WHS

NHCountry Girl, I agree that Simon Pearce is great, but it, and the other places you mention, aren't in the White Mountains...if I were visiting NH to see fall foliage & beautiful scenery, I'd take your suggestion and visit the Connecticut Valley or the Monadnock region. The Birchwood Inn in Temple serves delicious and interesting food, and is in an unspoiled, authentic area. I'd stop in Walpole and have hot chocolate at the original Burdick's--the people who supply chocolates to Bouley in NY. Also, I've heard good things about an Italian restaurant in Keene--is it Nicola's?

Bring on the cassoulet!

Radius is fab, but if you want to rip into some lobsters, go to Summer Shack!

Once you get north of Manchester and Baldwin's on Elm, the food in NH is what you'd expect anywhere USA--the fancy places serve veal with crabmeat smothered in cream sauce, the cheap places serve fried food. You will get LOTS of it though; servings are huge. The Kancamangus Hwy is nice, but go to Crawford Notch--much more beautiful.

Actually, it never occurred to me to be worried. But I grew up on street food in Bangkok so I'm probably immune to everything. Which brings up our American phobia of germs...I noticed in Paris that no one in a shop ever uses a plastic glove to pick up a baguette or sandwich, and no one freaks out because their food has been handled. Why is it that in a country with anti-bacterial soap and sneeze-guards, we can't eat a raw egg or a rare hamburger?

It was already 85 degrees at 8:30am when we hit the tarmac at Roissy. Our Parisian friends had escaped to Tangier (where it was cooler ) and left us their apartment near the corner of Ledru-Rollin and Faubourg St Antoine near Bastille. When we opened the door, we knew we would be spending a few days in a pizza oven. The place had a 30 foot long plate glass window overlooking the zinc rooftops of Paris. Zinc that absorbed the sun all day long, and reflected the heat back into the apartment. We decided to change our Paris strategy. Instead of wandering the street markets and quays in 100 degree heat, we got an in-depth view of the air-conditioned wonders of the Louvre and Musee d’Orsay over the next 3 days. We also managed to eat well. 1st night: No line at 10pm for a seat at Joel Robuchon’s (air conditioned ) Atelier. We asked the waiter to choose 3 dishes for each of us. He brought us small plates of anchovies, thin slices of Spanish ham, a “cocotte” of poached quail egg in a creamy white foam, a “napoleon” of perfect eggplant, tomato and mozzarella, ris de veau, lamb chops with mashed potatoes so rich I thought they were bearnaise sauce at first. Nothing “outre”, but extremely refined. Friendly service, wine by the glass, and good conversation with other diners at the counter (French & Israeli). 2nd night: Espadon at the Ritz (air conditioned). If you want a grand restaurant experience in Paris in August, you have to go to a grand hotel—everything else is closed. We had the summer tasting menu (see their website Ritz.com). At 9:00pm it was still 98 degrees outside, so the hotel took the extraordinary step of waiving neckties in the dining room (jackets had to stay on though). Service was friendly and youthful, and so perfectly choreographed it was sexy. From the first offering of a frozen cloth to cool the brow, followed by a selection of champagne apertifs, through 8 courses (a stand-out foie gras with “rare pepper jelly and crunchy cherries”), everything was seamlessly anticipated. An added pleasure was the Wine Steward, a young German who suggested a great Montrachet that fell in the middle of the price range. Full moon rising over Place Vendome as we staggered out past midnight. 3rd night: La Coupole—we had to do it: pastis, oysters, steak tartare, and air conditioning. To our right, rich Americans from Missouri, dressed in Chanel suits, eating choucroute in the heat! 4th night: a neighborhood place called Chardenoux. By this point we decided to brave the elements and started schvitzing immediately. Luckily, we got a table next to a fan, and had one of the best meals of the week. A salad of artichoke hearts & crevettes, another starter of fresh sardines, followed by a piece of plain poached cod served with a killer aioli, and flavorful onglet, cooked “bleu”. A classic bistro room, charming English-speaking owner. Lunch? We spent one day wandering the food stores around La Madeleine. Hediard’s restaurant was closed, Fauchon was ridiculously expensive (36 euros for a club sandwich?), so we tried the café above the Nicolas wine shop—a very reasonable set price lunch paired with wines—such as Tuna Tartare with a salad and a chilled rose for 10 euros. Try the pear sorbet doused with Poire William for dessert. Checked out Maille, the mustard shop, and the place that sells truffles—they have a prix fixe lunch (next time). Magret de canard en brochette served rare with crispy fat sprinkled with sea salt at Café du Peintre near our apartment, and after the requisite boat ride & Sainte Chapelle, a whole grilled fish with capers and lemon at Caveau du Palais on Place Dauphine. The skate wing was also very good. Then, we met our traveling companions, and went to Normandy for 5 days, where the food was even better!

Ai Gondolieri, next to the Guggenheim, was wonderful last September on a rainy day with the canal overflowing. The panelled room up the stairs was almost empty, had the feel of a library or ship's cabin. I remember the fried quail eggs with white truffle shavings, and the duck breast preparation was very good. Lunch for two was $183. We stayed with a friend on the Lido--there's a good seafood restaurant over there called La Favorita. Also, the best meal we had in Venice was actually in Padua--we made a day trip there to see the Scrovegni Chapel (Giotto murals) and had lunch in a hosteria in the old part of town (name eludes me). Zucchini risotto, rabbit in balsamic vinegar, lamb shank with raisins, dessert, coffee, wine, all for $57 for two.

If you want to go where the locals go, try Elizabeth's in the Bywater neighborhood for breakfast, lunch or Sunday brunch. It's cheap, the portions huge, and the quality superior. Boudin balls, praline bacon, fried oysters with jalapeno jelly, and daily specials. We ate there 3 times the 5 days we were in New Orleans. Also, the owner/chef Heidi is a doll. They have a website.

The Tuna Pea Wiggle at the Miss Newport Diner is served over the classic accompaniment of saltines.

Thanks again for all your insights. Why did it take me so long to find this website? I'm in HOG HEAVEN! (Did I mention I had the pork belly @ WD50? That I belong to the Bacon of the Month Club?)

For a real Vermont taste treat, try the Tuna Pea Wiggle at the Miss Newport Diner on your way to Quebec.

Thanks for the suggestions. We are traveling with American friends who are setting the itinerary, so I will pass along your ideas. We're also spending 5 days in Paris at the end of the trip with French friends (fashionistas whose idea of fine dining is Cafe Costes)--any ideas?

Any suggestions in the Loire Valley in August?

We called WD50 Thursday afternoon for a Saturday reservation and got a table at 10:30. (The other choice was 6:00). Remember the good old days when trendy restaurants laughed at you if you called 4 weeks in advance--i.e. 150 Wooster? We added a 3rd person on Saturday afternoon, and were seated at 11 pm. No attitude at the door, the bar, or the table. I live in New Hampshire now, and somehow missed the expected jolt of downtown superciliousness. Having read about the restaurant, I was prepared for the oyster "carpaccio" and the fois gras with anchovies, and actually enjoyed the way Dufresne plays with his food. The place seems as much a cerebral exercise as well as a sensory one. Was it the wine, or did he base the color scheme on the Heimlich maneuver poster on the way down to the bathroom? Try the pork belly.