Bux

I don't know that I've seen the whole dried peppers except hanging on facades of buildings in the Basque Pyrenee area, but the dried pepper, usually in a powder form has become increasingly available in France. At least I've seen in in the fancy food stores and hypermarchés we've visited. We tend to browse these the way most people do museums.

Thanks for confirming that. At my age I worry when I have to question what I remember and in connection with la Coupole, I remembered that it was a Flo brasserie when I last considered it for dinner. I am not at all convinced that Flo has ruined any of the places it bought, or at least that they were likely to suffer a worse fate had they not been taken over by the Flo group. Les Grande Marches, I believe that's the name of the contemporary restaurant/brasserie they opened near the Opera, (Bastille) was a pretty decent place in it's own right when I ate there a few years ago.

Pigeon en crapaudine au piment d'Espelette was on the menu last night at Chiberta. It was brought to the table rosé and was excellent. I'll give a full and mixed report on the restaurant elsewhere, but I just wanted to note that it was hard to overlook after this thread. Of course pigeon will always get my attention, especially in Europe. The pigeon was not only butterflied, but pretty much boned in this case. Only some small thigh bones remained in the flattened bird.

Ptispois has said best what I was thinking. I might have said "brusque" rather than brisk, but it is a style and nothing I've said should have been taken to suggest I thought it was a style that could or should be "improved."

Are we destined to kill that which we love by sharing it with others indescriminantly or should we be less sharing and more selfish with our information? I had a drink the other night with a member who is a resident of Paris at least part of the time. He expressed a reluctance to publicly recommend some very small restaurants frequented almost exclusively by local residents. I was reluctant to write about Au C'Amelot after we were taken there by locals and before others mentioned it here. I know of one professional culinary journalist who sadly witnessed the negative effect of said journalist's article listing some bistrots in Paris that proved unable to cope with the tourism that resulted from an article in an American food journal. I know we have a remarkable audience here on eGullet, but I also know there's no test to read and pass on information posted here, and there's no test to act on it. I understand the interest travelers have in wanting to visit local places and in eating in the very restaurants that cater to locals, but I've also been in at least one restaurant in Paris where I had to restrain myself from pummeling some tourists who were disruptive to the functioning of a local restaurant in the way that only those who were totally unprepared to eat there could be by abusing the time of an overworked workstaff and returning dishes which were adequately translated and explained well beyond what one should expect in a foreign country. I often think eGullet serves a better function when it carries abstract information and discussion useful to a travelers than when it reveals secret restaurants. With that in mind and under cover of the knowledge that L'Ami Jean has already been recommended in the glossy American food press, I'll pass on a very positive reaction from two trusted gastronomes and chefs. This is another bistrot that's been opened by someone who reportedly was a sous chef at la Régalade. The card for L'Ami Jean reads s'appelle maintenant Stephane et on continue de s'y régaler!

Perhaps, but it's a pity Paris has to come to that. There have been many wonderful improvements in Paris, but the loss of reputable and dependable local bistrots is a great loss for both the inhabitants and the locals. The important thing is to know a local bistrot that is good and which will not become the next "in" restaurant.

I believe La Maison de la Lozere and Cellier Morel are one and the same place. That, or Cellier Morel is in la Maison de la Lozere. We had friends who did not enjoy le Jardin during the years we did and we enjoyed what I belive were three meals there. One was with these friends and they just didn't enjoy the food as much as we did, although we all equally enjoyed an excellent meal together in New York the week before. Tastes are very subjective.

Those little dishes can add up quickly. I just thought I'd repeat that. It's something worth saying again. There's no doubt tapas are an expensive way to fill an empty stomach. By the same token, one can go broke before one gets drunk drinking zurritos. It would be more economical to stay and have a glass caña of beer and several tapas in one bar, but part of the fun is moving and checking out as many bars as possible. I don't believe there's a similar option for wine drinkers.

Arzak was the restaurant that opened our eyes to Spanish restaurants, but that was years ago under Juan-Maria. Last October, we didn't find the food or service quite up to what we got as Berasategui. Mugaritz in fact, was the second most interesting meal although it was the one place in the region at which we didn't take the tasting menu. I was actually rooting for Juan-Maria's daughter Elena to impress us as much as her father did, but there were flat spots in both the food and the service for us.

In which case, English may not be the unlikely source of the familiar. I continue to find more and more evidence of the American influence discussed in another thread. Not all of the evidence is good, or as well translated as it could be, but not all of it is as bad as one might have expected a few generations ago. The current chef at Goumaud worked at Daniel in NYC as I just learned because someone who knew him there just bumped into him on the street. Ten years ago a stint in NY would have been worthless on a cuisinier's resume, today it's as credible an experience, if not more so, than places in France.

First, I apologize for current, and we trust short lived freeze and hope your friend is able to log on and post soon enough. Montpellier has a three star restaurant, Jardin des Sens, in which we've enjoyed several fine meals. However, they've all been years ago before the restaurant earned its third star. Peculiarly enough, since then, I've heard nothing but mixed reports although the restaurant has kept all three stars. Montpellier is a lively city and a university town. I've not been there long enough for a meal in a few years, although we picked up a car there at the train station last week to visit friends further south. They like Cellier Morel in Montpellier and recommend it. So, from our friend to your friend, that's our recommendation.

Although I've only eaten lunches at Martin Berasategui and can't compare it to dinner, I'd recommend lunch and would have lunch myself the next time I'm in the area. There are a number of resaons why it's my preference in Spain and in particular in a rural area in a restaurant with a nice view and good light. Dinner is very late, and lunch is very pleasant. In either case, there's an advantage to not having to drive after a big meal although if I were driving, as I was each time I was there, I'd want to do it by day.

I paid 2.80 euros for a small risotto cremosa con idiazabal and a very small beer.

And I was just poking the eye of the French Academy. We all know the chef is going to order the line cook by saying "spatchcockez le poulet."

Exactly my point. I see the ingredients and I see the traditional charcuteries, fromageries, patisseries, etc, but I see a weakness in the food prepared by restaurant professionals. It doesn't speak well for the tradition if Americans are doing the cooking.

I'm told there is no verb "to toad" a chicken, or any other bird. We do use "butterfly" in English, as a verb to describe the butchering process that splits and flattens a piece of meat, but I don't think it is used in French as a verb. We could lead by inventing words, but I doubt we'll be followed. The French Academy doesn't have all that much success.

Perhaps that needs to be put in context. "Rude" in contrast to the very formally polite social ettiquette that guides most of public life in Paris. The formal greetings that are de rigeur upon entering a neighborhood bakery shop or restaurant are not part of the large sidewalk cafe life. One must say hello before placing an order for a loaf of bread, or being seated in a restaurant, but one just takes seat in a cafe and orders from the waiter without any social acknowledgment. That always struck me as so removed from the conventions that govern most of interpersonal contact in Paris ande consequently as a rude and gruff relationship that was independent of anything to do with the way the garcon actually carried out his job. "Garcon" is also a term that's particularly not politically correct. One never called a restaurant waiter "boy," yet that was how one called the cafe server no matter his age or professional demeanor. It was an entrenched and institutionalized relationship and I see no reason why there's anything the waiter could do to make a difference. Actually if anyone has a gripe, it's the waiter. Any expected improvement in the relationship might be expected to start with the attitude on the public.

Chanterelles we saw in Paris on sale for 6€ a kilo, were marked as coming from Portugal. They looked good and had a fine aroma. Had I kitchen I would have bought some. Next week I'll be paying more for cremini mushrooms. There is such a dichotomy when it comes to food in France. One minute I think it's the only place to be and then the next it appears to have gone to hell. Am I so jaded or have so many restaurants lost the way?

Although cafes are often attached to brasseries, they are almost universally not places to take food seriously. That said, we had some nice salads this afternoon at a little cafe this afternoon. Locals will usually know what's best at a local cafe. Indeed our cafe visit was at a cafe on rue Montorgueil for reason of nostalgia on the part of someone who briefly lived in the neighborhood ten years ago. Noted changes in the neighborhood were that the shops no longer all closed for lunch and that the vendors no longer hawked their wares out loud on the street. Chanterelles were on sale for 6.00 € a kilo! They were from Portugal, but they looked good, seemed fresh and had an enticing aroma.

An honorable heritage? Is that simply because generations of Americans have used them? That sort of reasoning would convince us that McDonald's is the best restaurant in America. Yes, the whole world can be wrong and we can aspire to better taste. If that makes one a snob, then it's fine to be a snob and let others aspire to the mediocrity of that which they already know.Let's examine canned peaches on their merits, and they have some merits, but let's not argue that that they're good enough just because some people like them. What's right with canned peaches is that they preserve the bounty of the summer harvest. (Actually most canned peaches in the supermarket are of abysmal quality, but as Rachel notes, there are some fine ones around, usually packed in glass and there's the option of spending some time putting your own peaches in mason jars for the winter.) What's wrong with canned peaches, assuming that's not a rhetorical question, is that they somehow homogenize the seasons and remove us from our environment when we're at the table. Some people find this sinful. I am less judgmental on that issue, but find that life can be more interesting when one can return to appreciating the seasons. For all that, Grimes is a person with a vitriolic streak and while that's something one can honestly feel judgmental about in a moral fashion, it's also amusing to read at times. Nevertheless, as has been pointed out, a good part of the issue here is Pepin's connection with the canned goods industry. That might make Grimes think he's some sort of undercover investigative reporter, but he's not dug deeply enough to understand the whole story. I'd like to assume Grimes has read Pepin's memoirs. If so, he'd also know that Pepin not only flipped burgers for a stint at Howard Johnson's in order to understand that industry, but seriously worked at making mass marketed food much better than others thought it needed to be. Pepin was trained as an elitist French chef perhaps, but he's made a strong commitment to improving daily fare in America and making better food available to the masses. It's not news that Grimes takes the cheap nasty shot and still enjoys doing it, but while I had the distinct impression he knew little about good food and had less interest in eating it when he began his restaurant reviewing career, I was impressed to see him express his current interest in eating well. I am always surprised when a member here expresses the need to defend his, or her, current eating habits to the extent that it displays an absolute disinterest in eating better or learning more about food. Spending less time in the kitchen and eating better are not mutually exclusive and whatever techniques apply to a veal chop, can also be applied to a boneless breast of chicken, or a pork sausage. Vitriolic snob that he might be, Grimes manages to extract good information as much as anything else in his article. I don't see enough of that in the posts here. Anyway, the reverse snobbism displayed in defense of bad food is peculiar in a place like eGullet.

The answer to your last question is "probably not." From what I remember of the 60's which is about as far back as I go in France, no one ever went to a cafe for the welcome or the service. One assumed the "garcon" would be rude and the service surly. It anything it was part of the charm. Times change and the institutions of one era, don't always serve the next as well. Fast food has made tremendous inroads into France as has a faster paced life. It's not a pace that's going to disappear in France, Spain, Italy or any place that wants to compete in the first world industy and trade.

Le Baron Bouge is a very interesting place. Everyone should visit it at least once. It's a tiny place and I thought everyone was there when we went. Between the people and the smoke, I could barely make it to the bar and back outside with our glasses of wine where someone was opening oysters at a rapid rate while everyone who couldn't fit within the bar was happily enjoying oysters standing in the street, sitting on stoops, balancing plates and glasses on window sills and parked cars. I don't remember if it was Sunday or not.

You're more than welcome. Zinfandels are often our choice of bread and butter gift for those in France who are going to host us. The French can be snobbish and defensive about their wine, but generally I've found them intellectually curious about American wine and realize that while French wines are quite competitive in price here, American wines just seem far too expensive when bought in France and the selection is not all that interesting for the most part.The funniest story I can tell about bringing American wines was when we first visited our daughter's in-laws in Brittany. We brought several bottles of Californian Zin, one for each of several adults. Our hand luggage was checked on boarding the second leg of our journey continuing from Paris and the young woman examining the luggage gave me a wink as she told us in French that we didn't have to bring our own wine as they make it here also.

I'd like to tell you all that it was as good as it looked, but in fact, the photos don't do the flavors justice. That could be a depressing thought if what you're eating tonight doesn't even look as good. It was really considerably better that any and all of the non starred restaurant meals, as enjoyable as any meal we've had this week. Of course the company was an added factor. Lucy and Loic were the exceptional hosts you might have expected them to be. Those who have read Lucy's blog and many contributions here will already know that she's a most interesting person. Lucy is also a mind reader, or at least able to second guess our interests and situation and match our mood and appetite. I think Lucy left out mention of the wonderful green salad that preceeded the cheese course and which is to me the sine qua non of a proper French home meal. The cheeses, of course, are one of the things that makes eating in France so special, especially in the French countryside. Less is made of that course in Parisian restaurants. Many of the cheeses Lucy served can be found in NYC, but not too often in prime condition and the difficulty of arranging a platter anywhere near as complex as the one Lucy shows (actually, there was also a bit of bleu d'auverge, but not on the plate as Loic is not fond of blue cheese and Mrs. B is strongly alergic to the penicillin mold. The Rove de Garrigues, Lucy mentions above, was a new cheese for us and quite fascinating. It's amazing how the flavors of the herbs on which the goats graze, comes through in the final cheese. Anyway, I won't go on as I sense this of all the meals I have this week, is the one that will make many the most jealous, but I wish some of the food conversation could have happened on line for all the eGullet francophiles to join in the discussion. I'm sure some of it will come up in my threads in the coming weeks.

For what it's worth, as a New Yorker, and with the euro going for $1.22, the price of a meal here is almost the equivalent of the same price in dollars with tax and minimum tip. Thus a 100 € meal in France with tax and service included costs roughly the same as a $100 meal in NYC after tax and tip. What is quite noticeable to us is that it's often a bargain, but many times I've thought I could do better at home.