julot-les-pinceaux

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It's not only the exchange rate, it's also the general price hikes on food. Anything you'll eat will be basically twice as expensive for you as it was a couple of years ago (30% in price + 50% in exchange rate). Including cheese in your room. In my opininon, the best value for food lovers is still by far the 32 euro menu-carte at la Régalade and l'Ami Jean, with ingredients and cooking techniques at the level of Michelin starred restaurants. I don't know if it is any consolation, but meals in the US for us Europeans, conversely, are becoming more affordable. Get ready, Thomas Keller, I'm on my way.

It's kind of scaryto see that headless Anton Ego eating my dish!

Gay or European, uh?

I thought this was him.

Caramba! Simon is stealing from us. http://francoissimon.typepad.fr/simonsays2...non-palace.html

I wish I could. But let us know how it was -- after our great experience at la Véranda, we are open to Gordon, though the quality of the brasserie food indeed makes me wonder how the gastronomic experience, if it is in the same style, can be better.

I agree with BPS that l'arpège is most of the time otherwordly (pricewise too alas). Le Bristol is great too but for a much more traditional meal, if still modern. As much as I love le Bristol, l'Arpège is the "four Michelin stars" category, foodwise. There are misses but this is the independent restaurant of a unique artist. I personally do not care about the setting of l'Arpège, though. In addition to Bu's pictures of both restaurants, you will also find recent pictures l'Arpège here (as much as I hate referering to blogs of others ). Pictures of le Bristol are actually rare, so thanks, Bu.

Funny also that you should make that parallel, as I thought that Rabaey is very Pacaud-like, with his focus on impeccable execution and ingredients and basic recipes. Best puff pastry I ever had, and also sweetbread, roast duck and butter. So let's force you to go back, that sounds like a good idea. As far as Rochat is concerned, several reports lead me to believe that this restaurant has two speeds, since my experiences and others' were just not worthy of three, even two stars, while several other reports mention a restaurant that is simply among the best and there's no reason to doubt their sincerity.

I think both -- they are so much better that no one can miss it. Also they show regularity. People have somewhat different taste but not as much as the relativsts think, in my experience. Some restaurants nevertheless provoke opposite reactions -- one of the most notorious in that category was Lucas-Carton. You are right that some wonderful restaurants are less approachable. Roellinger I think is exemplar of this, and strangely it has to do with how simple it is.

Funny about the Swiss, I feel exactly the opposite way -- I found Rochat a disgrace (several times) and Rabaey a wonder.

Briffard will leave les Elysées April 30th -- let those who can, hurry. The restaurant will close for an unknown period of time. Resquiescat in Pacem.

I'll report in more detail too, but I basically loved it and I'll be back. Pics here: http://picasaweb.google.fr/jultort/LaVeranda Like Pti and John, I reviewed the meal on my blog. That would be here. What I found most admirable is the simplicity and perfection of the meal. This is a cooking that does not try to impress at any cost, to reinvent the wheel. Can you do a veal T-Bone in a better way than perfectly roasted with potatoes, salad and béarnaise? Probably not, and they don't try -- not being original here is not an issue. At the same time, this is cooking that is personal,singular. But not for the sake of building its signature. My lobster pasta had nothing noteworthy as a recipe. They relied on a fine tuning of sage, parmesan, saffron, tomato, and on great prefectly cooked fresh pasta (I suspect the saffron is in the pasta, btw). Doing the crême brulée with a granny smith is not changing the face of the earth. But executing with such finesse and sensitivity is what having a chef in the kitchen is all about. All in all, my point is simple: this is a very good restaurant. Edited by John Talbott at Julot's request.

L'Atelier de JR, Senderens, le Bistrot d'à Côté Flaubert, l'Auberge Bressane, la Rotonde are in my sunday book. Also many Chinatown adresses, which are my sunday favs, but I always have a hard time getting international audiences interested. Apparently everybody thinks they have the best Chinese restaurants at home. NOT la Butte Chaillot where I just had a sunday lunch that made me imagine Gordon Ramsay coming for another episode of Kitchen Nightmares.

Nothing wrong with Rochat. Apparently, for his friends and for renowned critics (see recent F. Simon paper), he is capable of wonders. For simple dudes like me, he is also capable of wonders, but only when the check comes. The three times I went, years apart, it was always dull recipes, pretentious style and rather poor execution. Actually got worse and always more expensive from one time to the other. Plus the chef is really obnoxious when you voice your dissatisfaction. But nothing wrong, really. Barely worth one star is all.

That's how you get a reputation of insider and scoop hunter -- I was just dreaming that it would be nice.

I hear here and there that that guy still cooks occasionally. Why couldn't we reach him? i am so jealous of you guys. I can imagine was Robuchon was like but I just have no idea was Girardet was like. It can't be like his lousy successor Rochat.

I spent every summer of my teenage years in a small fishermen village at the end of Bretagne. Later I came again with my family, and also some friends and their children as well. We were like 12 with the kids, renting one of those sad Britton houses with a little garden. On the harbour we bought a Bar de Ligne (seabass) from Scarlet, the fisherwoman. It was like four and half kilos (nine pounds), still moving. We went home and cooked it in the fireplace. I can't even begin to tell you how good and fresh and simple it was. The next day I did a rice salad with the remains, a vinaigrette based on a carrot purée.

It's not -- in fact I am writing from there and nothing is certain yet. What I can tell you is that Chef Briffard is not less involved in his kitchen than he usually is. His seabass dish was a slight miss and he was really upset, came at the end of the meal saying "I ruined it, I need to start it from scratch again". And I'm sure he will. Rest of the meal was as amazing as ever -- I will report and post pictures later, when I'm sober. Anyway, there are talks, it looks probable, but nothing is certain yet.

What a picture! Congratulations! I wouldn't call Lasserre a substitute for les Elysées, because it is at the same time somewhat fancier and not as impressive a cuisine -- but it is a good place for a nice lunch, and as BPS says, gives you access to their specialties, and to the incredible restaurant itself. I would say that it is more "tous publics" whereas les Elysées is more a place for us food nerds.

There's no question that top restaurants are not all of a place, even Paris. But I think that your statement that they are not the real Paris is excessive. What's going on is that indeed a few of them are basically reserved for some international jetset, especially the ones in Palace. They are not only not rooted in the city, they also have some international harmonisation/standardisation going. But in Paris, many top restaurants are not of that breed. L'Ambroisie, l'Arpège, even Savoy somehow, Gérard Besson for instance are Parisian treasures.

Nomicos is a good chef (despite being a Ducasse boy). Lasserre is a good place, with some very good dishes and a very special experience. It's not a place tha will change what you know abut food, but you might have a very pleasant, very special evening. Check their website, it does a great job at showing what they do and how they are.

I don't think so -- their restaurant is not open 365/7 anyway, but like a more traditional restaurant. Alléno oversees the new brasserie, though, and I don't know what role he plays for room service and breakfast. If you go to l'Obelisque, the brasserie of the Crillon, it does not feel like Piège is directly involved, though he must have some kind of involvement.

About what the chef has to do: My argument was based on the fact that Legendre used to do what I describe, as do their obvious competitors Roth at le Ritz and Fréchon at le Bristol. Maybe that's precisely what Briffard is negotiating right now. In les Elysées he clearly does not care about room service or the bar and is entirely devoted to the restaurant.

I've been thinking about the question, but I came to the conclusion that my most memorable meals are related to intimate circumstances -- the food was great but it was mostly great to share, great to be, in those confitions, with the people I was with. One is linked to family stories, another to some seduction event, etc. That said, the most amazing meals I had in French restaurants, the one that were a shock of the "I had no idea" kind were in non particularly unexpected places: my first fine dining experience ever was at Bernard Loiseau's in Saulieu, then the landmarks in my gastronomic experience were l'Arpège, l'Ambroisie, Jamin. My second time at Jamin was a lunch when I had their pintade rotie en cocotte. That was unforgettable -- it looked so familiar and so beautiful, that evenly roasted, golden bird, and the whole foie gras on the side, that big black oval Staub cocotte, the carving in the room. Everything was magical, esp. that juice that was intense but only underlining and enhancing the fowl. Do you know how appetising roast meat looks in cartoons and comic books? Well Jamin was the first time the actual experience was actually up to it. Really a new dimension in my reality.