John Talbott

I've only been there three times and while it's hard to move an elbow, I had no problem with the smoke. Perhaps members with more experience have had other experiences.

In my attempt to sneak in repeat reviews, I'd like to report on a very disappointing meal at an old fave - Thierry Burlot in the 15th (Pasteur). It's a good news/bad news sitch which is kind of the story of Pierre's and my experience: Good: The one-of-a-kind great shrimp Asian-raviolis with soy and spicy shallots/vinaigrette, the fabulous ice cream with salted caramel, but Bad: The slow delivery of plates, amateurish service, tiny piece of foie gras immersed in greens and three rubbery gambas, a tasteless chicken breast wrapped like a brik, lackluster lumpy mashed potatoes, a mis-calculated bill, shabby steps to the bathroom and a broken front door. Not to mention the slowly creeping-up prices and loss of reasonably-priced wines. But except for that, as the joke goes............ The bill - first try 93 E, second try 121. {Whoops, forgot our agreement: the meal consisted of one 35 E menu decouverte (3 courses) a starter and main = 37 E, plus one bottle of wine and two coffees but no water }. Edited by John Talbott to add {Whoops, etc.}

I really liked it. I am one of those who think she's the most over-hyped, over-rated chefs on the planet and I wouldn't touch anything she does.

I really liked it. I am one of those who think she's the most over-hyped, over-rated chefs on the planet and I wouldn't touch anything she does. Would you like to hear what I really think? ←

Because of my bizarre religion, that bars my eating other-than-French food when in France for under 365 days (at which point I'll try sushi, pasta, pho and pad Thai, etc), I have not sampled Unico on the culinary street of dreams, Paul-Bert, but I went by the other day and scoped the menu and poked my head in and spied the platters of beef and it looked pretty darn good. Almost impressive enough to consider changing my practices.

I'll make it easy for you. Click here

Julot, no dispute. But in the 1950's when I first lived in France, people at least took the time to eat at lunch and dinner and even at breakfast. And Pti, I agree that most of the ones I knew were undemanding and Julot - there probably was never a golden age, and I was extraordinarily lucky to fall into the household of a wine consultant and small market chain owner so our meals were great. And I've said this too before, then we would never have thought of running to the Metro with a croissant in the AM, eating a ham sandwich (as a woman did facing me today on the Metro near noon) as my stomach rumbled, etc etc.But I'm just an alta cocker.

Today's Figaro had an article that said that cantines and indeed, all the restaurant sector, would be raising their prices from 8.5-10% til the end of 2007 due to rising prices of grains, milk and meat. Edited the next day by John Talbott to add that the Organization of producers of milk say that 10-17% is an exaggeration and it will be more like a 1.4% increase) according to Metro.

I recently received the following from a member: "Hi John-can you direct me to sites that have photos of dishes along with reviews of restaurants in Paris? I've been wading through the mass postings on egullet about Paris dining and have found some, but thought you could give me clearer direction to cut down on my searching time. Thanks for your help." My reply (edited) was: "You're right, it's hit and miss on photos with reviews on the eGullet France Forum. But our participants who are bloggers, for instance, usually have them. The newspapers like Figaroscope and magazines usually do storefronts or staff/chef photos and I cannot recall a repository for reviews with photos. Maybe other members can help."

Exactly. I've never seen them cooked. But since Abra asked about it's difficult say, with oysters, which I prefer raw, while mussels, bulots and coques I can come up with recipes for.Edited by John Talbott for redundancy.

I was prompted by post by Jmahl about violets to research them and came up with Patricia Well’s definition that included the descriptor “….unusual iodine-strong,…,” and I thought about the fact that when I first came to France at 18 (in 1900) I thought belons were just too iodiney and avoided them for years. Now, of course, with taste-buds disappearing by the second, I love that iodine taste.

As Garrison Keillor says, as an old person, I react violently to this new trend, just as I did when Sabrett's carts moved into the upper West Side. It used to be that whether one was a truck driver or a business giant in France, one ate a leisurely lunch a table. Now, much rush-rush.Wha'd'they eat?; croissants on the run to the Metro in the AM, paninis and sandwiches on the metro at/instead of lunch, chips and boxes of McDo at night going home. As my Grandma used to say "Lawsie me." Not Singapour's fabled finger food, not Kyoto's wonderful teriyaki, not even Brussels great fries in goose fat, no US/FR fast food. Much as the French rail on about American cultural imperialism, how come they eat this cr** instead of homey food; and go to McDo's and Starbuck's rather than a nearby brasserie or nabe cafe; and industrial bread instead of......? Well, I've gone on long enough. Like the Harvard students in 1766, whose battle cry was "Behold our butter stinketh!" and (I'm told) "we will not eat thereof," I suggest the cheminots take on a gastronomic disaster of the future: eating awful food on the run a la Americain.

It was indeed, also called a figue de mer: Microcosmus "petit monde."As described by P. Wells "Violet or figue de mer: unusual iodine-strong, soft-shelled edible sea creature, with a yellowish interior. A delicacy along the Mediterranean, particularly in Marseille." It looks like this.

I'm truly not clear on the question. Do you mean coques/cockles which are rarely seen in the US, or bulots/whelks, or maybe give us a link to a photo that would help us?

I'm not a Francophone but I'm not sure what more you need; I think you've got it; there's chicken livers, thyme and thyme blossoms/flowers and the cream is light not fraiche.As for I'll give my stock answer, in Paris or at Joe's Diner, I always reserve. I think it's a mark of respect, it ensures you get the best table and they know your name or assumed name which makes it more personal. Plus you'll never be turned away.

It implied in Newzy that La Méditerranée in the 6th had a new chef, ex-l’Ambrosie and I was going to use that as an excuse to pop up this topic from the bowels, since it’s been consolidated/merged to give all the Sunday lunch/brunch info. Three of us ate there and had two 27 € menus (the other had a first and dessert totaling 21 €), which with no bottled water, 2 bottles of their cheapest, but good, white and no aperos or digestos ran 123 €. I had an incredible warm terrine of all mushrooms (truly spectacular, best dish of the day), Colette and Felice a nullish soupe de poissons; Felice and I had decent pieces of monkfish and cod respectively; and then Colette had a large slice of poached pear, ice cream and chocolate - OK. All in all, not bad for a Sunday but not great either. PS M. Ripa is not new, unless you count the millennium as new.

Full disclosure sounds reasonable to me: I try in my monthly reports to give same but occasionally forget. And in the Digest, the authors are quite specific about menu prices and a la carte costs. It does indeed annoy me when any people say that the meal is 35 E (not stating the amount and quality of beverages consumed). Worse is omitting any amount. My readers have indicated in PM's that they appreciate the bottom line. Of course, as with today, one could order the 19 E wine or the 77 E one. Or elsewhere have the 18 E/doz oysters or 36 E ones, I could go on.

John, Very nice, but ... How many people? With or without wine? Coffee or no? Total price per person? ?? Should we have a convention when stating prices? p/p/p? Menu price? Food only price? You name it? Makes a big difference. A 35 Euro menu quickly runs up when you add an apperitif, some wine and coffee Plus, maybe, an after dinner cognac. Opinions? Suggestions? ← Sorry. As you must know, I usually specify who I am with, what water we drank, coffee, etc. Today was for two (Colette and myself), no bottled water, one bottle of wine and two coffees.I'll fix it. I thought since it wasn't one of my regular reports, I'd omit it. Clearly folks want to know.

Hi, welcome.Make sure you check out the topic of topics on bistros/bistrots but to answer you the first thing you should recall is that (even with this strike) you can be almost anyplace quickly. But off the top of my head I'd recommend: La Ferrandaise 8, rue de Vaugirard, 6th (RER: Luxembourg, Metro : St Michel) T : 01.43.26.36.36 Closed Saturday lunch, Sunday and Monday Menu at dinner or 3 courses at lunch = 30 €, plus wine running 14-63 €. Although not bad and best loved by our members is: Le Comptoir du Relais 9, carrefour de l’Odeon, 6th (Metro: Odeon) T: 01.44.27.07.97 Open everyday Lunch 30-40 €, dinner 40 €. Le Pre Verre 8 rue Thenard, 5th (Metro: Cluny La Sorbonne) T: 01.43.54.59.47 Closed Sunday and Monday lunch Lunch menu 13 €, dinner 26 €. However, far exceeding them, albeit only a bistrot by a strectch of the imagination is: Ze Kitchen Galerie 4, rue des Grands Augustins, 6th (Metro: Saint Michel) T: 01 44 32 00 32 Closed Sundays. A la carte 30 €. An old fave: Josephine aka Chez Dumonet 117, rue du Cherche-Midi, 6th (Metro : Duroc) T : 01.45.48.52.40 Closed Sundays and Mondays Menus 25, 70, 75 €, a la carte 50-75 €. Also, don't forget: La Bastide Odeon 7, rue Corneille, 6th (RER: Luxembourg, Metro : St Michel) T : 01.43.26.03.65 Closed Sundays and Mondays Menus at 29.50 and 35.50 €. And for a wonderful wine-bar: Les Caves Miard 9, rue des Quatre-Vents, 6th (Metro: Odeon) T: 01.43.54.99.30 Closed Sundays and Mondays Price depends on wines and charcuterie selected or Les Papilles 30 rue Gay Lussac, 5th (RER: Luxembourg) T: 01.43.25.20.79 Closed Sunday and Tuesday and Thursday nights Menu 28.50 €. Interesting Anglo run: Le Timbre 3 rue Saint Beuve, 6th (Metro : Notre Dame des Champs) T : 01.45.49.10.40 Closed Sundays Lunch menu 22 & 26 €. Also not quite a bistro as you might think, but equally with English-spoken: Fish la Boissonnerie 69, rue de Seine, 6th T: 01.43.54.34.69 Closed Sunday and Monday Lunch Menus 10.50 + 21.50 €; dinner 28.50 + 32.50 €. Truth be told, the area is rich with choices: also Cameleon is quite quite good. Do some searching in the area to decide. Good luck!

You've opened so many possibilities. Since I've merged all the bistro topics into this one you have some research to do.I don't think Sensing's lighting distracts 70 year olds, I do think Benoit is both too touristy and too pricey, and I don't get the hype on Chez Géraud despite an OK meal there. Cf Rosa Jackson and Laidback though. I think the bistro is l'Ami Jean or Astier, the brasserie is Lorraine or Bofinger, but we have a topic running now on where to send first-time visitors. Check it out.

After today’s wonderful Saturday lunch at Le Repaire de Cartouche (featuring a seasonal terrine of wild hare with chocolate, scallops with cabbage, grouse breast wrapped in cabbage with yet another cabbage preparation, piping hot clafoutis and a moelleux of (? apple) vanilla with caramel sauce for a gentle 105 €, (for two (Colette and myself), no bottled water, one bottle of wine and two coffees), no extra charge for expert waitressing by Rodolphe Paquin’s 5-yo daughter) it occurred to me we have a lot of overlapping topics on weekend eating. Therefore, I’ve merged some weekend eating topics which I’ve made note of here. Edited by John Talbott at 21:22 to add number of covers and liquids consumed.

Host's Note Because we had a lot of overlapping topics on weekend eating, I’ve merged some weekend eating topics so that all the information is in one place and all you need to do is go to Saturday lunch, Saturday dinner, Saturday, Sunday brunch/lunch, Sunday night wine bars, Sunday dinner, Sunday, weekend lunch, weekend dining, and starred restos on weekends. If there are errors or busted links, please tell me. Thanks.

The charming couple, Catherine and Pierre Breton, who have been kind enough to send me invitations ever since we bought some wonderful Bourgueil at their place in the Loire, informed me today that this year's tastings will be 22-29 October in Lyon, 22-26 November in Paris 17-18 Nov in Senlis 18 Nov in Amsterdam 20 Nov in London (at the Winery) and 9 Dec in Troyes. .

This year it'll be 22-26 November in Paris. The charming couple, Catherine and Pierre Breton, who have been kind enough to send me invitations ever since we bought some wonderful Bourgueil at their place, informed me today.

Host's Note: This merged topic contains most information on bistros/bistrots in Paris, except for information of origins & definitions, what's open weekends, specific areas, etc., for which please use the search function.