Catriona

The all-day meeting I had yesterday included a lunch: cold salmon, a selection of salads (green, mixed bean, fennel, tomato and mozzarella), a cheese plate and a fruit bowl. Bread rolls were available. I'm a big fan of having something which resembles "real food" rather than sandwiches, especially in the context of a long meeting. It looks much more as if an effort has been made, and even if you only take a 5 minute break while people serve themselves from a buffet it gives people the illusion that they have had a proper lunch "break".

Re summer soups - yogurt, cucumber and mint... Gazpacho (possibly with the garnishes sold separately? Slightly gimmicky but cute.)

The Cuckoo Club's food isn't bad, though nothing earthshattering. Pleasant enough, but it's light years from being somewhere I would feel comfortable. Lots of blondes in spaarkly dresses dancing on tables downstairs. Service in the restaurant is charming, dramatically different downstairs.

I would add my name to the "nice but not worth a detour" team. I went last summer with a group of girls (and I freely acknowledge that when dining in a group of 10 you can't expect the best service), and we were rather underwhelmed, with both food and service. The service was just rather inelegant. Fair enough, it's a pub, and we were a large all-female group, we weren't expecting much more. I had the potted shrimps, which I liked more than Matthew did in his first post - I don't recall mine being anything other than as you'd expect, none of that prawn cocktail nastiness (thankfully). I then had a steak with marrow, which was a very nice piece of meat, well cooked. Triple cooked chips were as per Matthew's second post and made me feel ill, and the fat that lined the inside of my mouth refused to budge for hours. Nasty. Treacle tart with milk icecream was chosen in part so that the ice cream would cleanse my palate of the fat from the chips, and sadly didn't do the job, although it was perfectly ok.

I'll let them know!

Thank you, John! So, Bofinger's earliest sitting (as with la Coupole, also a Flo restaurant, and one of our first ideas) is 6:30. Les Grandes Marches is indeed open again (as of March), and says it's open from 9am to 4am. I'm holding that option open, but your "never great" comment isn't encouraging. Entre les Vignes: nope, too early. We have become more creative... looking for somewhere on a direct metro between home and the opera, and we've hit on the Cafe de L'Esplanade - not wonderful food, that's for sure, but it's a nice place, it will be warm and welcoming, and it's a gorgeous walk down avenue de Breteuil and around the Invalides and a nice view of the Ecole Militaire... the metro station is just outside and it'll be easy for them. Still a little bit fashionable, and all of that orange and gold and swags of material will be a suitable start to the evening. (I wish we could have had tickets to the real Opera house, rather than the nasty Bastille). They serve food all day, and from what I've eaten there before (it's a regular stopping-off-place on our sunday walks) they should enjoy it. John - sending us to an Irish bar? Really! They will have just arrived from Dublin on the Friday evening. And Dad's first job was with Guinness. How sweet of you to put together a trip down memory lane for him on his birthday...

To resurrect an old topic with (selfishly) my own query. My parents are coming to Paris next weekend for a celebration (Dad's birthday). We're sending them to the opera on Saturday night, and we'll need somewhere to have something to eat before. Something near where the 7th and the 15th meet, or near the Bastille would be ideal, but the main issue is timing: the opera starts at 7:30. Eating afterwards is a non-runner. So, in short, can anyone recommend anywhere decent (we know we're not going to somewhere "stellar" with these limitations, so budget probably isn't going to be an issue - the really high-end places won't be serving) that will be open at about 5:30? Thanks!

The 15th around rue Lecourbe - the market on ?Thursday mornings on avenue de Saxe, the fishmongers and fromageries on rue Lecourbe.

I like to just nibble on them, as they are... They're also good as a crust on a steak.

thinly sliced in a fruit salad... It's such a delicate flavour, you have to be careful not to overpower it. I think I've only ever eaten it like that (raw, and on its own or mixed with other fruit)

rbailin A cote would surely mean side by side, no? I may be wrong...

The alternative would be to take the air france coach to porte maillot, (or Etoile) but that's pretty much a desert in terms of good eating (as far as I know!). We had friends who had a 4 hour layover and came to visit us via the coach, which was lovely, but it was tough to find somwehere nice to feed a crustacean-hating coeliac (we could have had a nice fruits de mer platter, if that had appealed to her) within sight of the bus stop.

oh my god, that looks so good! Can I have one for breakfast?

I'm loving this, Johnny. My parents have a house in the west of Ireland (the other side of the pond to you) and their neighbour is a lobster fisherman. His name is Johnny... He's brought us back some delicious little beasties from his haul...

Simple foods. I'd spend my time doing what I do on saturdays - hang out at my husband's apartment in Paris and spend every day putting together the evening meal. Taste new things, and indulge in favourites: fresh, ever-so-slightly chilled prawns with home made mayo. Open Crabmeat sandwiches. Marron glace ice cream. cold cold champagne with petits fours. Smoked salmon from the Connemara Smokehouse. Supper at my mama's house. One thing in particular: sharing meals with the people I love.

Congratulations on sleeping well last night, and enjoy the rush of positivity! I'm having the same today. I'm so impressed that you scheduled this pom-obsessed blog to coincide with a recent visit to a pom exhibition.

is it those onion things? Damn work-induced memory loss, I can't remember the name.. (thanks for answering my query on your living arrangements, btw)

Mark, How does a "legalised squat" work? Forgive me, and ignore me if you wish, I'm a Property lawyer!

This makes me want to book a trip home... If only I could guarantee the company!

I'm just jealous of sharonb's Laguiole knife above...

I think I may be Charlie's neighbour. I live less than 10 minutes walk from Bacchus (most of it along the battleground that is Hoxton Street ). If you're a shrinking violet you're not going to be comfortable in Bethnal Green/Mile End either... Or most of Manhattan or plenty of other places. In fact, sunbeam's comment that "the surrounding area is rough - shops resembling fortresses, low rent hi rise housing and dodgy people shuffling about with their hoods up" could probably describe about 80% of London. Depending on how you feel about walking, you cold walk comfortably from Mile End to Bacchus... we walked home after our supper there, and I was in Wapping at the time. And I had new stilettoes on.

I say bacchus for the relaxed atmosphere and the delicious food. Make sure you have the rabbit mousse.

Oh, I can't wait!

My parents were there last week for their wedding anniversary, they had good things to say about the fish soup. Apparently the scallop main was very good - with an enormous number of good scallops. Bill for 2 (starters, mains, a shared pud and - if I know them - a glass each of what they said was a good wine) for something in the region of €120.

Uhh... I googled Ragazzo and I got "Ragazzo is a stallion with an outstanding temperament, great charisma and a most positive approach to everything he is asked to do" ... ← Hilarious! I love the idea of a stallion having a "positive approach to everything he is asked to do". Ragazzo = kid/young guy in italian.