Ordering a la carte at Taillevent is a good way to break the bank: reading the large, imposing menu and the even more imposing wine list, it is not difficult to imagine spending 200, even 300 Euros for lunch...per person. Agreeably Taillevent has, for those with more modest purses, tailored a 'suggestions menu' comprised of some of chef de cuisine Alain Solivérès's newest creations and offered at 70 Euros per person, beverages not included. We try not to think about the dismal exchange rate.

"Closely read, a good menu is an onslaught, and, like the flickering response to an equivalent string of bodily terms---lips, breasts, thighs, feet---each word or phrase on the menu, particularly something like “sautéed in truffle juice,”or “roasted in smoked butter,” thumps and shudders like a depth charge in the animal mind."

- A Meal Observed, p. 43