sethd

I always ask for a copy of the menu at the end of my meals in two and three star restaurants in France and have never been refused, including my January, 2007 lunch at l'astrance, Often, as at Le Cinq and Ledoyen I received a printed, customized menu.

BPS, I would also agree with you that the service at l"arpege is superb. I have eaten at L'arpege in January, June, and September. The September menu was much more vegetable heavy than the meals earlier in the year.

FYI the corn ravioli is back on the menu.

In general, I think Sneakeater's comment is on point. But I would tack on to it that it often depends very much on who that single diner is. For my part, I frankly would have been way out of my league at Masa if I'd have gone alone. My friend's knowledge of Japanese and his repartee with the chef helped mitigate that awkwardness for me. I'm not sure it would have gone as smoothly otherwise. Masa is not a place I would call "welcoming" in any sense of the word. That said, I don't think one's enjoyment of the food at Masa has anything to do with experience. I, the sushi novice, loved it as much as my friend the Japan-traveled expert. The food is, I think, just incredibly, incredibly good. And at the end of the day, that more than makes up for anything else. ← Thanks again.

Tupac, what kind of experience would a single diner have at Masa?

As mentioned above (sorry, i was called away while writing the above post), my experiences in ducasse's restaurants have always been superb. Perhaps, it helps to be a regular customer. My first meal at ADPA was a lunch in June, 2006. They rolled out the red carpet for me, i had the more expensive of the two tasting menus, a complimentary desert, and the opportunity to taste all the rums with my baba. I had a L Jadot Batard Montrachet as well. My last meal at ADPA was in September, 2007. This time they offered to cook for me and gave me a tour of the kitchen and I met both Chef Moret and Chef Ducasse. As for being a great fan of ALain Ducasse: I have always enjoyed his cooking and as mentioned I have never had a bad experience in any of my eighty meals at his restaurants. I have also appreciated how forthcoming his management team in in arranging dinner reservations for me at both his restaurants and other michelin starred restaurants in Paris.

BPS, Bar and Boeuf was not open when I was in Monaco at the end of April.. I will be in St. Tropez for a day in September and I am not sure the hours of operation of Spoon Byblos. I will have to look at the Louis XV menu that I have to list my top three dishes at Louis XV. What I do remember is that the deserts, including the Baba, the classic fraise de bois, and chocolate raspbery, were awesome. It is hard for me to compare Louis XV with ADPA. FIrst, my meals at Louis XV are more recent in my memory and I had the opportunity to sample almost every dish on the menu; also my meal in the aquarium is one of the best dining experiences I have ever had.

I was very unimpressed with the service at Robuchon. They tried to usher me out of the restaurant as quickly as possible. It was my shortest michelin starred meal I have ever had. If I had a choice of other memorable meals on the Rivera close to Monaco I would suggest Chevre d'Or in Eze for lunch (where you can appreciate the wonderful view as well as the great food) or mirazur in Menton.

Adour has neither had consistent praise from professional critics nor members of this board and others of its type. Ducasse has consistently been held to a different standard than any other top chef in new york.

I agree. I have had four excellent meals at Benoit. My recent meal at Adour on Saturday night was superb: the best of the dozen or so I have had there since January. ' I can't understand why Ducasse can't seem to get a break from new york's critics, both amateur and professional. Jealousy perhaps? The desire to bring a chef who is at the pinnacle of his craft down? Misunderstanding of who he is and what he tries to accomplish as a chef?

The Bar at the Hotel de Paris, the Bar Americaine, shouldn't be missed. Perfect place to go for a digestif after Louis XV: it is right across the lobby from Louis XV, has a jazz trio playing, and the scenery is superb and memorable. If you can leave Monaco, Restaurant Mirazur in Menton is a one star michelin restaurant, very reasonably priced, and superb in its own right. Hope you enjoy Louis XV: I had seven wonderful meals there in early May.

Although I have never enjoyed my meals at Daniel, there is no doubt that Daniel far surpasses EMP in terms of the overall dining experience. I was thoroughly unimpressed with my one meal at EMP last fall. The service at EMP was not up to par.

Actually, I disagree. One of my many problems with Daniel is the price, especially the number of supplemental charges that are found on a typical Daniel dinner menu. ← I would agree, it's one of the few restaurants that I think is significantly out of line. Aside from the hilarious caviar supplement, I only see three supplemental charges on the current menu. But I do think having any supplemental charges when the starting price is $105 is kind of petty (then again even sky-high-priced Per Se is not immune to this). All that said, I would never just do three courses at Daniel (or any restaurant with similar aspirations, for that matter). But that's just me. ← However, usual the only supplemental charges at Per Se are for the Foie Gras and the Wagyu Beef.

Thank you for such a wonderful review. It is great to read that L'Arpege is still a wonderful and memorable place to have a superb meal. Especially with the rumors found on this page during the winter that Arpege was in danger of losing a star.

Actually, I disagree. One of my many problems with Daniel is the price, especially the number of supplemental charges that are found on a typical Daniel dinner menu.

I know that Bruni is recognized at the best restaurants in New York. I was told by jean georges himself that I was sitting next to him at the bar during the time he was reviewing the restaurant. The top restaurants often let their competion know his disguises and pseudonyms as well.

Perhaps the problem with servers in new york city restaurants is the lack of a "trained professional waitstaff. Most people employed in all but the city's best restaurants are not professionals, but rather actors, models, singer hopeful's who are working in restaurants to help pay the rent. I am not surprised that Bruni had such an issue with the service at Ago. I am surprised, though, when I go to a three star NYTimes restaurant and get inferior service.

Les Ambassadeurs at the Crillon has had female sommeliers as recently as September, 2007.

I had a very disappointing dinner at Gordon Ramsey last night. The food was lukewarm, the portions tiny, and the sevice, especially the wine service, was mediocre. The first two wines I ordered were unavailable. I was in shock, that has never happened in any of the fine dining restaurants I have ever eaten at. I was not offered a cheese course. My captain took my food order and then was never seen again at my table. All in all, an extremely mediocre, yet expensive dinner.

It's probably been two years now since I last dined at ADNY. Can you describe from memory the difference between the that Baba (or the the one at ADPA or Louis XV) and the one at Benoit? I'm curious to know if I'm on the mark or just have a faulty memory. Maybe I was just more tipsy after a long meal at ADNY and in a better mood by the time dessert came along. ← Can do better since I had the Benoit Baba last week and the Baba at Louis XV yesterday. Your memory is accurate. THe Benoit Baba was stale, the rum poured over the baba, no choice of rum was offered. The Baba's at ADNY, ADPA, and Louis XV were fresh and wonderful. 5 or 6 different rums were offered at all three restaurants. In Monte Carlo, you are left to add the whipped cream to the rum soaked baba. At ADNY, it was all done for you by the captain, the same at ADPA. Hope this helps.

I also agree that the Baba at Benoit is not comparable to the one at ADNY. The Rum was not heated at ADNY. Nor is it heated at ADPA or Louis XV.

I think that could be said of Adour as well

Funnily enough, it's a far better website than Adour got. Two months after it opened, the website still has no online menu or wine list.I'm going to Benoit tomorrow night. They called to advise it's BYO, as they don't yet have a liquor license. ← There is a menu available on the Adour website. and was available the day the restaurant opened. Check under "facts" on the site. Secondly, I asked about not having the wine list available on line: they mentioned that the wine list was constantly in flux and would be hard to keep the website version up to date.

Which restaurants in midtown look like Balthazar? Second, I think the "perceived failure" at ADNY was as much a reflection of new york city tastes as it is was a failure in food or service or concept. In fact, as I have said on this board, under the direction of Tony Esnault the food at ADNY was perhaps the best executed in the city. Third, many three and four star restaurants are not full on Tuesday evenings, especially recently.

depending upon the location and pricepoint, that's precisely what they sometimes do consider (using our names in the generic sense). Ducasse has failed here twice already...and Adour isn't exactly full...though it does seem to be doing a fair amount of hotel business. there are plenty of restaurants in midtown with similar menus. I'm sure Benoit will execute better than them. he might do just fine on tourist and business traffic. but that would be a sad reflection on the Ducasse name. ← I ate at Adour twice last weekend, and despite both my reservations being at 5.30pm the restaurant was FULL. Where are all the "high quality" french bistros in midtown manhattan that you talk about? Can you name some?