Dryden
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Posts posted by Dryden
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The Lo-Batali battle looked to be pretty much a tossup. Of course, Dana Cowin was on the panel, and it was her magazine that named Anita one of the best new chefs a few years back... and one of Lo's sous chefs had a bright pink "F&W" hat on...
But the Cora-Lee thing was just a joke. There is no way on earth she "won". Interesting that she only won by a point, against a chef with a more secure job (and less of a reputation to protect) than most others.
Robert, I'd be very interested to know what your son-in-law thinks of the whole thing.
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I'm not going to be impressed by lobster cooked in butter, that's a standard dish
To the best of my knowledge, Thomas Keller is generally credited with the person who invented this dish, so while it may be standard by now, he has a right to be serving it. Joel Robuchon can still make his mashed potatoes, although others may be doing it as well, and Jean Georges can make his flourless chocolate cake.
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For the floppy eared chicken, is rabbit really such a menu oddity in New York at this point?
As for elk, I had it a couple of years ago down in Dallas - it's extremely lean like bison, with a flavor that's kind of a cross between bison and venison, but not quite as flavorful as either. Of course, in a carpaccio, I would imagine this flavor is greatly magnified.
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Honmura An unquestionably (in my mind, at least) makes the best soba noodles in New York - they also make fresh udon, which I haven't tried, but I would guess the quality is similarly excellent.
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I think it comes down to the fact that there's no accounting for taste, in certain cases. Having been to Per Se twice in the past year, some of Todd's comments clearly represent a matter of personal preference - both my wife and I have found the butters to be particularly exceptional, and the best we've had not in France. "Oysters with caviar in a rich sauce" I assume is Keller's signature oysters and pearls, in a sabayon tapioca. I find this dish to be mind-blowingly amazing every time I eat at (both at Per Se and at FL). But different folks expect different things out of their food, and when a restaurant reaches the heights Keller's do, there's just no pleasing some people.
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Isn't MSG the main ingredient in Accent flavor enhancer?
It's the only ingredient. We use it in one dish we make - a chinese-style ginger and scallion sauce that actually makes anything taste good, but goes especially well with milder fishes and chicken. It just doesn't taste right without the MSG.
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Personal opinion only
We have found the following to be direly over rated based on our vistis
Union Square
Le Bernardin
P Luger
Daniel [over and over and over!]
Gotham
Shakey recently [not originally]
Aureole
Jean George [used to be exciting...no longer]
Don't see the enthusiasm for
Veritas
Gotham
equivocal on Gramercy
No longer find these A"wow!!!"
So, other than Per Se and ADNY... What's left?
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At the risk of turning this into yet another Luger's based flamewar, (you mean it isn't already?) it seems that there are 4 reasons people frequently state for disliking Luger's.
1. Other than the steak, pretty much everything else stinks.
2. My meat didn't come at the doneness I wanted it (and I didn't mention it to the waiter, who should have been psychic)
3. I have had what I feel is a better steak somewhere else at some point in time.
4. I have been to Luger's several times, I have been to other steakhouses, I do not feel what Luger's is doing is up to snuff.
#4 is valid. The other 3 are not. If I go to a sushi joint and complain that their pasta is disappointing, this is my fault, not the restaurant's. Luger's is just about the steak. If you go expecting something else, that is your fault, not theirs. If your meat isn't cooked the way you want it, send it back - doneness and personal preference are not an exact science. No one claims every Luger's steak is the best steak on earth - other places may hit equally high notes. The difference is in frequency - basically every steak at Luger's is at an amazingly high level, other places will reach that level of achievement with much less frequency, if ever.
Faulting a restaurant for one's own preferences, especially for something as simply prepared as steak - it has no sauce to hide behind - is to fault them for one's own foibles.
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We have a couple of the stoneware baking dishes, and they are the greatest thing since air. If by "oven use only", you mean "as opposed to cooktop" that would be correct. But you can of course microwave it, freeze it, etc.
They make great serving pieces as well, as the "serveware" name would indicate.
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My .02: Sweat is a stop on the road to saute. If you saute them, they are fully cooked when done. If you sweat them, until they have released their juices, they are not yet fully cooked, but are ready to be added to other ingredients to finish their cooking process.
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Shake Shack has a website now (I don't think they had one last year). According to www.shakeshacknyc.com the opening date is April 1st!!
Am I the only one who is excited about this? DH and I have commented several times this winter that we can't wait to have a Shack burger again!
Yeah, right - like we're supposed to believe a date like that... :-)
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With regard to Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, I've always found their flavors very interesting, but their actual ice cream quality isn't on a par with most of the other "top tier" places. Of course, if you want durian flavor, it is pretty much the only game in town.
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We usually get the to-go version, actually, since we live in New York, but we did make a special trip down to Philly to try it from the source. I think philadining pretty much hit it on the head - the great flavors are the best I've ever had, the other flavors are great from a technical standpoint, it's just that some of the combinations aren't to everyone's liking.
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While I love the ice cream at Laboratorio, I would argue that the best ice cream that can be had in New York is not made in New York at all - Capogiro Gelato, out of Philadelphia, available at Garden of Eden, is the best ice cream I've ever eaten, bar none. It's very pricey (about $10 a pint) but has more flavor packed into it than anything I've ever eaten. And their flavors are simply incredible.
Check out the website: http://www.capogirogelato.com
I've eaten at Capogiro's shop in Philly and was not blown away. It was good, but I thought many of the flavors missed their marks and were too sweet. But that was a while ago; I should try it again.
How do you all feel about take-out containers of good gelato? I once bought a container of Il Lab's gelato and stored it in my fridge. I don't recommend it. I'm almost positive that my fridge is to blame, but either way, the texture suffered a lot. Haagen Dazs ice cream fares much better, though both are made without preservatives or gums.
We've found that their flavors are very true to their original ingredients - so much so that in some cases, it may not be the flavor that you're really expecting (their pumpkin is especially true in this case - it is a true pumpkin ice cream, without the pumpkin pie spices you usually come across). But try one bite of something like the coconut and it'll totally blow your mind.
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While I love the ice cream at Laboratorio, I would argue that the best ice cream that can be had in New York is not made in New York at all - Capogiro Gelato, out of Philadelphia, available at Garden of Eden, is the best ice cream I've ever eaten, bar none. It's very pricey (about $10 a pint) but has more flavor packed into it than anything I've ever eaten. And their flavors are simply incredible.
Check out the website: http://www.capogirogelato.com
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Thanks for the information!
You folks rule...
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The wife and I are traveling to this wonderful part of the world for the 1st 3 weeks of February, and were wondering if there are any good food markets or similar sorts of places which we should be sure not to miss. For what it's worth, we'll be visiting Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns, Auckland, Queenstown and Christchurch.
Any help would be appreciated!
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Made the Roasted Beet and Mache salad for a dinner party a couple weeks ago. Highly reccomend it, and I don't like beets. The Walnut Vinaigrette was excellent.
We did this as well - raves all around.
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Sorry, I meant all of the Doughnut Plant doughnuts start out more or less round. Next we'll be back on the squagel discussion... ;-)
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For what it's worth, I don't think the jelly ones are meant to be square - they tend to get kind of squished and squared off. They all start out more or less round.
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It's about the only place we know to get dark meat ground chicken, which is nice for some things - they sell packages of nothing but ground up chicken feet. Yummy!
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Yeah, but how can you ever tell what the parts that you're looking at? My wife and I go with her father (he's Cantonese) and half the time he can't get a straight answer about what a given cut of meat is...
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Have you ever tried a doughnut plant donut? They are really, really good - their pistachio is easily the best flavor I've ever had. Mark Isreal puts together flavors that just don't come from other places, with great, fresh ingredients - why isn't that worth $2? You don't have to pay that for them to be good, but if people are willing to pay that, what's your problem?
Don't eat them, more for the rest of us.
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Made my first tarte tatin 2 weeks ago, straight from Keller's Bouchon cookbook. Having never had one before, wasn't too sure what to expect, but based on the commentary here, I'm glad I left it cooking for what seemed like a little bit TOO long - the slightly bitter caramel added a great touch. Curious to know what others think of the recipe. Also made for a nice breakfast danish-y snack the next day for leftovers.
Shake Shack
in New York: Dining
Posted
The shack is indeed open. The lines are brutal, the burgers are still amazing, and the prices have been changed to round off nicely with tax.
Finally, I can eat burgers again...