Bux

Thanks for a very interesting report. I don't know what it is about breakfast coffee in hotels, but it rarely approaches the quality of a good coffee at a cafe or bar. I suppose that in general, even at the best hotels, it's brewed in a big pot rather than an espresso machine. The trick we've learned is to ask for an espresso with milk if you want a cafe con leche that matches what you will get in a bar or cafe. You'll get a lot less coffee, but it will be better. I happen to favor cafe solo but my wife prefers cafe con leche. We both agree that the coffee in Spain has been about the best we've enjoyed. The best has a rich chocolate undertone that I can't really match here in NY. Starbucks can only boast that they've taught a nation that never loved rich coffee to begin with to drink hot milk drinks. I've not had enough experience eating in restaurants in paradors to say too much about them as a group, but I suspect from what I've seen that too many of them suffer from being hotel restaurants catering to a wide range of tastes and to a transient clientele often not appreciative of the local food. Dull Spanish food can be very dull. In spite of my newly found enthusiasm for Spanish cuisine, I would never argue that it can't be dull, especially perhaps in certain regions. I've found it takes some research, some tuning of one's taste buds and finally some luck, but as you've discovered you can positively eat your way thru the country. I can say that from experience in the north and hope to be able to say that from the same vantage point about the south in due course. I'm particularly interested in hearing more of the specialties in any area as well as the names of restaurants you enjoyed in Spain.

Ossau-Irraraty? Is that from the French side of the Pyrenees or the Spanish side? For your appetizer cheese plate? Just when I thought Americans were becoming civilized and having cheese before dessert as the French do.

Elyse, I'm with you. While its always important to act decently in all situations- whether or not you are paying and whether or not you have any power over others- if you are coming to a restaurant to spend your money and would be best served by friendly, attentive and respectful, knowledgable service (who wouldn't?), then thats what you should get, nothing less. All of your requests that are made in a reasonable and respectful way should be addressed to the best of the restaurant's ability. Its a service industry after all. A waitperson with attitude should be doing something else. And, if they are serving your table, you should be somewhere else if thats what you want. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Will either of you tell me what the hell you are talking about in reference to my post?

Not all bucherons are created equal, nor as StefanyB pointed out, are they kept and sold under equal conditions. Does FreshDirect.com offer tastes.

Knowing how to act and react in a restaurant???? You are the customer for christsakes! You make it sound like they are doing you a favor. And where do you get off saying that people who posted here who asked for the "chef to cook for them" want to push people around or feed their egos? What presumption!! So what of people who ask? Some of my best meals came from a chef-constructed tasting menu. Maybe it was on the carte maybe not. And if the guy says no, so what, you pick your food like anyone else. Sure, when you are are a friend of the house, it is almost de rigeur to say, "Tell Fernando to make me a nice meal." To do that in a place you never ate at would be kind of stupid. What can I say bugsy, my momma just brought me up believing there was a proper way to act and an improper one. I don't go sneaking where I don't belong and I don't go to restaurants with an attitude to challenge them by trying to act out what I think others may be getting away with, without a clue as to what was really going down. My momma said that just because it was my nickel, I musn't go 'round being smart ass and that I had to learn the rules. You're a grown up. You know the rules as well as the rest of us. You know I didn't say that anyone here wanted to push people around to feed an ego. There may be some disagreement in this thread about some things, but I think there's a genuine sense that those of us who go a bit out of our way to get special food are looking for special food for our gullet and not our ego. Those writers for the WSJ didn't seem to understand that from what I gather, but I'm not parting with the $79 that will buy me eight courses instead of five whether or not the chef offers to cook for me. You know, in your haste to post as if the storm will cut your power or ISP, I don't believe you bothered to even read my post carefully.

Perhaps it was necessary for me to spell out that it appeared as if the WSJ writers did not understand the difference between the types I note here and the types who know how to get the most out of a restaurant. Amongst the types that are not clueless I would include Wilfrid of course and undoubtedly Steve P. most of the time and Fat Guy, who's written the text book and reposted it here. It appears to me that some people here don't understand how to get the most out of a restaurant anymore than the journalists in question, but how is what I said anything like a personal attack?

Fontaine de Mars - 7ième l'Epi Dupin - 6ième Willi's Wine Bar - 1ière Le Dauphin - 1ière Philippe Dutourbe - 15ième Bistrot du Dôme - 14ième An incomplete list, but I think they are all open on Monday night and around that price range.

Whew, after being absent from this thread for a while, there's a lot to read--more words than thoughts however. The one thing I've learned is that I'd fear being embarrassed least by having Wilfrid as a dining companion. He's offered the clearest indication he knows how to act in public as well as in a restaurant. All the time I am reading, I'm also thinking about meals and dishes I've had that were not on a menu and how I got them. I don't ever recall asking to have what the boys in the back room were having, or even suggesting I should like to have something that wasn't on the menu. I may have in a weak moment or two have just said I'd like the chef to choose my meal, please. I've found that works particularly well in Japan where I can't read the menu and it's far easier to learn that one phrase that works in a multitude of places. "Yes," is how I usually ask to eat off the menu, as in reply to "the chef would like to cook for you." "Yes," to you may choose my wine, and "yes," to do I like truffles, works fine when I'm the guest of someone else who has the connections as when my son-in-law took us to a restaurant managed by an ex coleague of his. It's taken me some time to learn when to expect the offer, when to accept it and when to suggest that I'd like the chef to feed me. And I don't whine when after the chef offers to feed me and it turns out that I get a selection, but not what I would have selected, from the menu, but I am delighted when it turns out that the chef bought something special that is not being offered to anyone in the room or when he serves me a dish he's been working on and asks my opinion. The issue here is knowing how to act and react in a restaurant. I didn't read the WSJ article but just from one or two of the restaurants on the list, I get the sense these reporters were clueless. There are side issues here that make this thread annoying to read. There are people who go to restaurants to show off and to push other people around. There are people who demand special attention for their ego needs. I'm not sure the WSJ writers understand the difference and I'm not sure some of the participants of this thread may either.

Gourmet Garage has Bucheron for $7.99 a pound. 90% of this is quite dependable, but on the whole I've felt that GG treats its cheese as it treats many other foodstuff and that's very poorly. Apparently the logs come in okay and are cut and wrapped in plastic wrap. If you get one that appears to be fresh, it's generally going to be okay. Cheeses do get banged up in the case GG has a nasty habit of covering and obliterating original sell by dates and theirs are unreliable. I don't mind saying this in public as I've had this discussion with a manger some time ago and he defended the practice. My guess is that the Bucheron moves quickly. Many other cheeses suffocate in their wrappings and there are few I can trust when they have to be bought ice cold. Stefany, I would not use the word "affinage" in regard to this shop, where there are few bargains, but Bucheron is one of them. On the whole I much prefer to buy Bucheron at DiPalo's where it's cut from the log for me and they will offer a taste. Furthermore the price is not much different. DiPalo's does not carry many French cheeses. Unfortunately GG is much closer than DiPalo's and my wife would go no further for cheese today, so I have the price of GG at hand.

I do not understand the reference to a Michelin restaurant in this connection. Michelin does not own or manage restaurants and it lists far more unstarred restaurants than it does ones with a star. Much fuss is made over the promotions and demotions each year, but the value of the Michelin Guide to many, is as great at the middle and bottom levels as it is at the top. I'm not quite sure I get the meaning of this either. For what it's worth, we were there back in the spring of 1998, so it's hard to predict what the food will be like now, but we were hugely impressed. Drop dead, knock your socks off impressed. The man is a genius. If he's gone off the deep end since, I am sorry to hear that, but we were impressed. It's been quite sometime since I've been at Bocuse, but I too have the impression it is more of an institution than a relevant restaurant to most gastronomes. That doesn't make it a must visit or a must avoid. Either of those may apply in anyone's particular situation. It's a subjective decision. Subjectively, I have little interest in returning at this point. On the other hand in my time I have dined at famous restuarants whose chefs were in the twilight of their career for the knowledge I could get. It's been longer since we've been at Loiseau than at Veyrat. We loved our meal back then. I wanted to go back this fall but it was outside the entent of our itinerary which was mostly in the Loire and the rooms were expensive, so we didn't make the effort to go there. The difference between two and three star restaurants seems to be that I am usually pleased as Punch to have dined at a two star restaurant whereas I'm sometimes thrilled and sometimes a bit disappointed by three star restaurants. The best two star meals are at those restaurants destined to become three star restaurants. In any event it may be more important to know about a restaurant and it's food rather than knowing if it's good or not in anyone's opinion including the Michelin Guide when choosing.

This is the second account of a claim that no pizza ovens are or were allowed. To my knowledge, both accounts are unverified and it's likely the second feeds off the first. Has there been any published information that would make this a substantiated claim rather than rumor. Rumor has its place here, but only when it's not presented as fact. I think Stone makes a good point and it tends to make me distrust the whole idea that everyone connected with Otto just forgot to research the pizza oven issue before signing the lease or that the professionals involved couldn't change paths if they wanted to at any point.

I'm confused, which is what I've learnt from eGullet. Are you saying that making white jam from red fruit is more complex and that a blanc de noirs champagne is more French than a champagne made from chardonay? I'll be sure to put away my best white zinfandel for your next visit?

It seems to me that I am seeing less and less Castilian in Barcelona and the rest of Catalonia. That includes monolingual road signs and menus written on blackboards or posted in the windows. Of course a Castilian menu always seems available for the tourists, while an English menu is less universally available. While the best restaurants will usually have an English, or at least a French menu, sometimes an English menu is a bad sign--the establishment is cooking for tourists. Spanish speaking visitors from latin America may suffer more surprises in Spain than an American in the UK, especially when reading a menu.

To return to an earlier comment I made, much of the mirabelle and quetsche I've consumed has been colorless.

I suspect there are three factors that may come into play depending on the individual and I imagine there are some national attitudes that give different weight to the various factors. Fear of getting ripped off is a universal concern, and generally heightened in a strange or alien environment. Appearing gauche is also universal but some (groups of?) people seem to have less self confidence than others and some just don't give a damn who they offend. I've noticed we have both types over here in America and I've seen both traveling in Europe. Neither type are particularly charming but the former is inoffensive. Then there's the class thing that's propably far more pronounced in the UK than the US. Or perhaps it appears here more subtley in disguises. I've not attended many pre-opening dinners in new restaurants, but I recall dining in one at the invitation of some staffers. While the room was composed mostly of friends of the restaurant, which included culinary professionals of various stripes, I also learned that there were various diners who might never have the interest to dine in the new restaurant, but who jumped at the chance to try it for free. That might have included clerical staff such as the bookkeeper's assistant, for example. On the other hand, I have college educated professional friends (no, I don't have to buy my friends ) who are intimidated by the luxury level French restaurants.

Damson and Quetsche plums are both types of Prunus domestica (eg. European yellow fleshed plums derived from the wild sloe), but belong to different groups. Quetshe belong to the Quetsche group ( ) and are known as "German prunes" in English. Damsons belong to the Bullace group and in French are known as "Creque" or "Crequier". Well that's the last time I place my faith in a French English pocket dictionary published in Germany. Mirabelles are pretty yellow inside and out. I've had damson plum jam that was dark. Does the flesh change color after cooking, or are the skins dark. Do the skins color the jam?

I agree that the Chinese seem to cook tripe to a less well done stage than the Europeans. I tend to enjoy both styles, but probably wouldn't want to eat a large bowl of the much chewier Chinese style tripe. That particular texture seems far more appreciated in Chinese cuisine than in western cuisines. Some squid dishes might be another example of that.

I suspect it's possible to make the request in a manner that suggests you are a spoiled brat with a self assumed sense of entitlement or in a way that suggests you are a knowledgeable connoisseur familiar with the chef's food. I don't know a good many of those restaurants, but from those I know as well as the fact that they've made their request at one's that are not chef driven, I wonder if the came off as more clueless than knowledgeable. In fact I'm surprised so many restaurants were prepared to cater to them. I would classify Steve P as a knowledgeable connoisseur and Babbo as a chef driven restaurant and yet look at how Steve's request there was treated. - Whoops, I see Holly's already said as much while I was away from my desk.

I believe it's quetsche, which I also believe we call the damson plum. Both mirabelle and quetsche are delighful in the 750 ml bottle as well. In terms of portability there's a great econony in distilling the essence of a fruit that way.

You're not a visual guy, you're a wordsmith. Let's say I write that "there's a crisis in restaurant buisness and nothing made it clearer to me than stepping into Restaurant Ex for lunch and seeing only two tables occupied." Would that be different from saying "I see Restaurant Ex has a lousy lunch business, because when I went in for lunch at 3:30 there were only two customers in the place." The latter is worded far more negatively towards the restaurant and yet I'd find it far less damning. "They serve few lunches" rings quite differently from "they serve few lunches at 3:30." The picture, it is said is worth a thousand words so it's not as if they're saying they serve few lunches, they're saying "they serve few lunches in a desolte and deserted room that fails to attract even a small crowd for reasons that must be known to the locals we couldn't interview because they avoided the place like the plague ..." And I've left out 962 words.

Godiva chocolates made in the US are not of the same quality as those made in Belgium. Those rushing off to Belgium to invest in Belgian Godiva chocolates should also be aware that although superior to American Godiva, the Belgian brand is only regarded as so so among commercial Belgian chocolates. For my money, Pierre Marcolini has the best chocolates in Belgium, but I have not tried every chocolatier. Nevertheless, his must be sampled if one is serious about very fine chocolate. Admittedly, his style may be seen as a cross between French and Belgian styles. Unfortunately, his chocolates are not available by mail. Neither are those of Bernachon in Lyon, who is also a must for the serious student of chocolate.

Tony, I'm afraid many of my countrymen fear getting ripped off when they don't have sufficient information to be a wary consumer in any market. This fear is well founded, but I have to say there's probably less reason to have fear in France than in the US. As Steve Suggests, you will probably do better placing yourself in the hands of the sommelier than making your own decsion with limited knowledge as long as you are dealing with a restaurant and sommelier who take pride in their work. The chance of running into a restaurant where pride holds it's own along with an interest in making a profit, are still far greater in France than here. It is important to let the sommelier know your price range. A perusal of the wine list will let you know if your preconception of that range is reasonable. I have from time to time been surprised to find wines far less expensive than I expected and at others, rather shocked to see the entrance point.

I don't think I've ever seen gelatine on the label of a quality jam. It's been a long while since we've bought any sort of the cheaper jams on the US market. In fact I never liked preserves until we started buying the better ones. One of my latest strange habits has been to bring back jams from artisanal producers when we visit France. It's a lot of fragile weight to be had carried on and off the plane, I might just as well stick to Calvados and Armagnac. Worse yet, a high percentage seems to leave the house as gifts to friends. We're currently finishing a jar of blackbery (mûre) jam from Normandy that contains blackberries and sugar (the percentages seem to have washed off the cheaply printed labels along with other information) but seems quite jellied. I assume blackberries have a lot of pectin. Coincidently, we still have a jar labeled "Tayberries" from the same producer. He said he got his plants from Scotland, when I asked what Tayberries were in English if that was the French name, or in French if that was the Enlgish name. He also said there was no French name. He was a likable rustic fellow producing a product quite capable of holding it's own against anything for sale on the place de la Madeleine and quite a bit bettter than what I run into in fancy food stores in the US. Margaret Polgrim intoduced us to the annual fair or salon of artisanal producers that occurs in Paris each October, which is where we got these jars.

Out of curiosity, where was the jam with pork gelative made? I've always thought gelatine was made from veal or beef bones. It's relatively tasteless as far as I know. I assume pork gelatine would also be tasteless, but the information might be important to a Muslim or someone who kiep a kosher diet. I wonder if it might be important in a positive way to someone worried about the possibility of made cow disease.

Do you, or does anyone else (not that we have many members who can understand a word of Catalan let alone instruct in it) have any idea why "truita" can mean such two disparate food items. If I didn't find the Catalans so hospitable, I'd almost believe the word was invented to take advantage of tourists who wanted fish, but who would get eggs. Of course those tourists so targeted would more likely be Spanish rather than American or English.