cabrales

Kikujiro -- I would consider Capital, Putney Bridge and Lindsay House (in that order) as the better possibilities. I think Putney Bridge is a promising restaurant with good cuisine, although I have not visited within the past year now. I like Lindsay House (not as much as PB), although Corrigan can be somewhat inconsistent. . . . . It's not that I dislike Pied a Terre, but I wouldn't consider it to be as good as Capital or PB. Note I have not visited since the PaT renovation. As I noted previously, I don't dislike PaT. It's just that I like The Capital and Putney Bridge better. Lindsay House over PaT would be more controversial from a non-subjective perspective.

As background, the Paris tourist office has a list of restaurants open past midnight: http://www.paris-touristoffice.com/cgi-bin...rg/selectheberg (Please choose "Cafe/Restaurants" selection on the left hand side, etc.)

TimeOut has the following update: "16 au 16 [translated as 16 at 16, referring to the restaurant's number along the street presumably] Ghislaine Arabian (one of France's best female chefs), has gone off to Japan, but the restaurant she left behind has been reinvented, and improved. The glitzy décor has been toned down, and the menu is now an enigmatic, Zen-like script. Hors d'oeuvres like quail's eggs with tapenade (a garlicy sauce with anchovies) show the sassy creativity of chef Frédéric Simonin, and the fillet of beef and sea bass were both gob-smackers. Equally spectacular are wine-poached figs thatched with caramelised sugar and rosemary ice cream, and a chocolate and caramel plate. 16 av Bugeaud, 16th (33 1 56 28 16 16). M Victor Hugo. Open noon-2.15pm Mon, Sat, noon-2.15pm, 8-10.30pm Tue-Fri. Average 75 euros."

In mid-October, the NYT Dining section reported the following: "Paris has finally attracted the Troisgros family, which owns the Michelin three-star restaurant Maison Troisgros in Roanne, France. Michel Troisgros has become the consultant for the new restaurant in the Hotel Lancaster, on the Rue de Berri near the Champs-Elysees. The restaurant will open early next year."

Galoupe was also prominent in an old Steingarten article on, I vaguely recall, pig parts and boudin noir.

Below is another write-up in French on Chamaree (formerly Chamarel): http://www.restoland.com/fiche.php?local=P...C%7C%7C%7C1%7C0 I have translated, very roughly, relevant excerpts: Price of menu or the a la carte: from 45 euros Closed: Saturday lunch, Sunday all day. Comments: The restaurant of Antoine Heerah, a native of the island of Mauritius, and Jerome Bodereau, a young chef formed at Ledoyen and a former sous-chef of Passard, attract all gourmets. The cuisine is traditionally inspired, but revolves around flavors of the world and spices from Mauritius. Serves from 12:00-14:00 and from 19:30-22:30 (this might be a possibility for robert brown) Tasting menu (for all diners) at 70 euros. Chefs' choice menu with sampling of wines by the glass at 90 euros. Decor is in reds, ocres and browns. The seats are covered with velour, and light woods furnish a comfortable and elegant ambiance to the two rooms. Reservations recommended.

One thing I have wondered about is whether the method by which animals, like chicken, are terminated might have an impact on the quality of the resulting meat. Apart from "humane" effects for the chicken, could the method/speed of death affect the quality of the resulting flesh? Could you please discuss whether you cook capons? If you do, does the castration process bother you? How do you delineate which fish you would serve and which you would not (apart from the tastes of fish)? Are there some fish which are clearly not threatened with respect to population, but which you would not serve because you believe the processes by which they have been captured are not appropriate? What are your views on (1) farmed fish, (2) the utilization of whale meat by the Japanese and certain other groups, and (3) the impact that method of capture might have on the quality of fish and crustaceans (including small boat, diver, line-caught)?

mikeczyz -- The turbot sounds very appealing. I have been curious about the caviar staircase for a little while now. What are the accompaniments to it, and how large was the serving of each type of egg, roughly?

Given the number of restaurants (including ones outside of NY) affiliated with the Myriad Group, is there benchmarking of one restaurant against others and are there certain profit/corporate values/diner treatment goals that are shared? Or does the group recognize the distinctive characteristics of each venue more than focusing on commonalities? In addition, do Myriad Restaurants have an avenue for sharing cuisine ideas, front-of-the-room expertise and other resources (e.g., wine knowledge of Montrachet sommelier team)? For instance, is there a periodic "retreat" or other bonding-condusive activity? Do dining room team members or kitchen team members tend to move from one Myriad affiliate to another?

Tony Chi seems to be designing a lot of restaurants of late, including NoMI in Chicago (with the decor of which I was not particularly impressed, although the views are stunning and Chi probably did provide a design that highlighted the view).

nesita -- That dining room team members are encouraged to recognize usernames doesn't mean they would necessarily be successful at doing so, particularly if the username involved were something "normal sounding", like nesita or jordyn. Wholly apart from identification of a diner as an eGullet member, I get a sense, from observation of the tables around mine when I visit, that Blue Hill dining room team members are generally both efficient and friendly.

I have determined that there is an evening train from Hendaye (a French town close to San Sebastian) to Paris (Austerlitz). This enables me to be in San Sebastian for yet another meal. Do members have input on what restaurant would be best to add to visits to Zuberoa, 2 meals at Arzak, Berasategui and Akelare? Are there any more two-stars close by?

nesita -- You utilized your eGullet username without otherwise mentioning your affiliation with eGullet? Were you sure your eGullet username was recognized, since nesita does sound like a normal name as well?

I am probably going to choose Zuberoa, which the website seems to indicate has a gorgeous setting. However, as background, have members sampled the cuisine of Urepel, Panier Fleuri or Ramón Roteta?

Scott -- Hi again When you have a chance, could you discuss how far away from San Sebastian this restaurant might be -- there seem to be indications it is 10 minutes away from San Sebastian by car? The location map on the restaurant's website also makes it appear as though the venue is very close.

StephenT -- Wanting restaurants to be exclusive is contrary to what I would hope for restaurants. However, I would want diners to be more proactive, instead of blaming restaurants for not telling them things that a simple inquiry on their part would have quelled.

Oops -- I meant strip steak. I have to say I have not eaten that many strip steaks in my life before (probably less than three).

I'd appreciate members' input on what restaurant in or around San Sebastian might be interesting, when combined with 2 meals at Arzak, one meal at Berasategui and one at Akelare. I am looking for a restaurant at the level of the other ones. Perhaps I might end up choosing another meal at Berasategui (?).

Thumbs up, at least at the less-than-80-euro prix fixe *lunch* price. At GV evening prices, I'd prefer Ledoyen, among others.

Troisgros (the huge sculpture outside of the complex, of forks and other utensils). Michel Rostang (musical instruments), in the room to the right of the entrance through which one has to pass before reaching the Lalique room.

For last night's meal with Nina, CathyL and her husband, I ordered a whole portion of the dinner, as nobody was eager to share. We began with a complimentary hummous spread, with a chilli-like kick at the end, and with embedded olives. Pita and other breads were brought to us. The caesar that followed was average, but the dining room team members were accomodating with respect to my request for extra anchovies. (In general, the service was relatively inattentive, considering the lack of other diners.) The strip steak was nice, but I had ordered mine black and blue (to reinforce this, I said "very rare, literally"). It was at least rare, and therefore, as reported by members, at least slightly overcooked. For me, too much of the fat (if any) had been trimmed. The restaurant accommodated our requests for changes to the included sides without charging us. Other members of our dining party sampled, for example, the red onions, even though the parsnip puree was not available. Overall, the sides did not seem large; each was initially presented on a large plate, but that represented six orders. Thus, I asked for an extra plate of mushrooms and those were, appropriately, not charged. CathyL and I both suspected the mushrooms included mousserons (spelling) as well as oysters, although the moussersons looked slightly different from others I had previously sampled and the roasted garlic overwhelmed the aromas of the mushrooms somewhat. The spinach was poor, as Nina mentioned, lacking onctuousness and being limp. The BYO wines we sampled were Chateau du Couvent Pomerol 1998, Malbec Weinert 1996, and Bahans Haut-Brion 1998.

Around this time, Berasategui should be releasing a new book called "Calendario de Nuestra Cocina Tradicional, Hecho para la Gente de Hoy" (Aurrera).

On Sweden, I recently found the below link to recommendations by Charlie Trotter: "SWEDEN (Stockholm) CHARLIE TROTTER OF CHARLIE TROTTER'S: "The restaurant scene in Sweden is very exciting. The chefs are based in classical cuisine but are combining that foundation with intriguing innovation. Stockholm restaurants are among the most interesting and vital in Europe today because the chefs feel free to experiment. On a recent trip, I enjoyed Bon Lloc: inventive cooking, specializing in Mediterranean dishes. The young chef, Mathias Dahlgren, is the only chef in Sweden to ever win the prestigious Bocuse d'Or culinary competition. Great touch and great service. One of the best restaurants that I visited. East Restaurant and Bar has an Asian-inspired menu and a very hip bar scene. The chef at Fredsgatan 12 spent a lot of time in the U.S. and there's a strong U.S. influence. Some dishes are oddly combined, perhaps pushing the limits a bit, but the chef shows great signs of talent. Gondolen is a great place to go for a drink, with a wonderful view of the city." Note: When calling from the U.S., begin with international calling code 011. Bon Lloc: 33 Bergsgatan (on Kungsholm) 46-8-650-5082 East Restaurant and Bar: 13 Stureplan 46-8-611-4959 Fredsgatan 12: 12 Fredsgatan 46-8-248-052 Gondolen: 6 Stadgåårdan 46-8-641-7090" http://www.visiteurope.com/restaurants.html Note I have never eaten at the above restaurants.

Kikujiro -- Regarding the UK, that's partly my point. If diners were less concerned about how they were perceived, they might be more proactive, including with respect to prices to the extent they cared. Separately, I don't necessarily think that studying a menu will place a diner in a poor light in many restaurants' eyes; there are, of course, numerous exceptions.

Kikujiro -- No, apart from believing that it is unnecessary at certain (not all) places, I don't have an objection to the display of menus. Menus should be displayed in a visually pleasing manner to the extent practicable. Note that, if a diner is interested in pricing, she could go into the restaurant and ask to review the menu. I don't think there's anything shameful about that. The diner is not necessarily looking only at prices; she could be reviewing the appropriateness of the dishes for her. And so what if she were indeed studying prices? I have done that on trips to places where the menus were not displayed, and where I was not visiting a restaurant that is not a "destination" venue or a venue with which I was familiar. For places that require reservations, that process of evaluation should presumably be handled before the making of a reservation. On studying prices, I do not consider that an adverse factor with respect to a diner's interactions with a restaurant. Because I dine alone and sometimes drink champagne, I often review the wine list before ordering an aperatif. For example, I might order 1/2 bottle or a bottle of champagne and begin with that without a separately ordered aperatif. Diners can be empowered if only they didn't worry about how a restaurant perceived them. It's many things that influence a restaurant's perception of a diner. On your perceptions of my romanticism, is it too much to ask that a diner either be proactive, or suffer the risk of varying outcomes?