olivier

Insane as in "insanely good"? How is it prepared? Have a reservation there for Friday, can't wait!

Only time I saw someone "famous" in a restaurant was at Isami, where Julie Andrieu had dinner at the counter where we were seated too. I didn't know who she was at that time but my girlfriend recognized her instantly. Why do you ask, by the way?

Don't know if I should post it here or in the Spring thread as it's not a Fooding event per se, but hey, this is the most recent thread, and I feel lazy. So, thanks to le Fooding, I was able to get a reservation (well, my better half was, when I was still sleeping!) this morning for tonight at Spring. Quite a luxury. Even better, one of the meal was offered. So wow! 86EUR for two with lots of wine (I'd like to point out that we were billed 10EUR for two glasses of corsican red that were refilled three times each...) and an excellent menu. I was almost ashamed not having to pay the full price. Daniel and his assistant (didn't get her name) are great hosts, I hope they succeed in their future restaurant. That said, I can't see why they wouldn't... So thank to Le Fooding and to the Spring team! (and to the aforementioned better half!) (if anyone's interested, I'll post some comments and pictures of this meal this weekend)

It's probably too early for the melanosporum, but still, I'd like to know where one should buy them, especially for one who's in Paris and won't travel to Lalbenque, Richerenches, etc. I bought some last year at "Terre de Truffes", but it was over-expensive and I'm not sure the quality was that good anyway...

As for eating pâté/terrine, I'd say do as you like... but yes, you'll probably stand out if you dip it in mustard! Not that you shouldn't if you want to, but I've never seen anyone do that. For what it's worth, I usually eat this directly on bread, but sometimes as meat if it's really good and not too fat-heavy. Regarding the mille-feuilles question: I think the best option is to use a dented knife and a fork. This way, you can "saw" it. Do it very gently or else, the cream will go straight to the opposite side and you'll end with cutting just a few puff pastry crumbs. Eating it with your hands is another option, but maybe not in a restaurant. I love doing this at home, really, and it's almost as technical as eating it with a fork & a knife! That said, I'm probably not a good benchmark when it comes to dining etiquette!

Just when I finally set my mind on getting the Pithiviers tomorrow...

I like to compare Gagnaire's cuisine to some of the rawest forms of free-jazz (I didn't go too far to find that one, I know): it may not qualify as "pleasurable" but it serves a purpose. Is it the deconstruction of the traditional restaurant? Probably. To be honest, I don't really care. Not that his motivations aren't interesting, but all I believe is that Gagnaire is good, really good at this! So I'd say even his least enjoyable dishes are good, in that sense. I'm not sure I'm really interested in perfection if it's soulless (and from what I gather, that would perfectly describe a Ducasse experience). So, is it worth spending EUR350+ / person? I think it does, big time, but then again I always preferred, say, Albert Ayler to Miles Davis, and I'm easily impressed. I just realized I should just eat more at Gagnaire and speak less about it.

I think he does, doesn't he? I mean it does his way but I can't say I ever felt that a meal at Gagnaire left me angry or wasn't a party. ← Indeed. I don't know why I said that exactly, as the quantity of stuff he serves (at least in the tasting menu) is already gigantic. Still, I'd like to see what he would be capable of if he had to restrain hisself in terms of innovation or experimentation and stick to more conventional stuff. More precisely: would it be as good, worse, better? On hindight, the two dishes that really struck me as wonderful were also the simpler ones, so...

Funny you mention that. A few days ago I was thinking about what it would be like if I (well, someone) asked Gagnaire to set up a more "traditional" and simpler meal. This is purely hypothetical of course, because as you just said, he's probably not interested at all, but still, I can't help but think it would be absolutely awesome. He looks like the kind of guy that could fix you some incredibly gargantuous and decadent dinner or something. Mmh, OK, sorry for the rambling.

Only thing I know: he was there when I went, so I'd say that yes, he still oversees his main kitchen, but probably not everyday.

I won't eat at el Bulli this year either... Oh well, that was my first try anyway!

By the way, how does this work exactly? I'll try to get a reservation at el Bulli for the first time, and I don't really care about the exact day I'll go, can I just send an email stating that any day is fine or does one have to specify an exact reservation day/time?

Had one at l'Epigramme yesterday evening as a part of a special game menu they only served that night, so I don't know if they'll have it on the "standard" menu anytime soon... I would really recommend the restaurant anyway, but that's another topic.

I second that. However, as you said, the langoustines are quite delicious, and I really liked what I tasted from the raviole de homard à la vanille (vanilla sauce lobster raviole)... probably not on par with its Lucas Carton equivalent, but still quite good.

The times listed here refer to "friday dinner for two" reservations. Lunch reservations delays (and weekday dinners, to a lesser extent) are usually much shorter. Based on the few restaurants I [tried to go to/went to], the list seems fairly accurate.

Thanks for these follow-ups, John! By the way, regarding Jeu de Quilles do you know if the still apply? I'd like to try it, but it would not be convenient at lunchtime.

Julot, in the Lunch In La Defense topic : Do you have more info about this? Did you try it?

Didn't really notice this thread existed... I was in the Pays Basque last month, and two of the food-related highlights of my trip were a lunch at the much-lauded Auberge Basque. Yummy food and a nice setting (but every women seem to fall in love with chef Cédric Béchade, so you might want to sit your wife/girlfriend/etc. back to the kitchen!). If you want some Gâteau Basque I can only recommend the Moulin de Bassilour in Bidart. This also is a wonderful bakery, sitted in the mill where they grind their wheat themselves. Bread, sablés and, indeed, gâteaux basques are equally excellent. A must see/must eat!

By the way, I guess "au torchon" would be the Ali-Bab version and "à la cuillère" the Sénateur Couteaux's version, or are there some other subtleties about this dish?

Did you ask if they planned doing some later or do they actually offer it right now? In case the latter is true, isn't it a little bit early? Anyway, I've been pushing back my first visit to l'Ami Jean for about a year, I guess it could be an excellent reason to book a table right now!

Because the Lièvre à la Royale topic reminded me of it, I wanted to start a new thread about Stella Maris. I only ate there once, and it was one year ago. However, I really enjoyed this meal, and I still wonder why nobody ever mentions it (well, I'm lying, I know, for example that F.Simon loves it, but still). Is it because the food nor the setting are trendy? The fact that it only has one Michelin star? Or people just don't like it? Granted, it may not be the best value in town, but I still have a clear recollection of my dinner, especially the excellent crayfish and John Dory, and one marvellous soufflé… My only real concern is that, as often in this kind of restaurant, the wine list seemed overpriced Anyway, for those who haven't heard about it, the chef, Tateru Yoshino worked with Robuchon and offers some classic French dishes with - in my opinion - quite good products and very well-defined tastes. Has anyone been? What do you think about it? Stella Maris website

Is it Issy, really? I ask because there were rumours about a new Faucher "table d'hôtes" in Châtillon, and he already has the Symples de l'Os à Moëlle in Issy.

Well, aside from this being an interesting topic from long ago, I brought it up again rather than start a new one on merguez. It must be a slow news week because again on the FR 2 20h00 news last night there was another food item; this one about merguez made from pork contrasted with packages they filmed from a supermarket clearly stating that the meat is beef and lamb.In a Google search, I turned up half a dozen porkfilled merguez responses, all on sites in English. But using French in Google there are also hits from Yahoo.fr, boursorama and 750 grammes not to mention what I thought was an oxymoron - "Des merguez halal au porc." The website of the MINEFE, dated yesterday, says merguez must be beef and/or lamb but merguez de.... can be pork. No quotes yet from the Muslim community. ← It doesn't add much to what you already reported, but there were an article about this problem in Le Monde yesterday: Le Monde - Plus d'une merguez sur deux contient du porc (in French only, sorry). The point is, according to the DGCCRF, more than a half of merguez are, at least partially, made from pork meat.

But it wasn't the staff, it was the food that was wildly inconsistent; even the same dishes (fish cocotte, gaspacho & tongue). And enough folks have experienced it that I am not returning til I hear some very good new reports. ← But if they have less or less-experienced people working in the kitchen, isn't it somehow predictable that the food will be inconsistent at best?

I don't think I have seen this mentioned here, but it seems that Itinéraires had some problem with their staff, which could explain why the quality hasn't been on par with what it was a few weeks ago. Their problems will be dealt with and everything should be back to normal after their holidays. This is second-hand information, but it apparently comes from a reliable source.