Bux

I believe you meant to say "Am I correct in interpreting your post to suggest that you believe one could have dinner at the Jamais place without paying the membership fee, e.g., because one is on the preferred guest list? -- "Geomancy." Perhaps I misread some of the those shingles I saw hanging outside homes and offices in France. I could swear they said "expert in geometry" and I wondered how many geometry experts we had in the states and why no one advertised as such.

Although to the best of my knowledge, Bruno never answered the phone at Daniel, I always had the cartoon in my head of a somewhat intimidated prospective diner calling in hope of getting a reservation at the restaurant and having the phone answered by Bruno saying - "Restaurant Daniel, Jamais ici." In the next frame the caller turns to her husband and says - "He didn't even ask for my name, he just said 'never here.'"

In Cabby's defense, I don't think she's ever said more than she was happy to pay the price to honor the Blue Hill boys and that she enjoyed the meal. Value was not foremost in her mind. I don't think you will find many who would argue that this was an economical way to get the same food. Two separate meals--one at Blue Hill and the other at your restaurant of choice from the list--would probably get you food that was as good or better and at less cost. In any event, I'd be surprised if wines were doled out strictly one glass to a customer. I would expect a little judicious refilling at worst and freepouring at best. Even at restaurants where I thought the paired wines were a good value, I've noticed an occasional refill or top off offered to ensure an enjoyable meal. Steve P., I've hardly meant to imply that the wines chosen were ideally suited or particularly good representations of their appellation. I think your point that there are more interesting wines at lower cost that would have been more appropriate is an excellent one. It goes against all I've learned on this board about equating quality with price, but you've made a good point. Nevertheless, I suppose crap is relative and one might have expected better, but is American Express often associated with that kind of quality and value? They're looking for the big spenders. Sy Syms is the guy looking for the educated consumer.

It's difficult for me to stay away from this thread and yet difficult to weigh in without sounding coy. Many of you know I had a close relationship with the Daniel organization when I laid out their website and that both my daughter and son-in-law have worked for and/or with Daniel in many capacities. It's always been easy for me to talk about Daniel's food, for it was an appreciation for that food that led to everything else and presumably to my daughter's stage and meeting her future husband. When we move from food to personality, I am apt to be more circumspect, especially when my contact is really a reflection of someone else's contact. There are some wonderful front of the house and management people at Daniel, of whom I think the world, but my access to the restaurant has best been via the back, or kitchen, door and as a poor relative, I've bypassed the schmuck/sport test and have nothing to say about those who may have been involved. As I noted earlier in this thread, I know Richard Farnabe and I am happy to report that I hear his food at the pre, or soft, opening was splendid. That sort of thing might have more influence on whether I would actually eat there than would policy. I see the exclusivity of Bruno's Club as no different from the velvet ropes and bouncers who choose to admit people to the various "clubs" around town. Of course it's offensive, but it's standard operating procedure. I have also been the guest at lunch at clubs in which I could not gain membership because they are not the clubs of my alma mater. My understanding is that there are members and a list of preferred guests who are not members. Perhaps preference is given to members over preferred guests. Maybe, as Florence Fabricant's column suggests, they've dropped the idea of membership, or maybe it's too exclusive to be mentioned in the Times. Back in my early post college days when I used to meet a few friends in one or two of the old Irish bars on Third Avenue, of which PJ Clarkes should not be taken as much of an example, although at the time it may have been an already upscale part of the circuit, I was told by one bar owner as he pushed my money back, that you don't tip the owner. I wonder, therefore, who's at the front door of Bruno's Club. I wish Bruno well. I don't know if I'll go there or if I'll feel indebted to tell you all, or not to tell you all, but first I'll have to go to a few eGullet dinners so I can spot other members if I'm there. By the way, in one of the articles linked to in this thread, mention was made of a dinner at the club that Daniel had cooked. My guess would be that the room was hired out and that Daniel's catering division was contracted to cater a private party, rather than that there was some connection.

Cabrales, could you stop all this fawning over Dan and Mike? It's getting so hard to get a reservation at Blue Hill. And for those who didn't know of Dan's long standing as a top caterer, he did the Winsome wedding as reported in the NY Times. I believe his catering company predates the opening of Blue Hill. I thought she covered that, at least in her estimation. Would you pay $375? That's another question. Can we get a more objective view of that position. Moving right along. Excuse me while I pour the bottles on my shelf down the drain. Come to think of it, most of the stuff in the wine basement has to go too. I get your point relative to the pricing however. It seems as if all of the wines came courtesy of one importer and I can imagine that AmEx not only get the wine tutor free, but that the wines may have been written off by the importer as advertising. My guess is that the chefs in question may have also been honored (as opposed to paid) to participate. AmEx stockholders should be pleased. None of this is to say that cabrales was ripped. The price alone assures me this was an excellent dinner. I can't tell you how much I appreciate both of you letting me know when you're not responding. On most online boards it's hard to tell which responses are worth reading and which aren't. Here we can't even tell which responses exist with a scorecard.

L'Astrance is one of the hardest tables to book in Paris, but that's quite incredible. I suppose anything is believable. I can't imagine what you can do about getting a table by taking the matter in your own hands. You might try and see if they have a last minute cancellation, but after such rudeness, if all this is true, I'm not even sure how I'd feel about eating there. It's impossible to say if the concierge is covering up for his mistake. I'd hate to accuse him and I'd hate to accuse l'Astrance, but obviously you have a complaint. If l'Astrance cancelled as they did, it's a slap in the concierge's face as well as yours--or perhaps all of our American faces. Anyway, the concierge must feel like a jerk. I know l'Astrance is hard to book as our concierge was able to book Gagnaire but not l'Astrance recently. The one time I was able to get in, I was able to get someone else to make our reservation. I can understand l'Astrance wanting to favor locals and even needing a table for a VIP at the last moment. That's why many restaurants hold a table or two until the last moment and why it's often possible to get a table at the last minute at a restaurant that is supposedly booked solid. Still, cancelling at the last minute is unacceptable. I don't know what you can do. I'd complain all around and in writing. I'd let the hotel know you were disappointed that the restaurant treated a reservation they made that way. You have every right to act as if you assume they wouldn't have done it to another hotel whether or not that's true. In fact I'd consider your post here bad publicity for the hotel. Let them know you won't be returning there if they're not respected by the local restaurants. I'd probably make my complaint known to Michelin. Unfortunately you had nothing in writing from the restaurant in way of a confirmation. Not much else I can say. Let us know if there's any satisfactory result to your complaints. In terms of complaints, I find the more civil and less heated the complaint, the better attention it gets. In writing is best and in terms of the hotel, they should probably know of your displeasure before you arrive. Nobody wants an unhappy guest. My bet is that you'll at least get some extra attention--assuming the complaint is civil. No one wants a rude or vulgar guest to return. Good luck. I hope you can find a suitable replacement and that your visit to Paris is not ruined. Of course if you cancelled your trip, or even your hotel reservation, the hotel would get the message, but right now they and their concierge may be your best hope of a reservation elsewhere.

I think I've seen Australian Vogue Entertaining + Travel on NYC magazine racks. You might have to go to one of the major places that have a large selection of foreign magazines, but there are no shortage of them in NYC. I guess the Internet hasn't put print journals out of business.

Rattes are kind of like fingerlings, but they are very irregularly shaped. Each one is rather unique. We just bought some this weekend, but have used another kind with the pot roast last night and no potatoes with the pea soup that was our main course tonight. My recollection is that they are among the waxiest of the little potatoes we are finding at the Greenmarket and excellent for potato salad. I agree with Steve on the 6:55 pn flight out of CDG. We were on the Tuesday flight. We were returning from the countryside and I didn't think of returning to Paris having been there for close to a week earlier in the trip, but the late flight did give us an opportunity for a last lunch in France. After spending the morning and the night before in Chartres, we stopped for lunch at les Magnolias in the Paris suburb of le Perreux. Moving at cross purposes and directions from all the autoroutes designed to get people in and out of Paris we had a lovely chance to get lost in the streets and avenues of the Parisian suburbs. We actually did quite well until we came to the neighboring town of Bry, from there we couldn't find a sign to le Perreaux and spent the next 45 minutes getting lost. Each set of instructions we got from pedestrians was only comprehensible for the first two or three turns. After finally reaching the Nogent-le Perreaux RER station an inquiry about the restaurant brought a sort of shrug that said you can't get there from here. It seemed it was behind us, however. We tried going in the general direction as indicated, but she was right as all the roads were one way against us. Finally we tried tracking our way back to the station and lo and behold at the end of the street facing us at the cross road was our restaurant and we were still reasonably early for lunch, although we had probably blown the chance to shop for some more groceries to bring home. Little matter one case was already filled with jams and honeys from the Salon Fermier in Paris the week before and a few other items were tucked in here and there. Les Magnolias, a one star, was far more chic than I expected and far more creative in its cuisine than I expected. There were probably more men in ties and jackets in this little store front suburban restaurant than in the Relais et Chateaux dining rooms in the provinces. The Chef was quite accomplished and we enjoyed lunch very much, but my feeling was that there were too many flavors in the food and that it was more interesting than it was successful on the level of taste. It did alter my perception of the French. I was really surprised to see such creative food in the suburbs and then to see the restaurant full on a weekday afternoon.

I'd probably have mushrooms all over the place, but that's me. As for the fruit here, I think at least one course (aside from dessert) should have fruit in an all game menu. As for fruit or root vegetable, it doesn't have to be either or. I was really impressed with the array of fruits and vegetables Ducasse served with venison in Paris. There was what might best be described as a confusion of fruits and vegetables. The little pears were tart, but the squash or pumkin was very sweet. Each piece was a bit of a surprise. I could see a little dice of carrots, turnips, apples, pears, squashes, even berries, etc. in a little pie or raviolo.

Dorie is a friend, so I'm glad someone else mentioned this book. It's out. We saw her do a demo at Bloomingdale's. I'm sorry I learned about it too late to inform others here and it was just after our return to NYC. Dorie has an up and coming spot at the Smithsonian in Washington and I believe it is in connection with this book. She's promised to consider a Q&A here after that appearance.

The problem in incorporating the service charge into the price is that CT's prices will then appear inflated in regard to his competition or even in comparison to restaurants that are not his competition.

I stand with you on this. Having already given up my right to pay less for ties when the service from the sales clerk is unsatisfactory, I see no reason why the total cost of my restaurant meal is dependant on my appreciation of the service but not the food. I can't withhold the haberdashery salesman's right to make a living if his service displeases me. That I am served in a restaurant by an underpaid lackey just seems to say I shouldn't expect professional service. Wait staff should be paid a professional wage for a professional service and the price of dinner should reflect the total cost. Tipping is demeaning. Most wait staff don't see it that way and know their income will fall off if restaurants charge a service fee and pay them a wage. Alas, in France, where a service charge is built in, tipping is very common.

I take it you've not read Fat Guy's opinions as published in Commentary a year or more back in time. They were interesting, but I'm not sure if they're online. Thom's post was excellent as far as it was a criticism of the criticism of Zagat and not a defense of the Zagats. Have you ever seen a couple arrive at a restaurant and do the what-do-you-mean-you've-lost-our-reservation song and dance. How often do you think the house lost the reservation and how often do you think the couple is trying to scam their way in? When it's the Zagats looking indignant, is it easy to believe it's a name the restaurant would lose?

We ate in les Bookinistes serveral years ago. I think it had just opened. I thought it was very good for what it was, but it was just one of many in that range. I'd dine there again in a flash if someone wanted us to meet them there, or I was in the neighborhood, but it wasn't a compelling restaurant. On the other hand, we ate in several very nice Parisian restaurants that were as good in their own way this past trip. The chance to try a new restaurant is usually more interesting for a sometime visitor to Paris. As for it feeling like an American restaurant, I have to say that I find less and less French food in France and particularly in Paris. Neither soy sauce nor balsamic vinegar make me feel as if I'm in a French restaurant, and that's just the start of a list of ingredients that make menus read quite internationally these days. It's going to drive me back into the museums. When I see the Italian paintings in the Louvre, I'll know I'm in Paris.

This is a peculiar post. I assume the restaurant may have had a few more reserved tables that were scheduled to arrive, but it seems as if the hostess emphasized the fact that you couldn't be served because you didn't reserve, not because they were full. As I said peculiar. You don't seem to have an in for the restaurant as you note that it deserves more trade than it gets, but somehow the story is so odd, that I'd love to hear the other side. I assume there's always another side. We get such bizarre stories in the US about the behavior of chefs and restaurateurs in the UK--most of them far more colorful than the football riots--that I'll believe anything at this point.

Too many prepared foods, too many useless variations on the same preparations? You all sound like culinary Luddites. I have before my eyes a little review, or more properly--promo fluff, (in French unfortunately and thus my account of this account will be unreliable) of Le Salon International de l'Alimentation that took place in or near Paris last month. Product number one is packaged purée de pommes de terre aux truffes from Fauchon. You just know this has to be gourmet in spades. It is listed in the Plaisir-sophistication paragraph. Another amusing "local" product is Breizh Cola a bottled cola from Brittany (Breizh is breton for Brittany). In all seriousness this is listed as Terroir-tradition. Finally, I'll have an native alternative to cidre on my next visit to Brittany. In the Sécurité column we have viandes label Rouge, or some pur boeuf as if the agribusiness industry hasn't always fed us pure bull. May I also note for your health there is margarine with fiber. Oddly no one has ever made the obvious claim that ice creams loaded with guar gum stabilizer so they never freeze rock hard or melt in your mouth, could be touted as high fiber foods. I suppose this belongs in the France or Media board, but it seemed so appropriate to JD's thread.

sng sling, we came close to crossing paths, if we didn't actually do that. La Cote St. Jacques left us a little cold. Our meal just didn't gel the way I had expected a two or three star meal to and we enjoyed Lion d'Or and Domain des Hauts de Loire more, although, or possibly because, the food was simpler. Admittedly we didn't order the specialties in Joigny and I'd happily return for another try. Nevertheless, we don't have notes on La Cote St. Jacques, but will have more to say about the food in the two Lore stops when I get it all together.

Thumbs up for Art of Eating. I can't recommend it enough. On the other hand it's probably not for everyone--maybe not even for everyone here. By comparison with the glossies, it's scholarly. There's no filler and sometimes it's a bit dry. If the writing is on a subject in which I have little interest, it can be hard to get through the article, but the coverage is authoritative. Unfortunately it's pricey. There is no advertising and Behr doesn't pander to a mass audience. It's always worth reading. Cuisine et Vins de France is a magazine I've been buying when I'm in France since the sixties--on and off. It's changed a lot, but I still pick up a copy on most trrips. If I were more fluent in French, I'd probably consider a subscription. I'll have to check out Elle à Table.

We're just back from a couple of weeks in France. We were Paris, northern Burgundy and the Loire, but one of the things we noticed was how often we reached for the salt. It surprised us most of all because in previous visits to France, it always took a day or two to adjust our tastes to what we felt was a heavy hand with salt. Those half liter bottles are a very nice size and frequently come in handy. A half-bottle (37.5 cl) is usually not enough, as you note, but what I find is that we reach the bottom of two half bottles faster than we would we reach the end of a single bottle. I'm sure there's some logical explanation. If not we'll have to invent a law explaining how the first 37.5 cl in any bottle goes faster than the second. I rather expect stewed tripe to be heavy and gelatinous and not only don't mind it, but look forward to it. I think calves feet, pork rind and the like is often cooked with it just to make the dish more unctuous. Of course I only order tripe when I want that sort of thing and have the kind of appetite that will handle it. On the other hand, I can think of several ways in which tripe is served when it is not accompanied by a gelatinous liquid. How was your prepared? Was it a stew like dish.

Indeed. Make inquiry of when they open. That might be about when they start admitting tourists. Although El Bulli is now serving dinner at eight pm as are some other starred restaurants in Catalonia, the traditional dinner hour is much later than it is in France for a good restaurant in Spain. This has been why many of our great meals in Spain have been lunches. I recall a ten pm reservation in Girona and I'd say we arrived at a restaurant that less than half full. I believe they opened at nine. Then again in a one star in Barcelona, we arrived at ten and were the next to last to be seated.

Good boquerones are a real treat and very different from the standard anchovies one normally gets packed in oil or salt. The ones I've had here have never equalled the best I've had in Spain. I should say the commercial ones I've had in NY are not quite up to the best in Spain, but still worth seeking out. I've had some white anchovies that were prepared from fresh anchovies in restaurants that were out standing. Lest those brown anchovies feel slighted, I should add that I love them too and the best ones I've had have been in Europe as well, but sometimes you can find the really plump meaty ones here--more likley in the large jars than in the little cans.

Just to reiterate--there's no condensation problem if you freeze the beans in small containers, take them out of the freezer a day before they're going to be ground and used and don't open the airtight containers until the beans have reached room temperature. This is not to say that freezing is desirable, just that condensation can be eliminated as a problem if you choose to freeze any quantity of roasted coffee beans.

Good question. The other good question might actually be what's wrong with it. I am well aware that it's highly saturated, but now there's evidence that highly processed, hydrogenated and trans fats are the real enemy. The soy industry did a good job of convincing the American public that saturated vegetable fats--coconut and palm oils--were unhealthy. I'm not sure there have been independent medical studies that have supported this. I recall when doctors warned patients with high cholesterol levels to avoid shrimp and lobster, but they seem to have back tracked on that.

There's one more Basque chef who's getting attention and hasn't been mentioned yet. That's Andoni Luis Aduriz. The restaurant is Mugaritz in Errenteria (Renteria) some ten minutes drive from San Sebastian. This appears to be the closest restaurant not actually within the city limits of San Sebastian. Mugaritz has a web site--www.mugaritz.com, but unfortuantely the site was en desarrollo when I tried to access it. The October issue of GaultMillau has a three page article on him--four pages if you count the full page picture of him intently plating a salad. I don't read French well enough to translate more than snippets accurately, but clearly this is the up and coming guy to watch in the area. He's got one star now, but getting far more attention than any other one star chef with the exception of perhaps Pascal Barbot (l'Astrance, Paris).

I know I've defended what I consider the best of the ultra inventive chefs, but I fear the kind of cooking you are describing is going out of style in France. I will miss it if that happens.