Bux

First, Tom, it's nice of you to say we're doing fine without you. I'll take that as the compliment it seems meant to be, and add that I'd welcome the addition of your participation in this, and in the other boards where you might offer facts or opinions. I don't know why you would think your contribution wouldn't be proper or welcome here. I can't speak to the propriety of your participation if you have concerns about commitments outside of eGullet, but your participation would be deemed appropriate to our function in the culinary world. I think we're going to find anonymous outlets for people to use one way or another. Part of the necessary smarts we all need to sharpen is our own ability to tell the cranks from those with a legitimate complaint. Those carrying an axe may be harder to spot if they are sophisticated. For that reason, as well as because negative comments tend to be expressed far more often than people bother giving praise, most complaints need to be taken with a bit of salt. That's little consolation to the offended parties. I don't have any familiarity with any great restaurant that hasn't drawn serious criticism from someone. The world is an imperfect place and we all don't carry the same standard for what's correct in any given situation. Earlier I responded on the France forum about the sommelier tasting the wine. I, and the poster, think it's a service. Others think they're being robbed of a bit of their wine. I suppose a sommelier could always ask first, but the difference between "may I" and "shall I" may set off one diner or another. People can be unbelievably picky. Without good evidence, I've learned to assume the house is right far more often than the customer. I suppose you can assume I've learned to pick my restaurants well, if nothing else. There's probably a lot of bad service out there that I've managed to isolate from my experience making me less sympathetic to those who haven't learned to do the same.

Parlez-vous franglais?

Yes. We have a large number of members who speak that weird and somewhat insular dialect of English called "British."

I don't remember the food exactly, but they were the sort of places where you sat down for three simple courses--no sandwiches--including "fromage ou dessert." In many cases, the dessert might be packaged ice cream or a slice of patisserie bought tarte. My French was inadequate, my knowledge of food was quite nil and my interest just beginning. Much of the menu was likely to be beyond my grasp in any case. I remember a lot of rice rather than potatoes and grilled skewers of meat--shish kebob--and more egg plant than in most restaurants. No, I don't recall stuffed grape leaves au gratin, but the standards of the time were often served. Cocquille St. Jacques au gratin, oeufs dur mayonnaise, salade russe, salade de tomates, etc. all filled out the menu. In those days, a lot of my meals were had in very cheap restaurant seving a sausage or small piece of steach or pork chop on a plate filled with fried potatoes. Even that was rewarding in comparison to the food I knew in the states. When I returned to Paris in the colder months, I discovered the joys of a simple vegetable potage. I learned it was always available in a certain kind of restaurant even if it was not on the menu. I don't know if I was nostalgic about the joys of food that were everywhere in Paris for next to nothing, or for my ingnorance and the ease with which I was impressed. Ignorance can really be bliss. I don't know if I became jaded, or if the simple pleasures of the table in Paris all but disappeared for a while. Equally, I'm unsure if I've now become a bit jaded by the finest cooking in the world or if there's been a renaissance at the simple end of Parisian bistros, but I'm learning of and enjoying places that remind me of the ones I first knew. At anyrate, I didn't know the difference between French food and Greek food when I left for Paris, or from Paris, the first or second time. For that reason, I suspect your Mexican restaurant should be called Casa Louise or Chez Luisa. You don't want to make the natives too uncomfortable.

I agree, it's a nice touch. You'd be surprised however at how many people feel cheated that the sommelier is "drinking" their wine. I gather that most of these people also don't mind tasting, or maybe drinking, corked or otherwise off tasting wines. I'd rather have the sommelier guarantee my wine than dare me to spot the flaws. Nice post. I think it was last year that a friend told me he had really enjoyed the tomato menu. He also had nice things to say about the sommelier, although somehow I had the impression it was a woman then. If so, then it's nice to hear there's a consistency of service through a change in staff. You write a very appealling account of Christian Etienne. Avignon draws so many tourists that I always fear it will lose it's reputation for offering good food. In fact most of the tourists quite happily enjoy the mediocre food served in the outdoor restaurants in the main square. The scene makes a pretty picture, but the food has always been much better in the various restaurants. I've had meals that were memorable in one way or another, but all in good ways, in starred and unstarred restaurants in Avignon over the years. I also don't find Avignon's tourism to be a turn off. After a nice meal, I'm happy to return to the square for an espresso or digestif and people watch.

My impression is that the transition is being made very smoothly. It's a completely second hand impression however. Still I feel he's easing out in a way that Michelin themselves will have a hard time knowing when he's gone and I suspect he will have a titular presence for a long time. My impression, and maybe it's just an optimistic hope, is that this is one restaurant that can make the generation gap jump in style precisely because their are two Arzaks of different generations in the kitchen. This may just be a romantic illusion I choose to cherish.

In a sense, it's always seemed a strength of French cuisine that it's so dominated other cuisines. When I was a student and ate in those Greek and Balkan restaurants in the fifth (they were not the gyro/souvlaki/doner kebob sandwich places they are now) I didn't realize they weren'ty French restaurants. My guess is that any Greek person would have also found them absolutely French. By the way, langoustine ceviche sounds lovely.

I know the Jewish museum. In addition to their permanent collection, they also have some interesting temporary exhibits. I've been past the Dome du Marais, but haven't eaten there, yet. Do you know if I'm correct in my belief that it's part of the Le Dome and Bistrot du Dome? Both of those are known for their fish.

The Sofitel, while short on charm is more than serviceable and well staffed. It's also conveniently enough located. I would not advise the restaurant however unless it's much improved. Of course that was about ten years ago.

It's taking me seven years to go back and I'm thrilled at the chance. I mentioned elsewhere that I didn't expect three star food in Spain to come near three star food in France back then. It was the start of great change in our travel plans. Along with that change came the realization that return visits would now be even further apart and that I'd be aware of more places I wanted to visit as Spain entered out sights as well as France. I think Elena had just returned from stages in France and Italy with some of her father's close friends and aquaintences then. Juan Maria, her father was sort of the father of the new Basque cuisine and it was a cuisine heavily influenced by French haute cuisine. Today, Elena appears to be a driving force in the kitchen. I've seen many restaurants fade upon the retirement of a chef and rarely will Michelin allow a restaurant to keep three stars under a neww chef. It's kind of thrilling to see the baton being handed off here. The food blh describes is a generation beyond the wonderful food we ate seven years ago. I hope I am impressed by this food as I was back then. It will be a touching experience for us if we are excited.

Sevilla: Explore the vast richness of tapas. La Taberna del Alabardero was lovely, but we were not impressed with the food at all. Cordoba: We greatly enjoyed El Churrasco. Elsewhere on eGullet, I mentioned their annex and wine celler and noted who to ask for a tour of it. It's worth the short time it takes. Granada: The best recommendation we had, was closed. We chose a nearby place from the Michelin and it was okay at best. Ronda: Tragabuches is the place. Creative food. The one less known place we we'd recommend highly was Hacienda el Roselejo near Arco de la Frontera. It's hard to find and on the Villamartín-Ubrique road. the Campsa guide lists it as being in Arcos, while you will find it under Villamartín in the Michelin guide. We were there this spring. It appears that a young couple has taken it over quite recently. We had an excellent lunch here and I think the place has potential to be a real star. I don't know your complete schedule, but the waterfront pier in Sanlucar de Barrmeda has a bunch of seafood restaurants that are worth a lunch. I don't have enough experience to recommend one from the other. Check out the refrigerator displays and pick one if you get there. By all means order the local Manzanilla, a particularly dry wine similar to a fino sherrry and enjoy it with the seafood, not just as an aperatif. Can Roca is a very special restaurant. I don't know that any of our experiences in Andalucia quite matched it, but our trip was still a gastronomic joy.

A quibble, cordero is lamb, not veal. Otherwise very interesting and a pleasure. Not cutting edge, but not quite classic in the staid sense was my take. The cutting edge stuff is more interesting to talk about, but every now and then I get a flash that tells me guys like Santamaria may be around for the long run.

I don't believe Santi Santamaria is from El Bulli. I'm not sure which restaurant had three stars first, but if I had to place a bet, I'd probably bet on Can Fabes. Could you be thinking of Can Roca. I'm not sure Juan Roca spent time at El Bulli either, but his style might be considered closer to Adria's. Can Roca is in Girona, much further away from Barcelona. Can Fabes is a serious world class restaurant, but it's not in the vein of El Bulli. I should ask if you want to try the best restaurant in each area, or the one most inspired by Ferran Adria? Are you most concerned with style or caliber? What is your route and how are you traveling?

Why doesn't one person pay the whole thing on his/her card and have everyone reimburse him/her with cash? That's what groups including me do when we don't simply pay the whole thing in cash. Are you sharing $200/person meals in the above situations? It would really simplify things if a few people in every social group just got vendor credit accounts and could let their friends pay them back with a credit card. The question that's still in my mind is whether or not the 8 women split the bill evenly or asked for separate itemized checks.

Whenever we come to the conclusion that France isn't what it used to be, we catch a glimpse like this one and realize it still is, at least in isolated spots. Disappearing as the artisanal food crafts may be, the intensity in France is still unmatched in the US.

Yes, the chocolate shops in Biarritz. There are at least two or three that are quite good and one of them makes a wonderful gateau basque as well. It's a very close second to the one from Moulin de Bassilour.

No secret on the French side. Just no plan. It's a seven hour ride on the TGV from Paris to Biarritz. We thought about flying, but with getting to the airport and everything we decided we'd just relax on the train and lose the day. We have lunch reservations at Mugaritz the next day, but it's only a couple of hours from Biarritz to Donostia, so we'll probably stay on the French side of the Pyrenees that night, but haven't decided how well we want to eat. I had a wonderful Basque "cassoulet" in Ainhoa and Esilda distinctly remembers feeling a bit off that night and ordering a light meal. That she still feels the envy she felt that night might well dictate a return visit. I also had the best brandade stuffed piquillo peppers there. We had thought of heading for Bidarray because Christian Parra, ex of la Galoupe in Urt and now retired, has an interest in a cafe/bistro there along in association with Alain Ducasse. Parra's boudin noir is legendary, but Gault Millau was not very flattering towards the operation. It's a Thursday night and October is off season. I'm not worried about making late reservations. I recall you had a recommendation for where to stay in the area and now that you mention it, I'll ask rather than search. I don't think we'll get as far inland as St. Jean Pied de Port, but I recall a particular wine and spirits shop there from a past trip. It was actually a winery shop and they only carried their own marque. The wines were very good and the eaux de vie exceptional. I've been racking my brains and searchin the web for a clue to the name and I think it's Brana. I recall buying some black cherry jam at a market and later finding some I could taste that were better, although the first was still quite good.

What are you looking for in a restaurant? It's a three star restaurant and I haven't heard many people claim it has under performed. It is not the cutting edge creative food that is drawing attention in Catalunya, but it's excellent food. It would rate three stars if it were in Paris in my estimation. The question may be "are you going to be in shape to appreciate and enjoy the food?" Different people arrive in different conditions after a long flight. Will you be arriving after a long flight? We don't even know if you're coming from Australia, the UK or Paris. There are a lot of posts here about Barcelona. it would probably pay to check them out as most people are not prone to go on repeating what they've said when they just came back from Barcelona with their meals fresh in their minds. You're also far more likely to get responses if you tell people what you're looking for in a restaurant. Do you want another place like Can Fabes or a more casual place? Do you want more cutting edge food or more traditional Catalan food?

I think we can agree that by and large, we all play the odds. That's why we read reviews on eGullet and elsewhere and why guys who bet on the ponies, read tip sheets.

Hmmm. It seems down the middle would be half the work, all other things being equal. Not that I'd guess those eight women were asking for eight equal checks. Life's unfair enough without having to guess who's going to post what just before you hit the "Add Reply" button.

Alas, I suspect our tickets are non-refundable and we have committments waiting back in NY. Perhaps some of those coming for the Foire du Fermier, or whatever it's called will still be around.

I have indeed read that far and enjoyed the post. You may need to rent a very large restaurant.

Enduring? As I recall, Fat Guy's experience was in the very early days of a restaurant. A great chef does not make one a great restaurateur, especially not overnight. Although Daniel Boulud had brought considerable respect to restaurants where he was a chef, he had never had the responsibility of the front of the house. It was on the job training. My guess is that Fat Guy experienced not just a bad day, but an immature restaurant. Many enterprises get off on a bad start and it's not reasonable to assume they can't improve and I don't think it's all that easy to reliably ascertain an attitude from a single experience. Not going back is another story. With so many restaurants competing for a diner's business in NY, sometimes all a restaurant gets is one shot, but that bad first impression can be as much a loss for the diner as the owner, although most of us will sooner return to what we think of a sure bet rather than take another chance at a place we've already had a bad experience.

About a week ago, I finished off the last of the jams we purchsed last year. Actually, It was a chestnut spread that's wonderful on croissants or toast. I hoarded a few. Most went as gifts to friends and relatives around Thanksgiving. We'll be through Paris too early for the show this October, but I suspect we'll find a couple of jars of something in Delight's shop and I know we'll get some black cherry preserves in the Basque region. It's an interesting show, although I much prefer discovering these kinds of artisanal products while touring the provinces checking out the open markets and following signs to farms.

I think that's true and it's been expressed numerous times on eGullet. I've said the best time to eat at any restaurant is the year before it get's it's third star and the worst time is the year it loses its thrid star. The stars at best reflect last year's performance and the loss of a star may lag even more than the award of one. In the meantime, it's important to note that I dined at Martin three years ago. A lot has happened since then. His empire has grown and the competition and attention has become more fierce. I have little doubt that there are things in play that will affect his focus. I don't think Fat Guy is overestimating the authoritative value of his website when he's picked Robert, a moderator here, to report on Donostia and then noted that there are conflicting opinions and that most of them come from people who have had one shot to eat and write. It would appear that what Fat Guy is doing is warning readers not to take any one opinion here as authoritative. I will offer an opinion when I eat there next month, but it will not be an authoritative opinion as two points are hardly enough to determine a curve. If my opinion is negative, it will probably have more weight than if it is positive. I am more disturbed by off eGullet reports that Mugaritz is inconsistent than that Berasategui is on the skids.