Sethro

Ate at Sushisamba Park tonight. We had Kahlua gelee with coconut sorbet and pineapple "ceviche", and chocolate ricotta torte with cinnamon ice cream, cinnamon milk and apple cinnamon aromatics.

There's no "glorification" whatsoever. If you ask your server at Nobu what the Omakase is, they will tell you "A tasting menu of our signature dishes". Admitedly the word Omakase is a misnomer, but they only use it at Nobu because it sounds cool...and really, how many Japanese restaurants in New York offer an Omakase in which the chef caters to your personal tastes? I can think of four off hand. I think most educated diners make the distinction, especially in a large dining room, that they won't be getting personal attention from the executive chef. Nobu does 250 on a very slow weeknight.

I remember reading a thread on this very board that dealt with this The deduction that was reached was that the proportions are indeed the culprit. I always notice it personally, sometimes more than others. I always use the same bowls too, but there is a wide varience in metalic undertone. I wish I remembered which thread that was...

Good question. I'd imagine there's alot of brainstorming and recipe sharing abound in general. For all interested parties, ICA Batali vs Dufresne airs January 8th.

Ate there last night, Bar Room. Over all it was very good. Started with the Tarte Flambe, which was amazing, but a little heavy for a first course. It was listed as a second so I was surprised when it arrived first. Regardless, it was perfectly sweet, salty and smokey. I ate nearly all of it (and it's huge, like 16"). Next came char and steak tartare. Both were severely under-seasoned and bland, especially after the tarte flambe. I also found the brick-shaped plating to be totally unappealing and reminicent of canned dog food. Low point of the night. Folowing that came Sorrel Soup and Beef Tongue. The soup was possibly the best I've ever had in my life. The parsley and sorrels were in perfect harmony, and it had a subtle yogurty acid to it. The foie piece in it was practically entree sized, as well, and perfectly executed. Easilly one of the better dishes I've ever tasted. The tounge was also superb, with a really unique smokey flavor to it. Nothing I'd order twice, but a very nice dish. Main courses were Squab and Lamb Loin. The squab was ok, nothing special. The star of the dish was actually the delicios spaghetti squash it was bedded on. The bird itself lacked the richness and sweetness I was hoping for. Possibly cooked a little over. The lamb loin was very nice, with a very present alchohol aroma. I like it when liquor is not completely cooked off, so it was fine for me. The root veg ragoutt it was served upon was pretty boring though. Desserts were the bengiets and chocolate tart. The donuts were fine I guess, nothing extrodianary (not that I'm a donut lover, but our server recomended it as the premier dessert). I found the accompanying maple ice cream to be WAY too sweet, even cloying. A nice, clean dessert, but just not up my alley. The chocolate tart was executed to perfection, rich and smooth. I couldn't taste the vanilla ice cream at all in conrast to the tart, though its texture was fantastic. Beautiful quenell too. Very good meal for the money, and I'll definetely be back at least twice.

Nope, looks like an actual Kulfi mold like they sell at indian foodstuff stores. Not that theres anything wrong with dixie cups. I use em...one less thing for the dishwashers to lose/break. Those plates do look really nice. Especially the rose box. I would ruin at least seven of those every service with my hot hands.

Well, the sugar in frosting (and I'm thinking buttercream) is dissolved and not really prevelant in the texture to begin with. I guess you could just fold softened butter with whip cream till you get a spreadable consistancy. You could infuse or blend the cream with herbs or whatever it was you had in mind. Otherwise, you could make a parfait of cream cheese and mascarpone (or sour cream, whatever), but that carries alot of flavor as is and I'm not sure if you are looking for something relatively nuetral or not. Basically you will want to lighten the butter or cheese mixture with whipped cream either way, till its spreadable as you want.

I would have gave you the same response, and denoted it as an irratating moment myself.

... You try it and tell me.

Lard is one thing, but if there's straight up pieces of animal flesh in your dish, it is not dessert. I don't care what they do at the Fat Duck or anywhere else, my feelings on that are quite concrete. But if you have to make something dessert-esque I would do a spin on the Chinese classic; pulled pork in puff or choux, with smoked pear and buttermilk sorbet (or something else cold and acerbic).

I'm sure I don't have a favorite, but heres a few I really love. The Olive Claufutis at WD-50. If you're not familiar with Sam Mason, you'd assume his desserts were odd just for the sake of being so, which is kinda the feeling I got myself when reading the menu description (knowing full well that the guy is a genius). However, it turns out that the flavor is quite natural and actually very comforting. I'm a big fan of salinity in desserts, but this was considerably less salty than some desserts I've tried which contained ingredients no where near as hard to put a leash on as olives. It makes me seriously wonder why we haven't been eating olive pie for dessert for ages now. I also love the Thai Jewels at Spice Market. I read a review recently that trashed them, but I think it must have to do with the execution nowadays, because in its intended form, it rocks. Sure, its alot like Fruity Pebbles, but those rock too.

Out of curiosity: Has anyone with a convection/steam oven tried using the steam instead of a bath to keep a skin from forming? I have a convection steam oven for the first time now, and the idea has occoured to me. Right now I bake my brulee in a hotel pan, on top of a wet towel, plastic wrapped at 300. I use a wet towel because apprently I suck at holding things steady and always slosh water up onto a few of the brulee and ruin them.

I've eaten there twice, and had two very different experiences. The first time, I was with some friends of the pastry chef, and the kitchen sent out whatever they felt like--no menus. It was very good, bordering on awesome. I remember the jumbo prawn in red butter sauce being absolutely marvelous. The second time I went solo and just ordered ala carte, and was much less impressed. It may have been an off night, or I may have just made poor selections, but everything was underwhelming. Still, in fairness it deserves to be said that Bolo has the potential for greatness, as I've seen it (eaten it) first hand. Also worth mentioning are the dessert tapas, which are very clever and fun.

/\ They just lost all their sous chefs and their pastry chef. Give them a minute and they will hopefully get back on track. Not that the three star review was ever warranted (or even wanted, in my estimation), but at opening when everything was running right, it was very good. Especially the hot apps and the desserts. The lime noodles and the ribs were favorites of mine, and it sucks to hear they have fallen off. Its a DAMN shame about the Thai Jewels, too. In its intended form it is one of the best desserts I've ever had. I can't believe the coconut ice was chunky--they have a robocoup powerful enough to puree your front bumper!

Well, when you make a sorbet out of puree you usually add simple syrup. You wouldn't want the puree itself to be as sweet as a sorbet base though, unless that's all you were using it for.

I would start with the lychees alone in a blender, and add only enough of the canning syrup to keep it moving. The difference is that a puree made from lychees in syrup is going to be sweeter than a lychee puree you would buy. You may have to adjust the recipes you use it in to decrease the sugar a bit.

If you just melt the chocolate and don't temper it, you are going to have nothing but a big mess!

Dude, ouch! We had seven desserts on the menu at Nobu, as well as three specials dailly and an assortment of homemade ice creams and sorbets! Of course Nobu is fusion, and you're far more likely to find real dessert menus at a Japanese fusion restaurant that a strict Japanese sushi establishment. That being said there are several legit pastry chefs in NYC working Japanese fusiony joints.

It's usually either spread with an offset spatula on one silpat and then topped with another, or just sandwiched between two silpats and rolled out. I'm not sure if that's what Sam and Wylie do, but that's the usual way.

Down to $950 on Amazon as of last week. I ordered it Friday. Woo!

It's actually one of the few dishes I've tried at WD-50 that I'm not crazy about. The shrimp noodle itself has a very peculiar texture that I can only describe as "squeaky", and the cooking process (boiling, I would assume, but who knows) removes most of the fresh shrimp taste that I love. I can see how some people would flip for it, but its just not up my alley. What is most definetely up my alley is the smear of chorizo emulsion that graces the plate! The color and flavor are as bold and bursting as in any sauce you'll ever see. It is a smokey, tangy work of wonder. I would actually consider ordering he dish again just for the sauce.

Sunrise Mart, 494 Broome St. btwn W. Broadway and Wooster St.

"And while you're at it, why don't you bring along some chicken skins and lobster shells." ← Top O' the Muffin to ya! Actually, shelters are not legally allowed to acept "handouts" like that. They have to go through programs like City Harvest or what have you. Unfortunately dealing with such programs is convoluted and wastes alot of time, which is why most businesses end up throwing food away instead of going through the hassle of getting it to shelters through legal chanels. If it were me, I would try to pawn the mutant muffins off on staff or familly. I try to never throw food away, unless its spoilled or otherwise inedible. Never alow sup-par product to reach your customers though. As said elsewhere, reputation is everything. Plus you know the first time you decide to sell a half-assed product, its going straight to a food writer!

My friends went to the pre-opening. They said the food was fantastic and the waiters are indeed "ninjas", right down to the facemasks. Apparently the all balck decor makes them hard to see comming, and get this: they all do magic tricks. I guess the captain of the wait staff is a trained magician, and everyone who works the floor is required to study under him. I'm still not too sure how I feel about this...

If there's one component I would like some light shed upon, it's the raisin consome. I mean, it's midnight blackish-purple and delicately sweet. Raisins, being dried, just don't give off very much color, and if you puree them, the color they produce is an unpleasant redish-grey. Additionally, no matter how well you soak or rinse raisins, they're just sweet as hell. Somehow, despite all this, the raisin consome prevails. I wish I knew how.