Glad to hear it, it’ll be interesting to see the difference, and of course share the experience with our son (thankfully he eats everything, and lots of it). And please do let us know when and if a NYC event takes place, I’d love to partake.
As a refresher, here’s a pic of very tasty octopus at ales Enfants du Marche… from Michel’s last meal there in Feb 2020 
Don’t tease me! I couldn’t make it to Paris on this past trip, which sucked. I am counting down the days for our European vacation this summer.
We haven’t been since a few years pre-pandemic at which point we thought the lunch was a small notch down from earlier visits. However the breakfast (only served to hotel guests) was memorable. Sort of a perfect continental breakfast, great croissant, great hot chocolate, etc.
check out Relais Christine. Great boutique hotel in 6th, English speaking, great buffet breakfast included 0700-1100 daily, amazingly attentive to personal needs. Stayed there 4 times.
+1, although I haven’t stayed their in 20 years. I love their courtyard
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recent remodel takes it up levels.
La Cagouille is a super place to eat and drink white Burgs at great pricing. A bowl of cockles in butter greets you with a crusty French bread. Food is unadorned, fresh from the sea, clean and brisk. Couteau—razor clams—delicious, bouillabaisse, various fresh fish, all good. A corked bottle was whisked away without a peep of protest. Old and young wines abound, though the list is not what it used to be either in breadth or cost, but that’s a reality of Burgundy. All in all, still a must visit for Burgundy lovers.
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Amazing the variation in how there seems to be one person who will never go back to a place that everyone else adores.
For me, it’s David Toutain, worse meal in Paris ever.
and we had a great meal there! Guess it depends on server and other factors. Our feeling is that there are so many places we haven’t been, why go back to one that we’ve had a bad data point at, even if others loved it. We have done Cagouille twice, Coq & Fils 3 times, Epicure twice. So many more untried.
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Epicure in the Bristol. Been twice. First time probably better since all so unexpected and server an absolute gem who enhanced the experience. Took adult kids and had a great meal. Professional and formal while still being warm and inviting, the room is gorgeous, table nicely appointed. Tables are far apart. Menu allows mix of à la carte or dégustation, can make substitutions. Pacing is perfect. Wine list a value and gem. We had C Bouchard Creux d’Enfer, V Dauvissat Montée de Tonnerre 2014, and Tremblay Chapelle 2003, also a 375 of 09 Arlot Suchots that was quite unready even in that format. Food included poulet en vessie, a Bocuse classic. Lots of great dishes. Be careful not to fill up on bread and Normandy butter. They keep bringing it. And they send you home with a loaf also. It’s a 3 star, deserves the rating, and we will return.
Looks awesome Alan!
I also like the flexibility you describe, as I don’t do 3 - 4 hour meals that last until late anymore.
Les Crayeres in Reims. A Michelin 2 star and, in my opinion, worth 3. Formal room but with lots of sunlight, pretty well-spaced tables and exemplary service from an army of well-informed articulate servers with excellent language skills. Needless to say, an impressive champagne list but also Burgundy. Didn’t look at Bordeaux but likely great also. We had 2015 U Collin Pierrières and 2010 Raveneau Valmur, wine of the two week trip. Food exceptional.
How about incredibly condescending and serving up something inedible? I have the feeling you wouldn’t tolerate extreme condescension either.
My wife got a twig with a few greens as her entree at Toutain. The main I got was meat with a twig decoration. Service already was poor once they realized we weren’t ordering a bottle of wine.
The other time was at Alain Ducasse many years ago. We write ahead and ask if they can do a vegetarian meal in the style of Alain Ducasse. They say “bien sur”. What they served as my wife’s entree was plain peas and carrots. When we complained, the response was “but these are Mr. Ducassse’s peas and carrots”. No better than my wife’s peas and carrots when she sources from the Farmers market. They could have easiily said “no”, as other 3 *s sometimes do.
It isn’t about whether something isn’t good or not - every great restaurant makes mistakes, and how they rectify things is the differentiator.
This is the kind of seafood restaurants I miss dearly here in the US. Simple, paired down stuff where the flavors of the sea are allowed center stage, but without being fine-dining-y. Here everything is overdone, over-breaded, over-fried and over-sauced or otherwise gimmicky. Less is more is a concept sorely eluding American seafood restaurants.
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we went w the adult kids recently just to show a classic French bistro and had a great time. Food wasn’t amazing. It was underseasoned and not very tasty. Cheese cart decent. Wine was quite good, 14 V Dauvissat Forest, 18 Ramonet Boudriotte, and 17 M Roy Gevrey VV. Ambience was wonderful and we loved it. Go back? No.
Paul Bert was an alternative but we had heard about a lot of condescension and high pricing. We are happy w our decision. It was a fun night at LBG.
If you don’t mind no wine and a super casual setting, try Holbox in LA. Definitely different cuisine, but exactly what you said (assuming spicey is ok).
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I would disagree about Paul Bert and so would many, many other people. Really hate to see a restaurant bashed by someone who has not been there recently.
I wasn’t bashing. Had just talked to a few people and done some reading. When I called them for a reservation—prior to deciding not to go—about two weeks before the date—they told me to call back in a week, no explanation why I couldn’t make a res two weeks prior. We then chose LBG.