sgfrank

Allezcuisine, I might drop by for dinner tomorrow. Did you notice what the atmosphere was like? More casual than Susur, I trust? Thanks, Simon

Interesting... I called Susur tonight and was told that it would "probably" be opening on Wednesday, but whoever was on the phone didn't seem to know much about it. He said they weren't taking reservations yet, and suggested calling tomorrow. Am I being given the run-around? Simon

Chefette, I believe if you read furthur down that the instructions do call for coating the ganache centres with more chocolate. From what you said, however, I would not want to temper my Lindt bars since they're not couverture. Correct? Simon

Hello all, I have been browsing the innumerable resources here and elsewhere regarding tempering chocolate, but am still unsure on what to do for this truffle recipe. I wish to make the following truffles http://www.epicurious.com/run/recipe/view?id=109085 but there is no mention in the recipe of tempering. Furthmore, I plan to use Lindt Rod. Lindtfils Chocolate, the one in the silver wrapper with blue and gold writing. My understanding of terms like 'couverure' is limited, and thus in my readings I am not sure if this chocolate requires tempering, or if it is required in this recipe for the coating of the truffles. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Simon

I was at my local Starbucks the other day, and was greeted at the entrance with a displace of Black Apron Label beans, or something like that - the specific blend was called Kona or Rona (I think). What surprised me was that Starbucks was selling it for $45 a pound (CAD)! $45 is more than I pay for my coffee, that's for sure. They claim it's some special find that only special buyers (like Starbucks...) can get in on. Anyone seen this, or even tasted it? They don't brew it in the stores, and even the half pound was far too much, despite my intrigue. I asked the guy at the cash about it, he said they did a tasting, and he enjoyed it. "Very drinkable, no aftertaste" or something like that (does that mean the rest of the Starbucks coffees are only somewhat drinkable?). Simon

Thanks MobyP, that's pretty much exactly what I was looking for. As much as I would love to hit the Fat Duck while I'm there, I think that dragging the rest of my party out there might be somewhat prohibitive (it's a fair train ride, correct?). Do you or anyone else have any suggestions for another dinner out, perhaps something a bit less dear than RHR? I was browsing over the list of 2 stars, but I'm afraid the list was pretty meaningless to me. Is there anything particularly worth visiting (2 star or otherwise) near South Kensington? I am woefully ignorant of the neighbourhoods in London, and thus I have no idea if one is likely to find anything there. Thanks again, Simon

Hello all, I will be venturing to London this coming June, and on the recommendation of a friend plan to try the dining room at the Connaught. However, on browing GR's website, I see that there are two different dining rooms. Are they simply different spaces with the same food? Would anyone here care to put forward a recommendation for one over the other? (Or for that matter, will I have a good meal at the Connaught? No horror stories to report?) On that vein, I also intend to make it to GR's RHR. Will reservations be attainable for a lunch? Do I understand correctly that you have to call 1 month in advance to the day to book, or have I transplanted that factoid from another restaurant? Thanks, Simon

Rgruby, sorry this took so long. Here is the Adventure menu for the 26th of March: Raw Yellowfin tuna with sea urchin, shiso and radish seedlings Sake Tamanohikari Omachi Junmai Daiginjo Pickled Escabeche of kingfin with silverskin onions and moroccan olive puree Manzanilla sherry la gitana Cured Salt-cured foie gras with squab leg confit, braised artichokes, morels and a soft-boiled quail egg Vouvray chateur gaudrelle reserve 2000 loire Steamed Custard of nova scotia smoked eel, roasted salsify and fresh soybeans Rioja blanca r. lopex de heredia vina condonia 1991 crianza, spain Deep-fried Curry-battered skate with pea shoots and spinach sauce pinot grigio tiefenbruner 2002 alto adige Roasted Portuguese porgy with caponata and saffron-green garlic sauce Corbieres chateau montrabech pitt 2001 languedoc Smoked Georgia strait wild king salmon "toro" with potato foam and fennel broth Miscadet sevre et maine sur lie chateau du coing de saint-fiacre grande cuvee saint-hilaire 1993 loire Braised Lamb cheek navarin Moulin saint-georges 1999 saint-emilion Broiled Blood orange gratin Baked Chocolate canelle with salted peanuts Banyuls donamine du traginer 1996 languedoc-roussillon, france Simon

The demystified menu was more detailed than the receipt. If I had it here I would tell you what it said, but I'm afraid I don't. It was akin to what one would find on a standard a la carte menu in terms of depth of description. I'd be happy to post it later in the week, if you wish. I too do not wish to write off Avalon, but with no course in 10 succeeding in exciting me, I would need strong reason to return. Simon

On second inspection, there was a per person water charge. I do agree that is it very reasonable. We got a printed menu that simply listed the mode of preparation and the wine pairing at the beginning of the meal (this was simply the same menu as was in the menu that was brought to the table when we arrived). The waiter brought it so that we could keep track of the wines. At the end of the meal the waiter presented the 'demystified' version of the menu, so that we could remember what we ate. As I think more about this dinner and discuss it with my dining companions, I feel as though it was more and more mediocre. The chocolate canelle reminds me of something you get out of the cooler case at the front of a diner, and the eel dish put off too many of my companions to ignore it. To those who have been to Avalon before (GordonCooks?), do I owe it another try, or is it simply a good restaurant, but not a spectacular or great one? Another point that I just thought of, none of the presentations wowed me at Avalon. Rain, Susur, Splendido (just to mention some restos that I've been to recently enough to have a good memory) have all had dishes that made me say wow before I even touched the food, yet I can't remember any of the dishes being particularly attractive at Avalon. I don't need a masterpiece on my plate, but it seems par for the course for a restaurant of this calibre (price) to put a bit of attention into the presentation. Again, is this indicative of Avalon? I must say, unless someone tells me otherwise, there's a long list of restaurants I'd like to try, or return to, before I return to Avalon. Simon

Rgruby, Interesting! I had both the salmon and the progy. Did both appear on your printed menu? That would be quite something if they missed a course! Our waiter forgot butter, but that was it. Others at my table found the eel custard very peculiar (some didn't even finish it), but I found it flavourful enough to finish, and enjoyed some bites of it, but was blah on others - I guess the eel and seaweed or whatever else was in the custard wasn't distributed throughout, as I might have prefered. This was indeed my first time at Avalon. A question for you, or others who have dined at Avalon: is the sparkling water always free? We were not charged for it (as I would have hoped, since they were filling our glasses right until we walked out of the door, and were sharing bottles amongst tables). Would still (bottled) water be the same? If so, why would they offer tap water as well (I'm pretty sure I saw some pitchers milling about? Simon

rgruby: I was at Avalon the same evening, and had the same thing as you - and had pretty much the same response. Some of the dishes were pretty good, while others were okay, yet none were spectacular (though I thought both the blood orange gratin and the duck cheek navarin were excellent). If this is indicative of the usual level of food at Avalon, I can't see how it garnered Chatto's number 1, or how it even holds the four stars that it does in Toronto Life. Some of the dishes contained almost amateurish components, like the skate, which I concur was a bit soggy (and I didn't go to the bathroom!), and the foie gras, which I found almost unbearably salty. I think you must have forgotten the broiled (?) Porgy (?) (sorry, I don't have my menu here), which I enjoyed, as the safron sauce was quite nice, though again, nothing that made me say "wow". As for timmychaudfroid... well, I'm with Jake on that one. Simon

Gordon: I completely agree on Kelly Kwan. I had the pleasure of being served by him the second to last time I was at Susur, and it was incredible. There is no doubt that he was reading our minds. I was already planning on asking for him next time I went, but I hope this coverage in TOLife doesn't make him a limited commodity! kymbrlee (or anyone else): Your account of the manner in which magazines get photos for their stories piqued my interested in how TOLife (or any other publication that has more than one reviewer) reviews restaurants. Is each rating just made up of a few visits by 1 reviewer? Do a few go and aggregate their opinions? Does Mr. Chatto even take part in the mini-reviews found in the red book? Just one of those things I would be curious to know more about. Simon

I think if you read his introduction carefully, he notes that he's not rating the restaurants per se, but merely ranking his 10 best dining 'experiences' of the year. He makes some analogy having to do with figure skating, in that the judges don't take into account past reputation or skill, by which I think he means that he's not giving an overall restaurant rating, but just a ranking of 10 specific instances. Also of note, he does give Perigee mention in the sidebar, for being so inventive and novel. (Which is something I don't quite get - so they offer a tasting menu! No one else in Toronto does that!). Not having tried Perigee (though I'd like to) I can't say any more on this. I always find it interesting that Chatto's lineup never corresponds to the TOLife star ratings - for instance, Susur and Eigensinn farm are the only 4 1/2 stars, and yet they haven't taken top spot, at least in recent memory. Similarly, he puts Splendido on there (which I love, don't get me wrong) but which only garners 3 1/2 stars in the red book, leaving out some 4 stars like Canoe, Hemispheres and Lai Wah Heen. I suppose that other reviewers are involved in the star ratings, but the ranking is just Chatto's game. Oh well. I'd be quite happy to visit any of the restaurants on his list, flawed or not, any day of the week. Simon

Hi, I wondered what the outcome of this search was. I myself am now looking for duck legs, and I was told Whole Foods had them frozen, but wondered if there was a fresh source in the city, or if that is out of the question this time of year. Thanks, Simon

Thank you both for your responses! My terrine inexprerience is truly showing itself though, as I am now left with even more questions: ducphat: do you butter the pan, and then instert cling; or insert cling-wrap and butter that? Also, in your comment about poking wholes in the wrap before weighting, are you suggesting that one should leave 'tails' of plastic wrap after lining the pan so that you can fold it over the top of the terrine? chromedome: Apologies, in my mind I inteneded a mini loaf pan, which should make the terrine less flat. With that in mind, can I ignore the dry beans/gravel/weights business, in that the purpose of those was to support the cardboard mold while weighting? Just to clear things up, my impression of weighting is to remove the (mini) loaf pan from the oven, cool, (pierce cling wrap which I have folded over the top?), place a piece of cardboard that just fits the mold, and place weights on that cardboard. Is that correct? Just a note, I am not using whole liver as many terrines seem to, but ground veal. I'm not sure if the liver would even make sense in this context, but I thought I had best mention it. Also, do either of you know the answer to the question about sealing vs. no seal on the 'terrine' (mini-loaf pan)? Thank you both again for your invaluable tips. Simon

I'm planning on making a veal terrine for an upcoming dinner, but am afraid that I don't own a terrine. That, and some some inconsistencies between recipes I've seen gives me the following questions, which I would be much obliged if you could answer: 1) Often it is specified to tightly seal the terrine, using a flour paste. However I also saw some terrines on the internet featuring steam holes. For the non-terrine owner, does this mean I should search for a tight seal with whatever dish I use, or is a less than perfect seal preferable? 2) Would a metal loaf pan or pyrex dish be acceptable substitutes to a pottery or cast-iron terrine? I believe from my search of the forums that the answer is yes, but I wanted to confirm 3) The recipe I had settled on did not specify weighting the terrine down after cooking, however many do. Should I weight with a couple cans for a few hours after cooking? 4) Finally, this recipe calls for a well buttered terrine. Others call for a well buttered terrine lined with cling-wrap. What would be the best approach? Any assistance on this is greatly appreciated. Simon