266831 Sun Sep 25 08:19:16 -0700 2005 5 26 International 0 1407168 I've heard that Lucas Carton has recently reinvented itself into more of a bistro. Anyone been? What is is like? What are the prices like? Thanks. Sun Sep 25 08:19:16 -0700 2005 0 jett 1 1407171 I has definately been reinvented and is now simply called Senderens. Reopened last Monday. Have not heard any reviews yet. Would also love to hear from someone who has been. Sun Sep 25 11:03:23 -0700 2005 1407168 0 mdibiaso 2 1407210 we ate at Senderens on the weekend. we were celebrating a birthday and had planned to do lucas carton, so our expectations were high. we unfortunately tended to compare our evening with other 3 stars, which wasn't fair we knew. nonetheless, the food was excellent and the wine pairings were the best we have had. the service was very good; the staff may be getting used to the new situation so it seemed a bit harried at times. every single person was genuinely nice and seemed happy to be working there. the meal started with a stupendous amuse of puree of white sweet potato with pistachio. silky texture and richness; perfectly balanced. house champagne is still vranken and excellent. the menu itself seemed limited and a bit on the 'pedestrian' side ; again that may be due to the lucas carton aura of the place. starters included fried calamari, gazpacho, cepes, foie gras. for mains, there were several good looking fish options, lamb shoulder, veal tartare, chicken with cepes. most of the offerings showed at least tinges of fusion cooking, which we were not necessarily yearning for. i started with 'cepes aux 3 facons', paired with an 84 graves (white). it consisted of a marinated salad of julienned cepes , a sauce of reduced stock and minced cepes, and a little group of whole braised (maybe roasted, but had no color)cepes. these whole mushrooms, eaten with the sauce and paired with the wine, produced a sensation of pure harmony. likely the cleanest, fullest wine food matching that i have ever experienced. my husband, a foie gras lover, had the foie gras with figs, paired with a 95 Rivesaltes Ambre. the wine was luscious, sweet and full with no hint of cloying heaviness. the foie gras portion was huge, with a darkly roasted skin. a bite of the foie gras with the skin (slightly smokey) and the wine were again wine matching perfection; almost heavenly. i had the lamb shoulder with curry, paired with a 2000 coudoulet de beaucastel chateau9 du pape. i was in the mood for classic lamb, and probably shouldn't have ordered this dish with curry, but it was very good. the curry was not at all overpowering and was nicely balanced by the richness of the lamb. my husband had the tartare de beau et langoustines, vermicelle de riz, paired with a 2002 pouilly fuisse les crays. this dish, while unusual, was also very good. it had underlying tones of something akin to radishes or wasabi (i forgot to ask) the vermicelli was uninspiring and unnecessary. we asked for cheese, and found that the only offering was listed on the mains menu; a st nectaire. we got one portion, and it was a very good st nectaire, served with a 99 Reignac bordeaux. Classic match. we would have enjoyed a larger cheese selection. my husband had dessert, millefeuillea la vanille de tahiti. simple and delicious, carmelized pastry sheets layered with not too sweet vanilla cream. surprisingly light. coffee and petit fours were stunning and delicious. we heard several other diners comment that the place seemed more crowded than before. we found the decor to be incongruous; new jetson / retro style tables and booths/pods mixed with the art-deco-ish woodwork and decorated glass. we really enjoyed the meal; particularly the wine matchings. we were surprised when we got the bill and it was only euro 250 total. Tue Sep 27 06:48:06 -0700 2005 1407171 0 angela gilliam 3 1407214 Thanks for your wonderful review. I am still tying to figure out if this is what I want for a special evening. I don't really crave 3 star dining (and the prices that go with it), so this might do the trick. I did request a reservation on the internet and received a recipt back, but no confirmation. Have others tried their on-line system and received a confirmation of their reservation? Tue Sep 27 08:31:05 -0700 2005 1407210 0 jett 4 1407217 I did receive an e-mail confirmation back. Tue Sep 27 11:13:02 -0700 2005 1407214 0 jett 3 1407216 Thanks for a great report. The prices seem to have come down a lot and while some dishes are more pedestrian the cepes a trois facon that you describe is basically the same dish that used to sell for close to 100 euro with the wine match. It seems like they have made great first steps to attaining their stated goals after being open for only 1 week. Not bad. Tue Sep 27 10:29:45 -0700 2005 1407210 0 mdibiaso