VivreManger

For convenience of locating restaurants and other activities, I keep the Pariscope website bookmarked. Pariscope is a slim-down Francophone equivalent of Time Out and New York Magazine. The link is http://pariscope.fr/ After not checking it for a few months, I have tried to log on over the last few days and all I got was the phone directory of the publication. Has anybody else has this experience? I also tried accessing it via Time Out Paris, another route that usually works and I got the same result.

Next month I am taking our 12 year-old daughter to DC to visit friends and do the Our Nation's Capitol Tour. Based on what I have gleaned from this forum, the following seem good places for dining that are reasonably convenient to the Red Line (we will be staying in Cleveland Park), the Capitol, and the Mall where we will be spending most of our time. For lunch, Jaleo and Zaytinya: Could someone give me the cross-streets, as well as the closest Metro stop (Is it Gallery Place or Metro Center on the Red Line?) for 480 7th Street NW and 701 Ninth St. NW, respectively? For dinner, the choices seem to be between Bistro D'oc and Obelisk. Obelisk (2029 P St., N.W) seems further away and perhaps stuffier than Bistro D'oc (518 Tenth Street, NW (202-393-5444), between E and F). And other things being equal, I prefer French to Italian. On the other hand we will probably be meeting an old friend who works on the Hill and I would like to be able to talk to him. Which of the two is likely to be more conversation friendly for a Thursday night dinner? What is the price range for each? I have enjoyed Cafe Atlantico, but I want to try something new. By the way, I believe that Zaytinya is near the Spy Museum. Does anyone know if that is worth a visit?

For the record, I must respectfully disagree with a few points made in the course of the discussion. First, I don't believe that Robert Brown is right about American food spending habits: These are problematic qualifications -- most surveys of national buying habits that I know aren't divided by income level and what is "meaningful food"? The basic problem is the very opposite, as a whole -- I don't think the income level distinctions are helpful -- Americans spend a much smaller percentage of their income on food certainly than the French and probably most other first world industrialized countries. Second, Steve Shaw's claims about food studies in American academic libraries are simply wrong. I went to the on-line library catalogues of seven well-known institutions. Six of them, Amherst College, Boston College, Hampshire College, Mt. Holyoke College, Smith College, Wellesley College had no listings under the subject "food studies". The exception was the seventh, Harvard, which, as the largest university library in the world, has practically every book one can imagine, and accordingly also has the most powerful search engines of any university library catalogue. The Harvard search yielded 958 hits. For the Harvard catalogue, this is a tiny number. I suspect that there are more academic studies on Buffy than there are on buffets. The examples Steve cites, Carnegie and NYU, are the exceptions rather than the norm. Actually the most interesting academic discussion of food that I have ever heard of was written up in the New Yorker about 5 or so years ago and is still going strong. It has been organized by Theodore Zeldin, a distinguished scholar of French history, who used to organize at his university, Oxford, an annual symposium on food. The following URL offers a foretaste, http://www.arts.adelaide.edu.au/CentreFood...FoodCook01.html I can't think of any American academic discussion at such a level. Nor can any piddling American pomo food play -- such as Steve is alluding to -- compare with the great traditions of taste and cooking founded by Brillat-Savarin and ongoing in France today. Third, the issue of the insularity of American taste has been raised by Jonathan Day, The point is well-taken, but its implications are more complex. While Americans are remarkably parochial -- certainly non-Hispanic native-born Americans are the least polyglot of any people in the world -- the United States probably has the most ethnically diverse immigrant population. As a consequence it has greater access to a diversity of foodways than most other cultures. However it is not at all clear that necessarily produces a great cuisine, though it certainly has made American food better. In many respects France is a much less tolerant and pluralist society than the US, in the name of a parochialism that claims to represent universalist values. Multiculturalism is far more controversial in France than it is in the US -- witness the struggle over Muslim headgear. On the other hand no one would claim that a certain lack of cultural openness has yielded an inferior cuisine. Probably no country in the world has a higher percentage of passport holders and a greater degree of foreign travel than Israel. That still has not created a great Israeli cuisine. I think there are two central related problems with the American way of eating. One is economic. The other is historical. The economic problem is that since the nineteenth century and the expansion of the country westward into the great grain producing bread-baskets of the midwest, American policy in both the private and the public sectors has been committed to the production of abundant and cheap food. This is hardly a problem, given the centuries-old scourges of famine and starvation that have wracked humanity, but it does have certain implications. One implication is that a system of food production that places the priority on the greatest abundance at the least price does not allow for much emphasis on quality and refinement. The latter goals are not impossible to achieve, but they are not the priority. Instead we have a priority that favors a restaurant culture of gargantuan portions, sagging all-you-can-eat buffet tables, and a population of staggering obesity: Oncore, Hungry Man frozen dinners, eat three get one free. The historical problem is that -- for better or for worse -- we lack a heritage of lavish court life. The great cuisines, notably, the French, the Chinese, the Indian and the Turkish, all drew upon an extravagent and luxurious tradition of ostentatious and indulgent court cuisine, established by the Bourbons, the Ching and Manchus, the Mughals, as well as the Ottomans. Not all imperial dynasties reached such culinary excellence so wealth and power alone do not suffice -- consider the Hapsburgs -- but having such advantages can help create and foster a vibrant food culture. Peasants -- with all due respect to the romance of the terroir -- cannot alone achieve that. Cabbage and potatoes alone don't make a great cuisine. America to a great degree is the product of successive peasant immigrations fleeing poverty and starvation. For them cheap abundant food was overwhelmingly the goal. Today for the fortunate proponderance of Americans those primal concerns are too distant to be recalled, but the institutions established to meet those needs still dominate how we are fed and how we feed ourselves.

We are in western Mass. where the native asparagus has just arrived, admittedly not a fruit. Local melons, berries, peaches, pears, and apples -- many varieties -- come in later in the summer. Oh yes, I forgot dried apples, one lime, and some fruit chutneys. Our kids love dried fruit and it is an excellent alternative to candy and ice cream, as well as fitting nicely into school lunch boxes as well as tiny kitchens -- admittedly not ours -- for those who are space-challenged. The kids also devour fresh fruit so none of this lasts long. Trader Joe's has the best variety, quality, and price for dried fruit. Middle Eastern markets are good for things like mulberries and other exotic varieties. Since mulberries are almost impossible to find, unless you have your own bush, I keep the dry kind on hand. Cooked quickly in a bit of boiling water they are a wonderful addition to fruit salads.

I have been to this place a few times, but not for six years. I think the following review, a year old, does reflect my memory of the place -- I think it comes from La Nouvelle Obs. The location is not far from the Louvre so it is convenient if you are walking in that neighborhood. I ordered the duck confit which was good as were the plate of charcuterie. Red wines are very good there, as the review suggests. I have not tried the beef tartare so can't second that recommendation. It used to be very crowded at lunch time when the main branch of the Bibliotheque Nationale was located next door, but most of the library has moved so it may not be as hectic. It is a few doors down from Willi's wine bar. The French of the review is not worth translating, but the point is that this is an old-fashioned Paris bistrot, turn of the century decor, good for a glass of wine and a good bite to eat. Closed on Sunday and Monday night. I have only eaten lunch there so I can't speak to the dinner menu. AUX BONS CRUS 7, rue des petits champs Métro Bourse de 15 A 30 €Tél. 01 42 60 06 45 Fermé le lundi soir et le dimanche Un vrai bistrot parisien qui ne vous prend pas pour une poire avec une addition de restaurant gastronomique. Ici dans un décor qui date du début du siècle avec un monte-charge d'anthologie, on vous sert des mets roboratifs avec des produits de qualité et des vins sélectionnés avec une grande sévérité par le patron. Le tartare est l' une des spécialités de la maison mais vous pouvez venir ici pour une tartine et un verre de vin.

Pineapple -- Cost Rica Delicious Apples -- Washington state (?) Macintosh Apples -- " Apricots -- California Anjou Pears -- perhaps west coast Bananas -- Ecuador (and not very good) Kiwi -- I think NZ Mango -- Mexico, I think Grape Tomatos -- Florida Lemon - California Blackberries -- Mexico Canteloupe -- ripe southern (Georgia) just arriving this week, excellent bouquet, sweet and juicy Dried Fruit Mulberries nectarines prunes peaches cherries pineapple organic Thompson seedless raisins organic Turkish apricots Bottled fruit Morello cherries frozen fruit wild blueberries Preserved fruit strawberry jam wild blueberry jam blackberry jam boysenberry jam wild chokecherry jelly mandarine-orange jam Dundee orange marmalade Beaujolais nouveau jelly red currant jam pomegranate molasses pekmez, Turkish grape molasses-like syrup raisinee, Swiss apple molasses-like syrup

You are quite right. Zaika was discussed recently and on the whole compared favorably to Tamarind whose seafood Simon dismissed as bland. I was simply noting that it had not appeared in response to this post of Monica Bhide. However in her other post, on the best Indian restaurant meal ever, Anil just mentioned it. He said it now requires reservations weeks in advance. I assume it has not yet descended to the French Laundry-Astrance level of absurdity.

There are two Indian restaurants, described favorably in this forum, that have not surfaced in response to Monica's post, I wonder if they have fallen out of favor recently: Star of India and Zaika. Or is it only the chef's table at these establishments that merits favor? I could put in a smiley at this point, but I believe that writing alone should and can convey intent even on the Internet. I am also curious about the 1 .95 pound lunch at Mela. Does it still exist and was (is) it ever worth eating? In looking over another site that posts comments on London restaurants, Mela did provoke some harsh comments on its service. I wonder if that was for the cheap lunch. Cinnamon Club seems to have become yesterday's paper.

maggiethecat Posted: May 14 2003, 09:44 AM Seriously?? As Bux explained earlier, in France the norm for a dinner guest would be flowers, not wine. As for whether or not the bottle gets drunk, in the States there can be no consistent rule since it really depends on the nature of the friendship with the host/ess and the nature of the gathering. When I bring wine, normally I do not expect my host/ess to open it for dinner. However if I would like that to happen, I might at least keep the option open, for instance by chilling the white beforehand. If the hint is not taken, nothing is lost. As far as no flowers sans vase, it strikes me the same etiquette applies, consideration for the host/ess. I know when I am traveling and am invited out, there is often barely enough time to find an appropriate dinner-gift, let alone flowers AND a vase. Locally the best flowershop in town does not stock vases for example. Thus if I do bring flowers, the best I should expect from my hosts would be that they dunk them in a bottle as a holding action until the entrees, mains, and whatever else needs attention are finished. Just as one should not expect the wine to be opened, one should not expect the flowers to be displayed. They are for the hosts to enjoy whenever they please. On the other hand a considerate guest at an informal party among close friends might offer to Deal with the Flowers so Maggie et al. can handle the more pressing matters of feeding the guests. We are always grateful for such initiative.

gsquared Posted on May 15 2003, 01:10 AM Do please clue us in on your discovery.

If you work and get paid in France, you have to have a bank account since most employers must -- I believe -- direct deposit your pay. Since I was working for only a month, I opted for the simplest and cheapest account which offered no checks or other services. I worked right next to the bank so it was easy to make withdrawals. This was in pre-Euro days. Now with the Euro, a bank account in any part of the Euro market has much more utility than it did in the past. I believe that English banks have also established Euro-Sterling fungible checking accounts. I believe they are more costly than a simple Euro account would be on the Continent, but at least the terms would be in English. However that is no guarantee that they would be any more comprehensible. I will start a thread on travel credit cards, but I got to get off now.

Sorry I lost the attribution for Bux's questions earlier. Maybe it will work better for Menton1? I don't know the answers to your questions, but I suspect that the first is yes and the second is yes. I do know that about 10 years ago when I was living in another country I set up a VISA card at the bank where I had a checking account and it functioned as a debit card. At one point I had reason to use my US VISA card that same year in that same country and it functioned as a credit card. I also remember that in France whenever I saw a card being used for a transaction, the consumer needed to tap in their code. When they saw my card, they did not bother to request the number since they assumed a foreign VISA card is a credit card, not a code-bearing debit card.

Bux, I hope I have correctly dated and attributed this quote to you. Normally I just cut and paste without the alt-Q. Let's see if this works properly. As for the questions: My ATM card is directly with the bank where I have my checking and other accounts. My VISA card is with BankOne -- at least it was last time I checked -- through UAL -- I am thinking of changing it for all the obvious reasons, but that is a horse of a different color, worthy of a separate post. For my account, my bank does not charge for any ATM withdrawals as such. I believe the difference in exchange rates was due to the fees BANKOne adds to credit card transactions, because I checked the amounts on ATM withdrawals and credit card charges that took place on the same day. Furthermore I compared these respective amounts over several days in two different currencies (Euro and Swiss Franc) and the difference was consistent. I did not do the math, but it was more than 1-2%. I probably should have called BankOne to confirm my finding, but at that point I could not be bothered. However in anticipation of several foreign trips over the next few months, I probably should. Furthermore I do want to change credit cards so I am willing to learn more about alternatives, but as I said that is a differently colored horse. Inasmuch as travel along with dining are the subject of this forum, I presume it would be kosher to raise a question about members' credit card experiences, especially those that involve frequent flyer mileage.

The more it turns. The worse it tastes.

I am not sure what advantage the Euro system-- to the extent I understand it as previously described -- has for the consumer. Is the lesser cost simply due to the substitution of a digital code for a paper signature? In fact many US companies are going to paperless digitalized signature authorization for credit card transactions, so presumably that cost differential can be eliminated by a code-less system. I suspect the differential might have another cause. Presumably debit cards are cheaper for the merchant than credit cards because they eliminate the risk of deadbeats. With a debit card, merchants are paid right away and know that they are paid right away. With a credit card the risk of non-payment is real. But unless that savings is passed on to the consumer in the form of lower prices, an unlikely outcome, the debit rather than credit card can cost the consumer. The immediate debiting of the consumer's account and the consequent loss of control over the timing of payment do cost the consumer, both in terms of opportunity cost -- that is the loss of income (admittedly negligible in the current low-interest climate) on the sum -- and convenience -- controlling the actual time of payment (within an admittedly limited time frame). If one pays one's credit card bills in full and on time, there is no interest charge to the consumer so the debit card carries no advantage. Furthermore the use of debit rather than credit cards undermines -- I would imagine -- the ability of a customer to challenge a bill after the fact, since with cash already in hand, the merchant is less likely to negotiate over a problem transaction. More generally there is the problem for the US consumer abroad of the exchange rate charges added to every card transaction -- I believe this applies to both credit and debit cards, but I would be happy to learn otherwise. Within the last few years with little fanfare banks have been tacking on at least 1% or more to every foreign exchange transaction on a credit card. I noticed this on my last trip, comparing the exchange rates on my ATM transactions to the exchange rates on the credit card transactions in Switzerland and France. This is now a universal practice and means that cash is cheaper than plastic. A few months ago Bux (I believe) and several others pursued a detailed discussion of this issue, but I can't find the thread, if you want to find it Jason Perlo may be able to help. It has been addressed in the NYTimes Travel section as well. In addition to the greater expense of plastic in foreign currency charges, there is also the unreliability of the local systems. On at least two or three occasions on my last trip, my card was refused. When I returned home, my credit card company had in no way flagged my account, but in fact there had been some glitch in the local Swiss and French system that had caused the problem. This glitch can be highly localized so that one merchant gets a refusal, while the one next door that happens to be part of a different system okays it. I have no idea if debit cards would reduce this problem, but I doubt it. The upshot of all of this is to suggest that with plastic's greater cost and less convenience and reliability we may be witnessing the return of the paper economy at least in foreign travel. As for the debit versus credit issue addressed by the two earlier posts, if the consumer pays off bills fully and promptly why should one want a debit card? A debit card seems useful only as a form of debt control for those tempted to live beyond their means. Perhaps if Bill Bennett was forced to pay his friends in Atlantic City and Las Vegas with a debit card instead of his personal form of credit -- royalties on his morality books, he would not have run up 8 million in losses?

May I add a note that applies to all restaurants, not just Indian? The problem of noise. In general I think that Indian restaurants are not the worst offenders, but since the question of ambience in general has been raised, noise too should be on the list. I remember reading some years ago that restaurants designers preferred hard metalic surfaces because they would ratchet up the noise level and generate the kind of buzz that the then favored clientele of the moment -- at the time 80s-90s yuppies -- preferred. Where are soft fabrics and other safe noise absorbers on the walls and ceilings when you need them? At some point even 90s yuppies need to hear each other.

We went to Jewel Bako about two months ago. Unfortunately we had to be seated at a table, rather than the sushi bar, so I don't think the experience was ideal. I was disappointed by the otoro which was not as sublime as I would have hoped. We did order one dish that was truly excellent, the mixed mushrooms. It was so good we had a second. I am hoping to make another visit. This time with fewer, so I can sit at the bar.

"I recommend passing on small bottles of Champagne. Frankly I have never understood their reason for being. " CC On airtrips they can be drinkable. Air France usually offers Economy passengers some bubbly for free.

One thing I have noticed about Private Preserve is that the nitrogen can often spritz up a bottle of generic champagne considerably. The effect is to revive the bubbly once it has flattened out. I have done this with cheap prosecco so I haven't worried about the effect on taste.

This is slightly off-topic, but builds on an issue that has surfaced repeatedly in the BG discussion: the quality of sturgeon. If there is interest, we can move it from NY and get Adam Balic involved. Am I wrong, but has the taste of sturgeon declined over the past decades? Does the current farm-raised sturgeon -- which I believe now dominates the market ?? -- taste like dirty water when compared to the pure driven snows of yesteryear? I used to love smoked sturgeon. It had a rich, full, fleshy taste. I would eagerly buy it at Murray's or Zabar's. I remember the fresh fish as well, a similar and even cleaner taste. I have not had fresh sturgeon in years and now whenever I bite into a piece of smoked sturgeon, even when it is freshly hand-sliced and moist, it reminds me of a dirty pond. Does anybody with a good memory for taste over the decades recognize the problem? Or is this just my meshugas? I recognize that there is a difference between wild and farm-raised fish, but in other varieties -- e.g. salmon, trout, striped bass -- I like both, though there clearly is a difference. Here, I don't like the new stuff. Does any one else share this taste?

Bushey "Is Nauset Market the one next to Sir Cricket's? We checked it out last year for the first time and were favorably impressed with the selection of fresh fish and also the friendliness and knowledge of the staff." Yes. It is on 6A (I believe) near the Stop & Shop in Cranberry Cove.

Some months ago I contributed a thread concerning the proper home preparation of Montreal smoked meat. Since it does apply to this discussion of the affinage of NY pastrami as well I include the reference for those curious. There are two major differences between what I did and what, I believe, restaurants generally do or should do. First, to heat the product -- in this case it had been frozen -- I prepare a court bouillon of various spices (detailed in the original posting). This is clearly necessary for the revival of the once frozen meat , but I suspect it should also be done for the fresh product. I don't think delis typically do this, but if they did it could make a marked difference from deli to deli even if they all had the same purveyor. Second, I don't think I have ever steamed it as long as Langer's et al. I should be in Montreal next month and I plan to pick up some more meat. Perhaps a four hour steam bath might make Montreal smoked meat gain the soft consistency of NY pastrami, beloved by denture wearers and others, but I have never had it that way. It is worth an experiment to examine the results. http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...f=3&t=14920&hl=

"The Miss Florence in Florence MA. There's only one thing to order-- corned beef hash. They grind it, which is very old-style, slap a great big plate-sized circle of it on the griddle with some red onions smooshed into it, crisp it on both sides and serve it with poached eggs on top. Almost surreally good, the combination of crisp outside and creamy, meaty, potatoe-y inside is splendid, with the velvety egg smeared on the top. I miss it so. Snif" Ms Flo's ain't what she used to be. I remember getting a really great pan-fried trout there about 30 years ago. No longer. It has changed hands. The menu is no longer the same, but for everyone's sake, I do promise to try out the corned beef hash. In Northampton, I think the better place is the Bluebonnet Diner on King Street, just off I-91. The hash is good and the other old standards are reliable -- e.g. grape-nut pudding, teased hair, piles of the local papers lying around. The dining room has a miniature train that runs around the ceiling. Another classic New England diner is Haven Bros. in downtown Providence, right next to City Hall. For more decades than I admit to remembering the diner gets moved in place every night, staying open to God knows when, cooking hot dogs and hamburgers. The menu is limited, but the characters who hang out there are not.

Good friends of mine are off to Italy in August. They have rented places for a week or two each in Umbria and in the Padua region. They are adventurous -- the stop in Italy is en route to a year in Asmara in Eritrea on the Horn of Africa. They enjoy good food and wine, though they don't have the budget for the very fanciest places. Any recommendations for classic local cooking and good value in local wines would be very much appreciated. They asked me to post the following: We would welcome advice on good eating and nice places to walk/hike in the region of Bevagna, which is in the Spoleto Valley of Umbria. We will also be staying south of Padua near Abano Terme, and would welcome similar tips on Padua and that locality.

Paul, After reading the posts by you and Andy on Putney Bridge (separate thread), it sounds worth adding to the list. Given the distance and the relatively greater ease of travelling and parking there on a Sunday, it seems that might be a day to choose it. Not clear from the preoccupation with Sunday lunch, but is it also open on Sunday evening. I gather that it is not as elegant as some of the other places on my original list, but that it offers greater value for the price.