greensNbeans
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Posts posted by greensNbeans
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Chef Blais has contacted me and offered any help I may need, because we shared an article in the WSJ last week - I just wanted everyone to know that he is as helpfull as he is talented! It really means a lot to me! Cheers Chef!!!!!!!
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I don't really have a favorite because I would rather gather with great friends and do it ourselves! I know this, Dickey's in Buffalo is NOT good - had to stop there yesterday during my 13 hour transport back to Houston from Dallas!
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Everybodies comments have merit, but in order for chefs to explore new boundries they must have a secure hold on the fundamentals! That still is the backbone of any kitchen. Food and Wine can't stop exploring new places because that is what Escoffier did sooooooooooo many years ago! Keep growing and learn something new everyday. My 2 cents
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Anybody seen the menu item : Hanger Tartare with bearnaise ice cream
What happened to the new photos that were on the website? I really hope they post new ones!
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Randy:
When are you expecting the soft open and the grand opening? Based on your comments, looks like Mid-November to early December.
What about wines? Will you be acting as sommelier?
Who were your greatest influences in developing your style?
Look forward to your opening. My wife and I are more likely to support a venue where we have some interaction or relationship with the proprietor or kitchen.
The dinng area will hold close to 100 guest but I think we are only going to put 65-70 seats out so everyone can be comfortable! There will be a bar, but I don't really want a "bar scene" - I will offer a seperate menu, special cocktails, and exotic beers and microbrews. There will be a small lounge area for guest to wait at and there will be 6 places to sit at the bar! Another great question!
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Your menu is very ambitious and sounds great. I cant wait to see how well it is executed though. I am an ex-houstonian and i am now working in the restaurant industry in New York City. Im glad to finally see more chefs in houston experimenting with food and lifting the food scene in houston to a higher level.
I was wondering how many seats will there be and will you also focus on the bar scene at all?
Kent - I will hold a special table for ya, come on down and taste!
LDLee - Im pushing for a early november opening! As for the wine : I want to offer a something for everybody, of course it being my first store money is tight, but the menu and the wine list will not suffer - it may not be as big as some of the others around town, but that kind of thing takes time to build. Im still interviewing for the wine director postions, but I want the entire staff (front and back) to be apart of it, this includes tasting and comments from everyone! Variety will allow us to be experimental yet conservative. It will be a small list at first but it will grow as the restaurant does. Great question!
My biggest cooking style influences don't really come from the chefs that I have worked with here in Houston but I have learned a lot about the buisness from them - Mark Cox is a genius when it comes to running a kitchen for a buisness, and Chef Keating did teach me things but he mostly taught me to get to know your audience and surprise them! I have always said to people that you learn from everyone in the restaurant : bus-boys, dishwashers, runners, commis, ect ... I once staged at Tru and it was a career changing visit! I have always been a huge fan of Thomas Keller, who's book really changed my philosphy in the kitchen, I also pay tribute to the kitchen in Big Sur, CA where I learned the value of freshness and respect for raw product. I think it is only natural to be influenced all chefs because of the progression in technology - Everyone is influenced by everyone! I think that it fair to say we share ideas with each other and make them our own! Wylie and Sam at wd-50 are so impressive, Shea at Cru is also a guy that stands out, Mr. Heston of course, Bras, Adria, and all the European chefs who have paved the way for exploration of food and wine! Richard Blais of Atlanta is a gentlemen that I hold in high regard because of his strong belief in what he does, no matter if the city is ready or not - Everything happens for a reason! The list goes on forever!
I think that it is important for all diners to have an open line of communication with the kitchen, if they don't extend that to you, well they are probally are hiding something! I will offer guest tours thru the kithen and there is always the "kitchen table" which is a room that is seperated by a glass wall for the enjoyment of the guest.
Cheers
Randy
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That is the way I do it - you can see a version of my refried bean paper that garnishes an amuse called "heuvos rancheros" on my profile picture.
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I ate there in late August on Friday evening. Wylie was there. I thought the meal was mind-blowing however my wife wasnt as excited. It was a bit too experimental for her taste buds.
The shrimp noodles were fantastic along with the chorizo smear. Yum Yum!
The roasted Foie Gras was another clear winner. Outstanding texture and flavor.
I was also blown away by the Duck Breast with Polenta and Huitlacoche Paper. How does he make that paper?
The Crispy Peanut Butter was also very very tasty but have no idea how he made it.
The Roasted Corn Sorbet with Coffee Soil did not agree with my palate neither did the Carmelized Banana dessert. Other than those two desserts, the meal was probably one of the best I have had in NYC.
Service was super and very accomodating. I will be back!
Wylie, when is the cookbook going to be released- I have cash in hand.
paper is made from egg whites and dried in low temp oven
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he is on fire!
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Chef-
Do you have any other updates about the venture? Opening date? Is everything on shcedule? How is the construction going, in the kitchen and otherwise? Any major obstacles?
what about sourcing ingredients? Will you try and go mainly with local stuff?
Congrats on the WSJ article, I will try and check a copy out at the book store.
Elie
Well, we should get recieving our final permits this week (hopefully today) and begin construction that minute. The project is mearly a 4-5 week build out and we should be open the first of November, as planned. The kitchen is already built and hoods and grease trap are present. It is the old kitchen from Logans and we are combining a new dining area which is almost the exact size of the kitchen (total space about 3,000 sq/ft). I have made all the kitchen purchases and all the tables and chairs, but there is still a lot to do. Right now Im trying to get the "key players" in order (dining room manager, wine director, sous-chefs, and chef de parties) and that is a bit challanging because it is difficult to explain the operation if people do not know what the food represents. I don't think that anybody in Houston is trying to accomplish what we will! I have been very fortunate to find a couple of great culinarians to join the team (they can expose themselves on egullet if they please
) which makes me very excited. The kitchen will be ran on a very democratic level - everyone must contribute new ideas and applications, everyone! This keeps the kitchen on our toes and allows everyone to learn new stuff everyday, including the waitstaff. When it comes to sourcing I will use the same fish companies that I have used at Mark's and Quattro (foley, brown trading, steve connolly, and of course I will support out local "cats" as well). I will use local farmers for organics and specialty items, and i have always used Wood Duck Farms here in Houston for micros and other items. Of course, I will splurge when the time is right, on Chef's Garden, Fresh & Wild, Earthy Delights, and Sid Weiner & Sons for produce and mushrooms. For protein I will use martin here in town as well as Summerfeild Lamb, Niman Ranch, Swan Creek Farms, and Jamison Farms ect. for specialty items - and of course their is D' Artagnan for all my duck and foie needs. I have beem trying to rounf up a few local chefs to purchase a order of Manni "the live" olive oil - who only supplies about 16 restaurants around the world (mannibiz.com). I first was exposed to it at TFL and recently we used it at Quattro, it really is a wonderfull product - The best oil in the world! For appliances in the kitchen we will have a few immersion circulators to help with all the sous-vide cooking we will do, paco-jet, thermo-mix, distillers, tumblers (if I can find one that is at a good price), isi foamers, ect...... thank god for ebay!
Thanks for your time -
Randy
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If you look in this month's Food Arts mag (if you're in the US), there's a piece on Heston which includes a discussion of fluid gels.
Basically, he uses a product called gellan gum to create a solid or set gel, and then uses an overhead lab mixer (which works at much slower speeds than a regular mixer, and so doesbn't incorporate any oxygen) to break up the gell into so many pieces, that it takes on the characteristics of a fluid, without actually becoming one. You can restrain the process at the point where it will behave like a puree, or continue until it's actually pourable.
So its gellan in a puree form. It does not lighten in color because of the amount of oxygen in it.
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Can somebody shed some light on this subject for me, please. Ive seen that Ludavic at Bastide also does it. Any comments will help -
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Nice mention about Laidback Manor in the Wall Street Journal today. It was in the "Chefs Gone Wild" cover article. (no free link for the WSJ online version).
foie gras rolled in almond cookies....yum
Thanks for the "nod" - I didn't know it was issued yet!
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Sethro - I too would like to know the nature of all their consumes. Wylie and Sam are keeping the rest of the culinary world on their toes, and I love it! Yall (sorry Im from Texas) are really inspirational! Thanks for it all! Go Irish!
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Thank you very much Kent - I will try it on sunday - Today I have to watch the Notre Dame game - IRISH!
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How about that recipe, Kent? I can try it out this weekend!
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I forgot to mention how much I appriecate the input on this subject - thanks!
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Oh, don't get me wrong, I understand that Mr. Walsh will try things agian. Unfortunatly, those who have read or seen negitive things may stay away. It's good to know that not much puts him off. I know that I will be offering numerous items that are not the "norm". I just hope he enjoys it.
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I am not sure if it is actually the bone or beak but I believe that it is cartilage that needs to be removed -
I think it is the beak, here's how Robb Walsh describes eating them in his article The Xiu Mai Super Bowl about Fung's Kitchen Dim Sum:
The duck tongues didn't do much for us. You hold them by the bony outside of the bill and attempt to nibble the little bits of meat from where the mouth cavity used to be. The meat is so heavily flavored with the cinnamon, cloves and anise of the five-spice powder it's cooked with that you can barely taste anything else.It is a shame that he did not enjoy them - but this is a good example of having a bad expeirence with something once and never trying it again. I don't think people can base an opinion on one expeirence, he even said that it was flavored with too much clove and annise to enjoy. This reminds me of what Thomas Keller says about foie in his cookbook - people say they don't like foie because they had it once and it was probally not done correctly - It also reminds of when people say that they don't like fish because it tastes "fishy", well they have not had fresh fish.
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I am not sure if it is actually the bone or beak but I believe that it is cartilage that needs to be removed -
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Kent - I welcome any recipes that you may have, I will try anything. Tru in Chicago has coined their cuisine as "French with a sense of humor" trurestaurant.com check it out for yourself - Gale and Rick are very important people in the culinary movement in the US.
as for the "bones" - they are removed
yes - I love gizzards of all kinds
American cuisine to me means that I can use any ingredients that I may find here, because America is truly the world's melting pot! The progresive part comes from applications and techniques that we use in the kitchen.
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I have seen them fresh I think at Hong Kong Market and I've seen them frozen at a couple other Asian markets. They do not look that appetizing to me and I've never thought of trying them let alone cooking them myself, but I could be persuaded
Chef- How are you planning on cooking them? You might be one of the first chefs at a fine dining establishment in Houston to serve them. I've certainly never encountered them outside of a Chinese shop in Chinatown. How do they fit on your menu?
Elie
You might be correct about being the first to try it, but without expeirmention we can't be exposed to new things. At Tru, Chef Tramonto fried them crisp and served it with many "duck items". I plan on using them by quickly blanching and shocking (removes any impurities that may be present) and frying in a tempura batter and serving them at the bar as a quick snack and I too will showcase them with many other "duck items" on the menus - they are very versitle. I always find the Hong Kong Markets to be extremely inspiring and it is a playground of many different tastes and textures! This is only the beginning ...
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Went to Annisa for desserts yesterday, and tried every dessert on the menu. Loved the hot mochi balls.
How big is her staff? Is she the only one in the kitchen?
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I can't remember if Hong Kong Supermarket in Houston sells them frozen or not. I'm 60% sure they're fresh, though they may have been frozen sometime during shipping.
Are you making a Chinese dish? I am not aware of any other cuisines that use duck tongues. My mom makes them either steamed (more Cantonese style) or "with a red sauce" (pinyin: hong3 shao1) (more Beijing style). One of my favorite signature Chinese dishes.
No, I am opening a new "progressive American" restaurant in downtown and want to serve them but I don't know where to get them. I first used them in Chicago at Tru Restaurant and would love to include them on my menu for the fall. I will check out the Hong Kong Market - Thanks for the info!
I am quite sure that Robb will try it again. There isn't much that puts him off.
Annisa
in New York: Dining
Posted
me too - please tell more