Rex, I attended a message board get-together at Le Train Bleu a couple of years ago. We mostly ordered from the least expensive menu. It was fine but not outstanding. The room is the thing.

Well, your question was "What does one order....?" For most of us, the answer is all kinds of things that you don't eat. So maybe you asked the wrong question. If you'd said you were looking for vegetarian meals in Paris, you would have gotten just as many answers, probably with better suggestions.

I'm not a vegetarian, but I would have told you that you could go to just about any restaurant/café/bistro/brasserie in Paris and had a meal that didn't involve meat. Not to mention that there are vegetarian restaurants. There are crepe stands. There are sandwich places galore where you don't have to have anything with meat in it.

You're worrying needlessly. This isn't going to be an issue.

Last trip I went to Chez Clement in the 6th. They have multiple locations. I had a terrine (appetizer of cold ground up meats that you eat of pieces of bread), a couple of slices of porc sausages, chicken with potatoes, ice cream, espresso, mineral water and glass of wine...for 41 euro.

Also, about a block from the above is La Jacobine, small place where I had a nice salad, fish soup, and maigret of duck and wine for ~30 euro

If you are going to the Marmottan Museum in the 16th, I stumbled on the Rotonde de la Muette. I had a fall vegetable soup, sole meuniere with potatoes,mineral water, wine, chocolate mousse, espresso, for 60 euro.

I have also eaten at Le Petit Zinc (seafood) and also recommend Rotisserie du Beaujolais for their roast chicken and garlic mashed potatoes.

To be honest, I like beef, chicken, pork, duck and fish and have never had any trouble finding any restautant that serves the above. I am not big on organs either. It won't be a problem.


As others have stated, all restaurants will post their menus outside their door, so you can check before going in. Get a good menu translator to help you.

ekscrunchy

thanks for your advice and info..

i grew up in midwest now live in seattle area.

around here there are alot of ethnic restaurants.

I love asian shrimp, veggies, & rice sort of dishes.

or italian type with pasta,cheese,tomato, basil sort of dishes.

mexican food is great.

at american type places for dinner
i usually get salmon or chicken breast entrees.

I eat nothing with hamburger or sausage. No grounded meat.
the texture gags me.

I would recommend getting a menu translation book. I really like the "Eating and Drinking in Paris" by Herbach and Dillon book. I have found very few items on a menu that are not in the book. I like that it includes sauces too. I found that some foods like meat are named something different depending on the cut. Which is great, because if you are looking only for poulet, you might miss a great dish because it may not be specifically called poulet on the menu (I hope that makes sense). I like trying new foods but there are some things I do not like and I don't want to mistakenly order a whole plate of it and then waste it. For example, I don't eat mushrooms, I taste them occasionally in a new dish but I find that it just reinforces the fact that I don't like them. So, I don't want to end up with a big plate of mushrooms, and wasting that money and the food.

May restaurants will have "Le Menu" for the day listed with a price. You get your choice of one each of several main courses, sides, desserts, wine. This is a nice way to try a few new foods at a good price.

If you like chicken, I ate at La Poule au Pot. Their specialty is Chicken in a Pot (hence the name!), which is a pot with chicken, vegetables, a slice of pate (which you could pick out easily) and a to die for broth. They also have a great salad with goat cheese and croutons (another of my favorites). It is near Les Halles.

Have a great time!

The best lobster I have ever had (including summers in Maine and countless forays to the lobster meccas of Boston and New York) was the bisque I had last summer at <i>Le Train Bleu</i>. So don't write off the Paris lobster totally.

You can gorge yourself on excellent cuisine for reasonable prices (<i>Le Menu des Gourmands</i>) at CielDeParis.com - and enjoy a unique vista of the Eiffel Tower while you dine: from above. You sit at the level of the old elevator exchange platform halfway between the 2nd floor and the summit.

The window tables afford a panoramic view of Paris from La D&eacute;fense to Notre Dame.

Hi Rex,

We were last at Train Bleu in Sept, 2005.

From my trip report:
&quot;we had dinner in the smoking area at Le Train Bleu. This is a smaller, less crowded and much less noisy area than the large room by the bar. Hardly anyone was smoking.

Entrees of Marennes oysters and escargot from Bourgogne. Both plump, juicy and flavorful. These were accompanied by a 1/2 bottle of 2004 W. Ferre Chablis (17E), which was light and pleasant, but not as minerally as it should have been.

We each ordered fish for the mains; Nile perch with cepes in a puff pastry crust and Sole Meuniere (deboned at tableside). Both beautifully fresh and perfectly done.

Both accompanied by steamed seasonal vegetables and baby potatoes.

For wine, we had a 1/2 bottle of 2001 Comte de la Perriere Sancerre (22E) - a very good example of the breed.

Coffee was served in shot glasses, which my LW thought was cute, but she also likes the blinking lights on the Eiffle Tower.

Le Train Bleu does bring back the feeling of the old days, when passengers taking the long-distance, overnight trains stopped for supper before boarding (if you overlook the men not wearing jackets at dinner). Service is swift (mostly) and smooth, food is very good, ambiance is unabashedly Belle Epoque.

Since we were the last people in the restaurant, we were pleasantly (albeit swiftly) ushered out with sufficient time to catch the last Metro back to our hotel&quot;.

I think that dinner was about 110E, as there was a special on the oysters that week.

&gt;... &quot;the most memorable dinner&quot; of the trip ...&lt;

A: Taillevent
B: Les Ombres

Both are very costly.

How about lunch at Taillevent? About 70E pp + wine. That would be memorable, indeed.

From my trip report:
&quot;Not for people who say, “I eat to live. I don’t live to eat”, nor for foodies with jaded pallets looking for the latest cutting-edge offerings from molecular gastronomists. They offer excellent dining in an atmosphere of subdued luxury.
As we strolled up the avenue to the entrance, the doorman greeted us as if we had arrived in a Daimler, opened the door and turned us over to three gentlemen and a lady in the anteroom.
One gentleman checked our name off the reservations list, the lady divested us of our travel umbrellas, and another gentleman escorted us to our table in the Lammenais room where, with the aid of two other gentlemen (to pull out and reposition the table), my Lady Wife was ensconced on the banquette and I was seated. (Enthroned would be a mild exaggeration.)
The room is relatively plain, (old oak paneling, a few flower arrangements some objets d’art), quiet and very comfortably furnished.
Our aperitif order was taken by a uniformed footman, who soon returned with a glass of vin de la maison (a Pouilly Fuiss&eacute; ) for LW and a kir for me.
The proper means of making a kir: set wine glass on table, add kir, swirl, let rest. Repeat. Add wine, a little at a time while swirling. (I can’t say that the method of preparation necessarily improved the drink, but it was a good kir.)
Our orders were taken by a waiter. The wine steward soon arrived, having been informed of our order, to offer his advice.
Amuse bouche: A tomato gel with a tiny mozzarella egg and greens, topped with a bit of cr&egrave;me fraiche.
Entrees: Roberta had the smoked salmon. This came as a bowl of what appeared to cream of tomato soup with a dollop of sour cream, but was actually a mousse of lightly smoked salmon with a quenelle of basil-flavored ice cream.
I had the poached egg with asparagus and mushrooms – a more traditional presentation.
Since we usually offer each other tastes from our dishes, I was caught with my fork halfway to Roberta’s bowl of salmon mousse by our footman who offered me a “tasting dish”. One doesn’t take things from each other’s silverware, nor reach into another’s plate. The diner scoops a bit of stuff out with a spoon and sets it on the tasting dish, which is then passed by the footman.
Mains: Rouget for LW and duck breast with apricots were served without fancy garnishes or towers of stuff, just straightforward excellent food.
Cheese course: A spoonful of raw milk chevre wrapped in scallions and topped with a bit of fried chive and tapenade.
Varioous house-made rolls were offered as the meal progressed.
Dessert: A chocolate/raspberry confection for me (you can see it on the website) and a peach tart for Roberta.
Coffee was served with an assortment of tiny cakes and pastries.
Wines were chosen by the wine steward. They were very good, went well with the courses, and were priced from the middle of the menu, but I have no idea what they were.
After refusing an invitation to call a taxi, we arose from the table (I pushed my chair back a few inches and waited – it took a count of two for a waiter to assist me. Two others extracted LW from behind the table.), were escorted to the ante room where the umbrella lady was waiting for us, along with the gentlemen who had greeted us upon arrival. We were very pleasantly thanked for honoring the establishment with our presence and escorted out the door.
You might note that I have not graced each course with descriptions such as “very good” or “superb”, etc. This does not mean that they weren’t. It would be superfluous to keep writing “outstanding”.
A wonderful experience in being treated like royalty (or at least rich and famous). 209E($325) + tips&quot;.

Enjoy your visit.

((I))

ira
Your almond croissant with ice cream and chocolate sauce is making me hungry for Paris.

&quot;Le Train Bleu&quot;
We ate there in Sept.'09 and it was wonderful.

The atmosphere, food, and service were all exactly what we were looking for.

We had a salad with walnut oil, filet of beef with bernaise sauce, and a wonderful chocolate torte.

I also am fond of wines from the Sancere region, and they had both some reds and whites by the glass. Of course, I tried both.

Such thoughtful and useful replies, and so quickly!

I appreciate the suggestion of Le Ciel de Paris. I believe that I would have thought of it on my own - - but it had escaped my front row of ideas, at this point.

...and to nikki, regarding Le Train Bleu...

&lt;&lt; It was fine but not outstanding. The room is the thing. &gt;&gt;

I get that, and this is actually quite reassuring to me. It _does_ look to be half (if not more) of the reason I would choose it). Calling on another, pertinent memory, I treasure the recollection of a buffet lunch in the grand ballroom at Musee d'Orsay. What a lasting impression can come out of a setting that cannot be found anywhere else!

I think that with the three choices of A95, LCdP and LTB, we can have the discussion with my B and SIL.

And a lunch at Taillevent could be the card up my sleeve. Your write-up, ira, deserves the (implicity superfluous) descriptor of &quot;outstanding&quot;... ;)

Now, tell me a place that would be as memorable (service-wise) for lunch in London... while you're on a roll!

Someone who eats pork, chicken and shrimp is not a vegetarian, but I am, and I've eaten very wellon two trips to Paris. Lots of goat cheese salads, pesto and pasta (most memorably at Altitude), crepes, beautiful veggies, potatoes made sinful with butter and cheese. Every type of ethnic food imaginable. And of course the bread!!
My daughter had the most amazing scallops-coquille St. Jacques-that she talks about still, 5 years later.

Ira: Did you write a report on your visit to Les Ombres?

Ira: The reason that I am asking is that I read your last Paris report and you do not mention the restaurant; I thought I remembered reading that you had plans to go but cancelled at the last minute..

Bien cuit isn't medium - it;s well done. And not the way to order any meat in France - it will be rubber.

I France meat (beef, lamb etc) is usually served on the rare side. If you don;t like it that way - stick to chicken, shrimp and the other things you like.

A cafe i s more or less the equivalent of a diner and you can get a whole host of things - starting with poulet roti (roast chicken with fries) coq au vin (chicken stewish) plus dozens of others,

Here's the guide I was using. I order beef a point or medium/cuit; husband orders bien cuit--he's never had a dried out, overdone experience:

• Au bleu is raw; only the outside heated.

• Saignant is rare; the center is perceptibly warm.

• &Agrave; point is rare; the blood coagulated and the center is hot.

• Bien is what Americans would call medium.

• Bien cuit is medium well; the center is still a bit pink.

Hi Rex,

It's been a long time since I was in London, but I have always felt that the Divan Room at Simpson's in the Strand was the outstanding old-time London resto.

I f you go upstairs to the Knight's Bar, you can stand at the same window from which Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson viewed the passing scene.

((I))

Hi ek,

Haven't eaten at Les Ombres, yet.

Cannot discuss the food or the service from my own experience, but it has gotten consistently good reviews.

I can attest that you do get a close up view of the Eiffel Tower and that it twinkles at night.

Please note that Rex asked for &quot;the most memorable dinner&quot; of the trip ...&quot;, not the best in food and service.
((I))

Rex, you might want to try one of the Gordon Ramsey places.

I especially like the York and Albany

http://www.gordonramsay.com/yorkandalbany/menus/

The only meal I've ever been disappointed in in London was at Simpson's on the Strand. Of course that was during the mad cow scare and they weren't serving beef on the bone. Even the 2 native Londoners I was with, who had dined there since they were children were disappointed.

My off-the-cuff, follow-on question about London (restaurants) is an inappropriate hijack of this thread. Sorry.

We haven't even had any further discussions with my brother about exactly what IS the itinerary?

I'll post a new and separate thread about making our London (and Kent) plans, if we do really decide to start there.

I may get some negative comments about this suggestion as being too touristy, but here goes. I've been there twice and can't speak more highly of it. Last visit I had the coq au vin Alsatian style that was to die for.

http://www.restaurantalsace.com/en/index.htm

Although the two best meals of my life were both at Taillevent when M. Vriant was alive, I would not send the OP to it. Let him/her have crepes, moule frites, the soups he/she seeking and work her way up to Taillevent.