Chez Georges

[John Whiting]

SteveP : I haven't yet been to Chez Georges, but I think it's confusing to mix up criticisms of this apparently traditional "hi-fat" bistro with criticisms of La Regalade, which is much more modern in its ethos. Having gone with high expectations, I too had a very unsatisfactory meal at La Regalade, which I detailed on my website. I'm prepared to give them another chance.

But the "type of palate" which is able to "appreciate" the one is not the same as that required to appreciate the other. At any rate, whatever my experience of Chez Georges, I'm not likely to describe the food as "greasy". I *love* good grease!

[Steve Plotnicki]

Ah, I just had a lovely lunch at Patog off the Edgeware Road.

I think if you look at most of the criticism of Regalade, it is from those who seem fat averse, even though you don't fit that description. And I don't see it as being so modern. Most of the food is tradtional.

[Scottf]

John, this must be the article Nicholas Lander referred to in last weekend's FT. Do you think it is? Can you still get it to me?

Robert, there's a link to this article via an earlier thread

http://forums.egullet.org/ibf/index.php?ac...ead880a54f474e2

[maggiethecat]

Steve...I too could eat that food every day of my life and miss very little. A beautiful post. I haven't been in Paris for soooo long.

Jews don't drink? You never went to Uncle Louis Glassman's wedding in Montreal circa 1972. I was the Shamelss Shiksa date of one of Uncle Louis' nephews. In the synagogue, there was a bar at the entrance before we even sat down for the ceremony. Altho I was not then legal to drink, I had a couple of...was it Sidecars?

At the reception I have never seen such rivers of available booze until I attended a Polish Catholic wedding recently.

I have the WASP alcohol gene, but Uncle Louis' wedding featured more hard drinking, projectile vomiting, misbehaving bridesmaids then I have encountered before or since. I was the only non-Jew of 300 people. And I had a blast.

[Wilfrid]

Ah, I just had a lovely lunch at Patog off the Edgeware Road.

Not the Edgware Road in London, surely. Maybe Balic has a new signature line.

[Stone]

"The Dujac Morey St. Denis, is it the village wine or the Premier Cru."? A cheap trick, yet the kind that makes them want to take care of you for the rest of the night.

I tried this line last night at Denny's.

[Gary Marshall]

This thread stuck in my mind so whilst in paris last week we had dinner there.

I was going to have a wander past during the day to check out the menu and make a reservation but upon asking our concierge for directions, he also unbidden made a reservation. He said it was very good but a bit dressy and a bit 'snooty' (he did the old finger under nose head held back guesture). i found none of those traits apparent, although a few people were smartly dressed, i assumed it was because they were on their way home from work.

as previously mentioned it is a long thin room, quite shabby in places but definately buzzing on our arrival (9.30 pm on a thursday). the menu was a simple handwritten in places sheet in a tatty clear folder but was full of basic classics, turbot, sole, steak etc along with the 'famous' rillettes and pates to start.

with a couple of coupes (and the salami and radishes 'amuses') to start we had a decent chicken terrine and a frissee, lardons and poached egg salad.

I fancied the lamb that steve had but the wife wanted that so i gallantly went for a sizable steak bearnaise (a bit if a challenge since i'd had one at au pied du cochon the night before and we had lunch at jamin earlier!). Both were excellent.

Although the wine list was quite small it was perfectly formed and not wanting to go mad we skipped the burgundies and bordeaux's and settled on a rhone that escapes me but was about E30 and did the trick.

service was very friendly by what in the Uk i would describe as 'dinner ladies' polite 40-ish efficient frenchwomen.

The only problem we encountered was on deserts, i saw vacherin on the menu and no other mention of cheeses so ordered it thinking it would be cheese, however what arrived was a raspberry merangue concoction, in my basic french i told her of my error and at first they were reluctant to change it but eventually swapped it for a cheese selection. She did agree howver that vacherin was a great cheese!

coffee and a calvodos finished off a very pleasant evening. Not particularly cheap but certainly didn't begrudge a penny of it and a bit more authentic than many of the 'freres blanc' restaurants.

gary

[Jonathan Day]

A "vacherin" (with no further qualifier) is the fruit and meringue concoction you received.

Vacherin Mont d'Or (proper name) is a cheese. It is actually Swiss, though produced on the French border. It is supposed to be very seasonal, produced only from September to March, but this may have changed.

[Gary Marshall]

the seasonality may explain why i've not seen it since the egullet lunch last year!

gary

[Bux]

Vacherin Mont d'Or (proper name) is a cheese. It is actually Swiss, though produced on the French border. It is  supposed to be very seasonal, produced only from September to March, but this may have changed.

Actually it is produced in both Switzerland and France. In both countries it is protected by an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée.

The Swiss AOC designation seems to date from May 3 of this year. The French recognized the AOC in March of 1981 and regulated it in July or 2000. The Swiss regulations call for milk that is heated to around 65° C, which is less than would qualify for pasteurization, but really not raw milk as some of the bacteria is killed. I can find no information regarding heating or pasteurizing milk for French Mont d'Or. In France, production begins on August 15, but the cheese may not be sold until September 10.

From the Waitrose page on the cheese comes an explanation of why an Engllish speaking diner may confuse the cheese with the dessert.

Although this winter cheese has been made on the French side for two centuries, for many years there was disagreement over its origins, with both the French an the Swiss maintaining that they were the first to make it.

The controversy ended when the Swiss conceded to the French. Mont d’Or is simply called Vacherin in the shops.

[PaulaJK]

Steve and others....Thank you for your comments on Chez George

which rekindled in me such wonderful memories from when I

had taken my mother to Paris for her 80th birthday. A little younger

then myself, I probably did not quite appreciate what an energy

challenge this trip was for her. Nonetheless, she loved it all.....

especially a cozy meal we enjoyed at Chez George. Not only

was the food delicious and the staff was generous and

gracious, but nearby tables of French diners must have sensed

my mother's pleasure because they sent warm smiles our way.

[John Whiting]

Does anyone have experience of the other Chez George out in the 17th, highly recommended by Waverley Root in 1969 and still in Pudlo with a "historical" logo and 2 forks/knives?

[pirate]

John. I ate there once. Very classic. I vaguely remember having turbot fresh and simply prepared. The clientele struck me as knowledgable eaters; a good sign in my estimation. It seemed a bit pricey but I definitely didn't rule out returning.