Restaurant recommendations 12/25 - 1/2

[Mano]

Six of us will be staying in a flat in Bois de Buologne arriving Christmas morning and leaving Jan. 2nd. We'll be doing the usual sight seeing around Paris and day trips to the Catacombs and whatever else strikes our collective interest. Breakfast and most dinners are at the flat and lunch at restaurants. We'll go out for a couple of dinners and are particularly interested in New Years Eve dinner, which we hear is special in Paris. (Here in the US restaurant food on New Years Eve is typically at its worst).

A National Geographic travel edition from 2008 recommended Bistrot Paul-Bert, Chez Michel, Le Baratin and Restaurant de la Grille, among others. We're generally inclined to pick a spot that looks interesting wherever we happen to be but are fine walking a bit for someplace worthwhile. All of us are pretty fair cooks (any food shopping recommendations in our area are welcome) and adventuresome eaters.

The dollar is weak so $100 p/p is probably the most we're willing to spend for dinner and $20 p/p for lunch.

Thanks in advance for your recommendations.

[Parigi]

Of your list, the Baratin has good food and great atmosphere. The others have their ups and downs. Personally I find the Baratin most reliable.

My problem would be with the bois de Boulogne location. The Bois is huge. On which side are you? In general it is quite far from the restaurants of your choice. In fact it is sort of the suburb. For New year's Eve, public transport will be a mad house and should be avoided.

Like a caricature of a Parisian, I don't "do" suburbs at all and don't know the places near you, except Stella Maris. Besides serving good food, it is the kind of cheerful brasserie that will be esp festive for the holiday season. That's where I'd go instead of schlepping cross town...

Bon séjour.

Edited December 8, 2009 by Parigi (log)

[Mano]

I'll find out more specifically where we're staying. The flat is a place we'll begin and end the day and not a whole lot more. The restaurants I'd be interested in would be in Paris, where we'll be spending most of our awake hours.

Thanks for the recommendation of Baratin.

For New Years Eve we're thinking of an early dinner in Paris and then going to Champs Elysées to join the crowds.

Any thoughts?

[PhilD]

We'll go out for a couple of dinners and are particularly interested in New Years Eve dinner, which we hear is special in Paris. (Here in the US restaurant food on New Years Eve is typically at its worst).

I fear you are mis-informed, I understood Paris to be as bad as the US (if not worse) on NYE as far as restaurants go.

[Mano]

We'll go out for a couple of dinners and are particularly interested in New Years Eve dinner, which we hear is special in Paris. (Here in the US restaurant food on New Years Eve is typically at its worst).

I fear you are mis-informed, I understood Paris to be as bad as the US (if not worse) on NYE as far as restaurants go.

I'm actually glad to hear you say that, but do you have first hand knowledge? One member of our group heard otherwise, while I'm of the opinion we should stay in and cook a nice NYE dinner at home, like we usually do. The last thing I want to do is eat bad food, get stuck on over crowded public transportation and then get crushed by a mob on the Champs Elysées.

[42390]

I do have firsthand knowledge of Paris NYE dining, 2 star on down, absolutely not worth it. The restros will be absolutely packed to the point that good service is difficult and since they are so busy it seems most places offer stuff that can be prepared in advance, you end up paying extreme high prices for what is not a lot better than airplane food, and your $100 budget is totally unrealistic for NYE dining in Paris, except maybe at Quick or Hippopotamus which is not really dining.

[Mano]

I do have firsthand knowledge of Paris NYE dining, 2 star on down, absolutely not worth it. The restros will be absolutely packed to the point that good service is difficult and since they are so busy it seems most places offer stuff that can be prepared in advance, you end up paying extreme high prices for what is not a lot better than airplane food, and your $100 budget is totally unrealistic for NYE dining in Paris, except maybe at Quick or Hippopotamus which is not really dining.

You've convinced me. We'll spend the money on good wine and go to Paris to food shop.

[Parigi]

This local wimp agrees with all the others.

And the Champs is absolutely frightening on New Year's Eve.

Since you have an apartment, by all means get your collective weight in foie gras and seafood and bubblies, put on a Callas cd and toast the Nouvel An.

[onocoffee]

When in Paris, I quite enjoy eating at:

Chez L'Ami Jean

Chez Pierrot

Robert y Louise

The first two are very close to where I usually stay in the 7th but all are worth the trip. I wish I was going this month!

[Parigi]

When in Paris, I quite enjoy eating at:

Chez L'Ami Jean

Good news: yes indeed it is great.

Tragic news: I hear it is closed for the whole holiday week.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

This local wimp agrees with all the others.

And the Champs is absolutely frightening on New Year's Eve.

Since you have an apartment, by all means get your collective weight in foie gras and seafood and bubblies, put on a Callas cd and toast the Nouvel An.

Amen. One of the best holidays in memory was a Christmas Day in London. Our son was flying over to join us and we'd planned to book at a classic hotel restaurant. When I heard the price, I turned heel, headed to Harrod's, bought a king's ransom worth (but less than the restaurant cost for three) of indulgences. We poured the bubbly, pulled the detonators on our "crackers", donned our paper crowns and had one of the, hands down, best holiday meals in any of our memories.

In addition, I always have the feeling that one is considered/treated like an amateur on New Year's Eve (or prom night...).

[Mano]

We will be staying on Boulevard de Chateau right near Rue Edouard Nortier in 92200 Neuilly Sur Seine.

Are there any worthwhile markets to purchase very good oysters, foie gras, cheese, quail etc. for a great NYE dinner? Or do we need to go to Paris proper?

Edited December 10, 2009 by Mano (log)

[Parigi]

Rue Poncelet (Paris 17th) has a wonderful market and is not too far, just that side of Paris. 33 minute walk according to Google map.

On Ave Charles de Gaulle in Neuilly there is a well-stocked Monoprix supermarket. 19 minute walk.

On Place du Marché in Neuilly (near the Monoprix) there is a regular market Wedn and Friday morning. 18 minute walk from rue E Nortier.

Edited December 10, 2009 by Parigi (log)

[Mano]

Thanks kindly!

According to Google maps and satellite views we're not too far from Paris.

[Parigi]

It is a very nice posh suburb. I did not mean to make it sound like the boondocks.

[PhilD]

It is a very nice posh suburb. I did not mean to make it sound like the boondocks.

I used to work in Neuilly so know it reasonably well. I would recommend heading into Paris for food shopping. The market is OK but nothing special, there are a few specialist food shops in the streets to the North of Avenue Charles de Gaulle in the vicinity of the town hall, there is also a reasonably upmarket supermarket under the convention centre at Porte Maillot.

However, as Paringi suggests your best bet is rue Poncelet, it is a semi-market with some good shops. Le Dada on the corner is a good spot for a coffee or restorative ale. A good restaurant in the area (of the market) is "Le Bistro d'a Cote Flaubert" which is one of Michel Rostangs cheaper options.

[Forest]

This local wimp agrees with all the others.

And the Champs is absolutely frightening on New Year's Eve.

Since you have an apartment, by all means get your collective weight in foie gras and seafood and bubblies, put on a Callas cd and toast the Nouvel An.

another local here who agrees the restaurants are a bit crazy & the Champs is a madhouse for NYE. If that's what you're looking for great, but I haven't bothered with it for years.

[Mano]

Thanks to everyone who posted here and sent emails. They were all helpful and supportive.

We arrived in Paris Christmas morning and took a cab to Neuilly-sur-Seine, a posh suburb with chocolate shops selling a kg for 200 euros. Overall, Neuilly is like an extension of Paris as it’s about a mile from the city limits and the architecture and city-like feel is no different. Most stores were closed but we went for a long walk and bought sausage from a small butcher, various good cheeses and pate’s and a dozen large oysters from the back of a van. Add two fresh baguettes and several bottles of wine and that’s a late lunch for six of us.

A word on wine in France. Like anywhere else, good wine tends to cost more. Average wine here tends to be 30-50% less than in the U.S. so a passable Bordeaux runs $8 instead of $14. Champagne is no bargain at all, but that may be because it was around New Years Eve.

7 p.m. dinner (early by Paris standards) at a local pizza place. Expecting the worst, I was pleasantly surprised. Excellent thin crust, perfectly cooked toppings (eggplant, etc.) + a decent bottle of wine. All restaurants serve water in a clear Burgundy type bottle and the tap water is excellent.

We usually had lunch at a brasserie and on the second day I mistakenly ordered what I thought was grilled steak and fries for my son, but it turned out to be good ground steak tartar. Vegetable soup had no broth, but was a large bowl of various fresh properly cooked vegetables. It was very good and in the U.S. a similar dish would probably have been a bland mushy mess.

We went to a recommended wine shop in Paris, and the owner, a man after my own heart, favored wines from the south of France and the entire Rhone region. He relegated the “same tasting Bordeaux” to a small area on another floor. Most evenings we’d buy meat from a butcher in Neuilly, vegetables, pate and wine and have a great country French dinner at home.

In Neuilly we popped into an “organic only” wine store where the owner tried to steer us away from a small Moroccan restaurant in favor of a Bistro (“Why would you want to eat American food in Paris?”), but our collective oppositional nature resulted in a fine meal. The lamb dish was sweet and savory, the Moroccan salads and cous cous with a tureen of broth and vegetables were all very good.

We found Parisians to be patient and understanding when we explained we spoke little French and asked if they spoke English. Every morning we brought in fresh baguettes and croissants and after several days some of the local merchants knew us. We had only two negative experiences, one after the other. In Neiully, the very friendly lady at the pasta shop first tried to oversell us on how much pasta we needed and then tried to overcharge us by 20 euros. Two bottles of the same wine (9.50 euros each), less than a kilo of pasta and a small bag of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano for 53 euros! She didn’t speak English, but after some going back and forth she blamed the calculator for the problem even though it was pretty clear she was trying to take advantage of foreigners.

Then the butcher, from whom I’d bought sausage and chicken, and that night purchased pork chops and very expensive beef, tried to cheat me! Foie gras was 45 euros a kilo and a smaller vacuum sealed package had the amount I wanted, about a quarter kilo. The butcher pulled it from the case and removed the price sticker thinking I wouldn't notice and said it was 33 euros. I didn’t confront him and just said “No foie gras.”

My wife’s only request for the trip was reasonably priced prix fixe classical French cuisine, and at 6:00 P.M. on New Years Day (most places were closed) with no reservations she and one of our travel companions went on a fool’s errand to find a place, while the rest of us warmed up and drank at a brasserie. We had just visited the Eiffel Tower and a half hour later they returned and we had a wonderful dinner at Le Clos des Gourmets. The inside was more contemporary than a bistro and the classics had great innovative twists. The wine list was limited but reasonable and our waiter was young, awkward, spoke no English and was intent on doing his best. I really liked him and the slightly snooty manager/sommelier. It was the perfect nightcap for our 9 days in Paris.

Edited to add: Five of us went to the Champs on New Years Eve and brought along a bottle of Mumms. They had a great time and really enjoyed the warning from a mounted policeman about drinking in public. Paris offers free Metro service after 6:00 that night.

Edited January 10, 2010 by Mano (log)

[Parigi]

Very interesting experience.

Am appalled that the commerçants tried to overcharge you.

Once my husband was shortchanged by a caissière not because of any tactical calculation but because of the latter's lack of neurons. The tragic-comic thing was that when the store did remind us the next day that based on their day's turnover statistics, they had indeed shortchanged us, the caissière sort of goodnaturedly explained that it was more or less my husband's fault: "since you did not scream about it, I thought you were a rigolo (clown)."

We have lived in Paris for a long time but being exotic non-screamers we are sometimes considered to be lacking in credibility.

Hey you braved the Champs.

The other day I was just thinking about how we, including me, had all advised against going to the Champs on NYE, but of course where was I the first NYE I spent in Pairs? On the Champs.

(And a policement asked for - demanded - a kiss.)

Edited January 10, 2010 by Parigi (log)

[Mano]

Parigi,

These two experiences were exceptions and were more a fun topic of dinner discussion than anything else. During the same shop, I was seriously considering returning to the butcher for better lamb than they had at the Monoprix across the street. By then we were so accustomed to the super-high prices everywhere that we put quality ahead of how much things cost. I don't know how the locals afford to live there unless they are paid commensurately, like in Manhattan. Also, as in Manhattan, the culture may be caveat emptor. If you allow yourself to be a rigolo, then someone may take advantage of you.

Paris is a wonderful city, and if we can afford to go again, it'll be during the spring or summer when the flowers and landscaping are in full bloom.

Happy New Year to all!

[Parigi]

Happy holiday to you.

And next time stay inside Paris instead of out in some burb !