Bux

Any guess on why that is? I often feel the best and worst tourists I've observed in France are Americans, but I suspect it's that I notice my fellow countrymen more than I notice others and that I also tend to take pride or shame in what my fellow countrymen do.

I haven't been there in a while, but Biellese rates a visit. You might be able to get a large fat (2" diameter?) fresh garlic sausage (saucisse a l'ail) there. It's good for cooking with beans.

What defines a brasserie? And cafes, bistros, restaurants, etc. I'd love to fall back on the old, I know one when I see it. I think the divisions and classifications were much more distinct years ago than they are now. Nowadays chic little restaurants open up and call themselves bistros although they are made in a very opposite mode. Patricia Wells did a very good job of defining bistro, brasserie and restaurant in The Food Lover's Guide to Paris but even she admitted there was overlap. A traditional bistro, often a mom and pop sort of place, offered traditional dishes. There was usually a selection of wines in carafe. Service was informal, papper on the table was common, neither the china, tableware nor glasses were fine. Tables were usually close together. A zinc bar was almost, but not quite, de rigeur whether or not this sort of restaurant got it's name from the cries of occupying Russian soldiers crying "bistro, bistro"--quick, quick, for a drink across the bar. The brasserie, was a beer hall to some extent. Brasserie means brewery and most were connected with or sponsored by a brewery. When you go to Lyon, be sure to stop in and look at Brasserie Georges. It's south of the Gare Perrache and almost cut off from the main part of the city by the elevated road that serves the station. I've never eaten there and can't vouch for the food, but we've had coffee and were fascinated by the collection of beer memorablia from its past. It's a classic art deco interior, although evidently the brasserie itself is much oolder than that. A brasserie usually had a cafe in front on the street and was a place that served food at odd hours as well as later into the evening and usually served on Sudays. It was also the sort of place one could eat less than the three courses expected a more formal restaurant or bistro. As may be expected by the beer connection, most featured choucroute. In Paris, at least, they tended to be reliable places for oysters. A restaurant, I guess, was anything else. Cafes were often parts of brasseries, but otherwise not really places to offer much in the way of meals. They were for drinks and snacks.

I haven't made dumplings in a long time, but I usually keep a few packages of dumplings from my butcher in the freezer. When I made dumplings, I think I sprinkled a litte corn meal on the plate or worktable to keep them from sticking to the surface. That might work with Ed's suggestion of putting them in a freezer on a plate and make it easier to remove then from the plate. I think freezing them is a good idea if you want to make them in advance.

While the English, Americans and Australians may all speak the same language with the same vocabulary the latin countries do not share a common vocabulary, at least not to the same extent. Puerto Rican pasteles are made from a combination of finely grated green plantain (or very green bananas) and two kinds of yautia, as far as I know. There's usually a little filling, or more than a little filling depending on who's making them and whether they're made for family or for sale. The filling is some stewed meat (pork), chickpeas and the usual seasonings found in much of Puerto Rican cooking. I've known people to add chopped hard boiled egg and raisins. They're formed into a rectangle and folded into a banana leaf, although I've seen them made in parchment paper which may not lend that added taste. They are, I suppose, an acquired taste. I found them almost revolting the first time I had them, but eventually they become addictive. There's a gummy unctuousness that comes from the yautia that's a turn off to some and there's a strange oiliness for those unused to it. They are not nearly as hard to make as they used to be before food processors and everything had to be ground by hand. I think you can get them at times at Old San Juan, a Puerto Rican restaurant on Ninth Avenue or Casa Adela, a sister restaurant. I've also run across them at cuchifrito places, but my prejudice is that the best ones are non commercial. It's always a big deal when I've had them in Puerto Rico and people seem to talk about their sources as if they were buying illegal drugs. Carmen Valldejuli in her classic volume of Puerto Rican cooking Cocina Criolla, uses white yautia, yellow yautia, green bananas and achiote oil. From the Hecho en Puerto Rico site, this looks like the English translation of Valldejuli's recipe. From the links on this page, it appears as if this site may have more to offer in learning about Puerto Rican cusine. There's a link to Mofongo, but no recipe for Asopao. Here's another recipe that Esilda says is blasphemous as it uses potatoes, yuca and calabaza as well as both green plantains and bananas as well as one kind of yautia, but it has some good photos. I suppose there's a family resemblance to Mexican tamales which are made from corn meal.

I think New Yorkers just like to find new fads and that it has little to do with any resemblance to sandwiches. Most New Yorkers don't go to Chinese restaurants with refined dining in mind. That may be their loss, but that's not the issue at hand. I wasn't aware the lettuce bundles had fallen out of favor. I better be careful of my company in Chinatown. I think the lettuce leaf is an integral part of that dish. While I've finished off the minced squab on its own, I've also asked for more lettuce leaves to enjoy the remaining filling. The most faddish thing about the dish to me is how restaurants have gone from calling it a lettuce taco to a lettuce wrap or cup. It's hard to argue with anyone's taste, but the contribution of the lettuce is significant in my mind and it's like removing a major component of the dish to eliminate the lettuce wrapper.

Aesthetics are almost as subjective as taste. In fact they are little more than a commonly held standard of taste and as such they vary considerably from culture to culture and from subculture to subculture. There have been some very significant 20th century Spanish artists and modern architects, but I suspect a majority were from the north, or more likely, Catalonia--Barcelona is a hotbed of design, although Guadi and his contemporaries marched to a different drummer. The popular Spanish aesthetic of the 20th century has largely been untouched by the Bauhaus, Danish modern or Italian design of the late 20th century. I have good evidence it's changing, but I'm still pleasantly surprised to walk into a restaurant in Spain and find it's not designed by the same guys who did the sets for El Cid.

I've had Daniel's sea bass in potato crust only once. I thought it was excellent. It's a simple dish that needs to be done very well. As I recall, the potato is wrapped around the fish fillets. From the recipe: "... fold the edges of the potatoes over the fish to enclose it entirely" The very fine potato slices are tossed in butter in a pan before they are wrapped around the fish. I'm not sure if the potatoes are crisped on the sides as well as on the top and bottom. I sort of remember them as that way, but from the recipe, I don't see how that is possible. Then again recipes for the home cook are rarely as complete a description of what a cook in an haute cuisine kitchen is going to do. I'm inclined to question the veracity of the comment about how excited Daniel is to cook the dish. People tend to say strange things when being interviewed for books and articles. They often say what's expected or what they think they should say. I recall reading an article years ago with Daniel Boulud and remember him saying back then that they tried to take the dish off the menu, but that diners demanded it. I'm sure he said his cooks were tired of preparing it. I suspect he would not be thrilled to cook it himself, but it must be nice to have developed a dish that remains so popular. I think it's a wonderful dish and I'd like to have it again, but I don't get to eat there all that often and never get around to ordering it. I also don't think it's necessarily the strongest dish on the menu these days.

I wish ... Actually I live in New York, but often travel to France. As coordinator for the France board however, I'd love to have a list of vegetarian restaurants in Paris or elsewhere in France. If this list is in the public domain, I'd love to see it posted on the France board, or if it's online, I'd love to see a post with a link to it. From time to time restaurants serving good vegetarian dishes are mentioned in that board and there's a thread devoted to Vegetarian Haute Cuisine in France. Thanks for you post.

Not exactly. I've suspected I would not love the Lindy's cheesecake, but I always grew up thinking the Nedick's dog and artificial orange drink were crap. Even as a kid I knew the good artificial orange drinks were carbonated.

From the recipe page for Crisp Paupiette of Sea Bass in a Barolo Sauce on Daniel Boulud's web site: "Paul Bocuse's Rouget en Écailles de Pomme de Terre inspired this exquisite dish of tender fish fillets wrapped in a crisp crust of sliced potatoes. But since those beautifully briny red mullets from the Mediterranean are rarely available in this country, I suggest sea bass, which makes a superb substitute."

That's a lovely tribute to a city we also like very much. Sometime back I recall a post on eGullet that dismissed Lyon as a city not worthy of much attention. How much nicer it is to read a report from someone who's enjoyed his visit as much as we have. I can't imagine your cab driver didn't know les Halles de Lyon and have no idea what her problem was. For the most part we've had good luck with taxis in Lyon. One ride in from the airport seemed a little less direct than it could have been, but then again I was more than a little annoyed that after killing a good hour at the airport, I was riding into town with less luggage than I had boarded with in New York the evening before. Another cabbie really strained our ability to comprehend and speak French quickly enough when he learned we loved Lyonnaise food. He was quick to tell us his nephew had started working with a top restaurant in Lyon. I forget which one but it was one of the well regarded kitchens, so I was able to truthfully say he was starting off well. We stopped for oysters and glass of wine this past spring when we were in the market. I can't remember if it was a spur of the moment thing inspired by the bushels of glistening mollusks or if it was in response to some some report buried in the recesses of my mind. I was not inspired to try the talents of the kitchen at Rousseau, but I suspect I will after reading your post. I also suspect it's the sort of post that will have a good subliminal effect in the future for some reader here. The quality of the food in the market is probably a good part of the reason food is generally very good in Lyon at the middle level. You can get a half a St. Marcellin raised by la Mere Richard as part of a three course meal for less than fifteen dollars at any number or restaurants in Lyon. If you enjoy simple hearty food, you can eat very well for very little money--or if you enjoy exquisite chocolate, you can spend a lot at Bernachon.

I am not a vegetarian, but have some concern about recommending certain restaurants that seem to offer vegetarian dishes for fear that they do not really meet the needs of those who are vegetarians. To what extend need I be aware and to what exptent do vegetarians take precaution against dished where the vegetables are cooked in, or finished off with chicken or veal stock, or pork or goose fat for instance? For those who are vegetarians out of health concerns, I assume a small amount of stock or fat might not be critical, but for those whose concerns are ethical or religious, even a small amount might be of serious concern. Am I best off as an omnivore, just not making suggestions? Most of the vegetarians I know, tolerate dairy products and and a small amount of fish or seafood. Dining socially, I usually recommend an Italian, Chinese or Indian restaurant and usually don't mind not eating meat or poultry myself for the evening lest they find it offensive. Most restaurants that advertise themselves as health food restaurants have not appealed to me. Do you have any other ecumenical suggestions?

I think the reason is simple--supply and demand. People working at Denny's have the best job they can get most of the time. People working at the French Laundry are there to learn and put the French Lanundry on their CV. They'll take a paycut in the hope of advancing their careers down the line. Am I wrong?

The soft shell crabs might have been interesting, although maybe not, as the salt baked squid were my least favorite dish. Perhaps I want to concentrate on steamed, boiled and maybe stir fried dishes here. They seem to have a talent with delicately cooked things. The only dish I didn't try was the beef dish as it was ordered for the friend of a friend who arrived late and announced he didn't eat seafood or fish except for shrimp because of some suspected or anticipated allergy. I would have had less sympathy--this is a restaurant specializing in seafood--but he arrived late and just after we finished all the pricey shrimp. It was a very good meal and I thought the tab would run more than it did from what we were eating. So although one can easily eat for less in Chinatown, I thought it was good value, but then I had my share of the shrimp.

Chez Michel is in a crappy neighborhood, but we had no problem walking to and from the nearest metro, not in taking the Metro to eat there. Of course there's no fool llike a naive tourist and I will note that on the return trip three, or more, plainclothes cops were roughly frisking some guy on the platform of the Metro and apparently taking him into custody.

Then maybe it was none other than the restaurant's original name that led me to accept that spelling as correct for the name of the stalls.

Do you find waves of guests with absolutely no interest in food? Are there show and events in Paris that attract people whose interest in food is rather limited? In the opposite vein, we checked in to our hotel one January and the young woman at the desk, making small talk, asked if were there for the sales. At the time, I wasn't even aware that store are only allowed to run major sales in January and August. My wife and I looked at each a bit puzzled and then said "no, we're here to eat."

We had dinner the other night at Oriental Garden and can confrim that it's a restaurant worth knowing and certainly one that will be on our list of when we're thinking of eating in Chinatown again. For Chinatown, it's a relatively upscale place and has tanks of live seafood. While other food looked good and what we ordered of it tasted good, I think seafood is the draw. We partially recreated that meal of Soba's. The lightly cook live shrimp were very good, although I've had tastier shrimp in Barcelona and Honk Kong. In Hong Kong, they were also live. In Barcelona they were exceptionally fresh. Obviously I'm not popping off to either of those places for a $30 meal. Steamed oysters, served in their shell, topped with black beans, scallions, and ginger were superb. These are very large oysters and very nicely cooked, even if my preference is usually for raw oysters. The texture was very much like a fine custard or silky beancurd. For me this would be a must dish on a return visit. We also had a steamed fish, that I thought was sea bass (I didn't do the ordering). It was also incredibly well cooked and easily recommendable to fish lovers. Saucing was light and brothlike. Small crabs in a tasty sauce were, unfortunately, really too small to have much meat and what meat there was, wasn't easily gotten to. Delicious, but not much to eat. I'd skip it next time. Although a seafood house, the eggplant with pork and garlic sauce was one of the best examples of this sort of dish I've had. There were several other courses. Some came with more familar heavy sauces. Currently I seem to favor the lighter sauces and dishes without much of a sauce, but all of these dishes were very flavorful and I enjoyed them. Even the dishes I'd not likely order again are ones I would enjoy if someone else ordered them. About the only disappointing dish for me was the salt baked squid. I found the batter underdooked and the dish a bit oily. I haven't had great salt baked squid in many years and have found little of it even good since the old Phoenix Garden closed in the arcade between Elizabeth and the Bowery. I've not been eating in Chinatown as much lately as I used to and have run low on recommendable restaurants. My luck is changing again and this is one of the ways.

I too wonder if that's the best use for truffles, but the first time I recall having truffles in a sauce or dish, it was in a small Perigourdine bistro in Paris and I had stuffed goose neck with sauce perigueux. One could easily describe cou d'oie farcie, sauce périgueux as meat loaf stuffed in the skin of a goose's neck with truffles. Here from a post on the France board. This sandwich will be available here in NYC as part of a $250 menu dinner at le Bernardin. This doesn't seem like the right economy to seek this kind of publicity. Then again, maybe Boulud knows who he wants to attract to db bistro.

We, I suspect I mean New Yorkers, but maybe all Americans to some extent, tend to go through food (an other things?) as a fad or fashion. What's new and exciting is soon, old and trite. We discover foods and burn out our interest by over exposure. Somethings last, some come back. I guess moo shu pork is one that got a bit burned out. I suppose it didn't help that when it got popular, it also found its plalce on menus in mediocre restaurants and after a few bad experiences, people associated it with the mediocre places.

All active selling may be seen as upselling. Passive selling would be limited to processing a customer's order or request. Active selling would be helping a customer make a decision or selling to someone who didn't know he needed a product or service. Upselling would be selling a more expensive item to someone who was ready to order something at a certain price. If I didn't ask for a wine list and placed an order for food without making a beverage order, it would be upselling to suggest I might want to see the wine list. If I asked for the wine list and asked for a suggestion from the sommelier and he suggested a seventy five dollar wine without knowing I was thinking of spending forty dollars, that would not be upselling, but If I asked about a fifty dollar bottle and he suggesed a sixty-five dollar bottle, that would be upselling. Likewise, if I go into a store and the salesclerk shows me the $95 shirts first, that's okay, but if I ask to see the $50 shirts and he tells me there are some nice $85 shirts on sale for $65, that's upselling. Upselling is neither immoral nor unethical and can often be in the consumer's interest. I acknowledge that it has a negative connotation because it says you are being asked to spend more than you intended to spend and Americans approach restaurants with a great deal of suspicion. In many, or most, cases that suspicion is deserved.

I suspect the bettter one chooses one's restaurants, the less one will find the practice objectionable.

That does appear to be the definition, unless the Absolute is less expensive.

Can you think of a reason why it woudn't be? Yes, if it is done to unload some crap that is approaching it's shelf life limit in storage. I don't get this line of reasoning at all. While I accept a simple definition of upselling as adding price without regard to value, I question how one can assume a diner's meal would be improved by crap. Obviously Plotnicki is not talking about crap and to suggest so seems just to move the topic further from the point. Offering to upscale a $30 fish dish by offering a one ounce garnish of caviar for a five dollar supplement is upselling and I'm an easy upsell for that kind of crap as long as the caviar is in top condition today. I'll take advantage of the restaurateurs worry that it might be over the hill soon.