lizziee

As our hotel has no concierge, I sent faxes to San Sebastian restaurants yesterday. This morning I had confirmed reservations at Arzak, Akelare and Mugaritz. I am still waiting to hear from Zuberoa and Berasategui, but I think turn-around confirmations, in less than 24 hours, is amazing. Thanks to all for your help. LML - According to Michelin, Gorrotxa lost their only star. Did you go after they lost their star?

I apologize in advance that some of this discussion belongs on the French board, but it seems to fit in here. "Also in the vicinity is Pyramide, at which I was precluded from sampling Henrioux's version of chicken in a pig's bladder dish (named after F Point) on my prior visit due to my not having called in advance to make the request. Those represent my immediate set of gastronomic goals." Cabrales, unfortunately we had two mediocre meals at Pyramide two years ago. Our general feeling was that this was a two star on the way down in contrast to Regis Marcon and Michel Trama which are two stars trying hard to get that third star. "On Bordeaux, do you have any plans re: restaurants? I wonder what Amat's former place is now like. What places are relatively appealing, apart from La Tupina?" We plan on eating at La Tupina where we had a wonderful meal a number of years ago. Other than that, Bordeaux is serving as a quick stop before Puymirol. "Montpellier TGV (Jardin des Sens)" - As you know Jardin des Sens is not a favorite of mine and I don't mind skipping this.

Cabrales, I know you plan on revisiting San Sebastian. You might consider this option: TGV to Bordeaux (3 hours), rental car, a brief stay in Bordeaux, short drive to Puymirol (Trama's restaurant is definitely worth a visit), another short drive to Eugenie (another worth it and a true 3 star), and then to San Sebastian. Obviously, those are our plans. Of the restaurants, I mentioned which one would you cross off for a second meal at Arzak? Both Charles and Cabrales, thanks so much for your suggestions.

Cabby, We are going in May but due to time and financial constraints, it will be a short trip. My Spain experiences are much less than yours and I greatly appreciate your input. From what I gathered "Berasategui's (supervised) restaurant at Bilboa" is in the Guggenheim museum and certainly makes it convenient for an afternoon of museum going. From your experience would a 1:00 lunch and a 9:00 to 9:30 dinner give one enough time to recover? Also, Cabby, have I hit on the "must" restaurants to experience?

The last time we ate at Le Divellec was in 2001 and it will be our last time. I must say that in previous years we have had excellent meals, particularly their turbot. But this time, both the service and the food was mediocre at best. The restaurant was half empty and Madame tried to sit us at a tiny table at the back of the room at the kitchen door. Once re-seated, service was perfunctory and condescending. The sommelier left us sitting with empty wine glasses regularly. I don't remember the specifics of the meal, but it was not particularly memorable. I do recall that my husband complained that his tuna tartar was not as good as the tartar at the bistro at the Vernet.

I am in the process of planning a trip to France that will include a number of days in San Sebastian. With a great deal of help from members' posts (Thank you!), I have tentatively decided on Zubero, Akelare, Arzak, Berasategui and Mugaritz. I have a couple of questions. Was it possible to secure reservations via fax in English? Would it be better to use the concierge at the hotel to secure reservations? I know that dining in Spain is generally at a later time than in France. What time should reservations be made for lunch? for dinner? Did you find that ordering the menu was generally preferable to a la carte? We are also going to Bilbao to see the Guggenheim. Does anyone have any recommendations for restaurants in that area? One name that seems to pop up on Bilbao web sites is Zortziko. Is anyone familiar with this restaurant. I appreciate all the help I can get.

"do you think hotels are a Godsend to fine dining or do they come at a cost?" I am emphatic on this particular topic. I think it comes at a huge cost, particularly in the States where there is more than one seating, the HR department reigns supreme, the chef has no proprietary role, the management and staff are recruited, hired and fired by the hotel, the menu is not chef-driven exclusively and on and on. This is not to say that there are fine dining establishments in the States that happen to be in hotels, but, in the main, those "major" chefs have managed to negotiate a contract on their terms. There are restaurants that have been able to succeed in spite of their affiliation with a hotel, but the question is, "Do they succeed because of that association?"

Given that the economy post 9/11 is less than strong and that Blue Smoke was well-timed for the climate, what is your opinion on someone opening a fine dining establishment? What things do you think are most important to consider? What advice would you give? What is the biggest single factor which is a recipe for success? for failure?

We were also at Bistro Jeanty New Year's Day. From an earler post: New Year's Day found us at Bistro Jeanty for lunch - a definite "must" for us in Wine country. The restaurant opened at 1:00. By 1:30, every seat was taken and there was a line outside the door waiting for a table. Eating at Bistro Jeanty, you feel you have been magically transported to Paris - French music plays in the background, French posters on the walls, white paper tablecloths, "bistro" chairs. The food is classic bistro fare - no bells and whistles. We split each of the following dishes: An amuse of foie gras on a crisp baguette Terrine de Lapin (rabbit pate with celery root apple salad) Salade au Bacon et Oeuf Mollet (Escarole, Soft Boiled Egg. Bacon Dressing) We requested 2 eggs "mollet" which they graciously did. Steak Frites (ribeye with fries served in a paper cone with béarnaise) Hearty food, well-prepared served by knowledgeable, professional waiters.

A great restaurateur is as crucial to a great restaurant as the chef. First of all, a restaurant is a business and as a business it does want to make money. No restaurant can stay in business and become great if it can't afford to stay open. Little things like payroll, taxes, leases, purchase orders, hiring, firing, evaluations, marketing, positioning, government regulations, maintaining the property, reservations as well as grumpy guests all have to be handled. Given that a restaurateur is successful in the above, he, to achieve greatness, is the consummate host. He can anticipate a diner's needs from ambiance to menu selection to service. The restaurateur is the leader; he sets the tone for the restaurant. It is his vision. I can't imagine Le Cirque without Sirio, Gramercy Tavern without Danny Meyer or Commander's Palace without the Brennans. Also, I think that with the rise of the celebrity chef as well as adding two or more restaurants to their "empire", many chefs have morphed into restaurateurs rather than chefs behind the stove. Wolfgang Puck, Emeril, Todd English, Nobu, Roy Yamaguchi, Joachim Splichal, to name a few, are rarely in the kitchen. Generally, then, no matter how superior the food, if the other elements of fine dining are missing, the experience does not add up to a fine dining experience. I am reminded of Bux's and my experiences re Regis Marcon where we both found the service to be off, but the food remarkable, to have been an initial "spoiler." On the other hand, a great restaurateur can't make a poor meal great, but he can make a good meal great. Given the above, my own preference is for the small, one seating, chef-owned restaurant that is more the norm in France.

"Escoffier stood for orchestrated sameness, blind unthinking repetitiveness of dishes, categorization and standardization of names, ingredients, proportions. These weren’t guidelines these were marching orders, a religion if you will--a religion organized around the principle that there is one correct, one authentic, one best way to do things determined by one person. Valuable at the time, quaint notion today." "the Escoffier model was to suppress this celebrity, spontaneity and personality of chefs, all except for himself, of course;" Steve, I disagree that Escoffier set out to stifle French cuisine. Again using Blake and Crewe's Great Chefs of France as a resource; "Escoffier, in his Le Guide Culinaire, could not have been more explicit about the ever-changing nature of cuisine: 'It would be absurd to pretend to fix the destiny of an art which is enhanced by so many aspects of fashion and is equally as inconstant.'" Blake and Crewe suggest that although Escoffier loved codifying everything to do with cooking, he never intended to put French cuisine in a straight-jacket. It was other chefs who "tended to substitute the writ of Escoffier for their own imaginations," who took his writings as "inviolable dogma" and who stagnated cooking by performing by rote. They are not denying that the influence of Escoffier had moved cuisine into a rut, but they suggest that it was unwittingly.

I have found that a good concierge is "worth his weight in gold" and often chose a hotel based on its concierge. Is this a common practice? Do guests understand the value of a good concierge? Do guests ask for help in advance via e-mail or fax prior to arrival? Do guests ask for the impossible at the last minute? In your opinion, what is a "good" guest and a "bad" guest?

Florence Fabricant on Aux Lyonnais - the Ducasse and De La Brosse (L'Ami Louis) new Paris bistro which opened in October. http://www.nrn.com/story.cfm?ID=52677032

Using Great Chefs of France by Blake and Crewe as a reference, Escoffier's kitchen is the model used today. Before Escoffier, there was a disorganized, confused and often slow division of labor in the kitchen. "Often, one chef would do all work on a particular dish, even including jobs which would plainly have been more easily done by another partie. The rotisseur, for instance, had to make pastry for a boeuf-en-croute, rather than the patissier." What Escoffier did was think through the operations in a kitchen and allow several parties to contribute to one dish at the same time. I can't imagine what the modern day restaurant kitchen would be like without the genius of Escoffier. Further, Escoffier denounced the two traditional sauces of French cuisine, espagnole and allemande and substituted the lighter and "more fragrant fumets, the concentrated natural juices of meat, fish and vegetables in water, broth, butter, olive oil or another cooking medium." Again, imagine a chef or even a home cook today who doesn't constantly use the fumet process. Further, according to Blake and Crewe, Escoffier's genius is evidenced in his Le Guide Culinaire in that he codified "almost everything to do with cooking, explaining it in scrupulous detail and bringing up to date much that was old-fashioned. He distilled the experience of a century and added to it his own extraordinary flair." It was Escoffier who "brought cuisine to is peak and spread the gospel of French cooking." Charles Barrier describes Escoffier as a "visionary." Not only did he greatly influence the world of cuisine but he set out to reform not only working conditions but society as a whole. He had "schemes for a welfare state complete with old-age pensions, unemployment benefit and graduated income tax." In a word, then, Escoffier's imprint on the kitchens of today is immense.

"I am somewhat perplexed at the recommendation of the 1978 Angelus, are you sure that it wasn't the much superior 1988." (Marcus) Marcus, I am not the wine expert in our family. My husband is much more knowledgeable than I am so my comments are based on discussions with him. It was the 1978. French Laundry is currently on vacation. I'll have to wait a couple of weeks and ask Bobby or Keith about the provenance of the wine. "Did the wine have a hard brown edge?" (Marcus) The wine was young, clean ruby, wonderful bouquet and fine finish...perfectly aged (moderately) Bordeaux. The red onion creme fraiche with the Atlantic Salmon Tartar: does the red onion stay with you, or has it been given some treatment as to neutralize its strong residual presence? (Robert) Robert, There is just a hint of red onion in the red onion creme fraiche. The recipe is in the French Laundry cookbook and the ratio is 1/2 cup creme fraiche to 1 tablespoon of red onions. I have made this recipe many times and there is not an overpowering presence of onion. "Did you make your reservations the same way as the less frequent patrons? Were reservations for New Year's Eve handled the same as all other reservations at the restaurant?" (Robert) New Year's Eve reservations were handled the same way as for regular reservations. In fact, most of the patrons for New Year's were first time customers; we were one of the few repeats.

Rail Paul, The first night, we had no menu and Thomas just cooks. When a dish is presented, they tell you exactly what you are eating. When I had questions about an ingredient, our server went to the kitchen for the specifics. The second night, we received a printed menu. Thomas is very committed to his suppliers and always mentions the source of his ingredients. The bottom line - yes a composed, presented, well-executed meal.

My husband's favorite "pig-out" - Langer's - he craves their pastrami sandwich.

I would pick Fleur de Lys over Danko and even Masa's, although we had a wonderful meal at Masa's. I'm repeating myself but I think Zuni is a fun, mid-priced place, especially for Sunday lunch. For a typical SF experience sit at the counter at Swan Oyster Depot.

essvee, I didn't have any problem with the eggs tipping - I used a small pan that would hold 2" of water and then had the water at a simmer not a full boil. Is the recipe that same in Saveur as the PW one?

There has been a lot of discussion about Thomas Keller losing his edge and that the French Laundry is not as good as it was in the past. We just returned from the Napa Valley where we enjoyed 2 meals at the French Laundry. I can, without reservation, say that Thomas Keller is delivering wonderful, exceptional meals. What distinguishes a French Laundry meal is the way Keller and his team use only the highest quality ingredients, some unique. Preparation is consistently perfect. I rarely see mistakes, bobbles or errors in Keller's cuisine that I find quite frequently in the cuisine of other chefs in the U.S. Keller is one of a few American based chefs that I find consistently excellent--every course, every meal. This is based on dining at The French Laundry between 7 to 10 times a year for the past 4 years. I did notice that Thomas prefers to serve his food tepid, not hot. This may be off-putting to some, but, for me, I find that I can "taste" the flavors much more intensely at this temperature. It is the same as when you are served a white burgundy that is so cold that the flavor disappears. Our first meal was on December 29. Please note, as frequent guests we are treated to a "tasting" that might not be offered to other diners. We sometimes receive two different preparations of a dish for one course. We chose to each consume 50% of each dish by passing the dishes in the middle of the course. This is not required, but we enjoy having double the number of taste experiences. 1. Cornets of Atlantic Salmon Tartar with red onion creme fraiche (This is always the first taste.) 2. Soup Butternut Squash with 3 small round grilled shitake mushrooms and a red pepper tapenade Puree of chestnuts with whole glazed chestnuts - this was rich, intense and just perfect 3. Caviar a. Signature Dish of Oysters and Pearls - "Sabayon" of pearl tapioca with Malpeque oysters and osetra caviar b. Another signature dish of cauliflower panna cotta topped with osetra caviar Thomas is now using American osetra from Sacramento Valley (Tsar Nicholas) as the Russian caviar has been so inconsistent in quality. Keller will not, as a matter of principle, purchase Iranian Caviar. The French Laundry purchases 5 kilos of caviar a week! 4. Smoked Salmon sliced into long, thin strips presented on celery gelee (named celery Victor) with daikon. This dish had a palate cleansing feel to it. 5. Eggs - two more signature dishes a. White truffle custard with ragout of Perigord truffles with veal stock presented in a hallowed out egg b. Coddled hen egg with perigord truffle beurre noisette 6. - Hearts of Palm a. Hearts of Palm cut to resemble linguine with sherry mignonette and shaved black truffles b. Hearts of Palm cut to resemble a tartar with black truffle coulis These 2 dishes sound like they won't work, but they did. Again, the subtle blending of flavors, the unexpected addition of luxurious black truffles to the simple hearts of palm was "one heck of a salad." 7. Pasta a. House made tagliatelle with black truffles b Carnaroli risotto with black truffles In both dishes, our server kept shaving the black truffle until we stopped him. I kept thinking, "There goes the profit." The pasta course was straight-forward so that the flavor of the black truffle was dominant. The tagliatelle was just perfect. Sorry, for the over-use of the word perfect. At this point, we took a much needed break and walked outside to the garden. From the garden, you can see into the kitchen; it is like watching a ballet - no hectic scrambling, just a controlled, intensely concentrated effort to produce the best by an "army" of cooks. 8. Fish Shank of Cod with cocoa beans ragout with another very, very generous shaving of black truffles, done tableside. I never thought I would say this, but I was beginning to get over truffled. 9. Lobster Lobster fricassee with globe artichokes, roma tomatoes in a spicy lobster broth. Tableside our server added a few drops of Permefiglia olive oil to the dish. This was a sensational dish - perfectly tender cooked lobster in a light, full-flavored, well-balanced broth. Normally, having lobster at this point in a meal puts me over the top, but this was so delicate and light that I didn't have that stuffed feeling at all. 10. Foie Gras Whole roasted Moulard duck foie gras with spiced bread crumbs, slices of Bosc pears and clove gastric. The bread crumb added the crunch to the dish and the clove gastric was a masterful seasoning. We were getting full and asked our server what Thomas had in mind for the next courses. He was going to do 2 meat courses, but we decided to pare it down to one. 11. Lamb Elysian Farms Lamb with salsify, morels, chanterelles and dusted with mushroom powder. 12. Cheese A quenelle of Vacheron with prune confit. Our server formed the Vacheron quenelle table side, mentioning that he had practiced making the perfect quenelle by forming quenelles at home with peanut butter. A note on FL personnel. They are committed professionals. Servers, expediters, runners, management staff are all excellent. They are not stuffy or pretentious. Over the years we have seen the few snooty ones, or the ones who are less than customer centered go their way. It took 30+ interviews to find sommelier Bobby Stuckey. He is leaving soon to do his own thing. You can be sure his replacement will be one of the outstanding wine people in the U.S., who also has "floor presence" and real skill with customers. At The French Laundry they are very conscious of the client and his or her feelings about every part of the food and wine experience. 13. Dessert We decided to forego the multi-course grand dessert presentation and just had chocolate truffles. Wines: Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle - NV Keith Fergel, the Asst. Sommelier pointed out that this is something fairly new from Laurent Perrier. They figure that a NV, Cuvee does well for Krug. It was excellent. 2000 Bourgogne Comte de Vogue Fabulous. Comte de Vogue is known for his Reds. This was a real treat. Quite expensive for a "Bourgogne" $150, but worth it. There is a Musigny Blanc that is very, very expensive, but supposedly wonderful...perhaps? 78 L'Angelus St Emilion We are normally Burgundy drinkers at The French Laundry, but Keith suggested this wonderful St. Emilion. It was slightly aged, with deep flavor and a beautiful finish. Service was exceptional. This was a perfect meal from beginning to end. In an earlier thread, someone had asked if children were welcome at French Laundry. On this first night, a four year old was sitting at the round table in the middle of the room. Both my husband and I were not exactly thrilled to see a 4 year old at 8:00 pm at the French Laundry. Let me say, the staff was wonderful to him. He sat for 4 hours, ate with gusto, was well-behaved and a remarkable child. When his Dad asked him what were his favorite dishes, at the end of the meal - his answer - ice cream, caviar, lamb. We know that New Years Eve is amateur night, but figured that French Laundry would be able to handle it. The staff again was superb, but I can't say the same for the customers. I wish the four year old had come back for a second dinner. One couple, in particular, was memorable: she was in blue jeans and he spent a great deal of time talking on his cell phone. Another disgusting customer faux pas - 2 no shows - one table of 4 and one table of 6. Let me add that the French Laundry did not take money in advance or a credit card guarantee - the no shows represented no revenue. New Years Eve 1. Salmon Cornet 2. Gougere 3. Custard infused with applewood smoked bacon and chives topped with a quenelle of osetra caviar 4. White truffle custard with ragout of Perigord truffles with veal stock presented in a hallowed out egg. 5. Grilled globe artichoke salad, oven roasted roma tomato, nicoise olives, Jacobsen's Fram crosnes and a Bagna Cauda sauce. The crosnes look like white caterpillars or rattlesnake tails that are crunchy in taste, something like jicama. 6. Russet potato gnocchi, roasted chestnuts, white truffle butter and shaved white truffles from Alba. Again, our server kept shaving and shaving and shaving! The gnocchi were as light as a soufflé and the chestnuts added perfect texture plus wonderful flavor. Risotto with white truffles and white truffle butter 7. Salt crusted dourade with mounted baby leeks with a red wine sauce. 8. Pan roasted Maine sea scallop with matsutake mushrooms, celery root puree and matsutake mushroom emulsion My husband doesn't like scallops and Thomas made a salmon dish for him. 9. "Blanquette" of Monkfish tail, walla walla shallot marmelade and shaved white truffles from Alba. 10. "Canard a L'Orange" Whole roasted moulard duck foie gras with orange braised duck leg and confit of navel orange. The foie gras looked liked a petit filet, about 2 x 2 x 2 and was cooked with a slight crunch on the outside, but moist and rare inside. 11. "Beef x 2" Grilled "Calotte" and poached rib-eye of prime beef, "tortelloni" of roasted root vegetables and oxtail consomme 12. A quenelle of Vacheron with black currant bread pudding and garden greens. The pudding was a postage stamp layer of 3-4 pieces of bread less than 1/8" thick studded with the black currants. 13. Meyer lemon sorbet with persimmon pudding muffin. 14. A rich, decadent chocolate dessert - "Velours de Chocolat et Noisette" Wines: 1995 Billecarte Salmon Cuvee Elisabeth This was one of two pours included in the $ 275 dinner price fixe menu. The other was Dom Perignon '95. The Billecarte is a real favorite--beautiful blush color, fine bubbles and a crisp bite to the taste. 1996 Chassagne Montrachet, Les Champgaines 1er Cru, Michel Niellon A little bit of age on this very well made Chassagne. Smooth, light on the palate, beautiful clean finish--what chardonnay grapes should taste like. 1995 Cote Rotie, Jasmin (the last vintage the Dad made before he died) A very Burgundian style. Bobby recommended it as an alternative to our Burgundy preferences to go with the meat course. It was superbly clean wine with a beautiful fresh nose and full body.

I made the Arpege eggs and they were fantastic with some minor adjustments. The recipe calls for carefully pouring out the egg white after the top third of the shell is cut off. Instead, I separated the white from the yolk out of the shell after I cut off the top third and then returned the yolk to the shell. 3 minutes cooking time is too long - more like 2 1/2 minutes for a runny yolk. I increased the amount of heavy cream to a 1/2 cup and used 3/4 teaspoon of sherry vinegar. The recipe calls for 4 tablespoons of heavy cream which is too little and 3/4 teaspoon of sherry vinegar for that amount of heavy cream is way too acidic. In any case, this is a great start to a meal. mlpc - I have the JB Prince egg cutter, but the one from Taiko is way superior. It is worth searching out.

jaybee, That is exactly what worries me - the little detail. I will try a "dry run" before company just because I would like to know how badly I can mess this one up.

I ordered my egg cutter from Taiko Enterprises, Corp. 1467 West 178th Street Gardena, Ca.90248 Tel# 310-715-1888 Fax# 310-324-1115. It is pricey - $22.00 a piece plus an international freight charge. When I ordered them, they didn't have any in stock so it was a special order. It is hard to describe, but it is the only tool that really works.

Thanks Matt. What surprised me with the recipe is that there is no custard - just yolks simmered in the shells for 3 minutes and topped with lightly whipped cream with sherry vinegar. It tastes like a custard, but is this all it is?

Matt, Then, P. Wells recipe has no relationship to the original?