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Poppy Quince

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Everything posted by Poppy Quince

  1. I came across Le Senechal when looking for a place to break the journey between Provence and the Dordogne some years ago. The decor in the hotel room was a bit strange, but the food was an unexpected pleasure. One of our party was under the weather and couldn't face a full meal; they very kindly supplied him with an omelette, but his face as he saw what he was missing was pitiful. Good to know they're still producing notable food. And the perfect bastide town was lovely. I saw a for sale sign on a 16th century building off the main place and actually considered it for a few minutes, until I recalled my account balance.
  2. For Moroccan couscous, I've been very happy for years with the version offered at La Table de Fes on rue de Sainte-Beuve in Montparnasse.
  3. Add me to the Hélène Darroze non-fan club, although I must admit that at those prices I only tried each level once. I was not impressed by the food and the service upstairs was shockingly bad. As for "bad" restaurants, I don't think I've had many actually bad meals in reputable restaurants, but I've had a lot of disappointing ones, in addition to the Darroze places. Violon d'Ingres on the high end, Fouquet's, Bastide Odeon, Thoumieux, Ambassade d'Auvergne, others that don't jump to mind. Maybe I've hit off days, but unfortunately I don't have enough time in Paris to try a disappointing place more than once.
  4. The Michelin Red Guide has a listing of restaurants with salons particuliers that might give you somewhere to start. If money weren't an object, I'd recommend le Pré Catalan in the Bois de Boulogne. I suppose you couldn't cut the invitation list, eh?
  5. We very much liked L'Absinthe in Honfleur. Honfleur was also the town in which I became enamored of Calvados, thanks to a marchand de Calva who decided I needed an in-depth tasting survey when I admitted I'd never had it. I left with a couple of bottles of 12 year old Chateau de Breuil and a new addiction. Should your route change and take you into Bayeux, I recommend the appropriately named Petit Bistro, just across the street from the Cathedral.
  6. dfunghi, I think you're referring to Taqueria Picante on 6th street, near Gilman. The founder of this place has some distant relationship to Chez Panisse, which I can't remember now. Next door to Chez Panisse and across the street from the Cheese Board is Cesar's, a great bar and tapas restaurant. The drink and food selections are worthy of the Gourmet Ghetto. Other good bar/small plates choices are Fonda, on Solano Avenue, Grasshopper, on College Avenue, and A Coté, also on College.
  7. After years of experimentation I can state unequivocally that Acme's rustic baguette is the only one worth eating in the Bay Area.
  8. Here's another vote for La Note in Berkeley, particularly when it's warm enough to enjoy the lovely patio in the back. And in SF, Absinthe in Hayes Valley serves breakfast, the highlight of which is a bowl of warm polenta with mascarpone, walnuts and maple syrup. Puts pancakes in the shade!
  9. A couple of simple dining choices not far from the Gare du Nord are the Flo Group's Brasserie Flo at 7 cour des Petites-Écuries, or the same group's Julien, at 16 rue fu Faubourg St-Denis. While it's been years since I visited either one, I preferred the food at Brasserie Flo and the fabulous Art Nouveau decor at Julien. Maybe a leisurely dinner with a couple of bottles of wine is the way to go. Can't think of much sight-seeing in the neighborhood, but from the Gare du Nord you can hop onto the Metro or RER to get into the center of the city pretty quickly, assuming you could leave your bags somewhere. Can't help you with that, unfortunately, as the rules have changed about left luggage availability since I last needed to know.
  10. That's for sure. And my mom's was the BEST. She had a small cast-iron pan in which she would melt a bit of butter, then put in a slice of Kraft American cheese, let it melt and spoon/pour it over a piece of toast, not forgetting the most important part: scraping the crispy burnt bits onto the top of the resulting yummy sandwich. Only one slice of bread...think it qualifies for the low carb entry? okay, help out a new member--how do you get the quote to credit the quotee? (using a Mac, of course.)
  11. John T., I too very much liked Café des Delices and wonder what's happening there now that Gilles Choukroun has gone to L'Angl'Opera. Can you tell me? As for the sophomore jinx, in my case it was the "junior jinx" at Clos des Gourmets...the third visit disappointed. After two good meals though, I'm more willing to give a restaurant the benefit of the doubt and try again, allowing for an off night hitting anyplace once in a while. That said, I'd be more reluctant to make allowances if the price were €300 rather than €30.
  12. Boy, Andy, your timing sucks! Just got back from 4 days in Vancouver to find your reports. (Okay, maybe it's my timing.) Of the places you've talked about so far, I managed the great cappucino at Artigiano and a wonderful dinner at West. (Where, by the way, I was told that sablefish and ling cod are two different fishies.) Next time, do try to get the work done before I travel, won't you?
  13. Just came across this thread and was reminded that, although I've made a point of tasting them each Tuesday at the Berkeley farmer's market, I have not yet bought Frog Hollow peaches this year. They just don't seem to have the sweetness I'm looking for. I have bought and enjoyed others (maybe Fat Belly? I can't recall) and will make a point of checking them all out tomorrow. So far this summer, white nectarines and dinosaur egg pluots have been the outstanding fruit for me. Having stumbled across eGullet and just registered, I'm looking forward to reading many more threads, while trying to keep peach juice from dripping onto the keyboard.
  14. Thanks for the report on Le Cigale Recamier. I've been wondering about it ever since I heard the lovely old Recamier had been replaced in that space. I'll put it on the short list for next fall. Oh, and thanks for the digest--makes the trip research a lot easier (although the list gets longer).
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