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For the benefit (or detriment) of Egullet. August 16, 2002 APPETIZERS Shrimp Cocktail 14. Steamed Bouchot MusselsSpanish Chorizo in White Wine Tomato Broth 11. Seasonal Wild Mushroom Risotto 10. Seared Foie Gras and Panko Fried Pink Shrimp DuetRed Chili Coconut Sauce and Crisp Rice Paper 15. Chilled Lump Crab Cocktail with Three Sauces 14. Capellini with Sautéed Ruby Red Shrimp, Olives, Tomato and Garlic 14. Roasted Halibut Cheeks; Pancetta Lardons and Small Greens 11. TONIGHT’S SELECTIONS Tuna Carpaccio – Heirloom Tomatoes with Fresh Herbs,Tuscan Olive Oil and Fingerling Potato Salad - 24. Pan Roasted New Zealand Barramundi Roasted Shallot Slivers, Tomato, Butter Carved Potatoes and Baby Vegetables - 22. Sautéed Dover Sole – Crisp Anna Potatoes, Asparagus Tips, English Peas and Ginger Beurre Blanc - 30. Grilled Veal Paillard –20.Wild Mushrooms in Cabernet Sauce and Parmesan Polenta - 20 Bone in Beef Rib Steak Smothered with Charred Onions and Mashed Potatoes - 32.00

Uno mas. Saigon Republic as reviewed in The Record Nick

It's right there on top, FG. This is the commercial space in NJ where they bake the bread for the restaurant. There is no retail Balthazar Bakery in NJ. Unless you order the bread for your restaurant, you can't get it. Nick

Jeez, guys!...It's no secret. Chop is the poissinier at Restaurant Nicholas in Red Bank. Anyone following the Jersey board should be able to pick this up. I hope it calms things down. Nick

If it's from the Balthazar Bakery it is. Nice group of extremely service oriented people. I was surprised at that. The artisan loaves are serious bread and many producers are willing to sac service in favor of craft. Not so Balthazar. they seem to make both work. They started by supplying the Balthazar Restaurant. The business then grew (we have a bakery, let's sell the stuff). They tell me that they're continuing to work on the retail aspect. VG french bkfst bakeries. In fact, excellent! Nick

OH BOY! OH BOY! OH BOY! Nick

Nope. Battles with the town of Englewood. Good bread, better Breakfast bakeries. Best pain au chocalate in the area. Excellent croissants. Good brioche. A host of artisan breads. Nick

Very good, FG! Nah, it was a local joint here in Jersey. Should I start signing off as "The Angry Chef' again?? Nick

I'm sure the person I sent this PM to won't mind if I post its contents. I think it's germaine. Sometimes one visit is enough. It was for me this time. I left the restaurants name out. I'll tell privately. Nick

Well, don't we all do this most of the time. Most restaurants get one shot. Especially new ones. Well at least in this neck of the woods. I think Jason, Rachel may be able to back me up on this. We play to a pretty tough crowd in the tri-state. if I have a bad meal...well I work pretty hard for my money (as most of us do). Should I risk it as well as the calories on giving someone a second chance? It'll usually take much urging from people who's opinions I muchly respect before I again try a restaurant that's dissed me once already. Nick

Plat du Jour Cup-O-Soup Nick

John could you post more on the cold to boiling water method. I've been doing lobsters for a bout 30 years now. My experiences with your method seem quite contrary to your post. Three times a year for the last 9 years i must cook 120-200 3 pound lobsters. I ALWAYS dispatch the lobsters that I set aside for broiling (50-100). This is done by placing a small boning knife behind the first break in the carapace behind the head. Insert swiftly and deftly draw across and through. This severs the spinal cord effectively guiouttinning the lobster. The lobster at this point arches and stretches out. There is some residual motion but the beast usually dies rather quickly. My experience with the cold to boiling water method has to do with the seemingly panicked way the lobsters attempt to escape the pot. The most disturbing aspect that I've found to this method is the screams. The bloodcurdling noise that the lobsters emit make my skin crawl. I've only had to experience it once or twice to know that I never wanted to hear those sounds again. It was NOT steam escaping the shells. The beasts are desperately trying to jump out of the pot, some of them successfully. That coupled with the noise lead me to the 'plunge them into boiling liquid' method. Here you want to be careful not to put to many cold lobsters into the boiling water. This cools the liquid to the point that the lobsters aren't shocked and killed instantly. You also want to use ample liquid for the same reasons. A. J. McClane recommends plunging head first into rapidly boiling liquid. M.F.K. Fisher recommends dispatching the lobster first using the above method. Perhaps I misunderstand. Perhaps I'm bringing the pot to a boil too quickly. How gradual is your technique. I'm open to trying it. Nick

Nick

You got Lucky. In fact, upon leaving, you should have bought a Lotto ticket! Nick

Liza, I'm always on the lookout for great fish people. Thanks for the info. PM a number and I'll give a call. Right now I'm using Pierless out of Maine. I also use True World, a japanese company out of Elizabeth NJ. I also buy some (very carefully) from Slavin. Say chop, The Slavin people say that they sell to the Ryland Inn. Is this true? PM if you've a chance. railpaul, The statutes won't let you serve the fish, even if tagged from pristine out of state waters. It's what i find so irksome. Thanks all Nick

What did I tell you about not sharing Nick

Why must NJ be the only state that still bans the commercial fishing and sale for consumption of Wild Striped Bass. No Problem in Conn, RI and NY. Why us? Fishmongers can have their liscenses pulled for selling it in NJ. Restaurants acn be fined for serving it. But the same fish vendors can sell the fish out of their Jersey warehouses to restaurants in NY! Unconfirmed rumor has it that the ban, implemented with good reason during the Whitman administration, is still on the books due to the powerful sportfishing lobby in Trenton. The fishery has returned in spades. Why can we not still serve this fish?? At least let us serve fish tagged from out of state. I have served it. But my stock is coming tagged from RI. I think the fish police are probably too stretched to bother raiding the kitchen of a club Chef in a small town in the far Northeast of the state. Nick

If by Sea Bass you mean the locally caught Black Sea Bass, then I'm sorry to disappoint. The quarterly quota must have been reached. The fishery is now closed. The Black Sea Bass's flesh is much more akin to Red Snapper. I have not tasted the farmed. Are you sure it's Black Sea Bass that is being farmed and not Hybrid Striped Bass? I just read an in depth article re Black Sea Bass, in this months Seafood Business. No mention of farming. If it is farm raised Striper than I must disagree. The taste, in my experience, ranges from the inoffensive to the downright grassy. This to do with the fact that the hybrid is not a true Striped Bass but rather a cross between a striper and a freshwater fish (perch?). It was once explained to me that these fish must be purged before marketing. Hence the residual grassiness. But I have moved away from farmed fish in general. It has its own set of environmental (salmon) and economic (catfish) problems. Though when winter sets in, I'll have to revert to farm raised salmon. Shugga, most of us would like the fishery to rebound as well as see a more reliable system of tagging and documenting the fish that are landed. This in order to remove the poachers from the equation. As it stands now, I don't trust the sources. You don't see much Orange Roughy about anymore. That's because it was fished out. Nearly to extinction. Many of us would not like to see this happen to the Chilean Sea Bass stocks as well. Nick

And if you'e anywhere close by the Englewood/Tenafly/Bgnfld/Dumont/Cresskill area, know that Knickerbocker Road (cty 505?) is a North/South kinda sorta main road that turns into 303 at the NY state line. Save you some driving time. Nick

Shouldn't be much hard shell around this time of year. They start to molt about now. Nick

I use 2 & 1/2 ups. In a Low pressure steamer they take about 20 minutes. On major seafood evenings, I cook 15 at a time in a braising skillet filled with court bouillon. They take the same amount of time. About 20 minutes. Nick

Not being critical, shugga. It still appears on many menus. I just don't serve it. I don't have my knickers in a twist over it. YMMV Nick

I am proud to be part of 'Take a Pass on Chilean Sea Bass'. At least until the fishery returns. I haven't served it since march. I talked a major booking (wedding for 120) out of it about 6 weeks ago. They were understanding of my discomfort serving this fish. They booked before the boycott. You are correct Lou, all my purveyors still list it as available. Nick

Fat-Guy, try 'Stewerts' diet cream soda. tastes like it was made with sugar. Watch out for things sweetened with manitol. It's sweet but indigestible. With predictible embarrasing results. Nick

That's a new one on me. Could you post a link or give a pointer to some more info. disclaimer: Type 1 diabetic Thanks Nick