Over the years, my wife & I have had lunch with John in Paris several times. I have nothing to add to others’ comments about how helpful, friendly & knowledgable he is. And, along with others, I am sad to hear that he will not be able to travel to Paris any longer. He will be a missed voice & I hope others who are in touch with him convey all of our fond regards.
Although I do not usually “break the wall” and speak of posters’ lives outside the board, I’m going to make an exception here. As some of you may know, John is a prominent Psychiatrist & a past President of the APA. On one of our lunches, we discovered that, when he lived in NYC, we worked at the same place (many years apart) and knew many of the same people (btw: I am not a Psychiatrist). Even though he does not live in NYC any longer, he is still sought out and quoted on important issues. Here’s a recent example, for those of you who may be interested: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/11/health/fuller-torrey-psychosis-commitment.html
Be well John. Hope you don’t mind the attention (he probably will).
I am very sorry to give you sad news.
John has left us.
The last time he came to Paris was early 2020.
He asked me to find him a restaurant for both of us to try. He was coming to Paris in 10 days.
Then the lockdown loomed.
He canceled his trip, I canceled the booking.
He never made it back to Paris.
I miss John horribly.
He has made our life better. He has given our meals so much explosive laughter.
Tonight let’s raise a toast to him and eat something good.
Parigi
He will surely be missed!
Definitely will make a toast.
Thank you for letting us know Parigi. He will be sorely missed.
So sad to hear. We are among the many fortunate to have had quite a few lovely lunches — and even one dinner! — with Dr. John (and quite a few of them with his equally lovely wife). The last was in September 2019. He was one of a kind, and like Parigi, we miss him deeply.
We will toast him and his family at dinner tonight, and be thankful for his many contributions, all helping to open Paris to the rest of us. What a guy.
Here’s to you, Dr. John — we’ll order a special bottle and toast you again when we return to your favorite city.
Hi Parigi,
Thanks for the bad news. John was someone special. I’m sorry we never met him. Maybe the four of us can meet the next time we come to Paris?
bcc
Thanks very much for letting us know. I got a call from Sue recently letting me know they finally found a buyer for the Paris apartment and it’s in contract. With that off his mind, John can rest in peace and Sue won’t have the burden anymore.
Oh, my. how sad. Such a treasure.
I am also saddened by this news. The joy in his discovery of the new tastes in his beloved Paris was infectious. And his generosity in sharing his every bite encouraged so many of us to go and try and eat at his tables.
Thanks for letting us know. He had an incredible sense of how to find interesting restaurants and how to describe them in the perfect amount of detail. I loved having lunch with him and miss his presence. What a terrible loss.
Oh man! I am very saddened by this news. He and I were supposed to meet with lunch, and he had a medical emergency, so we never got to connect. RIP. What a loss.
That’s so sad. When I started using Chowhound long ago and going to Paris every year he was such a wonderful resource and his reviews were so valuable. He once reached out to get together for lunch in Paris and I said sadly we only do dinner since my husband works when we were there. Hoping that he was surrounded by lots of love and family in his last few years.
Sorry to hear. I don’t travel to Paris much, but when I was planning meals around a business trip many years ago, John was generous in his advice. I didn’t make most of the meals I had planned (thanks to difficult colleagues), but I did have a fabulous lunch (with fresh cepes that happened to be in season) at a place he suggested that just happened to be around the corner from one of my meetings.
John was one of the most extraordinary people I’ve ever known. He led a fascinating life and we always had plenty to talk about at our lunches. For many years, John was in constant pain but didn’t complain (at least to me) and still tried to get every bit of joy out of life. I treasure every lunch we had (even the ones where the food wasn’t so good), and even more those where his wife Sue could join us.
RIP, John, from back when Chowhound was text-based.
I didn’t know John but I felt I had a hint of who he was due to his wonderful blog. Back in Chowhound days, he and a few others were my helpful guides in choosing Paris restaurants. The void was there for the past couple of years and it was sad to hear of his passing.
How sad, thank you for letting us know. He certainly was a pilar of Chowhound. I have been missing his chronicles since he left Paris. RIP Dr. Talbott.
RIP, John. He enriched our lives and so many others; would that most of us had such an epitaph.
I didn’t know John, and we only met him once, when he and his wife were eating at L’Arcane the day we went there (at his recommendation, of course). But we made enough of an impression on him that it gave him a clever title for his blog post the next day:
John could always bring humor to any situation. What a gift to us he was! We were also among the many fortunate to have shared lunches with him, the memories of which I shall always cherish.
Thanks Parigi. Such a loss. I wish he had left Paris forever on his own terms, and not COVID’s. So sad.
