Category: michelin

review: la bohème…

Coquilles Saint-Jacques d’Erquy a l’Unilaterale” l’Arpege, Paris, France Unlike its brethren, l’Arpege does not cosset and caress. Like the food it’s known for, this three-star Michelin restaurant is more hearth and home than retrofitted palace. It’s surprisingly Spartan, awkwardly configured, and a bit dated.  It’s mostly red (carpet; upholstery; and strange, sombrero-like chargers) with honey-colored, […]

Continue

review: la bohème…

Coquilles Saint-Jacques d’Erquy a l’Unilaterale” l’Arpege, Paris, France Unlike its brethren, l’Arpege does not cosset and caress. Like the food it’s known for, this three-star Michelin restaurant is more hearth and home than retrofitted palace. It’s surprisingly Spartan, awkwardly configured, and a bit dated.  It’s mostly red (carpet; upholstery; and strange, sombrero-like chargers) with honey-colored, […]

Continue

review: doubt…

Gourgeres l’Ambroisie, Paris Have you seen Doubt? You should see Doubt. I mean, Meryl Streep could read a phone book and make me cry. Or laugh. Or both, at the same time. Actually, the real performance to watch in that movie is Viola Davis’s. Though Streep is onscreen for Davis’s entire five-minute appearance, Davis’s acting […]

Continue

review: doubt…

Gourgeres l’Ambroisie, Paris Have you seen Doubt? You should see Doubt. I mean, Meryl Streep could read a phone book and make me cry. Or laugh. Or both, at the same time. Actually, the real performance to watch in that movie is Viola Davis’s. Though Streep is onscreen for Davis’s entire five-minute appearance, Davis’s acting […]

Continue

review: carnivale…

Guy Savoy (Paris, France) I was late. My reservation at Guy Savoy was at noon. And it was just shy of 11.45 when I got the keys from the doorman. Having endured a painfully early wake-up call and restless shot through the Chunnel, I was underslept and overfed when I arrived at the Gare du […]

Continue

review: carnivale…

Guy Savoy (Paris, France) I was late. My reservation at Guy Savoy was at noon. And it was just shy of 11.45 when I got the keys from the doorman. Having endured a painfully early wake-up call and restless shot through the Chunnel, I was underslept and overfed when I arrived at the Gare du […]

Continue

review: a frosty blossom..

Cheese Gougeres Hibiscus (London, U.K.) Given the extraordinary amount of positive press and praise lavished on Claude Bosi and his restaurant, Hibiscus, I maintained surprisingly healthy expectations. I steered a wide berth around the chatter about whether Bosi would regain his second Michelin star, which was lost in the restaurant’s moved from Ludlow to an […]

Continue

review: a frosty blossom..

Cheese Gougeres Hibiscus (London, U.K.) Given the extraordinary amount of positive press and praise lavished on Claude Bosi and his restaurant, Hibiscus, I maintained surprisingly healthy expectations. I steered a wide berth around the chatter about whether Bosi would regain his second Michelin star, which was lost in the restaurant’s moved from Ludlow to an […]

Continue

review: m to the g…

“My former cell mate had no teeth!” The cry went up from the deuce in the corner, followed by a giggle. The soundtrack at all 15 tables stopped. *Crickets* Ugh. The decibel count and nasal frequency was unmistakable. She (yes, she) was clearly from my neck of the woods. The four of us Yankees hunkered […]

Continue

review: m to the g…

“My former cell mate had no teeth!” The cry went up from the deuce in the corner, followed by a giggle. The soundtrack at all 15 tables stopped. *Crickets* Ugh. The decibel count and nasal frequency was unmistakable. She (yes, she) was clearly from my neck of the woods. The four of us Yankees hunkered […]

Continue

review: high fidelity…

Mazzancolle Cotto in Bianco The River Cafe I was staring down unwanted reservations at Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley when I, with the help of Food Snob, secured last minute seats at The River Café. Sorry Chef Wareing, do try to get a better buzz going the next time I swing by. I rang up […]

Continue

review: high fidelity…

Mazzancolle Cotto in Bianco The River Cafe I was staring down unwanted reservations at Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley when I, with the help of Food Snob, secured last minute seats at The River Café. Sorry Chef Wareing, do try to get a better buzz going the next time I swing by. I rang up […]

Continue

review: of blood and wonder…

Amuse Bouche l’Ambassade de l’Ile There is a sinister sleekness to l’Ambassade de l’Ile, the recently opened outpost to l’Auberge de l’Ile, a 2 Michelin-star restaurant in Lyon, France. There are shadows and dark corners. There are distorted silhouettes cast by underlit fixtures. Angles and mirrors make you doubt your presence. And there are voyeuristic […]

Continue

review: of blood and wonder…

Amuse Bouche l’Ambassade de l’Ile There is a sinister sleekness to l’Ambassade de l’Ile, the recently opened outpost to l’Auberge de l’Ile, a 2 Michelin-star restaurant in Lyon, France. There are shadows and dark corners. There are distorted silhouettes cast by underlit fixtures. Angles and mirrors make you doubt your presence. And there are voyeuristic […]

Continue

review: pro forma…

Potato Crisp Sandwiches Gordon Ramsay at Royal Hospital Road London, U.K. I’m sure I didn’t wake up at 3 a.m. to secure a restaurant reservation only to subject myself to three plus hours of boredom at a levy of 120£. That was my fear. Thankfully, I was spared that fate. But to claim that my […]

Continue

review: pro forma…

Potato Crisp Sandwiches Gordon Ramsay at Royal Hospital Road London, U.K. I’m sure I didn’t wake up at 3 a.m. to secure a restaurant reservation only to subject myself to three plus hours of boredom at a levy of 120£. That was my fear. Thankfully, I was spared that fate. But to claim that my […]

Continue

best dishes of 2008…

Softball-Size White Truffle l’Ambroisie, Paris, France Gastronomic self one-upsmanship was not my intention when 2008 began. But it happened quite unexpectedly. For the past three years, I’ve recapped the top 25 dishes in a year-end review (click here for 2005, here for 2006, and here for 2007). Annually, I announce with certainty that my lucky […]

Continue

best dishes of 2008…

Softball-Size White Truffle l’Ambroisie, Paris, France Gastronomic self one-upsmanship was not my intention when 2008 began. But it happened quite unexpectedly. For the past three years, I’ve recapped the top 25 dishes in a year-end review (click here for 2005, here for 2006, and here for 2007). Annually, I announce with certainty that my lucky […]

Continue

review: salt marsh umami…

Scallops with Seaweed Butter Steve Plotnicki was premature in posting his Best Meals of 2008 list, on which I am listed with Le Bernardin beneath my name. I told him as much when he sent me the questionnaire, knowing full well that my best meal just might be had whilst on my mid-December trip to […]

Continue

review: salt marsh umami…

Scallops with Seaweed Butter Steve Plotnicki was premature in posting his Best Meals of 2008 list, on which I am listed with Le Bernardin beneath my name. I told him as much when he sent me the questionnaire, knowing full well that my best meal just might be had whilst on my mid-December trip to […]

Continue