russ parsons

if i recall, escoffier endorsed products too. i don't find the reliance of publicity new or even strange. restaurants are a business and all businesses--from restaurants to shoe stores--rely on publicity. i think one thing that may be different post world war II is what seems to me to be a drastic increase in restaurants that aspire to that "world-class" level. so there is much more competition for a finite amount of publicity. in the days of escoffier, there were only a few restaurants where people who wanted to dine seriously in that fashion could eat. post-point, that number increased some, but in the last 20 years, it seems to have really boomed. this would be easily verifiable by counting the number of 2 and 3 star rstaurants in michelin over time. maybe some hyperactive cia student will do a paper on it.

bocuse once famously remarked that the real revolution of nouvelle cuisine was that chefs started owning restaurants.

we don't have sultanas, but probably 95% or more of the raisins sold in the us are thompson seedless, whether they're black or golden (treated with sulfur and machine-dried). at farmers markets in california, it is common to find flame grapes. it is less common to find muscat grapes, but it can be done. these have remarkable flowery flavor, but do have seeds, which most Americans find distasteful. i don't recall seeing raisins marketed differently depending on whether the grapes were "gibbed" (treated with gibberellic acid, a naturally occurring plant growth regular--most products are approved for organic use in this country--which increases grape size).

couple things: 1) yes, california raisins are still sun-dried. they are picked and placed on paper between the rows. they are turned a couple of times through a couple of days. then they usually are taken to a sorting house to be cleaned and separated from the stems, etc. fun fact: until the turn of the century when the california raisin business really got started, raisins were an exotic ingredient that had to be imported from the Mediterranean. 2) those look like flame crimsons to me. one of the shames of california grapes (of which there are many) is that there are quite fine varieties grown that seem mediocre because they are picked underripe. a thompson seedless ripened on the vine until it is bronzish-golden is a remarkable grape (though probably not as much as a muscat).

that should never be a question when it comes to red bell peppers.

once again, though that is a very good book, it's important to note that that is just ONE style guide. there is no universal agreement. you can write a recipe perfectly according to that style guide and have an editor insist that you totally rewrite it. if this happens, do NOT tell the editor that they are wrong.

back in teh day, in between walking miles to school uphill in driving snow storms and watching network television, red bell peppers were a once-a-season special event. you couldn't just go to the grocery story any day of the week and pick them up. early september, i'd order a case from my specialty produce guy then spend part of the weekend grilling them, peeling them, and dividing them up into little baggies for freezing. they freeze and defrost magnificently. for a convenience step, you don't even need to peel them. roast them, cool them, and freeze them and they are even easier to peel. one can NEVER have too many roasted red bell peppers.

if you'll forgive an unrepentant old-media guy, this is the kind of thing the web does worst. rather than providing any kind of light, what we've got is an overheated, over-caffeinated water cooler where a bunch of people with only second (or even third) hand information stand around and argue with each other about things that are in some cases the most extravagent supposition. what seems to happen is that each person involved in the debate, through some kind of accretion of imagination, builds up their own true story of what happened when the actual facts involved are few. we're arguing about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin (open-handed slap? closed-handed slap?) when none of us know for sure the existence of either the angels or the pin.

in the us, every newspaper, magazine and book publisher has a pretty strict style sheet. how much they follow it is really up to the individual editor. (and, of course, that applies only to newspapers that print their own recipes ... most pull them off the wire and run them as they come in, which gives you a mish-mash of styles). sometimes copyeditors, being copyeditors, develop tics that can be amusing. i worked with one who insisted on replacing the word "prick" with "pierce" and "thighs" with "legs" (which are actually different things).

i'm working on a recipe for pickled figs (to go with a fennel and red-onion salad). works really well: equal parts vinegar and water, some sugar, cinnamon, clove, allspice. bring to a boil and simmer 10 minutes. then pour over the figs and let steep. about 1 1/2 hours later, great pickled figs. and they'll keep a while.

are these true persimmons? there is a native american persimmon that is different. if they're true persimmons,they are the hachiya variety, from your description. one of my favorite fall desserts is to get them really ripe, then cut them from tip to calyx in quarters, leaving it attached at the calyx. open it out in a bowl like a flower, then spoon in some cointreau-flavored whipped cream.

sounds like a great old recipe. most of the apple varieties we get these days are southern hemisphere--even in new york, once a great apple capitol. things like galas and braeburns. i've found that in most cases, a well-grown apple of any variety will work. one of my absolute favorite cooking apples is a golden delicious! (of course, you have to get them when they're golden, not green). the sole exception is a red delicious which is a mutated piece of garbage designed only to tempt people who only buy red. i'm not sure where you are, but here in california we are getting a relatively new variety called the pink lady that, when properly grown, is absolutely superb--crisp and winey, sweet and tart. it's got everything. and it cooks well. sanding sugar is superfine sugar.

richard sax is sadly underappreciated. i agree, that's a great book. several years ago i did a piece on pots de creme, where i took recipes from a dozen books, broke them down and cooked through them to try to come up with my "greatest" version. it was really interesting--some of them had more than a dozen steps and left a sink full of dirty dishes, and then richard's was dead simple, practically foolproof and had the best quality of all of them. in fact, iirc, i ended up just saying that and running his recipe (credited, of course).

i've had this problem, too. the deal is, sweet potatoes are so much lower in starch than real potatoes. there's nothing to bind the liquid. the solution is to cook the sweet potatoes first, then slice them and arrange them in the gratin dish, then pour over just enough cream to give them a gentle napping. bake this just until the cream bubbles and browns.

having spent quite a bit of timewith the bouchon quiches (mmmm, quiche), i need to point out that: a) the recipe is a little tricky--mainly because the dough is so wonderful you'll be tempted to roll it too thin. don't do this; it will leak. keep it thicker than normal. and b) this is a very custardy quiche. that's what keller thinks a quiche should be. i'm not sure whether that's what you meant by "eggy."

i finish most soups and stews with a small shot of vinegar. it freshens the flavor and makes a terrific difference.

john hess was critic for a year. it is interesting how often that position changes. since 1975, we've had 3 critics: Lois Dwan, Ruth Reichl and S.Irene Virbila.

an expert is someone who is convinced they know more about something than you do ← no, that's a pundit. seriously, i was deadpan in my first definition (and it certainly wasn't meant to be a put-down of the person asking the question). most of the smartest (and most expert) people I know are also the ones who are most likely to ask questions, rather than give answers. it's the tyros who like to do that.

i certainly hope you're right about vancouverites, but on this count, i think you're wrong. have you ever talked to a guy selling ladies' shoes? now that is a bad job and one where you are really at the customer's mercy. as awful as no-shows are, i doubt it can compare to the guy who spends an hour bent over someone's sweaty feet, trying on sling after sling only to have them say "you know, I was just looking" and get up and walk away. restaurants are retail. granted, they make us (or at least me) happier than most other forms of retail, but they are retail nonetheless.

seriously, i have been writing about food fulltime for more than 20 years and cooking and eating pretty seriously longer than that. and there isn't a day that goes by that i don't learn something that blows my mind. sometimes it comes in reading papers (recent favorite: sweet corn aroma, chemical components and relative importance in the overall flavor response; my subtitle: it's all about the dimethyl sulfide baby!). it can come from chefs or home cooks. it can come from the tia picking out melons next to me at the farmers market. as a journalist, i see my role not as being an expert, but more in acting as a bridge between all the experts and all the people who are curious.

and it can make a pretty sweet career if you play your cards right.

an expert is someone who knows more about something than you do.

sorry jamie, i really disagree with your entire premise. chefs are not artists in their ateliers. we the customers are not privileged just to be admitted. they are in a retail business, even if they don't, as you say, have hopes of becoming rich and famous (i really envy vancouverians having such a self-effacing bunch). i think it's telling that the chef chose to frame his argument in the nature of a personal relationship. The nature of a business relationship is much different than that of one that is purely social. the basis is that one side (the restaurant) needs the other (the customer) much more than vice versa. And therefore, while one may weep at the inequity, the restaurant must do everything it can to make the customer happy, rather than vice versa. it may not be fair, but as they say in the godfather, "this is the life we have chosen." this doesn't mean that everything a customer does is right, but it does mean that a smart businessman will make it his practice to learn to accomodate them, rather than whine that he is unappreciated.

i don't think anyone objects to being offered bottled water, per se. i think it's the exorbitant rate they charge for the water and that's the big difference between here and italy. in italy, a bottle of water will run you the equivalent of $2.50 to $3 (at least the last time i was there). Here, at least in los angeles, they usually seem to start at $7 and then go skywards. also, there is a major question of infrastructure support. in italy, hardly anyone drinks water out of the tap. i'm assuming there is a reason for that other than bella figura. here, most places the water is pretty presentable. even in los angeles, where the tap really isn't very good in most places, most good restaurants have expensive water filtration systems that make it good. and then they charge you 7X retail for the bottled water.

i've heard this complaint too, and, frankly, my response is the same as pan's. i guess if you're comparing it to: a) the normal southern california taco stand menu, or b) someplace fancier, it could be a let-down ... maybe. but it does what it does perfectly and in a setting and price-point that is absolutely appropriate. i'll sometimes take an extra 2 hours driving north to go up the 101 rather than the 5 so i can stop for lunch (leave long beach at 8:30 and i'm almost always in SB by 11:30 or so, depending on the 405).