jaybee

This is an interesting question. My brother-in-law and I often talk about the trips we took in the 70s and 80s where three star palaces were the anchors of the itinerary. We don't do that any more. One wonders if we had never done it, would we be as blase to the idea as we are, or is this a function of the evolution of our tastes to appreciate great culinary art and "authentic" regional cuisines? If Troisgros, Pic, Pyramide, Verge, Baumanier et al were still at the top of their games, would we old Francophiles be keen on making the tour again? I don't know.

Anne Willan, French Regional Cooking. This book is a staple in my kitchen.

I know a couple of top chefs and when we go to their places we get treated a little differently than the "average"customer. I don't do it for ego, but for a better eating experience. Leslie Brenner's book on Daniel describes their practice of doing a "soigné for certain VIPs. I wouldn't mind being on that list, and it's not for the benefit of my ego! But then I guess there are those who either don't care that much, don't think it's right or just resent it. I can understand all three, but that doesn't make it wrong to enjoy getting special treatment.

If the drive from Paris to Bordeaux isn't a big part og yuour plan, you could take the TGV from Paris to Bordeaux and pick up your car at the Bordeaux RR station. Arrange to return it in Paris. The train will take 3 + hours. The drive a lot more and will be quite tiring. We did his a couple of years ago and it worked well, except we returned the car in Bordeaux after touring the region and TGVd back to Paris. The maps can be bought in Paris at a FNAC store, or here IGN Roadmaps OR HERE

Good detective work Tommy. The above part of his post is revealing in light of his complaint. Clearly he invested a lot of effort in building a "VIP" position at this place and was chagrined to discover that he wasn't as "VIP" as he thought he was. Or at least the way he was treated after the fact by the chef/owner conveyed that impression. I'd react strongly if that happened to me. Wouldn't you?

* The French at table : why the French know how to eat better than any people on earth and how they have gone about it, from the Gauls to Paul Bocuse / Rudolph Chelminski. I have just come across the book, titled above, that provides additional insight into the original question of this thread. I did not see it referenced in the posts. I am about half way through it.

You may be right. I don't know him all that well. But there's few things better than being justifiably pissed off. (except getting really good revenge)

Dr. Revenue is not a fake or a flake. He and his dining companion are dedicated and expeienced "eaters" and, I believe, have befriended many great chefs in the US and in France, who appreciate their knowledge of food and their patronage. I think it is kind of strange that people have attacked him for being angry that he was mistreated by someone he considered not just a chef but a "friend." Perhaps the chef meant to say more than his "disappointed" statement conveyed. If the guy is German, this could have been his way of saying, "I was disssapointed that you had a bad experience here Saturday night." Which I would take as an "I'm sorry." and move on. I suspect that the follow up email did not give the guy a chance the explain that he may have meant "I'm sorry," but once received, the lines in the sand were drawn. I don't know. The fact that drrevenue used quotes around the word "friend" suggests that this was not literally a friend, but someone with whom he had a friendly relationship. As for posting the story here, why not? Sure he was looking for some support in his umbrage. What's wrong with that? Reading the thread, he got angry when people here attacked him for being angry at the chef. It sounds like the chef told him, in effect, "tough shit" when he complained. If that's the case, wouldn't you be pissed?

I read the poster's story to be two fuck ups. The first, and forgivable, is the poor meal. The second, and less forgivable, is the arrogant and ungracious response of the chef/owner to the diner's complaint. Even if there had been no history between them, the chef owed the complainant more than an expression at his disappointment at his reaction. Give their history, the diner felt betrayal of the relationship he felt existed between himself and the chef. Now it may be that he over-estimated his relationship or importance in the mind of the chef. If so, the chef made a grave error. I think the chef prover himself to be either stupid or arrogant. I don't blame drrevenue if he stops going there. I suggest he send the guy a personal letter, explaining why he will no longer eat there, It has nothing to do with the bad meal and everthing to do with the bad attitude of the chef. Perhaps given the chance he will change his tune. If not, fuck him.

Driving in France can be one of the great pleasures if you take smaller country roads ("C" and "D" roads). It is essential that you get good maps!! Michelin Yellow maps are good but I've used the series put out by IGN for years and they are the best. The thing to do is to get a large scale map of the region and buy smaller maps of the specific areas that magnify everything two or three times. The real detailed maps actually show roads as small as a driveway! The IGN maps can be purchased in the FNAC stores or if you are in New York, from some of the better travel stores. Or check the internet. This is crucial if you are to drive and enjoy the trip. You should bring a yellow marker so you can mark places and or routes you want to take. One person can navigate while the other drives. The road signs are usually very good, with every intersection telling you what towns are where. A "Toutes directions" intersection is a good sign to know, as it will take you to any road you are looking for. I aslo recomend that you buy a few good books about the areas you are going to and use them as resources to plan day trips the night before as well as to plan your major itinerary. I'm sure Bux and others here can recommend some good guide books. The Michelin Green guides are always good for sight seeing. Patricia Wells "Food Lover's Guide to France" is a good overall food guide. But then there will be books about the regions you are going to that will give you lots of detaialed information and tips. You should do as much book learning before you leave a possible. Then xerox the pages of the books that are most relevant to your trip so you don't have to carry the whole book for a few pages of information. There are some very good books about Burgundy, Bordeaux and Province and of course Paris. For Paris, I'll put in a plug for my in-laws book The Bistros of Paris by Barbara and Robert Hamburger. I can vouch for its accuracy (I did some of the research!). Amazon sells it for $12. Read, read, read.

The room is dramatic, the people "buzzy," service is friendly and competent, and the food is tasty and well prepared. The menu is quite large. I had a lobster roll at lunch recently and it was very good. If you like that kind of "scene" and want a good seafood meal in that area, you'll enjoy it.

Another such place of halcyon memory is Lameloise. We enjoyed a superb tasting menu there when it was still just one large house with rooms upstairs. A return visit saw the hotel expanded to a large building appended to the old one. The meal was equal to our earlier one, but this was still in the 1980s. I woould be interested in a similar comparison to today's cooking there.

The best version of this dish i ever tasted, by far, was at the Quanjude Restaurant in Beijing. It's namesake is where the dish was supposedly popularized 100 years ago. Here's everything you wanted to know about Peking Duck Note they say nothing about blowing air in the skin. The oven seems to be one of the main factors in good results.

Heinz chili sauce with minced onion and garlic mixed in. It works best on white bread instead of pasta.

Consensus? Who said anything about consensus. I think it would be fascinating to put all these fressers around a virtual table with the same menu and see what they come up with. We could do ti for Troisgros, ADNY. Daniel, and a few other "temples of gastronomy" here and there.

Lizziee, what a great idea to post a menu and ask what to order. This could make a series of threads all by itself. Here's my first cut at a menu: Warm oysters in a vinaigrette with rock samphire Seared foie gras slices, gooseberries Salmon scallop with sorrel (a recipe from 1960) Blue lobster grilled and flamed with Calvados, Crisp squab and foie gras «Pushkin café» Le lièvre de deux façons : en royale et en aiguillettes rosées Kidney fricassée with romaine lettuce and olive oil, anchovy-basil sauce cheese Fresh and ripe Cherry and wild strawberry nage with kirsch

A quartet of eGers, Nina, LXT, AHR and yours truly enjoyed an all cheese, all the time lunch at Artisanal yesterday. Seated at two small marble topped tables at banquettes by the bar, we demolished three plates of cheeses, in the following order: Plate #1 istara, france garroxa, spain reblecon, france piave, italy hoch ybrig, swizerland bra, italy Plate #2 berkswell,england monte enebro, spain brescianella stagionata, italy camembert, france cashel blue, ireland brillat savarin, france pont l'eveque, france Plate #3 livarot, france ardrahan, ireland kikorangi, new zealand valdeon, spain schafreblochon, switzerland epoisses, france Wine: Marsannay "Cloy de Roy" 1999 Rene Bouvier We left the selection up to the cheese specialist, giving her a few choices. The cheese and wine were accompanied by lots of bread and butter, plates of thinly sliced apples and pears, and bunches of grapes. Nina also had a green salad. All the cheeses were ripe and ready to eat. the progression was from mildest to strongest on each plate and from mildest to strongest from plate to plate. Service was mostly attentive, once the bartender decided to take us under his wing. The bar area is much quieter than the open table area, and we had it pretty much to ourselves. I recommend it for this kind of meal. Overall, the only disapointment was the quality of the bread--the baguettes were not the best or crispest, and the butter was not up to my favorite Normandy butter standards. The wine, recommended by the bar tender was a perfect accompanyment. Fruity, dry finish, not cloying or over rich, it held up through two bottles and all the cheese. One dessert was ordered (babahs au rhum) which was sampled by all, and a double expreso sent me on my way... For any cheese lover, I recommend doing this at least one every couple of months.

It's ten o'clock PM. You didn't eat much for dinner and now you're really hungry. It's too late to order a delivery. You open the fridge, or the cabinet and you see.... What is it that makes you most happy to have in the house at times like that? For me it would be either a kosher salami or... a jar of chunky peanut butter, some matzo and really good strawberry jam, with lots of milk to wash it down.

Before you get up to order? You're seated in line? Where is this, Retirement Village in Ft, Lauderdale? What about McDonald's?, the Post Office?, "full service" gas stations? Flight attendants, sandwich makers at the deli counter? Drive through clerks? Why one and not the other. What's the criteria? Have a nice day.

To me tipping is like applause, to be given in the amount deserved by the performance. It is reserved for restaurants or service counters where a waitperson is serving me. I do not consider fast food places tip-worthy, and that includes Starbucks. I must be seated and served and eat while seated. (unless I tip a delivery person for a telephone order). In US restaurants, I know that the system is for waitstaff to rely on tips as part of their income. So I pay a minimum of 10% of the check for mediocre service. Good service ups the ante to 15-20% and exceptional service to 25% pre tax. So a $60 check before tax will yield from me anywhere from $6 to $15. Unless the service is poor to execrable. then the tip is %5 to 0, zip, nada combined with a statement to the management.

I lived for five years (age 10-15) on Vincent Place, which is between Walnut and Claremont Ave. one block down from Valley Rd. and about five blocks up from Grove. It used to be a beautiful tree shaded area. I'll have to make a pilgrimage...

Since the British royals are really German, maybe British and German cuisine combined for the wurst of it all.

Of all places, I think SL would take the bottle back and replace it for you. Why not call them first, explain the situation and ask them what to do? I'd bet they will replace it.

I supose that cooking for the family and cooking for customers or employers produced very different results. Peasant cooking, which by definition, was for the family and extended family was meant to make use of ingredients available at least cost and yet be filling, satisfying and nutritious. There was little motive or incentive to "upgrade" a dish with more expensive or esoteric ingredients or more time-consuming processes, except for festivals and celebrations. Cooking for recompense, either as a restaurant cook or as a chef for wealthy family is where the incentive to move away from peasant recipes is greatest. The person selling meals wishes to attract customers (custom-ers, meaning people who come back as a matter of custom). To do so, he strove to create dishes that would stir their imaginations and excite them. He could aford to spend more on special ingredients, if he built the cost into his pricing. The chef for the wealthy was incented to expand his repertoire to keep his job and win the affection of the family. He also represented them in their social circle, and had a responsibility to make them look good to their high flying peers. So when we discuss peasant dishes as the origins of certain popular haute cuisine dishes, we need to recognize the influence of the movement from home-prepared food for the peasants to the out-of-home prepared food for wealthy travelers and the rich. Now if that sounds like I just made it all up, I did. But it seems to make sense to me.