robyn

Are you really in Minneapolis? My heart goes out to you (I have a good friend in Minneapolis - and this time of year the only thing that he dreams about is Hawaii). Robyn

Perhaps they thought you were a member of the press. Or they were shy about complaining in a supposedly high class place. If this is a poll - I vote no. I will accept the occasional shot of everyone at the table to celebrate the wedding/anniversary/birthday/family get-togther/whatever. But if someone wants to shoot a meal from start to finish - they should start a career as a professional photographer and do their food shoots in a studio. By the way - if I had been seating near you - I would have asked the restaurant to move me to an equally good or better table far away from you - or - if that was impossible - to shut you down. Robyn

Thanks. They look good. Ordered some today. Robyn

When I said "the same league" about Cafe Boulud - I meant in terms of a restaurant where I'd be looking for a big deal romantic meal with my significant other. The food in Cafe Boulud is fine (although I liked the food in the new place in Palm Beach better). But the atmosphere (in my opinion) is strictly New York all-the-tables-are-too-close-together. Not a place for a romantic dinner. Robyn

It sounded a bit to me like "the lady doth protest too much". Also - I read other people writing about this restaurant on line - and I didn't see any indication that this restaurant was supposed to be the New York equivalent of St. John (a London place known for its offal). Offal is served - but it didn't seem to be the primary reason for the restaurant. So I wondered why everyone jumped on Ms. Burros. Just seemed to me that a lot of guys jumped on a woman who has concerns about health issues in the foods she eats for no good reason at all. And I really wonder about people and offal. I've tried it all - multiple times. Sweetbreads are certainly the best in terms of taste. At the other extreme - more often than not - when I've been served kidneys - they smell of urine - however faintly. Robyn

I don't ask anyone to eat dangerous foods, although many people crave blowfish which can be deadly and I can't get enough raw oysters. My point here is that it's not up to you to tell me which parts of an animal are really garbage parts if I prefer sweetbreads to filet mignon or tripe to porterhouse steak. It's as reasonable to call the whole carcass surrounding the intestines the garbage as it is to say the tripe is garbage. In colonial times, indentured servants had contracts that limited the number of times a week they could be fed oysters and salmon. There were no farmed salmon in those days and wild salmon was so plentiful that it, along with oysters, was considered garbage. This is a purely relative term and dependent on the culture in which it's used. What may be garbage in one culture may be highly prized in another. I find your need to label food and people a bit offensive. It's not your place to question why I eat what I eat. I think it's important to separate issues of health from issues of taste. As far as taste is concerned - whatever someone wants is ok by me. As far as health is concerned - there are higher authorities than me. You brought up oysters. Let's talk oysters. In my part of the world - a large percentage of the Apalachicola oyster beds have been closed by health officials due to sewage contamination (which can cause hep A). But people take oysters from those closed beds - and they sell them to restaurants here. I don't think in terms that "you have a right to eat them" (especially since hep A is a communicable disease). I do think the people who harvest those oysters and the restaurants which sell them are criminals (because they're violating the law). In the best of all possible worlds - they'd be prosecuted. But we don't have enough inspectors to track down the violators. So what should be done about it? Well - eventually - a whole lot of people are going to get sick (as opposed to the isolated cases now) - and some are going to die - and that's going to be the end of raw oysters down here. All restaurants will have an exclusion in their insurance policies for serving raw oysters. And it will be as difficult to find a raw oyster in a restaurant as a rare burger. Robyn

Pan - A couple of random thoughts back . I agree about the numbers of people who spend that much on dinner. But - in my experience - you're not likely to find extensive offal offerings in lesser restaurants (perhaps they're not the most expensive ingredients in the world - but they're labor intensive). Seems like the more expensive the restaurant - the more likely I am to find offal on the menu. Is indeed offal the main/dominant thing to eat in this restaurant? I found two eating descriptions on the internet. They really didn't amount to serious reviews - but they discussed a lot of the dishes the writers and their parties ate. Only one mentioned offal at all - and it mentioned it only once (the author's table had a single dish with sweetbreads). So it seems that people do go to this restaurant without indulging in offal. I think I would feel a lot more strongly about this issue if a person had been sent to Ruth's Chris - didn't eat steak - and ordered chicken. But what about a vegetarian food critic who went to a high end restaurant and ordered only the vegetarian offerings (which most high end restaurants have these days)? I suspect a true vegetarian could do more justice to these offerings than a non-vegetarian. By the way - I enjoyed the review when I read it in my morning paper. I thought it was very honest in terms of the reviewer placing her cards on the table in terms of her personal likes/dislikes. We all have them - and since a reviewer can't eat everything on a menu - it's good to know what governed her decisions in terms of what to eat/not eat. Robyn

Mea culpa. I spelled your name wrong too. My past and current eating history are pretty much the same as yours. Used to eat offal - but won't these days. I have a question for you - or anyone else who has an opinion. We live in a reasonably affluent culture (I'm not talking only about the US - but other places in the world where people spend more than $200 for dinner). Given this background - why do some people think it's necessary to prove that they're "foodies" by eating really garbage parts of animals - especially when some of these animal parts are dangerous? I can understand why poor people used to do it 50 years ago - but I don't understand the allure now. Perhaps it's a macho "guy" thing - but I just don't get it. By the way - if anyone here cares to answer - and you're not a professional chef - I'd like the know the last time you cleaned some kidneys at home in your kitchen. I tried it once - and I didn't think it was particularly amusing. Robyn

What is so particularly wonderful about Spanish offal in your opinion? The best offal I can remember eating was an offal tasting menu at Manoir aux Quat Saisons in the UK. Of course - that was before mad cow. I doubt you'll find a similar menu at that restaurant now. By the way - thanks for your explanation of the menu item under discussion here. Robyn

Don't regret it. And I agree with you. Some people here talk all high and mighty - but I'd like to hear if one person in this thread has ever spent more than $250 out of his own pocket for a lousy meal - and then returned to the place that served it to give them a second chance. And no - I don't think restaurant critics should be any different. Even if the critic got one good meal out of two - that's $500+ for one decent meal. I work too hard for my money to piss it away. Robyn

This is kind of a hard discussion to follow (I don't know who's being sarcastic - and who isn't). But I'd just like to share my impressions of BC wines (I live in Florida). We had several good ones last time we were there (one from Burrowing Owl was our favorite). But they don't seem to make very much of it. And what little they do make doesn't get very far from Vancouver (I tried to buy some when we got home - no luck). So - unless you live in BC - it's kind of a boutiquey thing you enjoy when you're visiting. Robyn

The worst I ever had was noxious flies in a bag of Chinese peppers. They ate through the plastic bag and took over my kitchen. These days - everything gets stored in glass air-tight containers. Robyn

If you think you can find some whole collard heads (or stalks - or whatever they're called) - and a smoked ham hock - I can give you an easy recipe for greens. Robyn

I'm not sure whether this was a response to my question. Which was basically - did the reviewer refuse to eat brains? If so - I really can't fault her. My husband and I used to eat lots of offal - for years. Then there was "mad cow". And then a neurologist friend of ours who does dementia research completed some studies which linked the consumption of brains - especially squirrel brains - in Kentucky - to irreversible dementia/death. Of course - there's also the research (don't know how valid it is) which indicates that there may be a link between eating monkey brains - and what is now AIDS. To make a long story short - we no longer eat brains. If it were a question of getting a tummy ache after - we'd probably still eat brains. But since you're basically talking about a death sentence after eating an infected brain - I'll say thanks but no thanks. Wouldn't surprise me if selling this kind of stuff was outlawed in the near future - or if restaurants stopped serving it because of insurance requirements - just like you can't get a rare burger in any Florida restaurant these days. Robyn P.S. Does anyone know if Marion Burros is Jewish? If so - even if she isn't religious - it would explain her inability to consume blatant "trefe".

Quick easy dinner. Take skinless boneless chicken breasts out of freezer in the morning. Marinate in mojo - perhaps an hour out of the refrigerator so the breasts will defrost. Then in the refrigerator. Mojo is a Spanish marinade found in ethnic food sections. If you have a large Spanish speaking population - you'll find several types. Just about every market has Goya - and Goya is fine. At dinner time - drain off the marinade - and saute the breasts in a 50/50 mix of olive oil and butter. Breasts should take about 10 minutes to cook depending on stove heat and size. The outside will blacken a little as you cook. This goes nice with white rice and black beans. For the beans - take a can of Progresso black beans. Add a few shakes of red wine vinegar - about 1/4 teaspoon of ground cumin - and a bay leaf. Heat to the simmer - let the vinegar simmer off for maybe 10 minutes - and serve. Robyn

What is "calves head"? Does it include the brain? Robyn

I've mentioned it before - but not in this thread. We have a LC factory outlet store near where I live (I95 in St. Augustine Florida). There are some good deals. So if you're passing through - take a look. Robyn

Depends what kind of room she likes too. I think Jean Georges is stunning - but some people might find it cold. ADNY is nice - but not my favorite. I don't know whether Boulud means "Boulud" or "Daniel". If Boulud - I wouldn't consider it (not because it's bad - it's just not in the same league). I've never been to Daniel - so I can't comment. I think the nicest room I've ever been to in New York is Le Cirque 2000. Speaking as a woman - I felt very special - and very romantic - when I was there. Robyn

I don't disagree. There was an article in today's Florida Times Union about restaurant suggestions for next year's Super Bowl Fans. What a joke. But next time you're in this neck of the woods - give a holler and I'll try to give you some decent ideas (from my very limited inventory of decent ideas). Robyn

Perhaps "swankiendas" are uniform. I wouldn't know (we really don't have much where I live - and what we have is usually a couple of years late in terms of any major trends). I'll tell you how backwards this place is. Last year - the fashion magazines were full of mini skirts. I wanted one. I went to every department store here and couldn't find one. I thought perhaps the magazines were lying - but when I went to south Florida - the stores were full of them. By the way - just curious - what ethnicity are you (you have a colorful way with Spanish - reminds me of the "Spanglish" you find a lot in Florida ). Robyn

I've never seen a spider mite in my Florida yard. I think the other bugs scare them away . By the way - has anyone ever tried to grow haricot verts (I like to cook them - but they're not sold where I live)? Robyn

The airlines are really socking it to people these days in terms of extra baggage charges (too many bags - overweight bags - etc.). So I'd check what the story is before arriving at the airport with 200 pounds of LC. By the way - this thread inspired me to make beef bourguignon this morning. Yum. Robyn

Maybe she just doesn't like French food? Tell us what she really likes to eat - and perhaps a little about her background. Is she in general a sophisticated diner - or is she a 20-something whose idea of good food is TGIFridays? I will note that 2 of my 30-something nieces passed up a chance to join us for dinner at one of the best restaurants in Atlanta (our treat) and instead suggested that we eat at the Varsity (greasy burgers). Robyn

It's certainly not a "buzz word". Read the Telegraph review of The Fat Duck for a blow by blow description (you have to register to access the site - but it's free). And - if you search for deconstructivist food on the internet - you will find things like the following - from admirers: "Deconstructivist cooking, pioneered by El Bulli, breaks a familiar dish down into its components, so that you see the original in a new way. Unlike literary or architectural deconstructivism, which usually produces unreadable tomes or uninhabitable buildings, the best deconstructivist cooking is strange but delicious." Or things like the following - from detractors: "Imagine a chef who disliked food. Suppose that he had the task of preparing dishes professionally, but that he did so with an unspoken resentment against the entire idea of culinary pleasure and fine dining. Would you want to eat his meals?... Well, the fact is you don't have to imagine such people. They already exist, and are deeply influential in their respective fields. There are prestigious nouvelle cuisine chefs whose horrid dishes can only be explained by a rage against normal dining...If you think all this is just reactionary exaggeration on my part, consider the following. Trendy chefs often speak disparagingly of "comfort food." By this they mean anything that people might find pleasant and appetizing, as opposed to the bizarre and off-putting slop that is supposed to challenge a diner's tastes..." It's not really the kind of thing that will ever get to Portland - or Jacksonville (hate to put them in the same breath - because I think Portland is a much much better eating town - my husband and I love to eat in the Pacific Northwest - we'd like to try living there at some time in the future if possible). Robyn

There's a new review of the Fat Duck in the Telegraph. The headline is: "Jan Moir concludes that while a dying millionaire with no teeth might appreciate Heston Blumenthal's cuisine, she'd rather have a cheese sandwich." I'm curious what all of you think of it. And we thought there was a lot of flak after the Shepherd's review.... Robyn