hshiau

Ok, so let's wipe the slate clean. From Saturday breakfast through Tuesday breakfast, where would folks here go?...understanding that it will be my first time in Paris.

Indeed I am. And I have no doubt I could stop now and be very happy with any of the recommended restaurants. I'm completely confident that the eGullet community would not steer me wrong. After all, food is more than just sustenance to everyone here. That's why I'm researching food before deciding anything else I want to do on my first trip to Paris! edited to correct my grammar.

Perhaps I shouldn't have provided any kind of list. It was just a list of names I gathered from the various forum topics and may not be indicative of current preferences. Should I start over?

We arrive at Dulles around 11:30am on a Friday. Not sure about the transportation yet. We might hit up a friend that lives in the area.

Almost forgot...one more thing. My wife doesn't each much in the way of seafood so any of the above recommendations that's primarily a seafood restaurant is probably out. Howard

Hi all, My wife and I are flying out to Paris in January and have a 5 hour layover at Dulles. Any recommendations on where to go for lunch? Nothing too highbrow but something nice. Thanks! Howard

My wife actually was a french literature minor in college. Not sure if that's still helpful at our age but it's a start. As for Aux Lyonnais, if the food is good, I don't necessarily care if we're surrounded by Americans although we're surrounded by Americans in New York already.

Thanks for the great input...but I must have gotten mixed up. We're there Saturday morning through Tuesday morning. Would you switch the Friday meals with any of the others? And would you replace any of my choices with others not on my list?

Hi everyone, My wife and I are headed to Paris to celebrate her 40th birthday. She was there once in high school and I've never been so we've got a lot to cram into 3 short days. We're probably going to stay at the Westin for 1 night and the Hyatt Regency Madeleine for the other 2 nights. I don't know if that makes a difference or not. I figure we have 3 breakfasts, 3-4 lunches, and 3 dinners to plan so any help would be greatly appreciated. I'd like to do one high end meal and the rest low to middle. The main thing is to get a feel of Paris. I've read through the forum as well as gotten some recommendations from friends and this is what I have....way too much!!! Where would YOU go if this was your first time to Paris? Astier Aux Lyonnais Dominique Bouchet Hier et Aujourd’hui l’Accolade La Cerisaie La Ferrandaise La Truffiere L'Ami Jean L'Assiette L'Avenue Le Comptoir Le Coupe Chou Le Dôme Le Grand Colbert Les Anges Les Autodidactes Les Magnolias Les Ormes Les Papilles L'Orangerie Maison du Jardin Sensing Spoon Spring Violon d'Ingres Ze Kitchen Galerie L'Astrance Pierre Herme Charlotte D’Lilse Plus, it would be great to see what's good for breakfast vs lunch vs dinner. Since we will be there on Sunday and Monday, knowing what's closed or open would great as well. I know I'm asking a lot. Thanks so much in advance. Howard

My congratulations as well. I was so disappointed that I had to cancel a reservation last week because my trip to Chicago was cancelled. Not sure when I'm going to be able to make it out there again but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

BTW, a comparison with the smoking ban isn't really appropriate. One person smoking affects other people in the vicinity. Someone eating food with trans fats affects himself/herself and no one else. Chicago became a laughingstock with their foie gras ban. Guess we want to join the party.

I guess New York's Board of Health got jealous of all the attention Chicago was getting. They've announced that we're moving forward with banning transfats. Well, at least you're not alone in being embarrassed.

My wife and I went last week for my birthday and I had the menthol mousse. I thought it was excellent...very delicate. I think my wife prefers bolder flavors in her desserts but I thought it was great.

One way to blow the Department of Health out of the water is to inundate them with bogus complaints that they will have to check out. Soon enough, they can't pay attention to ANY complaints.

Sounds great! Is it first come first served or are reservations required? And how can we get in during the soft opening?

I was in Chicago for a couple of days last week on business and decided to head over to Custom House right after I checked into my hotel. As previously described, the space was beautiful. However, things started a bit on a sour note. The hostess greeted me with a suggestion to sit in the lounge area since the light was better for reading (I was dining alone). Seeing as I was without a book, I was surprised that the hostess would make a suggestion like that. Maybe I'm a little touchy but there should be nothing wrong with dining alone. Next gaffe. I was placed at a table smack dab next to a wait station, where busboys were continuously pouring water...loud and annoying. There were other tables available so I'm not sure why the hostess put me there. Maybe she didn't like the fact that I didn't take her suggestion and sit in the lounge. I asked for another table and was moved promptly. I was then given a glass of ice water without anyone asking if I wanted bottled or bubbled water. Ok. Maybe they server EVERYONE ice water....but no, the next table over had bottled water. Very strange. No wine list or waiter came for 10 minutes. I did get warm bread and salted butter....SO good. The waitress finally came and, after failing to decide between 2 appetizers, I asked the her if the appetizers were small enough for me to order 2. She assured me that the portion would not be too much so I went ahead and ordered 2 appetizers and a main. Even though this was quite a bit of food, she still tried to push me to get a vegetable. The first appetizer came. A delicious octopus salad...red and yellow peppers, mushrooms, red onions, etc. I was excited. The portion was a bit larger than I had expected but it was yummy so who was I to complain? Hmmm...water glass has been empty for 5 minutes. No refill. There it is! Are they reading as a type into my Crackberry? Let's test it. Hmm....no one has replenished my bread. Guess not. Next came the quail dish. 4 quarters of quail, a battered cipolinni onion, and caramelized fennel. Again...so flavorful and rich that I was starting to wonder if I was going to be able to eat my main course. BTW, at this point, my bread plate was taken away. Guess they assumed my savories were done. Veal cheeks...looked extremely rich and fulfills that expectation. This was so good that I could eat this every day. And I LOVED the marrow on top of the bread. Only problem was...the waitress was wrong. This was too much food. However, I couldn't bear not to finish this amazing dish and made sure I cleaned the plate. The busboy (interesting) then brought over the dessert menu. I was stuffed at this point. I ordered an espresso and I was done. I thought I was done writing as well. At this point, the waitress came back and asked if I wanted dessert. I politely declined and said that the food was delicious but I was too full. She told me that the melon sorbet was teh best sorbet she ever had. I declined again and she said it was just a small scoop. I declined again and she asked me if I wanted another espresso!!! She just lost half her tip! Doesn't she understand that pushing more food can spoil a meal? Because of the quantity, what would have been an amazing entree became slightly sickening when I was on my last legs. This doesn't serve the food well through no fault of the chef (or sous chefs in this case). Plus, I didn't get to try any desserts! I'll take some of the blame. My eyes were probably wider than my appetite but I can normally eat a ton of food. This was too much. Despite my displeasure at the waitress, I will definitely be back. Chef McLain obviously knows his stuff. There are other items I need to try and I'm hoping this service experience is an abberation.

Landmarc is probably the only place, not a neighborhood joint, that we hit monthly. Out of the way but gotta go.

Thrashers. Good call. I can do with crabs and fries daily. I don't know that my cholesterol would be real happy with me though.

I'm definitely resigned to burgers, pizza, and crabs. But there's "burgers, pizza, and crabs" and then there are "burgers, pizza, and crabs". You know what I mean?

The family's heading down to Ocean City next week. We'll be staying at the new Hilton that just went up. Since it is a tourist destination, I'd like to try to avoid all the really bad food that you usually expect. Any recommendations on places to eat for breakfast/lunch/dinner? Also, any reasonably priced golf in the area?

Broadway Panhandler has 75 percent off kitchen gadgets from All-Clad, OXO, and Le Creuset. * Where: 477 Broome St., at Wooster St. (212-966-3434) * When: 5/27–5/29 (11–5) 5/30–6/3 (11–7) 6/4 (11–6) 6/5–6/9 (11–7) 6/10 and 6/11 (11–5)

amuse bouche foie gras terrine spring vegetable-bread soup lobster bolognese robiola tortellini seared duck breast and duck confit heritage pork rhubarb panna cotta pineapple rice pudding

We went for dinner this past Saturday evening since we unexpectedly had the night off when my daughter went for a sleepover. With no reservation, we were lucky enough to snag a no-show table at 6pm. We had the 4 course prix fixe and a glass of wine each. At $55 for the prix fixe, I thought it was a great deal. My wife started with the Spring Vegetable-bread Soup as an appetizer, the Robiolla Tortellini for the mid-course, and the Heritage Pork as an entree. She loved both the soup and the totellini but found the pork a bit bland. I had the Foie Gras Terrine, the Lobster Bolognese and the Seared Duck Breast and Duck Confit. I enjoyed everything I had. I thought the confit wasn't cooked as much as I was used to but it was still good. For dessert, we shared the Rhubarb Panna Cotta and the Pineapple Rice Pudding. The panna cotta was well executed but the rice pudding was out of this world. I'd go back just for the rice pudding. All in all, the service was excellent, the food was good and the price was very reasonable. We'll probably make this one of the restaurants we hit more often since it's in the neighborhood. I'll post pictures if I figure out how.

We were there for brunch last month since we were in the area for the Barney's warehouse sale. The waiter managed to spill a container of ketchup all over my daughter's hair and clothing. They were kind enough to give her a t-shirt to change into (it was 30 degrees out) but not kind enough to comp any of our meals. Brunch was fine but nothing to go out of your way for.

while i don't think that meal was cheap, it's a great deal compared to some others like Per Se and ADNY (not that I'd compare wd-50 with them). but there are many folk who find issue with their meals there so if you're unhappy with the quality at $95 for the tasting, you've got to be going bananas at $225. oddly enough, i wasn't as happy with my meal at moto in chicago even though that was plenty innovative as well.