et alors
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Posts posted by et alors
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Manresa is fantastic, but French Laundry is a life changing experience. Despite Michelin's opinion, it's like matching a two star against a three star.
But you know what? Life is short, do both. Really, your credit card can take it. How many Starbucks lattes do you need? Try coffee once in a while. ;-)
If you're really going to pick, do FL. and stay at Burgundy house. It's very authentic, and you can stagger home... plus it's in a sexier area than Manresa .. the wine country in fall is gorgeous. And if you stay a second day, you can swing by ad hoc. Which is merely terrific.
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I have a birthday coming up on Monday, and the plan is to dine in San Francisco. I have a two year old, and she needs to be taken for little walks, so a place like Delfina is out. My parents don't want to spend a ton of cash. But I'm not quite ready to roll over and do denny's or even dish (not they should be considered comparable). Ame, zuppa and oola look oh la la, but I don't want the patrons frowning because she need to get up a lot (she doesn't scream or throw things, and she's got trois gros under her belt, but admittedly then she was 6 months old and could be passed around like a football.)
Can the e-gulleters find a place that can match mama's passion for surprising cuisine and a two year old's restlessness? Or will this mama be doomed to eating at palomino?
HEEEEELLLLLLPPPPPPPPP
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Yes, here are the deets http://www.rickbayless.com/tv/season5/twochefs.html
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I don't think anyone's mentioned Casey's amazing decency of admitted her best dish was 100% Howie. It hurt her, but at the same time I really admired her.
Nothing wrong with Dale that being forbidden to work with chillies and their derivatives wouldn't fix. I'm hyper sensitive-- I eat them and I get blisters. I suspect Dale is utterly immune, as his blunders seem to all involve them. I'm bummed about his loss for sheer drama reasons.. a cinderella story is more affecting than the obviously best chef winning.
As for Hung: a little part of me wished he'd kicked ass by doing the food he did all along, rather than give in to the bullying by the judges. That said, perhaps he did find a new style of cuisine that will take him to the next level. We've never seen that on top chef.
A finally note.. I have never seen a group of contestants work together so well to the very end. Casey used dale's lobster bits for stock, they planned courses together. I kept thinking how delighted Ramsey would be if these folks every graced Hell's Kitchen.
Overall a good season about COOKING which I loved.
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Elk?!?! I just watched the ostrich iron chef, and it seems to be a similar meat, fat-wise. I think if product was very fresh, I'd do a tartar with nice capers, mustard, onions etc to set off the gaminess and highlight the bright meaty taste. Then serve with horse-fat fries and mezuna with a traditional dijon vinegrette (we do it wiht germafiber brought home form france, makes it magical.)
But if i felt so-so about it, I might wrap it in bacon, grill it and serve with microgreens and a root veg mixture... carrots and salsify, perhaps. the berry sauce makes super sense, gotta say that's the way to finish the grilled elk.
That said, I can't say I know elk...
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From Bourdain's blog
Let me respond quickly to a valid question that's already come up twice: Why do the judges (and why do I) keep suggesting that Hung might benefit from incorperating Vietnamese flavors or ingredients or culinary traditions into his offerings? Simple answer. Because we (rightly or wrongly) see a Vietnamese heritage (particularly one with deep associations with the restaurant business) as an enormous advantage for a cook. Because most chefs I know are crazy about Vietnamese food and if lucky enough to have visited Vietnam, totally ga-ga over the place; the easy accessibility of excellent, fresh, startlingly sophisticated food--even in humble homes, food stalls and markets. Hung comes from one of the "foodiest" of foodie cultures. Whether second generation, living in Texas or LA or Minneapolis, he has grown up with--and around--that food culture. He has said as much. There is a tendency among chefs and judges to expect and even hope that he'll show us some of that. Not that he has to. He could just as easily win this whole thing with his French chops.http://www.bravotv.com/blog/anthonybourdai..._way.php?page=8
I do hope that is what Collecio meant too. He also has some great insights about what it means for a food to have "soul."
I do think Hung, no matter what cuisine he was cooking in, did make a throw-away dish he could execute perfectly due to his enormous talents. He didn't respect the ingredient nor the environment (nor should he) and he sleepwalked his way into the finals. I look forward to seeing what soul he does bring to the final meal (and sorry I can't taste it!.
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Dale worked at Trio. Somehow I had missed that fact before now. My money suddenly shifted to the dark horse.
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Hubert Keller has a show I've caught on PBS recently, and I have mixed feelings about it. He looks so uncomfortable in the camera, yet at the same time so kindly and precise in his teachings. He's quite clearly a good teacher. I find his approaches and ideas both very educational and watchable, except when his unease makes me uneasy. Perhaps he'll grow into a Mario role.
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Anyhow, this one was slightly better. I truly wonder if they are reading the forums and adjusting.
While they could make some adjustments through editing, the episodes they're showing now were filmed a while ago.
It's all in the editing. the annoying music, the choice to focus on gordon at work at fixing the restaurant, the interviews and the focus on rotting veg... they could give the raw footage to the British crew and the american crew and have two different shows. It was actually the reappearance of the beefcake shot that made me wonder if they were tweaking.
If so, keep whining everyone! Louder! and on Fox's website!
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http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/b...omment-84303702
Top 10 Food Books (not Cookbooks) That Every Chef Should Own(in random order)
1) On Food & Cooking -- Harold McGee
2) The Art of Eating -- MFK Fisher
3) Kitchen Confidential -- Anthony Bourdain
4) It Must've Been Something I Ate -- Jeffrey Steingarten
5) Tender at the Bone -- Ruth Reichl
6) The Tummy Trilogy -- Calvin Trillin
7) The Omnivore's Dilemma -- Michael Pollan
8) Down and Out in Paris and London -- George Orwell
9) Heat -- Bill Buford
10) The Physiology of Taste -- Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin
I have trouble arguing, since I own all ten. The comments have some good additions. I threw in A Meal Observed, by Todhunter. You?
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woohoo!
Anyhow, this one was slightly better. I truly wonder if they are reading the forums and adjusting. Ramsey was a bit more authoritative, actually helped get the restaurant focused on a cuisine, he cleaned rather than remodeled the kitchen (though the front of hte house got a remodel... but they do that in the BBC version often, to message "change")
I do miss the explanations of _why_ he does each thing. Here he seems like a random tyrant, on the BBC every decision was backed with logic, so you could learn as you were entertained.
They are a bit formulaic, that said...
"How to fix your restaurant"
1. realize it's a business and if you mess it up your life is ruined
2. simplify your menu to a small list of things done well
3. simplify your dishes to a few fresh local ingrediants
4. find out what the market wants
5. market test your food by grabbing locals
6. clean and fix equipment
7. fire the bums
8. change damaged brands (by changing name and design) or at least repaint
9. do a silly promotion to catch folks attention
10. group Hug! (added for the american audience)
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pink chicken=bye bye. chef who kills the judges leaves.
in any case I just hope Dale slaps down malarky before he goes home. he deserves one shining dish moment before the final casey-hung death match.
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Best part about the US version of Kitchen Nightmares?
I didn't have to watch Gordon strip.
I rather missed the obligatory beefcake shot... it was about the only exploitive thing they didn't do.
I'm miserably disappointed in KN. I loved the British version. It could be show in MBA classes as business 101. But this one is "cops" in a restaurant. Not enough cooking, not enough food and way too much reality drama crap. I feel obligated to try one more episode, but this is not looking good.
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If you want to cook Italian, you read Marcella Hazan, if you want French then Julia and Jacque can be your guides. But to whom to you turn for Spanish, Indian, Japanese? For new techniques like sous vide or fashionable trends like low carb?
What cookbooks/cooking books and authors have been your guides when the territory was unknown?
I seek adventure....
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I am halfway through Reach of a Chef, and was very affected by his write up of Grant Achatz. Ruhlman's uneasy coming to terms with molecular gastronomy reminded me of Bourdain in Decoding Ferran Adria. Worth a read, as are his first two books. Sadly, wikipedia informed me Grant has cancer of the mouth; I can't imagine a worse fate for a chef.
Before that, I read George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London, mostly because Bourdain called it the original Kitchen Confidential, which is definitly is. Awesome book.
I also read the Ramsey autobiography which was like any TV celebrity autobiography train wreck, mom is a saint dad is the devil but way way too little about the kitchen. Sigh. His cookbooks read better, I think.
If you are reading something, please say if you like it or not... I'm hungry for more good food writing!
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If you love strawberries, the place to go is the nursery, not the market I think. I found alpine strawberries at my local nursery, and as someone before me said, they are moron-easy to grow. Water them and they fruit. And if you hand one to someone to eat, they will know you love them dearly, to hand it over rather than hoard each one yourself.
That said, I still shiver when I recall Florence, with tiny strawberries everywhere, in the market and on gelato, tiny tart and sweet and dense with taste. Why do they live so well, why do we allow ourselves to be cheated?
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I studied French for years and made grindingly slow progress until jumping into Capretz' French in Action series. I made huge progress in just a couple of months. Can't recommend this method enough. And now, you can even watch all 52 videos online for free! Formidable!
I've begun watching them. Still, I have a nightmarish vision of a chef screaming at me in patois while I try to avoid cutting off my fingers....
The collection resides here
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You know, it's a nice thought, but I've been with my French Husband for almost ten years, I took alliance cources, and when in France I can order, pay and discuss some movies, but not all, and I can't explain George Bush to anyone, but that isn't a language problem... I don't think I'll make a giant leap in a month and a half.
Maybe next year a course in french and food in arles... but this year, it's going to be cooking school in english. I'm gathering all my finds at www.metafooder.com, and it's starting to look pretty good. I'm frustrated by the ritz site, though... almost no info on what the classes actually *are.*
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I have a dream, which I have harbored for many years. Now, with a my 40th birthday just past, I'm hoping to make it real: I want to be Sabrina. Audrey Hepburn in paris, learning how to cook and be a lady at the same time. it would be sexist, if it weren't so sexy.
I want a short vigorous course where I will learn to crack and egg and cook a souffle (par example). I don't speak french very well, so I fear it may be at one of those for tourists places.
Which schools are more about skills, and less about goofing around learning a recipe?
I will be in France from mid december to early january, and am willing to push dates around for the right place... any ideas? (and yes, I'm digging though the threads.. I'm just having trouble finding the right... er... flavor of school.)
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Also, what are these?
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La Mata has am ambitious chef, but it's hit and miss now. This dish, watermelon a la placha, was awesome though.
Cafe Europa was my favorite for tapas. And the kitchen is open all day.
Lourdes Lbarra, the chef is extraordinary. She's catalan, and she has defiantely transformed the place into something special.
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I'm the mother of an almost-six-month-old, and I'm thinking a lot about how to raise a daughter with a good palette. Rice cereal (the traditional first food in America) doesn't seem like a good start-- I certainly wouldn't eat it very happily.
there is a reason they start with rice cereal-- do you remember how horible coffee and wine tasted when you were a kid? Strong flavors are a bit much. I'm not spanish, but right now my 10 month old is eating jamon, salmorejo (gaspacho) and asparragos, among other things. But she did start with rice cereal and bannas.
I was a white-food person until I was a teen, and now I eat everything. people change, dont worry.
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Sevilla roll up September 2006
made of various folks comments, with my own opinion as I try to verify.
Sorry about the confusion with the now defunct Casablanca-- this was the first time I've been able to sit down and sort through everything. Travelling alone with a baby (my husband is off in Nerva with his nasa cronies shooting x-rays through rocks)... well, I'm a bit disoriented. I would like to shoot myself in the head for saying this, but thank god for starbucks, where I can sit Amelie down to crawl while I use the computer... upstairs at Plaza San Francisco I can pull chairs around to make a make-shift playpen, and they even have an outlet. (for those who care, plaza alfalfa and plaza cristo de burgo have wifi, but not baby-friendly. Try bouncing a crabby baby on your knee while drinking sangria surrounded by out of uniform drag queens, tourists and happy families-- that's alfafa 10.)
Anyhow, back to food-- someone who writes guidebooks must read this forum-- I was surprised how many were in my Knoff Citymap Guide.
TAPAS Bars
Considered the best bet in Sevilla
El Riconcillo-- personally I adored it, great food even off-hours, great service, gorgeous old decor and they allowed Amelie, my 10-month old baby to sit on the bar while we ate tapas together (she liked jamon-- I'm scared.) The spinach-garbonzo was surprising and addictive. Amelie thinks so also.
Barbiana -- Stopped in on a thursday lunch, and it was packed with locals. No wonder there were no tourists-- from the outside it was nothing much, no tables ouside, no tables inside for that matter except two tall bar tables with no chairs. Lots of men in suits, women dressed nicely, everyone chatting, everyone knew echother, the bar man, the lotto sellers... I plunked Amelie on the bar, and ordeed a tinto verano-- but over the crowd the barman couldn't here properly, and I replied "si" as I alwas do and got a terrific dry rose.I ordered the required shrimp tortilla (more a fritter than anything else, but GREAT) and then asked the barman for another tapas. Amele tried to feed a cracker to a fellow patron. The barman choose somehting, a bit of fish and potato -- both delicious. Amelie ate half the potato and flirted with everyone in the room. Toward the end of the meal, a fellow carrying a michelin red guide came in-- he spoke english and confirmed this was the best spot in centro. A gulleter, or merely a wise man?
El Espignon IyII
Manolo Leon
Yerba
Sol y Sombres
Estrella
Manolo Leon
Cafe Europa- I think the crepe of bacalao and the partige pate puts it in the running. The Salmorego is a favorite of amelie's-- she has learned how to dip here.
Any word on Antigua Bodeguita? -- it was jam-pcked at lunch today.
RESTARAUNTS
Poncio
As-Sawirah
Egana-Oriza is generally considered going down hill.
I spotted El Mata-- very attractive menu, including carpaccio of gambas. Anyone tried it?
FINE DINING
"La Alquería at Hacienda Benazuza is a fine restaurant in delightful surroundings, very well run by Ferran Adrià alum Rafael Morales and closely monitored by Adrià himself. The menu is somewhat more conservative than Ferran's own at El Bulli, but still first rate stuff."
Starting to feel this is required.... we have wheels, when my husband brings them back from Nerva friday.
as for markets, the one on Ferria by Ominium Sactorium provided the great pears
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eleganthack/237608658/
. there is one at plaza de construction-- er-- plaza de constition as well, perhaps slightly better but also harder to spot.I will continue editing and updating...
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is casablanca gone? I couldn't find it-- ended up eating at vino and tapas, because they had tables-- makes a huge difference with my daughter. Tapas were quite nice!
SF Solo Dining
in California: Dining
Posted
I want to second Hog Island's tiny place in the Ferry building-- it has a bar and a few tables. There are a ton of other terrific little bar/takeout places in the Ferry building, you could wander around and pick what suited your fancy, and if it's takeout, you can usually sit on the tables out back and look at the bay.