Luxeat

Joel Robuchon, Monte-Carlo

Last night dinner in Joel Robuchon Monte-Carlo in hotel Metropole(which was redesigned by Jacques Garcia not long time ago) was superb.

Joel Robuchon (which is gradually becoming a gastronomic and very upscale chain) is known for serving tapas style plates.He used to run a 3 Michelin stars restaurant in Paris,but one day he stopped and went for a more "democratized" restaurants business.As i know, he has 2 restaurants in Paris,Tokyo, Las Vegas and should soon open one in New York.

Paul Bocuse

What can be better to celebrate Bastille's day than a dinner in the Paul Bocuse restaurant? He is the father of French gastronomy, the legend that has been around for decades.

What i reallly didn't expect was to meet Mr Bocuse in person as upon the arrival, he went to each table and said hi.(I thought he retired long time ago!)

Les Crayeres, Reims. One star less.

Château les Crayeres is probably as famous as the place it is located - the Champagne region. For decades it's chef Gerard Boyer maintained it's class and, of course, the three Michelin stars quality. But what happens when the chef, the father of the legend retires? The restaurant looses its stars!

Erbprinz,Ettlingen

Erbprinz is an excellent one star Michelin restaurant in Ettlingen, Germany, 70 km from Strasbourg. Its long time ago i wanted to try the German gastronomic cuisine and i was very pleased by the creativity  of the food. The Erbprinz hotel (5 stars)and restaurant is known for hosting famous German people , like, for example,  Angela Merkel who dined there.

During the summer time the restaurant serves in the garden which is very nice. I would particularly suggest the cassoulet of borlotti beans, baby calamari and salami bread salad. The dish is a well thought marriage of the traditional German and Mediterranean flavors.

Strasbourg

For me,the capital of Alsace is one of the most beautiful cities in France. Togather with Brussels it is the city where the EU parliament meets for its sessions.Probably because of it's important role in the EU parliament proceedures, all the hotels in Strasbourg are very business orientated. The only hotel which is "boutique" is the four stars(in France four stars is the highest rating for hotels) Regent Petite France. Its location is fantastic and the interior is modern. Tip. Don't even try to book it during the EU parliament sessions as for sure it will be full!