hollywood

What happens when the Gates get taken down? Are they like the meal that's been eaten? Once down, do individual Gates hanging on walls count as art, or are only the drawings art at that point? If so, are the individual deconstructed gates merely souvenirs? I'm thinking of the scene in Blowup when someone is walking by a club where the Yardbirds (Beck, Page, Relf & McCarty) are playing and the neck of an intentionally destroyed guitar gets tossed to the frenzied crowd. Then the finder examines it and tosses it aside as I recall. You probably saw the news item about the artist who made and erected on an LA Freeway a facsimile freeway direction sign in a spot where he thought it was needed. I think CalTrans (once they figured it out) took down his sign and replaced it with one of their signs. You really couldn't tell the difference but I'm thinking only his sign was art.

Nice post but way too descriptive. Now I'm jones'n for Zankou. From what I hear a twenty something son may be running the show. We'll see. Let's hope for the best. The tee shirts are now the same egg yolk yellow with blue lettering as I recall.

Zankou Chicken is a wonderful chain of about 4 stores in SoCal that makes terrific Lebanese/Armenian roasted chicken and chicken "sandwiches" featuring an addictive garlic paste and delicious chicken. Here's some sad news. http://www.dailynews.com/cda/article/print...1114285,00.html

Comparable to but better than Baja Fresh is Poquito Mas. Unfortunately, there aren't that many of them.

At the risk of hair splitting and wallowing in semantics, perhaps excellent meals are not art but are poetic nonetheless. Someone who knows Greek can explain the broader meaning of the term poetry as used by Aristotle in his Aesthetics.

Answering your question with another: what is the art here?

I believe I had this dish or something very similar at a friend's on Christmas. It was great. For reasons not clear to me a white wine, perhaps German was served. Regardless, the duck was superb and oddly there did not seem to be nearly as much fat/drippings as I had anticipated. As far as being aromatic, my sinuses were compomised so I'm not fit to comment.

Looks like you've gotten a round up of some pretty good spots. On the Valentines front--though I hasten to add I have never been there--everything I've read about Violon d'Ingres says this would be a good pick. On the less expensive end, I would commend, Taira, a French Japanese seafood eatery to your attention. The decor may or may not be to your liking but the fish is excellent. L'Os a Moelle as mentioned is a good value. Edited to add: it now occurs to me that lunch at Le Grand Vefour could be very romantic. It's romantic enough at night but I believe it would be more so by daylight leading to......

Some of us saw an opening and went for it.

Could it have something to do with the first full bodied realization of the work, perhaps after some artist's proofs? Actually, this could get Platonic--the "form" of the dish/meal, etc.

On the length of time the level of interest has been around, note that Rouff's book was written in the twenties, and that it tracks the career of Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826).

Dear FG, Wilfrid, et al., The current number of The New Yorker cantains a review of Marcel Rouff's "The Passionate Epicure" by Francine du Plessix Gray which reminds me that, as some forgotten Greek pronounced, there's nothing new under the sun. This tale of a fictional gastronome, Dodin-Bouffant, sounds as if the author knew several eGulleteers and was inspired to write about them and their ideas. In but four columns, Ms. du Plessix Gray touches on several of our ongoing controversies. Our hero banishes folks from dining at his house for improper culinary judgments. There's a cooking competition in which one chef offers a dinner of nearly 60 dishes (shades of Mr. Keller). DB by contrast prepares but four dishes centering on a pot-au-feu. (Does DB lack culinary relevance?) Elsewhere, M. Rouff compares great cuisine with painting, sculpture and music offering the view that "DB is a gourmet as Claude Lorrain is a painter, as Berlioz is a musician." Coincidentally, I once ate many years ago at Dodin-Bouffant in the 5e (where although relatively unnoticed it apparently still exists today). I had a huge seafood platter, enjoying for my first time such mollusks as the violete (or is it violette?), periwinkle, etc. Good stuff.

C'est la vie. You'll always have Paris.

Let's keep this on topic, shall we?

This is like the scoring on Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Not being acquainted with the Time Out guide to Paris, I can only reflect on what I would do. First, right here would be an excellent place to get info. Granted some of it might be high end, but it wouldn't hurt to ask. Another source with less expensive choices would be the International Board of Chowhound.com. There's BonjourParis.com. You could check a newsletter called La Belle France (covers all of France with an emphasis on Paris). PatriciaWells.com has some economical picks. Likewise, Ms. Wells frequently updates various guides to eating in Paris Bistros, etc. Posting on this board from time to time is John Whiting of Whitings' Writings--a PM to him might get you some sources. Periodically, the New York Times will do an article on Paris Hotels and eateries at various price points. A reprint can probably be had for $2-$3. Ditto, the LA Times, though I'd go with NYT first. Travel & Leisure usually does an annual article on Paris Bistros, sometimes written by Patricia Wells. And, of course, there's always the Guide Michelin--either the whole book or the Paris excerpt you can find at French and travel bookstores. Bon voyage.

Some like it hot. Some like it cold.

I think BM should go the French way. Have one free day a week; charge admission the rest. That way you know which day to avoid (free day).

What! Is nothing sacred?

OTOH, I inadvertently ran a light in Monaco. When the gendarme pulled me over, he took one look at my license and said, "Oh, California" gave me a lecture and sent me on my way.

Some ask for your zip code. Some ask for all sorts of info if you are paying with check or credit card, but others ask for the same info even if you pay cash. They wanna get you in the database and send you mailers. This always raises the question whether dis-information should be provided.

Same answer if you have to return the Elgin Marbles to the Greeks? to the turks surely - they owned greece at the time they were taken As they still "own" parts of Armenia?

Never thought about this before but this caused me to. Since the credit card company charges a percentage, does the restaurant deduct this from tips to servers? Who pays, the restaurant, the server (of course, ultimately the consumer)?

Same answer if you have to return the Elgin Marbles to the Greeks?

One way or another you'd be able to pull rank on Wilfrid even if you had to trace things back to Addison and Steele.