John Talbott

I’ve been meaning to comment on the new English Michelin Red Guides, so this represents the opportunity. A few month’s ago, I bought the one for Paris and it is expanded, more colorful (verbally and photographically) and worth the price of admission but today, as I was attending/assisting at Clotilde Dusoulier’s book signing/talk at Brentano’s of Chocolate and Zucchini, I snuck a look at the English language France Guide and it’s not at all different from the French version, except translated accurately into English, assuredly by one of our eG members, so I won’t say it was literal, wooden and unlively. PS I did not purchase it.

I know your comment was directed to Sharon but I cannot resist. But I also had the oignon fondant, chevre and whatever else is in the Provence selection. Call me Goute d'Or Trash, bobo, plebian, but I found it not bad. Now the livarot after dinner from Quatrehomme was quite special, but we're talking apples and oranges here.

But I'm not plugged in (branché) and I don't consider me or my buddies "highly respected gastronomes ". We simply eat, therefore we are. Thanks Jake, I was hoping to reciprocate for those great fiddleheads, peameal bacon sandwiches, butter tarts, Niagara and other red wines, fruit and both Quebec and Ontario cheeses. To answer your question, I had some Champagne, Chat. de la Chaise white, Buzet red, country and foie gras terrines, spicy radishes and Amurican peanuts. Believe me, nothing went to waste.

Well, after being stood up by my first invitees, I had two of my French/Romanian neighbors over tonight and I served and ate Apercubes for the first time. As I said before, I'd been introduced to La Vache Qui Rit some 54 years ago but this fusion of cheese and herbs/olives, etc was approached by me with extreme caution; they scarfed it up; as indeed I did after one. As we were discussing what was most important event today (D-Day vs the disintegration of the Soviet Empire) we feasted on this truly great French apero treat.

I think this is all the more reason to support small producers and to buy cheese from your local fromagerie rather than the supermarket. ← Well, as some predicted, there's now a food fight on between the small and big guys. This AM's MatinPlus says the small folk are blockading the roads from the big ones. To be continued I suspect.

There's a word for this that my precious little woman, Colette, learned in Business School Micro-economics that is something like "the price point," above which, whatever they are, truffles, caviar, indeed sandals, are not worth the price. I must say the 19 € for girolles this week made me pause before ordering them.

A Nous Paris, a Parisian publication which is pretty accurate concerning French places, gave two restos they recommend: Pegasus, HarjuI. + Quam Quam.

Figaroscope’s “Dossier” this week published a list of places serving fruits and vegetables : 5 fruits-5 vegetables Maison Blanche 100% bio Phyto Bar + Crudus Vegetable menu Le Transversal Entirely steamed Vapeur Gourmande Vegetarian menu Maceo Daily market Supernature Crudities Mi Va Mi Veg dip and salads C Nature And for more vitamins – l’Ampere, Wanna Juice, Biotifull Place, Lood Juice Bar, Bioboa, Bob’s Juice Bar + Pousse-Pousse.

Thanks Mike, I clearly saw only one negative not two.

A Nous Paris announces that the 8 & 9 June, butcher shops all over France are opening their doors for an apero, tastings and demonstrations concerning meat. Then they note that Haagen-Dazs® opened the biggest terrace (200 covers) and a huge space (1,200 square meters) on the Champs-Elysees (@49-51). Finally, Fauchon will open a pink terrace for the summer for folks getting stuff from their bakery.

I have just learned that Pti's blog is now in English and was interested that she was an expert in Creole food; so a question that has always interested me: why are the rhums from the French Departments (e.g. Guadeloupe & Martinique) aged and labelled 5, 10, etc years as is Cognac, Calvados, etc in the mother country but ron from ex-Spanish possessions (eg Cuba, Puerto Rico) has levels of quality but is not aged or labelled by years, whilst the mother country's Spanish Brandy is.

I happened to be in the neighborhood today and was somewhat taken aback that the big sign out from does indeed say Au Gourmand but the menu in the window says Le Gourmand and as you say bears no relationship with the one they used to have which had different specials on each day of the week.

I would like to ask member/readers who find errors in my Digest to forward them to me so I may correct the facts. Today Fresh_a pointed out that I'd mistyped Sens for Sers, perhaps forgivable, but disastrous if one is relying on the correct information. In the "Hache Menu" I was digesting, Francois Simon was complaining about the exhorbitant prices of the Hotel de Sers not those at the Pourcel's Sens in the 8th and/or Levellois-Perret {which I have found excessive}.

Phyllis, I must admit, I clean forgot and then was jealous I missed it. But you must report on your findings.John

To celebrate Fraich'attitude week, there will be a vegetable bus traveling aound Paris this weekend with fruit and vegetable "cocktails". The bus is kind of cool looking.

No but explaining white powder to customs & etc can get dicey. ← Funny, my little red can of Rumford never got a second glance.

The Week of May 28th, 2007 Monday, Alexandra Michot wrote an article about the popularity of ice cream with a photo of a rum/ginger/piment one. In this Monday’s Le Fooding they published two announcements: that on June 7th Nouvel Obs will publish a special edition called “Guide Fooding Vacances 2007 and that there will be a special fooding event June 3rd in Toulouse. This week’s A Nous Paris had a{nother} great review of Le Grand Pan, coordinates given before, where Jerome Berger gave it 4/5 blocks for the enormous cote de pork, veal and beef (all for two) and wines about 15 € a liter. His colleague Philippe Toinard gave only 2/5 blocks to Meli, 9 rue des Acacias in the 17th, 01.44.09.99.99, closed Saturday lunch and Sundays, running one about 35 € for lots of nice sounding vegetables and fish on a carte emphasizing fresh spring products but whose results are mixed. Tuesday, l’Express printed just one review by François-Régis Gaudry of Le Grand Pan, an off-shoot of Le Troquet in the 15th, coordinates given before, where the 27 year old chef served impressive portions of lobster and cote de boeuf but the welcome was wanting. Wednesday in Figaroscope, Emmanuel Rubin reviewed and gave two hearts to three places – the Café Very, in the Tuileries Gardens in the 1st, 01.47.03.94.84, where for 25-40 € one can have Gilles Choukroun l’Angl’Opera-inspired lighter fare such as crunchy asparagus, spring rolls and a melon milk-shake with desserts from Pierre Herme; the refurbished Fontaine de Mars, coordinates well known, where for 50-60 € he had the leeks, filet of beef with béarnaise sauce and frites and fraises des bois with Chantilly; and the Lebanese Chez Madeleine in Boulogne-Billancourt. One heart each went to Monjul, 28, rue des Blancs-Manteaux in the 4th, 01.42.74.40.15, closed Sunday dinner and Monday lunch, with lunch menus at 14 and 18, Sunday brunch at 19 and a la carte 30 €, where he describes the food as between mincing and amateurish and the second coming of C Nature, 122, rue La Boetie in the 8th, 01.58.36.16.36, closed weekends, running one 10-15 € for “working food”, eg sandwiches, soups and salads. Figaroscope’s “Dossier” this week gave yet another bunch of places with terraces: Very bluffing Saut du Loup Bucolic Pavillon Puebla Confidential Café Medicis Historic la Guirlande de Julie Very Neuilly-Auteuil-Passy, {rather than, according to Pti, not Very new African poets, that the Google gives one} Bistro de la Muette Gastronomic Sens Montmartre Moulin de la Galette Wednesday, once again, Francois Simon’s Haché menu destroys a place, in this case the Hotel de Sers, in the 8th where he says it was horribly expensive (178 € for two and two small Chateldon’s were 16 €) and so long as you aren’t hungry it’s OK to go. Wednesday, Florence Fabricant in an article in the NYT gave a nice reference to eG member David Liebowitz’s new book “The Perfect Scoop.” Wednesday, as well, Richard Hesse in Paris Update wrote up the Greek place Kazaphani in the 11th. Wednesday-Thursday in Le Monde, Jean Claude Ribaut wrote an article about the products from the Vaucluse, esp Cavaillon melon, cherries, truffles, asparagus and dried fruit as well as Mont Ventoux wines. He also mentions places to eat including: Christian Etienne, l'Auberge de la Fenière, La Bastide de Capelongue, le Grand Pré, and Le Pré du Moulin, all of which use fresh local products. Saturday, the whole page in the Figaro was taken up with Francois Simon’s 10 day trip to Japan where he ate in 16 starred restos affiliated with European, largely French chefs. What would interest you? Well, there are 2-hour waits for Jean-Paul Hevin’s hot chocolate and Bocuse’s tables; additions come to 1,200 € for two; and that after the terroir, it’s just marketing. Simon also tells one where to go in Paris for Japanese food: Isami + Higuma for sushi and Toraya for tea. Saturday/Sunday, BP published an article by Margaret Kemp on “Monte Carlo Bay and Resort” and one by John Talbott on "Eating Ethnic in Paris." Sunday, in the JDD, Astrid d’Serclaes reported on a new place: Food and Beverage, 14, rue Charlot in the 3rd, 01.42.78.02.31, formula = 25 €, chef’d by an ex from the Starke empire, specifically Bon 1, where she liked her tartare of tuna but found her bass with confited fennel drowned in oil as was a plate of grilled veggies with olive oil – a good and healthy idea but too much. She also ate well, albeit lightly at the Café Medicis at the Luxembourg Museum, coordinates given before, and liked the painter-named chic snacks for 25 €. Gael Orieux, of Auguste in the 7th, picked as his two restos under 35 €; Le Boulanger des Invalides Jocteur at 14, ave de Villars in the 7th, formula = 7 € for quiche, etc and the Italian Le Palinuro in the 9th. JDD also reported the publication of an interesting-sounding book Les papas chefs se mettent a table, Stephane Brasca, editions de l’air, 60 pps, 19 € that features 42 cook/fathers, including Inaki Aizpitarte (Chateaubriand etc) and Yves Camdeborde (Comptoir). Please post comments here and not in the Digest thread. Edited to correct typo.

It has a "menu" at lunch for 130, dinner "menu" 340, a la carte 250. The food is good but worth those prices? Not sure.

Yes I do mean walking not cabs. I know Florence pretty well and am used to walking quickly around. Thanks in advance.

Hi Florence/Firenze lovers, I know, I know, I shouldn't go in August, I shouldn't go to Florence, I shouldn't ask for places near my hotel/Congress site/etc, I shouldn't ask the very questions I'm asked on the France Forum. We'll stipulate that, as the members of the bar say. Now, I'm considered to know places to go to (and yes, I've got the 2007 Slow Food Osterie, l'Espresso, Michelin + Gamberro Rosso Guides) but I trust eGullet's trusty members even more. So, given my constraints - I'll be dashing out for 2-3 hour lunches and hosting early PM snacking-type things, what near the Station/Congress Center should I impress my friends/colleagues with? Molto grazie, John Edited to add that I have indeed read the great Florence/Siena thread and will be getting my dear pal Pierre45's advice in a couple of weeks.

The next Fooding event in Paris will be 10 June noon-4 PM in the MAC/VAL gardens (adjacent to Inaki Aizpitarte's place) with him, Alain Passard, Frederic Anton & Yannick Delpech. It costs 5 Euros which goes to feed the poor.

At the risk of provoking my wonderful friend and colleague Pti's scorn: we schlep our Arm & Hammer Baking Soda and Baking powder over. I do believe there are several threads out there running on substitutions such as bacon, mayonaisse, flour & cream, etc.

In another article last week in the NYT Steven Lee Myers suggested mainly off-beat type places in Moscow: Version 1.0 for borscht Bilingua for inexpensive drinks and food Volkonsky for sandwiches in a French bakery Tinkoff for beer and sushi

I'd like to draw another lesson from this exercise. Or two. Perhaps the three pages reflect genuine interest/curiosity/respect for others and their traditions/customs/and yes "etiquette." While we're aware that we're too PC about a lot of things, when visiting a new country or region, I do try to do some rudimentary self-education so as not to put either myself or my hosts in an uncomfortable position. And, yes, I like it when people tell me my kids and/or grandkids are such good visitors. The second point is that the significance of the length of threads on eGullet and number of hits is totally baffling to me; who, no, I, would never have guessed that ice cubes could generate such interest or that there's so little on cooking regional food, techniques, and the sort of thing that the Italy Forum revels in.

Well, lotsa things going on this week/month. First, along the boulevard St Germain, wow, what changes! Chez René , at 14, has changed hands, and I’ll be posting my thoughts next week. The Bistro Coté Mer, next door at 16, long after Madame Rostang departed, is now a place called Au Sud de Nulle Part with French and English menus (the latter, translated abominably – e.g. dorado, vinager, Combawa peel, nice veal chop, foam of shellfish, sweet and ice, sharing, well, Pti where are you now that your services are needed?). Ma Cuisine at 26, a horrible place, has thankfully given up the ghost and Le Pactole at 44, which sat empty for years, is now the Trattoria Roma, serving wood-fire pizzas 7/7. Then, Figaro announced that the publisher, Cherche Midi, was giving a 4,000 € “Terra” prize out for the best work on the subject of what we’re eating today. Also, the price of butter is up 40% this year, according to Figaro, prompting cookie makers to hike their prices. And finally, it will cost you more to take the Metro to your favorite resto after July 1st – 1.50 € a ride and 11.10 € for 10 rides. Despite Emmanuel Rubin’s one heart review of Le Monjul in Figaroscope, the folks at Matin Plus think the French/Spanish trained chef will present interesting and playful food for his clients. And outside Paris, Gerald Vie, after 37 years and 16,000 meals a year is leaving the {great} Trois Marches in Versailles next week for a new place for him – the Potager du Roy - where he’ll do more inventive cooking. One will watch this change. Edited by John Talbott to try to avoid Amazon.com link that was incorrect.