Pudlo Paris 2007-2008: A Restaurant Guide
by Gilles Pudlowski
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Book Reviews of Pudlo Paris 2007-2008: A Restaurant Guide
Book Review: Not as helpful as expected
Summary: 3 Stars
I was just in Paris for five weeks, and I must have spent many hours reading Pudlo over the course of the trip. I did not find it all that helpful, mainly because I found the paragraphs that accompany each restaurant listing insufficiently critical. Nearly every restaurant in the book gets a good review. A few are praised to the ceiling (mostly the grand restaurants, which obviously have fantastic food), and a few are condemned as disappointing, but the vast majority of the reviews are fairly bland: Pudlo describes a few signature dishes, relates some tidbit about the decor or location or the new chef, and says that they were left happy and satisfied. I wanted the guidebook to help me find the best restaurants in the city, of every size and price: the places that serve unusually good food. But Pudlo did not help with that, because it doesn't discriminate between the vast majority of restaurants it reviews.
I was disappointed in other ways as well. Trying to find a restaurant close to the Comedie Française, I chose one of Pudlo's "Special Favorites", a Corsican place called A Casa Luna. It turned out to be mediocre, ordinary, not a restaurant I would want to return to. My main dish was mush, literally mush, with a big slice of cheese on top. (My friend's fish was slightly better.) Not only was the Pudlo guide in general insufficiently discriminating, but the rankings provided did not inspire confidence. How could a serious food critic call this mediocre place "A Special Favorite"?
One would think that Pudlo and his team of assistants would know the city like the palm of their hand, and would reveal the small, inconspicuous places where one can find superb food and drink. Alas, the guide has a prejudice against small casual places--it will list a formal restaurant where the food is quite ordinary over a hole-in-the-wall where the food is divine--and it is often content to stick with places whose fame is already established. Understandable, perhaps (it's harder to find the less well-known gems), but boring. Pudlo lists one ice cream shop in the fourth arrondissement, Berthillon, which is a nice place but already extremely famous. It did not list my favorite ice cream shop in the fourth: Pozetto's, a small independent gelato place, which made truly extraordinary gelato. Pudlo doesn't bother to include these less well-known gems.
Pudlo is helpful as a restaurant phone-book of sorts--it's handy to have the phone numbers, addresses, hours, and prices for such a large number of restaurants. I appreciated that information. But as for guidance, it disappoints.
Book Review: If any Paris restaurant review book can be said to be definitive.
Summary: 5 Stars
For a tourist attempting to plan a Paris vacation, one of the most daunting tasks is planning meals. Unlike most cities where there are a couple of city-defining establishments, Paris is simply awash in wonderful restaurants, with over-the-top , bust your budget choices and quaint, simple good value eateries, with everything in between. While some might argue that its difficult to get a truly bad meal in Paris, it is a revelation to find a place that is not on the top ten list of Fodors or Zagat that blows your taste buds away. Pudlo is the book that every tourist planning a Parisian getaway should reference.
There are few establishments missed, few unjustly skewered and few undeservedly lauded. Even some of the old chestnuts that are usually treated with disdain in competing books appear to be freshly reviewed, bringing back into consideration classics such as the Tour D'Argent.
I am certain that the depth of Pudlo's now international reach will disappoint some Parisians who now will find les americains in some of their most precious and heretofore private culinary domains.
Book Review: best guide for Paris restaurants, bistros, brasseries, cafe and chocolate and dessert stores
Summary: 5 Stars
Paris has so many good restaurants besides the big three or two stars Michelin rated restaurants. This book will tell you all about the small places according to the arrondisment number which is very useful since traffic is always so bad all the time in Paris. You can read about the menu and the owners of these small places that have been in business for many years. These are places that local French people would frequent and you can do the same without knowing them. Some beautiful and excellent places are brasseries, bistros, and quaint cafe that you would want instead of just 4 course meals at big places. However, do not misss great places like Taillevent or Lassere...if you can afford them. Taillevent is still my favorite restaurant in the world and you have to try once in your life. This book also tells you about the special butchers and dessert places that specialize in certain items such as where the best macaroons are sold or the best chocolate stores or where to get Jamon de Iberica and voyage and Bonne appetit!Book Review: Priceless companion
Summary: 5 Stars
We just returned from Paris and I have to say that I wish EVERY major city had a Pudlo guide. I'm sure they're out there in some guise, but this one is simply perfect.
I've used Zagat before and in the States have had pretty good results. However, in Europe, I've found that many Zagat reviewers don't quite get the European dining experience. You find scores of complaints about rude waiters, cramped tables and service taking too long. They don't do these fabulous restaurants justice because they base their experiences on wide-open American restaurants with waiters that speak their language who want to turn their tables as fast as possible. Many of the reviews in Zagat get downright annoying.
The Pudlo Paris guide was fantastic. It didn't matter which arrondissement you were in, you were never more than a block from a perfect dining experince, whether it was in a noisy bistro or a white tablecloth temple of gastronomy.
I'll never go back without it!
Book Review: If you love Paris...
Summary: 5 Stars
We've spent a lot of time in Paris, especially for the last 15 years on business.
We're not big name restaurant people. It's not that we avoid them, we just don't always have time or the inclination to drop half the family fortune. We've never had a bad meal in Paris. Sometimes you just don't feel like making a meal an expedition. Other times, you have your mouth set on something. Pudlo sorts it out by districts in a way anyone who understands the system will find agreeable..
Pudlo is an old new reliable for the French. This is the first time it's been in English, but it's worthwhile. As a test we picked some our favorite restaurants. Most of them were there, including the dishes that we thought we most noteworthy (some exotic). A few were not - and many of the ordinary restaurants we choose would not be in anyone's guide. But it's more useful that most other guides. Just check the menus for price before you eat.