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One More Gourmet Meal Today was our last full day in Paris, and one more chance for a gourmet meal. My husband Sam had picked LaTour d'Argent, one of the more famous restaurants in Paris. According to Access Paris (8th Edition), "...its penthouse panorama of Notre-Dame's flying buttresses and the barges passing on the Seine have helped make it the city's most famous and spectacular eating establishment..."  The restaurant is known for its pressed duck. During the Third Republic, "the famous Federic crated the ritual of the 'Canard au Sang' and decreed that each duck would bear a number," according to the restaurant's history. Since then, every duckling has been registered. We ordered pressed duck 1019847, and after all the hype we had great expectations. But frankly, we were disappointed. I'm not sure if it was the extra 22,00 Euros each for the Tour d'Argent pressed duck, its appearance (all brown - both the duck and the sauce by itself - on a white plate) or the ordinary flavor, but we were left wondering what all the fuss was about - even though the appetizer and dessert were fabulous.Moreover, the water service was also disappointing. We once again ordered Chateldon 1650 (France), but this time, it tasted entirely different from our Taillevent experience on Monday ( See "Taillevent: A Three-Star Experience"). It was served cold from the bottle and poured into a metal, probably silver-plated, water glass. This time the Chateldon water competed with the food and wine, rather than complement it. The bubbles got in the way rather than act as a nice palate cleanser. And the mouthfeel was abrupt rather than refreshing. The difference was truly astonishing. I began to really believe there was something to this fine waters finesse. Restaurants La Tour d-Argent 15-17, Quai de la Tournelle (between Blvd. St. Germain and Rue du Cardinal-Lemoine) 75005 Paris, France Tel: (011) 33 1 43 54 23 31 Fax : (011) 33 1 44 07 12 04 Metro: Cardinal-Lemoine or Maubert-Mutualite Fine Waters Chateldon 1650 (France) References Access Paris, by Richard Saul Wurman. Harper Collins Publishers Inc. Photo: The dinning room of La Tour d'Argent from the postcard with our numbered duck.
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» Colette, Paris » Taillevant: A Three-Star Experience » Le Bar e Bulles, Paris » Paris Prep: Recommended Reading
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