Frege

I have eaten a few times.. Last time with JT.You have better choices in Paris. ← Suggestions accepted!

Noticed this Guy Savoy outpost next door to Ze Kitchen Gallery. Anybody eaten here lately. Rcomendations?

After last night's disappointment at Pierre Gagnaire - see my earlier post - tonight it was on to one of JT's favorites - Ze Kitchen Galerie. In many ways, although more modest in its aspirations, or perhaps because of that, it was a more successful meal. Here are some reactions upon my return home. Ambiance: Way too noisy, but otherwise pleasant modern room. Service: Amateurish. You're supposed to write down who has ordered what, not ask the customers when you bring the food to the table. Food. Given what it was trying to accomplish, I thought it was very good indeed. Since there were four of us we were able to taste a wide range of the offerings, and none failed. The scallop and Bullot with lemongrass was very good, especially the sashimi scallop, the duck ravioli was the best of the starters, and the macaroni with spider crab was not far behind, although the pasta was a tad too al dente. The mains were an excellent citrus flavored lotte, lamb, chicken and very succulent ris de veau and a special of suckling pig. All very tasty, definitely one of the better attempts at fusion I've had. Having said this, my thought upon leaving was: Although the food was very good indeed, why did I need to travel to Paris to have this? It is a testament to the standard of internationalization of food that this restaurant could have been in New York, Los Angeles, London or a number of other cities around the world; things have changed in the culinary world, and restaurants like this are examples of the result. The food is great, but there is little identification with their locale, or as wine folks would say, their terroir. In contrast, restaurants like Gagnaire, with its faults, are distinctively of their place. I adore the French Laundry/Per Se, Jean-Georges, etc, but I will still travel to Paris to eat at the ilk of Gagnaire, Savoy, etc, etc. (although I have not, and doubt I ever will, experience Savoy or Robuchon in Las Vegas - if I die without setting foot in that place again, I'll go a happy man!) Paris over time will perhaps slip in to being another great city to eat, but no longer the pinnacle, but on a par with New York, San Francisco, Chicago, London and other places. Just some thoughts . . .

Yes the veal was good, but not enough to rescue the second half of the meal, I thought. The problem was that the first part made it seem as if it might go down as memorable, the second half undermined it. To reiterate, at this class of restaurant, consistency throughout the meal is of great importance. Although I don't expect every dish to be among the greatest things I've ever eaten, I do expect there not to be any failures. I don't think this meal met up to that standard.

Don't get me wrong - the first time I ate at Gagnaire it was a memorable meal. Sure it wasn't that every dish was fantastic - there were ebbs and flows - but overall it was coherent and delicious. Last night was different. I am very much a supporter of the experimental and novel in cooking, and I expect to experience that in restaurants like Gagnaire. But I also expect that when it gets to the table, everything served has been fully vetted and is delicious. (This was certainly true of the The Fat Duck.) It is hard to believe that all of the dishes served last night were pleasing to the palate of the master! No matter what, the bottom line for a restaurant like this is consistency and being delicious. One other thing, apparently now that smoking is banned in restaurants, Parisians have taken to smoking in the bathroom! When my companions went to the ladies room it was smoky and there were ashes in the sink! Appreciate the encouragement re: Senderens and L'Astrance.

While I'm not much of a poster, I am an avid reader. I'm in Paris for the week en famille, with my restaurant card all planned. Pulled in yesterday from LA, and had a perfect first night dinner at Chez Louise et Robert. I've been going there for about 25 years - well before its Bourdain fame - and it is unchanged. A great Cotes de Boeuf, bleu, roasted potatoes and a bottle of Cotes de Nuits Villages. Just the thing for dealing with jet-lag. Tonight I'm just back from what was supposed to be one of the culinary highlights of the trip - dinner at Pierre Gagnaire. I ate there a little over a year ago - M. Gagnaire in residence - and had a meal that met my test for a great meal: as I walk out the door, I'm thinking about when and how I can go back. So it was with great expectations that we went there tonight. We ordered the spring tasting menu. (It can be downloaded here: http://www.pierre-gagnaire.com/francais/cd24-new.htm) M. Gagnaire was not in residence, and it was on the whole, disappointing. Not that there weren't some great dishes. The first four dishes were all very good to excellent, the standouts being the John Dory with a slightly piquant sauce of rhubarb and tomato which was a highlight, along with the excellent lobster dish. But after that disaster. The white asparagus ice cream topped with what seemed to be canned tuna with cucumber jus was awful. Now I'm a big fan of molecular, but this was probably the worst dish I've ever had at a 3-star restaurant. The rest of the meal that followed was mediocre. The red mullet and artichoke with an oyster I thought was a mess, the slice of veal with a curry aspic sauce was OK, the cheese course was not very good, but of course the desserts were fabulous, although not quite as memorable as last time I was there. So, half the meal was very good to superior, half was bad to OK. Not good enough, especially for the tariff. Also, too much reliance on fish. My daughter is not much on fish, and they graciously designed a non-fish menu for her, and I think she did much better. She had a fabulous foie gras, an excellent chicken dish and an excellent duck dish. Since she scarfed these up, I only got to taste a morsel of eoach, but they seemed more what I would expect from Gagnaire. Service was excellent in Gagnaire's somewhat diffident style, although for two courses not all of the dishes were brought at the same time. A small lapse, but not something done at this sort of restaurant. I certainly didn't leave with any thoughts of returning. My only thought was that if I was going back to a top restaurant in Paris where I'd been before, I should have gone to Guy Savoy! Still to come, of the biggies, L'Astrance and Senderens. Will I be disappointed? At least the cost at these shouldn't be in the same league. On a more modest scale, have Ze Kitchen Galerie, Le Chateaubriand and Lena et Mimile on the card before heading home. So, anyone else been to Gagnaire of late? Had this menu? Is he slipping?

I'm off to Paris for 8 days come early May, and I am preparing to make my restaurant reservations. Leaving aside the well-known (i.e. 3-star) restaurants, can folks clue me in to current favorite and hot restaurants around town. Looking for the new, the adventuresome and the merely great! Thanks very much.

I'm thinking of getting a friend of mine, a very talented home chef who lives in London, a bit of a shopping spree for Xmas to do some re-stocking of his kitchen, and I was wondering where would be a good shop to do this at. If any of you are familiar with Surfas in LA or Duikelman in Amsterdam, this is the sort of place I'm looking for - some place that is primarily for the restaurant trade, but is nevertheless friendly to the non-trade consumer. So, I'm not looking for a British equivalent of Williams-Sonoma or Sur La Table, for instance. Thanks for any suggestions.

Hi Folks, I'm going to be in Paris for one night in early November. Going to be a 3-star (Michelin, that is) evening. Last time I was there it was Gagnaire and Savoy - two great, memorable meals, and also Taillevent - I know, only 2 these days, and it showed. Undecided on the next venue. Interested in recommendations from folks recent experiences. Thanks.

Hard to say whether the shipping on DIY would be cheaper or more. But there is the hassle of buying it, finding a shipping container, going to the P.O., waiting on line, dealing with the surely clerk, etc, etc. And, I don't have the convenience of sitting at my computer at home and ordering what I need when I need it. But, as per your first suggestion, if any kindly eGulleter out there would be kind enough to pick up some things and post them to me, I would be most grateful . . .

I don't know the size cases they come in, but if you can buy them by the case when you're here, you can check them as luggage. I've checked cases of wine for years and years with no problem - the trick told to me a long time ago was to tie them up well and provide a handle, so that luggage handlers can lift them, and of course write "Fragile" on them; the fellow who told me that was a wine importer, and said that as long as he had a good rope handle that people could lift the cases with, he never had one that was thrown and broken. It should work for the oil as well - surely they're in cases sturdy enough for shipping. Just a thought. ←

I must admit to being a big-time J-G fan. Last time in New York in early August (just before the make-over), went for dinner, and then on a whim back for lunch. At dinner there were four of us, we all ordered different things, and so we got to taste quite a range of what was on the menu. At lunch, (in the formal room - another vote for one of the great bargains in the world of eating), we were sans one, and the theme was to have whatever we each liked best from dinner. Everyone immediately chose the Charred Corn Ravioli - simply one of the most delicious dishes I have ever had anywhere. For my other dish, I chose one of J-G's well-deserved classics - Skate with Chateau Chalon sauce. That sauce, that sauce, my kingdom for that sauce!! Just fantastic. At the end of the meal had a lovely chat with Lia, of fleeting Top Chef fame, who was running the kitchen for lunch. Very charming. And then off to the airport to head home, happily fed.

Fairway is one of my regular stops along culinary heaven on B'way on my visits back to my home town from out here in the culinary shopping wastelands of SoCal. But one thing that is a bit annoying about Fairway is that they won't ship. I used to regularly bring back their exceptional house brand Barbera Sicilian olive oil and Balsamic vinegar, but now with the restrictions on hand luggage this has become all but impossible and unfortunately my stocks on both these items is running perilously low. So, if they only shipped . . .

Just noticed this thread. Been using the Chefmate copper disk bottomed skillets for about a year not, and I too love them. They are my first foray into stainless surface cooking, and it is hard to imagine how All-Clad, Sitram, etc could be much better. Also, I was wondering about the issue of delamination. I've used these pans very hard, including high heat use, and they keep coming back for more! I noticed that the complaints on Amazon all date from 2004 - was there just a bad manufacturing run? Has anyone heard or read about problems with these pans over the last year or so?

I am about to embark on a kitchen re-model. I had decided to put in a Bluestar 36" six burner cook-top, when I started thinking about an induction cooktop. I am currently trying to decide whether to (1) add a two hob induction top next to my Bluestar, which I may perhaps cut back to a four burner (space considerations) or (2) go only for induction. While the Bluestar does have a 130 degree simmer burner, I must say that I am enticed by the induction's low temp of 85 degrees. Both units would supply, from what I can tell, plenty of full-throttle power, with the BS at 22000BTU, induction at even greater than that. I am interested in people's thoughts on this, especially those who have experience with induction. One question about induction. If the hob is set at a fixed temperature, will it keep water at a sufficiently constant temperature for sous-vide? FYI: I'm not worried about cookware for induction, although I would be sad to be unable to use my French copper any longer if I only had induction. Also, I am most strongly thinking about (the most powerful) Cooktek unit, although I am undecided about whether to go built-in or countertop. Opinions on any virtues or vices of either welcomed, as well as opinions about this brand as opposed to others out there. (I have a 220 line available, so there is no limitation to 110.) Thanks. P.S. I'm a newbie here, and although I did some searching I couldn't find any discussion of this. If there is a thread already going, just direct me - would be happy to go there.

A few months ago lucked into a reservation on a Monday for dinner at The French Laundry the next evening at 5:30. My friend and I rolled out after 10, (including a visit to the kitchen), and were in no way rushed; the service was excellent, on the same level as I experienced at Guy Savoy, Pierre Gagnaire, The Fat Duck and Per Se. Chatted some with our main server, and he remarked that he can size up diners pretty quickly as to the pace at which they want dinner served - from 2.5 hours to 4+ hours. At one point in the meal I had to take a phone call, so I stepped out onto the balcony (we were eating upstairs). As I was leaving the table, I noticed that our next course was on its way to us; the staff saw that I was stepping out, so they turned around and marched back into the kitchen. When I returned to the table and sat down, out they came and served the course!