Poppy Quince

Thanks, John. It looks like we'll choose somewhere else. We're now thinking of Histoire Gourmande, Le Mesturet or Aux Lyonnais, although the last is pricier than we would prefer. We'd like to be within easy walking distance of Palais Royale and have already tried Maceo, Le Grand Colbert, Willi's. Any advice?

We're dining with friends in Paris in May and this restaurant looks interesting: right price range, right neighborhood, good review from someplace, although I can't recall where, and new to us all. Does anyone have any experience with it? Or alternative suggestions fitting those criteria? (Obviously you won't know if we've been there before! ) Another issue is that one of the party is severely allergic to any form of pepper. Usually a call in advance is enough to determine whether this allergy can be accommodated, but any recommendations would have to take this into account. Thanks for any help.

A Parisian friend tried yesterday to reserve for my upcoming visit in May and was told it was not possible to have a table for dinner until October. Of course, I'm perfectly willing to stay in Paris until the table opens up.

Thanks Melange, that's just far enough from the apartment I'll be staying in to justify a treat or two after walking there.

Oh. My. God. Where is Pain de Sucre to be found?

Thanks! I did search, but apparently not well enough. Not a fan of cuisines minceur or vapeur, but some residual Berkeleyite loyalty to Alice Waters may force me to check it out.

Maybe I haven't been reading as carefully as I should, but in the BP article you linked to, you mention Miss Betsey. This is the first I recall hearing of it and your comment about your negative response to it intrigues me. What and where is this resto? Have you reviewed it? Has anyone else?

Off the top of my head for Sunday nights from least expensive to most: Le Reminet, Bistro du Dome Delambre location, a Brasserie (Lorraine), Pinxo, Drouant, Gagnaire ← I haven't tried it, but Fogon, which won a 2005 Fooding award for its paella is open on Sunday, I understand, also Louis Vin in the 5th arr.

Oops, grammar mistake: the party WAS dining, still happily.

A very happy party of 6 were dining at the back of Cinq Mars when I was there. And I see the private room downstairs at Les Papilles has already been mentioned.

David, do you mean l'Ami Jean? If so, I agree. If you mean l'Ami Louis, I'm staying out of that one.

Yes, but where did this fad of serving in storage ware start? Seems like a wide swing of the pendulum from the elaborately decorated plates one used to see everywhere. Maybe a way of underlining the rusticity of the bistro food?

I called for a dinner reservation when I arrived in Paris the beginning of September and was told they were booked through October 3. Did they have a list for cancellations, I asked? It is to laugh, I was told, essentially. Walked by one lunchtime and Monsieur C. himself suggested we come back in 20 minutes. Thirty minutes later we were eating some yummy pied de porc. It became clear that if you arrive somewhat before noon they will seat you and let you wait until they begin service at noon, or if you arrive after 1:30 you will have a minimal wait for a table. As the weather deteriorates this may change, since the outdoor tables will be unavailable. I really liked the food and wouldn't deprive myself because of a snooty reservations clerk, but that's just me. I'm happy to have a lovely long lunch if I can't have dinner. Dinner at La Regalade several weeks later was also fabulous, but Le Comptoir is more accessible to the area I stay in. By the way, what's with all the "verrines" of food? Saw this both at Le Comptoir and at Aux Marches du Palais, where we had another enjoyable lunch.

Dinner at Les Amognes nearly a year ago was good, not outstanding. Very pleasant service, but not on my list of places to return to.

A pleasant place for lunch is the Café des Lettres, hidden away in the courtyard of a building on rue de Verneuil between rue du Bac and rue de Poitiers, just behind the Musée d'Orsay. Oddly enough it features Scandinavian cuisine.

Thanks for the report; it's very welcome. I'm trying to cull down the 22 page list of restaurants I've compiled this year, mostly from this site and Parisian reviewers. Even allowing for the fact that many of the names are annotated with short reviews, this is obviously unmanageable, and then there're the ones from last year's list... I tried to go to Le Cerisaie in May but it was closed for a holiday then as well. Le Villaret will get a star on the list, and this time I'll make a more concerted effort to get to Mon Vieil Ami. and for what it's worth, unlike some others here, I too loved L'Ami Jean. I'm curious about why your French family "did not dig" Clos des Gourmets. It was one of my favorites for several years, but the last time wasn't a success and I wondered if it was just an aberration.

Great timing; we'll be in Nîmes in September. I'll look for the Saveur issue tomorrow. Thanks! ← I picked up a copy of Saveur and found that the article was about the Feria des Vendanges, an annual event that will be occuring when we're there in September. We didn't know about it when we made our arrangements and didn't know what to expect, so this is serendipitous. Thanks again for the heads up, John.

Great timing; we'll be in Nîmes in September. I'll look for the Saveur issue tomorrow. Thanks!

These saucisson actually have chunks of cheese in them. As to the English, my guess is that this is one of those 'travelling' stalls that you even see in French markets in the UK. I imagine that "cheese" is put there on the label as there is a good chance that English speakers will not know what "beaufort" etc signify. Or maybe they just knew I was comming. ← Interesting that there are enough Brits in the area to justify that. I wouldn't have thought so, but I guess they're partout.

Great photos, but I've been staring at one of them for several minutes trying to make sense of what I was seeing. The labels on the baskets of sausages in the foreground of the photo seem to be in English and refer to cheese! What's up with that?

Patricia Wells' very recent review of La Chassagnette: http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/07/07/travel/TRFOOD.php

The Abbaye de Montmajour is a couple of miles outside Arles on the road to Fontvielle. This is a spectacular ruined abbey that's on the UNESCO list of sites. If you look carefully on the walls of the cloister you will see incised drawings of ships alleged to be made by sailors visiting the abbey when the area was still accessible by water. http://www.monum.fr/visitez/decouvrir/fich...l?lang=fr&id=88 I recall spending a sunny lunchtime on the terrasse of the café just across the road. Nothing remarkable about the food, but a true Provençal moment.

We lunched at Vieux Puits in 2003 and it was fine, very good for a place in a tiny village in the middle of nowhere, but not "worth a detour". As for Carcassonne, definitely stay in the Hotel de la Cité if possible. We had a room with a terrace opening onto the ramparts; a once in a lifetime experience. We didn't feel like the very formal Barbacane, so dined at Comte Roger, down and across the street. Again, quite a good meal without being stunning. The terrasse is lovely in nice weather. If you should get to Toulouse, I recommend 7 Place St-Sernin for excellent modern food in a converted house, and Emile, with a terrasse in a pleasant square. These are both good without the need to break into your 401K.

A long way from Les Ambassadeurs, but the definition of brunch is broad enough to encompass it all: Mariage Frères has quite a good brunch, both in the Marais and in the 6eme. There's also a place I've heard good reports of called, of all things, Breakfast in America, which is I think in the 5eme. And another American style breakfast place whose name escapes me on rue Princesse. Avoid like the plague all those Tex-Mex places appealing to homesick Americans.

Maybe but Androuet's still on the street, just down a bit towards the Rue de Bac. ← The shop is still there, but the restaurant at number 51 closed in October of last year and, after dealing with my disappointment at not being able to eat cheese for every course, I wondered what would go in next.