John Talbott

This Fall, I've had good Sunday lunches at both Mediterranee + Garance.Edited by John Talbott to add that there are busted links in the Sunday Dining compendium that I'll clean up ASAP as well as merge all so we'll have a central up-to-date resource.

That's what Colette and I do and safely avoid bankrupcy.

Both in France and other countries (being a guy, who pretends to be macho but is really, at heart, a coward) I lie and 99% of the time says it's fine. Then, of course, back-stabbing, I write it up on whatever eGullet Forum as awful. Never. You eat it, you pay for it. If I hate something, I take two bites and leave the rest. And I pay for it. You don't. Two comments: Re 1. Do they really, I hate it.2. I don't find it patronizing, I find it annoyingly unnecessary.3. Good for you, come work in France or America! We need you.

2008 French Food Guides Chapter 4 – Lebey Guide Claude Lebey and Sylvain Verut have just published their 2008 edition. Their coups de coeur are listed (as usual) in several categories: Great places Le Meurice L’Ambrosie Le Pre Catalan Dropped were Senderens + Astrance Traditional Chez Christophe Le Cameleon Josephine (Chez Dumonet) L’Ami Jean Le Violin d’Ingres Le Repaire de Cartouche Cristal de Sel Le Baratin Dropped were Ribouldingue, Comptoir, Cerisaie, Table Lauriston, Caves Petrissans + Le Chambord Modern Ze Kitchen Galerie Auguste l’Arome Caution: the chef has changed between when they went (31 Aug) and now. Spoon Food and Wine Le Temps au Temps Dropped were Le Chateaubriand + l’Avant Gout. Of note also is their Preface in which they laud meals in addition to those above at: l’Arpege, Pierre Gagnaire, le Plaza, La Tour d’Argent, Au Gourmand, La Marlotte, Les Cocottes de Christian Constant, Afaria + Karl & Erick.

Nov 07 – Epigramme, Oxalis, J’Go Saint-Germain, Vingt 2 A gem in a sea of dreck. 6.6-8.8 l’Epigramme, 9, rue de L’Eperon in the 6th, 01 44 41 00 09, closed Sunday nights and Mondays, is a little jewel (30 covers) of a restaurant in the midst of tourist central (think Allard and Camdeborde.) Four of us (of whom three are members of this Society) ate there on a recent Saturday and loved it. The host Stephane offered us an amuse bouche of a terrine that was very good, especially with the Fitou we chose to start (and continue) with, despite his suggestion that we move onto a Bergerac. All four of us had 4 scallops each on a puree of cauliflower (that tasted of celeriac) on half-shells (4 € supplemental) that one of us thought had too many salt crystals on it, then two had a poitrine of veal (not on the chalkboard that lunch-time but apparently on it for that evening) that I found just fine but they thought was surpassed by my lievre royale that had the most intense, thick, dark, great-tasting black sauce imaginable (10 € supplement) and my friend Atar’s ox-tail stew with chopped root vegetables. Finally one of our guests had the very fine St Nectaire and the other a big portion of rice pudding that he declared quite good. If you take away the supplements, celebratory extra booze, etc., lunch for two (3 courses, wine and coffee and no bottled water) would only run you 77 €. Oh yah, it’s hot, go fast, even famous chefs on their days off, eat there. Should one go? You betcha; fast! 5.0 The best strike possibility possible. l’Oxalis, 14, Ferdinand Flocon in the 18th, 01.42.51.11.98, closed Sundays and Monday noon, was the ideal place the first day of the renewable strike, walking distance for us and featuring an inexpensive (lunch 2-courses = 15, 3 = 18 and menu noon or night at 26 €) but very decent place. It occupies the space of the up-and-down l’Histoire de….. and is run by the couple who used to run l’Amuse Bouche, where I’d also had up-and-down food. In any case, three of us had a fine meal; starters included a fricassee of escargots and mushrooms on baby zucchini slices with an intense woody sauce, a very delicately and lightly flavored tartare of very good product salmon and yummy tempura-type gambas with tandoori flavoring. We had two mains: a fine filet of canette with another dense, intense sauce accompanied by steamed veggies, whose cabbage gave them a wonderful off-taste and four-five perfectly cooked scallops. We ordered one dessert, a moelleux of chocolate, well-made, with ice cream. So in sum, one menu, two starters and one main plus 1.5 bottles of wine and three coffees = 102.40 €. Should you go? If you live in the nabe for sure, even if not, it’s worth considering. J’Go = Gigot, get it? I didn’t. 1-3-5.0 J’Go Saint-Germain, 14, rue Lobineau in the 6th, 01.43.26.19.02, open 7/7, is the second branch of this famed Toulousian resto that features meat and Southwestern food and wine. Where? Oh yah, where Salmon and Company used to be in the Marché St Germain. But it’s so different; stools around barrels for 2 or 4 persons, 30 dead limbs hanging from the ceiling, all chalkboard offerings, and no, I repeat, no, GIGOT. Wasn’t that why we came? This place, despite advertising itself as on the rue Lobineau is truly on the rue Felibien, now why would they say that? Could it be because André Felibien was an obscure court historian to Louis XIV whereas Guy Alexis Lobineau was a triple-threat - a Breton historian, Benedictine monk and author of the history of Brittany, l’Histoire de Bretagne? In any case, charming place, charming welcome, charming clients, charming cured meats and Southwest wines, charming treatment of clients including one kid, charming music (Buena Vista Social Club), charming charming charming. Yes, but…… (or “mais, oui,” since we’re here). OK, so like Rick Blaine who mistakingly came to Casablanca for the waters, on a cold wintry afternoon, I came to J’Go for the gigot. As I approached and saw the chalkboard I got a sinking feeling; curried lamb, skewered cold lamb, hearts, etc, but no roasts, especially no gigot. OK. I ordered piquillos stuffed with confit de carard, which I asked about the temperature of and was told luke-warm. However, the piquillos were hot and the duck cold – strange – but tasty. However my main, the three slices of black pork sausage (PNB or porc noir de Bigorre) had been either microwaved or sauteed (they don‘t have “permission” yet to roast) and sat on a bed of fall leafy stuff that was too pungent – I pleaded “la grippe” and left it after a few bites. To terminate, I had their enormously over-priced (3 € a slice) name brand brebis which was straight from the frig (Where are you now, Craig Claiborne – now, that we need you?) Any other problems: Yes; it had too many common tables, too many sandwiches/grignotages/tartines and too few roasted, non-straight out of the frigo, meats. So for 3 plates and two glasses of wine but no coffee or bottled water, we’re talking 48 €. Should one go? As I rate it – it’s a 1.0 (elevated to 3.0 by the charm) but it could be a 5.0 with a little effort). Oy vey, everyone loves Raymond, but not me. 0.3-3.0 Vingt 2 (get it? I don’t), 22, rue Desnouettes in the 15th, 01.45.33.22.22 open everyday but Sundays when they have brunch, was “discovered” by three of my eGullet friends before the big guys and while they didn’t tout me off it, they didn’t say it was a must either – Quote by one – “If you’re in the neighborhood it’s OK” - end-quote. So my pal Atar and I schlepped, and I mean, schlepped, really so, via a devious route (utilizing Tram #3) during “the” strike and wound up at this charming place, with charming tables and stools, charming wines and run by a (you got it) charming couple. He gave it a 3.0 because it had the best bread he’s had in two weeks, (better than Laurent, l’Elysees de Vernet, etc.), the pain perdu, one of the four cheeses served and the price. I gave it a 0.3 because of the other miserable dishes – a correctly cooked (burned outside/raw inside) piece of bonito (translated as Boston mackerel – which I always thought was a tuna) that was most uninteresting; the special of the day – piggie with mustard grains – how could one miss? – PS it was the world’s worst tough and tasteless butcher-rejects cooked in a sort-of insipid, creamy sauce; and chicken strips toasted on the outside and Ok on the inside with several leaves of “Mexican” (wha?) tarragon on top – all with lotsa mashed potatoes and salad greens. Our bill, if we’d done what I suggested on first reading the chalkboard, i.e. have a platter each of charcuterie and cheese and some wine - would have been something like 44 € for two, a world record. Should you go? No, instead send your backpacking nieces and nephews.

16 months ago, en route from Paris thru Fromentine to the Ile d'Yeu with 11 other members of my nuclear family, I went into a fungible-looking wine depot/entrepot and got a huuuuuge plastic can of rather good wine, which never got oxygenated/corked/ruined for the next 10 days. It was the "gift that keeps on giving," as Bob Woodward says of the Nixon tapes.

Ah, that's another matter; could we ever have champagne whose cork is not popped? Maybe not, but we've moved on from our IBM selectrics, no?

Ah, I and probably only John Whiting go back far enough to recall when that was the way to buy your family (table) wine, by the spigot. The other was in clunky bottles with the most amazingly stark black and white labels that gave the equivalent of name, rank and serial number. But when you weigh the 10% spoilage rate against the slight inconvenience of opening a bottle a bit in advance, I think the high-end folks downunder are onto something. A few years ago, upon the death of a much younger dear friend and colleague I made the same decision. We have a few cases of great old stuff in the cellar that we bring out whenever there's the slightest excuse and drink to Sam.

The Week of November 12th, 2007 Monday, Elvira Masson in Le Fooding, reviewed l’Epigramme, 9, rue de L’Eperon in the 6th, 01 44 41 00 09, closed Sunday nights and Monday, serving a lunch formula at 22 € (two courses) or full blackboard menu, lunch and dinner for 28 €, comprising items such a superb veal and too-rare milk-fed pork with a “choucroute” of turnips. Tuesday, A Nous Paris’s critics reviewed two places: Philippe Toinard covered the existing pork palace, Au Petit Theatre, apparently because November is the “month for tripes,” giving it 3/5 blocks while Jerome Berger awarded 2/5 to the new Café Pleyel – De Bouche a Oreille, coordinates given before, which he found to offer a reasonably-priced pre-concert dinner. Wednesday Richard Hesse in Paris Update reviewed Le Pre Verre where the food was good but the reception and service not so. Wednesday, as well, Emmanuel Rubin, in Figaroscope awarded two hearts to l’Epigramme, coordinates above, serving quail with piperade, pork parts and a vanilla soufflé and one heart to Le Bouquet des Archives, 31, rue des Archives in the 4th, 01.42.72.08.49, open 7/7 and costing between 25 and 35 € for a generous pot au feu. Three broken hearts went to Comme a Savonnieres in the 6th, the Indo-Pako Le Partage in the 5th and La Bulle in the 10th. Figaroscope’s “Dossier” this week was concerned with places serving crepes. They rated them from 1 to 20, Francois Simon having drawn #13 for his ”Hache Menu”: #1 Breizh Café Ty Breizh Creperie Suzette Le Petit Morbihan Imogene La Crepe Dentelle L’Ile au Ble Noir Le Pot O’Lait Ty Yann La Creperie La Mouette a Bord Creperie du Comptoir Des Crepese et des Cailles Creperie Bretonne Fleurie….de l’Epouse du Marin Crepe Rit du Clpwn Les Cormorans Au Beurre Salé Creperie de Josselin Ti Joss #20 Les Ecuries Wednesday, François-Régis Gaudry of l’Express weighed in on l’Epigramme, coordinates given above, calling it a bastion of good living and comparing it to Chez Michel + Repaire de Cartouche ; NB the chef, Aymeric Kräml, 29 y.o., has passed through the kitchens of the “great dukes of cuisine” Bardet, Bocuse, le Crillon + Coconnas and when he wishes has lievre royale on the chalkboard. The other two reviews this week are by Marie-Amal Bizalion, of Le Pointilliste in Toulon and another by Gaudry of the Left Bank nightspot (10 PM – 5 AM) Le Lup, 2-4, rue du Sabot in the 6th, 01-45-48-86-47, costing 60 €, closed Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays, serving everything from crunchy calamari to burgers. Jean Claude Ribault in Wednesday-Thursday’s Le Monde wrote two articles; the first about Romuald Fassenet, the young chef who was the Meilleur ouvrier de France (MOF) in 2004 and who moved from Le Bec Fin in Dole a few miles away to the Château du Mont Joly in Sampans, lunch menu = 30 € and the second about finding a good Beaujolais nouveau - he recommends the old vine wines from the Domaine des Vissoux obtainable at la Cave Balthazar, 16, rue Jules-Guesde in the 14th or the B.N. from Michel Guignier, available at L'Œnothèque, 20, rue Saint-Lazare in the 9th. Saturday-Sunday in Le Figaro, Francois Simon has a rapturous article on a meal at Guy Savoy for 443 € (he gives the price of most items in great detail). Sunday, Margaret Kemp had an article in Bonjour Paris about the launch of the Pudlo 2008 and John Talbott had an essay on “Strike Food Strategies.” Finally, Sunday JDD’s Astrid T’Serclaes reviewed two places: Afaria + Le Coq, the latter a night-club. Also Aurelie Chaigneau had a long piece on Alain Ducasse’s takeover of the Tour Eiffel eateries. Please post comments here and not in the Digest thread.

French wines: using corks, screw tops or boxes Over the years, since I’ve had two relatives in the biz (one in Carmel, CA, the other in Gisborne, New Zealand,) I’ve been discussing the merits/demerits of corks, screw tops and box wines. Today, two articles, one in the FT by Jancis Robinson, arguably the most influential wine person in the world (excepting Frank Prial and Robert Parker, my wonderful, hometown neighbor) and another, a book review in the WP by Jane Black of George M. Tabor’s To cork or not to cork: Tradition, Romance, Science, And the Battle for the Wine Bottle appeared and prompted this topic. Myself, when I first came to live in France, I saw my two best friends storing box wines on their terraces and pour them into carafes and thought “how gauche.” Much, much later, on returning wine to my friendly local Cavavin merchant because it was bad, he said, oh 10% of wines are bad, don’t worry, (not adding that on the one hand, dummies like me are too afraid to say so and on the other, that rich Americans turn back perfectly good wines in fancy restos not because they’re “corked” or whatever but because it’s not what they expected.) In any case back to the topic. A lot of very classy Aussie/Kiwi/South African wine is now screw-capped and some pretty good French regional stuff is boxed. I predict that it’s on the upswing; but will it catch up to the global trend?

Update: today's JDD and Le Fooding issued what can only be called a manifesto or Call To Action or Martin Lutheresque declamation calling for justice for Le Fooding, well, you can read it here.

I went by today, Sunday Nov 18th, totally by hasard, en route to another place, and there were six clearly identifiable (sorry, if I've outed you) Americans (three couples) waiting at 11h59. If you want to, it can be done.

Wow, Felice, this is very great news. For all these years we've schlepped over crans for the hols. I'll go looking tmrw.

Hey, as I said, Julot, we're making up the rules as we go along. So by me, 12 is OK.

I promise to report back on the White Truffle situation from Alba/etc in 3 weeks. Mind you, I'm not a truffle nut, but I'm interested.Ciao.

An article from today's IHT by Jacqueline Friedrich is entitled: "When Talent ennobles terroir: Maverick Vintners in France forging an uncommon path to stardom, creating new grand crus from underachieving soil" although it has another title online. It's timed to the Salon and suggests 10 wines to taste and is "must reading" in preparation for the Salon.

While I'll be posting my November new restaurant reports in a while, I can't pass up the opportunity to tout the lievre royal at l'Epigramme (which was written up so far this week in Le Fooding, Figaroscope + Les Echos) - epigram, of course, being defined as a short witty poem such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge's “Sir, I admit your general rule, That every poet is a fool, But you yourself may serve to show it, That every fool is not a poet.” In any case, it had the blackest, thickest and yet not mind-fat-globulating sauce imaginable and was miles ahead of the bourgignon of biche I had at Pierre au Palais Royale.

Francois Simon has two articles on page 37 and a recipe dealing with white (Italian) truffles, including where to get and eat them in Italy and Paris (Sormani, Sassicaia, Mori Venice Bar, l'Emporio Armani Caffe + Stressa) as well as the Cooperativa Fra produtti di Latte, 108, rue St Maur in the 11th.

Wow! You always surprise me Pti. My last meal at Ecaille et Plume was years ago about this time of year and I had a lievre royale that was spectacular but on exiting the place the fat globules circulating in my head almost fogged me out and reminded me that my heart vessels would be receiving them too. Memorable!

No, hey, we make up the rules as we go along, non?So maybe there should be two categories: 1. Places you'd go back to if they still existed as they did then (and I'll contribute Giradet, Pere Bise, le Barriere de Clichy + Robuchon). 2. Places you'd go back to now if it's the last meal: Again, I'll throw in Ze, Spring + le Bristol - the latter if I could afford and eat it all.

2008 French Food Guides Chapter 3 Today I acquired by purchase and “gifting,” the new Pudlo, G/M + Bottin. They were incredibly expensive: GM and Bottin are now 30 € or a few cents less - and the Pudlo was 18. And there are some pretty interesting surprises. For Gilles P. no surprise in: Lasserre as Best of the year Cameleon Best Bistrot of the year, however is Les Fougeres Best price/quality of the year? and wait, wait……. Demoted were: Le Pre Catalan Les Trois Marches Bastide Odeon Ze Kitchen Galerie W + Les Magnolias, And interestingly promoted were: Toustem Le Soleil Cottage Marcadet + Cristal de Sel But IMHO fully meriting their elevation were: Fables Spring L’Ecallier…. Rech Point Bar Fish…. L’Agassin Le bis de Severo Grand Pan Bath’s Le Clocher Pereire Le Café qui Parle + Le Winch, the latter two for which I must declare a COI cuz I can walk to them and they’re great. Onto Le Gault-Millau. The surprises here involve: 1) That it's still alive. 2) That it's elevated (eg kicked upstairs) the “icons” (read – elephants) to a new category (so they don’t have to rate them – clever eh?): including: Bocuse, l’Auberge de I’Ill, Chapel, Tour d’Argent, Senderens, Lasserre, Laurent + Maximin. 3) That they chosen these for their biggies: l’Atelier de Jean-Luc Rabanel Chef of the Year l’Auberge Basque Revelation of the Year and that they've chosen for their “hopes for the future” as well as “young talents,” largely unknowns and only one in Paris (apologies Dave) – Sensing. OK, finally the “sick man” of the bunch – Le Bottin Gourmand, which as a contrarian publication, uses 4 stars as its scale rather than 3 or 5 or 20. In Paris: only three merit the “favorites:” Jean Le Pre Cadet Le Bouclard Again, I apologize to those outside the Ile de France for being Parocentric. On the other hand, I have some advice that will save you big bucks: only buy the Pudlo! PS The effects of the strike are vastly over-rated/over-reported.

I hesitate to post this, but.....in the spirit of revealing wha's up here - several footnotes impose themselves about the wine we love to hate: 1) Running/limping this AM I heard (I think on French Inter) that the new BN had a bit of raspberry taste but on consulting Le Figaro later was informed that it had the taste of bananas and "Fraise Tagada" (Tagada Strawberries, if you know what they are.) 2) We tried a bottle of the famous Chateau de Pizay, and for me, there were no fruity flavors, but incredibly, it wasn't half bad. 3) Finally, has anyone read “I’ll drink to that: Beaujolais and the French Peasant who made it the world’s most popular wine” by Rudolph Chelminki (au of “The Perfectionist: Life and Death in Haute Cuisine”), Gotham/Penguin, $27.50?

Great place, see my review here; it's at 6 rue Lamartine in the 9th, 01.48.78.12.20 ← Thank you so much John! It looks very creative. I appreciate your help. ← My pal Atan (the "awesome") and I ate there again today and it is holding up very well indeed. Not at a level of Ze but pretty darn close. And to be able to walk there during the strike and get out for under 100 E a couple is nifty.

Another bunch of recommendations, these from the British France Magazine: Colomb'Auge Creperie Au P'tit Normand Le Pave d'Auge

Several authors in November's France Today has the following listed: Ecole Ritz Escoffier l'Atelier des Chefs Olivier Roellinger: Ecole Cuisine Corsaire Hostellerie Berard: La Bastide des Saveurs At Home with Patricia Wells Le Cordon Bleu Lenotre Ecole de Cuisine d'Alain Ducasse A week in Provence.