260923 Mon Feb 18 08:53:56 -0800 2002 3 26 International 0 1378800 Pardon my franglais. This April I will be bidding farewell to my bachelor days with a Stag Night in Paris. Before embarking on the usual mandatory debauchery (the aim of a stag night, as I understand it, being to have a night so, excessive, horrendous and humiliating that you’ll want to spend the rest of your life with someone you know wasn’t there…) I am determined to bid a rather more cultured farewell to singledom, by treating myself to fine cuisine in a fine city. My preferences are towards cooking that is imaginative, rather than simply classical and an ambience that is relaxed, rather than formal/stuffy. A great meal is a must but ambience and service are important too - I am not looking to dine in a morgue, even if it is Louis XIV ! With these criteria, and from diligently sifting past (and recent) posts, I have focused my initial options in the direction of Guy Savoy or Pierre Gagnier. Can any lucky soul provide me with a comparative assessment ? Or have I simply picked wrong and am missing a gem elsewhere ? Also prepared simply to receive sympathy from those recognising how cruel life can be when it throws these sort of choices in ones path. Gareth Mon Feb 18 08:53:56 -0800 2002 0 Gareth Williams 1 1378802 Both are great restaurants. I was at both in Sept with only two nights apart and dining alone. Gagnaire is more adventurous and more brightly lit. Savoy is more gently lit (could be more romatic with the wife) and more traditional in the cooking. If you are really looking for adventure go to Gagnaire and get the tasting menu. You will get about 25 different things to eat. And then take your wife to Savoy on the honeymoon!!! Mon Feb 18 09:33:22 -0800 2002 1378800 0 mdibiaso 1 1378829 I have focused my initial options in the direction of Guy Savoy or Pierre Gagnier. >> Here's a link to some brief comments by Patricia Wells' on a number of Paris restaurants. Savoy and Gagnier are listed in the "For Special occasions" section. Elsewhere on the site, Wells has more extensive comments on Savoy for whom she has been lobbying to get a third etoile (he just did). Link: http://www.patriciawells.com/paris/ptables.htm Tue Feb 19 11:26:46 -0800 2002 1378800 0 mc michael 1 1378868 gagnier's cooking is very very good; IMHO, occaisionly better than Veyrat, never better than Passard at Arpege; service ranges from mediocre to horrible (at least based on three visits); Guy Savoy (i haven't been to the remodelled place) is very, very good in a more traditional vein, service is better than Gagnier, but substandard for a 2 star, never mind a (now) 3 star. My vote? Arpege; in a heart beat. (if you're going soon, don't miss the onion raviole in crustacean broth -the onion filling is sweetend with a touch of date--just superb. Thu Feb 21 14:55:38 -0800 2002 1378800 0 kirk wallace