New Year's Eve Restaurants? [Dallas]

I don't mind spending the dough - so long as it's a lively place and the food is good.

debtex in Dallas - Ft. Worth

New Year's Eve Restaurants? [Dallas]

Anyone have an experience they can share? We usually like to go out to a late seating and stay til midnight. We're new to Dallas and so don't have much to go on.

We'd want to focus on the Downtown/Deep Ellum/Lakewood/Uptown/Park Cities side of town, if that helps.

Thanks in advance!

debtex in Dallas - Ft. Worth

What is your favorite restaurant in Paris that is open on Sunday?

Le Petit Pontoise is open Sundays and very close to where you are. Really lovely meal there!

debtex in France

Paris trip review

It's funny that you ask...we didn't plan it this way, but they got progressively more expensive as the nights went on, with the exception of the last meal, which was about in the middle.

You really can drive the prices yourself by choosing a la carte or off the "menu" (almost all restaurants have a 3-course price.) We had some good advice around that from a Parisian - they order 2 entrees rather than an entree and a plat, since the entrees tend to be much cheaper. That still provides plenty of food, quite honestly.

debtex in France

Weekend in Dallas - what to eat?

I have to say I do not understand the support on this board for York Street. We had a totally mediocre meal there.

Every really good meal we've had here has been at a steak house...Charlie Palmer was good but you have that in NY, Nik and Stef's was also very respectable.

debtex in Dallas - Ft. Worth

Paris trip review

I'm not as much of a foodie as many of you - we love to eat, but aren't all that sophisticated. But given the great advice I received on this site, I feel like I should come back and give you the benefit of our experience. All these are dinners, all reservations were at 8, which seemed to give us the benefit of the first full service at each restaurant...perfect for us.

Let me start by saying we didn't have a bad meal anywhere, and I recommend all of these.

1 - Le Pre Verre. Casual, very popular place. DH had a really interesting pepper and raspberry soup followed by a suckling pig dish that was perhaps a little too adventurous for us. I had a good veal steak with chanterelles (being American the steak in France isn't quite what I'm used to) and a fantastic poached pear for dessert.

2 - Le Petit Tonneau. Very traditional small bistro, half full. DH had some lentils he raved about the rest of the week, but I can't remember what he ate after that. I had a very good warm goat cheese salad and the mussels.

3 - A la Biche au Bois. Super crowded, very good. DH had a duck terrine that was really tasty and a venison confit. I had eggs mayonnaise that was outstanding and another veal steak that was really very good. We both had a cheese plate - you can't go wrong there! Very game-oriented, though...if you're not into that, the menu would be slim pickings.

4 - L'Avant Gout. Less traditional, more Asian fusion in the menu. DH had a veal steak and I had a pork stew that was out of this world. The carpaccio entree I had was lovely, and the cheese my husband had at the end was so, so good.

5 - Le Petit Pontoise. Best meal of the trip, all in. It's all a little hazy, which is weird...I didn't write it down, but we both agreed during and after that it was the best. I very specifically remember the tarte tatin with berries that literally had us swooning. I very highly recommend this one, and it's open on Sundays to boot.

6 - Au Bon Accueil. Very good, but not really our speed...a little too fancy for us, quite honestly. There were no french folks in the place that I could see (save the servers, of course.) On the other hand, you are just under the Eiffel Tower, which is an awfully lovely thing at night!

7 - Auberge Pyrenees Cevannes. Very traditional, very laid-back, very good. About 2/3 full. DH had the cassoulet, which was really flavorful. I had the scallops, which were also lovely and came with some very tasty leeks and mushrooms.

I also took a class at Cookin with Class with Eric Fraudeau...what a blast that was. The instructional walk through the markets was a huge highlight of the trip and really gave me some insight into the way that the French source their food. Not just how they buy it at the market, but where it comes from in the world, how they grade it for the market, etc. Eric's very familiar with the US and Canada and the food we have available, so he can help you understand the differences. Oh, and the meal was really outstanding.

Also indulged in way too many macarons from Laduree. I hope they never open shop in the US, I would have to buy all new pants.

Back to sticks and twigs to make up for the trip - totally worth it!

debtex in France

Please critique my list for our Paris trip!

I have one more to add...I'll add L'Ami Jean (if possible.) Should I replace L'Avant Gout with La Regalade, or is there a different one I should remove from the list?

Thanks so much for your advice!

Deb

debtex in France

Please critique my list for our Paris trip!

We're headed to Paris for a week, and I've been put in charge of reservations by my partner, who is usually the one to do these things. I've been put to the test...please give me some constructive criticism!

First off...these are all dinners, and all reservations are for 8:00 - is that too early? We'll picnic and/or eat lightly at breakfast and lunch, as we usually do. (I'll probably have macarons for lunch almost every day...what can I say?)

We are coming from the States, so the exchange rate is going to be a killer. Add to that the fact that we prefer things as informal as possible, and I've basically kept it to bistrots.

So here's our list:

Autour d'un verre (first night, wanted something close to the hotel)
Le Pre Verre
A la Biche Au Bois
L'Avant Gout (Saturday night)
Le Petit Pontoise
Au Bon Acceuil
Auberge Pyrenees Cevennes

I have one night left to make reservations for. I'm also a little concerned that I'm going to be feeling overfed halfway through this list. Help me out here...

Thanks in advance!!

debtex in France

First-night dinner by the Intercontinental

Thanks, Souphie! It's a toss-up between J'Go and Au Petit Riche, then...we're looking for something simple for the first night, as we'll be tired and not up to appreciating something really special (coming from the Central US.) Leaning towards Au Petit Riche...

debtex in France