tony h

avoid the bread - sometimes this is very difficult I also tend to skip the cheese course (Pierre G's - not just slabs/slices but three dishes made from cheese - hard to resist; the place in Lyon (on the island) also served wonderful jellied kumquatt's with the cheese course - fab) oh, and try to avoid seconds (not easy, particularly Guy Savoy's artichoke & black truffle soup!) pre-drinks are also a no no - but not having wine during the meal is also bad TMs on consecutive days - also a no no but, most importantly of all, train, train & train some more! TMs are not for the faint hearted

do they have a website? ledoyen.com & ledoyen.fr go nowhere cheers

no way to tell up front Tom Aikens - good tasting menu but I prefer alc there Raymond Blanc - tasting menu is fairly dull (apparently there's two be two TM's from september – why? looking for a third star i guess?) Le Capitol - I really didn't like the tasting menu (then again - I prefer lunch there to dinner) The Square - miserly portion for tasting menu Patrick G (Dublin) - dull TM - I haven’t had alc Fat Duck - sublime (but loses its sparkle second time round) Le CS - not so much a tasting menu as an experience when David cook’s for you - staggeringly good Pierre G - you feel pummelled either way alc or TM - about as good as it gets imho Pied a Terre – mixed feeling about this one – some dishes good, some not Arzak & Akelare (San Seb) – no tasting menus that I remember but they let you order half sized dishes – both a riot Can Fabes – very dull TM Martin B (San Seb) – f**king awful TM – some truly offensive cooking Gordon R – I have alc & TM at Claridges – both fine but not adventurous (mind you, the TM was the chef’s table and they throw one hell of a party). RHR alc was fairly special but then again it was my first 3 star Of course – Michel Bras – stunning TM There are others in France but I can’t recall (also realised – maybe this is why I’m so skint)

They've put a few recs on their website: Le CS Website

fair point - I’m looking for an old fashioned bistro that when you are in it you can be no other place but Paris. The ambience / décor is probably more important fact or than (leading edge) food – but the food should still be good with strong references to more classical times This isn’t for me, btw, its for my partner (not a foodie) who gets dewy eyed over Le Benoit – I’m just trying to find a couple of alternatives

has ducasse taken over yet & has anyone been? is there another bistro like this that someone can recommend? e.g. aux lyonnais, chez georges etc.

David hasn't quite mastered the art of tasting menu sized portions, thankfully.

try - Hi David, this is culinary bear from egullet - can I book? He's an eG member & reads these posts (but sensibly prefers to remain anon.)

Was that the tasting menu or did David just cook for you? I still dream of the scollop dish & great to see how the others have evolved.

fyi - Laguiole to Girona took us approx 5 hours. we went over the new bridge - fab!

best of luck - they are usually booked out shortly after the reservations open in january. I only got in because of a cancellation. Anyway - here's my review click here one the best experiences ever

I was dragged to the star wars film the other night - I was bloody bored for most if it - but in one scene during a fight the emperor's face changes & puffs up. couldn't help thinking he looked a bit like ramsay afterwards

Went to TA last Friday night & had the tasting menu - completely different from the one I had last year. The main difference is that the portions are a lot smaller - but this is no bad thing as there was just too much food last year. On arrival we were told that the air conditioning had broken down - and it was hot. Thank god they sat us down at the corner with the door wide open and a small portable AC unit next to us. I've no idea how others managed to survive. I have to say - I did think this was a bit off - they could have phoned & warned us and offered an alternate night. The heat obviously interfered with service – we arrived at 8 and didn’t leave until after midnight. Some very large gaps between courses. However, as for the meal - IanT describes it very well above – the only difference seems to be our reaction. We thought it sublime – every course a winner (weak desserts, excepted – then again it was so late by the time they arrived I really couldn’t have given a toss). One minor complain – the scallop was overcooked. But the lamb dish seems to have been corrected – more substantial pieces of lamb were served. The John Dory – particularly wonderful – bore no relation to the dish I have a couple of months ago. The cheese took an age to arrive – the cheese guy was so into his job – but was well worth the wait. Great meal, pity about the heat

OK - one quibble with TA might be that the "main" ingredient isn't always centre stage. I found this more of an issue with the scallops. However, it doesn't really matter as I'm usually dazzled by the fireworks that come with it. I found the saltiness of the sardine to be work just fine too much vinegar in the sauce. it needed something to cut through the "custard" but I got a serious whiff of vinegar which brought tears to my eye. also lacking in the visual feast that are his other dishes - I supose it was just too tame for me

Ian - very curious - i adore all of the dishes you hated & hated the ones you loved (john dory & lemon dessert) ah well

"jerk" in the title by any chance

hmm - seems something wonderful is happening in the kitchen. took my mum & sister recently & had an astonishingly good night there. we had the roast chicken (partly chosen for the theatre – carved at your table etc.) which came with great truffle sauce & truffled potatoes apologies to the ivy – looks like I got it wrong

bacteria=flavour?

Sunday lunch at Morgan M First – silky white bean soup pour over three little mounds: lemon confit, tomato dice & pesto. This was very good – great finish. Interesting contrast between the flavours. Very satisfying. Next – I had carpaccio of scallops (two) with shredded asparagus, puree of asparagus & ice cream made from sheeps cheese. The ice cream did dominate a little too much so I ate it on its own. The shredded asparagus had been marinated for some time which gave an lovely acid hit which complemented the scallops & puree. My companion had foie gras terrine with ratte potatoes in the terrine. Exceptionally good foie gras. Then – turbot with ravioli of lobster all set in a fabulous thickened sauce (Morgan M wasn’t giving much away when I quizzed about it). Mains finished with veal& sweetbreads for me & lamb for my companion. The veal was a small piece of lion on a bed of lemon scented spinach. Pieces of sweetbreads scattered around the place as were morels and jerusalem artichokes. This all came with a light cream sauce. Simple wonderful. The lamb dish was rack & leg confit with gnocchi. Great reduction. First dessert – rice pudding wrapped in a tuile. If you like rice pudding, you’d love this. I am not fan of rice at the end of a meal. Other desserts – mine was layers of strawberries & raspberries with crisp discs separating them. This came with red berry coulis & lemon verbena ice cream. My companion had passion fruit soufflé – I am no great fan of soufflé but this was pretty good. Came with exceptionally good passion fruit sorbet & passion fruit & vanilla sauce. Two great dishes. All that for 39 pounds each – a bargain. The food has improved enormously since last visit about a year ago. The cooking seems a lot more confidant but they do skimp on the bread. He’s definitely shooting of a Michelin star & don’t think he’ll be waiting too long before he gets it.

so, is that what a MacD franchise costs these days? which is just about all any of them could handle. very, very dull this year

Spondi – April 2005 Located near the location of the first modern Olympic games – well worth seeking out before an evening meal to watch the vibrant multicoloured sunset over the acropolis. Pre-starters – semi-warm potato soup with quenelle of sour cream & traces of truffle. Lovely silky texture but a little lacking in depth (and heat). Tasting menu – course 1 Foie gras poached in cognac & server on a bed on green beans with cream dressing. I thought this was going to be hot – but no. Just a reasonable terrine let down by not being pure foie gras – had a few gristly bits in it. Tasted fine – but portion very small. Course 2 – this was a carbonara of squid. Astonishingly good. At first I thought it was risotto – but the pasta was simply small (I don’t know the type) with a superb carbonara sauce. This came with a vibrant but light tomato sauce with beautifully cooked squid. Course 3 – john dory with an array of lovely local vegetables including samphire & salsify. Topped with red rose petal. Just great Course 4 – pork loin roasted and accompanied with potato cooked in straw. Everything laced with truffle – including the reduction. Really, really good. Course 5 – strawberries & olives poached in red wine with olive oil ice cream. The olives had been candied & tasted much betted than they sound. Very good ice cream – the often mustiness of the oil kept well at bay. Course 6 – chocolate fondant. Old faithful, I suppose. Written about so many times – nothing new to add to it here. It was very good – but a poor cousin to the recent fondant at Michel Bras I had recently. Great little restaurant with its sights on two stars. Its nowhere near that good yet – but certainly ambitious & inventive enough. One to watch.

Michel Sarran is unmissable - exceptional & inventive Sod the budget, your holiday

We just stopped for an hour or two passing through Albi to see the Lautrec (moved to a bigger, more impressive building). Didn't try the cassoulet - looks way too fattening & I'm fat enoguh as it is Cheers Tony

Grand Ecyure, Cordes sur ciel What a place! The hotel sits near the top of the medieval town of cordes. The room they gave had full length open windows which overlooked the surrounding valley. If you go – please ask for the prune room – you wont; be disappointed. At 150 euro per night – a bargain. One of the friendliest and most helpful hotels I’ve stayed in anywhere. The restaurant is very strange. Each course is made up of three dishes and you select your menu from the 8 courses available. There’s a daily recommendation of 4 courses. Note – there’s a bit of a flaw & multiple visits and not rewarded if they occur in quick succession as there’s no al a carte menu, as such. Pre-starters – black pudding and apple soup; tapenade tartlettes, tomato tart (summer in a bite!); cheese tart and a fishy thing with ginger. All pretty good – the black pudding soup being the least successful – couldn’t take that too often. Starters – salmon tartar with chilli parsnip; fioe gras with onion/red wine compote (so very good); terrine of red & green peppers with basil oil. I half expected the courses to be a variation on a single ingredient – but this was a fairly balanced and interesting set of starters. First course – frogs legs with celeriac puree; mussle, cockle & prawn broth with fennel foam; scallops with citrus dressing & star fruit. The frogs were let down but too bland against the celeriac. The fennel came through wonderfully – lifting the dish. The citrus dressing was a little too string for the scallops – but still pretty good. Next course – pigeon breast on a very, very cheesy risotto; lamb with artichokes; beef, onion, bacon with awesome red wine sauce. Three great dishes but all with very heavy sauces. Desserts – star fruit with rosemary scented cream; caramel ice cream with coffee & nougat; there was more – I forget. The desserts, plus the petit fours, were the weakest part of the meal which surprised me given Thuries’s association with chocolate & sugar (they’re really into creating sculptures out of coloured sugar – lots of examples in the hotel & shop in the town). One of the petit fours was describe by Alan as “like eating golum’s eye”. Don’t let that put you off – still a great place to come to even if there were a few odd moments in the meal. Quick note about “Les Ormeaux” – just around the corner from the Grand Ecyure. Great little restaurant with hits & misses. Worth seeking out if you staying in or around Cordes more than one night.

Barbacane, Hotel Cite, Carcassonne Impressive medieval fortress floating above the new part of Carcassonne. Well worth a detour if you anywhere in southern France. Great place for a stop over, sadly lacking real character & interest for a prolonged stat. Local wine, Corbieres, is fairly awful. Anyway, the hotel Cite is situated in the caslte itself – a beautiful hotel & part of the group that own’s Le Manoir in Oxford. Starters of beetroot soup (cold) with foie gras mousse (grainy) and vegetable strands (too acidic) were OK but not great. Starters – Alan had the courgette flowers, I had the gambas. The courgettes flower were stuffed with what looked like a soufflé & came on a bed of roasted peper “sheets” and drowned in froth which hid the usually stunning flowers. There was a faint curry flavour to the froth – but it was largely pointless & detracted rather than added to the dish. My large prawns were extremely well it not overly seasoned & sat on a bed of onion “tortellini”. This was a hollowed onion with diced vegetables – raw diced vegetables. This then sat on f**king bean shoots. I waited – but no sauce arrived. Oh dear – very dry & salty. I ate one of the onion things. One was enough. When the plates were removed they quizzed me as to why I had left they food. Too dry & pointless I said. Waves of hatred came my way. Ah, well. Mains were better. Aubergine slices on which sat belly & loin of lamb. This was accompanied with olive gnocchi & an olive reduction. Fine. I had superb roast foie gras with salt crust – this came with ravioli of confit duck & morels. Good if not quite identifiable sauce, Desserts – we chose the “grand” dessert. Basically, we were pummelled with lots of small desserts, cakes & tarts, ice creams, petit fours and so forth. A good ending. To their credit they did not charge us for my awful starter. However, its not a place I’d recommend to anyone Post Script The Hotel Cite is quite stunning but we’ve couldn’t afford to stay there. I booked hotel Montesgur instead – its within walking distance of the castle just to the west of the centre of the new town. Don’t bother – it’s a bit of a dump. Also tried the restaurant Languedoc which is own by the hotel – worst meal of the trip & least friendly. Why its got three knives & forks in the red guide remains a mystery.