I'm sure you're right. A lot of places will even reduce the total accordingly if I don't swap for something else like the cheese trolley. I think Tantris might have done that. In any event, I'm so burnt out I'm off the circuit.

As I�m very interested in vegetables L�Arpege was the logical choice. To be honest I didn�t feel like eating a huge meal, but I hoped it will get better when I taste delicious food....
From outside it�s not spectacular:


From inside it�s furnished in an elegant Art-Deco style. It was fully booked. We were greeted by nice plates:


We could choose between a Lunch-menu (145,00 �) and the Vegetable Tasting menu (320,00 �). We decided to try the Lunch.
First some little bites, which were good:


For the first course some beetroot tatar.

Not my favourite dish.

Second came one of their signature dishes, an egg:

I found it not bad, my company gave me half of hers. She wasn�t impressed.

Next came some soup with ravioli:

The soup had an intense taste of celery, which isn�t my favourite vegetable.

Now beetroot sushi:

Nice idea.....

At this point I wasn�t really hungry anymore.
I don�t know excactly what it was.....


Punmpkin soup with cream:


After this dish I felt a rumbel in my stomach and I had a longer and unpleasant visit at the bathroom. It didn�t really help that the guy from the neighboring table permanently rattled at the door. Normally I would...... but not this time. When I finally was back at the table I was drenched in sweat and my company was a little bit worried.....

I decided to stay stong. When I pay for food I eat it.....
No real memories about this one:


Alain Passard did his round thru the restaurant. I wasn�t absolutely not in the mood to chat.... He asked if we liked his vegetables and told us they are from his own garden, that he likes beer etc.... Sorry, but I had other problems....

Now the first main, monkfish:

At this time I wasn�t really able to rate a dish, but the fish tasted like roasted smoked pork neg (Kassler on German). In my memories a terrible monkfish, one of the worst I ever had. I�m not sure if it was because of my illness, but my company also confirmed it wasn�t her taste.

After the monkfish they served another soup....

I took a bite but was surprisingly clever enough to stop.

My GF asked how many dishes were coming and they told us one main. She decided to skip it, I didn�t object.

Dessert:


I only took a small bit, my GF thought it was not impressive.
We asked for a taxi. Normally one more dessert should come, but the waiter wasn�t able to tell us what it was. We denined.
Our taxi arrived soon and we left, Alain Passard said goodbye.....
It was one of the worst meals I had due to my illness. So I can�t really judge the food. But I�m sure even in perfect health I would not have been impressed, I had much better meals elsewhere. For me not really a 3 star......

great review and sorry to hear about not feeling well.

Epicure remains my favorite fine dining restaurant in Paris.

We went to L'Arpege this summer and I wouldn't go back.

L'Arpege was a much more reasonable value as a lunch diner. I wouldn't pay EUR 300+ per person for the dinner seating. Think I posted in past thread - enjoyed the meal, but way too much food and not (IMO) deserving of the supremely high praise it gets.

So sorry to hear about the illness! That would make it very difficult to enjoy such a meal. My vegetarian friends are all dying to try L'Arpege. Of the Parisian 3-stars, I've only been to Epicure and I thought it was divine, definitely in my top two meals of all time.

100% agree! That was the reason I went for dinner

Thanks! As addition I had to cancel my reservations at Kei and Astrance

We decided to try L'Abeille, the 2 star restaurant at the Shangri-La.
The restaurant is elegant as you can expect:


First they brought a tartelett with mushrooms and some bread.

While the tartelett was pretty good the bread was uneatable. Terrible, a toughly mass. I got a little bit afraid.

The normal bread was OK, with excemption of I kind we did knew all from breakfast.


We choosed the tasting menu with 3 dishes, cheese and desserts. Price was 230,00 � per person. Paris......

Amuse Bouche: Sea Urchin with caviar

Good.

First course: Marinated scallops - hay and Lapsang Souchong cooked beetroot, shizo / balsamic condiment

Something missing? Yeah....

They like the show.....

Second course: Line caught pollack and caviar - cauliflowers, gently pan-fried brioche in Le Ponclet�s butter

And? Yes, of course.....

Caviar? Yes, they also brought some but I forgot to take a picture. The dish was good.

Third course: Chausey Isle�s lobster - vanilla, pumpkin and chestnuts cooked in casserole
The presented it at the table:

The dish itself was harmonic and delicious.


Now the cheese:

Nothing too special, here our selections:



First dessert: Roasted Rocha pears, beer ice-cream and malted flour biscuit,bergamot condiment

One of my least favourite desserts this year. The pear was OK, the beer ice-cream for us uneatable and the rest so so.

Second dessert: Frosted corsican honey - perfumed with lemon and eucalyptus

The signature dessert of the restaurant. Pretty good but also nothing I will tell in years about.

Petit fours:


Overall a good meal, solid 2 star level with better main dishes than desserts.

I was not overly impressed by l'Arpege back in 2012...

Looking forward to my second meal (lunch) at le Sputnik on Friday!

Lucky you. I really enjoyed my dinner there. Another excuse to go back to Tokyo when the J fares dip again.

Wish I was there

Based on Fliar, Bohemian1, and estnet's recommendations, I just reserved a dinner at Le Sputnik in December. I hope you're all correct

Sad that I couldn't get a table at my RyuGin unfortunately (been going annually for past several years), oh well.

Ate at Clocktower tonight on a whim, as it's close to where I live. Just got its first Michelin star this year, and I have to say that it does a fantastic job of making you feel like you are in ye olde London as opposed to in NYC. The appetizers were okay but the entrees (duck for my wife, braised halibut for me) were exquisite. Cheese selection was quite good for dessert as well. In all, a well-deserved selection (and perhaps the only British-inspired Michelin star in NYC as of now) - good mix of ambiance and taste without burning too large a hole in the wallet.

le Sputnik yesterday was superb again on this second visit. A slight disappointment was that the menu was almost identical to that of a few months ago.

Today I tried Sushidokorosuzu, which was at a very high level. Superb ingredients along with the always wonderful Eau de Desir sake (the 2014 in this case) made for a very happy lunch. Easily in my top 10 sushi restaurants.
(This is not a comfortable restaurant for those who are not accustomed to eating at high-end restaurants in Japan.)

Went to Gordon Ramsay last week -- had the Menu Prestige with wine pairings. I added in a cep linguine with parmesan emulsion and Alba white truffles--that was simply divine. I should also add that the lamb, prepared five ways, was the best I've ever had. The food was very good and technically flawless, but lacked the wow factor and moments of surprising flavors that I associate with some other 3-stars that I've been to: EMP, Epicure, French Laundry, La Pergola in Rome. I'm wondering how much of it is just my increased exposure to fine dining. It reminded me of how I felt after my meal at the Waterside Inn--happy but not euphoric. I enjoyed more my meals at NYC 2-stars Atera, Blanca, and The Modern, and even my food at 2-star Helene Darroze at the Connaught, where I will be returning in a few weeks.

I've got a few Michelin stars lined up in Bilbao this week (including 3 star Azurmendi), and then early next month I'll be at 3-star sushi joint The Araki, so I'll update on those after I go.

Had another fantastic meal at CTBF Saturday night. Every course was executed perfectly as per usual, but of course we were there for the truffles! White truffles from Alba done two ways -- savory (on top of tender bay scallops) and sweet (truffle ice cream with truffle shavings). One of the great things about CTBF is that you can have the A5 wagyu, the caviar, and the multiple truffle courses with generous shavings, all without having to pay a single $ of supplemental charge.