Dear Sam,

Here are my top three restaurant picks for Saturday night. It’s a shortened version because the original post I put up over the weekend was accidentially trashed. Boo!

I know you’ve already made a reservation at Spring (better safe than sorry), but please consider these:

1) L’Astrance

This place is tiny. Eight tables to be exact, but it’s drawing big crowds with its pricey but modern French cuisine. It opened in 2000 and quickly earned its first Michelin star that year. L’Astrance now has three. It’s also made this famous list. Food bloggers and writers, obviously with deep pockets, rave about the place (here, here and here).

2) Le Galopin

We want to go here if we’re interested in seeing what the City of Light’s up-and-coming chefs are doing. Run by Romain Tischenko, winner of Top Chef France 2010, Le Galopin is located in the 10th arrondissement. However, all the reviews I’ve read say the market-inspired menu is worth the trip. This blog rarely slings out high marks so a B+ is a good grade.

3) Les Papilles

If we don’t go here for Saturday dinner, we should at least hit Les Papilles for lunch. David Lebovitz, one of my favourite food bloggers, raves about this place. A wine shop/bistro, Les Papilles is definitely not fancy but the food, served family style, is supposed to be incredible. The chef, Bertrand Bluy, learned his trade cooking in some of France’s most elite restaurants. Like Le Galopin, this bistro also won’t break the bank.

Miss you lots.

Yours,
Kat

P.S. The Ritz Paris is going to be a gong show when we are there. It’s the last weekend it will be open before it is shuttered for renos. It doesn’t help that Vogue just ran a big feature on the famous hotel. Le sigh…