Piège reservation
Have any Chowhounders succeeded in snagging a reservation at J.F. Piège's new upstairs restaurant? The first time I tried, I called four hours after the 8:30 a.m. opening time, ended up on the waiting list, and was left languishing there until the date had passed. The second time, I managed to remember to call at 8:45 a.m.... and ended up on the waiting list (where I currently am). Do they really fill up the restaurant during 15 minutes of telephone time, or is there some secret gimmick? Sounds like a recipe for a busy signal... plus it's right in the middle of morning coffee, feeding the birds, walking the dog... inconvenient ;-)
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re: mangeur
fanoffrance
Apr 3, 2011 04:05 AM
Sorry, what's a sig? I've been in Norway too long to keep up with the Times...
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re: souphie
uhockey
Apr 2, 2011 10:19 AM
I'd agree, and I also agree that the reservation policy is assinine - but at the same time his pedigree is a solid one and he seems to be playing the game well in netting two stars so quickly.
While I fully admit a leaning towards esoteric and "pretty" (or fussy depending on your opinion) food, I really do think the photos I've seen of his work are some of the most attractive I've ever witnessed. Whether the taste lives up to the hype I'm not so sure - though yes, The Times sure seems to think so.
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re: uhockey
The pictures on the tableadecouvert link look pretty bad, or maybe the camera does not do justice to the food (do I say in a burst of fairness, but frankly I don't believe it).
I shivered as I saw the one of the amuse-bouche - brought back a few bad memories, the few Piège's amuse-bouche I already got to taste in my lifetime: not particularly striking visually, the tastes were wrong and the textures were even more wrong: a lot of crispy, runny, gooey, sticky, gluey, but always with the wrong tastes, or sometimes no taste at all, attached to them.
I particularly remember a "deconstructed couscous" which was plain yucky. The couscous grain was blended and sieved into a gooey, bland cream with a few overtoasted grains of couscous which stuck between your teeth. Out of charity I will stop the description here. This one was sent out to the audience for tasting at the 2008 Omnivore Deauville festival; in a way Piège was sweet because he was the only one who offered that, but unfortunately I think he was also the one who should not have offered it.
Lately, at the launch of a restaurant guidebook at the Paris Shangri-La, some of his amuse were served and they looked just like the ones on the picture, and I tried them in case they'd gotten better, but they were just as usual.
Basically he is a skilled chef (long ago I tasted his interpretation of endives au gratin which was marvellous; it was the only good thing I ever tasted of his cooking), with good classic bases, but he keeps trying things he's actually not very good at. When will some people understand that it takes Adria to be Adria, and that's that?
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re: Ptipois
I dined twice at Le Crillon restaurant Les Ambassadeurs, once prix fixe and once a la carte while Piege was head chef. Neither time did I leave fully satisfied with the taste and quality of the food; the a la carte meal terminated Piege for me. Two Michelin rosettes were unwarranted as far as I'm concerned. I also stayed once at the Le Crillon and removed it as a future hotel stay in Paris. I will say my French colleagues were very happy to come to the hotel; I suppose because of the location and prestige
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re: uhockey
PhilD
Apr 2, 2011 04:11 PM
Am I missing something, I can't see what the issue is. From what you write I understand you call for a table two weeks before the day you want it, the phone line opens at 8:30, and once the list is full it is full. As it only seats 25 this doesn't take long i.e, if you are the 7th caller you will probably miss out. This is the same approach used by a number of other popular destination restaurants.
And whilst the extrapolated reviews are interesting it would be good to hear from someone who has eaten there. If it is this popular I suspect there is some substance to the cooking.
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re: PhilD
uhockey
Apr 2, 2011 04:35 PM
Not sure why you responded to me - aside from the OP I'm probably the only person who expressed interest in going here and suggested I fancied the chef's approach. I will note that I had someone IN PARIS attempt on four consecutive days at precisely 8:30am to nab me a reservation with no success - I think that says something.
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re: uhockey
PhilD
Apr 2, 2011 05:53 PM
Sorry - not meant to be directed at you - the reply function always seems a bit random! The booking system is similar to The Fat Duck, here 45 seats go in minutes and the tactic seems to be multiple phones on speed dial, it took three days or persistence to score our table there, no doubt Piege at half the size with his history and pedigree is going to be a tough - at least it isn't the El Bulli lottery.
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re: Ptipois
uhockey
Apr 3, 2011 03:01 AM
Good point.
I think exclusivity certainly breeds a sort of interest and I'd not be surprised if the other Piege "guided" locations like Brasserie Thoumieux have seen an uptick in people who are interested but can't score a reservation at JFP.
It worked for Thomas Keller.....both Bouchon and Ad Hoc are filled every single day in Yountville and I'd imagine more than half are folks who couldn't score a seat at The French Laundry.
Regardless - I'm on the wait list. If I get called I'll happily go and be able to share my thoughts - if not, we'll pop in at Cafe Constant down the street where reservations aren't even an issue.
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re: uhockey
fanoffrance
Apr 3, 2011 04:00 AM
That's what I meant by "secret gimmick". If your Parisian agent failed four days in a row at precisely 8:30 a.m., the list must be filled ahead of time with celebs/friends of the house before the general public even has a chance. Or did your agent encounter a busy signal/repeating message/no answer which would indicate that other calls were being taken while your agent waited?
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re: fanoffrance
uhockey
Apr 3, 2011 06:50 AM
Not an "agent" - just a good person.
Got through daily, but full once, wait listed once, and restaurant inexplicably "closed" the other.
Its not unheard of for a spot to fill in advance - the politicals keep Andres' minibar in DC full WELL in advance of the available reservations.
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I just called and a lady told me to call back two week prior. So if you call right now you might get lucky. I have to call in 13 days. I hope I get in.
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re: mrsjoujou
fanoffrance
Apr 2, 2011 08:03 AM
According to the website www.thoumieux.fr, only dinner is served at the upstairs restaurant. Both my failed attempts took place exactly two weeks in advance; I called on the right days, just a few hours/minutes too late. Let us know how you fare!
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re: mrsjoujou
fanoffrance
Apr 3, 2011 04:17 AM
Interesting--your link clearly describes a lunch upstairs. The restaurant's own website says "ouvert du lundi au vendredi soir" which seems to mean evenings only; an article last November (http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/20...) also said "currently only open for dinner". If, after digesting Ptipois' comments, I ever call them again, I'll ask about lunch--maybe the res would be easier.
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re: fanoffrance
Although "Ouvert du lundi au vendredi soir" does not mean "evenings only", all sources seem to agree that Piège's is dinner only.
The link does describe a lunch but the blogger who wrote the post was probably invited and it may have been a press lunch (the photos show the presence of other lunchers).
I have to mention that I had a decent lunch at the brasserie downstairs. I'd pick that over the upstairs hoo-haa any day.
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