Gastroville

All sounds near-on perfection. I am desperate to try these places. Can I borrow €600? :)

We have been to Ledoyen for a lunch in november...

yes the amuse bouches are not great.
yes first and second courses are great.
yes it does worth to go there just for that great wine which I won't give the name.

On the other hand the service was ok but not exceptional. And, although there isn't any separation for smokers, it is possible enjoy a good, powerful cuban cigar once you've finished your lunch. You don't even have to care about the people next to you who are trying have their lunch under a thick cigar smoke!

Wow those scallops look amazing! They must have been twice of size of your palm. But is it me or does it look like its been sealed with dough and cooked whole?

Please join my group on facebook . . . Restaurant L'Ambroisie Bernard Pacaud Appreciation Society. We have 45 members and 66 pictures posted.

I had the 'bar' with artichokes and caviar. It was the best thing I've ever eaten in my life.

Vedat,

If you were to write about L'Ambroisie every month I would not tire of it. It is a pleasure to read about your passion for this restaurant and always welcome as far as I am concerned.

Robert

Thanks for another exciting report. I have been troubled lately by several reports of obnoxious behaviours from l'Ambroisie staff towards non regulars. It is clear that, at their best, they are wonderful. But it seems clear also that they sometimes have unnecessarily cold, distant and even despising manners with people they do not know. It makes me sad and ashamed (see for instance ajgnet recent report on eGullet), all the more so since Pacaud's cooking is officially a highlight of our civilisation.

I had a wonderful experience as a single diner at L'ambroisie in September. From the moment I arrived, to the moment I left the service was superb: The food was extraordinary, including the wonderful bar, and the chocolate cake.

Boy, I live so close to Ambrosie, but never went inside.

Wonder if I could get a wedge of that chocolate cake, to go?

It is hard to comment about incidences when one does not observe them. But I can see that the values embodied by certain French people and institutions(such as l'Ambroisie) are the polar opposite of American values.

You have selective/discretionary/elitist norms versus inclusive/populist/anti intellectual norms.

French form "relations" Americans "network". Different forms of political economy (state-economy relations) are responsible for that.

At best both cultures are individualistic/perfectionist but they praise different things. French are much less materialistic in that sense.

At worst French keep thinking that Americans are superficial/shallow and Americans think French are arrogant/rigid.

On my part the most important thing is that American women are more malleable than French women!

Thanks for your response, Vedat. You are no doubt right about the cultural differences, and probably the worst reports are due to that kind of misunderstanding on the respective roles of the customers and the restaurants. My own l'Ambroisie experience, however, is not inconsistent with those reports, and, being borned and raised in Paris and rather familiar from restaurants, I don't think that can be attributed to cultural differences, all the more since some of my l'Ambroisie meals including magic service. But some others were plain cold and distant and not responding to my queries for help, eg for ordering. And that was just puzzling. Anyway, a new visit is obviously in order, despite the disappointing truffle season.

Obviously I am an American, and I have always very much disliked this term "networking," and the exhortations one listens to in MBA programs, etc. "to network." I prefer the expression of "making connections," -- I suppose very close to your description "relationships."

And obviously a "relationship" depends on the "personality" of the person or institution you have the relationship with. julotlespinceaux has described in his writing that with Pacaud every dish seems like his life is riding on how good it is. By contrast, the trend seems to be that chefs strive to become wealthy restauranteurs and "brand names" rather than following the Pacaud model.

I would assume that after 25+ years, the personality/character/priorities of a chef like Pacaud who puts so much of himself into the daily "product" of his one restaurant would "infuse" the institution itself. I would guess that once your relationship with L'Ambroisie is established, it's like the greatest love affair you'll ever remember. Until that moment, though, as an institution, it might be a bit wary of you.

The multi-restaurant owning chef/restauranteurs have a different end goal, so they have a more dispassionate "incentive" to formalize/standardize the way people are treated. Uniformity of the "product" at different locations is a good thing. Personally, I would much prefer working my way to the great love affair. The great Andre Soltner once said that for him "he had to love the people out there in the dining room."

We're going to Paris next week, so maybe it's time to try Ledoyen again. Thanks again for arranging that superb game tart.

As you know, our first visit to L'Ambroisie was marred by some serious service issues, I might even go so far as to say hostility, possibly brought on by the fact that my sister was dressed in a ragged purple sweatshirt. Funny, she used to be too embarrassed to be seen with me in high school, but in Paris it is the other way around. Thank goodness Vedat helped me get back into the restaurant's good graces, but it has still taken regular visits over 5 years to get that duck tourte. During that time I have also experienced that hot-cold inconsistency that Julot mentions, and I have always assumed it is because I am still insufficiently established on my own merits.

I think the French "relationship" is a long, sometimes excruciatingly slow building of trust and communication over time, and I have honestly never encountered anything like it in America. This is not a criticism, just an observation, like the personality difference of an aloof Siamese cat and a friendly Labrador. The formal, sometimes glacial reserve gradually melts into a truly warm and collegiate mutual understanding. A new customer is held at arm's length--hopefully polite--until dues have been paid. It can take years of patronizing a shop or restaurant to get the really good stuff. "Networking" might be even more important in France than in America. Because of the high value placed on personal relationships, an introduction from a regular can be invaluable. This is also true in Japan, a very similar society to France in many ways.

Alain Ducasse is probably the global chef-preneur par excellence, and while the service across the board is much more universalized than a place like L'Ambroisie, it is still possible to develop that personal relationship with the individual restaurants of the empire. Mikael's relationship with Louis XV illustrates this point.

The French relationship can be very rewarding and gratifying, but sometimes I prefer American shallow democracy. I remember there used to be a neighborhood restaurant across the street from our Paris apartment that was never complet unless we presumed to ask for a table. I could book L'Astrance easier than Le Bistro En Face.

Anyway, stellar report as usual, Vedat.

PS: What do you mean by malleable women? I hear yoga is catching on in Paris lately!

My experience: I ate there one time. I felt like what they served me was the best. The waiter captain was very friendly and spoke to me in English (even more friendly toward the end of the meal). The wine dude didn't seem like he was gonna dance around the restaurant because I ordered an EUR 90 Volnay, but the interaction was fine and the wine was great.

And I can't think of any restaurant in the U.S. I'd wanna eat at 1/10 as much as I'd want to eat at L'Ambroisie. I don't care how friendly the service is at said US restaurant.