Schneier

I've never been a big fan of Kinkead's; too much flash and not enough substance. But this and that and this and that, and I ended up eating lunch there yesterday. I was surprised by how empty it was upstairs; I thought they filled up every day. Anyway, to the food. Soups: "Asparagus Soup with a Ragout of English Peas, Radishes, Leeks and an English Pea Flan." Excellent. Superb. Delicious. "New England Quahog Chowder with Clam Fritters." A perfect clam chowder. Entrees: "Portuguese Seafood Stew with Monkfish, Shrimp, Mussels, Clams, Chorizo, Tomatoes and Rouille." I was much less impressed. The monkfish was wrapped in bacon, and I found it overcooked. The stew didn't hang together well, and was uninteresting. I wanted this to be much better. "Pistachio Crusted Salmon Medallions with Fried Fennel, Roasted Peppers, and a Savory Tomato Butter." Better, but still not great. The salmon was drier than I wanted it to be, and I have eaten way better fried fennel. Again, not very well put together. We skipped dessert. B

I have kitchen table reservations for two weeks from now. Finally. Bruce

I looked at the wine list. It was okay, but nothing special. Bruce

I still believe that Vincent is the best resturant in the Twin Cities right now. And it's pretty reasonably priced for what you get. Dinner there a couple of weeks ago: Appetizer 1: "Halibut tempura, ginger scented dried shrimp-carrot puree, Kefir lime-coconut broth." Very good. Everything tasted good together. The dish was crunchy and creamy at the same time, with a little bite. Appetizer 2: "Talbais bean soup, spiced walnuts, walnut oil." Rich and tasty. Appetizer 3: "Mushroom risotto, dried grape tomatoes, butternut squash, walnut scented broth." Definitely excellent. A perfect risotto. Entree 1: "Roasted Hawaiian prawns, two-hour braised crispy pork bellly, taro root puree, sweet and sour sauce." This was good, but I didn't think it worked well as a compete dish. The pork was very good, but it didn't really match the prawns Entree 2: "Acacia honey scented grilled pork tenderloin loin, Brussel sprouts, yellow grits, peppery jus." Much better. Very well put together dish. Dessert: "Pineapple carpaccio, ginger parfait, caramelized pineapple, crepe tulle." The dish also came with a little bit of basil, and sweetened farro. Very good. Bruce

Will have to be small. Bruce

Somewhere about Course 24, after lots of conversation about restaurants in general, Jose Andres's cooking in particular, and pictures of Minibar dishes on the Internet, Andres turned to me and said: "Don't tell me you're an eGulleter too." Our reputation precedes us. Hidden inside Cafe Atlantico, up on the third level, is Jose Andres's personal entertainment section. They do two seatings a night, one at 6:00 and another at 8:30, six chairs each. Thirty-five or so courses, none more than a bite. We had two chefs preparing our dishes full time, and a third that popped in once in a while. Jose Andres himself showed up at around Course 18, and stayed through to the end. Probably the best way to think a meal like this is more like a carnival ride than an actual meal. It's fast: 33 dishes in two and a half hours means only five minutes between dishes. Some dishes are designed to be weird or surprising. Others are just designed to be different. Many reviews of this place don't bother listing the different dishes, writing more about the highlights of the experience. I think it's worth listing the dishes, because that's how to describe the ride. But because it's a ride, I took few notes. Assume I liked whatever it is unless I say otherwise. 1. Chicken curry popcorn. What it says. Savory spicy popcorn. Good for a few bites, which is what I got. 2. Mojito spritz. Think of a little spray bottle filled with mojito. Instructions: spray it directly into your mouth. Good harbinger of things to come. 3. Tropical chips. Kind of like Taro Chips, but much better. Thinner, more flavorful, less salt. 4. Passion fruit and coconut drink. Two layers. Yum. 5. Chocolate foie gras truffle. I'm not sure about the sweet chocolate coating, but the liquid tamerind center was very good. 6. Cone with tomato and basil. Yum. 7. Cone with salmon roe and cheese. Tasted like a bagel and lox for adults. Major yum. 8. Pineapple ravioli, cured salmon, avocado, and crispy quinoa. It was served with an orange slice, which I thought didn't go with the rest of the dish. The rest of the dish was delicious. 9. Jimica ravioli with guacamole, with tuna ceviche. Two pouches made with very thinly sliced jimica, one filled with guac and the other with coconut and tuna ceviche. Both of these were fine, fine, fine. To me, this is the point where the meal really started hitting its stride. The dishes to follow were all delicious. 10. Mango ravioli with trout roe and tomato. Thin-sliced mango wrapper, trout roe inside, and tomato seeds on top. 11. Deconstructed white wine. This requires a paragraph. Grape juice is let to sit overnight and ferment a little, and is then turned into gelee. This is layered onto a shallow plate. On the gelee are eight flavor components, flavors that you might find in white wine: lemon, orange, apple, mint, fig, pineapple, pomegranate, vanilla. Finally, white wine is sprayed on top to give it dish an aroma. Fascinating. 12. Jimica wraps with tuna and sesame, with apples and cabrales. Sushi rolls, with jimica as the wrapper. The first was European: apples, almond, and blue cheese. The second was Asian: avocado, tuna, seaweed, soy. Both came with a citrus oil dipping sauce. Major yum. 13. Caesar salad. Caesar salad, sort of. Two small jimica rolls filled with romaine lettuce, anchovy, and brioche. The first was topped with a quail egg, and the second with Parmesan. Kind of a mix-your-own salad dressing in your mouth. 14. Cauliflower in textures. Layered cup: whipped cauliflower on the bottom, black truffle gelee in the middle, and hard crumbled cauliflower on top. 15. Corn on the cob. One baby corn with corn puree, a corn sprout, and corn nuts. This dish absolutely rocked. Everything blended perfectly. Pity it was just a bite. 16. Sushi 2003. Raw tuna, crispy rice, nori, sushi rice foam. Another major wow. 17. Egg 147. An egg cooled at 147 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes, then served with black truffle and a bit of powdered sugar. 18. Pear with balsamic and olive oil, with lemon, with parmesan. Three tiny squares of pear, one filled with vinegar and chives, another with lemon rind, and a third with parmesan. 19. Cotton candy foie gras. What else can you say? 20. Guacamole and tomato sorbet. Kind of a deconstructed guac: avocado, lime, cilantro, oil, tomato sorbet, and crumbled Frito's Corn Chips. 21. Sea urchin. Served with pomegranate foam. Wow. 22. Conch fritters. What it says; absolutely delicious. 23. Wild pink scallops. Scallops served with frozen beet soup. 24. Hot and cold foie gras soup. Served in a little cup with chives and more crumbled corn chips. 25. Lobster Americaine. A perfect piece of cooked lobster served on a tiny baster syringe thingy. You're supposed to bit the meat while at the same time squirting the lobster juice into your mouth. A preparation I could get seriously used to. 26. New England clam chowder. Well, sort of. A clam. Sweet onion jam. Potato puree. Onion oil. Chive oil. Crispy potato bits. Delicious. 27. Lightbulb of flavor. First the lights went out in the restaurant. "It's a power failure," one of the cooks said. Then we were each handed our dish. It was a square glass plate with a blue blinking LED on it, and a hollow transparent "bulb" of sugar. Bizarre and interesting. Pure theater. 28. Sardines in a crust. A breaded sardine. Not a sardine rolled in bread crumbs, but a sardine with a very thin slice of toasted bread on top. It was served with raspberries and macadamia nuts. 29. Meat and potatoes. This dish consisted of thinly sliced raw Kobe beef, and hot pureed potato with seared confit of porcini mushrooms. With it we also got a tissue infused with black truffle smell. We were supposed to smell the tissue while eating the dish. Super delicious. 30. Watermelon air. This is the first time I've eaten "air," and it's bizarre and amazing. It's like foam, but when you put it in your mouth it all disappears and all you have left is the flavor. Fascinating. 31. Pina colada. This is a layered drink. From bottom to top: vanilla run syrup, pineapple gelee, pineapple foam, pineapple ice, and coconut sorbet. They called it a "deconstructed pina colada," which is about right. 32. Apples with red wine "Freddy Girardet." Freddy is visiting the restaurant for a year. His dessert consists of small balls of apple soaked in red wine, cherry, and orange sorbet, served with red wine reduction. 33. Dessert snacks: saffron gummi, passion fruit marshmallow, chocolate covered corn nuts, fruit salad. 34. Chocolate lollypop with pop rocks, Halls lollypop. The Halls lollypop was definitely the end of the meal. Cost was under $100, including tax and tip and everything. And boy, was it fun. The menu changes slowly, but regularly. I would definitely be up to going back in six months. Bruce

Lunch this week at Vidalia. I like the restaurant a lot, especially because it is near where I tend to be in DC and open for lunch. It's also very reasonably priced. Appetizer: "Grillades and Grits - braised veal cheek with creamy grits, tasso ham, tomato, green onion and file cream." Okay, but not great. I thought it was too salty--probably the ham. And I didn't think that the cream went with the rest of the dish. Delicious braised veal, though. Main: "Spiced Pork Sandwich - slow cooked barbecue port shoulder served open face with toasted cornbread, avocado and black bean relish." The relish was a mixture of corm, black beans, onions, and tomato. Yummy barbecue sauce; tasty pulled pork. Cost was $30, including a drink, tax, and tip. And the whole meal took less than an hour. Bruce

Agree on Cheng Heng. Bruce

Pho 79 is definitely better than Pho Tau Bay for pho, but Pho Tay Bay is a better restaurant overall. Glad you got to try them. Bruce

I requested a 5:30 AM wake-up call, so I could get to the Taj Mahal when it opened at 6:00. I hired a taxi to take most of the way, and a rickshaw the rest of the way. (The area close to the Taj is closed to polluting vehicles.) All entrance fees in India are different for Indian citizens. I think this is a good idea, and I like it when I see it in Third World countries. Price admission to collect enough money for upkeep, and subsidize the locals who can't afford it. I paid 750 roupees, almost $20. The local price was 20 roupees--fifty cents. A lot has been written about the Taj Mahal, but the thing that always fascinated me is its legendary unphotographability. Again and again I've read that photographs don't do it justice. They don't. The real thing looks much more real, more alive, more ethereal. Pictures are always flat, but flattening the Taj takes a lot of its impact. I strongly recommend going early in the morning. For one thing, it's much less crowded. Which means its quieter. And the early light plays beautifully off the white marble. A bit of fog behind it, over the Yamuna RIver, helps with the ethereal quality. I walked around the Taj a couple of times, stared at from this way and that way--it's a symmetrical square--and then went back to my hotel room. I showered, checked my email, ate breakfast, packed, and waited for my taxi at 10:00. And I went to the Taj Mahal again. It's different in daytime sunlight. The shadows reflecting on itself give it a wholly other look. And I spent a lot more time staring at the semi-precious inlay work on the interior and exterior walls. Bruce

They came in pastic packaging, and were sold at room temperature on the same table as a whole lot of other dried things. So yes, I'm pretty sure they're dried. Someone here in Tokyo said that they're eaten straight as bar food. I'm taking them home today, assuming I can get them through customs. Bruce

At a food stall near Ueno Park, I saw a package of squid beaks for sale. Of course I had to buy it. Wandering around Google, every recipe tells me to discard the beak. Have I been had, or is there some interesting way to eat these things? Squid beak soup? Suid beak and marinara sauce on pasta? Squid beak curry? Help. Bruce

I came from Pakistan, on my way to Tokyo. I had some work to do in another city. And I wanted to see the Taj Mahal. So it ended up being just one lunch in Delhi. Bruce

Excellent news. Thank you.

I think everybody needs their own signature coctail. Bruce

I also ordered squid marinated in tamarind, red chili paste, and a mess of spices, and a prawn red curry dish...but the crab was the absolute best. You're right; I just mopped up all the sauce I could with the bread. Wow. (Which brings up a question.... If it is the sauce that makes the dish good, would it be better to order squid or prawns or something else with the sauce? Would it be just as good, or is the crab--at about four times the price of any other seafood--essential?) Bruce

That was probably the best piece of advice I've received in months. The butter-pepper-garlic crab at Swaagath was absolutely delicous. Garlic, spring onion, pepper--what's in that dish anyway? I onl had one meal in Delhi, and that was it. Definitely a good choice. Bruce

I did. It's in there. Bruce

Conclusions? None, I guess. I generally don't think of dining experiences as conclusion-reaching. Bruce

I wrote this before reading this thread. It looks like I had exactly the same menu as two previous posters. Oh well; you get to read about it a third time. Bruce ******* You know it's going to be an interesting meal when someone wheels a Dewar flask filled with liquid nitrogen to your table. The Fat Duck is a UK restaurant in the small town of Bray, near Windsor. Chef Heston Blumenthal is known for serving some of the most interesting food in Britain. The restaurant is simple and unassuming. From the outside it looks like just another squat row house. Inside, the furnishing is spare, with a lot of low beams that the waitstaff has to keep warning tall customers about. I came for lunch on a Saturday, during a seven-hour layover at Heathrow. I landed from Chicago at 10:00 AM, hung around the airport lounge for an hour and a half, and then took a taxi to the restaurant. I figured on a two-and-a-half hour meal, and I would be back at Heathrow by 3:00. Plenty of time to catch my 5:00 flight to Islamabad. My choices were a three-course lunch menu, an interesting selection of a la carte dishes, or the tasting menu--which I ordered. And which began with a Dewar flask of liquid nitrogen cascading vapors all over the place. A waiter appeared with a pressurized canister, which he said was filled with green tea, lime, and egg white. He was going to make a ball of the stuff and then "cook" it tableside in the liquid nitrogen. I was to eat it in one bite, immediately after he took it out of the Dewar flask. Okay. The stuff that came out of the canister looked like shaving cream, and it sputtered a bit as he dropped in the nitrogen. When it was done he put it on a plate and handed it to me. I did as I was told. It was a ball of mostly air, crunchy on the outside and a creamy vapor on the inside, with hints of the tastes he described. Kind of like a savory sorbet, kind of not--really like nothing I had ever eaten before. A fascinating palate cleanser. This is going to be interesting, I thought. Next came two small squares of gelee: an orange one and a beetroot one. Again, instructions: "Eat the orange first." It was okay, but the beet gelee was delicious. Another savory dessert-like item. Then I was served an oyster covered in passion fruit jelly--another absolutely delicious morsel. The menu claimed that there was lavender, but I couldn't taste it among the passion fruit and oyster flavors. It was, again, kind of dessert-like but not. The pairing of oyster and passion fruit was delicious. I wanted another. Instead I got another dessert: mustard ice cream served with red cabbage gazpacho. A stunningly beautiful dish: a small ice cream quenelle in the middle of this vivid purple soup. Again, amazingly delicious. Again, strong and interesting flavors that combined together well. Again, I wanted more. Next up: a parfait. It had three layers: langoustine cream on top, quail jelly in the middle, and pea puree on the bottom--topped with a small piece of roasted foie gras. This was the most decadent dish so far. I loved the way the flavors and textures blended. I loved everything about this dish. And I still hadn't gotten my first course on the menu. Time to catch my breath. I had just eaten five absolutely delicious tiny dishes, each interesting in itself and together interesting as a progression. The flavors moved from simple to complex, from spare to decadent. They were all clearly designed to startle and delight. And clearly, blending flavors in an interesting way is Blumenthal's strong point. The first course was snail porridge, topped with small slices of ham, fried fennel, and some walnut oil. It looked a lot like green risotto. This was clearly not dessert, but it was again an interesting blend of interesting flavors. Snails are strong and earthy, and the ham and fennel accented it perfectly. There was garlic too, of course. A delicious dish. The second course was roast foie gras. The foie gras was topped with little bits of chive--I think--and chamomile. The plate had cherry puree, amaretto jelly, some sort of cream, and a couple of almonds. Again, a fascinating and delicious blending of ingredients I wouldn't have put together. And every dish so far was presented beautifully: everything artistically arranged just so. That kind of thing is commonplace at these sorts of restaurants, but I thought it was done especially well here. The third course was the same story. Blumenthal has written about trying to capture comforting tastes from youth. This dish was called "Sardine on Toast Sorbet." There was no toast, but there was a sardine sorbet that tasted like tinned fish. He topped it with a few salmon eggs, and served it with a mackerel ballotine. This was a very strongly flavored dish: all three flavors were loud on the palate. But they blended excellently and interestingly. Next came a piece of poached salmon crusted with licorice. It was served with baby asparagus, some of the strongest mayonnaise I have ever tasted, tiny shreds of grapefruit, very strong olive oil, and shavings of a strong licorice. Again, this wildly unlikely combination of ingredients was delicious. Mayonnaise and grapefruit--definitely. Who knew? Course five was sweetbreads cooked in a crust of pollen and salt in a fire made from hay. I have had dishes cooked with hay before, and when it works right the result has a hint of hay-like smoke. This technique calls for a mild meat, and sweetbreads was a good choice. It was served with very pretty light-green cabbage, parsnip puree, and a couple of cockles. This was the weakest dish of the night. It was all good, but it didn't come together like the other dishes did. Then, a break before my desserts: a small disk of white chocolate topped with caviar. Better than I expected, by a lot. The first dessert was called "Mrs. Marshall's Margaret Cornet." I got a little card explaining who Mrs. Agnes B. Marshall was and how she invented an ice cream maker and was the first to make an ice cream cone, back in the late 1800s (seventeen years before it was "invented" at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, according to the card). This cone had apple sorbet on top, and orange/ginger mixture below. Very good. Another break: pine essence and sugar, eaten with a small piece of vanilla bean. This was supposed to evoke some comforting taste from British youth, but of course that was lost on me. But it was important that I eat it, I was told, to prepare me for the pine dessert to follow. That dessert was three things on a plate: some mango and Douglas fir puree, a bavarois of lychee and mango, some blackcurrant sorbet. This was served with blackcurrant and green peppercorn jelly. Fir is not a common flavor and while this was interesting, and tasty, it was not awe inspiring. Next, some more things not on the menu. A carrot and orange lollypop, really just a sliver to crunch and eat. Then some orange and beetroot gellee, this time mixed together and sweet. And a basil bavarois. And then it got really weird. I was served a gold paper box in a bowl, and some parsnip-infused milk in a small pitcher. Inside was "parsnip cereal," I was told. I hope this wasn't another one of those comforting tastes from British youth. While it was interesting, and good, I was glad that there weren't more than a few spoonfuls. It was very strong. Finally, the eighth (and last) course on the menu. On the plate was a small scoop of "smoked bacon and egg ice cream" over tomato jam, a small piece of French toast, and a small scoop of caramel covered with morels. This was accompanied by a small dish of tea jelly. The right way to eat this, I was told, was to eat everything on the plate together and to use the jelly as a palate cleanser. I did, and while it was all interesting, I didn't think it worked all that well. The ice cream was just weird, the tomato was...well tomato. (Cooked tomatoes are a standard British breakfast thing, so that's probably where it's coming from.) Caramel and morels is definitely a good idea, though. I wasn't done yet: next came chocolates. I got four: pine, oak, tobacco, and mint. There was some confusion in the beginning, as the waiter wasn't sure if the second one was oak or leather. But it was definitely oak. I didn't care for the tobacco, and I've never liked mint with chocolate. The pine and oak chocolates were okay. I declined coffee, so I was done: two and a half hours total for lunch. My taxi was waiting for me, and I spent the entire drive back to Heathrow wondering what leather-flavored chocolate tasted like. And I made my plane with lots of time to spare.

I'm leaving tonight.... I have a taxi scheduled to pick me up at the airport tomorrow morning, and anothe to take me back to the airport after lunch. Much cheaper than a black cab, and cheaper than I expected. I'll post a report on a Fat Duck thread--if there is one--when I return. Thanks Andy Lynes for the excellent suggestion. Bruce

Ah. Don't know yet. Probably won't know until I get there. I'm going overland from Pakistan, so it's complicated. Bruce

I'm going next week and staying in New Delhi. Bruce

I don't know what this says about me--but the first thing I said upon examining the cheese list was, "We definitely want the one that's barnyard." And it was good. It would be my first reaction, too.

Stash your bags with left luggage, and take a taxi to Point Loma Seafoods. It's close to the airport, and you can get back in more than enough time. Otherwise, there's nothing good to eat in the airport. Bruce