Bux

I'd go to the Beard House to support the Beard programs, or to support I Trulli, but I'd agree with tommy that you'll best experience I Trulli at I Trulli.

It's actually one of my favorite pieces of journalism on the site.

I think it's always been the case that Michelin focuses on the "cooking." While the starred restaurants are expected to use impeccable ingredients, a simple presentation of the finest raw materials is not going to get more than a star anywhere in France and not even that in Paris, let alone Madrid. Michelin's strength is its weakness and vice versa. What it does well, it probably does better than any other guide, but what it does well is to rate and rank restaurants serving in a traditional chef-centric French style. As vmilor suggests, it is not a good guide to restaurants outside that range and that range is no longer inclusive of all the most interesting places in France, let alone parts of Europe where it may never have been as reliable. A Guide Michelin to Japan for instance, seems totally unworkable. Vmilor speaks of a "gourmet population in countries such as France, Spain, Italy and Turkey(in the US a very very tiny minority) who are more sophisticated about food than the majority of food writers." I understand what he means although there are a minority within the food writer ranks who are also quite sophisticated. In truth gourmets are a minority of the population and sophisticated gastronomes are a small subset of that. The NY Times is a powerful force in NY restaurant business, but we've seen enough people just ignore a rating that was lower than it should be. eGullet is quickly becoming a conduit for some of the best up to date news and opinion about food and where to dine, but even here, one has to learn what to pay attention to and who to listen to. A real interest in food sets our members apart from the rest of society, but we cover the interests of a broad range of the taste of people who enjoy eating. I also believe we are in ways, better off for that as my eyes have been opened to the appreciation of a greater variety of foods via this site. For me, the issue is not of abandoning the guide, which has really served me well enough at times, but in supplementing it. I will give Michelin some credit for our discovery of at least two memorable meals in unstarred restaurants, but luck played a part.

Chez Michel is well known. It was full the night we ate there. I'd suggest not leaving it for the day you want to eat there, but fax ahead. An early reservation is bound to be a little easier.

I think you can do very well at Aux Lyonnais in the 2nd arr. near the Bourse for under 60 euros. It's good Lyonnais food. Hearty, but very well prepared. Alain Ducasse is part owner of the restaurant. Chez Michel is an excellent little place in the 10th near the 9th and near the gare du Nord. You should be able to eat there for much less and eat well. Paris is relatively easy to get around and I wouldn't limit myself to the right bank when looking for restaurants.

My guess is that they do a lot of "functions" or private parties and serve a lot of out of towners on a visit, rather than a local repeat clientele and that might affect the service.

I think we're just explaining why we haven't got any help to give. I, for one, am not suggesting your daughter and her boy friend be rude about the gift. The park is beautiful and every tree around the restaurant is strung up with Christmas lights. I don't mean that they are strung up like a Christmas tree, but that each tree is completely wrapped in white lights, trunk and branches. And yes, many people find that enough to offer romance to the meal. I'm sorry I have no more help. Your daughter may want to peruse the Tavern on the Green's web site. There's a menu shown and there is a plan of the restaurant with photographs of the rooms. It may influence a choice, if available, of room to request when making a reservation. Certain rooms may hold private functions so they may not all be available. I'd think of advising her to ask for a table by a window with a view of the lit up trees, but then again, as I've never been there, I could be wrong. It's a large place capable of seating some 1100-1200 people at one time, albeit in different rooms many of which can be closed off for private parties. http://web.tavernonthegreen.com/

I haven't been eating out all that well lately. We've been grabbing meals and meeting friends who don't care to spend that kind of money lately. So I don't know how well I can rank it. At $45 dollars for the prix fixe it's a good deal, I think. It's obvious that there's talent in the kitchen. It should also be obvious that I have to look around things like being offered peanut butter and jelly as an amuse with my flute. If I'm going to be tempted by peanut butter and jelly it's going to have to come out plated or in an irresistable canapé. If I didn't know Ducasse was behind it and I hadn't heard good things about Psaltis from people in the industry, I'm not sure I'd have been able to focus on how good most of the food was. Unless of course, the service and ambience kept my expectation so low that the food would have seemed shockingly good. I know nothing about barbeque and couldn't begin to tell if what was presented as barbeque was anything that would please a devotee and connoisseur, but it struck me as deeply and broadly flavored. I thought it had it's own refinement and was a great contribution to the pork dish. By the way, I never really got a good look at that dish as it was hiding deep down inside that pot. That's another strike. I like brightly lit restaurants because I not only like to see what I'm eating, but I like to see what others are eating, especially at my table. The a la carte prices made me think of Cafe Boulud and my feeling was that Cafe Boulud was a better buy all around. I just checked Oceana's lunch menu and it's also prix fixe at $45. That might be my first recommendation for lunch. I've had dinner there. Lunch sounds as if it's a great buy and I like David Carmichael's desserts. Potentially Mix could have the best food, but from start to finish, the three course meal is not as even as it should be and there's too much distraction--call it pretension and not ready for prime time service. For all my bitching, I favor Fat Guy's review to that of the Times, if only because I think it's a restaurant to be recommended and not one to be dismissed, but I'm also conscious that my remarks may seem more like Grimes'. If I could include my meals in San Sebastian, that might be another story.

The ingredients list partially hydrogenated oil. Trans fats are my latest avoid group of foods. Avoiding them allows me to feel good about eating foie gras, bacon and even butter and cream. In truth partially hydrogenated peanut oil is way down the list, but it's probably what makes the stuff spreadable at cold temperatures and maybe even coalesce at high temperatures. The largest ingredient is sugar, followed by peanut oil. Then comes hazelnuts and cocoa. There's no cocoa butter, just the hydrogenated fat. There's a chocolatier in northeastern France that makes a product out of dark chocolate and nut butter that's excellent. It comes in a little yellow can like shoe polish. It is really good on brioches or croissants. My opinion of Nutella is that it's the Velveeta of the chocolate world. Their FAQ page is very interesting. They note that there's a touch of cocoa to give it that chocolaly taste. They also note that the peanut oil goes through a hot-solvent extraction process. Yeah, I know, it's not a health food item, but with all the play chocolate and nuts are getting in terms of offering health benefits it seems there's a big difference between Nutella and what might be. For what it's worth, I've been told that Nutella is manufactured to a different formula in different countries. I can't vouch for the veracity of that. Both my links are to the USA Nutella site.

I think it's many people's idea of beautiful and romantic. It's not mine, but then again, I find good food the most romantic thing a restaurant has to offer. Fortunately my wife shares that outlook. I don't think it's ever had a reputation for good food and it's unfortunately not a target restaurant for those who think about food. I haven't the slightest idea of what's on the menu and I wonder how many members have been there recently.

We had lunch in Mix yesterday. I agree that Mix serves great food, or at least food that's very very good. Some of it really makes you sit up and notice, but some of the presentation also sits up and takes away from the pleasure of the food. I didn't sense that great a difference in the ages of the clientele between Mix and AD/NY. Mostly businessmen in ties and tourists. The difference in price alone would have accounted for the age difference, in my mind. I don't think the decor was bringing many people in, or keeping them out. I didn't like a lot about the design, but it wouldn't be enough to keep me from returning. It was a quick 90 minute lunch because my brother-in-law had a plane to catch. He likes to fly on a full stomach to best avoid any temptation of eating airline food. I got to eat three courses and taste a little bit of the other six courses on the table. I also got to see all five of the cold appetizers. I'll get to the good part--the food--later. The room, at lunch, is wonderfully bright. I like that in a restaurant. I like to see my food and I like to see the other diners. Two walls and the ceiling are lined with glass panels suspended or set in front of the actual side walls. It's an intriguing sculptural concept that plays with one's perception of the actual boundaries of the room. It may not be what those who want a cosseted environment will enjoy, but it's elegantly playful. Unfortunately, it's also bound to produce a loud room when the room is full. Lucky for us, the room was far from full when we were there. We were shown to a booth at the rear. The table was comfortably sized for four, but the banquettes were far too close to the table for comfortable eating and the backs of the banquettes are too high for many hairdos, including Mrs. B's bun. I was particularly glad to leave the banquette behind because not only was it uncomfortable, but there were several noticeable stains on the high fabric back of the seat across from me. The other banquettes may have offered better seating distance, as we were offered those next, but we chose a table. The chairs were not nearly as comfortable as I would have liked in that they didn't offer the back support we'd look for when choosing a dining chair. None of this is my idea of fun. Just as I like to read reviews by critics who enjoy dining out, I like my restaurants designed by architects who enjoy eating in restaurants. I'm not a fan of a lot of the Mix esthetic reminiscent of the fifties. That didn't endear the plastic and chrome stand on which the salads of the day are carried to each table for presentation. The whole idea of the presentation is not bad however. Upon seeing the raw tuna, I decided it wasn't the same old tired raw tuna and that it was worth ordering. On eating it, I thought that maybe it was overworked in a direction too far from plain old raw tuna. Perhaps is had just a few too many elelments in the bowl for my taste, but I enjoyed it very much. On an objective level it was excellent and Mrs. B loved her duck ham and lentils. She wasn't fond of the straight sided bowls in which these dishes were served. I didn't mind them. I don't recall the dish my brother-in-law had and didn't taste it. He had the buffalo for a main course and absolutely loved it. Mrs. B had the pork dish which was a melange of loin, barbeque, grits and I don't know what else, but it was absolutely delicious in pieces and as a whole according to Mrs. B who was very pleased with the design and execution of this dish. It was a large portion and I got to try it enough of it to concur, although my own dish was too rich for me to try too much of the pork. Since we weren't paying, my wife and I stuck to the prix fixe items and I ordered the chicken pot pie. At first I just passed over it on the menu, then the idea that I hadn't had a chicken pot pie in I don't know how long, got to me. Most of the chicken pot pies I've had had chunks of chicken and vegetables. The chicken here was subject to far longer cooking. I'd guess many would find it overcooked. It reminded me of some stewed dishes we've had in more traditional restaurants in Spain where the meat and sauce become almost one. Other connections were with long braised ox tail or short ribs in a complex dish or ravioli. I'm not sure if I'm getting across the nature and depth of flavor in this dish. The chocolate dessert pizza is fun and pretty good, but not all that much of a dessert. The desserts didn't send me. I'm not a baba or savarin fan and I can't put my finger on why I didn't enjoy the pots de creme as much as I expected, but a brioche isn't really a good accompaniment. Felonious is correct when he suggested the "facilities" could be more user friendly, but this sort of thing is not likely to ruin the meal and may be considered "fun" by many. My brother-in-law is an architect and insisted I go see the men's rooms. The plastic enclosed menus are cheesy. The vinyl enccased wine list smells strongly and unpleasantly of vinyl. "I see you've ordered champagne. You might like some caviar or foie gras to go with that," or something equally as weird was said to us as a card was dropped on the table with prices. That was fun(ny). For whatever my reasons were, I ordered something from the short list of wines. These have a place on a wine list and it should, in a reputable restaurant, be a list of recommended and reasonably priced wines. Thus when I ordered a $55 bottle from that list, I don't expect the sommelier to tell me about $75 and $95 bottles on the full list. A rack of good toast is brought out along with a bizarre rack of butter, peanut butter and jelly in little crocks. Spreaders that are disproportionately tall are then inserted in each crock. It looks unbalanced and feels unbalanced. Worse yet, when I actually go for the butter I remove the spreader and the pot of butter comes with it like a popsicle. The cast iron creuset pot whose sides tower over the pork dish is also raised from the table with a trivet. It is not a presentation designed for the comfort of a diner, not even one much taller than Mrs. B. It's also a situation that ensures you hold onto your knife and fork at all times, even when sipping your wine. I suspect Mrs. B, who said she loved her dish, stopped eating at a certain point because she was tired of eating that way more than because she was full. Sorry, not a fun way to dine. Ducasse recently invested in a Paris bistro. There the calves' liver is served in a frying pan, but the pan has much the same shape as a plate and is rather user friendly. The Madeleines that are presented at the end of the meal are neither as warm or as fine as those at Cafe Boulud. They are served with Nutella which blows my image of Ducasse as procurer of fine ingredients.

Robert, this was a great leading question and Victor responded with a post that I thought should start a new thread--Gastronomic tours in the rest of Spain. There's more to Spain that El Bulli and more than Catalunya and the Pais Vasco.

Rarely will you get a better exchange rate anyway except on an ATM withdrawal, but be careful here as some banks claim not to surcharge withdrawals, but actually do. This has been the subject of another thread. HSBC, which is a bank with international affiliations, doesn't surcharge foreign curreny transaction on either it's credit cards or ATM cards. In spite of it's international affiliation, it doesn't offer it's cards all over the US.

The town of Rodez not far south of Laguiole is pronounded by the natives with the final "z" sound. I wonder if TV reporters or interviewers pronounce Michel Bras' name correctly, or it Bras corrects them when they're wrong. In fact most Frenchmen pronounce a lot of names incorrectly, assuming the local pronounciation is the correct one.

Albert is the pastry chef. I suspect his invovlement is greater in that they're brothers and in that this kind of work needs collaboration. We met Albert a couple of years ago when he, Klc and Conticini were doing a demonstration together at the chocolate salon in Paris. His English is not very good, but Esilda had a nice conversation with him in Spanish. Most of it however, was about dropping lunch and just serving dinner. He said it was just impossible keep the pace up all day that way. As you are well aware, the food served is very labor intensive, whether or not it's done at the last minute, and the meals last longer than at most three star restaurants. Klc should have more to add.

No disresepct to Bourdain, but did you feel he was writing about high end places or that his book reflected life in the kitchens of starred restaurants in France? No, but neither did I think Mr. Klapp was making a suggestion specifically about high-end or starred French joints. Bill said: "A friend in the commercial bread baking and distribution business told me that it is rare to go into a high-end restaurant kitchen and not sense drug use." I'm a literal guy. I meant it when I said "no disrespect to Bourdain." The problems are not with what he's written, which I believe are quite accurate and well written, but in the way other people apply what he's written to situations he wasn't describing. Then again I've also been wrong, more often than I'd like you to know about. I think it's safe to assume any chef's job is a high stress job, but agree with you that it doesn't prove a chef's suicide is even likely related to his work. From one notoriously bad speller to another, it's "wince," by the way.

Hotel rooms in Paris can be quite small. Room size, and bed size in European hotels can vary considerably with the price of the room. Most of the hotel rooms I've seen in Paris have been clean and presentable, but the level of comfort varies considerably. We've gone out of our way to demand double beds--as opposed to twin beds pushed together. Hotel keepers have told us that they prefer to use twin beds pushed together and often made with a single sheet, because the double beds tend to sag faster. That's made us less adamant about a double bed. We sleep on a 54 inch mattress at home and consequently are content with the size of any hotel bed. Chez Michel is an excellent buy and highly recommended. You probably need a reservation and unfortunately it's not near the gare de Lyon. I don't know your hotel, but the gare is not near the cours St. Emilion either, although it is in the 12th. There's a bar near the place d'Aligre that's good for oysters. It's called the Baron Rouge, but I've only stopped by there for oysters in the afternoon. It's usually packed and people stand outisde eating oysters on the hoods of parked cars. There's actually someone on the street shucking the oysters and sellling them. I don't know what it's like in the evening or even if it's open. I've heard there are good cafes/bars/bistros nearby, but I'm not familiar with any names.

I've never heard a Frenchman pronounce the "s" in Michel Bras' name.

No disresepct to Bourdain, but did you feel he was writing about high end places or that his book reflected life in the kitchens of starred restaurants in France?

You win some and you lose some. We managed to be traveling through the Dordogne the summer about eight years ago when the dollar hit ten francs. That's probably about a euro and a half or more. We invested heavily in foie gras. I'm happy to eat tripe the next time I'm there. We found first rate Spanish restaurants, at least in the Pais Vasco, still a decent buy and there's good value in the less expensive restaurants of Paris and France.

This one on March 16?

Adria and Santamaria are both three star chefs working in the relatively small region of Catalunya. They are the only three star chefs in the region and it's a very long way to the next three star restaurant. My guess is that Travel & Liesure assumes they are incompetition for the best chef/restaurant in northeastern Spain, if not all of Spain and that they read more into this than is there. Victor could certainly set me right there. He'd have far more insight into what each of them really thinks of the other and the very idea that cooking is a completitive sport. I think it's just T&L's way of spicing up a lightweight magazine article. I think it's a good example of puff piece journalism. I've found Can Fabes to be far more conservative than El Bulli and it's a far easier recommendation to make to someone whose tastes may be more traditional. Then again it's been a few years and gastronomy in Spain is very volitile right now. From Robyn's posts, I'n not be totally surprised at any reaction she might have to El Bulli including loving it or hating it, but even money would't get to bet on her liking it. I suspect the odds are well in favor or her appreciating Can Fabes. I think they both offer gastronomic greatness, but of a different style and thus are not really in competition. I'm not aware of either chef heading a movement that suggests theirs is the right way to cook. They both have top ratings from Campsa as well as Michelin.

For those who have not traveled in Spain, let me add this for greater understanding--or confusion. I have been in any number of restaurants, bars or highway rest stops, where in addition to a tapa and a racion, there is the offer of a media racion. Depending on the item, it may be offered in one, two or three sizes. Another important consideration is that the whole concept of "tapa" or "tapas" seems to vary considerably from region to region. In Andalucia the range of foods available in a neighborhood, or a bar is extraordinary. The Basques too, excel in making tapas a real competition to a meal, but in Sevilla, tapas may rule as the preferred way to eat out. In the northwest, or Galicia at least, one is never served a drink without a free piece of food be it no more than a slice or two of dry sausage or hunk of cheese on a slice ot baguette. In most other parts of Spain one must order the food separately, although I seem to recall getting green olives with almost every drink in Madrid. One doesn't know Spain if one has visited but two or three areas. "Barbacoa," as I understand it, was a word used native Americans living in the Caribbean when the Spanish "discovered" America. It meant food grilled on a fire. What's known as barbeque in the south and southwest of the US is a distinct form of cooking that deserves its own proud name and one that's not confused with grilled food. Unfortunately they've tried to command a word with an older meaning and thus we will continue to have confusion between "real" barbeque, and the original barbeque. I'm sure adherents of barbeque will object to my mention that it originally meant grilling.

I used to enjoy the occasional appearance of the analogy police on this site.

Robert, I'd not likely to subcribe to any tight pigeon holing of Adria or El Bulli, but your old and new hypotheses fit well enough within my range of thoughts. Ferran Adria is the most accomplished cook in the western world today--undoubtedly the most important one as well--but he's a thinker, or in todays parlance--an idea man--above all else. His thinking doesn't stop at the kitchen. Just one example is his consultancy with nH Hotels where he's been tapped to help them not with consultation on a menu, but on a basic rethinking of what restaurant is and how a hotel restaurant might function in the future. I think I can say that in support of what you've already said. I'm not sure I'm entirely comfortable with the trem "guinea pig" in relation to his clientele, but I'll agree that his natural audience is composed of chefs and dedicated diners with a natural curiosity and tolerance for experimentation. I'm resistant to the term "guinea pig" only because I feel that he's done the ultimate experiments and has already perfected the dish before he serves it at El Bulli. That the newness of the dishes and the general level of his creativity insure a certain kind of risk is undeniable, so this becomes a matter of semantics as may any difference we have regarding tapas and dinner.