Bux

Or you can post directly to eGullet with the full knowledge that your statement will be printed in your own words and in context with the rest of your message. I think Mr. Kuntzman's post and request, raises a few issues about the press and the Internet.

Is that all a critic is required to do? I think you do a disservice to those few critics who can explain and instruct and thereby bring greater understanding of the subject to the reader. There's a lot more a critic can do than relay an opinionated view of an experience. I may be the wrong audience for what you wrote, but it was not a review. It was merely a restaurant experience described by someone who didn't fully understand the situation at hand. As a work of nonfiction with humorous appeal to those who might share the author's disconnect with the subject it had its merits, but to call it a review, there should to be some insight into the subject and some opportunity for the reader to better appreciate the subject. I learned too much about you and very little about CT. Once again the message I get loud and clear is that you have but a brief and passing understanding of the world of which you speak. Have you read Grimes? Why do you describe him as you did? Is it because you have a familiarity and understanding of his work as a restaurant reviewer, or is it just because of his job title and what you think he does at the NY Times? I'm quite puzzled by all this, as what was missing from your post was the kind of information that would help them overcome their fears and connect with the restaurant and food in a way that would make the meal more enjoyable and meaningful. Now I understand you to be pandering to those fears for a few laughs. What I thought I read in your post was a call for assistance in learning how to enjoy a Charlie Trotter experience. Apparently I read you wrong. But I join the others in welcoming you to eGullet and hope that reading here and replying here will be a learning experience. Sadly, your earlier Babbo piece was a little funnier and had more useful information. More sadly, you didn't learn that bellinis aren't a great investment when dining on a budget. It's less about you than it is about food and dining.

What's up with that. Do restaurants that sell certain wines only by the glass, feel that diners would balk at ordering these wines by the glass if they saw that the price came out almost double the cost of by the bottle? We were in a vaguely Spanish restaurant the other night with friends and I thought a fino or a manzanilla might be a nice start to our meal, but I only saw them offered by the glass. The price seemed a bit exorbitant that way and an Albariño seemed a better buy. We'd get more and be assured of a freshly opened bottle. Come dessert time, the waiter brought the wine list with the dessert menu. Once again dessert wines were only offered by the glass. There were no prices by the bottle. One of my dining companions thought I should ask about the bottle price. Surely they would sell us a bottle, although with only three of us interested, we might have to find a half bottle or 500ml bottle. My request for the price of a bottle drew a reaction that indicated our waiter had never heard it before. He consulted with the manager with the response that it would be the same as about 8 glasses. We didn't pursue the issue any further. I expect to pay a bit more per ounce when I buy wine by the glass rather than the bottle, but here they seemed to want to get the diner coming and going.

That's a class act.

Did you intend to spell it "intent"? Universal rule: Any comment on spelling will contain a spelling error. Bruce What can I say? I'm a model citizen. I obey all laws, especially Murphy's.

Yes. Yes. I would try to avoid that practice, especially in places where all the food tastes the same anyway. It really seems to offend people who eat in those places. If our etiquette is of any help, I'll share it with you. There's no trading if my wife says "no." That's because she really likes what she ordered. If she really, really likes what she ordered, I will generally get a forkful passed over just so I'll know she ordered better than I did. If my wife isn't hungry or her portion is too big, she gets a third of my food and I get three quarters of hers. All kidding aside, we're more apt to trade plates if we're dining alone, or with very close friends and we try to do it as surreptitiously as possible. On the other hand, it's also something we may do in the very best restaurants precisely because we want to taste as much as possible. I have very subjective attitudes towards restaurant behavior. You can do anything you want in a really fine restaurant as long as you know the staff understands it's because you're a connoisseur.

We often ask for a copy of the menu. I have a bunch of very-expensive-to-print menus in my collection, but we generally just ask for the insert if there's one. It appears not to be an uncommon request at destination restaurants and with personal computers and printers, it's not unusual for restaurants to offer a copy of the day's menu to diners without being asked, especially if you've had a tasting menu. Regarding those expensive printed menus, I've found many restaurants keep old ones around to hand out as souvenirs. I'm rather put off when they hand me one. It implies they think I'm looking for a tourist souvenir to show I've been to the restaurant when I'm looking for a souvenir of my meal. On rare ocassions I've had a restaurant print out a list of the courses we've had, right on the spot. If there's someone in the office and laser printer, it takes but a minute. We're getting lazier and lazier about taking notes. On our last trip we took a picket digital camera to record most meals. I know of others, particularly professionals in the culinary world who make it a habit to document their meals.

I see they make both powdered broth and powdered cooked meat as well as fat, but who knew rosemary was an antioxidant?

"Squeat Mungry" is the answer to the question, "jeetyet?"

I have been told on good authority that the "t" in Montrachet wine is silent. That doesn't mean that Montrachet cheese is pronounced the same way. Names in France just don't follow any rules and it's quite common for Parisians to mispronounce names of towns all over France. Of course English is no better and American cities with European names as already referenced are another example of that sort of thing.

You're almost right, Bux. That's the proper spelling in Spanish, but in Catalan I believe it's "espardenyes". Yeah, but I was absolutely right when I said I had a terrible memory and am consequently a terrible speller.

The waiters at Georges Perrier's restaurant refer to it as "le beck fin" as if it were part of a fish. I suppose if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Sam was clearly the more famous of the two. His first name is more widely known and he got a whole city named after him as well as streets in Dallas and other Texas cities. Most of us remember the Alamo, but few remember the Bayard estate. From Houston Street: New York Songlines. A bit odd that they didn't get the spelling right. Bayard himself has a street further downtown in Chinatown named for him or his family. The Bayard name is also attached to a building one block north of Houston Street. The Bayard Building was designed by Louis Sullivan. It's his only buidling in NYC and not really one of his best.

, does one have to be a "knowledgeable" diner to merit eating in certain restaurants now? What about those poor folks who are just hungry? I can understand that at times when eating a particularly mood-altering, thought provoking meal the food snob in us - for lack of a more appropriate term - might glance around the dining room and think for a second "I wonder if these other people get it?" or are they just chatting and chewing. That said, I would never begrudge anyone for wanting to eat wherever they choose to whatever their motivation. ( Unless of course I was picking up the tab! )Nor would I begrudge anyone for wanting to eat at someone else's restaurant. Here I am thinking of a chef with a very small restaurant whose profit depends on establishing a loyal following and who takes great pride in what he prepares. First, I am honestly and sincerely of the opinion that like any artist, he deserves an audience who really appreciate his work. Time and again I have heard from cooks working in kitchens who regret their choice of careers, not because they don't like to cook, but because they feel unfulfilled because they don't have the clientele that appreciates the kind of food they'd like to make. There are chefs who are artists and to think of their restaurants as just another place for people to satisfy their hunger is to do them an injustice. Second, restaurants are a business. The knowledgeable diner will refer more of the same kind of clientele. The restaurant will prosper seving the kind of food the chef likes to cook to the kind of people who like to eat it. If he's to survive on a clientele of those who come in because they are hungry, his success will depend not on his skills as a chef, but on his location. Someone posted a very astute comment recently and I can't remember who it was to give credit, but he pointed out that people do not make reservations at restaurants such as the French Laundry, El Bulli and the like, because they know that in one month at eight o'clock they expect to be hungry. When I eat in a restaurant I respect highly, there's no food snob in me who asks if other diners get the food, there's just a guy who knows a few dedicated chefs and who wonders if there are enough people in the room who make the chef feel good about cooking for them. Those who are just hungry have a much larger pool of restaurants from which to pick a table, that those who are obsessed with chef driven food.

I'm still not all that clear on your intended route. I'm assuming you've already purchased round trip tickets from California to Paris and back. If not, and if you are by any chance flying on Air France, I believe you can elect to return from almost any city in France with an airport for a small additional fee and thus shorten your driving itinerary. I don't know from whom you're renting the car either. Most of the major companies allow drop off within France at no additional fee. I gather you're going from Paris to the Loire and then down to Bordeaux and the Basque Coast and then over to Narbonne. From there, how do you get to Paris, by car? I think you already know that on New Year's day, you may find pickings very slim. Lots of places will be closed, but not all. I was surprised to be able to find a few shops open early in the morning in Marseille including a good cafe/bakery. I'm not sure what kind of specific information you can expect to get here as it's still a large area and it's hard to know exactly where you will will stop and what towns you will hit along the way. An awful lot of our early trips were made off-season and we just drove around rather aimlessly getting to know France. At the lower price range, there are few restaurants that are so memorable they will stay in one's mind. I've eaten in and enjoyed many local restaurants, but have no way of knowing if the restaurant is really better than the one around the corner and there doesn't seem a reason to take notes on these places. At one point you mention that you're not looking for Michelin starred restaurants, but you should be aware that Michelin also makes reference to places that are particularly inexpensive and to places that offer great meals at reasonable prices. I find the Michelin guide as useful as the lower and middle points as I do at the high end. Sometimes more so, because their listings are so extensive and easy to reference. I'd advise using the Michelin road maps. These are not only easy to read, but underline the names of towns with a restaurant or hotel that has a listing in the guide making it useful for planning ahead. As for what to see, as opposed to where to sleep and where to eat, I generally recommend the Michelin green guides. There may be better guides around, but the Michelin series seem to offer a good combination of comprehensive and detailed. The ones in French are more detailed and cover a smaller area than the ones published in English. As for specific information in the Pays Basque, much of it is summer resort. A favorite hotel restaurant, although we've not been there recently is the Ithurria in Ainhoa, but the rooms run about a hundred euros and it's closed November through March. Bayonne is a much more interesting town than Biarritz. Biarritz has a beach, which will be of no interest in December and January. In Bayonne, there's a nice place that serves savory and sweet tarts. It's called Tarte Julie. It's a great place for a cheap meal. It's on the rue Thiers across the street from the Grand Hotel. Fine quiche like tarts, but it's not a destination place. It's just a convenient place if you're in the area. The indoor market in Bayonne is worth a look, but it's not a large market. The Laiterie (or Fromagerie) de la Nive is a good cheese shop and a friendly one. They were helpful in selecting cheeses to bring back last time I was there. Unfortunately the Moulin de Bassilour had closed its stall in the market. They made the best gateaux basques I have ever had. When I asked if there was another dependable purveyor in the immediate area, I was told no by the older woman in the cheese shop. She said I had to go to the moulin where they were baked near Bidart. The younger guy suggested a place he considered the best near the market. A shop across the street from the market had buttery gateaux with great body and flavor, but unfortunately they used a sour cherry filling. For me, the only proper filling is a black cherry jam and neither red cherries or pastry cream is acceptable. Other places we tried in St. Jean de Luz, didn't measure up to those I remembered from previous purchases at the Moulin de Bassilour. The chocolate shop Henriot in Biarritz had the second best. I may be making too much of these cakes, but my mouth waters for them when I get near the area, and we didn't manage to find one I could heartily recommend this past trip. That's not to say the search wasn't enjoyable. In St. Jean de Luz, there was a restaurant run by a Frenchman who apprenticed at Daniel in NY. It was heads and shoulders above the places listed in Michelin. I don't know if it's still under the same ownership nor do I remember the prices. The name is Olatua. In Bordeaux I'd recommend la Tupina for the pigeons roasting on spits against a wall of fire. Other things may be good, but I'd stick to grilled meats and birds which they seem to do well. I wouldn't order fancy preparations. I think it may be in your range, or worth a splurge.

I think it's just because English sound so much cuter, if not better, when pronounced with a French accent than French does with an American accent. It may also have something to do with the fact that French has given us so many words that describe the finer parts of our life from the food terms--pork, veal--to words like deluxe and lingerie. Let's face it French is a class act language.

Having traveled with my daughter to France for the first time when she was twelve, I'd dispute that. I was astounded at her reactions. She would make or take no excuses for a dismal meal at a GM moderately well rated restaurant and able to deconstruct food at Troisgros and local traiteurs/epiceries, although I think she took to goat cheeses at a later age. At any rate, she gobbled up food I would have rejected at her age and was as discerning as I was, if not moreso. Needless to say, she got to eat better food at an earlier age than I did.

A misspent youth is one in which you've wasted your fifteen minutes of Wharholian fame on eGullet. I've never been to Atlanta and as a consequence, can't say much about either example there. Balthazar in NY, is far removed from haute cuisine and fine dining that I'm once more suggesting you have a lot to learn about restaurants. Don't get me wrong. the chefs at Baltazar are close friends of my daughter's and I like and respect then very much. Moreover I like the restaurant and dine there with some regularity, but it's not meant to be anything like what Daniel or Charlie Trotter is. It's bistro/brasserie food, raw oysters represent one of the strengths of the kitchen. It's not labor intensive food and it's not meant to be creative food. Babbo is something else altogether and neither CT nor Balathazar. I don't know Jules Verne either. It's supposed to have good food, but it just doesn't get mentioned by people I know, nor by people I don't know who write about food. My father would not have liked CT. He would not have liked Daniel. In fact, it was a great disappointment to me that he never appreciated fine restaurants, although he often liked good food. It was just something we couldn't share and as he left me with some money to have a few really fine meals, I'd have preferred to have had half as many, but to have had them with him. Whether my parents lack of appreciation for haute cuisine was genetic or cultural, it didn't get passed on to me.

I think that's a very relative term. Is she going to look at people or be seen and in either case who is it that she wants there? It's usually packed with a very mixed crowd and it's difficult to get a table. Is that good enough? Actually the variety of people in the crowd that's usually there makes for some people watching. I think the best meal they serve is brunch, although the most interesting crowds may be later at night. Late at night she may not need a reservation. Otherwise she will. The restaurant shows no sign of a falling off in traffic that will let it become a neighborhood walk in place. In fact, one often needs a reservation at non-trendy places even on weekdays in New York. If she's only staying the weekend, it may already be too late for many places.

Standing on line is zen thing. When you stand in line, you become part of the line. When you stand on line, there is the line and there is your identity. We don't lose our identity to the line here in New York. For one thing, we maintain an consciousness about how to get ahead on the line. As had been said, New Yorkers know how to pronounce Houston, Texas. We also know that Houston Street is named for another guy and we know how he pronounced his name too. As for Illinois, Detroit and Des Moines, I always figured those were Indian tribes.

My personal advice is that if you've never eaten in a two star restaurant or a three star one, go for the two star. It's likely to be a better buy. It may possibly offer just as good food and will defintely offer more bang for your euro. I've enjoyed Carre des Feuillants very much. Just understand that there's a difference between what you get on the tasting menu at night and on the lunch special in most restaurants. I've had the food at Carre des Feuillants at both levels and the difference is very noticeable if you've had both, and especially if you've had the more extravagant meal first. Nevertheless I enjoyed the prix fixe lunch.

On the other hand, maybe Adam has my envy, not sympathy. At 24 I never expected to eat at places like that. Good food came later and a little money even later than that.

Fughetaboud joo-lu-ray. Let's tawk about mason-ary as in bricks and mortar.

Um... isn't the first T pronounced? I've always heard: [mõ-tRa-Se], and [mõ-Ra-Se] just doesn't seem right to me. (NB. I'm using a big "S" in place of the usual IPA symbol for "sh" which doesn't seem to work in Explorer; the big "R" means it is uvular). Ya heard wrong. It's just a quirk. There's no rule supporting mon'rashay, it's just the way the name is pronounced. Perhaps it's a trick to ferret out spies.

I suppose given the lack of an industrial dryer of sufficient capacity, one could just make concentrated lamb stock and freeze dry the result.