I believe you can get what you would like with l'Angle du Faubourg from the Taillevent company. I organized an event for 60 people there once. And they have excellent and reasonnably-priced wines from their Cave de Taillevent.
Don't hesitate to meet with them and talk with the chef to fine tune their standard offers.
Cheers

I apologize in advance for not answering your question but I wanted to warn you about the your request. Homard Thermidor is a quite outdated recipe which belongs to another era when food was richer, sauces heavier. In short, I am not sure many chefs today would put that on a menu.
Maybe someone will put forward some chef who can revisit the recipe ? but then to make it in agreement with today's taste would require some emancipation from the original.
Maybe you were aware of all that and you were looking for an historical experience rather than gastronomical one?

In Vouvray (2 km from Tours), you have a famous pork butcher named Hardouin. His andouillette is outstanding. He also provides some products to Lafayette Gourmet and La grande Epicerie in Paris.

Excellent Article! ! Had a good laugh and I completely agree with the author.

I had stopped going there for a year or so because Nadège, the owner had a hard time finding a proper chef and I had several disappointing experiences.
I did go back however like 1 month ago and I was pleasantly surprised.
We had a wonderful scallop carpaccio with slices of porcini mushrooms, a beautiful partridge with "forgotten" vegetables. I was so impressed that I decided to go back two weeks later to check whether it was not an accident. I wasn't. Second time was equally good, I had wonderful clams with fresh herbs, and a very tasty meatloaf made out of pork trotter.
It turns out that there's a young and talented japanese chef in the kitchen.
This is now back on my list. I believe the 3-course menu is now 32 euros and that's really worth it.

From your description, the mysterious mushroom looks like 'trompette de la mort' which is much better than its name sounds like.
See pictures on google, to check if my guess is correct.
http://www.google.com/images?q=trompe...

Were any vegetables injured ?

You should also consider that one of the reason might have been that your waitress didn't speak english very well and she might have been even more embarrassed than you were.
Lastly, tipping not being so strongly part of the culture, not having the same waiter all along during the dinner isn't an issue and it happens all the time.
Nevertheless, it was not great service, I agree.

He went back to Japan (somewhere in Hokkaido I believe). The guys working at Makoto Aoki's would be able to tell you more.

Previous answers are correct.
Only if you have an exceptional bottle can you ask the restaurant whether they mind or not. Ask for what the 'droit de bouchon' (corkage fee) would be. Asking this for an ordinary bottle is not something you do (for the reasons mentioned in previous posts).
I did it myself at l'Astrance once.

I am glad you liked it.
Note that they make their mergues themselves (but not the patisseries).
Cheers.

It is a good recommendation indeed as Nadège Varigny (the owner of the place) is herself from a butcher family.

This is a very good place. I enjoyed very much the tasting menu there.
But as in any Hyatt IMO, you feel you could be almost anywhere in the world. When you travel a lot that's a comfortable feeling. Some people however prefer to grab a little bit of the soul of Paris instead.
At the same time, to have fine dining on a Sunday night in the neighborhood is not an easy task.

Hiramatsu is a must. Much too often, it is overlooked. When I am questioned about it I invariably say "French cuisine with Japanese perfection".
I still don't understand why the red guide does not give them the recognition they deserve. The 'new' location is not as great as when they were in Ile St Louis but still this is worth a detour.
There's this thing about Japanese chefs mastering french cuisine which make them somehow unique; I think about Hiramatsu, Yoshimasa Watanabe from les cartes postales, (maybe makoto Aoki), and chef from Au bon Accueil who regrettably left to somewhere in Hokkaido. It is the essential french cuisine prepared with perfection. It gets rid of the heavy Escoffier-style sauces.
I am usually extremely impressed with the ability of those chefs who came to France to learn things they could easily get in Kyoto.

BTW I've never been to Stella Maris, does any one have any comments on this one?

How do you mix the batter?
My suggestion is to make sure that you incorporate enough air in the preparation. In the end, it is the air which will inflate the macaron when it is cooked.

I am not aware of any specific iphone app but Patrica Wells has a convenient glossary that you could download.
http://www.patriciawells.com/glossary...

Stéphane Jégo is from Lorient in Brittany.

If you're here for a few months you might want to try the Royal Maroc (http://royal.maroc.site.voila.fr/), a quiet off-the-beaten-path neighborhood kind of place.
It is my favorite where I always order a Couscous Mechoui. The lamb shoulder has been slowly cooked for hours, is crusty outside and melts in the mouth. The stock is rich and also very good (very different from the Table de Fes, for which I don't quite understand the reputation).
it is very cheap (something like 20 euros for a couscous). Two Moroccan brothers are running the restaurant. They almost retired earlier this year but eventually decided to carry on a little while. Sometimes the service is a bit slow but the overall experience for me is always very good.

No. "A point" means medium.
We had this argument before :)

Now, I agree with you ordering the right cooking is a bit of a lottery because the cooks are not always good and because patrons do not always know the right way th express it.

See reference in french (where they seem to use the same pictures btw):
http://www.chezfrances.com/annuaire/m...

Agree, very classic place.

On a sidenote:
The ABA chef's wife works at another restaurant in the 8th which offers an excellent deal for lunch (starter + main 22 eur). It is called Makoto Aoki, it serves french food and is entirely run by some japanese staff.

Well, well, although I agree with you that le Grand Véfour lost some of its grandeur (when it was run by Raymond Oliver for example), at least it is a truly historic restaurant. Seats are marked with the names of their most famous customers (including Napoleon and Josephine, V. Hugo and others). I ate there 3 times and had pretty enjoyable time. It is not part of my top list either but I would probably go back if I have the opportunity.
Lasserre belongs to the list of restaurants where I will never to come back. The one time I got there, the staff had an attitude and the food was mediocre. It was a long time ago and it probably has changed but given the choice of wonderful restaurants, that's my way to narrow down the list and to express my feelings at the same time.
To the original poster, I would recommend the Violon D'ingres.

Since your budget is little bit challenging, you should consider 'Chez Papa' a small chain of south-west restaurants. I haven't been there for ages but I guess it should fit the bill.

In addition to the always-pertinent-and-qualified comment from PhilD, I should add that the whole crew is scheduled to come back one day before the re-opening as I was explained last week on their last business day. Stephane's food was great as usual.
I would definitely recommend this place whenever it is open.

It's good. You can trust your friend's taste.

Be careful, Stephane Jego, the chef at l'Ami Jean is flying to NYC for a "gastro venue" around that time. You'd better check early.

Could your concierge have mixed it up with "Chez Jean", another restaurant in the 9th?

Thanks for the details. I might try the other ones you and Souphie mentionned.
I am booked for Noma.

(I hope Noma will be better than Arzak ;) I was underwhelmed there. Akelare OTOH was superb.)

Then obviously, PG is not for everyone.
I myself have been to quite a number of top restaurants (or considered as such) and consider myself as rather picky, not impressed at all by the mainstream recommendations.

I totally agree that JF Piège is absolutely wonderful, much better IMO than some other 3-stars (such as Alléno for example, and that and other things make me wonder about the Michelin).

I didn't know about Noma. I happen to be in Copenhagen in two weeks time. I will try. Thanks for the tip.

I have been to Pierre Gagnaire restaurant 4 or 5 times and never had a bad dish. A few of the numerous dishes might not have been outstanding, I can agree, but never bad. You must have been really unlucky or you are probably not ready for a modern twist in cuisne. ;)
As for molecular gastronomy you can try Chez Lena et Mimile in Paris (never been there), Thierry Marx near Paulliac (one of the best places I have been to in the last few years), and maybe Jacques Decoret in Vichy (have not been there but is on my list).
Back to the original question ("one of a kind interesting experience" in Paris) , I think Pierre Gagnaire is an excellent match.

If budget is not an issue, the breakfast at the Lutetia is supposed to be outstanding.
Otherwise, I would take a tea or coffe and a wonderful pastry from the pastry chef Sadaharu Aoki, rue Vaugirard. (http://www.sadaharuaoki.com/)