Don't Bother Paris
Feb 19th, 2009, 02:11 PM
#2
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 10,605
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I think it's more productive to list the places you are considering, then seek feedback on those. Otherwise, it's a lot of random comments that may or may not 'match' back to your favorites file. I mean, if you built your file based on Fodorite mentions then what are the odds they would come back and denounce those same places?
Feb 19th, 2009, 02:54 PM
#3
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,572
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Makes little sense to me. Why should I dredge up things that didn't turn out to my satisfaction? Who in their right mind would rely on my shared experience? If a restaurant didn't please me once or twice, what does that tell anybody else? Was it my taste? Was one or two visits enough for an objective asessment? Of course not.
What I may not have liked could be due to somebody being in a bad mood that day (like a métro ticket seller at Trocadéro but who cares), or a waiter lacking courtesy somewhere (would I even memorize what restaurant it was? Don't think so, it happens, end of story) - my dislike for Disney (the less said the better), or the overly cold a/c in a cinéma - trivial.
I mean, what's the point in listing negative remembrances unless they are written up in great detail so others can try to evaluate if it agrees with their tastes or not?
If somebody ate ten dinners in the same place and 8 out of 10 were no good, then that would not only cast aspersions on the restaurant but surely also on that particular person, so - why bother?
As Monty Python's Eric Idle said, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life...
What I may not have liked could be due to somebody being in a bad mood that day (like a métro ticket seller at Trocadéro but who cares), or a waiter lacking courtesy somewhere (would I even memorize what restaurant it was? Don't think so, it happens, end of story) - my dislike for Disney (the less said the better), or the overly cold a/c in a cinéma - trivial.
I mean, what's the point in listing negative remembrances unless they are written up in great detail so others can try to evaluate if it agrees with their tastes or not?
If somebody ate ten dinners in the same place and 8 out of 10 were no good, then that would not only cast aspersions on the restaurant but surely also on that particular person, so - why bother?
As Monty Python's Eric Idle said, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life...
Feb 19th, 2009, 04:45 PM
#6
I have one place for you to stay away. Sergent Recruteur on the Ile Saint Louis was recommended to us as a fun place to go for dinner. The food was awful as was the atmosphere, unless having dinner with a bunch of drunks seems like a good time. Avoid. Avoid. Avoid.
Feb 19th, 2009, 05:16 PM
#7
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 136
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I think this is a fine question. If you get one response telling you of a bad experience I wouldn't put much stock in it, but if you see multiple negative responses then it's something to consider. There is nothing wrong with a little critical expression.
Feb 19th, 2009, 06:17 PM
#8
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 10,605
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I'm not sure I understand the exercise. The OP has a list of recommended places. Are they wanting to knock some off that list? Or do they want to start a new list of 'non-recommended' places? Don't get the point of that - if you have a list of rec. places that is long enough you may never visit them all, why have a negative list? Just stick with the 'good' one. If I have a list of 20 restaurants that are reliable, and my trip is 5 nights, don't I have enough to work with already? Maybe I'm nuts. 
Feb 19th, 2009, 06:23 PM
#9
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
if 10 people say dont go to Joe's Diner on Main St. then I will know that if we pass by there or if someone else asks, not to go.
we dont have every meal planned, just nice to know what to avoid if we come across it.
didnt really think it was negative.
peace.
we dont have every meal planned, just nice to know what to avoid if we come across it.
didnt really think it was negative.
peace.
Feb 19th, 2009, 06:51 PM
#10
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 25,874
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
MRSJLP, I think it's easy enough for you to search for a list of good restaurants from here or from guidebooks, than waiting for 10 Fodorites to come here to tell you don't go to XYZ restaurant.
Feb 19th, 2009, 07:28 PM
#11
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,572
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
MRSJLP sez "if 10 people say dont go to Joe's Diner on Main St. then I will know that if we pass by there or if someone else asks, not to go."
I would want to know those ten people before taking heed. Maybe it's a noisy but cheery sawdust-on-the-floor beer-and-ribs joint where people drink more than their doctor would recommend, but totally fine and convivial to someone who can tune into that? And those ten people came dressed to the nines and turned up their noses and went to where they have tablecloths and a sommelier with a silly key around his neck?
Or maybe it was the other way around?
There is no strength in numbers - just look at tripadvisor to see how people can talk so very differently about the very same place.
Have you never been to a place you liked, only to see bad reports later, making you wonder what the heck those people were talking about?
I would want to know those ten people before taking heed. Maybe it's a noisy but cheery sawdust-on-the-floor beer-and-ribs joint where people drink more than their doctor would recommend, but totally fine and convivial to someone who can tune into that? And those ten people came dressed to the nines and turned up their noses and went to where they have tablecloths and a sommelier with a silly key around his neck?
Or maybe it was the other way around?
There is no strength in numbers - just look at tripadvisor to see how people can talk so very differently about the very same place.
Have you never been to a place you liked, only to see bad reports later, making you wonder what the heck those people were talking about?
Feb 19th, 2009, 08:08 PM
#12
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 146
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Oh Adrienne we love Chartier - and maybe everyone needs to experience it at least once. It''s imbued with history, over 100 years old with most of the original fittings including the timber divisions where the regulars kept their wine and napkins. The service can be wonderful or not, they tot up the Euro owing on the paper tablecloth and the food is generally just a meal though I like the steak au poivre,but this is a piece of Paris history and would recommend it absolutely. (And it surely isn't expensive as the large numbers of Parisians who go there know).
Feb 20th, 2009, 02:12 AM
#14
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 11,212
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
franco - I loved the decor at Chartier, writing the order on the paper tablecloth, the bustling waiters. That was a wonderful experience.
But the food was terrible! I didn't have one thing that I would consider good (3 courses). We started talking to two women from Finland who were seated next to us and they weren't thrilled with their meals either. The desserts were bleck - something like what my local supermarkets sells under their own brand.
I wouldn't expect great service from a place like that and didn't mind that the waiters brought everyone hearts of palm as a first course, no matter what you ordered!
That's all part of the charm of the place. Sort of like Polidor in the old days where the waitresses didn't give you much time to decide and then slammed the plates down on the table when they delivered the food. (all that charm is gone from Polidor)
I went to Chartier on the basis of a wonderful write up by Pauline Frommer. I saved this resto for the last night of a 12 day trip to Paris and expected the food to taste like food. What a disappointment.
Maybe go here for dessert and coffee just for the atmosphere and experience but don't spend too much money on the food.
As to the Sergeant Recruiter...someone described this place to me years ago and highly recommended it. The description sounded like a place I would never want to go to and I'm glad I didn't.
But the food was terrible! I didn't have one thing that I would consider good (3 courses). We started talking to two women from Finland who were seated next to us and they weren't thrilled with their meals either. The desserts were bleck - something like what my local supermarkets sells under their own brand.
I wouldn't expect great service from a place like that and didn't mind that the waiters brought everyone hearts of palm as a first course, no matter what you ordered!
That's all part of the charm of the place. Sort of like Polidor in the old days where the waitresses didn't give you much time to decide and then slammed the plates down on the table when they delivered the food. (all that charm is gone from Polidor)I went to Chartier on the basis of a wonderful write up by Pauline Frommer. I saved this resto for the last night of a 12 day trip to Paris and expected the food to taste like food. What a disappointment.
Maybe go here for dessert and coffee just for the atmosphere and experience but don't spend too much money on the food.
As to the Sergeant Recruiter...someone described this place to me years ago and highly recommended it. The description sounded like a place I would never want to go to and I'm glad I didn't.
Feb 20th, 2009, 04:13 AM
#15
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 10,605
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I didn't mean that the post or discussion was negative - I was referring to building a list of negative responses to restaurants.
I've read to generally stay away from rue de la Huchette (St Michel) restaurants, or any others that have 'touts' standing outside to steer you inside.
I've read to generally stay away from rue de la Huchette (St Michel) restaurants, or any others that have 'touts' standing outside to steer you inside.
Feb 20th, 2009, 06:02 AM
#16
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,037
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I don't know why folks jumped all over the OP for this post. It may not be the best idea ever, but it's worth a try. What can it hurt. All responses anywhere have to be taken with a grain of salt, for what they're worth. I think this new format and people's reactions to it have just put too many into a negative frame of mind and they're taking it out on whatever they can find. Why waste energy on squelching someone's idea. Maybe it will work.
Having said all that, I'm not sure I can think of anything to warn folks away from in Paris, but DH thought the time required to find and walk through the Parc Montasauris wasn't worth it. In more than 20 trips I've not gone to either the catacombs or the sewers because I've assumed the same could be said for them. So there. Jump on that.
Having said all that, I'm not sure I can think of anything to warn folks away from in Paris, but DH thought the time required to find and walk through the Parc Montasauris wasn't worth it. In more than 20 trips I've not gone to either the catacombs or the sewers because I've assumed the same could be said for them. So there. Jump on that.
Feb 20th, 2009, 06:14 AM
#18
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 11,212
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I've been to the sewers twice. It was near the top of my list of things to do for my first Paris trip, although my romantic visions of Jean Valjean fleeing through the tunnels quickly vanished.
The sewers are pretty interesting and have been made into a mini museum and are much more informative today than they were during my first visit. There were quite a few people visiting so I'm not alone in my fondness for odd locations!
The sewers are pretty interesting and have been made into a mini museum and are much more informative today than they were during my first visit. There were quite a few people visiting so I'm not alone in my fondness for odd locations!
Feb 20th, 2009, 06:39 AM
#19
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 1,713
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
We went right by Pompidou Center.
It didnt look that great to me.
Some love it, some dont.
I find it Gaudi in this elegant city.
We would rather be on little side streets shopping for cheese and wine
It didnt look that great to me.
Some love it, some dont.
I find it Gaudi in this elegant city.
We would rather be on little side streets shopping for cheese and wine
Feb 20th, 2009, 07:01 AM
#20
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 3,654
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Dandj2 - I appreciate a tip-off about a lousy joint that just takes yer money and leaves ya feeling HAD!
We will be looking for dinner on L'Ile St Louis and am soooooooooo glad maitaitom & St Cirq tipped Au Sergeat le Recrutier as a bad move! What I will do is drop in for a glass of Kir and check the joint out - then flounce out as if they just not good enough!!Ha Ha! Jokes aside, I am mighty glad when given the low-down on a no good venue.
We will be looking for dinner on L'Ile St Louis and am soooooooooo glad maitaitom & St Cirq tipped Au Sergeat le Recrutier as a bad move! What I will do is drop in for a glass of Kir and check the joint out - then flounce out as if they just not good enough!!Ha Ha! Jokes aside, I am mighty glad when given the low-down on a no good venue.
