Margaret Pilgrim

l'Ourcine?

I hope so.

You're welcome. Now I just wish we had as good dim sum in Seattle. I have to go to Vancouver, BC, for the best dim sum. ← Naw, just come down to San Francisco. Our lowest end, Hong Kong classics consumed by immigrants not foodies, is our normal Saturday take out lunch. A $7.00 assortment lasts well into Sunday afternoon.

SQN is definitely today's address. However, I would suggest that you read every review you can before deciding if it is your kind of food experience or not.

Julot, you've been highly recommending La Grande Cascade. Have you had the menu du marche or the tasting menu or ordered off the carte? ← Perhaps check out the April/May "Cuisine et Vins de France" magazine for a spread on Robert, including description of the dining room and the procedure for recreating one of his signature plates: Selle d'agneau farcie. Lovely.

I'll coat-tail this question several of with my own. Are brasseries downhill because their food is predictable or because it is badly sourced and prepared? Or both? Or all of above?

Don't quote us, but we find that many (French) cheeses are most delicious several/many months after their suggested "consume by" dates.

As I read through the list of things western hemisphere sought in France, my immediate thought is, why not bring with you your taste memory and buy local products that most closely resemble them in flavor and texture. We've found this an extraordinary introduction to new product and, better, lovely new interpretations.

Stepping completely out of character, we are going to visit Brasserie Julien in August. It fills two needs: open in August and my husband's interest in belle epoque art and decor. We'll find something on the menu and hope for a pleasant evening.

As we compare American and French beef I would include the extraordinarily tender and flavorful grilled beef that is served just a few kilometers across the border in Spain. At Etchebari and many other grills in the Pay Basque, the proffered meat is, surprisingly, "ox", ancient farm animals that have been retired, pastured for some months, butchered at the extraordinary ages of 20+ years. Rendering the most succulent steaks, this meat was some of the best "beef" that I have ever eaten on either side of the Atlantic.

Thoughts on Sociale? Only mention it because I've just cancelled reservations at a much tonier address for a birthday dinner and have booked at this casual but grounded room.

While we are in the Talbot/Hatfield camp, friends travelling with us split off one evening and went to Allard. They loved it, not the least for your reason. They were seated in an English speaking area and soon were chatting with several couples from as many countries. They said that the food was quite alright and that it was great fun to exchange travel stories with fellow diners. They also raved about the old Paris decor and ambience. (Visitors often complain about being segregated in an Anglo area, but if you have one waiter who speaks fluent English and the rest do not, it makes some sense to group diners by language.)

Robert, this is the very opposite of what we experienced earlier this month. Yes, the restaurants we visited were full and turned away enough custom to fill the rooms once again. But rather than fewer and poorer choices and inferior cuts we found that the current slump at the three star level has brought the price of superior product to a level that allows the mid-range kitchen to scoop up and offer outstanding value: examples, coquilles St. Jacques among the best we have ever tasted, baby lamb whose age is counted in days rather than months. In contrast to some half dozen years of being disappointed at new addresses, we enjoyed dining rooms (that have been discussed on this forum) that were unselfconscious, plates well-conceived and delicious.

Okay. I'll bite. Les Papilles has become our "first night in Paris" reservation. We know that we will arrive jet-lagged, disoriented and in need of Bertrand's warm welcome and stressless food, that he will choose an extremely interesting bottle of wine for us, that we will be cossetted and leave revived, culturally transitioned and ready to take on Paris in the morning.

We regularly (read: nightly) travel out of our arrondisement. We don't patronize restaurants that don't provide what we consider this ratio. This question is problematic on an ongoing basis. We've been visiting Paris multiple times a year for probably 15 years. As kitchens and dining rooms soar and decline, our destinations change. Destination restaurants tend to be those on the cutting edge of the media. Best you stay tuned here. For better or worse, you will hear about what is happening now.

I am confused by MBC's menu. Is the (longer) list of choices at the top of the page only available at lunch? Everything that sounds interesting to me is in that section, but we would be reserving for dinner.

← While it is gratifying to know that you are dining on the best product that can be found, I have always felt that the true test of a chef was indeed the ability/skill/awareness of how to make something extraordinary out of little. And conversely, nothing irks me more than to have the kitchen handle fine product poorly. As in medicine, the first scripture applying to product should be "Above all, do no harm."

It's entirely possible that there are other explanations.

Maybe it was too embarassing for them to have 2 chef's (Roellinger & Veyrat) to hand back their stars in one year... Bad publicity. I don't think 2 in one year has happened before. ← I may be wrong, but as far as I was aware neither were 'handing back' their stars, but simply closing their respective restaurants for other reasons (Veyrat cited physical difficulties after a ski accident a few years ago) rather than as a protest against Michelin. For that reason, I would not really think it bad publicity. ← Quite right. But however the announcements of these closures were couched, the question hanging in the air is to what extent Michelin pressures tipped the balance in deciding whether to continue or close. Given the economic climate that began last year, what kinds of cost or menu alterations could be made while continuing to meet Michelin expectations? Leaving at the top of one's game may not be a protest, but it may well be a bellwether for the thinning ranks of expensive restaurants.

Perhaps.

Indeed. We visited without this information and enjoyed a very ordinary meal in the inside dining room. It was ameliorated by two charming young Basque couples sitting next to us who wanted to practice their English. I will also repeat my past warning about Lena et Mimile: the modern menu is only served half the year! Check that it's available when you book.

If our meal at Itineraires compared with yours, I would agree.

← .... hiding the 9.90 meal chalkboard in a corner ← Sounds more like the Greek town come-ons than Montparnasse.

My concern is that Le Timbre is probably the least typically French bistrot we have visited: British chef, English speaking guests. You could be in London or Leeds or San Francisco. I should add that the crowd (it only seats around 20) was very much enjoying the ambiance and comraderie made possible by common language so I suppose it was we who were out of step.

Your final comment concerns me. Can you tell us more about the kind of resto you are looking for?