Steve Plotnicki

How many course meal is that one?

Oops it's a typo. The score in my book is a 96. I've edited the post.

My wife and I had lunch there on our trip in September. They screwed up my omelet twice. In fact I could swear that the omelet was precooked and heated. The reception we got from the hostess wasn't much better. We vowed never to return other then for takeout macaroons. But with PH literally down the street it's a poor second choice. And it's nowhere near as comfortable as the Laduree on the Champs Elysee or the one on rue Royale. Anyway, in that neighborhood, I prefer to take my lunch at Cafe Flore usually having an omelet. Nothing special about the food but you can't beat the view.

Considering the dearth of places to eat on the Upper East Side (it's my hood,) the one place that is always packed it Quatorze on 79th street. And they have, you guessed it, a French brasserie/bistro menu. So I am not that surprised that Bid opted for a similar approach. Besides Etats Unis, it's one of the few restaurants on the UES that is actually busy. As for the old Bid, I know that many here were enamored with Matt Seber's cuisine. I ate there twice and for the life of me, I couldn't tell what everyone was raving about. And even if I was wrong, certainly there was nothing so special about his cuisine that it would overcome the circumstance of having to enter through the the lobby of an auction house.

Well we haven't said anything about the wines other then how they are regarded by collectors. But I did say I am not surprised that they might have charm to them. But just so you can see the variance in quality, here is a list of Robert Parker's Lynch Bages ratings thoughout the 80's and up through 1991. Unfortunately, I can't find his rating for 1981 but there is no rating for 1984 either which is a vintage that isn't highly regarded either. 1982 - 93 1983 - 89 1984 - NR 1985 - 90 1986 - 92 1987 - 82 1988 - 90 1989 - 96 1990 - 93 1991 - 86 Having tasted most of those wines, I can tell you that the ratings are pretty accurate.

Unles someone beats me to it, I'll be the guinea pig and go tomorrow. I'll report as soon as I put my napkin down.

Well now that I see what vintages were poured I get it. Marcus's assessment of the vintages are correct and here is what probably happened. LB is probably stuck with inventory from those vintages because they are so poorly regarded. So they must be looking for restaurants to do tastings with as a way to try and promote them to retail customers. They must give the restaurants some type of sweet deal on bringing the wines in and they throw in the phenomenol '89 to make it a worthwhile attraction for the public. But the thing about wines from off vintages is that they usually drink early. So it wouldn't be unusual for you to find a wine from 1981 or even 1991 that is perfectly ready to drink. And if there is one thing you can say for Bordeaux, wines from bad vintages quite often have charm to them when they reach a stage of drinkability. I remember a bottle of 1980 Margaux (a dog of a wine) that was drinking so well that it beat out wines from famous vintages at a tasting.

Well this is why champagne goes so well with most spicy foods. The combination of the acid and the carbonation cuts the heat. It works for everything from Indian to Thai, even Mexican. In fact when they were putting together the wine list for Blue Smoke, Danny Meyer did a tasting to see which wines went best with barbecue and champagne ended up being their first choice.

I was at Moro in June (first time for me.) The tapas were excellent. But I found the mains to be surprisingly poor. But I seem to recall the wine list as having some reasonably priced choices on it.

Rachel - If the wine you had was a Kabinett, it would be German and not Alsatian. German wines are ranked according to their level of sweetness. Alsatian wines are ranked according to when they were harvested. Usually there is a correlation between wines that are late harvested and sweetness. But it isn't necessarily the case and you will find late harvest Alsatian wines that are dry. But if you are referring to what you percieve the sugar level was in the Alsatian wine that you brought, that is something else.

That's because you have been eating Indian food in New Jersey .

I think spicy rose is good with North African food. Tavel in particular. Last time I had N.A. food in Paris I had a rose from Val Joannis which is a Cote de Luberon and it was terrific. But if you want to drink red wine, a spicy Rhone wine with high acidity will stand up to both the spicing as well as the fattiness from the chunks of lamb in the bouillon that accompanies the couscous. I love that bouillon. It is among the world's best soul food. A good one is so fragrant and has such great body to the broth. And remember I can't eat the couscous. Only the tagines and the grills plus the bouillon. But I really don't miss the semolina. I make myself a big bowl of the bouillon and add chickpeas and hot sauce. And my favorite way of eating it is to have a tagine of lamb plus prunes and almonds with it. The sweetness of the tagine and the spiciness of the bouiilon is absolutely heavenly.

Yankee fan? I hate the Yankees. And to think I poured him some wine! I thought Jaybee's Kabinett was great. It was slightly sweet, just enough to offset the spiciness in the food. It had nice acid and stones. It isn't a thick and viscose wine like the Z-H I brought. While I enjoyed that wine as a stand alone, it didn't pair with the food overall as well as the Kabinett. I have another bottle here. Maybe I will bring it to Diwan one night and we can get you and Hermant to tandoor some foie gras with Indian spices. The Z-H would be better with something fatty like that. I liked Charles's Nigl's but I think dry and acidic wines like those are better with Thai food or Chinese food then with Indian. And I can't forget La Nina's South African Sauvignon Blanc which was good enough for me to empty my glass.

Suvir - I'm sorry I didn't see you ask about the wine. It was a 1990 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Clos Windsbuhl Vendages Tardive. And let's not forget Jaybee's delicious German Kabinett and the two delicious Nigls, one Gruner and one Privat? that Charles Smith brought. Plus we had a special present of a glass of Wilm Geweurztraminer from Damian. I can honestly say our table drank well. All that and a mango lassi, what else could anyone ask for?

And the owner Fatima is so beautiful. To me Mansoria is contemporary even though it is decorated in a Morrocan style. It's also sort of intimate. Timgad has more of the old school North African casbah style and is brighter and glitzier. They each serve their own purpose. Actually the little neighborhood Mansouria is in is a treasure trove for foodies. One of the best SW bistros in Paris, A Souseyrac, is right down the street. And another good bistro Le Chardenoux is around the corner. And the wine bar Le Passage, which has a stellar collection of Rhone wines and serves a half dozen artisinal andouille sausage is on the next block.

Cabrales is correct. Currently I won't dine with her (although I love her dearly) and if I knew she was going to atted an event I might not attend myself. But if I walked into to an eGullet function (either an official one called eGullet or one where they are only allowed to say, people affiliated with eGullet,) I would treat her cordially and be gracious to her. Wouldn't you do the same Cabby?

Adam - The two places most North Africans I speak with recommend (and so do I) are Timgad in the 17th, just off the Avenue Grand Armee (Champs Elysse on the other side of the Arc de Triomphe) and Mansouria on rue Faidherbe in the 11th. Timgad is on the lively side and Mansouria is sort of quiet.

Actually I was Suvir's spouse last night. Rachel - How about going the whole hog on that rule and say that anyone who doesn't know how to behave on a face to face basis shouldn't bother coming to these things? This whole business about an informed decision is pretty silly. If someone finds someone objectionable, they can specifically ask if that person is going to be there. But for that person to place the blame for their own inmaturity on lack of disclosure is pretty weak. There were a number of people there last night that I don't care for (a polite way to put it) but I was gracious to everyone I met.

I should add that it was loads of fun. The food was delicious and they served full sized portions of things when with the number of dishes they served they could have served tasting size portions. I didn't get to eat the cauliflower which the people at my table annointed the best dish, but in my gluiten free world I want to mention the bel puri as being particularly special, and the crab beggar's purse with Suvir's chutney being special (as well as hot) too.

JD is correct. Bruno Oger is the chef at the two star (I believe) Villa de Lys in the Majestic Hotel in Cannes. Not a bad choice if you are up for the schlep from Nice. A nice thing to do in Nice is to walk through the market. It is really picturesque. It's everyday but Monday (when there is a flea market) up until lunch time. And the old town which is adjacent to the market is full of life and offers tons of funny tschochke to buy including some food stuff. Make sure you visit the Alziari olive oil shop on rue Francois de Paule which is the street that both Petitie Maison and Bruno are on and which leads into the market. Buy yourself a can of oil and a small bag of anchovy stuffed olives to munch on while walking through the market. They are to die for. Also on that street is Patisserie Auer which has been there since the year gimel. They are famous for their confit de fruits. I know how you pastry chefs are interested in these things . Also make sure you buy yourself a slab of socca at either the Chez Teresa stand in the market or at Rene Socca on rue Parioliere which is the main pedestrian street in the old town.

In spite of past comments about New Jersey, Rosie kissed me goodnight.

Forget about L'Ane Rouge. It used to have a good bourride but it went downhill years ago. If interesting means from the Adria school, you want to eat at Chantecler in the Negresco hotel. I haven't been but Robert Brown has and you should send him a PM. The best restaurant in town is Le Petite Maison just outside of the market. It's traditional Nicoise bistro food and a fun place to dine. But certainly not anything inventive. And Bruno Oger of truffle and Chez Bruno fame has opened a truffle restaurant on the same street as Petite Maison. Otherwise surprisingly, Nice isn't the greatest restaurant town in the world. When I'm there I usually go out of town for dinner. And if you are willing to take a 12 km cab ride to Cros de Cagnes, you can go eat the world's best Soupe de Poisson and fantastic grilled fish or meats at Loulou. And further cab rides (35-40kms) will get you two star meals in Cannes or Grasse.

Nina (or Jaybee) - What vintages of Lynch Bages did they serve and which was your favorite?

Suzanne - I had a nice long chat with Ariane about many of the items they use in the restaurant being Basque. In fact they use those famous striped Basque linens from that place in Biarritz.

Toby - Why is this point on this thread when it is so apropos to the other thread? I know you said the threads are similar, but it really is germane to the other thread.