Bux

anil - my first visit to Balzar was fairly recently. Although I had no point of reference it appeared as if was intact from at least a couple of generations ago. As it's not far from the Sorbonne and areas of the left bank that see heavy tourism, I was not all that surprised to hear as much English as I did. Having heard, but not verified, that it encourages bus loads of tourists, I wondered if one might have heard as much English thirty or forty years ago. I wouldn't rule it out. There appeared to be a few local regulars sitting near us and certainly plenty of Parisians. It was a Sunday night and brasseries are among the few places open for dinner. Adam Gopnik reported on the staff revolution that took place when Balzar was sold to the Flo Group, but our waiter seemed to be an old brasserie stereotype ready to flirt with or insult (but with a wink) the customer in French or broken English if necessary. Perhaps the new owners found the right "types" to serve just as they preserved the decor.

I trust eGullet will be even more useful after you add your comments on Alsace.

Miss you'll by a day. I cannot comment about Coupole from yonder years.. '64 ? Wow !! I thought Balzar and Collins were that never changed We actually arrive on the 16th. We'll be there through the weekend. Balzar is a brasserie that doesn't serve oysters. I don't know Collins. Could that be a typo--not that I know half the places in Paris. Sometime ago we had a simple meal at le Vaudeville and almost everyone around us was having oysters. I don't see it on any list of recommended oyster houses, but it's such an attractive art deco marble interior and as I believe it's part of the Flo group, should have the same oyster purveyor as the rest of their brasseries. Flo, Julian and others are on most lists of places for oysters. Maybe le Vaudeville is just a quieter place.

Jaybee, as I read this thread, she has no problem getting a reservation, but gets shabby treatment when she arrives. Nevertheless, I concur with the suggestion of using a concierge to get the reservation. That way, they know you'll likely complain to the concierge about poor treatment. I don't know Brasserie Marty, but passed it on a recent visit to a friend's apartment and that's not a very touristy neighborhood. I would expect tourists are not a problem for them and that their clientele is largely local. Or is that a typo and do you mean Marly by the Louvre. If the latter, they may well get loads of Americans and be used to dealing with them as well as depend on them for business. Has this happened elsewhere? I think it's important not to let yourself be intimidated although I also understand you don't want to go around subjecting yourself to abuse. I know we have women who post here from time to time and who have dined alone or with other women and have not complained. Some of them are fluent in French, that may make a difference, but it would still be nice to see a post mentioning restaurants where they've been well treated. My guess is that the good treatment you received at Violin d'Ingres is more the norm. Have you tried le Dome, the more upscale sibling to the Bistrot du Dome?

There's good beer in Alsace, but I think Alsace is more of a wine area and Strasbourg is very much a wine town.

I can't relate to your problem and I don't mean that as a kiss off. It's just that not being a woman I suppose I have had no way of running into your problem and need to ask exactly what sort of negative experiences you've had, if I'm to offer suggestions about how to turn them around. No matter how attractive you are, as long as you're not taking seats at the bar, no one should think you're hookers. Women have the reputation of being lousy tippers, but since the service is built in to the French prices, that becomes a very minor concern. Women have the reputation of not drinking as much and perhaps of not knowing wines. Ask for a wine list quickly or speak to the sommelier if you want to dispel that notion. If you don't speak French, it should be no worse than a man who doesn't speak French. Before I comment further, I'd be interested in learning what sort of negative experiences you've had so far and at what level of restauant.

There really are all sorts of standards. La Regalade has its standards as does l'Astrance. Both Gagnaire, who went bankrupt in St. Etienne, and Veyrat, who couldn't pay his bankers in Annecy, over extended themselves, not by providing the finest food, but with over zealous construction costs, on borrowed money. Fortunately for the chefs and perhaps for us, Gagnaire was somehow able to open in Paris in a space that neeeded very little renovation and Veyrat's bankers understood that whatever he could afford to pay on his loans was more than they'd be able to make from his property if they took it over. At least those are the stories I remember reading in the media. I never saw Gagnaire's place in St. Etienne, but I would have been quite happy to walk down a flight of stairs rather than take an elevator at Veyrat's and his rooms were far in excess of what I would pay for the night's stay. In other words, his expenses were lost on me. Guys like Bras, Marcon and Roellinger don't seem to suffer for visitors with rooms that run half or less the cast of Veyrat's. Architectural excesses are not essential for great food or great dining.

We'll be in Paris on October 16. La Coupole was a favorite haunt for us in 1964. We spent several months in Paris and most of that in small hotels on the left bank. One about a block south of blvd. Montparnasse overlooked the Edgar Quinet market. The rue de Montparnasse had two or three quiet creperie restaurants that were totally unlike the ones there now. The street was also a favorite of hookers. The gare Montparnasse was an old fashioned train station and not the tower it is now. For years I could not bear to return to that neighborhood. Now I prefer le Dome, not because it hasn't changed, but because I didn't know it as well.

Hugel, Willm or one of the other big Alsatian producers makes a generic Alsatian wine. I forget the name, but it goes by some brand name rather than a grape name.

There used to be a lot more blended wines from Alsace. My guess is that they were predominantly sylvaner anyway, but I believe they were still entitled to an AOC designation may have included riesling and traminer. I can't remember the last time I saw a wine labeld traminer. Are they all gewurtztraminers now. When did traminer disappear and was there some sort of law? Zwicker or Edelzwicker was what they called the Alsatian blends. Generally the cheapest wine from a producer, but sometimes the sylvaner was less expensive which leads me to believe there must have been some riesling or other grape in there.

Sidewalkers used to get a lot of Japanese tourists. I recall seeing reprints of write ups about the place in Japanese magazines. For a brief period there was a very ice Japanese restaurant in the premises. I think it came after sidewalkers and just before the current Italian restaurant. My parents lived around the corner and I thought that Japanese restaurant was the finest restaurant that neighborhood ever had. Of course that just raises the old question abut uws restaurants.

Amazing!

And I was just saying that we only drink to be sociable. Reading this thread and the responses, it's occurred to me that probably wouldn't order lamb chops in a bistro even thought they're likely to be better meat and better done than here. I'd look for a place with something traditional that I couldn't get here--say an andouillette or even a boudin noir.

I can't, but to fill the void, I thought of The rest is in the New Westermann "Sandwicherie", Strasbourg thread.On the way to finding that thread, I found this in another thread. It's conveniently located by the front of the cathedral.Michelin doesn't have a separate list of brasseries, but they offer a list of winstubs with typical Alsatian ambience. In the Spanish Guia Roja, they offer a separate list of tapas bars for some cities. I wonder if this is a break for them, from the insistance upon a single ideal model of a restaurant.

Beachfan, it sounds as if Grand Vefour would be the fitting celebration, but I understand it still leaves a hole on the actual day for dinner. Somehow one can eat lunch at three stars all week, but it there's no special dinner on the night, it's diappointing. Life's unfair. May I ask how far in advance you tried for reservations. I'm beginning to think concierges may have better luck getting a reservation before the books open, than a last minute table, but I also suspect different cincierges have different degrees of pull at different restaurants. There would be a little black book that would be useful to have--which hotels can get you into which restaurants--if, in fact, my hypothesis has any validity.“

I've been buying les Jalet for a few years now and the first bottle of the 2000 was disappointing, but I thought the second one was better. The 98 and 99 would be preferable if they're not all gone.

Not having had white Port, I can't comment on the particular bottle or the genre, but the French often drink sweet aperatifs. Muscat is a common choice for before dinner. My guess is that in France, more muscat is drunk before dinner than with desert. A sweet aperatif is an acquired taste. As it's French, I'm sure others here could explain why it's a taste worth acquiring. I assume you are not saying all sweet sherries are crappy ass, either.

I'm old enough to remember reading that Crozes-Hermitage was a cheap wine still trying to live off its neighbor's reputation. Often having the need to drink cheap wines that didn't stop me from trying them and over the years I've noticed that they are not all unworthy Cotes du Rhone, any longer. At the low end, I've found Jaboulet's "les Jalets" a superb buy at the $10.99 I've been finding it. It didn't make their top ten, but at eleven dollars if still seems a great buy. Of course I'd like to find the Gilles Robin Paillon 2001 for $12, but there's a ton of les Jalet around and it should be easy to find and worth trying if anyone's looking for a $11 wine.

I trust he didn't mean that what we consider mediocre is of better quality today than it was yesterday and fear he means that what we accept as quality is getting more mediocre every day.

I don't know if we're discussed this before, but with the imminent arrival of fall, it seems a good topic. Where do you go, where would you go and where do you recommend others go for good oysters in Paris? Some of the best oysters I've had in recent times, have been at Le Dome, but not every visit has been equally successful. I've also enjoyed the funky Baron Rouge, a bar where you're likely to end up standing on the street and eating your oysters on the hood or fender of a parked car if all the nearyby building ledges are taken.

I suppose it's almost my responsibility to keep my Michelin in handy reach. Luna, with two forks and spoons, still has its star and a very positive comment about it's daily provisions from the Atlantic. In the two lines Michelin allows to describe a restaurant they also give high marks to the baba and note the art deco interior. I'm surprised not to find any mention in the GaultMillau. That would not deter me from trying La Luna.

I'm not sure that was all that telling. I seem to recall my first trips to Paris from the sixties. One of the things we most noticed was that each time we came to Paris, it seemed as if about a quarter of the women on the street were wearing the same item of clothing. On the next visit, no matter how soon it was, no one was wearing that garment. The only thing that hasn't changed in France is the attitude towards being fashionable. The only safe bet is that next year the kids will be wearing something else. The success of American designers is related to their ability design for fashion obsolescence. One question, are Quicksilver and Billibong American companies. I thought they were both Australian. Of course I thought Bennetton was American for the longest time, so what do I know about fashion.

Quite simply, globalization, or homogenization means that things are the same all over to an increased extent. In terms of regional differences it means they disappear. In terms of quality, it means a trend to towards a uniform quality. If you were a leader in a field, it means everyone is catching up or you're being pulled down. Obviously, globalization has it's effect on the state of French dining. It becomes less distinctive.

I think Plotnicki was speaking of the natural inclination to share a bottle of wine. There's a difference between drinking a whole bottle by oneself and sharing three bottles between two people. The latter is much easier for those who are culture bound not to drink alone.

I think "business as usual" means the food is cooked in the kitchen, delivered by waiters and eaten at the tables by paying customers. It's a good lesson not lend your name to a restaurant unless you have job security or the right to take your name with you when you leave. Then again it must have been awfully appealing to have one's name appear over the door when the restaurant opened.