MartyL

Sorry to divert the thread, but I'd be interested to hear more about La Grille (if not hear than perhaps in a new thread on the France board). Is it still worth a visit? Thanks.

Members should be advised that although for dinner reservations you generally have to call exactly one month in advance, it is somewhat easier to get lunch reservations. When I called last week, they had availability for lunch every day the week of Feb. 10th.

I ate at Otto on Wednesday night and have a few thoughts: 1. This is a great concept restaurant. The crowd was lively and happy and it is nice that they have so much room in the bar area. Even though the wine prices are eminently fair, they are going to make a killing pouring for people while they wait just on sheer volume alone. 2. I agree with Cabby's remark about the pizza crust being too dry. I also think the tomato sauce used on the pizzas needs more herbs to give it flavor, although I understand the whole authenticity point. Its odd that I enjoyed this pizzeria a lot, even though I found the pizza to be just ok. I think what FG said way up top about the quality of the ingredients is spot on. 3. The Caprese was delicious. Best fresh mozzarella I've had in a long time. 4. Where can I get me some of those amazing olives? They were terrifically rich and fruity. 5. That gelato lady has serious talent. The olive oil gelato with sea salt and blood oranges was fantastic. 6. What's with the "ice cream sandwiches?" Bread and gelato? I don't get it. 7. Service was friendly, casual and full of smiles. 8. I'll definitely be back, soon and hopefully often.

Fresh_a, thanks for your post. If you have a chance, I'd love to hear more about what Bellecour and Bath's are like. Thanks.

Jill and I will be spending a few days in Paris next month and I thought I'd check in here to see if members have any dining suggestions. We visited a number of restaurants the last time we were in Paris based on posts culled from the archives here, and we had wonderful experiences at, among others: Astrance, La Regalade, Chez Georges, Chez Josephine (Chez Dumonet), Relais Louis XIII, and Willi's Wine Bar. We will definitely be returning to some of those places, and I'm happy to report that I've been able to book a return visit to Astrance. So here are some questions to guide your recommendations: What's the latest discovery we shouldn't miss? Where are the other La Regalades in town? (i.e., great food and friendly atmosphere at sub 50 Euros?) Where should we go for Valentine's Day (not including three-stars)? What are the best of the two-stars and one-stars? Does anyone have an opinion and/or details to share on the following places: Carre des Feuillants, Au Relais D'Auteuil, Helene Darroze, Les Ormes, L'Ardoise? Does anyone know of some restaurants that have good wine lists strong in Burgundy and/or Rhone wines at reasonable prices? (Along the lines of Chez Georges or Willi's)? Apart from dining, is there anything else special going on in Paris in mid-February that we shouldn't miss? Many thanks in advance for your help.

Astrance is open on Sunday. Of course, with them one must plan ahead a bit...

While I gather that guests at hotels like the Plaza Athenee, Georges V and the Ritz expect and usually receive top-flite concierge service, if one were to look at the group of Paris hotels that are a bit more modestly priced, say, in the sub-$200 per night category, are there any concierges working at hotels like that who are, in your view, especially resourceful and talented and worth seeking out? Thanks for your participation.

We're testing out some brand new Madeleine pans tomorrow and I was wondering whether anyone had any tried and true recipes worthy of inspiring Proustian memories. Here's one recipe I found from Williams-Sonoma: Madeleine Recipe from Williams-Sonoma We were thinking about doing this one and substituting Rose Water for the "Orange Flower Water" called for in the recipe. I'd be grateful for any suggestions.

Welcome to e-gullet, dlc. Always nice to see another wine drinker around here. Interesting note on the Jadot. As it happens I saw someone post another (less complimentary) note on that wine today on another board: http://groups.msn.com/BordeauxWineEnthusia...404305559503670 Sounds like you had a better bottle. I find that Jadot's non-negociant bottlings like the Bonnes Mares and Clos St. Jacques reliably deliver pretty darned good quality. Jadot seems to have done very well with these in 98 too. Its also nice that while being far from cheap, the Jadots are more accessible price-wise than some of the more hoity-toity producers in those vineyards.

We have a few parties on our dance card, but we'll also have dinner at home, as is our tradition. The full menu hasn't taken shape yet (will know more after I see what's available today at the UWS markets), but we'll probably roast a chicken with some slices of black truffle under the skin. Our Bubbly will be '88 Salon and we'll have some Langres and some fall and winter Parmigianio Reggiano from Di Palo's. We'll also be dropping in on my brother and his wife, who are making their first Turducken.

Try the 2000 Catherine & Claude Marechal Bourgogne Cuvee Gravel, which sells at around the same price point as the Argyle. Chambers St. and Garnet usually carry it, and I also recently saw some at Nancy's Wines. The Gravel has beautiful red-fruit aromatics, a seamless midpalate and bright acidity supporting the finish. Not sure I'd call it "dramatic," but it is delicious and great with food and is in my view the best bottle of Pinot one can buy on this side of the pond with $16-$17.

Hi folks. Pardon me---just trying to move this up on to the "Today's Active Topics" list in the hopes of generating some responses. We leave Wednesday morning so any last-minute suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Our extended family is gathering in Hilton Head, South Carolina for a few days this week and I was wondering whether e-gulleters know of any good places to eat in the area. Thanks in advance for your help.

Speaking of Savennieres, and Chateau d'Epire in particular, the current winebid auction includes a few lots of D'Epire's Savennieres from 1989 and 1990. Some of the bottles apparently have stained labels and some ullage, but at $15 or $20 a pop, this isn't necessarily a bad gamble for all you Savenniere-hounds. Link to the Loire Whites section of the auction follows below: http://www.winebid.com/cgi-bin/osa/ViewPag...ategoryCode=ZL7

Here are another couple of internet auction sites that I have had good experiences with: http://www.magnumwines.com and http://www.brentwoodwines.com

Marcus, I just checked the 67 Wines website and indeed it is the 91, a "difficult" vintage, as they say, for Chenin. I had picked up this bottle and brought it to a friend's house on the occasion of a potluck gathering in honor of Bastille Day with the theme of Savennieres and Vouvray (only in NY! ) A friend's amusing notes on the gathering can be found at the link below: http://www.wineloverspage.com/user_submitt.../tn_270972.html I like Loire Chenin a lot, but I confess I'm more of a Vouvray kind of guy. Sometimes the oxidative style that you see in most Savennieres gets to be too much for me.

There are also some bottles of either the 90 or 91 Coulee de Serrant in 67 Wine & Spirits, of all places. I wouldn't recommend it though. The bottle I bought there was awful. Not sure whether the wine was terrible to begin with or whether the bottle was mishandled, but either way I would steer clear.

Unfortunately, I agree with Hensonville. The Zabar's (Green's) Babka is way too gooey for me. My "echt-Babka" was the chocolate Babka made by the lamentably departed Royal Kosher Bakery on West 72nd Street. Their Babka was light, airy and deliciously crumbly. Truly one of the great parve desserts. I'm not familiar with Lichtmans but it sounds like it would've been a great place to stop in for dessert after lunch at Famous.

Funny thing happened to me the other day at Aix. I was walking in the neighborhood on Saturday afternoon and stopped in to ask the hostess whether they by any chance had any openings that evening for a table for 2. I realize that with a hot new restaurant, same-day reservations on a Saturday night are a long-shot, but her response was still amusing. She said: "I'm sorry, we're not taking any more reservations for tonight. We actually are overbooked on the assumption that we'll get some no-shows." Even if its true, isn't that an odd thing for a hostess to say? Anyway, sounds like we didn't miss much. Had a lovely dinner at Fairway instead along with a nice bottle of Dujac Morey St. Denis.

Another possibility is that these are SO2 aromas. I had a 98 Leroy Auxey Duresses last year that showed a ton of sulphur. It smelled like a combination of a pile of burnt matchsticks and cabbage-fueled farts. I didn't like it very much.

The posts above have covered most of the important ground, but for me there is one other factor that is bound to engender my loyalty to a restaurant. I like to bring my own wine, and I very much appreciate restaurants that have BYOB-friendly policies. I don't mind paying a reasonable corkage fee either, although to be honest it is awfully nice when that is waived. Good stemware is important too. To echo what Rachel said, thanks for asking. At least half the battle is getting across the message that the restaurant really cares about what makes patrons happy.

Welcome, Yaacov, to E-Gullet, not necessarily the first or biggest or any other -est food or wine board on the internet, but a pretty fine one anyway. For those of you who don't know Yaakov, he is a famous NY-area internet food and wine personality. Let's hope we see more of him round these parts.

I also don't drink enough Burg. I could drink a bottle every day and still wouldn't be drinking enough Burg Anyway, apropos of your comment, I had a bottle of Jadot's 98 Gevrey-Chambertin "Clos St. Jacques" last night that was just stunning. I'll quote a friend of mine, a wine professional from Italy who I believe you know, who's description of the aromatics was "an infusion of wild daisies and chamomile." He also said he was moved at what the winemaker was able to draw out of the grapes and the terroir in that wine. Yes, there were some tannins on the finish, but I did not find them to be coarse or overbearing at all. This was a recent auction purchase at a rather depressed price, for which I have Mr. Rovani's criticism of the 98 vintage to thank. Now, if only we could get him to start criticizing the 99s...

I'm certainly no expert, but I'm planning to wait until around 2008 before I check on the 98 again. I suggest you make a note to yourself to check with MikeC or Steve P. around then to see how the 98 is doing. Of course, by then Steve may be unreachable due to his elopement with Becky Wasserman... Edited to add the following: I'd also suggest you periodically consult the Beaucastel website (link below), which includes tasting notes and food pairing recommendations for all the vintages. I believe the notes were written by Mike Rijken, a former sommelier and currently the pr man at Beaucastel, and I expect they will be updated from time to time. As MikeC and Steve will tell you, if you ever find yourself in the area of CDP and call ahead to make an appointment, Mike will give you one of the best winery tour/tastings around. http://www.vinternet.net/Beaucastel

The 85 Dujac is pricey but an unusual thing to see on a restaurant list. The other thing that had me drooling was the 1949 Huet Demi-Sec. Not a bad price for that and it is probably pretty darned profound. Some people who are very familiar with older vintages think the 49 is even better than the 45. I'd go there and have that on its own or maybe with cheese. There are some fascinating stories about Gaston Huet's experiences during WWII in the book "Wine and War." Reading through some excerpts from that book would make the experience even more meaningful.