Margaret Pilgrim

We visited Les Papilles twice during our September stay in Paris. And once again, an excellent meal followed Bertrand's warm welcome. The first evening, the soup was a cool and refreshing cucumber gaspacho garnished with mint, dill, lardons and mini-croutons. The cocotte held rare duck breast with baby potatoes, carrots, snow peas and braised garlic. We opted for some frizzie salad rather than the suggested cheese course so that we'd have room for coffee creme brulee. On our second visit, the soup-plate was stunning even before the mushroom gaspacho was added. Rosy cote d'agneau cut into chops for easy serving sat atop ratatouille in the copper pot. Two chops per person. Tender as love and delicious. The cheese was St. Nectaire served with salad and fruit compote, dessert was mirabella panna cotta. Lovely and we are definitely "saite". What a bargain at 31€ for the four courses! As usual, we let Bertrand choose wine for us from his interesting collection. (7€ corkage and you can take back to your hotel what you don't finish.) We can't go to Paris without at least one meal at Les Papilles. We love this place.

It's a no-brainer, but if she wants a 'once in a lifetime extraordinary vegetable based meal', she should consider l'Arpege. That said, we have found that when we travel with vegetarian friends, particularly if we mention the preference when we make the reservation, essentially no restaurant has failed to come up with delightful and creative dishes.

My exact notes from August 2008 read: "Itineraires: Gaspacho (superb!); foie gras with apple butter; lapin with tarragon + celery root puree; cabillaud in nage. Split one dessert: fennel confit with chevre glace. 2 glasses Vouvray; 1 CdR white + 1 croze hermitage red." The gaspacho was indeed superb: actually, it was filtered gaspacho, or gaspacho water surrounding chopped vegetables with pearls of basil emulsion suspended in the clear liquid. Exquisite. My husband's foie gras was nothing to get excited about. Tarragon completely overwhelmed the rabbit, and the cod just sat in its broth. Even with a description, I can't recall the dessert. What I do remember is that tables were terribly close together, conversation hardly private and service was at a snail's pace. The above very simple meal took well over two hours. There were gaps of over a half hour between courses. I also remember that many selections were served in silly glassware, several martini presentations. And that the menu descriptions didn't reflect what was served, eg, a meat braise served as an emulsion in said martini glass. I'm sure they have matured in a year, but we've not considered returning.

I think that chicken is considered a homely dish. In restaurants you will very often see its cousin, the pintade. When chicken is on a restaurant menu, it will often be an AOC bird, for instance a Bresse, and be treated with much respect and given a high tariff. This has little in common with the ubiquitous chicken on US menus.

Aha! Thanks for the good tip.

I am terribly sorry to read that we will no longer enjoy Phyllis' intelligent and considered voice. Her dining reviews were always on point and her hosting posture consistently measured and light handed. I will miss her.

Hi, Margaret, I do not know of this one, at least not through its author's name. Where is it made and where do you find it? Actually, I have never found it. I seem to remember that Roellinger switched to Beillevaire from Bordier before finally purportedly making his own.

Consider adding a half cup grated carrots for moisture.

Vic's is where I used to eat them.A distant and poor '50s cousin is the smoked oyster, impaled on a toothpick and warmed over a candle accompanied by gin martinis. (You only get sick on this combination once before never ever touching smoked oysters again and gin martinis not for a long, long time.)

That's a comforting opinion, but after decades of concern for calories and pounds I've discovered it's really a matter of portion control. We travel a lot, therefore eat out a lot, love cooking at home and in the country, enjoy giving small dinner parties and find that we can and do eat anything and everything that we want in small and reasonable portions. No second helpings, period. Restaurant portions are often enough for two people and when not shared, the excess is left on the plate. We enjoy wine with dinner most nights, but unless we are entertaining we enjoy an excellent cup of coffee and several pieces of good chocolate after a meal rather than dessert. We don't drink soft drinks or beer. V-8 or tea fills an afternoon hungry moment. No foods are considered out of bounds in moderation. A spoonful, yes, literally one slow and delicious spoonful of ice cream is lovely before bedtime.

How do you qualify butter from Pascal Beillevaire?

Word! The best "head's up" on English-language and French press commentary about food in France on the web... or elsewhere ever.

Since you have an apartment, I would recommend that you do as we did in London some years back when we found ourselves facing few and pricey options for Christmas Day. Paris shops offer a literal banquet of prepared foods. Visit Galleries Lafayette food hall, Bon Marche's Grande Epicerie and absolutely not least every small shop you notice on your walks. Collect the components of a memorable meal that will cost you a fraction of the same meal in a restaurant.

FWIW, a friend of mine claims to have had pretty good luck making nocino with walnuts that have gotten a bit beyond the "stick a pin through them" stage. Hope it works for you. ← We have in the past used older nuts with no difference in quality in the finished products. The only qualifier, we have found, is time. Both Vin de Noix and Nocino have unbelievably long shelf life and if kept in a cool dark place will continue to mellow for years. Our 2004 batches are superb now. I'm not at all sure that more mature nuts would have more tannin. In fact, I think that the tannin might be stronger in the very green immature nuts. IMHO...

Our large ground floor room, across from the main house and with private entrance, king bed, good sitting area, bath and, should you need one, a wood-fired bread oven, was 95euros a night including breakfast. Dinners (30 euros) are by reservation only, not necessarily served every night and certainly not compulsory. They included aperitifs and white, rose and red wines as well as coffee or tea.

You can take the TGV from Paris to Macon but need to pick up a car there or, continuing by train, at Villefranche sur Saone. Pouilly-le-Chatel is perfect for visiting the Beaujolais Crus wine trail north to Brouilly, Morgon, Fleurie, Moulin a Vent, Saint Amour and more. Or the "Golden Stone" villages immediately to the south. These villages are perched literally on top of the world with views seemingly forever, vineyards hugging steep hillsides. These southern wines fall into the general Beaujolais category. Joy ride? Picnic? Taste wine? Have lunch on the terrace at a village restaurant?

We have just returned from an all too short stay at Pouilly-le-Chatel in the village of Denicé in Beaujolais. The property has been in the Chavelier family for generations, and the current Chaveliers have created several smart and tranquil guest quarters, surrounded by many comfortable outdoor sitting areas. At the top of the property is a magnificent swimming pool with a view all the way to the Jura. Bruno and Sylvanie share the cooking of four course dinners several times a week. Their accomplished plates are accompanied by excellent wines from the domaine. Apero snacks of sauteed ravioletti with a hint of curry, sausage in croute, tapenade toasts, starters ranged from a fine garnished gaspacho to a soft-boiled egg with creme fraiche and caviar, and mains included roast duck legs, pork tenderloin and vegetables fresh from the garden. A cheese course had different accompaniments each night (violet syrup was an option with a fresh chevre on evening and was surprisingly good) and desserts were simple and excellent. There were generous amounts of coffee at both breakfast and dinner. The Chaveliers are wonderful hosts who offer style and comfort and deliciousness at an absurdly low price for the quality.

Would you like to describe it? A play on vanilla or creme fraiche or....?

My quibble would be the timeliness of Bittman's article. A potboiler, perhaps? Not only the nomenclature but the addresses have been around for some time. At least a year or so for most and quite more than that for Les Papilles. This is not news. I won't get into my disagreement with his assessments.

Certainly reserve. Price depends on whether you have an aperitif, choose tap or bottled water, what wine you choose or forego, have coffee or not. I would allow $40 - $50 per person with none of the above.

Pierre Oteiza Ets is a small shop in the unlikely first block of St-Michel. They carry a good array of canned goods, piments and lovely hams and charcuterie. Very pleasant service. 18, Boulevard Saint-Michel 75006 Paris, France 01 43 25 59 01

I am delighted to find that Auberge de Saugras finally has a website. Thanks to another of Tigg's recommendations, we enjoyed a lovely Easter lunch here several years ago. It is in a wonderful area of high garrique northwest of Montpelier. While the food was quite good, what I remember most was the welcome, the setting and the feeling that this was a very individual kind of place. All of the other diners were locals enjoying a holiday. I "need" to return here and spend a night or so and the website makes it much easier to plan. Notice also the excellent carte of local wines.

Indeed. Here is the current wine list.

First, Graham Tigg is a must read. We have never been sorry after following one of his leads. We love Le Mimosa and recommend staying at their tiny hotel that is located a few km away from the restaurant. You will not find a more knowledgeable tutor for the best wines from the area than David Pugh. Auberge de Cedre is a good address with a split personality: the rooms in the main building are fairly primitive while the garden room is quite large and comfortable with en suite bath; meals are basic pension during the week with a more ambitious menu served only on weekends. I strongly recommend reading Virgile's Vineyard which catalogs a year in the St. Saternin area with excellent references to people and places related to local food and wine. Although we have spent some amount of time in the area, this book (which I picked up at Le Mimosa) has provided us with many new addresses. (You should be able to find it at your public library). Just west of Uzes is a wonderful and unusual restaurant: a restaurant on a poultry farm that serves only, right, poultry. La Bruyerette, in a hamlet of the same name and near the village of Aigaliers ( 04.66.20.64.92) serves several lunch and dinner menus from Thursday through Sunday. We enjoyed a delightful Easter Sunday lunch this year. (I learned of this good address, many thanks, from eGullet's Abra.) Edited to add: I want to point out that Auberge de Cedre has upgraded most of its rooms to "en suite" or including private baths. This is major upgrade at this sweet address.

Indeed, it is the measure of the finest home, country, provincial and even haute plates.