RandyB

I've seen hot sandwiches in a couple of Seattle Starbucks stores. They are of the McMuffin variety at breakfast and more filled at lunch, but in either case they are heated in a microwave. So if you like your hot sandwiches on steamed bread, Star$s is your place. As for the comments on the ability of the servers to "pull" a good expresso, that's not an issue when the machines are all automated. Everyone presses the same button and gets the same "pull", for better or worse. Long ago S$ said the reason for the automated machines was the physical health of their servers. (I hate S$'s made up name "barista".) Carpel tunnel and other hand/wrist problems caused by the large volume of "pulls" each day.

Chocolate raspberry torte at the B&O Expresso.

I ateonce at Dong Kong Lau Hakka Restaurant. I particularly went to try the mochi duck (stuffed). I enjoyed the dinner but not enough to go back. As for the Snappy Dragon, at least it's better than Black Pearl! Which, I admit, isn't saying much.

Saturday night a group of friends had a really excellent meal at T&T, 18320 Aurora Ave North. I'd pretty much given up on finding really good Chinese food in the north end. For comparison, I'd call Judy Fu's Snappy Dragon "ok" at best. And even the ID places seem to come up with very mixed (at extreme ends) reviews here and on the other board. We had six dishes, of which five were particularly good. None are fancy or designer dishes. But each had distinctive flavors that distinguished them. The kitchen does a very nice job with spices and particularly ginger. 1. Sizzling black cod. A group favorite, plus this fish is not endangered. It was almost a sweet and sour sauce, but not too sweet and definitely not gummy. 2. Sauteed green beans in garlic sauce with chicken. A standard, particularly well done. 3. Sauteed prawns and vegetables. Nice crisp vegies, loved the ginger. 4. Beef and broccoli. Another standard that somehow just seemed better than usual. Like the chefs aren't tired of making it here. 5. Seafood chow mein with soft noodles. This is definitely not Chun King. 6. Appetizer of deep fried squid with their simplest dipping sauce. Too much breading for me, but the squid pieces were not tough or chewy at all. We did not order from the fish tank, although it did look good.

When I told the shopkeeper I was leaving Paris just before BN was legal to sell, he offered to sell me a bottle under the table just before I left. I didn't take him up on the offer.

I typically leave small change that amounts to about 5%. For example, after a 30-40 € meal, I'd probably leave 2 €. The percentage will be a bit more if I just have a coffee or one glass of wine, since it seems silly to leave less than 50 cents. And, as you said, the amount may vary if service is poor or particularly good.

It is a very beautiful place and I think it would be fun with a small group. I wouldn't go there for a quiet, romantic evening. I should add that the waiters have always been quite nice to me even when I was just ordering takeout, so I expect they'd be the same inside.

Just got back last night from my semiannual trip to Paris. I'm online instead of sleeping because my body thinks it's 4 pm. Here's my report from the lower end of the price range: My favorite local place is still le Relais St. Paul, at 33, rue François Miron, a couple of blocks west of the St. Paul métro station. This is southwest cooking with a prix fixe of 25 € of so for 3 courses. It is one of the few restaurants where a solo traveler can order cassoulet, and it is excellent. So is the duck breast, although the portion of meat is a bit small. The chêvre chaud salad is an included appetizer which often costs 6-7 € in other places. The absolute bargain in takeout is the choucroute paysanne at Bofinger, a famous old but tourist-filled brasserie near the Bastille. For 10 € you get enough for 2 people. It does come hot, but probably works better if you have at least a kitchenette where you are staying to reheat it. I had been hearing negative comments for several years about l'Excuse (at 14, rue Charles V, very close to my apartment), and had walked out immediately 4 years ago myself because the greeting at the door was so cold. However, I noticed that the latest guide books were giving it good marks. When some friends canceled out on a pizza date, I went there on a whim. You would think from its location and longevity on a tiny street off the small rue St. Paul is might be filled with locals. Not so. Most of the diners were American or English. A waiter told me that was normal. The prix fixe dinner was 35 €. An amuse bouche of salmon in a puff pastry over something forgettable reminded me why I never order salmon in Paris. That is, living in Seattle I can usually tell the difference between fresh wild salmon and farm raised. In Paris what one almost always gets is farm raised, and this appetizer was oversalted and not all that fresh. The appetizer of ravioli filled with crustaceans and seasoned with coriander was very nice, albeit again perhaps a bit less fresh than one would hope for. My main course was a filet of dorade (sea bream). This fish was very fresh and the portion generous. Served over braised endives and spinach, again with a coriander theme. Excellent. The dessert was a mediocre crême brulée flavored with orange. The service was very nice, but ended on a very annoying note. Unlike most French restaurants, the menu did not state that the service was included in the price. When In inquired, the waiter was very cagey. She said that one could pay what one liked or nothing extra, either was ok. I couldn`t get a direct answer. (I am very fluent in French, so that wasn`t the issue.) I interpreted the ambiguous response to mean: "yes, service compris, but we hope that uninformed tourists will add a big tip." I just added a small cash tip as I usually do for good service. Overall, I say l'Excuse was not a very good value. Finally, I have to mention Au Levain du Marais, 28, bd Beaumarchais in the 11ème, a couple of blocks north of the Bastille (closed Tu-We). This is a very small bakery that follows the oldest traditions in making bread, croissants, and pains au chocolat. A visit there will disillusion you about 90% of today's Paris bakeries by reminding you of what croissants and pains au chocolat should really be like. The baguettes, too, are outstanding, although the difference from the average is a bit more subtle.

Paul Lemieux, pastry chef and highly touted chocolatier, has moved to California and shut down his chocolate production. He didn't bother to take down his Portland website, however. This past weekend was my first trip to Portland in years. I had hoped to try the chocolates but never got a chance. Oh, well, in a month I'll be in Paris, and visiting the Maison du Chocolat for sure.

Cafe Besalu, no question. I have spent many euros on métro tickets just hunting down reputedly excellent croissants in Paris. I'd put Besalu up there with the top 10% of Paris boulangers. On a perfect day, le Fournil comes close, but on an average day they are just very good. I go there often because it's convenient. Le Fournil is better than le Panier, Boulangerie, and others that have been mentioned. I really like some of Fournil's fruit tarts, too. And their lunch special is a real deal - $7 for any drink (e.g., double latte), any pastry (which alone could be $3 or more), and a generous sandwich on an ok baguette. Boulangerie was once wonderful, but that was many years ago.

How about recommendations a little to the west, i.e., Marseille?

As a small child, my parents kept all the albacore for themselves and made me eat California rolls that were mostly rice. Now I have them locked in a dungeon where the only thing the guards ever give them to eat are rice rolls stuffed with chunk light canned tuna in oil, and I never order rolls at the sushi bar.

Finally made it to Mashiko last night. My buddy and I asked for the omakase at $30. The dishes kept coming until we finally said "enough." The only things we specified were: no rolls; no uni for me (but they weren't serving it, anyway); and no natto. Got there at 5:30, only 2 others at the sushi bar and they soon left. Later, another pair showed up, but left long before we did. Coming early and taking our time (2 hours) on a non-busy Tuesday gave lots of chance to talk with the chef. Unfortunately, I didn't get her name. The sawagani was fantastic. Our first time. We also loved the monkfish liver - a very generous portion. Skipjack and other specialties have been described in other posts, so I won't repeat. The tiny clams in a Thai pesto sauce were delicious. Ok, I guess there was one roll, and it was great. Tempura asparagus with hamachi wrapped around it. But no rice!

That was also true for moussaka in Greece 30 years ago. You couldn't find it outside of the tourist areas. Yet, there was this one wonderful taverna in Athens that had the most incredible moussaka, prepared in individual ramekins rather than a large pan. I can still remember it on my mind's tongue. So even it if is for the tourists, I'd still like to try bouillabaisse in Marseille once.

Thanks for the NYT reference. It is free, but they collect all kinds of data before they let you in. I had fun coming up with a new career, age, and sex for myself. Meanwhile, RW's article is indeed very illuminating. I learned, for instance, that my first choice for bouillabaisse was one he had recommended highly, but it has been sold. Others places would require a car. I guess I'll just ask the local people I am going kayaking with and hope they are not of the modern French crowd that loves McD and Eurodisney.

Looking for recommendations for a mid-May trip. I guess I must have bouillabaisse one night, assuming I can find a place open on Sunday or Monday night. The other meals could be anything. I will not have a car. Having looked at some guides, I can say that Miramar is barely within the budget for my one, most expensive meal(48 Euros for bouillabaisse), Chez Michel is a bit over, and Petit Nice is way over.

Reply to Marcus' comment: "I found the Choucroute at Alsaco to have an off taste that I couldn't quite put my finger on, but it was too bitter. " Sounds like they are serving leftovers. My experience with good choucroute (and I still think Bofinger makes it) is that when the dish is freshly prepared, it has a strangely sweet characteristic that disappears if the choucroute is kept and reheated. Then it just tastes like the sauerkraut you get on a cheap hot dog. Of course, this could all be imaginary. My specialty is chocolate, not cabbage.

Bofinger does takeout! A choucroute portion that is excessive for one and marginally adequate for two costs around $10, or at least it did last November. It comes hot, but helps to either live nearby or have at least a hotplate to reheat it. However, it's getting a little late in the season for choucroute. Springtime in Paris!

I am finally going to try Mashiko - on Tuesday. When looking at their menu online, it appears that the only way to have omakase without "rolls" is $30 or more. This seems different from the earlier postings I've seen here. I had been thinking more like $20-25, and I don't have any interest in "rolls." Suggestions or comments?

I've always wanted to try the roast suckling pig at Brasa, and there it is on the 25/25 menu. Any one been there lately? Brasa Below menus are subject to change. Please call for details. DINNER ONLY Starter choices: Curried Mussels Pumpkin Polenta Wild Salad Entrée choices: Roast Suckling Pig Banana Leaf Wrapped Bass Petite fillet Pumpkin Risotto Dessert choices: Kahlua Caramel Profiteroles Sugar Pie Pumpkin Cheesecake Bourbon Pecan Pie

Chocosphere.com sells chocolate buttons for chefs at retail. I know they carry both Valrhona and Callebaut. I don't know about other brands. I much prefer these two brands for cooking over any of the German or Swiss makers. I've also seen some chocolate buttons (which Valrhona calls "feves", after the cocoa beans) for sale at Sur la Table at the Pike Place Market. By the way, Chocosphere also carries a full line of the "estate" chocolates from Valrhona and Michel Cluizel for anyone who wants to try them. They are expensive. As I've noted above, I personally don't think they are worth it. One of the minor debates I heard at the Exposition du Chocolat in Paris was over the use of "additives." Most producers use soya lecithin as a stabilizer. Cluizel is one of the few who doesn't. He's also one of the smallest chocolate producers. I still prefer Valrhona, although I do have a lot of respect for Cluizel surviving a tough market.

Nightscotsman is partially correct and I was imprecise. When I referred to "pure cocoa butter" I was referring to deodorized cocoa butter. I didn't use the term because in English the word "deodorized" has a more negative connotation than the word does in French cooking. It does not mean overprocessed, however. It just means that the parts of the cocoa powder that could lend flavor are removed to leave a purified butter. By leaving some trace of the cocoa powder in the cocoa butter, one can have a small hint of the chocolate flavor in a "white chocolate" bar. I just find it hard to call that "chocolate".

I just discovered that Sur la Table at the Pike Place Market sells Valrhona, Cluizel, and several other brands of higher quality chocolate in various sizes and strengths. A look at the Valrhona "white" chocolate I saw there illustrates my point about the cocoa powder/butter balance. The bar says "35% minimum cocoa solids." It actually has no cocoa at all on the ingredients list, only cocoa butter. Pure cocoa butter is flavorless. So this really isn't a "chocolate" bar at all in the sense of having a real chocolate flavor, only a texture.

I was at the Salon du Chocolat in Paris last November. I got to try several of the varietals - single estate chocolates - from Valrhona and others. The sellers were a bit circumspect in making claims about the product. I think they were wise. Frankly, the single estate products are not really distinguishable from other, high end chocolates with the same national provenance. You need to remember that cocoa solids (cocal powder plus cocoa butter) are a highly processed product, even before being recombined into what we think of as "chocolate." That isn't a negative. It takes a great deal of care and skill at every step of the way to produce what Valrhona and Cluizel sell as chocolate bars. In this sense, it is less like coffee or wine, where so much of the original product comes though. The variations in Criollos (the best type of cocoa beans) across Ecuador, say, are less than in grapes across Bordeaux. However, the Criollos from Venezuala may be very different from those from Sumatra, and may also vary frojm year to year. The differences in texture, aroma, longeur en bouche, etc., come more from the processing than from the particular plantation or estate. By processing, I also include the blending of cocoa solids from different beans to make the final product, just as is done with wine. The Club des Croqueurs de Chocolat in France gives the Valrhona Guanaja 70% the highest rating (16.9/20)for a chocolate bar. Cluizel Chocolat Amer Brut 72% gets only 11.7/20. The Croqueurs suggest that Cluizel is more successful with his 60% bar. While I like Cluizel (especially the bar with bits of orange peel), I agree that the Valrhona is superior. You can get Valrhona Noir Amer in bulk from online sources. You can also get smaller bars at a lower price/pound from Trader Joes. TJ also has other Valrhona chocolate with lower cocoa percentage, for different tastes. Final comment about cocoa solids percentage: It can be misleading. All it really tells you is how much sugar is in the bar. For example, a 70% bar has 30% sugar. (I'm assuming no milk, fruits, etc.) But you won't know the balance between cocoa powder and cocoa butter. This can vary significantly and effect the flavor and texture. It also won't tell you anything about the quality of the cocoa solids.

I third (or fourth?) the recommendation for the great felaffel at Zaina's. I know the one on Cherry St. It's near my other favorite bargain lunch spot, Bakeman's at 122 Cherry. If you like fresh roasted turkey sandwiches, hand carved and giant portions, for around $4, Bakeman's is the place. Their turkey noodle soup is great, too. Others rave about the meat loaf sandwiches. I don't ever eat it so I can't comment.