julot-les-pinceaux

I would say more like 10%, considering that at Robuchon's Jamin, the lunch menu was in the 60FF area. But it is six times over fifteen years. By the way, 15 % over eight years is more like 3 times Indeed restaurant inflations is much higher than your usual CPI. But it is actually lower than food inflation. Food prices, among other things, depend on oil prices and the last couple of years have not been friendly in that regard.

Permanent markets seem to be the primary answer to your question. In Paris, the Marché Saint Quentin on bd Magenta is a good example. The Marché Saint Honoré, on the opposite, is quite modern. In La Villette, the halle is the former market but its structure is preserved. Same deal in that eastern suburb by the highhway A4 whose name I can't remember. There are better preserved out of town. Randomly I think of Saint Malo, Lyons-la-Forêt, Beaune, Dijon, Rennes (extraordinary marché des Lices), and of course Lyon. Coming to restaurants, Ledoyen on the Champs Elysées is one of the oldest in town (the building was designed as a restaurant). I am not sure about Lasserre and its famous opening roof, same for Laurent. Same with le Procope in l'Odéon, supposed to be one of the oldest restaurants in town, and la Chaise something in rue de Grenelle. Also Lapérouse and its famous private rooms. And I almost forgot the incontournable Grand Véfour, restaurant of Victor Hugo and many others in the Palais Royal. Nineteeth century working class restaurants may also be of interest. Take Chartier for example, rue du faubourg Montmartre. A modern example of fine dining restaurant, designed by Wilmotte, is found at Guy Savoy rue Troyon, "l'auberge du 21è siècle". L'Ambroisie on the other side is an example of a restaurant installed in an 18th century mansion on the Place des Vosges. An other interesting restaurant installed in a mansion, 19th century, is Taillevent, or Apicius. Turning to kitchen, maybe Troigros is an example of modern design that is particularly interesting. The 200 sqm kitchen in particular. The whole hotel/restaurant may be interesting as well And there's also the obvious response of Bras in Laguiole, a very modern creation, contemporary abbaye as he calls it.

The purée at la Table was ligher than at l'Atelier, where I consider to be more of a sauce than a side.

La Table takes reservations indeed, and the tasting is 150.

Patrice, the sommelier, and André, the md, are still there.

Haven't been yet. But I heard conflicted reports, especially regretting that the place is not more generous. NY is next on my list. IKYWIM?

I did not find a Robuchon dedicated thread. Isn't he worth it? And if there's one overarching Robuchon thread, shouldn't it be in the France forum, for purely historical, nationalistic, and all-in-all arbitrary reasons? Seen from Paris, l'Atelier remains an original concept that offers some very great bites, like their unparalleled sweetbread. But it remains a (very) high end snacking place. And it has too many misses to my taste. And I don't like being rushed. Less again waiting on the sidewalk for being rushed. I just tried La Table, attracted by the prospect of... well, having a table, as well as the very attractive 55 eur lunch menu including wine, water and coffee. It's a very good meal, and, while ingredients are modest, they are of high quality and the courses served attest to the skill and hard work going on in the kitchen. I particularly liked my green pea soup in that regard. Hard work, simplicity and subtlety: back to the Robuchon basics. I should also mention a very impressive service, friendly but not intrusive, discreet and efficient. They noticed we were tasting each other's dishes and they discreetly brought an extra set of spoons with each course. Maybe I'm a sucker, but I was impressed. I have a more extensive review, and pictures, here.

Nah, Constant is better.

I agree. Petirenaud never failed me. And I can't even say that I disagree with him about what he doesn't like -- he never mentions any such place.

Just back from a very pleasant and exciting meal at Amador. Amador, in Langen (a Francfort suburb with many major companies), got his third star last fall, only four years after opening his restaurant in Langen. This is an unlikely three stars, with only one fork, a tiny kitchen and no parking. The guy mixes very "molecular" techniques in a less surprising menu, as you can see on the pictures (click here for pictures and legends). Legends of the pics will give you details of the menu. It was my first "avantgarde" meal, if I believe what I read. I have no comparison point for that style of food so I won't elaborate on that. But all in all my impression was that, regardless of style and techniques used, what made the place so great was the generosity and commitment of the chef and his team. They offer a wine pairing based on spanish wine that is extremly interesting too. The Godello for instance was totally morphing depending on the course it was paired with. Short but sweet or long and profound. 2006 Albarino Bodegas Lagar de Pintos Rias Baixas/ Spanien 2006 godello Bodega valdesil valdeorras / spanien 2003 jose pariente barrica Bodegas dos victorias rueda / Spanien 2006 chardonnay Miquel Gelabert Mallorca / Spanien 2004 pansal de calas 5cl Celler de capcanes montsant / spanien 1997 dionus venta d’aubert bajo aragon / Spanien 2004 Cingles Blaus 5cl Celler Magi Baiget Montsant / Spanien

I missed Petitrenaud but I went to le Petit Vanves recently. It is a textbook, traditional bistrot, barely modern. Tons of food and a very short selection of wine. Great fries. I had os à moelle (half good because it cut in half and grilled but it was cut unevenly and one half had very little marrow in it, therefore burnt) and pied de porc pané (even I had to give up at some point, though I would have liked more of those golden/brown fries. It was standard good pied de porc). Simple raspeberry and chantilly as desserts. The bistrot is located on a nice avenue, little houses and trees. Service goes out for a cigarette after your last dish so don't be in a hurry. I would go back and get an entrecote for example.

Can't believe that you guys have not included Grégory Renard. I would also disagree with VivreManger "methodological" view. Chocolate macarons are a world of their own. Dalloyau's for instance is very special. Renard has four different kinds. In general, I also don't think that direct, "blind" comparison creates more objective view. I believe that, on the contrary, it distorts the actual experience. Some macarons are meant to be kept, some not. Some aim at being a nice sweet, others at being a culinary experience diverting your attention. Some focus on flavours, others on textures. Some focus on feling familiar, regressive. Some others on incarnating a tradition. Some on being innovative, some on making you feel rich and special. Those are all different projects. I think that that kind of direct comparison is very misleading and gives a premium to the most spectacular macarons, which are not necessarily the best It seems to me that a more effective metric than "which one do I prefer when they're all in the same room" is "where would I go to buy macarons?", and I would add "what kind of macaron, for what use?".

That's a really tough one. Great puff pastry and crème patissière or mousseline. I must say that, in my memory, Hermé's was quite good, though he also had a praliné version that is too heavy. Le Moulin de la Vierge has a nice one, with crispy and thick pâte feuilletée (not the lighter than air style) and a light mousseline. Pichard of course, master of pâte feuilletée. Dalloyau, for an opulent, very classic version. Best mille-feuilles are in restaurants, freshly prepared: Senderens, Savoy, Rostang have great ones. There's that fancy pastry in rue Saint Dominique that is specialised in pâte feuilletée. Can't remember the name.

My top names for chocolate are Christian Constant, Grégory Renard, Gérard Mulot, Laurent Duchêne. I'm sure there's more. Btw, la Maison du Chocolat is where the former pastry chef of Le Bristol is now "directeur des créations" (or sth), so look for new cakes there.

Pictures are for starred restaurants only. But all Paris restaurants that are in france guide are in Paris one as well. Also the guide is not supposed to cover bad restaurants. So not really every restaurant ;-)

Le Baratin seems to fit the bill. More brasserie but nice too: Chez Prosper.

The Paris guide is good, with pictures and more text than the France guide. But it is strictly Paris and does not include Versailles.

I always profess that positive opinions are more important than negative ones, because enjoying something is always better than not. And yet, I can't help criticising places like Ducasse or Hermé. So any answer I can give is not intended at criticising those who like it (good for them) but to make those who, like me, dislike it, feel more comfortable. By artifical crap I mostly meant gelatine. But that's not what really bothers me. The tastes are artificial, not in terms of their sourcing. His pastries are ridiculously rich and sweet, which artifically intensifies the experience without resorting to natural tastes. It is a pastry oriented towards sensational, not good. Some stuff there I like, of course. There's no question that Hermé has some talent. But I think most of his pastry is based on showoff and easy effect and I never tasted anything from him that was better than, say, a tarte fine aux pommes from his almost neighbour Pichard. To me he is representative of a trend in taste that we don't care about what's good anymore, all we want is something different. Those who are tired of excellent food should eat less, not turn to Hermé or Gagnaire.

That guy on rue de Lourmel has older Comté. Anyone remembers his name?

Go back. It is possible. You would love to go back and it is actually possible.

Yes we can.

Don't feel obliged to try new things. It's an old trick and Bu Pun Su made fun of me the other day because I was not going to the restaurants I actually like. And I hate him for being so right. Don't be like me, son .

Of course the French are the only nation that can cook. Don't be ridiculous. They're also the only nation who can love, by the way, and the two are connected. Serioulsy though, and as Pti underlines on her blog, Simon can't even say that it's not good, and the post on his blog is actually to say that la Véranda is a great place. But because indeed it would be impossible to say that Ramsay is a great chef, he makes it a story about how only suckers would go the gastronomic restaurant. Now I don't know, I haven't been, but it clearly has the look of a critic whose content you can forecat precisely without having been to the restaurant -- so I am dubious.

Pierre Hermé sucks. I think it is bad, heavy, with too much sugar and artificial crap (I hope Pti will come and second me or I might feel that I am a minority). I also think that his creations are pretentious, vulgar, appealing to the worst in us. Constant is my hero, but his prices too are beyond crazy. I like much more frank and "natural", so-to-say, flavours. If I want a great fruit tart, I head to the nearest Kayser, simply. If I want it with very little sugar and very "nouvelle cuisine tastes", I go down my place in the rue Bobillot, 101. In the simple pastry areas, some adresses: Pichard, rue Cambronne, le Grenier à Pain rue Paul Barruel, la Fleur d'Oranger rue Lebon, Avril in Le Vésinet, le Boulanger de Monge. BE is great too for very restaurant-like pastries (love the passion fruit tart there beyond reason). Hédiard, Lenôtre have very good pastry too. I am infinitely sad that Conticini's patisseries are not available anymore (they used to be available rue de Sèvres at the late Peltier) to the general public. He opened a shop on the place du Marché Saint-Catherine but there are candies only, not pastry. For macarons, my all-time fav is by far Renard, rue Saint Dominique (see here for more detail).

I hear that a lot. But no one actually pointed me to a bistrot whose roast chicken was in anyway comparable to Passard's or Pacaud's (haven't been to RHR yet). There's no doubt that the restaurant of an actual chef is better than any luxury assembly-line. It's become rare breed these days. Based on that criteria, you would need to take the three stars off many, many places. There would be like, ten in the whole of France max (let me try that game: Roellinger, Bras, Loiseau, Guérard, l'Arnsbourg, l'Ambroisie, l'Arpège, le Louis XV, Pic, Marcon) . (Edited to add Rabaey, because after all, is Switzerland really a country?). Also your RHR experience sounds thoroughly enjoyable, if not Ambroisie-esque (again, that's too high a standard for most restaurants I know). And I get your point about the parallel between Ducasse and Gordon, but one difference between la Véranda (in Versailles indeed) and any Ducasse place that I know is that it was actually good. And also, there was something personal about the cooking there, not in a show-business sense, but in the sense that there was a given style of cuisine going on.