A Wonderful Guide and a Charming Read

books:


	• Hungry for Paris: The Ultimate Guide to the City's 102 Best Restaurants Alexander Lobrano Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2008 - 464 pages average customer review:based on 19 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

sour grapes suck

I can't believe the mean spirited comments by I. Xenos on "Hungry for Paris." To dismiss Lobrano's wonderfully written and thoughtful essays as being "American" and therefore not accurate is stupid. Perhaps Pudlow wrote these comments since his outdated book is not selling.

All Paris bound tourists, especially english speakers, should own a copy of this well done book.

>>By I. Xenos (NYC, NY) "Oh please", July 12, 2008
>>Being American in Paris does not qualify one to write an authoritative book on Paris restaurants .

In a Word, Fabulous!

As a Paris resident and food travel pro, my job is to refer clients to the best dining options around the world. I rely on a combination of personal experience and expert food journalist knowledge to make the best possible suggestions. It is often the equivalent of being asked to arrange a blind date though, since individual preferences vary and expectations are high, i.e. "This is our first trip to Paris and we can't wait! Can you suggest a charming restaurant in a fun area, with great food and wine that is not too expensive?" What is charming, fun, with 'great food & wine', and affordable for me personally might not be to someone else. I usually need to ask more questions to understand what the client is expecting, so that they aren't let down.

In my experience, I have found that what most people are actually looking for is an ambiance suggestion, yet, most culinary guides heavily reference the chef and menu items. Knowing the chef trained with Ducasse and that the writer dined on langoustines with ginger foam is significant - perhaps more for serious foodies than the casual visitor - but where a chef trained and what 'was' on the menu doesn't say enough about what to expect overall.

Hungry for Paris is one of the few reference books that I trust based upon M. Lobrano's discerning palate and his extensive dining experience in Paris. However, it is the "In a Word" section at the end of each listing that is the most valuable in my making a decision. For instance, page 259 recommends restaurant Carte Blanche in detail, and then sums up, "Excellent, imaginative contemporary French food in a pleasant setting with well-drilled service makes this restaurant in the heart of the city well worth seeking out." Based on the detailed entry plus the summary, I would know what the client will most likely experience as well as who is in the kitchen and what kind of food will be on the menu.

Congratulations (and thank you) to Alexander Lobrano for setting expectations while comprehensively paving the way to the best dining suggestions.

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Mixed bag(uette)

I think this is probably a good book for anyone looking for a vicarious Parisian dining experience. There are some very interesting commentaries about the kinds of eats and eating establishments that exist in Paris (and elsewhere in France). Someone not familiar with Paris and not headed there anytime soon can nevertheless enjoy the descriptions of food and environment that author Lobrano provides in his chatty book.

There is, in my opinion at least, a really insightful chapter on dining alone in Europe that goes beyond the vicarious and hits the bulls eye on the practical side of travel.

Author Lobrano, clearly a Paris insider, also has a lot to offer the actual visitor to that city with lists of some great sounding restaurants and menus that seem much less covered by other food guides. He ventures, for example, into the far corners of several districts of the city that are seldom frequented by visitors, but deserve exploring just for the food to be had there.

The book will be less interesting to someone knowledgeable about food and Paris. There is a lot of space given to comments on "French cooking 101" that aren't going to appeal to someone already in the know about the scene. Also mildly irritating is the author's inclusion of extensive details about his dining partners, the dispositions of the waiters/hosts/chefs at the restaurants visited and other superfluous chit-chat about mood, environment, etc.

When all is said and done, opinions about food and restaurants are entirely subjective. At his best, Lobrano is a well-informed expat in Paris who supplies the reader with some interesting dining possibilities. Some wading through verbose commentary is needed to get to the good stuff. It may be worth your time if you are not as familiar or comfortable with the city as Lobrano is. On other hand, there are other sources of dining advice, as at least one other reviewer has suggested--notably the Pudlow guide which is frequently updated and speaks to a local audience.

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A Wonderful Guide and a Charming Read

Having just returned from Paris, I highly recommend HUNGRY FOR PARIS as a superb source of restaurant information and an absolutely wonderful read. What I especially loved about this book is that it offers a brilliantly chosen selection of restaurants for every possible occasion and pocketbook; guidebooks that offer 500 or 1000 restaurants are of no use to me--how do I know which ones are really good? Lobrano's sensible selection solves this problem, and even better, his writing is sublime. With great originality, he's created a hybrid book that's a mixture of a guidebook, a memoir and a delightful portrait of Paris. I loved this book!

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

WHEN IN PARIS. . . .

If you?re passionate about eating well during your next trip to Paris, you couldn?t ask for a better travel companion than Alexander Lobrano?s charming, friendly, and authoritative Hungry for Paris, the first new comprehensive guide in many years to the city?s restaurant scene. Lobrano, Gourmet magazine?s European correspondent, has written for almost every major food and travel magazine since he became an American in Paris in 1986. Here he shares his personal selection of the city?s 102 best restaurants, each of which is portrayed in savvy, fun, lively descriptions that are not only indispensable for finding a superb meal but a pleasure to read.

Lobrano reveals the hottest young chefs, the coziest bistros, the best buys?including those haute cuisine restaurants that are really worth the money?and the secret places Parisians love most, together with information on the most delicious dishes, ambience, clientele, and history of each restaurant. A series of delightful essays cover various aspects of dining in Paris, including ?Table for One? (how to eat alone), ?The Four Seasons? (the best of seasonal eating in Paris), and ?Eating the Unspeakable? (learning to eat what you don?t think you like). All restaurants are keyed to helpful maps, and the book is seasoned with beautiful photographs by Life magazine photographer Bob Peterson that will only help whet your appetite for tasting Paris.

Praise for Hungry for Paris:
"Every time I go to Paris I call Alec and ask him where to eat. Nobody else has such an intimate knowledge of what is going on in the Paris food world right this minute, and there is nobody I trust more to tell me all the latest news. Happily, Alec has written it all down in this wonderful book and now I can stop bothering him." ?Ruth Reichl

"Hungry for Paris is a brilliant book with an almost fatal flaw: the writing is so enchanting you may never leave home to go to any of Alec?s favorite places. Few people know,love and appreciate Paris restaurants the way Alec does; no one writes about them better or with more charm." --Dorie Greenspan, author of Baking From My Home to Yours

?When I was nineteen, I went to France to study, but instead, I just ate. The experience changed me: I came back to the United States, and a few years later, started Chez Panisse. In Hungry for Paris, Alec Lobrano describes his own gastronomic awakening, probably better than I could! This book is a wonderful guide to eating in Paris.?
?Alice Waters

?I dearly hope Monsieur Lobrano has an unlisted phone number, for his book will make readers more than merely hungry for the culinary riches of his adopted city; it will make them ravenous for a dining companion with his particular warmth, wry charm, and refreshingly pure joie de vivre. Lobrano is a sly raconteur, a respectful critic, and the very best kind of insider--one who genuinely longs to share all his best discoveries.?
?Julia Glass, author of The Whole World Over and Three Junes

?Organized by neighborhood and interspersed with delightful sections on such matters as eating alone. . . . This is the sort of guide you read before you go to Paris? Lobrano tells you what to expect and how to act.?-Los Angeles Times Book Review

?Lobrano . . . fleshes out his luscious prose with tempting photos. Hungry for Paris is like a cozy bistro on a chilly day: It makes you feel welcome.?
-Washington Post Book World

?Le Grand Vfour. Maxim's. La Table de Jol Robuchon. None of these venerated restaurants are on Lobrano's list of the 102 best in Paris. And that's one of the reasons I love Hungry for Paris.?-Gridskipper

?A treasure trove of 102 mostly undiscovered addresses? Small and innovative bistros get the lion's share of Lobrano's ink, interspersed with chapters that are autobiographical, informative and entertaining.?-Women?s Wear Daily

?Lobrano is an ideal guide because he remembers who he was, how he became the expert he is now, and how you can acquire expertise. And he can do that hard thing --- see what's in front of him.?- HeadButler.com

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