f2dat06's Profile
Alsace
I highly recommend Auberge du Cheval Blanc in Lembach, 1 star in the Reg Guide. It is great, located in an old post house in a charming village. They serve foods that certainly trace their roots to Alsace but modernized and made elegant. You will not be disappointed and you can have dinner there at a substantial discount to what you might spend at l'Arnsbourg or Auberge de l'Ill. I have been to both of those too and do prefer ADL against Arnsbourg but these two do completely different styles of cooking so are not easy to compare. Here is a link. And, le Cerf in Marlenheim is a good choice too
http://www.au-cheval-blanc.fr/uk/index.php
Trip Report
Glad i am not the only one that says emperor has no clothes with regards to Papilles. It is OK, just not anything outstanding. You get a decent soup, always a braised meat of some kind, and a pathetic dessert, always some yogurt with fruit on it or maybe fruit with some sabayon on it, all of this is easily done by a semi skilled home cook. The wine choices are the best part, if they have locked that down so just a portion of the wine shop inventory can be had with dinner then move on, no reason to ever go back, just me though.
Tan Dinh used to have a michelin star lost it probably 10 years ago, maybe longer.
Paris - in search of wine bars with great cheese/small plates at lunchtime/early afternoon
here you go:
http://www.painvinfromage.com/fr/index.htm
the best cheap & a few not so cheap eats in paris?
day trip around central paris - you mean a 15 minute metro ride?
Table de Joel Robuchon closed about 2 years ago. Get a Michelin Red Guide, it is completely reliable.
List of Restaurants in Paris
For pig feet here are a two recommendations:
Auberge Bressane, fits in quite well with your theme of traditional French, they have an item on the menu called pied crouistallant au foie gras, crispy pig foot stuffed with foie gras, and
Cocottes de Constant - they have a very good dish of potato halves hollowed out and stuffed with the meat of a pig foot.
Pictures of both attached, both quite good.
And yes, last time i looked at their posted menu Phamplet had completely departed from traditional French.
Star lunch in Paris
Getting a reservation at multi star restaurants is not nearly as difficult a people often assume. With the exception of Astrance, a week is usually plenty. I would difinitely, though, not drop in without a reservation and expect to be seated.
If Rostang (2stars) still has their Club Menu (lunch only i think) available it is your best choice no question. Used to be about 95e all in, 3 courses, aperitif, wine, water, coffee, a truly excepional value, and the quenelle d'homard was always one of the choices for main course.
Opinions on upcoming Paris dining itinerary
Dans la landes is great, you can order as much or as little as you like since it is a tapas style place. The fried polenta with smoked duck is so very good. If you control yourself, which is difficult to do since they have so many interesting things on the menu, then you will be fine with eating at violon d.ingres that night, but would ask for a later seating.
Auberge Bressane has very hearty but very good stuff, for sure a good choice for eating when it is cold outside. I have not been to Caius Zinc, but again would go late to Auberge Bressane if having a full lunch earlier in the day.
Seafood Standard?
never had a problem getting a reservation, just call a week or two before
Paris - Nice lunch under 20 euros (with a few other criteria making the search difficult)
Easy - right near where you will be, on Rue Mont Thabor, le Souffle, 25E lunch menu, very nice for lunch, intimate dining room, good price. Mont Thabor is one street over, parallell to Rue Rivoli.
http://www.lesouffle.fr/restaurant
Truffles
My only observation is that the truffle menus at Savoy, Ducasse, etc. are likely to cost more than 325e, making the food only cost for such an outing near the $500 level, per person.
So, iock, if cash is no problem, spend away. I was at Rostang last January and they had a picnic basket full of fresh truffles they brought around to show off, really intoxicating smell throughout the dining room. Some guy came in and was seated at the table next to us and ordered nothing but the truffle sandwich and a glass of wine, so that is an option for sure if you do not want to drop the cash for a full menu.
For me, the truffle menus were a good deal about 11-12 years ago when 1e = 0.90$, but for now they are off limits which is why is say try Maison de la Truffe, still expensive, but not like the starred places.
Truffles
There is a place caled Maison de la Truffe, two locations in Paris, one on the Place de Madeleine, the other in the 8th I think, maybe on Rue Marbeuf, for sure that one is across the street from the l'Entrecote in the 8th. They sell truffles to go but both locations also have restaurants that sell dishes that feature truffles, this should be your go to place, but is high priced, as you might expect.
http://www.maison-de-la-truffe.com/
Best Pain Aux Raisin in Paris?
At Laduree they have an item called Pain aux Raisin Canelle, pretty much a cinamon roll with raisins, THIS THING IS THE BEST. Not fancy just exceptionally well made, go and try one. No resemblence to those leaden piles of dough that pass as cinamon rolls in the US.
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Laduree
75 Champs-Élysées, Paris, Île-de-France 75008, FR
Les Fables de la Fontaine
Ate there in June, good restaurant, very small, for instance, you have to walk through the kitchen to get to the toilettes. I would certainly return, have had this one on my list for a long time, just got around to it. The photo is a dish of rouget over a puree of aubergine I had there, very tasty.
Lunch in one and a half hours at Violon D'Ingres - is it doable
yes you can eat there in 1.5 hours. Tell them you need a taxi at 1500 and they will call one for you and have it waiting.
Violon is not overly fomal anymore. They reformatted about 5 years ago. There is no pressure to order three courses, just 2 is fine, no problem. If you want 3 i think the deal is 3 courses for 49e, but supplements apply to some items. Otherwise should be something like 40e for entree + plat or 36e for plat + dessert, again supplements will apply for some things.
It is a good restaurant, very well run, not spectacular stuff coming out of the kitchen but always very enjoyable, to me anyway.
Iso sandwich steak hache frites a la marseille in Paris
If you find a place in Paris with these please report. I have looked but never found them in Paris. Like you, i recall these being everywhere as street food in the south of France, had them often in Toulon back in my navy days.
Christmas/New Year's in Paris
do a search on this topic. NYE dinner in Paris restaurants is generally a rip off. Prices will be jacked up, the restaurants are all packed stretching the ability of both the kitchen and dining room staff to provide expected service levels, and since the restaurants are packed the menus offered will typically include a lot of stuff that can pretty much be prepared in advance. I have eaten out on NYE from the 2 star level on down, trying to save you from wasting a pile of cash.
Since you have an apartment, stay in, or eat in and then go out and see the madness around the tour eiffel as midnight approaches, is a drunken orgy that is difficult to imagine until you see it.
The cooking classes at Lenotre are good, half or full day depending on the topic. I took one on macarons a few weeks ago that was quite good.
Paris - no frills, no fanciness, just lovely food please!
unless you are going to a chain place such as Leon de bruxelles, or Hippapotamus, etc (and hope you are not) you need to reserve. You can not avoid reservations and have much of a chance of getting in good places by walking up (althought that may sometimes work). I know this runs against the grain for many americans but is a different game in france. Load the numbers of many places you are interested in to your phone and call to reserve, same day is OK, and if the first choice is full go to the next on your list until you get a spot. Believe me on this.
Need approval for Paris itinerary!
I visited Franck Kestener's factory in Sarregumines last December. I say factory because it is located in a metal building in a light industrial park just outside Sarregumines. I believe his stuff is shipped in from that factory, not made at the store in Paris, but not completely sure.
Anyway, his chocolates are OK, but some of the others commonly mentioned on this board are better, LMDC, Marcolini, Chaduin etc, i would spend my time at these unless just happen to be walking by Kestener's place.
Have attached some pictures of his factory and of the things I bought there.
Basque restaurant in Paris in August
here is a link, and sorry is at 38 Reaumur
http://www.au-bascou.fr/
Basque restaurant in Paris in August
Au Bascou, 37 Rue Reamur, very good, and not mentioned much on this board.
Restaurants in Alsace and Lorraine
Auberge du Cheval Blanc in Lembach is "the shit" you must go and thank me later, it is close to l'Arnsbourg and half the price but a different style of restaurant.
Splurge Lunch Recommendations in Paris?
yes Savoy still has the internet deal but is 110e now, had it about a month ago.
Dress Code
about 2 years ago i had luggage misplaced and did not get it delivered until about day 8 of a 15 day trip. I had nothing but the comfort clothes you mention and a reservation at Lasserre at about day 4.
I called to change the reservation due to lack of acceptable clothes, they said no problem, come as you are. They gave me a loaner jacket to put on over a sweatshirt, certainly looked out of place but the staff at Lasserre was not concerned at all.
Paris where to go: Yam'Tcha, Sola, others?
On the asian inspired french theme you might consider Hiramatsu. Definitely french food but with an underlying asian sensibility, 1 star in the red guide, really a good place, lunch is especially a good deal.
http://www.hiramatsu.co.jp/fr/
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Hiramatsu Restaurant
52 Rue de Longchamp, Paris, Île-de-France 75116, FR
Trip Report a Tourist’s Perspective (Part 5: HIndsight and Misc food experiences)
caution against assuming because a place is full it is good, remember dumps like Olive Garden and Applebee's would seem to be good candidates for a night out if following that logic in the US, same applies in France, every place that is full is for sure not good.
Maison Courtine
Had dinner last saturday night at Maison Courtine, 157 Avenue Maine, in the 14th. Had not been there since 2004 so decided to return and see how things are going. This restaurant used to have star but lost it a few years ago and has had a management change since.
This turned out to be one of the favorites of the trip. We ordered conservatively, was the end of a 2 week pig out so were looking for simple stuff. I had foie gras, mi cuit, which came with chutney of apricots and brioche, wife had girolles poelee and we both had beef filets with a very tasty wine-shallot sauce for mains. For dessert i had a mille feuille of fraise, wife had sorbets.
So you see, nothing pushing the envelope, but everything was perfectly executed. This one reminds me of violin d'ingres, very professionally run, excellent service, etc. Although, a lot of stuff coming out of the kichen looked a lot more inventive than what we ordered.
Total price, 2 champagnes (22e total) a 1 cru 2005 Volnay, 47e, and 2 menus, 35e each with a 5e supplement for the girolles, some coffee and water and it came to 163e for two. They had plenty of much cheaper wines, I just like Volany, and this price, converted to $ is about what they go for at retail in the US.
Some others please go and see for yourself, think you will absolutely not be disappointed. To me this one has a very high quality to price ratio.
tel: 02 45 43 08 04
Michelin Take That Star Back
Last week i had the most disappoinitng dinner ever at a restaurant with a Michelin star. It was at Fogon on Quai Grand Augustins. I had been looking forward to this reservation, their website looks inviting, and all the hype around the culinary excellence from Spain made me want to try this place. It was a dud in a big way.
We arrrived on time, had little greeting, the receptionist just pointed at some tables an indicated take one and brought some menus. There was not an offer to explain what was availble or give any explanation of the menu options. At this point we were feeling like, OK, we are here to give them money and that is about it.
A waiter came by and we ordered an aperitif, really good glasses of sangria. Two amuse bouche then arrived, one was a small glass of pistachio gaspacho, really good, then some pieces of canteloupe with basil oil drizzled over it. This was good too but nothing special for sure. That was about as good as it got.
We ordered what they call the rice menu which is 3 tapas plus a shared paella and dessert. This menu was 45e i think, maybe 48. The other option was a tapas menu, 55e. The carte had a selection of various cured meats available as entrees also. There was a pata negra ham from 2008 hanging in a glass display case in the dining room.
The three tapas items were just plain dull. The best was a sardine tartine that was fairly good, the other two were completely forgettable, some chicken cooked with mushrooms and a really muddled potato salad kind of thing with white anchovy. The flavors were just not distinctive, not the kind of thing you expect from a starred kitchen.
There were 5 or 6 paellla options, we took the langoustine variety. This paella was ust not very good, you could do far better, at least not worse, at just about any random Spaish place. For wine we had a bottle of 2010 Albarino.
Desert was not much, a mini chocolate covered popsicle of some sort sitting on a pile of cava granite and a glass of sliced strawberries with whipped cream.
This was a total disappointment, would have been better off going to one of those Sandwich Grec places a few blocks over near the St Michel fountain.
just my opinion, but I say avoid this place. There are too many other good options than to waste a dinner here.
10 days in Paris - a brief trip report and some random thoughts
yes, violon actually had 2 stars for a fairly brief period after it opened, then was cut to one star, then about 5 years ago reformatted to a more relaxed format, 2 seating per night, etc. but still has a star.
10 days in Paris - a brief trip report and some random thoughts
if you ate at violon d'ingres then you ate at a place with a michelin star
Help with 2 meals in Paris in June
Correct, my only knock against l'Angle is that, from a decor standpoint, you could drop it in mid town manhattan and never know the difference.
Reminds me a lot of Daniel Boulud's DB Bistro Moderne
