Margaret Pilgrim

I'm so thankful, Steve, for your thoughts. I never use spice of any kind in fruit pies, prefering the clean taste of good fruit at its peak. We use Golden Delicious or Gravenstein from trees in our yard, sugar, butter, a little lemon juice. Spiced fruit desserts can be tremenously interesting, but fruit with only sugar, butter and/or cream is what I find delicious.

I came late to this thread, Dweller, but I see that you are not scheduled into Boston until April. Had you not already decided on a restaurant for your one dinner in town, I would have put in a strong recommendation for Olives, Todd English's stylish wood-oven kitchen just across the river in Charlestown. (We have frequently walked both ways from our hotel near Esplanade Park.) We have never had anything but rave meals there. For lunches that fall into your price and casual categories, you might look into Figs (42 Charles St. 742-3447) specializing in designer pizzas that are excellent. This is another restaurant belonging to Todd English. No, we're not related, but we just like his food. :) You could keep costs down by sharing a pizza here. As I remember, they also do "half and half"s. We have also enjoyed both Daily Catch (23 Hanover St. 523.8567) for obscenely large plates of seafood pasta, and Pomodoro, the same but with more garlic (319 Hanover St. 367.4348). You could split an order at either of these tiny places, unless you can handle more than one enormous meal a day. Pomodoro used to do an antepasto plate that was fabulous, and a full meal in itself. Sadly, it comes and goes from the menu. And last, my husband has been known to drive into Boston en route to the airport and double park near Faniel Hall while I run in for a last ditch order of fried clams, some of the best, crisp, non-greasy that we've found anywhere.

I doubt, Bux, that she uses anything that comes in aluminum cans. Probably insists on glass packaging. But she may well get her staff to save cans for her! ;) Magnolia, they are a simple construction of gelatin, water, sugar, corn syrup and vanilla, rolled in confectioners' sugar. And, wouldn't you know it, Martha cut hers out with heart-shaped cutters. :o The crux, of course, is the quality of vanilla.

A quote from Magnolia: Someday maybe I'll tell you about the time I made marshmallows from a Martha Stewart recipe that instructed me to pour the mixture into a foil-lined pan. I outsmarted myself by using Saran instead. And spent a couple of hours on Christmas morning picking shards of Saran off what would have otherwise been ethereally marvelous marshmallows...!

Although Peet's is only two blocks from my house, since I hate to stand in line to buy beans, I usually buy several pounds at a time, keep them in their twist-tab package in the freezer. We go through these within a couple of weeks, and I don't notice the difference in strength or richness of frozen beans from new beans.

JayBee, if you like "winey", you want African beans, Kenyan or Ethiopian. And, I won't pretend I'm not biased, you can't go wrong with Peet's. I know they do mail order, and you can buy off the web: http://www.peets.com/ This is all we use in our french press pot.

Le Bistro d'Hubert (41 bd Pasteur 15e 01.47.34.15.50 ) is a Sunday favorite of Left Bank Parisians. It's 210FF (Don't know what the euro conversion will be.) three course menu includes such interesting departures as a "nougat" of duck thigh and foie gras with tomato confit and a cream flavored with curry and Sichuan pepper, going on to an amazing dish of pallards of swordfish sauced with a soy enhanced demiglaze, and for dessert a gateau of salted butter caramel. There is also a traditional side of the menu. Dishes are based on Southwest flavors, such as a plate of pimientos stuffed with brebis that look like a bouquet of tulips. There are 6 choices for each of the three courses. There are also carte selections. There is a single cheese offering of brebis fermier with confiture de cerises noires. Unless you are set on brasserie food, I would say that this place is considerably more interesting, and undoubtedly less expensive. Gault Millau gives it a "14" rating. We like it enough to return every other trip or so.

Sad iron: the pre-electric flat iron that one heated over a charcoal brazier. You ironed with one while the others remained on the heat source. They were available in different shapes for pleats, tucks, puffs, etc. I had seen many in collections, but never in private or commercial use.

I'll add my rib process which we like a lot. You make a brine with water, white vinegar, salt and red pepper flakes. Soak the ribs in this for a few hours, or overnight. Drain, roast in a low oven basting with the marinade when you think of it. After a couple of hours, daub with barbeque sauce several times over perhaps a 45 minute period. (At the moment, my family is partial to bull's eye extra spicy, I'm embarrassed to admit.) I could live my whole life without 'que, but these are seriously good.

Mark, do you suppose that the reason you lie awake at night is because of those pulled pork sandwiches? Seriously, they sound fabulous. Kind of a Cuban torta on rye.

Robert, we consider these little vignettes of French life "food for the soul", like the hand laundry on rue Perronet just off Saints Peres where an ancient woman irons fragile (and expensive!) cotton blouses with a "sad iron": still not using electricity one block north of blvd. St. Germain!

Ah ha! You caught it! :cheesy:

Several years ago we read about these informal get-togethers that take place every few months in a public or semi-public place in Paris (e.g., Les Halles garden, Gallerie Vivienne, Pont des Arts). Several hundred people of all ages and backgrounds gather to sing classic chansons francaise from communal songbooks accompanied by an accordianist. There is a truly "awesome" atmosphere of goodwill and conviviality. Strangers will notice that you aren't singing, and move over so that you can share their songbook. Some bring wine or snacks for a communal table. We have dropped by two of these gatherings after dinner, and have always left with a smile, feeling very French although we have butchered every song. You can stay for a song or for the next few hours. Next gatherings are in early February and late March. For information, check out their website: http://mapage.noos.fr/bachiquesbouzouks/

We spend some 40 - 45 days away from home in the US each year. Because of the nature of our travel, we usually find ourselves in small towns whose downtowns have given way to malls and chains. We have visited most of these places for over 10 years, so have had lots of opportunity to check out what may be a discovery. There have been few. Advise from locals can sometimes be even more hair-raising than bumbling around on our own. Restaurant listings for these places are just about non-existent, and top rated places still serve what we wouldn't accept at home. Enter Applebee's. Do not make the mistake that we recommend this chain. But when your plane gets in at 8pm and you have to get up at 4am, and you see their lighted logo, they become a viable option. You MUST order simply in these places. My husband makes the mistake of believing the menu, and gets some truly gruesome plates. But if you stick to something like a steak salad (lightly dressed romaine, about 6 oz.sirloin cooked to your specification...if you can get it across that your really mean rare...several tomato and torpedo onion slices, and showered with some adequate blue cheese that I think they actually call Rochefort) you will have a reliable if predictable meal. We would never patronize this type of restaurant at home, nor would we need to. Nor would we go to one when we are in a locale with food options: e.g., Boston, mid-coast Maine, Portsmouth NH, Lambertville NJ. But in the hinterland, Applebee's rules. :)

NewYorkTexan said: In simplest and broadest terms, the difference lies in the management........are they cooks or business people. I have a relative who owns 60 BurgerKings and a handful of Chili's. He considers himself in the real estate business!

The short answer? Yes. It's my sense that the majority of writing has pertained to high profile and multi-starred dining rooms. And that while posts on lesser known (inexpensive to moderate) restaurants receive only passing comment from other posters, the numbers count, i.e., times read, indicates that lurkers make these among the most read posts. Once again concerning your recommendation of the Hamburgers' book, I don't have a copy to refer to, but as I remember my fast perusal brought up such good names as Le Repaire de Cartouche, Le Troquet, Le Bamboche, old workhorse Astier, Dame Jeanne, L'Affriole, Clos des Gourmets, Le Pamphlet and other names that have been in the forefront of Paris food news, but below Michelin radar. What I like most about this book is the way in which the Hamburgers describe so precisely and succinctly both ambience and food of each restaurant. They take the (negative) surprise but not the delight out of dining out. (Edited by Margaret Pilgrim at 11:29 am on Jan. 10, 2002)

There is an annual fair celebrating the Veritable Jambon de Bayonne every year on the three days preceeding Easter, this year the 27th through 29th of March. On exhibit and for sale are the products of dozens of certified ham makers, charcutiers, confits of all kinds, wild game, as well as stalls selling the region's famous Espelette pepper. Bayonne is roughly a 5 hour train ride from Paris, and a hub from which to visit a handful of charming inland villages as well as the attractions of the coastal villages to the south. For more information on the area, the event and the Bayonne ham, see "Take 5000 Eggs" by Paul Strang (Kyle Cathie Limited), and "The Basque Kitchen" by Gerald Hirigoyen (Harper Collins).

Robert, can you mean Intentionist Fallacy, or am I about to learn a new concept?

Scott, the glossary in the back of Patricia Well's Food Lover's Guide to Paris, which you should read anyway, has one of the most comprehensive lists I have seen. If you can't figure out a menu from this guide, you will need the help of the waiter anyway.

Not necessarily. It pointed us to Le Villaret, which was one of our favorites for several years, no ketchup needed there, and to La Regalade, where over the course of our visits we have had to leave portions of more than a few dishes because of their injudicious use of salt. :o

I'm afraid, JPB, that few of the posters to this forum will identify with the Hamburger's book, but I am equally certain that a majority of the readers will. I used the original edition with great success. The writers are on point nearly 100% of the time, and their descriptions of dining rooms give prospective diners all they need to know before choosing and booking. I used this book in conjuction with Patricia Wells' Food Lover's Guide to Paris, and found them in agreement almost all of the time. The advantage of the Hamburgers' book is that it lists many, many more restaurants in the bistro genre. I glanced over this latest edition in the bookstore, and was pleased to note that they had "found" all of the good addresses that we had added since their previous publishing. Now I know that they are on the right track! ;) Thanks for bringing this excellent book to the attention of this forum.

The way professionals (dealers in antique and retro copper, enamel, etc. cookware) remove burnt on grease is oven cleaner. You CANNOT use it on aluminum or bare cast iron, but it is the method least abrasive to a polished stainless, copper or enamelled pan. It is essential that you follow the instruction on the can to the letter, both in regards to ventilation, gloves, etc, and regarding the surfaces on which it can be used. I have used it on le Creuset, Desco, allclad, hammered copper, antique "graniteware" enamel bakeware with glowing results.

Is Sam calling during Regalade's business hours? Small restaurants do not have staff to take reservations during non-business hours like the bigger houses do. I have found that if I call before 6pm, I will undoubtedly be answered by a kitchen worker or janitor, if at all. Also, remember the simple option of having your hotel make the reservation for you. Depending on the time required to get a reservation, 3 to 6 weeks usually, I fax my hotel a list of restaurants we want to visit and a timeframe for them. They fax back a confirmed list, usually the next day.

You have received good advice in both of the previous replies. I would add that you are much more likely to be overwhelmed with starches in Italy than in France. While, as Bux said, some plates will feature a potato accompaniment, I have been served many with a vegetable or herb salad type of complement. Also, I have noticed that since the mad cow scare of a year ago, most menues feature many more fish choices than in the past. I would also suggest that in addition to guaranteeing yourselves a table, eating a bit earlier than the natives will provide you with the waiter's full attention, since you voice a little concern with deciphering the menu. Repeating what Bux said, you will probably find more delight in the unfamiliar than if you stick to what you think is safe. If you have a copy around, you can do worse than sit and read through Julia Childs or similar cookbooks written to acquaint the American cook with French food. At a minimum, it can make you familiar with dishes you might not want to order. :) Prepare to enjoy!

Non-stick pan isn't necessary at all. Plenty of butter is.