jgould

i'm not the 1 confused, just mystifyed! u're not a fan of french bistros, so why do u even comment, where is the level of expertise to judge??????? that's a pretty closed world if downtown is your only frame of reference. that said!!!!!!!! its obvious u don't read vevy closely, le jardin bistro is not discounted, ..... no, this was not helpful at all to the topic at hand. i don't mean to be overly harsh, but why did u comment????????

have a family reunion weekend of march 6th, will try to stop by, thx

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thank u VERY MUCH

just a correction & certainly not meant to nit pic: its gilles, not jules, pudlowski

From the tone of your post, I think the most likely answer is unless your unhappy with the coffee your currently making - your best bet is likely to stick to what you've got. There is without a doubt a world of better coffee out there, but unless your willing to invest some energy in sourcing fresh beans it's not worth replacing your equipment. did not mean to have a "tone", simply following up with additional questions. u're right it is an investment in time, & energy. but, if the results are such, then it appears if it may be well worth it; hence the questions.

as per ordering a lillet in a restaurant, most come with a orange SLICE - what is the orgin of this? & i "thought" it was supposed to be just an orange PEEL???

The "front line" price of Clicquot Yellow Label is $32 at wholesale. If you pour it by the glass or buy sufficient number of cases it goes down to $27. That's the best deal. Mr. jgould, I told you once before that retailers pay lower prices than restaurants. Any retailer selling it for $32 is either giving it away... how about veuve @ a nyc retailer for $29.99? are THEY really giving it away???

however it is that l'ami louis in paris makes their roast chicken has got to be a favorite of anyone who has ever had!!!!!

went by zabar's in nyc yesterday & saw the bodum french press. oddly, there are no markings on the side as to # of cups??? also saw the solis maestro plus on sale - jesus!! one could use it for a blender!!! went by the coffee area & asked my freshly-roasted question. the answer: "all the coffee in the barrels are freshly roasted & delivered yesterday". i then asked them if they would like to buy a bridge... question to those who know a hell of a lot more than i: we have a krups 12 cup drip coffee maker, a regular sized braun blade coffee bean grinder, we buy "fresh"(??) beans (mostly mocha java, vanilla, vienna), & mix together before grinding. is it really worth going out & buying a french press (what size?), & a "burr" grinder (like a regular med size melitta), & order 1lb bags of "maybe freshly-roasted" coffee beans from WA (we live in NYC)?????????????????????????????? just seems to be so much re: which burr grinder is better, are the beans really fresh-roasted, etc, etc...... thx

knowing both tim & nina, the zagat's guide/empire is simply brilliant!! as for its usefulness for those that really care about food & restaurant description accuracy NADA! i would never use a zagat's for paris. we have already dumbed down enough!

That's because, when I wrote it, they still were. I don't have a staff of 100 reviewers. EDIT: I'd love to keep my reviews up to date, but my Paris visits are at my own expense. I do date them at the end, so that the attentive reader is warned. alors!! u don't have a staff of 100, & u still write such fabulous descriptions?? as an aside, how IS le (au) petit marguery currently????????

beans does seem to be the memphis bbq side dish(?) with leonard's having been sold (years ago), i wonder how the new leonard's is & how it compares to the original in its heyday. mind you, my memories of leonard's were such that i thought it was the best bbq place IN THE COUNTRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

based on ALL the negative comments, why don't "they/we" just take lucy out & shoot her, & put her/us out of misery ????????????

i have not experienced such a sanguine group of non-commenters on a new restaurant in midtown west, which has been a "dead man's" area for a long time??

UPDATE: passed blue smoke last nite @ 7:45, packed & 3 deep @the bar. re-passed (sic) @ 10, still packed, with every seat @the bar taken!!! i don't get it. do new yorkers/tourists not know good bbq, or are they so desperate for ANY bbq, they will put up with anything?????????????? & finally, re:mister_cutlets: how do one turn off the accompanying noise on your website??????????????????????

love max, but maybe its a prejudice against terrence brennan. do not find picholine to be as good as others feel here. & just don't get the buzz about him. picholine opened up when there were very few places of quality on the UWS; & provided a fancy setting & introduced max, the cheese maven, to nyc! artisanal, judging by the negative comments, & the falloff in business, tends to indicate brennan's mercurial rise & fall (?) - how long will artisanal last? his midtown east steakhouse closed due to terrible service & ridiculous nose-bleed prices. finally, consumers said ENOUGH, which is something we don't do enough of!!!

well, at 12midnite, mama mex is open & noche mex is closed - what difference does it make??? & btw, noche mex is a storefront, atmosphere? hard to see thru the steel gird. i'll pay the xtra $2 & take mama's Noche Mexicana is a tiny little hole-in-the-wall place, but they do come to your table and take your order, etc. Seating for maybe 20. As I said before, I think their food is an order of magnitude better than Mama Mexico. I would gladly pay more for Noche Mexicana's food than Mama Mexico's. YMMV, of course. If I was looking for Mexican food at midnight I'd probably walk up to the taco truck on 104th and Broadway before I'd go to Mama Mexico (this is not an indictment of Mama Mexico... the taco truck is good). @ 12 midnite, i don't need table service & when the choice is a closed noche mexico vs. an open mama mexico, ummm, u do the math now about that taco truck.............

"all's fair in love & war", but i will try to clarify: clearly, should NOT have used the word "cool". it was meant as a "wink", but has been misunderstood, no use continuing to "beating a dead horse" - i get the point. la pere pinard only exists because of its location. the food is mediocre to say the least. i don't know when u were there last, but the wine glasses are tiny, & very warm. the red wines are abnornally above "room" temp, ruining the taste. i admit "cool" is not very descriptive, but in this day & time, & to most, it does convey a certain "feeling" that good restaurants/bistros have, & bad ones don't. la pere is a good place to "feel" the lower e. side, but hardly qualifies as a destination or one to be included with bistros with good food, & good wine appreciation in terms of "how to serve". probably should visit before answering this critique. re: cool > the owner(s) are more interested in expanding their mini empire than improving or maintaining the status quo - that's what i meant (without actually saying it). i prefer hands-on ownership in a quality restaurant. it is a personal preference, but one i have found provides a much better experience than those with absentee ownnership. obviously, there are exceptions to every rule. i beg to differ re: la goulue, but i know it would be fruitless, either one gets la goulue or doesn't. the food is as good as most other places, the ambiance is excellent, at least the many times i have been. not an arguement, just simply how one perceives a restaurant vs. another. as to the george hamilton analogy, i guess its where u sit that determines perception... un deux trois?? des moines?? bet 6:30 & 7:50, it is a definitely pre theatre crowd from all over. from 8-10, it is a restaurant with mostly natives, after 10, it has (generally) a fairly sophisticated clientele. would advise a revisit without preconceived perceptions. at some point, most natives were from someplace else. as to the food, quite frankly, i have enjoyed a number of dishes - from steak tartare - to - roast chicken, without being disappointed. it ain't jean george, but then again, how many are??? & they do serve, tom cat's baguette, how many others do?? le bilboquet: we must have been at different times. i have found la goulue to be the more democratic of the two. le bil has a younger crowd, & usually more obnoxious & loud, which generally dissuades me from going. if one likes the trust fund, do nothing, go-to-be-seen crowd; this is a good place to start. what else is there to like? orsay: beautiful, but less expensive than la goulue?? i don't think so. was just there, & the prices are as high as la goulue, or any place!! maybe u receive a different menu btw, none of the places originally mentioned are gastrocentric, but good, solid fun places to go, have a good meal in an enjoyable setting with good ambiance. cafe boulud may be on the cusp, but a touch above; therefore, was NOT included. the list was about places one could eat EVERY nite, among other criteria. le jardin bistro: may be good, but travelling down to cleveland place, just to save $'s, i don't think so. if in the area, balthazar a much better choice, which wasn't on the list because it is just too crowded, & therefore very difficult to just walk-in like many of the others. sorry soba, did not mean to purposely be confusing, & it SHOULD be a comparison of nyc french restaurants/bistros mixed in with a little controversy. let's stir it up, just a little, s'il vous plait. we should not take ourselves too seriously as alluded to above, it seems to definitely make a difference as to who owns a restaurant, & more importantly, if THAT person is there & exercises hands-on management. but, u say: "what about jean georges or daniel, etc..." i answer 2 ways: 1) le bernandin, 2) revisit the list - most of these are less ambitious than the "haute cuisine" places i think u are referring to(?) don't understand your last point, but suffice it to say, if i lived where u do, i would certainly have visited, at the very least, the 2 bistros ACROSS THE STREET - le bateau ivre & montparnasse. travelling to a destination place is fine, but with, as u say, so many wonderful places within walking distance, why not take the time to sample those?? hopefully this post clarifies some of the points raised here.

for those keeping score, i'm down to the following: reviews are brutal, but honest les halles - loud but real la goulue - authentic as can be in nyc l'absinthe - the real thing le clown - l'absinthe without the e.side "tude" quartorze bis - amazingly french without any french!!! chez jacqueline - the bistro everyone would like 2 blocks away un deux trois - i know, but a "la coupole" in nyc, try it before u knock it that's it, revisited the original list at the top, & realize the faults of those now omitted. life is cruel, but selectivity rules!!! raoul's - the owners have abdicated to new mexico, living on past rep le pere pinand - the owners want to expand their horizons, no longer cool le jardin bistro - not worth the trip, unless in the area madison bistro - boring & worse, unfriendly, how do they pay the rent? bateau ivre & montparnasse - non-french owners trying to capitalize jubilee - 1st & 54th - will remain a neighborhood bistro jubilee 51 - ??? maybe, but jury out le bilboquet - too many euro-trash & want-2-be's, let'em have it ferrier - ditto orsay - for those who can't get into la goulue jacque's bistro - revisit when they lower their prices for average food on 85th & 3rd demarchelier - i was right, too many boors at the bar la bonne soupe - if u like lunching with tourists & dining with the early bird specials la petite auberge - should retire, & lower the lights before leaving jarnac - why?????? english-owned > another french-themed copy park bistro - why is this place empty vs les halles across the st - packed?? duh so many to start with, so few to enjoy!

i can't wait to go!!!!

well, at 12midnite, mama mex is open & noche mex is closed - what difference does it make??? & btw, noche mex is a storefront, atmosphere? hard to see thru the steel gird. i'll pay the xtra $2 & take mama's

just read your wonderful review of le petit marguery; however, oddly it did not mention the frères Cousin are no longer owners?

thx very much, but i think the name is ok. however, if u or felonious or soba think a better name would be more descriptive, i have no problem - thx

excellent comments felonius, but do not know how to rename, but the subject title is correct & accurate. as i stated to soba, this thread deals with restaurants/bistros (french themed due to my preference) that are not as trendy as a balthazar/pastis AND easy to walk in, etc... re: jardin bistro - disqualified from my list because of no bar to sit re: cafe lux - agree totally! don't know why i keep going back, other than it strikes me as one of the more french-LIKE places in manhattan, similar to quartorze bis, & 1 of the very few that i "relax" my classic definition of what a nyc bistro setting should be like. hopefully i will be allowed my 1 liberal definition of what (i think) a french bistro in nyc should be, even without the necessary touch of french people as customers & working. very much appreciated your observations, & hope others chime in re: the listing, which is the purpose of the thread.

fair enough: it is a list of bistro-like places around the city which are good solid restaurants. easy to walk in & have a good meal at a reasonable price either at a table or at the bar. usually, but can be hit-or-miss, will find "real" french people either in the restaurant or behind the bar/kitchen. this forum is such a wonderful place for many to debate, comment, express; that i thought a thread like this might be interesting. hopefully it is??? this listing is a compilation of geographically located places to easily access with a french motif, which is my personal favorite. u should try montparnasse & bateau ivre, at the very least, proximity for 1 good reason; as well as the other midtown east places mentioned - i think (hope) u will enjoy. jublilee (east) serves good food in addition to the mussels & frites, & i am always, for some reason, surprised it is as good as it is. fact: most in the restaurant are neighborhood regulars, i.e., 2-3x/wk!!!! demarchelier's experiment downtown WAS terrible, & it subsequently closed. the same experiment, le select, on the UWS, also closed (now jean-luc) leaving the original on 86th nr madison. same deal as jubilee, neighborhood regulars, friendly bar, with unfortunately a few boors that can be irritating (all the facts here )