daemon
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Posts posted by daemon
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Kathryn
I agree, each single time I went to EB, I did plan my trip around it.
I do not say this is actually how they do proceed, but from what I know ( personal experience & about 10 friends'ones), those who finally got tables were the ones who asked for a special day/week and/or for a special event ( birthday,…), yet some of them got rejected anyway.
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Lesliec, you are right, It definitly seems they have a very mathematical way to proceed :
About percentage, you can read here and there 50% locals vs 50% foreigners, that you have to add up with 50% first comers vs 50% returners.
From my experience, this is not a first sent email - first served basis work: twice, friends of mine got a reservation despite the fact that they had sent their request several days after mine, where I was rejected.
Or maybe do they just throw 2 millions slips of paper in a giant jar and pick randomly 6.000 out of it
JeffKontz, I might be wrong, but requesting any date of the calendar does not seem the best way to get in, as Mr Garcia and his team seem to try and please people with more precise plans first.
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Not knowing either to post in the Dining or the cooking forum, and as one can pick some cheese, bread, wine and eat'em in, here it is
Stopping by le Bistral, I was surprised to discover that owners had opened a pocket-sized grocery next door ( 82 rue lemercier, 17° ) from the restaurant 2 weeks ago.
I saw high end balsamic vinegars & olive oils, Joel Thiebault veggies, limited wine, saké, whisky & champagne selection, but also rice vinegars, soy sauces, and more surprising fizzy sugar , gadget pipettes and toothpaste like tubes the chief sometimes uses at the restaurant.
A display was keeping cheeses (burrata, scamorza), lardo di colonnata homemade desserts (tiramisu), chanterelles' sauce, fresh.
I posted a couple pictures on my blog
Prices are not cheap yet products look top notch.
To be confirmed, but looks like the shop is open on sunday mornings
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Fourth visit to the Roca brothers', yet first in the new restaurant.
The old building has been redecorated, mixing japanase zen and nordic minimalism, the dining room being U-shaped around a patio.
After having been warmly welcomed by Jordi Roca, very proud to guide us through his new kitchen, and having visited the new wine cellar, starts our meal.
Having mislayed my notes, here are pictures (hi-res versions can be found here) of the "Festin" menu we had:
.Snacks
Olives
Anchovies
Bloody Mary
Sesame cocoa cracker
Tomato & tuna
Razor shellPesto Parmesan
Foie gras turon
.cherry soup / eel / ginger sorber
.Mussels on their rock
A Hit, it brings to you all the flavors from the seashore, including the "rock" actually tasting like…real rock!
.Gambas on the beach
.Foie gras / caramelized apple/ sweet wine reduction / vanilla oil
.Omelette / avruga / aniseed herbs
.Sole / fennel / bergamot / orange / hazelnut / olive / caramelized oil
.Cod / tripe / gnocci / catalan soup
.Lamb / pan con tomate
.Goose / foie gras cream / peachsauce
.Smoked eggplant.
The other Hit of the day: the eggplant lays on a pierced cling film releasing some sort of smoke ( reminds me of the smoked cep ice cream, an other Jordi hit from 2001)
.Green monochrome (cucumber - apple - mint)
.Olive / vanilla / liquorice / caramel
A reel slap, as good (better) as it looks.
.Trip to Havana.
We could not resist and ordered this classic as an extra.
Less "surprising" than my previous ones, this meal was as delightful.
Apart from a little problem on the last red wine, the wine pairing had been promptly and very successfully handled.
Now that the dining-room suits the cooking, the third michelin star has never been so close !
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I will keep it short as many before me have reviewed it very well, and my complete review (in french) & hi-res photos of all dishes are available here: Let Eat Be
The pattern of our menu (october 1st) was kind of upside-down, as we began the meal with "desserts" and ended it with "seafood".
To me, the highligths were :
Camarones & bergamot vs. sea anemone & caviar
The prawns developped bergamot flavors as they had been steamed with it.
But so did the sea anemone, which was amazing, because, as told by our waiter, there was no bergamot at all.
Almonds mimicry
Some were real almonds, other were made of jelly, or ice cream, served with a tomato sorbet and grilled mango with sisho.
100% soy.
As the title suggests, only soy in this dish : soy milk skin, different types of miso, nato,…
Sceptical at first, I have been blown away by the subtlety and ability of each ingredient to fully reveal itself.
Frozen water
A pure regression bringing back childhood winter memories. A frozen water disk, covered with mint alcohol, matcha and peanuts, that you have to break with your spoon.
I had a stunning meal, with lots of hits, some misses ( like Marc at fraiche, I found the truffle not interesting), but found nothing to be inedible. I also have to second Phil on the japanese influence, as in 5 visits, this last one was by (very) far the most japanese oriented (umeboshi-strawberries, raspberry/nori cornet/soy).
But more than a meal, I believe a dinner at El Bulli is a sensory kidnapping, few Chefs are able to operate.
Who said "Stockholm syndrome" ?
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I'd second Laidback on Bertrand Grebaut, even if desserts are one step under the rest of the carte, this guy used to be a graphic designer until he was 21, and he is ....26 ! so to me, he has a wide improvment margin.
+1 for P. Nilsson as well
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2 of us went for lunch on saturday at Ducoté Cuisine.
After a nice tuna and gaspacho amuse, we both had tourteau ( don't know the translation but it's very close to crab) than one had lobster w/ baby vegetables and pasta, while I had the poultry and gingerbread dish. we then shared a cheese course, and a gariguette strawberries and almond milk ice cream dessert.
Overall nothing bad, HUGE portions, but IMHO each single dish was too sweet, too neat, lacking nervosity...and the wine list matched it perfectly.
Actually before meeting him, I would have thought the chief was in his 60's or 70's, not 25 yo.
the bill for 2x 3dishes, 1 bottle of white, 1 bottle of water, 1 coffee was 190euros.
So not a hit for me , but it is still nice to try new places.
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hi Ronaldoebt
thanks for your answer and advice.
I had to delay my trip but will sure keep your info precisously.
thanks again ( and nop daemon is not my real name ;-)
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ok
i took me a 10 min phonecall from france to someone who doesnt speak english nor french ( and i dont speak portugese nor spanish) to book a table for next tuesday.
but as they don't accept visa, i'd like to know how much cash I should bring.
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Hi
this is my first post in the south america forum as I am about to travel to brazil for the first time.
I only have time for one great meal in Rio, and am highly considering visiting Roberta Sudbrack's.
the thing is I don't speak nore read portugese, and I can not find any infos in english.
.my only 3 options are monday may 5th, monday 12th (lunch), tuesday 13th lunch).
do you think booking a table for 1 on such short notice is possible ? is it even open on mondays?
.could someone give me an idea about the big menu price w/ wine ?
thank you very much
cheers
guillaume
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Absolutely. A three stars in his own right, the ultimate genius of cheese.
exactly, I believe he is the only one to offer vintage Comté like the 2003' we had yesterday.
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John
My friend and I ordered the 39euro lunch menu but also a lot of other stuff ( extra entree, cheese, dessert), 1 bottle of wine, 2 glasses of white wine, 2glasses of red, 1 café, and 4Rhums = ± 260euro bill, which could have been 160 without the rhums ( yes quite expensive but yet very good).
so i'd say, at lunch 2 would pay±130 ( if reasonnable about wine) and ±200 for dinner
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My friend and I had the 39€ lunch menu ( Amuse, entree, main course, dessert)+extra entree, extra cheese, and extra half dessert (not that the menu was not enought just because we could not get enough!)
I'll keep it short :
Raw " tete de veau"+citrus caviar : amazing
parsley soup 2 ways ("head to toe") :creamy, earthy, light : stunning !
john dorry w/oyster espuma and noirmoutier potatoes : misssing the point but very nice still
cheese course by Anthony : as always, perfect
dessert : hot banana+ rosemary icecream : unlikely but stunning pairing, thepugnacity of the rosemary balancing so well the roasted banana sweetness
conclusion : not cheap, but IMHO, the 2008 good surprise in paris so far.
Agapé 51 rue Jouffroy d'Abbans 75017
menu from 39 to 110euro/PP.
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Kerriar,
Thanks for your recos.
sadly la bergerie is close on tuesdays, but Semsum links to quite appealing restaurants such as l'air du temps & le darville.
Yes , the thing about l"ere celeste is that not that many sites write about it, so I am not sure about objectivity neither.
choice will be hard!
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Hi,
heading from paris to namur for the day on next tuesday with plenty of time for lunch, I am looking for a (very) good retaurant. I am actually considering "L'ere celeste". has anyone tried this one, or have other reco ? thanks alot
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Heading once again to el Bulli this year, I will stay the night before at the Castell d'Empordà hotel, a very nice place I visited last year. the only thing is I didn't really enjoy the restaurant, and as I will eat both at EB and celler de can roca, I am looking for a simple yet (very)good tapas place, in or very close to la bisbal.
thanks for any advices
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Regarding the Loire, and Tours more precisely, you won't find nothing really modern like Thierry marx's place, but yet there are some (very) nice places :
I would suggest Charles Barrier restaurant ( 1*) now run by Hervé Lussault for a few years. Very good regional food with a twist of modernity ( IMHO, more interesting than his neigbor and 2* Jean Bardet). bill would be somewhere between 50 and 100€/head.
far more casual, but not to be missed if you are looking for regional yet very well cooked food is Le petit Patrimoine ( 56 rue colbert, tours). I do eat there each time I go to Tours. The 4 courses menu ( Starter, main, cheese ( 4 different goat cheeses, each of them available at 3 or 4 different steps of refining, dessert) is around 20€, with lots of low priced wines, but be sure to book in advance as the place is very small.
Other places including (from expensive to more casual) :
.Les Hautes Roches in Rochecorbon 10mn from Tours, a 1* "troglodyte" hotel-restaurant , troglodyte means the hotel is directly in the Loire slope ( www.leshautesroches.com )
.Le petit mesclun, 8, Place Chateauneuf
.L'atelier Gourmand ( 37, Rue Etienne Marcel, tours)
.Juanita Banana ( (15, Rue Change, tours) : the most modern place of all ( fusion food), but still quite a casual place
....
Enjoy your Trip, it is a beautifull area ( and be sure to visit some winemakers' domains :-)
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A few lines about my lunch at Urbane today.
the restaurant is a tiny place, simply but nicely arranged, not far from Canal St Martin.
Audrey and her charming irish accent are in charge of the guests, and Olivier runs the kitchen.
We had the19€ 3courses-lunch menu ( 1 starter, 2mains, 1 dessert) :
We started with a green aspergus and beetroot salad with mascarpone cream, nuts, parsley & coriander, simple yet well balanced.
We then had a John Dory with a curry emulsion ( looked more like a sauce to me, but stil very good) and small potatoes from noirmoutier island. Very nice even if the fish skin would have deserved to be more crispy IMHO.
For dessert, the homemade brownie with orange sorbet and whipped cream served in a glass was really tasty with its nice contrast between orange's acidity, the strong chocolate flavor, and the sweetness of the cream.
I didn't take a close look to the wine list, but it has bottles, half, and by-the-glass wines.
the bill for 3 menus+3 glasses of wine +1 sparkling water bottle +2 cafés was 74€ which is quite a very good deal for what we had....and John Talbott seated next to our table seemed to enjoy his meal too
I'll definitly give it a shot at night, with the 29€ 3 courses menu (4-5 starters, 4-5 mains, 4-5 desserts).
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Pita of Iberian ham fat and veal bone marrow
I had the pita last september and it is really amazing !
here are 2 "not that good" pictures of it :
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wahoo, nice work !
just wanted to add that there is a little error on le comptoir du relais, which is not well located on the map (should be left bank, next to "la cremerie"), but again, nice work !
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I posted a link to some pictures of my trip to spain last september in the 2006 elbulli tread.
Pages 10 & 11 are about our lunch at Rafa's, while the other are about celler de can roca, elbulli & mas pau.
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Sure that "Siberia" isn't the greatest area to enjoy your meal there, but for the several (over 20 ) times I've had dinner at le Bistral, I've only been disapointed once, and most of my meals were more than very good, some of them being just outstanding for the price paid.
Ptipois, I don't know if they have simplified their cooking as the team had dinner at Elbulli last summer, and brought back some ideas they have been using since, but their way.
The Bistral is certainly not the only very good bistro in Paris ( Le temps au temps, l'avant gout, …) but to me, it definitly is part of my favorite…and no, I do not work there
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went there in september, and they were closed both sundays & mondays
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Hi
I was in Spain for 4 days late september, and had diner or lunch at El Bulli , Celler de can Roca (will post on the other topic) , Rafas, and Mas Pau among others.
I've uploaded the pix (all of them, including the blurry ones :-) athe the following address ( sorry no legend for the moment)
sept 06' spanish restaurants pix
Talking about EB, this was my third meal there.
the first one was marvellous, the second, a bit less ( maybe due to the "non-surprise" effect), so I was kind of nervous about this one, not knowing is the experience would work again or if it definitly was a "one-shot magic moment" restaurant. well, without getting into details let me tell it overpassed all my waitings.
It was just as magic as the first time, my friends who came for the first time were speechless.
Talking about food, If there was less "hi tech" dishes, 2 were quite weird : the "seeds dish" and the "seaweeds dish".
the only - point would have been the desserts, that did not blow our minds, when they actually did the other years.
overall, still amazing, and i would no say "no" to a fourth time there
( one can dream )
La Bigarrade
in France: Dining
Posted
Great report ( and pictures), that I can only second;
My meals there were among the best I had in 2008 and 2009.
I would only add that the first time I have tasted the amuse you found average, I was blown away by the olive oil (Recioppella from the Zamparelli farm)
The only reason I have stopped going is, as you mentionned, the never ending wating list.