Fat Guy

I take your point about freshness and storage conditions, but Bread Alone bread is fantastic. I don't think anybody in the city is making a bread that has quite the flavor of the Bread Alone organic whole wheat sourdough. If you grab a loaf in the morning either at the Greenmarket or at Fairway it tends to be quite fresh -- I imagine it's baked sometime after midnight, which is about as much as you can be sure of with a local bakery anyway. As you mentioned, some breads hold better than others, and a bread like Bread Alone's organic whole-wheat sourdough doesn't suffer much for a few hours' sitting around. I used to feel strongly about buying bread from local sources -- hey, it's New York City, why should we be getting bread from out of town? -- but Bread Alone changed my thinking on the matter.

There are three Greenmarkets on the Upper East Side. They're only about a millionth as extensive as the Union Square Greenmarket, however they share several common vendors. Here's the Greenmarket map. You want 17, 18 and 20. Not that Union Square is all that hard to get to. Still, if you can get food right around the corner, it's worth looking into. Also, it's not that the Upper East Side is a gastronomic wasteland. If money is no object, there's not much reason to leave the Upper East Side to shop. Eli's, Vinegar Factory, Lobel's, Agata & Valentina, Dean & DeLuca, Grace's . . . these are fantastic stores, just expensive compared to, say, Fairway. But you can certainly get a lot of Greenmarket-quality produce at, say, Eli's. In season they actually buy a lot of stuff in much the same way as a good restaurant does, from Greenmarket and other local vendors. Then they charge you for it. Finally, if you're super-serious about produce, for next season be sure to look into the Yorkville CSA.

I had the 27-ounce burger at Fat Mo's in 1998 and I still feel sick. Munchos are the best vehicle for caviar. Better than blinis, better than black bread, better than a mother-of-pearl spoon. Give me a bag of Munchos, a couple of hundred grams of Iranian golden Osetra caviar and a bottle of Heidsieck Monopole Diamant Rose 1998 and leave me alone.

La Panzanella, a company out of Seattle, makes crackers called croccantini that sell for $4.99 for an 8-ounce package at the market I frequent in New York City. They're rectangular flatbread crackers, somewhere in the neighborhood of 4"x8" (I've never actually measured), and they are amazingly good -- by far the best crackers I've ever had. They're handmade, you can really taste the high quality of the wheat and other ingredients, and they have an airy, crackly texture and little internal layers of flakiness. I treat myself to a package once in awhile, and when I have them around I often choose them over fresh bread. They come in various flavored versions, though no extra flavor is necessary. I usually get plain ("original") or black pepper. These crackers are so good you can just sit and eat them without anything, but they're also great vehicles for cheese, butter, hummus, etc.

No matter how well you pack your stuff, if the shipping service beats the crap out of it then it's going to get broken. In my experience, as a recipient of many food packages, FedEx gentler than UPS.

A lot of these themes sound great. Nonetheless, I would urge caution. Most people aren't culinary polymaths. They have at most a comfort zone that includes a few dishes. And to them it's already stressful enough to have to cook something for a potluck. When you assign a theme, you run the risk of crossing the line into imposition territory. I might bristle if told, "Dinner is pot-luck, and you have to make a dish from the following cookbook." Actually, I'm sure I'd bristle. I would probably decline the invitation. So do be sensitive here.

Questions I don't know the answers to, but that I think would be interesting to have answered: 1. Italy is currently the world's leading producer of kiwifruit. When was kiwifruit first grown in Italy, and when did it become a major crop there? Also, is kiwifruit eaten in Italy very much, and is it used in any recipes? 2. Which of the classic Italian repertoire dishes are 20th Century phenomena? For example, most of the sources I've looked at indicate that spaghetti alla carbonara was popularized after World War II.

Okay I'm just back from the refrigerator. Here's what I did just to get a quick read on the issue. I took three equal sized slices off a block of KerryGold Irish butter and put them on three small plates. One plate I left out on the counter for 10 minutes. One plate I left in the refrigerator for 5 minutes, then on the counter for 5 minutes. The last plate I left in the refrigerator for the whole 10 minutes, then took it out immediately prior to tasting. Just based on this limited experiment, which wasn't very scientific at all, I thought the warmer the butter was the better it tasted. The fully refrigerated butter was like cold fat with little flavor. The one in the middle tasted more like butter, but was mostly one dimensionally fatty. The one that was almost up to room temperature by the time I tasted it had the most pronounced sweet, dairy flavors.

Whether you think it's better is a matter of taste, but as a physiological matter cold is known to suppress taste. Cold temperatures are flavor and aroma concealers. Something that's meant to be enjoyed cold needs to be made, for example, with more sugar than the same item meant to be enjoyed at room temperature, in order to be perceived as similarly sweet. Likewise, there are various off flavors and aromas you don't have to worry about at cold temperatures, but that become apparent as things get warmer. In wine tasting, for example, when tasting a white wine critically, you want to taste it at a temperature in the mid-60s (F), in order to reveal all its flavors, whereas you might serve that same wine at 53 (F) in order to bring the sweetness and acidity back into balance. In other words, in that instance, the higher temperature brings out more flavors and tastes -- I believe that's a factual statement. Whether it does so desirably is more a matter of opinion -- indeed in the case of wine the lower temperature is preferable but not because it has more flavor; rather, because it has less.

Absolutely. I'd just add: plenty of that butter, plus salt. Unless you're a restaurant with two or three Michelin stars, one kind of good bread is all you need and if it's done well there's little room for improvement. When you get up to global haute-cuisine destination status, it's nice to have two or three breads. More than that is hardly necessary, and usually dilutes quality. If you happen to be in a city with a high concentration of good bakeries that deliver twice-daily to restaurants, it's okay I guess to purchase bread. But it's nicer to bake it, unless you such at baking in which case of course purchased is preferable. [edited to add 2nd paragraph]

. . . Vong? With all the talk about how terribly, horribly, painfully difficult it is to open a successful high-end restaurant in New York City, I've been wondering about successful high-end restaurants that somehow manage to stay in business even though they seem to be irrelevant nowadays. I'm starting with Vong, hoping to understand who's eating there and why. Anybody know? And what are the other restaurants in this category: expensive food, high-concept design, still in business, but not a place you'd ever really want to go . . .

I think it should include your name. In that kind of business, your name is your brand. Why not use every opportunity to have people remember your name? There was just a piece in Food Arts about design consultants. Except for the ones that were part of large architecture firms, most used their names. These are some of the most successful people in the business. Mark Stech-Novak's company is called Mark Stech-Novak Restaurant Consultation & Design Tim Harrison's is called Harrison & Koellner Jimi Yui's is called YuiDesign Steven Marshall's is called The Marshall Associates Tom Galvin: Galvin Design Group Frank Muller: Muller Design James Camacho: Camacho Associates There are a couple of counter-examples, such as the company Next Step Design, however it is pretty standard to use the name of the principal. I think the most stylish way to do it is to incorporate the name of the principal in a creative way. So for example of the list above I think YuiDesign is the best name. Another example is Jennifer Baum's PR firm, which is called Bullfrog & Baum. The Bullfrog is fictional -- it's not a person named Bullfrog but, rather, a little bullfrog mascot that they use as part of their letterhead and such. A related example: my wife, a freelance writer and photographer, is named Ellen, and her business name is ByEllen (the point being that you can use your first name too). I don't actually know your name but let's say it's Engelbert Humperdinck. Okay, so I kind of liked the word Evolution suggested above. What about Engelbert Evolutions? Or Humperdinck Beyond. You get the idea. Also when you're running through names be sure to check internet domain name availability. If you call your company ByEllen you better make sure ByEllen.com is available. Also Google it to make sure nobody is doing similar business under that name.

Really? I have exactly the opposite perception: cold butter has little flavor at all, and only reveals its flavor as it softens and approaches a nice spreadable consistency.

Probably the most identifiable technique in the molecular gastronomy arsenal is creating foams with an iSi Profi-Whip NO2 canister. Foams are the basis for lots of molecular gastronomy jokes, however they are also when used properly one of the most conservative elements of molecular gastronomy. In some cases, the Profi-Whip produces almost exactly the same results as traditional cookery, as with its primary intended use: making whipped cream. Needless to say, whipped cream is nothing new. It's just that with the iSi you don't have to whip it -- you just plug in the NO2 cartridge and you have instant whipped cream. But beyond that, blended sauces and emulsions exist throughout traditional Italian cookery, for example salsa verde. One of the appeals of the iSi is that it can take sauces and other fluids that don't normally emulsify, and it can make them into light, airy emulsion-like foams. I imagine more Italian restaurant kitchens are using the Profi-Whip than let on, giving a knowing smile when people rave about how magically light and airy their sauces are.

I just noted this on another topic where the specific issue was under discussion, however since this is the main Peter Luger topic I thought I should note it here as well. There's a story in today's Wall Street Journal about how to reproduce steakhouse-style steaks at home, from dry-aging in your own refrigerator to reproducing steakhouse cooking methods. In the story, there's an account of how a Peter Luger steak is cooked. One essential piece of information was new to me: at Peter Luger, the steak receives additional cooking after it has been sliced. The reporter, Katy McLaughlin, was allowed to observe a steak being cooked at Peter Luger, and noted the following: (This link works today, however Wall Street Journal articles tend to go into the premium archive quickly -- so act fast if you're not a subscriber but want to read the full article.)

According to a story in today's Wall Street Journal, there's an additional reason why pre-slicing is part and parcel of the Luger steak experience: the steak receives additional cooking after it has been sliced. The reporter, Katy McLaughlin, was allowed to observe a steak being cooked at Peter Luger, and noted the following: (This link works today, however Wall Street Journal articles tend to go into the premium archive quickly -- so act fast if you're not a subscriber but want to read the full article.)

I believe it was at the restaurant Muse, in the Muse hotel in New York, several years ago, that we were served melted butter with the bread. Actual melted butter, in a tiny butter chafing dish with a flame under it. There was definitely no cold-butter problem there.

The nice thing about an AYCE restaurant is that the cost is well regulated. You don't have to worry that the budget will spiral out of control because a few loose cannons ordered out of bounds. There may not be anything in Manhattan that's cheap enough to satisfy the group, however East Buffet in Flushing is right on the 7 line and has an incredible assortment of stuff including, every time I've been, a large assortment of sushi. Monday-Thursday it's $13.99 per person. I believe that includes soda and bubble tea in unlimited quantities. On the weekend nights it's $2 more. They add 15% service. It's a very festive and fun place for a birthday. And . . . if you go to the East Buffet website -- http://www.eastbuffet.us/ -- and you register, you can print up a coupon that's supposed to be good for $4 off per person at dinner, for a group of up to 10 people.

I'm trying to remember where I had a dish that made excellent use of a Serrano ham powder. There were slices of the actual ham, and the powder made from the same ham was sprinkled over them like salt. I thought it was an interesting flavor reinforcement technique. Anyway, the point is that not every use of liquid nitrogen or a dehydrator (I can't remember which technology was used to create the powder) yields an absurd result.

Just out of curiously, when was this meal? ← Lunch on 5 January 1999. There's a photo of the dish -- "Tarte à la Fourme d'Ambert, Poires fraîches" -- circa 2005 on the Chocolate and Zucchini website, which you can click through to from here.

I stand corrected. My favorite dish of the meal was the scallops with three sauces: grape sauce, cauliflower sauce and parsley puree. But I liked the Fourme d'Ambert and pear tart too. Mikeb19, another note on value-added cheese courses: When Ducasse first opened in New York he was doing something along those lines. The first time I ate there we had Camembert that the restaurant had layered with black truffle slices and stored for a little while to allow the flavors to infuse. I really liked that (though it was inferior to the Camembert available in France). Even better was the Gruyere, served with fingerling potatoes and pieces of bacon in a sort of deconstructed raclette. And I think at the time I had a thought much like yours: any restaurant can serve a piece of cheese, but here we have the kitchen intervening and doing something special. Today, in 2007, especially if you're in a major city, you should be able to go out and buy the same cheeses retail that the best restaurants in town are getting, so it's nice when they add some value. Ducasse abandoned the composed cheese dishes, though, because customers were happier with a standard cheese cart.

Yes, it was excellent. I have to check my notes but I think it was my favorite dish of the meal.

Mikeb19, I agree with you. I think it would be nice if more restaurants offered one savory dessert option based on cheese, like Alain Passard's Fourme d'Ambert tart with pear, served at Arpege in Paris. I think I know quite a few people who would opt for it.

The only restaurant where I have strong familiarity with the cheese economics is Gramercy Tavern in New York City. Gramercy Tavern has an excellent cheese program, with a couple of dozen choices, tableside service from a gueridon, a comprehensive staff training program, appropriate refrigeration for affinage, etc. What I can say, having spoken in depth with the restaurant's management about this, is that Gramercy Tavern loses money on cheese. The restaurant offers it because the customers like it, and therefore it helps cement repeat business and spread goodwill, however it is a money loser.

Not entirely on point, but this is an interesting article from about 20 years ago in Nation's Restaurant News, titled What's hot in Italy. The first thing that struck me about it was the simple notion that anything could be hot in Italy -- in other words, if traditional cuisine is the paradigm, how can there even be any trends? But, of course, there are trends. In the 1980s, traditional cuisine itself was the trend: