robyn

Thanks for the link. I'll agree to your request and not turn this into a debate on the merits of Andrea Strong. Robyn

I've been to a lot of fancy restaurants with no salt and pepper shakers. I missed that the first time around, or it just didn't dawn on me that someone would regard putting salt on the table as standard restaurant procedure. In most chef driven, or "auteur" perhaps, restaurants, I would not expect to see salt or pepper on the table. I've not been to Blue Hill at Stone Barns, but I would not expect to find a salt shaker on the dining table. I thought it a bit strange that Andrea Strong raised the issue in regard to Stone Barns in her review. Granted, she does say it's a pet peeve of hers, but she also has to realize that she sets her personal standards of taste as being outside the norm for fine restaurants. She may have a good point, but she may also leave her opinions on taste and flavor subject to doubt by those who don't expect to see salt shakers on the table. A quick and not very scientific look at her reviews indicates a lust for eating and an appreciation of assertive food. She's easily impressed by very secondary restaurants, yet fails to grasp the importance of some subtler food. I like her enthusiasm for eating out, but wouldn't necessarily look to her opinion on many restaurants that are at the head of my pantheon. Her summation of Dan Barber as honest and earnest, is a belittling comment about a significant culinary talent in a city with great competing talents. Apparently on the basis of this one meal, (seems to review restaurants after one meal and I didn't find a review of Blue Hill on her site) possibly colored by a misunderstanding of a dress code, I too might find unnecessary, she goes on and say Barber is "dedicated chef who I admire for many reasons. His approach to food and cuisine is rooted in preservation and sustainability. He sees the big picture, connecting food back to the earth and supporting local regional produce. This should not be trivialized. He is preserving our food supply and educating a new generation of chefs to do the same. But the disconnect for me is that you don’t taste the passion he has in his principles on the plate." I've never tasted any chef's passion for principles, but I've certainly tasted Barber's passion for cooking. I don't know who this person Andrea Strong is - except that some people on this site put in links to her site on occasion. And my impression from the links is that she's someone who likes to eat out a lot and write about it. A blog. That's about it. I mean - I'm from Florida - and I haven't been to New York in 3 years - but I've read enough about Blue Hill at Stone Barns (or whatever the name is) this year to know that it is absolutely not a place you'd want to show up at wearing shorts. And all that stuff about - "well they were designer shorts" - just sounds like it was written by someone who spends more time in stores than restaurants. IOW - I've seen nothing that indicates to me that she's a serious food writer. Robyn

I switched to liquid dishwasher soap to avoid etching. And it works! Doesn't work where I live. Which is why I always have my eyes open for high end discontinued glassware at the factory outlet malls (nothing lasts more than a year in my dishwasher). Robyn

I've been to a few places where the tap water simply isn't potable (and if you use it to make things like coffee - all you get is really lousy coffee). Note that these are places pretty close to home - where the well water has huge amounts of sulfur (and smells like rotten eggs). Robyn

I believe I may have once been "done in" as Eliza Dolittle might have said, by Harrod's oysters. They were somewhat less than chilled. As someone mentioned in another thread, it's really for tourists (which I was). Very sick. Hallucinations. Of course it could have been a street-vendor hot dog. The BBC later did an expose on them. I was a tourist too. And I eye-balled the oysters. They looked good - and they were taken from cold water. I'm a little picky about oysters these days. My biggest thumbs down is to local oysters from the gulf. The water is too hot - and too polluted in too many places for me to trust eating filter-feeding creatures taken from those waters. Robyn

20% is fine anywhere. I'm not sure about any drinks made with peppercorns. Robyn

if you haven't had oysters at the Oyster Bar, then yeah, probably, some might say that. The Oyster Bar at Grand Central Station? Have done that - but lifetimes ago. Also oysters at the Plaza - again lifetimes ago (people were smoking cigars ). Robyn Grand Central Station is a post office. I didn't know you could eat oysters there. The restaurant seems to think it's in Grand Central Station (see location description). As someone from out of town - I suggest you take up any New York geography questions with its management. Robyn

Right - blame it all on the little woman . We have 4 - Briana's Vinaigrette and Blush Wine Vinaigrette - Oak Hill Farms Vidalia Onion - and Newman's Caesar. I am an expert on shelf lives - because we don't use a lot of salad dressing - bottled or homemade (a tablespoon of oil has a lot of calories whether the dressing is in a bottle or homemade). I can tell you that all of these dressings can last for months and months - maybe years. Robyn

And it does happen - everywhere. High end places - low end places. Everywhere. Repeatedly. Whenever I eat out these days - I tell the waiter that I do not want any salt put on the top of the dish after it's prepared. If it's not salty enough - I can always add a little extra. Although I order that way all the time - I've never had to worry about the absence of salt shakers on a lot of tables. Robyn

This is a bit off topic - but we'll be dining at Cafe Boulud in Palm Beach this Monday. It's certainly not Daniel - but we liked it a lot when we ate there last year (and I don't think anyone here has mentioned the place since I mentioned it then). Monday is "wine night" (half price wines) - and I'll be interested to see what that's like. Doubt Daniel Boulud will be there unless he's working on his fishing or his tan . Robyn

I ate at Spago about 4 years ago. Perhaps it's gotten better - but - if it hasn't - I couldn't recommend it. For a Wolfgang Puck place - I much preferred Chinois on Main. Robyn

One thing I don't understand about the "O" glasses. They're supposed to be designed to be put in dishwashers (no stems). But who puts fine crystal in a dishwasher - stems or no stems - unless you want your glasses to get "etched" pretty quickly? Robyn

if you haven't had oysters at the Oyster Bar, then yeah, probably, some might say that. The Oyster Bar at Grand Central Station? Have done that - but lifetimes ago. Also oysters at the Plaza - again lifetimes ago (people were smoking cigars ). Robyn

We do have a Wine Warehouse in Jacksonville Beach. I wasn't aware that it was part of a chain until you mentioned it (the old location before it moved last month looked too grungy to be a chain ). It's legal to have wines shipped into Florida. But you have to pay the local liquor mafia about $7/bottle to import it. Really makes me mad - and I won't pay the ransom. I seem to recall that the Supreme Court of the US agreed to hear "the wine case" next term. I hope the Court strikes down all of these silly state laws. Robyn

I've been to a lot of fancy restaurants with no salt and pepper shakers. It's the places like Olive Garden that always come by with the 3 foot tall pepper grinder (fresh ground pepper on your dessert?). And as someone who lives in the south - and risks death by salt in just about every restaurant in the neighborhood - not to mention the people who shake salt on food for 3 minutes before even tasting it - I would find it refreshing to encounter a chef who doesn't need to drown his food in salt. Robyn

I expect nothing less from the 'burbs. It's pretty laughable that the restaurant has created an artificial "rural" farm environs outdoors, side-by-side with a faux "urban" fancy-dress restaurant indoors, all essentially on the same premises. My personal definition of the suburbs is that it's an artificial construct that is supposed to embody the best of both worlds -- but ends up embodying the worst traits of both. I don't think requiring men to wear long pants is "urban fancy". Would you wear shorts to the French Laundry - or a similar restaurant in a rural area of another country? My husband and I had a similar experience at Wolfgang Puck's Chinois on Main in Santa Monica (a few blocks from the beach) several years ago. We were just driving around with a friend - and wanted to eat lunch there (without a reservation). I ran in (in a nice coordinated shorts outfit) while the men were driving around the block. The staff said - lunch for 3 - casual - no problem. When the 2 men walked into the restaurant after parking (in shorts - with legs considerably hairier than mine) - they said shorts weren't ok on men. But they obviously wanted us to eat there - and they had a solution - 2 pairs of clean pressed kitchen pants - the standard issue kind with houndstooth checks on them. My husband and his friend knew how much I wanted to try the restaurant - so they changed into the kitchen pants in the men's room. They were good-humored about it - and so was the restaurant staff. Several apologies about giving me the wrong information when I popped in - and several (excellent) off the menu amuse courses to compensate. Excellent meal - and good time was had by all. Sometimes you have to roll with the punches. Obviously this writer and the person who accompanied her weren't quite up to that on this occasion (and if they weren't - they should have walked out of the restaurant - after all - they didn't fly halfway around the world to eat there - all they did was travel for an hour or so - people in some parts of the world - like the midwest US - think nothing of driving 300 miles in a day to eat dinner at a friend's house). Robyn

I guess I always eat oysters when I'm sitting at "bars" - and they're always opened in front of me. Every place from Harrod's in London to Felix's in New Orleans. I must have led a sheltered life . Robyn

I wrote a message a while back about a previous Bruni review which seems to have disappeared (perhaps inartful thread pruning). What I said is that Bruni is Italian - he has spent a fair amount of time in Italy - and his eating sensibilties seem very Italian to me. The best of ingredients prepared in simple/classical ways. Considering what I've read about this restaurant previously (assuming what I read was true) - I would have expected him to like it - and his review was on target. I think after almost two months - I have a clear sense of the guy - what he likes - how he likes to eat. I was critical about him before he started - but I have a genuine fondness for his writing now. I just wish he could have been with us the day a lot of years back when we were driving around in the Italian countryside - and found the little restaurant in the hills with the beautiful huge bowl of pasta - the little roasted birds - the fresh from the garden salad tossed with a little oil and vinegar - the bit of cheese - and some coffee. When I think of Frank Bruni - I think this is how he likes to eat best. Not a bad way to eat in my opinion . I'm not sure it will play in haute cuisine New York food circles - but I find his attitude about food interesting for the NYT. Robyn P.S. When we were in London in May - one of my favorites was a starter to have with drinks of ridiculously fresh English peas in the shells - served like you'd serve peanuts. Like the sugar snap peas he mentioned in the review. Except with the English peas - you pop them out of the shell more like peanuts. P.P.S. I'm an ok cook - not a great cook. But I cook decent Italian. And I'd love to have Bruni over for dinner one night to get a taste of stuff like my fresh pesto. So Bruni - if you come to the Super Bowl next year - you're invited for dinner here!

I read the article. Perhaps where Riedel went wrong was in making quasi-scientific claims. I have (pretty expensive) Orrefors glasses. Can't claim they make what I pour in them taste better. But I don't think I'm ready to serve champagne in jelly glasses alongside fine china (or even paper plates). I don't really think it's a contest between Riedel and jelly glasses. It's a contest between Riedel and other crystal that's more fashionable (if - like me - you're not a wine geek). If the shapes don't matter taste-wise - then all you're talking about is the look of your table. Robyn

I don't get around all that much - but I don't recall ever seeing a "pre-opened" oyster. You mean they were all open already - and then served to you? Sounds yucky to me. When you order shellfish (clams - oysters - whatever) - you want them live - tight shells - opened immediately before serving. I don't think you're being picky at all. Robyn

Where in Florida do you buy your wine. Do you "pair" it yourself - or does someone in the store help you. Robyn (northeast Florida)

Actually - not to put too fine a point on it - the Gourmet article said that the Riedel glass stuff was a lot of BS. I will freely admit that I like my Orrefors crystal because it's beautiful on my table - and feels nice in my hand. Never thought that it affected the taste of what I drink though. So what was your opinion of the Gourmet article? Robyn

There's an article in this month's Wine Spectator about Emeril Lagasse. He bought a tiny apartment in New York. A wine store close to the apartment had a big sale on some big wines. Lagasse bought the whole lot (22 cases) provided that the wine company would store his wine for him. He picks up the wines at the store when he wants to drink them. So sometimes it's an issue of space - not money. And you don't have to be rich to have a lot of wine. We have a friend in Miami (not rich) who's been collecting wine since he fought in Europe in WWII. He put together most of his collection in the 40's through the 70's. He moved into a 2 bedroom condo - and turned the huge master bedroom his/hers walk-in closet into a wine cellar. Thousands of bottles. Guess it helps that he's a single fellow - because I think if he had a wife - she might have complained that she had no place to put her clothes . Robyn

I was going to start a new thread - but I thought my inquiry would be appropriate in this thread. If I'm wrong - I'd be glad to start a new thread. My husband likes to drink wine (I don't drink wine except for the occasional bottle of champagne). Not a huge amount - and we've never been collectors. But he drinks enough that I'd like to get him a "wine refrigerator" where he can store some bottles as an anniversary present (it's hard to come up with gift ideas after 33 years!). Probably no more than 50 bottles (extra space wouldn't hurt - except we certainly don't need room for hundreds or thousands of bottles). We live in Florida - no basement - and no room for a new refrigerator anywhere except in the garage (next to the "garage refrigerator" where we now keep the white wine - except that it gets lost among the cases of water - beer - soda - juice - and the summer watermelons). Note that I do have room in our walk-in pantry - but I was afraid that a refrigerator would throw off a lot of heat and mess up the food in the pantry - we don't even have an AC/heat vent in the pantry because when the heat goes on in the winter - we live in north Florida - it would probably make the pantry too warm. Also note that our cheap garage refrigerator works very well even though the temperature in the garage ranges from highs in the mid-90's in the summer to lows in the 40's during winter cold spells. He drinks both reds and whites - so I'm looking for a dual temperature model. There seem to be some newer smaller dual temperature units on the market these days. Has anyone ever used a dual temperature wine cooler? Did you like it - dislike it? Can they maintain temperature in very variable conditions the way our regular refrigerator does? Any recommendations/suggestions would be much appreciated. Robyn

One thing you can do with mackerels like wahoo and kingfish is poach pieces with some aromatics. Chill - flake - and make fish salad (like you might make a tuna salad). It's pretty good. Robyn