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Robert Brown: I don't believe the menu can be done at home because of Sole Sully and the freshness of sashimi. I should have prefaced by stating that under no circumstances would I let a restaurant choose the menu. I've never had a "tasting menu" that I fully enjoyed; they are usually excessive , erratic or both. It is with this premise that I picked the menu.

Here's a dinner for which I would pay $1000 ( for 4 people $4000) Sashimi with 1996 Krug Sole Sully (see Wechsburg "Blue Trout and Black Truffles) 1997 Leflaive Chevalier Montrachet Grilled Matsuzaka strip steaks with Cepes 1964 Musigny Comte de Vogue' (magnum) Brie de Meaux Fermier Raspberries with creme pistache Cafe filtre'

Bux: Amex may also have changed. The last time I used AAA was about 1985 for DM, FF and CHF travelers checks and the rates matched the WSJ reported spot prices. You're much more up to date. I don't use travelers checks in Europe. In Japan, TC's beat cash and you get the government set rate everywhere and it's very near spot price. By the way it looks like restaurants in France will have the same 5.5% VAT as Macdonald's starting in Janauary. Do you belive the restaurants will pass on the savings?

Bux. Sorry. AAA used to use American Express rates. I didn't realize they switched to Travelex. Obviously they are now profiteering.

Traveler's Checks from AAA in Euros is best bet. You buy at bank exchange rate ( no percentage fee added) in at AAA in USA and as AAA member no traveler's check fee. You get exactly that many Euros in Euroland. With dollar traveler's checks in Europe you usually get a poorer rate than for American dollars in cash THe Swiss keep their exchange rate aligned to the Euro and many places in Switzerland take payment in Euros.

American Express adds 2%. With the Costco Platinum Cash Rebate American Express I get 1.5% back when I've spent over $5000. Before $5000 rebates are less. An inquiry to HSBC elicited this reponse: Thank you for your recent e-mail to HSBC. HSBC does not add a surcharge for purchases made outside of the United States. These transactions can be made on a Credit or Debit Card. Our Direct Bank is always available, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to meet all of your banking needs. Just e-mail us at globalinfo@us.hsbc.com or call 1-800-975-HSBC (1-800-975-4722), and speak with one of our professionals.

Fat guy: How do the Herme' pastries at Wegman's compare with those of Herme' at his Paris stores.?

Thank you for your perceptive and intelligent comment. As usual, I should add.

A chateaubriand is not just any cut from the filet. It is a thick center cut.

Sorry I missed your original post. De Matelote had one Michelin star when I ate there a few years ago and that rating was correct. It's very small and you must reserve. I'm not sure it still exists but the Sir Anthony Van Dyck restaurant at that time was the best place at which I ate. Antwerp is a wonderful city.

loufood and hollywood: Eperlans are not strongly flavored. The key is the freshness of the fish, the batter and the frying technique. The batter at Garnier was like an excellent tempura. The sauce tartare, classically made, completes the dish perfectly. It is one of those "simple" dishes where the quality of the ingredients and the execution (les trucs du chef) are paramount. Isn't that always the case?

Friture D'eperlans: These are very small river fish coated and fried and eaten intact. Served with sauce tartare. Had it last year at Garnier across from Gare St. Lazare. Incredibly good when done correctly and something I always order if available at a reputable restaurant.

Torakris: Another use of herbs is the delicious fresh herb tea served at Cam Chien Grippe' in Tokyo. The chef grows his own. It long predates the herb tea served at ADPA in Paris

Torakris: It was a single leaf like the picture but since it was sandwiched I couldn't get a clear view. It served as a kind of palate cleanser.

At Kyobey I was served a "sandwich" made of two very thin slices of daikon with a leaf in between. I thought it was shiso. Am I correct?

Bux: There's no problem opening a bank account in France. You have to write the amounts in French. Since I made sure not to do it I don't know what happens with bad checks. I used the account when travelling in France buying wine for my personal cellar because the winegrowers took checks but not credit cards. I collected all the cases and the "acquit vert" 's ( with wine you can't go anywhere without them), drove to CDG and had them airfreighted back to the USA. I then closed the account.

Cyn: Since you asked I have never found woodcock on the menu of any of the restaurants I visited. I have eaten at Lucas-Carton under Senderens several times. It is classically formal. The meals are very good with an occasional high point. The most memorable dish was a ravioli of coquille St. Jacques. Interestingly,earlier, that dish was served by Alan Passard when he was at the Carlton in Brussels (just prior to starting Arpege at Senderens old site) and it was equally memorable. Unfortunately the wine was a Pouilly Fuisse' made in the California style with high alcohol and residual sugar and it clashed.

torakris: So now you're unmasked. Welcome. I come to Japan once or twice a year, Tokyo primarily and the Kansai region. I find such excellent western food in Japan that I end up not eating much Japanese food. For example last November I stayed at the magnificent Cerulean Tower hotel. I had the highest price dinner in the Japanese restaurant and it was poor. Kozue at the Park Hyatt is vastly superior. On the other hand the food in the hotel's Italian restaurant and coffee shop was always very good. I did not try Chen Kenichi's outpost and the French restaurant at the hotel. The best meal on that trip was a sashimi/sushi lunch at Kyobey in the Ginza. It was the best of its kind I've ever had. As to vegetables which what you posted about I've noticed a wide use of burdock especially in the pot dishes.

Evidently the Wine Avenger has not drunk the Baden reds from the Kaiserstuhl area. Or the delicious Spaetburgunder Weissherbsts.

Bux: You've got to be the "Alan Greenspan " of food writers. What is the point of your message?

Went to the one on rue Arsene Houssaye for lunch shortly after it originally opened. Reservation was difficult and it was packed. It was excellent at that time.A superb crabcake with Asian spices, monkfish in a kid of soup and a cherry souflee. Last year I passed by and it looked rather empty so I lunched at Stella Maris less than 50 feet away. Stella Maris had been touted to me by a concierge. Lunch there was undistinguished;a delicious whole grain petit pain was the highlight for me. I wished that the hotel, the Park Hyatt, had them at breakfast The other Bouchons de Francois Clerc in the so-called "golden triangle" is okay. Haven't been to one in the 5th.

I tried Marty a couple of years ago on the basis of a Patricia Wells recommendation. Okay but not worth a repeat visit.

Benoit, LeCinq

As arbiter elegantiae I might accept a well cut cashmere blazer with an authentic club insignia plus precious metal buttons and cashmere slacks

Je suis desol\'e I was referring to the other Domaine wines.