marcus

I have not eaten at La Llar, but I have heard negative reports. The Gourmetour which is the leading Spanish restaurant guide, and a guide with which I have had very good experience, which rates on a scale of 10 gives this restaurant a 7. This is an extraordinarily low score for a Michelin one star restaurant and lower than many many no star ones. By way of comparison, Mas Pau in Figueras which is a reasonably strong one star get 8.5. With regard to Foie Gras, neither El Bulli or Can Fabes offered it on my recent visits. I actually considered this a plus as in my view it has become a cliche and something that I avoid unless at certain specialist restaurants in the southwest of France or some in Alsace.

Are you saying that the legally mandated process for challenging credit card charges does not apply to foreign billers. This is hard to believe. What happens when a totally spurious charge appears on your bill from Albania?

The foreign exchange rate surcharge over and above the visa/master 1% is disclosed in the individual credit card's user agreement. Most visa/master charge a 2% surcharge, but there are a number of cards available including MBNA cards that do not add any surcharge. I use USAA Savings in Las Vegas which used to be available only for the military, which also has no foreign exchange surcharge. It has scored the best overall in a number of surveys for its overall terms of its overall terms and conditions and customer service. I have been quite satisfied. One thing that you need to look for is the 25 day grace period, many cards are down to 20. This is extremely important as the clock starts on the day the bill is generated, not when you receive it, which can be 5-6 days later. I believe that American Express, which does not use the visa/master payment network, has a surcharge of 2%.

Rafa's langoustines are genuinely wonderful. The restaurant though is very bare bones, everything simply grilled the same way, no vegetables, so I would like to recommend some restaurants that provide some additional range. Around our recent trip to El Bulli, we stayed for a week in Cadaques which is a very attractive, small resort town which has been protected from much of the urban sprawl covering the the Costa Brava of which Roses is a principal exemplar. Dali actually made his primary home in Port Llagat which is 1 km outside of Cadaques. La Galiota which is located in the old town, apart from the port and the tourist areas, is owned by 2 sisters, one in the dining room and one in the kitchen who have been running this restaurant for 40 years. The night that we went, we were the only customers and were regaled with stories of visits by Dali and Pitxot, a little overbearing, but nothing that a few more customers wouldn't ameliorate. The menu was basic Catalan fish, with fish a la planxa (a la Rafa's), Zarzuala, wonderful lubina with a mushroom sauce. Although, I'm sure that Rafa's has the edge in raw materials, I believe the cooking here is as good or even a little better and the variety of preparation is much broader. As each dish came to the table, I was visceraly shocked at the excellent quality of the cooking, something that happens extraordinarily rarely in a restaurant that I go to without prior knowledgeable recommendations. In my personal dining experience, I am far more often underwhelmed than overwhelmed. My other recommendation is the restaurant located in the funky hotel on Cap de Creus, which is seven kilometers beyond Cadaques and is the most easterly point in Spain. As one would expect, it is owned by an Englishman. He is fanatic about fresh fish, and goes to the fishing port at Roses every day to purchase the best that he can find. These fish will be presented to you on a platter and you can pick your own. The simple preparations with potato and vegetables are very good. The restaurant also offers some idiosyncratic Indian curries which are also well prepared. Most interesting is to select a Dorade and have them prepare it in a curry. It comes to the table still whole, but cooked in the curry and the entire dish is quite good. Whether this is actually better than the simpler preparation could be a subject for debate.

John -- I find your discussion of Robuchon's new restaurant to be very interesting, but more for what I believe I have learned about you than about the restaurant.

Rafa's is on Saint Sebastian Street, however that is written in Catalan. We had a 1 kg turbot, 60 euros, perfectly grilled to the point of being very slightly undercooked. They were a little perturbed and wanted to put it back, but we refused. The waitress, I assume Mrs. Rafa, claimed that all of the fish were caught off Roses, but there may have been a misunderstanding, as I believe that turbot is only caught in the Atlantic. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. Of particular interest was the negrito, a tuna like fish that Rafa stated that he only was able to obtain a few times a year and only in the late spring or summer. He sent a couple of complementery slices to the table it was very special. I didn't see the pumpkin pie, the day that we ate there all of the deserts were being brought in from a local cafe or restaurant. They were good regardless.

In using the Gambero Rosso, you shouldn't look at the overall score, which includes decor, service, winelist and an arbitarary element, up to 5 points, for bonus. Adding together these various scores provides a meaningless result. The vast majority of their 90 point plus restaurants would not get 90 points without the bonus, just 2 or 3 as I recall. I focus only on the 60 points that they allocate for food. I find that although I don't always agree, the food scores are pretty accurate and quite valuable. Note that the 3 Michelin 3 star restaurants all get scores of 51 for food, versus 55 which is the highes score currently awarded.

Well I do appreciate your "nitpick" characterization.

Ed Levine has zero credibility with me. He's the guy that wrote that hyper enthusisastic article about the gelato at that place down on 4th Avenue, which was totally mediocre, and rather than being made from scratch is actually made from commercial ellenka base. When I started questioning them about how their gelato was really made, the guy at the counter who appeared to be an owner, became quite upset and wouldn't continue the discussion.

I'm afraid that the list will be copied, but not the entire article, and the context will be lost over time. It is not even clear that an average reader of the article will recognize the methadological flaws in the first place. One can argue that it doesn't really matter, that its better than nothing, or take a cynical view of the public as proposed by Bux. However, I continue to believe that a better list would offer the opportunity of a better result for the public, and that a responsible magazine trying to exploit this area should have done a more serious job.

People who participated in this event seemed to have a wonderful time and gained lots of personal satisfaction. The fact that many leading chefs participated is not surprising, for them it was free publicity. The producers of this spectacle seem unconcerned that the key rationale for the meeting was to produce an ordered list of the 50 best restaurants in the world. The list was produced with a methodology that makes Zagat, frequently and correctly maligned on this site, look like high science by comparison, and the end result has no credibility or validity, even to those who participated in producing it. Make no mistake, many people will copy this list and use it. Although one can argue that none of the restaurants are bad, people will spend time and money on a lesser experience than they would have had if they had received better guidance. I for one view this whole exercise as a public disservice.

Sorry. that's a load of smug self-satisfied cobblers. This is a very interesting disconnect here. I don't feel smug or self satisfied. I just don't accept or have any sympathy at all for what is clearly a defensive rationalization.

Any publicity is good publicity. Hype over substance. Ultimately an implicit deception targetted at a gullible audience that would probably appreciate real direction. Is this really something to be proud of?

These ratings are obviously total crap. Gramercy Tavern at #10 followed by restaurants like Bras and Gagnaire says it all. Chez Panisse #12. I could go on and on. Does anyone know how these ratings are developed?

From Webster's online dictionary. Other dictionary definitions are essentially similar. Main Entry: post·mod·ern Pronunciation: "pOs(t)-'mä-d&rn, ÷-'mä-d(&-)r&n Function: adjective Date: 1949 : of, relating to, or being any of several movements (as in art, architecture, or literature) that are reactions against the philosophy and practices of modern movements and are typically marked by revival of traditional elements and techniques - post·mod·ern·ism /-d&r-"ni-z&m/ noun - post·mod·ern·ist /-nist/ adjective or noun Postmodernism is a return to the past, not a break with it. The concept of postmodernism in and of itself, without a prior modernist movement to which it is reacting, is really a non-sequitor. If one is looking for a modernist movement in cooking, it would have to be nouvelle cuisine. Thus, Robuchon and Ducasse as synthesizers of nouvelle cuisine with prior approaches are the postmodernists. I would propose that Adria is a neo-modernist, and placing him in the postmodern category will lead to confusion.

Vedat -- Although I didn't participate in your thread regarding the classifications of cooking, your use of the term post-modern continues to drive me crazy, so I have to say something. Post modernism is the retreat from modernism, harking back to earlier forms, but also absorbing many of the techniques of the modernist movement. As I recall, modernism, the great movement of the first half of the 20th century, was totally unmentioned in your thesis. The AT&T building in NY with its overall massive modern proportions, but with a stone facing and a broken pediment on top suggesting the Chippendale, is the essence of post-modernism as opposed to say Mies' Seagram building which is modernist. To me Robuchon and Ducasse represent post modernism, the synthesis of classic and nouvelle cuisine, and Adria is a neo-modernist. After the resting perios of post modernism, there typically arise attempts to move forward in new directions. Most fail, because no matter how brilliant the practitioner, the work needs to resonate with major forces that are changing the society as a whole. New foaming devices are not a sufficient basis. Modernism for example arose out of major changes in human self-perception arising out of the absorption into our culture of science and technology and associated ways of thinking. Whether Adria is on a valid road to new territory or a dead end is unclear at this time. I will form my opinion after my, de rigor, meal at El Bulli next month.

We will be driving from Montpellier to the Costa Brava in late May over a 4-5 day period and would appreciate some recommendations as to your favorite restaurants. It appears that we will miss Auberged de Vieux Puits due to its closing days, although everything that I've read about it has been quite mixed as well. We are very much appreciative of restaurants that show terroir at all levels of ambition.

Many Paris apartment rental agencies will rent for a stay of 3 days or more. If you're really looking for upscale Guestapartment, www.guestapartment.fr, specializes on the Ile St Louis and is very good. My last apartment rented from them was in an ancient building, very well furnished, with a view directly North across the Pont Marie. PSR has a very wide range of apartments throughout Paris and Locaflat is also reliable, although more focused on the middle range. These are all Paris based and French run, which I would recommend. When dealing with a US based company, you need to make sure that they have a primary relationship with the apartment owneres, most don't and really use these types of agencies that I named above. This leads to the pyramiding of commissions and will cost you 20-25% more, minimum. Also, Paris based agencies are there to help you when you have a problem, and they will.

Bux -- I do know the Internet, and these boards as well, so your comment is undoubtedly prescient. I should have qualified my comment by writing: put it to bed for me.

Felice -- Thank you so much for your definitive and comprehensive response covering the subject of tipping in restaurants in France. This has been a subject of considerable discussion, anxiety, and widely varying opinions on this board. From my perspective, you have answered this question and put it to bed.

Le Tableau is perhaps the most ambitious restaurant that I know of in NYC at its price point. There are hits and misses. Overall I find it to be an interesting restaurant, better on weekdays when they're not too crowded.

Felice -- There has been a lot of discussion regarding restaurant tipping in France and I wonder if you could help to clarify. What percentage of native French diners tip at all versus leave nothing extra? When a tip is left, is it based on a percentage of the bill or is it a flat amount for a particular type of restaurant, you mentioned 1-5 E per person as an appropriate tip for your casual restaurant?

I'm going to Marseille end of May and I've been researching the same question. Virtually all of the bouillabaisse restaurants are closed Sunday and Monday. L'Epuisette is open for Sunday lunch and also gets the very best reviews, so this would appear to be the best choice, but it is expensive.

I don't agree. Daniel, Jean-Georges and Le Bernardin are still running, if not at 100%, still very close to that, along with Craft and Grammercy Tavern. The significant dropoff in business at Lespinasse has been noted on these boards quite a number of times over the past year. I do agree that the decor argument is fallacious.

I've been to Lespinasse a number of times during both the Kunz and Delouvrier periods and never had a serious service problem. I find that Delouvier is an excellent cook, but not a brilliant chef. I don't believe that he would have made any impact if he had stayed in Paris. He particularly excelled at the heavier cold weather dishes such as a wild fowl with a brown truffle sauce. His Achilles heal was kitchen management. This was even more evident at Les Celebrites where the dishes could be wildly inconsistent. At Lespinasse, he must have had some help, because it had better consistency, although not enough. Overall, this chef and this restaurant, although capable of very good output, always left you feeling just slightly disappointed, even when you couldn't quite put your finger on exactly why. I believe that the accumulation of these disappointments ultimately contributed the falloff in business led to its closing.