JeffKoontz

Now I'm at 2 years in a row with the dreaded -aforementioned email. Both times requesting any date on their calendar. I'm flexible - I'll build my vacation around it, buy alas, not in 2010 apparently.

I was at EMP last Friday, and I have to say in retrospect it was a fantastic experience in every way. My wife and I did the Eleven Gourmand tasting menu. I'm going to have a tough time detailing each and every course, but across the board it was wonderful. My wife does not eat seafood, and as a result they were happy to sub out some of her courses, and what she got in place, were some fantastic items. A spectacular tartare with pickled veg around it, a suckling pig course, are the two that really stood out. The seafood was wonderful as well.. there was a sabayon in an egg shell that was extremely tasty - and I'm trying to remember the fish in the broth with the beans - another great course. But then a couple of things really shot the dinner over the top. When the meat courses came out for my wife (substitute), the kitchen delivered the full portion course (as opposed to a tasting menu size) - which was fine by me for sampling both, but as the meal went on, I started getting nervous about being able to finish. Then the final course came out (right after a veal course, that you could cut the veal with a fork it was so tender).. Two runners came out with their signature whole muscovy duck in lavender and honey with the giant sprigs of (rosemary? -or were they lavender?).. It was embarrassing - thinking that the whole duck was for the two of us. It was spectacular - and while we were in the middle of that course, Chef Humm came around and we chuckled about the courses and some of the portions - and about the size of the duck. He said they were talking about that in the kitchen, and for us to not feel obligated to finish the duck (we took a doggy bag).. Really, the duck alone was worth the trip. But then, sensing our food fatigue, our waiter offered us the opportunity to stretch our legs with a kitchen tour, which is always a welcome diversion and fun to see the workings of a kitchen nearing the end of service.. (as well as allowing us to catch our breath before tackling cheese and dessert). The meal finished off with some good cheese selections - a deconstructed malted milk shake pre-dessert - which was fantastic, and then this wonderful peanut/chocolate bar, with popcorn and popcorn dust. For dessert we were offered a couple of glasses of a lightly sparkling red italian dessert wine, and then the usual mignardises and coffee. There was good interaction with the staff, they were perfect in terms of service, and by the end we were really enjoying ourselves a lot. It's good that we were, as we were there a little earlier than our 8:30 res, and left at about 1am. Bravo..

Unfortunately, as far as food goes, I've never taken a camera to dinner - not that I have a stance one way or another about taking pics of dinner, just that I'm not comfortable and relaxed at dinner if I'm worrying about photos. There are photos of Pierre Gagnaire on this forum if you do a search.. Both were fantastic, and if you stay at Les Crayeres, I can't imagine a better 1-2 punch than dining and staying there.

I'll put a caveat that I do not have a great memory to menu details, but can definitely give my impression and opinion on the various wonderful meals we had with highlights. (For the entire trip we ate lunch on the run - a baguette here, a crepe there - the only sit downs we had were dinner - so if you're wondering about lunch...) Friday June 29 - A little foolishness to start the night - venturing out without reservations, we decided to try a place that takes none - and as we were arriving on the late side of things were turned away by Atelier du Joel Rubuchon (and Cafe Rive Gauche), we were able though to find a table for two at the Ferme St. Simon (7th arr) - who were kind enough to accommodate us at the tail end of service. The Cote de Boeuf for two was very good - I believe with a very tasty bone marrow sauce - The place was cozy and the service was very friendly and unassuming. I'm not sure I'd go way out of my way to dine here, but was a very pleasant unexpected surprise (we were getting desperate). Saturday June 30 - An e-Gullet recommendation - Ze Kitchen Galerie (Latin Quarter)- What a great meal - very difference from many of the other restaurants we visited. Wasn't sure the wait staff was as happy to have a couple of English speakers - but it sure wasn't reflected in the food. Sorry, having a real difficult time remembering specifics - but we would definitely go back. Sunday July 1 - Bofinger (Bastille) - Wanted to sample the traditional Parisian Brasserie and got it in spades. Probably should have gotten the oysters, but got the Charcroute and a bottle of Gewürztraminer and my wife was over-ruled by our waiter on the Andouillet AAAAA - we saw this later on a plate - I think she could have handled it - but ended up with veal. The Charcroute was great with the different meats and heaping piles of sauerkraut kept warm over a table top warming tray. Dessert was a little over the top - we split the Baba, and our waiter drowned the cake in the rum, and then as if to challenge us, left the rest of the bottle on the table. Clearly a ploy - it needed no more. Great experience overall.. Monday July 2 - Pierre Gagnaire (8th)- thanks to e-Gulleters again for recommending the ala carte options over the degustation. Each course came with 5-6 variations on the theme. Pre-amuse, Amuse, snacks for the apertifs - and then (I'm getting ahead of myself - Grand Desert de Pierre Gagnier - 9 different desserts per order - that's right, 9 - fortunately we just ordered one dessert less the need to pull a couple of tables together - Actually a table of 4 across from us ordered 4 grand desserts - it was insanity) - Started with the lobster - unbelievable - wife had a mushroom dish that should have included a seafood component - they replaced it with this piece of architecture that was nowhere to be found on the menu - and I can't imagine where/how they produced this item (needed a pic of this one). Main course - My wife had the lamb - fantastic - we loved the lamb sweetbreads. I can't remember what I had (maybe too much wine). I'm probably not being as detailed as I need to be to adequately describe how good this meal was - Fantastic innovation - and fantastic service. One of my favorites of all time. Tuesday July 3 - Les Crayeres /Reims - (Great Hotel as well) - dinner was superb, although they didn't have the flexibility to trade out the seafood dishes for my wife on the Champagne Tasting menu - so we went ala carte again. Got a bottle of Gosset Rose (some good vintage year that the sommelier recommended) - interesting note was that we saw the exact same bottle recommended by the sommelier at Pre Catalan Thursday - Curious??) I will say that we had an exceptional meal, but was unfortunately on the heels of Pierre Gagnaire. They offer coffee in their bar area - which I highly recommend - a true 'Great Gatsby' experience. The Cafe Les Crayeres was also superb - essentially an Irish coffee with a champagne grappa (or thereabouts as well as I could drag a comparison in English out of the bartender) The creme on top was a creme that had been frothed in the espresso machine and then whipped into a tight meringue and spooned on top. Wednesday July 4 - Brasserie Le Bouingrin /Reims - Another traditional brasserie, but being in Reims the highlight was just about any Non-Vintage 750ml bottle of Champagne from about 30 houses were all priced at 40 Euro's each. In the good ole US of A, there wouldn't have been a bottle under $90 at a restaurant. I think we went with the Taitinger - having toured their cave on Tuesday. Hard to remember too many details - had a very respectable escargot for my entree, and a dessert that integrated the Fossier biscuit - which is a bit overhyped yet tasty biscuit. (Having been to the shop now, I can say that their fresh macaroons, and liquor filled chocolate corks are better) Thursday July 6, Le Pre Catalan / Paris / Bois de Boulogne - A bit out of the way and an expensive cab ride - especially back to our hotel - but I am ahead of myself. Very nice dining room in a park setting - we were towards the back in a room with many windows onto the park. Very romantic setting. The main gentleman serving us, was happy to converse in English and help us with our selections - although - he was, in my mind, almost condescending in his approach to us. He tried to persuade my wife away from some of her choices - that ended up being very good - bone marrow served several ways, Veal sweetbreads. (assumed we didn't know what a sweetbread was) I can't remember exactly what I had Turbot for the main course - The desserts were the highlights -One- an apple dessert in a glucose apple shell with some sort of (I hate to use this as a descriptor) pop-rock type element in the filling. Really, really fun to eat - I was laughing through dessert. What wasn't that fun was that we were presented our check (and a taxi had been called) - we presented our credit card - and as their machines were down at the time, they hand wrote a credit card receipt and delivered it for a signature - unfortunately it was now 30 Euro's higher than the bill. I pointed this out, and they apologized (and put the blame on 'the girl up front' as she's not used to doing it by hand). Although, I give them some benefit of the doubt - I didn't like our server's somewhat patronizing ways, and am hopeful this was an honest mistake. However, after it was corrected, and we arrived at our cab, the meter was already over 20 Euros - some of which, I'm sure was the trip to the restaurant..nevertheless.. All in all, some mighty fine food on this trip - all were great experiences - and the city of Reims itself was a really relaxing and fun city to explore. Good eating... Jeff

My personal listing of good Pittsburgh Restaurants: 1. Dish - great place - always have rotating specials - I'm probably too close to be objective.. but my favorite for a number of reasons. 2. La Foret - Highland park - the best French we have. 3. Alla Famiglia - Great experience - BYOB - but can be pricy - that said, you'll not leave hungry, and it's fantastic. 4. Cafe Du Jour - Bohemian French bistro - great for lunch too - BYOB. Nice patio in the summer. 5. Sarafino's - Family Italian place in Crafton (BYOB) - great pizzas for lunch - good pasta dishes - try the greens and beans for lunch - pretty tasty. (old school - family run place - I think there's a pretty serious liars poker game daily) 6. Nine on Nine - been once recently and was impressed - they are doing pretty good work. 7. Six Penn - who would have guessed from the people who brought you the smiley face cookie?? (you're probably not supposed to know that) (aka - eat-n-park for people out of the area) Overall, not bad - and they have nice chef's seating right at the kitchen counter. 8. Chaya - Sushi in Squirrel Hill - you may have to wait but it's worth it. The popular notion is that Umi is the best of Pittsburgh for Sushi - I'd say Chaya.. 9. Eleven - Pretty solid but expensive. 10. Soba - Pan Asian - several of thier 'bowls' are exceptional. I've not had a bad meal here. 11. Vivo - also very good italian - (if you are a southsider and need a break from Dish and Alla Famiglia) BYOB 12. Sunnyledge - normally known as a bed and breakfast - but it's a restaurant as well and a pretty good one at that. 13. Lidia's - took me a while to take a liking to, but pretty consistantly good, and one of the best brunches in town. 14. Ibiza - Spanish tapas place - good place for tapa's - haven't heard good reviews on entree's, but haven't ordered them either - always just go for a tapas selection and a wine flight or sangria. 15 Tusca - New Spanish Tapas place in the Southside works - what we had was good but new and getting the kinks out. 16. Enricos biscotti- in the strip on a Saturday check out the little restaurant in the back of the place - good eats - and they make my favorite sicilian pastry the "sfagliatelli". (Although - show up late and they run out) 17. Kaya - Good Carribean style food 18. Casbah - How can I forget - with a name like Casbah and mediterranean food moniker - don't be fooled - a lot of traditional French technique and more of a European influence than anywhere else.. (in other wors -its not grape leaves and cous-cous - more like Braised short ribs, and risotto) 19. Mad Mex - might as well throw in the entire 'Big Burrito' restaurant group portfolio - good tex-mex style food - good burrito's - try the Carnitas - a little different with the pork and cornbread.. 20. Fat Heads - haute cuisine it is not - but for the best sandwiches in the city, and a great beer selection, it can't be beat - also, the wings are (imho) the best in Pittsburgh - and specifically - the spicy parmesean. 21. Tram's Kitchen - hole in the wall place that does a pretty good bowl of Pho. 22. Bruschetta's - contemporary Italian place in Southside - but go there for lunch and get the lunch pasta special - it's a build you're own pasta with the best lunch value in the city. I could go on - I'm not enamoured with anything on Mount Washington - Monterey Bay is good, but not great - and about everything else up there is an overpriced disappointment - although - Isabellas has hope. The worst up there has to be the Tin Angel. They make a big to do about Bill Clinton taking John Major there for dinner - makes me embarrassed to have had that restaurant represent Pittsburgh. There's a collection of dusty oscillating fans up on a ledge above the tables, and while the view is good - it's a collosal disappointment from a food sense. Mallorca - the first time you go - you are blown away - especially if you get the $50 Stuffed Lobster Tail, or the Delmonico (that should be free if you finish it in under an hour). The service is always superb and it is great for a group of people. That said, if you go there a few times, some of the luster wears off.. Le Pommier - I found the food to be pretty good, but I was not impressed with the attitudes of the servers.. seemed a little aloof and not terribly friendly - I'd go back for the food, but my wife was sufficiently miffed by the servers. I better just post this - I eat out way too much..and could go on. Oh before I forget - the dining at Nemacolin was surprisingly good - Lautrec hold's its own pretty well.. It gets forgotton about but between Pittsburgh and Buffalo (as the crow flies) is a place called Glendorn (Bradford, PA) - mighty good eats there - but I'm not sure you wouldn't have to stay there. (not sure where you would drive from just for dinner - pretty remote) I didn't mention it, but Bonna Terra in Sharpsburg is on my list -just haven't gotten there yet..

I would second that - although those braised short ribs are pretty damn good. I amazed that I still remember how really good the food was, even though we asked to change tables midway through our meal (due to some screaming me-me's at a table no more than 8 inches away from ours) and still had problems conversing over the din of the cackling clientele.

It looks like this string is a few weeks old, but oddly enough, my wife and I found our experiences to be at a bit of odds with many posters here. If I was to critique any of the establishments being debated in this thread it would be Arzak. (which by the tone of the posters here would seem to be heresy) However, Can Fabes, was my personal favorite, and Commerc24 a close second. Though neither establishment is remotely comparable to each other. Still looking for the white wine back in the states we had at Commerc24- something like Guitian Godello (sp??).. We actually stayed two nights in the little attic suite at Can Fabes, and ate two nights in a row at Can Fabes and they made a genuine effort to provide two unique dining experiences. Perhaps the second night was even better, due to the fact that they had to be a little more inventive and Santi came up with some alterations to the menu that we had the second night, which included a fabulous Rabbit served tableside for two. There were other great dishes as well - and unfortunately, since it's been 9 months. The only downside to our second night, was that we were at the F1 qualifying and the heat from Saturday made Saturday nights dinner feel a little more like a marathon.. but it was back to back, two fantastic meals. The maitre d'/manager was an absolute star.. we saw him again on Sunday morning early ironing tablecloths as we checked out and had a nice conversation. I hate to go into too much detail on Can Fabes (but it was so good) as this is a Commerc24 discussion, but at Commerc, we walked in without a reservation and while they were full, they were able to fit us in at the end of the bar where the bar becomes a table in front of the wine racks. This also was a fabulous meal.. Many of the pictures in the start of this thread evoked memories of our meal.. I can remember a truffled egg that was unbelievable, but just about every plate was a hit. Sea foam chips. The people in the front of the house took good care of us and from both a food and service perspective - we found it to be one of our favorite dining experiences. Much more casual, obvoiusly than Can Fabes or Arzak, but still one I'd reccommend. And for those who wonder about Arzak - the food was good - great in some instances - both younger and elder Arzak were present - but the service was flawed (as I left with food on the back of my jacket unsuspectedly) - and we ran the gamut from crying baby to one side, and people smoking (at the end of their meal), as we moved on to entree's.. Maybe our experience was the exception rather than the rule. Perhaps different people have different experiences - and it's hard to understand why one place on one night works so well for some, and then looks like a waste of calories for others.. Anyhow, I would not hesitate to reccommend Commerc24 or Can Fabes based on my experiences.. and Arzak the food was overall very good.

Second question is regarding lunch - again not mentioned on their site. are they open for lunch and is there a separate lunch menu? They are open for lunch - I was there for lunch in May. The food was outstanding - Both Juan Marie and Elena were both there (Thursday Lunch) and made appearances in the dining room. Kind of funny - Pork Belly mentioned that it was refreshing to have a 'family' restaurant of this quality. I'm not sure exactly what you meant by that - but to my dismay - it meant for me that an infant was at the table behind me - occassionally crying, though not often (thankfully) but enough to give pause to the idea of forking over $400 for lunch. The other unusual aspect - that has become a rare occurance in such establishments - was that in such a small dining room, a party that had finished lunch halfway through our meal, proceeded to light up cigarettes. It's been a few months, and I didn't really take inventory of our entire lunch - The food was great, there were a few service blemishes - A fork was dropped on my shoulder while clearing a course (no big deal) however I had a fairly large white blotch of something on my jacket which I was not alerted to. I wish I could be more descriptive of the food - it was very good and unfortunately the details I am remembering are not of the food. My food memory was erased when I spent two nights at Can Fabes (north of Barcelona) - with dinner both nights.. fantastic! The other really fun aspect of this restaurant was the bathrooms - they are these fantastic glass enclosures with automated lighting, and a glass waterfall sink. Really a low key place, very relaxed, with a fairly modern interior. Perhaps service at Dinner is a bit more formal - but I'd still reccommend it nonetheless..