Savoring an Outdoor Meal in Paris Garden and Sidewalk Terraces Enrich the Last Days of Summer

I know few dining pleasures anywhere in the world as exquisite as an outdoor meal in Paris. On those rare occasions when the weather is right and you can secure a table, dining on a restaurant's terrace in this city cannot be surpassed.

I hit the jackpot a few weeks ago with four outdoor nights in a row - a record for me. My all-time favorite terrace in Paris is Laurent, the pastel-pink 19th-century hunting lodge in the gardens of the Champs-Elysees. Here, the talented chef Philippe Braun (with the consulting assistance of Joel Robuchon) has created a menu of sheer simplicity with a certain touch of genius. The frosting on the cake is the fabulous service provided by Philippe Bourguignon and Patrick Lair.

Opt for the Menu Pavillon - well-priced at 390 francs ($55). Begin with the veal-stuffed ravioli teamed with the most delicious artichokes, a marvelous dish that is made for light, summertime eating. The thinnest pasta encases veal knuckle that has been cooked to a melting tenderness. The flavorful juices from the roasting serve as a lean, exquisite sauce.

And what better to follow than a spit-roasted Bresse chicken, crisp pommes soufflees and a green salad filled with a tangle of herbs. The chicken is moist, the skin is crisp, the potatoes golden and irresistible.

Dessert awaits - a fine lemon macaroon paired with fraises des bois, tiny wild strawberries. Or order a sweet compote of fresh strawberries set off by a lactic, acidic sorbet au fromage blanc.

On the a la carte menu, my favorites included the delightful fresh Brittany langoustines wrapped in Moroccan feuille de brick pastry and expertly deep-fried, served in a rich basil sauce with a gentle green salad. I crave Braun's elegant roast turbot, simplicity at its best, served with earthy, baby potatoes and new onions.

Lair worked his magic one more time, suggesting two outstanding wines: a 1998 Condrieu from Francois Villard, an almost lavish wine with beautiful structure, and a rare, much sought after Coteaux du Languedoc, 1994 Clos Syrah Leone, a rich winner with tons of intense, berry fruitiness.


Laurent
41 Avenue Gabriel
Paris 75008
Tel: 01-42-25-00-39
Fax: 01-45-62-45-21.
Open daily. Credit cards: American Express, Diners Club, Visa. Menus at 390 to 960 francs. A la carte, 700 to 800 francs.


Of all the modern bistros to open in the past few years, one of the best in terms of originality and spark is Dame Jeanne, in the Bastille area.

Service remains slow as molasses but that does not stop me from returning when I have a chance. The 120-franc ''fruit and vegetable'' menu is a dream, with such starters as a whole, peeled tomato stuffed with a mixed salad of steamed vegetables, including carrots, chives, broccoli and cauliflower tossed in a good vinaigrette.

Next comes a vegetable lasagne: featherlight, and paper-thin pasta layered with the most wonderful ratatouille - diced eggplant, zucchini and tomato - topped with the sheerest dose of cheese. The dish is served in an individual gratin dish, and comes with a green salad. A la carte offerings might include gazpacho served in a most original manner - from a glass beaker on a small white porcelain tray, with bits of parmesan, herbs and tomatoes as garnish.

A first-rate preparation of simple grilled lamb chops arrives with a rich potato puree. For wine, I opted for a 1998 Pic St. Loup, from the Languedoc, a 1998 Chateau de Cazeneuve ''Les Calcaires'' from Andree Leenhart. The wine appeared harsh at first, but with a little breathing rounded out the meal wonderfully.

Dame Jeanne
60 Rue de Charonne
Paris 75011
Tel: 01-47-00-37-40
Fax: 01-47-00-37-45.
Closed Saturday lunch and Sunday. Closed from the end of August to Sept. 12. Credit card: Visa. Menus at 110, 128 and 168 francs.


Move on to one of my favorite bistros, Au Bon Accueil, with its elbow-to-elbow-tiny sidewalk terrace, a fine menu and an attractive view of the Eiffel Tower.

Jacques Lacipiere, the owner, is clearly working to upgrade the level of food offered at this jam-packed restaurant and let's hope he succeeds. The food is becoming more sophisticated without losing any of its original charm. On the 175-franc ($24) menu you might find a rich and creamily delicious risotto flavored with tiny, woodsy girolles - chanterelles - a Parmesan cookie and plenty of minced chives, or roasted leg and shoulder of lamb from France's Pauillac region, served with a rich rosemary-infused juice.

Desserts include a fine grapefruit-enhanced creme br?lee and a heavenly moelleux au chocolat served with fresh raspberries and strawberries. A la carte offerings include a fabulous turbot steamed with an avalanche of herbs, accompanied by a warm rendition of the popular a la grecque vegetable preparation, including lightly pickled carrots, onions and mushrooms.

Au Bon Accueil
14 Rue de Monttessuy
Paris 75007
Tel: 01-47-05-46-11.
Closed Saturday and Sunday. Credit card: Visa. Menu at 175 francs. A la carte, 280 to 350 francs.

Illustrious Pic

VALENCE -- The first time we dined at the illustrious, longtime Michelin three-star restaurant Pic was in the 1970’s, all part of a gastronomic blitz about France. Pic was on the schedule for dinner, but that Sunday morning as we tried to start the engine on our leased Renault parked near a church in Lyon, flames began to fly from the engine.

“Incendie!” was the first word that came from our lips. As a Frenchmen walked out the church and came to our aid, the first thing he did was correct our French. This was not an “incendie” but a ‘petit feu.”

At any rate, we had a car to tow to the repair shop so did not make our lunch date at the then-renowned Pyramide in Vienne. Instead, we hopped a train to Valence to make sure we would be fed at dinner time.

I remember the meal at Pic as glorious but more important I remember the breakfast that morning in the dining room, the freshly cut rose in the silver vase, and our good bye. As we departed, intending to walk to the train station, chef Jacques Pic suggested the staff bring our car around. When he realized we had no car and were walking to the station, he grabbed a chef from the kitchen to drive us. As we drove off, Monsieur Pic raced after us on foot, with a bottle of champagne and a Relais & Château key chain as a souvenir. That memory of gentle kindness has stayed with me for decades as a reminder of just how generous the French can be. And we still use the key chain for the keys to our wine cellar.

Much has changed at Pic since then. Jacques Pic passed away, his son, Alain briefly took over the stoves, and now, after a family feud, 30-year-old daughter Anne-Sophie Pic her husband, David Sinapian, along with mother Suzanne are running the illustrious hotel-restaurant, which now has two Michelin stars. (Alain Pic can now be found in Grenoble, at the restaurant Les Mesanges-Alain Pic.)

I will admit to a bit of apprehension at returning to this, one of the most traditional of grand French restaurants. Sometimes the weight of tradition weighs just too much, and I did wonder what could this 30-year-old gal tell us about the all that has passed through these august kitchens.

I was delightfully surprised, for what I found was truly luscious fare, a menu that on paper appears overly ambitious but on the plate comes off as modern, light, ethereal, full of clean, clear flavors. In fact the hardest part of the meal is wading through the menu choices and names. But once you’ve made up your mind and placed your order, you are home free!

The tiny Anne-Sophie seems to work like a fireball, instilling new, revitalized ideas in a very classical house. While on paper many of the dishes seem to have a very Asian touch (as do the many clean-lined dishes on which she serves her very personal fare) the end result has its roots in classical French cuisine.

And so she will tease us with appetizers of moist chicken skewered on twigs of fragrant rosemary, or offer us tiny madeleines seasoned with bits of ham and Parmesan cheese, and rolls of smoked salmon served in tiny paper cups.

Vegetables get star billing here in almost every dish, as she pairs salads of lobster, crab, and langoustines with baby leaves of red-ribbed Swiss chard and arugula, with drizzles of a mayonnaise smooth and sheer as organdy.

Fresh langoustines appear on top of deliciously seasoned crab meat studded with lime zest, surrounded by all my favorite veggies: teepees of asparagus, fresh fava beans, and baby spinach leaves anointed, again with that sheer and airy mayonnaise.

A symphony of flavors abound in a simple serving of ceteaux – precious baby soles – delicately pan fried and paired with the tiniest of baby squid stuffed with pasta and a pistou-like sauce.

A main course of guinea hen – pintade – stuffed with olive leaves, rosemary, fennel, dried tomatoes and black olives – was a pure delight in flavor and presentation. The poultry was prepared in the most traditional of ways – en vessie – or wrapped in a pig’s bladder and poached in chicken stock, making for a moist, fragrant bird. The marriage of the tender guinea hen meat, the stuffing, all served with great buttery girolles (chanterelles) and tiny ratte potatoes was made in heaven.

The only disappointment of the meal was the bottle of Chapoutier’s famed white Hermitage, a 1997 Chante Alouette, a wine that seemed flat and uneventful, as it should not be when priced at 490 francs a bottle. We recovered, however, with a bottle of simple but sublime red Côtes du Rhône, a Château d’Hugues 1995 well-priced at 140 francs.


Pic
285 boulevard Victor Hugo
26000 Valence
Tel: 04 75 44 15 32
Fax: 04 75 40 96 03.
Closed two weeks in January, Sunday evening, Tuesday lunch, and Monday from November to March. Menus at 430 and 660 francs. A la carte, 490 to 660 francs, including service but not wine.

A Touch of Humanity in a Sea of Chaos

CHÂTEAU Each June for the past 15 years I have made my annual trip from Paris to Aspen, Colorado for the Food & Wine Classic, a long weekend where I and other food writers and chefs conduct cooking classes, give talks and do book signings and consumers have their fill of wine tastings, seminars, special dinners, as well as mountain hikes and the unbeatable summer skies of Aspen.

Each year I gear up for that endless trip in the sky, the series of planes that usually take me from Paris to Chicago, Chicago to Denver, Denver to Aspen in a single day, with usually a travel time of 24 hours if all goes well. It usually does not. Most often I arrive in Denver late or really late and barely make the last flight to Aspen. By that time, tough as I am, my lower lip trembles with exhaustion and -- I will be honest -- I could break at any moment if the ticket agent suggests I may not reach my destination that evening. There are almost always snags, delays, lost luggage, but if all goes well I arrive in sunny Aspen around 8 pm wishing they would take those bright lights away and hand me a firm pillow.

This year, for the first time ever, all signals were go. I even had a felicitous check-in in Paris , when the United Airlines agent and I began to chat, and before I knew it Bruno and I were exchanging recipes (he promised to send his famous terrine de lapin), business cards, and well wishes. He also complimented me on my tiny red bag and applauded me for traveling light. So this time every plane was on time, there was no lost luggage, and there were cheery faces greeting me in Aspen to whisk me to my usual room at the Hotel Jerome.

The return – with a three-day stop in New York for business -- was less successful. On Sunday, the short flight from Aspen to Denver almost landed in Colorado Springs. The Denver flight to NY took off a bit late, and was so crowded it seemed as though it took centuries to board. Once we were close to LaGuardia airport, we circled until we almost ran out of fuel. The pilot announced that the airport was closed due to storms and we would divert to Dulles airport outside of Washington, D.C. There, we would hopefully refuel and return to the New York City metropolitan area at first chance.

We landed late, very late, at Dulles and from the second we landed it seemed as though Untied Airlines dumped us. As we deplaned they announced that the crew had worked their maximum hours, there was no replacement crew, and we should deplane and wait for instructions.

I, among many others on the plane, had a crucial need to be in Manhattan on Monday morning. I had a cooking class to give at Macy’s DeGustibus and needed essential prep time. Once we gathered in a long, long line with two United agents to handle us, we were informed that we had two choices: Maybe a 10:30 am flight to LaGuardia the next morning or a 3:30 am Amtrack train to Manhattan.

In situations like this, I feel it is important to move toward your final destination with each decision. So at 12:35 A.M. I climbed into a taxi with three other like-minded travelers heading for the train station in downtown D.C. a good 40 minutes away. As we began to explain our tale of woe to the taxi driver, he offered to drive us to Manhattan. We took a quick startled glance at one another, negotiated with the driver, and we were off! By 6 am I was comfortably ensconced in my friends’ New York City apartment. I felt smug and happy and exhausted.

Three quick days in Manhattan and I was off on my trip back to Paris. United Airlines does not fly direct from New York to Paris, so I was ticketed New York-Dulles-Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris .

This is where it gets rugged. To keep it short and sweet, the flight from LaGuardia to Dulles was late, extremely late, and I missed my connection to Paris . Once again, I found myself in the Dulles airport taxi line past midnight, again a one-hour wait for a cab, sharing this time with three other men for the trip to D.C. United Airlines had given me a voucher for dinner, a hotel room, and breakfast. Too late for dinner but a firm pillow seemed like a good idea at the time.

When I arrived at the Hilton Hotel at 3:30 am the desk clerk looked at me and said: “I don’t’ know why they keep sending people here when they know we have no rooms.”

My lower lip trembled. My eyes welled up. The clerk took pity and found me a room.

I forgot to mention that an hour was spent at Dulles trying to trace the famous tiny red bag that did not come off the belt. The United agent assured me this was no problem. The bag would be transferred to my Paris flight the next day without incident.

I was too tired not to believe her. But when arrived in Paris a day late there was no trace of that bag. I filled out the usual forms and went home, assuming the bag would show up the next day. Each day for four days United Airlines called. Since I don’t stay home waiting for the phone to ring, they only left messages. Each day, many times a day, I called the Paris number they had given to me, only to listen to the same voice say day after day that the message line was saturated.

I even tried the U.S. lost baggage number, hoping to find a friendly voice. Same frustrations. What answered was (to my ears) a sophisticated voice recognition system that identified itself as Simon and talked me through a series of steps to track down the lost bag.It began badly because among the choices Simon listed was, in essence, "none of the above." "Say 'help,' " Simon instructed. But when I did, Simon just repeated himself, seemingly with a tone of rising vexation.

Finally, I yielded to one of the other options. "Lost bag," I said. "Where was the bag lost," Simon in effect said. "Paris." "Did you say 'Paris France,'" said Simon. "Yes," said I. "We're checking" came the reply. Convincing "Star trek" gurgles were audible in the background. "This is impressive," I said, though not to Simon.

"We need to connect you with an agent," said Simon, after more gurgles. "If you'd like to speak with a representative, say 'Agent.'" "Agent" said I. "Did you say 'Agent?'" asked Simon. "Yes," I responded, wondering if Simon was one of those Frenchmen who always screw up their face when they hear an American accent. . "One moment while I connect you with an agent."

That was the end of my high tech Simon Says adventure. The call rang over to a line that was busy, then shut off. Back at square one.

Four days later, as I was in a Paris taxi about to arrive at the Gare de Lyon for a trip south, my portable phone rang. It was Bruno of terrine de lapin fame. He had been walking through the lost baggage section and spied the famous tiny red bag. He took out my business card, called me, and arranged delivery just a few hours later.

After four days of being treated like a non-person, what a delight to have that fabulous injection of the human element. Moral of the story: Always talk about food. Always travel with a red bag.

Staggeringly Simple, Extremely Well-Executed

CHÂTEAU ARNOUX, FRANCE- Many chefs talk about just-picked garden freshness and French regional pride but few attend to the task as eagerly and authentically as Arlette, Pierre, and Jany Gleize the inseparable family trio from the memorable hotel restaurant La Bonne Etape, here in the Alpes de Haute Provence.

I have known the family for at least 15 years and return each time as an old friend, a fellow warrior in the combat against the sameness and inauthenticity of so many regional menus. The first time I dined at this 18th-century relais de poste (stagecoach stop) flavors virtually leapt from the plate: Pierre Gleize's tender zucchini blossoms . picked from his garden outside the restaurant at sunset . stuffed with a vibrant mix of garlic, mint, and zucchini; his fragrant Sisteron lamb; or the pungent Banon goat. s milk cheese aged in dried chestnut leaves, all accompanied by aromatic sips of the red, white or rose Palette from Château Simone.

A recent return visit brought all that happiness back once more, following a sensory -heightened drive up and down Mont Ventoux and through the lavender-strewn fields along some of France's best back roads.

The food at La Bonne Etape is staggeringly simple, extremely well-executed. The son, Jany, is now at the stove, and, gratefully, brings no huge ego to the table: What. s on the plate is about the ingredients, pure and simple. He is one of the most creative chefs I know, yet the creativity is not shoved in your face. There is nothing complicated, nothing you have to strain your brain to understand. But don. t confuse simple with professional: This is food of the highest level, dishes glazed or teamed up with sauces you don't turn out of in a home kitchen in a matter of seconds.

More than a week later (with many restaurant meals and many memorable dishes consumed since that time) I can close my eyes and still see and taste the food.

Who could not love the purity of his soothing ravioli stuffed with a mixture of mushrooms, Swiss chard and spinach, bathed in a shiny red tomato sauce? The brilliant red, white and green transport you right across the border to Italy.

Joël Robuchon came to mind when I sampled Jany. s bed of meltingly soft onions and black truffles topped with a Tiddly Wink arrangement of perfect rounds of delicious potatoes, decorated with a crispy Parmesan tuile cookie.

Fresh tuna is cooked to a confit-like tenderness, topped with a layer of fresh, marinated anchovies, woven into perfect braid atop the fish. And lamb is seized as though the devil did it, sauced with a rich, original basil butter.

Service here is of the highest order, and the Relais & Chateaux group should be proud of the youthful, well-mannered staff. It must be a sign that I am getting old, but the fine female sommeliere did not look as though she was old enough to legally drink the wine she was pouring.

But I must thank her for introducing me to Henning Hoesch. s rich red Syrah, the 1996 Domaine Richeaume Côtes de Provence with appealing overtones of black and red currants.

And while I tend to agree more or less with the august Michelin travel guide on the their ratings, they are simply WRONG WRONG WRONG about their single star rating of La Bonne Etape. Over the years they have given stars and taken them away from the Gleize family for what I see as no justifiable reason.


La Bonne Etape
Chemin du lac
04160 Château-Arnoux-St Aubin.
Tel: 04 92 64 00 09.
Fax: 04 92 64 37 36.
Closed January 3 to February 12 and all day Monday, Tuesday at lunch from November to March. Credit cards: American Express, Diner. s Club, Visa. Menus at 310 and 540 francs. A la carte, 225 to 595 francs, including service but not wine.

Amazing Combinations, Remarkable Presentations, Flavorful Surprises

Paris -- The best restaurant in Paris today? For my palate it is the home of Pierre Gagnaire, the hyperactive, super creative, sometimes off the wall crazy chef who manages to woo us with amazing combinations, remarkable presentations, and most of all, flavorful surprises that please even the most jaded of palates.

I first ran into Gagnaire in the mid-1980. s, when he was a brash young chef working out of a playful skylit restaurant in the town of Saint Etienne in central France. I remember my first meal as though it was yesterday, especially the astonishingly rich chocolate soufflé, so creamy he called it a soup.

He was like a jumping bean, so full of ideas and challenges that just being within earshot of him you felt the energy, excitement, enthusiasm. Your senses went into instant overload.

Some 15 years later, after some not so happy days in another establishment in Saint Etienne, Gagnaire is still working his magic. Like most of us, maturity has brought a bit of sobriety (but not TOO much) and clearer focus on what he is after.

Many adjectives come to mind after a meal in his tranquil, enveloping grey and white Right Bank dining room: Exciting. Intelligent. Generous. Challenging. Audacious.

A while back I told Gagnaire that I thought he was the most intellectual of chefs, because it is hard to tear into a dish of his without thinking of all the elements there (why and how did he come up with the combination of fresh morels in curry powder, paired with frog. s legs with tarragon, écrevisses with vegetables in a chervil pesto) that just looking at the food makes your head spin and question. His response was . But we have all these incredible ingredients at hand, why not use them all?.

But of course you can look at his food both ways , take it at face value (it tastes great, I. ll have another bite), or plunge into the intellectual realm to try get into the mind of the slightly mad scientist.

While he has always dazzled us with his combination, I feel that today has in fact narrowed the focus of his food down to main ingredients, while that lost list of side bars are just that, side bars to uphold and shine light on the ingredient at hand. Thus a main-dish of Turbot paired with leeks and codfish and a juice of highbush cranberries, set off by tiny mackerel in anchovy sauce, is the end really all about that firm, white-fleshed star of the sea from Brittany.

But go, see and taste for yourself, and along the way sample some of the finest wines of the Languedoc, such as a white 1998 Château Estanilles or a hearty 1997 Saint Chinian, Canet Valette, Le Vin Meghani. And don. t forget to fasten your seat belt. It may well be a bumpy and memorable ride.

 

Pierre Gagnaire
6 rue Balzac
Paris 75008.
Telephone 01 44 35 18 25
Fax: 01 44 35 18 37.
Closed Saturday, Sunday lunch, holidays, and mid-July to mid-August. Credit cards: American Express, Diners Club, Visa. Menus at 5320 francs (lunch only), 960 and 1500 francs. A la carte, 800 to 1000 francs including service but not wine.

La Maison de l'Aubrac

Paris -- I don't know when I have laughed or smiled more in a Parisian restaurant. It was a Sunday night, right after a major French rugby game. France lost, but you would never have known it by all the revelry in the Auvergnat La Maison de l' Aubrac. There was a table of 30 or 40 locals, singing their hearts out, Auvergnat songs, funny songs, sexy songs, country songs that made you feel as though you were in heart of France and not just steps from the Champs Elysées.

I don' t know how they managed to keep singing AND eating as platter after platter of hearty Auvergnat fare was paraded to their tables, giant trays of whole sausages and sliced sausages, head cheese and rillettes, terrines and pâtés, all washed down with carafes of rustic red.

All around us, diners were eagerly tucking into huge platters of saucisse aligot, Auvergnat pork sausages paired with mashed potatoes laced with garlic and curds of fresh Cantal cheese; huge and gorgeous 2 pound ribs of beef (côte de boeuf), accompanied by either sauteed potatoes or aligot, potato gratin or green salad.

Sitting within earshot (one couldn' t get away from the singing if one had wanted to) we feasted on simple fare, most of it sublime. My favorite of the evening was their croustillant de Roquefort aux poires, salade d' endives aux noix: Brique pastry was filled with a mix of Roquefort cheese and cubed fresh pears, folded in four like a crepe, then pan fried. The crispy, warm croustillant accompanied a beautiful, fresh, and nicely dressed endive salad tossed with a touch of cubed tomato, tons of finely chopped fresh parsley and plenty of walnuts.

Equally fine was the cool lentil salad, served with lots of dressed greens and truly moist and delicious smoked fatted duck breast, or magret. Less interesting was the fresh but rather bland slice of leg of lamb from the Lozère, grilled and served with a duet of white beans, large and small, a dish that lacked a defined personality. My entrecôte, grilled to a perfect rareness, was good: chewy, fresh, meaty and fragrant. The accompanying green salad was ultrafresh.

This rustic style restaurant (with wooden booths, paper place mats, and stainless tableware) could easily be taken for a nondescript café, but it' s more than that. A true home away from home for the hordes of Auvergnats who visit or reside in Paris . But even for first-timers, service is friendly and efficient. The wine list is excellent, offering good choices from the Languedoc, Rhône, and the Southwest. We loved the ripe and virile Pic Saint Loup Château de Lascaux, Les Nobles Pierres, from the Hérault village of Vacquieres. The 1997 was honestly priced at 188 francs. , , Paris 8. Tel: 01.43.59.05.14.Fax: .

LA MAISON DE L' AUBRAC
37, rue Marbeuf
Paris 75008
Tel: 01.43.59.05.14
Fax: 01.42.89.66.09
Credit cards: Visa.


Topolobampo: Jumps from the Kitchen to the Plate

CHICAGO- I was once lucky enough to have a few precious hours between flights in this great town. There was no hesitation as to where it would be spent, in the care of restaurateurs Rick and Deann Bayless, owners of Chicago's unique Mexican restaurants, Topolobampo and its little next door brother, The Frontera Grill.

That was years ago and a 48 hour visit to the city late this spring allowed me yet another glimpse and sampling of the Bayliss magic. Rick and Deann have done more for the understanding of Mexican food in America than any two people I know. Their passion is exhaustive, with regular field trips to visit markets, study ingredients and cooking techniques, equipment, artwork and feasts. And they present a full package in their brightly colored, fun, art-filled settings.

Their enthusiasm for and knowledge of this land of hot peppers and cilantro, corn and smoky chilies, plantains and black beans literally jumps from the kitchen to the plate. This is not the sort of restaurant one can be ambivalent about, it gets under your skin, takes a swat at your palate, leaves you dreamy as you walk out the door, having just sipped their heavenly Elixir Tropical, a mixture of papayas and mango, raspberries and jicama (a crisp root vegetable with the texture of fresh water chestnuts) in a cool tropical broth.

But I am getting ahead of myself. An ideal late spring starter consisted of a seviche , a perfect palate opener, a finely acidic, highly spiced modern style preparation of raw baby scallops marinated in lime juice and seasoned with chipotle peppers, oregano vinegar and olive oil.

Then we moved to serious eating, sampling their classic Lenten dried shrimp cakes (Tortitas de Camarones); as well as very light Yucatecan enchiladas, prepared with homemade tortillas and bathed with a smooth and savory pumpkin seed sauce.

But one of my favorite dishes of the evening was the Sopa Azteca, a dreamy soup made up of a dark broth flavored with chile pasilla, garnished with grilled chicken, avocado, cheese, thick cream and that perfect touch of crunch, crisp tortilla strips.

Each dish is beautifully presented and though the food appears complex, a single main ingredient is always the star. As in the best dish of the evening aged Wisconsin Crawford Farm leg of lamb, served with an earthy corn mushroom sauce and teamed up with sweet roasted garlic and chile pasilla. Equally stunning is the rabbit loin set over a banana leaf braise of poblano chiles, carrots, garlic, and fingerling potatoes. The roasted Serrano salsa was the perfect foil for all these ultra-fresh ingredients.

Vegetarians would delight in the Tama Azteca, a monumental layered casserole of zucchini, corn, Swiss chard, poblanos and a delightfully smoky tomato sauce.

What to drink with all this? We had the rich red Spanish Tempranillo from Ribera del Duero region just north of Madrid. The fashionable wine from the pale and aromatic Rioja grape stands up perfectly to all of the Bayless fancy dancing with spice and pungency. Other good choices include a floral white Viognier from the Andrew Murray vineyards in Santa Barbara, California or a Napa Valley Riesling from Stony Hill.

TOPOLOBAMBO (and Frontera Grill)
445 North Clark Street
Chicago, Illinois
Tel: 312 661 1434
Closed All major credit cards. Five-course tasting menu at $55. A la carte, about $45, not including service or wine.
ON THE
Back Burner



Shaw's Crab House

It had been about 10 years since I had the pleasure of dining at Shaw’s Crab House, a rabbit warren of dining rooms decked out with lots of Americana as well as lots of the city’s inhabitants. The place was packed on that Friday night in spring, with hordes of happy hour revelers still tucking into that day’s oyster sampling (from Nova Scotia and Oregon, British Columbia, and Martha’s Vineyard no less), washing down the sweet and succulent bivalves with lots of malty beer or oyster friendly wines.

This place is amazing, though not the spot to be for a quick or quiet or romantic evening. Service can be uneven and slow, but trust me, if it is fresh fish and shellfish you want in Chicago, then it is worth the wait.

Along with the astonishing selection of fresh oysters, sweet Dungeness, Florida Stone Crab and soft-shell crabs in season, Shaw’s serves incredible crab cakes, and, on the evening we visited the most delicious, moist, pure-flavored Roasted Alaskan Halibut steak you can imagine, paired with roasted fingerling potatoes and asparagus. The wine list is largely American, and the key lime pie, totally awesome: tangy, pert and the perfect way to end an evening.

Shaw’s Crab House & Blue Crab Lounge
21 East Hubbard Street
Chicago, Illinois
Tel: 312 527 2722.
Open daily. All major credit cards. About $35 per person, not including service or wine.

Sicily's Tantalizing Bouquet of Spring Flavors

Palermo, Sicily --- Driving from Palermo into the center of Sicily on a day in early May, this largely rural island put on its very best show. Pristine and agrarian, the land offers an incredibly lush palate of spring colors. Look to the left, at troughs of bright red poppies; tiny modern whitewashed farmhouses with their crisp arched porches; voluptuous rolling hills of grain; baby artichokes with their very best posture standing tall on their slender stems; towering medlar trees already laden with their apricot-toned fruits; lush fields of fava beans. Turn right and there appear vast purplish red patches of the clover like flower, sulla; healthy groves of cedro, the citron-like fruit, whose candied rind is used in all the island's fine confectionary; and of course roadsides lined with feathery fronds of wild fennel, an essential to the cuisine of Sicily.

We arrived at Anna Tasca Lanza's estate, Regaleali, just as the cheesemaker was preparing the morning's batch of ricotta from the estates flock of testa rossa sheep. Greeting us in blue jeans and with an I Love NY button attached to her navy vest, the lean, grey-haired Sicilian was elative:  My garden is only perfect for five minutes a year, and you arrived during those five minutes, suggesting that this lush greenery of May will turn a drab, dried brown as the summer sun wilts the effusiveness of spring.

Walking into the blue-tiled cheese house on the vast estate, we were greeted with that warm, clean, lactic aroma of cheese in the making, as the cheesemaker separated the curds (which will go into their farm Pecorino) from the whey (which is what is used to make the fresh ricotta.) Nothing goes to waste in Sicily. As we dig our spoons into the warm, supple lily white mass ricotta only seconds old, the room is filled with one vast, choral-like hum. Satisfaction at its finest.

Later, at the huge square table in Anna Tasca Lanza's kitchen, we shared in a local feast, the likes of which are served at her cooking school, The World of Regaleali, Cooking, Culture, and Country Life in a Sicilian Vineyard. Guests can visit for a briefly as an overnight stop (for dinner, breakfast, a demonstration lesson and lunch the next day); or for one, three, or five-day programs.

Our lunch began with Sicily. s most famous pasta dish, pasta con le sard, or pasta with sardines and wild fennel. Our group of six agreed we had never had a good version of this dish but soon found what all the fuss can be about: Fresh sardines, onions, tomato sauce, pine nuts, dried currants, anchovies, saffron, nutmeg and massive amounts of that ubiquitous wild fennel combined to make a rich, complex, highly seasoned homogenous sauce for the lean strands of hollow, spaghetti-likes perciatelli pasta. In a single bite, I GOT Sicily.

There were platters of onions and baby artichokes, sauteed in oil with a touch of white wine; a cold fritella, a verdant sautéed mix of fava beans, peas, and Swiss chard; wild fennel sauteed with artichokes, sun-dried squash and olives; tiny potatoes that had been boiled, sliced, sprinkled with bread crumbs and sauteed in rich Sicilian olive oil; two-month old baby lamb from the estate, roasted in a roaring oven, sprinkled with hot pepper flakes and salt, then once seared sprinkled with orange juice and white wine. Golden hard wheat went into the rich and fragrant focaccia, flavored with rosemary, olive oil, and a touch of white wine.

And the feast rolled on, all wetted with the estate. s famed wines, from the crisp, dry, young whites from the Inzolia and Catarrato grapes to the late harvest Nozzo d. Oro white, the color of a yellow diamond, with a Burgundy-like richness and on to the classic red Regaleali rosso, jammy, with black cherries and a delicate almond aroma.

And there was cheese. And more cheese. Aged pecorino, aged pecorino with whole black peppercorns or with whole grains of coriander. And of course ricotta, seasoned with honey and jam.

As we depart, the landscape puts on another brilliant show. Beneath a cloudless, pale blue sky, we see what must be 1,000 shades of green. And, as background music, there is the crisp, determined chirp of the ever-present sparrow.

 

Anna Tasca Lanza
The World of Regaleali
Viale Principess Giovanna
9, Palermo 90149 Italy.
Tel: 39 934 814654 Fax: 39 921 542 783.
Prices vary from $100 to $2,000 per person.

 

Tasteful and Tasty, With No Attitude

What a pleasure to dine in a restaurant with no attitude, no Let's Cook International menu, just good French food in good surroundings with service that is sincere, efficient and from the heart.

That's what I found on a recent evening at the six-month-old Restaurant Baptiste, where the chef Denis Croset and his associate, Jean-Baptiste Gay, are doing what the French do best, running a compact bistro where one might easily become a neighborhood regular.

Situated in the bourgeois neighborhood near Parc Monceau, the restaurant is a tasteful and simple restoration of a 1930s bistro, where the best parts - such as the colorful Art Deco tile floor - have been saved and modern touches, including comfortable upholstered chairs and fine linens, have been added.

The well-priced menu is contemporary and to the point, with such unfussy fare as a tossed green salad (thank you, chef) and such daily specials as a potato and codfish (cabillaud) salad. Main courses vary from a masterfully grilled rump of veal (quasi de veau) served with the tiniest of French green beans and fresh green asparagus, to a delicious grilled veal chop, set atop a mix of vegetables, all cooked to a tender confit. For dessert, classic crepes filled with cubed warm apples and raisins are in order.

The compact wine list includes a full, fruity, pleasing red Faugeres, Chateau Chenaie 1996, at 185 francs (about $26), as well as an ever satisfying red Saumur-Champigny, vieilles vignes, from Domaine de la Perruche, the 1997 priced at 130 francs.

Restaurant Baptiste
51 Rue Jouffroy d'Abbans
Paris 75017
Tel: 01-42-27-20-18
Closed Saturday lunch and Sunday. Two-course menu at 148 francs and three-course menu at 180 francs. Credit cards: Visa, American Express.


Starck's Eatery Disappoints

PARIS - With a great deal of fanfare and more grand plans for the future, the omnipresent designer Philippe Starck opened his first restaurant, Bon, on the first day of spring in Paris's 16th arrondissement.

Situated in a huge, 700-square-meter (7,500-square-foot) space along Rue de la Pompe, Bon personifies everything that is wrong with internationally aimed restaurants today.

For starters, the multipurpose space is uncomfortable, the place is so dark and the type on the menu so small that you cannot even read what you might want to eat. The food has a proper organic-vegetarian approach, but fails miserably in flavor, presentation and satisfaction. And on a given night one risks total asphyxiation as this bio-healthy-wholesome crowd smokes up a veritable storm.

I admire Starck's energy and commitment to a healthy lifestyle, but I wish he had stuck to toothbrushes, chairs, buildings and sofas and stayed clear of creating menus for the restaurant world.

Along with his partner, Laurent Taieb (of Lo Sushi fame), Starck has attempted to put together a restaurant for everyone at all times. Bon is designed to fill the needs of a single person for breakfast - organic sweets from Laduree can be grabbed from the revolving belt that serves to deliver your sushi at lunch and dinner; a single for lunch - who can join one of the several table d'hote in the first dining room; a romantic couple for dinner - there's an intimate dining room in one section of the restaurant, or a group meeting-dinner in the video room fully equipped with the latest technology.

There is, as well, a large room decorated with giant white sofas, the idea being that people can feel as though they are dining at home. And there is a brasserie-style area for those who like being elbow-to-elbow.

The place has many brilliant Starck touches - the giant marble-top table d'hote that is lighted from underneath and topped with candelabras, and a lovely outdoor space decorated with ''walls'' of thyme set in giant picture frames. There is also a small boutique where you can purchase Bon's tableware; kitschy objects such as a faux-mink cover for your soft-boiled egg; Laduree's macaroons prepared with organic ingredients, and the designer's own line of organic products, from spaghetti sauce to champagne.

The menu, alas, is just plain silly, and about the only edible things our group of four diners found were a few meager pieces of sushi thrown into the ''menu dietetique,'' which included an unsavory compilation of sushi, miso soup, a mishmash of vegetables and a naked chunk of iceberg lettuce. What could Starck be thinking? The food was served TV-dinner style: all at the same time on an awkward platter.

Everything at Bon is not good for you. One small section of the menu is entitled ''I Am Bad,'' and featured steak and potato chips that, on our visit, emitted an odd flavor, like rancid oil.

The Paris Bon is the first of a chain, with plans for others in New York, Tokyo, Frankfurt, Madrid and London. Heaven help us.


Bon
25 Rue de la Pompe
Paris 75016
Tel: 01-40-72-70-00
Fax: 01-40-72-68-30.
Open daily 8 A.M. to 2 A.M. About 150 francs ($22) a person, including service. All major credit cards.

Slim and Fit, Behind the Golden Door

ESCONDIDO, California There is one thing in life that I truly regret. When I was growing up in the American Middle West in the 1950s, girls did not sweat. We couldn't even dream of being jocks or playing on a team. Girls could swim and they could ice skate. There were no other options.

In high school, ''gym'' happened about once a week and was limited to wimpy calisthenics, a trampoline or volley ball, all supervised by ill-tempered, unattractive, overweight women. So much for role models.

But around 1968, at the urging of a male friend who had just returned from a life-changing Outward Bound program, I bought a pair of high-top boy's basketball shoes (no Reeboks, no Nikes back then) and began to jog. Over the years I ran a few mini marathons, working my way up to an easy, hourlong run several times a week. Most of the time, I loved every minute of it. (During one difficult period in my life I truly believed that if I ran five miles before 9 in the morning, nothing bad could happen to me the rest of the day. And it usually didn't.)

But as happens with age, what worked for me in my twenties, thirties and forties did not work in my fifties. It was as if the hour-long runs counted not at all. I tried running longer and more often, but the numbers on the scale went up and my spirits went down.

Then a friend suggested a group birthday present for a friend who has everything. A week at the legendary Golden Door north of San Diego, known for transforming bodies of the stars and putting the words ''spa cuisine'' into our mouths. And since we didn't want the birthday girl to go alone, three of us would join her.

For most of my life the very idea of a spa (remember when we called them fat farms and weight-loss clinics?) appealed to me about as much as a root canal. I am not into fluff and pampering, wasn't interested in looking at two naked carrots on my plate for lunch, surrounded by snotty people who all looked like Cindy Crawford in spandex. I've never been into massages, body wraps, facials or, God forbid, aerobics classes.

But there was one detail that did appeal: For seven full days no chef would present me a well-meaning glass of champagne, an ''extra'' tasting of foie gras, a third or fourth chocolate dessert, another pour of bubbly, a final sip of eau-de-vie.

Those naked carrots were beginning to look good. the reality As it turns out, there were no Cindy Crawfords, just 40 women, ranging in age from 23 to 80, lawyers and corporate presidents, mothers and daughters, a chef, a New York agent, a mom whose kids asked if she was going to have all her fat taken out of her and, yes, a dentist who specializes in root canals.

In a given day at the Japanese-garden-filled spa, I spent a good six hours exercising, beginning with strenuous sunrise mountain hikes, followed by private tennis, swimming and jogging lessons, multiple meetings with Mike, my personal trainer and new best friend, grueling workouts on every kind of machine designed to strengthen every body part, stretch classes and back care and posture classes, strength training and aqua dumbbells, body sculpting and toning. After that, the gal who used to turn her nose up at massages, now craved her daily hourlong rubdown, soothing facials, hair treatments, manicures, pedicures and, the best of all, an almond oil-sea salt ''glow.''

Fitted with a heart-beat monitor to see how hard I was working and how hard I had to work to be truly fit, I quickly learned what most women discover. We women think we work harder than we really do. So all those hourlong runs were just not strenuous enough, long enough or frequent enough to offset the extra portions of foie gras, chocolate cake and champagne.

So Mike took me aside and set up a personal program, with realistic goals and endless encouragement for getting and staying as fit and healthy as possible. On my return to Paris, a treadmill was in order (to fill in on all those rainy days when jogging is simply not a reality), as well as a gym membership, for twice-weekly stretch sessions to balance the cardio-training on the track and the machine. (Now, I suddenly have two personal trainers, one in each country, one in each language.)

Back at the Door, when our bodies weren't in constant motion, we were eating. At snack, lunch and dinner time, sheeplike behavior took over, and we lunged for the gloriously arranged bowls of fresh fruits and vegetables set before us. (When you check into the Golden Door you meet with a fitness instructor and together determine how intensely you want to work out and how much or little you want to eat. I voted for a lot of workout and a little bit of food.)

Even with the lightest food allotment, I felt I was eating all day long. Upon return from our hikes, breakfast appeared on a lovely tray delivered to our spacious private rooms. Overlooking a bubbling Japanese fountain, I feasted (on various days) on a single poached egg with a thin slice of whole wheat toast, mixed fruit with low-fat cottage cheese sprinkled with almond granola and raisins, a sprouted bagel boat filled with pineapple-ricotta cheese.

And there was fruit, fruit, fruit. I think in one week I ate more raw fruit than I had in the previous year, and I rediscovered the perfect fast food, the banana. - EACH day we were allowed to choose from two or three entrees for lunch and dinner and were amazed by the Belgian chef Michel Stroot's ability to transform healthy and wholesome ingredients into dishes that were beautiful, delicious and, most of all, satisfying. From the Golden Door's organic vegetable garden and surrounding groves of kiwis, avocados, oranges and lemons, we were served food that was pure, unfussy and nourishing to body and soul.

At appetizer time, we had Stroot's ingenious baked pita chips dipped into a spicy, lightened hummus spread. Marvelous frittatas were filled with an appealing mixture of spinach and artichokes, potatoes and basil, tomatoes and feta cheese. Chicken breasts were baked and sauced with a tangy mustard sauce, paired with garden-fresh green beans and garlic mashed potatoes.

Even welcome slices of duck breast arrived in a fine raspberry sauce. I also found that the Golden Door becomes addictive. One woman had been there 35 times. Mothers and daughters make it an annual family outing. Another woman, defeated by her doctors' inability to find a cause for her sore legs, checked in for three weeks and somehow solved the problem with lots of exercise and the healthy diet. But not everyone comes to lose weight. Many of the women were already perfectly fit, and

Others came for the spiritual side of the program. Some, recovering from cancer or from a death in the family, found solace in meditation and thoughtful walks through the Golden Door's labyrinth. There were many things I did not do, like tai chi and yoga, cardio box and Thai box, country dancing, belly-dancing, fencing, dumbbells, fitball and meditation. But I'm signed up for a repeat visit, now that I am six kilograms lighter and counting.

The Golden Door
P.O. Box 463077
Escondido, California, 92046-3077
tel: (1-800) 424-0777 or (1-760) 744-5777
fax: (1-760) 471-2393.
All-inclusive weekly fee is $5,375. The Golden Door was created by women and for women, but occasional men's and co-ed weeks are offered.

A Love Ballad To Black Truffles

PARIS — At least once a month someone asks me what I would choose for my last meal on earth. If you asked me today, it would be the sublime meal I had recently at one of my long-time favorite restaurants, Guy Savoy.

Perfect simplicity in food is difficult to achieve, but the talented Savoy gets it right in his culinary love poem to the fresh black truffle, now winding down its season.

His vegetable millefeuille included paper-thin slices of vermilion-red beet chips interlayered with crunchy slices of earthy, fresh black truffle. A quartet of the season’s first green Provencal asparagus lay in a pool of magnificently balanced vinaigrette. An avalanche of textures, flashes of bright and solid colors, touches of brilliance — it’s a palate pleaser all the way.

A signature as ever, the meal was augmented by Savoy’s famed artichoke soup, adorned with slices of truffle and shavings of moist Parmesan.

The rich, toasted miniature brioche slathered with truffle butter was perfect.

Spring in France means Easter lamb, and Savoy’s creative juices turned to a dish that offered three textures and flavors.

The fragrant main course included choice morsels of lamb from a tender and meaty roasted saddle, chewy braised shoulder and the rarely seen panoufle, those fatty, muscle-filled little belly flaps from the saddle. The tasty panoufles were seasoned with herbs and grilled to perfection.

Dessert was as discreet, colorful, and original as the rest of the meal, with a trio of blood- orange flavors: The pastry chef offered a sunset-toned sorbet with a sweet blood-orange confiture folded into the cooling delicacy, decorated with crispy, paper-thin dried slices of my preferred winter citrus.

Wine choices here are luxurious, so ask the sommelier, Eric Mancio, to guide you along the route.


Guy Savoy
18 Rue Troyon
Paris 75017.
Tel: 01-43-80-40-61
Fax: 01-46-22-43-09.
E-mail: reserv(AT)guysavoy.com; Web site: www.guysavoy.com.
Closed Saturday lunch and Sunday, and from July 16 to Aug. 21. Tasting menu: 980 francs. A la carte, 800 to 1,000 francs. All major credit cards

A Tour of France's Flavors

Regional Fare

The restaurateur and former journalist Philippe Lemoine had a great idea: Open a restaurant in Paris that features a constantly revolving taste of regional news and regional French cuisine, serving Nicoise fare one week under the guise of Nice Matin and specialties from the Auvergne and L'Auvergnat de Paris another.

Under the skillful direction of Thierry Enderlin, Le Kiosque offers sane, sensible, well-considered food. Everything is prepared with the finest ingredients (beautiful grain-fed chicken, farm-fresh pork and lamb, artisanal charcuterie, excellent baguettes from Boulangerie Bechu, and cheese from one of the best in Paris, Alleosse).

In addition to the week's regional offerings, the regular menu now features an original salad of spicy octopus paired with artichokes in a black olive vinaigrette, and a warming roast chicken served with a delicious tarragon-flecked potato puree.

The 1998 Brouilly from Domaine Sanvers et Cotton is easy to swallow, as is the well-priced 149-franc menu. Service is efficient, youthful and friendly.

Le Kiosque
1 Place de Mexico Paris 75016.
Tel: 01.47.27.96.98.
Open daily. Menus at 149 and 179 francs. Children's menu at 79 francs. Sunday brunch, 149 francs. Credit cards: American Express, Visa.


Beaujolais Boredom It should be so easy to get it right. A great Left Bank location, a giant rotisserie and a full list of what may well be the world's best known wine. But a meal the other evening at the popular La Rotisserie du Beaujolais proved to be a total bore.

Corner cafes have more charm and personality than this worn-down affair, where waiters bicker, service is lackadaisical and disorganized, and the food simply monotonous, with undistinguished roast duck, a truly tasteless grilled onglet (flank steak) and endless portions of pearly white potato puree.

Even rivers of George Duboeuf's cheery Saint-Amour couldn't make me love the place.

La Rotisserie du Beaujolais
19 Quai de la Tournelle
Paris 75005.
Tel: 01-43-54-17-47
fax: 01-56-24-43-71.
Closed Monday. A la carte, 250 francs, including service but not wine. Credit cards: Eurocard, Visa.


BOOKS More Truffles With black truffles ever on my mind, there was no way my eye could not catch the title of Gustaf Sobin's ''The Fly-Truffler: A Novel.'' While most people know that the earthy tubers can be hunted with pigs and dogs, most probably do not know that true aficionados identify the truffle's hiding spot by painstakingly following the flight of tiny flies that hover above the earth that envelops the black diamonds. Sobin, an American who has lived in France for 35 years, weaves a sad, sensuous love story with fly-truffling in Provence as the obsession. Now that the time for truffle harvesting wanes, read this to extend the season.

Thai Cravings

When will Paris get a truly wonderful and special Thai restaurant?

Not yet. The much touted Le Livingstone - with its dark colonial decor, leopard-skin banquettes, hunting trophies and stuffed animal heads - nets a big zero in the flavor category. A nonclassic beef and lemon-grass salad featured about half a head of lettuce, almost no dressing, a few strips of meat and nary a hint of lemon grass.

Equally watered down and wimpy was the green curry chicken, swimming in a thoroughly flavorless broth.

The music is nice, prices reasonable, service efficient and friendly, but I do not think I'll be back.

Le Livingstone
106 Rue Saint Honore
Paris 75001.
Tel: 01-53-40-80-50
fax: 01-53-40-80-51.

Closed Saturday lunch and Sunday. About 150 francs ($22) a person, including service but not beverages. All major credit cards.


A Paris Family Bistro Offers Winter Cheer

PARIS - As dining at all levels becomes more international, less national, personal and unique, the more we welcome and embrace such family bistros as the several-month-old L'Equitable, on a little street at the southern edge of the fifth arrondissement.

Yves Mutin, who spent time at the Jules Verne, has taken over the former Ferme du Perigord, one of those small family bistros that have that carefree 1950s air, with broad dark-beamed ceilings and just enough space to make you feel cozy.

From the second you walk in the door, the welcome and the ambience make you feel you've been here before and know you'll be back. There's a lovely naivete and charm about it all. You almost can't believe that this is a new restaurant, and that it is 2000.

Small and perfect Mutin's small but well-conceived bargain-price menu is full of delights. From the unusual poached eggs in a mushroom cream sauce teamed up with toast fingers spread with a delightful foie gras, to the ultrafresh, meaty scallops in their shells on a bed of a creamy julienne of Belgian endive, the chef gets it right all along the way.

One daily special - fresh morsels of monkfish paired with a warm vinaigrette and a touch of sun-dried tomatoes (yes, they're back but here used judiciously and deliciously) - was the perfect winter starter, accompanied by a delicate fennel mousse and a tiny tangle of greens.

Main courses were equally pleasing, including moist portions of roasted chicken with black olives and a vibrant Swiss chard and a warming pot au feu of veal (with a few tough and fibrous bits of meat hidden in the moist and tender ones) swimming in a finely seasoned chervil cream. A fine roast veal was the special of the day.

Highlights on the 168-franc ($25) dinner menu included such starters as oxtail with wild girolles; a fricassee of snails with a potato mousseline, and a cold rabbit terrine. Other main course selections varied from roast kidneys with mustard to a rack of lamb with sage risotto.

There is a good selection of wines priced under 200 francs, including Marc Bredif's 1998 Chinon at 125 francs.

Bravo, Mr. Mutin. Thanks for working to keep Paris the Paris we love. And as the name suggests, a place that is fair, just and equitable.

L'Equitable
1 Rue Fosses-Saint- Marcel
Paris 75005.
Tel: 01-43-31-69-20
fax: 01-43-37-85-52.

Closed for Saturday lunch; open Sunday lunch, and closed Sunday night and all day Monday. 135-franc weekday lunch menu; 168-franc dinner menu. All major credit cards.

Las Vegas Serves Up the World on a Silver Platter

LAS VEGAS - For decades, Las Vegas simply meant gambling, interspersed with 24-hour all-you-can eat buffets, tacky wedding chapels, outlandish floor shows and cheap motel rooms. Words like tawdry, sleazy, garish seemed to have been created just for this neon-glazed town.

Like many Americans who wanted to stay as far away as possible from such a substanceless place, I spent 53 happy years of my life having never set foot in the state of Nevada.

Then everything began to change. Familiar faces in the American food world - Charlie Trotter, Wolfgang Puck, Jean-Louis Palladin, Emeril Lagasse - were heading for Vegas, making deals that would alter the face of this desert town forever.

Stephen Wynn, the head of Mirage Resorts and the figure credited with sanitizing Las Vegas, is a man of ''serial passions,'' and one of his latest passions is food. It did not take long before chefs, sous-chefs, sommeliers and waiters, as well as eager diners, were flocking to this Disneyland for adults.

Today Las Vegas is creating a cultural revolution in America, a new set of values for leisure, and one that quite naturally has an international impact. Once a nickel-and-dime gambling joint, the city is now a true family vacation destination with a European feel.

With Americans more sophisticated and moneyed than ever, the city plays right into their hands, and foreign visitors are enjoying it, too. Want entertainment? At the Bellagio, you have the Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil production with its international cast of synchronized swimmers, divers and acrobats. Want pampering? At the Venetian there is the Canyon Ranch SpaClub, a mini version of the famous spa in Tucson, Arizona, where you can sample the famous unsinfully delicious 125-calorie chocolate cake. Want to go to Europe without purchasing a trans-Atlantic ticket? Then ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower in the 2,900-room Paris hotel or take a gondola ride on the faux canals at the 3,000-room Venetian hotel. And almost everything is available 24 hours a day, with the hum of slot machines ever present in the background.

Wynn, also creator of the Bellagio, says that his goal is to have the best Broadway show not on Broadway, the best French restaurant not in France, and the best world-class art not in a world-class museum.

He is not far from it. His Cirque du Soleil can easily compete with anything on Broadway. His art gallery is filled with works by Cezanne, Degas, Matisse and Picasso. And after four days of sampling the awe-inspiring variety of restaurants with chefs from all over America and the world, I would say that Las Vegas qualifies as a food lover's destination of the first order.

A FINE SMORGASBORD The city now serves as a smorgasbord of some of the country's finest restaurants. At the Bellagio alone, the lineup includes Sirio Maccioni's Le Cirque from New York; Olives from Boston; Jean-Georges Vongerichten of New York changing gears with a simple steak house called Prime; and great seafood from San Francisco in the name of Aqua.

The Bellagio's own staff includes Julian Serrano from San Francisco for Picasso and Grant MacPherson, longtime executive chef at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore.

And don't forget the Bellagio's Jasmine (refined Chinese with a chef from Hong Kong), Shintaro (a sushi bar), Noodles (specialties from Thailand, Japan, China and Vietnam), Cafe Bellagio, Sam's American from New York, and The Petrossian Bar from Paris and New York. Not to mention that all the artisanal bread in the house comes from the famed La Brea Bakery in Los Angeles.

At the newly opened Venetian hotel, restaurants have been created at a cost of $3 million to $9 million each. They include Eberhard Muller's Lutece from New York; Piero Selvaggio's Valentino from Los Angeles; Stephen Pyles's Star Canyon from Houston; Joachim Splichal's Pinot Brasserie from Los Angeles; Kevin Wu's Royal Star, featuring master chefs from Hong Kong; Lagasse's Delmonico Steakhouse from New Orleans, and Puck's Postrio from San Francisco.

Elsewhere, there is Palladin's Napa at the Rio Suite Hotel & Casino; an excellent outpost of New York and London's Nobu in the Hard Rock Hotel, and the only offshoot of Charlie Palmer's New York Aureole, at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino.

The end result of most of these new showcase restaurants is stylish, sophisticated, elegant and fun. Certainly the prime dining experience of the moment can be found at the Bellagio's Picasso, a place with a clear lesson on how it pays to pay attention to detail.

In the 116-seat dining room at the edge of the Bellagio's eight-acre lake, one sits beneath a changing gallery of Wynn's collection of Picasso paintings, offset by a large display of colorful Picasso ceramics. The carpet and the furniture were designed by Picasso's son Claude. Indoors one has a spectacular view of the hotel's water show, astonishing for its choreography, complexity and scale with about 1,000 fountains rising as high as 240 feet (73 meters), dancing to the music of Pavarotti and Sinatra.

The food - a Mediterranean mix of specialties from France and Spain - includes the biggest scallops I have ever seen, Maine day-boat scallops roasted to perfection, topping a potato mousseline in a pool of flavorful jus de veau. It would be hard to choose between chef Serrano's sublime wild Atlantic turbot teamed up with a confit of leeks, or the rich aged roasted lamb chops served with tender rosemary potatoes. The wine list is a veritable tome, including treasures from the entire world of wine.

At Aureole, I was prepared not to like the gimmicky wine wall, a four-story glass wine tower housing a $2 million collection of wine.

To retrieve a selection from the 10,000 bottles stored there, a lean and sexy wine server wearing a harness and a cat suit scales the tower to snare the bottle. Once I was face to face with this modern wonder, I loved it. It is pure Las Vegas: glitzy and glamorous and fun.

I was less taken with the food there, despite excellent service and a chic and elegant dining room. It was simply boring, from tasteless and textureless cardboard lobster to a filet mignon without a personality and a much touted Oregon pinot noir that lost its punch long before we were able to finish the bottle.

We fared better at Emeril Lagasse's New Orleans Fish House at the MGM Grand Hotel, where spice is the order of the day. Best bets included a tempura-fried spicy salmon roll served with an infused soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger; and his rich cornmeal-fried Louisiana oysters served with marvelous addictive grits dotted with smoked gouda cheese. Only the pan-fried Louisiana crab cakes disappointed, as I searched for the crab bits hidden among the breading.

Near the tour's end, a simple dinner at Nobu made up of a gargantuan platter of sushi and sashimi, washed down with a flinty white French sancerre, left me planning a return trip, soon.


  • Picasso, Bellagio
    3600 Las Vegas Boulevard South
    Las Vegas.
    Tel: (702) 693-7223.
    Fax: (702) 693-8563.
    Open for dinner only, Thursday to Tuesday. $75 prix fixe, $85 tasting menu.

  • Noodles, Bellagio
    3600 Las Vegas Boulevard South
    Las Vegas.
    Tel: (702) 693-7223.
    Fax: (702) 693-8563.
    Open daily. Dishes priced from $4.50 to $24.75.

  • Emeril's New Orleans Fish House, MGM Grand Hotel
    3799 Las Vegas Boulevard South
    Las Vegas.
    Tel: (702) 891-7777.
    Open daily. Main dishes priced from $19 to $36, $65 tasting menu.

  • Aureole, Mandalay Bay
    3950 Las Vegas Boulevard South
    Las Vegas.
    Tel: (702) 632-7401.
    Fax: (702) 632-7425.
    Open daily for dinner only. $95 tasting menu (with optional $45 wine pairing), $75 prix fixe.

  • Nobu, The Hard Rock Hotel, 4455 Paradise Road
    Las Vegas.
    Tel: (702) 693-5000.
    Fax: (702) 693 5010.
    Open daily for dinner, and for lunch Friday to Sunday. About $50 for dinner, not including wine, $70 tasting menu.

Tastes of Provence

There are two restaurants in Provence that never seem to let me down. For nearly 20 years, La Beaugraviere and Le Bistrot du Paradou have been the sites of some of my finest gastronomic memories, and recent visits were no exception.

The black truffle season is almost over, but for the next month you should be able to sample Guy Jullien's creations at his famed Beaugraviere in Mondragon, 14 kilometers (9 miles) from Orange. Current specialties range from a simple and sublime truffle tartine (an open-face sandwich layered with giant slices of fragrant raw truffles) to a memorable salad of nutty ratte potatoes layered with a thick coating of truffles.

Main course offerings include a featherlight portion of cannelloni stuffed with chicken, finely chopped mushrooms, and of course more truffles. This should be followed by a sandwich of warm Saint Marcellin cow's milk cheese layered with truffles, and then chef Jullien's surprising truffle ice cream.

Two wines to try with the meal include the hard-to-find white 1995 Domaine de la Grange des Peres, a rich and meaty wine that blends all the character of viognier, bourboulenc and grenache grapes; and the pleasingly fragrant white Lirac, Domaine de la Mordoree, Cuvee de la Reine des Bois 1998, a bargain at 160 francs a bottle.

Friday is aioli day at Le Bistrot du Paradou, the popular table d'hote restaurant in the heart of Les Baux olive oil country. Here Mireille Pons works magic in the kitchen while the outgoing Jean-Louis tends the front of the house.

The all-you-can-eat aioli feast includes meaty local snails, Mireille's tender salt cod, potatoes in their jackets and steamed carrots, and of course plenty of that rich and golden garlic mayonnaise. Wash it down with plenty of the house red, and you are in heaven.


La Beaugraviere
RN-7
84430 Mondragon.
Tel: 04-90-40-82-54.
Fax: 04-90-40-91-01.
Closed Sunday dinner. Truffle menus vary from 395 to 700 francs.

Le Bistrot du Paradou
13520 Le Paradou.
Tel: 04-90-54-32-70.
Closed Sunday. Open year-round for lunch; dinner mid July to Sept. 5. Lunch, 180 francs, including wine. Reservations suggested.


A Taste of Seaside In a Paris Bistro

PARIS - In a constant effort to reinvent itself, the Paris food scene brings us yet another welcoming fish restaurant, this time with the name of Le Bistrot Cote Mer, the site of one of Michel Rostang's satellite bistros.

Rostang has put his daughter, Caroline, in charge, and if a very successful recent visit is proof, she is off to a flying start as a restaurateur. The small, narrow bistro - painted in brilliant seaside tones of yellow and blue - has everything going for it: a lovely fish menu that offers food that is unusual but far from wacky, and a young, cheerful and well-informed staff. The decor has just enough history for nostalgia buffs, with warm and colorful tile floors, newly upholstered 1930s bistro chairs and marble-top tables that shine with the patina of age.

I can't tell you the number of times I examine a menu and have a hard time finding something I really want to eat at that moment. Not the case with Cote Mer's selections. You want it all. From the fresh, briny plump Belon oysters, served with a thick slice of toasted sourdough bread and a pat of salted butter set on a bed of seaweed, to the marvelous pasta salad and a well-conceived tartare.

The famed ravioles de Royans - tiny herb and cheese-filled pasta from the Rhone-Alps region- have become a favorite Paris bistro ingredient. They are crowd-pleasers and lend themselves to endless variations. Here the tender pasta is turned into a salad, tossed warm with a tangle of well- dressed greens and generous chunks of warm, tender lobster, well priced at 75 francs ($11) a portion. It was so good, we thought of reordering the salad for dessert.

Equally appealing is the hache of sea bream and salmon, sparkling fresh cubes of raw fish tossed with a vinaigrette and herbs and teamed up with paper-thin toasted crackers.

But the best was the daily special of whole grilled sea bass, presented to diners both before and after cooking, then carefully filleted tableside. The huge sea bass easily serves two hearty eaters, with its superbly moist, chewy fresh sea flavor. A side order of sizzling hot molded tian - a Mediterranean mix of eggplant, tomatoes and zucchini - makes you want to head straight for the sun and the sea.

Scallop lovers should go for the coquilles Saint-Jacques roasted in their shells with a melange of cubed vegetables and served with an intriguing preparation of rice. Half the rice was fried to a fragrant, golden crispness, then tossed with steamed rice, making for a crackling combination and providing the palate with a welcome crunch.

The pure sauvignon blanc Quincy from Jacques Siret was a fine accompaniment, and well priced at 140 francs.

The only disappointment of the evening was the bland, almost watery pots de chocolat, redeemed by a thin rectangle of tarte feuilletee.

Le Bistro Cote Mer
16 Boulevard Saint-Germain
Paris 75005.
Tel: 01-43-54-59-10.
Fax: 01-43-29-02-08.

Open daily. Most major credit cards accepted. About 250 francs a person, including service but not wine.


Bistro Dreaming In Bleak Midwinter

PARIS - The words trip off the tongue like music to a hungry soul. Harengs, pommes a l'huile. Maquereaux au vin blanc. Salade folle. Blanquette de lapin. Boeuf a la Bourguignonne. Navarin d'agneau. All washed down with crisp, fruity gulps of Chenas.

Call it bistro dreaming, and the best new find of the winter season is a small bistro tucked away in the 13th arrondissement called Le Terroir. Bistro hoppers will remember the owner, Michel Chavanon, from Chez Pierrot on Rue Etienne Marcel, where he used to work. Installed in this very populaire quarter of Paris known for its hearty eaters, Le Terroir seems right at home.

The friendly chatter and banter are all there, along with a solid French clientele that knows why it is there and how it wants to be satisfied. The decor is a fine blend of modern (comfortable upholstered armchairs, nonetheless) and folkloric bistro (with those charming cotton curtains dripping with bunches of grapes).

The food is all that good bistro fare should be. Crisp and silken fillets of herring appear in a giant, no-nonsense, clear bowl set at your elbow, so you could eat your fill in a single course. The accompanying warm cubed potatoes, showered with shallots, parsley, a touch of oil and a touch of vinegar, have real flavor and texture and fragrance.

The salade folle is laden with thick strips of meaty duck breast, the tenderest of cured duck gizzards and fat slices of foie gras, all set upon a nicely dressed green salad. Mackerel gets the same treatment as herring, only here the bowl was big enough to hold enough sweet, meaty fish to feed an army.

Main courses follow suit. The lamb, the beef, the rabbit are all cooked to a melting tenderness, a true braise, falling off the bone, and all are fragrant, steaming, warm. Accompanying rice and beans are not afterthoughts, but rather a proud cook's completion of a task well done.

WINE WITH A SMILE The house Chenas should make Beaujolais proud of what it can do: make tired faces smile, enliven conversation and aid digestion in a single bottle. Only the desserts left me feeling let down, with a dry and not very memorable pear tart. But, mark my words, I'll be back. Again and again, for the entrecote, the pot-au-feu, a cheese platter and apple tart.

Le Terroir
11 Boulevard Arago
Paris 750013.
Tel: 01-47-07-36-99.
Fax: 01-42-72-52-20.

Credit cards: MasterCard and Visa. Closed Saturday and Sunday, Easter week, August and the last week of the year. A la carte, around 230 francs.

A French Fish Classic Served With a Twist

PARIS--Almost anyone with a bit of cooking knowledge will know that the words a la meuniere on a menu translate as ''in the style of the miller's wife,'' and that means the item in question has been dusted parsimoniously with flour, then cooked to a golden brown in a sizzling pan with the finest unsalted butter one can get one's hands on.

In the past year or so I have had a thing about sole meuniere, that glorious classic of French cooking - moist, fleshy, sweet white fish - prepared in the traditional manner, then served whole, tableside, doused with a luscious and fragrant brown butter, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a shower of minced parsley leaves.

As I sampled sole here and there about Paris, I studied the moistness and size of the Brittany sole at one restaurant, the color and fragrance of the brown butter at another, the dexterity of the server in filleting the fish at yet another.

Hands down, the best sole can be found at the famed Montparnasse Art Deco brasserie Le Dome - whose prized fish comes from the Ile d'Yeu on the Brittany coast. I set aside one morning to spend in the kitchen with Le Dome's chef, Frank Graux. I expected to pick up a few tips, but hardly expected him take all the classic ideas of the cooking of this delicate prize and throw them out the window.

Just when you think you know everything about a preparation, you realize you know nothing. While most traditional recipes for sole suggest you skin the fish, dust it with flour and cook it in clarified butter, Graux does none of that. In fact, the idea of leaving the skin intact came from his children. One day he served them turbot with the skin, and one cleaned his plate then asked if there was some more of that crispy skin left over.

So when you go to Le Dome to sample his incomparable sole, you will find him cooking the treasure in lightly salted butter (the best, he says, is the Sevre & Belle brand from the cooperative in Sevre et Belle, Celles sur Belle Deux-Sevres), which he says burns less than unsalted butter. (He dismissed the traditional idea of cooking in clarified butter, which does burn less but which is, to his mind, denatured and void of flavor.)

To eke the most flavor from the fish, Graux does not skin it, but merely scales, guts and trims it. The skin acts as a natural protective shield, keeping the fish moist and eliminating the need for flour as a protective barrier. As an added treat, you get the gentle crispiness and slightly gelatinous nature of the thin skin that his children so loved.

Cooking the fish in a heavy-duty nonstick pan, Graux cooks each side for about four minutes, attentively regulating the heat so the butter does not burn. If the thought of all that butter gives you pause, order the fish seche, so that the cooking butter is not poured back over the fish. This makes for a dish that is extremely light, wholesome and flavorful.

Le Dome's crew is so proud of their preparation that they prefer to present the fish whole to diners, allowing them to filet the fish at table, a tradition I applaud. The fish stays warmer, and there is something positive and primal about having an entire fish set before you.

One of my favorite wines with fish and shellfish is Domaine Mardon's Quincy, a pure sauvignon blanc Sancerre-style white whose aromatic grassiness stands up nicely to the sole, as well as to oysters.

Other spots where I have loved the sole are the classic brasserie and restaurant La Closerie des Lilas and the historic monument of a restaurant that was built in 1904, La Vagenende, in the heart of Saint-Germain des Pres.

  • Le Dome
    108, Boulevard du Montparnasse
    Paris 750014
    Tel: 01-43-35-25-81
    Fax: 01-42-70-01-19.
    Open daily. All major credit cards. A la carte, 400 to 450 francs, including service but not wine. Sole priced at 205 francs.

  • La Closerie des Lilas
    171, Boulevard du Montparnasse
    Paris 75006.
    Tel: 01-40-51-34-50
    Fax: 01-43-29-99-94.
    Open daily. All major credit cards. A la carte, 400 to 450 francs, including service but not wine. Sole in the brasserie costs 180 francs; in the restaurant it is 420 francs for two people.

  • Restaurant Vagenende
    142 Boulevard Saint-Germain
    Paris 75006.
    Tel: 01-43-26-68-18
    Fax: 01-40-51-73-38.
    Open daily. Credit cards: Visa, American Express, Diner's Club. A la carte, 200 to 300 francs, including service but not wine. The sole is 152 francs.