John Talbott

Budapest This is one of a series of compendia that seeks to provide information available in prior threads on eGullet. Please feel free to add links to additional threads or posts or to add suggestions. Best of the best Going Restaurants September 1st Fish or vegetarian Authentic All levels Cheap eats Where to eat

Munich This is one of a series of compendia that seeks to provide information available in prior threads on eGullet. Please feel free to add links to additional threads or posts or to add suggestions. Open Dec 24 Top eats Cheap Easter week Tips Recommendations Good eats Viktualienmarkt Andechs Monastery

Basel This is one of a series of compendia that seeks to provide information available in prior threads on eGullet. Please feel free to add links to additional threads or posts or to add suggestions. Basel New foodie website Basel SW

Riga This is one of a series of compendia that seeks to provide information available in prior threads on eGullet. Please feel free to add links to additional threads or posts or to add suggestions. Riga Latvia Riga Report Riga ideas Price/quality

A friend in Paris (so the proximity to the issue may be in question) told me today that the Blue Laws were relaxed in restaurants as well. Is this true? Thus, may one now have beer with one's dim sum Sunday morning? Thanks.

Istanbul This is one of a series of compendia that seeks to provide information available in prior threads on eGullet. Please feel free to add links to additional threads or posts or to add suggestions. Restaurant Report Good eats Restaurants Where to stay Visiting Wonderful experience Favorite foods

Helsinki This is one of a series of compendia that seeks to provide information available in prior threads on eGullet. Please feel free to add links to additional threads or posts or to add suggestions. Helsinki 7 Helsinki 6 Helsinki 5 Helsinki 4 Helsinki 3 Helsinki 2 Helsinki 1

Geneva This is one of a series of compendia that seeks to provide information available in prior threads on eGullet. Please feel free to add links to additional threads or posts or to add suggestions. Restaurants Good eats Chinese Geneva

The Week of March 5th, 2007 Monday, François-Régis Gaudry in L’Express reviewed Bath’s, Yves Nespoulous reviewed Chez Rene and Pierrick Jégu did Cristina’s Tapas par Mavromatis, coordinates below. Monday, in Le Fooding, Elvira Masson published an article on the hot new place Urbane, coordinates below, which has an Irish patronne and which serves Irish potatoes and Banoffie = Banana + toffee. Tuesday in A Nous Paris, courtesy of Felice, Jerome Berger awarded 3/5 blocks to l’Affriande, 39, rue Truffaut in the 17th, 01.43.87.21.17, buffet lunch at 11, menu-carte at night at 28 and 32 €, closed Mondays, Tuesday nights, Saturday lunch and Sundays. They replaced an Italian resto with a cantine that serves dishes such as a gratin of endives, soups and a compote of apples. The second review, by Philippe Toinard, also meriting 3/5 blocks, is of Love, 72, rue Vieille du Temple in the 3rd, 01.42.78.91.59, menus at 27 and 35 €, no closing days given, which despite the “drole concept” (pink-red décor, Yves St Laurent New Year’s cards, bizarre erotic names to dishes, etc) serves OK food such as asparagus, roast bar and an “After midnight” dessert. The side bar announced that Mood on the Champs Elysees, now serves Sunday brunch for 28 €; that “Le Fooding” is holding a wine and fooding party – password at www.lefooding.com after the 15th; and that Le Table de Claire is featuring menus based on the recipes given in the books written by the Italian Antonio Tabucchi and Spaniard Manuel Vasquez Montalban. Tuesday, Vincent Weiss wrote in Le Figaro about the new Fauchon bakery serving up deluxe snacks. Wednesday Richard Hesse reviewed l’Avant Gout for Paris Update, not especially liking the food and detesting the service. Wednesday in Figaroscope, Emmanuel Rubin awarded two hearts each to Urbane, 12, rue Arthur Groussier in the 10th, 01.42.40.74.75, closed Sunday dinner and Mondays, lunch menus for 15 and 19 €, dinner 24 and 29 €, which he calls good “Bobo” food like eggs with asparagus, a slab of beef with lime butter and poached bar with artichokes and seaweed and Cristina’s Tapas by Mavrommatis, 18, rue Duphot in the 1st, 01.42.97.53.04, closed Sundays, running one 35-45 € with light stuff such as sardines, stuffed cabbage, tzatziki, etc. He gave one heart each to l’Auberge Nicolas Flamel, 51, rue Montmorency in the 3rd, 01.42.71.77.78, closed Sundays, running one about 60 € for frogs’ legs, sweetbreads and pigeon in the oldest (600 years) auberge in Paris and the revamped Le Reminet, coordinates well-known, that has gone from “bistronomique” to touristy, saying it is not ”totally bad” and giving the price as 50-60 € with a 50 € menu at dinner (that’s a sizeable increase) for quail salad, pumpkin soup, magret and fondant of chocolate. Finally he deems Love, in the 3rd, see above, worthy of a broken heart. Figaroscope’s “Dossier” this week covered sausages: Danish hotdogs Le Cesar Argentinian sausage Unico Sabodet Auberge Pyrenees-Cevennes Yole de Cantal Le Coude a Coude Figatelli Balbuzard Café Montbeliard Chez Maitre Paul Saucisse au Couteau Melac Merguez Wally le Saharien Bratwurst, Francfort Epycuria Sausage with fennel Sardegna a Tavola And also Saucisse au Couteau at l’Abordage, Herb sausage at Radis Rose and Morteau at the Verre Vole. Francois Simon, on his part, went to Paolo Petrini in the 17th where I did find that among lots of other things he had for 137 € for two, he also had tuscan sausages. The food was sometimes good, sometimes not so good. Wednesday/Thursday in Le Monde Jean Claude Ribaut wrote about provençal rabasse truffles and how researchers are trying to figure out hoe they come to be. Thursday, Gilles Pudlowski, in Le Point provided his assortment of food and restaurant likings: he states that he is following Le Restaurant, at/in L'Hôtel, 13, rue des Beaux-Arts in the 6th, 01.44.41.99.01, menu = 50 €, recently taken over by Philippe Bélissent, a young ex-Ledoyenist serving farm eggs with truffles, bar with chestnuts and Bresse chicken as well as l’Orenoc and thinks Chez Georges and Chez Michel are in good shape. Outside Paris he liked Brouilly run by Jean Brouilly in Tarare and La Ferme de Victorine in Notre-Dame-de-Bellecombe in the Savoie. He also describes the pastilles from Moinet in Vichy and the chocolatier Frédéric Cassel’s shop in Fontainebleau. His product of the week is butter from the Laiterie cooperative in Echiré and he provides a recipe for Beurre blanc d'Echiré. Friday, in Parisist, Anna reviewed Chez Toinette. In the March Paris Notes, Rosa Jackson’s Paris Bites covered the Louis XV in Monaco as well as the Buisson Ardent + Le Gorille Blanc in Paris, coordinates given before. Saturday-Sunday in Le Figaro, Alexandra Michot and Francois Simon discussed six springtime tables that are especially appealing as well as announcing several openings. They are: in Nice - Keisuke Matsushima + La Réserve de Nice by Jouni Tormanen, Le Café des Épices by Arnaud Carton in Marseille and three in Paris: Le Saut de Loup, Rech + Urbane. Other news: the Fontaine Saint Fiacre in the 9th will chart a new course under a dietician – Gregoire Weber, Alain Ducasse’s group has taken over Rech in the 17th as well as will run the Eiffel Tower places in September and Christian Constant will open a fourth place serving tapas on the Rue St Dominique. In this week’s Gogo Paris, Adrian Moore reviews Jarrasse declaring it good but pricey. Saturday/Sunday, BP published an article by Margaret Kemp on Chez Georges as well as one by John Talbott on “What is the Best in Paris.” Please post comments here and not in the Digest thread.

August may present a problem. But the ideal setting for a wedding would be one of the Bois de Boulogne places: La Grande Cascade or le Pre Catalan - so romantic and suitable for great photos. In town, le Meurice would probably fit the bill nicely and Spring would be great but Daniel Rose can only accommodate 16. But you should also check out our compendium of existing threads; it had one on rooms for 16 and another 30 covers.

Good question. It's in the lower town, in fact we parked in the Piazza Garibaldi (where S. Domenico and the bank etc are) and walked up the Corso Garibaldi (a largely pedestrian street) about three blocks to the via del Trivio, turned left, and it's a door or two down the street. Neither Mapquest nor the Michelin Rosso are of terrific help.

Not so fast; You did it, you own it.Seriously, the more help we have on the France Forum, the better it will get. Doc has an interesting point because the places vary in price from Prune at 18 E to Comptoir at 42 E (menus). I don't have a ready answer about whether to create different maps for different price ranges; I guess it might be neat to have it all on one map with one group of places, like you've done, with yellow tags running up to 50 E; one group of tags with another color for 50-100 E; and a third bunch over 100 E per person. But any expansion would take a fair amount of work; can we do it Wikipedia style? Again this is a great start; I'll add it to our What you need to know.... thread. John

Mjoeknox, where have you been all these years we've needed you? This is just superb. And your list of places is pretty nickel too. Thanks so very much. Will you be keeping it current? Good luck and godspeed. John

The Week of February 26th, 2007 Monday, in Le Fooding, Alexandre Cammas had an article on the Café-restaurant Jean-Claude Delbouis in Les Bessades Montpeyroux. Tuesday, A Nous Paris, courtesy of Felice, had another article (see above the Week of January 29th, 2007) on the 20th anniversary winner of the Paul Bocuse Championship, Fabrice Desvignes, chef de cuisine at the Senat. {BTW: the Senat’s President’s kitchen boasts three MOF’s and one Bocuse d’Or.} Tuesday, François-Régis Gaudry in L’Express reviewed La Villa Corse as his regular place and Au Pied de Fouet as his resto under 30 € and Anne Cécile de Monplanet reviewed Le Plan des Mains in Meribel. Tuesday as well, in Figaro, Lucile Escourrou wrote about the food art by the “Generation C” chefs (Gilles Choukroun, Frédéric Coursol, Alexandre Gauthier, Eric Guérin, Stéphane Marchal and David Zudas), now showing in a show called “Tool’s Food” at the Galerie Fraîch’Attitude. As an example she shows and explains the update of a barbe a papa of Eric Guérin from Nantes. {Digester’s Note: If you’ve never been to this gallery, it’s worth going to once.} Figaro also put up on their website this week last week’s interview with the resto designer Philippe Starke that was previously only on their pdf version. In it he expresses his liking of many Italian and Venetian places but also the Relais Plaza, Carette, Kong + le Voltaire in Paris. They also posted the article by Alexandra Michot from Saturday on the 30 year old Maison du Chocolat. Wednesday, in Paris Update Richard Hesse wrote a not at all enthusiastic review of La Régalade. Wednesday in Figaroscope, Emmanuel Rubin awarded two hearts to two places, the new resto in the old diamond bourse called Rich, coordinates given last week, and the Thai place Baan Kanya. One heart each went to the very Italian sounding (vitello, penne) L’Eclaireur, 10, rue Boissy d’Anglas in the 8th, 01.53.43.09.99, closed Sundays and the revived (by the Bucher/Flo Group) River Café, 146, quai de Stalingrad in Issy les Moulineaux, 01.40.93.50.20, closed Saturday for lunch, menus at 27 (2 courses) and 32 € for three, serving eggs forestiere, smoked salmon and chicken fricassee. A busted heart went to the Bistrot du B in the 5th. Figaroscope’s “Dossier” this week was all about Asian soup-type dishes: Bo Bun Little Hanoi + Suave Beef Soup Le Bambou Saigon Soup La Tonkinoise Shrimp Ravioli Soup Fleur de Mai Noodle soup Salon de The Wenzhou Udon soup Kunitoraya Crab, asparagus & bean soup Ginger Chirashi Zen And Francois Simon in his Haché menu went to another such place – Zen in the 6th, using his experience to bemoan the lack of curiosity of the French for other-than-French food. In Wednesday/Thursday’s Le Monde, the restaurants reviewed were all in Belgium and in Friday’s Les Echos, they were all in New York. Friday last, Liberation published a more detailed account of the OFF (Omnivore Food Festival) extravaganza in Le Havre, February 12-13th than I had digested, in which Natalie Castetz notes that there were 70 plus chefs, 100 wine growers/makers and 2500 visitors. (Thanks to member Le Zouave for noting my omission.) Adrian Moore in GoGoParis this week, reviewed the Saut du Loup . Saturday/Sunday in Le Figaro, Francois Simon in his Croque Notes, wrote that now that the 2007 Michelin wave has passed, he wants to complain about two places got no mention in the 2007 Red Guide, despite at least one’s great expenditure of money on a renovation. They were/are: Michel Del Burgo’s l’Orangerie and Gilles Epie’s Citrus Etoile, coordinates given before. In a nearby article, Alexandra Michot wrote about several places that don’t “lay it on too thick,” either by charging too much or packing in too many folks or both, giving as exemplars: Spring + Violin d’Ingres in Paris, Paul Bocuse’s projected resto near Lyon inspired by Cojean + La Fresque in La Rochette, L et Lui in Saint Paul Trois Châteaux, l’Astrance, Nature & Saveurs in Annecy, and Alain Bourgade, ex-starred chef at La Poêle d’Or who’s opening a place in the 16th. She also comments on the “Tool’s Food” exhibition at Fraich’Attitude Gallery and Fabrice Desvignes winning the Bocuse d’Or. And finally, Christian Flacelière wrote of the success of pink champagne worldwide. (Ironically, in my pile of unread papers was the WSJ of Feb. 15 (p B1) with a similar article entitled “How Moet & Chandon made Rosé Champagne Fashionable.” While I tend to regard coffee-table books with the same appreciation as Parisian dog feces on my shoes, I do feel the need to comment occasionally on newly published (March 2007) books of note. In the Ferrara, Italy Museum Shop in the Palazzo dei Diamanti this week, I picked up a copy of a book by Angelika Taschen entitled Paris: Restaurants & More that has stunning pictures by Vincent Knapp of 35 Parisian eateries, from Le Grand Vefour to the Café Marly. A companion volume is entitled Paris: Shops & More and covers places like Hediard and Androuet. Both cost 9.99 € and available from their online catalogue or failing that, I suppose, in real stores in places like Paris and New York. Saturday/Sunday, BP published an article by Margaret Kemp entitled “George and the Dragon Buzz” and John Talbott on “A Marathon List of Restos.” Please post comments here and not in the Digest thread.

Airport Food Elsewhere in Europe Käfer's Bistro is evidently one of a chain of Munich-based spinoffs of a sort-of French bistro. We had a very long layover in Frankfort and so, needed some nourriture between 1 PM and 3:20 PM. The menu was pretty extensive, with a business lunch and specials; we chose to have only a couple of things: I had the weiner schnitzel with potatoes with ham bits and a dish of currant jam – terrific; and Colette had a salad with tomato and mozarella and balsamic and good black bread; with it we had a fine, albeit thin, house Shiraz from Australia. Espresso and schnaps were obtained at the Red Carpet Club. Bill – 70 €; the fizzy water was 7.5 €, ouch. But a pretty good meal not withstanding.

Frankfurt This is one of a series of compendia that seeks to provide information available in prior threads on eGullet. Please feel free to add links to additional threads or posts or to add suggestions. Lorsbacher Thal Report One night Two days Erno’s Bistro Sushi grade fish Dining out Airport provisions

Sofia & Bulgaria This is one of a series of compendia that seeks to provide information available in prior threads on eGullet. Please feel free to add links to additional threads or posts or to add suggestions. Bulgaria Sofia Food experience

Antwerp This is one of a series of compendia that seeks to provide information available in prior threads on eGullet. Please feel free to add links to additional threads or posts or to add suggestions. Budget-friendly and other dining Informal dining Hecker Chocolate help

Prague & Czech Republic This is one of a series of compendia that seeks to provide information available in prior threads on eGullet. Please feel free to add links to additional threads or posts or to add suggestions. Czech Authentic places Cheap eats

Moscow This is one of a series of compendia that seeks to provide information available in prior threads on eGullet. Please feel free to add links to additional threads or posts or to add suggestions. Old skool dining Chic fast food How to build a restaurant Restaurant Recs Any ideas Any Restaurant Recommendations Dining out

Vienna This is one of a series of compendia that seeks to provide information available in prior threads on eGullet. Please feel free to add links to additional threads or posts or to add suggestions. Christmas 2006 Dining Top eats Two nights Where to eat Slow food Vegetarian and fine Pastry etc Culinary Centre Authentic places Cheap eats

Copenhagen This is one of a series of compendia that seeks to provide information available in prior threads on eGullet. Please feel free to add links to additional threads or posts or to add suggestions. Off piste Noma The Paul Late dinner Vacation Eating alone Restaurant recommendations

I assume you've already checked out our compendium on stages?There's lots of information there that may answer some of your queries.

The Osteria del Borro, 52, San Giustino, in Borro near Arezzo (AR), 055.977115, is located in a lovely old inn down the hill from a huge horse farm/estate/villa/hotel and across from the Medieval village connected to the resto by a small road that leads up an inclined and very high stone bridge. In between was a steep ravine lined with blossoming almond trees in full bloom – all pink - the 2nd of March! We started with tortellini with wild boar and morels and chestnuts as well as an incredible tagliatelle of rabbit. Colette then had a bronzino crusted with similarly finely madeleined zucchini and potato (mini shoestring) strips and saffron sauce and I had a guinea fowl with onions and uncrisp gratinated potatoes with thyme and rosemary. The dessert was a “surprise” – a block of intense dark chocolate with warm diced pears. While I thought everything was over-salted; Colette thought the salt level was perfect. The coffee was the best we’d had this trip; the bill, a very reasonable 73 €. And to repeat - the setting was just perfect. After lunch, we walked around the tiny streets – it is clearly ready for the onslaught of tourists later this spring; lots of tiny shops ready to sell hand made baskets, chairs, glass, pottery etc., etc. If you are in the neighborhood (9K off the autoroute, west of Arrezo), go!

The Osteria del Trivio, 16 Via del Trivio in Spoleto, (PG), 0743.44349, closed Tuesdays, was a 2007 Slow Food Guide aka Osterie d’Italia recommendation. It looked much like any other osteria/trattoria; widely separated tables, one man working the front room, while two female chefs were in the back, strings of garlic, sausage, dried peppers etc., over the bar. We started with very generous portions of sausages and ham and cheeses served with white pizza plus brochettas with tomato as well as olive oil and garlic self-applied – the product was spectacular, true to Slow Food standards. Then Colette had raviolis of cheese and spinach and I had a pasta with mushrooms. How good were they? So good that upon leaving we booked for dinner; when I had a stuffed artichoke and Colette the minestrone; both real, great product and homey. Then we had biscotti and another regional “cookie” with vin santo. To complete the Spoleto experience we had the crescionda, a gateau of chocolate, macaroons and mistral. Our wines were a Sangiovese and a Montefulco. Lunch was 56 € and dinner 46 €; thus a full meal for two - with two antipasti, two pastas, two mains, three desserts, and two bottles of water, wine and two grappas was 102 €. Take that Mario! La Trattoria, Strada de Vene, 7, Campello sul Clitunno (PG), 0743.275797, closed Thursday, a few klicks from Spoleto (PG) is a real dump you might easily pass up if driving quickly – unless you had looked in your Osterie d’Italia Guide and read that it served a host of regional specialties. Which we promptly ordered. The amuse bouches were a local version of brochette, but the bread was pretty pallid – I thought it was awful but Colette insisted it was just tasteless. She ordered a pasta with wild asparagus which was OK but not great, whereas my pasta with rancetto (bacon, pecorino and tomato) was superb. Then we shared a pigeon stuffed with its innards with wine sauce and fabulous peppered potatoes roasted with rosemary. The coffee was an unexpected moka (no espresso); the house and only wine was 6 € for a 75 cl bottle (this was wine country after all); the bill 41 €. Umbria, via S Bonaventura 13, 075.8942737, Todi (PG). “Delectat & Nutrit” the sign says; even I can figure that out, and how true it was. This dark and dingy dump with beamed ceilings in back of the Palace on the main square in Todi was a revelation. You face out over the Umbrian plains, sitting besides a big lit fireplace with a well-used pot-belly stove in the center of the room in winter or on a grape-vine protected terrace in summer. There’s a case full of proscuitto and other hams, cheeses and delicacies. That’s just the start. While not having hit the Slow Food Guide yet, Faith Willinger, an old Osterie Guide and friends were correct in labeling this one a winner. First was a plate of goose chips in bean sauce; their specialty is game; top drawer. Then Colette had braised venison with mushrooms and I a wild boar cacciatoria - terrific. She had a craving for something more and the local cheese was simply superb. The bill, with ample local wine and a grappa was 65.50 €. Broseccheria, via Garibaldi 43/45, in Foligno (PG), 02745950548. We’d driven long, it was dark and late, we arrived soaking wet. The welcome was marvelous, our host smiling, tie and handkerchief just right; the bit of white bubbly, perfect – what a find! And, we congratulated ourselves, it possessed three primo indicators in the Osterie d’Italia Guide; the cheese, wine and slow food (snail) symbols. The antipasti delivered unrequested were generous: proscuitto, foccacia, cheese bread, meat in bread pastry, ham in bread pastry, stuffed zucchini and tomatoes, beans – all in very rich, almost greasy products. Colette was the first to express doubts; the antipasti starches were too rich, too much like lard, enough already. The lights went out, power off. I looked over at the bar and saw a sign that said Broseccheria, my bird brain must have recognized that this place was not the Bacco Felice we’d reserved at; hadn’t I asked the concierge, the neighboring hotel, indeed our host when we entered? But I was snowed, even after a one-hour wait for the pasta – hey, said I, this is slow food, you want McDo’s, you go there, this is real food. Firsts were forced choices of pastas with a “kind of broccoli” and arugula – no taste, call for cheese, a bit better, but still pretty pathetic. Now it’s dawning on us that this place defines the bottom of the scale, all food in Italy is not great, some is dreadful, even for 45 €. Out! But they don’t take credit cards – the last straw! P.S. Once back at the ranch we realize that our ideal and real restaurants were one block apart. What a difference 26 numbers on the via Garibaldi in Foligno make.