Bux

I suppose a real Parisian has his breakfast at home in his kitchen, but I also like to get out of my room and out of my hotel and have a coffee in a local bar or cafe. In my younger days I could sit for hours with my coffee, but nowadays I prefer to have it quckly at the bar with a croissant or two if I find a bar with good croissants. I part company with you on the fancy. Not only do I like it from time to time, but very few places in NYC do fancy nearly was well as the French. Pierre Hermé's pastries are an excellent example. For the most part fancy is not a superior version of a pedestrian product in Paris. Not at the restaurant level or the patisserie level, but I also enjoy the good everyday shops. It's just that there are some real artists working in pastry in Paris. It's not just the execution, but the creation that's exciting. All in good time. There's more than enough to appreciate at all levels for many trips.

It's nice to see a star for Hispania although I have eaten in restaurants with what I felt was far superior cooking that have but one star. Then again I thought some of them were better than the average two star restaurant in France and a few might be better than that. Hard to believe Echaurren is just getting a star. Then again as I've found so much fault, it shouldn't come as any surprise. It's a pity Michelin gets as much press as it does in Spain. It all seems false and based on a preconception of how many stars Spain should have based on tradition, French tradtion.

Did you get to shops such as Pierre Hermés on the rue Bonaparte? (Are there other shops like it?) The pastry is all his, although made off permises. It is as dust free as a jewelers, or perhaps as a hard drive assemlby plant.

I don't want to go off on a tangent thread, but you've focused on a great difference between gastrotouring in France and Spain. It's been a subject of other threads and it's one of the reasons we often have a great lunch in Spain rather than a great dinner. In Girona, where we had dinner at Can Roca, we asked the desk clerks at our hotel for driving instructions to the restaurant which is a bit out of town. Pooled heads could not quite come up with adequate instructions or a map and for once we decided it was just as well to leave the car parked and incur the added expense of a taxi. Actually taxis are inexpensive in Spain, but I allow myself those extra glasses of wine when I'm not drinking. Sant Pau, (in Sant Pol) by the way, appears to be an easy destination by the electric commuter rail from Barcelona, but we noted that the town seemed underdeveloped in terms of public accommodation. Plenty of private homes and not very dense condo development though. Lesser, but still very interesting restaurants in the area seemed reasonable only at lunch as well.

Ste. Foy. It runs from rue St. Denis to rue Ste. Foy a few blocks north of rue Réaumur, actually about halfway between Réaumur and the grand boulevard where blvd. Bonne Nouvelle becomes blvd. St. Denis. That's the northern end of rue St. Denis. The question is, "why were you running around Paris without some pocket edition of Paris par Arrondissement? Even for a short stay, if one is determined to find one's way around Paris beyond the major momuments, it seems an invaluable purchase.

Legumes or legumes? What I mean is that I've always taken the French word legume to mean "vegetable," any kind of vegetable including carrots and cabbages and not necessarily a legume like peas or beans. That may, or may not, be the case. My French is very rudimentry, but the one place it usually serves me fairly well is in a restaurant.

You might e-mail him again if there's any flexibility in your plans and take some solace from the fact that there are other great restaurants in the region. From experience, I'd have to say Can Roca, Can Fabes and Sant Pol, but I think we've been over this already. It seems as if those who were most flexible did the best in getting a reservation. I'm not sure if a range of dates just increased the natural odds, or if it was seen as a sign of understanding his problem and thus brought greater attention.

My last post on le Vieux Pont with a description of two meals including the gastronomic menu which I would recommend as I feel the chef holds back on some of the other menus as she has to please the more provincial tastes or her regular and local clientele.

Once again, I think it's safe to assume they ask the opposite question. Why would anyone buy raw beets if you can get them cooked? I have actually seen cooked beets for sale in the US, but my guess is they don't go over big because we're used to buying them raw. I don't know how often one would want raw beets or what recipes might require that. I suspect it would be better to start with raw beets if making borscht and I have one recipe for raw beets as a cold salad dish, but it calls for very young tender beets that are grated. It's from Patricia Wells and reported from France.

From gourmetsleuth.com: Crosnes - tachys sieboldii (chorogi and knotroot) In Japan Chorogi and also referred to as a Chinese Artichoke where it grows wild in Northern China. ... Crosnes as they are called in France were introduced in the late 19th century and named after the village where they were first introduced. Crosnes du Japon was the given name by Paillieux (of Paillieux and Bois, Le Potager d'un curieux, 1882) There's much more at that link. There's a lot of information on crosnes to be found by googling. Most of it is in France with recipes from salad to garnish for foie gras. Here's a reference that comes from an eGullet Q&A with Marco Canora, chef at Hearth in NYC: ... I couldn't help but laugh when reading your question because the infamous "carrot tips", "the part we normally snip off and throw away", are actually pickled crosnes, a tuber from the mint family, that are sold at the Greenmarket for about three weeks out of the year. I buy up as many as I can and pickle them, so I can use them year-round. There's an odd explanation for how they got their name in France at the end of that thread. I suspect it's not true that they were first brought to Paris by the Prince of Crosnes, but a lovely story.

American friends of ours who live in France most of the year have asked me why we don't sell our beets cooked in the US.As for crosnes, I've had them in restaurants in NY and I believe I've seen them in the Union Square Greenmarket in NY, so they must be grown locally.

I trust you've also done a search on "Seville" and "Sevilla" to see what's already been posted on eGullet. Sevilla is not all that well known for its restaurants but it is famous for its tapas. We found an incredible variety and stopping at a bar was always an interesting experience and usually a tasty one.

The Q&A forum is closed, although still accessible for reading in the Fridge, so let me announce the winners of the 5 copies of On Food and Cooking. 32rueduVertbois alexw The Cynical Chef thebartrainer Ruth

Sometimes I think the best introduction to Adrià's food is no introduction at all. The first time we ate at El Bulli, there was a large group of hikers and bikers on a first class trip. All were used to living and eating well, but none were foodies and the ones we talked with after lunch (those were the days and I sometimes wish they gave up dinner rather than lunch, but clearly two such meals a day was too much for any kitchen) had never heard of Adrià. Not having the preconceptions that some foodies have about how food should taste, they were all delighted with their experience. On the other hand, if you read here, you're long past that age of innocence and at the point where a little knowledge may not be enough. At this point, I think the more you know and understand the history of the place, the more you may enjoy your meal. Ignorance is bliss, but a little knowledge about an interesting subject just breeds discontent and a desire for more knowledge. Fortunately, there's a hell of a lot that's been said about Adrià and El Bulli on eGullet and it's not all on the Spain and Portugal forum. I believe there are a number of posts in the Media forum that are interesting. We should also appreciate Pedro's ongoing effforts to see that Adrià is not stranger to you. It is fascinating how many of us have been to El Bulli or are going next year. The heads up at the right time to apply and the immediacy of this medium in getting that news to members and in allowing members to e-mail their requests is remarkable and certainly gave members a serious advantage for next year. I assume there are other members who have gotten a positive response and have not posted because they are more private about their travel plans or just don't want to jinx an even that's still six months away, but I suspect we will be filling this forum with El Bulli 2005 reports over the next year.

I decided to get it for my daughter, who's sixteen and smitten with both food and science. She can explain it to me. ← As John says, it is easy to read and self explanatory. It's not written for scientists.

Not so far south of Laguiole and Michel Bras, there's a small inn whose food has been a favorite of ours for years now. We first ate there before they had rooms. It's certainly not in Bras' class, but the food can be excellent. Le Vieux Pont in Belcastel. I've mentioned it several times on eGullet. Rignac is the nearest town and Rodez (pronounce the "z") is the nearest city.

When budgeting prices for meals in France, it's good to know that tax and service are included in the price, although an extra 5% is never unwelcome. Beverages are rarely included in the price of a set meal. Beverages include aperitifs, wine, water, coffee. If one is on a budget, aperitifs are the first thing to cut out to save money. Coffee is optional and another savings. Years ago, it seemed sacriligious not to order bottled water, but I see more and more locals drinking tap water from a carafe in France. Wine is another issue. For us, it's not expendable. Unfortunately, $100 these days is pushing close to 75€.

This, as they say, is bigger than just France--I'm speaking of this issue and Hervé This--and we've moved some posts over to Louisa's thead in the General forum. The Next Culinary Arts Movement. That's where we'll be discussing this and This.

I suspect it's a trend that started when the wholesale markets were moved from les Halles.

Empanadas are closed pies with filling. Calzones are sort of empanadas. Cornish meat pies and pasties from the upper peninsula in Michigan would be empanadas in most Spanish speaking communities. They can be baked of fried and the dough can vary considerably in its flakyness or even be made of puff pastry. An apple turnover might qualify. I have also seen the term "empanada" refer to fried food that's been breaded. Such is the dispersion of Spanish all over the world that locally, many words have different meanings. A Puerto Rican, or Mexican traveling in Spain may be in for the same sort of surprise as a Cajun in France.

A short discussion on the Roussillon by largely the same characters.

I've already warned that my best pointers might well be away from the area. Along the coast, you'll find a great many new towns and recent developments that are of a scale I don't find charming with lots of summer homes and summer condominiums. This is not to say that the coast south of the border is pristine or lovely in most spots. Collioure is perhaps the most charming spot between the border and Montpellier along the coast. We've spent a night or two there. There is a one star restaurant, but we didn't reserve in advance and ate well enough at another place near it. Collioures saving grace may be it's topograpy. It's a difficult place to develop with it's three small beaches. The anchovies packed by Roque and I believe another outfit are wonderful unless you're used to the ones from Catalunya or the Atlantic. I mean to say that they're so much better than what we find in the US. Sete is an interesting town, but I don't recall good restaurants. For me, the local oysters don't compare with those of Brittany, but there are places to get local seafood near Sete, Meze and Bouzigues. Bouzigues is famous for its mussels. Actually north of Narbonne we're certainly not talking about the Catalan Coast anymore Away from the sea, I have one recommendation for a rather simple place, where the accommodations may be more interesting than the food, but the food is honest and prepared with integrity. The products are first rate, local and more likely than not, organic. I recommended it here in this thead earlier when Menton and I disagreed about the food in the area. Graham Tigg also contributed to Silly Disciple's request for information and recommendations near Perpinya (Perpignan) and Fitou. See Pyrénées Orientales. If I had two weeks and was coming from Roses, I'd get as far as Michel Bras.

"Lots of fruit and veg on special offer on stalls at the front of the shop," is the perfect description of the place I have in mind. I recall that these mushrooms were from some other country and our assumption was that they might not be as flavorful as ones from France. Sorry I can't remember the country of origin.I just spoke to someone here who had asked how the chanterelles were when we were all still in Paris. I can report that the wife of the gentleman who bought the chanterelles thought they had little flavor, but I understand she's not much of a fan of mushrooms in general. Not very conclusive information, but it appears that as with much bargain food stuffs, they weren't such a bargain though as I recall, they weren't much of an investment either. In general I think of chanterelles as being delicate in flavor and going well with lighter poultry and cream, but they should not be tasteless. One of our companions was saying at the time that she found the market street far less colorful and less animated than it was ten years ago when she was living in the neighborhood. She recalled the vendors loudly hawking their wares on the street in the "old days."

We had a light lunch in a cafe on the rue Montorgeuil in September. I remember seeing chanterelles for sale at an unbelievably inexpensive price in a shop almost across the street. We were with a small group, only one of whom lived in Paris, but he bought a kilo thinking they were too great a bargain to pass up. I have no idea how good they were.

Crosnes is the only name, and the only spelling with which I am familiar.