mattkantor

Jeff, It was nice to meet you and your friends last week. Im glad you had a good experience, and hope you have many more in the future. As I am no longer associated with Gayle, I will not post in this forum anymore. I do still encourage people to go...I think the food and the service are great. Thanks, Matt

Im in portland right now....the fish here is amazing (as you would expect). Maybe I'll see some CRS, but I think I may be early by a week. Oh well... Try POACHING your fish at around 140F....makes for a nice texture...takes about 12-13 minutes for six oz pieces assuming the temp is steady. You can do it in infused oil or olive oil...or stock too but the oil seems to give you a beter product..I think it keeps all the fat inside the meat. I usually do star anise and vanilla bean, but lemon oil is good too... At Gayle, they make a really good lemon oil and poached tasmanian trout in it. I'll tell you, that is indeed one tasty fish.

Im not sure what happened there....I would think a mention of a few other places might have been good. Of course, he mentioned "us", so I can't complain too much. I would think that maybe a mentioning of Amada, Sovalo or the like would have been appropriate. A nice article on Vetri too. I guess the 9:00pm Monday night table for two thats usually available (the only available opening) will be gone now..

You should stop in and try it this week. It's quite good. We make the bread in-house too...as we do with all our bread. Here's a link. http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/entertain...ts/14106023.htm

Woo Hoo! We are all quite happy. But do not fret. The patio will be open in a month, with almost double the capacity to dine. But only on sunny days, I think. The menu is in flux right now, as spring is arriving. And as the restaurant matures, the dishes become more interesting and complicated. But still just as tasty as before.

Most places have minimum markups of 300% in the philadelphia area, and in general. Thats based on 10% off Pennsylvania retail pricing plus a delivery charge of 1.50 a bottle or so - Katie can verify if this is correct, but that is my understanding from people I work with. Our markups average 240% I think, but I know that is below the norm. I think most retail markups are more along the lines of 40-50%. Places like Canals on 38 in Pensauken may only mark up 30%. I don't know about the PCLB. They are on their own planet with that stuff. Really, its a regional thing...based on economics of rent costs, traffic, customer profile and types of wine sold, etc, etc....blah blah blah. Just my $.02

I have eaten there on several occasions, and have found it to be one of the best and most consistent restaurants in the area. The wine program and service are also excellent. As a cook in this business, it would be one of the first place I would look for a job (besides Paleys).

We are less busy Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Mondays can be busy since many other restaurants are closed. We also get a good number of restaurant folks in on Mondays. The wine list is fairly varied...while we do have glasses of wine for $14, we also have them for $7, so I think you can get in and out without getting killed. We also have a few beers. Our corkage fee is fairly high, so the BYO option isn't going to make it less expensive. ------------------ More menu changes are on the way later in the week. Thus far: You can never have too many foie dishes: We have added two dishes with foie gras in them, replacing the original seared foie with edamame, eggplant and water chestnuts. The first is a foie torchon with smoked salmon salad, paired with an oyster on the half shell topped with vodka martini granite, served with a glass of cucumber soda. Yes, it is awesome. The other dish is seared foie paired with skate served in a black tea sauce. Other notes: We are also doing "pork, beans and rice" which is our new pork belly dish. We will start running ocean trout and NY Strip probably later this week. I dont know how they will be served. We have added monkfish with artichokes, garlic and saffron as well, which is quite awesome. our newest pastry offering is an olive oil-rum cake served with lychee, cocnut sorbet and condensed milk. Amazing stuff going on here. ------------------- Im happy to see all the positive feedback on this site. Dan has worked so hard making this restaurant what it is, and I glad the effort to make everything work well is paying off.

Im disappointed too.... No comment about the Philadelphia Magazine article, as everyone is entitled to their opinion. I wish they spent more time on discussing the restaurant and less time going on about Le Bec Fin. I implore people to stop in on a Monday or Tuesday and try some food out. Don't take my word that our food is amazing and our service is top notch - see for yourself. We are doing something great where we are. We just made some menu changes as well, adding a couple of Foie dishes and getting a little more adventurous in general.

With Sous Vide, you have alot more control over temperature, so you really can get a perfectly cooked piece of meat. And you can finish it on the grill if you want nice grill marks or charcoal flavor, etc. You jus cook it a little under-temp. I think Capitol Grill might cook most of their beef this way. But it isnt about "cuts of meat"...you can sous vide anything. Its a nice way to poach apples, cook a lobster tail, filet or short ribs. But to some extent, the bag is un-necessary. Cooking short ribs sous vide for 36 hours is the same thing as braising them for 36 hours, except all the juice is in the bag (so you are doing it in portion sized containers and probably use less braising ingredients). Some will argue, but I dont know that would be any less tender to just braise out of the bag. Its really the same with lean cuts. I have been to Amada three times, and despite having to walk out the last time because it was too smoky, I would probably give them four bells as well...not just for the food, which is great, but for the service, which is outstanding. Maybe a smoke eater or more ventilation there? Definitely one of the best places in the city right now.

Umm....Uuuuummmmmm....website coming soon? Sorry, were just trying to keep up with the increased business from some nice write ups. If the site changes, I'll let you know. If you want to know anything about the menu or whatsit, just shoot me an email. matt@bourrezvisage.com

Sorry for the lack of detail. We are open until 12:30 on Thursday, Friday, Saturday. We do have an actual bar (albeit small) and liquor license. Most ofthe wines are from the Pacific Northwest.

I've eaten there twice. Its quite good...simple,but very well done. I think everything that came out was good, every time. Good service too...Amazing what they can put out in the tiny kitchen.

FYI: Gayle is now open until 12:30PM. Slightly smaller menu, same charm and great taste.

I have eaten at Amada twice now. I think both experiences were close to perfect. The first time, there was a little snafu and it was dealt with prompty and professionally, unlike I have encountered in most other establishments. As for the authenticity...I have been to Spain many times (to the point of having the Parte Viejo in Donosita memorized) and the food at Amada is so close to what I had there in the bars. It is, however, much more expensive here, but the reasons for that should be obvious and have to some extent already been discussed here. For instance, if the wine costs $9 by the glass at Amada and $7 by the bottle in NJ, what do you think the price of the same bottle of Rioja is in San Sebastian? I think I was paying 1 Euro a glass when I was there for 3 oz. I can't wait to go back. I still haven't had half the menu.

Gayle now has a liquor license. We serve mostly wines form the Northwest along with a sampling from the rest of the world. We have a wide selection of wines available by-the-glass, and the prices are fairly reasonable. We serve a few different beers and maintain a full bar. We plan on making some infused vodkas and such down the road. I do not know the policy on corkage fees. I'll keep you posted as I know more. I work in the kitchen, making starters, snacks and pastries - so I don't always know what is happening in the dining room. As for the seating, I can tell you that the tables are bigger than those at Azafran. We ordered all new tabletops which were six inches wider than the old ones. As it is, people have been ordering so much food it almost doesnt fit on these tables! For the menu, order any five items you want - no rules. However, I find the pastries to be as interesting and delicious as the entrees. The Three course menu is $42 and the five-course menu is $60. You can always do four or six courses: $42 (3-course)+$8 (dessert) = $50, etc.