pirate

I'm headed for Paris in early December. I don't make restaurant reservations more than a day in advance so your comments are of great interest. I'm staying at a hotel with a three Michelin rosette restaurant. It will be easy to glance in and check the occupancy daily..

The last time I saw Aoki was in Tokyo last March at his pastry shop. Is he headquartered in Paris?

The name is Girardet not Giradet and certainly a meal I had there in 1984 ranks among the best. However, the very best meal was at the Hotel de la Cote d'Or in Saulieu with Minot as the chef in 1971. I had dined there a week or so before and had an astonishing 1947 Romanee St. Vivant of Latour. There was Romanee-Conti on the wine list and I determined to return and order it. I did. When Mrs. Minot asked me what I wanted fo eat with it I said it had to be a Chateaubriand Bearnaise. The previous year, 1970, I had a marvelous gratin des queues d'ecrevisses ( I'm sure it rivalled the mythical one of Point ). However they only had a gratin d'homard so I chose that to start. But the star, by cosmic standards, was the bottle of 1959 Romanee-Conti. It was a transforming and transcendental experience and the Chateaubriand with its accompaniments was perfect. The cost for the wine including tax and service came to 37 American dollars..

Le Buisson Ardent ancien - an historical note. One of my editors was a professor at Paris 7 in the 1970's and when I visited Paris we would always lunch at the old Buisson Ardent. He chose it. I found the biblical reference interesting. The food was simple fare, well executed, unpretentious but nothing special. The editor died in an automobile crash towards the end of that decade and I've never gone back. From the posts it seems the current restaurant with the same name and it seems the same location is very poor indeed. Too bad.

What timing! Just yesterday I had my first screw cap bottle of wine. A not inexpensive (20 dollars a bottle retail) Austrian wine. The wine was excellent. I would have no hesiitation at buying srew cap wines. at any price level, given my past experiences with corks.

As an exercise in the optimal use of a bit of travel time, I'm intrigued by your proposed adventure and impressed by your meticulous preparation. Good luck.

I don't wish to offer advice but to simply state my current opinion. I've eaten at all three. Hiramatsu: Very comfortable; elegant in fact. Tables well-spaced and not many of them. Food carefully prepared and definitely Michelin one star. I liked it but I would not hasten to return. Senderens: It is a scene restaurant. After a second visit exposed to its current "industrial gourmet" cooking I would never return Le Grand Vefour: Not a comfortable restaurant. Food is good but not up to Michelin three star standards. One can do much better at, for example, Le Meurice. I have no desire to return.

From what I can tell Passard has a continuing relationship. There are menus constructed from his specialties (perhaps modified a bit). He does go there from time to time according to the Maitre d'Hotel at Arpege. The restaurant is on the top (33rd) floor of the Tokyo Prince Park Tower. I stayed at the hotel and could have an American breakfast served there, which I did most of the time, or a buffet breakfast at an adjacent restaurant . Lots of windows with interesting views. I ate at Beige the first year it opened and thought it was industrial gourmet with high prices and have no interest in returning. Ducasse also is connected with Benoit in Tokyo. They have recently announced a Summer sale of meals at much lower prices. Ducasse's "Spoon" in Tokyo failed a couple of years ago.. Your post on Troisgros was quite interesting. There is a Miichael Troisgros restaurant now in th Century Hyatt in Tokyo. I had a good lunch there; frog legs much as you described were on the menu and quite good.

I was in Oxford as a guest of the Oxford University Press last February. I was taken to dinner at Gee's and Malmaison. Both were good but I preferred Gee. My best meal was lunch at St. John's.

I believe it's spelled Girardet if you're referring to the restaurant he had in Crissier.

While in Japan two weeks ago, I had dinner at the Vert Brise, Alain Passard's restaurant in the Tokyo Prince Park Tower hotel and lunch at Michel Troisgros in the Century Hyatt hotel also in Tokyo.. Passard's was overall undistinguished; high point was a grilled piece of Japanese beef (Passard does steak superbly in Paris) and a small French producer's champagne aperitif. Troisgros has a French chef and was good; frogs legs (the reason I'm posting) were very good. Overall I've been pleased with foie gras at Japanese restaurants. I wouldn't expect the Auberge d'Ill outpost to match the original but I think that the ingredients you mention will come out well.

I had hoped for more inputs on fish soup places in Paris. The best I've ever had in all of France was a Marmite Dieppeoise at a one Michelin star restaurant near the Place Denfert-Rochereau many years ago which has long since disappeared. It was spectacular and I've never found its equal. Everything has to be very fresh and prepared to order, something very hard to find. Bouillabaisse has always disapponted. I would look for small restaurants with chef-proprietors from the Atlantic coast or Channel towns.

My experience with Poulet ou Poularde de Bresse has been dining in France including meals in the Bresse region. Sauce is universal, and is usually a cream sauce. Although the very best dish I had in the region was a Supreme de Poularde with a white wine sauce. Most recently I had a Poulet de Bresse aux morilles at Guy Savoy in Paris. The sauce was superior to the chicken, so somewhat overwhelmed the chicken. When I commented on this to a waiter's inquiry. the restaurant sent out a supplementary dish of the morels in sauce. The morels were the blond variety but I like the black better. It may well be that the poulet is not as flavorful as the poularde. While I've had excellent grilled and roasted chicken, an accomplished sauce chef can greatly enhance the flavor of chicken. Vive le saucier!

Chez G\'eraud is one of my favorites in Paris. The Paris-Brest that you mention is delicious. Prix justes.

You stated "All comments are very much welcomed" Obviously an honest difference of opinion is not welcomed.

The list is too routine to be of interest.

``I'm 40 years of age: We've got 15 years left of shelf life,'' he said. ``My objective is three Michelin stars in New York and three stars in Paris. When I climb that mountain, I think from a chef's point of view, I've achieved the ultimate goal.'' Full story at this website http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...fC.s&refer=muse

Mr. Talbott, I'm very grateful for your thoughtfulness in posting your summary of the book. I generally agree with the author's comments

I notice the package has two time stamps (which I commenrted on earlier) Does the second time stamp indicate it was repackaged and reduced in price? ← The two time stamps are when it was made (top) and the expiration time (bottom), this was not a reduced price item rather it was a special sale of the day. I actually bought it about 20 minutes after it was made. ← Thank you very much for the explanation. The special price put me off but both times on the label made me wonder.

I notice the package has two time stamps (which I commenrted on earlier) Does the second time stamp indicate it was repackaged and reduced in price?

So do I when I'm in Japan. I can only eat one big meal a day and I frequently purchase take out sushi from a supermarket for a light meal. There is one big distinction I'd like to point out. In the USA the date stamp includes only the day the item was packed., usually followed by a good to date. I would not buy sushi dated that way. At the Japanese supermarket I most frequent the time stamp includes the date AND the time of day. So one can purchase sushi made and packed within an hour or better. of purchase.

Thia article appeared in the Japan Times yesterday http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20070121x2.html

A very interesting post. I'm looking forward to the future ones. Would it be against the rules to post the name of the store at which the purchase was made?

The restaurant I wanted to go to was full. Not surprising with the Christmas shopping crowds. So I decided to lunch at the Caviar House Prunier at the Madeline, new to me. It is adjacent to an old favorite of mine Caviar Kaspia. The restaurant is upstairs from the store and is very elegant. There is a picture from one end looking towards the stairs at the other end here: http://www.exclusive-restaurants.com/cavia..._prunier-en.htm There were no free tables and I don't like to sit on bar stools and eat. Some tables were finished eating so I agreed to wait. It took somewhat longer than the waitress expected and she thoughtfully offered a glass of champagne. The menu is limited. I ordered an entree of matjes herring which came with boiled potatoes and some sour cream sauce. The plat was balik salmon. This came with a blini, as well as boiled potatoes and sour cream sauce. and consisted of thick slices of a chunk of filet. Balik salmon is mild and not salty. Still being hungry, I orderered the Tiramisu dessert. Their version was acceptable. But in another act of generosity the waitress brought me a second dessert from the menu, a pot de creme chocolat which she said was her favorite. I liked it more than the tiramisu. It seems that the Christmas spirit abounds in Paris.

If you google "le stresa paris" you'll find posts with comments on it and a picture of the main room. What can't be pictured is the welcome and desire of the six brothers, two of them twins, who own and run it to make you feel comfortable and at home. The lunch scene is theater and one eats and enjoys it. I'm happy although puzzled that I was accepted. Do I have unsuspected charm?