Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Jay Rayner is quite well know in the UK. I travel to Europe often and have seen him and his scathing comments many times. I love him and his rapier wit. I'm excited he's on this side of the pond. He will not be star-struck and won't put up with egos.
I like the line-up and am looking forward to a season of balls-to-the-wall cooking...

Not on board with 'cheftestant' either. Let it die here and now...

I'm a flight attendant and go to Paris weekly. My absolute favorite bistrot is called Baribal, is not charming, and has the most magnificent food with incredibly low prices. They have gargantuan portions; some favorites are veal with roquefort sauce, lamb kidneys with mustard sauce, duck magret,lardon salad. Pasteur metro stop. Good markets are Poncelet Market (Terne metro stop)and it's not open Mondays; Roosevelt Market, also not open Mondays. L'ami Jean in the 15th on Malar is fantastic; just down a few doors is L'affriole, fantastic menu that changes almost as often as L'ami Jean. If you go to L'ami Jean make sure someone gets their signature rice pudding; you won't be disappointed. Another good restaurant is called Le Relais de Venise close to Congress. It's just off the Champs Elysees and has no menu. Patrons start to queue around 6:45pm for the first seating, and the only thing they serve is entrecote of beef with a mysterious tarragon sauce, hand-cut fries, and a simple salad. Seconds are automatically doled out without question, and you will want seconds. All that's required it how rare you enjoy your steak and what you'd like to sip. Have fun...

I'm glad my friends and I aren't the only ones who partially judge a restaurant by it's freebies. One of my favorite restaurants called "L'Ami Jean" always starts with an amuse bouche, and always ends with a complimentary basket of madeleines. Two freebies; very high rating on our list...

I am in Europe all the time (flight attendant, don't judge me). Haven't tried the food, but the coffee at McD's is really drinkable; they use espresso. I've had the In'Out burgers and fries in Calif. and I loved them. Not frozen, hand-cut, what's not to love? My favorite fast food thing was in Seoul at a Wendy's. Went in for the bathroom, came out with kimchi. Nice surprise.

For those concerned about the ethics of using veal, I would suggest finding a trustworthy butcher. Many animals are bred humanely now, in serene environments. The meat is much pinker than historically, because calves are outside and moving; it's also flavorful, unlike meat of yore. I use veal , if I know from where it comes. In response to the meatball recipe, I agree with soaking bread in milk; this recipe looks very typical to me, nothing special, though I'm sure it's tasty.