robyn

Two easy things which might improve your poached eggs. Put a little bit of vinegar in the poaching water. And use only the very freshest eggs (as opposed to hard cooked eggs - which should be made with old eggs). Robyn

I had the same problem when I called to make a reservation - and I did tell the restaurant about the wrong number on the website. I was only paying 8 cents a minute for my call from the US - but other people might be paying more to reach a wrong number! Not to mention that the fellow I reached when I dialed the wrong number can't be too happy about getting dozens of calls for the restaurant. Note to people in the US who are planning a trip to the UK. Bellsouth has a great deal. $1/month for an international plan - calls are 8 cents a minute to the UK. You can turn the service on and off whenever you want. Robyn

Maybe you're wrong? I don't know - but I've never had a problem making a reservation at a nice restaurant. Of course - I do have my rules. Usually no Friday or Saturday nights. No prime time high season in a place where the season is short. No attempts to get in the first couple of months at the hottest new restaurant openings. Etc. And - if necessary (usually isn't) - I'll use the concierge desk if I'm staying in a hotel where I think the concierge desk has some clout - I'll even call the concierge desk to make the reservation a month in advance. And then there is of course the fall back rule. That if you can't get a reservation you want a month or two in advance - try being a walk-in the night you want to eat. That's obviously not a great option if you're talking about a restaurant in a small town in France (and you don't happen to live in that small town) - but it's a reasonable thing to try in New York (if the walk-in doesn't pan out - it's not like you're going to starve). Robyn

I'm not hungry at 6 - at all. Unless I skip lunch. The mileage of other people may vary. I think if we talk about this long enough - we'll get into discussing the merits of single seating restaurants (which is what I really want to see when I'm going to wind up with a huge bill at the end of the meal). Note that I think it's possible to turn many multi-seating restaurants into single seating restaurants by eating during the week - during off-season at a seasonal place - etc. And it's generally worth the effort to do so. Robyn

I'll take the pies with Albert Brooks - as many as I can eat without gaining an ounce . You know - it's possible that the food you ate - while technically perfect - just "didn't sing". My husband and I use that phrase to indicate that even though something is excellent in terms of preparation - it's not fall off your chair delicious - food that tastes so good you don't even want to share one little bite with your dining companions. For what it's worth - my husband and I have meals in high end restaurants that are like that more than we'd care to. Robyn

All material on eGullet is copyrighted. Then notify infringers when they're infringing. Robyn

Err... I got my first email identifier in 1965, as part of the CTSS project. I was a summer intern at the MIT AI lab, and the stuff was being developed...happy days. CTSS was the"Compatible Time Sharing System", and one of the first to develop an email system, and led on to many modern operating systems. The hackers (in the correct and polite sense) in the AI lab developed ITS (the Incompatible Timesharing System), that went on to be developed by DEC, and at least some of the ideas still live in Linux and Emacs... Give these guys a break. I thought it was a fantastic article, witty, some original ideas and well researched, with a good feeling for the food. It inspired me to take dehydration more seriously. Can we get back to talking about the food please? It's good to find someone who's older than I am . For what it's worth - I really liked the article too. Robyn

If that's the case (and I can't say whether or not it's true based on personal experience) - then it's not a restaurant worth going to in my opinion. I'm not going to drop $500+ - and eat at 5 or 10 - no matter what. I value myself - and my money - more than that. For what it's worth - when I booked our dining reservations in London for the end of this month - I didn't run into anything of the sort. About the "worst" I ran into was a restaurant which said more or less that if I had a 7:30 seating - there would be a second seating - and I'd have to clear out in 2 hours or less. But for an 8:00 seating or later - there was nothing to worry about. Obviously no big deal. I will tell you an interesting story about "VIPS". My husband and I took his parents to the Greenbriar quite a few years ago to celebrate his father's retirement. I booked a tennis lesson for a particular afternoon. I received a call that morning from an assistant tennis pro. He said that my lesson was canceled - because Alexander Haig (who was a VIP at that political point in time) wanted to play tennis that afternoon - and he wanted the courts on both sides of him (including the one where I was supposed to take my lesson) empty. I mentioned the cancellation to the concierge when we went to lunch. And - after lunch - I got a call from the manager reinstating my tennis lesson. He told me that the Greenbriar was a world class resort - and - at a world class resort - all guests were treated with the same degree of excellent service. I had a good tennis lesson - and Alexander Haig - since he didn't get the preferential treatment he wanted - didn't show up. The simple moral of this story is that if a place is truly world class - and the Greenbriar was - it treats *all* its customers with grace and dignity. It doesn't have 2 or 3 classes of service. One for the VIPS - another for the "hoi polloi" (keeping in mind that the "hoi polloi" may be some unknown business person from Denver who's worth $50 million - or simply someone local who's scrimped and saved to afford the experience that's being offered). Is the kind of treatment you're talking about very common in New York - expected? If so - it doesn't speak well of the high end restaurants there in my opinion. Robyn

I still wish the line was being sold through a store with a more national presence. And I don't think I've been to Bergdorf Goodman in decades. These days - when I go to New and want to see what's new in housewares - the first store I like to hit is Moss. Raynaud/Limoges is always expensive. Except when it gets remaindered (we have a factory outlet store here in St. Augustine FL where you can get some very good deals on high end housewares from time to time). Robyn

What's weird is I think your parents look younger than me and my husband. Nevertheless - parents are parents. Even if you had too much champagne with them - they'd still be parents! (I've eaten at nice retaurants with parents for almost 4 decades now - and I can assure you that your experience is not unique - the only difference as you age is you wind up picking up the checks for your parents - not the other way around - it's a total turnoff to spend big money taking parents out to eat - and hearing them complain non-stop about the meals they're eating - so that's what you have to look forward to .) But I do understand what you're saying. My husband and I first started eating at fine restaurants when we were in our 20's (we're almost 60 now). We're both lawyers. When we were close to 30 - we got our first "grand lessons" in eating from a court reporter we used. He was about 25 years older than us - and he had spent 3 months a year in France every year after his service there in WW II. He basically taught us to eat. In France. Starting with bistros - and then working through 1, 2 and finally 3 star restaurants. I'm not sure how you learn to appreciate the difference between a bistro type restaurant and a 3 star restaurant without experiencing the stuff in the middle - and I'm not sure how I'd go about teaching myself today (I'm sure it can be done - would take a bit of work though). I just feel lucky to have had someone who was willing to take the time to teach me. I can tell you that there were lawyers we know who went out to eat with our friend in France. They didn't take the time to learn from him. They just ate the meals he offered them. And more than a few told him he was being ripped off spending so much money on food. They weren't educated in terms of food - and they thought that if you spent X - you were spending too much - no matter what you were eating. They were a somewhat elevated version of my father-in-law - who - in his life prior to living near us - could never imagine a dinner as being worth more than $14.99 - no matter what it was. (Aside to Pan - my father-in-law was never really fat - he smoked though - and he has bladder cancer - but now that he's very thin - he doesn't have to worry about eating anything.) So I really don't think it's a question of being too young to eat (as opposed to critique). I had my first meal at a 3 star restaurant in France when I was in my 20's. I knew it was wonderful - but I don't think I could have done it justice in a review. If only because - for starters - I didn't know the names of half of the things I was eating. Anyway - at least in my opinion - you're not too young to learn how to eat. But - you have to put political stuff to the side. Fine dining knows no political bounds. In my opinion - it's not a place to make a statement about people in the world who are starving - or animal rights - or any war - anywhere. It's just a simple hedonistic pleasurable thing. Like having a massage at a nice spa. Or putting up a whole lot of wonderful colorful blinking lights during the holiday season. Or just spending a morning curled up on the couch with the papers and a cup of coffee and not having anyone interrupt you for an hour. By the way - I had the most liberal of liberal arts educations in Ivy League schools. So if I can enjoy big deal restaurants - there's still hope for you . I think you're off to a good start. You've eaten at great restaurants - but you have questions about why they're great. Eat at restaurants "in the middle" - and figure it out. And next time you go to a great restaurant - go with a friend or significant other who makes you laugh - and isn't counting calories (it's ridiculous - but sometimes people do that in fine restaurants). Finally - learn how to eat cheese. I recommend this website for ordering cheese from France. Next time you have a party - order a lot - and work your way through it - from mild to stinky. Do it a few times. You'll get the hang of why stinky cheese is really great. And 3 years from now - you'll go to so-called great American restaurants - and wonder why their cheese courses are so mediocre . Anyway - enjoy. That's what life is all about. Robyn

Check out that plate -- not just the overall shape, but the inset. Granted, it reminds me a bit of the CBS "eye" but I can't help but wonder how long Keller worked with his designers to come up with that. That plate is part of the "Point" line Keller has done for Raynaud/Limoges. It's an interesting line - but I disagree 100% with its marketing - namely that it's only being sold in Gumps in San Francisco. I called there to inquire - and wound up talking with a very disinterested sales person. Can't recall where you live (New York?) - but I live in Florida - and I wish the line was being sold nationally through a store like Bloomingdales - or Neiman Marcus. So - if we were interested in it - we wouldn't have to travel 3000 miles to take a look up close. Robyn

Glad I didn't screw up the description. I hoped the food had improved - but - after 30 years - I wasn't exactly holding my breath. And you're right about not going again. It's basically a "one shot" place - fun the first time - no reason to return. By the way - if you like tatoos - come up to northeast Florida. We have more than our fair share . Good golf too . Robyn

I was thinking more of Adrober than cooks at a restaurant in Quebec (or people anywhere else living vicariously). If he enjoys what he's doing fine (that's his call). But I sure wouldn't feel compelled to drag along a camera and take pictures of a meal I was eating to make people I didn't know happy. I think there are all kinds of people in the world - and there are all kinds of people who eat at fine restaurants. And they do it for a variety of reasons (and many people will do it for more than one reason). There are people who just want to put notches on their belts. There are people who want to learn about the cuisine. There are people who interested in being food critics and/or photographers. There are people who want to have a great meal/delightful evening. I'm probably a combination of the second and fourth - "girls just want to have fun - while learning something too"). I really don't care why other people do it - but if Adrober is talking about Per Se as being a "near death" experience - he's basically not doing it right in terms of himself. When you're spending that kind of money - you should have a good time. Just my two cents. Robyn

P.S. The restaurant we ate at last night - Bistro Aix - was the featured "Saturday night" restaurant in the 36 Hours Jacksonville article in the NYT on Friday. It's a favorite of ours - and I'm glad to see that it finally made the "big time". Forgive this shameless plug for the restaurant . Robyn

I don't know whether you're too young - or too serious - or both! Next time - leave the camera home. Maybe Mom and Dad too . Don't think about death. You'll have plenty of time for that later in life. And just enjoy. Have too much champagne. Too much rich food. Too much chocolate. Laugh. Or at least giggle. By the way - when I look at all these pictures of food - I think about sex. Would anyone have fun with sex if they spent the whole time taking somewhat clinical pictures of it (as opposed to the pictures you'd never share in public )? You know - I bought a digital camera a while back - but - whenever I'm having a good time - even if I remember to bring the camera - I never remember to take pictures. If you can't avoid thinking about death - think about Woody Allen's kind of death - as in Love and Death. It's more amusing than real death (which - at my age - is unfortunately what I have to deal with more and more). My father-in-law is in a nursing home here - and he was just diagnosed with pretty bad cancer. That's the bad news. The good news is he doesn't have to worry about things like gaining weight or his cholesterol anymore. So we're taking him to the best restaurants available here (such as they are) - and encouraging him to eat to his heart's content (he was always kind of a Golden Corral person before we brought him down here to live near us). Last night he had shrimp with pasta in a red pepper cream sauce. He ate every bit of the full portion with great gusto. And my husband and I smiled watching him eat. Don't wait until you're 84 and dying to enjoy. That's not a good way to go through life. Sorry to sound heavy and philosophical. Had a bad week. Robyn

We had more peas than we thought we would have. But we ate the last of them tonight. The plants and peas were getting covered with something that looked like powdery mildew (don't have the slightest idea what it was - I just know that peas don't like 80+ degree weather - which is what we're having now). Tomorrow I will pull out the peas and plant beans. It's probably a little late to plant anything - but I have the seeds - and no sense throwing them in the trash. We've had probably 4-5 inches of rain since Thursday - after almost 60 days of almost no rain. Don't think we have to worry about drought for a while . Robyn

I am older than most of you people - and I have been on line since 1988. Particularly active in the late 80's-90's writing on message boards dealing with financial matters (when the press was fascinated by that type of activity). I've been interviewed by major financial publications - I've been quoted in major financial publications - sometimes I've been interviewed without attribution (at my request - I was an unnamed source for a few financial reporters) - and sometimes what I said was just paraphrased without attribution or my consent. Comes with the territory when you're writing on a message board and you're not copyrighting what you're writing. Never bothered me. I wasn't trying to make a living writing my messages - and the people I dealt with usually returned my favors in various ways that I found acceptable (could be anything from discussing a matter I was interested in with me to buying me lunch). Some reporters were dorks - they never returned favors. And a few of those dorks have gone on to bigger and better things. Such is life. Anyway - if you're not happy with your relationships with the press in general - or parts of the press in particular - it's not as if you're totally at their mercy. You can be proactive in dealing with them to get whatever it is you happen to be looking for (won't work 100% of the time - but it will work more often than not). Robyn

thanks for your feedback robyn. i can't speak for all "us people" in seattle - but i do stand by my opinion about seastar - and i'm happy to defend it. i didn't have a huge meal (nor, i think did i imply that i did) but a seafood restaurant (with accolades, no less) should not be serving elderly mussels. as i mentioned in my initial post, i should have said something, but i didn't. and someone in that kitchen should have known. (that sucks) with respect to the 2 other dishes - one i was very excited about that turned out to be missing both it's promised truffle oil and the pear...too many pinenuts and not enough seasoning left the scallop bland and uninteresting. (sucked) i'm happy to pay $9 for one perfect scallop - but i think i have every right to be a little bitter when it's not even good. i eat very well in seattle - we have tons of great restaurants that offer quality, consistently inventive cuisine and great atmosphere. seastar, in my opinion, is just not one of them. Before I say anything else - I want to ask you a few questions. You mentioned that you were dining with a friend after some shopping. What time did you eat? And where did you sit? And how long did you sit there? These may sound like stupid questions - but I have a theory - and I'm curious to know if my theory might hold water. Robyn

I wear Birkenstock clogs for lots of things. Not only are they good on your feet and your back - but you can muck around in anything with them - spill anything on them - and they wash up in 2 seconds (I use them for gardening as well as cooking - and they're a must-have for people who work in even sloppier areas like operating rooms because you can throw them in the dishwasher). Robyn

I like Birkenstocks. Unfortunately - I wear size 32 clogs (basically women's size 4-5). They're kid's shoes - and - unfortunately - the kid's shoes have been discontinued . While we're dealing with apparel - I'll note that I just bought a cut resistant chef's glove from a company called Hubert. The company seems to carry nice stuff - basically for commercial accounts. It isn't very cost effective to buy just one glove - but it was worth it to get an extra-small one that actually fit me! Also - I get a catalogue from a company called Chefware. Like the catalogue says - it has the "Look That Cooks" . Robyn

I would very definitely like to find those seeds. Those are delicious. Apparently they aren't available except under commercial licensing. This is the website. Robyn

Well - perhaps the person who wrote that the restaurant "sucks" deserves something more than a pat on the back. I had never looked up the reviews or the history of this restaurant before dining there (it was very new when I ate there) - or after. But I took a look tonight. Among other things (including very good reviews) - I found this - namely that the chef/owner of this restaurant was honored last fall by the James Beard foundation as one of the great regional chefs in the country. I don't know enough about the Pacific Northwest in general to say he is "one of the greats" there. After all - I live 3000 miles away. I just know I had 2 very good meals there. But I would think that anyone living in Seattle would want to at least give this place - a place which has received national recognition - the benefit of the doubt - at least give it the chance to put together a complete meal or two for one's enjoymentl - before trashing it in public. In my neck of the woods - I try to nurture such places - and emphasize the positive when I find it. If those of us in smaller cities don't do that - all we'll be left with down the road is mile after mile of mediocre chain restaurants. Robyn

OK - I have to ask all of you people in the Seattle area. Have you eaten a meal in your general area that costs $75-100 a head that you think was worth it? I know there are many people where I live who think that *no* meal is worth that amount of money - which is why our restaurant scene - in general - to repeat a word - "sucks". But I always thought of Seattle as being more sophisticated than Jacksonville. Perhaps it's just a cursory impression based on a few afternoons in furniture stores. Maybe they are just 2 grunge cities on opposite coasts? Or maybe computer geeks don't like to spend money on food? Or maybe young people in general aren't used to spending a lot of money on food? Got me. So who of you have spent that much money on a meal in the Seattle area and enjoyed it? What restaurant(s) did you dine at? Robyn

When I bend over - no one would ever confuse me with a Vargas girl . Robyn

That is strange. If I were going to fire anyone - I would have fired half the service staff - not the kitchen (I thought the food was really good). Still - you have to have one meal at Merrick Park - just because it's new and very attractive. So try Mundo or Pescado. You shouldn't have a problem with either on a week night without a reservation (so you might just drive there - check out the menus - and see which looks best to you). I don't know how many choices you have to make. FWIW - I liked Casa Tua better than Azul (although it's a totally different type of cuisine). Robyn