cabrales

Gayot recently reported: "Originally slated to open in January 2003, the much anticipated opening of master chef Joël Robuchon's new restaurant in The Hôtel Pont Royal in Paris has been pushed back to **mid-March.** Seven years ago, Robuchon, who had been named Cuisinier du Siècle, Chef of the Century, retired at the peak of his career. Now he is returning with the goal of creating chic and affordable cuisine in a totally new restaurant concept." http://www.gayot.com/restaurants/parisnews.html

eljo -- Welcome to posting on the board

fresh_a: I readily agree tipping *should* be more than 10%, but, from observation, am sad to report that tipping at the top restaurants rarely exceeds 10%. Some diners leave no tips.

I have signed up for the BH event.

Novelli is providing demonstrations at the "Vive La France" event, which I have never attended and cannot provide information on. http://www.vivelafrance.co.uk/VISITING_Def...tID=1&TextID=99

Zagat recently reported the following: "Chicama and Pipa: Douglas Rodriguez has left to open a new restaurant of his own; Rodriguez's replacement is former chef de cuisine Maximo Tejada."

Are any members planning to attend the celebrations?

Well, the ducks destined for the Tour d'Argent have to be handled a certain way both during their lives and with respect to their termination, for them to meet the restaurant's specifications. I do not know why the ducks were originally numbered, but the ducks are sourced very particularly. Perhaps there might have been a marketing component to the numbering and postcard follow-up (??). I don't know. "Shortly after having invented the recipe he started a tradition: the Ducks were numbered and a post-card is given attesting the number. If tomorrow you order a duck ­ au Sang ­ à l'Orange ­ with Pepper,... it will be served to you accompanied with a card stating the number of your Duck: in the **guest book of the famous ducks**, one can learn that the n° 328 was served to King EDOUARD VII in 1890, the n° 40 312 was served to King Alphonse XIII in 1914 and the n° 53 211 was served to the Emperor Hiro Hito in 1921." The image on the current postcards resembles the image below, but the edges and certain visual representations are somewhat different. The central, bearded figure is still on the current postcards, which are multi-colored and not sepia in visual representation. That figure is also shown (large size) on the wall of the restaurant's dining room -- the wall that is behind the duck press station. http://www.dininginfrance.com/tourdargent.htm I wonder if all ducks served at the restaurant are numbered, or just those that are made with the blood preparation. Probably the former (?). Below is the recipe for the duck: http://www.monksonline.org/Cuisine/Bizarre/Caneton.htm The duck have since become one of the restaurant's central themes. For example, one of the major pieces of decoration in the restaurant (sometimes placed in the corridor leading to the escalator on the ground floor) is a "metal" representation of a man with playing cards adorning his clothing. On the statue, one can see various references to ducks if one is careful. Below is another description of the duck: http://www.bparis.com/newsletter1464/newsl...&attrib_id=1836

fresh_a: How frequently do guests get sufficiently drunk during a three-star meal that they are unable to complete the meal? How frequently do you receive feedback regarding a guest's loss of control (e.g., intoxication, illness) during a meal?

fresh_a: For your guests who dine more than once at a three-star restaurant during a trip, what are their typical demographics with respect to (1) number of people traveling together (e.g., a couple versus a family with children), (2) age, and (3) business versus leisure travelers. What is the typical length of stay in Paris for that type of guest?

fresh_a: Do you find that your guests appreciate the appropriateness of providing additional tips at three-star restaurants? (I appreciate there is a commonly-held countervailing position.) Do you find that many adhere to the literal interpretation of service being included and not tip? What range of tip percentage would you consider appropriate for a top restaurant? Do you receive feedback on your guests' tipping by such a restaurant?

As I continue my attempts at dieting, my strategy is to only take in one meal a day. While I had not previously paid particular attention to pre-theater menus, I am finding that I am hungry early in the evening and am well-positioned to take advantage of such menus. (I'm very hungry right now -- haven't eaten anything except for grapes since yesterday's lunch) My recent Union Pacific pre-theater meal was good-to-very-good (the same high rating as I have accorded to most other meals sampled at the same restaurant). Do members have suggestions on appealing pre-theater menus? The following are the results of initial investigation: La Caravelle http://www.lacaravelle.org/pretheater.asp (seating by 6:30; departure by 8:00; $48; decent choice) For example, one could choose the following: Vegetable medley with crisped phyllo Sauteed quail breasts with lilly bulbs, sugar snap peas and marjoram Fresh fruit salad with Monbazillac gelée Vong (seating by 6:30; under $38) Below is an indicative (not necessarily current) menu APPETIZER CRAB SPRING ROLL WITH TAMARIND DIPPING SAUCE OR DUCK ROLLS WITH PLUM SAUCE OR RAW TUNA AND VEGETABLES WRAPPED IN RICE PAPER OR WARM ASPARAGUS SALAD, AVOCADO AND ENOKI MUSHROOMS OR PRAWN SATAY WITH FRESH OYSTER SAUCE OR CRISP VEGETABLE ROLLS, NAM-PRIK VINAIGRETTE ENTREE CRISP BEAN CURD WITH SWEET & SOUR MUSHROOM BROTH AND VEGETABLES OR SALMON WITH LENTIL CRUST, ORANGE-GINGER SAUCE, WILTED ENDIVE & SWEET POTATOES OR SPICED COD FISH WITH CURRIED ARTICHOKES OR RABBIT CURRY, CARROT BRAISED WITH GALANGAL OR BEEF SHORT RIBS BRAISED WITH TAMARIND, MASHED POTATOES OR FREE RANGE ORGANIC CHICKEN WITH LEMONGRASS, SWEET RICE IN BANANA LEAF DESSERT WARM VALRHONA CHOCOLATE CAKE, COCONUT SORBET, PEPPERED TUILE OR ASSORTED SORBETS

A diner at an adjacent table actually asked her dining companion whether the following item on the Union Pacific menu referred to the type of Peking Duck she had had at Chinese restaurants: Rhubarb Lacquered White Pekin Duck. http://www.unionpacificrestaurant.com/page...ges/dinner.html

Well, I would be in favor of Beijing Duck, even though Peking Duck is by far the more prevalent translation in the US, because then diners would no longer conflate Peking Duck with Pekin breed duck.

pirate -- I reviewed the Wechsberg excerpt -- 50 pounds of sole flesh being cooked down into 1 pound for the essence. Now, that's a dish I might consider asking La Tour d'Argent to recreate on my next visit to Paris (not that the restaurant would be receptive). On the 2000 duck in Burgundy, it's hard to tell whether it would be the "duck" iteration of a coq au vin. My dining companion and I both sampled the blood duck on my only visit to the restaurant. On the duck press, I believe tour d'argent utilizes silver-colored ones. There is at least another (older) duck press in the bar/lounge which is towards the back of the ground floor (after one would turn right to access the elevator) and which is a "museum" of sorts for Tour d'Argent-relevant items. There are other duck-themed items in the "museum" and certain very old unopened bottles of wine as well. In DStone001's picture, the duck press does not appear to contain certain of its parts (?), relative to other duck presses I have seen. Other numbered ducklings went to: -- Duck #328 to King Edouard VII http://www.cyberpresse.ca/reseau/voyage/02...2090138239.html (article in French) -- Duck #112,151 to Franklin D. Roosevelt (1929)

pirate -- If you wouldn't mind discussing it, why does Sole Sully mandate a visit to Tour d'Argent? Is it a TA creation as well? Is Sole Sully the same as the "Filets de sole Cardinal, riz blanc de Camargue", the "Goujonnettes de sole aux deux sauces" or the "Sole belle meuniere et pommes grenailles" listed below?

Below is additional information on the Tour d'Argent duck: http://www.tourdargent.com/uk/cuisine/canard.html (restaurant's site)

New York magazine's coverage of Otto: http://www.metronewyork.com/content/03/wk0...03/openings.htm Of course, members' coverage was more informative.

fresh_a: Do you find that starred restaurants at other hotels are easier to secure reservations at, given your ability to tap the applicable concierge desk at the target hotel? Do you find that your guests prefer standalone restaurants to restaurants at other hotels, or the converse, and why? Have you received any leads on how best to obtain reservations (if that is possible) at Robuchon's place? Would one have to stay at the hotel housing the restaurant? How significant a determinant of restaurant choice is geographic proximity for most guests? Separately, how frequently would a guest make a restaurant choice based on the restaurant's cellar? Which two- or three-starred restaurants have the best cellar, taking into account the general level of wine mark-up as well as breadth/depth of selection (except for Carre des Feuillants)?

When a restaurant has more than one maitre d', do you attempt to access one maitre d' more than another? Do you attempt to thank cooperative maitre d's by sending them gifts during the holiday season, if that is ethical for a maitre d' to do? Speaking of ethics, what are some of the ethical dilemas which you have handled, if any?

mogsob -- The Ledoyen casual restaurant that used to exist is no longer there. If we are addressing the casual restaurant on the lower floor, it did not exist at least as of May 2002. Might there perhaps be a new casual restaurant at Ledoyen?

There's a "Small Plates" menu, as well as a "Lunch/Bar" menu.

West (fka Ouest) has its Dine Out Vancouver menu on its own website. The menu sounds fairly good, and members in Vancouver might wish to consider it (see recent thread on West for relevant discussion of name and other changes): Three Courses $25.00 selection of one appetizer, entree and dessert -- Quebec Foie Gras and Chicken Liver Parfait on apple jelly with toasted brioche (this item is priced at at lest CAD$17 on the a la carte menu, and is on its way to becoming a signature dish), or A Winter Salad with soft poached hen's egg and walnut vinaigrette -- Aldergrove Stuffed Chicken with wild mushroom and roasted button onions, or Pacific Ocean Perch with crisp fennel, red pepper and olive oil emulsion -- Espresso Chocolate Parfait, or Apple Hazelnut Galette with sour cream ice cream http://www.ouestrestaurant.com/ouest/menus.../menu.asp?ID=91

Below are A Escoffier's musings on his own prix fixe menus, as documented in "Auguste Escoffier. Memories of my Life" (translated by Laurence Escoffier): At the Savoy, "it was time to move quickly with new ideas to be able to attract the attention of the elite in English society. We started our innovations immediately. We had already noticed ... that our English clients, faced wtih a la carte menus written in French that they could not understand, often asked the maitre d'hotel to order the meal for them. This was the same case at the Savoy, where the menus were also written in French. Together, [Cesar] Ritz, [L] Echenard [a mutual friend of Ritz and Escoffier who worked at the Ritz], and I agreed to change this by creating a prix fixe menu that contained most of the items offered on the a la carte menu. There had to be a minimum of four people at the table to order a prix fixe meal, and I took care of composing the menus myself. ... When a client requested a prix fixe menu, the maitre d'hotel would take down his name in a notebook, including the number of people in the party ... He would immediately send me the order, and I would then *invent a menu*. I kept a carbon copy of the menu I had composed in a special book so that the next time the same person ordered a prix fixe meal, I could be sure not to serve him the same dishes twice. I had great freedom in the composition of these menus, which enabled me to vary them at will and thus produce many new creations. Our prix fixe menus became ver popular and played a *large part* in the success of the Savoy. They still existed forty years after they were implemented...." The above excerpt indicates that Escoffier's prix fixe menus were not tasting menus in the sense commonly understood in modern-day top-tier restaurants (i.e., prestated menus available to all guests in the same manner). Escoffier's prix fixe menus were less standardized, and more of a creative outlet. Escoffier notes that he "took special pleasure in composing these meus, both to please my customers and to satisfy my own pride." It is also interesting that the above excerpt could be viewed as an indication of the marketing considerations Escoffier may have taken into account. Later in Escoffier's autobiography, he notes that "[t]he system of prix fixe meals for a table of at least four that we had offered at the Savoy proved to be just as popular when we offered it at the Carlton." Several examples of the Carlton prix fixe menus are then furnished.

Do you see significant differences among the knowledge levels and effectiveness of the maitre d's at three-star restaurants? Which one or two maitre d's do you believe is particularly effective, and what are the criteria utilized?