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"Mon Vieil Ami has closed" Can anyone confirm this?

I think you'll find some useful information in the France section of SlowTravel site.

John, I assume I'm one of those new members your referred to so I think its only right that I be the first to give you an on-line resource that I've found very helpful. It sections on France also lag behing their sections on Italy, but its still worthwhile. The site is SlowTravel where there are trip reports, hotel reviews, and even stuff about how to order in a cafe. There's another part of the site that's a user forum (like this one) which is also useful: SlowTravel User Forum Edited 1/17/07 by John Talbott to add request quote that prompted this post

Repaire de Cartouche sounds good, but Michelin shows it closed on Sundays. I know a brasserie is the usual solution to a Sunday evening, but we'll be going to one after the opera on Tuesday -- so a casual neighborhood bistro for our first evening (Sunday) is what we're looking for.

Last week, we called a couple of restaurants (Aux Lyonnaise and Mon Vieil Ami) for reservations for the week of 19 February. They laughed at us (in a nice way) for being crazy Americans and told us to call back a week or two ahead. On the other hand, Comptoir said they were full, no way - come for lunch. So my question is for a restaurant like Le Cerisaie or Chez L'AMi Jean, how far in advance should we call for dinner reservations to insure we get a reservation but not be labled an obnoxious, anxiois, obsessive, neurotic New Yorker? What about Benoit or Tallivent for lunch?

Any reports on Reminet under the new owners? I'm arriving in Paris in February on a Sunday and the casual bistros that are open is fairly limited. Would Petit Pontoise be a better bet? Any other thoughts for a bistro at less than 50 euro?

There was an interesting bit on NPR (National Public Radio) yesterday about oysters in Paris and particularly La Cabane Aux Huîtres in Montparnesse. You can listen to it by clicking on the link at the NPR site Here

You can make it an all Danny Meyer day. Lunch at Union Square Cafe and supper at the Bar ROom at the Modern. USC food will by very very good but usually not superlative. However, the staff and the generally relaxed atmosphere is wonderful any time of year but especially nice during the holiday season. The Bar Room shoulc/can be coupled with a late afternoon visit to the Museum. WHen you arrive, you can go to the 5th floor Terrace for an espresso or cappacino and a biscotti for a pick-me-up. Then do the museum before supper. The nice thing about the Bar Room is that all their entrees are about 60% of the size of a normal dinner entree and price accordingly. You can have a nice meal with several starters or a starter and an entree. The menu is quite varied an imaginative with a somewhat Alsatian/Brasserie slant to it. And like all of DM's restaurants, the servers will be terrific. And the bar itself is a great place to sit.