Gourmet Paris [Paperback]

Andre Renoux (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 14, 1999

Fully updated for 2001, this is the essential guide to international cuisine in Paris, with a rigorous selection of restaurants offering the best dishes for the best value.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Emmanuel Rubin is not a celebrated Parisian food columnist for nothing--the man can take a handful of words, wrap them around a dish such as calf's head, and have you instantly drooling. In this second edition of a most unusual guide, Rubin leads you dish by dish through the full range of Parisian restaurants, from the unassuming to the celebrated, from the impossibly snobbish to those that haven't even opened yet but are anxiously awaited. The bulk of the book is devoted to an alphabetical listing of "What to Eat in Paris," beginning with African Cuisine, Andouillette, and Antipasti, and ending with Wines and World Food. Here's a sampling of the gastronomic delights you'll find: for the andouillette (chitterlings sausage) you might want to try Le Passage, a cutting-edge wine bar lost in an alleyway near the Bastille. For crêpes suzette, Maison Prunier is a spectacular 1930s temple with a Grand Marnier crepe flambé "that enjoys the most civilized of treatments." Le Bistro Savoyard is a mere slip of a tavern, off-beat but lovable with a "flowing fondue as smooth as the Savoy wines from the cellar." And Thomieux has been "a constant member of the snail elite" for over 50 years. Gourmet Paris also includes a Restaurant User's Guide, which recommends places to dine by theme. In the mood for company? Try communal tables. Desperately trying to find someplace child-friendly? Rubin knows where the few spots are. He also has ideas for tables with a view, the best museum restaurants, the best gay restaurants, best places with music, the best places to eat solo (and "transform it into a deliciously selfish experience"), and so on. And for those game to take on the haunts of the rich and famous, Rubin tells you how to navigate the tangle of codes and rites which determine the sought-after tables and who gets them. (If, for example, the staff at Le Jules Verne offers to seat you in the "Trocadero" room rather than the VIP "Paris" room, "proffer the observation that sunsets get you down. They'll understand.") With reviews of over 1,000 restaurants and 60 dishes, Gourmet Paris is sure to lead you to a scrumptious meal whatever your mood or preference. --Lesley Reed --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Well organized, indexed and light enough to carry with you."--New York Times

"Lovers of gastronomy are usually spoilt for choice when it comes to buying a guide to restaurants, bistrots, brasseries and other eateries that have made Paris famous. But this new Gourmet Paris stands out from the crowd..."--Eurostar Magazine

"This comprehensive guide is a must for the food expert and the first time visitor alike."--Metropolist Magazine

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 255 pages
• Publisher: Flammarion (October 14, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 2080136577
• ISBN-13: 978-2080136572
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 4.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,466,707 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A unique guide to Paris restaurants, December 20, 1999

By 

Jonathan King - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gourmet Paris (Paperback)

I'm planning a restaurant-centered trip to Paris for next spring, and am finding this little book an invaluable tool in my research efforts. The author has laboriously evaluated dozens if not hundreds of Parisian restaurants in terms of their execution of various regional cuisines and specialties. For example, if you're looking for a restaurant that specializes in the cooking of Lyon or the Auvergne, he'll have numerous recommendations--many of them small and off the beaten path, and unremarked-on even by the Paris Zagat guide, let alone Frommer or Patricia Wells. By the same token, if you simply must try a dish of aligot, pouchouse, or tablier de sapeur--because you've read about them in Elizabeth David or Waverley Root--you'll be steered directly to them. The book is small enough to carry in one's pocket while walking around the city, and contains enough information about the recommended restaurants (opening hours, phone, other specialties) to make ad hoc planning reasonably simple. Indexes by restaurant name and arrondisement are well put together. All in all, a valuable contribution to the small body of truly useful Paris restaurant guides in English.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to eat well in the capital of good food, April 25, 2001

By 

Robert Orchard (Paris France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gourmet Paris, 2001 Edition: What you want to eat, where, dish by dish (Hardcover)

This book is fabulous - witty, well-written and containing all the must-have addresses for the best food in Paris. It's different from other restaurant guides because instead of picking an area or a price-range for your meal, you just choose the dish you feel like eating. So for example if you want some Bouillabaisse you look it up and there are four recommendations, each of which will serve up their own delicious version of the Marseillaise speciality.

The guide covers eighty different dishes, both French and International - you can find places for sushi, tacos and curry as well as for pot-au-feu, fondue and coq-au-vin. The author, Emmanuel Rubin is great not only at choosing the finest food but also the places with the best atmosphere. He devotes a section at the end of the book to a guide to restaurants with special features; restaurants with a fireplace, restaurants for kids, restaurants in nightclubs...

Gourmet Paris is definitely the best present I've received since moving to France; I've been using the guide regularly every time I feel like eating out and I've had nothing but great meals since !