SobaAddict70

In Japan?

Green tea. For reference: matcha kit kat! These are really good. ← From Pocky and the Geisha. --Soba

We've seen matcha Kit-Kats before. I wonder if there'll be a matcha Twix eventually...? So, tell us, Will...any new desserts lately?

Our next Foodblogger is akwa, otherwise known as Will Goldfarb, formerly of Cru Restaurant in New York City. Will may not be online until later tonight or possibly midday tomorrow due to internet service being spotty in the Hamptons, but I wanted to get his Foodblog started in the meantime. I'm sure many of you will have questions as to his tenure whilst he was at Cru, not to mention what does a pastry chef eat during the day. We have had pastry chefs blog before in the eGullet Foodblog series, notably Dessert, the Most Important Meal of the Day and Living the Dream, I Guess. This is the first time (and hopefully not the last) that we've had a known chef sign up for the series. You can read about Will's previous work in the following threads: Cru Restaurant NYC -- The New Chocolate Lover's Heaven? Frank Bruni, main restaurant critic at the New York Times, reviews Cru Restaurant here. Soba

Why do I get the feeling that if Fat Tongue were browsing on the boards, he could learn a thing or two just from looking at your blog? Nice, Adam. Soba ps. "Fat Tongue" is an eGullet in-joke we use to refer to the Naked Chef, Jamie Oliver.

Folks, I'm going to have to ask that participants please tone down their language when replying to posts on this thread. It's getting a little too heated under the collar if you know what I mean. Thanks for your cooperation. Soba

Something that might be of interest... On Tipping (Steven A. Shaw) Yes, an Op-Ed piece in tomorrow's New York Times, courtesy of our very own El Gordo. Soba

Your description of Bibingka = fusion. But I would not put the fusion label on a restaurant because of a few dishes. Take a look at shun lee's menu @ http://shunleepalace.com/ What category would you put Shun Lee in? It's not 100% chinese and its not 100% fusion. For every "authentic" dish they have, they also have a Ostrich Steak Hunan Style, or a Sweet Breads with Black Mushrooms. And I'm not even sure if their authentic dishes don't contain non-traditional ingredients. I believe that these restaurants (Cendrillon, Shun Lee etc.) have to tweak their menus in order to appeal to the masses. But I would not call it fusion though. I think something like 66 and spice market would be a better representation of a fusion cusiine. ← It's fusion to me, as someone who grew up eating genuine, authentic Filipino food, having been born in, and lived in the Philippines. Even the owner says that it's not 100% Filipino (although Frank describes it as such). We'll just have to agree to disagree. It is what it is.

I dunno, Soba. Five posts about McDonald's burgers almost right in a row? Sounds a bit to me like you're "jonesing". Aren't the sides of your mouth sort of watering at the thought of having a Double Cheeseburger RIGHT NOW?! ← No, he's a BK addict. ← Yeah . . .You can see how much I can tell the difference between the two places. . . (actually here where I live they are right next to each other on the same street and whenever one of my kids wants one or the other for a "snack" I've been known to often drive into the wrong driveway, mistaking one place for the other, which brings forth loud groans of aggrevation from them). It seems then that I must have McD/BK ADD. . .Oh well. Worse things could happen. ← lol. I haven't been to a McDonald's since oh, about April. Something must be wrong with me. Don't get me wrong, I love things like Big Macs and Arby's. I just choose not to eat them now. At seven meals a day, I don't have time for junk food anymore.

You see you don't know that the bolognese is original. He could have altered in a way he sees fit. No one would be the wiser. Unless someone has observed and documented the way bolognese is cooked at Babbo, we assume its authentic/original. And quite frankly, I don't really care if its 100% authentic. If its good, I'll eat it. ← That's not the point. It's not fusion cuisine by any stretch of the imagination.

I remember McD's reluctance to make special orders. Imagine my surprise some years later when I was able to order a Big Mac with extra onions. Not that I eat Big Macs all the time mind you. I knew you weren't challenging me, I was just reminiscing.

I want to add that when it came to assembling the sandwiches, you were supposed to follow a formula that dictated the manner in which the sandwiches were assembled. No, I'm not kidding. Take a Whopper with cheese for instance. Two slices of cheese overlapping each other on the meat. Nuke that in the microwave for approx. 20 to 30 seconds. Slather mayo on the heel, add lettuce (a generous handful, two thick slices of tomatoes). Two slices of pickles, a couple of onion rings. A spiral of ketchup. They actually test you on this when you get trained. That's right, Virginia, someone peeks over your shoulder when you first do this to make sure you get it right. And that's not counting the stealth inspections. Managers would sometimes come to a store unnanounced and woe to someone who was caught derelict on duty. Wrapping a burger was supposed to take less than 10 seconds, ditto for boxing product. I'm so glad I'm not in that mindset anymore.

Times and practices may have changed from when I was working at BK in the mid-1980s. Meat patties were about 1/4" thick, and typically frozen in batches. You'd slap a bunch of patties on the moving horizontal grill, and do the same for buns. An expediter on the other end would assemble undressed burgers once they came out. Singles, doubles, Whopper sized burgers. Chicken and fish items were (I think) made to order, though I remember at least one instance where both items got placed in the steamer, sans buns. Mayo was kept in tubs on top of ice-cube filled trays. You were supposed to stir the mayo once in a while to prevent a skin from forming on top. (Ick.) The undressed burgers would go into a steamer or holding bin until a customer placed an order. You were supposed to throw out the burgers in the steamer after a certain time period. My memory is spotty as to whether this rule was closely followed. When a customer placed an order, you'd take out the burger from the steamer and assemble it. The heel would get a slather of mayo. Lettuce and tomato on top of that. Depending on when the order was placed, you'd probably nuke the burger in the microwave. If it was a cheeseburger, you'd nuke the burger along with the cheese in the microwave. You'd NEVER nuke the burger with the mayo, that was a no-no. 30 seconds for nuking, then finish assembly. Pickles and onions on top of the burger, add a swirl of ketchup, wrap it up, box it up and it's good to go. On lull periods, you'd box it up and mark the box with a wax crayon to indicate when the box got placed in the heat lamp. As with the steamer, you were supposed to throw out product after a certain time period elapsed. Not sure if this rule was always followed either. I cringe to think of what most likely did happen. Around this time, BK also instituted a salad bar. Most things were sold prepackaged although some prep did occur in the back (onions were sliced, tomatoes were sliced, etc.) Our biggest sellers seemed to be Whoppers, salad bar items and specialty things like chicken tenders. I remember the burger bundles (mini-burgers) and international chicken sandwiches well. And also Bullseye bbq burgers (your basic burger with cheese, bacon and Bullseye bbq sauce). I also remember the gallon sized blocks of lard all too well. And who can forget hosing down the parking lot? Interesting times. Soba ps. I just remembered our weirdest customer. She wanted a FRESH vegetarian burger. Basically a Whopper without the meat. It was a novel concept at the time.

Working at a Burger King gives you an appreciation for fast food that you've never had. Who knew that besides being flame-broiled, the burgers are steamed, then microwaved, then put under a heat lamp? By the time they get to your gullet, it's a miracle that the meat hasn't turned to dessicated mush. McDonald's must seem like heaven by comparison. The last time I set foot in a BK was 10 years ago, and only because I was desparate. Soba

Yes, actually. Worked in a Burger King when I was a teenager. It was quite interesting to say the least.

Maremma (Frank Bruni) Related discussion regarding Mr. Bruni's reviewing style and the star system can be found here. Soba

Pappardelle Bolognese, I think is a perfect example of a "jazzed up classic". The way I see it, the cuisine @ Babbo is Batali's "jazzed up" version of classic dishes throughout Italy. I'm not even sure what you're try to say? 1st course is a 1st course, 2nd course is a 2nd course etc??? ← Babbo isn't serving fusion cuisine. The dishes at Babbo, whilst Italian in origin, still retain an Italian identity. Their preparation and composition don't vary wildly from the classics they were grounded on. Paparadelle bolognese is not significantly different from the original, the only difference being the shape of the pasta that is served with the sauce. Look at any dish on Babbo's menu and you can be sure that the same argument holds true for most, if not all of them. Analyzing the review, I can only conclude that the cuisine at Cendrillon, while based on Filipino cuisine, is really Filipino fusion. Chilis are rarely used in Filipino food, yet Thai chili pepper makes an appearance in the adobo manok. Bibingka is traditionally a rice cake cooked with coconuts or with coconut milk. Chef Doraton has adapted the recipe and turned it into a souffle-like dish with "ground rice, eggs and coconut milk", then tops it with Gouda and feta cheese. If that's not fusion, I don't know what it is. But it isn't Filipino food any more, at least as I know it. Going back to my original argument, which Sam helped explain (thanks Sam ), I sincerely believe that serving something like dinuguan (offal and pork stewed in a sauce of vinegar, garlic and pig's blood) would require significant alterations to be served in a restaurant of Cendrillon's caliber. It is for that reason that I believe -- I could be wrong, and welcome the chance to be proved wrong -- that Filipino restaurants have a difficult time going past a one-star rating, at least in this country. You either have to serve Filipino fusion or be true to your roots. There isn't a middle ground. Chef Doraton *should* be praised for his efforts to showcase the cuisine, and should be proud of the rating. My beef is and has always been with the review, not the restaurant.

Perhaps, but in Babbo's case, the offerings on the menu are not jazzed up renditions of Italian classics. Pasta is still pasta, secondi are still secondi, and the last time I was there, testa is still testa.

so..1. you're saying that it's not a Filipino restaurant...and; 2. that you don't think a Filipino restaurant could get more than one star. fine. so, considering your first point, how does that prevent Cendrillon from getting two stars? since it's not a Filipino restaurant I fail to see the problem. now as to the review not making sense...that's a separate question -- whether Cendrillon actually deserves two stars I do not know. ← All clear now? What is Sripraphai doing that other Thai restaurants of possibly equal caliber (Klong, Pam Real Thai) aren't doing that qualified it for a two star rating? To my mind, Cendrillon is a pan-Asian restaurant with Filipino flourishes. However, Mr. Bruni describes it as a "Filipino restaurant". (See his review, he actually says it in the first few paragraphs.) So, notwithstanding my opinion, what is Cendrillon doing that qualifies it for an increase in rating as opposed to other Filipino restaurants in the metropolitan area? That it dares to be different doesn't seem to be sufficient. Frank must know something we don't. Here's another take on my point. This discussion is from the 2004 Bruni and Beyond thread, in this case relating to Bruni's review of Sri: There is no such bright line. You can even have a fine dining street food restaurant, also known as Spice Market. But you don't need a bright line to know that some things are in one category and some things are in another. Nor is the distinction terribly complicated or mysterious -- it's already pretty well defined in most cuisines that have haute cuisine equivalents. If you go to Thailand, nobody there is going to have any trouble distinguishing between the street food and the fine dining restaurants, just as nobody here has any trouble distinguishing between Gramercy Tavern and a burger joint. There may be some restaurants that challenge the distinction and defy the old categories, but Sripraphai isn't one of them. ← (my emphasis)The parallel argument I'm making is that if Cendrillon is a Filipino restaurant as Bruni claims it is, then the reason for increase in rating could be that the chef has decided to raise the bar in terms of the possibilities of Filipino cuisine. Fair enough, I'll concede that. But then, it's not exactly Filipino cuisine anymore, is it? There's a huge world of disconnect between traditional adobo manok and the version in the review.

Were I being charitable, I'd say his re-review of Babbo was on the mark. One out of 52 isn't bad.

But that's my point. You seem to be asserting that Cendrillon could not be a two star restaurant because it's Filipino cooking...and then in the same breath asserting that it's not authentically Filipino. Whether it is or is not a two-star restaurant isn't germane...thus Bruni's track record isn't relevant. The question is, could it be a two-star restaurant...based upon your own standard, the answer is yes. ← Many Filipinos will tell you that the cusine served in Filipino restaurants is essentially Filipino home cooking. The boundaries between home cooking and restaurant cuisine tend to blur. Yet the adobo manok as reported by the review isn't authentic, in my opinion. The reviewer liked it, and liked other dishes enough to give the restaurant two stars. If he had eaten adobo manok using ingredients commonly found in Filipino homes, one wonders whether he would have given the restaurant two stars. If he had eaten balut, who knows? Balut isn't easy and it isn't sexy, but it's surely authentic and more than enough to cure a restaurant goer of that malady called dining deja vu. Once more with feeling, it's not a Filipino restaurant serving authentic Filipino food. It's a restaurant serving food based on Filipino cuisine. Not only that, what is pad thai doing in a "Filipino" restaurant? Give me a break. edit: I'm really saying two things -- In my view, it's difficult for me to conceive of a Filipino restaurant as meriting more than one star. That it rates two stars means that it's in a category reserved for restaurants of a certain nature. And to top it off, the descriptions don't match up to experience. Frank must know something I don't. Secondly, the review makes no sense. Service descriptions such as "epically absent-minded" and mentions of "unremarkable dishes on the menu" don't smell like a review of a two-star establishment, in my opinion.

a couple thoughts: 1. none of us appear to have eaten at Cendrillon...thus, prima facie, Bruni's opinion carries more weight than anyone else's here. 2. I think you're contradicting yourself....according to your post (and my own recollection -- I've eaten a fair amount of Filipino home cooking in the past)...the dishes at Cendrillon vary quite a bit from Filipino home cooking. thus, as far as I understand your definition of restaurant dining...it quite easily could be a two star restaurant. In other words, Cendrillon may be to Filipino cuisine what Kittichai is to Thai. P.S., fwiw, I agree with Sripraphai garnerning two stars but believe that the Modern rating was a travesty. ← But Cendrillon isn't Filipino restaurant cuisine, at least in relation to the review. It's food based on Filipino cuisine. Subtle difference. Re Bruni's opinion -- this is coming from a man who places equal weight on bathroom decor as food and service when it comes to reviewing restaurants. Consider the source if you please. I was born in the Philippines, my parents are Filipino, I am Filipino, I grew up in a Filipino household. I think I know my Filipino food. I would give a bit more weight to Mr. Bruni if other aspects of his tenure as critic for the Times were, shall we say, within the realm of possibility. Of course I haven't eaten there yet either. Thus my opinion is subject to change.

I could be wrong but it's difficult for me to think of something like a wd-50's foie gras, beet powder and pea dirt as a dish that was grounded on home cooking. What I am saying is that Filipino restaurant cuisine is essentially Filipino home cooking. That said, Cendrillon's version of adobo manok is so far removed from most renditions of adobo manok that to me, it is adobo manok in name only. Ditto for oxtail kare-kare -- which by the way is redundant, given that kare-kare is by definition made out of oxtail. A little fact-checking in Mr. Bruni's review couldn't have hurt either. Tomatoes are an ingredient not commonly found in Filipino cuisine. True he does mention that dishes at Cendrillon are more authentic or "slightly tweaked" Filipino dishes. I don't know about you, but an adobo manok that contains rice vinegar, Thai chili pepper and coconut milk isn't particularly authentic nor is it even "slightly tweaked". Cendrillon as a two star restaurant is on par the same as trying to conceptualize Sripraphai as a two star restaurant. It may be that either is a two star restaurant to someone for whom such cuisines are alien, but to put each in the same category as an establishment like Blue Hill or the Modern goes beyond the realm of believability. Maybe next time, Frank.

When is brunch usually? We'll be revisiting Edinburgh later on in the year, viewed from another perspective. Not to worry.

I am of Filipino descent and it's difficult for me to believe that a Filipino restaurant would rate two stars -- in the same category as ostensibly Blue Hill (Greenwich Village), the Modern and Hearth. I haven't been to Cendrillon, though this review will probably spur me to dine there once or twice, if only to determine how good their version of adobo manok or kare-kare is. Filipino cuisine is really home cooking. There's only so much you can do to the basic dish before it becomes something wholly opposite what was originally intended. Oh, and Mr. Bruni, if you're reading this....kare-kare NEVER contains tomatoes, at least the version that I grew up eating.