By: Alec Lobrano

Alec Lobrano — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 05:51:27 +0000

Thanks, Brian. I'll check out these addresses the next time I'm back in New York. Re New York wines, I often bring back a couple of bottles of Shinn Red from the North Fork with me to Paris, and it's been fun serving them to French friends, who often compare them to a good Cotes du Bourg. The Finger Lakes Riesling was a real find, though, and I think it's too bad that more New York restaurants don't feature New York wines (and maybe those from Rhode Island and Massachusetts, too). All best, Alec

By: Brian Ellerbeck

Brian Ellerbeck — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 00:06:53 +0000

Thanks for your restaurant comparison of Ralph and Cookshop. I'm amused, albeit ironically, since I live but a few blocks from Cookshop in nyc, and am planning a culinary "rape and pillage" of Paris and vicinity. Yes, Cookshop is good, New York wines have evolved (including those from the North Fork of Long Island), and the culinary gestalt of the "old world" (including, but not limited to Paris) has found an occasional foothold in the New, insofar as a commitment to good preparation and local ingredients/seasonal choices prevails. I have not adequately studied your site for places to go in Paris (though I'm not concerned that a strng of bad meals await). On your next visit in nyc, there are two venues worth trying for what I imagine would be reasonably good bistro fare in Paris, La Luncheonette, just a few blocks south of Cookshop on Tenth Avenue, and on the east side, Lucien's in the East Village on First Avenue between First and Second Sts. Neither venue is particularly inventive; rather, they do "the usual" bistro fare with care, and provide a level of service that brings me back time and again, even if I know exactly what I'm getting.

Comments on: RALPH’S, Paris: An American in Paris; COOKSHOP, New York City: What Ralph’s Could Have Been

By: Alec Lobrano

By: Brian Ellerbeck