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I thought about that, too. It's not a perfect analogy. What I meant was, 1. Presumably a chef *is* a composer when creating the menu but moves into performance when cooking him/herself or overseeing others who are cooking; and 2. Every performance is unique and has variations, some intentional, some unintentional. I'm not sure why I care so much about this distinction. Eh. But a restaurant is a business enterprise. As are publishing houses and theaters. A commercially successful artist has to negotiate her way through the marketplace if she wants her material to reach a wider audience and earn some cash. But there's always the choice of staying out of the marketplace and just doing what you love to do, whether it's writing, singing, or cooking. What I have not heard from any of the chefs who espouse Their Way Or The Highway aka The Vision Thing was whether they would choose cooking without customers and the potential to make money.

Not to be off-topic but this whole chef/artist thing only works for me up to a point. I write fiction and my friend sings opera. I think if chefs are indeed artists they are closer to being performers than composers because their work is all about interpreting compositions (menu items) for audiences. And my friend can tell you that being able to handle rejection is a huge part of a performer's job, as is pleasing the audience, some of whom (many?) are going to be less sophisticated than you feel a proper appreciation of your art requires and deserves. Art is great but craft, being able to execute something perfectly over and over, and explain how to replicate it, so you can eat it AGAIN as many times as you want, or sell -- what's not to like?

I mentioned this on another thread a couple of months ago -- it seemed kind of stuffy when I was there on the last two visits, and while the food was tasty, it didn't thrill, esp for the price. It made me sad because previous visits had me loving it. If it's a beautiful, sunny day and you want to sit outside, it might be a decent choice. If you have to sit inside, I'd definitely go elsewhere.

I've had one great, one good, one annoying lunch at Zuni; and two luxurious lunches at Boulevard. I like the food at LuLu's but it's a chilly space and uncomfortable seating (just my opinion). Anybody tried Jeanty at Jack's? I almost went once for lunch but it got cancelled last minute. Two others, Grand Cafe and Scala's, were fun and I thought the food was good at both. Not FL-league of course but no shame in that. Oh, and if desserts are really important to you, Citizen Cake might be good.

Please count me and a guest in. Thanks!

A friend just had a birthday and we arranged for a special dinner that focused on his favorite things. Below is the menu we had. We also had wine pairings but we didn't think to write down any names so all I can share is the most basic information. It was really easy to plan this. You read so much about chefs and their burgeoning empires, blah blah, but then there are the ones who are in their restaurants and, I assume, still cooking on a regular basis. I'd been talking with their reservations person but she wasn't there at one point so they just handed the phone to Chef Passot who wanted to know about allergies, preferences, etc. He said he'd be making decisions based on that morning's market. We weren't some big party -- just 3 people on a Thursday night. Nice man, good staff overall. We had a blast. Others have said this but it bears repeating -- the portions are huge. The seared foie gras was not some tasting-size piece. I ate perhaps half of several courses, making my friends who polished them off very happy indeed. The service did seem a little different. Nothing was done incorrectly but the timing seemed off somehow. Usually I don't "notice" the service there but it felt as if there might be an unusually high number of new servers or something. Amuse Bouche: Cauliflower Mousse and Scallops Lobster Sausage Not much to say about this one -- it was cauliflowery and scallopy. ~~~~~~ Lollypops and Foie Gras Soup (a dry, minerally Sauvignon Blanc) This was the quail stuffed with foie gras, served with a wild mushroom reduction and a teeny leek "canneloni" filled with minced wild mushrooms. The soup was a buttery foie gras foam with a miniature ravioli filled with scallop. The wine pairing got a big thumb's up from my friends but it was a head-scratcher for me. Just didn't suit my palate at all. ~~~~~~ Dungeness Crab Napoleon Layered with Crispy Pineapple Chips on Apple Gelée (a pleasantly acidic Chardonnay) This was a big hit with the birthday boy, who loves crab and pineapple. It was refreshing, fairly sweet, and the wine served that sweetness well without adding to it. A crisp, crunchy contrasting dish to the one preceding it. ~~~~~~ Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras with Poached Quince Star Anise Muscat Broth (a fortified Grenache, the most interesting of the evening, not cloying in any way) This was a stunning dish and not just because it was more foie gras, which it was, and perfectly cooked, too, with a sprinkle of coarse salt on top. No, what got you was that it ought to have been way too sweet and heavy but it wasn't. And also, we'd never had a poached quince. It's a lovely fruit, like a tart pear. ~~~~~~ Atlantic Cod on a Brussels Sprouts Bacon Ragout, Roasted Butterball Potato, Chanterelles Sauce (a white Burgundy, my favorite of the evening) Somehow, it's the fish at this place that gets me. I grew up thinking I didn't really like fish. Well, I do. When it's roasted and served with chanterelle sauce, I do. Just not a Long John Silver girl. I won't even discuss the fact that I enjoyed the Brussels sprouts. But I think we all like our baby carrots wrapped in bacon, right? ~~~~~~ Seared Liberty Farm Duck Breast with Root Vegetables, Spiced Red Wine Sauce (a mellow Merlot) Here's what happened: I originally asked for a 6-course meal but later realized the insanity of it and switched to the only-slightly-less-insane 5 courses. I failed to ask that we synchronize our menus and you see what happens. A duck breast is revealed under the domed lid where you thought dessert would be lurking. And duck desserts only exist on Iron Chef America. It was tasty, though. I don't see what the big hoo-ha is against merlot. Of course some of it sucks. Some cabernet -- actually a lot of cabernet -- sucks. We drank the damn merlot with the damn duck and it was damn good. ~~~~~~ Grand Marnier Soufflé They SWORE they couldn't do souffles. Then they carry them out and Chef Passot comes out and I'm all, "You said you couldn't do it," and he's all, "I lied." I tell you, the things we put up with. So, it's Chuck E. Cheese next year for the birthday boy, who's still whining he wants more foie gras. Yeah, and I want chanterelle sauce on my tater tots, kid. Good times! PS I should also mention that the restaurant sent him a printed menu that he's going to frame and hang in his kitchen. Such a fine line between inspiration and torment....

I felt like what Patterson was actually writing about was the problem of professionals becoming bored with their work. What I consider innovative might well be passe to the person in the kitchen. As far as I recall, he didn't quote anyone in the article who wasn't a professional. What we've got around here are chefs who can jolt us into thinking, "THIS is what X tastes like!" That's what CP excels at -- I remember the pumpkin risotto with quince and the bay scallops with pancetta and Meyer lemon vinaigrette from 7 years ago because they shocked me. Not with their preparation, plating, or choice of ingredient, though all of those were done with precision. It was because they provoked a realization that THAT was what a bay scallop tasted like, etc. About a month ago, I was there for a menu called A Celebration of Provence. Pissalidiere, vegetable soup with pistou and garlicky lamb aren't the newest things on the planet. I don't know if the kitchen staff was bored with caramelizing leeks and grilling lamb. I wasn't bored or dissatisfied. There was a salad that came with the pissaladiere; I'm still craving the hard-boiled egg with ailioi (sp) that arrived with it. Don't know why. It just tasted more like itself, and it was wonderful. The intensity of the flavor was very much a surprise but it was familiar at the same time. I was glad to see so many people love the same restaurants I do -- Clementine being one notable example. The other two I always have great meals at are Chow and Park Chow. I was reluctant to mention them before because the focus was so much on high-end places. But I don't care -- that they turn out such high quality food in a casual environment just makes it less expensive and more people can enjoy it. Still working on the La Folie meal we enjoyed -- it was 6 courses w/ wine pairings and we're trying to remember!

Right on, about growing rice in the CA desert. When I worked for Cal PIRG briefly in the 90s, I learned agribusinesses had 100-year water leases that assured them water at something like $3/sq foot of water, versus the $80-90 small farmers had to pay. While ordinary folks were being admonished for making the drought worse, with all of our selfish flushing. Robyn, I want you to know that, because dining at La Folie is not as enjoyable for you as it might be, I am going to pick up the burden of doing so. Tonight. For my friend's birthday. That will be a special menu and wine pairings created for us. That's just the kind of person I am. And I'm betting there'll be a foam of some sort involved.

I think the clue as to why the “California” style dominates is in the article but I didn’t quite put the pieces together until now. It’s the absence of an alternative that’s expressed as coherently as the model causing so much frustration. If that’s going to change – and, hey, bring it on – chefs will have to articulate their alternative vision and philosophy, and how it’s expressed through what they put on the plates. Although Thomas Keller’s and Alice Waters’ styles are about as divergent as you get, their approaches have a common quality of clarity. For that matter, so was Roxanne Klein’s in regard to raw food, which was assuredly innovative. I would be keen on hearing Patterson clarify and expand on his vision. If he, or other chefs, can’t do that, then I don’t see how Bay Area food culture can be expected to evolve. Hey, I got no beef with foam (Homer Simpson: “Beef foam….aaaaagh). As such. But I expect it to appear on the Olive Garden menu any day now. Oh, wait, it does! Don’t they use Redi-Whip?

I hope you will understand that I don't question your right to have an opinion or to explore the opinions of others. My criticism remains that it's a first-person piece; it was not written as an objective analysis as I take your word "reportage" to mean. It still lacks an essential element -- what the writer, who has told us he is a chef about to open a new restaurant -- will himself do given the situation he describes. How will he meet this challenge? Of course there is no conclusion about the macro issues that are raised. These are beyond the scope of any article, another 1,000 words or no! The author does a pretty good job of describing Alice Waters' passion, despite his somewhat wry attitude towards it. But to finish the piece, he needed to supply his own answering passion. A description of his friend's recipe doesn't do it. I'm frankly lost on the whole egalitarian issue raised. (BTW, CA is a blue state. And plenty of us have contact contact with those who do not share individual political views.) I work for a SF employment law non-profit and the restaurant industry is rife with sexual harassment, discrimination, wage/hour violations...they're businesses, some wonderful to work for, some not. I respect CP and other businesses like it because they have integrated ethical principles and business practices. Not perfectly. But better than many. And I have to really question the assertion that there's little difference between CP cooking and good home cooking. I ate at CP a few weeks ago. My mother's a fantastic cook but it ain't anything like CP. They have plenty of technique. I think we can all agree that what CP lacks -- profoundly, utterly lacks -- is the now prerequisite usage of foam. Tsk, CP, tsk.

There were so many issues raised in this one short article I find it difficult to put my finger on what's amiss. I was confused about egalitarianism. Surely Patterson can grasp that any restaurant that's flourished for over 35 years will have evolved beyond the founder's original vision. And as for it's range of influence, it extends far beyond the Bay Area. I'm not sure it's true that Chez Panisse assimilated into the mainstream because it played a critical role in redefining the mainstream. So are La Folie, Aquerello, Fifth Floor, Cortez, and Gary Danko offering "comfortable home cooking with no particular point of view? Cause, man, those are homes I want to live in. ...I've read the piece several times. Patterson opens the article by saying he's a chef, about to open a new place. Fine. This piece is part marketing. Got it. Intrigue me. There were interesting observations, other people's opinions, historical background, some inside dope, and...that's it. He raised issues in connection with other people's work but didn't explain how he's going to deal with those issues. He doesn't tell me how he's going to do it different/better, so the piece is fundamentally coy and therefore unsatisfying. It doesn't leave me with a favorable impression, which is a shame.

Rachael Ray's a treasure trove of snark-worthy material ("Yummo!", "Delish!", "EVOO,") but she doesn't pimp brand names like Sandra Lee does. Actually, I think the only product Rachael Ray promotes is...herself. Unless I miss my guess, that's called branding. Not too shabby for a "girl," as she is still frequently called. And I haven't seen too much difference between much of the food she cooks up than, say, Dave Lieberman. (OhmygodIjuststuckupforRachaelRayIdon'tknowwhoIamanymoreI'minadarkdarkplaceandallIcanseearesammiesandstoupmommy.....)

Ramsay, Dowd and the Times all seem to know different types of young women than I do. If you'd like to check out http://www.feministing.com/, scroll down and see the collected critiques of Dowd's piece, namely its lack of data. For even more fun, check out feministing's reaction to The Man Himself, http://feministing.com/archives/002173.html And for all of you who thrilled to my Bureau of Labor Statistics data in an earlier post regarding the wage gap between male/female head cooks, on Friday the Senate passed an amendment that would require the BLS to continue gathering data on female workers. Simmer down, people. Data collection's exciting but don't embarrass yourselves.

It wouldn't just be hypocritical; it would be blindingly stupid. If you ever meet a woman who takes that position, you might want to address it with her. ← Sorrry, this may be too off topic, but Maureen Dowd just had a long column in NYT Magazine about this very question (at least as I interpretit). Apparently, youngish women in NYC not only permit men to pay for their meals, they EXPECT it. Oy, I have the vapors. The phrase "girl money" makes me gag. Read if you wish, free registration may be required. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/30/magazine...inism.html?8dpc

Yes, you understood correctly. We stayed because my friend was using a gift certificate. It was a weeknight but extremely busy. I will say this -- their host staff are genuinely nice. It didn't make us happy but at least they seemed sorry about it. PS Thanks, Carlsbad.

Lesfen, you just may be the new Martha. "Baked squash," heh. Now quit bogarting the butternut.

I'm a judgemental person. There's not a much more I can say there that pertains to this topic, so I'll leave it at that. I refuse to eat Safeway cakes. ← Oh dearie dear. No less a Big Hungry Boy than Calvin Trillin has enjoyed Kraft dinner. There's a very funny story he tells about having a craving for it after not tasting it for years. His wife, Alice, buys the old Blue Box and, after he stops her from grating fresh parm on it, consumes said product. Yet, it doesn't satisfy. It is only on the following day that discovers his real craving was for day-old Kraft dinner. I myself have a taste Pepperidge Farm frozen turnovers. (Not when they're frozen, silly.) It doesn't stop me from appreciating non-PF turnovers. Any woman, or man, who can cook, i.e., make "real" turnovers, is welcome to prevent me from consuming PF turnovers by mailing me a supply of their superior product. Raspberry is my favorite kind. Thank you. The thing about the Safeway cake reminded me of the thin line between discerning taste and rudeness. Granted, you're not obligated to accept every piece of food that's offered, but if a friend's birthday celebration had such a cake, of course I'd eat some. I'd turn it down if diabetes were an issue but that's different.

That's just it, IMO. I'm 40, my mom is mid-60's; some of the previous posters are a generation in back of me. All 3 generations have their own interpretations of what a "real cook" is. (There's certainly broad inter-generational variance as well, but that's another conversation.) My mother considers herself a real cook; she prepared nearly all of our family's meals herself until I was 12, and she had to start working as a school-teacher. My father did/does cook, but although he taught me how to caramelize onions, he never took responsibility for cooking our meals. I was happy to begin cooking our dinners when my mother needed help. What was my first menu? It was porkchops brushed with Kraft Catalina dressing and broiled; frozen french fries; and Birds-Eye frozen petit-poi peas. I was proud to get it all on the table hot. And you bet your sweet ass I was a real cook, even if I was using ingredients that would make an eG'er swoon, and not in a good way. My pork chops weren't dry, I'd salted the cooking water and used a lot of butter on the peas, and the fries were...okay they were just fries but they were up to my family's usual exacting standards. Okay, my point. My mother says that by the standards of her mother, a farm-woman, she's not a real cook. It's not painful to her, just recognition that she's not dressing the chicken she roasts, canning fruit, or any number of cooking tasks that were ordinary to her mother. My mother, in contrast to me, bakes much better and more from scratch, and has a doctorate in gravy we should all envy. I, compared to many contemporaries of both genders, would appear to know more at times. But you know what? Actually get us in a kitchen together and they so often wipe the floor with me on technique. I have a history of being "the cook," and they don't. It's self perception more often than not. And women, esp young women, still seem especially prone to down-playing their expertise and knowledge. The word that still sticks out to me in, "Women can't cook," is "women." Even if it's true -- which I don't buy -- I think we notice so many men cooking because men cooking is still men playing against type. That we notice it so much is a factor that only emphasizes the cheap sexism of the claim.

And another thing: Women are still earning less than men as head cooks/chefs in the US. According to the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics 2004 numbers, only 18.9 percent of chefs/head cooks were women. (http://www.bls.gov/cps/wlf-table11-2005.pdf) Their pay, moreover, was only 79 cents for every dollar their male counterparts earned. (http://www.bls.gov/cps/wlf-table18-2005.pdf) (And I think we all know how home cooks are "compensated.") Anybody who seriously wants women in the kitchen should be getting together with all of us RADICAL FEMINISTS to close the wage gap. "Equality -- it's what's for dinner!"

It's mostly perception, in my opinion. I know several women who insist they "can't cook." Actually, they cook very well. Good, home-made stews and soups mostly. But our increasingly sophisticated food media -- which has spawned a newish species, the chef celebrity -- does raise the bar on what even "real simple" means. I'm baffled though as to why women need to know how to cook any more/less than men. Everybody's working longer hours now, but women still carry a disproportionate burden of childcare and household responsibilities. If Ramsay wants more young women to cook, he'd best do a follow-up interview announcing how men can't do laundry. "That load of whites looks like a dog's dinner, Dewberry! Run it through again! People! Why do you keep forgetting the bleach?! SHUT IT DOWN!!!" I know there are people, men as well as women, who don't know how to cook. For real. There always have been. Ramen noodles have always come with instructions, folks. Nothing new there.

Hi, I was just taken for a birthday lunch outside on the Terrace at the Ritz Carlton. While it was a gorgeous sunny day, had good service, and the food was tasty (I had a lobster panzanella and shared a fig-proscuitto app), it just didn't seem worth the bucks. I sure don't need hip/trendy but it has felt kind of stuffy the last two times I've gone. I've done lunch at Boulevard and recommend it. I've had mixed feelings about Zuni but have had fun when I was there for lunch, without any need to rush. I have no idea why Slanted Door dominates. We waited an hour for our reservation and it felt like eating in a cafeteria that pushed the cocktails more than the food. Ditto Robyn on Chez Panisse, Cafe or downstairs prix fixe (dinner only). It is so worth it, travel and cost-wise. I was also just treated to dinner downstairs (it's been quite a month, I want to turn 40 every year!) and oh my. Another place but off your path a bit: Cha Cha Cha on Haight at Stanyan, just at the tip of Golden Gate Park. For lunch, what a bargain. My mom just came to visit and it's still her favorite. Her question: "Why don't the restaurants in CT have interesting sauces like these?" We went there the day after the RC, and our meal was a fraction of its cost and it was more fun. It's tapas, give it a try. You won't be sorry. Ingrid PS Low-key dinner: Clementine (French) on Clement at 3rd Avenue, in the Inner Richmond. Take a walk up Clement and check out Green Apple Books at 6th. If you don't want French, there's Burma Super Star, Minh's Garden (Vietnamese), or any number of Thai places on just that 4-block stretch. All inexpensive and less crowded than downtown/wharf scene.

I'm shocked that Tony didn't know cannolis are Sicilian. But I was very impressed with the cliff-climbing. I recall some serious shortness of breath on a recent episode, when he was walking up to a temple. This looked way harder. Also, nice example of a No Reservations Advance Medical Directive. Travellers, take note -- it's vacation footage! It's instructions to your loved ones in the event of a horrible accident! It's both!

La Folie by all means. The quail stuffed with foie gras, if you eat foie gras, is not to be missed.

As always, I will be representing the lower-income, cheap-friends contingent. You know, the Unfrozen Cavewoman Diners. Sophistimicated! Granted, this thread is ostensibly about Per Se, but it's developed into a discussion about tipping vs. wages. Thing is, it wasn't all that long ago that I learrned that you don't calculate the tip based on the bottom-line total on the bill. Wine is calculated separately? Who knew? You don't want to include the sales tax? D'oh! I didn't have the, uh, upbringing where this kind of thing was taught. Don't think I'm the only one. Yet SOMEONE'S LIVELIHOOD is in my hands. That is not a good system because...it's not a system. There are no real checks and balances to protect the worker.

With all due respect to the amount of information about economic trends, healthcare costs, and business accounting present here, I say the real issue at play is far more personal and emotional. Holly Moore said a while back (I paraphrase) that he likes the sense of control that he feels in tipping. The servers who like tipping probably feel some sense of control over making enough money through tips. My concern is that this private pleasure translates into unstable income for too many other workers, for reasons that are not within their power to control. (Namely, the caprice of diners who resent tipping in general.) And perhaps that tipping keeps the server position from becoming more of a career than a temporary job in restaurants less exalted than Per Se.