Nathan

the FDA. the problem is, someone (a manufacturer) needs to pony up the cash for scientific studies....that's not going to happen. I suppose it's possible that a review of the literature could convince them...I'll look into it one of these days...

he doesn't respond within the comments. a couple of us have been known to comment there on occasion.

"I'm sorry--you are saying that most moles that do involve chocolate consist of chocolate sprinkled over top?" You didn't limit your point to moles with chocolate. My point was that many do not incorporate chocolate at all. I do agree with your general description of the way mole poblano and mole negro are designed to work. (Although I have had a very assertive mole poblano in a "dive" restaurant with an entirely Mexican clientele....) as for the "big picture" questions you raised -- I do think they are worthwhile. but perhaps it would make more sense for you to raise them in the context of a restaurant you've been to -- i.e. WD-50

"My point was chocolate is integrated into the sauce to one degree or another." Except that this point is false. As for Varietal, at this point the desserts are more consistent (in being good) than the savories. Have you been to any of WD-50, Room4Dessert, Moto, Foodbar or Alinea?

of course, Tabla proper (not the Bread Bar), offers a nice $25 lunch year round.... What RW always evinces (I inevitably find myself having to explain this to co-workers twice a year) is how few people are aware that virtually every fine dining restaurant in NY that serves lunch offers a prix fixe in that range year round.

since January 1 R4D has been reprising the dessert titles from its initial menu...but the ingredients have changed. the plan is for this periodization to continue all year. it's whimsical, and cool.

mole poblano uses chocolate pretty forcefully. other moles use a whisper of it. most moles use no chocolate whatsoever. mole is essentially Aztec for "sauce" any statements as to how much chocolate should be present in a "mole" are equivalent to statements as to how much butter should be present in a "sauce"

my research was called, um, checking the 2007 Winter Restaurant Week website. and checking the relevant restaurant websites. as well as google. obviously Grub Street didn't bother to do that (and I knew for a fact already that Jo Jo offers a $24 lunch year round...although I confirmed it just to be sure) the 2007 Winter Restaurant Week website helpfully tells you who offers only lunch and who also offers dinner. with all due respect, maybe people should do their own checking before questioning my judgment and relying upon some blogger.

www.menupages.com "GSI" is "Grand Sichuan International" both on 8th Ave in the 40's and 50's I believe.

"He asked some interesting questions." Questions that would have made more sense in a restaurant that's been open for more than a month....like WD-50 or Room4Dessert. btw, I kind of see Elvis Mitchell as a populist...but anyway... agreed that there are some misconceptions as to the Post's readership...

ah, well, you didn't mention that. what about Wu Liang Ye or GSI?

they're trying to point out that they're not a Pueblan restaurant like every other Mexican restaurant in the area.

good call on JoJo as they're offering dinner. Jojo offers a $24 lunch year round however. Barbetta is only offering lunch. It also offers lunch in the $20-25 range year round. Chanterelle is only offering lunch. Their normal lunch prix fixe is $42. Devi is offering dinner. They offer a $24 lunch year round. As for their dinner...it depends upon what constitutes the courses. one could eat there for $35 ala carte. http://www.suvir.com/dinnermenu.html so with the exception of dinner at JoJo and lunch at Chanterelle...there are no bargains to be had. like I said, it's a joke. edit: so if Grub Street in fact asserted that these deals are not available year round, he didn't do his research cause he was half wrong.

if that's the case don't you think it should have been mentioned in the review? Kahn's name wasn't even mentioned.

"First, there is no indication in the piece that Cuozzo does not personally know what these items are. He is making a point--that most diners do not know what they are." This might be valid if it wasn't for the patent fact that there are literally zillions of NY restaurants using these, or every bit as obscure, ingredients and people manage to patronize these places. They might be valid if it wasn't for the fact that people are purchasing mushrooms labeled "maitake" at Trader Joes and Whole Foods... edit: besides, it is clear that he doesn't know what they are. otherwise he would have identified the "maitake" as "hen of the woods" for less-informed readers. I might be prone to giving Cuozzo's opinions some thought if he had shown the slightest awareness that Jordan Kahn had worked with Alex Stupak on the desserts at Alinea, the most important restaurant in the country right now. As for the desserts....I don't know..is using eggplant or tonka beans anymore "out there" than Meredith Kurtzman using olive oil and rock salt or sweet corn in gelato at Otto for the last five years? What about the candied violets at Perry Street? The numerous savory ingredients that have crept their way into dessert menus at major restaurants across the city over the last three years? (If you don't believe me try reading some menus.) Sure, Kahn, Goldfarb, Mason and Stupak do this at a more sustained level than the dessert menus at other restaurants (where they generally have plenty of "safe" desserts to go along with the "interesting" ones...)...but it is being done all over the place. For that matter, Goldfarb and Mason have laid the groundwork over the last six years...its not like Kahn is the first on the scene. for that matter, as I suggested above, Johnny Iuzzini's desserts are edgy at times as well -- (yes, he does plenty of "safe" stuff too). my problem with Cuozzo is that he seems completely oblivious to any of this. his comments on Varietal seem to take place in a vacuum. as for my thoughts on the wine list at Varietal -- see my review up the thread.

the menu as a whole is relatively conservative. the desserts are avant-garde, yes, but no more so than those at Room4Dessert, WD-50, or even JG.

oh duh....that's right. I'd forgotten about that cause I never read the print edition. it was fun speculating though....

if you don't know what maitake are you shouldn't be writing food criticism, let alone being paid to do it. period. not in the 21st century. its really that simple. of course, the really amusing part is that Cuozzo presumably has no problem with maitake when they are labeled "hen of the woods" at Craft or Hearth. in other words, he's just ignorant. as for avant garde cuisine, those concerns are best raised in threads about truly avant garde restaurants like WD-50 (which I do think is sometimes too cerebral for its own good) or Moto, or semi-avant garde restaurants like Alinea. Varietal is actually pretty conservative.

this is really really exciting. thanks much! A.J. Ayer would have taught an entire seminar off their description of the mole verde -- "like the mole negro but completely different" now if they just added a manchamanteles and a coloradito...

for a while most seatings at Atelier were reserved for walk-ins. edit: perhaps more importantly, GR is on TV and Robuchon is not. in other words, GR is more well-known to Americans.

good point. ditto for Waverly Inne -- especially since he lives on the UWS

I'd wager that both GR and Waverly Inne will be reviewed within the next month.

good point about the name. I'm desperately trying to find a menu -- anyone have a link?

and a reason to go to Park Slope (heck, I was just there on Saturday night -- if only I'd known). according to Florence, this place is already open. interesting that the Times has it and none of the food blogs or chowhound. goodness knows, NY could deal with having its first Oaxacan restaurant.

restaurants are notified a day or so in advance that they are going to be reviewed....for the requisite photoshoot. although Eater's source is most likely at the Times -- it could just be restaurant staff.