Bux

Somehow the tasting menu seems to be the way to go. I'd like to just eat a three course dinner there some day just out of curiosity. Is anyone able to compare the experience to having the tasting menu?

I'd urge anyone driving in France to have a good Michelin map. They've always kept us out of trouble and on the right road. For local driving I like the ones at 1:150,000 scale. Laguiole is a bit off the main highways, but not hard to find. I suspect Moby is more concerned with finding Bras, than getting to Laguiole. I can't remember all that clearly, but once you get on the right road out of Laguiole, you can't miss Bras. There really aren't that many roads out of town either. My recollection is that you pass the Philippe Starck designed forge on the way. You can't miss that with it's large knife sign. I also seem to recall the Bras was further out of town than I expected so we felt we might have passed it before we actually got there. I've had other people recommend other maps, but I've found the Michelin maps easiest to read and follow. GPS is a more comtemporary way to go, I suppose. I've not used it, but a friend bought a used car in France with the system installed. It seemed to work alright, but the restaurant we were headed towards, and at which they had made a reservation, was closed when we got there. I try not to hold that against the GPS.

Most brasseries are open on Sunday. Brasseries are always a fall back place for us on Sundays. I don't mean to imply that they're not suitable at any other time, it's just that we often save them for Sundays. Brasseries are also the one traditional place in Paris where one can usually eat at odd hours. We've had reasonably good meals at the Flo Group brasseries, although many others complain about the decline in each since it was taken over by the group. In any event, almost all of them are worth visiting just for the interiors. In general, and they all use the same suppliers, they're a good reliable place to order andouillette. No one shold leave Paris without trying one. Of course that's assuming you accept the premise that everyone should learn to love tripe. My choice of beverage would be a decent, relatively inexpensive crisp white Burgundy. More complex dishes can be hit or miss at a brasserie. Steak frites, choucroute garni, sausages, etc. are all good bets, oysters in winter, etc., stuff that's simple to prepare. Vaudeville with it's art deco marble interior is a favorite although I haven't been there lately. Brasserie Flo is worth a look as well. I only stopped in there to have oysters years ago and in the winter. Marty in the far reaches of the 5th arr. is not part of the Flo group and a place I'd like to try sometime. I've heard reports they're unfriendly to tourists and especially non French speaking Americans. I can't confirm that. If you have time, search threads for brasseries and for Vaudeville, Balzar and Julien. Pity "Flo" is a three letter name and thus no seach.

If you haven't already done so, I'd suggest a search on "Sarlat." Members who have already posted on the town, or the surrounding area, are less likely to posts again especially if their visit is not fresh in their minds. Posts the revive older threads are also more likely to spur additions than simple requests for information. It's suprising how an older discussion can stimulate new replies, especially from a member who wasn't online back then. It's been a long time since I've been in the region, but that should be a good time of year to visit.

Ferran Adria did a similar thing to foie gras once when I ate at elBulli. Pierre Gagnaire managed to do an even more impressive thing, he took away the oysterness from an oyster and I still enjoyed the flavor. They say you can't make an omelet without breaking the eggs, which is not unlike saying you can't make an omelet without taking away the eggness of the egg. They're all pushing the envelope of cooking dinner and take it to a degree that loses many, perhaps most, diners. I know that in a long tasting menu, there's likely to be a dish that goes further than I'm prepared to accept, though likely not too far for me to think about what's being done and to stretch my mind and taste buds. Dining can be as stimulating as reading or working out at least for some diners. "Sacrifice" and "flavorless, semi-interesting garnishes" are subjective.

The Strand is an interesting place specializing in used books and reviewer copies. They also appear to have current books discounted, but I don't think they're going to be a source of "most pastry books in circulation." Nevertheless great for serendipidous browsing.

Obviously 9th Street Espresso and Tarallucci e Vino are two separate places. They're far enough away from each other not to be competing, but it would be intersting to read a comparison.

The photo in that link gives an idication of the scale with that vast central lawn. That lawn is 21st century scale and so unlike the 19th century parks most of us might associate with Paris. for that alone, it's worth the visit. The dominance of that lawn in the photo gives lie to the intrigue of the other sections, but it's size is an indication that you might not find your favorite corner on a first visit. The fountain are of which I spoke is that large paved area at the head of the lawn in front of and between those two glass conservatories. It too is of a super scale that allows a young one to enter a world of water sprays. Assuming the fountains are on at the time. I have no idea if they're on a schedule. I've only been there once. I was impressed by the originality of the design. It's a departure from previous parks, yet I felt it was very French and Parisian.

Mrs. B and I have spent some enjoyable time in the Zoo in th bois de Vincennes to the east of Paris. I'm not sure if we reached it by bus or metro. Within the city limits, I consider the Parc André Citröen almost as worth experiencing as Notre Dame and the Tour Eiffel, one step down from Ste. Chapelle and one up from the Arc de Triomphe. The Viaduc des Arts is another worthwhile stroll. The Parc Citröen however, is the one that might best suit a picnic. Then again, I don't recall a lot of shade. There was a water fountain that I hope my grandson will enjoy playing in someday.

It's never as simplistic as we often try to portray things. It's a lot easier to rail against regulations than acknowledge the greater changes that are just part of an ever larger scheme of things. I posted this: "I'm less convinced about certain things, although having been a visitor to France since the late fifties, I will agree that the declilne seems to have bottomed out by and large and that there are as many positive trends as there are declines today. Some things will be lost. The world changes all the time. We operate on a different scale in a different society with a different economy. The average Frenchman is further removed from agriculture than he was in the years after WWII. . . . I see a number of revivalist movements and artisanal pride, often coming from producers whose own family was not connected to farming, cheese making or the production of food stuffs. I'm not troubled either when the movements are not revivalist, but simply bring more quality to the French diet. I'm thinking of the number or microberweries in areas not traditionally known for beer. I'm also thinking that as the baguette has made a revival, that of whole grain bread is the revival of an even older tradition. Good food in France didn't begin with white flour. Let's hope the period following Escoffier proves not to be the high point in French cuisine." in a thread on bread just now.

We still had some time to kill before our dining companions arrived after we arrived early to see the grounds and operation of Stone Barns, a restaurant north of NYC and have a chat with one of the owners, who said he'd have the kitchen send us something while we were waiting. Two raw young white turnips arrived on a plate with coarse sea salt. Some more came as amuses, so our friends could enjoy them too. I paid somewhat less for each of two glasses of red wine at Arpège, but a glass was still about twice the cost of a bottle of similar wine in NYC. I thought it was way out of line with the bottle prices which were hardly bargain priced, at least not at the bottom. I thought it an ummerciful jab at someone who's made himself aware of the menu prices and perhaps scrimped to afford a lunch or dinner. The least expensive half bottle of red was over twice the price of the bottle of white we had already consumed. Nevertheless, I thought the food was sublime. I'd look to go again with a another couple so we could split full bottles of red and white. I'll charge the whole meal to my heirs and thank them for the gracious gift.

Perhaps really pastry rather than chocolate, is a chocolate macaron at JP Hévin. Have they even been mentioned in this thread? The trouble with food in Paris, is that one is so easily distracted by other food.

I'm less convinced about certain things, although having been a visitor to France since the late fifties, I will agree that the declilne seems to have bottomed out by and large and that there are as many positive trends as there are declines today. Some things will be lost. The world changes all the time. We operate on a different scale in a different society with a different economy. The average Frenchman is further removed from agriculture than he was in the years after WWII. A diet of processed cheese and Big Mac's is not the best way to teach a child about the enjoyment of good food. Tomorrow's connoisseurs in France may come to their appreciation of food much the same way as those in America do after a childhood diet that comes to resemble ours. At least there's a foundation in the culture upon which to draw. Nevertheless I see a number of revivalist movements and artisanal pride, often coming from producers whose own family was not connected to farming, cheese making or the production of food stuffs. I'm not troubled either when the movements are not revivalist, but simply bring more quality to the French diet. I'm thinking of the number or microberweries in areas not traditionally known for beer. I'm also thinking that as the baguette has made a revival, that of whole grain bread is the revival of an even older tradition. Good food in France didn't begin with white flour. Let's hope the period following Escoffier proves not to be the high point in French cuisine. I will also admit to a very un-French breakfast habit. I prefer an espresso for breakfast and I like it at the end of my breakfast much as I like an espresso after my dessert at dinner. I hate to make a fuss at hotels, but I've found most are happy to oblige me my wish.

I thought it was Wheaties that claimed title to the breakfast of champions. Good artisanal boulangeries in France these days are likely to have one or more whole grain breads that are excellent. On the whole, these breads are often better than the baguettes. They've got flavor and a good crust. That they may be healthy is an added plus. The appeal of cereal is varied. If I'm not mistaken, we get granola from Europe. Brioche and croissants don't hold you til lunch and they have to be bought fresh every morning (although I cheat once I'd learned they freeze well). The real point might be not to assume the French have any taste, just because traditionally they've not had access to bad food.

It's always possible that I was just so much less exposed to good food forty years ago, but it seemed as if it was impossible to have a mediocre meal in Paris, let alone a bad one. Today it's not at all that unlikely a shot in the dark won't make you wish you were at your local pizzeria or burger joint at home. Paris abounds with good choices, but it helps to know them in advance.

Years ago, I had a foie gras and duck torte at Michel Guérard. I though it was superb, but I may have to recalibrate the experience down a notch.

Admin: Since espresso in the City is generally of a poor quality, and since those of us who would like to enjoy a good shot every so often might like to know about where to go, I've split some posts from the NoHo Barista thread to create this one. Please chime in with NYC's best. - slk Could be the shop on the west side of First Avenue about 11th or 12th Streets. My understanding is that they're also the agents for Danessi. I've had good coffee (espresso) there.

Certainly we have no atoning to do for what the French decide to do with their lives. That Bryan Brandon has trouble selling crust in Fayetteville, Arkansas is a shame, perhaps. There's certainly a healthy market for bread with a decent crust in New York City. Perhaps the appreciation for a crusty loaf has been kept alive by the successive waves of European immigrants, but the best bakeries these days are in the hands of young bakers less often tied to an old country except as a place to apprentice as Bryan has done. I hope Mr. Brandon can educate his clientele to appreciate a good crusty loaf of bread. No one needs an education to appreciate brownies or chocolate chip cookies in my opinion. I don't understand the consumer demand in France for muffins over croissants or brioche, but I certainly understand the reason for marketing muffins. There's far less technique involved in the making and the shelf life is bit longer. One of the more interesting and perhaps positive aspects of commerical baking, particularly bread baking in France is the the variety of breads in the better boulangeries. It's not just baguettes any more. There are wonderful whole grain breads and loaves of all shapes and densities.

What everyone else has said. Certainly even if "American" cheese was our only traditional cheese, one would have to honor what's transpired in the last twenty years. I don't know if Marlena was referring to a Rogue Creamery blue cheese -- their long list of trophies and blue ribbons includes a trophy for the Best Blue Cheese in the World at the World Cheese Awards in London in 2003. Marin French Cheese Company earned a gold medal for brie last year, albeit in the pasteurized class. Both of those cheeses got good notices from me in my post on the Fancy Food Show in NY as did a number of other cheeses in that and another post. Sadly, raw milk cheese is all but impossible to find in the US, but the brunt of the article was not about the US, but the loss of many traditional cheeses in France. Some are no longer being made and others are succumbing to EU regulations that are slowly forcing cheese makers to cook, or even pasteurize their milk, especially for fresh cheeses. "Traditional" can be a code word for cheap shot when it's used to ignore dynamic contemporary changes. Marin French Cheese Company has been in business since the 1860s, by the way. France still produces more good and even more great cheese than we do and that's in total, not just per capita, but we shouldn't ignore the direction of cheese making in both countries. I'm as guilty as everyone else in rushing to defend American cheeses. The US is becoming better everyday, while as the article stresses, France is losing it's cheese culture (no pun intended). The brunt of the article is about the loss of French cheeses and that's an international loss as much as it's a French loss. I'd not gloat with any sense of the fact that we'll ever pass them for much of whatever is hurting the production of fine cheese in France has long affected us as well and some of those things are not moving in favor of better cheese.

Nothing scuzzy about the metro, at least not from the perspective of one who habitually rides the NYC subways. I always enjoy riding the underground rapid transportation when I'm in a city for the first time. I've been know to ride in them just for the tourist experience. In Bilbao, the subway was designed by Foster, a leading British architect. Anyway, it'a slice of a city always worth seeing, at least at sometime that's neither rush hour or when it's deserted. At the same time, using the above ground public transportation system will allow you to see more of the city and get a better sense of the city as a whole. Buses in Paris run complex routes and it may be a bit easier to figure out how to get from here to there by metro, but it's hardly rocket science to learn how to use the buses.

Whatever Felice offers about Paris is from a knowing resident and worth taking under advisement. I'll add here that there are patches of Paris either devoid of taxi stands, or more likely just devoid of taxis at the stands late at night. Once late at night after dinner at l'Astrance, we crossed the river to experience the livelilness that was at the base of the Eiffel Tower, but the walk from there to the edge of the 6ième arrondissement was through largely deserted streets. The weaker members of our party soon longed for a taxi in spite of my opinion that we didn't have far to go. By luck we ran into one that was dropping someone off, but I wouldn't have counted on finding another for blocks. I don't call many cabs in Paris, perhaps the experience of once noting that the final fare was far less than twice what the meter read upon entering has something to do with that. A call for a cab is not necessarily bound to be answered by a taxi anywhere near where you are.

Who won is too subjective. You want to know who had the best food from what I could tell or who got the most points? I though I mentioned it here.

It's been my misfortune to find that the route between my hotel and my restaurant is often directly through some residential district where the sidewalks are all but rolled up. I'm not very familiar with the area in which John is stayiing. Felice offered hope there's a lively area, but she also acknowledged that it might not provide the sort of restaurant John wanted. The areas you mention don't seem to be a the path between the neighborhood in which John was staying and the restaurants he mentioned. My recollection of the restaurants was that they were not in areas that were so lively or interesting. I didn't say John couldn't find lively areas, but he also didn't seem to want to go too far out of his way that night. Of course Paris has a night life, just as Barcelona has sleepy residential areas at night.

L'Asso was making some interesting pizza, but it seems to have closed again. After it closed some time ago, I passed by and it was open, but when I returned, it was closed again. At least it hasn't been open recently in the daytime. I haven't checked at night. I preferred it to Lombardi's.

It's vaguely our nabe and we've been grabbing a couple of tacos at the tacqueria on nights we don't want to cook. We asked about beer and they said "around the corner at the Cafe." Tacos at the Cafe are little bit more expensive, but they serve beer and liquor and have tables and chairs as well as metal forks. At the Cafe one of the women connected with the place came over to our table, spent some time chatting with us and asking our opinion about what we had eaten and told us to try the Restaurant opening in the basement. The Cafe menu is a bit more extended than that of the taqueria and the Restaurant is supposed to offer an even fuller menu. I've enjoyed what we've had, which is tacos in the tacqueria and a sandwich in the Cafe. Depending on your outlook, the food is inauthentic, or creative nueva cocina. My reservations, in spite of liking the food so far and the solicitous charm of those who work there, is that the owners have more bar scene experience than restaurant experience. I would say it's a neighborhood place, not a destination place, but the number of people arriving by taxi make me wonder. I would also say that if you see two people there who look like everyone else's parents, it's likely to be my wife and I.