'd suggest La Mediterranee (?sp), across from the Odeon theater; great quiet terrace in summer, good but not expensive food, nice for a postprandial stroll in the Luxembourg Gardens.

The Michelin equivalent of the Gambero Rosso "red" good value is the Bibendum "smiley face" found most easily on the agglomeration maps of big cities in France preceding the city info itself. For a list of personal favorites providing good price/quality in Paris see this thread.

Well, cigalechanta must be prescient, because after reading Patricia Well's review today of Christian Etienne's restaurant in Avignon, which I summarized in the most recent post to the Digest, I'd go there in a flash.

The weeks of August 2nd and 9th, 2004 Despite the flight of many food critics from Paris in August, good old Jean-Claude Ribaut is still at it in Le Monde. August 6th he reviewed: Man Ray, 32, rue Marbeuf, 8th, 01-56-88-36-36 open only at night with new chef Marc Marchand having moved over from Le Meurice producing “impeccable” cooking and sushi (count on 50E a la carte), (however, be warned, customers reporting to The World’s Best Bars have some critical things to say about the service and prices). La Rôtisserie d’en Face, 2, rue Christine in the 6th, 01.43.26.40.98, Jacques Cagna’s 2nd, which has a formula at lunch for 17E and menus at 24-27E. In addition, I missed his article July 23rd where he reviewed the bistrots: Le Berthoud, 1, rue Valette in the 5th, 01-43-54-38-81, closed Saturday lunch and Sunday and first two weeks of August, where Nicolas Memin has relaunched this “good place.” The “savory” market menu at 29,50E has 5 appetizers, 5 mains and 5 desserts, and L’Absinthe, 24, place du Marché-Saint-Honoré in the 1st, 01-49-26-90-04, about 45E a la carte, closed Saturday lunch and Sunday and 12-23 August. For my personal opinion please see here. Timeout ’s This Week site presented information on several restaurants recently: La Petite Cour, 8 rue Mabillon in the 6th, 01.43.26.52.26, open daily (which often in Time Out’s strange lexicon means closed on weekends, so check), which was cited in a prior portion of this Digest as La Petite Epié, featuring Gilles Epié’s return to Paris. However Timeout’s reviewer describes the décor as “twee,” and the service “sullen” despite their loving the food. Le Dôme, 108 bd du Montparnasse in the 14th 01.43.35.25.81, a venerable establishment, closed Sunday and Monday where they loved the oysters and sole. The Kitchen, 153 rue Montmartre in the 2nd near the Bourse, 01.42.33.33.97 (www.thekitchen.fr) which opened in March, closed Saturday and Sunday evenings with a lunch menu at 9.50 and 10.50 E and dinner at 23 E. Run by a pair of Irishmen, it’s described as anglophonic, has a non-smoking floor and non-French food but is replete with soups and fresh product. Nouvel Obs reviewed Georges, a Costes Restaurant, which is not at all new, in and undated article. It sits on the 6th floor of the Centre Pompidou in the 4th, 01-44-78-47-99. They mention the tuna and tarama, lamb and grilled tartare and St-Marcellin and clafoutis but mention the food only after much ado about the decor, view, etc. The price of a meal is 30.50 to 137 E; quite a spread! - and they award it 12/20. They also review the Park Hyatt Vendome’s elegant and charming Terrasse which has olive trees from Italy, at 5, rue de la Paix (2e); 01-58-71-12-35. They are much more rhapsodic about the setting than the food, dismissing the desserts, for instance, as talented but somewhere between Pompom girls and sweet sorbets. The menu is 48 E with a glass of wine but they do not give it a grade. In addition, they reviewed two airport restaurants: Café Maxim’s at Orly, 01-49-75-78-23, on level 2 which they term a true restaurant (13/20) with a 29 E formula, and Les Etoiles at Roissy CdeG, Concourse 2D, actually located in the Sheraton, 01-49-19-70-70, which they think is the best airport food and give a 14/20, commending the veal sweetbreads, Saint Pierre and chocolate dessert. The lunch menu is 48.50 E and dinner 55.20 E. Finally, they give a compendium of railway station buffets: Le Train Bleu at the Gare de Lyon written up fully in an earlier edition of ParisObs, April 8th, awarding it a 13-14/20 Le Café Terminus at the Gare St-Lazare, 108, rue Saint-Lazare (8e); 01-40-08-44-44, menu = 33 E : 12-13/20 Le Grenadier at the Gare d’Austerlitz, Cour des Départs (13e), 01-45-84-38-55, menu carte at 21.73 E. 11/20 for “honest cuisine.” Ostréade at the Gare Montparnasse, 11, boulevard de Vaugirard (15e); 01-43-21-87-41. The oysters get 15/20 but anchovies only 12/20. Formulas at 14.75 E. Terminus Nord across from the Gare du Nord, 23, rue de Dunkerque (10e); 01-45-85-05-15 with sloppy service and 12/20 food and a quick menu at 22.90E. The RestoaParis website recently reviewed four places: Marc Mitonne, 60, rue de l’Arbre in the 1st, 01-42-61-53-16 with traditional french food, e.g. foie gras, escargots, joue de boeuf and an Auge scallopini or pig’s knuckle. Cost = 30-35 E. Vent d’Ouest, 69, rue des Dames in the 127th, 01-45-22-03-03 serving Breton specialties such as a cassolette of mussels, roast bar with herbes, seaweed butter (from Jean-Yves Bordier, the best butter-maker in France in 2003) and fresh St-Malo cheese with poached apples and caramel sauce. All for a formula at lunch of 11 to 16 E ; 23-29 E for dinner. Auberge et Compagnie, 23, rue Clauzel in the 9th, 01-48-78-74-40, closed Saturday lunch and Sunday. They especially note their terrine de confit niçois and gnocchis au camembert. 32 E menu carte. I dug out one more Spring copy of Where and found a relatively new restaurant mentioned briefly by Alexander Lobrano – Le Vin de Zinc, 25, rue Oberkampf in the 11th, 01.48.06.28.23 where Thierry Coué moved back to a “traditional menu,” e.g. blood sausage, grilled meat, etc.; different fare from that he served up at Les Amogenes. In August’s Gourmet, there is an 8-page article on Corsica accompanied by a list of restaurants, also written by Alexander Lobrano, listed (by me) by city: In Ajaccio: U Stazzu Le Floride Brasserie Diamant Near Sartene: L’Auberge Santa Barbara In Porto-Vecchio: Le Grand Hôtel Cala Rossa L’Hôtel Casadelmar Near Aléria: Aux Coquillages de Diana At Corte : U Museu L’Auberge de la Restonica In Bastia : A Casarella In Canari: U Scogliu In La Balagna: Chez Charles In Calvi : L’Auberge-Relais La Signoria U Calellu In the July 31/August 1 issue of the Financial Times Weekend section, David Applefield recounts eating with Brice Lalonde, cousin of John Kerry and the mayor of Saint-Briac, Brittany, at Les Voiles Rouges, owned by the ex-“herb and spice specialist” for Olivier Roellinger’s Les Maisons de Bricourt. He liked the oysters and bar. In another article, Richard Milne notes that L’Ambrosie, 9 Place des Vosges, in the 4th, 01.42.78.51.45 is open in August (although all my guides show it closed) and also recommends getting a falafel sandwich at L’As du Falafel, 34 rue des Rosiers in the 4th 01.48.87.63.60. Expatica, the online resource for expats in France, had a slew of compendia articles still listed on their August website that take up the slack left by Timeout’s abrupt departure from the weekly Pariscope scene. In one, Maryanne Blacker covers brunch places, which while not my idea of how to spend Sunday mornings, may appeal to others. They include: Café Jacquemart-André, 158 boulevard Haussmann, 8th, 404, 69 rue des Gravilliers, 3rd, Viaduct Café, 43 ave Daumesnil, 12th, Le Loir dans la Théière (“the dormouse in the teapot”), 3 rue des Rosiers, 4th, Ladurée, 16 rue Royale, 8th, and “Asian, Belgian and Anglo French” brunches at Asian, 30 ave George V, 8th, Le Pain Quotidien, 18 rue des Archives, 4th and L'Alcazar, (Terrence Conran), 62 rue Mazarine, 6th. Yet another by Rosa Jackson, mentions places serving lighter fare: Delicabar at Bon Marché, Cojean, Bé, Publicisdrugstore, Cosi, and then moves on to eat on the run places: Frascati Pasta Linea, Bar à Soupes, Epicerie Hédonie, and for noodles: Higuma and Laï Laï Ken, and finally three offering sit-down lighter opportunities: the Café des Délices, L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon and Pinxo. Carol Brick-Stock lists her favorite late night spots as: Au Pied du Cochon, 6, rue Coquillière in the 1st, La Tour de Monthléry aka Chez Denise, 5, rue des Prouvaires, ditto, L'Ecluse, 15, Place de la Madeleine in the 8th, La Coupole, 102, boulevard du Montparnasse in the 14th, Le Select, 99, boulevard du Montparnasse, ditto, Korova, 33, rue Marbeuf in the 8th, and Le Dépanneur a diner at 27, rue Fontaine in the 9th And finally, yet another compendium that is so old it lists prices in francs, covers yet another list of outside dining places and its author, Maryanne Blacker lists: L’Alivi, 27, rue du Roi-de-Sicile, 4th, 01.48.87.90.20, Les Caves de Bourgogne,14, rue Mouffetard, 5th, 01.47.07.82.80, La Palette, 43 rue de Seine, 6th, 01 43.26.68.15, Bistro Mazarin, 42, rue Mazarine, 01.43.29.99.03 Bistro de Breteuil, 3 pl de Breteuil, 7th, 01.45.67.07.27, Cercle Ledoyen, 1 ave Dutuit, 8th, 01.47.42.76.02, Le Prè Catalan, route de Suresnes, Bois de Boulogne, 16th, 01.44.14.41.14. I have just chanced on yet another website called Secrets of Paris which covers restaurants among other things. In her June posting, Heather Stimmler-Hall visits Le Petit Baigneur, 10, Rue de la Sablière in the 14th, 01.45.45.47.12 which has been around for a while and which she recommends and calls “a typically old-fashioned Parisian restaurant” where she had rabbit with prunes and a lemon tart at 11.50 E while her friend Don Smith (of www.visitparis.com), had boeuf bourguignon; it’s closed Saturday lunch and Sundays. No reservations. In her latest newsletter, she revealed something new for me, that is, that the Train Bleu in the Gare de Lyon, which was mentioned above, packs lunches for 19.50 E. Patricia Wells, in Friday’s IHT, waxes absolutely rhapsodic about Christian Etienne’s restaurant in Avignon facing the Palace of Popes, 10 rue de Mons, 04 90 86 16 50; email at contact@christian-etienne.fr; web: christian-etienne.fr. It’s the sort of review that makes your mouth water and makes you want to leap on the TGV this morning in time to make it for lunch. She’s especially fond of his 7 course all-tomato meal; gazpacho, tomato tartare, warm tomato with snails, brandade with tomatoes, lamb with eggplant and tomatoes, a zucchini dessert and tomato sorbet. To savor a sampling of Ms. Well’s ire when rubbed the wrong way, read the last paragraph on the behavior/ignorance/arrogance of the two sommeliers at the restaurant. The restaurant is open all days but Sunday and Monday, menus are 30 E at lunch and 50-95 E at dinner. N.B. that while the tomato menu will only last as long as the tomato season, she is equally respectful of Etienne’s use of fresh local products all year long. And note that she mentions all the varieties of heirloom tomatoes served there and available in France, most of which (my addition) are also served inside and sold outside Rouge Tomate {now Rouge St Honore} in Paris, for those unable to get to Avignon. Please post comments in the the discussion thread and not in the digest thread.

After 8 people posted raves, raisab finally rose up to represent the great silent majority of us who either don't "get it" or hate andouillette, no matter how many A's it/they has/have. Bravo raisab! I keep trying to like it/them; I keep tasting trusted French friends' portions at the restaurants they take me to that serve the "real thing;" and every once in a while I order it/them in Troyes, Lyon or Paris to be sure I'm not missing something great. Count me among those who don't get it. Now, does someone want to take on tripes, French crabs or Mediterranean lobster?

I'll ditto Aix over Avignon; more to do, great scenery, good boules, a few more restaurant choices.

I just got this from Adrian Leeds at Parler Paris; there are PARIS SOIRÉE DINNERS EVERY SUNDAY; call Patricia Laplante-Collins at 01 43 26 12 88 or write mailto:parissoirees@noos.fr as well as Dinner and Virtual Tour of Paris with Thirza

Jean-Claude Ribaut, who writes for Le Monde, wrote an article over the weekend on several Athenian restaurants. He says that To Ouzadiko, Karneadou 25-29, 210-72-95-484 maintains a tradition of appetizing food that used to be found in tavernas, now replaced by big brasseries on the slopes of Lycabette. He followed by saying if you've got a big apetite go to the 100-year-old Papandreou, Kendriki Agora, 010-32-19-470 open 24 hours a day in the heart of the meat market which serves tripe soup for 10 E. Then there's Spondi, Pyronos 5 near Varnava Square, 210-75-64-021, dinner only. It got a Michelin star in 2003 and serves atypical sweet-sour cuisine for a cost of about 70 E. Finally, he touts the year-old 48 The Restaurant, Armatolon & Klefton 48, 210-64-11-082 which has a contemporary art collection and a Dionysian wine cellar. He says it's the most hip establishment of Ted Margellos, Joël Robuchon's partner in Paris, and that its chef Christoforos Peskias did a stint at El Bulli near Barcelona with Ferran Adria, and as a joke "deconstructed" stuffed grape leaves.

Much too late for your trip, but perhaps useful to others is a list I just came across at the Ciao website.

Adrian Leeds of ParlerParis organizes such events. She has none listed for August, but email her at France@InternationalLiving.com and see. WICE also has chat groups, sometimes involving food, largely directed to wives of expats working in France. I'm not sure anything's on in August but email them at wice@wice-paris.org or visit their friendly office at 20 bd du Montparnasse, 15e, tel: 01 45 66 75 50. Or just go to Pierre Gagniere or Au Vieux Ami and strike up a conversation with the folks at the next table; chances are they live in Manhattan (I'm being a bit snide here but in August there are more than enough anglophones eating out.) Timeout's website this week, for instance, likes a place called The Kitchen, 153 rue Montmartre in the 2nd, 01 42 33 33 97 (www.thekitchen.fr) closed Saturday and Sunday evenings with a lunch menu at 9.50 and 10.50 E and dinner at 23 E. Run by a pair of Irishmen, it’s described as anglophonic, non-smoking and non-French but replete with soups and fresh product. Have fun.

This article by Dominique Ageorges on macaroons appeared sometime (they don’t date them on the website) in Expatica for what it’s worth. It really doesn't rate them or judge the differences but does say they're the biggest sellers that Lenôtre, Pierre Hermé and Ladurée have. I came across it searching for food news for August.

Your wonderful question demands more info. November is really unimportant, it's a fine time to travel in France; what is critical is (1) where you've been before and either want to repeat or avoid and (2) what you like, e.g. Maine's rugged coast, California's surf, B.C.'s mountains, Grand Canyon's spendor, Boston's Beacon Hill, etc. Prior threads, which you should check out, have suggested the Loire, Provence, the Haute-Savoie, Brittany, Normandy, Langedoc, Burgundy, Bordeaux - you name it. All are great, all should be seen, but you have to define the parameters. GG Mora is right; almost anyplace in France is but a few hours from Roissy or Paris on the TGV; Avis has rentals at almost every train station and almost every stop leads you to wonderful sights and food. Before Colette and I went to China a few years ago, a sage friend said "Don't worry if you miss the bus for some afternoon trip; you'll find something just as interesting." The same thing holds for rural France; you can't go wrong, except maybe in the Pas de Calais. But give us some details of your likes & dislikes.

The month of July, 2004 In the Friday July 15th Le Monde Jean-Claude Ribault titled his review of Hélène Darroze’s eponymous restaurant “Hélène and the Gascons: originally from Landes, this young chef henceforth brings together the products of her childhood to Paris.” He starts off mentioning her somewhat goofy variation of the chef’s toque and her memories of strong flavors, like that of the song-bird, the ortolan, that it is forbidden to catch, prepare, etc., which she first had at age 5 and still cooks like her grandmother did. FYI: see this thread. He then spends considerable space on her background and training both at school and with her father and Alain Ducasse, then tells of her opening the restaurant in Paris raising the money herself (which according to Olivier Morteau is more and more rare,) and her acquisition of one and then two Michelin macaroons since she opened 5 years ago. Anyway, he finally gets to the food: first describing the origin of her meats and vegetables; then her inventive dishes such as morilles or truffles with corn cream and sheep’s cheese, chicken with a piperade sauce and various interesting sounding vegetable dishes. The restaurant is at 4, rue d'Assas in the 6th, 01.42.22.00.11 It’s open all of August, Monday to Saturday only at night; menu=160 Euros; after September closed Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at lunch. The same day, Ribault briefly mentioned two places in his “Toques en Pointe;” Beato, an Italian restaurant in the 7th and Maceo in the 1st. The latter, part of the Willi’s Wine Bar group, is open all of August and serves vegetarian and fish plates; the vegetarian menu=30 E; the menu astucieux (trans=astute, clever) is 39 E, the discovery menu is 35 E; closed Saturday lunch and Sunday. Although it’s outside Paris, I should mention that in the July 8th Le Monde, Ribault also wrote up the Relais & Château Hostellerie de Plaisance, Place du clocher in Saint-Emilion 05.57.55.07.55 particularly mentioning the oysters of Arcachon and Pauillac lamb. Patricia Wells returns! Friday July 16th she reviewed La Table de Lancaster 7, rue de Berri in the 8th 01.40.76.40.18 (60-85E without wine) which although already written up by others merits a mention because of her rave review in the IHT. It sounds fabulous, especially the cannelloni of warm goat cheese and artichokes. Then, on July 30th , writing from Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux , she wrote a blistering comparison between Jacques and Laurent Pourcel’s La Table d'Augusta, in northern Provence, where, despite the good gazpacho, fresh pesto and zucchini blossoms, the meal “disappointed” and the dinner menus cost 41, 51 and 80 E and two other restaurants where the chefs are actually there and which she loved: Le Grand Pré in Roaix, route de Vaison, 84110 04.90.46.18.12, where Raoul Reichrath “never repeats a menu.” Les Abeilles in Sablet, 4, rue de Vaison, 84110, 04.90.12.38.98 where Johannes Sailer served an all tomato menu at 46 E. I was reminded by an article in “Word of Mouth” in the Condé Nast Traveller that the newest edition of Paris-Plage just opened and will be in full swing until August 20th. From the Tuileries to the Pont Henri IV (famously referred to in “Before Sunset”) it offers two spots dedicated to picnics and five “cafés buvettes,” which judging by the TV shots, offer a bit more than beverages and sandwiches. Adrian Leeds of Paris Parler wrote about the vibrancy of the rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud area; mentioning in particular a fine meal featuring a brochette of lamb grilled with herbs at L'Autre Café, 62, rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud in the 11th . You can subscribe here. With the title of “Eating on the Road,” Jean-Claude Ribault of Le Monde suggests several restaurants between Paris and the sun after discussing the chicken buying and serving of the Arche group. They are: Hôtel du Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet 03-80-21-3006 Les Voûtes, Faverges-de-la-Tour 04-74-97-42-52 l'Oustaou de la Foun, Château-Arnoux Saint-Auban 04-92-62-65-30 Le Grand Pré, Roaix 04-90-46-18-12 La Combe, Vaison-la-Romaine 04-90-28-76-33 Les Terrasses, Remoulins 04-66-81-77-50 La Table de l'Horloge, Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie, near Uzès 04-66-22-07-01 Château de Saint-Maximin, Saint-Maximum 04-66-03-44-16 In July, the Le Figaro bunch must have been en vacances because the food and wine section mainly covered railroad and airport buffets and products of the season, e.g. strawberries, melon, sorbets and ice cream. But their coverage may be of interest to some. To fill the summer “trou” (liberal translation=void) when most of the national food critics are on holiday, I went digging through past issues of Where. In February I found three pretty new wine bars mentioned by Alexander Lobrano – La Muse Vin 101 rue de Charonne in the 11th, 01.40.09.93.05 Les Couleurs de Vigne 2 rue Marmontel, 15th, 01.45.33.32.96 featuring Auvergnat meat and cheese. Chez Grisette 14 rue Houdon, 18th, 01.42.62.04.80 where he liked the Aurillac cold meats, pork shin on lentils (from the ardoise) and a homemade terrine de campagne. Rosa Jackson in Paris Notes’ Paris Bites writes up two places already well publicized in the New York Times and elsewhere: Le Timbre 3 rue Sainte-Beuve in the 6th, 01.45.49.10.40, which she loved (to read the details you’ll have to borrow a friend’s copy or subscribe here and get the ID and password) and La Table de Jöel Robuchon 16 ave Bugeaud, 16th 01.56.28.16.16 which she offers as an alternative to the widely-praised as well as well-despised (her implication, not mine) Atelier de Jöel Robuchon. In addition, Annabel Simms in the same edition of Paris Notes writes up in “Hors de Paris,” those “only-in-France” guinguettes, where slightly outside Paris, one can eat and dance at Sunday lunch or into the summer night. She lists four reachable by RER (rapid suburban trains requiring an extra ticket when going outside the city limits). They are: La Guinguette Auvergnate, 19 Ave de Choisy, Villeneuve St-Georges-Triage (RER D to Villeneuve Triage) 01.43.89.04.64 Menu 17 E; times too complicated to summarize, instead see here. La Guinguette de l’Ile du Martin-Pêcheur , 41, Quai Victor-Hugo, Champigny-sur-Marne (RER A to Champigny) 01.49.83.03.02 Menu = 25 E, ditto times. Chez Gégène, Allée des Guinguettes, 162 bis Quai de Polangis, Joinville-le-Pont (RER A to Joinville) 01.48.83.29.43 Menu=38 E, ditto times. Le Petit Robinson, next door at 164 Quai de Polangis, Joinville-le-Pont (RER A to Joinville) 01.48.89.04.39 35 E, open all year for dinner-dancing. See here Finally, I don’t usually mention wines, but an article by Alain Sarraute in Le Figaro said two things of interest; first, that rosés were now made in almost every region of France and second, that they’re ideal for summer barbeques (it’s ironic that this article appeared just 3 weeks after Eric Asimov in the NYT also noted that rosés were now hot). It reviewed a dozen or so they liked.

The quick answer is to buy a copy of "Paris Pas Cher" published each year, available at most big bookstores in Paris. The detailed answer comes from Colette: "Go to ChercheMinippes on Rue du Cherche Midi, several stores - 109, 110 and 111 (Falgerie & Duroc Metros) for childrens' clothes and Reciproque on the Rue de la Pompe, numbers 89-123, #58 bus or Metro #9 to Rue de la Pompe, where there are 6-7 stores, one with scarves."

I have not but "A Meal Observed," by Andrew Todhunter, was reviewed Sunday, May 16, 2004 by Marilyn McDevitt Rubin in Post-Gazette.com. She's has a COI (a friend) so it may not be what you want. Maybe I'll get.

It all depends what you wants. With all due respect to prior posters, if it's sidewalk gawking, faux-Hemingway and l'histoire de Sartre, by all means go to one of the three literary/historic places. But if you want a quiet place, terrific food at a reasonable price and no tourists, go South only 440 meters; first on Rue Bonaparte which morphs into the Allee du Séminaire which goes right up to the Luxembourg Gardens, make a right on Vaugirard and go a few meters to 27, Rue de Vaugirard to La Maison du Jardin, 6th, 01.45.48.22. I have never gone wrong there.

In another thread I wrote: "Outside of Veyrat (and I haven't been in a couple of years) there are two places around Annecy that I would highly recommend. The first is the Ferme de Lormay (Chez Albert) in Le Grand-Bornand 33 km from Annecy (better known as a skiing destination). It's not in my Michelin but is in my 2003 Gault/Millau as only a 12 but it's very special. The guy (Albert Bonamy) prepares great rustic cuisine with gutsy terrines, well-thought out mains and terrific tartes. The few times we've been there, the cars have all had Paris or local license plates which I think is a good sign. We went for lunch and then hiked around as did most customers (it's at the end of a very long road up a valley (the Bouchet). (You can cut up to Switzerland if you wish to afterwards) It's closed quirky times (May and the first part of June, Sept - mid December, Tuesdays; so check 04.50.02.34.29). If you must stick around Annecy in the evening, the Brasserie St Maurice, 9 rue du college 04.50.51.24.49 is not bad (it's surpring fusion-y cuisine) but not like Pere Bise in its heydays. I would caution you against eating at Ciboulette, it's not up to it's ratings, and L'Atelier Gourmand was not as good the 2nd time as it was the 1st. Despite its awful name, the hotel Super Panorama - perched high above Talloires, offers a terrific place to have lunch if it's sunny and the sailboats are out, etc."

My wife Colette, offers these words for the women "I favor the 'little black dress' & jacket with snazzy but comfortable shoes AND the essential, smashing silk scarf to add color. I've quite a collection of beautiful scarves, most bought at Paris consignment shops; buying retail is prohibitive, especially with the dollar being so weak. Simple but elegant jewelry will 'make' the outfit. " Regarding the shirt dangling out trend, it's been institutionalized this year by none other than France 2 Telematin's weatherman Laurent "Lolo" Romejko. Finally, with the last word, Don Rickles, quoted in this week's "New Yorker" says "The ladies used to wear jewelry and furs to a show, and the men wore suits,.. today they come in their underwear."

Excuse me for back-tracking but we did eat at U Calellu on March 14th, 2003 and I can vouch for it; it was one of our two good meals on the Island and we had very good fish which bore different names than I was used to farther north. The other good meal was at Le Bon Coin in Bastelicaccia. Replying to Bux's query; the sanglier was tough, dry, overcooked with a watery sauce; not at all the sanglier I love in the hexagon.

Oh my, four hours. I think you can still leave bags in left luggage at the GduN. Or give the hat check lady at the Terminus Nord 10E to keep. About all you could do is go up the Funiculaire de Montmartre (get there by cab or 54 bus which runs up blvd Magenta) which, if it's a good day gives you a view of the Eiffel Tower, Seine, Notre Dame, Pompidou, etc and a quick walk over to Abbesses (avoid the top, Sacre Coeur, etc) to stroll along the markets on the Rue Lepic, seeing one windmill, and you could dine at Amelie's place La Mascotte, 52, rue des Abbesses 01.46.06.28.15 or La Famille 41 rue des Trois Frères 01 42 52 11 12 which I once loved and you'll need reservations for or Le Moulin de la Galette, 83, rue Lepic 01.46.06.84.77 Can't you miss your train to Munich. And unfortunately, le Train Bleu is at the Gare de Lyon, quite a ways away. Nice paintings and spectacular setting but I disagree with picaman; food's deteriorated.

I assume you've seen the August Gourmet which lists Calellu, Quai Landry 04.95.65.22.18 which I cannot vouch for (indeed our trip to Corsica last winter was marked by very disappointing food experiences - if I never see or taste civet sanglier again in my life I'll die happy).