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Francois Simon

John Talbott

By John Talbott
in France: Dining

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John Talbott

John Talbott

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Des nouvelles de Paris? Et comment! Guy Savoy continue l'expansion de son empire avec cette fois-ci avec une fort belle affaire: l'acquisition de la table du Chiberta, rue Arsène-Houssaye (près de l'Étoile) que le banquier d'affaires, Marc Fiorentino, vient de lui céder. Les travaux commencent dès maintenant avec une réouverture réenvisagée en Juillet. L'architecte Jean-Michel Wilmotte poursuivra sa collaboration avec Guy Savoy autour d'un concept qui n'a pas encore été précisé.

[May be worth a visit early on when prices are still OK and guidebooks don't feature it, like Les Bookinistes and le Bistro de l'Etoile, etc. were at their inception]

L'autre bonne nouvelle, vient du restaurant le Bellecour, rue Surcouf, à Paris. Il vient d'être cédé à des gens épatants, que nous avions connus aux Ormes, rue Chapu, dans le seizième arrondissement. Ils sont à pied d'œuvre depuis peu. Logiquement, ça vaut plus que le coup: (01.45.51.46.93).

[it will be interesting to see what Stéphane Molé's team does in this venerable place much more conveniently located than Rue Chapu where the cooking was very good if not indeed stunning]

John Talbott

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  • 1 year later...
fresh_a

fresh_a

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Thought this was a pretty interesting read...

Anti-alcoholics are unfortunates in the grip of water, that terrible poison, so corrosive that out of all substances it has been chosen for washing and scouring, and a drop of water added to a clear liquid like Absinthe, muddles it." ALFRED JARRY

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bleudauvergne

bleudauvergne

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Yes, this is an interesting article.

"Simon's work is comparable to that of certain American journalists who have kept the independence so indispensable to food criticism," says pastry chef extraordinaire Pierre Hermé. "It's very rare to find that here."

To hear Simon tell it, the world of French haute cuisine is an old boys' network of friends extending patronage, with many critics receiving unofficial bribes for their glowing praise. Simon's writings have sometimes hinted at freemasonry, said to be particularly active among French chefs, and listening to him one might get the impression that la gastronomie has made him slightly paranoid.

"There are all these traps laid out for you to enter the grand house of food," Simon says. "But I'm outside of that house and I think that's where a critic should be." According to Michel Guérard, the three-star chef at Les Prés d'Eugénie and a devoted reader of Simon's columns, "he has the idiosyncrasy of being a food-world hermit. He never mixes with anyone; he always acts alone. He is unbuyable."

Lucy's Kitchen Notebook
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John Whiting

John Whiting

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Of the many places Simon feels you can do without, two classics are worth mentioning: Paris's revered La Tour d'Argent, where he believes the acclaimed duck entrée is precooked, and the Saint-Germain bistro Allard, where he says the chicken is lousy and cut à la "chain-saw massacre."

Bravo! I shall add his trenchant comment to my own unhappy encounter with an Allard chicken.

John Whiting, London

Whitings Writings

Top Google/MSN hit for Paris Bistros

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John Whiting

John Whiting

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According to Michel Guérard, the three-star chef at Les Prés d'Eugénie and a devoted reader of Simon's columns, "he has the idiosyncrasy of being a food-world hermit. He never mixes with anyone; he always acts alone. He is unbuyable."

It's very interesting that this comes from the inventor of Cuisine Minceur, so often confused with the Gault-Millau-promoted Nouvelle Cuisine that followed him. It takes a hermit to know a hermit.

John Whiting, London

Whitings Writings

Top Google/MSN hit for Paris Bistros

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Carlsbad

Carlsbad

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The pressed duck at La Tour d'Argent is partially pre-cooked, but that's not really news. When we ordered it at lunch, they brought out the whole duck that had been partially roasted to display it to us. Then it was taken to a stage-like area, where one of the captains cut off the breast meat in thin slices, and prepared its sauce in pan over an open flame. The legs and thighs were removed, and then sent back to the kitchen for further roasting. The carcass was pressed, and the juice added to the pan. The thin strips of rare breast meat were warmed in the sauce and served with little pillows of puffed potato. The leg and thigh were later served as a separate course with a small salad. It's a dish worth having once for the history, especially when you get to enjoy the view. I doubt I would ever return unless someone else was buying.

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  • 6 months later...
fresh_a

fresh_a

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I've been looking for this show's video archive for ages... FS reviews, Candid Camera style, Paris' hottest tables.... highly recommended!

Check out the videos....

Anti-alcoholics are unfortunates in the grip of water, that terrible poison, so corrosive that out of all substances it has been chosen for washing and scouring, and a drop of water added to a clear liquid like Absinthe, muddles it." ALFRED JARRY

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John Talbott

John Talbott

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I've been looking for this show's video archive for ages... FS reviews, Candid Camera style, Paris' hottest tables.... highly recommended!

Check out the videos....

Thanks Fresh, but this link's ones are quite old. Do you know if they post new ones weekly?

John Talbott

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fresh_a

fresh_a

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The site says it does. But the links aren't up yet for the new stuff..

Anti-alcoholics are unfortunates in the grip of water, that terrible poison, so corrosive that out of all substances it has been chosen for washing and scouring, and a drop of water added to a clear liquid like Absinthe, muddles it." ALFRED JARRY

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Chocolate & Zucchini

Chocolate & Zucchini

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I've just found this, which seems to contain more recent reviews:

http://www.parispremierevod.fr/cms/display.jsp?id=p2_324253

(Note: They ask that you install stuff and I personally haven't been able to make it work -- I use Firefox on a Mac, it's not like it's an unusual configuration, but don't get me started -- but I'm guessing it should work on a PC with Internet Explorer.)

Clotilde.

blog in English / blog in French / dining moblog
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Dave Hatfield

Dave Hatfield

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I've just found this, which seems to contain more recent reviews:

http://www.parispremierevod.fr/cms/display.jsp?id=p2_324253

(Note: They ask that you install stuff and I personally haven't been able to make it work -- I use Firefox on a Mac, it's not like it's an unusual configuration, but don't get me started -- but I'm guessing it should work on a PC with Internet Explorer.)

Clotilde.

Got it to work, but with some difficulty.

It ONLY workd on a PC with Explorer. No MAC & No Firefox.

I guess it would be OK IF you have very high speed connections. The video I downloaded (#4 Le Violin d'Ingres) was 38.8 MB and took nearly 8 minutes to download over my 1mb connection.

Not really worth it IMHO. Lots of out of focus shots & close ups. Lots of repitition. The food did look good, but didn't look worth over 250 euros to me.

AKA Yank,
http://www.frenchfoodfocus.com/

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/104472-egfoodblog-dave-hatfield/

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/143664-eg-foodblog-dave-hatfield-la-france-profonde/

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/145926-eg-foodblog-dave-hatfield-a-food-adventure/

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fresh_a

fresh_a

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It's for FS fans! I couldn't get the new stuff to work either (MAC)

Anti-alcoholics are unfortunates in the grip of water, that terrible poison, so corrosive that out of all substances it has been chosen for washing and scouring, and a drop of water added to a clear liquid like Absinthe, muddles it." ALFRED JARRY

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fresh_a

fresh_a

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The old stuff I can see, but the "VOD" section with the most recent stuff doesn't work on my mac, what did you do?

Anti-alcoholics are unfortunates in the grip of water, that terrible poison, so corrosive that out of all substances it has been chosen for washing and scouring, and a drop of water added to a clear liquid like Absinthe, muddles it." ALFRED JARRY

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John Talbott

John Talbott

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The old stuff I can see, but the "VOD" section with the most recent stuff doesn't work on my mac, what did you do?

No idea. I have an IBM connected via France Telecom/Aol ADSL and I have no trouble.

By the way, thanks to both Fresh_a and Dave for the links.

John Talbott

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naf

naf

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It is stated in the site of Paris Premiere VOD FAQ that they are not supporting Mac. Only in only a few weeks time, they will support Firefox on PC.

Annoying! Don't they know there are enough Mac users around?

Edited by naf (log)
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