Margaret Pilgrim

For quite a few years it has been my dream to do exactly what you have described, Robert. Thanks for the detailed "road map" on how to best enjoy this extraordinary address. Edited to add that perhaps now that there is the Paris-Strasbourg TGV link it will not require such malice of forethought.

Everyone knows by now that I'm a grouch, a contrarian and a misanthrope. Well, what's truly amazing is that I went there the first week it opened and loved it and brought back my food gang during the first month and we had a "train wreck" of a meal. So my dear friends, Pierre and Laidback, I've got to disagree. Maybe we all six should go together and vote. ← As much as I hate joing the curmudgeon camp, I'm strongly behind John. Shortly after its opening, we absoultely loved our November dinner, returned in April for an annoyingly out-of-balance tasting meal. At that point, my husband dug in his heels and told me to find a friend to accompany me if I wanted to return. I will admit that reception was very warm and service beyond reproach on both our visits. It's a shame the plates weren't in keeping. They say it is superb now. However, there are too many other names on my list to worry reservations here.

Bercy Park is a favorite greensward of ours. It runs from the Bercy sports complex to the urban renewal Bercy Village. It is literally uninhabited on weekdays, has acres of green lawn, waterways, a garden house. Absolute peace and quiet in the city. Access #24 bus, #14 metro.

FWIW, we always reserve at Les Papilles for the evening of our arrival day. It guarantees us a predictable if simple angst-free first night meal with darling welcome and service. Not shabby wine, either.

Me? I'd move to Barjac (34) in the Languedoc. One hour from Avignon, half that to Ales, Anduze and Uzes. Several quite decent restaurants, handful of serviceable ones. Lively Friday market. Small ex-pat community, tourists in season, arts and antique festivals throughout the year. All necessary and quality services (medical, food and wine, couture, funereal). Wonderful weekend escapes within a couple of hours: Auberge du Cedre which boasts one of the finest Languedoc wine lists around, Le Mimosa our hands-down favorite for a lovely dinner by Bridget Pugh and extraordinary wine paring by husgand David, Auberge de Saurgras (a hidden gem for lunch or an overnight, too small for a website), Nimes, Arles. If this isn't enough incentive, check out Graham Tigg's recommendations which have never disappointed. Not convinced? Book a couple of test nights at La Serenite and become a convert.

Not "Goodbye", Robert, but "Au revoir". Thanks for your many generous recommendations and always cheerful encouragement.

We have made many friends in France. We are often told that we are "charming" which I have decided is a French aphorism for "slightly outside the norm of expected behavior". We make every effort to express our pleasure over people's generous acts and try to reciprocate in personal or unusual ways. We find the French "roll overs" for sincere displays of appreciation. So have fun! It sounds like you are off on the right foot even before you arrive.

FWIW, next month we will be staying at this chambre d'hote in Chateau Challon. We will take at least one dinner there. They write, "Traditional local cuisine is served each evening. For epicureans, Agnès enjoys preparing her special "Bresse Chicken" with local yellow wine accompanied by morels in cream..." Dinner = 22€ per person. One can also visit the Vagnes cheese factory in the village where "Comté, Morbier, Bleu de Gex, raw milk Raclette and Mont d'Or cheeses are sold to the public in season."

freshsnail, you are doing everything right. Dance to your own music. 8:45 sounds like a brilliant solution. We look forward to sitting under the kitchen ledge soon. Thanks for setting a new standard for intimate dining.

Just go! Do make sure to take at least one large carrier bag. Think of buying for gifts. This show is enormous. Products cover everything from savory to sweet, dairy, fresh and preserved meats/fowl/fish/shellfish. Huge range of confitures, pates, foie gras, sausages, oh my, so vast! The only mistake we made, and I will never forgive my husband for insisting on it, was stopping and enjoying a shared bowl of Royan ravioli, boiled and served with a large splash of heavy cream. Absolutely delicious, but it completely spoiled my ability to sample anything else for the rest of the show. Talk about the wrong time and place! I noticed that there was a free pass for the December show in the November issue of Saveurs or Elle a Table. It might pay you to look for one in the current issues for the spring show. However, if you stand at near the entrance, someone most often approach you and offer an extra complementary ticket. Enjoy, and let us know your finds. Note: be aware that if you are flying to the US, you will have to pack jams, oils, syrups, etc. in your checked luggage. We do this all the time, packing them in bubble pack and, if very fragile, also in light cardboard. We've never had anything break.

Thoughtful post, Sue. Thanks.

John, I have never eaten at Le Soleil, nor most of the other bistrots on the streets adjacent to the market. We found our little Salon on one of our first visits years ago, and for us it is a destination. For the convenient location and the price, it is quite good! It is composed of an order counter and a little enclosed A/C dining room where your order is brought to you. Someone will take your order if you don't want to stand at the counter. But for me, half the fun is looking at his assortment for the day and making my choices, rather than from a menu. Most people I know, and granted that they are serious treasure hunters, would not consider taking an hour or more from their Saturday or Sunday at the market. Lunch for them/us is a short break for sustenance and a sit-down break.

At St. Ouen there is a tiny counter in Marche Serpente called Le Petit Salon au Manger. They offer a quite decent plat du jour and, what we order, excellent salads, quiches (the seafood quiche is loaded with succulent scallops and shrimp!), pate, cold meats. Lunch for two consisting of a plate with three portions of salad, quiche or pate plus beverage (soda, wine or coffee) usually runs between 20 and 25€ for two people. We like the flavors here a lot. I wish other deli kitchens did as well. Here is a map of the market area. In terms of "sit-down" lunch, the best known is Le Soleil. In addition, there are several bistrots on the back street, rue Jules Valles, as well as several on the main street, rue des Rosiers. Any of these will not only cost you considerably more but require a sizable chunk of your shopping time. The Vanves market gets going around 7am and is pretty much over by 1pm. We are never around late enough to consider eating there, although we have been known to split a sandwich (jambon et fromage or Greek/frites) for breakfast.

I am waiting for a dinner report on Le Chateaubriand. I know that several of you have had very mixed experiences at lunch, one fine, one miserable, and that dinner is a completely different menu and style. Anyone had the courage to take the plunge?

This happened to us to a lesser degree. Let's face it. There are a lot of slobs* in the dining public who think that common courtesy is for other people. Danial did emphasize on the telephone when I reserved that seating and service were at 8:30. I don't know what else he can do short of not admitting late-comers, period, which would dramatically affect the evening's purse. *I noticed that the late party, which actually straggled in over the course of a half-hour, paid no attention to or commented on the food, but engaged only in social conversation. This, as a chef, would depress me.

You have outlined an extraordinary schedule of feasts! I have to confess that I have dined at few of them. I would encourage you to include a couple of less important meals so that you will take home also some memories of the flavors of everyday Paris. With your enthusiasm, I have no doubt that you will return again and again, and savor every moment. Enjoy!

Lack of constancy in food is the primary reason we drift on. We usually give a favorite place some leeway for a few visits, but if it seems that the chef's attention is straying, we stop booking. Resurrecting one of my favorite dead horses, we also do not return to uber-popular restaurants where loud American conversation alters the ambiance to the point of overshadowing the food.

Let me return to this by retorting (is that a word?, or a neologism..., whatever) - within sight of the TE one has the Constant Empire, Bon Accueil + Les Anges and not too far away 144 Petrossian. Pas mal. (Not to mention the Ducasse/Sodexho take-over of the Altitude 95 + Jules Verne.) ← The sad thing, John, is that I don't think any of us went for the location. It was for food that was of the moment. I have no idea what it is like now, although I read above that they continue to serve the spiced fennel confit/lemon sorbet and, at my time, chiffonade of basil,quite an interesting dessert in those days.

We stopped going (roughly 5 years ago) because 'Madame' (FOH) was so manic that she had the waitstaff completely stressed and often close to tears. They tried to do their jobs, but she was constantly directing their activity unnecessarily. My husband finally refused to return. A shame, because we had enjoyed some quite interesting and delicious food for several years.

This is a troubling observation. In an interview in April 2007 "Thuries Gastronomie", Jean-Luc Naret of Guide Michelin states that stars are determined by the quality of products, of cooking and flavors, the personality of the cuisine, the quality-price ratio and consistency of these qualities. He emphasizes these essential points by adding that decor, nappery, number of servers do not count toward stars. I wonder what Mazere invisaged as necessary for his being granted a third star. I wonder what the inspectors invisaged.

I can't plot a good route by train from Roses to western Languedoc (I think you would need to get a car in Montpellier and head west), but we recently had a superlative meal at Le Mimosa in St. Guiraud, Herault department. This place does not have a Michelin star, but is far superior to many one stars we have visited, and it is within your budgetary constraints. In addition to very, very good plates by Bridget Pugh, her husband, David, knows Languedoc wines inside out. We opted for the wine pairing, and were served absolutely elegant and nuanced local wines. If you want a wine tutorial for the Languedoc, you couldn't do better than head here. (Yes, we liked it a lot! )

John, this begs a question I have worried for some time, and here is as good a place as any to pose it. Since the umbrella for the France forum is "Restaurants, Cuisine and Travel", I have wondered why travel related but food unrelated questions and observations have been consistently disallowed since most of us travel to eat! I have no quibble if general travel discussion is banned, but should not the heading then be changed? I have scanned the "Food Traditions & Culture" forum, and find it a very unnatural place to post about country-specific travel. Perhaps the powers that be can explain.

We should note that we are discussing several different issues here (comparing apples to oranges, as they say): what one can take aboard a plane departing from de Gaulle according to transportation safety regulations, and what one can bring into the US, vis a vis the Department of Agriculture. I, personally, pack in my checked luggage anything I am not planning to eat on the plane from CDG to the US. I eat on board anything that US Agriculture prohibits entry, eg fruits, vegetables, meats. TSA requres that any small (I think 3 oz max, but I may be wrong) vials/tubes of liquid or gel fit into a one-quart zip-loc plastic bag, and allow each passenger one such one quart bag. That said, on our last several trips, agents at CDG have not questioned lipbalm or eyedrops carried outside that 1 quart bag. However, I wouldn't count on their not considering a tangerine to be either a liquid or in excess of this allowance. As suggested above, outside their very strict rules, it's a crap shoot.

Artichoke lasagna, hands down winner. Here is one version. I have always used the one in Marcella Hazan's first book. This is an elegant dish.

Great ideas, John and Dave. When I am posting about a restaurant, it usually takes me 1 minute to find the card or billhead and include coordinates and closure times, but sometimes several google attempts to find this information when it has not been included in a restaurant's initial review. As to "guide books"? Who uses guide books anymore when we have you guys! (FWIW, in France, I always take two cards at restarants, shops, galleries, etc. one of which I drop in an alphabetized file next to my computer. Makes life infinitely easier than searching through notes.)