Margaret Pilgrim

and.......?

Where are you? Outside of France? 33.1.40.54.97.24 Inside France? 01.40.54.97.24 Is the operator telling you that the major trunk line is busy, or that your specific number is not working?

I think that Halland's quote is quite true. As a whole, Parisians do seem to be trim. Perhaps we assume that the overweight people we see on the streets are tourists. But get into the country a bit and you will find grossly overweight people as a matter of course. We spent several weeks in Burgandy this summer and a couple later in the Charente, and were appalled at the number of middle-aged and very young people who were clinically obese (like 40 to 75 pounds overweight). The percentage of overweight people we see seems to be climbing yearly. It is interesting that we see almost no overweight seniors. Perhaps they adhere to the habits of war rationing, of eating more natural foods, of not eating on the run, of doing more manual labor. In addition, we are noticing increasing warnings in the French press about the urgency of addressing diet, weight, nutrition, excercize.

231 is one of my favorite places to meet friends in the San Mateo/Hillsborough area. I used to like the old incarnation a lot. Food from the new group has blown both hot and cold, some plates have sung, others just sat there. The service (at lunch) is always adorable; the food is decent even when not inspired. The prices (at lunch: $18 for 2 courses, $24 for 3) are quite reasonable considering the venue, civilized service and plates. This sounds like lukewarm praise, but I have frequently eaten poorer food with abominable service in a much less hospitable dining room. As I mentioned to start, it remains an address that is convenient and comfortable for me compared to the alternatives in the immediate area.

I think maybe they want them that way! I am reminded of an attempt, early in my marriage, to duplicate my husband's grandmother's "Poteca" (pronounced Poh-teet-za), an Austrian walnut-filled sweetbread. I thought mine was perfect, but he said that it wasn't like his grandmothers. So after many, many tries, I finally asked, "What is so bloody better about hers?" He answered that she made hers in a wood-burning oven, and it was burned on top. Sigh. It's all about tradition.

First, I want to tell you how jealous I am that your trip will include the 'Foire Internationale Gastronomique' in Dijon! I really feel that you need little of our counsel if you are already so attuned. That said, I would recommend that you email or fax the local tourist offices of regional centers, and even villages, along your planned route (you can find the addresses under the village name in Michelin). These most dedicated people will send you, both electronically and through the post, extraordinarily detailed information of food-oriented venues in their departments. Bon appetit! (Wish I were there!)

A delicious proposal!

Read everything you can get your hands on by or about A.J. Liebling. He would probably be considered a gourmand. He did not have pretentions that qualify him as a gourmet by today's standards. He loved good food, preferably in ample quantities, especially when paid for by friends and probably enjoyed levels of quality that we, sadly, envy today.

We have just returned from 10 days in L'Yonne during which time I ordered Andouillette five times. I kept trying to order something else, but in the last event something made me choose it. I was sorry only once: in a pretentious canal-side terrase restaurant where the chef tableside pimped his tub of summer truffles and early cepes, and where I should have known better, I was served 5 slices of andouillette, set on a bed of creamed leeks, encased in (rather soggy) puff-pastry. The other four times were excellent, from straightforeward grilled to Chablisienne seeded mustard-chablis-cream sauce. Frites or potato cakes accompanied most. I don't know why andouillette is one food that I almost fantasize about away from France. Perhaps it is because while I live in a food lovers' paradise, I can't buy fresh andouillette here at home. So, to my husband's chagrin, I order it day after day after day whenever I find it on the menu. "You can dress her up, but you can't take her anywhere."

I have never eaten here (because I never go out to breakfast at home), but many surveys put Dottie's True Blue Cafe522 Jones St, San Francisco, at a par or better than Ella's. From what I understand, the line is the same for both.

I like to think of them as intuitively concieved froths, comforting gellies, refreshing sorbets...Well, you get it. They are summer confections: sheer, delightful and perfectly balanced. Should you call this hubris, let me add that I need to pack tomorrow, and, trust me, wraps, shawls and gossimer scarves are my biggest inigmas!

Once again, Bux, well said. I was confounded by our reaction to our single dinner at MVA. It was not a bad meal; it was, simply, by our standards, an ordinary meal. Once Marlena compared it to a San Francisco dinner, light bulbs flashed! Of course. It was a dinner we could have found at home someplace around the corner, ergo, not a meal we travel to France to experience. In reflection, I can trace most of our disappointing meals in France to what I can best describe as international food in quintescentially provincial venues. As I wrote to an eGullet friend, perhaps success in food and life depends on "knowing yourself".

So true; perhaps the subject of another thread? As soon as we place our orders for such non-American foods as frogs, andouillette, tripe, kidneys, squid, we are embraced by the staff. In several out-of-the-way places (Bugey, Haute-Loire) we have been the first Americans to visit. They are much more interested in our eating habits than our dress.

My husband and I once enjoyed a magical evening over a very simple dinner with a very simple wine in a very simple restaurant. He proclaimed that he had never enjoyed a wine so much. So I tracked down the precise wine, vintage et al, and bought him a case as a surprise. It took us a long, long, long time to get through this quite ordinary wine, day, by day, by ordinary day! You can't buy magic by the case.

Supposedly the stamens are bitter. I cook squash blossoms both ways, depending on how compusive I am at the time. I suppose that it depends on the variety, age of blossom both at time of harvest and how long it has been kept before cooking, etc, etc. If you are happy with the finished product when you have not bothered removing the stamen, I guess you have answered your own question. It's no longer a problem for me this season; I got so tired of thinking up blossom presentations three or four times a week that I told my husband he could uproot said prolific plants and put them in the compost! Gone.

What do you mean by "downtown San Francisco"? If you mean SF proper as opposed to the greater Bay Area, I would certainly suggest Ton Kiang on outer Geary. It is a 10 minute cab or 15 minute bus ride from Union Square, and is arguably one of the best dim sum venues in the US. I personally like the funky Chinatown dim sum cavern Y Ben House on Pacific off Stockton; scuzzy tile floor, harried cart-servers, packed with local ethnics, authentic and cheap. (Edited to correct the name: Y Ben House. Thanks, Gary, for getting it right.)

Laricasso, I really would like to visit Antony also, but have never worked him into a trip. Try this link which has an e-mail contact at the bottom of the story. Good luck, and please report back if you visit Antony and attend one of his tastings. I am so jealous!

We have often pondered this phenomenon, John. There are many considerations coming into play, I believe, including a first visit's surprise factor, a second visit's elevated expectations as well as the dreaded devastating effects of fast success and popularity. We have watched the latter destroy more than a few of our favorites. Thanks for your continued input and alerts.

Le Pamphlet was wonderful when it first opened; we made it a point to reserve there for every stay. In, perhaps, its third year it went downhill, and we, too, stopped going. I have read that in the past year it has greatly improved, the food returning to its previous level and the staff more accommodating. I would certainly add Le Repaire de Cartouche to this list. It is located at the Filles-du-Calvaire metro stop, certainly an easy walk from the Marais-Bastille area. We have never been disappointed with a dinner here. Le Repaire de Cartouche 8, boulevard des Filles-du-Calvaire or another entrance at 99, rue Amelot Paris 11e 01.47.00.25.86

raisamb, I would just about bet the ranch that all ratp passes expire on midnight of the day they were activated. We use the Carte d'Orange on just about every trip; it is good from Monday morning through Sunday night. But you can email them your question here. I have asked them a lot dumber things than that , and have received very patient and instructive answers.

If I understand "raisamb"s problem, it is that he/she will be staying at a hotel at/near CDG. Travel needs, therefore, are getting back and forth to the city for meals, shopping and sightseeing, without luggage. I am not sure of the number of days involved, but guess they are few. Roissybus is fairly civilized, runs frequently, deposits one at Opera. I haven't taken RER in a decade, but it will give you better access to more areas of Paris. It should not be uncomfortable without luggage. A cab will cost one about $50 a direction plus tip, as I remember.

It is my understanding that a Paris Visite expires at midnight on the day it is activated. A five zone will allow you to commute from CDG to Paris via the RER. I am not sure if it is good on Roissybus as well. Check out the following two, Visite Roissybus as well as the more comprehensive Paris metro system (RATP)

We have an acquaintance who is vegetarian. (He eats nothing that had a face.) From the several times we have met for dinner, and from reports from his travelling companion, he has met absolutely no resistence when the waiter has been informed that this diner wishes to be served nothing of animal origin. (He does eat eggs and dairy.) I am under the impression that this request has been conveyed to the reservationist when bookings have been made. The plates that I have seen served have been lovely: creative, balanced, filling. I do want to repeat Bux's admonition that the French use many meat concentrates in their cooking; I did not bring this to the attention of the table, certainly did not ask for guarantees when ordering and everyone at table left content. There are endless lush and vibrant dishes out there that contain no meat. Give the dining room notice and request them.

Would flattery cause your hostess to share her recipe for the Prune digestif?

I second the Richard Lenoir market. In addition to fresh foods and flowers, there is an excellent traiteur who, besides offering a dazzling array of salads, pates, etc., will heat any size serving of their wares (paella, choucroute, sausages, tarteflette, etc). You can sit and eat your finds while listening to street entertainers and people watching. Then go hit a cheese or bakery stand to finish your meal!