milla
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Posts posted by milla
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Toshihiro Uezu.
Go for lunch, sit at the counter. Go omekase and set a price point before you begin.
Compares favorably to the upper echelon in Japan.
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How many people attended the event and how many covers do they plan to have for them in the future?
The Center sounds fantastic.
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I have seen a lot of subtle Marc Meneau influence in the food at Jean Georges with the apple confit flavored with orange, the old corn crepes with either duck or foie gras and, of course, the molten chocolate cake. this might be a case of osmosis though, with several chefs having worked at both places over the years, especially at the beginning of Jean Georges.
The obvious influence though is Louis Outhier, his mentor at L'Oasis, who brought the "exotic" touch of Asia to haute cuisine to the media forefront in the early 70's.
To me, Outhier's Spiny Lobster with Thai spices (herbs?) speaks of both of them stylistically, admirably and very well.
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Results revealed through a temporary glitch.
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Veyrat must be mad
Veyrat is mad.
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Juniorworm, welcome to the eGullet Society!
Abac is a superb restaurant, but to me there is no question that it would be Ca Sento. I'm not sure about the rest of your wife's constraints, but the shellfish is extraordinary. Ca Sento was one of the best meals I've ever had.
I agree with the choice between the above two.
that said, one might have to hurry up and get to Abac anyway to visit the current location as I understand they are moving into some very ambitious new digs in an upscale Barca neighborhood whose name (tibidabo, perhaps?) that escapes me at the moment. In a park, first class kitchen, wine cellar, spa and suites upstairs, it is super luxe with high michelin ambitions. if true, i can't wait for this to be open.
my understanding is that current Abac space might become more of a casual place in the Abac holdings. has anyone seen the construction going on in that neighborhood? would Placa JFK make sense?
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Mirazur is indeed something special.
Demanding of ingredients, and respectful of them, he is contemporary and modern at the same time. never going too far, showing maturity beyond his years.
Go now, as you will be hearing about Mauro for years to come.
Reminds me of l'astrance in its first year of existence.
highly recommended.
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A subdued, charming (anyone notice the artwork on the walls?) and traditional Galician restaurant in Barcelona that lets the quality of the ingredients, gently prepared in a traditional and respectful manner, speak for themselves. Plump and juicy berberechos for an amuse followed by a feast of Pulpo a la Gallega, spectacular oysters, baby elvers in the traditional style, percebes and incredible pulpitos that were extraordinarily sweet. We ate a fair amount so i can't quite remember if that was everything.
A tank out front had spider crabs, small blue crabs, blue and green lobster and langoustes of various sizes. Service unobtrusive and quietly professional. A confident family affair.
Not cheap but I look forward to returning when given half the chance.
Oh, and Ferran Adria sitting in the corner enjoying a quiet dinner.
Highly, highly recommended.
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Had a most extraordinary and startling meal(s) at el poblet.
it was everything a great meal should be and more. for me, the reason why it the best alta cocina meal i have had by far in Spain is not because of the obvious vanguard elements present but because i experienced the best quality products i have had here with the possible exception of etxebarri. it walks the line with finesse and balance of superior ingredients and contemporary technique in which one does not do disservice to the other.We had the tasting menu with a substitution of the foie gras for the main course instead of the pork neck.
Masterful. Quique is the real deal.
It was so good that we changed plans and went back the next evening to try the a la carte menu. We ended up trying almost all the dishes the restaurant has to offer. We found all the selections stellar with a nit here and there but the intelligence, absolutely no wasted movement or flourish and the incredibly impeccable ingredients made it a highlight of a very good trip. this coupled with another stellar performance at mugaritz the night before (followed by a long drive!) shows a developing maturity at the very top level, and a separation taking place between the great and the good or merely interesting.
Highly recommended. Worth a special journey.
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that is quite the 1-2 punch there over a 24 hour period. yet unsurprising....
excellent post.
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thanks for all that.
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For mid-May in all categories.
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Take a taxi.
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I disagree with Milla that if an ingredient is to be completely transformed, there is no use to use a top-notch ingredient.
Did i say this? it is not what i meant.
Nobody can make a great wine without great raw material.This is essentially what i was saying.
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Rather betting on hindsight to prove one right or wrong, perhaps one should fall back on a pragmatic approach. I've never heard anyone say that Alain Chapel was a shyster, but people seem to be split about the culinary avant garde. The simplest explanation of this phenomena is that the avant garde are indeed phonies; their best explanation is that that they're half crap.
Geniuses arrive on the scene sporadically, and when there aren't around a hungry media raises whoever is at hand to genius status. I would argue that we are going through a dry patch in terms of gastronomy, and the heroes of the avant-garde are mere substitutes for what most of know is possible. Otherwise, how does one explain away the sceptics?
Closed minds.
or more experienced and well versed palates.
Those who have visited restaurants over time and can create informed opinions over a lengthy time frame. a one time visit to a haute cuisine restaurant is merely a snapshot in a humanistic endeavor that evolves and matures. the opinions that matter most are those that have been around the block and have shown they have open minds. One calibrates from there.
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Given that as per Milla above that it requires great ingredients to make a great dish (i.e. a great dish cannot be made without great ingredients) then if one encounters a great dish it must have been made with great ingredients. If one then assumes that there are great dishes within the realm of avant-garde cooking then it follows that great ingredients must have been used for those dishes.
If one encounters a "great" dish and upon research and some digging one does not find great ingredients then one would be wrong that it is a great dish. Reverse logic. It would merely be a dish that one individual enjoyed.
the way to approach it is if there are great ingredients then the possibility of having a great dish exists. Nothing more.
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yes and yes on the two previous posts. (zoticus and vmilor)
as an aside, the new review on Gastroville about Ledoyen touch on the issues just being discussed.
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The point of disagreement is that any old carrot will do and that the ingredient's "special properties and provenance are nowhere in evidence" because of over-manipulation. It has not been my experience at the best of the vanguard restaurants that this is in fact the case.
And it has been my experience without exception both in the kitchen and as a diner. Without exception.
I fully agree with your statement that "one cannot take a mediocre QUALITY ingredient and turn it into a high quality dish."That's good. It is a law of physics. You might cover something up with a heavy sauce but you can't change or make something a better quality through your skills as a chef. you can't make a carrot younger or make a industrial farmed carrot taste vaguely artisanal without some sort of fakery.
Great results are not likely to be attained with inferior ingredients no matter the techniques used for preparation.Stating the obvious now and my original point (and perhaps vmilor's as well) earlier in the thread. This point should be clarified, however, by saying that when you state inferior, that means not the best that one can possibly procur. It can be more clearly stated by saying "satisfactory results are likely to be attained with satisfactory ingredients", "inferior results are likely to be attained with inferior ingredients" and so on... you cannot change the law of physics. what can change is one perceptions of what great quality or results are... and that happens over time as one truly starts to understand and feel through accumulated experience, not just paying lip service to the point of cliche, that the best ingredients one can attain, however humble, is the true, unerring foundation and irrefutable truth of haute cuisine as an artistic/artisanal endeavor.
The key then, is how one defines respecting nature and products. Does one let a great ingredient (not luxury) speak for itself in its natural and rare beauty or is it respected by manipulation to the point where one can't tell how special it was to begin with?
And we haven't even touched the humanity issues that Santi raised...I'm out.
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Can't speak for vmilor but he did not make any mention about luxury ingredients in his post but referred to top ingredients, which can include a top carrot, leek, etc. it seems as if it was read in that he was talking about luxury ingredients. one cannot take a mediocre QUALITY ingredient and turn it into a high quality dish, it is a physical impossibility. why buy/grow a carrot of top quality and provenance when you manipulate it so much that its special properties and provenance are nowhere in evidence, in other words a supermarket carrot will do? isn't that disrespectuf to the ingredient?
and is not buying the best carrot one can buy for your haute cuisine restaurant (because any old supermarket carrot will do) disrespectful to your breathless clients beating a path to you door?
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my point exactly Vedat. you can't have it both ways. there IS a dichotomy between the two camps and it is wide. why buy great product when it is so manipulated, its special nature or the provenance gets lost? what is the point? you can just buy the cheaper carrot because no one will/can tell the difference...
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For the record, I don't think even the most vanguardist chefs would argue with Santi's main points that we need to respect nature and tradition, upon which our health and happiness is based....
Actions speak louder than lip service.
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You're the man, Santi.
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let's wait until March. Simon has been wrong before.
Sushi Yasuda vs. Kuruma Zushi
in New York: Dining
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No, not that good, the super elite. But my experience is limited at that level.
I think Kuruma on a good day is as rewarding experience as many very good, respectable sushi places in Japan, the high end that is occupied by innumerable restaurants of good quality.
The places you mention are another level, I believe.
I was at Sushi Mizutani a couple of weeks ago and it was a reference meal for me, memorable from start to finish.