Margaret Pilgrim

Here I thought I was in agreement of segments of Tommy's and FatGuy's posts, and along comes Pastrychef! I have been cooking for so long (40+ years) that as my son says, I do a lot of my best stuff on autopilot. To me cooking is all process, and once you get a handle on individual processes, you can tweak the ingredients by season and market choice to create infinite variation. I love chef-written cookbooks: French Laundry, Daniel, Jean-George, Todd English, Danny Meyer, and in their days, Jeramiah Tower and Wolfgang Puck. And how many of us originally honed our skills with Julia Child and became sensitive to "terroir" with Alice Waters? The plus side is that it is never necessary to eat badly. The minus is that going out to eat becomes a sketchy proposition: nothing bugs me worse than to spend the calories and opportunity on a mediocre meal.

Ohm'god! So many streets, so little time! Dim sum at any of 10 different shops on Clement Street in San Francisco. (3/1.00 to .50 ea.) Barbeque pork rolls at Little Paris, Clement Street, SF: barbequed pork, rice noodles, bean sprouts, mint, cilantro rolled in softened rice paper, served with fish sauce for dipping. Ū.50 for 2 7"rolls Lengua tacos (.50 ea) served with salsa, lime and jalapeno from the la Bamba tacomobile on the main drag in Lodi, CA. Coctel mixtos (prawn, octopus, crab, avocado) at the Lainy College flea market, Sunday mornings. ů.50 Puerco tamales from the same vendor ũ.50 Super tacos at Tacqueria Zapata on 18th and Collingsworth in San Francisco. Made to order with your choice of beans, meat, salsa plus lettuce, white cheese, sour cream, guacamole, tomato, onion slices, cilantro: ū.25 Of course served with chips and all you can eat jalapenos, radishes and lime. Fried clams at Woodman's in Essex, MA. French fries from the french-fries-only stand at Renninger's Kutztown Antique Extravaganza, April and September. Just about anything you buy from City Bakery on E.17th St. in NYC and scarf on the street. Spinach and white cheese puff pastry tarts in Camden Town, London on Sundays. (I can hear my husband yelling at me that I am dripping butter down my good clothes; couldn't have cared less.) Fresh mozerella and tomato pizza served from the brick oven at the marketplace in Gubbio, Italy. Gyros (pitas filled with grilled mystery meat, lettuce, tomato, onion, tziztiki) from the store front on Athinas Street in Athens. The place with the bells that jingle all the time. Bulgarian yoghurt ice cream at the stand in the Tuillieres, just west of the Place du Carrousel in Paris.

I would argue that desserts can definitely be too sweet, as well as salads (some raspberry or fruit vinegrettes) and many meat courses that incorporate fruit in the sauce (e.g., duck or venison with a cherry or berry demiglaze). As mentioned, chocolate is easily ruined by too much sugar (eg most American products). I haven't noticed this trend often in France, but find that when I haven't ordered a tasting menu, I am usually much happier if I opt for a cheese course instead of dessert. (And then we have chicken in cocacola sauce). Addendum: Have you ever noticed in the US how many people opt for a caffeinated soft drink instead of coffee when snatching breakfast on the run? This has to either foster or reflect a major sugar preference or addiction.

;)

No, we don't need to walk from a TGV station. ;-) We would just like to get some distance out from Paris before picking up a car in order to see different parts of the diverse countryside.

Branching from posts by Orik and Bux in the Paris restaurant rec. topic, and taking a totally different approach and perspective from a recent article in one of the food magazines touting the rise of small hotels with good restaurants, I am very interested in collecting a list of destination restaurants that have added a few rooms for overnight guests. These are not inns, per se, and certainly not hotels, but rather fine dining rooms that have added a few rooms. I will start with a couple that I know of: Bistrot d'Eygalieres, Eygalieres, 13810 04.90.90.60.334 We lunched at this superb dining room in June on Bux's recommendation. It is located 20 minutes southeast of St. Remy in Provence. I notice from their website that they have a few beautifully done rooms. Next time we may well try them. Le Table des Freres Ibarboure Bidart, 64210 05.59.54.81.64 This destination restaurant just south of Bayonne on the Atlantic coast has added a few rooms within the last couple of months. We'll try out both rooms and dining room in March. Again, an excellent website. Le Bistrot a Michel Cabrieres-d'Avignon 04.90.76.82.08 A much simpler dining room than the two above, but with a reputation of excellent regional fare, particularly truffles in season. We couldn't get book a room here although we started 4 months in advance, and picked another destination for that night. I would love to hear of other restaurants with rooms that you have tried or know of. Proximity to a TGV station is a giant plus!

Magnolia, all of these three fairs are open to the public and require no advance registration. At the Fermier show, a lot of the people in line had some kind of discount ticket. When we reached the ticket taker, I told her we were tourists and didn't have a discount coupon. She reached around and handed one to us, which we filled out, and received entrance at halfprice: 20FF, I believe. Marche du Chocolat charged an undiscountable 40FF. After standing in line in the rain with several hundred vacationing school age children waiting to get into the Salon du Chocolat, we gave up and didn't bother to visit this show, so I don't know its entrance charge.

Danielle, many thanks for your two additions. I'll add them to our possibilities for our October visit. Yes, the innovations, creativity and integrity now evident at many less-than-starred kitchens are making wonderful contributions to restaurant options in France.

October 19 through 22 are the dates for the annual Fermier show at Espace Champeret in Paris. 200+ artisanal producers of charcuterie, cheese, seasalt, honey, confitures, confiture du lait, eau de vie, calvados, fruit wine, and more than I can remember set up booths, discuss and sell their products. Samples are offered on almost everything that is for sale. There is a raw bar set up, as well as a cafe for lunch. This year I will come prepared with an empty carrier bag and will do serious Christmas shopping. On October 20 and 21 at the Bourse du Commerce, the twice a year Marche du Chocolat takes place. Over 20 of France's best chocolatiers offer samples and sell their product. There are many artisanal exhibits: chocolate molding, construction and decorating; and for the really serious, classes and seminars. From October 31 to November 4, the Salon du Chocolat takes place at the Carrousel du Louvre, exhibiting chocolatiers from all over Europe.

Surprisingly even to myself, I have to stand up for chains. My husband and I travel frequently, spending around 50 nights a year away from home domestically. We are often up at 3 and 4am, which is midnight and 1am our local time, and by the time we are looking for dinner, trial and error don't make it. When we are able to ferret out the local treasure, we make it our own. But when evening comes and we're exhausted and hungry, Applebee's looks like a beacon. Great food, it's not; partucularly interesting, it's not. But decent quality, if you order simply, and predictable, it is. We have spent hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars on truly horendous meals at dining rooms which came with unanimous local accolades. It frequently depends on where you are and the style of the local cuisine. Now when we're in France, it's a totally different story! :-)

Since Bux introduced the subject of the new breed of inexpensive restaurants so popular now in Paris, I can share a few of those that we have enjoyed enough to want to return to again and again. As this is a very personal and idiosyncratic list, I certainly don’t suggest that these are the best of this genre, but they are restaurants that have held our interest over time. They are also places that we have visited recently, in 2000 and 2001. Not included in this list are several quite excellent places that for one reason or another just haven’t enticed us to want to return. The format is simply a list of those menu selections that we have enjoyed. L’Agape foie gras ravioli with port sauce; dorade with ratatoulle; crab cake, duck parmentier; anis ice cream with coffee sauce and cocoa. Plus: very, very inexpensive for the quality of the plates. Minus: service warm but excruciatingly slow, pareticularly for rather simple presentations. 120FF/3 courses 281 rue Lecourbe (15e) 01.45.58.19.29 Les Amognes roasted tete de porc on a bed of green lentils with herb salad: chervil, terragon, watercress, dill, drizzled with an excellent vinegrette.; sweatbreads with cucumber confit with suggeston of clove; faux filet surrounded by carrot and cumin juice; for dessert, aubergine crepes with cardamom. boudin with sauteed quince, while I had moelle with celery root, jus and moutarde. Magret with leeks (far more than the sum of its parts); cepes stuffed with lievre (tinged with cinnamon) in a delicious sauce. Plus: dazzling use of seasonings. Minus: rather disinterested service. 180FF/3 courses 242 rue du Faubourg Saint Antoine (11e) 01.43.72.73.05 La Bamboche veloute de cocos with lobster raviole;foie gras ravioli in citrus and spice tinged boullion; Roast veal; roast pigeon with lemon, spice and schouan pepper with asperagus; croustillant of cocoa with orange ice cream; tomato/basil/mascarpone mille feuilles. a la carte at around 380, altho there is a menu decouverte of 5 courses for 320. Plus: quiet, civilized dining room; very warm welcome and service; centrally located just behind Bon Marche. Minus: few if any. 15 rue de Babylone (7e) 01.45.49.14.40 Bistro d’Hubert salad of crab, cactus ears and hearts of palm in cabernet vinegrette; mold of duck thigh with foie gras and tomato confit with curry and Sichuan pepper; slices of vel with red oniononfit, jerusalem artichokes, chayote, cardemom; red peppers stuffed with fresh cod and chevre with tomato coulis; cream cheese mousse with fresh fruit in rum and red fruit coulis; caramel cake layered with cream and cheese filling. Plus: stunning plates; interesting seasoning; menu features a traditional and an innovative sections. Minus: few; perhaps cool service. 210FF/3 courses 41 bvd Pasteur (15e) 01.47.34.15.50 Les Bookinistes bar tartare with bean sprouts, watercress and intense orange vinegrette; marvelous langostine tempura served with a sparkling gaspacho; jaret of veal in a casserole with carved vegetables and a beautifully flavored sauce; faux fillet with incredible sauce (Chuck liked it so much that I didn't even get a taste.) Chocolate macaroon with nouget ice cream and caramel sauce. Another visit’s memorable dish: skate with farfalle, taragon hollandaise. Plus: one of Guy Savoy’s second tier “value” offspsring; some dishes sing. Minus: noisy; packed with Americans. Service and table is considerably better if you come with a native. 240FF/3 courses 53 quai des Grands-Augustins (6e) 01.43.25.45.94 Clos des Gourmets rocket salad with nuts and beet vinegrette; jarret of porc and foie gras over chinese cabbage; wild duck with polenta studded with dried fruit, spiced reduction with corriander seed; braised oxtail parmentier with jus; lemon sorbet with basil chiffonade, fennel confit and spiced syrup.(clove, cinnamon, cardamom, star anise).Plus: another madman with seasonings. Minus: noisy; tiny dining room gets frenetic with packed tables, small aisles. 175FF/3 courses. 16 avenue Rapp (7e) 01.45.75.61 La Dinee bavaroise of chevre blanc with shrimp and gaspacho, St. Jacque with haricot coco; grilled langue de boeuf with sauce gribiche; another visit: leek mosaic with shrimp and herb vinegrette; duck breast with kimquats and spinach; pied du porc brick with carrots and demiglace, chocolate fondant with chocolate sorbet. Around 200FF/3 courses. Plus: a lovely, serene dining room; excellent service. A very civilized place. Minus: can’t think of any. 85 rue Leblanc (15e) 01.45.54.20.49 L’Etrier: carrot and crab polenta cake with eggplant mousseline, assortment of fish and shellfish in broth; chanterelle flan with jus sauce; skate cheeks with zucchini, carrot, broccoli, souffle-fried potato in light broth. Melon and mango soup; fig tartelette with chocolate mousse quenelles and creme anglais.. Another visit: fondant of carrots and pumpkin served with lumps of crab and "quenelles" of guacamole; mussel risotto with curry and tiny minced vegetables; a cassoulette of white fish and langostine with vegetables and herbs with a silky cream finish; lamb, herb and foie gras wrapped in filo and sauteed "crunchy", then served in a demi glace scented broth with carved vegetables; fruit soup of strawberries, blood oranges and kiwi. Plus: perhaps the most endearing service we have received. Quiet dining room, seats only 24. Minus: some items on the plates are duplicated in more than one course or dish, (e.g., carved carrots or other vegetable) which I am more than willing to forgive given the amount of kitchen help and the low price/high quality of the dinners. 170FF/3 courses 154 rue Lamarck (18e) (01.42.29.14.01 Le Pamphlet: Jarret of pork terrine, scallops, salmon tartare; wild duck with fruit; chocolate biscuit (molten chocolate cake), crepes..Rare sauteed foie gras with tiny pain d'epices croutons, served in a soup plate with separate pitchers of piping hot cream of rutabega soup! I went on Wild duck with sauteed fruit (pear, apple, orange, fig) with cinnamon demi-glaze: veal filet with Veal hache with piperade . Grilled pineapple with caramel ice cream, black cherry gateau with vanilla ice cream. Fuielle a fuielle with lamb confit and herb salad; pea soup with cumin, feta and spicebread croutons; crusted slices of kidney served with mustard and parmesan sauced penne; molten chocolate cake served hot with runny interior. Plus: pretty dining room; pleasant service; food frequently sings. Minus: sometimes noisy. 160FF3/courses 38 rue Debelleyme (3e) 01.422.72.39.24 Le Repaire de Cartouche foie gras with Calvados glace and green apples; lamb brain wrapped in bacon and deep-fried served over lentil salad and petals of baby radicchio; pot de feu glace/foie gras with dried prune, fig and date. A la carte around 200FF/3 courses 8bd des Filles du Calvaire (11e) (01.47.00.25.86) Le Trouquet, a 4 course degustation menu included a marvelous cream of spinach soup with mascarpone and foie gras,, toasts with tomato and herb concasse topped with merlin cheeks, lamb gigot in herby white beans with ginger demiglaze drizzled overs, strawberries marinated very lightly in balsamic vinigar, then served in a cinnamon syrup with creme fraiche . Informal, like Le Regalade. Plus: wonderful, surprising dishes, excellent service. Minus: rather dowdy dining room. 160FF/4 courses 21 rue Francois-Bonvin (15e) 01.45.66.89.83 Le Villeret a plate of fromage de tete with asperge, leeks and herbs in vinegrette; jarret of pork in a honey/cinnamon demiglace; a plate of chevreau including saddle, leg and liver served with a saute of artichokes and asperge. Plus: interesting crowd; GaultMillau now gives this house a 15; Minus: I’m not sure that I think it’s that good. A la carte around 250FF/3 courses. 13 rue Ternaux (an alley running parallel to Oberkampf, just west of Parmentier) (11e) 01.43.57.89.76

We have had a Viking 6 burner range with 4 ft. hood and extra draft for 10+ years. On the plus side, it performs; it daily does what I expect. On the minus side, regardless of its high initial expense, it is very poorly made: poorly finished metal connections, enamel failure, poor design, difficult to clean. On the plus side, a contractor friend has told us that ours is a Sherman tank compared to those he has recently installed.