lunch or dinner in Paris on March 6

[magnolia]

I may be in Paris next week and am trying to leave some time free for a decent lunch or dinner...not sure yet where I'll go, but if anyone would care to join me, speak up!

[Bux]

My regrets. I'll be in NY.

[SamanthaF]

Mmmm....

I'll see what I can do Maggie, would it be Okay if we stayed local to my office (Rue Royale).

I'll confirm attendance tomorrow.

S.

[thefoodhunter]

Sorry, but I'll be in NYC next week to. Hey Bux where are you in Paris? I am near the Canal St. Martin.

[Bux]

Sorry, that was a joke. I'm usually in NYC. I live in NYC. Maybe one week a year I'm in a Paris hotel. On the other hand, I do have my regrets when I'm not in France. We try to get there twice a year at least. We have relatives, by our daughter's marriage, in Brittany and close friends in the bas Languedoc. Lately Spain has been calling.

Now, if anyone is going to be in Lyon on the 30th or 31st of March or the 8th or 9th of April, that's another story.

[magnolia]

Scratch that...looks like my trip has been delayed, it will be either: the end of the week of March 18, possibly over the weekend too...or the week following that, but before March 27. I'll keep you all posted...you, too, Bux.

[cabrales]

magnolia -- If it's a Saturday or Sunday meal, I'd be happy for most days to have a meal (with some prior commitments being constraints). Maybe we could beg for a table at La Regelade, or go to Ghislaine Arabian.  Or try the place with gazelle and with ostrich carpaccio -- see "St John" under "United Kingdom and Ireland"  -- or the relatively new soup specialist restaurant. I'd be happy with any choice of restaurant.

On Ghislaine Arabian, nice execution and greater subtlety with respect to cuisine using beer than I had imagined. I ordered large, plump scallops in an emulsion of beer -- there were no bitter afternotes from the utilization of beer, and a nice complexity of flavoring. Then, Bresse chicken in half mourning with some of the last truffles of the season. The maitre d' offered me a free side of french fries, for which Arabian is relatively known.  They were nothing special.  The turbot cooked in beer entree was tempting, but required two people. I also declined the beef cooked in Geuze because of mad cow considerations.  The wine list is strong for a one-star, with a special section of better wines priced relatively well that Arabian is utilizing as a marketing tool. The sommelier was quite helpful, but I adhered to my original choice of a Bollinger R.D. 1988 (at less than 900 FF, or almost the price one would pay at Fauchon retail). A deserved one-star, although not yet at the two-star level that Arabian previously enjoyed at Ledoyen.

[magnolia]

Looks like March 24-26 or 27, maybe we could find *someplace* worth visiting and open Sunday night as I doubt I'd make it before mid-day given the train schedule...Let's keep each other posted and I'm open to all ideas.

[SamanthaF]

I'm confirmed to be in Paris next Wednesday 13th if anybody is around. As mentioned before, local to the Concorde/Madelaine area would be ideal.

[magnolia]

I am definitely going to be there from the evening of March 24 through the morning of March 27. I can have dinner on the 24th; lunch or dinner on March 25; and lunch on the 26th...

[cabrales]

magnolia -- This time around, unfortunately, I won't be able to join you. I am only in Paris for the weekend, leaving before even an early/quick Sundy dinner on the 24th would be done.  :confused:  Please let us know, if you are so inclined, your restaurant exploits during the trip.