Comments on: Endangered in Paris Restaurants: Cooking

By: Larry

Larry — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:28:39 +0000

I have just enjoyed your last post. It drives me nuts, being in the travel business besides, to see the same old places hyped and now the new ones for reasons other than good old-fashioned cooking and like you I don't need to go out and have a meal I can cook myself or buy from Picard (Thank God for Picard!) or the local market/supplier.

By: clotilde

clotilde — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 10:32:24 +0000

I agree that this is a trend I hope won't overtake the Paris restaurant scene, but I do believe there is value in selecting and serving excellent but minimally processed ingredients: as Camille mentioned above, not everyone has the time, inclination and/or information necessary to procure them for himself.

And I personally prefer a restaurant that does simple things right (oven-roasted grenaille potatoes) to one that tries and botches trickier things (limp greasy fries, anyone?).

There are always going to be restaurants that don't have the ambition or the resources to produce elaborate cuisine, and if that is the case, I will take this type of cuisine d'assemblage over the one that involves pouches of ready-to-reheat sauces and plats du jour purchased from Métro (ugh).

I completely understand that such a resto as Glou (or Les Fines Gueules, or Le Verre Volé, etc.) might not appeal to everyone, but it's certainly a matter of audience and, as you mentioned, what you look for when you eat out.

Thank you for another thought-provoking post!
Clotilde.

By: Camille

Camille — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 10:46:48 +0000

Interesting... I think Chez Panisse has been getting similar criticisms for years. I guess it's a matter of how willing people are to do their own shopping and sourcing quality products. Many people are probably more than willing to let the restaurant to the legwork. I'm not one of them, though. I'm with you.