mzimbeck

Last days: There is a quirky little bar called Le Sale Verre de la Peur (the dirty glass of fear) on the 1st level balcony of the Grand Palais that overlooks the current expo "Le Grand Répertoire - Machines de Spectacle." You can sip your kir or drink a cheap demi while looking directly down on the crowd of people being surprised/soaked by the Canon à Niege (snow cannon). The bar itself is run by a bunch of hipster hoodlums playing rockabilly records and getting sauced behind the bar. Something tells me this isn't a regular feature at the Grand Palais (anyone know?) and won't outlast the expo, which runs only through this Sunday, August 13. It may be temporary, but it's totally delightful.

Here's a photo from the Point Ephémère that I visited on recommendations from Felice and Adrian. I love this place, but to be clear, it's a dive-y kind of scene: young and tattooed with a few trendoids thrown in. If dingy graffiti bathrooms are not your thing, then neither is the Point Ephémère. Having warned thus, it's completely buzzing with a porch that looks great for good weather. The food was OK but beyond the price nothing to rave about. This is the far northern end of the canal (near me), and, as Felice said, the collective also offers artists' residences, dance lessons, concerts, expos, all sorts of good stuff. It's kind of hard to notice from the road (I ride my bike past every day and never saw it!) but you can find map on their website below. They have some pages in English. Their website is http://www.pointephemere.org/index.html Thanks for the suggestion!

CLOSED Carte Blance until August 20 L'Abadache until August 22 Le Cerisaie (message didn't mention a re-opening date) Le Pamphlet closed for "extensive renovations" OPEN Les Don Juan until "the end of the week"

I can testify that the two rounds of figs that I purchased were NOT (sadly) ready. A couple more weeks on these, I think, unless someone knows a better place to get them. The Brie de Meaux I had yesterday did taste better than usual!

Another one, because it's close to where I work, is the little cafe in the Jardin du Luxembourg. If you enter from the gates near the RER stop, the cafe is to your right, just south east of the Senate building. There are 50-some tables under shade trees with a view on the central pool, and often there's some kind of music being performed nearby. Vin de table is 2.50, an Amstel is 3.50 and Heineken/Pelforth Brune are 5 euros. A very sweet little spot.

Thanks John and Felice - that clears up the confusion about Chauteaubriand. I was starting to think that I was on a different taste planet than some of my friends! Meg

John, I love this review of Ribouldingue. Offal is, for me, really the last gastronomic horizon that needs to be crossed. Maybe this is the right place to teach my mouth something. Are "offal enthusiasts" born this way? Regarding Chauteaubriand, I too fall into the negative column. Reading some of the mouth-watering descriptions by its fans, I wonder if we were even at the same restaurant. For example, we had NO amuses bouches, much less 2 rounds of them! And the offererings when we went (summer 2005) were fine, good, but certainly not very creative. Sounds like a case of multiple personality disorder. Thanks for the reviews!

Great suggestion! Keep 'em coming.

While this thread isn't technically about food, the before-dinner (or after-work, blending into dinner) drink is a critical component of life in Paris. With friends (and self) who are constantly running late, meeting for a pre-dinner apéritif is an easy/fun way to avoid missing a nearby restaurant reservation. I can slack with my book and a glass of white, for example, while my friend is trapped underground in a stalled Métro car. I'm hoping to expand my list by arrondissement with the help of eGulleteers. Suggestions with a terrace win extra points in my book. I can add these two for now: 1) Déli-cieux, the rooftop terrace of the Printemps department store on boulevard Haussman in the 9th. On Thursday nights (only) the store and this restaurant/bar/terrace are open late until 10, and the views over Paris rooftops are astonishing. The drinks themselves are nothing special, but you can drink your 3.50 glass of red of 6 euro flute of champagne while gazing upon the Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, etc. 2) Banks of the Canal St. Martin in the 10th. In the summer there are hundreds of people hanging out here with picnics, books, and drinks. Beer can be bought in plastic cups from le Jemmapes on the eastern side of the canal, and bottles of wine can be taken away from le Verre Volé where the canal intersects with rue de Lancry on the western side. What are your favorites?

I went to le Verre Volé last Thursday night and, for the second time, loved it. The young and adorable Nicolas will tell you anything you wish to know about the wines lining the shelves of this shop/bar. If you're indecisive, he'll bring 3-4 of whatever color you're favoring and give you full descriptions of each. He won't mention prices, so it's a good idea to ask. Our first bottle was 5 euros but we were suprised by a second bottle for 28. I know that some of you readers wouldn't bat an eye at that, but quand meme. We nibbled four dishes between an equal number of people and shared 2 bottles of wine. The two starters included a salad of mi-cuit mi-fumé salmon with beets and plenty of fresh dill & parsley, along with a plate of plump sardines with a generous pile of roasted pepper and fennel in lemon with fresh basil. The two mains included a plate of charcuterie & fromage (2 sausages, cured ham, rillettes, slab o'butter, brie, tomme, and one other cheese), and a sausage from the Ardèche whose name I'm forgetting but was similar to a very herby meatloaf with mashed potatoes and some greens. As has been described elsewhere in this thread, le Verre Volé has a very sweet atmosphere in close quarters. What's more, it's just steps away from the Canal St. Martin, which is perfect for a stroll after dinner. Alternately, you can buy a (chilled) bottle from their shop and just take it to drink along the banks of the canal, which is precisely what we did the following night. Super place!

Le Gavroche, a little wine bistro at the top of the 2nd near Grands Boulevards, is already closed and will stay closed thru August. I learned this the hard way last night!

This was the 3rd (maybe 4th?) time that I've been to the Bistrot Paul Bert, and it was probably the least enjoyable. But I chalk that up in large part to the oppressive heat that made a 3-course menu feel more like a death march than a treat. That, and the gaspacho was watery and not-so-cold, which led me to suspect that they had been trying to salvage the soup with ice cubes. The cod with salted butter and sauteed spinach was simple and delicious, and I hope to steal the idea (in cooler temperatures) of just laying a slab of really good butter over a dish in lieu of a more complicated sauce. Having said all this, previous visits to Paul Bert were thoroughly enjoyable and, while I may myself take a break from it for a while, I'd recommend it highly to others. Cheers, Meg

To give visitors a better idea about a traditional Paris bistro menu, I have attempted to translate Friday night's menu from the Bistrot Paul Bert. This oft-cited restaurant is in the 11th arrondissement at 18 rue Paul-Bert, M° Charonne (01.43.72.24.01). Any corrections and/or discussion are welcome, as I'm still very new to France's language and food! Entrées Gaspacho andalou à la coriandre fraîche - Cold tomato-based soup (from Andalucia in Spain) with cilantro and chunks of cucumber, sweet peppers, and onion. Petits filets de sprat marinés, salade de rattes à l'aneth - Small, marinated filets of herring with a salad of small dilled potatoes. Carpaccio de merou à la citronelle - Fresh raw grouper with lemongrass. Salade de haricots verts avec pignons de pins et au parmesan - Salad of green beans with pine nuts and parmesan. Hure de cochon maison et sa vinaigrette moutarde violette - Homemade head of pig (headcheese) with violet mustard vinaigrette. Feuilleté de ris de veau à la crème de morille - Thymus gland of veal (sweetbreads) in puff pastry with a morel mushroom cream sauce. Assiette de melon et jambon serrano - Plate of melon and serrano ham. Plats (Note says "Our red meats are served rare, medium-rare, or "badly-cooked") Dos de cabillaud roti beurre salé et sa pôelée d'epinards - Roasted fresh cod with salted butter and sautéed fresh spinach. Lotte rôtie à la tomate fraîche et sa ratatouille - Roasted monkfish with fresh tomato and ratatouille (stew of eggplant, zucchini, onions, tomatoes, peppers, garlic and olive oil) Tartare de boeuf et sa frites maison - Raw beef with homemade fries. Epaule de cochon de lait rôtie, ail echallotes et grenailles - Shoulder of milk-raised pig with bite-sized potatoes dressed in garlic and shallots. Rognon de veau juste rôtie au four et ses petits legumes - Veal kidneys, barely roasted in the oven with tiny vegetables. Onglet de boeuf au poivre et ses frites maison - Peppered beef (similar cut to a flank steak) and homemade fries. Côte de boeuf légèrement crèmée et son risotto aux cèpes - Rib steak with a light cream sauce and wild mushroom (porcini, in Italy) risotto. Desserts Tarte fine aux abricots - Thin apricot tart. Fontainebleau aux framboises - Creamy white fresh dessert cheese from the Ile-de-France with raspberries. Ile flottante à l'ancienne, vanille de Tahiti et pralines roses - "Floating Island" of poached meringue floating in créme anglaise (light Tahitian vanilla cream sauce) with pink pralines. Clafoutis aux cerises - Custard tart with cherries. Profiteroles maison - Puff pastry balls filled with homemade vanilla ice cream and homemade chocolate sauce. Kissel de fruits rouges et sa glace maison au fromage blanc - Thickened purée of red fruits with homemade ice cream of fresh cheese (similar to frozen yogurt). As you can see, there are items for adventurous as well as skeptical eaters. Steak is always a safe bet for the gland-wary. And vegetarians, contrary to popular rumor, won't starve in Paris. Especially if they eat fish. But even strict vegetarians can usually find a starter or two, plus cheese and dessert. Vegans: good luck to you. Menus like this usually include all but wine and coffee. A bottle of Tavel Rosé, very cold and very good, was 20 euros. Those visiting Paris might experience sticker shock in reading that a 30 euro menu (80 total for 2 people with wine) is the foundation of a "budget" restaurant in Paris. But so it goes. One eats out less frequently in Paris, favoring picnics and cheap ethnic food in between splurges. Tourists who eat au restaurant every night are living much larger (in terms of both wallet and waistline) than the average local. Having said that, moments of indulgence in Paris restaurants (after much homework to weed out the duds) provide plenty of justification to stay. Or, for visitors, to return. Bon Appétit!

Oh, thank goodness. I couldn't bear the thought of losing both Zurban and GoGo in the same summer. (I even emailed the editor today before reading this to ask where in the world they had gone) Looking forward to your reviews! Meg

What a great report! And I'm glad you went to L'As du Falafel - it's true that the waiters there are HOT Thanks for this thread, which is also quite useful to us broke locals looking for a break!

Salut, This is so far my favorite region in France, and I hope you enjoy your December trip. I remember seeing, as we drove through the Côte Vermeille, signs for different wine routes. There are vineyards everywhere west of Collioure, Port Vendes and Banyuls-sur-Mer (highway A-9) in this southernmost region bordering Spain. Signs for wine tasting abound. We didn't follow a wine route, but parked the car off one of these roads and walked a bit (see below, mid-October). The town of Collioure is astonishingly beautiful, and in December will be blissfully tourist-free. Below is a view of the harbor at sunset. Have fun!

Thanks for the hints, Clotilde - an also for your amazing blog! Anyone reading who hasn't yet visited Chocolate & Zucchini should go there right now.

As John Talbott discussed here, the weekly Paris guide Zurban sadly folded last month. This sucks for many reasons, among them the loss of a quirky good restaurant section. Its "competitor" Periscope has mostly paid restaurant advertisments and isn't in the same league. I fear that I know the answer to this, but other than this forum (and other sites to which Talbott contributes) is there any other decent compliment/replacement to the now-defunct Zurban?

All this talk about water is making me bloated In Paris I order a carafe of water with nearly every meal and it's almost never a problem. Just tack it on to the end of your order, "et...un carafe d'eau s'il vous plait." My french friends do this, too. It's not seen as an American sort of request. What is more typically American, however, is to want water immediately, and to want lots of it. Servers in America are trained to bring water upon minutes of a customer's arrival. It's a signal to the customer that they've been recognized. Americans also tend to drink much more liquid than the french - at meals and continuously throughout the day. The oral fixation can also be seen in the very different habits regarding snacking and nibbling through meals. I say this as someone in recovery - upon moving to Paris, I had to re-examine the impulse to always have a beverage in my hand (giant coffee! 32 oz soda! keep it comin'!) and ask myself if I was really thirsty or not. For some Americans, these two culturally-constructed factors contribute to anxiety in French restaurants. Americans who are unable or unwilling to recognize the differences at play feel that they're not being recognized, that they're being deprived of a basic need, etc. Anxious and early requests for water can then turn off the French server and poison the rest of the meal. As for ice, just forget about it. Come to terms before you get on the plane that you will not have ice in France and that you do not need it. The desperation that attends Americans' requests for ice and liquid is completely baffling for the French. As for English spoken in french establishments, the only time a waiter replies to me in English is when I'm in the tourist arrondissements. I'd speculate that this relates to exposure (to tourists) and monetary incentive (to keep tourists coming in). Establishments in those areas are probably hiring multilingual staff when possible. The general level of English profiency among the French is not high (as French among Americans is not high), and it's a mistake to assume that your server really does speak English and is just holding out on you. But from my point of view, it's a mistake to visit another country and not take the time to learn basic restaurant phrases in order to get by. In general, I think that when American show some humility, flexibility and gratitude (as they would when invited to someone's home) in a french establishment, they're treated very well. Exeptions to the contrary exist, especially in tourist areas, and are especially and unfortunately prevalent among customers who are not white, slim, and well-dressed. As you've seen in the news lately, these requirements extend beyond the restaurant doors, as well.

Here's what comes to mind for me: Wine American wine is a little difficult to find here. Or, for obvious reasons, people don't go out of their way to track it down. The french people I know prefer their own varietals to the bolder California flavors, but still enjoy tasting, comparing, debating (and dismissing) as part of a fun evening. Beer I'm not sure about this one... but I wonder if one of those sampler packs of micro-brewery beer might be a good gift for a french friend (who likes beer). While we're not that far from Belgium or Germany, the beer offerings in France are pretty limited in terms of quality and variety. And there are some great microbrews in the States. Mexican/Tex-Mex products Salsa is sold everywhere but is generally pretty bad. I think a good bottled salsa, which isn't that expensive in the States, would be appreciated. Maybe one that's on the mild side. Tortilla chips, while not as good as their US counterparts, are easy enough to find here. The following ingredients are a challenge to find here, but I suspect that some french cooks wouldn't have a taste for them or wouldn't know quite how to use them: - Corn tortillas (flour ones are easily found) - Dried chiles - Canned chipotles in adobo or just adobo sauce, which is bottled and sold in some U.S. shops as a condiment Caveat - I can only answer regarding what's been difficult for me to find in Paris. I'll leave it to the french readers to correct me or to say whether or not they'd actually want any of these products from the other side of the ocean.

and fleur de sel....for SO much cheaper than fauchon or wherever...my mistake was "bonding" with the cashier, who looked puzzled at the vast amount of salt i was purchasing..."jolie cadeaux", i explained, at which her expression turned from puzzled to sour...some friend, bringing SALT home as gifts. (the giftees, however, were thrilled!) bon voyage. ←

Oh, Sergio.... What happened is that I'm a fool. We were both so full after lunch at the Osteria del Carcere and couldn't really contemplate gelato at the time. We passed him up with the idea that we could get gelato in Siena, or Florence, or anywhere. Punishment for our hubris took the form of the WORST GELATO EVER in Florence. Looking for a bottle of water, we wandered into Cafe Corona on the via del Calzaiuoli. While I was paying, I saw my husband over in front of the glass cases pointing up at a waffle cone. A cone that was then piled a ridiculous 2 feet high with the nastiest blackberry gelato ever concocted, a watery bright purple mess that tasted like diluted and frozen grape juice. And at the register: 15 euros. Yes. We confirmed the price (not posted anywhere obvious) on the way out, and left feeling like a pair of tourist suckers. We ended up throwing most of it away. The shame! The horror!! The lesson? Take your gelato seriously. Heed the recommendations of Robert Brown and in the numerous threads on this forum. There's a significant difference in quality between the best and worst gelato in Florence, and probably elsewhere in Italy, too. And stay the hell away from those sirens at the Cafe Corona.

Tuscany in early December.... Lucca I had reserved (online, in Italian using a translation from babelfish.altavista.com) and was looking forward to a 9:30 dinner at Buca di Sant'Antonio. But then we got lost driving from Pisa to Lucca and didn't manage to enter the city gates before 10:30. Buca was closed (I later wrote back to apologize) and the streets of Lucca were eerily empty in off-season. But warm light beckoned from Uffa Baruffa, the only restaurant that seemed to be open. While their kitchen was officially closed, the kind proprietress offered us whatever could be easily prepared and invited us to stay as long as we wanted. We warmed up with steaming bowls of zuppa di farro and a bottle of 2003 Badiola Colline Lucchesi. Then we were brought 2 enormous plates laden with salumi, lardo, parmesan, taleggio and several types of pecorino. We shared a very good tiramisu and the bill came to 55 euros, including cover. This wasn't a life altering meal, but we felt incredibly lucky that the evening had turned out to be so enjoyable. Uffa Baruffa Corte Campana, 3 Lucca Tel: 0583 312037 San Gimignano After a beautiful drive from Lucca, we arrived in San Gimignano and found empty streets and a quiet, sunny morning. Lunch was thoroughly enjoyed at the Osteria del Carcere, following recommendations from Divina Cucina and Slow Food. We started with crostini topped with porcini and cream. To follow, an enormous and filling bowl of riboletta was enough for me, while my husband tackled a plate-sized herb encrusted pork loin (arrista aretina). We drank Paretaio (sangiovese) Falchini by the glass and each had coffee, with the bill coming to 42 euros. Osteria del Carcere Via del Castello, 13 San Gimignano Tel: 0577 941905 Siena After seeing empty streets in Lucca and San Gimignano, I didn't bother to reserve for dinner at Hosteria Il Carroccio in Siena. Had I done so, I would have figured out they were closed for renovations. D'oh! Right next door, however, was something calling itself an enoteca (wine bar) and serving what looked to be really good food. So we took a chance at Enoteca Cantina in Piazza and were delighted. The waitress explained that they were "sort of in between an enoteca and osteria right now." Which meant that the pici with duck sauce came with a plastic fork, but was incredible. Especially when paired with the server's recommended wine (a 2003 Viticcio Chianti) which, in her words, "cuts right through the fat." A pici with cabbage, carrots and saffron sauce was less exciting, but the 2000 Fattoi Brunello di Montancino made up for it. Contorni came seperately after the meal, a bright green arugula salad and braised cardoons. Desserts were also paired - sienese almond cookies with vin santo and an apple tart with a white from the Friuli region (my notetaking ability diminished with each glass). This all came to around 40 euros. Enoteca Cantina in Piazza Via Casato di Sotto, 24 (near the Campo) Siena Tel: 0577 222758 Florence Saturday turned out to be value day, with two great meals in decidedly unstuffy environments. The well-touted Trattoria Mario next to the Mercado san Lorenzo (Centrale) lived up to its reputation, and I loved the elbows-on-table vibe of the place. We continued the soup habit with a zuppa di ceci (chick peas), and a tuscan bean stew. We were so full after the soup that we risked asking to share a second course (as a former waitress I still find it hard to do this). Our server didn't seem to mind at all, and brought us an extra plate for the osso bucco and kale. With a half liter of wine, our bill came to 23 euros and left us some money to buy pecorino and new olive oil next door at the market. Sigh... Trattoria Mario Via Rosina, 2/r Florence Tel: 055-218550 Saturday night we went to Cibreo's Teatro del Sale for the communal meal and music performance. I wanted to try this after eating last year at their Cafe and in hopes of breaking out of the restaurant routine. Other threads in this forum describe the experience in detail, but let me just say a little about reserving: Weeks in advance, I wrote to them (again in bad Italian) and asked if it was possible to reserve. A woman said that she would take my name but that I would need to call again on the morning of the reservation in order to confirm. I did this (at 10 am) and was initially told that they don't take email reservations and that they were booked with a waiting list...until I heard someone in the background say my name, grab the phone, and tell me everything was fine. This was Annalisa Passigli, the external relations director for the Teatro. She forgave my pathetic Italian and spoke brilliant English, and I'd recommend that anybody who fumbles with the language just ask for her. On her instruction, we arrived at 7:00 to read and agree to the club rules and pay our membership fee (5 euros each for out-of-towners). Then we paid 24 euros a piece for the meal and entertainment, bringing the total to 58 euros. For this, we had unlimited wine, food, coffee, and a performance that lasted an hour and a half. There are no menus here, rather a communal table onto which heaping portions are dropped after being announced through the window of the visible kitchen. The names went by so quickly that I'm not entirely sure what we ate. The first trip to the table yielded corkscrew pasta with a meat ragu. Then we had what looked like a boiled shin (of a cow?), with various contorni (crispy fried potatoes, chick peas, black eyed peas, spinach). Then back for tripe in tomato sauce, some spit-roasted chicken, and a very thin and delicious vegetable gratin. Wine poured from big wooden boxes and bottled water wash it all down. Dessert offerings included fresh whipped cream and pastry straws with tiny diamonds of rich chocolate cake. Baskets of clementines were also on offer. After coffee, the tables were whisked away and we enjoyed a piano forte/clarinet performance that moved between ragtime and Benny Goodman. The crowd is very mixed. We sat at a table with tattooed young italians for dinner and were surrounded by an older and very bobo crowd during the performance. There surely were other foreigners there, but I didn't detect them. We staggered out around 11, very full, a little baffled, and overall pleased that we had gone. In contrast to their related eateries, the food at Teatro is not showy. They seem to be going for very good, basic ingredients, stretched to feed a crowd for a price that's affordable. Teatro del Sale Via dei Macci, 111/r Florence Tel: 055 200 14 92 Annalisa Passigli (External Relations/English) 355/1365323 Can't leave town without a dud, and we found it Sunday for lunch. We tried Osteria dei Pazzi near Santa Croce and were pretty disappointed. My pistachio pasta had no flavor other than butter and cream. While the grilled polenta was quite good, the wild boar sauce was chewy and mediocre, reflecting its roots in the freezer. My husband seized the opportunity for a florentine steak and was underwhelmed. It was also a bit over-priced, at around 60 euros for lunch, given the quality and the atmosphere. On the plus side, it was fun to see the place fill up with the boisterous after-church set. Osteria dei Pazzi Via dei Lavatoi, 1/3R on the corner of Via Verdi Florence Tel: 055 234 4880

The Report As per usual, planning and pleasure do not always correlate in Italy. I touched down in Pisa with a list of restaurants that had been checked and double checked, reserved, mapped, etc. In the end, we made it to about half of these, and left happily enough. Planning, for me, is a diversion from the desk job and part of the fun. But I think in Italy (everywhere?) one has to be ready to abandon the paper and just go with the flow. Lucca I had reserved (online, in Italian using a translation from babelfish.altavista.com) and was looking forward to a 9:30 dinner at Buca di Sant'Antonio. But then we got lost driving from Pisa to Lucca and didn't manage to enter the city gates before 10:30. Buca was closed (I later wrote back to apologize) and the streets of Lucca were eerily empty in off-season. But warm light beckoned from Uffa Baruffa, the only restaurant that seemed to be open. While their kitchen was officially closed, the kind proprietress offered us whatever could be easily prepared and invited us to stay as long as we wanted. We warmed up with steaming bowls of zuppa di farro and a bottle of 2003 Badiola Colline Lucchesi. Then we were brought 2 enormous plates laden with salumi, lardo, parmesan, taleggio and several types of pecorino. We shared a very good tiramisu and the bill came to 55 euros, including cover. This wasn't a life altering meal, but we felt incredibly lucky that the evening had turned out to be so enjoyable. Uffa Baruffa Corte Campana, 3 Lucca Tel: 0583 312037 San Gimignano After a beautiful drive from Lucca, we arrived in San Gimignano and found empty streets and a quiet, sunny morning. Lunch was thoroughly enjoyed at the Osteria del Carcere, following recommendations from Divina Cucina and Slow Food. We started with crostini topped with porcini and cream. To follow, an enormous and filling bowl of riboletta was enough for me, while my husband tackled a plate-sized herb encrusted pork loin (arrista aretina). We drank Paretaio (sangiovese) Falchini by the glass and each had coffee, with the bill coming to 42 euros. Osteria del Carcere Via del Castello, 13 San Gimignano Tel: 0577 941905 Siena After seeing empty streets in Lucca and San Gimignano, I didn't bother to reserve for dinner at Hosteria Il Carroccio in Siena. Had I done so, I would have figured out they were closed for renovations. D'oh! Right next door, however, was something calling itself an enoteca (wine bar) and serving what looked to be really good food. So we took a chance at Enoteca Cantina in Piazza and were delighted. The waitress explained that they were "sort of in between an enoteca and osteria right now." Which meant that the pici with duck sauce came with a plastic fork, but was incredible. Especially when paired with the server's recommended wine (a 2003 Viticcio Chianti) which, in her words, "cuts right through the fat." A pici with cabbage, carrots and saffron sauce was less exciting, but the 2000 Fattoi Brunello di Montancino made up for it. Contorni came seperately after the meal, a bright green arugula salad and braised cardoons. Desserts were also paired - sienese almond cookies with vin santo and an apple tart with a white from the Friuli region (my notetaking ability diminished with each glass). This all came to around 40 euros. Enoteca Cantina in Piazza Via Casato di Sotto, 24 (near the Campo) Siena Tel: 0577 222758 Florence Saturday turned out to be value day, with two great meals in decidedly unstuffy environments. The well-touted Trattoria Mario next to the Mercado san Lorenzo (Centrale) lived up to its reputation, and I loved the elbows-on-table vibe of the place. We continued the soup habit with a zuppa di ceci (chick peas), and a tuscan bean stew. We were so full after the soup that we risked asking to share a second course (as a former waitress I still find it hard to do this). Our server didn't seem to mind at all, and brought us an extra plate for the osso bucco and kale. With a half liter of wine, our bill came to 23 euros and left us some money to buy pecorino and new olive oil next door at the market. Sigh. Trattoria Mario Via Rosina, 2/r Florence Tel: 055-218550 Saturday night we went to Cibreo's Teatro del Sale for the communal meal and music performance. I wanted to try this after eating last year at their Cafe and in hopes of breaking out of the restaurant routine. Other threads in this forum describe the experience in detail, but let me just say a little about reserving: Weeks in advance, I wrote to them (again in bad Italian) and asked if it was possible to reserve. A woman said that she would take my name but that I would need to call again on the morning of the reservation in order to confirm. I did this (at 10 am) and was initially told that they don't take email reservations and that they were booked with a waiting list...until I heard someone in the background say my name, grab the phone, and tell me everything was fine. This was Annalisa Passigli, the external relations director for the Teatro. She forgave my pathetic Italian and spoke brilliant English, and I'd recommend that anybody who fumbles with the language just ask for her. On her instruction, we arrived at 7:00 to read and agree to the club rules and pay our membership fee (5 euros each for out-of-towners). Then we paid 24 euros a piece for the meal and entertainment, bringing the total to 58 euros. For this, we had unlimited wine, food, coffee, and a performance that lasted an hour and a half. There are no menus here, rather a communal table onto which heaping portions are dropped after being announced through the window of the visible kitchen. The names went by so quickly that I'm not entirely sure what we ate. The first trip to the table yielded corkscrew pasta with a meat ragu. Then we had what looked like a boiled shin (of a cow?), with various contorni (crispy fried potatoes, chick peas, black eyed peas, spinach). Then back for tripe in tomato sauce, some spit-roasted chicken, and a very thin and delicious vegetable gratin. Wine poured from big wooden boxes and bottled water wash it all down. Dessert offerings included fresh whipped cream and pastry straws with tiny diamonds of rich chocolate cake. Baskets of clementines were also on offer. After coffee, the tables were whisked away and we enjoyed a piano forte/clarinet performance that moved between ragtime and Benny Goodman. The crowd is very mixed. We sat at a table with tattooed young italians for dinner and were surrounded by an older and very bobo crowd during the performance. There surely were other foreigners there, but I didn't detect them. We staggered out around 11, very full, a little baffled, and overall pleased that we had gone. In contrast to their related eateries, the food at Teatro is not showy. They seem to be going for very good, basic ingredients, stretched to feed a crowd for a price that's affordable. Teatro del Sale Via dei Macci, 111/r Florence Tel: 055 200 14 92 Annalisa Passigli (External Relations/English) 355/1365323 Can't leave town without a dud, and we found it Sunday for lunch. We tried Osteria dei Pazzi near Santa Croce and were pretty disappointed. My pistachio pasta had no flavor other than butter and cream. While the grilled polenta was quite good, the wild boar sauce was chewy and mediocre, reflecting its roots in the freezer. My husband seized the opportunity for a florentine steak and was underwhelmed. It was also a bit over-priced, at around 60 euros for lunch, given the quality and the atmosphere. On the plus side, it was fun to see the place fill up with the boisterous after-church set. Osteria dei Pazzi Via dei Lavatoi, 1/3R on the corner of Via Verdi Florence Tel: 055 234 4880 Thanks to everyone who contributed advice and recommendations, and to Divina Cucina for her very helpful website!

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and comments! I'm off to Tuscany and will report back on the food, the disnification of San Gimi, and all other crucial info. Cheers, Meg