This is my fourth visit to Au Pied de Cochon & it's the worst one.

I saw the server handing out plates to another table with his thumb on the plates. Super unsanitary.

When my server brought menus to the table, I already knew what I wanted to drink but he walked away as I was trying to call him back. He came back ten minutes later, I ordered Perrier cinquante centilitre; they brought me San Pellegrino. San Pellegrino is good, but I prefer drinking Italian sparkling water when on Italian soil, & French sparkling water when on French. A terroir thing, if you will.

They brought the pork rillettes before they brought the bread, so I had to wait for the bread. I asked for beurre twice pour le pain, s'il vous plait, & when they finally brought it they only brought one piece. Like, I'll pay extra for le beurre if it's that dear. They were out of the sôle Meunière, the sole reason I reserved this restaurant 4 weeks in advance. So I ordered the Bar rôti sans champignons avec plus, plus limon. He acted like I slapped him. Then he said it could be done, they could definitely bring the lemon. I was, in essence, trying to make a version of Meunière with the bar (seabass) since I can't have the sôle.

My starter of soupe à l'oignon gratinée arrived slightly hotter than warm, so the cheese was hard rather than being stretchy, which is a hallmark of classic French onion soup.

That plus, plus limon I ordered? That they could definitely do? did not arrive with the fish, so there was a few minute wait while I waited for the lemon to appear, which, of course caused the fish to start cooling; the spinach tasted of mushrooms. No amount of butter, lemon, salt, & pepper can disguise that taste.

And then they forgot that I ordered the Crêpes Suzettes. I felt so unseen there. I hate that feeling.

Restaurateurs should realize that when they see a woman dining alone, the likelihood is high that she has plenty of money to dine out but she works very hard for her money and expects to get her money's worth (in this case 71€). She also might be a mom who has spent all her best years catering to her children & husband and doesn't mind spending the money to be catered to.

And those crêpes Suzettes? While an entertaining spectacle with it's tableside flambéeing, was as bitter as my evening (they were burnt).

The pork rillettes were good, but an amuse bouche hardly makes up for the slightly warm food & lackluster service. I was very disappointed, which was surprising considering the stellar food & service I'd had in the past.

But my friends Michael & Scott, who've lived in Paris well over 20 years, thought my dinner choice was iffy. When I foolishly declared that I'd never had a bad meal there, Scott scrunched up his face & said he'd had bad meals there. I should've heeded their advice: for fish, head to Le Dome; for brasserie classics, stick to Le Select & La Coupole.

Compared to the 220€ dinner I had at Chez Julien 4 nights prior, also bar (which was hand-carved by the server), this one doesn't even enter the same ranks as Chez Julien.

Anyway, this will be my last visit unless friends drag me here.