SDyson

A couple of suggestions - if you head into the southern Rhone Le Grand Pre is exceptional. Also La Beaugraviere in Mondragon (if the truffle season has started). Guy Julien's truffle and potato salad is worth driving further than from Lyon for! You could also try a truffle omelette at the Richerenches Saturday morning truffle market. At Richerenches the serious truffle selling action is round the corner from the little retail market.

Les Papilles might fit your bill. It's a 4 course daily set menu - about 31 euro last time we were there. The food has a modern edge and it is very seasonal. It's definitely informal - but you need to be able to cope with closely spaced tables. You do meet the nicest people that way though. Website is lespapillesparis.fr

It's interesting how different eyes view similar experiences. In both cases (Mark Bittman and us) we're visitors to Paris, and so form our opinions on fewer visits than locals might but we reached quite different conclusions. We've eaten at three of these places (not L'Epigramme) but when we make suggestions to friends our order of recommendation would be quite different. (I guess we're not too far apart though because we'd happily recommend all of the three we've been too, just in a different order.) The one we've enjoyed the most - and which everyone we've recommended it to who's then been has uniformly reported back on with pleasure - is Les Papilles. The things that mildly irritated Mark Bittman didn't worry us at all when compared with the quality of the food, the appeal of the wine list and the convivial atmosphere. We think it's one of Paris's best value dinners. We also enjoyed his favourite Le Gaigne. Excellent service, including great tolerance, via email, as we changed the number of people in our booking twice, which can't have been convenient for such a small restaurant). But, despite that, it didn't inspire us as much as Les Papilles, and we'd have it as the third choice in this lot. I think it seemed less sure of what it wants to be. There was quite a bit of variation in the style and feel of each dish. Some were pure bistro and others quite complex with aspirations to grandeur. I'm sure this variation made us less comfortable with the whole experience. More proof that daring to comment about restaurants is a very subjective game.

I can add a couple of extra suggestions to your list, mainly places that are open without needing an appointment. If you're going to be there during vintage then it's probably better to stick to the places that are set up for visitors. In the smaller vineyards, where the vigneron takes time out from his or her work to show you the vineyard and give you a tasting, they will be frantically busy then. And even places that are open to the public close for a couple of hours for lunch (including Domaine Tempier) - in Provence commonsense still rules at lunchtime. If you get to the area around Mormorion, Château Unang is also worth a visit. Like Fondreche and Pesquie already mentioned, they're another Ventoux producer that's improving the quality of Ventoux wines (disclaimer - we import Unang wines to Australia). Our other favourite is Saint Jean du Barroux, which we also import, but Phillipe Gimel, one of the most passionate vignerons in the Ventoux, is very much a one man band and so not likely to be available during vintage. He welcomes visitors, providing you're willing spend time in the vineyard, without which he says you can’t understand his wines. If you were to visit him you'd agree. Château Valcombe (near Mazan and Fondreche) is also is open to the public without appointment. (Its owner Paul Jeune is also a producer in Châteauneuf du Pâpe and he has a wine shop in Avignon called Le Vigneron Rebelle, which has some great wines.) In the Luberon, Chateau Val Joannis and Chateau la Canorgue are two good addresses as well. In Gigondas, there is a tasting centre in the heart of the village which carries the wines of many of local producers. It's a good way to try this excellent appellation.

maybe it's too late but another option (and where we'd go if we had one night) is inopia - www.barinopia.com

I would add the Nice bistro La Merenda to your list. You won’t find any better interpretation of Nicoise dishes than's Dominique Le Stanc’s pasta with pistou, stuffed sardines, tripe à la Niçoise, daube of beef, or tourte de blettes. There’s no phone (or credit cards, or seats with backs) so you’ll need to call in to make a reservation. The address is 4 rue Raoul Bosio.

It's also a good way to get the low down on a Chinese restaurant - any worth their salt will make their own. It's often not offered as a matter of course but it's always worth asking - especially if you're eating dumplings or noodles or something else it's likely to go well with. It's very addictive.

A meal I ate at Itinéraires late last year might qualify here. The dishes - even though on the blackboard most sounded quite straightforward - all had enough creativity to surprise (with pleasure) and were all delicious. Maybe the idea for the especially good jerusalem artichoke soup with a foie gras granita on the side that gradually melted into the soup was inspired by the grated frozen foie gras dish from New York’s Momofuku Ko that became instantly famous earlier last year, but even if it was, it was a sufficiently different to qualify as creative in its own right and was more satisfying than the Ko dish on a chilly November day. Neither main ingredient - the jerusalem artichokes or the foie gras - are particularly unusual but the unexpected way they were used qualified it one of my more creative 2008 dishes. Other more familiar sounding dishes, such as the mont blanc, were also uniquely interpreted. (I think that means my definition of creative is something I would/could not have imagined myself, have not seen elsewhere, and to be worth mentioning, also tastes delicious. For the restaurant to qualify as creative, most, if not all of the dishes, would need to meet the criteria.)

I ate angulas here early in April 2007 (I think we had one of the last servings for the season) so they should be still available in March if they've had a sufficient supply. From memory, they keep them in running water somewhere near the restaurant and only kill them as required so that may be how they prolong the season. I'd certainly try them if you have the chance. You should be able to negotiate as many courses as you would like - it would be a shame to limit yourself just to a couple because the dishes are so memorable. Surprisingly it's not overwhelmingly filling either, apart perhaps from the very beautiful beef. I certainly wouldn't miss Etxebarri on any account.

A couple of years ago I had a really good meal at Le Chiberta, which might fit the type of experience you're after. Great service, beautifully-cooked and presented food, a room that feels special, but prices that aren't as stratospheric as the 3 star alternatives.

I think finding Etxebarri has just become much easier for English speaking visitors. There's now a website with an English language version, which has detailed instructions on how to find it. Unlike GPS directions, Etxebarri's description takes account of the interminable roadworks that add to the challenge. You can also make reservation requests from the website. I had a different response to the bread and butter - I can still remember it from over a year ago as one of the most deliciously simple things I've ever eaten.

I'm pleased you asked that question - I didn't know Les Papilles had a website and while I was looking for a photo to point you to so you could see how the tables are arranged I found it - www.lespapillesparis.fr. It brings back lots of good memories. It looks like the price may have gone up to €31 - still a bargain. I've only ever been for dinner but they are open for lunch, possibly with a lighter menu. As you'll see from the photos on the website, it's small but there are separate tables, albeit closely spaced. Another good prix fixe set menu option is Spring. There's lots of information about Spring on e-gullet and Daniel Rose has a web cam so you can watch a meal being prepared if you want to. If you're looking for a communal table then La Cave de l’Os à Moelle is a good option.

I'm not a local so I'm sure others who live in Paris can give a more comprehensive list of suggestions but if it was me I would probably reserve at Les Papilles to sit at the bar. It's a set 4 course menu and was 28,50 euro the last time I was there. The food is excellent and it's very convivial (probably partly because it's so tiny but also I think sharing the same dishes as the people around you often encourages conversation). It's not exactly near your hotel but it's not too far away either and everywhere in Paris is easy to get to if you use the metro - it's much better than getting a cab. The closest station is Luxembourg.

Restaurant Magazine has also just released its list of best regional recommendations (the best restaurants that aren't in the top 50 or 100). For France they are: Mirazur in Menton Le Baratin in Paris Sa Qua Na in Honfleur Thierry Marx, Chateau Cordeillan-Bages in Bordeaux Pic in Valence

Our favourite is Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken (stall 10 at the Maxwell Road Hawker Centre in Chinatown), which we discovered by reading the print version of Makansutra. We haven't been there for many years (although we're looking forward to trying it again in about 4 weeks) but nothing we've read in the meantime suggests it's lost its reputation. You'll probably have to queue - but only briefly.