Anne Paris

Regarding the French tendencies on"who pays", in my view several factors support what I experience as equal splitting of a restaurant meal: 1) Certain cultural practices in France seem to reinforce the pride of the French in their “divise” or national motto: Liberté, égalité, fraternité. Equal splitting of the bill is one such example (though I admit not all cultural practices in France reflect this!) 2) The widespread use of "tickets de restaurant" provides a structural mechanism enabling colleagues. no matter what their salary level, to dine together at lunchtime with everyone able pay their own way by handing over the requisite number of meal tickets (about 8.00€) . Most bistros, cafés and many restaurants offer at least one lunchtime "formule" that is just about, or just over the average of 1 to 2 tickets (9€ or 16€). Everyone can order the "formule", plonck down 1 or 2 tickets + one or two coins and the whole meal is covered. I do agree with other posts that context plays the most important role (who did the inviting, differences in age/relationship/socio-economic status). However, all things being equal, the French are totally appalled at those who would sit at the end of a meal calculating exactly what they ate, how much they drank, wither they had dessert or not, etc. They dislike discussing money, and even more so dislike to split hairs about it. Better to moderate one's behavior at the various stages of the process, in selecting the restaurant, or ordering courses by asking "what are you thinking of having?" or declining the dessert because others have done so. As for French tipping practices (nearly non-existant) this is still something I find too "mean". As a former waitress who partially paid college tuition by waiting tables, I still cannot bear to exit a restaurant without leaving a few coins if the service was good. My French & Italian husband believes in the principale that people who work in restaurants should be paid a fair wage, and he believes that the French system of "service compris" indeed provides for fair wages. He therefore finds my need to tip to be an excessive behavior born out of the inherent inequalities that exist in my countries of origin (US & UK).

(Correction: My apologies regarding the credits for reviews on Izote in Mexico DF: it was Esperanza who wrote so eloquantly of her first experience, and Parmhero who more recently added complementary photos. Many thanks, as well, to others of you who have built the thread. I hit "add reply" too quickly. )

Hello, Thank you Parmhero for a superb review a few years back. Having spent a lot of time in Mexico City in the 90's, I have not returned in more than 10 years and am looking forward to new culinary experiences when a group of us travel there next week. I've done a fair amount of research, but would be interested in hearing any recent experiences at IZOTE. We have a reservation for a small group (dinner mid-week) though I understand that Chef Quintana is away. Some of you have mentioned that her presence makes all the difference. Also, any idea of the price range including drinks (sorry to ask, since my personal interest leans more toward quality of the cuisine. However some in our party will surely balk if it's ADRIA level!) Many thanks!

Thank you Tom for the Persain suggestion, and to Heinz, for your analysis and comments on the Remake wine list. Personally, I found that many of the Rheingau Rieslings can be excellent. However, due to preferences at the table on the night we were at Remake, it was decided to go with a well balanced Austrian Red. I agree with the comment regarding asking the staff to ask the chef when you are not satisfied. Just so I'm not misunderstood, I don't mean to single out Remake for bad service, only to indicate that on that particular night, with that particular waitress, the service detracted from what was otherwise an enjoyable experience. Everyone was uncomfortable. We all know that getting the balance "right" between cuisine/kitchen team, table and wine service, restaurant ambiance and pricing/profit model, is always an enormous challenge for a restaurant. Rarely can one find a place where they are all at an equal level of perfection. My feeling is that is important to be a good customer first by establishing with the service staff the right rapport from the start. When this doesn't work for some reason, it helps to guide the staff about your expections ("could you ask the chef how such and such is prepared?"), and if this approach still it doesn't work, I tend to escalate things up the chain, but usually doing it quietly either as a whisper or by excusing myself for a moment to take it up with the MD or chef. The situation becomes more difficult when in a group, and particularly when someone else is has the "honor" of serving as the host. I hope to have a more positive experience to report next time!

Dear e-Gullet, Five Frenchies, and one Franco-American just returned from 5 days in Berlin (October 2006). We found several upper-end establishments to be disappointing in terms of "value for money". Some of the best food and overall experiences were found at the more reasonable end of the spectrum. Below are a few of our Berlin restaurant recommendations (with thanks to others who shared thoughts here and elsewhere!). Bon appétit! ** Anne in Paris ______________________________________________ 1) Lutter & Wegner 56, Charlottenstrasse, Gendarmenmarkt +49 20 29 540 Brasserie style German-Austrian cuisine served in an elegant traditional room lined with contemporary art on the walls. A setting that speaks of both the past and present. Excellent fish and updated versions of many traditional dishes. Reasonable prices 17-25euros/ main course. We found it a very enjoyable experience overall. (Thanks to Ed Ward for his posting on this one). 2) Dachgarten Restaurant (Käfer Berlin) Within the glass dome of the Reichstag we enjoyed superb views over the city of Berlin with inventive cooking coming from the open kitchen. Part of a very successful Munich based restaurant group, and the best way to cut the queues to get into the Richard Foster-designed glass dome of the Reichstag. (Suggested to us by a local) Platz der Republik, 11011 Berlin http://www.feinkost-kaefer.de (German only) Tel. +49 30 22 62 99 0 3) Lunch and Tea spots . . . a) Self-service restaurant in the 7th floor glass dome of the KaDeWe department store (Tauentzienstrasse 21-24 (Wittenbergplatz). (Suggested to us by a local) b) Oxymoron Rosenthaler Strasse, 40-41 (Hackescher Markt) -- German-Italian cuisine in a brasserie-style setting. Very good desserts as well, and just a short walk from the Museum island and Berliner Dom. (Suggested to us by a local) c) Cafe Einstein -- Unter den Linden 42 (at Friedrichstrasse). Not the original, but great stop for coffee and excellent cheesecake, or a glass of wine, while people watching or reading newspapers from around the globe. (Also suggested to us by a local) d) Hotel Adler Bar -- great for tea of hot chocolate if you want to experience the Adler ambiance for "un petit prix". 4) Restaurant Remake -- very good food, nice atmosphere, pity about the service! (Again, thanks to e-Gullet member for posting). 32 Grosse Hamburger Strasse 10115 Berlin http://www.restaurant-remake.de Tel: +49 30 200 54102 Just a few more comments about REMAKE because it was in part through recommendations in e-Gullet that we made the decision to go . . . REMAKE has had a lot of positive press and has been sought after by diners in the know. On the night that we dined, the classical singer Renee Fleming walked in with two others, as she was apparently in the city in preparation for a concert there next month. Our group enjoyed our dinner here, despite what we considered very average service from a young waitress whose primary interest was clearly to make our bill for the evening as high as possible (perhaps presuming a large tip?) The restaurant was conceived by owner Stefan Dreier. Having lost it's original chef, a new duo of Andreas Dietrich and Michel Wendel displayed the talents they developed at several Michelin starred establishments. Their cooking showed both modern creativity as well as respect for traditional German ingredients and cuisine. A very good 4, 5 or 6 course menu was on offer for between 45 and 68 euros, depending on the number of courses. We were impressed and would certainly come back, except . . . our universal complaint about the service was significant. It did not match the quality of the cuisine. Our waitress was not knowledgable about the dishes, and her manner varied form inappropriately informal and lacking in descretion, to outright pushy (when it came to ordering higher priced items) and inattentive (when it came to checking to see if everything was okay). All of us felt the service was not good enough for an establishment trying to pitch a certain degree of sophistication. For example, having ordered our meals, we asked for recommendations on a moderately priced bottle of wine preferably from the region. Our waitress recommended a (hardly local) Spanish Rioja which I quickly noted was listed in euros for the equivalent of USD $120 a bottle. Though we made an alternative choice, we had to stop her from opening a second bottle before we had ordered it. We decided not to go for another bottle since we had already had drinks at the hotel before dinner, and a glass each of champagne upon arrival at Remake. At the end of the meal, we had been through so much with her that there was collective laughter as she tried to push everyone to have coffees. At that point, the few who did want them decided to retract their request. It was enough. Let's hope REMAKE can remake the front of the house so that it is a true complement to what is going on in the kitchen.

I would just like to add my view that obtaining good advice on what to order depends greatly on the CULTURAL CONTEXT in which one is dining. In the USA, where "McDonaldization" and high-pressure marketing have taken hold, staffs tends to be trained to sell, and push specific items on the menu, regardless of their own views (educated or otherwise!). In France, where serving diners is more of a profession in its own right, waiters expect to be consulted by diners. The waiter considers recommending a dish or wine to suit a specific customer to be among his/her main roles. Likewise, the customer knows his role is to interact with the waiter, first to establish rapport, then to indicate interests and preferences, explore options, and generally "engage" in the scene. The wider French culture generally supports the role of the waiter as an expert, guiding a diner through his/her personal dining experience in a genuine fashion. This is exactly how commercial relationships in France, and in Italy to an extent, are organized. Any self-respecting waiter would find it an insult to be told to recommend a dish that he found to be average, overpriced, or past its prime. Likewise, the diner must show he or she is both interested and committed to an excellent dining experience, making it clear that the restaurant and staff are far more than a backdrop for today's business discussion or birthday dinner. I perhaps exaggerate a bit but to make the point that CULTURE plays a very important role in the dining experience (we could all write more here . . . ) My French-Italian husband and I noted in Croatia last year that we had to be carefull not to start off with the French approach (all trusting) but once we established our culinary intentions with the staff, the relationships and the quality of our dining experiences actually unfolded very similiarly as those in France. In London, my experience over the past decade has been that while major improvements have taken place, the culinary landscape is much more complicated. Trusting the staff for advice as one would do in France or Italy can bring very mixed results. The main competence one needs in London is good sensemaking skills, combined with recent restaurant recommendations from a book or list, as no specific approach yields the best service, advice or experience. Finally, (if you are still interested links between wider CULTURE and dining, read on . . .) one can witness the culture of the French expert adviser in action in another context, stopping into FNAC or BHV stores, or at a street food market in Paris on a Saturday morning. You will see something long gone in the USA where marketing has taken away the genuine nature of many commercial relationships, rendering them mere exchanges or transactions. At FNAC it is an interactive performance, with customers asking dozens of questions and receiving detailed advice from knowledgeable staff, then generally relying on that advice to make their purchasing decisions, to good results most of the time. The same experience at street markets has helped me to buy and enjoy foods I had never seen before moving to Europe. Thankfully, restaurants experiences in France remain roughly similar, though one hopes that creeping globalization does not take its toll on the mid-range of this sector anytime soon. Bon appetit!