Schneier

Udupi is now Nalapak. Seems like the same owners; it's certainly the same menu. They claim that they changed their name because of Indian mythology, but in general restaurants change names to avoid bill collectors. In any case, we went last night. It's stil strictly vegetarian (with cheese). But it wasn't anywhere near as good as it was when we reviewed it two years previously. Our review should appear in the North section of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune later this month.

I admit it; I'm jealous.

I've never seen a Picard store in any of the towns I've stayed in.

Are the Picrad entrees sold in normal supermarket chains, or do you have to buy them in a separate store? Bruce

Both Paul Bocuse and Joel Robuchon make a line of packaged French dinners. Fine French convenience food -- is it even possible? We decided to find out. First off, they're refrigerated, not frozen. They're in the refrigerated case, in boxes. We bought one from each company: about five euros apiece -- cheap! Mr. Robuchon has partnered with a food company called Fleury Michon. They only had one selection in the store: Parmentier au Canard (here's the company's web page on the product). It's a casserole of shredded duck with potatoes and cheese. The ingredients list doesn't look too bad: whole milk, duck confit, water, potatoes, butter, creme fraiche, onions, mushrooms, Emmenthal cheese, shallots, spices, and preservatives. It comes in a ceramic crock: poke some holes in the plastic top, and then three-and-a-half minutes in the microwave. The first bites aren't bad. Cheesy potatoes: what's not to like? And the duck isn't bad, either. It didn't cook evenly, but that's okay. But after a few bites, not so much. We split both entrees, which is good, since neither of us wanted an entire meal of this. Bocuse's offering (there are many made, but just two at the store this morning) is Noix de St. Jacques au Noilly. No, not nuts: small scallops. This one comes in two packages: one for the scallops and sauce, and another for the leeks and rice. The ingredients list for the first package is noix, creme fraiche, vermouth - Noilly Prat -- water, carrots, leeks, shallots, rice, spices, suger, salt, lemon juice, and preservatives; for the second package it's leeks, creme fraiche, tomatoes, rice, water, pepper, Emmenthal cheese, butter, fresh eggs, parsley, and preservatives. Not bad. Cooking this one takes work. The noix are in a plastic bag, and the leek-and-rice side is in a covered plastic tub. We poke holes into each of the packages and microwave them together for three minutes, just as the package says. Then we turn the leeks and rice over in the middle of the plate -- it stays together mostly -- and then artfully pour the noix and sauce around the side, trying to make it look like the picture on the front. Step four on the package is "la touche du Chef'"; we're supposed to find a sprig of fresh fennel and a slice of lime and add it to the plate. We make do with a sprig of flat Italian parsley from the garden. The taste: not very good. And unlike the other, it wasn't very good right from the start. The flavors were indistinguishable and not interesting either. Think airline food and you'll have the right idea. You can eat it, but you wish you didn't have to. Bruce

Looks like a great dish.

Based on what you're asking for, I would suggest Five or Levain. Maybe Vincent. Town Talk Diner is another, more funky, option. Bruce

Pinotxo Bar, definitely. Bruce

The problem with this thread is that the software won't let you search on two-letter terms. So it's impossible for anyone to find this thread unless they search for it manually. I have no idea how to fix this problem. Bruce

Note: <a href="http://www.otrestaurant.net">Ot</a> has moved. If you look for reviews on the net and see an address on Torres street, that's wrong. (Although if you go there, the waiter at the old address will happily tell you how to get to Ot's new location. But it's a walk, and it's probably hot out.) The real address is Carrer Corsega 537. I first visited Ot in 2004, when it was eight tables in a back alley in Gracia. The new location is much prettier and upscale, but it's only ten tables -- so you have to wonder why they bothered. In any case, it's a great meal. We started off with a tasting of three olive oils, then one of those gelatin "olives" that taste better at El Bulli. Then some fried potato shreds and a delicious small clam-like seafood thingy on a stick. Appetizer #1: "Watermelon, ficoide glacial, langostine ceviche and olive." Think of a square of watermelon, and some crunchy green thing that felt like seaweed on top -- that was the <a href="http://www.frenchgardening.com/item.tmpl?SKU=SEVE41">ficoide glacial</a> -- and then some lobster, all drizzled with olive oil. Delicious. Appetizer #2: "Cod tripe risotto with sobrasada." Sobrasada is a pork sausage from Majorca. This dish was just about perfect in every way. Main #1: "Corb fish, mussel caramelized and baby vegetables." A nicely cooked piece of whitish fish with carrot air on top, served with a caramelized mussel, mussel sauce, and couscous with vegetables and mint. Another perfect dish. I could have eaten a bowl of those caramelized mussels. Main #2: "Beef cheek with leeks, licorice and peach compote with rosemary." Another delicious dish, although I would have liked more leeks and less licorice sauce. Dessert: "Mascarpone mousse, coffee sauce, hibiscus sorbet." I'm not a coffee fan, so this dish didn't work for me. But rumor has it that it was delicious. I think Ot is one of the secret treasures of Barcelona. Bruce

Last recommendation: go to Jamonisimo and buy ham. They have fantastic iberico. This is a store, not a restaurant, although there are a couple of tables in the back.

Three recommendations: Pinotxo Bar in Boqueria Market (off Ramblas). This is a not a restaurant; it's a market stall with tables. It's friendly and informal, and the food is delicious. Order whatever they're cooking; in my experience it's all good. Quimet & Quimet (Poeta Cabanyes 25, near the funicular stop). This bar and tapas restaurant is tiny, standing room only. It's crowded, and it can be hard to order. But it's definitely worth the trouble. Here are some of the things we had: <ul><li>pickled onion, anchovy wrapped around an olive. <li>tuna with red pepper and chopped olive. <li>smoked salmon on toast with cream cheese, truffle honey, and balsamic. <li>mixed seafood plate: marinated squid, clams, mussels, etc. <li>white asparagus wrapped with salmon, olive oil and balsamic. <li>soft sheep cheese on bread, with a marinated chestnut. <li>eggplant with parmesan, pimento, olive tepanade, anchovy, olive oil and balsamic.</ul> The only thing I would recommend not getting is the seafood plate. It all comes out of tins, and it tastes that way. But everything else was delicious. <a href="http://www.restaurantelalocanda.com">La Locanda</a> (Carrer Dr. Joaquim Pou, 4). We wanted pizza, and the hotel recommended this place in the Barri Gotic. Good Italian-style pizzas. The menu has other basic Italian dishes, which I can't comment on. Bruce

Where is everybody? None of the Barcelona restaurants I've eaten at have been full. Not Gaig, not Hisop, not Abac, not Ot -- and they only have ten tables. I could have walked into any one of those restaurants without a reservation and had dinner. Is the restaurant scene in Barcelona hurting, or is everyone eating somewhere I don't know about? A couple of brief notes: Abac is a perfect restaurant, probably my favorite in Barcelona right now. Pinotxo in the Boqueria Market is a great place for breakfast or lunch. Order whatever they have cooking; it'll be good. Tapas at Quimet y Quimet is not to be missed. Again, order whatever they have cooking. Don't bother getting the mix seafood plate; it's all from tins and tastes that way. But everything else is delicious. (I may write this up further later.) Individual restaurant reviews are elsewhere in this forum. Bruce

Interesting. I had no idea I would get previous-year's dishes because I hadn't been there before. Look at Tamzen's report, above. It was her first time there, too. Did she get older dishes, too? (And everyone we saw in the room we were in got the melon caviar.)

Summary: Good but not great. Interesting but not amazing. To calibrate, I am well versed in this sort of meal. Food-science cooking is a favorite of mine. I've eaten at Trio/<a href="www.alinea-restaurant.com">Alinea,</a> <a href="http://restaurants.washingtoncitypaper.com/restaurant.php?rID=2253">Jose's Minibar,</a> <a href="http://www.motorestaurant.com">Moto,</a> <a href="http://www.fatduck.co.uk/">The Fat Duck,</a> and <a href="http://www.wd-50.com">WD-50,</a> most of them multiple times. I think of these dinners less as meals and more as rides, and I like the rides. I make foam at home, and dream of owning an <a href="http://www.kitchencontraptions.com/archives/004893.php">anti-griddle</a>. If anyone should enjoy an <a href="http://www.elbulli.com/">El Bulli</a> meal, it would be me. It wasn't a bad meal, but it wasn't a great meal. And if definitely wasn't a plan-a-European-vacation-around-the-reservation-you-luckily-snagged meal. Anyway,here are the details. (The names are from the ticket the server used to keep track of our meal.) I didn't take pictures, and didn't take detailed notes. Other people in <a href="http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=88797">this</a> eGullet thread have done that. I'll give you some quick impressions and be done. 1. <i>Gin-tonic de pepino.</i> A gin and tonic frozen tableside with liquid nitrogen, served with cucumber, lemon peel, and a cucumer blossom. Good. 2. <i>Aceiunas verdes sféricas.</i> Not an olive, but olive essence in a gelatinous sphere. Gelatinous spheres are the hot new thing at El Bulli, it seems. We got quite a few of them, in various forms. 3. <i>Hojas de mango y flor de tagete.</i> A sugar mango leaf. Mango was a flavor we saw a lot of during the meal. 4. <i>"Animals."</i> Rice/seaweed crunchies in the shape of sea animals. The sea was another theme of our dinner. 5. <i>Waffles de lechuga de mar y sésamo blanco.</i> Seaweed crackers. 6. <i>Yo garrapiñado: plátano con sésamo a la nuez moscad.</i> Pieces of freeze-dried banana, near as I could tell. 7. <i>Polvorones de nuez.</i> Two walnut disks. One with walnut oil, the other with walnut oil and pieces of walnut. Dry and gooey at the same time, oddly enough. 8. <i>Esencia de mandarina.</i> A little spoon of tangerine essence. 9. <i>Caviar sférico de melón.</i> Melon "caviar" with passion fruit. These were small gelatinous balls of melon that looked for all the world like caviar, served in a caviar tin. The passion fruit made a nice contrast in both taste and texture. 10. <i>Brioche thai.</i> A brioche-thingy with peanut sauce and lemongrass flavorings. Tasty. (Thai -- another recurring theme.) 11. <i>Croqueta liquida 2006.</i> Mushroom essence in a gelatinous ball with bread crumbs. 12. <i>Won-ton campestre.</i> The most complicated preparation. First, we each got a bowl of basil foam. Then, a burner was placed on the table. And finally, a soup pot with a Parmesan won ton floating in it. We scoop the won ton out of the soup, drop it in our foam, and then eat it. It tasted like the best Italian cooking you've ever eaten -- one of the best dishes of the night -- but wouldn't it be easier with less work? 13. <i>Pan queso.</i> The weirdest dish. We were each given a Styrofoam box. Inside was Parmesan air. A lot of it. We also got a small packet of dried fruit pieces. We were supposed to sprinkle the fruit on the air and then eat it. Honestly, this dish didn't work very well. And the wrapper that held the box closed was a "souvenir" picture of, well, sea foam. Get it? 14. <i>Pasas de PX y moscatel con foie gras de pato y broche.</i> A great dish. Two pieces of foie gras and eucalyptus foam with dots of different flavors: wine, cardamom, almond milk, more. 15. <i>Mejillones sferificados con avellana.</i> Mussels with hazelnut foam, and bits of citrus around the plate. Interesting to taste the mussels with the different citrus pieces. 16. <i>Crema de ave y trufa con trutos secos "tous" y perlas de....</i> Truffle soup with a bunch of accompaniments. I don't remember much about this dish. It was just okay. 17. <i>Banda de pomelo rosa.</i> Interesting dish. Grapefruit gel, powdered shrimp, something called "Thai powder," and something else, arranged like a layer cake. A dot of tomato essence we were told to eat at the end. Tasty. 18. <i>Raviolis de aceite.</i> Fascinating dish. Three raviolis filled with oil, tomatoes covered with balsamic vinegar infusion, tomato water with pralines. Delicious. 19. <i>Laurencia con mangostán.</i> Another great dish. Pieces of mangosteen with seaweed, almond, almong mike foam, and almond cream. 20. <i>Ackees/sopa de ternera a la albahaca, albondiga de pe....</i> Ham soup with akees (it's a fruit from Jamaica), a vinegared zuccini of some sort, and milk skin. Also tasty. 21. <i>El mar.</i> Fourteen different types of seaweed arranged in a spiral pattern on the plate, ending with a piece of watermelon and seaweed foam. I really liked tasting the different types of seaweed: some were better than others, but all were interesting. 22. <i>Buey de mar marrakech.</i> Spider-crab Marrakesh-style. With couscous. 23. <i>Pechuga de codorniz teriyaki con mentaiko.</i> A piece of boneless quail with black sesame "couscous," a gelatinous ball of sauce we were to cut open, and some other stuff. Delicious. 24. <i>La oveja, el queso y su lana.</i> Sheep cheese with cotton candy -- why didn't I ever think of that? And cherry jelée. 25. <i>Liquie de melocotón.</i> A frozen ball with peach liquer, and then a spoon of peach essence. 26. <i>Cáscara de huevo.</i> I like desserts that look like one thing but are really another. This was an "egg," with a mango yolk and coconut foam as the white. It was served in a shell that looked like tableware but was really a frozen shell of coconut. Spiced bread crumbs, too. We also got a frozen "waffle" made with mango and pepper. And then a bit of a Galician lemon cake. And finally, two chocolate leaves. These were served in a potted coriander plant. The plant was real, but the dirt was made from chocolate crumbles. And we were done. We sat down at about 8:45, and had a good view of another table -- eight people -- that sat down at 10:00. They didn't get exactly the same menu we did. They got things that we didn't, and we got things that they didn't. (I peeked at their card, and they also got 26 dishes.) So not only does the menu change over the season, it changes over different tables on the same night. This wasn't a bad meal by any stretch of the imagination. I enjoyed myself very much. Some of the dishes were outstanding, and I liked the way the same themes popped up again and again in different dishes. And it was a fun meal; the restaurant is far more informal than I expected and everyone seems to be having fun. I wish there wasn't such a language barrier -- sometimes the English explanations were very hard to understand. But it wasn't a great meal. It was the only food-science meal I have ever had where I said near the end: "The problem with this meal is that there isn't enough actual food." And there wasn't. We didn't get a pizza when we returned to Roses and our hotel, but we thought about it. I'm glad I went to El Bulli, and I would definitely return. But if were going to plan a vacation around a dinner reservation, I would choose The Fat Duck or Alinea or Jose's Minibar first. Bruce

Dinner tonight at <a href=http://www.hisop.com>Hisop</a>. "Contemporary Catalan cuisine" is their motto. And it was an interesting tasting menu. <i>Amuse bouche</i> #1: Asparagus soup with a soft-boiled quail egg and caviar. Tasty. <i>Amuse bouche</i> #2: Tuna, cucumber soup, balsamic vinegar jelée, alfalfa sprouts. Better than it sounds. Course #1: "Baby squid with fried egg and truffle." The egg was served three ways: a sauce made from the yolk, fried white on top of the squid, and crunchy very-fried white sprinkled on top of that. It was a <i>real</i> interesting dish. I liked the crunch. Course #2: "Hake with herbs and black pudding." The black pudding was a sausage; probably blood sausage. There was also olive, and sun-dried tomato. Okay. Course #3: Lamb with morels and curd. The curd was some kind of goat cheese thingy, completely forgettable but fortunately unobtrusive. The lamb was cooked well, and the morels were tasty. There was a lamb sauce and a mushroom sauce. It was a good dish, but pretty regular. Pre-Dessert: a mojito with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caipirinha">caipirinha</a> sorbet. Tasty. Dessert: "Roses and chocolate." Flourless chocolate cake, cacao sorbet with rose syrup, balsamic flavor somewhere, and strawberries. The rose flavor was completely lost, but who can complain about this kind of chocolate? Spare room, but pretty. Mediocre service. The kitchen rushed everyone -- not just us -- and the two servers were harried the entire night. And people still smoke in that small dining room. Not too much food, though. I really appreciated that. Bruce

This is our menu from last night, copied from the ticket. (I really hope to write a more comprehensive post soon.) 1. <i>Gin-tonic de pepino.</i> 2. <i>Aceiunas verdes sféricas.</i> 3. <i>Hojas de mango y flor de tagete.</i> 4. <i>"Animals."</i> 5. <i>Waffles de lechuga de mar y sésamo blanco.</i> 6. <i>Yo garrapiñado: plátano con sésamo a la nuez moscad.</i> 7. <i>Polvorones de nuez.</i> 8. <i>Esencia de mandarina.</i> 9. <i>Caviar sférico de melón.</i> 10. <i>Brioche thai.</i> 11. <i>Croqueta liquida 2006.</i> 12. <i>Won-ton campestre.</i> 13. <i>Pan queso.</i> 14. <i>Pasas de PX y moscatel con foie gras de pato y broche.</i> 15. <i>Mejillones dferificados con avellana.</i> 16. <i>Crema de ave y trufa con trutos secos "tous" y perlas de....</i> 17. <i>Banda de pomelo rosa.</i> 18. <i>Raviolis de aceite.</i> 19. <i>Laurencia con mangostán.</i> 20. <i>Ackees/sopa de ternera a la albahaca, albondiga de pe....</i> 21. <i>El mar.</i> 22. <i>Buey de mar marrakech.</i> 23. <i>Pechuga de codorniz teriyaki con mentaiko.</i> 24. <i>La oveja, el queso y su lana.</i> 25. <i>Liquie de melocotón.</i> 26. <i>Cáscara de huevo.</i>

I can't think of a single do or don't. Just be friendly and polite. It's a suprisingly laid back restaurant.

Excellent meal at Midsummer House, in Cambridge. The restaurant recently received its second Michelin star, and it deserves it. Pretty room, professional and friendly service, beautifully presented -- and delicious -- food. A very good wine list which I initially thought well-priced, and then I remembered that the prices were listed in pounds and not dollars. Amuse: pink grapefruit and champagne foam, very tart. Second amuse: pea soup with prawns, seaweed, and seawater jellée. Delicious. Four first courses: Papilotte of pigeon, with fig puree, a cabbage roll, truffle jus, shaved black truffle. The cabbage roll was a slice of black truffle around fois gras marinated in Armignac around chicken and mushroom duxelles around Savoy cabbage. Amazingly delicious. Pork belly and ham hock ravioli, sweet corn puree, sun dried tomatoes, sauteed pineapple, pineapple, caramel, and pineapple coulis. It was amazing the way the tomatoes set off the rest of this dish. Smoked eel salad with crispy pigs trotter, raw foie gras, Braeburn apple puree, and wild cress. Very good. Seared scallops with cerleriac and truffle puree, granny smith, apple caramel, and apple jellée. Also delicious. Three main courses: Beef filet, shallot marmalade, celeriac puree, foie gras bonbon, and port essence. Delicious. Pork cooked in hay, English asparagus, sauteed morels, purred broccoli, sorrel, and baby leeks. This was a light and tasty dish. The hay taste was subtle, and only apparent if you ate the pork alone. Lamb end with mushroom couscous, tomato confit, broccoli puree, and lamb juice. Dish of the night. There were fish options on the menu, but no one at the table ordered them. Cheese course: too many to mention. First dessert: sort of cheese cake, only more liquidy. Cheese foam, graham cracker dust, strawberry pieces, and some strawberry soup in a hollowed-out strawberry half. Very good. Dessert: Passion fruit and mango delice, spearmint ice cream, tea jelly, lavender honey, crystallized mint. Biscuit glacé of peanut, banana sorbet, chocolate sauce, banana marshmallows. Cannelloni of apricot, strawberry sorbet, fraise des bois, crystallized mint. Organic lemon tart, lemon jelly, lemon sorbet, lemon meringue, lemon soup. Roasted pineapple, coconut mousse, pineapple sorbet, pineapple jelly. Apple tart tatin, garlic and bay leaf foam, vanilla ice cream. We ordered three courses each, and got two extras from the kitchen. I couldn't tell if they do that for everyone, or if we were being treated special because we ordered nice wines and appreciated the food. In any case, we certainly did appreciate the food. Wines (more for reference than anything else): 04 Pierre Gaillard St. Joseph 04 Domaine Viret "Le Coulee d'Or" Cotes du Rhone 02 Eric Saurel "Clos Montirius" Vacqueyras I already said that the plates were beautiful, but it's worth saying again. Definitely the best restaurant in Cambridge. Bruce

Based on the recommendation above, I had lunch at Salkhino. It isn't easy to find, but it's worth seeking out. (With apologies to the Slavic-literate readers, the name of the restaurant looks more like "Yakanyru.") The menu is in both Russian and English. I started with khachapuri, hot flat bread stuffed with cheese. Then I had a mutton soup with greens, rice, and tomato -- seasoned with dill, parsley, and other things -- called kharcho. And for my main course I had mutton stew with dill, tarragon, onion, bay, pomegranate seeds, and a sauce which tasted somewhat like cranberry; it's called chakapuli. Oddly, that was one of the few dishes not translated into English on the menu; that kind of thing always makes me wonder what they're hiding -- and then want to order it to find out. Everything was tasty, and the whole meal cost 700 rubles. I had plans to visit some other St. Petersburg restaurants, including one with bear on the menu, but they didn't come to fruition. (I didn't get to the Hermitage either.) Bruce

I was taken there by locals, which probably improved the food and certainly improved the service. Bruce

For fine dining, the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton trumps everything else in San Francisco. This is my latest post about it.

Absolutely fabulous dinner at The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco last month. Perfect food, perfect service, beautiful room. I'll start with the menu I didn't order, just because the idea is so brilliant that I can barely sit still: Salt and Pepper Tasting Menu: Course 1. Kauaí sea salt & pink peppercorns: Dungeness crab claw, spot prawn sashimi, watermelon radish, rice vinegar. Course 2. Tahitian vanilla sea salt & Muntock white pepper: seared toro, beech mushrooms, mirin reduction. Course 3. Fleur de sel & long pepper: foie gras medallion, huckleberries, apple reduction, tonka bean essence. Course 4. Sea salt smoked over welsh oak & espelette pepper: Maine lobster, pork belly, clam broth. Course 5. Maldon sea salt & pondicherry peppercorns: Sonoma duck breast, satsuma mandarins, napa cabbage. Course 6. Bolivian rock salt & Schezuan peppercorns: dry aged beef rib eye, abalone mushrooms, potato gnocchi. Course 7. Cinnamon sea salt & green peppercorns: blood orange sorbet, champagne gelee. Course 8. Citrus fleur de sel & Tasmanian pepper: strawberry consomme, vanilla ice cream, tapioca pearls, lime chiboust. That's right: each dish with a different salt and a different pepper. I so want to do that. Instead, we ordered the Nine Course Tasting Menu. Each course was actually two different courses, one for the males at the table and the other for the females. (I've seen this before; it's a clever idea.) Nine Course Tasting Menu: Course 1: White asparagus veloute: golden osetra caviar, leeks, miyago oysters. Or squab consomme: bone marrow, wood ear mushrooms. Course 2: Sashimi of live spot prawns: wasabi, Japanese sea salts, lemon juice, sauteed heads, yuzu gelle. Or big fin squid noodles: scallions, wood ear mushrooms, squid ink gelee, ponzu essence. Course 3: Halibut: golden osetra caviar, carrots, asparagus, lemon fumet. Or sea bass: crab ravioli, artichokes, leeks, coconut ditrus reduction. Course 4: Maine lobster: pork belly, daikon, sweet onion, mushrooms, sweet and sour sauce. Or Maine lobster: English peas, lobster carrot broth. Course 5: Hot foie gras: spicy pickled huckelberries, crouton, apple juice infused with black pepper. Or chilled foie gras: fuzzy green almonds, goji berries, pinot gris gelee, ginger rhubarb foam, Mexican vanilla salt, mache, grilled bread. Course 6: Quail: chanterelle mushrooms, rhubarb, Swiss chard, natural reduction. Or poularde: turnips, red wine braised oxtail. Course 7: Lamb: gnocchi, abalone mushrooms, thyme infused lamb jus. Beef tenderloin: baby artichokes, Swiss chard, green garlic, Italian butter beans, bordelaise. Course 8: Lychee sorbet: Hibiscus gelee. Or strawberry-rhubarb sorbet: citrus segments. Course 9: Chocolate manjari caramel cake: almond, hazelnut foam, teccino Amaretto ice cream, hazelnut dentelle, maldon salt. Or cardadamom panna cotta: pineapple soup, carrot ice cream. Wines: 2003 Sylvaner Reserve, Domaine Weimbach, Alsace. 2003 Peay Vineyards, Roussanne/Marsanne, Sonoma Coast. 2000 Kiralyudvar, cuvee Ilona, Tokaji. 2002 Lancaster Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley. 2005 Brachetto d'Acqui, Luigi Coppo, Piedmont. I was busy enjoying the company, so I didn't take any real notes. Everything was delicious. There were no clunkers. Pretty much a perfect meal.

Kurt Scheller's (Rialto Hotel, Ul. Wilcza 73; 22 584 87 00). This is probably the most talked about restaurant in Poland. Kurt Scheller is Swiss, and serves what Michelin calls "a modern slant on traditional Polish cooking. Unfortunately, I lost my notes. And I spent long enough hoping they would turn up that I can't bring enough details to memory. Good food, good service. Not unreasonably priced at all. I remember that much. Kurt Scheller's doesn't have a Michelin star, but I think it deserves a single.

I miss Big Daddy. Where are these "outdoor grills/BBQs"?