Bux

On the Daniel Boulud influence, the correction has already been made that it was Bouley who opened as chef at Montrachet. You might be interested to know that the two chefs at Balthazar (they are also chefs at Patis and alternate which kitchen they are in) are both Daniel alums. I would not in anyway describe the food as Daniel-like. I'm trying to think of the best way to describe the food without seeming to apologize for it or unduly praise it. It's casual food. It's not food you're going to spend a lot of time analyzing. In that way, it's true to it's image as a brasserie. It's a great place to order raw oysters. my biggest criticism of my meals has been that a few dishes come garnished with copious amounts of frisee which could make ordering the frisee salad the boring mistake I once made. A pity no one's intstructed the wait staff to advise the diners.

You see people carry away leftovers from a restaurant? Wilfrid, in what sort of strange places do you eat?

Lizziee's topic is so well conceived and so eruditely presented that I regret not being the first to find some flaw in the ideal of a balanced menu. I suspect the paragon of all courses or dishes would be one so balanced and harmonious as to be a complete experience. But a meal of three, four or more so perfectly balanced courses could easily be a bore to sit through. By some sort of logic then, it's obviously the meal that must be balanced and not each specific course. Count the number of ways it can be balanced and the master chef will balance it on the greatest number of scales. As as with dish after dish each so balanced that we are bored by dessert, a life of meal after meal so perfectly balance will bore us as well. I'll take most of my meals with some balance and I'll relish a few that are so perfectly balanced as to be so exquisite so that this all acts as a foil to my evenings dedicated to a single theme, be it truffles, pork fat or pizza. By the end of my time here, I will have balanced it all, or I will ask for an extension to finish the job.

Didn't les Ambassadeurs just lose a star? In country inns, it's guaranteed that you get a table for dinner at the restaurant. I wonder how much preference is given to guests at city hotels. I suppose it may be in proportion to the fame of the restaurant and its relationship to the hotel. I'd expect many restaurants to hold a table for hotel guests wanting last minute reservations.

Interesting. The person who most highly recommneded the restaurant to me some years back also warned me, knowing my general appreciation of traditional French food and my displeasure with most American attempts at fusion, that I might find the spicing objectionable. I didn't. Only one item that seemed satay-like was odd and out of balance to me and that was on a plate of three bites that were more like amuses.

I can't make it, but I suggest it may be some time before I can and hope someone gets the ball rolling so it will be easier to do it again when I do get to Paris. Maybe the fall would be a good time for the second annual dinner. I'm very curious as to where you will dine.

Subjectively, I like stark. In terms of balance, what was inappropriate about their balance in your view or did you just find them unbalanced? I ate there only once and had the tasting menu which I found no less balanced than a kai seki meal, although I don't pretend to understand the intricacies of fine Japanese cooking. On the basis of one visit, I'm not in a position to present a strong argument for any rating, but I can talk about the balance of that meal as an entity. Oddly enough I've heard the thought expressed that the food at Blue Hill is unbalanced. I find their food exceptionally well balanced and I know you do too. I have had several other meals at two star restaurants in Brittany and felt that at least two of the places in which I ate were either very good or very interesting, but that not only did they not belong in the same classification as Roellinger's but that there might even be a middle group that separated them.

I think the french fried potatoes were just that, great french friend potatoes. I'm always in the mood for Paris. My thinking was that we travel to experience being in a different place and by starting in Balthazar we diminish the difference just as the French couple sitting next to us might be missing the authentic New York, but the truth is that New York and Paris are far less different from each other than they were and Balthazar for all it's pseudo French brasserie trappings, is very much New York. A good case can be made that the best way to experience the difference between two places is to see what one has that's considered an imitation of the other and to experience the two in close proximity in time. Another factor that I just thought about is that most of the time I'm dining in Balthazar, there's at least one table near me that's obviously occupied by Europeans and I focus much less on the idea that one of my local restaurants has been taken over by tourists, when I'm about to invade someone else's locale. In fact, I feel at one with the tourists.

Actually, it's the French equivalent of Steve. People tell me they can't tell the difference between Steves here.

I've been thinking somewhat the same thing, but without too much confidence because my connection and experience with various levels of cooking in France has changed so much over the course of my travels in France. Are those mid level meals so unrewarding because the food is bad or because my tastes have improved? Nevertheless I feel the polarization is growing between the connoisseurs and those who eat to subsist.

I'm not sure if she comes to Robert's house in Nice or if he brings his friends to her house, but I know a few good cooks who will cook for you at a dinner party if you buy them a house on the upper east side.

You clearly have more help than you need, or perhaps more recommendations than you need and less help. Taste is a very subjective thing. Let me add my name to those who suggest you scratch Da Silvano. It was one of those places that left me so cold a long time ago that I never returned. Nor have I ever read anything that would change my mind. Balthazar, on the other hand, is a place I like. The two chefs are friends of my daughter's but I avoided the place when it opened because it brought limos and tourists to my neighborhood. It's really taken me a while to learn to like and use it. The food is solid, no real surprises, but well done. I think it's at it's best for weekend brunch and second best late in the evening when it may quiet down a bit and get a diffferent crowd. I suppose it's a scene, but it's one of great democracy. Celebs, kids on a date, tourists and neighborhood locals all enjoy it and it's a greal slice of New York. Earlier this year we had lunch there just before grabbing a plane for Lyon. Even I thought it an odd choice as we were on our way to the real France. Odder yet that a couple from Paris was seated next to us and they spoke in French to a waiter who was from Montreal. The last time I was there I ran into two chefs eating together and the sommelier from Cafe Boulud. [better fries than Balthazar--Jubiliee, Blue Smoke and ... ] Cafe Boulud and Blue Hill are two other places I love and where I know the chef. I throw the latter in as a disclaimer because someone else may anyway, but I only know chef's whose food I like. I know Daniel as well as wouldn't have given you an argument on that choice even if it was open for discussion, but keep Atelier in mind for a future visit. In some ways Cafe Boulud has been like a mini Daniel, but I think Andrew is getting more freedom. The last time we were there we put ourselves in Andrew's hands and it may have been the best meal we've had there and the least Daniel like meal. Blue Hill, in my mind, is like a clear gem. Cafe Boulud is heartier while Blue Hill is more delicate, but both are intense in their own way. Of course Cafe Boulud is upper east side casual and Blue Hill is downtown casual. A good duo if you have time for both. Barbeque may not be my thing, but Blue Smoke may be interesting for an informal meal as well as the fries. Some of the other suggestions made are terrible and some I just don't know. A few are respectable but not my choice.

The issue Tony raises has been discussed at some length on the site, but I forget which board. As I recall there was great support for the sentiment that Michelin's system works best when one only has to compare apples to apples and that Michelin's relative success has ben dependent on the fact that throughout it's entire existence, at least until recently, there has been one dominant type of restaurant in France. Even the foreign or ethnic restaurants have adopted certain French standards as the minimum three courses and wine. I have nonetheless found Michelin reliable. That means the restaurants it lists generally please me and to a great degree according to their stars. It does not mean Michelin is not overlooking restaurants that don't fit their mold and that may be the problem that is greatest for them today. So Michael's post follows Tony's quite naturally. Who does the inspecting in Spain? In a strange town or region without a good personal recommendation, I've usually found the Michelin Guide reliable and in planning a trip in Spain, or northern Spain at least, I've found the two and three star place well worth going out of my way to visit or worthy of the trip. But what am I missing? Perhaps if the average food oriented traveler is not best served by Michelin, are there better guides to Spain. This part of the discussion might better serve on the Spain board. To a great extent so might any discussion about the explosion of cooking in Spain, except for the single factor that most American, and I suspect, British gourmets rarely target Spain as a food destination and even when American magazines write about Spain, I get the impression they are not aiming at the same level of sophistication they do when they write about French food and chefs. We haven't quite gotten it yet here on this side of the Atlantic, but maybe I'll finish this rant in the proper place when I have a bit ot time.

Yes, we have a table for four on Friday. Would you like a $50 two hour time slot or a $80 three hour slot that will enable you to enjoy a five course menu with amuses and mignardises. The $50 slot will only allow time for an amuse, three course and it's out the door. We can accommodate a four top for two hours at 5:45 and 10:15. Plenty of tables at 6:00 for a three hour slot, but only one table at 8:15 and it has partially obstructed vision behind a column.

Several years ago we ate in Goizeko Kabi, another one star. I found the dinner inconsistent. Some of the food was exceptional and some was not. The menu was quite large and the one in English was just as large although not a translation of the one in Spanish, which meant we had even more to chose from. I cannot say the traditional dishes were better or worse as a lot than the new ones. I also suggest a few rounds of tapas in the "new plaza." The name is deceptive as it got that name a very long time ago. There is a particular bar with cafe tables in one corner that was most enjoyable, but I do not remember the name offhand. Some of the bars do not serve at outdoor tables.

Obviously an address to note. Ducasse is very active in the Châteaux et Hôtels de France group and may even own the umbrella organization outright, if memory serves me. He himself is well entrenched in both restaurant and hotel ownership and management. I believe all of his places operate under the banner of this group and none are connected to the Relais et Château group. By the way, vserna is a name to note when looking for information on food and dining in Spain, which is not to imply he's not up on other parts of Europe as well.

You mean the meat balls and spaghetti of Chinese-American cuisine?

No. I haven't visited enough to even be sure it's better than average. I'm not even sure the soup is up to par, but I like the noodles--if you pay for the fresh ones--and they give you a good amount of meat or seafood for your money. I enjoy their simple soups very much.

A favorite soup? No, not even a favorite type of soup. I have to ask if you're including all sorts of soups from those intended to be shared to those noodle and dumpling soups that always seem to be served as a large single serving. I'm very partial to having one of the latter as lunch. I like all the noodles soups with homemade noodles at Marco Polo on Baxter south of Canal. I like their seafood noodle soup and any of the chicken, beef or pork with mushroom noodles soups. A new place recently opened close to me on Grand Street just east of the old DiPalo's--Shanghai Village. I haven't tried too many of their dishes, but they seem to be of above average quality so far and, as I mentioned they're closer to home. They seem to have good Shanghai noodle soups with fat noodles. I've also liked their shredded pork and preserved cabbage and their shredded pork and Szechuan cabbage soups. The first time I had shredded pork and preserved cabbage soup, it was by accident. I thought I had ordered shredded pork and fresh cabbage soup, but ate what I was served and found that it didn't take long to get used to the taste and learned to enjoy it quickly. As simple a noodle soup as it is, I find it varies more than hot and sour soup does from chef to chef. It's become a favorite, but I don't know that it's the favorite.

Suvir, it was to be a surprise for your return. Well not really, but I'm sure the members want to see you return to a bigger and better eGullet as well as an India board full of life. You must have missed the thread where Vengroff, who is owed a great thanks for his efort and enthusiasm, noted he has been working on putting together a web-based eGullet recipe archive system that wil integrate with the rest of our software as asked for volunteers to betw test the software. As you've noticed, a few of your fans are helping out, then again that's not surprising, they've infiltrated the entire site with their good deeds and kind words. I see Jaymes has beaten me to the punch on this while I was helping Esilda format something she was working on. Let me take the chance to wish you, your dad and your family the best from both of us.

Not that this helps, but you realize that many Parisian restaurants are closed on Sundays and even Saturday for lunch, dinner or both. Reservations sometimes often open at the last minute. Leave your name and hotel, and even call them the day before or the morning of the night you want a reservation if you have an open date. A good concierge can help get a reservation at a place you want, sometimes even late in the game and he can also help by suggesting places that might have an open table and might offer a great meal. If all else fails, I'm not of the opinion that three, or even two star meals are the sum total of all Paris has to offer in terms of gastronomical treats. There are brasseries and bistros, that are memorable in a different way. A few days in Paris with only one three star reservation is hardly a sad situation.

Yes, I was speaking of prior demotions of Lorain and Meneau. I don't believe their demotions occurred in 2002. Their demotions also occurred in different years from each other, I vaguely call. On Lion d'Or or Domaine des Hauts de Loire, do you mean that they were three-stars when you visited? I don't know if I would swap two and three stars, but, if I were the head of Michelin, I would demote, *among others*, Bocuse, Pourcels and possibly Georges Blanc and Taillevent under del Burgo. Opps, a slip of the keys. I said "all three stars" and of course they are all two stars. I will correct that, but future readers of this thread should understand what you referred to when you asked that question. I also did not think they were three stars places although with more time to sample their cuisines I might be more prepared to argue for two or three.

Cabrales, I assume you are speaking about last year's demotion of Lorain and Meneau. Then weren't demoted further this year, or did I miss that. I did not particuarly prefer Cotes St. Jacques to Lion d'Or or Domaine des Hauts de Loire, all two stars. [For some reason I can't explain, I entered three stars which I knew they were not last fall when I ate at the three restaurants. Thanks cabby for picking up my error.] I suspect there are many knowledgeable diners who would swap a few of the two stars and three stars in any given year. As telling for me as the two and three stars are the one stars I've visited as a result of the Michelin guide. I see a great tendancey towards creative cooking. Maybe it's just a question of lots of provincial chefs moving in this direction and the best getting the star, but it appeared to me that creativity is what's bringing attention from Michelin at the introductory level. Is the lack of creativity being held against older two and three stars, I don't think so. Are we talking chic food or chic decor and clientele?

Oh, I forgot about les Loges. A well deserved star I think. Certainly a star for the food. Service varied and I might have a better memory of the service if they had showed some concern for my inquiry about another table as we seemed to be between the two tables of diners who were smoking heavily from aperatifs on through the meal. The wine steward seemed particularly inattentive as well, while the other servers and runners couldn't do enough for us. Noteworty food and a nice package of chocolates bonbons for Mrs. B along with the check for me. An exceptional space if a bit theatrical.

Reports I have heard about Jules Verne probably give it more credit for the food than I do. Bear in mind that I've never been there, but it's also worth noting that it's very low on my list of restaurants in which I have an interest in dining in. Why does your friend want to eat there? What has she heard about the food and from whom? I share your reflexes on this. I rather like the Hotel Lutetia. Objectively it offers the advantages and disadvantages of a larger hotel, but it really seems intimate for it's size and I find it quite cozy. I also like the neighborhood which is fairly residential and yet within walking distance of many things. I'll note that I find Paris conducive to walking and will walk great lengths especially if the shops are interesting. Any concierge who would snub a really tasty Oregon pinot noir doesn't deserve a gift. Typically the French are far less xenophobic and less chauvinistic than they used to be and generally speaking those stereotypes were just that--stereotypes. You can expect Jean-Luc Jean, the concierge, to be worldly and I would expect him to be curious about the wine. He may or may not have to share this with his team. You will find a team of helpful people manning the desk. Fresh_a may have a better view on how appropriate this gift may be, but we find American wine an excellent gift to bring to France. The best reaction I ever got was not from the recipient of a gift, but from a young woman checking baggage on a domestic flight continuing out of Paris. She discovered the Zinfandel in my hand luggage and smile broadly when she told me I didn't have to bring my own wine, as they made wine in France. Your first adult trip? An interesting way to put that. I recall being so naive and on such a limited budget in Paris that we mistakenly assumed we coudn't even afford any restaurant listed in the Michelin. Fortunately I didn't know the places on our list of friends' recs were long listed in Michelin. We seemed to spend a lot of time in the cafe at la Coupole in the sixties, meeting friends and just watching Paris. We also enjoyed a meal in the restaurant and la Coupole seemed the classic brasserie at the time. It's not changed that much, but it's changed enough that I've refused to go back. I'll suggest oysters on the terasse of le Dome nearby or Vaudeville for a brasserie meal. Others may have a more objective view regarding la Coupole.