Martin Berasategui -- Restaurant overview

Loidi Kalea, 4 - 20160 Lasarte-Oria (Gipuzkoa)
Lat. 43.2668 / Lon. -2.0155
Tel. (+34) 943 366 471 / (+34) 943 361 599
Fax: (+34) 943 366 107 info@martinberasategui.com

Rating Standards: 5-Stars = Extraordinary; 4-Stars = Excellent; 3-Stars = Average; 2-Stars = Fair; 1-Star = Poor

€ = Inexpensive: 30€ and under; €€ = Moderate: 31€-49€; €€€ = Expensive: €50 -75; €€€€ = Very Expensive: more than €76 (prices based on minimum 2-courses)

1-Bell = Pleasantly quiet (less than 65 decibels); 2-Bells = Can talk easily (65-70); 3-Bells = Talking normally gets difficult (70-75); 4-Bells = Can talk only in raised voices (75-80); BOMB = Too noisy for normal conversation (80+)

  5 - Star...............................................................€€€€.............................................................1 - Bell

It's not often that I go to 3-star Michelin restaurants, because of the costs; however, I've been fortunate to go to a few and had wonderful experiences and have also had experiences where I had to ask myself "what's all the fuss?" and how they hell did they get their stars?

It was a special occasion, my partner's birthday so we decided to celebrate big with our friends who live in the San Sebastian, Spain area part-time and had been to this restaurant and highly recommended it.

We arrived for lunch at the restaurant during a rainstorm.  As we approached the building from the parking across the street, several waiters ran out with umbrellas to ensure we arrived relatively dry.  A nice greeting!

With that said, as you enter, you'll first be greeted with a beautiful display of flowers, very simple but very elegant and understated beauty.

As you enter you'll notice that it's quite spacious. Tables are far apart and you definitely have a sense of being with your party and not having to listen to everyone else's conversations. My guess they could seat 45-50 people.

I had to laugh, because the staff, all men surprisingly, dressed like the CIA, except they served with white gloves.

I did notice that many patrons did not overdress, in fact some came in jeans and a nice shirt, which made it very comfortable for me and it wasn't so stuffy that you always had to be concerned about laughing too hard or just not being formal enough.

We all decided ahead of time that we would get the tasting menu which consisted of 13-courses, yep 13!  It wasn't cheap at 185€ ($241) per person not including libations. Three of us started with their local "cava" champagne, and my partner had a Pastis aperitif.

So, onto our eating frenzy.  Normally I would critique each dish, but I have to say there was nothing to critique, each dish was punched with flavors, each distinct from one another. And, the descriptions by themselves are so beautifully descriptive, no explanation is really needed.  So, rather I would just like to detail what we had:

Entrees

Mille-feuille of smoked eel, foie-gras spring onions and green apples.

Squid soup, creamy squid ink ravioli served with squid crouton.

Another variation of the squid soup. with ink broth.

Main dishes "Plats"

We started with Oysters with cucumber, kafir and coconut.

Sauteed black garlic (fruit garlic) with beet ceviche, ice radish and raifort (horseradish) cream.

Little pearls of raw fennel, risotto and emulsion.

Roast foie gras with seaweed resting on horseradish curd, fermented soy broth and hazelnut salt

"Corrotxategi" -- egg resting on a herb liquid salad and dewlap carpaccio.

Warm vegetable hearts salad with seafood, cream of lettuce and iodized juice.

Red Mullet with edible scale crystals soybean sprouts, wheat semolina and cuttlefish.

Roast pigeon and onion with Iberian Pig's snout, ginger juice and caper.

Desserts

Blood-orange ice cream and slush over liquefied tubers, muscovado sugar, yogurt and pepper.

Mist of coffee and cacao over banana with whiskey sorbet and slush.












Finally a tower of little petit fours and some digestives, for me a local apple brandy akin to calvados.

Since we had mentioned it was Jack's birthday, the restaurant presented him with a plate, personally written by the Chef, noting the occasion, for him to keep as a remembrance of this experience.

 Summary

I have to say Chef Martin is an artist! My hat off to him, or as they say in French "Chapeau!"

What I loved about this restaurant is that, although it's a 3-Michelin restaurant, you felt comfortable. No doubt the formality existed with the staff, but they were friendly and not snooty as in some places I've been to. I've been told that many aspiring wait-staff are trained here in the art of serving.  The kitchen was amazing. They had an army of people to create the Chef's food vision.

It was by no means cheap, but worth every single Euro. With apéros, 2-bottles of wine Ossian 2010 red and one white, with accompanying digestives, our total bill came to 1,100€ ($1,400) for 4-people.

It was a wonderful experience, would I go again, most definitely, after I save up for it.  Thank you Bill and Fermin for recommending this wonderful restaurant! If you go in the summer (and it is not raining!), ask to be seated on the balcony, you'll have a wonderful view of the surrounding mountains.

Pirouette Restaurant -- Restaurant Review

Address: 5 Rue Mondétour, 75001 Paris, France

Transit: Châtelet - Les Halles

TÉL : +33 1 40 26 47 81 

Closed Sundays 

Rating Standards: 5-Stars = Extraordinary; 4-Stars = Excellent; 3-Stars = Average; 2-Stars = Fair; 1-Star = Poor

€ = Inexpensive: 30€ and under; €€ = Moderate: 31€-49€; €€€ = Expensive: €50 -75; €€€€ = Very Expensive: more than €76 (prices based on minimum 2-courses)

1-Bell = Pleasantly quiet (less than 65 decibels); 2-Bells = Can talk easily (65-70); 3-Bells = Talking normally gets difficult (70-75); 4-Bells = Can talk only in raised voices (75-80); BOMB = Too noisy for normal conversation (80+)

  4.25 - Star...............................................................€€.............................................................3 - Bell

Our friend invited us out to lunch in the Les Halles area of Paris. The area is being is being renovated so lots of construction around that site.  I never really think of having good food in that area, I’ve always considered it just an OK area for food, but today was an exception to the rule, what a gem we stumbled on to.

Wine list

Pirouette has only been open for about a year. It is very modern and very sleek. They even

have their own little al fresco dining area in the courtyard, we opted to eat indoors since there’s still quite a chill in the air.

They have a nice extensive menu and for their menu du jour (entrée and plat of today's specials) it was 15 euros for lunch and for the entrée+plat+dessert (choices off the entire menu) it was 38 euros, good deal.  They also had quite an extensive wine list.

Entrees:

We had 3 different entrées.   

First was the cod with a spicy chorizo sauce.   

The fish was cooked

perfectly, not much flavor, but with the accompanying chorizo sauce it was great. In fact the Proprietor told me it’s a bit spicy, but I’m from California, trust me it was not spicy, but good, but for the French it would’ve been spicy.

The blanc de sèche, artichauts, lomo, piquillas, jus de viande. It was cuttlefish; it was very tasty, the saltiness of the thinly sliced chorizo and the accompanying artichoke hearts were great. There were even a few dabs of, what we assume was, some watered down sriracha sauce.  I had only one little criticism; the cuttlefish was a tad too rubbery for my taste, but good none-the-less.

Lastly, we had the eggs cooked on a plancha with a puree of asparagus, bacon and salad.

No complaints here, the dish was fabulous, very tasty and well balanced.

Plats:

We had 4 different entrees.  The first was a sweetbreads with petits pois. This was one of my favorite dishes. The sweetbreads were cooked perfectly, tender, not mealy nor overcooked, just perfect. The green peas were to die for, so fresh and not adulterated with much else to keep the natural flavors of the peas in tact. Excellent overall.

Next plat was the roasted pigeon breast with white asparagus. This was my second

favorite dish. Don’t want to sound like a broken record, but it was so tender, and it was accompanied with liver.  Very well seasoned and just overall tasty.

Third plat was the grilled bar (bass) with onions and chorizo.  The fish was nice and moist on the inside and crispy on the outside, and with the crumbled, toasted, crispy chorizo atop it gave it an even extra crispiness. It was an enjoyable dish.

Last plat was the 7-hour lamb with violet carrots and baby grapes. 

Although quite tasty, this was probably 

my least favorite of all the dishes. I’m not saying it was bad, in fact it was very good, but just not my favorite.  When something is braised for that long it can get a little stringy, it’s the nature of the beast, but it was good none-the-less.

Desserts:

First dessert was a soft brebis with black cherries. I’ve eaten a lot of cheeses in my lifetime, in particular brebis, but have never tasted a soft brebis (sheep cheese) quite like this. I’m sure it’s common, but for me it was my first time to eat it. I loved it; however, I would’ve preferred it without the black cherry confiture. A lot of times French like a drizzle of honey or confiture to add that little sweetness; I can do without it.

The next dessert was the gariguette strawberries and rhubarb in a rhubarb sauce. This was

everyone’s favorite dessert. It had a nice balance of tartness and sweetness and accompanied with the “nage” rhubarb and a pistachio palmier, how could you go wrong. Excellent dessert!

And, lastly the praline tart with speculoos ice cream and caramel sauce.  I love speculoos, it’s like a sweet graham crackers that is often used as a crust or base for desserts. And, who wouldn’t like pralines with caramel sauce. Yum-yum!!!!

Overall:

What an excellent find in the 1er arrondissement.  This is definitely a must go to place.  It was 94 euros per couple with 2-bottles of wine, 3-glasses of rosé, and 3-cups of coffee.

I can’t wait til the weather warms up so we eat al fresco. Chapeau to the Chef!

Al fresco dining in front of restaurant

An expensive customer service lesson learned the hard way

Under perjury of the Customer Service Gods, these photos are real and were not altered nor photoshopped

I’ve been doing dishes by hands for the past 3-years since we’ve lived in our apartment. I thought I could continue doing so, but as most of my friends know, I don’t do a very good job of washing dishes and because of the high calcium content in the water, my hands break out with eczema pretty badly. I’ve tried wearing gloves, but they’re so clunky that I have a tendency to drop and break dishes.

There’s this little machine we have back home, it’s called a “dishwasher”.  Almost all homes have a dishwasher in the US, in fact I would be surprised if they didn’t. In Paris, you can buy dishwashers, but the biggest factor is whether or not you have the space to build in or have space for a “portable” model, that can double as a counter-top.

I found space in my already tight kitchen, and if you thought I made floor space, you’d be wrong. I found space atop my washing machine, imagine that. I’d have to get a stepladder to load the top of the dishwasher, but it’s a small price to pay to have clean dishes, n’est-ce pas?

So I decided to search online. Most of our appliances came from Darty, well known in France for their excellent customer service and return policies.  I wanted to save a few Euros, so I can spend more for some wine perhaps?  So, I searched on Amazon.fr (France). I found the perfect dishwasher (not from Darty). I checked out all the reviews and they were perfect.

I received a note stating that the dishwasher would be delivered on Thursday by the Post.  On Tuesday morning (2-days prior to the scheduled delivery) our doorbell rang. I NEVER answer our door unless I’m expecting someone. But JJ decided to answer the door, and here’s the postman with a box in front of our door. Didn’t even have time to say boo! and he scooted out faster than Joan Rivers heading for a sale at “Plastic surgeons are us”. 

Brought the box back into our apartment, yeah, I’m excited, it’s our dishwasher. Took the dishwasher out and this is where the trouble began.  I could’ve sworn the dishwasher was rolled down the Grand Canyon and retrieved to be resold.

Not even an hour later I’m emailing Amazon. The vendor asked me to send pictures of the damage, which I did immediately. They stated that they would request a refund from the Post Office.  A day later, nothing, so I wrote and asked “What’s up”? Their response was, “The post office has refused the claim.  If you do not want the dishwasher, you need to return it?”  Of course I want something that doesn’t work, all busted up, after all it’s a piece of art. So my NORMAL response was, “of course I want to return it, you stupid idiot!”

So, the following day a woman called, and left a message. She spoke faster than the speed talkers in television commercials. A friend was coming by that afternoon, so I asked if she could call for me, cause clearly I didn’t understand a word the vendor said, plus when I get upset, the only language I can remember is “Vulgarity.”

So our friend Gianna called for us and this is what I learned about the French customer service system as it relates to the Post Office:

1.  In most cases, returning an item delivered by the Post Office is at your expense.
2.  If a post-person comes to deliver a package, and wants to leave immediately, ask them to wait. If they say they are in a hurry, tie them to the doorpost, or cuff them, or sit on them.
3. Tell the post-person he will be released as soon as you inspect the goods.
4. If the good(s) are OK, then release the post-person and send him on his way. Remember to thank him and tell him to have a wonderful day.
5. If the good(s) are damaged, keep the person “tied up” until you have time to tape it back up and tell him specifically, YOU REFUSE TO ACCEPT IT BECAUSE IT IS DAMAGED.  If need be, record the conversation, and take photos on the spot.

Note:  we were not asked to signed a received receipt

So, I had 3 choices:

1. Keep it.  Not an option.
2. Schlepp it to the post office. It weighed a ton, but would’ve been cheaper and only cost 25 Euros, but then I would probably have broken a body part trying to get it to the PO.
3. Arrange for a transporter (not the Post as they don't pickup) to come pick it up for return. I chose this option at 45 Euros.

In Summary:  What I’m upset about is that neither Amazon nor the vendor ever told us to inspect the goods first before letting the postman go. Apparently, it’s a well known fact and common practice that this is done here, who knew? Obviously the French know this.  In fact, our friend Gianna kept telling me, this is not the US, this is France, we do things differently.  No lying there.  And, the vendor of the product does not pay the shipping cost to return the item as would most commonly be done in the US.  The vendor basically said they would be willing to refund the money we paid for the product when they receive it back (as if refunding money for a damaged product is a favor….. perhaps it is in France!)

I want to stress, not all appliance delivery places are this bad, as I mentioned I’ve ordered a washing machine and dryer from Darty and they were excellent. They even installed our washing machine for us. I use Amazon a lot. I’ve spent thousands of dollars, but have learned only to order small items from Amazon France, and leave big ticket items to the stores, e.g, Darty, better known for their customer service and refund policies. 

The transporter for the return of the dishwasher was supposed to call to arrange a pickup time, but they just showed up in front of the building with no advance notice.  Fortunately we were home.  One person, no dolly.  The guy (very nice, friendly) had to carry the box (around 50lbs) to his truck.

Yes, indeed it was an EXPENSIVE/HARD LESSON learned!

Jeanne B -- Restaurant Review

Address:  61, Rue Lepic

Tel: 01 42 51 17 53

Metro: Line 12 Abbess ) 

Open:  (9:30 am to 10:30 pm)

Rating Standards: 5-Stars = Extraordinary; 4-Stars = Excellent; 3-Stars = Average; 2-Stars = Fair; 1-Star = Poor

€ = Inexpensive: 30€ and under; €€ = Moderate: 31€-49€; €€€ = Expensive: €50 -75; €€€€ = Very Expensive: more than €76 (prices based on minimum 2-courses)

1-Bell = Pleasantly quiet (less than 65 decibels); 2-Bells = Can talk easily (65-70); 3-Bells = Talking normally gets difficult (70-75); 4-Bells = Can talk only in raised voices (75-80); BOMB = Too noisy for normal conversation (80+)

  3.5 - Star...............................................................€.............................................................3 - Bell

This restaurant is located in the heart of the tourist area we know as Montmartre.  It's located on Rue Lepic, in fact not too far from where we used to live.  As you enter the restaurant you'll notice a traiteur (take-out) section and chicken roasting. The smells are intoxicating.

They also have a wonderful selections of desserts. So, if you're not in the mood to cook, here's a great alternative for take out.

There are tables at the front of the restaurant with a large window if you want to people watch.  They also had a wonderfully fabulous room in the back that had a large sun-roof which allowed alot of natural light in.  I loved the back room until it filled up and it became almost impossible to hear anyone.













For the entrée + Plat it was 19 Euro, for the entrée, plat and dessert it was 23 Euros. Very, very reasonable prices.  They also had a cute wine list right on the bottle which we found very amusing.

I had the artichoke, only because I really love artichokes. You can't really mess up an artichoke that's been steamed. It was what I expected and what I wanted.  The accompanying sauce was a mayonnaise type of sauce. Simple but good.

One ordered the hummus.  It was interesting since it was topped with chicken and mushrooms. I liked it, but then I'm a sucker for anything hummus. Whereas our friend thought it was just OK.

Another friend order the lobster bisque, wow this was the best of all three.  It was delicious.  I could've just had that alone. Lots of flavor and just plain delicious without being too rich, the balance was just right.

Now onto our plats (main dishes). One friend ordered the lamb, pink. The lamb was perfectly cooked. It was pink, but not raw and it was delicious and it was accompanied with a small salad and a potato gratin.  We all loved this dish.

One ordered the vegetable pie. Actually, it was just "so-so", nothing extraordinary. It fact very plain. Also accompanied with a salad. Our friend had to ask for tobasco because it was very, very bland.

I had the lobster over a toasted bread with cheese on it. I thought the lobster was good. There wasn't a whole lot of it, but it was good none-the-less and the accompanying salad was a nice accompaniment. I did not like the bread though, it tasted too much like a gateau or a brioche. For me I think that kind of bread should be reserved for French toast, oh well.

For dessert we shared a "cafe gourmand."  It was interesting, cause I've never had a cafe gourmand that was basically 3-different types of chocolate candies: white, dark, and a milk chocolate with some nuts it








Summary:  A great find in the 18eme for a good meal or for take-out. The quality of food was excellent, and the prices unbelievably good. Here's my biggest fear. It's only been open for a month, already tourists are starting to pour in. There's nothing wrong with that, but I find once tourists take over, these types of places become complacent. I just hope they remain true to their charter of having good food at affordable prices.

The other problem I had, once it got crowded in the back, it was unbearably loud. I couldn't wait to leave cause the noise level was intolerable. Our friend had a decibel reader and it reached as high as 75 db.  So, if you go ask to be seated up front.

So, for the 3 of us our bill came to 112 Euros with a bottle of wine, an half a bottle of sparkling water and coffee. If you're in the neighborhood and looking for good simple food, this is the place. And, believe it or not they are open EVERY day, yes, including Sundays and Mondays. 

Les Prolongations -- Restaurant Review

Address:  76, Boulevard de Grenelle

Tel: 01 45 75 62 05

Metro: Line 6 Dupleix) 

Rating Standards: 5-Stars = Extraordinary; 4-Stars = Excellent; 3-Stars = Average; 2-Stars = Fair; 1-Star = Poor

€ = Inexpensive: 30€ and under; €€ = Moderate: 31€-49€; €€€ = Expensive: €50 -75; €€€€ = Very Expensive: more than €76 (prices based on minimum 2-courses)

1-Bell = Pleasantly quiet (less than 65 decibels); 2-Bells = Can talk easily (65-70); 3-Bells = Talking normally gets difficult (70-75); 4-Bells = Can talk only in raised voices (75-80); BOMB = Too noisy for normal conversation (80+)

  2.75 - Star...............................................................€€.............................................................*1 - Bell

*(Note: we were in a private booth)

This is a restaurant just down the street from "Dernier Metro", and in fact they are the same owners.  Although it's better known for a "Happy Hour" place or for apéros, we decided to try it out for lunch.  It is a Basque style restaurant. It's a very long restaurant with a bar running along its side and 2-tall tables just in front of the bar.  The main dining area was a shared dining area of maybe 14-people, very tight and you get to know your neighbors pretty quickly.  Surprisingly, there were only 3 of us but we got the private round room in the back, which I absolutely adored.  It can easily sit 4 comfortably and 6 snuggly.  So ask for that room if you should want to venture in.

We perused the menu and they have daily lunch specials on a board.  The entrées and the Plats were very reasonably priced  They also had a regular menu which you could order from, so we did both, we ordered from the board as well as the regular menu, to mix it up!  Warning- the formule (prix fixe) only applies to the items on the board... if you mix and match or order from the regular menu you pay a la carte.

For our entrées, I got the pigs ears. I actually liked it a lot. The meat was tender and the cartilage had the nice characteristic chewy crunch.  It was a lot like a Filipino dish called "sigsig" typically made with pig's head. Personally, I would liked it better if it had been served with a slice of lime and chilis.  Instead, I sprinkled "espelette" a typical Basque season that has a little bite to it.

One had the vegetable soup. It was very watery, lacked any real flavor even though the stock was clearly chicken. He had to put a lot of pepper and espelette to give it some taste. I had tasted it, and I have one word to describe this soup, bland.

The other entree was the duck livers.  I had a taste of this, and I really liked it. It was very good, not mealy or overdone. And, adding espelette made it even tastier, so I would highly recommend this dish as an entree.

Two of us had the tripe, which is typically very Basque. It was very good. It was cooked in what I think is a lot of vinegar probably to counteract the fat as well as the smell.  It did not have that typical tripe smell, but it was a tad bit on the greasy side, which is characteristic of the dish.  It was served with potatoes. I liked this dish, but it's not for everyone.

Our companion had the veau (veal) that was cooked in a very thick sauce.  He really enjoyed it, whereas I thought it was tasty, but the texture was off-putting.  It was too, too glutinous.  Way too much flour as a thickening agent.  It's almost as if they took a slurry and just poured it in the stew. And, the sides of mash potatoes was enormous!

For dessert, I had a plate of cheese. Nondescript, but very good.  One person had the apple crumble. It had to have been more then 2-days old. I had a tiny taste of it, it just tasted like it had been baked a few days earlier. It was very dry and I did not like it all.

And, our companion had the creme caramel.  I didn't taste it, but he enjoyed it and thought it was very good.








Overall, I can see how this place would be popular among the young for aperos or "happy hour."  It's not fine dining, there were hits and misses. The service though, was excellent, but as my companion stated, he would opt to go to the "Dernier Metro" in the future.

And, for me, although it was a fun experience, I would prefer trying something else.

Total bill for 3 of us came to 130 Euros that included a bottle of red wine "Domain Abotia" Irouléguy, a carafe of rose, and an additional 2-glasses of wine and coffee.