John Talbott

Alexander Lobrano in the November France Today suggests the following as "traditional Basque tables:" Arrantzaleak Le Bistrot des Halles Les Pyrenees

Julie Street, in November's France Today suggests the following places: Hotel Costes Le The des Ecrivains Chajin La Maison de la Chine Mariage Freres as well as the boutique La Maison des Trois Thes.

fresh_a: Good to have you back. Can you give us a link/reference/etc, is he a good or bad guy in this and can you reference the book preferably at amazon.com or amazon.fr so the Society may get a (teeny-tiny) cut?

Another recent topic stimulated a follow-up. So, you've got a limited time left here for any number of reasons (worst - impending death/serious illness/disability/etc.), intermediate - transfered, best - leaving to be the PDG of Baker & McKenzie [inside joke - PM me if you're stuck]) - so where would you eat? I'll chime in - in a while.

Oh, wow! "one of the greatest French chefs alive"? I have enormous love and respect and admiration for you Pti, but I have a problem with consistency, or should I say inconsistency, and the fact that I've had 33.3% bad meals at Le Comptoir and 12.5% bad meals (notably when I touted it and took friends/colleagues/acolytes with me) to/at La Régalade makes me cautious. Now you/one could counter that 66.6% and 87.5% ain't bad but ........ I got better things to do with my life.Perhaps we should start another topic on something like; you've got a limited time left here for any number of reasons (worst - death, intermediate - transfered, best - PDG of Baker & McKenzie) - so where would you eat?

Funny -- when I had lunch there with John a while ago, they forbid me from taking pictures (which completely turned me off, I have to say). Perhaps they've finally understood that pictures = free online publicity = people actually coming to their restaurant? Clotilde. ← Yes, John related that to me. Your visit was shortly after my 1st visit and I have taken photos all 3 times. Admittedly, the original maitre d' was much stiffer and more formal than the friendly young man who replaced him and who actually seemed pleased that I took photos. What a disastrous mistake to forbid you of all people to take photos! ← Truth in advertising or whatever - I have to respond that Clotilde (Chocolate and Zucchini) was reprimanded by the front-room maitre d'/waiter/server guy who clearly said in French that it was the chef, not he, who forbad photos without preavis. For me, that one faux pas, really turned me off. More on photos in French restos here.PS. I suspect the chef finally got it, as Clotilde (Chocolate and Zucchini): eg that "pictures = free online publicity = people actually coming to their restaurant?"

Patrice Chapon has two shops in Paris: one at 52 av. Mozart in the 16th, the other at 69 rue du Bac in the 7th. ← Sorry, I was just quoting that the Mother House was in Chelles.

From the topic on Montmartre, a note. I could not have put it better. Why would any chef not want the publicity, especially from you? If you believe Francois Simon, bloggers are increasingly becoming more influential than print journalists, at least in the food realm. Their/your opinions count! (I know from personal experience that most of the Parisian chefs or their “Laura’s du Web” “Google” themselves and watch the net/toile carefully and know that all of us who post regularly are read/paid attention to.)I recently went through the Rembrandt show at the Met (NYC) and an art critic I recognized was taking pix with his mobile of every third painting and as opposed to 30 or 20 or 10 or even 1 year ago, no guard/custodian even batted an eye. What was it that Bob Dylan sang "The times they are........"?

Thanks Pierre, all fun places. The 15th truly exemplifies what “Olivier Morteau” wrote in Food Business about establishing a successful gastro- or neo-bistrot: "….take some far out corner of town (in a gastronomic desert), a nice place that doesn’t cost a fortune, get an outgoing owner who’s the friendly face of the place and top it off with a recognized talent and prices that defy the competition."

For those not addicted to the now free on line NYT or unfamiliar with its current restaurant critic, Frank Bruni, you may want to read an article called "Tonight, Patronizing Language. Enjoy." I bring it to the attention of our France Forum folk so that we may show the superiority of our service personnel to those in New York. We never are asked if we would “enjoy coffee with dessert?” or “How are we enjoying things so far?” or if “the madam would enjoy a glass of white wine with her branzino.” Or are we? "C'etait.....?" anyone.

As usual, I fully agree with Pti. I went once for dinner with my charming cohost and we had a good meal but it was not the be all and end all. As for my batting average at lunch is 500; one OK, one dreadful.I've not been back since the latter.

Book Notes: The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food by Judith Jones, Knopf, $24.95 (amazon.com - US): A nifty read I was so charmed by this that I read it in one sitting. It has great stories about the author’s life in France and her dealings with Julia Child. She’s best known to us as the editor who published Julia Child when no one else would, but also James Beard, Jacques Pepin, Marcella Hazan, Madhur Jaffrey, Ed Giobbi and John Updike. Since so many of us learned French cooking from Julia Child and one of our member’s mothers (French) even learned French cooking from her, it’s especially interesting for us. But it can be enjoyed by all Francophiles. Briefly, she came to Paris, helped write a book “How to live in Paris on practically nothing,” married, traveled and writes about the rest of France and still makes dinner for herself at 83 (she gives many recipes for one person) with some very familiar ingredients. All in all: charming, instructive and most of all, fun.

First the trick to searches is to put 4 letters in. So for Vin put in Vino, for tea, put in teas. Usually (but not always) it works.Now about Vin, not from me, but according to my daughter, it's a young-person's place which she indicated I would probably be turned off by the din and food. I go by it periodically en route to Trader Joe's and always look in and at the menu and it looks ok, in fact, kinda cool.

The Week of November 5th, 2007 Wednesday, Emmanuel Rubin, in Figaroscope awarded two hearts each to the Café Pleyel, located on the second floor of the music venue, 252, rue du Faubourg St Honore in the 8th, 01.53.75.28.44, open for lunch every weekday but for dinner only on nights when there are performances, with a menu that changes weekly but the time he went consisted of a pea soup with pistachio sausage, wok’d beef with carrots and cumin and a fig tart for about 25-35 (25 € for the pre-concert formula) and J’Go St Germain, 14, rue Lobineau in the 6th, 01.43.26.19.02, open 7/7, costing one 25-40 € for goose hearts, pork sausage and cabecou cheese. Then came two one-hearters: Ludik, 49, rue de Lyon in the 12th, 01.43.07.54.87, open weekdays from 11 AM – 4 PM where one makes ones own sandwiches, salads and pasta for 15-25 € and the second Thai place of the same name – Mme Shawn II in the 16th. Finally he deemed Black Calvados, 40 ave Pierre-1ier-de-Serbie in the 16th, 01.47.20.77.77, open only for dinner and closed Sundays and Mondays, worthy of a broken heart because of its “lamentably executed food” costing 60 € for a deconstructed Caesar salad, idiotic oeuf mayo and aqueous gnocchi. Figaroscope’s “Dossier” this week was all about new restaurants with good fish. They included: 35º Ouest Le Bistrot de l’Alycastre Le Winch Rech Les Fables de la Fontaine Le 21 Caviar House & Prunier La Marée Passy Les Embruns Vin & Marée And Francois Simon in his ”Hache Menu” ate at Le P’tit Casier, coordinates given already, where he bemoaned that it was not more full despite the good reviews {Figaroscope, A Nous Paris, etc., } and quite enjoyed his oyster tartare, swordfish tajine and desserts for 119.50 €. “Go?” “You better.” Sunday, Margaret Kemp had a positive article in Bonjour Paris about the Tour d’Argent and John Talbott had an essay on “Location Setting and More.” Rosa Jackson’s Paris Bites in Paris Notes reviews Toustem and Les Cocottes, both of whose coordinates have been given before and while the former is a mixed picture, the latter she indicates she’ll return to. Please post comments here and not in the Digest thread.

November 4th, Jean Claude Ribaut in Le Monde wrote about the C & D Assurance company, which will insure one against the loss of a Michelin star; providing a « coach » (Vlad-Paul Stupurak, a Michelin inspector from 2003-2007), who will drop by once a month to advise you on how to keep the star(s). Web Radio etc in French and Vinimarket in English note that the (US) Trade and Tax Bureau has approved Vins de Pays des Vignobles de France; specifically two denominations “vin de pays des Gaules” and “ vin de pays de l’Atlantique.” Eat in Paris announced that after the successful Marée de Passy, Jean Michel Bichard has started a new seafood and fish restaurant La Marée Denfert in the 14th at 83, avenue Denfert-Rochereau.

I believe Stage is 24 hour. It's decent in terms of a Jewish-style delicatessan, compared to Katz's or Carnegie, but much better than your average 24-hour NYC deli, but much pricier too ← "Decent" is a nice description. Thanks all; had a pretty-good, pre-made, overstuffed roast beef on rye with a little container of Russian, 3 pickles and a side of slaw; no Elsie's off Harvard Square, but fine fare for Amtrak. PS the place was packed at 10 AM on a Saturday with a waiting line.

Stuck at a meeting at the Omni/Shoreham/Marriott Wardman? Some tips. I know the syndrome. One is at a meeting where one has 55 minutes for lunch between sessions and one wants to have something other than hotel food, sandwiches or McDo’s. Plus, one (me) has a wife (Colette) who is grateful for my return from Paris but is ever so slightly jealous of how I’ve been eating in the hexagon. OK. So first, two lunches, we can finesse the Congres and eat astonishingly (for me) at the same place twice in a row – at the Café Atlantico, for which, please see that topic. But now we’re stuck in Calvert/Woodley. First night; to the New Heights, an old fave, where the bread was great, my carpaccio of lamb (yes - lamb) was most unusual and my duck breast under-cooked and cut a la filet mignon with ginger and baby bok choy, was perfect. Other members of the family, less enlightened, had the blackbean rilettes (ever heard of that? It was fab!); lettuce salad and three cheeses, both over standard. They then had scallops (not bad, pas mal!); and mahi mahi, also quite nice. Desserts were a spice cake with ricotta and guava jelly and a terrific tarte tatin. The bill for 6 with wine, no bottled water or coffee = $220. Second night; (we walked to Adams Morgan - .62 miles = 1 km) to Cashion’s - another repeat. But on entering I immediately realized why we hadn’t gone back in a while; it’s loud – in both voices and music, very loud, and Colette and I like to talk to one another (after 46 years, you’ll ceed us that, non?) We only had two dishes (lunch at the Café Atlantico, drinks and appetizers at the Congres’ cocktails precluded more); a fabulous morsel of sweetbreads under Catalan (whatever that means) spinach and a wonderful but huuuge entire branzino (striped sea bass) topped with onion, tomatoes and a tasty sauce. With wine, no water or coffee the bill was $80.85. Third night; to Petits Plats - I know, I know, don’t eat French food in America, but I was hankering. So I enter alone, Colette having bailed out earlier that day, and the place is a mad-house, looooong wait for the responsible to arrive, longer still to be seated, even longer to order, bread horrible, dishes and wine way overpriced – Disasterville waiting to happen, n’est pas? Well, no actually. I don’t think I got special treatment, although after being regularly “outed” in Paris, I cannot be sure. But I asked, up-front, were they having a problem with the staff/customer ratio and was told “not at all.” And indeed, I was served my wine, mussels (traditional style with white wine & shallots, etc) and frites promptly. The wine (a Picpoul, which I’ve just recently glommed onto) and frites were wonderful; indeed better than at home (e.g., 75000) but the mussels were blah. Now in Paris I would say that the horrible wait, bread and mussels over-ruled the great service and fries, but here, I’m more generous. So, for one dish, one wine and neither bottled water nor coffee, I’ll say that $30 ain’t bad. Then lunches: ah there’s the rub. After the Café Atlantico, I was spoiled. The Lebanese Taverna which crafty Colette refused to revisit had a passable Lebanese salad but an insupportable schwarma; dreadful product. So, $32 lighter (no bottled water - are you kidding, coffee or dessert) I departed. The last lunch I went to Tono Sushi, where for $20 one can have miso soup, 4 seaweed salad clumps (rather than the one traditional one), a sushi lunch plate and a beer. I was quite contented with what they served, quite. Thanks all for your help.

Well, I’m here to say that we were blown away by the “dim sum” luncheon on weekends at the CA. Wow! Colette and I came one Saturday and expected what we’d had before on weekdays, e.g., good fresh product, well done and pleasantly-served - but this meal far exceeded our prior experiences and expectations (it reminded us of Ze Kitchen Galerie in my home town, which is not Lake Woebegone. Wow again!) We were so impressed that we came back and over the two days had: the mango and jicima/sardines raviolis, scallops with orange, cigalas (with a charming burnt taste), shrimp with corn, huitlacoche and mushroom quesadillas, confit de canard, carne asado, chocolate and banana and baba au rhum desserts. Wow! Or did I say that before? The tariffs = $95.70 and 95.25. Wow!

Judith, Just call them. I'd be very surprised if the person on the phone does not speak enough English to take a reservation. An alternate might be to persuade someone (A Parisian eGulleteer, perhaps) who speaks good French to make the reservation on your behalf. Any volunteers? ← Judith, they will.

No but a non-member lurker whom I respect (for other reasons) had a fine meal there last October.

The Week of October 29th, 2007 Last Friday, but just showing up this week, Jean Louis Galesne in Les Echos listed his “Best 40” in France. The summary mentioned the following that one can conclude are the “Best of the Best:” in Paris: l'Huîtrerie Régis, Il Vino, les Cocottes, l'Ami Jean, Ze Kitchen Galerie, Ledoyen, Senderens, Thiou + Chez Michel. Outside: l'Atelier Rabanel, Se Qua Na, Jouni, La Civelle + La Régalade, the one in Beaune. Monday, Elvira Masson reviewed a new wine bar Racines at 8 passage des Panoramas in the 2nd, 01 40 13 06 41, open Monday-Friday from lunch to midnight, run by the ex of La Cremerie serving not only wine, sausage, etc but hot dishes for 10-15 €. Monday/Tuesday, A Nous Paris was devoted to Japanese restaurants, which as is my inclination, I won’t summarize, but name – 4/5 Korin, Kilala, Yen + Kunitoraya; 3/5 Usagi, Kaiseki; ?/5 Hanawa Tuesday, in honor of the Goncourt Prize setting November 5th at Drouant, François-Régis Gaudry reviewed it for l’Express. {PS Short-listed is a novel/autobiography of Zelda Fitzgerald. P.S. it won.} Other Paris reviews by Jérôme Dupuis and Delphine Peras concerned the writerly-connected left bank establ.ishments: Le Perron + La Cigale Recamier. Wednesday, as well, Emmanuel Rubin, in Figaroscope awarded two hearts each to Racines, coordinates above, which he calls a combined resto-deli-wine store andcosts one 25-40 € depending on the wine and the Italian R’Wan, in the 15th. Getting one heart were 142 Creperie Contemporaraine, 59, rue St-Charles in the 15th, 01.40.59.84.01, open 7/7 running one about 20 (formula at 10 €), for crepes with andouille or apples and the Italian Chiaro di Luna in the 4th. He gave a busted heart to Le Jardin d’Hugo in the 16th – he asks “What’s worse than the umpteenth Italian resto?” Answer: “The umpteenth and bad Italian resto.” Figaroscope’s “Dossier” this week was all about new restaurants with a good price-quality ratio that included: Lunch & dinner l’Oxalis Le Volant Chez Leon Le Clocher Pereire L’Ordonnance L’Amuse Bouche Preferably lunch l’Office l’Accolade Garance Le Vingt 2 Quedubon Dinner only Cheri Bibi Correction: 3 October they said incorrectly that Gilles Choukroun was consulting at the Buddha Bar. And Francois Simon in his ”Hache Menu” ate at Le Gorgeon, 42, ave Victor Hugo in Boulogne, 01.46.05.11.27, closed Sunday and Mondays, where he says they cook the real thing, and for 5 an appetizer and 12 € a main. He had (apparently) a terine de campagne an entrecote/frites and tiramisu + chocolate mouse. Go? Yes, if out West of Paris. Wednesday-Thursday Jean Claude Ribaut in Le Monde wrote an article on natural wines and the restaurants that champion them: Baratin, Chateaubriand, Racines in Paris and Le Temps des Cerises in La Tour sur Orb. Saturday, Alexandra Michot wrote about traditional Korean food in anticipation of the Korean Festival beginning November 6th. Sunday, Margaret Kemp had an article in Bonjour Paris about the pastry at the Café de la Paix and John Talbott had an essay on “Good service or good service.” October’s Gourmet had a nice spread by Oliver Schwaner-Albright on Luc Dubanchet (of oMni) and the Carnet de Route guide, that he implies in his title is passing the Michelin on the highway. And November’s issue had a review by Cynthia Zarin of new cookbooks that called our member Clotilde Dusoulier’s book Chocolate & Zucchini zesty, inventive and enthusiastic. Please post comments here and not in the Digest thread.

November's Paris Notes indicates that the Tour d'Argent is open again with a 70 E menu. Also Web Radio du Gout says that l'Etoile de Montmartre, the classic brasserie in the 18th where numerous films have been shot, will reopen Nov. 15th under the helm of a young couple. And a new wine has been born (or at least named) - Vin de Pays de Méditerranée. In addition, a mention by Robert Parker of a wine elevates its price by at least 3 E a bottle. Also a new chocolate bar {that doesn't quite sound correct when translated) opens at the Stade de France under the direction of Pierre Hermé. They also reveal that Francois Simon's blog reveals that 31 October, the courts ruled that Alexandre Cammas of Le Fooding must pay the Fleury Michon company (that makes surimi) 5000 E for misappropriating the name which is/was apparently used for a line of products Joel Robuchon designed. {Did I get that right?}

I just realized, now, 2 years later, that I never reported on my lunch at the Meurice, despite having listed it in my topic title. Now, of course, I cannot remember all the details, or any of them for that matter, but I do have a record of having had the 75 E Liberté menu, some wine (which was 30 E by the bottle) and a coffee (7 E). I thought it was a fine experience. I apologize for the delay.

For trying out the wine we all love to hate, here are Heather Stimmler-Hall’s recs from her Secrets of Paris newsletter/site: La Cloche des Halles: 28, rue Coquillière, 1st. Juvenile’s: 47, rue de Richelieu, 1st Willi’s Wine bar: 13, rue des Petits-Champs, 1st Le Rubis: 10, rue du Marché-Saint-Honoré, 1st Les Enfants Rouges: 9, rue de Beauce, 3rd Le Mauzac: 7, rue de l’Abbé-de-l’Epée, 5th Café de la Nouvelle Mairie: 19, rue Saint-Jacques, 5th. Cave Drouot: 8, rue Drouot, 9th Mélac: 42, rue Léon-Frot, 11th Au Vin des Rues: 21, rue Boulard, 19th. Le Baratin: 3, rue Jouye-Rouve, 20th

Then it's perfect between acts. I'm not sure it's still there but it was on the North East corner of the Place if a circle can have a corner.