WillieLee

There are so many concepts that keep me awake at night. Anything from vacuum evaporation, to freeze drying, to carbonation. Im always looking into different ways express myself. As far as the cocoa cotton balls, I will post pics of the process on tomorrow.

I could not agree with you more. We agreed before opening this restaurant, that it would not be a fraternity. The matcho, male dominated kitchens we have worked in the past are enough for us. We try to make sure the staff is as proportional as possible. There are times when a position just has to be filled and there arent enogh female resumes., and We do have to hire the most capable person at any given time. My point being, we are concious of a male - female ratio. I have just hired a female today as a matter of fact, and to be honest, all the male candidates were at a lose due to the fact that I did want a female to fill the position. So, dont get me wrong I do agree that it is a tough professio for a woman, but it isnt like that everywhere, and Im sure alanamoana could tell a few raunchy stories that would set me back in my seat........................

I do prefer the term reinterpretation above deconstruted, but as far as untouchable classics go, I dont know. I use classics more of an outline for new desserts. Its usually a play on a concept, used in order to make people feel comfortable with an ingredient they may not relate to. i.e. a hot apple dessert with crushed tart dough and miso ice cream. the dish is remarkbly like apple pie a la mode. The person later realizes how pleasent the miso was... I like to play on childhood memories as much as possible. They may not be references everyone can enjoy, bit the ones that do get it are enough for me. Ive been in this position long enough to know that Im not going to make everyone happy. Im fine with the small percent of appriciating patrons I have.......

Doc, You have been one of our biggest champions, so you can ask as many questions as you desire. As far as new menu items go, it really depends on many variables. I must say that one character flaw of mine(and the list is long.....) is I tend to lose interest in dishes before they come to fruition. Not to say that I lose sight, they do manage to come around eventually, and it's at that piont they materialize. One gift I have aquired is that I can usually see all the problems that Im going to have with a certain dish in my head before even starting. So it never takes too long to come together. When something is stressing me as far as execution or flavor dynamics that may not be working, I make a point to put the concept away and revisit it in a day or two. At this point something entirely different comes from the original idea......... Inspiration is a funny thing, and a difficult thing to quantify. I am lucky to live in my opinion the most inspiring place in the world. architecture, fashion, music, women, women, dogs in sweaters......... I have no idea where it comes from. I think its just the enviroment I choose to inhabit....... When it comes to me and Wylie, it is just a handball game of concepts, and ideas. There is no stupid idea because there all fodder for a final concept that could in turn be amazing.

First of all, I want to say Thank-you to all of you. You have been very supportive of Wylie and I and we appriciate it. I do realize that the food we do here at the restaurant could be considered "contraversial", but at the end of the day, it is the food that we enjoy creating. As far as this focus, Im going to try my hardest to get to everyones questions in a timely manner. Being that Wylie is in Madrid for the conference, we have to make sure this place does'nt burn down...... Once again its a pleasure to be invited to this focus, and I hope it proves itself informative, and maybe even inspirational.. sam

The new books are pretty outstanding. and interestingly enough I can honestly say Ferran hand delivered them to me.

I forgot the finale....Cocoa cotton balls

There are many ways to make an oil "gel" There is however no hydracolliod that will set an oil and remain transparent, on account they all need water to hydrate. It has been my unicorn for some time now.

Its actually a crone which is a tuber as opposed to a vegetable.

One way to approach it would be to hydrate the alginate with water at approx. 4-8% with a high sheer blender. Then blend the alginate mixture in to your fruit puree at about 8%. Then Make a calcium chloride bath at 1%. (w/ water) Using a pipette drop your fruit solution into the bath and allow to sit for about 10 minutes, then rinse with cold water immediately.

I threw my b-day party in the basement last week. The space is great "Latino shiek" would describe it best. The food was great, though overpriced, but somtimes you pay for ambiance. DB has a burger after all........

Parsnip cake!!!! http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2005...ic+American.htm

sammasonnyc.com

AKWA "keep it coming!" Lets force NYC to step it up a notch.......

Well Peter Luger has three stars right now, does that imply there is a four-star sreakhouse out there? Or is that the pinnacle rating for a restaurant of that ilk, i.e. a steakhouse? The NYT certainly has not been consistent over the years in shedding any light in either direction.