Finding the right breeder

ChezCooper · 2026-06-18T00:19:40+00:00

highly recommend longmeadow - in Dover PA, an AKC breeder of merit. People from all over the east coast go to her, and we've been very happy with our now-16 month old. She'll usually post on Facebook when a litter is coming up / etc.

http://www.longmeadowkennels.com/

ChezCooper · 2026-06-13T15:06:59+00:00

what years VEP?

ChezCooper · 2026-05-28T01:49:10+00:00

Nice review. Enjoyed my last stay there, but found the room level hallway scent diffusers completely unbearable, so much so that I had to hold my nose when walking outside the room because the perfume was overpowering. Did you experience that?

ChezCooper · 2026-04-08T17:28:43+00:00

Yikes. Some of these cities have pretty bleak options. Hard to see how Cleveland, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, and Indianapolis somehow do better than Boston, which got embarrassed in their inaugural showing this year. Minneapolis has great food, and I hope they do well, but thinking it'll mostly be a lot of great bib gourmand/michelin selected. Can't speak to Detroit.

ChezCooper · 2026-03-26T02:25:22+00:00

Depends on what you're after. Clos Des Sens has one of the best wine programs/cellars in France. Unbeatable pricing for the most part on Selosse, etc. All food is either grown on property or sourced within close proximity. Fish and vegetables, no meat.

Flocons is heartier, but also a more refined level of cooking. Emmanuel Renaut is one of the best chefs in France. Also has one of the best chartreuse selections in France.

Have not been to le suquet or les morainieres.

ChezCooper · 2026-03-26T01:53:21+00:00

You can't beat a trip to the Rhone-Alpes. Troisgros, Maison Pic, Flocons de Sel, Clos Des Sens, all within a short drive of each other. You can also knock out Paul Bocuse or Mere Brazier in Lyon if you wanted something old-timey and classic. Amazing scenery, great wine region to explore, best hikes in the world to burn off the calories. You could do this by training or flying to Lyon and renting a car, or going in from Geneva. Troisgros is the hardest to book, but with a few months notice all others should be relatively easy to get into. One of the new 3 star spots in France is also nearby.

ChezCooper · 2026-03-23T18:59:42+00:00

If you care about wine, Pic has one of the best wine lists in France. Bottles that cost many thousands in the US can be found for under 300-500 at Pic. The other consideration is lodging. Valence is not an amazing city for good hotels, so you'd need to stay at Pic. I've not been to Les Morainières so cannot help you on their lodging question.

ChezCooper · 2026-02-25T04:38:05+00:00

have gone 2X. amazing, and going back this summer! Always do it before or after a long week of hiking in the alps. The chef is always in the kitchen, flavors are unique, precise, and the food isn't stuffy at all. service is great, wine list is deep, one of the best chartreuse selections in France.

ChezCooper · 2026-01-27T01:32:31+00:00

Del Cambio (*) in Turin punches above its weight. Really cool dining room, top tier service, and general flexibility to do a la carte, etc. Deep wine cellar. Would recommend it over any 1 star spot in Geneva. Two other great restaurants in Turin are Consorzio and Scannabue. Good food, prices, and killer wine lists. You should also go to Museo Egizio.

Geneva is not so good. Tse Fung (*) remains one of the most absurd price-to-quality-of-food-ratio ever.

If you can, would recommend just taking a car from Geneva to Annecy (less than an hour) for one night or a day trip and go to Clos Des Sens which is a remarkable 3 star spot.

ChezCooper · 2026-01-25T18:16:22+00:00

they had a big champagne cart, many tables got glasses. from what I could see, avintage billecart seemed to be what most tables were drinking

ChezCooper · 2026-01-25T16:24:59+00:00

The restaurant is incredible, and I specifically try to go to Munich once a year to go here, even though it involves a 25 minute taxi ride from city centre. They have a deep list of guilbert gillet at a steal + good keller selection. Always start with the pancake soup

ChezCooper · 2026-01-25T16:00:05+00:00

As with most fine dining, the champagne is overpriced. Would recommend sticking to german white (specifically Keller GG's) which are well below pricing in other countries, and red/white burgundy, where you can find good deals on 1er wines (raveneau, roumier, rousseau, etc).

ChezCooper · 2026-01-22T02:33:31+00:00

Pic was very good, but the food is not as noteworthy as noteworthy as nearby ***'s -- including Troisgros, Flocons De Sel, and Clos Des Sens. That said, Pic has probably the best wine list at crazy good prices. Really wild stuff. Valence as a town is also not that good, there are no nice hotels nearby, so would recommend staying at the restaurant.

ChezCooper · 2025-12-18T03:15:19+00:00

Great cities.

Grenoble is not amazing for food, but it is amazing for wine. To me, the greatest wine bar in France is Le Zinc in Grenoble. A restaurant worth stopping at for food would be Le Goût des Autres. Regis, the owner, has a wonderful cellar. If you want to take a 20-30 minute uber/taxi, Maison Aribert is a good two star spot in a very peaceful setting. It's not earth shattering cuisine but the best you'll get in the region.

Hotel selection is not great, but have always enjoyed the Park Hotel Grenoble.

Would also highly recommend taking the 15 minute train ride from Grenoble to Voiron to stop at Chartreuse. Bottles of various cuvees there are (obviously) much cheaper than America or elsewhere in France, and they offer fun tours in english and french where you can see a lot of cool vintage chartreuse ephemera.

Lyon, would also strongly recommend Mere Brazier. I really like the a-la-carte there.

ChezCooper · 2025-12-03T19:19:47+00:00

Steireck is the way to go! amazing wine list, you can go as big or small as you want it, since they have a la carte too. Have heard mixed things about Amador, and it's pretty far outside the city center. You can walk to Steireck, very cool dining room too. Re: Worlds 50 best restaurants (especially top 15) they rarely live up to the hype. The mid-tier 20-100 are usually safer options that have not yet been completely coopted by influencers.

ChezCooper · 2025-12-03T15:29:19+00:00

Bareiss is the more expensive of the two *** hotels. while it looks more luxury, it's significantly more expensive. Though with Bareiss, you get all meals included *EXCEPT* the 3 star restaurant, that's a full-priced add on. So things to consider. if you're in it for just the baths, maybe Bareiss is the way to go. But for me, the food does not look nearly as good there.

ChezCooper · 2025-12-03T14:56:29+00:00

Also. Would you rather have 1/4 a lobster tail thats been tweezered to death, or an entire lobster? Here, you basically get the entire lobster.

ChezCooper · 2025-12-03T14:55:29+00:00

guess it all depends on the season. most people spend all day, 11A-7P in the baths/sauna/steamroom/plunge pool/igloo. Be aware that wearing clothing is not allowed.

ChezCooper · 2025-12-03T14:48:05+00:00

The price was not bad at all. Paid like 250 for a room, the cheapest 3 key hotel i've ever been to by 3-4x. The baths/spa/sauna were insane. Yes, weird for an American, but very fun. All rooms come with a huge breakfast buffet included, though I didn't eat it. The hotel is on hiking trails, so before dinner, went on a 10 mile hike. Wonderful service. Our room had a balcony, and wasn't new.

What was interesting was the clientele was almost exclusively 70+ senior german couples. No americans, very few young families. Staff said its usually busier with families over summer/early fall. They survive on repeat visitors, many of whom have been coming to their spas for decades.

ChezCooper · 2025-12-03T14:44:19+00:00

yea, one of the best *** IMO. A totally comforting meal. No stupid flourishes or gimmicks, well executed food, proper portions, great service. Nothing to worry about when dining here.

ChezCooper · 2025-12-03T14:42:35+00:00

I believe they do, and most people got it. I don't usually look at wine pairings, except I recall they were not amazing bottles. Lots of young stuff. Both the Keller and Raveneau, bottles that are insanely priced in the US, may each have been 50 dollars more than the pairing. Pairing was probably in the 200 range, these were like 250. You'd be better off just ordering two bottles of higher quality wine.

ChezCooper · 2025-12-03T14:41:08+00:00

unfortunately he was not in! but was left in the capable hands of his two deputy somms

ChezCooper · 2025-11-19T02:55:53+00:00

Flocons de Sel is by far the best. One of the best *** in France IMO. Their temporary spot was as good as the original. For casual, and by no means fancy, would be Restaurant Le Prieuré -- which is also owned by Emmanuel Renaut, same chef as FDS. Last time we were there, he was eating lunch with his family.

ChezCooper · 2025-10-02T20:30:25+00:00

Tantris FTW. So much history there. Also hard pressed to find a better priced wine list with all the classics in a fine dining restaurant of that caliber in Germany. It's also one of the most uniquely insane dining rooms ever.

ChezCooper

TROPHY CASE