Parigi's Profile
Septime v Saturne
"Wine bars or Parigi's suggestion both work fairly beautifully I think. 'Can't go wrong so see how we feel on the day' territory!"
If the weather is crappy, - and it won't, just won't be on your honeymoon, - a good backup just a block away from Albion but much better, - is Vivant. Even the romantic but funky décor cooperates. Next to Jancou are two very hip bars, not posh like l'Hôtel, but very funky.
Septime v Saturne
If you do go to Saturne, try to specify in your reservation the two seats at the bar counter ("au comptoir, devant la cuisine"). Not only will you two be alone and separated from the main room with iffy acoustics, but you will also look into the kitchen action. -- You are well separated from the waiters' paths and won't be jostled, don't worry. Those two are our must-reserve seats there.
Ideally for a food-focused trip, one should go crescendo, but after Guy Savoy and Châteaubriand, it's hard to keep on crescendo-ing. And definitely Albion ain't crescendo.
Since there are so much good restauran dining for your short stay, and if you are coming in the summer, why not a pull-all-stop picnic by the Seine with foie gras, bubblies, what-have-you,, in lieu of another restaurant dinner?
The Charcuerie Oteiza on Place St Michel which is near your hotel and near the Seine should be a convenient one-stop picnic shopping for you.
Septime v Saturne
Albion. The first time we went, it was very good. The second time we went, it was definitely below average, with long waits between the dishes. Luckily our company was fun enough for us to sit a few hours longer and not notice. Have not dared gone back.
I don't remember the exact prices, but thought Saturne was a little more expensive than Septîme.
I don't remember if Saturne serves wine by the glass but I won't be surprised since it is such a wine-focused place.
How Scandinavian is Saturne? Others say it has a Scandinavian influence. I dunno. I have not tried enough Scandinavian cuisine to comment in a useful way. In my very limited experience in the French dining scene, the more inventive a cuisine becomes, the less one can say it's French or not French. And Saturne is very inventive.
In general I prefer Saturne to Septîme, food-wise. And unlike Albion, its gets a little better all the time.
Septîme has a warmer atmosphere though. Some honeymooners think this is important. Others think being in Paris is romanticism itself, and besides, nothing is more romantic than excellent food...
Paris Hotel Bar for Cocktails
Congratulations.
Re l'¨Hôtel, why not request the suite where Mick and Bianca stayed?
http://pierresetparoles.blogspot.fr/2004/08/mick-jagger-rolling-stone-octobre-1971.html
I'm no longer recommending Le Cinq for lunch (review)
Guy Savoy has great food and great service, but one does not go there for the setting.
Paris Hotel Bar for Cocktails
L'Hôtel, on rue des Beaux Arts.
http://www.slh.com/files//huparlh/large_gallery_34613381-h1-bar2.jpg
When you enter, don't forget to look up at the discreet yet stunning atrium. Most visitors miss it.
Oscar Wilde, who famously died there, is supposed to have posed by the atrium but I can never find the photo.
http://www.redvisitor.com/Media/images/L'Hotel%20Paris%20Le%20Restaurant%20Atrium2%20480x337-154c54b3-5184-4106-b581-461055e1ec5e-0-480x337.jpg
First lunch in Paris - outdoor seating & decent food near Madeleine/Louvre?
Sorriest about the notso-hotso experience at l'Absinthe.
It sounds as though being short-staffed is its major problem, but not only.
I like your attitude as a responsible epicurean (can you tell I hate the word foodie?). You would actually go back to a restaurant that gave you a mixed-bag experience, to test whether the trend is upward or downward. Absolutely admirable. (I don't mean the restaurant; I mean you.)
Paris Honeymoon, Help
You seem not to have given any feedback to all these inquiries of yours.
http://www.chow.com/profile/134103
Have a good trip.
First lunch in Paris - outdoor seating & decent food near Madeleine/Louvre?
Your husband is a fine gentleman.
Attire when fine dining in Madrid and Barcelona
Maximilien, whose posts we know well here, is used to a wide range of dining, from the sublime to the sublime street food. You can't go wrong with his advice.
And in the better restaurants from San Sebstian to Madrid to Barcelona, his dress code is spot on.
Anyone experiences Compartir in Cadaqués?
This is a colossal amount of commuting for such a short trip. Hope you love commute more than and in lieu of travel.
"11:00 Breakfast at Tapa24
Then: Boqueria - Tapas - Beach - Monvínic winebar -..???"
Boqueria is lcosed in the afternoon.
Loire Valley Blois chef-owned restaurant
Very nice report. All the more reason for you to correct the title from "LE BISTRO DU CUISINER" to "LE BISTRO DU CUISINIER", to facilitate future search by other hounds. :-)
food and markets in provence
Sunshine is right. You know there are places in Provence other than Châteauneuf du Pape that have wine and cheese, that do not entail 3 hours commute from Marseille.
customary to wear a blazer to michel bras @ dinner?
Absolutely. Imagine you're the Maître D. Do you want to seat a walking eyesore in the middle of the room, or do you want to seat Oakglen in the middle of the room?
Has anyone been to "Chez Bruno" near Lorgues, South of France
Are you renting a place? The truffle-stuffed ravioli made by Barale in the old town smells and tastes strongly of truffle.
As for other places, I have my doubts about some of them, but unless there is documented proof re their truffle origins, I don't want to name them as it would be libel.
Barcelona and Valencia wrap up (long)
??
Why did shyness prevent you from eating in good places?
Why was shyness not a factor re falafel ?
Barcelona, Zaragoza, La Rioja, San Sebastian, Girona tour review!
Fabulous report.
"This review is truly delayed (we went in Sept 2011), but I spent so much time researching on chow hound, I really wanted to return the favor."
How very thoughtful of you. I wish everyone were like you. :-)
Reflections on a week of Paris dining, May 2012. Long!
Did you not forget a seafood platter or two, like these?
Reflections on a week of Paris dining, May 2012. Long!
This great report helps me relive so much pleasure.
Strategies for Dining in Barcelona with a 10 Year Old
I have not tasted horchata in California, therefore I am really not qualified to answer you.
The funkiest horchata bar in Barcelona is La Granja Viader mentioned above.
It is near the Boqueria market, which means near the Ramblas, on the Raval side. You can find a great deal of info on the internet about the bar.
Our fave drinks there are the Majorquina and Crema catalana.
All over Barcelona there are this kind of milk bars. The Granja Viader is good although not the best, but its history and its time-machine décor make it a must for all our visits.
We like to go there for a "second breakfast" right before hitting the Boqueria. In the earlier morning hours there also seems to have more locals and fewer tourists, not that I mind one way or the other.
Besides the desserty drinks, it also has sandwiches and real desserts. Locals queue up to buy the house whipped cream, it seems.
Strategies for Dining in Barcelona with a 10 Year Old
It was good-natured teasing. Hope you don't mind.
You mean La Campana on Flassaders. Flassaders is one of my fave streets in Born.
Indeed the gelat and orxata (horchata) there are both quite good.
http://www.bcngourmet.com/cat/barcelona.asp?tienda=la-campana
http://www.turroneslacampana.com/lacampana-eng.htm
good restaurants near Rue de Tolbiac in the 13th (in August) ?
Ooo, there's really no there there.
Is taking a metro back into civilization not an option?
Strategies for Dining in Barcelona with a 10 Year Old
Great report.
I do not have children of my own but have travelled with friends with children in Barcleona. Children take to Barcelona. They get it, get the snacky tapas, the funhouse narrow streets in the Gothic quarter, even get the exuberant contemporary art.
Caganer is right as usual. With a name like his, he is Mr Credibility. Turron is a fabulous local specialty which is not that much mentioned on this board. Another relatively neglected local specialty is horchata and the horchata bar genre and granjas. I especially like Sirvent (Calle Parlament, 56) and of coure Granjer Viader near the Boqueria market, more for its funky interior.
Turron and horchata were a huge hit with my friends' children. Parents and children were literally fighting over them.
But to say you found an great ice cream place called Torron is like saying you found a great ice cream place called Hot Dog. :-)
Recommendation for one more dinner
Frenchie is closed for renovation, reopening early June.
Dans Les Landes is a great choice.
Diver XO
Rick Steves has this niche where he steers people who have never travelled independently into attempting a less herded experience.
Indeed Bourdain is much more food-focused. Most of all his own charisma may be his main draw. Many viewers like to follow his stories because the food experience as narrated by him inevitably sounds fun and unique and hip.
The Sichuan hot pot craze is very entertaining.
Indeed one similarity between them may be how in spite of themselves they single-handedly launch these travel fads and food fads.
Rick Steves's fans get the impression of traveling off the beaten path when the experience may be better described as slightly off the tourist bus. But we should be grateful for his getting people off the tourist bus, off the organized tour, and off those eyesores on water - cruises.
Sunday Night in Paris, including a Vegetarian
We are all confused because the thread title distinctly indicates "vegetarian".
If you are just looking for well respected vegetables, well, every good restaurant has those.
Paris restaurant near Palais Congres for large group
1. Monday is the day when most Paris restaurants close.
2. Plus you want a restaurant that accommodates "30 Drs".
3. Plus it has to be near Palais des Congrès.
How about streamlining your wishes?
The only resto I can think of that can do this is La Maison d'Alsace on Champs-Elysées near Rond-Point, about 3 metro stops from Palais des Congrès. Our meal last night there was much better than we had expected from the brasserie genre. None fo the diners were Drs though.
O and the smoewhat similar-genre Brasserie Lorraine on Place des Ternes.
PARIS and LYON
One can count on a restaurant like chez Denise always to have fresh ingredients. But precisely because a restaurant like that stocks only fresh ingredients in limited supply, the risk is that it may run out of dishes on the menu on the last day before holiday. Also, part of the staff might have left already. I did have such experience of going to a resto - not chez Denise, on a last day before holiday. More than half of the dishes on the menu were not available, and the resto seems either short staffed, or the staff was already on an impenetrable holiday dream.
Actually I would avoid a resto's last day before holiday myself.
