menton1

Have you actually tried these two restaurants? I think you are rushing to judgement... As far as Pays de Provence Magazine, most of the Marseille spread in this issue seemed to be devoted to the people that live in or around Marseille; they discussed some new office construction and how they filled in land and did some remarkable engineering feats, some old photos of how Marseille looked at different stages of the 20th century, some diving finds of antiquities off the coast, a very un-touristy section. And one look at the photo of Le Tiboulen restaurant shows that this is anything but a tourist destination. Not to over defend it, but this magazine is not published for tourists-- it is for the people who live in Provence!!

Clement, my May issue of Pays de Provence arrived this week, and there is a 25 page spread all about Marseille. Apparently, Jellybean, those in the know do not feel that Marseille is a gastronomic desert, and with seeming good reason. Now that I have finished salivating after reading the "Guide des Tables" section, here are 2 places that really stood out to me as places not to be missed while in Marseille: Le Marseillois, a luxury 19th century yacht permanently docked in the Vieux Port that has been hollowed out and made into a beautiful and unusual restaurant. The place is loaded with memorabilia of 19th century Marseille, and they say the food is quite lovely, an eclectic blend of Provencal and seafood dishes. The second spot that caught my eye in particular is Le Tiboulen, a tiny place with only 8 tables, no menu, they serve whatever the family catches when they fish in the wee hours of the morning. Their motto is, "Notre seul chef, c'est la mer." The write-up says not to miss the Soupe de poissons that they make most days, it is fabulous! They also say to reserve ahead because of the little size of the place. Wish I could be there to sample these places with you, but please report back if you go!! Le Marseillois Quai du Port (Directly in front of the Hotel de Ville) 04 91 90 72 52 Le Tiboulen Route de Goudes (8th Arrondisement) 04 91 25 26 30

Is this on the RN 202 that parallels the Var? If so, I've been there several times, and this is where I buy my provisions to smuggle back to the states (cheaper than Cap 3000!) No, this was nowhere near the Var; it was outside of Nice, just off the A8 Autoroute, I think it was Sortie#6-- About 6 KM above Nice a little to the Northwest-- A huge store. In Provence, there is an Hyper U on the outskirts of Pertuis that is very big, but not like this Carrefour. No rollerblades, either.

This little scam has never happened to me in the many years of my travels to France; that person had to be quite a magician because they bring the machine right to your table. (We had a 3 page thread last fall about Credit cards, Europe, and the machines) If that ever happens again, say "Desolé" right back to them and tell them you have only 10E in cash-- they will get it to work!!

The largest supermarket I have ever seen was a grand Carrefour outside of Nice; the place had about 40 aisles, and another 80 concession stores selling different goods. All the employees have roller blades for getting around! What a great place!

Incidentally, just over the river from NYC in Belleville, NJ is a Spanish food distributor, Ole Ole Foods, open to the public, who sells wonderful white anchovies from Spain! This place has been talked about extensively on the NJ board as well as mentioned on the NY weekly sales thread.

This sounds like they used "sea legs" or surimi, that awful stuff that is used in so many Asian products these days and routinely used in "Seafood salad" in delis. I can't stand the stuff, and it's reasonable to think that some unscrupulous Asian restaurants tried to use that stuff instead of real scallops. They also routinely use those "sealegs" in Crab cakes, and only upon intense questioning can you find out that very little crab is used-- should be illegal!

This place finally got reviewed by the New York Times yesterday; overall, a nice review, he said that the place is gorgeous inside, very busy, and gave it an overall "Good" rating. David Corcoran said that it has some kinks to work out, probably attributed to the "just opened" blues; This place is yet to be discovered by any Egulleters, though!

Just for the record, I thought that the adductor muscle was the actual edible part of the scallop. Perhaps you folks are referring to something other than this muscle as far as a part that is removed before eating-- (By the way, an abductor is someone lurking in the darkness, ready to do his evil deeds!!)

Jonathan, Moulin de Lourmarin definitely open on Mondays.

Yes, Rachel, the Englewood, Paramus-Route 4, and the Rochelle Park ShopRites are the ones that are Glass-owned. Nice operation. I did see the ad for the sea scallops, and may get them later in the week. I didn't know about removing the adductor muscles; never did that with scallops. I just wish they sold scallops with the shells, they are so interesting and beautiful. P.S. Rachel, could you please give us back your dog as your avatar? He is sooo cute!! (Jason also!)

A wonderful place, open Mondays, is the Moulin de Lourmarin, about 30 minutes from Aix in the dreamy village of Lourmarin. A true destination place, I believe Jonathan Day has written extensively about the place, and how he goes out of his way to go there. Moulin de Lourmarin rue du Temple Lourmarin 04 90 68 06 69

Well, of course Westchester cannot compete with Manhattan, but few places could; but as a suburban area there are scores of wonderful places to eat, and, as we can see from the New Jersey board, an area with a similar suburban environment to Westchester, there is a lot to talk about food-wise. The problem is, NJ has its own board, and Westchester is swallowed up by the Manhattan discussions. If you are in Westchester, there is no need to go every day to Manhattan to find a place worthy of dining at!! With over a million residents, there has to be something interesting to talk about!

Any other Westchester foodies here that can comment on River City Grille? any other good recs for Westchester restaurants?

I find the main problem with generics is that they are inconsistent. I think that the supermarkets make rolling deals with suppliers and each batch may come from a different producer. I have used Shop-Rite ripe black olives and they actually vary from can to can. I think it also depends on the product-- right next to Vantage seltzer is the generic, and there is no detectable difference. Also, as previously mentioned, Manhattan is not conducive to a large suburban-type supermarket for obvious reasons, so you will need to head to the burbs for a ShopRite, Stop & Shop or stores of that ilk. What specific products do you like generic versions of?

I remember a short-lived place in Manayunk/Roxborough called BLT's Cobblefish-- it was in an old warehouse that was hollowed out, and they had very fresh, simple fish dinners there; the only peculiar thing I remember was the valet parking, which was totally unnecessary because you could park easily on the street only another 30 steps away! Anyone else remember BLT's? What is there now?

Are you spending the entire 2 weeks in Marseille? Are you staying in the center? Will you have a car? (I can base my recommendations on your answers)

It seems we almost never see a review of a Westchester restaurant here, the county gets short shrift becuase of the dominance of Manhattan topics here; but we found ourselves in Westchester yesterday and happened upon this place and found it to be a gem. On Route 9 (Broadway) in Irvington this place from the outside looks like a re-done diner and the opposite side of the street is park-like, with lots of green and flowers. Inside, the place is quite interesting, with cute banquettes and 3 separate areas that give a nice feeling to the place. The main area has a wall of windows so it is very airy. Menu had a lot of interesting choices, but we started with 2 salads, a Tricolor Salad, with radicchio, and lots of baby lettuces and shaved Fontina cheese in a lovely balsamic dressing. The Mixed Greens salad had a different variety of baby greens, very fresh, with s vinaigrette dressing. The dressings were perfect, not drenched, just enough to coat the greens. Very lovely. For the main courses we had a Grilled Salmon entree, the chef somehow made two large round "patties" of salmon in 2 layers on a bed of spinach that was sauteed perfectly. There was a fantastic herbed sauce with a very interesting blend of flavorings and some cooked cherry tomatoes circling the salmon. We also had a giant pork chop cooked perfectly in a wonderful sauce with pureed celery root, very, very interesting, and sauteed broccoli rabe. Very satisfying, and too big to finish. The evening was topped off with two perfect coffees, one espresso and one American, both very good and very hot. Service was very cheerful, and the place is one that we would highly recommend to all those suburbanite Westchester folk out there that we hardly ever hear from--- We will be returning to this place soon--- River City Grille 9 South Broadway Irvington, N.Y. 914-591-2033 Web Site

I think that these exotic highly-processed ingredients are ultimately deleterious to one's health; why not just stick to the wide array of fresh veggies, low carb fresh fruits, and chicken & fish? There is enough variety here to keep one satisfied, and keeping it simple also helps!

Seems impossible, unless it's not really honey, just some artificial product; I think you might just settle for Splenda or Equal....

You should also bear in mind that if you are staying in the center of Lyon sans voiture, that Bocuse is a ways out of town and a chore to get to; you might opt instead for the also-acclaimed Léon de Lyon, Pierre Orsi, both of which are in the center of the city, or the dozens of lesser-known great restaurants in Lyon, including the Bouchons. After all, Lyon is touted as the best city for food in France.....

Comparing the ice cream in France to gelato in Italy is comparing apples and oranges. The gelato process is completely different, as well as the ingredients. Gelato actually uses NO cream-- and the flavors are added much earlier in the process-- I'm sure I would love Damman's ice cream; but gelato in Italy is a very unique experience!!

I second the vote for Joel's!! Skip Winberie, it's just another Bennigan's-type chain restaurant; Joel's is creative, unique, and the food is terrific! Joel's Malibu Kitchen 14 Oak Street Ridgewood 201-493-9477

Robert, I agree with everything you say here... but, realize, that you are returning to France every night!! Hotels are of particular concern in this area, they are catering to "families", many from Germany and Switzerland. A large portion of the hotels either insist on or encourage you to take 2 or 3 meals at the hotel; and the hotel standards are just about a 2* quality (regardless of how many stars they post on their plaque). Yes, if you stick to the trattorias and little places there is very good food to be had, we had terrific seafood and great Trophie w/Pesto, the signature dish of the area. I also would have liked to have gone to the above mentioned La Fornace, it is very highly spoken of both in Michelin (1*) and a few other guides. Perhaps I was also spoiled because we were coming off 4 days on the French Riviera, and the contrast was too striking-- possibly if we had gone to the area straight away we could have tolerated it better--- When I came back last fall, we had an interesting discussion of this same issue Here

When we came back from our vacation last year, I had written here about my disappointment in Western Liguria. We were in Beaulieu, France, and decided to hop over to Italy for some culture change and pasta and pesto. We had been to Eastern Liguria, Santa Margherita, Portofino, Cinque Terre and environs, and loved it there. Western Liguria is VERY disappointing. After the sumptuous towns on the French Riviera, these towns in Italy west of Genoa have a seediness to them, along with a feeling that their best days are behind them. Much of the advice you are seeing in other posts here is about going East of Genoa. As we found out, the dearth of information about the coast from Genoa to the French border is not an accident... We stayed in Finale Ligure. Most of the towns feature private beach clubs and "family" hotels where a 3-7 day minimum stay is usual, and most include meals at these hotels. We did discover a lovely town in the hills, Finaleborgo, where the center is closed to cars and the square is medieval. We did have a lovely meal at a small trattoria there. The only noteworthy restaurant west of Genoa is in Vado Ligure, called La Fornace de Barbablu. The setting of the place is supposed to be an old Roman furnace ruin. We never got there, because we couldn't wait to get back to France. We love Italy, but Western Liguria seems to be one of Italy's regions where time has passed it by.... La Fornace de Barbablu Web Site