kerriar

Thanks for all these useful comments - they will go into the pot in one form or another. In the meantime I've discovered via a bit of digging elsewhere on eGullet (Food Snob in France Dining) that the legendary riz au lait ‘grand-mère’ at L'Ami Jean is made with a paella rice called "bomba", a premium-quality short grain, starchy rice from Valencia. Back to the kitchen this weekend.

A recent dinner in Amerigo dal 1934 confirmed all that has been written upstream here as well as the Slow Food commendations. From salumi to postre, everything was a joy to eat. We left to choice of wine to the house and, unless you know the wines of the area, this was not a bad idea. Savigno is about 20 km of so outside Bologna. In spite of the caveat on the website about GPS, it's not difficult to find and if you have a few days in the area and are mobile an evening in the hills might appeal. You won't be disappointed. There are a number of rooms available, not in the same building as the restaurant but on a quiet couryard nearby. The space was occupied in the past by silk workers and retains the character of a work place but not at the expense of comfort. The rooms are not expensive and allow you to indulge a bit without any driving worries. Definitely no stoney faces here!

THanks for quick response. Currently using Bosto dessert rice - a widely available commercial brand in continental Europe. The box says nothing about its origin nor mentions a particular variety.

Have tried everything possible to eradicate a residual chalky taste so as to make a perfect rice pudding. L'Ami Jean in Paris sets the barrier fairly high for this simple dish - every grain melting into a tender almost nothing in the delicious creamy ambrosio that arrives in an almost indecently sized serving. I've tried everything - washing the grains before cooking, not washing the grains, really long slow cooking (2 hours at 90 centigrade), moderately fast cooking (30 minutes at higher temperature, adding sugar at different times, using skim milk to using creamy milk, adding the rice when milk is hot or adding it when cold. Maybe I should look for a rice with a lower starch level - any suggestions please?

I've just lent my copy of Osterie & Locande D'Italia to a (trusted) friend who tells me that this invaluable book is now selling second hand at a premium on Amazon. Seems she's right and the prices quoted now run up to £126 sterling for the 2007 edition (although new copies of what seems to be the same book still seem to be available at a more reasonable price through other third party suppliers). Has Slow Food or their publisher really let this go out of print? They and their website have occasional lapses of endearing amateurism but somebody should tell them that they missing out on the market. As has been said frequently here, this is probably the best guide to bring to eating well and authentically in Italy - at the above price, I can't be the only one being asked for photocopies. The website http://associazione.slowfood.it/ had restaurant listings but I can't find this section - but that may be just my very poor Italian and fatal impatience.

That was 2004 Yes indeed - this discussion has been silent for many years but it seems that something has finally happened today in Brussels. Changes like this can only be done on the basis of consensus among the EU's 27 members - who thought up this daft rule? - better not ask but it was also arrived at by consensus. Anyway, the path is unblocked and the delectable Madame Lagarde now has a free hand to reduce the VAT on French restaurant bills ftom the current 19.6% to 5.5% All going well, this means that a dinner for two which now costs €100 should now cost €88 if the saving is passed on to the customer (if my mental arithmetic is good). Time to go out and celebrate? Well, let's see. Will the restaurants be transparent about this or will we start to hear about the need to cover increased wage costs, compensate for hard economic times, etc, etc? Does the Laffer curve apply when it comes to eating in restaurants? Should at least be worth a try. Anyway - remember you heard this first on eGullet.

Fergal's question has provoked a very useful update of where to eat in Dublin's city centre from those who know their way around. Not much can be added - Corrigan's is already well covered elsewhere but for somebody staying in the Shelbourne, you could add Town Bar and Grill in Kildare Street to the list. It's just across the road from the side entrance to the hotel. Not always easy to get a table there at lunch as the place is favoured by the movers and shakers of Dublin life - but they are probably forced to keep a lower profile these days.

This untimely loss (they are always untimely but even at 88 Gaston Lenôtre was still going to the bakery regularly) and the distinguished career which went before was the third or forth item on the radio news in Belgium, which says something about sensible national priorities in these grim times. I thought I had misheard something when the journalist spoke of the Lenôtre headquarters in Plaisir - but that is indeed the name of the district outside Paris which was the source of so much pleasure for so many over the years. There seem to have been some financial up and downs over the years but the gentle man who gave us the financier ended his days serenely with his wife and his dogs at his place in the country.

Can give a strong recommendation for a riad in Fez http://www.darroumana.com/ where we spent a few days last week. If you are even slightly interested in food take the optional one day cookery course - especially as it includes a trip to the market with the Arab speaking host. This was educational relaxing and fun

had a lievre a la royale last night in l'Ami Jean – classic, dark and rich. Waiter kicked off with what sounded like a well used limp joke – "ce soir monsieur, nous n'avons pas de lievre a la royale mais c'est le lievre Sarkozy". Costs around €40 (seems not a bad price these days) but the bottle of Irouléguy that washed it down was a steal. L'Ami Jean also have the world's best riz au lait and you get lots of it. A brisk walk back to the hotel in Passy was needed to help our digestion

Going back to the pizza eating question (which is where this started), I have a real existential question that goes to the heart of personal values. What is the correct drink with a pizza? Late in life, some long term residents of Northern Italy are telling me it has to be beer and that drinking red wine is an affectation. Can this be true?

Me too - it's not that my German is in any great shape but it seems my eyesight is equally suspect. It's probably not the cheapest spot in town but for a department store it's way out of the ordinary.

There are a range of options here up to and including the Restaurant Silberterrasse. The website is only in German but if you can manage menu level German you should find it informative, even at times inspiring (as you said, the foodhall is amazing). The food part of the main website is at http://www.kadewe-berlin.de/service_77.php and the less formal buffet restaurant has its own site at http://www.lebuffet.de/Restaurant.625.0.html

For best moules frites in town, try La Bonne Humeur at 244 Chaussee de Louvain. It's about as authentic as it gets - formica tables, etc - and quite a contrast to the other two spots you mention. Your Eurostar check-in leaves things a bit tight however - the place just mentioned is normally about 10 minutes by taxi but also check how much time you need to pass security etc.

On Jack O'Shea, your judgement is sound here - this is a talented guy who knows his metier and works hard on sustaining the highest standards. His other shop on Rue le Titian in Brussels (which pre-dates Knightsbridge) is the best butchers in the city - I'm off there now for a kilo of marinated bavette and whatever else looks good. CheGuevara - interesting coincidence given where you are from, this week his Brussels newsletter (edited I think by sister Grainne) mentions an Argentinian restaurant here Meet Meat – The ‘Heston’ Burger’ – rue stevin, schuman – even if its an argentinian restaurant they were so impressed by the heston burger (made with pure irish beef) they added it to their menu.

Last weekend's FT has a gives a good report on Rutz which can be read at http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c8b3a1dc-5454-11...0077b07658.html. All details - address phone number etc - are there. Not sure about absolute need to reserve, particularly mid-week, but it's probably a wise precaution. Rutz has been mentioned already upstream and the great attraction here is the wine list where the mark-up on shop prices is minimal, particularly at the higher end. I can't remember what I eat but the wines were the things of dreams, both German and international. Rutz should be on any serious Berlin list - it also has a pleasant relaxed and unpretentious athmosphere. The people who work there are at home with several languages.

I have to rush in with a (modulated) defense of Auberge Du Cedre - indeed the place does have its quirks. Both Graham Tigg http://www.languedoc-dining.com and the Auberge's own website tell you that the restaurant really only functions at weekends. The rest of the time it has to be admitted that it comes close to an extremely good youth hostel - but the great wine list never shuts and the location has its own magic. It's really therefore a great place to go with kids who enjoy the run of the grounds and the building with its informality and lovely setting. Yes , accomodation is a bit old fashioned (especially when it comes to bathrooms) but the prices are still fair. From Friday to Sunday the food is everything you would expect in this part of France but I have to admit that on longer stays we often went elsewhere on the evenings when the service was reduced. Over the years we've found with friends that some of them like the mix that is A du C but others prefer something else.

The fiaschetteria Beltramme on Via della Croce , just off the Piazza di Spagna, may seem nothing special but it is an honest restaurant serving good Roman food at fairly decent prices – not something you can take for granted in this tourist-trap part of town. Recommendation came from a Roman friend who lunches there regularly because it's near her office. On Friday night entreés were a good salad caprese and a "carpaccio" of raw mushrooms dressed with olive oil and lemon juice – simple food prepared with good quality ingredients. We both had fresh tuna, simply fried with little ornamentation. Wine from a short list was a bottle of decent pinot grigio. The whole meal cost under €60. This is a very simple place and is totally authentic – it's been run by Cesaretto for years and unlikely to change before he hangs up his boots. No reservations and you are likely to have to share your table – at lunch time with Italian office workers, in the evening with tourists. Not a destination restaurant but if you're in this slightly overheated area, it's a good choice and nobody will rush you.

Raflap - you could try Toni Vicente. She's considered to be one of the best chefs in Spain (at least among fellow Galicians) but don't expect anything in the Ferran Adria mold. The restaurant is in the centre of Santiago and I think has a Michelin star. I had a great meal there some years ago - the wine list is outstanding as I recall it.

This time we followed paulbrussel's advice and went to Clairefontaine. The restaurant has some style, a relaxed athmosphere and staff who are professional, knowledgeable and can display a sense of humour across several languages. The menu is on-line and delivers all that it promises. There are some reasonably adventurous combinations but the results are always well-balanced and reflect a kitchen that knows what it is doing. Clairefontaine is well up to its one star rating. Luxembourg itself, despite its fairy-tale setting does not seem to rate highly as a tourist destination and most people who go are probably there for business or similar reasons. That most of the people in the restaurant seemed to be local and many were known to the staff was reassuring. Next visit to Luxembourg will probably be mid-summer and we look forward to ameiden's suggestion for the terrace at Lea Linster.

Has anybody any recent experiences of either Clairefontaine (currently one Michelin star) or Mosconi (two stars) in Luxembourg? We have to make a reservation for a lunch in the city on Friday next. Indeed any other recent suggestions would also be welcome, not just high end. (Some postings on Luxembourg including John's useful link to a 2007 NYT report are currently awol on the Reykjavik thread.)

What I use now is bicarbonate alimentaire, a Cérébos product, widely available and produced by Esco France, ave Georges pompidou, F-92593 Levallois-Perret Cedex

Eat in McNean's in Blacklion at least once - but even though you are still in the county of Cavan, it's about 50 km away on twisty roads.

Priceless - restaurant reviewing as a full contact sport! - but not sure what the wider world will make of it.

There is a good Basque bar/restaurant on the cliffs above San Juan de Gaztelugatxe - it's close to the car park and by the time you've climbed down and back up again you'll be hungry. The location is every bit as magnificant as the photos imply and the food is not bad either.