zeitoun

Thanks Suzanne for the info, i'm picking up my lobsters tomorrow. I'm buying them at $10 a pound, so I am not sure if that is expensive or not. I'll try the chelsea market next time and compare quality and prices. Thank you all for your generous comments!

I am as sad as you are, my "fromager" told me a few days ago that the FDA no longer allows the import of vacherin across US borders. I do not rememeber why, or may be he did say why and i was so in shock that my ears went numb for a second. This is not cool

And why so surprised? Starr seems to be moving in a food-and-celebrity (rather than concept-) oriented direction with most of his new projects: Portale at the reopened Striped Bass, Morimoto at Morimoto... ← Well, Starr is not the surprise, it is rather the choice that MS made to go along with this project which was. For one, Hakan Swahn is the person behind MS's success, he gave him an incredible chance at 27 years old (i think) to take the helm of Aquavit after the sudden passing of their previous chef. Their collaboration has been more than stellar for many years now, so going into a venture without Swahn seemed a rather awkward move for him at this point. Second, what could he have actually gained from it as a chef? Riingo was a novelty as far as the concept goes (more Japanese, less Swedish) and an interesting culinary venture, but the idea of replicating Aquavit's food in another restaurant, in another city, under a different umbrella bothers me. There is nothing he could have gained from this experience except an additional source of income. Coming from a chef like Marcus, which I admire a lot and who his so passionate about his craft, it is a bit disappointing. I personally have an aversion to the idea of the talented chef who builds a strong reputation around one single establishment, and moves on years later to open five or ten other restaurants. Take Alain Ducasse for instance who recently opened a Spoon in Tunisia!?!?! The idea alone does take something away from the magic one should experience eating at his Monaco or Paris three star restaurants. How about Thomas Keller opening a Bouchon in Vegas!!! Restaurateurs are in the business of opening as many restaurants as possible, there is no question about it, it is what they are there for. When chefs begin thinking like businessmen instead of craftsmen (a la Jean Georges other perfect case in point), there is something about the chef and his craft that is lost in the process. I think something should be learned from chefs like Gagnaire, Passard, Veyra, Adria or Blumenthal to name a few across the Atlantic, who have not fallen into that movement. Maybe i'm taking this a little too far, but as I said, I have a profound respect for what Marcus Samuelson does as a chef and it does bother me.

who? marcus and swahn or marcus and starr?

Yesterday i was watching Opening Soon on Fine living channel. Washington Square in philadelphia was the restaurant featured. I am from NY and was surprised to find out that Marcus Samuelsson was on this project. Is he the executive chef at that place or only consulting? It puzzled me because his only business collaborations (that i know of) so far were with Hakan Swahn at Aquavit and Riingo. Since when has he begun working with Stephen Starr? What puzzled me even more is the fact that (it seems at least) most items featured on the menu are taken from the Aquavit menu (ex: foie gras ganache). Can someone enlighten me?

By friskiness I assume you mean sudden bursts of tail flapping when intruded upon? That makes sense. Thanks for the input

You are absolutely right. I have so far not seen fish tanks in chinatown that met the very basic criteria of care and sanitation. When considering the "visual" health of fish itself, it becomes even more challenging of a task with live lobsters. You could easily spot a dead (or even sick) fish from a live one, it is harder to do with a lobster. They tend to be more...static and idle. Are there some signs and clues to look for when checking the overall condition of a lobster?

I could see how that could be a turn-off I guess it might be better to stick to "live" product there! ← Not so sure actually, in some places, the live fish tanks are so crowded that if you look at them closely, you will notice that half the fish there is motionless (i guess they died from suffocation?) Some fish will actually begin nibbling on their defunct tankmates. Not a happy sight. My mind is set, I just ordered my lobster at Fish Tales.

hhmmhh, sounds like you had an experience?

I adopted the same principle. I always buy my fish from my fishmonger in Brooklyn (Fish tales, amazing quality). They do sell lobster but it is kind of expensive and since I will be feeding a lot of mouths for my Xmas dinner, I thought I could avoid the hefty bill by going to chinatown. This might be unwise after all.

Amongst the myriad of fish stalls that dot the streets of chinatown (in Manhattan), which ones would you recommend? I know there are really bad ones out there, I am looking for lobster. Can I get away with finding something decent and not outrageously priced? Thanks!

I love shigekix too! here is their homepage with all of their variations: http://www.shigekix.com/item.html my favorite is grape and I like the soda (blue one) flavor as well. I have never had a difficult time finding them here in Yokohama, there are usually a couple varieties in stock anywhere I go. ← I pretty much love them all. Kind of dangerous, I have eaten my way through them until my tongue went numb, not good.... Thanks for the info, I'll check the website and see if they can ship to the US. Mrs Zeitoun did bring me back the special pack of four which is displayed on the lower right hand corner of their webpage. Special or not, I ate it anyway to her big dismay! (I had to get my fix) In the US only the lemon and cherry varieties are available.

Mais bien sur mon cher, I intend on doing the same! Is there anything better than the good ol' foie gras du perigord? This will be the highlight of my trip, I appreciate the warning though. It seems that the timing of my visit could become a factor. Is the end of May considered off-season? Also, I am looking for a good source to purchase wines when I am down there. I was told that l'Intendant in the city of Bordeaux would be perfect for that. I only saw recent vintages on their website though, do they only sell wines en primeur? do they sell older vintages at their store?

Wow! great thread!! My ultimate favorite candy is the ultra sour gummy bits called "shigekixu". The label has a weird looking...well..cow maybe? They are hard to find here in New York and I only know one store who has them (or had actually). The last time I checked, they were not available. If they are, I usually stock up 20 packs. My wife who is Japanese is telling me that they are hard to find in japan as well. Is anyone familiar with them?? Other favorites: Melty Kiss, Fran (I prefer these over Pocky), Hi-Chew, kyorochan chocolate almonds.

I am planning a trip next spring to France and Spain. I will be driving from Bordeaux to San Sebastian and back. My mind is pretty much set on the restaurants i would like to visit in Spain, however i am still undecided about southwestern France. I initially thought of trying Michel Guerard's restaurant in Eugenie-les-Bains but I am leaning instead towards skipping Guerard and going to eat at Michel Trama's restaurant in the Perigord (I love the region). It is a little out of the way but I could still incorporate it in my itinerary. I feel that with a newly awarded third star, Trama would be a more interesting experience + les loges de l'aubergade looks like an amazing piece of property. Has anyone been to either one of them or both? In addition to the obvious regional difference, I am curious to know how they differ in terms of culinary style and dining experience? Merci d'avance!

Indeed, chikalicious is a great after dinner place with lovely desserts. Make sure you leave some room for their 3 course dessert menu. You will not regret it.

mmh.... next time then i guess??

I found an extremely simple and incredible way of cooking salmon in Alice Waters's "Chez panisse cafe" cookbook. If you have a whole fillet (not cut in individual pieces by your fishmonger), try slow cooking it (whole very important) in the oven for one hour. The salmon should be generously coated with olive oil and salt, no pepper. Set your oven at the lowest temp. possible (180 to 200 degrees) and leave it in there for one hour until it begins to "sweat" and you can see some of the fat starting to ooze out of the fish. This is an indication that it is ready. Cooking time obviously will vary according to the size and shape of your cut. 50 mn to an hour is generally a good approximation. The result is amazing: the salmon skin will not crisp but it will have a satiny appearance and soft and moist texture (and amazing taste!). The flesh will be evenly cooked but will remain extremely moist and will almost dissolve when you cut through it. Serve it with whatever side dish pleases you!

I had to jump in on this one. This dish is on my top 10 list in NY. It is what makes me appreciate my experience at GT each time i go there. Colicchio has a recipe for it in his cookbook, I have tried this at home but obviously, it doesn’t compare with what you get at GT. The way they prepare it just incredible. I do not like eating pure fat either but in this preparation, it almost has a creamy consistency. I've had similar renditions of braised pork belly at other restaurants, but it was never that succulent. If I may add, Craft is in my eyes a notch below GT, it is an experience of its own though but I am still somewhat bothered by the concept of it. I think that food presentation in individual dishes represents part of the excitement and appreciation of going to a restaurant. In addition, presentation and how dishes are composed/ingredients are combined by the kitchen, can tell so much about a chef's culinary skill and vision. To me, food at Craft is a little too impersonal. On a different note, I think not revealing your list of places to visit is a better idea. There is one place I have to recommend though. The most interesting dinner I've had this past year was at Blue Hill Stone Barns. The room is drop dead gorgeous, and there is a serious amount of skill that goes into the food prepared by Chefs Barber and Anthony. You should highly consider it if it is not on your list.

I am glad there are Fish Tales aficionados out there, these guys fully deserve the praise and attention. Pork Neck - their number is (718) 246-1346, ask for Lewis.

I assume by fresh you mean not filleted or marinated? If you are looking to buy it whole, I would suggest trying Fish Tales on Court St. in brooklyn. I think these guys have the best fish in the city, I used to shop for fish at citarella or the chelsea market fishmonger, but their quality of fish is superior by far. The reason is simple, they put an incredible amount of care in what they do, and they KNOW what they are selling. You can special order from them if it is not available at the store, they will get you whatever you want from the market if it is in season and fresh enough. I once special ordered monkfish liver from them (difficult to find in NY), not only did they get it for me, but it was the best I ever had!!!

I had two slices last monday...at the real Patsy's in E. Harlem. Whenever I go there, I am always amazed to see the take out corner being swamped with customers ordering both pies and slices to go, while the sit down facility adjacent to it is almost always empty. Patsy's is essentially a take out place and as so, makes a living selling slices.

Thanks for sharing the experience Justin, this is really great!! I was wondering what criteria you used, if any, in selecting the list of restaurants you want to visit. It seems that you have a well defined plan in mind. Is it just based on the reputation of the chef? Are you focusing on fine dining only or specific types of cuisine?

Well, the pomagranate molasses, which is called rub rumman in arabic is a delicate ingredient to work with. It is acid and sweet at the same time so the dressing should have a balanced molasses/lemon/oil ratio. It is hard to define a proper ratio so I usually rely on the taste test since the acidity of lemon varies from one lemon to the other. The only guideline I would impose is to go easy on the molasses since it is so pungent. I tend to think that if used properly, it actually enhances the flavors of sumac. Quick note about sumac: I would recommend anyone to sprinkle it on top of eggs cooked sunny side up. It is heavenly!!

I was always told that dressing for the fattoosh should contain, in addition to sumac, some pomagranate molasses. That is what i normally do at home and it makes a huge difference. Has anyone else tried it this way? I do not like food at Fountain Cafe, HOWEVER, I have to concede that their fattoush is the only dish that i find somewhat more than acceptable.