robyn

Funny you mention that. When I was taking photos of the food at 140 Park Lane - one of the staff members was taking photos of the same food with a cell phone! First time I'd ever seen that. Even though I'm an old fart (relatively speaking) - I'm willing to learn . Robyn

Is Kansas in the south ? So did people just talk at the function which is the subject of this thread - or did they eat ? For what it's worth - at my local BBQ place where I lunch at least once a week - the owner is from Texas - but he's kind of ecumenical when it comes to BBQ. Which is why he offers no fewer than 10 different sauces. He'd rather sell a lot of good BBQ than argue about the origins of the stuff and the PC way to prepare it. Robyn P.S. We all know that chicken isn't really proper BBQ - but it's served at all except the most hard core of places because it tastes good and because some of us like to keep our girlish figures . P.P.S. I don't think that anyone has mentioned pit cooking yet. It's a popular way to prepare things like whole pigs here in Florida (particularly when you have a lot of free time on your hands). Deep south whites cook pigs in pits. So do Cubans. Probably other people too (although not many Jewish people I know ).

Where will you be staying - what kind of food does he like - and how adventurous is he (is he 50 and open to new things - or 80 and kind of set in his ways)? When you say he's never been to a "fancy" restaurant - how "unfancy" are we talking about? Robyn

I have seen uncouth uneducated (about food) people dining in Atlanta - but I have also seen similarly uncouth uneducated people dining in cities that are supposed to be "frontwaters" (as opposed to "backwaters" ). I think you give people in other parts of the world credit for more sophistication than they have (in general). Robyn

And they have reservations at the other three restaurants as well. I can't recall ever making multiple restaurant reservations. Either I want to go to a particular place on a particular night - or I don't. I of course have had to cancel reservations before. Who hasn't (Tommy's point)? Heck - I've had to cancel entire trips because of family illness. SH** happens (especially when all your parents are in their 80's). But that's stuff you can't control. You can control the number of reservations you make. Robyn

Have you ever walked out of a restaurant that kept you waiting? My husband and I will usually give it 20 minutes max - unless the bar is awful - and then we'll give it maybe 10 minutes. I find that I enjoy a meal more when I'm not pissed by the time I get seated. For what it's worth - at most really big deal restaurants these days - I have to give credit card info - and reconfirm 24 hours in advance. Robyn

It's done - and I've done it when people who came to visit wanted to dine in specific busy restaurants that: 1) didn't take/honor reservations; and 2) I knew the grease would work - and how much was necessary. On my own - I make a point of avoiding those restaurants. Robyn

Of course I knew that . You think I'm getting anywhere near gators eating little kids ? I take all my animal shots in places like the zoo - and my backyard. Photoshop works wonders - you can crop out everything that reminds you you aren't in the wild. Robyn

I agree 100%. I live in a relatively hick part of the US - but even I can get superb raspberries this time of year. And my husband makes great whipped cream. So why would I want to pay money to eat this at a restaurant? I can also do the "pasta" thing - with stuff like fresh homemade pesto (all you need is fresh basil - a few common ingredients - and a food processor). Or tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. When I go to a high end restaurant and spend big money - I want something I would never in a million years think of making myself - something that would take me forever to make - even if I dared to try - something that looks beautiful - and tastes delicious. Something I can look at and eat and say - this person is 1000 times more talented than I am. Otherwise - what's the point of eating out (on the high end)? By the way - I kind of disagree on the short ribs - because the last time I ate them was at Le Cirque 2000. Not only were the ribs exquisite - but they took the marrow out of the ribs - combined it with some other stuff (who knows what it was?) - and stuffed it back into the ribs. The ribs were wonderful but I could have eaten about a pint of that marrow. Note that at this same meal - I had fruit sorbet for dessert. Sounds boring - but each of the 4 or 5 sorbets was a perfect tromp l'oeil of the fruit. The plate was both delicious - and gorgeous. A real knockout. Robyn

Don't know how old your kids are - but use them to try new things. Go for dim sum in Chinatown - then an afternoon movie - even a play if they're old enough - in/near Leicester Square. Lunch and the science museum on Exhibition Road (my lunch choice would be Harrod's - but I suspect your kids are too young to enjoy the monetary sacrifice ). The double decker bus tour! I think it's fun to be a "tourist" where you live (when we have company - we always do the "tourist" thing with them - and I can assure that our tourist stuff is a whole lot more pedestrian than yours is). Robyn

I vote for the latter. I think what happens is that people of a certain age (younger than me) are just so busy working - taking care of family - etc. - etc. You don't take the time to slow down a bit and "smell the roses" (quite literally - since the roses in Regents Park were fabulous a few weeks ago). I used to live in big cities when I was young - and - to me - there was nothing better than taking a Saturday or Sunday - and setting off on foot in a particular neighborhood. Perhaps I'd have one destination - and then I'd spend the rest of the day wandering - poking around. Stores - gardens - restaurants - museums - whatever. Sometimes I'd find great stuff. Sometimes everything would be mediocre. But the chase was part of the fun. When I go to a city like London - like I did last month - I do the same thing (of course - as a tourist - I can do it 5 days in a row - not only on a weekend). Can't say I found anything that 10,000 people haven't already discovered - but I had a lot of fun. And - at a minimum - when you walk 5 miles poking around - you will burn off the calories from everything you eat that day! Robyn

I bought the package of 4 cedar planks from Williams Sonoma last year (you soak them and put them on the grill) - and really like them for seafood (particularly salmon). Imparts a nice wood fired taste while avoiding the problems of overcooking fish. As for cleaning - if I don't clean the grill - the racoons will pick it apart at night and (try to) lick it clean. The idea of coon spittle all over my food just doesn't appeal to me. So I clean that grill as well as I clean everything else in my kitchen. Robyn

Perhaps other people are too polite to mention this. I'm not. I think it's a serious breach of restaurant etiquette to make 4 restaurant reservations for a particular night - knowing that you will cancel 3. What if everyone did that? And I called up one of those restaurants trying to make a reservation - only to be told that the restaurant was fully booked - when - in reality - none of those reservations was made with good intentions. I don't live in New York - so when I make reservations at high end restaurants in New York - I do so well in advance. And if I can't make the reservation (we're booked) - that's the end of me. How would you feel if a high end restaurant booked 4 groups for each table at 8 for Friday a month from now - knowing that it would call 3 of those groups a week in advance to cancel? Robyn

I don't agree. When I bought my digital camera - I didn't know anything about digital cameras or photography. And I spent quite a few hours on multiple trips in Best Buy. The sales people there (who don't work on commission) took a lot of time explaining things to me - and answering dozens of questions. And they were pretty much correct in everything they told me. So should I take up hours of a store's time and shop on line just to save a few dollars? No - because if I did that - and everyone else did that - then maybe 10 years down the road - there won't be any place for me to go where I can touch and feel something before I buy it - a place where I can have my questions about the next electronic gizmo I want to buy answered. As someone who *has* to buy certain things on line (like shoes - because I wear a small size that isn't sold where I live) - I can tell you that being forced to buy things on line isn't any fun at all. Robyn

Nope - it's a half chicken - raw. The gators at the zoo eat chickens - the gators at the Alligator Farm eat nutria. They eat them bones and all - and you get an idea of their massive jaw strength when you hear them chomping down on the food. Robyn

Thanks for the advice. I wasn't aware of the "Omenesque" quality of the light reflection when I was shooting . Guess I was concentrating too much on the food. I think the general quality (apart from the composition) was high because I was staging the shoots in daylight. As for the second shot - I think it's just really hard shooting in a dark restaurant with a flash. I think your suggestions are good ones for shooting in that type of environment - but apart from remembering to use the "close-up" feature - I'm not sure I could handle doing everything necessary to get a good shot without feeling very self-conscious in a fine dining setting (that's just me - the mileage of other people may vary - as may the mileage of the people eating next to them!). So perhaps I had best leave most of this work to the professionals - who generally photograph food under the conditions I had for the first photo. I'll note that the chef for the first photo was wonderful when I asked about taking pictures at some time other than the dinner hour. I doubt a 3 star Michelin chef would be as generous with his time - but I think that leaves plenty of chefs in the world who would be willing to work even with an amateur if the photos will be published anywhere. By the way - I agree about getting a big memory card (not necessarily the maximum - just a big one) - so you can shoot photos the way pros do - click click click click click. Although I wouldn't feel comfortable doing that at dinner - I'm entirely comfortable doing it in other settings. I really like to do animals - and my specialty these days is gators : Robyn

Neither have I (that restaurant almost made me - and my tummy - feel like royalty) . It is difficult to explain to someone who has never experienced a real 3 star Michelin European dining experience how it differs from most of the best of what New York has to offer. So I won't try. As for people who say ambience shouldn't count - I've been trying to come up with a good analogy. I'm not sure this is good - but here it is. I like to get a massage now and then - and say I find a masseuse who's terrific. Don't you think the quality of the massage experience will be different if I have the massage in the spa at the Breakers in Palm Beach - as opposed to the YMCA? The logical extension - albeit reductio ad absurdum <sp?> - of saying ambience doesn't count is rating take-out places and restaurants with the same yardstick. Robyn

There's an Uncle Tai's in Boca Raton - and the owner was supposed to have run a terrific restaurant in New York. Don't know how many stars it had (if any). Robyn P.S. After reading a little further in the thread - see you found the name of the restaurant. The Boca Center is in Boca Raton FL (perhaps there's another branch of this restaurant in Dallas). Uncle Tai's opened in Boca - I'd guess - in the 80's. It was very elegant then - and it's still fairly elegant. And the food is quite good - particularly in terms of Florida Chinese restaurant standards. It's certainly a far cry from your typical Chinese restaurant. On the other hand - it's not anywhere near a 4 star NYT restaurant (although perhaps it was in New York).

I'm not sure about that. I only went to Le Cirque 2000 once - and the food I ate was more Italian than French (although it wasn't 100% in either camp). And I think it got a 4 star rating - yes? Robyn

Apropos of "star inflation" - I'll add that in a city like London - which is every bit as big as New York - there is only 1 3 star Michelin restaurant in the city proper - and 2 others near the city. And you're not talking large numbers when it comes to 1 and 2 star restaurants either. By the way - I don't remember a Chinese restaurant at Bellagio. Must be relatively new (or perhaps I missed it - you could eat in that hotel for a week and not try everything). Robyn

It is. I don't know what your goal in dining is - but my goal (at times) is to get the best possible food in the best possible surroundings. I can live with lots of different kinds of music or atmosphere - as long as whatever is going on isn't so loud that I can't hear the staff explaining the menu or my husband talking to me. But - in addition - I want space! I'll give you a "for example" We had dinner at Cafe Boulud one night - in one of the tables along the side wall. The tables were small and tight as (fill in the blank). And then the 2 guys next to us (obviously lawyers) start talking about a case in Florida - and the judge and lawyers in that case - in very graphic (unflattering) personal terms. And my husband and I raise an eyebrow - because we happen to be lawyers - and the case and the people they're talking about - well we know everything about them. Now mind you - we live in Florida - and here we are in New York hearing all this stuff at a New York restaurant. If I wanted to hear the latest gossip about Miami lawyers - I would have stayed home and gone to my local bar. I don't need it to intrude on a very expensive meal. Anyway - we let these guys prattle on for a while - and then we told them who we were - and that their very public discussion wouldn't go unreported back home. Boy - were they pissed. Anyway - in my opinion - any place this can happen isn't a 4 star restaurant. When I am paying big bucks for a meal - I want excellent food - excellent service - in lovely surroundings - and a modicum of privacy. Robyn P.S. Having just returned from a week of fine dining in London - I can only say that 3 out of the 4 starred Michelin restaurants I ate at were better than anyplace I've dined at in the US in recent years - with the exception of ADNY (which was more Europe than NY). Not that I have an overwhelming amount of experience. It's just that when you go to most NY restaurants - no matter what food is being served - almost everything is too hurried - too cramped - the dining simply isn't pleasant. P.P.S. Mea culpa. I'm braindead tonight. At dinner - my husband reminded me that we had a world class meal at Le Cirque 2000 in New York (and it was Italian) - and one at Nobu too. Not recently. Probably 5 years ago or so. As for the atmosphere at Nobu - it might have been unusual because we were a party of 12 and had a really big private table in the back of the restaurant.

Here's one of the first pictures I took with a flash. I'd appreciate any constructive criticism (I think the picture is a bit out of focus - I forgot to use the close up setting). Robyn

Have you exchanged email with fromages.com? What did they say (if you did)? Robyn

I was planning to post some pictures I took in London when I write about the restaurants - but I didn't know how to do it. Thought I'd take advantage of this thread to learn. This is my first effort (actually it's about my 10th effort - but it's my first successful effort ). Guess the first time is the hardest. By the way - this is sweetbreads and monkfish - the chef's signature dish at 140 Park Lane. Yummy. And the camera is a Kodak Easyshare DX6340. I think the chef will be happy with these pictures. Robyn

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. Yes - women of all ages get married and have bridesmaids - but I think the latter tends to become more infrequent as women age (there's just something a little weird about a 40 year old bridesmaid IMO - I think the dresses were made for younger women ). I agree that at a fine restaurant - all guests - no matter who they are - or how they behave - should be treated the same. On the other hand - wait staff who have a limited number of tables during a busy shift - when they rely on tips for a living - sometimes cannot avoid showing their hostility toward diners who put them in a position of not making the tips they would like to get (whether it's because they don't eat a lot of food - like a group of 10 women who split 5 salads - or because they're just lousy tippers - like a group of very young people like my nieces or very old people like my parents who think that 10% is plenty - or a group of Europeans who aren't accustomed to US tipping practices). I think most wait staff have a set of stereotypes when it comes to tipping - and some of the stereotypes aren't unjustified. And this may show up in the type of service a diner receives. I'm not saying it's right. I just think it happens. Robyn