A week in Paris

[weinoo]

First off, thanks a million to Mr. Talbott for so many great suggestions - couldn't have done it without your help, John! Pudlo, Greene thrown in for good measure as well.

Without getting into too much detail, suffice to say that 5 lunches and 7 dinners were had during our visit - Paris weather was beautiful and cold, and we walked some days up to 10 miles, which resulted in a net weight gain of only 2 pounds - easily subtractable once home in New York!!

I really wanted to keep us within a budget of less than 100 euros for dinner (with wine) and 50 euros for lunch (for 2), and was able to do that for all except for 1 notable exception - and that was our least favorite meal of the trip!!

In no apparent order, we ate lunch at:

La Table d'Hote - 7th - finding Café Constant closed on a Monday, we wandered into this tiny (18 seats - large communal tables) place for a tasty little lunch - 35 euros worth. Just up the street from Constant.

Le Café Press - 2nd - 12 euro formula lunch (2 courses); what a deal and damn good food - packed and we were definitely the only non-French speakers in the place.

Café Constant - 7th - a nice walk up rue Saint-Dominique from the Musee d'Orsay, the food here was yummy. I do believe they have a 16 euro formula downstairs in the bar; we ate upstairs, and a la carte we splurged at 47 euros for lunch. My braised duck with crispy spaetzle just rocked.

Dominique-Bouchet - 8th - our most expensive meal, and what can I say but quite a disappointment…the desserts were stellar, but the food just did not move me. And everything needed salt (except dessert, which was properly salted). At 150 euros, I expect so much more.

L'Abadache - 17th - Another superb meal - 16 euro formula - fun, funky, delicious…big hunk of roasted veal, perfectly cook, surrounded by a mound of also perfectly cooked vegetables with a delicious veal reduction…I'd eat here 5 times instead of 1 meal at d-b.

And then there was dinner:

Chez Flottes - 1st - Should have stuck with my original plan, and John's suggestion of Brasserie Lorraine for our "brasserie meal." But I was deceived by the article in Figarscope which rated this as the top brasserie in Paris - what?! - needless to say, quite a disappointment, and not what we expected at all…live and learn. Service was non-existent, to say the least, and the food was, shall we say, unmemorable. Avoid, please, unless you like spending 100 euros on crap.

Aux Lyonnais - 2nd - Excellent - plenty has been said before; just be careful if they send you upstairs for your after dinner café - they may just forget you're up there!

Le Comptoir du Relais - 5th - what can I say - I thought our food was great, we had a lovely time with a nice bottle of wine, 5 courses including a giant cheese platter, and 95 euros for two. As an example, our main was lamb saddle and kidney with roasted cepes, perfectly cooked and delicious. There was also a superb raw scallop dish, and a lovely soup. Easily worth the trouble, but someone else made the reservations for us, so…

La Cerisaie - 14th - Delicious food and sweet service, a tiny place. John has talked this place up, and rightfully so. Lots of game - my main was wild duck and really good, while my s.o. had wild boar - excellent and NON-SMOKING - thank you!

Le Pamphlet - 3rd - This was a nice find, as we were pointed to this lovely restaurant by way of a Parisian gallery owner, A 30 euro 3 course dinner, served with a platter of charcuterie as a starter, really shined. Nice wine list, good service, nice neighborhood, and 5 minutes from our apartment - who knew?!

La Famille - 18th - we had great fun here, as the staff is so nice (and good looking too, my wife loved the guys!). Fun, inventive food, much different than any of our other meals in Paris. I also left quite drunk, as they make a mean mojito and then forced us to sit at the bar for a limoncello after dinner! The menu was, to the best of my recollection, 35 euros.

Le Vin de Zinc - 11th - wanted to go to Au Bascou or Mon Viel Ami for our last dinner, but waited too long to make reservations (it was a Friday night). So we wandered over to rue Oberkampf to try this little wine bar, and had quite a nice dinner - my scallops roasted in the shell with a fingerling potato served with each shell were quite tasty (5 huge scallops were 20 euros). We actually ended up going over 100 here (106), but I think that had something to do with the number of glasses of wine we had (as well as the calvados). Fine, if limited, wine list!

We also tried a couple of wine bars that are worth mentioning, including the one above as well as:

Le Barometre in the 3rd and Le Rouge Gorge in the 4th.

In other areas, there is a wonderful photography show at L'Hotel de Ville - Willy Ronis a Paris - he was a contemporary of Cartier-Bresson (still alive at 95) and this show was awesome - free too. Thru the 16th of February, 2006.

[Lori in PA]

Sigh. It all sounds lovely and (altogether now) makes me want to go back.

[Carlsbad]

Makes me want to go back, too. I'm glad you liked Le Pamphlet- I thought it was great.

[weinoo]

I'm glad you liked Le Pamphlet- I thought it was great.

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Yeah, it was a great find...and not on our list when we left NY.

As an aside - I really enjoyed the fact that most, if not all, of the restaurants we ate in had no (or very soft) music playing - it's quite a pleasure to actually be able to hold a conversation with the people you're dining with.

OTOH, for people who take their food so seriously, the smoking issue really is one I have trouble with. From the minute they walk into a restaurant, people are lighting up - tell me, doesn't that dull the taste buds? Can't they go an hour or two without a smoke?

I LOVE New York's anti-smoking rules - it makes drinking & dining a much more pleasurable experience, imo.

[Bux]

. . . .

OTOH, for people who take their food so seriously, the smoking issue really is one I have trouble with.  From the minute they walk into a restaurant, people are lighting up - tell me, doesn't that dull the taste buds? Can't they go an hour or two without a smoke?

I LOVE New York's anti-smoking rules - it makes drinking & dining a much more pleasurable experience, imo.

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In terms of subjective taste, I place the food of Italy behind both Spain and France in terms of my interest, but I was absolutely delighted to find that it is against the law to smoke in restaurants in Italy and the law was observed to the letter in all the places in which we ate from the simplest pizzaria to the most formal three star establishement. There are pros and cons to traveling on your stomach in any country, but Italy gets a big plus in this regard.

[weinoo]

. . . .

OTOH, for people who take their food so seriously, the smoking issue really is one I have trouble with.  From the minute they walk into a restaurant, people are lighting up - tell me, doesn't that dull the taste buds? Can't they go an hour or two without a smoke?

I LOVE New York's anti-smoking rules - it makes drinking & dining a much more pleasurable experience, imo.

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In terms of subjective taste, I place the food of Italy behind both Spain and France in terms of my interest, but I was absolutely delighted to find that it is against the law to smoke in restaurants in Italy and the law was observed to the letter in all the places in which we ate from the simplest pizzaria to the most formal three star establishement. There are pros and cons to traveling on your stomach in any country, but Italy gets a big plus in this regard.

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I still find my subjective love for Italian food outweighs that of French or Spanish cuisine, and it was quite a treat on our last trip to Rome to be able to dine without smoke. Nothing wrong with stepping outside for a cig.

[Marianne]

After having sent in my Spring report I thought the other restaurants I visited last week might also be of interest. So, here is a translation of the relevant parts of a report I wrote for my Dutch friends.

Thursday 17 May, the first night of a glorious week in Paris. For a while I had been wanting to try out the restaurant Et dans mon cœur il y a, just around the corner. Well, I should have gone before. When I now think back, the image of the interior is that of the “Charleston-dresses-and-long-pearl-necklaces” type. A nice atmosphere, a friendly and attentive service, lots of bobos.

The food was delicious. As an entrée I had a dish from the ardoise; crème celeris au foie gras pôelé. It was, as you say, to die for, so good. I’ll certainly be having that again if I get the chance. My main, a steak de thon mi cuit écrasé (look that word up in your dictionary) de broccolis et vinaigrette aux noisettes torréfiées, was perfect. I skipped dessert, had only coffee.

Et dans mon Coeur il y a, 56, Rue Lancry, 10th, 01 42 38 07 37

Friday we went to Spring, see separate report.

Saterday was a disaster of our own making, I’ll skip that part.

Sunday I had homemade tender asparagus with egg, ham, cleared butter, chives. All ingredients bought on the Sunday Bastille market, scrumptious.

Monday I went to the Maison du Jardin. Pleasant interior in pastel salmon. I think I was the only non-French person there. Service was friendly and attentive. My starter was a buisson (which translates as scrubs, bushes) of haricots verts with foie gras. Nothing special, quite nice; several kinds of salad, chervil, tomato, choux, in a subtle dressing and very thin slices of foie gras. As a main I chose salmon with penne and a sauce crustacés (crab I think). Again, a solidly prepared dish, but no sparks. I contemplated a dessert of tuiles caramelisées which sounded very appealing, but decided to be strong this time. With the meal I had a half bottle (they did not seem to serve wine by the glass) of Pouilly Fumé which I did not finish. Still, I sort of rolled out of the restaurant. On my way home I passed the Musee de Luxembourg; the René Lalique exposition was on (art nouveau jewellery) and on impulse I decided to have a look. I’m not much of a jewellery person, but I very much enjoyed it.

Maison du Jardin, 27 Rue Vaurigard, 6th , 01 45 48 22 31

No dinner that evening; I went to see and hear jazz coryphée Mark Murphy in New Morning. Wow!

Tuesday

Paris a Nous had a listing of the best new restaurants this year and, again, Rich was mentioned, so I decided to try it out.

The impressive marbled entrance of the building looks rather private-club-like. The restaurant itself - pleasantly quiet and with pluche seating in autumn colour schemes- screams “business-lunch”.

Service was friendly and attentive. As entrée I chose the nems de poulet menthe et sucrine. It was beautifully presented (see photo by Laidback in the topic “two more samples”) but……. although I liked the combination with the salad/mint leaves and although the sucrine was quite good, I found the nems themselves rather tasteless.

Then, being in an oriental mood, I had the surprême poulet sauce satay as a main. It wasn’t bad, but nothing special. The chicken I even found quite dry. I do not really have a recollection of the dessert of tarte fine aux pommes maison. I guess I just chose the wrong dishes here.

Rich, 14 Rue Cadet 9th, 01 48 01 87 87

That night I dined at Les Jumeaux . A modern spacious interior and – that night – only English speaking guests. Nice service and an attractive looking menu with starter, main and dessert plus a glass of wine for euros 34. As a starter I opted for the foie gras pôelé on an artichoke heart, with sel de mer and a roquette sorbet. I accompanied this with a glass Monbrazillac. It was good, although I thought the artichoke heart, big and hard, lacked flavour. The foie gras, was delicious and I really liked the roquette sorbet too. The plat du jour was a filet mignon de porc moutarde with choux fleurettes. The porc was ok, but the cauliflower......, well I did not like it. The dessert of tatin d’abricot rôti et romain was good and so was the coffee. Les Jumeaux, 73 Rue Amelot, 11th, 01 43 14 27 00.

Wednesday

Felice mentioned somewhere on this site that lunch at Le Chateaubriand might be a bit risky. But, I really wanted to go there and since there would be no time in the evening it would have to be lunch. Boy, am I glad I went! I was there quite early, at 12.15 o’clock and the place was almost deserted. One of the entrées, soupe idiazabal with cherry tomatoes caught my eye. I had never heard of idiazabal (which I now know is a Bask cheese) and decided to give it a try. A frothy lukewarm broth with a wonderful, not overpowering, cheese flavour, baked cherry- and sundried tomatoes and little chive flowers shattered over it. It looked good and tasted divine! After that I had the plat du jour, a confit de canard on a bed on mashed potatoes, perhaps a bit oversalted for my taste, but very, very good anyway. This lunch with a glass of Cheverny and a cup of coffee came to euros 19! By the time I left, people were in line waiting to be seated. I’ll be back, next time for dinner.

Le Chateaubriand, 129 Avenue Parmentier, 11th ,01 43 57 45 95

It being my last night, I had to spend the evening doing household chores and did not have time for a lengthy dinner. So I paid a short visit to the pizza place Maria-Luisa. In a buzzing atmosphere, they indeed do serve very, very good pizza’s, with a friendly smile.

Maria-Luisa, 2 Rue Maria Louisa, 10th, 01 44 84 04 01

Note: looking back I now realise I’ve had foie gras far too often this week. But, I love it so.

Edited May 31, 2007 by Marianne (log)

[John Talbott]

Thanks for the great report even though many of the places I like/liked got a bit trashed. But it seems to me that this sentence is tantalizing:

Saterday was a disaster of our own making, I’ll skip that part.

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Remember, we can all learn from your worst as well as your best experiences.

[Ptipois]

I am of the same mind as Felice about Le Châteaubriand: it is a risky place. But it is also a place that is worth taking risks, and very few restaurants can claim this particularity. When it is good, it is amazing. When it is bad, it is terrible. But even in spite of my bad experiences there, I still recommend the place.

[Marianne]

Thanks for the great report even though many of the places I like/liked got a bit trashed. But it seems to me that this sentence is tantalizing:

Saterday was a disaster of our own making, I’ll skip that part.

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Remember, we can all learn from your worst as well as your best experiences.

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John, the thing is, I've learned to have an enormous respect for your judgement, so the majority of the restaurants I go to are ones you have recommended. In general I fully agree with you, but sometimes I can't. I guess Tueday was just not my lucky day. I'm no expert, so my word should not be taken too seriously anyway.

[Felice]

I am of the same mind as Felice about Le Châteaubriand: it is a risky place. But it is also a place that is worth taking risks, and very few restaurants can claim this particularity. When it is good, it is amazing. When it is bad, it is terrible. But even in spite of my bad experiences there, I still recommend the place.

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I definitely agree, I have had two wonderful meals at Châteaubriand and one that just didn't work for me which was a disappointment since the first two experiences were exceptional. But, I would still recommend it and was even thinking of going again this weekend.

I think Marianne got the idea that I thought Châteaubriand was a 'risky' place to go for lunch because after John T reported a terrible lunchtime experience, I replied that the lunch menu was VERY different from the dinner menu and it seemed unfair to compare the two. To me it would be like comparing the Comtoir's lunch and dinner menu or even Transversal's.

I will have to try Châteaubriand for lunch one Saturday after Marianne's positive review.

[Laidback]

I'm no expert, so my word should not be taken too seriously anyway.

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Marianne don't underestimate the taste of "no experts". I find that many of the pros get so burned out that they start stretching for something interesting to write and in so doing fail to give us a basic report, to wit, François Simon's rather silly recent critique of Fontaine Fiacre which I have visited for a €15 lunch 3 times recently and found it quite imaginative, especially at the bargain basement price, whereas "Simple Simon"only concentrated on a tiny portion of the carte, which you must request by name, which is devoted to the health conscious among us...cute but not representative of a real life experience by someone like you.

[John Talbott]

I'm no expert, so my word should not be taken too seriously anyway.

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Marianne don't underestimate the taste of "no experts". I find that many of the pros get so burned out that they start stretching for something interesting to write and in so doing fail to give us a basic report, to wit, François Simon's rather silly recent critique of Fontaine Fiacre which I have visited for a €15 lunch 3 times recently and found it quite imaginative, especially at the bargain basement price, whereas "Simple Simon"only concentrated on a tiny portion of the carte, which you must request by name, which is devoted to the health conscious among us...cute but not representative of a real life experience by someone like you.

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I agree wholeheartedly. You are an expert by dint of your willingness to choose, go to, savor, think about and write up restaurants intelligently.

Chefs and kitchens have on and off days, places are stunning the first week/month, then flame out after their "discovery;" (other places mature which is why some critics like Rosa Jackson wait a long time before going) and except for Burger King and its ilk, no place rotely turns out the same product the same way every day (recall Rex Harrison explaining how he could do, was it 5000 performances of My Fair Lady?, without going nuts.) Then too, two people can taste the same dish and disagree as to the quality of product, doneness, accompaniments, etc.

The best we as consumers can do is triangulate the wisdom of friends, touts, the media and eGullet" sources.

Now to Francois Simon. He probably deserves an entire new thread because he's one of the most interesting, intruiging and infuriating critics there is. More times than not I finish a "Croque Notes" and say to myself - "Huh?" He prides himself on being a journalist, uses arcane words and obscure references, and has standards that are not always clear. I agree with Laidback that the Fontaine Fiacre has inventive cooking as I wrote last year. Maybe he got out of the wrong side of the bed that day, maybe his wife and he had an argument (Bocuse's explanation of why couples driving to his place from Lyon sometimes don't like his food) or maybe he was trying to make a point - although that's strange since in his book he touts healthy food, good fresh seasonal products, etc.

Anyway, you're an expert and keep it up.

[John Whiting]

(other places mature which is why some critics like Rosa Jackson wait a long time before going)

Which probably helps Time Out Paris Eating and Drinking to remain the most all-round useful guide in English, despite the longish gaps between new editions. It's the right put-in-your-pocket guide for those who care more about decent food at decent prices than being in the vanguard of peripatetic foodies.

[JeffKoontz]

I'll put a caveat that I do not have a great memory to menu details, but can definitely give my impression and opinion on the various wonderful meals we had with highlights.

(For the entire trip we ate lunch on the run - a baguette here, a crepe there - the only sit downs we had were dinner - so if you're wondering about lunch...)

Friday June 29 - A little foolishness to start the night - venturing out without reservations, we decided to try a place that takes none - and as we were arriving on the late side of things were turned away by Atelier du Joel Rubuchon (and Cafe Rive Gauche), we were able though to find a table for two at the Ferme St. Simon (7th arr) - who were kind enough to accommodate us at the tail end of service. The Cote de Boeuf for two was very good - I believe with a very tasty bone marrow sauce - The place was cozy and the service was very friendly and unassuming. I'm not sure I'd go way out of my way to dine here, but was a very pleasant unexpected surprise (we were getting desperate).

Saturday June 30 - An e-Gullet recommendation - Ze Kitchen Galerie (Latin Quarter)- What a great meal - very difference from many of the other restaurants we visited. Wasn't sure the wait staff was as happy to have a couple of English speakers - but it sure wasn't reflected in the food. Sorry, having a real difficult time remembering specifics - but we would definitely go back.

Sunday July 1 - Bofinger (Bastille) - Wanted to sample the traditional Parisian Brasserie and got it in spades. Probably should have gotten the oysters, but got the Charcroute and a bottle of Gewürztraminer and my wife was over-ruled by our waiter on the Andouillet AAAAA - we saw this later on a plate - I think she could have handled it - but ended up with veal. The Charcroute was great with the different meats and heaping piles of sauerkraut kept warm over a table top warming tray. Dessert was a little over the top - we split the Baba, and our waiter drowned the cake in the rum, and then as if to challenge us, left the rest of the bottle on the table. Clearly a ploy - it needed no more. Great experience overall..

Monday July 2 - Pierre Gagnaire (8th)- thanks to e-Gulleters again for recommending the ala carte options over the degustation. Each course came with 5-6 variations on the theme. Pre-amuse, Amuse, snacks for the apertifs - and then (I'm getting ahead of myself - Grand Desert de Pierre Gagnier - 9 different desserts per order - that's right, 9 - fortunately we just ordered one dessert less the need to pull a couple of tables together - Actually a table of 4 across from us ordered 4 grand desserts - it was insanity) - Started with the lobster - unbelievable - wife had a mushroom dish that should have included a seafood component - they replaced it with this piece of architecture that was nowhere to be found on the menu - and I can't imagine where/how they produced this item (needed a pic of this one). Main course - My wife had the lamb - fantastic - we loved the lamb sweetbreads. I can't remember what I had (maybe too much wine). I'm probably not being as detailed as I need to be to adequately describe how good this meal was - Fantastic innovation - and fantastic service. One of my favorites of all time.

Tuesday July 3 - Les Crayeres /Reims - (Great Hotel as well) - dinner was superb, although they didn't have the flexibility to trade out the seafood dishes for my wife on the Champagne Tasting menu - so we went ala carte again. Got a bottle of Gosset Rose (some good vintage year that the sommelier recommended) - interesting note was that we saw the exact same bottle recommended by the sommelier at Pre Catalan Thursday - Curious??) I will say that we had an exceptional meal, but was unfortunately on the heels of Pierre Gagnaire. They offer coffee in their bar area - which I highly recommend - a true 'Great Gatsby' experience. The Cafe Les Crayeres was also superb - essentially an Irish coffee with a champagne grappa (or thereabouts as well as I could drag a comparison in English out of the bartender) The creme on top was a creme that had been frothed in the espresso machine and then whipped into a tight meringue and spooned on top.

Wednesday July 4 - Brasserie Le Bouingrin /Reims - Another traditional brasserie, but being in Reims the highlight was just about any Non-Vintage 750ml bottle of Champagne from about 30 houses were all priced at 40 Euro's each. In the good ole US of A, there wouldn't have been a bottle under $90 at a restaurant. I think we went with the Taitinger - having toured their cave on Tuesday. Hard to remember too many details - had a very respectable escargot for my entree, and a dessert that integrated the Fossier biscuit - which is a bit overhyped yet tasty biscuit. (Having been to the shop now, I can say that their fresh macaroons, and liquor filled chocolate corks are better)

Thursday July 6, Le Pre Catalan / Paris / Bois de Boulogne - A bit out of the way and an expensive cab ride - especially back to our hotel - but I am ahead of myself. Very nice dining room in a park setting - we were towards the back in a room with many windows onto the park. Very romantic setting. The main gentleman serving us, was happy to converse in English and help us with our selections - although - he was, in my mind, almost condescending in his approach to us. He tried to persuade my wife away from some of her choices - that ended up being very good - bone marrow served several ways, Veal sweetbreads. (assumed we didn't know what a sweetbread was) I can't remember exactly what I had Turbot for the main course - The desserts were the highlights -One- an apple dessert in a glucose apple shell with some sort of (I hate to use this as a descriptor) pop-rock type element in the filling. Really, really fun to eat - I was laughing through dessert. What wasn't that fun was that we were presented our check (and a taxi had been called) - we presented our credit card - and as their machines were down at the time, they hand wrote a credit card receipt and delivered it for a signature - unfortunately it was now 30 Euro's higher than the bill. I pointed this out, and they apologized (and put the blame on 'the girl up front' as she's not used to doing it by hand). Although, I give them some benefit of the doubt - I didn't like our server's somewhat patronizing ways, and am hopeful this was an honest mistake. However, after it was corrected, and we arrived at our cab, the meter was already over 20 Euros - some of which, I'm sure was the trip to the restaurant..nevertheless..

All in all, some mighty fine food on this trip - all were great experiences - and the city of Reims itself was a really relaxing and fun city to explore.

Good eating...

Jeff

[Bu Pun Su]

Thanks for the review Jeff

Any pictures? I'm very curious about Pierre Gagnaire and Les Crayeres

[JeffKoontz]

Thanks for the review Jeff

Any pictures? I'm very curious about Pierre Gagnaire and Les Crayeres

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Unfortunately, as far as food goes, I've never taken a camera to dinner - not that I have a stance one way or another about taking pics of dinner, just that I'm not comfortable and relaxed at dinner if I'm worrying about photos.

There are photos of Pierre Gagnaire on this forum if you do a search.. Both were fantastic, and if you stay at Les Crayeres, I can't imagine a better 1-2 punch than dining and staying there.

[eljo]

We have similar plans for next month - a few days in Paris, 2 nights at Les Crayeres, and back to Paris for a few days. I don't think we will have as many grand meals as you did, though. We are having dinner at Les Crayeres our first night. Glad to know you enjoyed it. It seems to have fallen off the charts since the original chef retired, but I have wanted to visit for years so we are going for it this time.

Do you have any advice for touring and visiting the Champagne houses and countryside? We will only have one day for this, though I gather there are some wineries right in Reims that we might be able to visit while we are touring the town. Did you book tours in advance, etc. I thought I might ask the hotel to make some arrangements for us. We definitely want to visit some smaller, independent makers but don't have any specific ones in mind. Our French-speaking ability is almost non-existent, though we have managed a fair amount of wine-touring in France with reasonably amiable vignerons.

Many thanks.

[Vinotas]

Do you have any advice for touring and visiting the Champagne houses and countryside?  We will only have one day for this, though I gather there are some wineries right in Reims that we might be able to visit while we are touring the town.  Did you book tours in advance, etc.  I thought I might ask the hotel to make some arrangements for us.  We definitely want to visit some smaller, independent makers but don't have any specific ones in mind.  Our French-speaking ability is almost non-existent, though we have managed a fair amount of wine-touring in France with reasonably amiable vignerons.

Many thanks.

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Thanks for the reviews, I've only been to Le Boulingrin, which was as you described it. We drank a bottle of NV Billecart Salmon for 40 Euros, and lunch was just fantastic.

As for visiting the Champagne houses in one day, the best bet is to stay within or close to Reims. Once outside of town the roads are winding and getting from point A to point B can take a LOT longer than the map shows.

I strongly recommend setting up an appointment at Ruinart, they speak English, and they have huge caves deep underground that are amazing.

Cheers!

[TarteTatin]

Epernay is really not far at all, I'd say a half hour?

We've visited the Champagne region twice.

Just a year or so ago, and about 20 years ago.

Lots of places to go and visit, no problem with visits to Champagne house- and English. Even the small ones are good.

Mesnil-sur-Ay - where Salon is, also has Pierre Peters, some of the best Champagne I've ever had.

Mareuil-sur-Ay is where we stayed, at a Champagne house/also Gite-called Guy Charbaut. A bit like Fawlty Towers, but good.

Lots and lots of restaurant recommends in the area. I know there are some threads listed...

[kphilbin]

I have been to Paris many times..........but mostly as a penniless student in the 1970s

I have finally got enough money together to spend a week.........next week .........in Paris on a 6 day trip........ with cash at LAST !!!

I need help to eat well

My only memories are of Brasserie Lipp and L'Ami Louis

I need a few bistros and a few Michelin starred recommendations

Any thoughts ?

[George Baugh]

I have been to Paris many times..........but mostly as a penniless student in the 1970s

I have finally got enough money together to spend a week.........next week .........in Paris on a 6 day trip........ with cash at LAST !!!

I need help to eat well

My only memories are of Brasserie Lipp and L'Ami Louis

I need a few bistros and a few Michelin starred recommendations

Any thoughts ?

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There are so many options, you need to be more specific. Where are you staying, how much do you want to spend? etc.

And be prepared for sticker shock. That meal that cost you 25 francs in the seventies will cost you 25 euros today (about 165 francs).

[John Talbott]

I have been to Paris many times..........but mostly as a penniless student in the 1970s

I have finally got enough money together to spend a week.........next week .........in Paris on a 6 day trip........ with cash at LAST !!!

I need help to eat well

My only memories are of Brasserie Lipp and L'Ami Louis

I need a few bistros and a few Michelin starred recommendations

Any thoughts ?

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I just put the following into the Search function: Visit, trip, days, week, best and got three pages of member's queries and replies as well as trip reports. You'll also find a recent topic below with up to date recommendations. Good luck.

[John Talbott]

I don't want to be unresponsive myself, so in addition to the topics suggested above, I'll give some very personal responses:

For great old stars: le Bristol, Ducasse, Gagnaire, Table de Joel Robuchon.

For newer neat stars: Ze Kitchen Galerie, le Meurice, Fables de la Fontaine, Bigarrade, l’Atelier de Joel Robuchon.

Bistronomic: Paul Bert, Grand Pan, Afaria, Repaire de Cartouche.

Bursts on the Scene: Café Constant, Cantine de Troquet, les Papilles, Clocher Periere.

Seafood spots: La Maree, Goumard, Bistrot du Dome, Rech.

Meat: Severo/Bis de Severo, Meating, Jeu de Quilles.

In hibernation: Spring.

Brand newbies: Table d’Eugene, Mon Oncle, Au Gout Dujour.

TBR: Passage 53, Fabrique 4, Le Petit Curieux, Yam’Tcha.

Beloved by others: l'Ami Louis, Helene Darroze, l'Astrance, Villaret, Caius.

[tupac17616]

Without some more specific information, it's going to be very difficult to help, but for now I'll play the word association game:

bistro -- whole foie gras for 2 at Chez l'Ami Jean

Michelin starred place -- lunch at Arpege