Michael Laiskonis

Point well taken. I guess the main issue was that I felt, quality aside, I had taken in the same meal, or at least half the dishes, at least twice before. Taking into consideration the value factor... the fact that, if I'm lucky, I can only visit France once a year, and while there, am able to take in maybe just two such dining experiences... I will hesitate before doing Arpège again. It would sound pompous of me to say, "been there, done that," but I do sort of see it that way. As I said, I wish that it wasn't the case. Not to say that Passard needs to reinvent himself, it's just that I would like to see more of the new and less of the old. Am I being unfair?

Steve, Thank you for the flood of taste memories and for wonderfully descibing your experience; I've been wanting to post my thoughts on my recent visit in July, yet have not yet taken the time to pull it all together. Mostly, I'm still trying to grasp just why it is I left vaguely disappointed... We tasted many of the same dishes, as I too chose the Pleinne terre, pleine mer menu (300 euros). I began with a flute of Billecart 1990 and due to the price of the menu and the fact that it was lunch, I economized a bit with a half bottle of Jadot Beaune Grèves 1998. Oh, as with all my meals at Arpège and most other three stars, I dined solo... Might I also confess of a pleasing, ritual pre-meal stroll through the gardens of the Rodin museum across rue de Varenne! I had tasted many of the dishes before- the Oeuf, the Avocat à la crème de sévruga, and the Gaspacho. I always felt the egg almost defied description, yet you did so quite eloquently. Regarding the mustard ice cream, we just might perceive it differently if it was served alone. In tandem with the gaspacho, however, Passard truly defines, as you stated, balance. It is indeed not that sweet; I would attribute its silky texture to either processing in a Pacojet, or merely spinning it at the crucial moment before each service. I've often considered Passard's strength as consistently hitting that mark where a dish becomes greater than simply the sum of its parts. All three of these dishes exemplify this point. I also enjoyed a slight variation of the same lobster dish- in mine, turnips encased the lobster, but the vibrant, honey-based sauce sounds similar. The highlights for me came under the umbrella of what the menu described as a Collection légumière. A beautiful carrot consommé was garnished with a single ravioli, filled with sweet onions. As with all of his consommés I've tasted (I've come to consider his the benchmark)- nearly clear as water, yet so amazingly full of flavor. Then, perhaps the most revelatory for me in it's simplicity, four or five super-thin slices of yellow tomato dressed in a verbena vinaigrette. I found myself almost sucking on those bites of tomato, much like one would a slice of sashimi, savoring the perfect texture and brilliant pairing with the verveine. The Collection was rounded out by a delicate gratin of sweet onions (again), with Parmigiano and a healthy dose of black pepper- the three flavors jostling with each other to arrive at a fourth, ineffable flavor. As a passionate fan of Gagnaire and his, at times, 'manic' layers of flavor, I find Passard's minimalism nearly as intriguing and satisfying! My fish course was also sole, but the specifics aren't clear in my memory. I, too, enjoy the bit of pomp and circumstance with Passard's approach to whole roasted items, presented at table, then whisked away, to return nicely presented on the plate. Perhaps my least favorite dish, however, was the chicken. It returned from the kitchen broken down into several pieces, with all the requisite gizzards and baby root vegetables, but I had the feeling that not a single bone had been removed, resulting in a fierce battle with my Laguiole, trying to get at all the good stuff. Fine, but labor intensive. The difference between the standard cheese cart and that of Arpège, is their emphasis on the bien maturé. (Perhaps they need a reason to justify having red wine on the list!) Like the Salers you tasted, the centerpiece of my selection was a Comté, vintage 1998. Desserts have always let me down some. While the mille feuilles are indeed impeccable, I yearn for desserts that match the creativity and understated innovation of the rest of the menu. Sure, one has the tomato, but he's been doing it so long now, it appears, to me, more like a museum piece. I was grateful, however, that I was able to sample the strawberries and hibiscus. So why did I feel let down? Apart from a few lapses in service, and a wine glass that sat empty for more than a few minutes as the sommelier (only one on duty) fussed over a DRC ordered by a neighboring table (justified?), nothing was necessarily under par. I admire Passard's food and what I understand of his underlying philosophy. I don't even miss the meat, though his foie gras with dates and hydromel ranked as one of my favorite dishes ever. I've never felt less than warmly welcomed and attended to by Laurent Lapaire and on two occasions by Alain himself ( I once was encouraged to join him at table as service ended and was completely dumbstruck, I sat next to Passard unable to constuct the simplest sentence in French! I think I asked him, quite clumsily, how his vegetables were doing!). I guess I'm just wanting him to show me something new. Poring over menus from four visits in five years... too many "signature" dishes. Perhaps I'm at too far a distance to notice subtle shifts and perhaps internal motives, but with this last visit, while the food was so wonderful, Passard failed to amaze me like he had in the past. And I cannot totally dismiss the factor of value. As someone in the business, I appreciate more than most the cost of sourcing such incredible ingredients and all the hands necessary to transform them in the kitchen; I'm still sad to see the prices at Arpège climb so much. The same tasting menu just a year earlier in April 2001 ran 1400 francs, about two-thirds the price, and two years prior the comparable menu was 1200 francs. As a person of modest income, I didn't feel good dropping $450 that afternoon. I wish it wasn't so. Sadly, Arpège will not likely remain a perennial stop for me. Gagnaire will surely remain so. What might fill that void, where I once held Arpège so dear?

I know a young cook who is currently doing a series of stages in France. He went through the kitchen at Trotter's and in the last six months has worked at Jean Bardet in Tours followed by a stint at Lucas-Carton. I will try to contact him and encourage him to share his experience. I'm sure is perspective would be of great interest to many of us!

My wife is a fairly strict vegetarian, and I'll ingest anything... so you can imagine the debauchery that ensues when left to my own devices...

I would be interested in an assessment of the desserts, by Jean-François Bonnet, formerly of Cello. Anyone?...

We hosted a group of New York chefs earlier this year at our restaurant for a September 11th related benefit. Ripert was among them... Super nice guy, which is why hearing of others' disappointing experience is especially sad...

I've been hearing more and more hit-or-miss stories with Le Bernardin lately... If memory serves, my one and only lunch there in '98 was a $50 or so prix fixe with choices, from the entire regular menu, of first course, main, and dessert. I thought it was a decent value. I must say that the most memorable dish I've ever eaten, in my short but rich dining career, came from that lunch at Le B: Skate Sautéed in Goose Fat, Porcini Mushrooms, Confit of Fennel, with a Squab Jus I recently confessed to Eric the significance of that dish for me, and it was nice to see his eyes light up a bit... obviously a favorite of his, too. Isn't the Ripert/Ruhlman book due out soon? Chop, your experience with the late wine is a huge peeve of mine! At recent meal in NYC (tasting menu, "beverage" pairing) at least half of the pours came several bites into the respective course. Annoying, at best!

Yes, natto is perhaps more interesting than delicious. All the comparisons to stinky cheese aren't far off. My favorite part of that episode was Fukui-san's comment at the end of the tasting: "Who will win and who will lose... This is natto gonna be easy!"

In addition, to Bouland's magazine suggestions, Saveurs can be quite accessible, though I tend to pass it over these days. Gault Millau, though not necessarily recipe-oriented, is my current fave, apart from Thuries. I didn't realize Ali-Bab had been translated; I have a 1920s edition (moldy, but a steal!). Lots of fun and surely a hefty (and in my case, smelly) tome. Also would add Ducasse/Dannenberg's Flavors of France and any of Vergé's books as mid-level options.

A must-have book for anyone interested in the current wave of Spanish cuisine: Los Genios del Fuego Quiénes son, cómo crean y qué cocinan 10 chefs de vanguardia Written by Pau Arenós with photographs by Albert Bertran Published in 1999 by Ediciones Peninsula: Barcelona. Amazing! Profiles and some recipes from Joan Roca, Ferran Adria, Jean Louis Neichel, Carme Ruscalleda, Santi Santamaria, Jean Luc Figueras, Carles Caig, Miquel Sánchez Romera, Jordi Parramon, and Joan Piqué. I bought mine a year and a half ago at Librarie Gourmande. Beautiful.

Perhaps a taste of what is produced at El Taller? http://www.tvc.es/cuines/bulli.htm Clicking on the items to the left takes you to the recipe. Notice again the appearance of Balaguer, but neither Adria.

I agree. It seemed as though the the first wave of El Bulli coverage offered only reports of the chefs who had simply had a meal there, whereas here it is nice to see the perspective of a few who actually spent some time in the kitchen. I'm glad that Ken Oringer was inlcuded, as, I think, he is truly filtering the ideas he saw there through his own style, as opposed to merely co-opting some of the dishes. While I never tried the caramel-squab dish at Clio, the celery root mousseline and black truffle fondue (recipe featured in the article) is beautiful, and with that slight dusting of cacao powder, it may even approach... sublime! A few open questions that I hope aren't too far off topic... Apart from constructing the following season's menu, I've always been curious as to what all goes on at El Taller. I assumed that part of its function was to serve as a sort-of in house media production center (a la Trotter's Studio Kitchen). What else do they work on? Do they host other chefs to conceive new ideas? Do they stage classes or special events? Does a portion of the 'regular season' kitchen staff take part in activities there? The El Bulli website, as far as I can tell, offers mostly the philosophy behind it... I recall a Food Arts piece specifically on El Taller quite awhile back, but my memory of details is indeed hazy. Does anyone know if the magazine, Spain Gourmetour still publishes? Apart from being, in essence, one long advertisement for Spanish food and travel, it did run some decent material, including a series of chef profiles; it was one of the first sources that turned me on to Adria, circa 1996-97. I cannot recall the specific organization that published the magazine or exactly how I appeared on (then abruptly disappeared from) their mailing list. I've noticed, on a site related to Montagud Editores, some recipes and writing from Jordi Butron (Espai Sucre, the 'dessert-only' restaurant in Barcelona)... Here's one Here's another Oh, and another OK, one more Nice stuff... Has anyone heard any rumblings of a book project in the works? That would be fun. They did a nice job with Frederic Bau's book, not to mention Oriol Balaguer's. ( There are also some recipes from Balaguer on the Apicius site, some in the book and some not. Here's an example.) If you browse the site you will also come upon some things from Frederic Robert (Pastry Chef at-large for Alain Ducasse, who, as you all must know by now, has produced a pastry companion to the Ducasse 'Grand Livre'). Enjoy. Speaking of Balaguer, I picked up his book, as luck would have it, within a month of being published (in Spanish). Imagine many frustrating hours with the Spanish-English dictionary! Needless to say I was bummed when I learned of the French translation and now doubly bummed knowing that it is in English. Steve, do keep us all posted on the arrival of Alberto's new book!

I once heard from a reliable source that Masaharu Morimoto kept a file of dishes whenever they came to mind, and categorized them by potential themes. He would also do test runs from time to time, replicating, at the very least, the one hour time limit... Would explain his confidence and creativity in Kitchen Stadium.

I'm having trouble remembering the name of the Woody Allen film a few years back... I believe a scene was shot at Mercer Kitchen and featured a glimpse of Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Tadpole, currently showing here, has scenes in both Payard and Café Boulud, but no cameos...

I would be interested in hearing the full story of Ludovic Lefevre's departure from L'Orangerie if any one knows... and what is the lowdown on any of Fred Eric's places? Thanks!

I love the concept of bubble tea and have begun to see variations in the slightly more "haute" realm... One that comes to mind... At a benefit in Chicago earlier this year Grant Achatz of Trio did a "bubble tea" consisting of, I believe, cucmber juice, green tea, a little crème fraîche, a dill ice, and salmon roe as the "bubbles". The whole was served in a cordial glass, straw and all. Cute, and sounds tasty too (didn't get to sample it). I also like the juices/teas with little cubes of flavored agar jelly. Overall, the ones I've sampled have been cloyingly sweet or obviously not made with highest quality product. Like I said, the concept...!

Beachfan, I sampled a Comte, vintage 1998, a few weeks ago at Arpege. Quite interesting! And is La Ferme Saint Aubin the shop that has an adjoining restaurant as well? Remembered it mostly for my first tastes of wines from the Savoie- definately something that is hard to find in the US, at least in my neck of the woods!

Greengage plums. Totally missed them this year.

Most Americans would know chicory as a coffee substitute (roasted and ground) and is quite common in New Orleans where it is added to coffee itself (the name of the specific drink escapes me, though I think the famous Café du Monde serves it). The liquid chicory, as it was explained to me by a French expatriate, is a favorite children's after-school drink, added to hot or cold milk, with a little sugar. I use it in ice creams, sauces, chocolates, etc. The liquid is nice; there can be a bit of guesswork with infusing granules. A little goes a long way! I do not, however, know exactly how the extract is produced. I don't have the bottle in front of me, but the brand is Leroux, dark brown bottle with a yellow cap and maybe 250 ml or so. About 2-3 euros. The few super-marchés I went to didn't carry it. Didn't know about the pet food connection. Intrigued.

My great mission when in Paris was to find a liquid chicory extract that a chef friend turned me on to a few months ago. Far and away better than granules. Eventually found it at La Grande Epicerie. Brought back armloads of it.

I always ask for a copy of the menu... On my last visit to Paris, only Arpege offered me the full current menu (I have menus from all four meals there). Passiflore refused, saying that "it was complicated"?! Gagnaire never seems to part with the current à la carte menus, but will let you have the day's/month's tasting menu should you order it. Ditto with Petrossian- last season's menus. Old menus can be fun, but not all that relevant to my meals at Gagnaire and Petrossian. I like to have menus not only as a little souvenir, but as I don't always like to scribble notes during a meal, I find the menu a good reference to aid my memory. I'm trying to think of any instance of denied menus here in the US, but I can't recall of any from my experience. Jordyn- I can't imagine taking snapshots in the dining room... how is that received by the staff?!

Has anyone spent time with Frederic Robert(Alain Ducasse's pastry chef)'s new companion to Ducasse "Grand Livre". I perused it while at Librarie Gourmande, but couldn't part with 160 euros at the time. Does anyone know when Rocco DiSpirito's book is due out? Should be soon...

I, too enjoyed Les Bookinistes a few years back. While I haven't been to any other Guy Savoy owned restaurants, would Les Bookinistes be indicative of the others? And is Ze Kitchen Gallerie all Ledeuil, or in partnership again with Savoy? I remember seeing something in Gault Millau a few months back, but I don't remember...

I enjoy the 7th for all the reasons mentioned above ( quiet, residential feel, the convenient No. 8 Metro line) but I noticed some signs of where the neighborhood may be heading... a gleaming new Lenôtre outlet opened just two weeks ago on the corner of Rue Cler and Rue Champs du Mars, which is nice, but seems a bit out of place, and a little pricey for the neighborhood. The worst is a new 'Seattle style' coffee place on Rue Saint Dominique. I hope that it is no longer there when we return! Might I also add, on the other side of the Invalides, on Rue Bourgogne, Tante Maguerite and Rollet-Pradier, to whom Steingarten gave nods for the best baquette in Paris a few years back. Still, Poujaran gets my vote.

How was I unaware of Bernachon?! I am however still eating my way through chocolates from Herme, Peltier, and Lenotre. I passed on Maison du Chocolat and J.P. Hevin (nice new shop on La Motte-Picquet) this time around. Apart from L'Etoile d'Or, I now also regret not getting to Cluizel's shop on Rue St. Honore while I was nearby (sort of) at E. Dehillerin. Apart from the Palets d'Or, what other chocolates are noteworthy in that line? Is there, I presume, a Bernachon shop only in Lyon?