Once a month on the “go-go” food websites of the moment or even on my little blog, the question is asked “What’s better Septime, Saturne or Frenchie?” or “I have reservations for Frenchie and Septime on the same day and need to choose between the two……”
Now the names change according to the seasons and years; once upon a time it was Gagnaire, then L’Ambrosie, then L’Astrance, then Spring, then Bigarrade, then well you get the picture.
I guess I'm just frustrated that folks think that one, especially those who eat out a lot in Paris, can divine which of two or three very good but different places the poster might like best.
And I'm concerned that what the NYT's thinks is "the" place to go to today, is stale bread in 3 months.
Is L'Astrance no longer good because it's not "hot"; is Gagnaire bad if it doesn't get mentioned for a while; are Le Troquet, Le Casse Noix, Fables de la Fontaine, Le Violin d’Ingres, Ze Kitchen Galerie, La Regalade St. Honore and the original, MBC, Le Versance, yam'Tcha, and l’Agassin automatically off everybody's lists because they were on them in prior years?
I don't know.
Sure I eat at new places, that's my mission, but I also go back to the ones that my precious wife likes when she's in town.
To me the purpose of a meal is to have good food and good companionship and one of any 100 places, hot or not, fulfills that goal.
