SMMiller

The concept seems to be quite ambitious for Portland, a city where the small focused restaurant like Sel Gris, Le Pigeon or Beast seems to be preferred. That said, Lucier is well located within easy distance from the growing numbers of well paid doctors and staff of OHSU who make the south waterfront their home. Their stated goal is to become a destination restaurant for special events. I think there is room in Portland for a well marketed (and hopefully well received) destination restaurant.

The Pearl is very walkable. If it's a rainy day you might want to. We locals wear columbia or REI rain jackets so we don't really care. Ten 01 is right next to Powell's the amazing portland book store. Which is a must visit for anyone who likes to read. I've heard great things about Park Kitchen but have yet to dine there. The portland food scene has exploded and there are many fine choices.

2-3 blocks walking distance: Heathman (Continental) Typhoon (Thai) El Gaucho (Steakhouse) Better restaurants are a few blocks further: Veritable Quandary (NW) Higgins (NW) Carafe Bistro (French Bistro) The Pearl is also walking distance Ten 01 (NW) Andina (Peruvian) and many more Some of the best in town are a longer walk, or a very short drive across the river Sel Gris (French) Le Pigeon (French influenced NW) Or walk toward the Pearl and grab a ride on the Street car Paley's Place (NW) Bewon (Korean)

We had a wonderful experience at Drouant for Lunch in early July. Highly recommended.

We were lucky to get reservations at Spring for Tuesday July 3rd. We absolutely loved his place. The way he stands watching to see how everyone likes his food is fun to watch. That is passion you don't see very often. Every dish we had was exquisite and paired nicely with a nice red burg off his short list. The most amazing thing was the final bill -- less than 150 euros for 2 which included a fair amount of good wine. If we had been careful with the wine it would have been far less. I'm looking for another excuse to go to Paris for a return trip.

Found this great report on Chow Hound. Now I'm looking for another good excuse to go back to Hong Kong! http://www.chowhound.com/topics/385412

There are plenty of very good places for Dim Sum all over HKG. I'll assume you want a differentiated experience that you will not find elsewhere. You should make reservations in advance for these gourmet dim sum options: Yan Toh Heen at the Intercontinental in TST http://hongkong-ic.dining.intercontinental...honic/di01.html Lung King Heen at the Four Seasons on HKG island http://www.fourseasons.com/hongkong/dining..._king_heen.html If you are looking for the bustling dim sum house with the carts; Maxim's in City Hall is a good choice. You won't be wowed by the dim sum like the ones above, but you will certainly enjoy the grand room & view and very good dim sum that is the same quality as the best places in NY or SF or Vancouver. Enjoy your trip!

I enjoy reading John T's reviews and others posted here. We are stopping over in Paris for a 3-4 days in early July on our way to South Africa. We'll be gone a month so I need to be careful with our Euros. I had found one post where John had listed his top tables in Paris, but now I can't find it. I've been sorting through his reviews and others and now I would like some advice. I'm looking for 4-6 places to work with (assuming that we will fail to get a table at some) where we will have a good variety of cooking and where the bill will be $125 euros or less on average. If one goes past $150 and another is under $100 we'll be fine. Our palate has been improving (it's hard not to living in Portland Oregon). The best meal we've had in Paris was Le Troquet 3+ years ago. Some of the names that stuck out from reviews I have read here include: Spring l'Accolade Le Versance Les Fines Gueules Les Fables of Fontaine Le Grand Pan We don't speak the language (yet). We are willing to go pretty much anywhere to eat a great meal. Out of the way hard to find... love it. If you have others to add to the list or any other helpful tips I appreciate it.

Sure! We're going in early April and staying on Hong Kong Island at the Conrad (Award Stay).

We're planning a week in Hong Kong and will probably try Dim Sum 3-4 times while we are there. We're looking for recommendations for the best of the best.