John Talbott

Des nouvelles de Paris? Et comment! Guy Savoy continue l'expansion de son empire avec cette fois-ci avec une fort belle affaire: l'acquisition de la table du Chiberta, rue Arsène-Houssaye (près de l'Étoile) que le banquier d'affaires, Marc Fiorentino, vient de lui céder. Les travaux commencent dès maintenant avec une réouverture réenvisagée en Juillet. L'architecte Jean-Michel Wilmotte poursuivra sa collaboration avec Guy Savoy autour d'un concept qui n'a pas encore été précisé. [May be worth a visit early on when prices are still OK and guidebooks don't feature it, like Les Bookinistes and le Bistro de l'Etoile, etc. were at their inception] L'autre bonne nouvelle, vient du restaurant le Bellecour, rue Surcouf, à Paris. Il vient d'être cédé à des gens épatants, que nous avions connus aux Ormes, rue Chapu, dans le seizième arrondissement. Ils sont à pied d'œuvre depuis peu. Logiquement, ça vaut plus que le coup: (01.45.51.46.93). [it will be interesting to see what Stéphane Molé's team does in this venerable place much more conveniently located than Rue Chapu where the cooking was very good if not indeed stunning]

To answer some of the questions. I am a psychiatrist, read French and was in France working with French psychiatrists when Loiseau committed suicide successfully. I am not revealing any therapeutic confidences when I say that it was widely known that he was and had been depressed, so "other factors" were at work. As paradoxical as it may seem that someone commits suicide after "good news," it is not rare; indeed a colleague of mine who was depressed during a long treatment for a nasty cancer committed suicide after learning he was "clean" radiologically. To answer Bux, I think you've got it right. Michelin stirs up and muddies the water but never directly contradicts Remy's numbers. His descriptions (eg of his hiring, his first three trips, up to the next to last chapter's "favorites") sound very convincing and accurate, so much so that I suspect he kept very good notes. Remy says clearly there are fewer inspectors for more restaurants AND hotels and that the big starred places get multiple visits (it sounds like a perk of the Michelin hierarchy) per annum.

The only problem there is that nobody read the book, they're seeming to comment on the news articles.

Three additions to my prior note; not really surprising but interesting: 1. Purchasers of the Guide shouldn't expect new restaurants to be listed when they buy this year's edition (now with only 5 inspectors vs 11 in 1988 for all of France) they cover a place only every 3 years instead of 2 as in 1988 (except for the top places). 2. "Les meilleures adresses de l'inspecteur sont toujours secretés,......" 3. In the next to last chapter, along with all his favorites, most multiply-starred, is L'Ardoise, recently mentioned in another thread, and open on Sundays. Happy reading!

Just a followup on Les Grandes Marches; Francois Simon reviewed it in the Business supplement of Le Figaro Monday April 26th and noted that it wasn't trying to be "gastronomique," and that while ringing no bells, was acceptable. He says that on Sunday nights it's a melange of folks: solitary beauties, sad lovers, women with each other, male pairs, a "groupe essoré" (tough to translate).

Rouge Tomate, 34 Pl due Marché St Honoré, 1st 01.42.61.16.09. A warm spring/summer day, lunch inside without ashtrays or on the terrasse without exhaust fumes, fresh products that are Atkins/Zone compatible, tomatoes of 8 varieties, some rather exotic, prepared in traditional (e.g. pasta with tomato sauce) and inventive ways (crevettes with a green tomato salsa verde), wines from at least 3 continents priced from 18-30E, salads that looked ample and wonderful (covered with everything from microtomed chicken to Parma ham), wait-folks who hustle in chic red Rouge Tomate tee-shirts; what’s not to like? I had the antipasti: a plate of marinated baby veggies with goat cheese and Parma ham that was fabulous, then the fricasée of volaille a l’indienne, not as tasty, with a flan of courgettes and new potatoes and topped this off with a correctly-made fondant au chocolat with a tomato sauce à part; my wife had the crevettes with the Zebra green tomatoes, which was very, very tasty, and a tarte fine aux figues with another tomato sauce. The bill was about 70E but I cannot tell you exactly how much because we bought so much sauce, balsamic and confiture to take back to the apartment that the total was much more. Definitely popular with French women: the gender ratio was 14-3 in our area. L’Absinthe, 24, Place du Marché St Honoré, 1st 01.49.26.90.04 “Un déception.” You want to love it; it has absinthe from France & elsewhere, it’s in the Place du Marché St. Honoré, the décor is charming old Paris, eGulleteers love it and it’s now run by Caroline Rostang, whose hand was firmly and well placed daily on the Bistrot Coté Mer for several years. But from the start you realize something’s wrong; the bread is by Banette, the serveurs are over-stretched, the ventilation is non-existent or malfunctioning and the rich French lady next to you salts her entrée not once, not twice, but three times, liberally. You await the food. The raviolis romans with langoustines are served with a more-or-less tasteless pink sauce all fluffed up à la Philippe Detourbe, but the one langoustine (2E extra) is unappealingly mushy; the rabbit is dry and if there was any anchovy in its stuffing, my taste buds missed it. My wife’s shredded lamb, wrapped in a burned cabbage leaf was equally unexceptional. But the worst part came at dessert when my chocolat moelleux and fondant, Caroline Rostang’s classic, indeed, her gold standard at the Bistrot Coté Mer, was overcooked and ran not at all. The last straw: my grappa was served over crushed ice, without asking! Our bill was 95E. Maybe it was a bad day, maybe we ordered incorrectly, maybe our expectations were too high, maybe Rostang was still on her Paques vacation, maybe, maybe, maybe……….. Casual Café, 29, rue Surcouf 7th. 01. 45.50.36.20. We went the day after it got three hearts in Figaroscope in large part because of where the person mentioned in the review, Antoine Butez, had been before (Maxence, Pré Verre, Chamarré). The day we were there, the chef who greeted us after the meal was not Butez and in answer to my query said he didn’t have those credentials either. The menu says clearly that it was designed by Butez but to be fair maybe he’s now only the idea-guy. I started with a not terribly exciting “curry” of calamars with pine nuts and a sweet-piquante sauce; then a very ordinary, indeed tasteless “grosse cochon” with al dente vegetables, while my wife had a sebaste fish, not unlike rascasse, supposedly served with ginger which she could not detect. For dessert I had an unripe and thus bland, ever so thinly sliced mango with a granité; Colette had a pear crumble, which she says was “a disgrace.” We both agreed that the madeleine and the coffee were terrible. They brought the bill before we asked for it (the first time in 50 years of eating in France). The wines were 20-60E. There was a menu with a panaché of poisson and nice-looking confit de cuisse de canard for 13E. The entire experience was disorganized; between the kitchen and the servers there was chaos; clearly they’ve not got their act together yet or were overwhelmed by the review. Our bill was 97E. In every review I’ve seen of La Table du Lancaster in the Hotel Lancaster, they mention a 40E lunch menu. The reviews this and last month in Figaroscope and Pariscope’s TimeOut section are quite glowing. A friend and I have gone twice and asked to see the menu and first were told it hadn’t been designed yet and this week that it would not happen, it was misinformation. I looked at the regular lunch carte and quickly surmised that you’d run up 40E with the least expensive entrée and plat before adding in dessert, wine, coffee and water. The average bill is instead 70E. Tant pis.

Yes I have been many times and, for once, did the same thing Wells did; I stopped going about six years ago when the prices got "too steep, the decor got me down," etc. One of its features was and is that it was open for Sunday lunch, but with the appearance of the Bistrot du Dome, which Wells wrote up in the IHT in the summer of 1991, and then the Bistrot Cote Mer and Vin et Maree, now practically a chain, etc. there were less expensive Sunday seafood lunch opportunities. I still remember, though, the "moules that burn your fingers." Miguel - you're spot on; she'll be back in 2010.

I'd pick L'Oursine first rather than the others because you can talk more easily and the food is great; L'Absinthe was horrible this week, l'Ardoise is crowded, l think Le Clos des Gourmets has deteriorated since it opened and gotten more expensive, Au C'Amelot remains good and I've never eaten at Pinxo. Petite Pontoise and Reminet are also open Sunday nites as is the Bistrot du Dome, which are more crowded than L'Oursine. Les Grandes Marches is OK if you're going to or coming from the Opera Bastille, otherwise I wouldn't go out of my way.

The subject of bank accounts is probably one that deserves a whole thread because I agree with Jonathan Day that having one is essential and relatively easy, especially if paying for EDF/GDF, Telecom, condo fees, etc. My experience is that things were quite strict 30 years ago, then got relatively lax to open accounts at some banks (ie BNP and Credit Lyonnais) but not others (eg Soc Gen, Credit Agricole and Barclay's) but now is stricter again (they want you to earn money here) and as Jonathan says the charges at some banks are bad (eg Citibank changes 13E if your balance falls below 10,000E I think). At CL I used to keep the majority of my money in an interest-earning acct but it earned about 1/2 what it would have in the US. There is also an upping of the cost of bank cards; I now have only a CL Indigo that costs very little but permits withdrawals from ATM's only (ie no charging).

My list as of 4-28-04: L'Ourcine Les Fables de la Fontaine La Maison du Jardin Au Bon Acceuil Ze Kitchen Galerie La Dinee Pre Verre Le Reminet (for Sat/Sun) Petite Pontoise (for Sat/Sun) Have a good trip.

To clarify; it's not that persons refuse the Visa card (that's only happened to me with small commercants and I have no problem that it's not enough of a bill to warrant the Visa/CB/etc), it's that they swipe it at the table several times and blame it on the appareil. Maybe it was magic but the serveuse certainly knew the trick to make it work.

You’ve just had a great meal, you set your Visa card down, the wait-person swipes it several times and shrugs: “Désolé.” You fork over the cash and grumble about the missed frequent flyer miles. No longer! A clever serveuse in Paris took l’addition, folded it over the card so the paper covered the front and back once, and reswiped the card et voila! “Works every time," she said or words to that effect. Un bon truc.

L’Absinthe, 24, Place du Marché St Honoré, 1st 01.49.26.90.04 “Un déception.” 4/26/04 You want to love it; it has absinthe from France & elsewhere, it’s in the Place du Marché St. Honoré, the décor is charming old Paris, eGulleteers love it and it’s now run by Caroline Rostang, whose hand was firmly and well placed daily on the Bistrot Coté Mer for several years. But from the start you realize something’s wrong; the bread is by Banette, the serveurs are over-stretched, the ventilation is non-existent or malfunctioning and the rich French lady next to you salts her entrée not once, not twice, but three times, liberally. You await the food. The raviolis romans with langoustines are served with a more-or-less tasteless pink sauce all fluffed up à la Philippe Detourbe, but the one langoustine (2E extra) is unappealingly mushy; the rabbit is dry and if there was any anchovy in its stuffing, my taste buds missed it. My wife Colette’s shredded lamb, wrapped in a burned cabbage leaf was equally unexceptional. But the worst part came at dessert when my chocolat moelleux and fondant, Rostang’s classic, indeed, her gold standard at the Bistrot Coté Mer, was overcooked and ran not at all. The last straw: my digestif was served over crushed ice! Our bill was 95E Maybe it was a bad day, maybe we ordered incorrectly, maybe our expectations were too high, maybe Rostang was still on her Pàques vacation, maybe, maybe, maybe………..

Not knowing the etiquette (in the American sense of the word) of eGullet, I don’t know if book reviews are encouraged. But here goes. If you have a smattering of French, an ounce of schadenfreude and some curiosity about how the Michelin guides work; pick up a copy of Pascal Remy’s “L’inspecteur se met à table,” Éditions des Équateurs, 2004, published sometime last week. Remy, whose “révélations” were widely covered by the French press and even more widely attacked by the Michelin folks (think O'Neill, Clarke and Woodward by the Bush White House), writes in a drôle, accessible style that makes you believe what he recounts, sometimes of happenings 16 years ago. Maybe he’s just a sorehead, as the Micheliniens maintain, but I suspect not. A good investment of 15E.

I have been a few times and while the food is good, the menu as with so many ethnic places in Paris, doesn't vary.

I have eaten there twice in the past 2 years and had fine meals both times. Lyon is one of the few places with a reliable restaurant guide of its own and one can find reasonable, well-rated restaurants run by young chefs who've trained with the giants of yesteryear (I'm thinking of the thread on Bocuse).

I hesitate to differ with Bux, and maybe it's my age and eyesight but I find the #11 Michelin booklet - Paris Atlas 1 cm:100 m more readible. Where Paris Par Arrondissement is indispensible is in the suburbs where it helps to also have the appropriate RATP Map (numbers 4 to about 12 covering each direction, ie Ouest, Nord-Ouest, etc).

Thanks everyone, I'm convinced, I'll go next week.

When you get back I'd be most grateful for your feedback on what non-food things (eg monuments, attractions, quartiers) your 9 year old was most interested in? We have a friend bringing a 10 year old in June and it's been a while since we've hosted a girl in that age range. Thanks

Gabrielle - Are you back? I have a question. What non-food things (eg monuments, attractions, quartiers) did you find your 9 year old was most interested in? We have a friend bringing a 10 year old in June and it's been a while since we've hosted a girl in that age range. Thanks

Try the site - "Trip to Paris in 10 days w/9 yr. old-Restaurants?, Eating well & reasonably with a child" by Gabrielle March 17th

See my reply in Paris Gastronomie. I've had kids/grandkids 3-6 months, 2-3 years and older. If half the food still goes on the floor, Vietnamese, Flo-chain brasseries, Italian and the like might be better. On the other hand, I like it that you don't want to compromise your level of pleasure. Back when we used to stay in hotels, I found that the hotel staff usually knew of nearby places that were used to kids. One thing that's great is that you'll be presented stuff (usually finger-food, eg salami) for the kid that isn't on the menu.

There was another thread on the subject of taking kids out in Paris a few weeks ago. I may be alone in feeling this way, but it has been my contention for years that despite the French tradition of not taking kids to good restaurants, excepting brasseries or country inns on Sundays or holidays with grandparents, kids rise to the occasion and do just fine wherever you go (so long as food and restaurants have been part of their US experience). We've hosted our children & grandchildren, at all ages, from days to months, without problems in any restaurant. At max, we had 2 grandchildren, the oldest only 3, for 3 months in Paris and while we started out at Vietnamese, Italian or local places where we were known, soon we went almost anyplace. Agreed, it was easier at places that were more informal and untouristy (eg Bouclard, La Marlotte) but we also ate at more mainstream restaurants (Maxence, L'Huitrier, Bistro Cote Mer). - I give these names not as recommendations but examples. I think it's only at big-named, starred places with stern staff that you don't get super friendly treatment because of the kids. With little kids, a place with an accessible terrace or hotel lobby that can be used to work off boredom works best but with 14 and 9 year olders, it's probably unecessary. Zagat does publish a section on "Teenagers and Other youthful spirits" but I think they dumb down the experience. Push the envelope, see if it works, what's the worst than can happen?

I forget to mention that the Val de Grace church/chapel was renovated not so long ago as well as its adjacent Medical History "Museum" which contains fabulous paintings of medical scenes from the Napoleonic wars etc and the whole place plus the grounds are wonderful. I got in because of a reception but I think anyone can wrangle their entry if persistent.

Someone just emailed me about resolving the questions raised above even though I think they lready have been. I ate at L'Oursine (see thread on 5 Restaurants) March 29th. It is open lunch and dinner, there is a menu at lunch for 19.5E but it's limited whereas the menu-carte at 28E is better. Despite whatever's been written, it is not a "brasserie type bistro" as I understand the term, (no beer; no choucroute, no oysters, etc), it's just a little modern bistro. As for the old and new name of the Street; most streets around the Val de Grace (their Walter Reed) and Hopital Cochin/Ste Anne's were named or renamed to bear the names of famous French Physicians and/or scientists, eg Claude Bernard, Claude-Louis Berthollet, Blaise Pascal, Pierre Mechain (Broca was the 19th century neurologist who identified the area of the brain involved with speech; often implicated in strokes). As most of you know when different arrondissements were developed, names were needed for the streets and different districts bear the names of different types of folks (eg parts of the 20th are named after aviation pioneers). Enough history; eat! L'Ousine is great.