olivierb's Profile
l'Arpege or Ledoyen in August?
These are two of my favorite restaurants in Paris -- or anywhere in the world. However they could not be more different.
L'Arpège is very relaxed, minimalist, and can be hit or miss. That means you don't really have to care about dressing up or anything (especially at lunch, and I'm not talking about hawaian shirts and flip-flops), and the two times I was there, I thought service was really good (heard some horror stories from others, though). At lunch, at the end of the service, it basically felt like home, which is a good sign.
Foodwise, if you go ALC, you'll pay 60 EUR for three pieces of vegetables (and the pound of butter they've been cooked in). Yet, it can be the best dish of your life, and will at least turn out to be excellent. At lunch there's a 135 EUR menu that is really awesome. It's basically a compilation of the vegetables dishes from ALC, and a plate of meat/fish, cheese and then all-you-can-eat dessert. And there's the middle road that consists in splitting ALC dishes.
Also, wine prices are now very reasonable. The coefficient on a bottle of Selosse champagne was like 1.5x last time I went!
Ledoyen is more luxurious, even a bit stuffy. I mean, sometimes I wonder if that's not the Queen Elizabeth and her friends dining at the other end of the room, and the servers can seem a bit cold at first. That said, if you make the effort to engage them and talk about your meal, etc. they become a bit more relaxed.
If you don't go for lunch, ALC will cost you a few limbs, maybe with one of your kidneys thrown in if you want wine. I've been there twice and always been lucky, as everything I've eaten there was marvellous. Portion are big and satisfying. There are a few "molecular" touches here and there, but it still feels like a traditional French restaurant. I love the spaghetti dish, it's basically a 3-star mac-and-cheese, but better. Not sure if it's available in August, sorry.
Desserts can range from enjoyable to excellent, many of them being some reinvention of old-classics.
For lunch, there's a 85 EUR menu, with dishes very close to what's offered ALC, albeit with less luxurious ingredients. Never tried it, but apparently, it's a very safe bet.
All in all, if you don't take the lunch menu, you will probably spend something like 400 EUR pp at any of these restaurants.
There are a lot of photos flying around for both, it can help you decide which style of cooking you may prefer.
Paris July dining report
Must say I've had a similar experience at l'Arpège three weeks ago. It was our second time there, first time for lunch. The lunch menu was excellent except a few items I found subpar (tomato salad was one of them... guess it really depends on the day you go). And these were mostly at the beginning of a lunch that went from good to divine.
Passard was only there at the end of the meal, and was clearly not cooking, but chatting with everyone.
Tarte aux pommes was indeed far better. I'd even say it went from "meh" to "excellent", like only second to my stepmother's (or, sometimes, mine, by extension).
It's definitely one of the places that make me nostalgic about Paris (with l'Ami Jean and Génin among others, while Gagnaire who runs one of my favorite restaurants is not), because I feel it could not exist anywhere else... I admit I've never been to Manresa, but I believe that while the philosophy must be somewhat similar, the whole experience is necessarily very different too.
All that drivel to say that, while I believe some of the "horror stories" about l'Arpège, it clearly is on my top list for Paris restaurants.
Best Mille-feuille in Paris
Senderens, Génin are my favorites.
Pichard is the best value when you get them fresh (must be lucky for that). Used to like Secco's millefeuilles but I noticed a huge drop in quality about 1-2 years ago.
Any pâtisserie that makes a good pâte feuilletée should be OK, but freshness is of the essence, and that's why Génin and restaurants millefeuilles will most often be better than others.
Welcome to Paris for 2 days
I could not agree more : last time I was in Paris for 3 days, I also spent 8 hours at l'Ami Jean (oh, well, OK, probably more like 6 or 7). And that's only because they're closed on Sundays. Sigh...
Beer in Paris
Craft beer in France is a very recent thing. In fact, it's just starting to pick up. France lost a lot of breweries during the end of the last century. It's now growing again.
Until very very recently, however, I felt like, apart from some notable exceptions, French brewers either: made quite bland and uninteresting beers, or just tried to replicate Belgian ones, with more or less success.
Now, a few breweries are more daring, inspired by what has been happening for quite some time now in the USA, while others perpetuate the European tradition in a convincing way. All in all, things are starting to look better, but there's still a lot of room for improvement and newcomers. France is first and foremost a wine country, except maybe in the Nord...
Your best bet to taste French beers is to go see Simon at La Cave à Bulles, rue Quincampoix, just behind Centre Pompidou. He's been selling French beers there for 5 years, and has seen the evolution of breweries and of his customers' interest/taste. Other shops tend to focus on Belgian beers. There's also Terre de Bière in the Marché St Quentin, but I feel the selection is not as good and the owner not as reliable/knowledgeable.
Some good French breweries include Fleurac (Triple Black IPA, to age at least 6 months, and probably preferrably more), Thiriez (vieille brune d'Escquelbecq, an excellent barrel-aged brown ale with oaky flavors that are reminiscent of vanilla), Brasserie De La Vallée De Chevreuse, La Franche, Theiller (very traditional ales from Northern France), Brasserie du Pays Flamand (Anosteke: very good French IPA), Brasserie des Vignes (Vent d'Ange: barrel-aged brown ale that develops gueuze-like flavors)...
But, once again, other European countries have far more interesting beers to offer: Belgium (trappists, de Dolle, Struise, Cantillon, 3 Fonteinen), Italy (Panil for sour ales, Toccalmatto for anything hoppy, Grado Plato...), Netherlands (de Molen), UK (Thornbridge, BrewDog, Harviestoun), and I'm not even beginning to talk about Scandinavia! Germany of course has great beers too, but I don't know much about it.
Bellota Bellota
I'd say it's the next best thing I've tasted (ham-wise) after Jamonissimo in Barcelona. Which means go! Da Rosa has some very good hams too.
Don't forget the Jerez to wash it down. Or an old, vinous champagne.
My oh my, I want some now!
Cheese Tasting in the 7th
Re: Champ de Mars & alcohol, didn't Rachida prohibit it to be consumed on said public garden from 6PM to 7AM? So it would be legal for a picnic lunch but not for a dinner...
Gagnaire yet again
There usually are as many dishes as the (very large) table can hold for the appetizers.
For example, this is the langoustine appetizer: https://picasaweb.google.com/miaaampics/Gagnaire#5465710235612249938
In you look a bit further, you'll see that, by comparison, the main course looks way smaller (what only 4 plates for me???).
I love the fact that, after all, Gagnaire runs a very traditional restaurant. One that sometimes serves some crazy, borderline inedible dishes, of course.
Gagnaire yet again
Just what everyone says. In my opinion, desserts (well, soufflés) wine pairings are on par with Senderens.
It may not be everyone's taste, but I positively love the cheeses there. I would probably not recommend them for someone who hasn't experienced great cheese the usual and simple way, but as you're quite used to tasting some of the best France has to offer, I'd say you should give it a try.
Once again, the Crayeux with hibiscus sauce + beer pairing is fantastic, but I'm quite partial.
A question I am afraid to ask...
Oh unfortunately it's not novelty I'm after...but "only" a good vanilla ice cream!
A question I am afraid to ask...
Oops. When I visited the website, I saw 3 addresses for Paris,including Drugstore Publicis and La Grande Epicerie.
Can't remember the last one... a shop in the XVIIe.
A question I am afraid to ask...
http://www.moevenpick-icecream.com/default.asp?Prev=OK&Type=POINTOFSALE&Module=pointofsales&ID=&NavID=21&Param=&MKT=3&LNG=2
My Monoprix carried them, too.
Now I live in Switzerland, I wish I could buy something else than Mövenpick...
Chez l'ami Jean: Feb 2011
You can add me to the list of Ami Jean fanatics.
To be honest, I'm quite a latecomer as I've only been there once while I lived in Paris. Not that it had been a bad meal, but it was just that La Régalade was more convenient for us. After the original Régalade started sliding in terms of food quality (a bit) and service (a lot) before the opening of the 2nd restaurant, I stopped going.
Now, I've been at L'Ami Jean 3 more times in a half year, and have been positively amazed each and everytime. Food is excellent, and even if the best dishes are to be found on the chalkboard (which is now a sheet of paper...), some items in the set menu are quite good too. Portions are always generous, too.
I must admit I've only been there for dinner once. Service was professional and effective, but not particularly warm or anything. Now, I only go for late lunch, so that I know they won't turn the table once more after us, and I found the front of house to be particularly fun relaxed and still professionnal. Last time I went, we stayed from 1PM to almost 4PM and even though I was worried we were probably testing their patience, we never felt like they wanted us out.
So, from my limited experience at the place, I'd say: go late so that you can linger after your meal, and order conservatively (ie. not the "creative" dishes), preferrably from the chalkboard.
The only two things I like a bit less there are the desserts (excepted the riz au lait and some brioche thingy we had last time) and, indeed, the fact that prices have gone up up up... That said, I've never felt cheated price/quality/quantity-wise.
What edibles or food related items do you bring home from a visit to Paris?
Even Swiss products are more expensive here... factor in the recent currency movements, and it's even worse.
That said, Migros indeed have slightly cheaper girolles (about 26 EUR). Not worth a detour.
Paris report (including Pierre Gagnaire and Passage 53)
You should not have problems with English at Gagnaire.
In fact, the two times I went, there was at least one waiter who began speaking in English before realizing we're French, so I'd say they're pretty used to speaking English.
Best steak in Tokyo?
As this thread is one of the reasons I went to Dons de la Nature last April, I thought I would post my review here. So here it goes:
As I could not manage getting a reservation for Kawamura, that I discovered through a fantastic post on Gastroville (which may very well be my favorite food-blog out there), I was wondering whether I should go to the illustrious Aragawa, or the less famous Dons de la Nature. After checking a few websites, I settled with the latter. What a great idea that was!
Dons de la Nature is located in Ginza. In spite of a good reputation in Japan, as I deduced from the tabelog ratings, and a Michelin star, the place was two-thirds empty the night we went. Its interior is simple, almost bland looking, and reminds of a very standard high-end French place.
Dons de la Nature is a steak place, and in this regard, choice is quite simple. Three types of meat are offered, and brought to the table, so that one can have a look before chosing. Two sirloin cuts, a “fat” one and a “medium-fat” one, and a fillet. That day, this beef came from a Kagoshima cattle, but the chef selects his meat in function of what’s the best he can get. Just have a look at the photos, and you’ll see that even the less fatty cut of meat is still very marbled by our Western standards.
Once the cut chosen, all that’s left to do is determine the thickness of the steak, knowing that a minimum of 400g is required, so as to get an optimal cooking. As we were only a couple, our waiter told us that sharing a 400g steak would be enough.
Theoretically, the desired degree of doneness should be specified too. That said, as I just told that I wanted my beef rare, I asked our waiter if the chef had a recommendation. And indeed, we were told that a medium-rare cooking would be preferred, as it could allow the intramuscular fat to melt evenly.
I will not comment much on our starters and desserts, really simple salads of vegetables and fruits, respectively that were good, prepared with fresh ingredients but not exceptional in any way.
I was way more excited when I saw the grilled piece of meat arriving at our table. It had been rubbed with salt and pepper and now exhibited a lovely brown crust. The size of this steak seemed more than reasonable. Our waiter cut it in two pieces, dressed in our plates garnished with only a potato, snap peas, a bit of carrot and cauliflower.
The cooking quality was then perfectly apparent: under the Maillard reaction that caramelized the outside of the meat, its inside was perfectly pink, and most of the fat had melted. A few of the thickest streaks of fat had only partially disappeared. Quite clearly, the coal cooking technique employed at Dons de la Nature was perfectly mastered.
But it was of course with the first bite that the real qualities of this steak shone. I immediately discovered sensations I did not know about until now. Accordingly to what was visually expected, the steak was crispy on the outside and perfectly tender inside. Or, should I say, melting. This may be the most used epithet to describe wagyu beef, and I can only admit that it’s particularly appropriate. Each and every bite released its flow of dissolved fat, making for a particularly enjoyable eating sensation. This meat was more akin to foie gras than the leaner cuts of beef we usually eat in Europe. However, what may have struck me even more than its texture is the taste, profound yet subtle, very different from anything I had tasted before. Mustard was at the same time superfluous (why compromise this fantastic taste?) and welcome, its vivacity bringing a satisfactory contrast to the “gentle” fatty flavors of this meat.
In the end, 200g per person were enough. I could have eaten more, if not only to extend the duration of the meal, but maybe not a whole other piece. The ideal way to enjoy this restaurant would probably be to come as a group of 6, so as to share a bit of each cut of beef without risking being overwhelmed.
All in all, and as was apparent with sushi, this example perfectly illustrates the way an exceptional ingredient can constitute a fantastic meal in its own right. It also brings forward the fact, once again, the law of diminishing returns. This 400g cut of meat cost around 250 EUR. Ouch. Then again, I don’t regret it at all, considering how incomparable this experience was. I have not tasted other wagyu steaks in Japan or anywhere, but I believe one could probably have something almost as good for a much lesser price. On the other hand, something leads me to believe that a place like Kawamura could push the envelope even farther than Dons de la Nature in terms of ingredient quality, but for a price I’d rather not think about.
Whatever, in the end, I still believe that anyone remotely interested in food should try to treat himself with such a great steak, even if that means cutting on other meals
Photos of the meal here: http://picasaweb.google.com/miaaampics/DonsDeLaNature
Full review with pictures here: http://www.miaaam.net/en/2010/10/25/dons-de-la-nature/
Pierre Gagnaire
I'd say go a la carte. It's at least as much food, and found it better, but I've only been twice.
Langoustines is an amazing appetizers (yes with an "s" as they bring about 100 dishes at the same time).
I like the cheeses, too.
750 EUR a la carte is doable, but you may have to scratch your head to manage that, yes.
My two meals, for two, with two glasses of champagne, one bottle of champagne, two glasses of red wine cost me 800 (menu) and 850 EUR (à la carte, with appetizers, mains, cheeses and dessert) respectively. Ouch.
Sawada review
Given the pristine quality of the fish and pics I've seen, I can only believe that it's phenomenal. Will definitely do next time I'm in Tokyo, hopefully in the next few years.
Best patisserie in 6th ( I am staying close to la rotonde)
What plafield said.
Souphie, did you go at the Jean Nicot shop or the XVe one?
Only been to this one twice sine last year, and not to the original shop for a long time, but those two visits were very underwhelming. Don't know if quality slipped or if this shop is worse.
Yet Secco was one of my favorites... and it's not my taste that has changed.
Sawada review
Here are my thoughts on what was a fantastic experience at Sawada in April:
It’s been several months since I returned from Japan, and I still not have finished my restaurant reviews. Of course, this is mainly due to my natural laziness, moving to another country and switching jobs. But I still believe that I’m taking my time because as long as I haven’t finished, there still is the need to remember, which makes me feel like I’m still in Tokyo a bit longer, indefinitely enjoying these exceptional meals.
Some, in particular, are unforgettable. Those are the ones that help getting up in the morning to go to work. Of course, there are very few of these meals. Going to the restaurant becomes more and more like the desperate quest of a junky looking for his “first time” feeling. With time passing by, the probability of such an event happening feels more and more unlikely. So when a meal achieves to set up a new landmark, far above all others, as in a real “next level” experience, heaven might not be far away. This lunch at Sawada was one of those meals.
Sawada wasn’t really planned. Too expensive, too austere, I thought. And before landing in Japan, I did not know what to expect sushi-wise. But Kyubey, then Masa opened my eyes: the difference between what was available here and the best I had before was substantial. And as Masa amazed me, and ended up a bit earlier than I would have liked, I could not help but make a last sushi reservation, or else I would have been frustrated for a really long time. The choice was Cornelian, but I then decided, once again, to trust chuckeats by choosing Sawada. And it would really have been a cruel thing to miss this meal.
I only managed to get a lunch reservation, the day after Aronia de Takazawa. Thankfully, I had reserved for 2PM. The restaurant is quite hidden, on the first floor of a small building in a street parallel to Ginza. Yet, once inside, one immediately understand the seriousness of this place.
It’s tiny: one immaculate wood counter, and six seatings. Behind it, Sawada works silently, totally focused on his art. One touch of originality in this very traditional and masculine world, Sawada works with a female assistant, helping with service and some preparations. From where we seat, we could distinguish the fridges, a grill, and most importantly a few lacquered boxes, used as jewel case holding Sawada’s sea treasures.
The first impression was a bit intimidating. It was alright to take photos, but we should stop if another client would come in. Also, taking notes during the meal was possible, but we had to use a desk blotter so as to protect the wooden counter. This did not seem unreasonable, but clearly set a different mood than the playfulness of Masa.
As for the meal in itself, I’m afraid I could not say a lot more about it. The mainline is that every fish and seafood that were passed to us that day were at least as good, and very often of a much better quality than everything else we tasted elsewhere. Higher highs, incredible regularity: that’s Sawada. I feared that the law of diminishing returns would strike its full force here, this was unexpectedly not the case. Of course, this restaurant, while twice as expensive as Masa, may not be twice better. Yet, there is an appreciable difference between those two, totally worth the price, even for me. As a rough indication, this sushi-only menu ended up costing 23,000 JPY per person. We had the choice to opt for a sashimi+sushi menu for (at least) 32,000 per person.
All the pieces, about twenty, followed one another and were as many crushing blows. Nothing was left to say. Even the rice, sometimes criticized here and there, was perfectly fine by me. It’s however true that I like it well-vinegared. Preparation, seasoning, products, everything was spot on, with nothing lacking nor in excess.
Lightning was particularly tough, but I still expect the photos to speak for themselves as to the quality of this meal.
The showstopper was the grilled toro. After crafting the sushi with the fattiest toro in stock that day, glowing charcoal were approached on top of the fish for a few seconds. The result: a fantastic grilled piece, which mouthfeel was a bit akin to the best Japanese beef.
The question that naturally comes to the mind, as for much of these highly-priced restaurants is: is it really worth it? Once again, yes, I’m totally convinced it is. Maybe, however, having tasted slightly inferior sushi (which could have constituted a “best of my life” meal already) a few days before helped tasting the difference. Anyone in Tokyo with sufficient financial means should go to Sawada. Is there better? Maybe, I don’t know. If that’s the case, I’ll wait a long time before tasting it. As for now, I left this meal without an ounce of frustration, but quite on the contrary, with a fantastic feeling of accomplishment. I haven’t eaten raw fish since then, and I don’t really miss it.
Full review with pictures: http://www.miaaam.net/en/2010/08/25/sawada/
Photo gallery: http://picasaweb.google.fr/miaaampics/Sawada
L'arpege closed for a month. Does anyone know when it will open?
FYI, they don't take reservations for before Nov 15th.
Where to Buy Great Beer in Paris
There are about four places to buy beer in Paris.
- The Bootlegger, rue de l'Ouest in the XVe is one of the oldest shops in town, and has a good assortment of Belgian beers, some French, German and English beers, but whose selection has gone a bit stale for my taste. I guess he relies on the same old supplier, and doesn't seem to try really hard to stock new exciting stuff. Still, this is a very good shop as far as old classics go, and his price on the Bon Voeux de la Brasserie Dupont makes it a real bargain.
- Terre de Bières in the Marché St Quentin. The owner stocks mostly French beers, but also has the usual Belgian stuff. All in all, the selection is not particularly interesting, and the prices are higher than at some other shops, so I don't see any point going there, unless you're just in the neighborhood and have beer cravings. I didn't find the owner to be particularly knowledgeable, too.
- Bières Cultes. They have two shops, one rue Damrémont in the XVIIIe and the other one rue Legendre in the XVIIe. They also mainly focus on Beligan beers, and some of the good French breweries. They have a bit more "rare" stuff than the other two I mentioned above. The owners are nice and they know their beers. I could have become one of the best beer shop in Paris, but they didn't manage (or want?) to try stocking really rare/fantastic beers.
- La Cave à Bulles. It opened mid-2006 as an organic/French beer shop, with a few Belgian beers. It has now evolved, and become the best beer shop in town. Simon Thilloux, the owner, now really tries hard to get access to new/rare/extreme beers (like Mikkeller, Norrebro, Flying Dog, maybe Birra del Borgo now or in the near future...), but these usually don't stay long, as the word spreads quickly when they're some good stuff in stock. Well, it should sell less quickly now I live abroad! There also are tastings on some Saturdays. I really like the fact that the owner tries to establish a really exciting beer place in Paris, as it appears it's the only capital city in the world to have almost nothing interesting to offer as far as beer goes. But on the other hand, his rare stuff is often overpriced, and he doesn't even sell some botltes he raves about and displays in the shop, saying it's for "good customers", just when a friend and me just spent about 500-600 EUR in several visit the same month...
- La Soif du Malt, rue St. Maur has apparently closed a few months ago
Best Food and Value - 1 Michelin Star
The 150 EUR evening menu has apparently been going for some time now (around a year, I believe), but there was not much publicity about it.
I had this menu last June, and I indeed had to book through lafourchette.com. I don't know the details behind this, but if I remember correctly, there are only 5 tables for 2 persons available for this offer every night.
From what I've gathered, this deal is similar to the 94,5 EUR one, with one added course, so that's one starter, fish, meat and dessert. When ordering, they make it sound like the choice of dishes is based on the day's market, when in fact, they're just offering that are either available a la carte (for the less expensive ones) or on other menus. So if you study the menu beforehands, you can easily guess what you'll have on your plate when they tell you to chose between, say "st-pierre, lobster, foie gras, etc.".
For what it's worth, the dinner was really good, with some highlights (the quenelle really is as good as everyone says it is), and some OK-but-boring dishes. All in all, this is a very "honest" restaurant that doesn't try to impress you with anything else than the food.
Service was so-so (maître d' and one waiter were perfect, but two other waiters were way too obsequious for my taste (caveat: while I also abhor make-believe laid-backness, being called "mon cher Monsieur" almost make me want to burp loudly, just to make things straight, so your mileage may vary).
Champagne by the glass (in Paris) - what is your strategy?
Oh yes, the date thing didn't occur to me... was already far beyond that with my better half when we started dining out! (that and I usually rob a bank or a rich grandmother before *** meals, so the money problems come later)
Champagne by the glass (in Paris) - what is your strategy?
The 30 EUR glass of champagne you had at Le Cinq is probably from a bottle that retails for 100+ EUR. I remember I had Taittinger Comte de Champagne 1998 once or twice there for example, the other times these were equally pricey bottles.
One bottle yields 6 glasses, so that's around 17 EUR per glass if you bought the bottle at your favorite wine shop. Paying around twice this price at a restaurant is not such a bad deal, really, as coefficients are usually more in the x3-x5 range.
That said, I totally understand that almost paying the price of a full menu at a restaurant like La Régalade for just one glass of champagne can be shocking, and maybe you weren't aware that what you were offered was exceptionnal, and to put it bluntly a real luxury.
As for the price, I know it's always awkward to ask to the server, but if you were to do so, they should answer you, and whether they think you're cheap or not is their problem, not yours. As a rule of thumb, I'd say it may usually be around 15 EUR in a "bistrot" and 30 EUR indeed in starred places.
Lunch at Le Bristol and La Grande Cascade (and L'Astrance)?
Re; "In my experience, there just is no point in taking something else than the lunch menu"
Granted, I've only had the lunch menu once, but while excellent in itself and in terms of price/quality ratio, it seemed like there may be less impressive Briffard action there. I mean, what's really fantastic about him is the way he puts 100 ingredients together in one plate, and make it taste perfectly natural, with every taste still being well-defined, and it looked like the lunch menu did not demonstrate this skill as well as the other options.
But that was lunch menu in november 2008 vs. the real good meals (off the more expensive menu and a la carte) taking place one year later.
La Regalade or La Regalade St. Honore
So, do you imply that Régalade St.-H. has less food choice? I think I've only eaten a full meal off the regular menu once in my 6 or so dinners at the original Régalade, so I think I would miss having all these "pour un coup de fusil de plus" and chalkboard options.
What of the following would be something I could not get in New York? - RESTAURANTS
Oh yeah, this post Régalade or l'Ami Jean feeling of "let's have foie gras and foie gras and then foie gras and then try to finish this riz au lait at all costs"...
