Fat Guy

A Canadian friend recently introduced me to Canadian Club and Coke. It was good. Can I be a member on that basis?

The owner and manager each gave me a business card that said www.yuvanyc.com. That website, however, is under construction. I have menus here, but I'd rather not post them as they are clearly labeled "preview" and contain various typos and may not reflect final descriptions or pricing.

You may have better luck with a Google search for ShrimpSteak, one word. The relevant results seem to be in Spanish, though.

The reason I said "I'm still deciding whether the meal I had at Yuva tonight was the best Indian meal I've ever had" rather than "The meal I had at Yuva tonight definitely was the best Indian meal I've ever had" is because I've had such great meals prepared by Hemant and Suvir, and also a meal at Vij's in Vancouver that was at this level of excellence, and maybe one in Singapore (I haven't been to India), and also there was a special meal at Tabla prepared by Vij, Suvir and several other world-class Indian chefs, including Jehangir Mehta (the pastry consultant for Yuva). So I'm not ready to say better. What I'm ready to say is different. The lightness and haute refinement I mentioned is where Yuva really distinguishes itself. So it's a different kind of excellence. Based on my one-meal sample in a press preview context, though, I'd say it's in the same league as the best places and very special in its own way.

(Meant to say rasmalai, not raita)

The Yuva birth announcement (this is what the PR people call the press release about a new restaurant opening) didn't look all that auspicious. Another Indian restaurant on 58th Street between Third and Second Avenues! I might have skipped the press preview altogether, but we had babysitting and it was something to do. I'm still deciding whether the meal I had at Yuva tonight was the best Indian meal I've ever had. The first bite I took was of a crab cake like no other, described on the menu simply as "spiced crab skewered and grilled." The dish arrived looking like an haute cuisine version of two golden corn dogs (yes, on sticks). My first taste totally redefined my expectations of the rest of the evening. It was so . . . light. And when I say that, I mean it. Servers are constantly telling me how light the crabcakes are at their restaurants. They're never light. They're crabcakes. But this thing was like air, if it's possible to imagine air with a lot of crab in it. I had the press release, I mean birth announcement, folded up in my pocket. I confess I hadn't read it or planned to read it -- I had just taken it along so I could remember the address, not that you need a piece of paper to remember that you're going to an Indian restaurant on 58th between Third and Second any more than you need to write down the address of Grand Central Station. The chef, it turns out, is a fellow named Dhandu Ram. He's not just a chef, he's a "Master grill chef," and as ridiculous as it sounds he does indeed cook such good stuff that it's hard not to agree that he's entitled to be referred to as a master grill chef. He's said to have cooked at the original Bukhara Grill in New Delhi. The owners of the restaurant are a very nice seeming guy named Kedar Shah and his wife Hritu Deepak -- yes, Hritu Deepak the Indian soap star and face model. In case you were wondering what had become of her, she moved here to marry Kedar and she's now a restaurateur. They're both in their early 30s and they both look really good. Yuva, they say, means "youth." Every dish we tried -- about ten of them -- was exceptional. Most displayed a level of refinement, lightness (really) and subtlety that has been long overdue at this price point (appetizers under $10, a lot of entrees under $20 though of course rack of lamb, lobster and whole fish are more, breads $3-$5), and I'm not really sure you get it at the Dawat price point anyway. This is not rustic cooking. It's delicate, exquisite, a little restrained but totally flavorful. Chapli kabaabs (their spelling) were similar in weight (or lack thereof) to the crab cakes. You don't expect a dish described as lamb patties with red onions, crushed peppercorns and nutmeg to be anything but rustic and weighty. But these kabaabs were so fragile you could hardly cut them without crushing them. Amazing. "Sea splash" is a tasty cousin of ceviche: steamed shrimp and scallops with tamarind, Thai basil, red onion and an unfortunate (but harmless) splash of truffle oil. The other appetizer we tried was green papaya salad, the strands so long and fine they had to be twirled on the fork like spaghetti, in a chili mango vinaigrette -- excellent mix of crunchy texture, sweetness and spice. The selection of breads is remarkable and includes a few things I'd have ordered if I'd had foreknowledge of how good the restaurant would be. We were smart enough to order the Kabuli naan, layered with a paste of cashew nuts, almonds, pistachios and raisins. Pretty sure there was some unadvertised coconut in there too. Very interesting flavors, maybe a little sweet to eat with the meal but quite delicious. Also excellent was the aloo parantha, stuffed with potatoes and spices. On my list for next time: "Sheermal: pan fried rich flaky saffron flavored sweet bread (a unique delicacy of peshawar)." I'm so there. We had a mixed platter of items from the tandoor, all top notch: tandoori shrimp, hariyali kabab, malai tikka, boti kabab and aatish kabab, served with avocado sauce, red bean sauce and pomegranate sauce. Also a dish called "chicken mushroom," which is chicken in a white wine, almond and mushroom sauce. I'd have liked to try a bunch of the vegetable sides, but only thought to order the Yuva dal, terrific lentils cooked overnight with tomato and butter. The restaurant is contemporary and Western in feel -- there are some Indian touches here and there but you'd be forgiven for thinking you'd walked into a small, classy restaurant operated by a former Jean Georges or Lespinasse sous chef: sixty seats, a glass wall overlooking the kitchen (where the two chefs are working their asses off and throwing a lot of flames), big white plates in square-ish shapes. Most of the dishes are plated to that standard as well -- colorful, appetizing, low-key -- though there's the occasional tacky misstep like a superfluous carved radish that should be retired to the Carnival Cruises midnight buffet. Jehangir Mehta from Aix -- a terrific pastry chef -- is the consulting pastry chef, and the two desserts we tried were good (particularly the rasmalai), but not on par with the savory cuisine. He needs to do some tuning up to get there. Totally usable wine list with choices running from a New Zealand sauvignon blanc for under $30 up to Silver Oak '00 for $126 (also Opus for some ridiculous amount). YUVA FRONTIER INDIAN GRILL 230 East 58th Street (between Chola and Dawat) 1.212.339.0090 (edited to replace raita with rasmalai)

At this point in the evolution of the New York "fine dining" restaurant industry, most any restaurant that opens with two-, three- or four-star ambitions has that stated as a goal right in the business plan. The restaurant's team will likely work with consultants and publicists who develop strategies for achieving that goal. There is most likely going to be a critic seduction strategy in place and hundreds of checklist items that need to be attended to, and chefs' contracts often contain bonus provisions for getting a certain number of stars. It's not all they think about. Weeks may go by when they don't even discuss it. But it's part of the plan. It's the same with restaurants in France and Michelin. This is just how it's done. It's part of the DNA of a restaurant these days. So there's no rational binary statement to be made about restaurants thinking about stars. They all do. It's a question of degree. At some point, the stars become ends in themselves. At that point, the restaurant has lost its way. And, fittingly, such restaurants are probably not going to get the stars they were hoping for. Is Del Posto such a restaurant? I doubt it. I have no trouble believing it's legitimately a three-star restaurant with four-star possibilities. I suppose I could eat there and say "This place sucks!" but on paper, even when you look at the negative comments, there's little question that the infrastructure for the stars is there. The issue for me is that the only way Frank Bruni was able to get to the three-star review was by taking positions that are out of character for him -- save for the part of his character that is a Batali sycophant. Not that there's anything wrong with being a Batali admirer -- he's a tremendous talent and plenty of food lovers admire him, me included -- but usually you try maintain some consistency between your list of your favorite chefs and your actual taste in restaurants.

Very strange experience at New Green Bo this evening: We asked for water. Less than a minute later, water appeared. I consumed about 1/5 of my glass of water. Within a few moments, a server topped it off. Ellen consumed about 1/5 of her glass of water. Within a few moments, another server topped it off. I drained my glass. It was refilled promptly. This continued throughout the evening. I've never had so much water at New Green Bo. It prompted a visit to the restroom for a viewing of my favorite sign: "Do not put ANYTHING in toilet." We were sharing a table for 8 with a Chinese couple (man they had some skillz with the chopsticks, but they weren't drinking water) and a kid who was probably living in the nearby NYU dorms and obviously eats there a lot. The first time our water got refilled, he commented: "Incredible! Without asking." By the third time our water glasses got refilled, he was just shaking his head, as were we. It was surreal. We were glad someone was there as a witness.

Having dined at Alto but not Del Posto, I can only argue that the Alto verdict was wrong, not that the Del Posto verdict was right. But I hope to check out Del Posto soon. The thing is, when you say "all haute and bothered," as Bruni did in the Alto review, you're making more than a statement about the restaurant. You're making a faux-populist argument in general. This has been an unfortunate theme in Bruni's writing, which puts him in an odd position when he comes out swinging in defense of just such a restaurant. I'd argue that the most on-point precedent for re-reviewing involves Union Pacific. Ruth Reichl gave Union Pacific two stars on November 26, 1997. She then re-reviewed it on August 5, 1998, giving it three stars. That's eight months. The review was titled "A Short Trip From Promising to Polished."

I don't think lumping all preferences and judgments together under the heading "biases" gives conscientious critics their due. A bias is more than just a belief. The hallmarks of biases are that they are unreasoned, personal and closed-minded.

It's certainly the most defensive New York Times review I've read. Language like "That's a parochial response, and a largely unjust one," is bound to raise a few eyebrows. One has to wonder whether, if Batali had no involvement in the venture, Bruni would have gone to such great lengths to mount this defense. Or would he have simply dismissed it as "soulless and spurious." As he said about Alto, when giving it two stars, "Alto presents an entirely different Italy, all haute and bothered."

You hang around here long enough, you see everything: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...ndpost&p=724859

A rap sheet is street cred in the pitmaster world. What great pitmaster isn't an ex-con, religious fanatic or both (or in the aspirational stages towards one of those goals)?

On behalf of the eGullet Society, thank you Spiro for your participation in this conversation! We hope you'll keep reading and posting around the forums, and thanks also for the sandwich/salad coupons. We'll notify the winners of those soon.

It's a current trend. National culinary awareness is rising as a result of multiple converging trends ranging from food on TV to better products in supermarkets to more graduates from the culinary schools. This isn't affecting the restaurant scene much in places like New York and San Francisco because these places have long been on the leading edge and the leading edge isn't moving forward as much as the middle. It also doesn't affect very-small-population areas because there's just not the critical mass for restaurants in those places. It's the mid-sized cities that are seeing the most in the way of relative culinary advancement right now.

This is the last day to participate in this eG Spotlight Forum Conversation with Spiro Baltas. Please make your final posts by 3pm EST today, after which we'll ask for no further posts (except from Spiro, of course). Also, by 3pm EST today, send me a PM if you wish to be in on the free sandwich/salad coupon drawing!

Cleveland is an "emerging market" as far as restaurants are concerned, which is actually an exciting thing. You could pretty much get as good a meal in New York ten years ago as you can today. In an emerging market, you see real progress. That progress needs support in order to sustain itself, and I think that's what Michael is getting at here -- it's something he can do, as a journalist, to encourage excellence. There are a lot of other things that can be done to nurture an emerging market. For example, if it doesn't already exist, someone can found an organization -- even if it's informal and just gets together once a month for a drink -- of the serious chefs in town. Not the kind of phony group that the a local tourism board is likely to put together, where the members are the chefs from all the bad hotel restaurants, but rather something exclusive to those who display true individuality and are moving the scene forward.

Spiro, we've talked a lot about sandwiches. But you're indicating that salads are also a big part of your sales and your corporate philosophy. What interesting tidbits can you tell us about salads? Is a salad just a sandwich without the bread? Can you get bacon in a salad? How about slab bacon? That's really good.

Spiro likes you all so much he's going to give you free sandwiches! We have 20 sandwich/salad coupons (each coupon good for one Starwich salad or sandwich) to give away to participants in this week's eG Spotlight Forum Conversation. We'll be giving 2 of them to each of 10 eGullet Society members who participate in the conversation. Just shoot me a PM and say that you'd like to be in the drawing for the Starwich coupons. Please only do so if your travel plans are going to take you to New York, NY or Boston, MA in the next few months or you already live in one of those areas. We'll pick 10 names from that list and inform the recipients on Friday. Starwich will mail the coupons to the winners. (Members only. Staff not eligible.) Good luck!

To call dessert there an afterthought is to imply the kitchen doesn't take it seriously. But the selection of desserts is extensive, and there are various Baroque procedures you have to follow for adding ice chips to this or heating that. If I'm not mistaken, the first time I went there the place was actually billing itself as a sweet shop that also serves food. Do the desserts taste good? Well, I'm not particularly fond of any of them except maybe the banana sticky rice. But an afterthought? I can't agree.

Just a quick note to let you all know that we have an album of photographs provided by Starwich: food, stores, people and even the sandwich order card. The ImageGullet album of Starwich photos is available to eGullet Society members only.

Yes, I believe our last meal there -- two people, lunch, a ton of food though not the super-luxe stuff, a couple of beers, tax and tip -- was around $160.

So I'm working on a version of shakshouka. This is a dish you find in various forms (and spelled various ways) around the Mideast and North Africa. The one I'm talking about involves a base of very slowly scrambled eggs with diced tomatoes. A small subset of people who cook shakshouka use this trick: at the very end of cooking, you crack some whole eggs over the mixture and the gooey stuff permeates the soft scrambled eggs. My preliminary results were neither photo-worthy nor particularly good. But I'm now receiving some instruction from my friend Sigal Seeber, who used to be Geoffrey Zakarian's pastry chef at "44" (and is also the author of Light Quick Breads) and learned how to make shakshouka from him. I've had the dish at her house and loved it. If I can ever figure out how to make a version that doesn't suck, I'll post some photos and comments.

When you get into cooking for larger groups, it becomes almost inevitable that some people in any given group will be on lowfat, low sodium, etc., diets. For that reason, I'd either not use oil and salt or I'd cook five extra potatoes without oil and salt.

Spiro, thanks very much for joining us. As you know, I've been following and chronicling Starwich since before the first store even opened, and since it opened I've been a regular at the 42nd Street flagship. Whenever I eat there, my reaction is that even though Starwich is technically a sandwich shop it has a lot of the individuality and attention to detail one might expect at an upscale, single-establishment, chef-owned restaurant. And always when I'm there, I see either you, your business partner Mike Ryan or your executive chef Jack Kiggins. So my question is this: as you go from one store to six and beyond, and you open in other cities, how are you going to maintain the current level of performance? How can you make sure that the sandwich I order at store number eight in Boston or store number one hundred in Vancouver looks and tastes the same as the one Jack made for me last week, and is served in a similar environment accompanied by service as dynamic as I get when Mike Ryan is directly monitoring the staff? How can you capture this kind of individuality and intimacy in a chain? Is it possible, and if so how do you plan to pull it off?