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Some time ago I had the task of arranging a good lunch for a small group (6 including wives) in Lille prior to a rugby match (Stade Francais v Munster). A colleague from there came up with "La Terrasse des Ramparts" and made the reservations for us. It's in the Vieux Lille area and the address is Logis de la Porte de Gand - it seems to be part of the old town walls. I can't remember the food but I have kept the name and address as somewhere to recommend or to go back to. It was nothing exceptional - just good French bourgeoisie cooking, some interesting wines and reasonable prices. They also made sure of taxis to get us to the stadium. It seems to be well known among locals which is a good sign.

There's a well written and informed obituary in yesterday's Irish Times which can read at http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/obituarie...OBITMILLER.html As is the usual practice in the Irish Times, this is anonymous but the author seems to have known and liked Robbie. It ends with a heart-breaking reference to the recurring tragedy that has been visited on his wife Shirley.

A few weeks ago on the Fat Duck thread, I mentioned the less than complimentary views of Germany`s doyen of food writing, Wolfram Siebeck. His barbed but well informed views on St John`s can be read at http://www.signandsight.com/features/224.html Milder comments on his meal there go along the following lines. "The marrow bones on my plate could have come from a horse, and the beef innards in the goulash had been braised too long." but read the rest for yourself. For those who are not familiar with Siebeck, it should be pointed out that his standing in Continental Europe is unsurpassed. Unfortunately he never writes in English so only the occasional translation on a site like signandsight.com brings him to the monoglot anglophone audience. His articles are really unsurpassed but sure to annoy a few people - he is very readable. He probably also knows what horse bone marrow tastes like.

Wolfram Siebeck is justly considered as the doyen of German food writers and his column in Die Zeit is invariably delivered in a style that is elegant and well informed. He is I guess in his 70's and he is sometimes slightly too focused on traditional styles and values for some readers but well heeled Germans seem to go for that kind of thing. I don't think his name has cropped up in this thread. Since he writes in German he may generally fall below the horizon for much of the english speaking world but this is a pity since he does not limit his comments to Germany. A recent review of The Fat Duck (Die Fette Ende!) is typically dry and amusing and the origional version can be read at http://www.zeit.de/2005/24/Siebeck_2fKolumne_London_1 Happily for the wider world an English translation is now also available at http://www.signandsight.com/features/212.htm together with a link to a translation of a related article on eating in London generally with some amusing sceptical comments about the Top 50 list and, in particular, the presence of 14 English (British?) restaurants therein. There are slight differences between the German and English versions but, although generally admiring, he does not pull his punches and the mustard ice-cream at The Fat Duck is described as einen Furz von Nichtigkeit which translates as a fart of nothingness. Recommended reading for many reasons - and may provoke some interesting reactions

Tom Doorley, the usually reliable food critic of the Irish Times, has put together a list of his 100 favourite places to eat in Ireland - it's available on-line at http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/magazine/...__100INTRO.html It's a well-informed effort with short intelligent comments and has a good geographic coverage. Price guidelines look accurate - in sterling for Northern Ireland, in euros elsewhere. As with any list like this, there's always an issue of who is left out - no John Desmond? no Frere Jacques? Any other suggestions for additions or even deletions? I have not eaten in the many of the places mentioned but can see no manifest errors. This is welcome piece of work - as has been mentioned in this forum from time to time, there is a shortage of data on places to eat in Ireland. Tom's list goes a long way to rectify this.

John's recommendation is probably unbeatable and I've put it down for a visit in the near future. In return I can recommend the Moulin du Vey www.moulinduvey.com. It's a lovely spot in the heart of the Normandy countryside between Caen and Falaise. Although it's been a few years since the last visit, the food stays in my mind as having made good use of local products.

Something your son should take account of is that in the better Belgian chocolate shops many of the "pralines" will contain fresh perishable ingredients such as cream. As such they are not intended to be kept any more than a few days and ideally should be put in a refrigerator. Tell the shop that the chocolates are destined for the US and may not be for immediate consumption - they are generally understanding and will guide your son accordingly.

Thank you for doing this - what you show is food that is simple, unpretentious and as close to perfection as nature allows.

Good choice and well worth finding in the somewhat dingy back streets near Ixelles town hall. It's a personal favourite and fills up easily. There is occasionally a temptation to keep places like this to oneself but it is generally counterbalanced by the sharing of pleasure. Culinista has has got the food just right in this description - the only suggestion I can add for the benefit of anybody who now wants to go to the Creche is to try the zabaglione for dessert.

This has started to drift a little from the opening theme but I can't but add to what Bux has said. With a minimal effort, you can generally do much better than Courtpaille. Just leave the motorway and you can usually find something more authentic, better priced and higher quality within 5 minutes even if the standard is a bit routine for France. You will eat somewhere that is run by somebody for whom cooking and serving food is a way of life rather a business. These are the kind of places which eGullet people should support - even if all that's needed is a quick meal to break a long journey. Take an hour for lunch rather 20 minutes - you'll arrive fresher at your destination and you'll have taken more pleasure from your day. There's little point in listing such places because they are to be found everywhere. I can only throw in a personal choice. Several time a year we go by car from Belgium to Languedoc. Common sense says to break the 1,000 km journey overnight but it does not always work out that way so the driving is shared between two. We try to start early and make Tournus around lunch time - take Exit 27 and there are several inexpensive places within a km. They are kid friendly, quick and cheap. You can also generally get a great Charolais steak around there. The only restaint is that lunch time finishes early in most of central France. With a bit of effort, you don't really need to compromise.

In June 2002, I eat a very good lunch in Toni Vincente's. Unfortunately I have not kept any notes and the bill was picked up by somebody else at the table. We had reserved a week or so in advance on the basis of a strong recommendation from a native of Santiago de Compostela and the group of about six included a few unreformable foodies. I think the whole table took one of the menus and my recollection is of something with a distinctively Galician character - we certainly had percebes - and an overall standard fully commensurate with the Michelin rating. The dining room is sober and "correct" but as you might expect in that part of Spain, the athmosphere was relaxed and unhurried. Sorry if this is a rather general impression - time has that effect - but it certainly falls among the restaurants I would return to. Where are you staying? Los Reyes Catolicos is of course impressive and the rooms are comfortable but it can be crowded and bookings are often a problem. More recently opened, the Palacio del Carmen is smaller and converted from an old convent. Although I did not stay there, it is recommended by the colleague who sent us to Toni Vincente.

A few questions about Bourgeat whioch DCMark may be able to answer. Is the factory outlet easy to find? - Les Abrets does not seem very large and even has a rue Adrien Bourgeat which might be a good place to start. Do they have any objections to non-professionals dropping by? - Some places can be a bit snooty about this and whilst it seems not too far from the Lyon - Annecy motorway, there's little point in a detour if there is a liklihood of being turned away.

Like others here, I have stayed in several Paradors but never have I been drawn to eat dinner in any of them. No matter how attractive the surroundings, a glance into the dining room at night always left an impression of somewhere rather dull and half full of non-Spanish tourists looking for a safe option. Much better to search out a good local restaurant - the helpful staff will even give suggestions and make your reservations. But hold on a moment - the drive to add a comment does have a positive foundation. The paradors do great breakfasts! These seems to run almost to mid-day and if you are in to an occasional slow lazy morning, then the combination of a buffet with good local ingredients and an attentive staff to bring fresh coffee and warm dishes is recommended as an occasional treat. Try this at least once and allow yourself plenty of time - bring something to read, write some letters or even talk to your partner. You can sit for an hour and a half or longer in an evocative high roofed medieval hall. Nobody will disturb you and you can keep returning for delicious (and even sometimes interesting) food.

Oh well, as the French sometimes like to point out, things happen slower in Belgium.

Readers of this thread who don't venture into the provincial backwaters of the EGullet site may care to know that the 2005 Michelin Red Guide for Benelux is experiencing a bit of self-inflicted bother and has now been withdrawn. So far the story has featured only in the Belgian press which indicates some good disaster management at the Michelin HQ - if you don't read French or Dutch, I've just posted a short note in the "Elsewhere in Europe" section. moderator's note: The discussion on this subject has been moved to the Michelin - Benelux Guide 2005, another blow to their reputation thread in the Food Media and News Forum. Apart from the tingle of schadenfreunde that the story evokes, it really puts a question mark over the standards applied generally by Michelin. I've noticed a healthy scepticism on this site about the Red Guide and this latest mishap confirms that you are best to make your choices on the kind of informed personal comments which make eGullet essential reading.

If you are happy to eat your main meal at lunch time and order wine by the "pichet" rather than from the wine list, you should certainly be able to eat enjoyably in Brussels whilst respecting your budget. There should be a few previous threads on the site with suggestions. I see that Chez Marie has retained it's one Michelin star. It's at rue Alphonse de Witte 40, 02/6443031 - a bit difficult to find but first get to Place Flagey, then it's just behind the church near the police station. On a previous posting, I mentioned that the €15 lunch menu might well be among the cheapest in any one star Michelin and nobody has come back to contradict this. Best to book. I can endorse De la Vigne... à l'assiette but think that perhaps €25 may be before you start hitting te wine list.

Don't miss the fairly central Viktualienmarkt - it's worth a visit for the visual displays alone. The quality and variety of the food seems very high - fruit, vegetable, charcuterie, cheese, fish etc. I've only visited this marvellous city on a few occasions and have never had the chance to prepare food so this judgement is largely based on appearances. There are several stalls and bars which sell food for eating there - sausage (of course), seafood, cheeses with beer (of course again) and a surprisingly wide selection of wine. There is a tradition of eating a "second breakfast" mid morning which usually involves beer and sausage. Arcane rules determine what can be eaten and where and when - certain sausages must be eaten before 11:00 and there are attractive tables under the trees which seem to be reserved only for regulars. In spite of this, the whole place is very relaxed although I don't know how it would fit in with a working day. My overall impression is that this is one of the best German cities for food - I'm told local people like to consider Munich as the most northern Italian city rather than the most southern German one.

You'll need a taxi for both of these places - they both came on the recommendation of my golf teacher (Michael Magher - a settled in ex-pat who runs the Biarritz's American Golf School http://www.americangolfschool.com/ - great guy, great teacher and he knows his food). La Cucaracha Rue de l'Ouhabia 64210 Bidart Tel : 05.59.54.92.89 Simple unpretentious Basque cooking - great fresh fish and good wine wine list, friendly lively athmosphere. Campagne et Gourmandise 52 Ave Alan-Seegar Tel 05.59.41.10.11 Maybe 15 minutes by taxi into the countryside - an elegant villa with views of the mountains. I seem to think they had a Michelin star a couple of years ago but not in the current guide. Booking advisable for both - especially if there is rugby in town. It would be nice to hear how you get on.

It comes as a surprise to hear that the first European country to follow the Irish example is Italy. I've just come from a great lunch in one of Brussels' marvellous Italian restaurants. The place was full - around 70 to 80 relaxed end-of-year, convivial, long slow lunch groups taking two and a half hours over food, wine and grappas. At coffee time there were three smokers in the whole place - and it was the habitual smokers at my table who said "this is awful, why can't they just wait or go outside - if a ban works in Dublin why not here?" Smoking is really becoming an issue in Europe. Ireland is an unlikely European country to start a smoking ban - the national attitude towards regulation has always been somewhat mediterranean so it was a surprise to many when the new rule was readily accepted. Indeed in a few short months it has been embraced with enthusiasm and is now virtually unquestioned. The enhanced quality of life for those who go to restaurants and bars (and particularly for those who work in them) is evident. For smokers, the minor inconvenience of stepping outside from time to time causes little bother. Italy has a much better climate than Ireland and, notwithstanding an equally relaxed approach to inconvenient rules, there is no reason to doubt that the benefits of a smoking ban will be some be generally accepted. Maybe after Rome and Dublin - Paris, London and Brussels will follow. There are however a few doubtful candidates where a smoking ban is a long way off - in politeness to the colleagues with whom I've just got through several bottles of Salice Salintino these countries can remain unnamed here. Anybody who travels around Europe will know the worst offenders - but if the Irish and Italians can change, anybody can. Good luck to the Italians in 2005 with this and to anybody else who has the courage to attempt change.

Ah ha! - so thats what they are. Thank you bleudauvergne for the photo - they have been served to me unidentified in restaurants. I worked out fairly quickly that they were not larvae but never found out anything more until today.

I can also endorse Cap Vernet - especially the oysters. It's dependable, professional and the bill will carry no surprises. They may not test the limits of creativity but you will have a suitable location for a business lunch.

Look for lait battu or babeurre - in the French speaking parts of Belgium it can be found in every supermarket. It has to exist in any country that makes dairy products. I've often wondered what people who don't make soda bread use it for.

When faced with the situation Keith Talent describes, one strategy which has always worked for me is to ask a good local wine grower. Apart from any natural connection, good wine producers will as part of their business need to either entertain or at least direct foreign or non-local buyers on whom they depend commercially. They generally give good advice on where to stay – I've got some very good chamber d'hôtes in this way as well as good restaurants. I don't think you even need to buy from them – particularly if you have come from afar and have obviously limited capacity to carry wine on a plane – a tasting session can be honestly ended with a question along the lines of "who is your distributor in X, I would like to buy your wines if they available near where I live". Word of mouth recommendations are certainly the best of all sources (and here I include eGullet) and you should certainly add the wine grower to the others mentioned.

This remains a lovely part of Paris and you seem to have plenty of good advice from people who know the area. You'll find a posting of mine on an earlier thread elsewhere about restaurants in the Marais/Bastille where a few tested personal favourites are described - Le Loir dans la théière on the rue des Rosiers (near Place des Vosges), L'Osteria nearby at 10 rue de Sevigné or Le Rouge Gorge at number 8 rue St Paul (tel 01.48.04.75.89) which I'ver been back to since and can confirm remarks about prices and good non-mainstream wines. Also on rue St Paul, about 50 m nearer the Seine bank, on a corner is another good Italian - name not to hand but hard to miss on this fascinating little street (see also comment above by casting@philacast.com). On Patricia Wells, I must admit to mixed feelings. She is a joy to read if you never get to Paris and need something to stimulate your imagination but I'm not sure if she is really the best source of information if you really want to eat and live like a Parisian. Spend some time browsing a few of the Paris threads on this site and you will do much better

winemike - thanks for a helpful and well written review. I was in Strasbourg some weeks ago and had a more straightforward Alsatian meal in Chez Jenny - the group I was with does not get to Strasbourg so often and wanted something authentically local. The way you describe "Le Pont aux Chats" and its food ensures that this will be the destination next time - you've won them a customer. On the French menu terms, I wish every up-market French restaurant which attempts to translate its menu would read what Bux says. Although I've lived and worked in a French speaking city for many years, I'm still identified as an anglophone when I open my mouth. My heart shrinks whenever a waiter comes with "the English menu for monsieur" as if this was a special favour. Even in Michelin rated places, this inevitably has some mildly amusing errors, but much worse, it's simply not informative as the natural language for what is being described is French. In some of the haughtier places it can be a struggle to get to original menu. Anyway I digress too much, but thanks for this recommendation.