It’s true – You try to sneak the menu insert out to study later. Also sadly true, after a Chowhound thread about opera cake, I talked about it so much, my wife hand carried a Dalloyau opera cake home from Paris for me....

. This really highlighted both the best and worst of the night. It was really gorgeous: The lamb was paried with a “deconstructed floral infusion scattered across the plate: marigold petals, lemon balm leaf, tarragon, thyme,...

, brawn, and castor sugar. Having no particularly strong dinner plans other than having picked up a chicken on the way home, I looked for a chicken dish that could be made with what I had in the house and decided to go for "Le...

, but homeboy knows the butcher and is pretty sure they are from the portion near the tenderloin, by the backbone (le faux filet de dos, I never got the hang of American cuts). The sauce was prepared first. Green pepper, white...

. or the new one in Napa Valley—for all those food and wine pairings. Locanda Veneta—for the garlic and the desserts. Roma via Paris—for the French ambience and cuz I think the chef could do the Polynesian thing...

At Chez Allard in Paris, my youngest son was seated at a banquette between a heavily perfumed "FiFi Le Phew" on one side and a platter of what he called “locker room old sock cheese” on the other. Talk about olfactory...

Hi, omotosando! “...down the street from my office...” oooh, what a dangerous thing! I don’t know if Amandine is the ultimate bakery...ok...it’s not, but there is something really quite comfortable about...

Love German food. Last time I went to the Tropentag (Tropical Agriculture Day—actually several days) in Berlin, 50% of the motive was eating along the Orangutangstrasse (yes, I know...just what I call it) and to again go to...

Japanese food, and a nice list of Izakaya-style small plates to have with beer and sake (take a Japanese person with you, though, the list is in Japanese). Our Vietnamese is as good as I have had in NY and Paris, and the few...

league as FL, the only thing I can compare it to are the 3 stars in Paris. We have never had a problem with the reservationist, I think the key is just to be polite – she gets thousands of calls a week that she has to say...

're on the subject, the croissants at Grupil and DeCarlo (sp?), though they’re a lot better than the disgraceful, flabby things Balthazar sells. But I’ll stop.

of all worlds: great regional cuisine, great haute cuisine and great ethnic cuisine. It is to the contiguous 48 what Paris is to Europe. There is simply no city in the US that can compare to it from the perspective of both...

cooking because of his ethnicity? Or what about Julia Child? Or does the need to spend one’s life learning an ethnic cuisine only apply to the more ‘exotic’ like Japanese or Chinese? I just recently read where...

immediately note, is less expensive. “The Inn” is $148 prix fixe for a total of four courses including dessert OR cheese on Saturday nights. The wine list is remarkable including thousands of bottles that they...

, three times disrespected by owner & staff alike. If I need attitude, I fish w my brother-in-law. Bistro de L’Hermitage (Culver City) – Solidly uninspired food. Uncomfortable setting. Frosty proprietors. If I need...