John Talbott

Many thanks ro all for doing the research on Saturday lunch openings. The first Saturday, we followed JohnnyD’s suggestion and had a wonderful meal at Walter’s, upstairs by the window and were quite pleased. The host willingly turned down the music so we could talk with our guest. I had a North meets East bouillabaisse with ginger, lemon grass, lemon bok choi and foccaccia, Colette had a chicken with zucchini in a wrap with homemade potato chips and our guest had the salmon cakes with a creamy sauce and onion. All the dishes were inventive and tasty. The bill for three (mind you) = $54.57, including one bottle of wine, without tip. The following Saturday, coming back through Portland we stopped at Duckfat and I can see why everyone loves it so much. It really does present different food, at reasonable prices and is “fun.” I had the special panino with shredded duck confit and blueberry preserves and goat cheese: everything but the blueberries was wonderful; they just didn’t work though. Colette had the ratatouille panino with mozzarella, zucchini, eggplant, red peppers, tomato and basil pesto that I though was nickel but she didn’t think had enough pizzazz. The Belgian fries were terrific (lots better than at the new place La Frite Bruxelloise in Paris) and the truffle catsup very assertive. Our bill = $33.71 (including wine but before the tip).

Saturday night we went to Persimmon, 31 State Street in Bristol, RI, 401-254-7474, which represented to me another cross between El Bulli + Danny Meyer. By that I mean that while the products were good and the cooking solid, the dishes were too deconstructed and upside-down in structure; to whit, the gazpacho consisted of a mound of crabmeat, cuke cubes, corn kernels and nuts with a tablespoon of sauce underneath. In brief, good stuff but "truth in labeling" was missing. The amuse gueule was a nice morsel of fluke with dill and citrus, the intercourses were inventive and good: a sweet corn soup with chanterelle and a grape sorbet. The bread crust was superbly crackly. I was not entranced by the two salads: one of heirloom tomatoes, corn and other tiny items, the other warm beets with more chopped veggies and the third first – a lobster risotto - was dressed with an overly assertive truffle oil/sauce. However, the mains were superb; a rabbit confit and sausage cassoulet with tarbais beans and veggies and an incredible black bass, crunchy on the outside, moist on the inside with trumpet mushrooms. One of us finished with a nicely lavender-flavored panna cotta. Any bumps? Yes, very slow delivery of plates and an absence of decaffeinated espresso. Bill = $173.00 for four before tip. Chef Champe Spiedel is clearly a talent if he doesn’t let the over-the-top ideas for dishes trump solid product and cooking.

Congratulations. What a treat. I've just posted a new compendium of things Nantoise. Also, I’ve had the extraordinary fortune to have been in Nantes every two years or so and it’s a great place. The star (no pun intended) is L’Atlantide - a simply wonderful, starred restaurant chef’d by Jean-Yves Gueho which of course features seafood and is thoroughly good but there are a lot of other places that are good, for instance, La Cigale is a great circa-1895 brasserie where pretty good oysters can be found. Finally, you’re but a few hours from my most favorite place in the world, the Ile d’Yeu, where at least last summer a talented young chef Nicolas Vagnon, ex-Lucullus in the 17th, was chef'ing at Chez Nicolas, 13 rue du Marche, on the back street off the port at Port-Joinville, 06.74.24.73.10, closed Wednesdays. Good luck, and please do report back j.

Just so that one doesn't infer that we don't update topics, this, for example, has been updated today August 22, 2007.

Nantes: A compendium of existing topics This is one of a series of compendia that seeks to provide information available in prior topics on eGullet. Please feel free to add links to additional topics or posts or to add suggestions. Four months in Nantes A place to go for fabulous food. Les Caudalies La Cigale l’Auberge Bretonne

Host's Note: In order to keep things straight here and make topics searchable, let's confine the France Forum to pastry schools in France (comparisons with ones in the US or elsewhere is OK, but if we become the Chicagobis site, it'll become confusing.) So if the discussion switches to Chicago & the US, I'll split the topic. OK? Thanks.

I assume you've also consulted Braden's Report on the tasting of baguettes topic as well as the tasting Felice and I conducted a while before. These all qualify, I think, as neighborhood bakeries.

Welcome. I assume you've checked out our compendium of existing topics on bakeries.

In Saturday’s NYT, in an article “36 Hours in Frankfurt,” Mark Landler mentions Holbein's, Silk + Zarges, the latter a fancy deli.

Since there have been no recs for Brunswick, I'll give our results. We were in Harpswell for a week (positioning ourselves near our two Presidents - Bush and Sarko) and largely ate lobstah, which ranged from $4.99 a cull at Gurnet Trading to $20.00 a pound at Cook's Lobster. Tonight, however, we ate in Brunswick at Joshua's Tavern aka Joshua Chamberlain's (he who won the Civil War with the 20th Maine at Gettysburg, cf The Killer Angels), 123 Maine Street, 207-725-7981. I had the most outstanding dish - fried scallops with salad; the others had less impressive sauteed scallops and a crab salad. Bill $52.43 before tip. Would I go again? You bet for that fry. But as a destination for a full menu, nah.

why is this topic headed "French restaurants' when it is really 'Paris restaurants'. Those of us who live in other parts of France may take exception to the assumption that there is nothing else but Paris.... ← It was titled Paris until this week when my discussions with Dave Hatfield prompted me to change it in anticipation of his posting his new map of restaurants outside Paris. You'll notice that there are a few restaurants outside Paris listed at the bottom. Unfortunately, there are fewer topics on places outside Paris than in Paris and I composed it by listing the restaurant topics since Jan 1, 2006. If I have missed any please let me know and I will include them. It will always be a bit behind becauce I try to update it each month but sometimes am tardy.

Although there are a couple of OK places at the Porte Maillot (at the Hôtel Méridien itself, Claude Colliot's l'Orenoc + Chez George), they would not be open at 11 AM and Catriona is spot on about the absence of markets/food stores/etc. in the area.Speaking of which, if you want to learn more about markets than you need to, see our Market/Marche compendium.

Oh oh, like the Professor said; read the instructions! "leave at 2PM." A problem. I've never arrived at Le Pré Verre before 12:30 when there have indeed been folks there, but not a lot; they do list their hours as starting at 12 Noon. (most Parisiens turn up between 12:30-2). So, let me amend Pti's suggestion to suggest lunch at the Brasserie Balzar where you can enter and order and eat before noon since they open at 8 and serve cassoulet. It's not haute cuisine but it's probably the best compromise. There is also the option of shopping at the Marché Maubert 9:30-10:30 say and then going back to CdeG and eating - there. There's also the possibility of shopping at the covered market at St Quentin, 85, bis boulevard Magenta, near the Gare du Nord and eating at the Terminus Nord afterwards, which is OK for a Flo brasserie (I'm eating there myself after getting in late from Firenze in 2 weeks) and opens at 11 AM and serves cassoulet. Customs regs are like in the US, no more than 3.4 ounces liquid etc. Dry stuff no problem (eg cheese). Recall that the RER does take a half-hour plus/minus and American/Term 1 is a few minutes via the new subway. I'm a worry-wart and I hate lines and rushing, so I leave (assuredly) far too early, but the hassle at CdeG is no better/worse than elsewhere.

Pirate has raised a good question; why are you limiting the choices to Hiramatsu, Senderens + Grand Vefour?

Ah well, then, with these priorities, I fully agree with Pti, as usual. Since it'll be November and you're coming in from Torino, you'll already have got the Southern European items and foie gras and rillettes will be easy to target. Plus Le Pré Verre is pretty darn good. Do reserve though.

We returned to the Iberia, 63-69 Ferry, 201-344-5611, where Phaelon, Jason and other local folks and our prior experience encouraged us to make another visit. Colette had giant gambas that were OK, not great and steamed broccoli and I had a monkfish with a spicy tomato sauce with rice that was almost a stew that was incredibly good, really good. We ended with a beautiful crème caramel. I thought the food was pretty much the same as I’d remembered it in the past and with the guarded car park and very reasonably priced vino verde, was ideal. The bill = $42.90 before tip. Thanks much.

We had two meals in the Williamstown/North Adams area, both at restaurants run by the same couple - Nancy Thomas and Bo Peabody: Mezze Bistro + Café Latino. Incredibly, both had the same good and bad points, specifically, good food and unwelcoming/bad service. At night we ate with a local couple at the Mezze Bistro, 16 Water St, Williamstown, 413-458-0123, where I had a very nicely cooked hanger steak with a Chateaubriand sauce that was not to my taste while Colette had a well prepared king salmon. Our friends had scallops and a pork chop – both of which they liked. We shared a flan and a second dessert, both of which were very good. Our bill per couple was $99.23 with wine, without tip. The next day we had lunch at their Café Latino at MassMoca in North Adams where I had terrific fish tacos (that equaled my San Diego gold standard) and Colette the chicken salad. In both places, the service was remarkably unprofessional. At Mezze the hostess wanted us to wait to be seated until our friends arrived, despite the fact that our table was ready! We were seated, but only after we asked for her to “please seat us as we have been driving all day”! She was not happy to comply! Then our “local” friend had to search out the manageress in order to get our order taken and she too was not gracious! At the Café Latino, we were seated ahead of two other parties, one of four persons and one of two, but we were served AFTER they had their orders taken and were served. We were not impressed! The bill = $47.25 with wine but without tip. Ironic, my former France co-host Robert and I must have almost met at the recently restored Mount.

Evan Rail in the NYT Sunday wrote an article on "36 hours in Budapest" that mentions Dio, Csalogany 26 + Callas Cafe, the latter for a hearty breakfast.

The Week of August 6th, 2007 Monday, in Le Fooding, Elvira Masson described what Claude Colliot of l’Orenoc is doing as an apprentice “cookcosmetologist” with perfumes from Virginale to create things such as rosemary, avocado and litchee foam and a rose essence and white chocolate macaroon. GoGo Paris reviewed the Mini-Palais, coordinates already given, that serves all day in the Grand Palais, everything from breakfast to real food at lunch (20€ for the menu with a main, glass of wine + coffee) to snacks in the afternoon to cocktails and Sésame, 51 quai de Valmy in the 10th, open daily from 9 AM to MN, 01.42.49.03.21, serving light food, sandwiches, etc for 9-13€. Last Thursday, in Figaro Madame, Véronique André reviewed several restaurants in Arcachon : Chez Hortense, Café de la Plage, Le Patio + Le Bikini. In July, I missed an article by Laurent Chabrun in l’Express on where to purchase simple Corsican products in Corsica. Every once in a while, the quiky little website RestoaParis beats out all the other couples with a test of a new place. This time it’s L’Atelier Charonne, 21, rue de Charonne in the 11th, 01-40-21-83-35, closed Sundays and Mondays with a lunch menu at 13.80 and dinner one for 27,90 serving fare such as a melon gaspacho, rillettes de saumon, a suprème de volaille with goat cheese, filets de daurade and caviar d'aubergines and a millefeuille à la vanille with crème anglaise as well as good wines, all of which they say is excellent. Their current list of favorites includes Le Salon, Le Tournesol, O Corcovado, O Batignolles, L'arbre de Sel, Sur un R de Flora, L'Oasis, Tout le monde en Parle, Le Méli, La Cuisine, Le S, + Le Bistrot Montsouris. Saturday, Radio France announced the publication of the new book Sept 5th by Héloïse Martel called La Cuisine de l'étudiant , First Editions, 2.90 Euros, that presents an interesting concept – recipes for students who want to eat well, albeit not haute cuisine. Sunday, in Bonjour Paris, John Talbott had an essay entitled “Adria, Astrance and Aspen.” Please post comments here and not in the Digest thread.

I cannot comment on Hiramatsu but Bu Pun Su is correct, Senderens since the changeover is no longer an elegant two-star, but Grand Vefour is a class act at a price at least for lunch that most consider "a steal".

I am unpinning this because what's in the markets this year is pretty much the same as what was in the markets last year.

If you're committed to sticking near the RER from CdeG, you have lots of possibilities, but even 10 min off the RER, you're fine. Within walking range of the Gard du Nord, the first stop in the city, one can walk to a fine place Chez Michel, 10, Rue Belzunce, Paris - 01 44 53 06 20, and then walk around Montmartre; only food shopping is nul. And only a bit away is the best, and hottest spot in Paris, Spring about which much has been written here. The second stop, Chatelet/Les Halles, has no great eating nearby, but nearby is/are the Pompidou Center and the Marais for art. The third stop, St Michel, might be where to go. For me Ze Kitchen Galerie at 4, rue des Grands Augustins, 01 44 32 00 32, would be perfect, because you could then walk by the book-stalls and the Seine, Notre Dame, view the Eiffel Tower, etc. But in truth Ze is not your typical french food, so, Fourth Paris stop, Luxembourg, great garden, Senate, good resto at the Maison du Jardin and go to the Grand Epicerie Food Shop at the Bon Marche department store. Now, I want to be sure you understand that from any of these stops you can eat at many other great places and find great walking nearby. As opposed to say London, you can get off at almost any RER or Metro stop and find interesting restaurants and sights. Good luck and let us know how it worked out.

I don't know if Hathor's topic on the Italy Forum would have any useful info.

The only general rule I've drawn in 50 years of eating non-French cuisine in France is that French products are generally of a higher quality than those in either the Mother country or say the US and thus, from Viet Namese to Thai, the dishes while made similarly, are better here. I don't think it's fusion cooking but rather adaptive cooking.

Thank Laidback, not everyone reads the Digest.