
robyn
legacy participant-
Posts
3,574 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Everything posted by robyn
-
I usually make pesto in bulk. Twenty leaves won't cut it . I cook salmon filets layered with fresh basil and tomatoes. Twenty leaves is about enough for 4 servings. I'll give you the recipe if you're interested. Robyn
-
You mean a whole fish that you just caught? Or a whole meal ready fish you buy at the market? If the latter - it's usually the timing that's daunting (you can't just stick a meat thermometer in anything smaller than a whale ). Therefore I'd start with small fish - to get a feel for it - like those small farm raised trout that are about big enough for 1. Sauteed - in the oven - experiment. Once you get the little fish right - you can start working your way up to bigger fish. For what it's worth - I find that most older cookbook recipes call for too much cooking time - and trendier magazine recipes call for too little (I like my fish cooked - not overdone - and not raw). By the way - if it's the former - it's more complicated and involves really sharp knives. Make sure you buy a Kevlar glove . Robyn
-
Another of my perennial failures. I finally found a hollandaise sauce in a jar that you can just heat up. It isn't great - but it's consistently better than mine. Robyn
-
We call them "hockey pucks" in my kitchen - and that's exactly what mine look like . I've heard that the secret is using lard - but - being Jewish - even though I'm not very religious - I could never bring myself to buy a tub of lard (that's how they sell it here) and bring it into the house. Robyn
-
Agreed - but I think there's more variation in terms of the spaces people like than the food they like. Could be wrong. On my part - I smoke - so I appreciate restaurants in warmer climates with lovely patios where I can dine and have a cigarette now and then. Sitting in an overstuffed room for 3-4 hours without smoking drives me up a wall. I also like cutting edge flower arrangements (I've seen some magnificent ones in the last year) and heavy oversized flatware. And fun modern "drop dead" bathrooms. I confess - sometimes I go to restaurants where the food's supposed to be mediocre because I want to see the interior decor . Robyn
-
What about the 50 or so restaurants that he reviews while he's on his "learning curve"? Will it be insignificant to them? Robyn
-
So how did he wind up being the big deal restaurant critic at the NYT? I am beginning to think that I was wrong in terms of this being an "affirmative action" thing. This is really "the emperor has no clothes" thing. Kind of like appointing a political hack to be a Circuit Court of Appeals judge. You have to kowtow in front of someone who doesn't have the slightest idea what he/she is talking about (in your opinon). What's your take on this? Am I wrong? Is the head restaurant critic at the NYT supposed to be an enthusiatic amateur? Robyn
-
Precisely. There's nothing notable, offensive, or relevant about that, is there? I don't see why someone's politics or sexual orientation are relevant in any way, shape, or form to their qualifications for the job. So why did you mention these things, in that case?... Pan - In retrospect - I don't think I was sufficiently blunt. I thought that most people who held this position had fabulous qualifications - and that Bruni was an "affirmative action" candidate. What I'm hearing here is that more than person who has held this position didn't have fabulous qualifications. And Bruni is just another person who's supposed to learn the job while he's doing it. You'll have to excuse me - but how does this make the position of food critic at the New York Times any different than the position of food critic at the Florida Times Union (our local paper in Jacksonville FL)? Robyn
-
Precisely. There's nothing notable, offensive, or relevant about that, is there? I don't see why someone's politics or sexual orientation are relevant in any way, shape, or form to their qualifications for the job. So why did you mention these things, in that case? And why have you mentioned Berlusconi twice? Are you suggesting that Bruni was unfair to the main media mogul in Italy who is also Prime Minister, and that, therefore, he is not to be trusted with restaurant reviews? If so, that could be relevant, albeit pretty tenuously. Well - I always thought that the head restaurant review person at the New York Times was supposed to have an extraordinary amount of expertise and experience dealing with food. And this guy didn't. So I wondered why the heck he got the job. Judging from the messages here - I think my reaction now is "silly me". There are all kinds of people who've gotten this job with a similar lack of food qualifications (e.g., Grimes didn't even like to eat out). So what is this position - kind of a reward to someone who wants it for a job well done elsewhere? I am not being sarcastic here - I am being serious. I used to think of the position as being "way up there" (given to fabulously qualified people whose opinions were worth ten times mine or anyone else's). From what I'm hearing - perhaps my pedestal shouldn't be so high. What are your expectations concerning the qualifications for this position? By the way - as far as Berlusconi goes - my impression (perhaps incorrect) is that Bruni's articles about him didn't make him the most popular foreign correspondent with the government in Italy - and that perhaps it was time for him to come home. Robyn
-
From reading your links - I think I would like it. How much does a 3 versus 4 star rating in the NYT mean in New York? To me - it's simply the difference between extremely competent food - and food that "sings" (the kind where you must have extra bread or a sauce spoon to sop up every single smidgen of sauce). And I think that distinction is a very personal thing (not to mention that if a chef is off by just a little on a particular night - his "singing" might be a half note flat). For anyone who is inclined to point out potential inconsistencies in my messages after reading this - I'll say that when I'm critical in terms of consistency in restaurants - I'm not talking about the distinction between "great" and "near great". I'm talking about the difference between "great" and "near great" - and just plain yucky (food that's supposed to be hot is cold - it has too much salt or something else - or it has too little of something else - etc.). IOW - it tastes very much like one of the mistakes I make in *my* kitchen on a regular basis . By the way - I'd be a terrible restaurant reviewer. When I'm eating a great meal - the only word that comes into my mind is "yummy" (and it's been that way even before Rachel Ray ) . How do these people come up with all these words to describe their eating experiences? Robyn
-
that if Michelin rated the restaurants of New York, I'd suspect the order of top rated restaurants would be reversed in ways that would surprise quite a few people. Certainly the order of three and four star rated restaurants....Atelier (*cough*) springs to mind. Soba I'm not familiar with Atelier. What kind of restaurant is it? And I'm not sure that a great wine list has anything to do with being a great restaurant. You can look at the Wine Spectator ratings - which give wine a higher emphasis than most reviews do. Do they give too much? I can't say for sure. But - due to medical reasons - I can't drink wine - so it's not on my radar screen when I'm dining. Even if it were on my radar screen - I'm not sure I'd be interested in paying 200-400% markups on bottles. Therefore - I personally am just looking at food when I dine somewhere. To me - a fabulous $20 dessert is worth a heck of a lot more than a $25 bottle of wine I can buy in a lot of places which is marked up to $75. As for BYO - it reminds me of restaurants in Utah - where - when you can get liquor at all - it's usually in state stores in kiosks in the middle of restaurants. I don't think anyone would put the best restaurant in Utah in the top 10 - or perhaps 100 - of the US - but the way they serve booze can give you some food for thought on the relative importance of booze in restaurants. And - at least in my opinon - drinking wine/liquor in Utah is a total bargain! Just about all of this is totally subjective in my opinion - but - if I had to vote on things - I'd vote only for "best food" (and not best wine list, table linens, dishes, flowers, interior decorating, etc.). To put this in somewhat of an historical perspective - the first time I went to Archestrate - it was ghastly from any design perspective. The whole place was a terrible shade of purple. The table settings were mediocre. It did have a fine wine cellar (first time I ever spent more than $100 on a bottle of white wine - and that was about 25 years ago). But I'm sure that it was the food that got the stars - not anything else. Robyn
-
What issues? The guy is openly gay - and apparently middle of the road politically (although some people don't think so after his Berlusconi bashing). What's offensive about that? His being gay doesn't bother him - and it doesn't bother me. I think I asked what his qualifications were to be THE food critic for the New York Times. Is knowing what it is to eat well - and liking to eat well - enough for you (I mean - you're likely to run a restaurant that might be reviewed by this guy - not me)? To me - well - I know hundreds of people who know what it is to eat well - and like to eat well. All you have to do is go to a lawyer or doctor convention to find them. And I'm sure there are tens of thousands more I don't know. So is that what the fate of dozens of restaurants in New York is riding on - the opinions of someone "who likes to eat well, and know's what it's like to eat well"? I don't know whether to laugh or cry (think I'll laugh because I don't run a restaurant). Robyn
-
I personally wouldn't be so dismissive of Michelin. Does the organization have its faults? Yes - but so does the NYT. And it really isn't totally mired in tradition (at least when it comes to France - which is where it's most useful in my opinion - just like the NYT is most useful in New York). I remember eating at Jamin (Robuchon) when it had 1 star. I think it had 3 stars before I got home from vacation! Robyn
-
That's just what came up first in my Google search. Pages of it. I agree - being a man or a woman - heterosexual or homosexual - is in no way a *disqualification* for the job. Robyn
-
P.P.S. And you know I have to ask this question - even if I get a ton of hate mail here. Is this the same Frank Bruni who - when you do a Google search Frank Bruni and New York Times - you come up mostly with articles and discussions and interviews about homosexuality - not food? If this is the same guy - well what do all of you think this means in terms of the position of the head Food Critic for THE NEW YORK TIMES (again - said in deep serious voice)? What credentials does this guy have for this job? Asked in all seriousness. I have nothing against homosexuals - I am a design/art freak - so - of course - some of my best friends - etc. But having a deep interest in homosexual issues - or being homosexual - isn't in any way a qualification for being the lead food critic for THE NEW YORK TIMES - in my humble opinion. Perhaps there are 2 Frank Brunis - or those of you in New York know more about this than I do. Any information or insights would be appreciated. Robyn
-
P.S. Unless there's another Bruni writing for the New York Times in Italy - a simple Google search shows that Bruni has made more news recently by writing catty articles about Silvio Berlusconi (alleged plastic surgery etc.) than writing about food. So is this simply a way to repatriate the guy to New York after repeatedly insulting the PM of Italy? Already - there is something I don't like about this guy.... Robyn
-
Just because THE TIMES (said in deep serious voice) has its system doesn't mean that everyone else in the world has to follow it. (It's a good thing that every publication in the world doesn't follow the Times in everything it does.) And - like Chris said - most of us in the rest of the world are more laid back about this stuff. I have mentioned the Ruth Reichl review of Le Cirque 2000 a couple of times in the last week. That is the ultimate if you're X you get this treatment - if you're Y you get that treatment kind of review. What did you think of the review - and what do you think of restaurants treating different people differently (I'm sure it goes on all the time in restaurants all over the world)? I have friends in 2 camps - those who think that all people should be treated equally at fine "big deal trendy" restaurants in trendy cities - and those who *know* that they aren't. I tend to think that people in the former category are hopeless romantics - and those in the latter are realists. Robyn
-
I have written a ton of search warrants, and I have never even heard of that word...I will have to try and work it into the next one I write When I was an ADA - I used to write search warrants too. Don't think most of the cops - not to mention the judges - would know what I meant if I used the word . Were/are you an ADA in California (I was an ADA in Philadelphia)? Robyn
-
As I have said previously - I can mess up so many things it doesn't make sense to list them. Vinaigrette was one of them too - until a friend gave me this recipe. Wisk together 3 tablespoons of champagne vinegar (I've used any old white wine vinegar - like Regina - too with equally good results); 1/2 tsp. dijon mustard (I use Grey Poupon); 1/2 tsp. minced garlic; 1 large egg yolk (omit if concerned about raw eggs - but I've never tried that); salt and pepper to taste. While whisking - add 1/2 cup decent olive oil (I use Colavita extra virgin - no big deal). That's it. Perhaps it is the mustard that "pulls it all together". I don't know. It works. And that works for me . Robyn
-
Here's another interesting issue when it comes to sushi. Apart from whether it's fresh or frozen - how do you know what you're eating? We can all identify salmon - or shrimp - or tuna. But you mention yellowtail. Real yellowtail isn't easy to come by because of its limited geographical area and its seasonality. Now yellowtail is a form of snapper. I have been eating a lot of fish for a long time. And I don't think I could tell the difference between a yellowtail snapper fillet and the fillet of a half dozen other species of snapper. I sure couldn't tell the difference if I were eating 2 square inches on a chunk of sushi rice with a bunch of soy sauce. And when it comes to fresh/frozen - how old do you think any yellowtail would be by the time it got to New York. Absolute minimum of 3 days in my opinion. 4 or 5 is more likely. And what would it taste like if it weren't frozen? Robyn
-
although it might to the type of people who read and contribute to egullet. you see, we're not the average hick. Well - the point I was replying to was that there was some kind of cultural bias here because rules were applied to Japanese fish and not to non-Japanese fish. I don't think that's the case (since most of our sushi is probably from farm-raised frozen south American fish). By the way - as a person in New York (you - not me) - I wouldn't get too stuck up about sushi in general in New York. Frozen or not - it is indeed better (in general) on the west coast - and the best place to eat it in the US (in my opinion) is in restaurants in Hawaii which cater to a Japanese clientele. That's not to say that New York doesn't have some fine restaurants. It's just that I don't consider New York to be a destination sushi city. Robyn
-
i'm just commenting on the definition of "appropriate behavior at a fine restaurant" as it appears to me from the posts in this thread. it wouldn't surprise me, based on some of the posts here, if activity much further down the middle of the continuum you describe would also be unacceptable to some people. i think in general children in the u.s are far more "disciplined" in the active sense than they are in most places in the world--there is an ideology of "young adultness"--"leave alone at a fine restaurant, kids shouldn't even run around at chuck-e-cheese's"--whatever happened to just being a kid? more adults should consider having a childhood again. (or maybe they should just read "the pickwick papers" more often--as great a novel about childhood and food as there is.) this aristocratic ideology of fine dining would also benefit from a revolution or two. is that because of the difference in money or something else? if you had a really fancy indian restaurant in new york or london--say suvir saran's amma taken up a few more levels--and they maintained an indian cultural attitude to the question of children (in india children are almost universally indulged and it is rare to find adults who will take umbrage at their behavior anywhere) would you say it wouldn't deserve 3 or 4 stars? in other words, is your definition of fine-dining predicated on it being a quiet zone? a place for only muted, stately celebrations? if so, restaurants should specify that--not turn on the ice and raised eye-brows if guests play by different rules. I don't know what standards other people have. If I'm having a truly wonderful meal - I am usually happy - and I am usually drinking a bit too much. My behavior isn't childlike - but it isn't funereal either. Also - I'm not sure how a restaurant reviewer (the people who hand out the stars) would act when faced with a lot of children running around at a fine Indian restaurant - because children running around in a restaurant is ok in terms of Indian culture. On my part though - I have to say that when I'm spending big bucks for a 3 hour meal in a really nice place - I don't want children running around - making a lot of kid noise and/or a mess. I'd have the same reaction if I were spending an afternoon at a nice spa - some time working out - having a massage - maybe some time in the pool or the baths - then some quality chaise time with a nice book (maybe Dickens - maybe not) and a drink - and there were a bunch of kids running around. There are times and places when an adult "wants to get away from it all" - and - to me - getting away from kids (who are simply acting like kids) when I'm at a fine restaurant or spa falls into those times and places. By the way - I'm thinking of going to Zaika when I'm in London next month. Do kids run around there? Robyn
-
You've written an excellent message about how much a restaurant reviewer should care about the impact of a review on a restaurant. How much should a diner or potential diner care about a review (I have some opinions - but I'm curious to hear what other people think before I state them)? Robyn
-
I've been to London several times - but always in the fall - never in May. It is hard for me to believe that a tweed jacket will work in late May - since it's almost 90 F here in Florida every day that time of year - but I'll take your word for it. By the way - your poem - and your weather description - make it sound like it's great weather for flowers (assuming the rain isn't excessive). Makes me smile - because the main reason we're going this May is to attend the Chelsea Flower Show (something I've wanted to see for years). Robyn
-
The simple answer is that it's really a bummer crossing the Atlantic for a business trip or vacation - and finding out that you've brought all the wrong clothes (either in terms of dressy/not dressy or wrong for the weather). Robyn