Two events...

L'epi Dupin which was so highly recommended, was very upsetting. It was our first night in Paris too. To explain...we were seated in a small outside veranda. There were three other TINY tables all jammed together. I do mean TINY. No tablecloth.

I had to change seats with my husband as a screen/shade ?? was there and the air was blowing on me. In doing that, I scratched my arm on something. Blood! I should have been forewarned.

The waiter just pushed the menu and the food on us and I will tell you it's the only place in France where I was rushed. The food?..my husband's meal was ok..my scallops were not. I hated the whole night.


The second worst meal..if you can call it that...we were at a market in Gordes and I got hungry. A vendor had a booth set up and was grilling things. I chose something (what was it?)..that everyone else seemed to be eating. I will tell you..it was atrocious. It looked like sausage but it was on a roll. The taste stayed with me for a week. Maybe it was that andouillette...who knows!!

Went to a Chinese restaurant there during my last trip. Don't bother to ask why...

As much as I love Paris, I think Montreal is a much better "foodie" town overall.

Gee,

I'm a bit surprised by the remarks re the Vagenende.

We have been there 3 times in the last 4 years and found the food reasonably good at a moderate price.

Sorry you folks had bad experiences.

((I))

Ha! Maybe a little out of date but interesting. George Orwell's, Down and Out in Paris & London. Recommended to be read before dining in any Paris restaurant.

A USA paperback..Never Eat Out on Saturday!

If you are brave, ask to view the kitchen. 2nd best, ask to use the washroom/toilet. 3rd, if you are buying/ordering a meat dish, ask to see it before it is cooked.

Andouillete is usually terrible, but I've had it twice when it was very good. Once in Troyes at Le Bistroquet which won a prize for the best andouillete à la mode de Troyes, and as an amuse bouche at La Tupina in Bordeaux. Nonetheless, if you have no familiarity with such cuts (heart, kidneys, tripe, brains, sweetbreads), I urge you not to bother ordering andouillette even in recommended restaurants. Tripe can be mild, as it is in the Romanian national soup--never had a bad one, although one waiter was reluctant to accept the order.