MYoung

At the risk of being skinned, I thought that I would throw in my $.02. I first saw the tuna I believe Liza described a few years ago and said "what is up with that tuna." I was then subjected to a long discourse on a new process of flash freezing tuna that also involves preservatives made from smoke. Sort of a cold smoking without the smoke flavor. I've eaten it and if you get past the unreal color it is not too bad. There is a lot of it on the market now because big fish mongers bought tons of the stuff after sept 11 as fresh tuna was not making it the states. Since they bought in serious bulk, and the tuna shortage was, well, short, they still have a lot of product to move. I assure you this is true and I am not just full abalone.

I think (guess) that this should be a good year for the consumer re Copper River Salmon pricing. For several years the hype kept growing and the price kept escalating until the wholesale price was pushing that of sashimi grade tuna and chilean sea bass. Finally last year most chefs said to heck with it and refused to pay the price. All my fish purveyors were in a bit of a tizzy and by the end of the run the prices were falling faster than the NASDAQ. Hopefully common sense will prevail this year. It sure is tasty though...

I would like to add Zax to the list. The twice baked goat cheese souffle is always amazing and the food and atmosphere are comfortably elegant without being fussy. A nice place to go out if you want a strong, staight forward meal. As for the recipes in magazines being altered - they are indeed. Having been involved in writing a few I can tell you that the chef's initial vision is a far cry from what hits the stands. The photographers will not allow stacked food so the plating is changed. Items not available at the corner market are strongly discouraged so substitue paprika for the Pimenton de la vera. Moderately difficult culinary techniques such as batonette turn into "chop" further changing taste and presentation. "Exotic" fish such as Ahi Tuna is not available nationwide so what would you think of substituting Halibut? Oh and about that rare fish, we would prefer cooked through. The recipes are faxed back and forth so many times that one begins to wish arbor day were more often. By the time everyone agrees to go forward, the dish is a giant comprimise. From the magazine's standpoint it makes sense - I guess. But obviously the reader can barely even guess at what the original dish looked or tasted like.