Bux

As a result of Adria's fame however, he's also in the business of hiring himself out as a consultant chef to restaurants and at least one hotel chain. Ducasse was a famous chef when he had one restaurant. He didn't become famous because he had a string of restaurants. He was able to open the second, third and fourth restaurants on the strength of his first restaurant, or we could say on the strength of his cooking. Is Adria's capitalizing on his reputation so different. Is there something inherently bad about expanding and does it matter if you consult or franchise, as long as you do it well and improve the breed.

I believe Grimes described Blue Hill (NYC) as having no decor, or something to that effect. I think its decor is the result of a very sophisiticated design, albeit one without much applied decor. I love the room at Eleven Madison Park (NYC). It's terrific at night, but even better when there's daylight coming through the large windows. Maybe that's because it's also so bright by daylight. At Ouest, (NYC) the kitchen is literally in the middle of the restaurant and totally exposed. It's as if most of the back room is in the kitchen at the "chef's table." I should think it's a strain on the cooks, but then I've been in enough restaurants where the kitchen seems clean even in the heat of service and the cooks are so busy they don't have time to curse at each other. Regarding Cabrale's comments about the view at Bras, I assume the tables up against the windows are the preferable ones, but I found I missed seeing what was happening in the dining room and that the waiters were all approaching the table from behind. I don't know that sitting in the front row, so to speak, was a treat. Perhaps later in the spring when the sun sets later and the view is greater, I might change my mind. I enjoy a beautiful room, but don't find it important. In fact I'm not very fond of opulent rooms, although I can get a kick out of being in one. It's always interesting being in a new room. I'd rather see than be seen in a restaurant. If it's an upscale restaurant, I enjoy seeing the diners and the waitstaff in action. I enjoy seeing what others are eating and seeing the food as it arrives. I'd prefer special attention come in the form of food, not in the honor of a "good" table.

I suppose the people who follow them slavishly are the ones who give them the ability to be the dictators of good taste. My guess is that restaurant crtitics are no different from TV critics, movie critics and book critics. Lots of critically acclaimed work goes unseen or unread and lots of stuff the critics have derided makes a bundle for its creators. Of all the things people have taste in, I think food is the one we all profess to know and know what we like. Consequently, I doubt many people are as influnenced by reviews as they are by their friends, who are probably less fit to make recommendations, but with whom they probably share tastes. It's true that a certain segment of our society will listen to critics about a new restaurant, and that a journal of some stature in other fields--news reporting for instance--will confer some respectability on a critic, I'm not sure it lasts long or carries much weigh unless a restaurant had been unable to develop some word of mouth before the reviews hit, yet most restaurants want to be reviewed as soon as possible, taking the risk of a bad review against the value of just a mention with address and phone number. Being ignored seems a harsher fate than a bad review. I'm annoyed and offended when I read a bad review of a restaurant that deserves a better one, and I'm concerned for the morale of the staff who deserve public praise not criticism, but I'm not worried that a loyal clientele will stop dining. Possibly because I see no purpose to a bad review, I'm more interested in reading the good ones. I'd rather tell people about where they should go to eat, than tell them where to avoid. Mostly, I'd hope a review will tell diners how to get the most out of eating at the restaurant and direct the right diners to the right restaurants. Taste in food can be highly subjective, although surely there are standards of sorts even if they vary between certain types of restaurants.

There are many alternate moderate routes. We generally stay in small hotels and inns, but only occasionally in Relais Chateaux. In fact, we never stay in a Relais Chateaux unless it's attached to a multistarred Relais Gourmand. On our last trip which I've documented here up to the point where we hit the Relais Gourmands, our most expensive room was at Michel Bras, which others have noted as a bargain and relatively inexpensive at 176 euros. Regis Marcon's Clos des Cimes was 130 euros, but my two favorite places ran 67 and 75 euros for a lovely room with private tile baths and very comfotable beds. One of these places has what I believe to be the most under rated one star restaurant south of l'Astrance. The other is not yet in Michelin. GM has them pegged at 16 and 15. We seem to get by renting what I believe is sold as a compact car--VW Golf, Renault Megane, Peugeot 307--and the Michelin 1:200,000 scale maps for the area from the double digit series. Analog road signs and the sun, on the few days it seems not to rain on our travels, pretty well serve as directional aids. We are card carrying members of the digital age nonetheless. We have a France Telecom Telecarte and a couple of ATM and credit cards. A red Michelin is handy for city maps as much as restaurants. More and more we've already booked our dinner in advance and tend not to have a full meal for lunch in France. (In Spain we often do the opposite--book lunch and eat tapas for dinner.) I enjoyed your post on the Dordogne and I hope someone is interested in the less expensive stops we made last month.

I was about to dismiss the two cards after looking at the list of restaurants for the Francecard, but the ABC card has some real destination restaurants on it in Alsace and Burgundy. If you intended to visit those restaurants, the card could pay off.

Dining rooms in France are very bright and I like that. I don't like the NY/US concept of a restaurant as an intimate place--get a hotel room. I go out to eat to go out as well as eat. I like to see what other people are eating, and for that matter what they are wearing.

Don't count France out of the beer zone either in Alsace or Flanders. In Béthune, just outside of Lille at Marc Meurin we had a very good dinner and L'anguille au pain perdu d'herbes du jardin, réduction de bière à la Kriek (eel served with bread fried with garden herbs and a reduction of Kriek beer) was sensational. We've used some very good Chimay ale to make a Belgian beef stew and it was worth the price.

Quality House or something like that? It's on Park Avenue South just north of 22nd Street.

Le Dauphin, 167, rue Saint Honoré, off the place André Malraux in the 1ieme arrondissement. I suppose it's a special sort of ordinary place. The chef used to own a one star restaurant and an unstared bistrot in Biarritz. We may have been a bit disappointed because I had loved the bistrot and had been forced to cancel two reservations at the restaurant in Biarritz at the last minute and was hoping the Paris restaurant would be more than it was. From our notes: Piments del Piquillo with anchovies, sharply aligned in a square deep dish (one anchovy, one pepper strip, etc.) with an olive oil, balsamic vinegar and chopped shallot dressing, flanked by two pieces of toast with tapenade. & Mesclun with grilled cheese and bacon tartines. The dressing in both salads was a bit vinegary. I think American's use less vinegar than the French, at least at the non haute cuisine level. Followed by: Casserole of pork cheeks with pork, mushrooms, potatoes, leeks and an incredible unctuous sauce full of small squares of the pork skin. The pork cheeks were sensational, although the pork rind might not be to everyone's tastes. There was an interesting and strong herbal flavor to the dish. The waiter said it was thyme and rosemary. We might have guessed something more unusual. & Cassoulet served in a small paella type of pan and prepared with large white beans, a slice of blood sausage, a slice of cured pork, a pork sausage, the duck drumstick and a dense tasty morsel that might have been duck gizzard or pork heart. the Cassoulet was browned under the broiler with bread crumbs on top. The beans could nave a tastier broth, but the meats were very good. We were jet lagged and a bit under the weather. We skipped dessert. Top marks to the joue de porc, which were worth going out of your way to eat. Overall, a restaurant not worth a star, but worth noting. The sort of place you'd love to have in the neighborhood at home. Large selection of half bottles.

I'm sure it's a misprint, but what a great word! It sums up the lightning tour of gastronomic Meccas, the jet-propelled pilgrimage from star to star. Indeed a typo. I almost wish I could honestly take credit for coinage of a new term. Someone should make a collection of fortuitous typos online. If and when Steve redoes his post on eating one's way through the provinces without leaving Paris, for you, I'd offer the suggestion that he echo a bit of JD (London)'s point that there are more than two sorts of French cuisine. My own feeling however is that a full appreciation for the regional food will only come in the region and that understanding the regional food and the differences between the foods of different regions can be had in Paris just a bit better than the foods of Europe can be appreciated by going to French, Spanish, Italian, German, etc. restaurants in New York.

La Galupe is a two star restaurant and no place for dummies Surely it is on the itinerary of top star seekers in the Basque country. La Galupe is a dangerous place where one can be tempted to seriously overeat. I find one star no guarantee of anything other than that it's better than other restaurants in the area at its price. I've eaten superbly at one star restaurants, and I've been severely disappointed. I've also been diappointed more than once at three stars and disappointed even when I've had a pretty good meal. My most rewarding meals have been at two star restaurants, although some of them went on to become three stars. Then again I've been diappointed at two star restaurants too. For whatever it is worth, I have it on very good authority that one of the world's greatest Pastry chefs thinks the best lièvre à la royale is had at a small rather nondescript and unstarred restaurant in Paris. I didn't know that and ordered the cassoulet, while my wife ordered the pork cheeks. The cassoulet was better than okay, but the pork cheeks were excellent. I still don't think of it as a destination restaurant and might not reserve it from NY in advance, but I might jump at the chance to return if the mood struck me while I was in Paris. To some extent that's what I mean by natives having different references to restaurants than tourists. It's also why I dislike having all my reservations set in advance. It's good to offer the suggestion, but if that suggestion doesn't bring a response, it seems fruitless to make the individual recommendations.

Could be, but I'd have expected that name to stick in my mind. Is he any relation to Marc?

Let's keep it a big deal. I've been drinking a Jurancon sec at Eleven Madison Park that goes for $21 at the restaurant. I've been looking all over town for it in liquor stores assuming it can't go from more than ten bucks. I finally found it, but it was retail priced in the mid high teens. Find me one more and it's still a big deal.

The problem you decribe, and I would acknowledge it as a problem, stems partially from the fact that most of the posters are tourists in France and there for a short period at a time. Those who reside in an area usually have a different perspective. Nevertheless we've had posts on markets and shops. I'd hope we could attract more residents to our board. That this is an english language board may be part of the problem, although I'd have no problem having messages in French.

bpearis, it appears the owners want exactly what it appears to you to be, but they apparently have chef who is capable of better. Robert Brown wrote I'd advise making yourself known to the chef, one way or another. Robert suggested calling ahead.

I'm not sure how this might be of any use to someone who is not picnicking or renting a house in France, but there's a puveyor of wonderful Alpine air cured meats and sausages in Annecy. He's at the street market with a large stand, but also has a shop in the center of town in the older area of narrow streets. This is probably only of general interest to someone else who finds this thread and I resisted posting in the hope I could run across the name of the shop.

I'm saddened by the fall of Hiely-Lucullus. We first ate there on an early trip to France at a time when most of our meals were at very simple places. We returned some twenty years later as more experienced diners and were pleased as before. That was the year Hiely announced his retirement. It appears his successor has not succeeded as well. I see it still has a star in Michelin, but not even a mention in GaultMillau. Ed Behr's mention of l'Isle Sonnante, a tiny restaurant (16 seats) in his The Art of Eating, Fall 2000 issue made me want to try it. Unfortunately we couldn't manage Avignon the last time we were in Provence. I also see that GaultMillau has declined to list it. For what it's worth, in that same issue, Behr mentioned Christian Etienne for haute cuisine in Avignon.

I'd have thought the difference was obvious. When I read Nigella, I get the impression she loves her friends and loves being with them more than she loves cooking. Her cooking instructions seem to be about how to cook well enough to make your friends happy to be at your home and how to spend more time with your friends than in your kitchen. Most of all, Nigella does't gossip about her friends and relative and I've yet to hear an iota of criticism about them. Amanda sends a very different message. Her diaries are so full of put downs of her "friends," family and people the rest of us have come to respect over the years, that I'm embarrassed to be part of the social situation even though all I'm doing is reading about it. There's been such a mean spirit to so many of her diaries that I'm glad I don't know her or her friends. On the other hand, I feel I'd be richer for the company of Nigella and her friends. Nigella spends time with her daughter and still seems to find the energy and spirit to entertain her friends and enjoy doing it. She's learned how to entertain with less stress and it's probably a lesson I could use. Amanda often gives me the impression that she has more important things to do than worry about her guests and sets off to follow a recipe that she knows, or should know, in advance she will not have the time to do properly. The kicker is that she lets us know her guest probably won't know the difference if she screws up. Nigella is not a chef and she's not a great cook, but she's got a lot to teach those who can't cook and, I suspect, those of us who spend too much time cooking to the detriment of our ability to entertain gracefully.

I would hardly think of this thread as a waste of space here. If you've been helped it's fair use, but I suspect the names and addresses will also be used by those who never thought to ask. Consider your question a contribution. We do.

I haven't been to Nobu in a while, but either the omakase dinners started at $85 or we had one for that price. Of course with wines and everything, maybe $200 wouldn't be that hard to hit.

That's hardly a prerequisite for membership here, but I think you'll find that a large percentage of those who post regularly will probably share that attitude to some extent. I suspect that those who don't think as much about food will hardly care to spend time talking about a subject they don't spend more time thinking about.

I have no idea how your name got attached to one of the quotes. Undoubtedly a careless cut and past on my part, for which I appoligize profusely. I've corrected my previous post--or at least I hope I have.

There is no more conspicuous consumption than that of a sleeping man in a prominent box at the opera. The reference to Truffaut films is just that one can want all one can get when one appreciates something and sensory overload seems nigh onto impossible for the real fanatic/connoisseur. Some people intellectualize every facet of their lives and others go thought life seemingly without thinking about what they are doing. I suppose we all think our one life style is the happy medium. For my part, I don't understand how one can eat and not think about it. I'm trying to think if I've ever experienced a meal or a work of art so thrilling that I was unwilling to analyze it. I think not. My disappointment with my persona is not that I over analyze, but that others express it better. Thus I am often speechless, but still thinking. One more vote for Waverly Root's The Food of France, and perhaps a nomination for AJ Liebling's Between Meals. They were contemporaries. American newsmen in Paris at overlapping times.

As well as jaybee tells this story, I think it's one of those situations where you had to be there to understand if her actions were offensive. A lot is going to depend on her tone and manner. There's no question that jaybee was not out of line, assuming his voice was no louder than he describes. It appears that the woman in question understood she was making a special request and asking for a special favor. It's hard to say what anyone should have done in special situations. Ideally I suppose, you should have expressed your sympathy for her loss, some understanding for her sensitivity (whether or not you thought she was out of line) and returned to your table conversation with a line on the order of "well, let's talk about more pleasant things anyway." Later, when you left the restaurant you might have noted that she was out of line and more than a bit unprepared to be in public and too prepared to place her burden on others, if that was your reaction. Touching strangers is an interesting subject in and of itself. For one thing there's a definite double standard in our society. We react very differently when a man touches a woman, than when a woman touches a man. I'm all for celebrating the differences between the sexes, but in our society, it's becoming less fair to do that. Nevertheless, I can be charmed of offended when a strange woman touches me. It was her problem, she made it yours. It's unfair, but the more civilized among us do go out of our way to help the weak who may need consideration or abuse their weakness. Don't overlook the fact that she may have just felt the need for a stranger to do her a favor, or the need to talk to a stranger.

I think there's great value in discovery of all kinds at the dinner table, and wherever food is found. I'm a bit sorry so much of the conversation is about haute cuisine and multistarred restaurants, although I'm as guilty as the next person on that score and it's easy to understand. Some meals are just so much easier to talk about because so much thought has gone into them. Discovery is what travel should be all about and eating local foods is a chance to go beyond immersing yourself in the local culture. It's a chance to literally consume and digest part of that culture. Oddly enough it seems that the vast majority of travelers take in the museums and sights, but look for either basic sustenance without regard to flavor or to the most familiar foods when they travel. Out of curiosity raised by Gopknik's Paris to the Moon we ate in the Balzar, a very moderately priced brasserie recently taken over by the Flo chain. It wasn't as dire as all tour groups, but there seemed to be a lot of Americans eating there. Then again it's near the Sorbonne and likely to have attracted tourists for a long time. The foursome near us may not have been typical, but in my mind they represent a large segment of my countrymen abroad. They had come to this "typical" brasserie and had selected a meal that could not be described as untraditional, but the French roasted chicken, the French lamb chops, the French vegetables and the French salad were nothing you couldn't have found on a small town American restaurant menu in the fifties. Maybe I'm unfair and there was an element of finesse that was a revelation to them, but I don't think I'd find a post of that meal all that interesting. My guess is that they remember the atmosphere more than the food. On the other hand, I find those travelers who frequent the multistarred restaurants far more adventurous and they just tend to eat more interesting things in or out of the elegant places they love to talk about. I think the intrepid diner has a better time than the one who searches for the good and comforting meal, but admittedly, it's not the path for everyone. I may prefer elevators, but I won't ask if the moutain climber is having a good time.