Our group of professionals (we are chefs, journalists, food scientists) had our last luxurious lunch at the celebrated L’Assiette Champenoise. It was a very glamorous space, run by Arnaud Lallement grew up in a restauranteur family in Châlons-sur-Vesle.  At 18, with a Diploma from the Strasbourg Hotel & Catering College in his pocket, Arnaud went [...]

  So I was at the Spanish Restaurant Pipa the other night and enjoyed Conde Valdemar Reserva 2005 – a real find for about $40. I had visited the winery a few years back, met the winemaker, and relished the chance to retaste the wine. The color is deep and purple, with stained tears and [...]

  This was such a fabulous restaurant in Collioure, France! It is about three hours from Nimes, and a very cute town. Many artists lived and painted here. Imagine Ibiza with the jetset and you will get a sense of the weather and the scenery. This was one of my favorite restaurants for the scene, [...]

    One of the hallmarks of a good sommelier is the ability to match customers with the right wine, as well as match wine to the correct dish. Only a floor sommelier can tell you which is easier, yet one of the things I like best about Aldo Sohm, head sommelier at Le Bernardin [...]

Hostellerie de L’Abbye de la Celle This is a fabulous restaurant, especially when the weather is great and one can sit outdoors. Arrived just when it opened and thought the menu quite good and creative. I will find the pictures and load them, here is a link to the web site. Like most top restaurants [...]

   View Full Album “Help! I need a hotel recommendation for the Northern Rhone!” I hadn’t planned on visiting the Northern Rhone, yet when I had a change of plans during a trip to Provence, I went to the Stephen Tanzer forum (International Wine Cellar) to get some helpful advice, along with eRobertParker.com. People on [...]

Domaine de Clairefontaine is a charming restaurant and apparently luxurious hotel in the N. Rhone. We rushed here after a visit to E. Guigal, terrified we would miss the last seating and miss one of the last opportunities for a Michelin rated lunch as we had in Arles. The hotel is actually in the middle [...]