jgould

Why such LOUD SHOUTING for an overpriced, touristy bistrot that few Parisians actually ever heard of? ← now that's funny!

should there be more listed as "neighborhood" bistros?

without using quotes from above, confused: marathon, the "parent" co. has trademarked sabretts(?) & produces 'dogs' for: papaya king, gray's papaya, nathan's, katz's, etc... however, nathan's do seem to taste different, more garlicky, which seems tastier vs. a hebrew national dog, for example. so is the answer, marathon makes what the client recipes' provide? or, is nathan's the same as a katz's, etc.....? & do all brands make a natural casing package & skinless?

when most talk of obscene prices, the reference is restaurants!!! quite frankly, it is true our 3 tier system is biased toward increasing prices; however, the point is, AFTER the wine leaves the retailer. therefore the 3 tier system is NOT in effect at this stage; ex. an $8 beaujolais village retail already has the 3 tier built-in, so your explanation falls short when many many restaurants charge $32!!?? & your comment about finding some restaurants that are reasonable - there are ~10,000 restaurants in nyc, so how many are u referring to? there is an epidemic spurred on by those who makes excuses, by those who don't mind 4x mark-ups, & by those who support the greedy restauranteurs. poor vintages do NOT have any effect. 99.9% of the population couldn't tell a 1982 bordeaux from a 1984, or a 2000 from an 2002. ONLY HUMAN INTERVENTION WILL IMPACT PRICING!. SUPPLY, DEMAND - unfortunately & sadly, only works in theory or in the classroom. in the wine world, this is not appropo as witnessed by huge supply NOT affecting prices, regardless of quality. & yes, i totally agree with your "tongue-in-cheek?" recommendation - there should be a "wine appreciation" course one should be required to take AND pass

with all due respect to john talbott, & for his sagacity for allowing unedited communication, i am a little surprised by the comments following my observations re: another's critique why is it, that 1 is allowed to say what is on their mind regardless of the mindlessness, but another is not? a) TG "I don't think so. Pierre's comments are very objective with only the slightest amount of subjectivity. You notice how he doesn't comment on the quality of the ingredients (which no one can argue is great) and the only "knock" is that Pierre doesn't sound like he agrees with the lofty prices." WHY DON'T U RE-READ PIERRE'S COMMENTS. NO WHERE DOES HE MENTION PRICES, & WHY DOESN'T HE COMMENT ON THE INGREDIENTS?? IS HE EVEN CAPABLE TO REVIEW "DOESN'T AGREE WITH LOFTY PRICES"- HE WASN'T PAYING!!!! HOW DOES HE KNOW? "THE "ONLY" KNOCK..." - HOLY S__T! DID U EVEN READ??? b) pierre: "Here is the profile of the idividual that will like L'ami Louis. -you don't like surprises in food. - NOT JUDGEMENTAL OR CONDESCENDING -you like your food to be simple. - NOT JUDGEMENTAL OR CONDESCENDING -you like huge portions - NOT JUDGEMENTAL OR CONDESCENDING -rudeness does not bother you(we all know about the parisians,right?) NOT JUDGEMENTAL OR CONDESCENDING, PARTICULARLY THE PARISIAN COMMENT -tables close to each other brings intimacy - ACTUALLY NOT EVEN TRUE -you are impressed to be in a famous restaurant - NOT JUDGEMENTAL OR CONDESCENDING -you feel great to be across perhaps from a celebrity. - NOT JUDGEMENTAL OR CONDESCENDING -you are rich or hope to be one - NOT JUDGEMENTAL OR CONDESCENDING -loud voices from fellow americans makes you feel at home - NOT JUDGEMENTAL OR CONDESCENDING if those comments are objective & NOT condescending, or with ONLY the slightest amount of subjectivity - i wish u would enlighten us all!!?? c) raisab "I can see where one may get offended at this reply Pierre. I know you probably meant it tongue in cheek..." did he, doesn't appear these were written "tongue-in-cheekish" d) pierre "I DID NOT MEAN TO OFFEND ANY ONE by my personal observations about L'ami louis. REALLY The points that i raised are not negative. U CAN'T BE SERIOUS As human beeings we are all different and enjoy life differently.One is not a lesser person because one likes simple food ,or one feels good because there is a celebrity. THX, I'M SURE WE ALL APPRECIATE "YOUR" VIEWS OF HUMAN "BEEINGS" Also beeing loud is just an indication of beeing happy ,specially when silence in public is not equated with high breed which may be the case with some societies. WOW! IF U DIDN'T MEAN TO OFFEND.... "NOT EQUATED....!! Every thing i said was factual based on many visits,fortunately as a guest. MAYBE NEXT TIME, YOU SHOULD PAY I also had a good time. HOW SO? read your own words: ""Here is the profile of the individual that will like L'ami Louis." etc..... IF these were personal observations, what does your introductory sentence appear to indicate??? additionally, on further reading, YOUR comments were ALL biased, now, SADLY, he is trying to justify his faux pas. & finally, my favorite: e) carlsbad "The last post is way out of line." why don't u take the time & re-read the comments beginning with pierre & give us your interpretation its unfortunate that so many, allow so few, to state their views; & when They are called on it, all hell breaks loose. Look within yourselves, but only after re-reading & see if u also arrive at the same conclusion as i did on my 1st go-around. AFTER RE-READING, ITS ABUNDANTLY CLEAR! p.s. john, hopefully, we can have some REAL dialogue on EG

additionally (to the above), is there someplace in manhattan that carries san miquel dark??

fyi, i have been eating at landmarc from their very 1st day, but haven't been in awhile. glad to see they are still on top of their game. time for another visit!

so, at the end of the day; one should look for 'dogs' in natural casings, & made by sabretts, which seems to be the only processor. much like the computer manufacturers, pretty much all made by 1-2 companies in china

You might want to take a look at a recent thread: "Police Teargas Burgundian Winemakers" in this forum. There are some links to great information on the current state of affairs. The glut of French wine is at the lower levels of the classification system. There is an ocean of Vin s de Pays and Vins de Table. There are many reasons. The French themselves are drinking less wine (strict drunk driving laws have been recently enacted) and there is increased competition from other wine making countries. These "lower level" wines also have difficulty competing with similarly priced wines from the New World--the EU has told France that they must reduce the quantity of these wines and increase the quality so as to better compete in the world market. Most of these wines are not even sold here in the US. Higher ranked French wines-classified growth Bordeaux and Burgundy for eg., has been performing much better in the world market. Prices for higher quality wines are affected by supply and demand. Currently there is still plenty of demand for these wines from not just the US but the rest of the wine buying world. markups via the three tiered system of seeling wine in this country don't help things here. Competition from wines produced in Spain, South America and Australia and New Zealand has an impact on wine prices as well. (I suspect that many large producers of California Cabernet and Chardonnay are now changing their marketing strategies--It is not for nothing that suddenly there is an emergence of Syrah as a key player in California.) In the end--we should see a grater variety of wines here in the US--both foreign and domestic produced. The quality of the lower end wines will rise and the prices of high demand wines --be it first growth Bordeaux or Cal cult wines will continue to rise. ← thx for a wonderful response; however, my quibble/debate/arguement is with the prices of wines from the prospective of obscene retail/restaurant mark-ups in light of the "glut". i do beg to differ with 1 aspect which is the "glut". the demand for the very upper tier is a manufactured demand from those with money to impress but no real appreciation. so be it, that's reality. there have been far too many articles on actual gluts in the mid-to-upper ranges, not just the low end 'plonk'. for some reason the consumer is impervious & continues to overpay. quite frankly, the only area of limited supplies are in burgundy & based on a number of exposés, it is becoming increasingly difficult to know when u are getting what u believe is in the bottle.

should let your comments pass, but just can't. its clear u either have an "ax" re: this bistro, which is ok; or, more likely, u have a very myopic view of not only "tout le monde", but of those who frequent this bistro. your comments are so off-base, it would be a waste of time to spend any time refuting or enlightening you. its probably better to let u wallow in your own brand of s_______y (fill n the blank if u're intellectually capable)

is sabrett's the same as marathon?

please excuse the abbreviated quoting, & thx very much - much appreciated (SEE QUESTION above)

thx v. much, the detail i was looking for. also enjoyed your mentioning the other beers brooklyn's beers were similar to. btw, what beer(s) compare to brklyn's e. india pale ale; & why is the e. india so good, & the pale ale, so bad??? the amber, which i bought somewhat in error (see above) turns out to be very good, but a little too heavy. possibly my bias. the pils "sounds like" the one i wanted, particularly when having chinese, watching ballgame, hamburgers, etc... however, your description of the e. india pale ale, strikes me as the creme-de-la-creme, as well as my next purchase for comparison to the "amber". my tastes find sierra a little too bitter, anchor steam ok, but missing that "something...", harp's "has been" my go-to beer. each time i change, i find others do not compare. i know harp's is not considered anything special, but again, for my taste, it satisfies. lastly, although i said i liked the freshness dates on brklyn's bottles, hard to understand the drink-by date via their bar chart - can u interpret? also, what others provide a sell-by date, or a drink-by date?

where are a few places, in addition to 2nd av deli, where empire natl (kosher) are served? where are hebrew natl 'dogs' served in manhattan? & are they, by definition "kosher" also? does nathan's make their own? are vienna beefs, the chicago dog-of-choice(??), served within manhattan? what brand is considered the "best" to purchase & grill? niman's?

stay home sounds like the best option, AFTER visiting local wine merchant. the "consumer" just doesn't have the "brains", nor the discipline to stand up to the heavy handedness of the restaurant industry. the good news is better food, better wine, better service, no boorish loud group at the next table, no arrogant maitre'd's, no crappy overpriced wines-by-the glass served too hot or too cold, no table by the kitchen or bathroom or serving areas. gee, on second thought, this option is much better than continuing the ridiculous practice of all of us sheep.

i really would not have thought this would be that taxing its not exactly rocket science

sooooooo, when does the consumer stand up - vs. - the concept of "what the market will bear" restaurant policies

another "attempt": UES: jacque's bistro demarchelier - bistro la tour - bistro quatorze bis - bistro alouette - UWS bistro le singe vert - chelsea bistro pastis - meatpacking brasserie - le gigot - village bistro balthazar - SoHo brasserie jules - e. village bistro la père pinard - LES bistro

A few years ago figaro had an article about l'ami Louis. The author tried many times to make a reservation and he got nowhere.He then tried a new approach ,he asked an american friend to make it and to his great surprise the reservation was easily obtained under his american friend's name. The review praised the quality of the ingredients and indicated that the majority of the diners were tourists.He said the cost was equal to a rd trip to New york. He felt it was not a bad deal ,since beeing there made you feel like beeing in New york. ← LOL merci for a big belly laugh the many stories, articles, word-of-mouths antedotes, pertaining to l'ami louis's polices are all funny & probably true. but oddly or maybe having no agenda, or the "luck of the draw/night-being-there" i have not had that experience. my french relatives made the reservation without hitches & WITH KIDS, all tables were filled with either "celebs" (kevin kline, omar shariff, models, etc...) & what appeared to be french-speaking regulars. don't misinterpret me - IT IS AMAZINGLY EXPENSIVE - IT CAN BE BRUSQUE - RESERVATIONS CAN BE SENSITIVE!!! i am not an advertisement, but the # of times i have been, i had a thoroughly enjoyable time. my pocket was always a lot lighter, but for some inexplicable reason i am drawn back.

merci! i go every time in paris. to me, it is the quintessential bistro. yes, the perfection of the samesness is what draws me back. the amazing high prices keeps out a lot of tourists, so the clientele is "normally" comprised of many french regulars, many celeb regulars, & many wealthy american regulars which signify frequent visits to paris, not the 1-timers (generally speaking, of course). the 1-timers i know who have gone generally do NOT like the place: too rude, too brusque, too expensive. hopefully, L'Ami Louis will keep there sameness!!! btw: fruit for dessert

I have not been in a number of years but Peter Mayle has a pretty good write up of it in Acquired Tastes, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/055...5/egulletcom-20 ← thx, but was hoping someone from here had been very recently & could report. i haven't been in a couple of years. its expensive, but it has that je ne sais quoi that is very hard to find. this place & joe's stone crab in south beach may be my 2 favorite restaurants in the entire world!!

as u probably know, their manhattan outpost, le quinze, failed miserably due to average food, laissez faire service, disinterested owners, & their tv always tuned to a rugby game . at least demarchelier on the UES, watch the french news @ 7pm on ch25. &, as u state, "i haven't been (to tournesol) in about 2 (thx 'X') YRS" !!!

X, u have "hit the nail on the head" maybe without knowing it. although the wines are overpriced (so what else is new - see wine thread), the main, if not the only reasons to continue to go, ARE the bar, the bartender, & the calvados as to bruni's review, sort of a typical bruni in that he just doesn't have the gravitas, eloquence, nor the "feel" for reviewing PERIOD. this "diner's journal" raoul's review is a perfect example. any one who knows the raouls knows the french-written chalkboards is a gimmick, bruni is so unsophisticated he is as fooled as a 1st-time visitor from idaho. even the pressed-tin ceiling that so impresses, was there PRIOR to raoul's!! besides the over-priced lamb chops, he pans everything else. their "frisée salade aux lardons" is a joke, & somehow, he still falls for the "retro charm"!!! note the picture - what do u notice? table filled with young wall street types making too much for their age, & spending it. wonder if its expense account? not knocking the young wall streeters, but "been there, done that" WHEN raoul's was a destination. the girl, btw, fits right in with the typecast. i would love to see ruth, bryan, or william return & provide Times' readers the quality they deserve.

chalk it up to the weakened dollar versus the euro.. ← i understand what a weaker $ means, but how does that affect the price of beans @ balthazar? an american $-based brasserie with few imported ingredients, except their admirable all-french wine list, which is not only fairly unique to find, but also another reason why i love the place, & in this "ONE & ONLY" instance, ignore the prices . "if 1 deals in the native currency within that country, regardless of movement in a foreign currency, "generally" has -0- effect relating to costs of doing business" econ 101

It's a good beer, I hope you enjoy it. FWIW- the Brooklyn Lager is a different beer than the Brooklyn Pilsener. It is an amber lager broadly in the Vienna style and will have more caramel character and roundness on the palate than the pils. It should still suit your purposes quite well and if you do like it you will probably be able to find it easier than the Pilsener, so there's a plus. Cheers. ← thx, interestingly i didn't notice, just saw: brooklyn, brown bottle, & then looked at the freshness date on the bottle. not being familiar with the brooklyn beer brand(s), did not realize til u pointed out lager v. pilsner, or that they make several types!!! what SHOULD be the most notable differences bet the 2 (besides 1 being a lager & 1 being a pilsener )???? & which of brooklyn beers most closely match a kronenbourg or harp's or heineken??? or better yet, can anyone take a brooklyn beer type & name a close cousin of another competing brand? i find the freshness date on the bottle to be a big plus, & have not noticed other brands that do the same. it also makes sense, as someone pointed out above, that a "locally" made beer SHOULD BE fresher in that it has a shorter distance to travel with less wear-&-tear via light, heat, etc... also notice (finally) they make a pale ale - how does this compare to a sierra nevada pale ale? last nite, @yankee stadium, had a yeugling (sic), ok, but not to my particular taste.