Poppy Quince

So that's what's replaced Androuët at that location! I'll look forward to trying it.

For future reference, I've always been able to find someone who speaks English in any pharmacy. Should that not be the case in a particular one, just go to the next; they're on nearly every corner in some neighborhoods. I'm glad to hear the bug is retreating.

A treasure house of spices: Izraël 30, rue Francois-miron, 75004, Paris Tel.: (33)(1) 42728632 Fax: (33)(1)42728632

Pierre45, I'm not able to find your review of Le Pavillon des Princes. Would you mind either citing to it or repeating it? I'm curious about the food and ambiance, as well as the cost.

Can you tell me something about Gilles Epié's place? He seemed to arrive and depart from La Petite Cour very quickly and I never heard what had happened nor where he went next. Where is Pavillon des Princes and what's it like?

I'm not sure whether these all fall within the 2004 timeframe, but my favorites during a stay last October were: Les Papilles Le Petit Pontoise L'Ami Jean L'Ourcine L'Avant Gout Les Fables de Fontaine

I can't speak from experience re Flora, but a friend who had very much enjoyed the food at Les Olivades several years ago (as did we) tried Flora shortly after that eponymously named restaurant opened and reported being disappointed, perhaps partly because it was no longer Provençal in focus, but also because it seemed to be trying too hard and not quite succeeding. As for Hélène Darroze, I was quite unhappy with the experience we had in the upstairs restaurant; the service was amateur at best, we were seated in a corridor where both servers and guests passed regularly, and the pacing of the meal had us waiting a long while for some courses and feeling rushed through others. The food, while fine, wasn't worth the problems. On our next visit we tried the downstairs "tapas bar", which didn't make us any happier.

Raisa, Clothilde at chocolateand zucchini.com (who's a friend of Vagnon) says the following: >>Nicolas will open a new restaurant in L'Ile d'Yeu, an island off the Atlantic coast. Last I heard, he was going to make the transition in the spring<<

John, in the year-end digest you mention "La Table de Lucullus’s fate post-Nicolas Vagnon’s departure from the 17th." What's that about? Do you know why he's leaving and where he's going?

At my local cheese shop today I asked for Vacherin Mont d'Or, which I had bought there in early December. I was told they couldn't get it anymore, so I assume this is a recent ruling by the powers-that-be. I mentioned the Swiss/pasturized vs. French/unpasturized distinction drawn in this thread and he said they'd look into it. We'll see. I was relieved, but confused, to learn that they can still get Epoisses, which they said was pasturized to be imported into the US, while remaining unpasturized for domestic comsumption in France. Can this be true, I wonder? Anyway, I came home with a lovely Italian cheese called Rochetta, and a piece of Tomme Crayeuse.

I had lunch at Le Pamphlet one rainy day in October and came away with mixed feelings. The owner was less than warm, but the servers were fine. The place feels more old-fashioned than romantic, but that could depend on your companion I suppose. As for the food, it was copious and a good value at the price. The first course and dessert were excellent, but I recall the main course being a letdown. Sorry I can't recall the dishes, just the response to them. Has anyone tried La Braisière in the 17th, at 54,rue Cardinet (01 47 63 04 76)? A friend who ate there recently has raved about it, the dinner menu is apparently €50, and it has one Michelin star. Don't know about the romance of the setting though.

You might think about Caviar Kaspia on Place de la Madeleine for blini and caviar or smoked salmon, accompanied by champagne or a flask of very cold vodka. Appropriately celebratory without being over the top after a major lunch.

I've found your digest very useful, and have added a number of the restaurants mentioned to my "try to visit" list. I realize it's a bit of a pain to give the address and phone number each time a place is mentioned, but sometimes I won't bother to copy the information to my ongoing list until the resto has been mentioned a couple of times, and I've found myself scrolling back and forth trying to find the original citation. I would love to have the coordinates repeated if possible. On the other hand, anything that might make it too much work or tempt you to stop compiling the digest is to be avoided, so ignore me if that's a danger.

fresh_a, my 2003 Red Guide shows it with one star...was it demoted?

adanzig, I can think offhand of at least three Michelin-starred seafood restaurants which should offer you plenty of choice: Le Divellec, La Marée and Le Duc. Petrossian would be a great Christmas season choice for caviar and smoked salmon. At a less extravagant level, Macéo just off the Palais Royale has a number of vegetarian dishes on the menu, and Gaya on both sides of the Seine specializes in seafood. And of course there are all the brasseries with enormous oyster and shellfish stands melting ice (or maybe not, at this time of year) onto the sidewalks all over town. As for cheese, I don't know if the Androuët restaurant on rue Arsène Houssaye is still open. Unfortunately the one on rue de Verneuil in the 7th recently closed. A cheese lover's paradise, practically every cooked dish contained cheese and vast platters were offered from which a meal could be made.

Well, this thread sent me off to my local butcher, who cut me a piece of bavette and a piece of onglet for taste comparison. Went home and grilled them both and my husband and I agreed that we had a distinct preference for the bavette. The onglet tasted too strong, somehow. The butcher had told me that the onglet, which was darker than the bavette, came from nearer the kidney and therefore was richer in blood. Anatomy of anything, much less cows, is not my thing, but I'd be curious to know if this is true and if so, whether this accounts for the difference in taste. I somehow have a suspicion I've been told a yarn.

In Toulouse I can recommend 7 Saint-Sernin, near the church of that name, in a charming converted house, as well as Emile in Place Saint-Georges.

The nola.com site for 2003 show's Broussard's offering Reveillon dinners only on Dec. 24, not Dec. 31. I'm curious however about why the menu listed German foods. It isn't a German restaurant, is it? Choice of: Gemischter Wurstteller and Radieschen Salat Mixed German sausage plate and radish salad Herring Hausfrauen Art Pickled herring with apples and sour cream Grüne Erbsen Suppe Mit Würstchen Pea soup with smoked sausage Sellerie und Tomaten Salat Celeriac and tomato salad Choice of: Sauer Braten, Apfelrotkohl Klösse Braised marinated beef, red cabbage and dumplings Frischer Schweine Bauch Bürgerlich Fresh roasted pork bacon with mixed vegetables Wiener Schnitzel mit Kartoffel Puffer Breaded veal cutlet with potato pancakes and applesauce Forellen Filet Berliner Art Trout filet with crawfish stuffing on leeks with a lemon dill sauce Rumtopf mit Vanille Eis Marinated fruit over ice cream

We'll be in New Orleans just after Christmas and through NYE. One of our group has made reservations at Gautreau's for an anniversary dinner and at Broussard's for New Year's Eve. Cursory research would indicate that both are reasonable choices; what do experts think? And that leaves us with three more dinners and four lunches, not even counting breakfasts. Advice is welcome. I'd like to mix some upscale with some funkier choices. We won't have a car. Home base will be the Windsor Court. By the way, any dress code anywhere?

A friend who dined at l'Entredgeu a couple of weeks ago tells me that the food didn't make up for the extremely tight seating and the rushed service. She felt a lot of pressure to turn the table and says she won't go back, despite having had a very good meal. Anyone else had or heard of a similar experience there, or was this an off night?

Dinner at L'Ami Jean the first week of October. I would not characterize the menu as "tourist-friendly." Yes, crowded and noisy, but almost entirely because of the huge crowd of French-speaking 30-somethings waiting in the bar area to get in (and smoking up a storm). I was thrilled to see the long list of game dishes available in addition to the Basque specialties and had pretty much settled on chevreuil until I learned what axoa was and decided to try it. Another of our group had canard sauvage and loved it. Can't recall the meal in any more detail, but all six of us thought it was very good and I'll definitely go back.

Androuët on rue de Verneuil in the 7th (just off rue du Bac) has a nice selection and will vacuum pack on request. By the way, wouldn't you think this website would have an emoticon shown licking its little lips?

My sister, husband and I had lunch a few weeks ago at Les Fontaines, on rue Soufflot in Paris, an always reliable place for a simple meal. After sharing with me my favorite endive salad with bleu cheese, my sister ordered a poulet de Bresse roti. She was served what appeared to be a simply roasted but nearly entire bird along with a goodly hunk of potatoes Anna. Staring horrified at it, she bet she wouldn't be able to eat half. Twenty minutes later we were looking down at the stripped carcass, with sister swearing that it was the best chicken she'd ever eaten in her life and she simply hadn't been able to stop until she'd finished it all. Unfortunately I wasn't quick enough to have gotten a taste, but that's what I'm ordering next time.

After having possibly the best meal of my life at the previous Hiramatsu location in September 2003, I was thrilled to get a reservation for dinner a few weeks ago, just a few days before they closed for the move. I had read Patricia Wells' disparaging recent review but discounted it as I couldn't believe the quality had dropped as much as she said. I was wrong...Wells was right. We had the 'menu degustation d'été' (although it was already the first week of October; apparently they weren't going to commit to automne until after the move.) I can't even recall the dishes at this point, as they were not in any way memorable. It's possible that the attention of the restaurant was on the upcoming move and not on the few last diners at the original location, but at those prices that attitude can't be justified. I was extremely disappointed and would have to hear extraordinarily positive reports of the new site before considering a return. If you do go, please post your response.

We had a very pleasant meal there last year; nothing to rave about but more than adequate. It's pretty crowded in there with tables butting right up to the very busy bar area. My impression, from overhearing conversations at the bar, was that it's somewhat of a hangout for young Americans working/living in Paris. By the way, we tried to drop in one night without a reservation, but no go. Another time we walked by a bit earlier than we wanted to eat and reserved for later with no problem.