Paris Spot To Avoid..

Was in Paris with a friend a few weeks ago. %26quot;Le Vache%26quot; on I%26#39;Ile St. Louis. Not only disappointing from a culinary standpoint, but don%26#39;t dare complain about the food or wine. %26quot;Take What You Are Served%26#39; at this

very romantic but very intolerant little bistro, A tough and gristly beef brochette was sent back by my friend, only to be met with an annoyed look and procrastination by the young female manager. She directed the

waitress to restock the silverware bin and finish setting an already set

table (which remained empty all night,) before bringing us back a menu

to reorder, while my entree sat there getting cold.

The second entree was a veal stew with gloppy white sauce, plain,

white rice, ala Chinese take-out, and overly cold Sancerre...a waste of

a good bottle of red wine. When I raised objections about the wine%26#39;s

intrinsic flavor being killed off by the low temperature, I was told by

the waitress that this is how it%26#39;s served.

Upon paying the bill at the end of the meal, the manager did not

bother to return our %26quot;au revoir%26quot; until she got the signal from the waitress that all of the money was on the table. Then, she bid us good night with no eye contact, still staring at the table, as if we had taken candlesticks or salt and pepper shakers with us, as souvenirs.

Strange behavior considering our respective ages and how we were dressed! Do yourself a favor and steer clear of this paranoid place.

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Thenks for the heads up. Odd to say the least...

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and....how much did you have to pay for this experience? if you don%26#39;t mind me asking?

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Food sounds gross, I would also wonder what the price was for this poor sounding food. You really have to watch where you eat in Paris, I know some giddy Paris lovers proclaim there is %26quot; no bad food in Paris%26quot; but this is not true, the touristy part of the Latin Quarter abounds with bad food.

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Sorry to hear this, I%26#39;ve always really liked L%26#39;Ilot Vache and have recommended it to others. Hopefully, this was a strange aberation by someone who will be long gone by the time I return.

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To clarify: I am %26quot;a Paris lover,%26quot; but , not a %26quot;giddy%26quot; one, I see the good and the bad, and Paris being what she is ,, how can one not see the good not FAR outweights the bad!

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joan1, can you clarify where the touristy parts of the Latin Quarter are. Thanks

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Touristy parts would be most likely on Bd St Michel, around Place St Michel and Place St Andre des Arts, and the areas right near the Seine from Notre Dame for several blocks down toward the Eiffel Tower (there also are some pretty dreadful restaurants on the street along the river on the left bank -- among other things, beware of the places that have menus in English!).

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I am surprised - it%26#39;s difficult to serve Sancerre too cold - it%26#39;s a new wine, so designed to be served chilled.

This place must be a dump - still - It manages to confirm my suspicions about dining in single number arrondisements.

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Exactly what Berkley travellers said!

I have eaten in that area serveral times, and frankly , it is cheap and passable at best. If you see a three course menu for less then 15 euros,, in english, and most likely featuring %26quot;onion soup%26quot; %26quot; roast chicken%26quot; and %26quot; chocolate mousse%26quot; then do not expect anything more then basic, plain, and well, pedestrian. I have eaten in that area serveral times since last trip I took my 14 yr old son was budget, , and the goal was generally to fill him up and sit down ,, LOL, I say this because I found we could %26quot; fill him up %26quot; on some decent street food for lunch( baguettes, crepes, etc) but by the evening I was tired, and really just wanted to sit down and get served, hence we hit a few places to eat that had cheap menus( table d%26#39;hote )

We rarely had awful, but we rarely had anything to write home about.

I should mention my father is French and trained as a chef,, so I am a bit, um,, picky. LOL

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Thanks Joan 1 and Berkeley Traveler. I%26#39;m familiar with those areas and will find other alternatives for meals. Appreciate the post. 16 days to go!