Daniel Rogov

ChezCherie, Hi... Why not simply ask the sushi chef or the restaurant manager how this works? Such a question could not possibly offend anyone and might just be the easiest way to get a fully unambiguous answer.

First thing to realize is that food is far more than a series of ingredients that enter our mouths and later exit our bodies in other ways. To paraphrase Brillat-Savarin - animals eat, men and women dine and men and women of good taste dine well. Second thing to realize is that whatever experience you gather in dining, reading, exploring, traveling, whatever, food is inseparable from the history, psychology, anthropology, sociology and cultural-religious beliefs of human beings. We are, for example,the only animals that eat when we are not hungry and we do that for a multitude of reasons. Understand that and you're on your way to being one of the not very many writers that wll stand out from the crowd. Don't understand that and you may write a dozen or more books, be widely published and simply be one of the masses. Indeed, study languages, but study also the meaning of those languages in their social and cultural context, especially in this case of how those relate to culinary habits. As to journalism courses...well, I'm a skeptic. A.J. Liebling never took or gave a course in journalism. Neither did Hemingway. And certainly Curnonsky never did.........

One does tremble in fear at the possibility of disagreeing with the BBC but what the heck..... Here's a piece I wrote a few years ago: The custom of serving wine with cheese has been popular with peasants at least since the days of Homer. It became the rage among the smarter set only when King Louis XVI of France stopped for refreshments at Varenne where he enjoyed a fresh Brie cheese taken together with bread, butter and a dry red wine. From that day until the present, there have been few treats more sophisticated than the combination of wine and cheese. Which wine goes best with which cheese is very much a question of personal taste. The truth is that there are so many wines and so many cheeses that it would take an encyclopedia to list and pair them all together. Wine is often at its best with cheese but not all wines go with all cheeses. Just as with other foods, certain cheeses are best suited to certain wines. Red wines, for example, are generally considered best with most cheeses, but whites go especially well with goats' milk cheese and cooked cheese dishes. The following table may prove useful in selecting the proper wines for the proper cheeses. The list is based on a combination of my own experiences, the writings of English wine critic Hugh Johnson, French restaurant critic Robert Courtine and American gastronome and food writer Craig Clairborne . Especially full bodied and powerful reds Blue cheeses such as French and Danish blue, Gorgonzola, Roquefort and Stilton; soft goats' milk cheese Medium to full bodied red wines Brie and Camembert, Gorgonzola, Parmesan Medium bodied reds Munster, Edam, Port Salut, Emmenthal Fruity and light reds Cantal, cream cheeses Light dry reds and whites Goats' and sheeps' milk cheeses, young Cheddar, cooked cheese dishes Robust and full bodied white wines Gruyere and Cheddar Rose and medium bodied whites Gouda, Port Salut, Herbed Cheeses Sweet dessert wines Parmesan, sweet Gorgonzola, Cheddar, hard or soft goats' milk cheeses When NOT to serve cheese and wine together The only time when wine should not be accompanied by cheese is at a wine tasting. Because cheese smoothens the rough taste of certain wines, especially rough reds, the cheese tends to over-emphasize the value of the wine and gives a false impression of its true quality. I often receive invitations to taste wines at wineries. I always smile inwardly when there is cheese placed on the table at such tastings for it may mean that the winery is trying to hide a fault in their wines. And let us not forget the dictate of Brillat-Savarin, perhaps a bit chauvinistic but it does make its point: "A dinner without a cheese course has something clearly akin to a woman with only eye"

I'm all for the demystification of wine (and the arts and mathematics and physics and medicine and economics) but I must remind us once again that the true understanding of any human endeavor depends on the ability to describe and state what we want and that involves language specific to that field. Not everyone has to be an expert but, comparing it to the question of "would your butcher suggest turning to an expert about your lamb chops" - darned right he would if you didn't know how to cook lamb chops. His recommendation would either be to a good cookbook or to someone like himself who might give you the right hints.

I never fail to be amazed at the huge quantity of absolute nonsense that one finds (a) in advertising material and (b) posted on the internet as "truth". The statement that in this press release to the effect that "The type (of wine) they like really is based on the number of taste buds you have" is a prime example of this. The number of taste buds per square centimeter indeed is one of two major determining factors in whether one is a 'super-taster', 'normal taster' or 'non-taster' (how specifically sensitive we are to perceiving the types and numbers of taste sensations that can be imparted by a liquid or solid), but has precious little to do with our preferences for this wine or another. Likes and dislikes or, perhaps better - preferences are determined by a multitude of factors, those including past personal experience, cultural and social input (ranging from the family unit to religion and even nationality), left-and right brain functionning procedures, and even the psychological mood of the moment. I would go as far as to spectulate that if we built a list of 100 determiners of what foods/wines we prefer that the number of taste buds we have would be somewhere about 89th-95th on that list. Ah well.....in various parts of the world at least some energy is supplied by the excrement of chickens, cows and buffaloes. I suppose we could just as easily take some of this p.r. nonsense and find a way use them to energize if not our automobiles at least our wrist watches.

By the way... if its super-simple but super-good you want, in Jerusalem make your way to Sima (near the Mahane Yehuda Shuk) Sima * Rehov Agrippas 82, Jerusalem. Tel. (02) 623-3002 Despite its hyper-simplicity, this Jerusalem landmark is nearly always packed, and most come here to feast on the magnificent "mixed Jerusalem grill" - a mixture of chicken hearts and livers with bits of lamb, all of which have been seasoned marvelously with a mixture of spices so secret that the owner swears that no manner of torture, coaxing or bribery will get him to reveal his ingredients, before being griddle-fried with generous amounts of onion and garlic. Order it by the plateful if you want to be among the hoi-polloi but do it in a pita if you truly want to enjoy yourself. Also worth trying are the grilled kebabs and lamb chops, each of which are accompanied by really good cole slaw, pickles, olives, and Turkish salad. Good for a casual feast at any time of the day. Open 10:00 – 01:00. Closed Friday night and Saturday until the end of the Sabbath. Reasonable prices. Kosher.

Mano, Hi..... Truth is I have nothing at all against fine Muscat dessert wines. As might be said "some of my best friends are........." In fact, a potentially excellent match with your tarte Tatin. Go for it and enjoy!!!

Eugene, Hi... Following are my updated lists (the updates as of 29 Dec 2005) of Israeli best restaurants, best casual restaurants and others that although perhaps not the "best" are among those I most enjoy. The restaurant scene in Israel, especially in Tel Aviv, shift as rapidly as the tides these days. As best as I could keep track, during 2005, 65 restaurants opened and 63 folded up their tents and vanished into the night; in the hope of finding or regaining their "in" status, more at least a dozen have changed their décor and name; and some chefs has moved so rapidly from restaurant to restaurant that one might think they were playing the culinary equivalent of musical chairs. Among the most notable of changes: Artichoke has lost its chef; Barbaresco has closed its doors permanently; Doda although still fun has turned distinctly mass-market; Lilith is in the process of changing its location and is not now operational; Claudine has gone kosher with all of the problems that sometimes implies; and Mika seems to have lost it's cutting edge. Interestingly though, those restaurants at the top of my lists have remained fairly consistent and those lists show minimal changes. As always, the following reflects my ongoing effort to compile three lists, one of the country's best restaurants, another of the best casual restaurants and yet another that includes some of the places in the country that I most enjoy even though they may not make the "top 10". Those restaurants rated as "casual" may or may not be less expensive than those on the list of the "very best" but they are indeed more laid-back in both atmosphere and culinary style. The 10 Very Best Restaurants 1. Moul Yam: in the old Port of Tel Aviv. (03) 5469920. 2. Raphael: Hayarkon 87, Tel Aviv. (03) 522-6464. 3. Carmella ba Nachala: HaTavor 46, Tel Aviv. (03) 5161417 4. Orca: Nachalat Binyamin 57. (03) 5665505. 5. Chloelys: Abba Hillel 16, Ramat-Gan. (03) 5759060. 6. Arcadia: Agrippas 10, Jerusalem. (02) 6249138. 7. Catit: Kibbutz Netzer Sarini. (08) 9278050 8. Yo'ezer Bar Wine: Yo'ezer Ish ha Bira 2, Jaffa. (03) 6839115. 9. Aluma: Cvish Tarshicha, Cfar Vradim. (04) 9574477 10. Pronto: Nachmani 26, Tel Aviv. (03) 5660915. The 10 Best Casual Restaurants 1 Coffee Bar: Yad Charutzim 13, Tel Aviv (03) 6889696. 2. Cavalier: Ben Sira 1, Jerusalem. (02) 6242945. 3. Vince & Tamar: HaTsfira 10, Tel Aviv (03) 6390407. 4. Uri Burri: Lighthouse Square, Acco. (04) 9552212. 5. Chimichanga: Kremenitsky 6 , Tel Aviv. (03) 5613232. 6. Pastis: Rothschild 73, Tel Aviv. (03) 5250773. 7. Idi: HaBosem 6 , Ashdod. (08) 8524313. 8. Odeon: Ha'arba'aa 10, Tel Aviv. (03) 562-8868 and HaSadna'oat 4, Herziliya Pituach. (09) 9569567 9. Zuzobra: Shenkar 7, Herzliya Pituach. (09) 957-7077 10. Pasta Mia: Wilson 10, Tel Aviv (03) 561-0189 And 29 More That I Enjoy Thoroughly A collection of restaurants, ranging from the formal to the ultimately casual, and including Italian, French, Santa Fe, Japanese and Mediterranean cuisine, pasta joints and steak houses, listed in this case not in order of my preference but in alphabetical order. Why 29 and not 30? No problem – as I commented last year, that's the way life falls sometimes. Adora: Ben Yehuda 226, Tel Aviv. (03) 6050896 Am-Burger Bar: Tsomet Rosh Pina. (04) 6801592. Barcarola: Rehov Atir Yeda, Kfar Saba. (09) 7669696 Bruno: Azrieli Shopping Ctr. Tel (03) 6093131. Kosher Cordelia: Simtat Hazchuchit, Jaffa. (03) 5184668. Dixie Grill Bar: Igal Alon 120, Tel Aviv. (03) 6966123. Doris: Oposite the Galilee Shopping Center, Rosh Pina. Tel 04 6801313 Erez: Rehov Barekit, Herzliya Pituach. (09) 9559892. Food Art: Shaul ha Melech 23, Tel Aviv. (03) 6966255. Gilly's: Tel Aviv Port, Tel Aviv. (03) 6057777 Golf Bistro and Bar: Caesarea Golf Club, Caesaria. (04) 6260272 Hellena: In ancient Caesaria. (04) 6101018 HaNeshika: HaMeyasdim 27, Zichron Ya'akov. (04) 6390133. HaTzela HaShminit: Maskit 22, Herziliya Pituach. (09) 9576999 Kimmel: HaShachar 6, Tel Aviv. (03) 5105204. Manta Ray: Alma Beach, Tel Aviv. (03) 5174773. Moses: Rothschild 35, Tel Aviv. (03) 5664949. Muscat: Mitzpe Hayamim Hotel, Rosh Pina. Telephone 04 6999555. Nana: Achad ham 1, Tel Aviv (03) 5161915 Olive Leaf: Tel Aviv Sheraton Hotel, Tel Aviv. (03) 5219300. Kosher Onami: Ha'arba'a 18, Tel Aviv. (03) 5621172. Piccola Pasta: Mendeli 2,Tel Aviv (03) 6203257. Pini BaChatzer: Nachum Goldman 6, Jaffa (03) 6822111 Pre Megadim: Rothschild 3, Mazkerit Batia. (08) 934-9946. Sakura: HaMelech George 79, Tel Aviv (03) 6212900. Stefan Braun: Allenby 39, Tel Aviv, (03) 5604725 Tapeo: Ha'Arba'aa 16, Tel Aviv. (03) 03 5610489 Yakimono: Rothschild 19 and Yordai haSira 5, Tel Aviv. (03) 5443864. If you should want details for these restaurants drop me an IM or email and I'll point you to some links.

Nope! Lying like that is certainly immoral, possibly illegal but definitely not fattening so why bother?

If the tasting is a "walk-about", I'll always arrive at least an hour early to start my tastings, to be armed with a minimum of three glasses so I can taste various wines side by side, to start with the whites, go to the reds (trying but not always succeeding in going from younger to older, lighter to more mature), and finally to the dessert wines. When the room becomes crowded enough that I can feel the perspiration, perfume or after-shave of others, I leave. If the tasting is a sit-down, no problem at all for me and I can go 150 wines in a day in the proper setting, even taking time to double-up wines in different flights to check the credibility of my palate at the moment. In fact, I adore such tastings (mostly at events such as VinItaly or VinExpo where various consortia offer broad horizontal tastings of the wines of a given vintage year). By the way....anyone thinking that tasting 100+ wines in a day is an easy chore is very, very mistaken. Calls for intense and almost exhausting concentration and the tasting is only the beginning of the day for on returning to one's hotel or the press room one must then formalize the day's tasting notes, getting them on one's own data base, sometimes even having to put them together in article form and get them off to one's newspaper and/or magazines. Perhaps on an amusing note, no matter how charming the city, the setting and the company, the thought of making love after tasting and writing about 150+ wines in a day is one that has never crossed my mind!

Among my favorite wine-dessert matches: Mt. Blanc (Chestnut Puree) – late Harvest Riesling or Rose Champagne Tiramisu – White Muscat/Sauternes/Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc Zabaglione – Marsala, Tokay, Champagne Tarte Tatin – Ice Wine, Tokay Aszu Crème Brulee – Sauternes, Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc, Ice Wine Souffle aux Orange – Sauternes, Tokay Mille Feuille – Demi-Sec Champagne Potes de Crème au Chocolat – Monbazillac Souffle aux Amandes – Vouvray Moelleux Omelette Sucree au Poitron (Sweet Pumpkin Omelet) – Sauternes, Barsac, Tokay Tarte aux Raisins (Grape Tarte) – Vin Santo Crepes Suzette One of my favorite desserts, but a dish that simply does not go with wine. Best bet, if you have to drink anything at all while feasting on this luxurious dish is a small snifter of Cognac or Armagnac. If you must use a wine go for demi-sec Champagne

The great French critic, Curnonsky once bemoaned that he had only one stomach and one anus to give to his profession. I think many restaurant critics would make those complaints but one must also consider several other potential problem areas: (a) Professional critics, especially those who work for daily newspapers, are ruled by editors who dole out just so many column inches weekly and that limits how often we can update crits; (b) Chefs and owners at some restaurants change so rapidly that within a short time after the review of some places appears, the review is already dated; © New restaurants open at a pace that even outstrips the changes that take place in older ones and the critic has a responsibility to review those new places for his clients (i.e. his/her readers) and (d), Hating to sound banal, but few critics have enough of a budget that they can not only dine at and try the new places but return as often as they might like to the old. My own policy has been certainly to post major updates in cases where dramatic changes are found (for better or for worse); to try to revisit places as often as possible and where more than the most minor of changes are found to write, if not full re-reviews, at least updates that are tagged onto the major review of that particular column.

Here's a piece I wrote several years ago.......still (at least in my opinion) appropriate: I love everything that's old: old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wine. Oliver Goldsmith, 1764 Craig Claiborne and Robert Courtine were both concerned that we live in a world where fewer and fewer people know how to behave politely, especially at the dinner table. Neither Claiborne nor Courtine were snobs. Claiborne, who served for more than thirty five years as the food editor of the New York times, was such a fun loving character that in 1982 when he published his autobiography, "A Feast Made For Laughter" he took as much pleasure in presenting an absolutely abominable recipe for curried sweetbreads with fettucine as he did in admitting that, as a child, he had been sexual- ly molested by his father. Courtine, who for nearly forty years was the respected restaurant critic of Le Monde enjoyed his work so much that he once devoted an entire year to setting traps for the greatest chefs of Europe (checking, for example to see whether the tomatoes in his salad had been peeled, or whether his crepes suzettes had been made with orange peel instead of tangerine peel). Despite their ability to laugh at the world and at themselves, both concur that we now live in a society in which too many people believe that good manners have no longer have a place in the order of things. They also agree that in a already difficult-enough world, politeness and good manners can make life much more tolerable. Both also felt the need to write books about the subject. Based on their lifetimes of experiences as guests and hosts, their books do not present a litany of rigid rules, nor do they dwell on such obscure occasions as the ultra-formal, seventeen-course dinner. Courtine's concerns are primarily with dining in restaurants. Upset by the behavior he has frequently seen in public places he writes that "because they do not know what is expected of them, many of the people who go to restaurants today behave in exactly the same fashion as the baboons at the Paris zoo". Claiborne is more concerned about the behavior of both hosts and guests at private parties. Happily, unlike many who have written about manners earlier, neither of these authors mourns those days in which every dinner was formal, where seventeen courses were served and when the men went to a separate room to smoke their cigars after the meal. Both are relieved to be spared the stuffy exchanges that typified social events of that earlier age, and both refer, instead, to manners and public behavior, which like good taste, derive from sensibility and simple common sense. Their rules are not so much intended to support outmoded notions of formality but to keep us from embarrassing ourselves, for, as Claiborne writes: "we may live in a time when nearly anything goes, but there are still head waiters, waiters, and hosts and hostesses who will justifiably frown if we break too many of the rules of etiquette at the dinner table". Dining Out In order to make the point that knowledge of manners can make life easier, Courtine recounts the story of American author Mark Twain. Once, when asked to tell about the most embarrassing of his experiences, Twain told of the time when he was "confronted by a table set with so many knives and forks of so many different sizes and shapes that it was impossible to decide what fork to use for this, what knife to use for that. At that moment", Twain said, "I knew for a certainty that everyone in that luxurious establishment - the head waiter, the chef, even the lowly dish-washer - was superior to me. It was more than humiliating - it made me feel the complete fool." Twain would have felt far more at ease, Courtine tells us, if he knew that with silverware it is always appropriate to start by using the knife, fork, or spoon furthest away from the plate for the first course and then working one's way in, so that when the final course is served, only the knife and fork nearest the plate are still in place. Life would probably also been easier for Twain had he known that the utensils set above the plate are invariably meant for desserts. If one errs and uses the wrong utensil, agree both Courtine and Claiborne, there is no need to be embarrassed. If the error is realized during dining, one should simply place the offending fork at the edge of the plate and continue with the correct one. Later, when it becomes apparent that a knife or fork for one of the courses is missing, the waiter will automatically replace it. If the waiter overlooks the fact that a piece of silver is missing, it is appropriate to quietly call this fact to his attention. In fact, this is one of the few opportunities any of us have to feel superior to a waiter in an expensive restaurant. The rules of etiquette are equally clear about a piece of silver that falls to the floor. In an inexpensive eatery, simply bend over, pick it up and signal to the waiter to replace it. In more luxurious restaurants it is considered proper to let the waiter pick it up. One need not worry about incurring the waiter's anger because waiters respect clients who know the rules of the game. Another potential problem area comes up when a dish is served and you suddenly realize that you don't have the foggiest idea of how to eat it. Simple enough, says Courtine: "Watch carefully to see if anyone else knows how to attack the dish in question and then, learning by observing, simply do what that person does. If no one at your table knows how to deal with a certain dish, simply ask the waiter to explain it. He will be delighted at such an opportunity to show off his sophistication. Nor is there reason to feel uncomfortable if something goes wrong during dining. Wine spills, tablecloths become stained and food that was intended for the mouth sometimes winds upon the lap. That is simply the nature of things and there is no reason for tears, hysteria or self-recrimination. When taken too seriously, such incidents can spoil one's pleasure. Taken in stride, they can make for amusing but pleasant memories. If a few drops of red wine wind up on our white skirts or shirts, there is no need for panic. There is not even a need to discontinue the conversation that was taking place. All that is necessary is to take the salt shaker, sprinkle the offending stain with salt and then gently rub off the salt with a napkin. This ensures that the wine will not leave a permanent stain. And, if the process receives odd glances from our dinner companions, an explanation will leave them marveling over our savoir-faire. If it is gravy that falls onto our clothing, one need merely dip a corner of a napkin into the water glass and with this gently rub away the offending spot. The waiter should then be asked to replace both the glass and the napkin. As Courtine explains "when an accident does occur, the most vulgar thing a diner can do is to explain to all and sundry present how clumsy he or she is. An accident never makes one look foolish. It takes our big mouths to do that". What, as if happened to essayist Joseph Wechsberg, an entire bottle of wine winds up in our lap? Wechsberg was dining in a crowded trattoria in Rome when a waiter fell and spilled a full bottle of red Barolo wine all over the trousers of his new gray suit. The writer was drenched to the skin from the waist downwards. Such situations are uncomfortable, but in Wechsberg's case the owner of the place rushed up, seized hold of him and hurried him to the kitchen, where he asked him to remove his trousers. Then, with a large tablecloth tied around his waist, Wechsberg returned to his table and feasted on spaghetti alla carbonara. As a peace offering the owner presented him with a complimentary bottle of the finest Barolo he had in his cellar. Finally, Wechsberg was re- quested to return to the kitchen where he found his trousers dry cleaned and pressed. Because Wechsberg took the incident in stride, nobody became overly upset. Wechsberg had realized an important truth - keeping one's cool is the epitome of good manners. Few moments need be truly awkward. If there is a fly or a hair in the soup, simply ask the waiter to take it back. One will, however, do well to remember George Orwell's suggestion that "wisdom dictates that you ask for a different kind of soup as a replacement because otherwise most waiters will simply remove the offending object, wait a few seconds and return the same dish to the table". What happens when you are served food or wine that you judge to be unpalatable? By all means, ask that it be replaced, but never after you've eaten a third or more of what is on the plate. If, as sometimes happens, the proprietor of the restaurant insists that there is nothing wrong with the dish you wish to replace, do as Oscar Wilde did: invite him to take a seat at your table and ask him to finish the dish for you. This invariably gets results, for even the most hardened restaurant owner will be hard pressed to sit down to a rancid steak or a too salty vichyssoise. Even the best of food sometimes serves as a source of confusion. Here too, however, the rules are based on common sense. Even in the most posh restaurants it is perfectly acceptable to use the fingers to finish off lamb chops, ribs, chicken bones and shell- fish. And, because good sauces are often the greatest pride of chefs, it is always appropriate to use bread to mop up whatever sauce remains on one's diner plate. As a rule of thumb, in inexpensive places, take a small piece of bread in hand, dip it in the sauce, and eat it. In truly fine restaurants, unless you have already earned a reputation for being an eccentric, it is considered proper to break the bread by hand, place it on the plate and spear it with a fork to pick up the gravy. It is never appropriate, however, in anything but the lowest priced restaurants, to lick one's fingers. Even the end of dinner offers opportunities for embarrassment. When you have finished dining, for example, it is considered gauche to make a ceremony of folding the napkin. It should be crumbled neatly while still on the lap and then placed on the left side of one's service. Finger bowls also provide a source of confusion to many. One of Queen Victoria's dinner quests, unfamiliar with formal etiquette, drank the water in his finger bowl. The Queen, to make sure her guest was not dishonored, followed suit and drank from her own bowl as well. If a finger bowl is presented, one should simply dip the tips of the fingers in the bowl, barely touching the lemon slice that is floating there, and then dry the fingers on the napkin. In truly fine restaurants, finger bowls are presented after the main course and before the dessert, and fresh napkins will be supplied when the bowls are cleared away. On leaving the restaurant, many restaurant owners have the habit of asking departing guests whether they enjoyed their meals. Both Claiborne and Courtine agree that this question is primarily rhetorical. As when someone asks "How are you?", they do not expect a full report of your health or economic well being, restaurateurs do not generally expect a detailed answer to their question. Courtine says that "unless you are a well known food critic, a regular habitue of the establishment or a personal friend of the owner, the most polite thing to do (and the best way to avoid an unnecessary and prolonged discussion) is to say that everything was fine. Whether you ever come back to this restaurant again or not is entirely up to you. Entertaining at Home To Craig Claiborne, entertaining well is the epitome of hospitality and good manners are first called upon when you receive an invitation to dine. It is polite, for example, to answer invitations promptly, and not to wait to see if something more to your preference comes up. Similarly, because your host or hostess has gone to a great deal of trouble to prepare a meal that will be ready at a given hour, it is polite to arrive on time. According to Claiborne, "the time to arrive is the time stated, with a possible ten to fifteen minute grace period". Keep in mind as well that accepting an invitation means that you will stay for the entire meal, from cocktails to coffee, and not jumping up after one or two courses, blowing a kiss to your host and dashing off to a next engagement. Claiborne realizes that there are times when one is forced to cancel an acceptance at the last minute. "Illness or family misfortune are valid reasons, but when you call to apologize, never give the caddish excuse that `something else has come up'". As to bringing gifts, Claiborne feels strongly that guests are never required to bring anything at all "except for their own good company". If you do bring a gift, remember that gifts of food can upset a host's carefully planned menu, and that flowers may send a host off on a search for a vase just when he wants to be with his guests. Those people who bring a bottle of wine should not expect that it will be served with the dinner. "A host is never obligated to serve a gift of food or drink" says Claiborne, "and a guest is never justified in feeling slighted if his does not appear on the dinner table". The host, may, how- ever, serve the wine if he deems it compatible with the menu. If not, he should politely thank the guest, telling him how very much he is looking forward to enjoying it in the near future. Guests should never insist. Claiborne also asks some truly difficult questions. What, for example should a guest do if he is pointedly insulted by another guest? Is an offended guest ever in the right to walk out of a dinner? His answers are to the point. "The premise of socializing is that everyone is a friend of the host and that the peace of his home will not be violated. If an insult is so great that it is truly unbearable, and in the absence of a duel at dawn, the only action a guest may take is to remove himself from the proceedings with apologies to his host and the other guests". Few dinners end in true catastrophe, but many are packed with the kinds of mini-confusions that can spoil an otherwise fine evening. Following are several of Claiborne's general rules for overcoming some of the most common problems one can encounter at a dinner party. - If you have forgotten the name of the person sitting next to you, do not hesitate to say "There was a bit too much noise when we were introduced. Would you tell me your name again". - Should a guest be faced with an unfamiliar food that is not appealing or one that is high on his list of dietary taboos, he can maintain his poise by taking a very small portion, or by declining, but without a long-winded explanation or a descent into coyness. - Among the greatest sins one can commit Claiborne lists: stuffing the mouth with food; speaking with a mouth still full of food; using a knife or fork to clean one's fingernails; and cleaning one's teeth in public, "for each of these acts reveals you as a barbarian who should not have been invited to dinner in the first place". - Either at someone's home or in a restaurant, when diners have finished all they want of a certain course they should place their knife and fork in the center of the plate, parallel and close together. Guests should never play with the remaining food on their plate, nor should they push their plate away from them, because both are discourteous gestures, the first indicating boredom and the second disgust. Here, from two men who have devoted their lives to fine food and fine dining, are two books that give sensible, sophisticated advice on table manners for anyone who would like to feel more confident and graceful at any meal, whether as host or guest, at home or in a restaurant, with family, friends or strangers. Elements of Etiquette: A Guide to Table Manners in An Imperfect World by Craig Claiborne. New York, William Morrow & Co. 132 pp. $15.00. Manners and Mannerisms: Rules for Dining in Civilized Company by Robert Courtine. London, Sidgwick & Jackson. 148 pp. 12.95 Sterling. At Private Parties and at Restaurants A Guide For The Perplexed A Whiff of Fragrance: The billion-dollar perfume and cologne industry promotes the use of expensive scents as part of our "lifestyle". Despite this, let it be said that both men and women wearing fragrances run the risk of being a miserable distraction to their dinner partners and an affront to those who are serious about their food. A discreet touch of perfume or after-shave is acceptable, but it should not be apparent to those sitting near you. Seating: Every guest at a party should have a comfortable seat. This is an absolute necessity, and as true for a buffet for forty as a cozy diner for six. It is simply bad manners to assume that your guests will enjoy perching on sofa armrests or worst yet, standing up during a buffet meal. If you do not have enough chairs and cannot borrow what you need, consider renting them - or trimming your guest list. Special Diets: You are invited to dinner at a new friend's home for the first time and are faced with a quandary: Not only are you a vegetarian, but your husband is allergic to all cheeses. Should you share this information with your hosts beforehand, or should you take your chances with her menu? Craig Claiborne emphatically re- commends honesty, because it is truly discourteous to allow your host to go to the trouble of preparing foods that have every chance of being eaten. It is far better, and not at all offensive, to accept the invitation by saying, "Of course we would love to come, but please let me tell you about our special food situation, so that you can decide if we will fit in with your plans". A host who knows in advance cam, with grace and skill, adjust the menu to fit everyone's needs. Music: There is no right or wrong decision about having background music in a restaurant or at a dinner party. Dining is an exceedingly sensory pleasure, so it is important to calculate the effect that music will create. Consider your guests' preferences as well as your own. Low, gentle classical music is a judicious choice: loud rock music is odious unless you are serving frankfurters and hamburgers. Whatever your choice, keep the sound at a civilized level so that a chance for conversation still exists. Compliments and Criticisms: There is an art to giving compliments and to receiving them. The guest who expresses his admiration for his host's efforts with a light touch is the most believable, whereas the guest who gushes becomes tedious. Restrain yourself from overblown comments such as "This is the best meal I have ever had", to more relevant compliments such as "The meat in these crab cakes is delicious. Is it the first of the season?" Hosts should not look for compliments. Never ask a guest "Did you enjoy the food". If he did, he should tell you without being asked. If not, politeness would forbid him to say so anyway. One should never criticize, draw attention to or make fun of the eating habits of others in public. If you feel it is absolutely necessary to criticize friends of family, do so in private. It is particularly tiresome to hear spouses and friends chiding one another at table. Admonitions such as "You're going to gain five kilos if you have even one more bite" or "Remember your cholesterol" do not endear anyone to the hard-working chef or host, whose fondest hope is to see their food appreciated. Public Grooming: Applying makeup at the table is in the worst possible taste. The dining table is not a hair salon or massage parlor, so guests who eed to "fix" their hair or makeup are advised to retire to the nearest bathroom. There they may run their hands through their hair, crack their knuckles, and brush their jackets before returning to the table. Cleaning the Teeth: In nearly all American and European countries it is considered in the poorest of taste to clean one's teeth in public. It is never acceptable to use any object - toothpicks, the tines of a fork, matchbook covers, dental floss, a piece of jewelry, to remove something irksome from the teeth. The proper place to do this is in the washroom. Using a Napkin: The right moment to place a napkin on the lap is immediately after sitting down at the table, not when food arrives. The only exception is at a very formal dinner, when guests wait for the hostess to position hers before unfolding theirs. To place a napkin on your lap, simply unfold it. Do not whip it around like a flag at a racetrack. If during dinner you need to excuse yourself from the table for any reason, place the napkin gently to the left of your dinner plate. Do not refold it or throw it in a heap on a chair like dirty laundry. If your plate has been removed, leave the napkin on the table in front of you. Make sure that all of the visible parts of the napkin are clean, that is to say, not soiled with food or stained with lipstick. One should always wipe their mouth with their napkin before speaking or if they feel food on their face. The proper way is to dab a napkin or tissue to the lips and corners of the mouth. Do not wipe or scrub with unseemly vigor. If you notice that the rim of your glass is obviously stained with food or wine, wipe away the offending marks with your napkin as casually as possible. Even in the case of an unexpected dribble, never wipe your face with the back or front of your hand. If your napkin falls on the floor the waiter should be observant enough to pick it up an replace it. If this is not the case, however, it is perfectly acceptable to lean over unobtrusively and retrieve it oneself. At the end of a meal, if all the dishes from your place setting have been removed, casually put your napkin - unfolded- on the table directly in front of you If a dessert plate remains in front of you, place your unfolded napkin to the right of it. The only time to tuck a napkin into a shirt front is when you are a guest at a crab feast or picnic. It is never proper at any occasion more formal. Proposing Toasts: A toast, either to life or to one of the people at the table, may be offered during any course of a meal, but the best times for making toasts are just before the meal begins or after the dessert course. If you are making a toast it is appropriate to tap on the wineglass to get everyone's attention. Serving should be suspended while a toast is being spoken. The person offering a toast should rise; he does not have to be holding his wineglass. At a formal gathering everyone but the person being toasted should rise. At the end of the toast maker's words, guests should raise their glasses, then take a small sip of wine. The person being honored does not join in that first sip of wine, but waits until others are finished with the toast. If you do not drink, it is perfectly appropriate to raise an empty glass, a glass of water or a soft drink. The clinking together of glasses at a toast should be done only by lovers. It is considered passe for everyone to clink glasses with every other person at the table. Such group clinking is clumsy and also winds up with a great many broken glasses. Sunglasses: The affectation of wearing sunglasses indoors probably started in Hollywood, and has now spread to New York, Tokyo and Tel Aviv. Unless it is for legitimate medical reasons, this is a ridiculous and pretentious habit. Cellular Telephones: Either at restaurants or at someone's home, beepers and cellular phones are terribly out of place unless your are a police detective on duty or a doctor on call. Relating to the Restaurant or Catering Staff: Regardless of the level of service do not treat staff as if they were your personal servants or slaves. Be respectful but not condescending. Do not summon a waiter with a clap or the hand or a wave. Employ a subtle nod of the head or attempt to make eye contact. If these gestures are insufficient for receiving attention, voice a soft and modest verbal request "Excuse me, would you mind..." You may shake hands with and exchange a few words with restaurant staff members if you are a regular client. Long conversations are not appropriate. Neighbors: It is not proper to eavesdrop or interrupt the conversation of those sitting at an table other than your own. It is bad taste to advise your neighbors on what to order. Leftovers: Many restaurants willingly wrap extra portions with heavy foil but it is improper to ask for the leftovers in a grand luxe restaurant. Compliments to the Chef: If your meal has been especially successful, it is perfectly reasonable to request the chef to appear after the meal. Many diners like to express their appreciation personally A comment to your waiter should suffice to make your wishes known. The host or guest of honor should greet the chef, preferably with a handshake and introduce him or her to the other guest. Any further exchange however delightful, should be brief so the chef can return to his work and the diners to their dinner.

Simple enough - if it was already frozen and then defrosted, do not freeze again. If fresh, no problem but not to use it later as sauteed slices of foie gras but only in making pates or terrines as the texture will indeed be harmed by the freezing process.

Drinking wine in the morning hours is as much a question of culture as it is of personal life-style. Think, for example, of the many French men and women who start their day "at the brass" (standing at the bar in a cafe) with a small glass of marc to accompany their first espresso and croissant; of Inspector Maigret who found that there was "no way better to start the day than a glass of crisp white wine with my earliest coffee"; of Ernest Hemingway who both found that a glass of fine Beaujolais Cru was a "wonderful way to open the day"; of Anais Nin who enjoyed starting her day with "just a dram or two of the red wine with which I had finished my meal the evening before". Now it is true that Maigret's doctor warned him that the white wine would one day hurt his liver but by the age of 89 that damage was yet to be reported. If a glass of wine makes you sleepy in the morning, obviously don't drink it. If it gives you pleasure though......why in the world not?

Three years ago, for the senior cardiogist at Tel Aviv's Ichilov hospital, who recognized me as the wine and restaurant critic for HaAretz newspaper, told me that he had good and bad news for me. The good news is that I probably had not had a heart incident and the bad news was that I was going to be his guest for three days in the hospital so that he could do a complete workup on me. When I asked why that was bad news, he smiled and said "wait until you taste our food". Let's just put it this way - breakfast was luke warm cottage cheese, olives that had come from a tin, and an egg so hard boiled that it would have been more appropriate for tennis than for human consumption; lunch was three days of unrecognizeable mush - sometimes white, sometimes off-yellow; and dinner was of things so lacking in personality, charm or any other saving graces save for its dark brown color. To add insult to injury, whatever it was that they served as coffee was indistinguishable in color, aroma and flavor from whatever it was that they served as tea. Two saving graces in all of this - Camembert sandwiches on fine French flutes and ham and cheese sandwiches on thick-crusted country-styhle Italian bread smuggled in to me; fine espresso brought to me (albeit in paper containers) from my favorite cafe and the fact that in the end it was all nothing more than a muscle spasm and nothing at all to do with my heart. On checking out I did ask my cardiologist where he dined during working hours. He laughed and said "only in absolute emergencies at the hospital"

As we discussed on another thread, I am not generally in favor of photographing one's dishes in restaurants, believing that professionals will/should have their photographers contact the restaurants after they have dined there and arranging a time that is convenient for all to do such photographs. Agreed, I am not completely pedantic on this though, believing firmly in "different strokes for different folkis" I do believe a restaurant has the right to request that photos not be taken in their establishment, and that if so stated that should be respected. From an entirely moral and not at all legal point of view, however, once people are allowed to photograph dishes in their establishments the photos become the property of the photographer and can, unless the dish is specifically copywritten, be used in whatever manner the photographer wishes. As to chefs that are idiosynratic, what can I say othher than some of the best chefs I have met a probably certifiable. And believe me, when I use that term it is meant as a compliment to their abilities. It's only when the ego of the chef (or for that matter, the critic) outgrows the size of their body that I start to have problems. And if all of that isn't controversial enough....as a very personal statement, I'd no sooner photograph my dishes in a restaurant than I would pose in the nude while standing in the middle of Times Square or the Ginza. And believe me, I have no intention whatever or ever being found nude in Times Square or the Ginza.

Several points: (a) Ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, etc in plastic mini-squeeze packages are among the things referred to in the Old Testament as "abominations" and therefore those who appropriate them are getting exactly what they deserve. (b) Somewhere in the wisdom of one people or another, it is written that "stealing from a thief is not theft". Like you, I'm not an economist but by heaven anyone too cheap to give me mustard, ketchup or chili sauce from a civilized container is in my book "a thief" and whatever you take from their condiments is exempt from moral or legal prosecution. © I do recall as a student in Paris that there was, for almost a year, a severe shortage of sugar and about the only place you could find it was in those little paper packages on the table in cafes. It became the "in" sport of the day to swipe enough of those sugar packages as possible in order to have a supply on hand at home. (d) Now, were someone to ask me about those people who swipe ashtrays from European cafes and bistros and that's another story altogether.

Over the years I've sampled some truly excellent American sparkling wines. When comparing them to the wines of the best Champagne houses, however, I cannot help but call to mind the wisdom that is found in one form or another in Judaism, Christianity, Budhism, and the Moslem religions: "If it's like an egg, it's not as good as an egg". Don't get me wrong...given some of the fine sparkling wines of the USA I wouldn't throw them out of bed.

This was "one of those days". In the course of my work I tasted 60 wines, 40 of which were mediocre and 20 of which were out-and-out bad; had a lunch fit perhaps for Atilla the Hun (the "chef" used the cheapest possible commercial mayonnaise as a "sauce" for my overdone porterhouse steak); and dined in a place where I was asked no less than 22 times (I counted) "is everything okay?" In other words..a bad day. And then I read your article. Even better than Champagne!!!!! Bravo!!

There may or may not be both an upside and a downside to everything but in the case of decanting Champagne all I can do is recall an episode when a waiter brought my Krug to the table with a decanter. I asked him what the decanter was for. He told me. I very quietly whispered... "you do that and first I shoot you and then I commit suicide". Mmmm....I do feel rather strongly about the issue.

There was a time - and I'm sure some remember - when we called this phenomenon "the screaming munchies". True, didn't follow alcohol consumption but indulgence in another substance and at that time best options were peanut butter and bacon sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, peanut and sardine sandwiches, peanut butter straight from the jar, and of course an outrageous number of chocolate sundaes with hot fudge, whipped cream and all of the gooey stuff that went with such treats. Oyez, oyez.....there truly were "good old days". And not a hangover to follow the overindulgence!

As to most wasteful recipe, how about the following? "Introduce an olive into the beak of an ortolan; place the orTolan in a clean turkey eggshell with its head emerging from the shell like a baby chicken's; plaCe the eggshell over embers; the fat on the ortolan melts until it covers him up to his beak and perfumes him; when the fat has evaporated you replace it with Alicante wine; and after five minutes you serve it like a soft-boiled egg. Do not eat the ortolan, only the olive in its beak"

A case, perhaps, of different strokes for different folks. With glugg/Chanukah punch in particular I find that boiling for 3 - 4 minutes allows the wine to pick up and absorb the flavor of the fruits and the spices (especially the cloves). With most mulled wines I would agree on the non-boiling procedure.

Apologies perhaps for not making myself clear. I agree completely that rejecting the "why's" would be not only anti-intellectual but foolish as such knowledge is indeed important to us. My objection was not to the findings or logic of the study but to the claim that it was the first of its kind to uncover this information. As I thought I made clear, similar studies with similarly detailed findings were undertaken and published as long ago as the 1960's and those have been followed through in many other universities well since the 1980's. Again...I had no intention whatever to brush off anyone or their concerns. I hope to heaven that is not my style!!!