lalala

Went to Fran's last night and ordered a hot chocolate. Nice and chocolately and not sweet. Will try Vivace this week. lala

went to nell's last night. I had the salad (pretty pedestrian, but nicely seasoned), the butternut squash risotto with cavalo nero and a ginger creme brulee with cardamon shortbread. Taller half had potato leek soup, tripe stew with onion and bacon as a main (it was a starter and they let her have it) and a hot chocolate soup with a vanilla tuile cookie and ice cream. I very much loved my food, the butternut squash risottto was yummy and the not salty or mushy. The cardamon shortbread reminded me very much of my mothers naan-eh berenji (Persian Rice cookes) that she makes for New Year. Taller half raved over her tripe stew and like everything else very much. We had a campari and soda each and a half bottle of a willamette valley pinot noir, two coffees and the bill came to 100 bucks. The service was great, attentive, but not pushy and I really enjoyed it. We'll probably hit another one tomorrow and Sunday. lalala

I'm hedging my bets and taking out an extra 1000 Euros before I leave France in December. I have a February Brussels trip and 10 days in Rome in March and I can only see the dollar falling further. In my opinion, you can eat marvellously in Paris for under 65 euros per person a day without succumbing to a rick steves "ricknic" in your room. lalala

I haven't had a fran's hot chocolate, but I'll try tonight. Dilletante makes a pretty good hot chocolate, but I haven't had one in a while. If you are going to Fran's, remember, their espresso machine/steamer "breaks" around Christmas, Valentines Day and Easter. lalala

you are killing me. I'm glad I brushed my teeth already or I would go running into the ballotin of la maison du chocolat that is in my refrigerator. lalla

We are spending two nights outside of Cancale at Roellinger's Chateau Richeux in the middle of December. Unfortunately our trip has been moved by work commitments, so we're missing eating at Relais Gourmand. Le Coquillage was great when we went in September, so we'll eat there again, but does anyone know if the restaurants in Cancale are open around Dec. 15? We are carless this time, depending on the bus between Cancale and St. Malo to amuse ourselves. lalala

yes, totally underrated cafe. I love this place:). We usually go hang out at the lutetia now, only because it has a espace non-fumeurs that allows for good people watching, but I love SIP. lalala

FWIW, Sostanza is open again and the food was pretty darn good. We used one of the two twenty dollar gift certs we got from reviewing a restaurant during dinner at 8 for dinner on Friday night. We'll use the other in a few weeks. There was a nice little advert welcoming them back from Starbucks in the Pacific section of the Friday Seattle Times. I am wondering if Howard S. eats there often. lalala

Have you egulleters ever seen the book Paris in basket? Gives the run down of every market in every arrondisement in paris. Amazon seems to have it. I really like it. lalala

Okay, now that 727 pine is closing, we're going to take some friends.... Is your opinion that a restaurant that is soon to be closing will do a mediocre job of feeding us or try to do a good job. Its not the cheapest place on earth.. thanks, lalala

We often take the early Dallas to LGW flight, so we are quite happy to breakfast at SOS before hitting our favorite sights. I haven't eaten dinner there, but I am considering trying the mid-tier floor. If you do breakfast there, you can have a leisurely stroll and look at all the other great food shops near the market. lalala

We stayed in St. Malo a few weeks ago and ate at Le Coquillage (Roellinger's little brother restaurant) at Chateau Richeux. Don't pass this by, it was pretty tasty cooking and quite reasonable. We tried to stay there, but it being September was booked up. We have made reservations for December. Taller half is quite enchanted with Cancale and St. Malo. The Bistrot is closed (not the right term, its a very elegant chateau with amazing gardens) on the night we're there, so we're going to eat at Relais gourmand on this trip. Its tough but someone has to do it. We went to Mont St. Michel, it was beautiful,but very crowded at the base. We slogged up and it got better, but I'm sure it'll be better in the fall. Thanks for the St. Malo restaurant tip -- I'll be using it this trip. lalala

Supreme -- Sept 21, 2004 Three top -- two campari sodas (nice twists) one red wine by the glass (can't remember) two manila clams -- okay, could have done without the roasted garlic one frites -- yum two salmon entrees - v. good pork loin chop -- the orderer didn't care that much for it, I thought it was tasty desserts -- one boule of espresso ice cream, two boules of lemon semi-freddo -- outstanding , could have used a tiny little sugar cookie :) one chocolate torte with caffe vita creme anglais and whipped cream -- I have never seen coffee creme anglaise. It was great. One pluot/something cobbler -- the orderer thought it was excellent, I thought it was very much like a crisp, but it was tasty. Coffee was good as was the inniskillin dessert wine one of us ordered. Total bill with gratuity : 128 bucks one lb of coffee received. Nice. Would I return: probably, but earlier or later. By 7:30, they were slammed and service diminished. I don't live in Madrona, but what an amazing amount of great dining options. Sure beats Johnny Rockets and Piatti. lalala

I usually fry up some pancetta or uncured bacon, drain it, saute some chanterelles in a bit of the bacon/pork drippings, toss in some shredded cabbage and wilt it, add back in the pork products and add a bit of cider vinegar. Yum.. Last week I picked up a small porcini from Donna at the U. District Market (Nice to see her back), sliced it and sauteed it in plugra butter, made some pasta, mixed the two together and added a bit of cheese. It was divine. lalala

I really like le vieux mairie on place du grand sablon. Its a lovely local restaurant with good waterzooi and filet americaine. Its right next to Pierre Marcolini at Place du Grand Sablon, 39. The same owners have a fish restaurant on place st. catherine that is quite lovely. I ate at the Hyatt Barsey Brussels and it was quite good also, but really, reallly out of the way. There are quite a few good seafood places on Place St. Catherine. lalala

Union Bay Cafe: Called at 3:50 snagged a 5:30 reservation. Good thing as they were full that night, turning people away starting at 6:30 pm. Thankfully, Sand Point grill to accomodate. Had the salad, the fish (ling cod) and the figs, my friend had the butternut squash/kale/chanterelle soup, the fish and the apple/raspberry/sambuca crisp. Everything was good. The figs were miniscule, they could have splurged and given one more per person. My friend wishes he had ordered the chocolate mousse dessert. The crisp was a bit pedestrian and I think blackberries would have paired better with the apples. The portions are small, but with bread and a mojito, we were stuffed. Our total bill, prix fixe, one drink each and coffee was 63 bucks. lalala

deleted as this is a dupe.

One thing that sets grand epicerie over the others is that you can pick up other things, shampoo, cotton balls, yoghurt as well as fraises des bois. Great selection of Weiss chocs too. There is a Hediard on rue de bac if you need their specific sandwiches... I think it used to be a Foucher store. lalala

Last week I had the joy of being in both Paris and Quimper. I bought macarons from the famous macaron place in Quimper, Laduree, Pierre Herme, Fauchon and Hevin. In the past I have purchased macarons from La Maison du Chocolat, Foucher, Fauchon and Le Notre. I found that I still preferred the Laduree ones to any of the others. I found the fruit to be true, I am not a big fan of Herme's bizarre flavor combinations. The truffle ones were strange and could have been had for breakfast. In December, taller half and I will pick only two flavors to try --framboise and pistache and maybe chocolat and maybe citron :) and do an intensive study of the top 8 macaronniers. Note to self, these do not travel well without the use of a tupperware bacon box. lalala

Just got back from France and have coopted my airport shuttle service and dog sitter to enjoy a nice dinner at Union Bay Cafe. Will report back... lalala

Portage Bay rocks for breakfast and lunch, cedars is good for dinner. Long lines during the school year. Take the bus down the viaduct and visit Union Bay Cafe. I believe it is one the bus line, but I can't remember what number. lalala

I can't believe a hotel without a club floor or another restaurant would put something like a Ruth Chris steak house as a replacement for its restaurant. They have to feed their guests something for breakfast. I only dined at 727 once -- an expensive happy hour and breakfast. Both were pretty good. lalala

tarte tatin baked squashes squash soup anything with potatoes (i have a lot of potatoes) roast chicken

Its quite cosy. I get my haircut (when in London) on Silver Place, so it's quite convienent. Food is decent and I believe the basement is airconditioned. It gets really loud, so I would suggest not going for a romantic meal. Ditto for cigar smoking, they allow it, so it can get nasty inside. I noticed that there is another little bistro that opened up across the street a few doors up towards regent street. I'll check it out on my way through on Sept. 12. lala

Better yet on the caffe umbria, go to the roasters and get a big 5# bag, save some bucks and have enough for the month. :) yum. lalala