Beachfan

Picholine is a must if that's how you feel. Artisinal is the place to go if you only want cheese. If you want a great meal too, Picholine. Mmmm, maybe that's where I should go next time.

I haven't been to Normandy, but I would think Strasbourg has more history, in fact much more. It is extremely beautiful as well, as is the rest of Alsace. Strasbourg is set in the middle of a river, was not damaged in WWII and has beautiful architecture. It'g my favorite city of it's size in France.

Wow, what a control group to compare Bouley against. You have advanced science this week.

I find very few things more fun in Paris than comparing her recommendations on bakeries, fromageries, etc. I'll choose a few benchmark cheeses and go to several fromageries, get those and compare. I'll stop by her recommended boulangeries, choclatiers etc. while I"m at it.

Thanks for some great posts. While the first post brought a smile (less Americans) the second one brought a tear to my eye. I had been factoring in the increase in the euro since last year (about 15%), but given these price increases, it seems more like 40%-50% in dollars. Are these comparable menus? Including wine vs. excluding wine may not be the best comparison. It's hard to imagine a shift to sufficiently more luxurious menus warranting the price increase. As someone whose gusto exceeds his budget, I choose a couple of places for a fabulous lunch (Le Grand Vefour is my current favorite). Any comment on prix fixe lunch prices at top places? Given the raves, L'Astrance at 90 euros seems like a good bet vs. some of the other, more starred places. It's hard to assess value at the top end. But since you seem to know prices pretty well, what would be your dining suggestions on a $500 per person splurge meal budget in Paris, assuming I want to go to 3 places at least. (it doesn't have to be strictly $500, that's ball park).

Relating to the original theme, I think it supports the following: The simple, in terms of preparation, can be more complex in terms of being interesting to talk about. While it may be hard to draw the line between food discussion and psychological discussion, I think I can place the line far enough over to make the point.

I'm not sure that's a sound argument. When you throw in the traife/guilty pleasure angle, the ham sandwich with milk sounds more complex than the ham sandwich with Rayas. (even if the guilt is long gone, it was the original paving stone of your neural pleasure pathway).

I had some of Etude Pinot Gris. Very nice. Great summer wine, good with spicy food, under $20.

Mas de Gourgonnier is from Les Baux de Provence. It has some Syrah, but it's mostly Grenache. It often appears on Best Values lists. If you're looking for a $10 red, it's worth a try. Personally, I prefer Cotes du Rhones in that price range (or occasionally a Languedoc wine like Mas de Guiot).

Wouldn't Lahore Kebab house be more appropriately classified as Pakistani?

I understand your point. But I think it's hard to give a mark of excellent to the service if they didn't recognize something is off. You should not have had to say anything unilaterally. As Bux points out, it seems that there would likely be some cues to the waitstaff from the fois gras being mostly unconsumed. They should have followed up on those cues.

Thanks for the great links and recommendations. If anyone still wants to add their voice, please do so. I will tally the pros and cons for each - several seem to have both supporters and detractors.

I've been to Lucas Carton three times, all for the prix fixe lunch. One time it was ok (I had the duck, but I don't like duck, so I blamed myself), the other two it was very, very nice. Excellent in fact. Also excellent treatment of my vegetarian wife. Perhaps there are restaurants where, because you are ordering a bargain lunch, the experience is better because the value factors into the enjoyment. I find the room at LC so splendid that if I just had a glass of wine, I'd be pretty happy.

Cabrales, wouldn't excellent service sense the problem with your fois gras? Or more precisely, your sharp disappointment with the dish that should create delight?

There's a lobster pound in Keenebunkport (on the road to the point where the mansions are). They don't serve there, but what they have is fresh picked lobster meat (within the last 90 minutes when I was there). First I tried a lobster roll. Outstanding. Then I bought I half pound of meat, and ate it by the water with a fork. Just the lobster, no mayo, no butter, no lemon. The best I ever had. I went back and bought another half pound. For the first time in my life, I was satiated on lobster.

I guess I agree; fine food is usually more interesting because it more naturally has points of complexity for the discussion to revolve around. But not necessarily; the better food writers can have very fascinating discussions discussing the simple, discussions filled with nuance, insight, and visual flavinoids. Perhaps it takes more skill to make the simple interesting. On the other hand, I don't think discussing simple food is less fun than fine food. And if I'm having fun, I never ask the question "is this interesting"?

Greetings! I'd like thoughts on the best Indian restaurant 1) In all price classes 2) In the less inexpensive price classes. In fairly Central London, and with enough Southern Indian options to keep vegetarians entertained. Given how much we love truly good Indian food, it will probably be our focus while in London in September. Thanks. PS If answered elsewhere, please point me in the right direction.

Wow, the precision in Steve P's response is impressive, perhaps even frightening. I can't improve on it, I can only give an image. My traditional response to what define's White Castle is "Where else can you taste the same meal twice for 25 cents?" (or whatever it is these days).

I wasn't really responding to Steve P's major statement; I agree that, in terms of analysis, simple often has less to analyze than complex. I'm responding the the "discussing" part. For me, discussing doesn't have to be analyzing. One further thought: Steingarten's article on peaches, toro, baguettes have a ton of analysis too. I like his articles that have the theme "search for the best..". Simple subjects, often good analysis.

i'm lost here. methinks smelling the wine is a good, and probably the only, indication that the wine is off, aside from having your guest taste it first. and no, i personally don't smell the carton...i smell the milk. same principle. The cork can smell worse than the wine. More important than smelling the cork is inspecting it briefly. It can be moldy, dried out, crumbled etc.

Some of my favorite expereinces: 1) Tracking down the best knish in NYC 2) The best pizza in Italy 3) The best gelato in Italy 4) The best cannolli in Italy 5) The best baguette in Paris 6) The best goat cheese in the market at St.Remy 7) The best fallafel whereever I go 8) The best peach at my local farmers market Let's not confuse mundane with cheap.

I often smell the cork. 1 out of 1,000 times it smells awful. Then you save yourself a nasty sip of wine. Do you smell the carton of milk before you drink it ever? Same principle.

At the very least, at least Zima commercials are better than the beer and wine commercials (at least the one with the nurse). Although come to think of it, if commercials are my guide, I guess I should be drinking Mike's hard lemonade.

I did half the shrimp peeled, with lemon in the marinade (20 minutes), half the shrimp with the shell on, no lemon (just oil, thyme, salt, pepper). There wasn't any perceptible difference between the two. Perhaps there is more of a possibility to overcook the shrimp if it's peeled, but I'm pretty careful. Next time, they will be all peeled. It wasn't worth the trouble to peel them at the dinner table.

If they are wine conniseurs, then it's easy. Ask them to bring a Gewurtztraminer they like. Preferably Alsatian. If they don't know Alsatian wines but are intrigued, you can recommend: Albert Mann Furstenum (relatively inexpensive) Schoffitt Weinbach Zind Humbrecht. That's what I prefer to drink with Indian food (unless it's a hot summer day/night, then it's beer).