I loved stopping by the Abbaye de Citeaux and picking up a wheel of fromage de Citeaux.

La Table d'Aki is almost purely Japanese cuisine?

Awesome! Thank you!

Thanks! I'm hoping to find a larger-batch production, which tastes different from small batches. Plus I'm not sure our tiny apartment would allow for a crock of it...

La Table d'Aki is lovely, but it is French food cooked by a chef who happens to be Japanese.

Does anyone know where I can find lacto-fermented, raw, (sometimes called "wild") sauerkraut in the Washington DC metro area? I've tried Whole Foods and Yes! Organic Market. Any other ideas? Thanks!

Julia's recipe does actually have flour in it. At least the one from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Maybe there are others?

I made my share of sinkers until I found this recipe from Bon Appétit. I don't make them miniature, however, and I don't add the chives. For me, the trick is whipping the egg whites. Good luck!

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/200...

Well, I didn't want to be too discouraging so I didn't say "all." Is it all soufflés? I can't speak for all the chefs of Paris. But yes, to my knowledge, a typical soufflé recipe has flour.

Honestly, I'd probably do some investigating on the confit de canard, too. I thought most (all?) preserved meat was off-limits for pregnant women.

A word of caution -- many soufflé recipes use flour in the base.

Perhaps I should have titled my post differently, but I felt rushed and pressured to leave my table by the manager's visit. I do live in Paris -- where this would never happen (though many different service problems could arise) -- and I don't think it's inappropriate to hope for a relaxed meal in any restaurant anywhere in the world.

Three of us ate dinner at R+D Kitchen last night. I quite liked the food, especially the spicy chicken meatballs. My complaint is with the service -- I felt rushed throughout the meal, especially at the end when the servers hovered constantly over our table swooping up every last edible crumb and water glass. Finally, the manager -- Richard -- paid our table a visit. He introduced himself and then said: "I just wanted to make sure everything was okay with your meal." We agreed that our meal had been pleasant and he left. I interpreted Richard's visit as a not-too-suble hint that he'd like us to vacate the table. My friends weren't so sure, but we did leave -- we had been at the table for about 90 minutes -- and the hostess immediately seated a party of four.

Now, I understand a restaurant's desire to cram as many customers as possible into a given night. But I found R&D's aggressive approach distasteful. They could have handled the situation in various ways, all more palatable: 1) By informing us when we sat down that they needed the table by a certain time. 2) By requesting (after our meal) that we liberate the table and offering to seat us the bar, where we could continue our conversation.

R&D may have made a few more bucks on another table last night, but they lost my repeat business.

Ah, but the cheese at Laurent Dubois is fantastic -- it's my favorite fromagerie in Paris. I make special trips over there just to buy cheese. I've actually met and chatted with M. Dubois and while I wouldn't describe him as warm and fuzzy, he is truly devoted to his métier -- he is a Meilleur Ouvrier de France! He isn't merely the proprietor of a dinky cheese shop -- he is regarded as one of the best fromagers in the entire country, as highly respected as Pierre Hermé or any 3-star Michelin chef. He doesn't cut and weigh cheese and offer samples -- he has a staff of assistants to do that for him. None of this excuses his rudeness and impatience, but perhaps it explains it a bit...?

Poilane has excellent (IMO the best) viennoiserie, tartes aux pommes and chausson aux pommes. La Cuisine de Bar is delightful but it is currently closed for congés annuels.

I really love KGB (but I was really disappointed with ZKG -- go figure) and think the rapport qualité prix is fantastic, especially for the tasting menu. Also, I deeply appreciate their willingness to create a special vegan menu -- most unusual in France. That being said, it's been a long time since I've lived in another world food city besides Paris -- eight years since I lived in New York. So perhaps I don't have a good point of comparison?

I'm dining with a vegan (no meat/fish/dairy) friend this weekend. I called KGB to ask if they could prepare a special menu for her and they said YES! Not sure how the food will be (though I love their regular food), but that could be an option as well?

There's always Bob's Kitchen, an almost vegan canteen (74 rue des Gravilliers in the 3e).

I was in Lyon two weeks ago and my favorite meal/bouchon experience was at Chez Hugon, which is open Mon-Fri. Superb lentil salad and a quenelle like a cloud.

Is it travesty to say I didn't like Les Halles? It seemed so clean and precious. Another wonderful market is the Marché Quai St-Antoine, which is open every day except Monday. Gorgeous produce.

A few photos: http://annmah.net/2011/06/07/stroll-l...

Controversial choice, but have you tried Pizza Chic?

In Montmartre we go often to a friendly, family-run cafe called Au Bon Coin at 9 rue des Cloys. It's old-fashioned and lovely.

About a year and a half ago, I really, really loved Pâtes Vivantes. Especially the sesame noodles with chicken. I preferred the branch on Faubourg Montmartre but then the St-Germain location opened and it was closer to my apartment. We ate there often. I still think it's a good place to meet friends for lunch on a Sunday, especially friends with kids. But on my last few visits, I've noticed a decided drop in quality at Pâtes Vivantes. Or are we just getting tired of it? Hard to say. A few years ago, I also noticed the same drop in quality at Délices de Shandong and stopped going there as well.

I just spent a weekend in Nice - so lovely. My favorite meal was at Oliviera, which doubles as an olive oil store. Other good options might be Restaurant du Gésù, which is sort of Nicois-Italian -- lovely ravioli. Or Chez René Socca, where I tasted the best socca (though it's more of a snack food shop). I would avoid Lou Pilha Leva -- it looked so charming and I had high hopes but the food was decidedly mediocre.
Here are some photos on my blog: http://annmah.net/2011/04/19/nice/

Fascinating thread. I was just in Troyes researching and tasting andouillette. I met a charcutier there who flat-out refuses to be part of AAAAA saying that it's only for industrial andouillette. I initially thought it was sour grapes -- except the walls of his shop were lined with prize cups and medals (from other concours). This is just to say that andouillettes not marked AAAAA are not necessarily bad -- they might even be made in smaller production.

I am not an andouillette fan, but I respect it. Also, I prefer it cold, the taste and smell are less pronounced, and the texture (which is my real problem) is more solid, less ropy.

Maoz. Free pickle bar.

I've been looking for the low fat for years. Have you found that there?

Fage/Total (isn't it the same thing?) is always at La Grande Epicerie (at least every time I go -- which is more than twice a week). If you're facing the dairy section, it's to the far left, in one of the refrigerated cases that caps the aisle. There are at least three shelves devoted to it. They have fat free, full fat, and vanilla.

La Grande Epicerie at le Bon Marché has Fage/Total Greek yogurt.

I've been doing some research on Lyon myself and found this article very interesting (it includes a budget tip or two):

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2011...

It's good but seriously over-priced -- 16 euros for a slice of quiche + salad? The café/salon du thé caters to a very chic crowd. I believe they use only organic products.

It's a super long train ride between Paris and Rodez. We took the train to Clermont Ferrand and drove the remaining three hours. The best way to get there is to rent a car. Our meal (in Sept 2010) was unforgettable -- the son Sebastian has taken over now, but he continues to honor the region of Aveyron with local products, including wild herbs. There are pictures of our meal on my blog... it was spectacular. http://annmah.net/2010/09/10/michel-b...