magnolia

If it's realy that painful, I will happily go in your place. I would be a worthy representative for your fine business, and my expenses would probably be lower than yours! God loves those who love Paris...

Will it be located next to Pharmacy? :-)

Wow! Harsh experience at La Régalade - either they had a really off night, or you and I just have totally different opinions and expectations - which could be, but we've agreed before...I have been there three times and loved it every time. I won't defend the food, as I wasn't there. But I am sure I mentioned the noise, crowd and frenetic service - by no means a relaxing atmosphere, but there are no 'sittings' so you *can* take as long as you like. Also £87 for two three course meals, a bottle of wine, two glasses of Champagne & whatever - including service - is by no means outrageous by London standards. If the food was horrible, as you say, then of course it was a waste of money anywhere in the world. But in general you could spend that on a horrible, stingy meal in London any minute of the day whereas that little for a good meal would be a very rare thing indeed. But again, if the food and service were not to your liking then this is not up for debate. Tant pis. Perhaps one day we can plan an Egullet junket to Paris and we Paris-ophiles can get you to see things our way!

You're probably right. I have a French friend who happens to be a chef, who is from Alsace-environs as well. He has a surname that conventional "New York wisdom" would say is Jewish - let's call him Pierre-Michel Schwartz for the sake of example. Anyway, when he moved to NY - the first time he'd been out of France - he was really puzzled when so many people assumed he was Jewish. In fact he'd never met a Jew before.

All I can say is, who knew? What about Jean-Georges Klein?

Wow! What a choice. Do it by location - which would you rather visit, Reims or Chagny? Failing that, eeny meeny always works for me. Either way you are bound to have a great time! And if I recall you said you had concerns about language issues - these kitchens are accustomed to having people from all over the map. Please keep a diary and let us know how it goes! PS I also seem to recall that Marc Meneau was one of the choices...I heard a rumour that he's been tapped for something in Paris so it might be worth finding out - if he's the exec chef at one of the places you're considering - whether he'll be making an appearance at all if that's important to you.

and yes, they have no bananas too

Am going to Toledo over Easter weekend, and would welcome any suggestion for restaurants in or near the city...

One tries!

My quick two (European) cents...and a bit of a catch-all response/addition to several of the above posts: I have been to Arpège three times in the last year, most recently in November 2001, and have loved it each time. Twice I had the tasting menu and once I ordered à la carte. I am not a vegetarian and secretly, I don't have much patience for them but I didn't feel the meals lacked flavour or pizazz or interest...However, I have to say I at all consider whether it tasted two star, three star, whatever...I haven't done enough of a survey to be able to do that :-) I just judged it on its own merits and thought it was a great experience, good food, nice atmosphere, congenial and professional service, worth the cost, etc. Also...this "all vegetable" menu concept has really been distorted. The menu not meant for strict vegetarians either...it simply doesn't contain red meat. Something to bear in mind for your mom unless, like El Bulli, they are quite assiduous about providing alternatives. There were a lot of seafood & dairy "elements" - and possibly poultry though I can't remember, that may well have been what I had when I ordered à la carte - on the tasting menu, and again, depending on how strict she is, some of the non seafood & non-dairy items may well have been cooked in shellfish broth or essence. But I'll bet Arpège would be more than able to cope. As for l'Ambroisie, where I last ate in December 2001 again - judging solely on its own merits: absolutely wonderful food, gorgeous, grand setting. Service: super-professional, almost robot-like; and atmosphere: cold, cold, cold. NO 'joie de servir/manger'. No 'personality'. The waiters (and other diners, present party excluded) were like silent automatons. So if you and your companions are the kind who make your own fun, as we do, then you'll have a good time - which we did. Would I go back? If invited, yes. But not if I were to choose the destination. La Cote D'Or, on the other hand...and maybe it has the same number of stars as L'Ambroisie? I've no idea...was fabulous on all counts, and a totally different experience from L'Ambroisie, at similar prices. I was there in late August, and the room was lively, the service engaging and fun, and gracious when one of our party inadvertently 'insulted' the sommellier by saying - in his inimitable understated way - that the wine the sommellier had chosen was 'not bad, not bad at all' (which, coming from this person, is actually a huge rave but there was no way the French sommellier could have picked up the Brit's intended inflection). The other diners were dressed casually and seemed very comfortable and were clearly having a good old time. Anyway, Ajay, go and enjoy! And let us know how you make out...including the vegetarian aspect, as I am often in the same position of trying to accommodate and please a testy palate...

"...I would like to point out that the I didn't actually say the things that are attributed to me, although I did say something vaguely similar. I believe that's called journalism..." Au contraire, that's called putting words in peoples' mouths and journalists can get sidelined, sacked or sued for this. I haven't seen the article but whomever interviewed you for this should have taken good notes or better still, taped the interview with your consent of course - if s/he intended to quote you. It's really a no-brainer to get quotes right, and if there was any question - such as in the case of turning your quotes into prose, or paraphrasing - they could have confirmed any inferences with you first.

I think the only issue you may encounter is where in the restaurant you'll be seated. I have dined alone in Paris and have been sat near the kitchen, doorway, whatever...basically where they would seat unreserved parties etc. But I don't really mind as long as I'm comfortable (i.e. not in the way of major traffic or in a draft). If this matters to you, at very popular places, you may have better luck being seated in a good place at lunchtime, particularly if the restaurant only has a few tables. . When you call to reserve, ask first if they have any space on such and such a night. If they volunteer a time before asking how many in your party, as they will probably assume at least two, and it's acceptable, take it. Then let them know you will be one. Or if you sense that they are packed that night and you may be turned down as a single, tell them it's for two and when you call to reconfirm, advise that the other party has cancelled. I know this sounds a bit underhanded, but in reality one person is no more trouble than two, and takes up the same amount of space, so they shouldn't jerk you around anyway but they may so you have to be a bit clever about it. Bon App!

I am just back, and I wish I had something really encouraging and interesting to say about the food I had in Romania. However, all I can say is that there was more than enough of it, for which I should be thankful, and that it was served with great generosity and hospitality. However, there was not much variety, no matter whether at a restaurant or private home, everything was pretty much the same. Lunch and dinner always started with a plate of coldcuts of pork and variations on pork, and some feta-like cheese that was good if a bit salty, and some kind of pickled cabbage salad and once or twice we had a soup, clear broth with some kind of egg-based items floating in it - sort of like spaetzle (sp?) but softer. Next course was grilled meats and sausage, also mainly pork, but once we had rabbit and another time some chicken. Dessert was a large doughnut with jam and cream. A few times we had mamaliga, which I actually like - it's baked polenta. But after having the above four or five times, I found myself wondering if this is how Romanians themselves eat all the time, or whether this was them putting on the Ritz for me? The amount and the portions for very generous and the hosts could not have been nicer but I honestly did not go to one place that I could recommend as a must-not-miss...Even at restaurants that had multi-page menus, all the dishes that arrived really looked and tasted very similar...

La Fromagerie is supposedly opening a branch in Marylebone soon...And in a pinch, Selfridges is respectable.

Good to see that in spite of a rather unusual life, Salman Rushdie is no different from the typical red-blooded male. In spite of his fame and fortune, having a and having bounty placed on his head, he is obviously in 'mid-life crisis' mode, dating a woman who is 20 something years his junior - while still married (to his third wife). Obviously women have not cornered the market on fickle!

Apprently he is looking for a new sommelier & chef de partie. Hasn't the restaurant only been open a little while? This begs the question, what happened to the current ones?

Well I've asked my boyfriend to cut out the tokens this weekend, though he probably won't remember...I'm off to Romania so I will be good and hungry upon my return...

Maybe it was a victim of 'doomed location' phenomenon. Not close enough to anything to generate regular clientele, much less foot traffic. Or maybe Neat just wants to spend more time in France...

OK this is getting a bit ridiculous (my opinion, you can call it valid or not, whatever)...Steve, your son - in expressing a preference and giving a reason to back it up - proved to be a chip that is better than the block! He said he likes Hersheys better than Bernachon because it's sweeter. What's wrong with that? I'm not sure why you like Bernachon better because they are ethereal - like magical, a bit hard to pin down but I guess you mean otherworldly. Not much of a concrete explanation - but based on what you've said elsewhere it would seem that you prefer Bernachon over Hershey's because a) it's more expensive than Hershey's b) it's from France c) it just is. This brings to mind a phrase from childhood which I said I'd never repeat to my own children, uttered in response to q question about the unquestionable..."Because I'm your mother and I said so" "Why do we have to go to bed so early?" "Because I'm your mother and I said so." "Why do I have to clean up my room/do my homework/play with my sister?""Because I'm your mother and I said so." "Why is Bernachon better than Hershey's?" "Because I'm Steve Plotnicki and I said so." Thank you for enlightening me, I now have some perspective. You are just carrying on the time honoured tradition of parents...'because that's just the way it is.' May your son continue to eat Hershey's and leave all the wrappers all over the house just to irk you!! And as for you, other Steve...everyone knows that red is better than blue. 3-4 of them and ran into his room. A few minutes later I went in to see how he was liking them and he said while moving his hand from side to side to display mediocrity, "They're okay. They're not sweet. I like Hershey's chocolate better." Now is that a valid opinion too?

"I'm always amazed at how passionately those who insist that all opinions are equally valid defend their own opinions. ... If this is all just about opinion, and no opinion can be right or wrong -- only held -- then we may as well all pack up and go home, because we're completely wasting our time discussing the things we discuss on eGullet. " ----- Au contraire, Steve, that is what Egullet - Fat Guy - and all the other sites where people post their opinions, are all about. If not, what do you think the purpose is? Why do you write a restaurant newsletter or articles? I'd wager, to share your opinion about something...hopefully impart a bit of information to help your readers make a choice about where to go and what to eat. If your readers have in the past found that they have agreed with your opinions, they are more likely to follow your advice. Almost every post here is an opinion or a request for someone else's. I do believe other peoples' "opinions" are valid, but that doesn't mean I won't valiantly defend my own - and what's wrong with that? That's what makes horse races. Just because Robert Parker and the Michelin folks have an opinion with which Steve P or Tony or I might not agree does not make them - or the millions who buy their books - idiots or imbeciles or ignorant.

"I hate to say this but, people who do not know when a piano is sufficiently out of tune do not have valid opinions about music. How could they?" I really didn't want to go down this road, but I'm taking the bait but...to state the obvious as we are wont to do here, the very word "opinion" implies subjectivity. Therefore an opinion cannot be valid or invalid, it *is* preference. For argument's sake, let's say you prefer the Beatles over the Hives. This is your opinion, a preference. We can argue the merits for and against one or the other but at the end, you may still prefer the Hives and I'll just have to respect that or not, but I can't say it's invalid. Someone's enjoyment of something has nothing to do with whether they are an "expert" "connoisseur" or "fan" of something. With respect to the Parkers, the Michelins, et al, their x point scales are useful because they help people who agree or disagree with their OPINIONS figure out why - why they agree, what are the characteristics that please or don't please their palates/sensibilities etc. - and ultimately why they should or should not spend their hard-earned cash on a bottle/table, or perhaps that they should find something of a similar style/taste, whatever - OR NOT. They help guide you, if you agree fine. If you disagree, that's your opinion. Back to the music example: Perhaps you're a professional musician with perfect pitch. This would make you a member of a subset of 1 in 10,000 or thereabouts. (And what's more, absolute pitch is not innate, it is learned.) When you listen to the Beatles play, you have no clue whether their instruments are in or out of tune. In fact I'd wager that on Oh Blah Di Oh Blah Dah, that piano is way off but that's beside the point. I may still like the song if it's out of tune, because it's catchy and cheerful - or if it's in tune, I may hate the song because it's trite and repetitive! Whatever! Re:wine, Montrachet is only "better" if you like it "better" than St Veran! No matter what ANYONE says. If you prefer it to St Veran, then that's you opinion and to you, it *is* better than St Veran. I don't know about guitars, but I do know that when I get my piano tuned, if it is tuned to, say, the same exact pitch as that of my piano teacher, then the top strings would snap. It is a different brand, age, condition, etc. So I tune it accordingly - i.e. I tune it so it is "in tune", all the notes are in tune relative to each other, yes according to that scientific mean you mentioned - which has some leeway I guess because my piano is about a quarter of a pitch - at every note - different from that of my teacher, but it is still IN TUNE. What would you say about a point of reference for music is not Western, say Indian or Chinese music that uses all the sounds in between the standard sharps and flats to which you tune your guitar...Perhaps you don't like the sound of it, or aren't accustomed to it, or don't understand it - or maybe you love it because it's different and mysterious. You have an opinion, which you've developed based on what you know already, it's a basis for comparison. This does not make you right or wrong. OK, enough, as this is doing my head in!

"So I ask you, using these non-objective examples, how you can deny that a perfectly tuned piano resonates longer and sounds "better" than one out of tune?"... Notes that are out of tune can 'resonate' just as long as those that are 'in tune'. When you say 'non-objective' do you mean 'subjective'? if so, I'm confused about your example of a perfectly tuned piano. If the evaluation of what is 'in tune' is 'non-objective' - i.e. subjective - then what's 'perfect' to one person - or 'perfect' according to the chosen standard... may no be perfect to another... If on the other hand you accept that there is an objective measure for whether a piano's "in tune" or not (and I'm not sure if there is, since pianos can be tuned to different keys and so on, though each note should be in tune relative to the other notes for whatever standard is chosen gnagnagna) then the example doesn't work. Anyway most people cannot tell whether a piano is out of tune - i.e. whether some of the notes are out of tune relative to the other notes on that same piano, which are in tune based on the standard that has been agreed...

Andy - this - and these offers in general - make for very interesting discussion. For example, what is the motivation behind participating (on the part of the restaurant as well as on the diner? The FT offer does have some better-than-usual participants, the Times &tc, less so. I haven't seen the FT offer so I don't know if it's limited to London, but I have seen the Times offer and some of the restaurant group-only offers (MPW, Conran, etc.) I'm curious to what extent the offers are meant to a) attract customers who have never eaten at these places before and could not otherwise afford a meal at an "expensive" restaurant isuch as Moro, Al Duca, or the The River Cafe (I haven't heard of Lindsay house so I'm not sure how costly it is, and I would consider St John to be 'medium', b) attract new business from people who *can* afford it but so far haven't c) drum up business for restaurants that are going through a slow time? If a...those people won't necesarily come back when the offer is over, so in a way the restaurant has 'wasted' an offer..also I suppose (this is generalising, but whatever) these are not really the kinds of people who read the FT if you believe the demographics. If b) those people might come back...so perhaps it's worthwhile but then again, they may also pay full price and just haven't gotten around to it. If c)...It doesn't sound like the restaurants in the FT offer (which I haven't seen) are having such a hard time...though I suppose every little helps. On the other hand, I've got the Times "eat out for £5 (or so depending on the small print) offer here. I'm looking at the London section, and while there are a few places I'd be keen to try because i've heard some 'buzz' about them, for example Pug and Highgate Hill Bar...I already eat at The Peasant and would just be taking advantage I guess; The Crescent's meal is already a huge bargain; then there are some really incongruous participants like Vama and LMNT, which are supposedly uber-trendy already; I'd probably go to Tagines offer or no offer, and The Depot in Barnes is always packed though this would be a good deal for someone eating out with their whole family. Other than that...there are columns and columns of Cafe Unos, Deep Pan Pizzas and Jim Thompsonses which, if one or more of the venues isn't doing so well, probably save ££ on volume purchases of ingredients and formula preparation...and which aren't the kinds of places that are a real stretch (of mind or wallet) for people who haven't eaten there already - either they don't like that kind of place or there isn't one near them, and they aren't exactly destination restaurants for which an offer would go a long way...and for those who have eaten in one of htese places, an offer would just serve the purpose of having an existing customer spend less than normal. On the other hand, maybe the out-of-London options are a good deal.... Thoughts?

Three separate couples visiting London have asked me for recommendations for "romantic spots" for birthday or anniversary meals. Since everyone's definition of 'romantic' is different, I wanted to send a few suggestions. They are all mid-30's and fairly laid-back, so I think they'd be uncomfortable with a high stuffiness quotient. Two pairs are fairly adventurous about food, one is not. Thanks!

Margaret, do tell! I love Martha stories. And what exactly is a marshmallow made of!?