Bux

I am entirely comfortable basing my itinerary on where I want to eat. I'm not all that much more keen on getting in a cab after dinner than I am driving, but I will admit to using taxis at least twice many years apart to leave Lyon for dinner. The first time was years ago to eat in Paul Bocuse. I had not realized how far out of town it was and in retrospect I thought it very extravagant. About a year and a half ago, we also took a cab to dine at la Rotonde in La Tour de Salvagny. It's a long story, but we were meeting British friends for two meals just after New Year's. We chose Pierre Orsi and Leon de Lyon would have been our other pick, but they were closed on the days that fit our friend's schedule so we thought we'd try la Rotonde. We enjoyed dinner immensely and had an introduction to the chef who invited us into the kitchen. He was a fan of NYC where he ran the marathon a few years back. It was worth the trip, although I didn't enjoy the cab ride. I would have enjoyed driving even less. There's a lot to be said for staying in an inn with great food for several days. We've rarely done that. We'll usually stay in a city for a few days and eat in different restaurants.

A sport jacket and tie are almost always as acceptable as a suit and tie. I never travel with a suit. I almost always take a blazer or sport jacket and tie. However, French restaurants are becoming less formal every day. Outside of Paris in recent years, I don't think I've been in a restaurant where there hasn't been a good contingent of men without suits or without ties. I've not eaten in le Grand Vefour and it's been some time since I've eaten in Arpege. Someone else will give you more exact answers or better opinions Paris is still a bit more formal. The night we were at Ducasse, every man in the dining room was wearing a jacket and, if memory serves, a tie. I've been told that you can't count on it though. At Petrossian, which is at least two notches down in luxury according to Michelin, about half the room was not wearing a coat and tie and some of the men were downright sloppily dressed. Lunch is likely to be less formal than dinner, although there may be more businessmen at lunch. There are two questions here. Is he likely to be the only one without a tie and jacket and will he be treated poorly for that. The first is more likely than the second. I wonder if the food might not be the bigger problem. I know we had a thread here on finding suitable food in France, but I don't think we touched on finding it in a three star restaurant.

I am generous to a fault. The operable word in the second quotation is "authentic." Weird is a test of your inner senses when it's ethnically authentic. Sietsema is not the only one, nor the worst of these gurus. Weird is also more than just okay when you are the first to spread the gospel of "discovery." These guys will fight over who discovered what whether they were the first to eat the best of the authentically weird. No I'm not so generous, I just like to smoothly pass them by after bumping shoulders with this sort too often. They have, in fact, removed much of the joy from eating the foods they claim to love.

As often as not I am able to walk from the restaurant to my hotel in large cities, even in Paris, and I often appreciate the chance to take a walk after dinner. On more than one night, my wife and I have tried to take a walk after dinner in the provinces only to find the streets rolled up and the street lights turned out or no place to walk to in a dark rural spot, but I do appreciate the ability to not have to drive after a grand meal. What do you do about great, and near great provincial restaurants that are not part of an inn or hotel. El Bulli is a short drive from Roses, but Martin Berasategui is further from San Sebastian and Can Fabes is about an hour from Barcelona. In France the Augerge de la Galupe was another restaurant without rooms from the same trip. In each of these we had lunch, but I did not enjoy the drive afterwards and in one instance we actually pulled over and took a nap.

Is there a difference between an "on the rocks" glass and an "old fashioned" one. For those who don't remember, an "old fashioned" was short drink with ice as opposed to a high ball. It may have been a tad larger than an "on the rocks" glass.

If I had to set up in one French town for the whole time and not be free to move around that would probably restrict me to lunches as two hours of drving arfter dinner is too much. Okay, this francophile might well choose St. Jean de Luz or Collioure for their proximity to the border and the cluster of stars in Spanish Catalonia and the Basque region. St. Jean de Luz would also give me a shot at Auberge de la Galupe in Urt. If I could move from night to night, I'd be spending a lot of tie in Spain. Is this an unfair answer? I'm finding the area south of the Pyrenees a natural extension of the gastronomic touring grounds of France. Burgundy still holds an attraction, although the clusters may not be what they were.

I've gotten pretty close to Dan, the chef owner. I often get dishes that are not on the menu. In the first months of our going there, we generally ordered a la carte and always enjoyed a great meal. I don't think it's too difficult to order an appetizer and a main course that balance each other. The fixed tasting menu is always an option. It's a little more expensive that an a la carte three course meal would be, but worth the difference if you're interested in going that route. I don't remember the number of courses in the tasting menu, but every course added makes it easier to balance the meal, at least in theory. In any event, the tasting menu dishes are enumerated and you see exactly what they are and decide what to eat. As it's been a while since we've ordered from the menu, I'm rather reluctant to recommend any specific dish, but I've enjoyed all of the fish dishes I've had as well as the slow poached (in duck fat, I'm told) duck breast. I've always been a sucker for their simple rice pudding dessert, but the chocolate (bread pudding?) which has undergone some permutations over time has also been a standout. All of the food has a certain simplicity, which is quite different from saying it's simple, although the rice pudding is kind of simple but not exactly plain. I hope you enjoy it as much as we have.

I'm still interested in the height of the glass in relationship to its diameter. I guess part of this is to understand how the ingredients sit in the glass. Are they stacked as in parfait (or what I think of when I hear that word as dessert) one on top of each other or do they mingle more or less side by side? Would one be likely to taste the ingredients in series or in combination(s). I am reminded of Conticinis interest in having the eater dig down to taste everything at once, but I'm also reminded of how difficult I found it to eat Contincini's savory teasers in his degustation menu when served in tall glasses.

I would think that the inclusion or absence of sugar would affect the texture of ice creams and other frozen fat preparations. I was at Arpege much earlier and not as adventurous as I have been since dining at El Bulli. I passed on the tomato dessert, but had the avocado souffle for dessert. As I recall it was baked in the shell of half an avocado. It was very nice, but when it arrived, I thought I should have gone for the tomato. It may well have been the lack of tableside fuss that entered my mind at the time. I am inclined to agree that these threads should maintain the vigor of a really dynamic conversation without enforced structure, but I hope we get our search engine back in working order soon. I am reminded that it in the not so distant past when I knew less about food than I do now, I was often quite able to deconstruct a dish. Nowadays, I'm likely to find unfamilar ingredients as well as familiar ingredients used in a way that renders them unrecognizable. Pierre Herme's "Les Emotions" sound incredible. Cabrales, I am indebted for your report and the descriptions. In speaking of the glass container, what do you mean by "about the length of one's thumb?" Is that height or direction parallel to the table and what is the shape of the glass? Is it a cylinder like a drinking glass?

JD, Thanks for your input. I'm one of those who believes he can remember the day when it was almost impossible to get a bad meal in Paris, let alone the countryside. Things have changed, or as some have implied--my standards have changed and food outside of France has improved considerably. However you look at it, there's plenty of bad food to be had all over France and one often needs a guide or guide book to find good food, not just great food. Still in the better places the old traditions of quality remain. I also see signs of a resurgence of cooking apart from the glories of haute cuisine. The latter has seemed to continue at great heights but the cars parked in front of the great temples of gastronomy as often as not, have Belgian, Swiss or other European license plates and many of those with French plates are rentals with overseas food pilgrims. It's probably worth noting that bouillabaise has been discussed in great detail here and there was a recent post about several members who dined at both of those restaurants in April of this year. It's interesting that you mention the service at Maximin as not being as warm as it had been. They were far less flattering to the service and frankly did not enjoy their meal. Click here to read that post. Anyway, once again, welcome and thanks for that contribution. I trust we'll see more of your posts and we look forward to updates.

Don't forget to let us know what you found and which sources were helpful.

I've met any number of people who are so convinced an inexpensive or simple restaurant can't be worth raving about and thus not even worth trying, but I think there are more people unable or unwilling to pay a premium price for something that they prefer to mock those who are and do pay that price rather than learn to appreciate that expensive place or food. Who knows, I may have done that myself. I suspect many of us may do it subconciously, but it's one thing to convince yourself that the place you cannot afford is a rip off. It's quite another thing to establish a professional reputation for it. It's also worth noting that what people who are comfortable in a certain situation see as a positive gesture, may be seen as a negative by someone who is uncomfrotable to begin with. While most of us want something other than a straight report of what was serrved at a restaurant, here it seems a pity that we got the reviewser's reaction rather than an impartial description. That's one more reason why I think it's hard to get too much out of any one review unless you know the reviewer or the restaurant from experience. I don't want to knock Sietsema as I don't know his reviews well, but it's easy to find yourself in a niche where you are an expert in a small area and through years of communicating with those in that area, you find yourself out of touch with, and unappreciative of, even bordering interests.

I know almost nothing about these wines, but they seem to be very food friendly. I've had them in restaurants on the sommelier or wine steward's advice and enjoyed them. Blue Hill comes to mind, as well as Cafe Boulud, but at the latter, they were recommended by Steven Beckta who is now at Eleven Madison Park.

I'm curious to hear about the saffron poached pears. Saffron seems to be popping up in a fair number of desserts and far too many chefs use a heavy hand to the detriment of the finished product.

Did I mention blanched, pureed ramps stirred into mashed potatoes, or maybe even mashed potatoes stirred into a puree of blanched ramps. It was pretty green. And yes we've tried and enjoyed the same over boiled potaotes. A little olive oil to help liquify the ramps, by the way.

Some of those people, are often insecure and have to prove to themselves that other people need them or want them as friends, in spite of their flaws. Sometimes they are just to high maintenance, however. On the other hand, no one's perfect and we tend to socialize with those who enrich our lives in one way or another.

It sounds as if wild fennel pollen is nothing to sneeze at. Ramps also make a fine pesto like sauce.

Well I'm glad to have Ms. Hamilton and her restaurant defended. I don't like to pick on any chef and I also know people whose opinions I respect who like Prune. She had a good point as you describe, but went overboard not only in mocking much of what makes four star food superb, but with gratuitous and fictional mental images that did not ring true to my mind. Was she talking about Jean Georges, Daniel Boulud or Alice Waters? A simplistic view of great chefs just panders to the reverse snob. Rereading her article again just now, makes me suggest one read Fat Guy's account of the GT kitchen. I'd probably not be very surprised at what I'd find in a top restaurant kitchen and maybe less so than the author in spite of her 20 years of professional experience. I know Adria uses canned corn in a dish because it works better for him than fresh corn in this recipe and not because it saves him time. Even if she can cook, I think that was a terrible article. Wingding, a little anti-elitism is always refreshing if it's well targeted and not anti-excellence. A good point can be made for simple cuisine without needing a scapegoat.

There's a strong element of truth in that. Many people manage to compartmentalize their spending and their priorities, placing different weight on the dollar spent in the market and in a restaurant. In spite of all this talk about being cheap, I also suspect there are many who use a better butcher shop when company is coming over than during the week when it's just for the family. That's really a grand old tradition along with breaking out the good plates and dishes. I'm sure I'm as guilty as the next person in these regards. I know I'll think much harder about whether I want the 13 dollar or the 14 dollar dish than I will about the difference between the 30 and 40 dollar ones. Not particularly addressed to Steve, but do people feel differently about someone choosing dishes that have supplements as opposed to just ordering the more expensive dishes on an a la carte menu?

Why do I seem to recall that Cabrales' questions are generally a little bit less loaded in terms of value judgement. Seeing the big grin I should take the liberty of saying "yes." But no, I'm willing to suggest that not only do customs vary from region to region, but that small groups may make their own etiquette which are not subject to criticism from outside. Well almost. I guaranty that if a table of five or six sat around for ten minutes deconstructing the check in any one of the four star restaurants in NYC, there'd probably be some very amused onlookers. Then again perhaps some people can divvy up a bill faster and with more finesse than others can split it down the middle on two credit cards. Whatever works for you is fine. The only problem is when members of two separate groups meet for dinner. I don't want to do the arithmetic, but if you've got an accountant who will do it for me, I'd be pleased as punch to pay for exactly what I had. On the wine thing, since a good waiter will constantly be topping off glasses at the table, how easy is it to estimate how much each one has had? Now that I've touched on that, the worst service anyone can offer me is to let my glass get empty after refusing to leave the bottle on the table. Sorry, just had to get that off my chest. Notes on the restaurant will appear soon on the France board, and no it wasn't Michel Bras.

I knew someone whose first commercial kitchen experience was as an apprentice at a top French restaurant. A paid position at a very good, if one level down in terms of standing, American restaurant followed. What was noticed was a tremenous difference in attitude. At the first, food was the subject of discussions. At the second restaurant, the cooks rarely ate out and hardly ever spoke of food except as it applied to their job. Presumably the chef owners in each place were passionate, but it didn't extend to the employees in both places. For a young person just starting out, the difference in passion between the two kitchens made a significant difference.

Boy, I wish someone could clue me in about the food at Prune. I found home cooking with lots of short cuts and no finesse. Shortly after eating there I read a piece by the chef in Food & Wine that seemed reason enough not to return, or read another issue of the magazine. The article was one of the most anti-elitist views I have seen in any of the glossies afraid of loosing the non foodie audience--canned beans are as good as any made from scratch and bottled commercial mayonnaise is as good anything a top chef can whip up is what I recall.

I don't know where to start on that. The French tend to dress a bit more stylish than the English, but often ape the English style which has a certain "class" or "snob" appeal in France. The English however are more likely to be wearing a tie, in my experience. On le Jardin des Sens specifically, the first time we were there, I asked the guy at the desk of our hotel about dress. He said it was Montpellier's finest restaurant and jacket and tie would be appropriate. I wore a jacket and tie and was in the minority. As my wife said, "that's what you get for asking a guy who's probably never been there." It was not a problem. About half the men wore a jacket and a number had ties. I was not out of place. You'd see a table with a 45 year old father wearing a tie and his 20 year old son in shirt sleeves. This was when the restaurant had two stars. French dining rooms, especially outside Paris are becoming less formal every day, or at least every year, particularly in the summer. If you look neat and attractive and feel comfortable, you'll be fine. You'll probably see someone in jeans, although they are likely to be jeans that have been ironed.

There's much to be said for splitting the bill with each paying for what he consumed. It's just not done in some circles. Do many people do it here in the NYC area? Does anyone do that in a very upscale restaurant. From my experience, there generally has to be some great inequity before most people will bother to adjust the bill, or am I dining with an odd group? I can't see a table spending ten minutes calculating each couple's actual total in Le Bernardin. How do you split the cost of a bottle of wine or is wine not ordered or drunk by any in the group?

I had a scallop dish with a squiggle of hard dark chocolate prepared by Paul Liebrandt at Papillon in New York. I didn't get it. It was an alien touch to the dish and the chocolate and scallops did nothing for each other to my taste. When we returned to Papillon recently, the creativity seemed to have been toned down a notch from our previous visit earlier this fall. Last November at the Salon du Chocolate in Paris, in addition to Steve Klc's foie gras bonbon (with a variation repeated at the Chocolate show in NY soon after) we had a taste of two savory dishes with chocolate. Someone was selling sandwiches of foie gras pate, onion marmelade and chcolate spread on a baguette. They were good. Van Laer, the Chef from Maxence in Paris was offering tastes of a wild hare rillette with chocolate. From the tiny sample we had, it seemed like a good idea.