Planning for Paris

Ok people (all 3 of you reading this), I need your help. I'm going to Paris in 2 months! I'm so freakin excited. I literally think about this trip every 5 minutes. It's my happy thought before I fall asleep...picturing myself walking down the street in a very cute and fashionable outfit, speaking my perfect French. Ok, well I still have a couple months to work on that last part. I can't believe I was a French minor and now I can barely squeak out "Je voudrais un pain au chocolat, s'il vous plaît".

So here's where I need the help. As you might have guessed, the thing I'm most excited for - the food! I'm deep in the throes of restaurant searching. When we went for our honeymoon last year, it was a bit of a hectic time leading up to the trip. Planning a wedding and a cross-country move while working 10 hours a day didn't allow for much time for in-depth restaurant research. Of course I didn't go into our week in Paris completely unprepared. We made a couple reservations in advance, including Chez L'Ami Jean which did not disappoint. Some other favorites were L'Enoteca, Le Petit Marché, and L'As du Falafel. I would gladly go back to L'Ami Jean, but I want to try some new places this time.

I've been doing lots of studying with this:

And this little guy has been helping too:

And Chowhound, and a couple other sites.

Here are some I've got on my list. If you've got any feedback on any of these places, give it to me straight - good or bad.

• L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon (I've already booked a Saturday night res. Thinking this will be our one blow out meal).
• Le Chateaubriand (working on getting a reservation...fingers crossed.)
• Le Comptoir du Relais (I know, I know...everyone and their mom wants to go here. I tried and failed at reservations so I'm hoping to go for lunch one day.)
• Josephine - Chez Dumonet
• Spring
• Les Papilles
• Le Troquet
• La Régalade
• Huîterie Régis
• La Pâtisserie de Rêves

I don't want to make reservations every night, but just a few. But I do want to have lots of places in mind so when dinnertime comes around we're not aimlessly wandering the streets. There will be 5 of us so it's going to be a little harder to just walk in and find a table than if we were a group of 2.

So, love or hate any of those restaurants? Any other places I shouldn't miss? Got a favorite patisserie I need to know about? Besides Pierre Hermé and Ladurée...those are a given. And the cheese. Oh, the delicious French cheese. That may be what I'm looking forward to the most.

Ok now, don't all leave comments at once. The site may get overwhelmed.