Margaret Pilgrim

Without derailing the topic, I need to add that while I realize that your approach is the reasonable one and in fact the truly French way to dine, it works best for those with an apartment or other evening entertainment venue. Unfortunately, dinner is our major evening entertainment. While we do very occasionally enjoy our major meal at mid-day, it does leave a gaping hole in the remains of our day. With no need for more than a glass and a nibble during the evening, it's a long time between, say, 4pm and midnight.

I somehow doubt this very much. First of all, he doesn't need one. Since becoming an overnight sensation, everyone who hoists a pencil has made a path to his tiny kitchen. And second, he is charming, amusing and articulate, far better suited to handle his press than any intermediary.

Angelina's is roughly 3 long blocks from the Madeline: 226, rue Rivoli. Legendary and expensive hot chocolate (6.80€) and pastries (similar range). tel:01.42.60.82.00

One I recently enjoyed at a sandwich shop was ciabatta smeared thickly with green olive tapinade, layered with sauteed zucchini and fresh chevre. Amazing combination. Thanks for reviving the happy memory.

Having read good things about Jean-Marie Baudic and finding that we would be within an hour or so from his restaurant, I had high hopes for our dinner last week. However, Baudic surpassed my expectations. His passions are vegetables and seafood which he treats with respect and imagination. There is no carte, only a chef's choice three course meal which eventually became eight as five small desserts are rolled out, one after the other. Every plate is beautiful but more important every bite on every plate is delicious and in no way gratuitous. With aperitifs, we were served these seafood bites, each one incredible. An entree of scallops, beets, pumpkin, greens atop a fine pumpkin soup. Perfectly done bar with a clam stuffed with exotic mushrooms plus foie gras emulsion. An optional cheese course, 8€ additional. The parade of desserts, small and exquisite: exotic fruit salad, quince sorbet, nougat tapioca with liche, figs with fig sorbet and cocoa, touronne souffle. Even mignardise with our coffee and tissanes. The cost of this menu is 49€; with three beautifully matched wines it became 59€. Although we had enjoyed a wonderful meal at Roellinger two nights before, without doubt Baudic served us our meal of the year. He is a delightlful host, his dining room staff is excellent and I can't overemphasize the simple deliciousness of his food. Youpala Bistrot has become a destination restaurant for us. (TGV from Paris to Saint Brieuc is 3 hours.)

Amen, sister.

Ah, leftovers! I remember a dessert we had at Eric Frechon's eponymous restaurant: pain d'epices french toast served with licorice ice cream. Sounds dreadful but was brilliant.

26 years is a very, very long time to do something, particularly after you've reached a personal goal. He's had several years of 3 stars under his belt and maybe just wants to do things that have little to do with Michelin's concept.

I would think that Racines is trying to come to grips with huge numbers of English-speaking/accented diners who read the full-page-with-recipes credit in October Food and Wine magazine. These write-ups are taxing for the big guys, to say nothing of the whammy they blow on tiny store-fronts like Racines. I think, Pierre, that your call, while not to be condoned, was simply ill-timed.

I don't think I'll go that far, John . Perhaps he can dress up like a Pilgrim, though. ← What's so peculiar about the way we dress?

I agree. Our travel MO = take a fast train (eg TGV) from one major city to the city closest to the out-of-the-way town you want to visit, pick up a car at the train station, drive the short distance to your destination and either return to the station where you picked up the car or continue to a large town, turn in the car at the station and repeat as necessary. In France, SNCF has an affiliation with AVIS which guarantees you the best car rental rates plus allows you to pick up a car from the SNCF stationmaster (or ticket seller) when the AVIS office is closed and to return it on the same basis. i.e., show reservation, take key, drive; return car and key and jump on the train. So simple.

When I'm in France, it's my favorite season.

We often head for the Richard Lenoir market, that runs north from Bastille, when we are looking for a ready-to-eat snack or lunch on a Thursday or Sunday. There are several stands that sell hot foods and many more that can supply you with charcuterie, cheese, wine and of course fruit.

Absolutely!Thank you for your joyous post. It rang all my chimes. What you propose is exactly what a friend and I did some thirty years ago. We signed up for an Italian cooking class, only to find that the teacher was cooking 'chapter and verse' out of Marcella's first book, which we also owned. We made a firm date to meet at one of our houses and cook a complete meal from this book once a week. What a grand adventure it was! Friends begged for invitations and our husbands began to drag their heels when we suggested going out. I'll look forward to reading about the progress of Tuesdays with Marcella. And, by the way, I've been substituting pork tenderloin for veal for all these thirty years.

Au Ptit Prieure in Foecy (between Vierson and Quercy) is a most comfortable chambre d'hote that serves quite a nice evening meal as well. Pierre and Allison act as hosts but join the table for dessert. Local wines are available by the bottle, a la carte, and can be saved from one night to the next or enjoyed later in your room. A good address in a rather barren area.

My concern is a personal one, so my question should have been phrased, "If I order my steak and tuna cooked to 125 degrees and my salmon to 140, is a kitchen willing and able to comply or am I just tossing sticks into their cogs?

My question is aimed at waitpeople and chefs. A point has been raised that applies to ordering meat as well as fish. Are waitstaff and kitchen comfortable with the diner ordering doneness by desired internal temperature of meat and fish? If so, this would be a godsend, illiminating a lot of misunderstanding.

Great thread. I am looking for some specific, i.e, brand, recommendations for the kind of olive oil that we enjoy on salads in many restaurants in France. To be more specific, I am not looking for the assertive, uber-olive flavored oils that are readily available to us here in Northern California nor similar oils from Italy, Spain or Greece. So, what characteristic but not overwhelming oils do you (guys in France) enjoy?

The best of Antony's comté seems to bear little resemblance to either the best of other's product nor even to some of his lesser comtés. Only because we have engaged on this thread some of the best and most articulate palates can I make this request. Would you each/all describe and compare the finest Antony comté you have enjoyed? I ask this because I have read someplace that it can not be compared in flavor and texture to other aged comtés but is rather more like ????, other dissimilar cheeses. Please, for us mortals?

That's rather like having Michael Phelps explain the secret of his butterfly.

Well, at least in my professional life, I can tell you they're close to devastating my reputation. ← I'm not sure that I interpret your comments correctly, but I would hope that we, the visiting, dining and cooking public, can depend on reading your on target reflections. If others think that their toes are being stepped on, perhaps they should rethink their product and presentation.

And for the past several years I have been taking this personally, that I was choosing our restaurants and ordering our meals badly. I can't decide whether your comments are reassuring or devastating.

Ahhh. Is this the reason that we so often feel more satisfied and inspired by a seemingly ordinary, modestly sourced and executed meal in the country, often at a private home, than in our targeted "name" restaurants? Sad, if so. Does someone need to get a clue?

When you are at the source, simple prep of the freshest ingredients will most often trump fancy kitchen antics. My husband compares all scallops to those that seemingly danced through the saute pan enroute from ocean to plate at a non-descript hole in the wall in St. Malo on a bitterly cold winter evening.

I can't believe that I didn't post about La Bruguiere here since it was immediately one of our favorite table d'hotes. With apologies, here is what I wrote elsewhere: Pascale and Philippe Nusswitz incorporate their previous lives in the hospitality industry and as a top sommelier into their chambre d'hote sideline at their lovely vineyard in Durfort (just south of Anduze and Ales) in the Languedoc. We stayed with them for two nights in the separate and private "Magnanerie" suite, a converted silkworm "factory", and enjoyed their generous table both nights. Pascale is a fine cook, and Phylippe thrives on sharing and discussing their wines. All this at 85€ a night for the suite (an off-season rate), including breakfast and 30€ each for a lovely dinner that included aperitif and hors d'oeurvres in front of the fireplace, 4 courses with a different wine for each course. Pascale and Philippe are darling and interesting. We've already fit them into next year's schedule. La Bruguiere is centrally located to act as a hub for exploring the Languedoc. This chambre d'hote, vineyard and winemaking are second careers for Pascale and Philippe. She caught the hospitality bug when she worked with Relais and Chateaux and Philippe was named "Sommelier of the Year" in France in the mid-80s, also worked and traveled with Paul Bocuse. Interesting people. Adding, there wines are superb and reasonable.