Seeking assistance going from 13 to 6 in Paris

[EV Andrew]

Would be grateful for some guidence narrowing down the list I have cobbled together of potential Paris restaurants. Have searched the old threads here and done a bunch of work out on the web to get these 12 leads.

If anyone has something to say about these restaurants and would be good enough to share their thoughts, i would be very much appreciate it. Please feel free to comment on whether the eastablishment is a value, over priced, better for lunch (if seeking a value) closed Sat, Sun & Mon (will be in Paris this Sat till Wed morning), is a gem, has gotten too touristy.

If you have places that you think are better examples of the style of one of the restaurants mentioned here, by all means please express your thoughts. I am open to almost anything and will gladly travel to get it.

For me, its all about great food prepared with fresh and honest ingredients, and a dash of love.

In NYC I generally frequent restaurants with ingredient or market driven menus - Gramercy, Blue Hill, Tasting Room, Patio Dining, City Bakery (for the most expensive salad bar type lunch in the world.)

Am in cooking denial some weeks as my beloved greenmarket is only expressing its quite, low winter notes.

If there is a web site, or a thread from the past, that you recomend, please let me know and I will do the legwork from ther

Thank you in advance for your assistance and thoughts, and now the list.

Le Regalade

Flora

Auberge Bressane

Les Grandes Marches

L'Ardoise

L' Angle Du Faubourg (Fauburg d' Angle - are these the same ? spelled right ?)

Bristal

Le Soleil

L' Assiette

Bellecour

Chez Catherine

Ze Kitchen Galerie

Les Bookinistes

Andrew

PS - I am looking to throw a 2 or 3 star (Le Bristol on Sunday @8:30 at this moment) in to bankrupt myself or maybe just do one for lunch.

[Bux]

My trips to Paris are infrequent (well that's relative, of course) and too short for me to keep abreast of things and up to date even on the places I know. May I assume this is a first trip?

I haven't been to any restaurants on your list very recently. I absolutely loved La Regalade's rustic food when I was there and loved it enough to have said it was my favorite restaurant in Paris from time to time.

Les Grandes Marches was surprisingly satisfying when we were there. It's the Flo Group's proof they can do something other than take over classic brasseries. The classic brasseries they've taken over are not what they used to be. I'm not sure if that's their fault or just changing times. I don't know if you can eat as well at any of their collection of traditional brasseries, but they may be more interesting in terms of tradition. For sentimental reasons perhaps, I'd like to return to Vaudeville for a plate of oysters and steck frties or better yet an andouille (a chitlin sausage with decidely barnyard aroma and flavor) and frites.

If the Bristal is the Bristol, I haven't been there, but have eaten the chef's food when he had his own restaurant in an obscure corner of Paris. The prices were insignificat compared with those of the Bristol, but I'd trust him to feed me at those prices as well.

Les Bookisistes is a place we enjoyed when it first opened. Fresh_a says it's changed it's name and decor. At the time, it was the food I liked anyway. The menu was original and very contemporary, but quite distinctly French never the less.

I've probably rehashed what I've written here before and you've probably already read that. Hopefully it will induce someone else to write more.

[cabrales]

Le Regalade

Flora

Auberge Bressane

Les Grandes Marches

L'Ardoise

L' Angle Du Faubourg (Fauburg d' Angle - are these the same ? spelled right ?)

Bristal

Le Soleil

L' Assiette

Bellecour

Chez Catherine

Ze Kitchen Galerie

Les Bookinistes

If it were up to me, I would consider the following from your list, with restaurants with better cuisine listed first.

If Bristal = Bristol, Frechon clearly has the best cuisine of the restaurants you named.

La Regalade -- there are many threads on this board

L'Angle de Faubourg -- I have a thread on this board describing this restaurant

Flora -- This is not as good as L'Angle or La Regalade.

I have not visited the other restaurants you listed.

As I have mentioned repeatedly, there are good values for lunch at three-star levels (Lucas-Carton, Pierre Gagnaire and Grand Vefour). Consider L'Astrance, if you are booking at least a month ahead and can comply with stringent reservations procedures (see applicable old threads on this board).

[fresh_a]

Ze Kitchen Galerie is a great, light French cuisine inspired by the chef's favorite dishes, soups,pastas,marinated fishes, meat and poultry a la plancha , and great desserts. William Ledeuil , the chef and owner , once was Guy Savoys No1 chef, and is his business partner, owning with him, the Cap Vernet, Les Boucqinistes, Butte Chaillot, although recently relations between the two aren't very good. Great cuisine, art gallery ambience.

B ellecour is traditional Lyonnais cuisine, rated one Michelin star, the real thing, and the best value for a one star in Paris.

Auberge Bressane is decorated a bit kitchy, but a good value for hearty French fare in the 7th district

Le Soleil is a great lunch place if you're out scouting the Clignancourt Flea Markets. Great food, and a favorite with Ducasse...

[EV Andrew]

Thanks to the 3 of you for taking a moment to weigh in.

Le Soleil looks a good lunch option, as does L'Astrance if we can get in on saturday.

Will also try to sneak in a 3 star lunch as was suggested by cabrales.

Bristal was something different, but I would like to go to Bristol from dinner as my splurge - any thoughts ?

Ze Kitchen Galerie is looking like a dinner choice as is Le Regalade and L'Angle de Faubourg.

We are staying at HOTEL LUTETIA due to a very favorable rate, should I just run these restaurants by our concierge and check his tempature on the ones that you all did not comment on.

Also I was thinking about bringing a bottle of Oregon Pinot Noir made in a Burgundian style as a gift for the concierge - will this be well received ? I just thought it a nice gesture, as there 4 of us and we could chip in $10-$15 each and get a really tasty bottle.

Oh yeah, for Bux - this is my first trip to Paris as a adult, it was all about waiting for

sandwich guys to turn their signs from 10 francs to 5 before buying dinner last time I was there. The only real restaurant we ate in was La Coupole - is it still worth the visit ?

One more thing, a member of our party was trying to drag us to the restaurant at the eiffel tower. That set off all kinds of spidey-sense no way reflexes inside my stomach, can anyone confirm this so that I can take her to the mat with the "no go."

Thanks again y'all

Andrew

[cabrales]

I have never been to the Jules Vernes, the purportedly more "food oriented" restaurant in the Eiffel Tower, but there are several dining venues in the tower. Members providing input might wish to clarify which venue is being discussed.

[EV Andrew]

for clarification I was refering to Jules Vernes, but did not know the name.

BTW, will be sure to report back on the adventures.

Andrew

[Bux]

Reports I have heard about Jules Verne probably give it more credit for the food than I do. Bear in mind that I've never been there, but it's also worth noting that it's very low on my list of restaurants in which I have an interest in dining in. Why does your friend want to eat there? What has she heard about the food and from whom? I share your reflexes on this.

I rather like the Hotel Lutetia. Objectively it offers the advantages and disadvantages of a larger hotel, but it really seems intimate for it's size and I find it quite cozy. I also like the neighborhood which is fairly residential and yet within walking distance of many things. I'll note that I find Paris conducive to walking and will walk great lengths especially if the shops are interesting.

Any concierge who would snub a really tasty Oregon pinot noir doesn't deserve a gift. Typically the French are far less xenophobic and less chauvinistic than they used to be and generally speaking those stereotypes were just that--stereotypes. You can expect Jean-Luc Jean, the concierge, to be worldly and I would expect him to be curious about the wine. He may or may not have to share this with his team. You will find a team of helpful people manning the desk. Fresh_a may have a better view on how appropriate this gift may be, but we find American wine an excellent gift to bring to France. The best reaction I ever got was not from the recipient of a gift, but from a young woman checking baggage on a domestic flight continuing out of Paris. She discovered the Zinfandel in my hand luggage and smile broadly when she told me I didn't have to bring my own wine, as they made wine in France.

Your first adult trip? An interesting way to put that. I recall being so naive and on such a limited budget in Paris that we mistakenly assumed we coudn't even afford any restaurant listed in the Michelin. Fortunately I didn't know the places on our list of friends' recs were long listed in Michelin.

We seemed to spend a lot of time in the cafe at la Coupole in the sixties, meeting friends and just watching Paris. We also enjoyed a meal in the restaurant and la Coupole seemed the classic brasserie at the time. It's not changed that much, but it's changed enough that I've refused to go back. I'll suggest oysters on the terasse of le Dome nearby or Vaudeville for a brasserie meal. Others may have a more objective view regarding la Coupole.

[VivreManger]

I have been to two on the list, but neither recently.

L'Ardoise in December 2000

Les Bookinistes (now Bouquinistes) in May of 1997

For what it is worth: I would recommend the former over the latter. Although the former is a bit cramped. The food at L'Ardoise was considerably more inventive than that at Les Bouquin... I was quite disappointed with what was offered in the latter. L'Ardoise also offers better quality for its price.

Edited February 7, 2003 by VivreManger (log)

[Dave the Cook]

I had dinner at Jules Verne in 1998. It was ordinary.

By all means visit the Tower, but eat elsewhere.

[mogsob]

From your list, I can certainly recommend the following:

L' Assiette

Bellecour

Chez Catherine

Ze Kitchen Galerie

I would give a pass to Les Bookinistes (or however they are spelling it these days). My last two meals there were decidedly ordinary, save for the fruit soups which remain the highlight of the meal.

However, I know your NY list very well (save for Patio Dining -- ???) and many of the restaurants you list are favorites of mine as well. I would therefore recommend Chez Gramond to you, a very small (10 table) bistro across from the Luxembourg gardens. I would give you a rundown myself, but Patricia Wells does it much better than I ever could.

Chez Gramond Review

[42390]

I found Chez Grammond to be a good experience, the Grammonds are excellents hosts, the dining room small and charming. However, I considered it a bit expensive for what you get. Last April I spent a little over 100e for a plate of asparagus, some coq au vin, some cheese, and a grand marnier souffle. I had a half bottle of 85 Medoc also. There was no amuse or the tiny desserts you usually get at the starred places. I was wondering how their business is too, the

night I was there I had the dining room to myself.

Michelin doesn't even give it a Bibb Gourmand. I think there is better value among a number of the Michelin one stars. But if you are looking for classic dishes, well prepared, go there, but be prepared to spend a bit.

[Beachfan]

Le Regalade

As I have mentioned repeatedly, there are good values for lunch at three-star levels (Lucas-Carton, Pierre Gagnaire and Grand Vefour). Consider L'Astrance, if you are booking at least a month ahead and can comply with stringent reservations procedures (see applicable old threads on this board).

As a value guy, especially with the museums open late these days, I heartily endorse Cabrale's comments.

Cabby, I didn't know that Pierre Gagnaire did a value lunch but if it's on the order of Le Grand Vefour, I'll have to check it out next time.