Louisa Chu

aprilmei, one of the best place for boudin noir in Paris - La Fontaine de Mars. No vacation closing, on the menu, served with butter sauteed apples, 13 euros. Their sister restaurant L'Auvergne Gourmande has it as the plat du jour - with either pureed potatoes or a compote of apples and pears - about once a month - but you'll miss it this month as they're serving it this coming Monday - for next time, it's 11 euros. Where to buy it to bring it back - La Maison du Jambon on rue Cler - one of the best charcuteries in town - open again the 27th. La Fontaine has andouillette on the menu too - try it. I just had it a couple of weeks ago. A little funky, a little musty, sliced, sauteed slightly crisp, with that lightly chewy and gelatinous texture that people who like offal love - really good.

Bux, mercifully it's not humid - just damn hot. Do you think Ducasse is a Happy Meal kinda guy?

hollywood, thanks. Bux, please feel free to sacrifice a chicken for me then - McNugget or otherwise.

inventolux - there's a chance PH ice creams will hit the States, but no date yet. VM, Miss Gla'Gla's will start again mid-May. Current seasonal macaron: Peach Apricot and Saffron (saffron macaraon, peach and saffron cream, morsels of soft apricot) Still hot. Must eat more ice cream.

Are you asking if there's a known Napoleon's Revenge phenomenon? No. But there is a bad flu bug going around Paris right now. But I would definitely not do steak tartare in this heat wave.

Oui, moi - but not anywhere near the dining room I'm sure! Please say a special prayer for me that day.

Pim, I'm so glad you saw this. I was going to post it on your original thread too - but actually got distracted by real work! Violon is also open regular hours throughout August - only closed Sunday and Monday - despite what their own site and the Michelin site say. It's just Chef Constant and his wife Catherine who'll be on vacation until the 20th.

Oh you're just killing me in BBQ-less Paris! Nice pix. What's on the left of the barbecue tray at Backcountry Barbecue? Thanks - torturers.

Chef Christian Constant - Violon d'Ingres, formerly of the Crillon - has opened Cafe Constant - a few doors down from Violon - on rue St. Dominique on the corner of rue Augereau. He took over a typical old neighborhood cafe - nasty little terrier and 2 cats gone - and is serving the daily plats he offered at the boutique as well as cafe classics. Open throughout the summer but closed on Sundays.

Completely different. It's like trying to compare a Dalloyau Opera cake to PH's Ispahan. I am now the proud horder of 3 liters of Pierre Herme's most popular ice cream flavours. From the Spring-Summer 2003 Collection, I have Satine (fromage blanc sorbet, orange coulis, passion fruit sorbet, morsels of sables) and Garance (fig sorbet, rasberry sorbet, caramelised cinnamon ice cream) And from the Signature Collection Ispahan Sorbet (lychee, rose, and rasberry sorbet) Gone already is Strawberry, Orange, and Cardomom Miss Gla'Gla - a couture ice cream sandwich - strawberry sorbet swirled with cardomom ice cream, laced with orange sauce, sandwiched between cardomom-perfumed sables. More later. Too hot now. Must eat ice cream.

pim, there's always a boulangerie/patisserie open in every neighborhood, every day of the week. If the one nearest you is closed, they will have a short list posted of nearby places open on their days off. As far as what restaurants will be open the 3rd week of August - there are too many mention. hollywood's right - check Michelin, they have dates. I know for sure Ducasse at the Plaza will re-open August 18th.

Waiting petulantly in Paris. I feel so superior not having sullied myself by watching this show - but not by choice. Were I there and not here I'd succumb. But for now sharing in Gallic snobbishness. I can't wait to ask the chefs at Ducasse what they think.

Butter-mochi cake?? Oh do tell. It's taken me my whole lifetime to adore sweet bean soups. Red bean - I crave beyond reason. Desserts at my home - when I was doing pastry at school it was absurd how many sweets we'd have. Four cakes one week? How many kilos of chocolate? But since I don't have a stove - and I'm in Paris - I buy desserts now - more chances to taste what's out there. Today I'm having a peach and hazelnut tarte from Maison Kayser. But back in California, I'd make desserts all the time - excess fruit from back yard trees - orange and lemon glazed weekend cakes , plum tartelettes, etc.

Bux, I'll join you! But start with the ice cream sandwiches - called Miss Gla'Gla; no I'm not kidding, for "glaces" French for ice cream - since they're only available through September. The ice creams are available year round - second year this year. I'm going Tuesday - I sooo cannot wait.

And I'm going for a tasting very soon. Will also tell you about the new Fall Collection. Will keep you posted ...

I have a friend staging at Pierre Herme now. For the first 5 weeks almost all she did was macarons. BG and Sinclair, how are you making them? Does PH's recipe call for drying? They dry theirs for 3 days before baking. I can get more specifics from her as well.

He's got them. I'll let him know about this thread - if he's not lurking already.

Bingo. That's what my mom taught me - and what the chefs at school tried to convince people who rolled their sleeves up past their elbows. But at home, just a long sleeved t-shirt. At school, one of my friends sold amazing customized aprons to pay his way through school - Swedish Apron Company - coming soon to a retailer near you.

Hobbes and everyone else who feels the way you do out there - you do what you need to do until you can do what you want to do. If that means cooking at Cheesecake Fucking Factory or washing dishes at some unknown godforsaken place then do it. Have faith. Hobbes, did they give you specifics at TRU or any of these other places? Yeah, speed, organization, blah, blah, blah - bullshit - get them to give you specifics. And then work on it. And quite frankly, as a fellow perfectionist, perfection may not be your place in the kitchen - yet. As for confidence, you may not feel it yet, but no one else needs to know that. Believe in yourself.

Joe, A La Mere Catherine is supposedly the place where the Cossack/Russian story first played out - as fresh_a and Bux said. It's on the Square Tertre - where all the artist/entrepreneurs set up easels or wander around with paper and scissors in hand, ready to render you in paper silhouette - up on Montmartre. I have not eaten there and I do not know anything more about the original or current owners. There was a heart-wrenching article in Saveur a few years ago about the last surviving bistros of the old Paris Les Halles era. You should be able to read it on their site. Felice, fresh_a's too busy eating at the finest dining in town. If I could just put in a votes for Chez Clovis and Chez Denise, a couple of the survivors from the article mentioned above.

That disclaimer scared the hell out of me! Thank you all so much. I don't know what else to say right now - without getting all weepy. Thanks.

OK, then me first.

Fat Guy, you first. I may not be his type.

What are those "bits"?! Since I don't plan to be locked up in any facility anytime soon. But then again why is Adam Smith quoting Chef "Sam" locked up? And for how long? And I can't wait to try that trick with the popcorn bag - since I still don't have a stove - thanks! And no, sorry, I won't send him photos or personal articles of clothing.

In another life I'd live in Utah - I adore Salt Lake City - I'm not kidding. A friend of mine - Ted Scheffler - is the restaurant reviewer/food writer there. This is his exhaustive Best of Utah 2003 - looking for the best suckling pig? It's in there. I decidely did not do high-end dining the two months I spent in SLC last year, but not for lack of choice. For two nights, I'd do the Tree Room at Sundance first, then The Globe Cafe by Moonlight the next. Your SO's a wonderful and smart woman.