Show me a chef who doesn't have problems and I'll buy you dinner. It's Thursday and Odette's puzzled, she can't make her cream whip up into a chantilly however hard she tries. It's just about time for lunch service at Au Vieux Paris d'Arcole and the kitchen is buzzing. Suddenly Odette realises why. “I changed the brand of cream yesterday, this one is useless,” she sighs.

As an avid Paris restaurant print medium and internet discussion consumer for 20 years, I’ve been squirreling away impressions about where my fellow Americans love to eat. And finally I’m ready to reveal the conclusions of this most decidedly unscientific and over-generalized “research.”

In prior essays I’ve tagged the perfect bistro and perfect restos in Paris for my readers, and I think I’ve just tumbled on the “perfect” wine bar with a full food menu.

What do I mean by this?

Well, there are lots of neat wine bars in town, and lots of wine bistrots that serve platters of charcuterie and cheese.  But moving up to hot dishes, especially ones involving fish, takes one to a new level.

If you're wondering where talented super-chef Michel del Burgo is, he's alive, well and cooking up a storm in a picture-postcard maison dating from the 18th century, “Chez La Vielle “Adrienne”.

Del Burgo, ex-Le Bristol, Taillevent (3-stars), Hotel de la Cité, Carcassonne, Le Duc, Moscow, L'Orangerie etc, is now shaking those copper pots and pans in a tiny kitchen near Les Halles. In the wood panelled dining rooms expect to see top chefs (Maximin, Poujauran, Bouchet) welcoming their talented confrere back.

The great Anglophilic food writer, John Whiting, from whom I was separated at birth (if you don’t believe me, take a look at our photos side by side) frequently quotes English food historian Jane Grigson as having said, “We have more than enough masterpieces; what we need is a better standard of ordinariness.”

Sylvain Sendra calls his neo-bistro Itineraires, remembering the schedules and itineraries of his globe-trotting with Sarah before they realised their dream, first at Temps au Temps, rue Paul Bert, now at their hip left-bank address.

While Sendra is showcasing Vignerons de l'AOC Pic Saint-Loup, Pol Roger chose Agape for the launch of their 2000 vintage champagne.

Why wait for Sunday to Brunch?

This is the question Hotel de Crillon ask, boldly launching “Le Brunch du Samedi”. “The concept came to us because our Sunday brunches are so successful, but we often had clients popping in on a Saturday after a hard morning shopping on the Faubourg, who were really hungry and wanted something light and delicious to give them courage to continue to shop 'til they drop”, explains Elodie Tavares, the de Crillon's press manager.

The phrase to “hit the ground running” is used so loosely now that one can forget its derivation; it referred originally to cowboys dodging bullets in the Wild West and only later to what we automatically think of now - Airborne troops landing and preparing to get going fast – shades of Normandy and St Mere Eglise.

A few weeks ago, Monday October 5th to be exact, the Wall Street Journal published an intriguing article by Geoffrey A. Fowler and Joseph De Avila with an even more intriguing title “On the Internet, everyone’s a critic but not everyone is critical."

In essence, it turns out that despite the reputation the Internet has for nastiness, most critiques are bland or mildly positive, and few are hard-hitting. The Journal article says the average review is a 4.3 stars/5. And, more amazing, website overseers tend to take down negative reviews or comments, even if civil and politely stated.