Narcissus

Congratulations on your success. Can you share your email strategy with us? What did you write? Thanks

Very interesting about Guy Savoy. One would think that an artist would protect his hands from injury. But he is only coaching. And yes, his dessert carts do overflow...

Thanks for the update, Carolyn. I have always liked the food at O Izakaya. The breakfast is a bit expensive, but that is most likely because it a "hotel" restaurant in the morning, and converts into a neighborhood spot in the evenings.

I have to applaud your eating, drinking, and photography skills. You have definitely altered my Autumn NYC plans.

i completely appreciate that...and as someone who loves cocktails, i'm not afraid to pay for them. But, i did, tonight, have a bit of a thought based on Narcissus' comment about paying 3 times the price for twice the quality - when does a cocktail get silly expensive without the return in quality? just got back from Flute - which is now up there with ECC for me...will give details tomorrow. But i do have to question: is my goal to 'rent a table' or have a damn good cocktail. if i just wanted the table, I could have just had a pernod (which I like as well) for less than ten bucks at laperouse. ← Mind you, we ordered one cocktail, the Kir Royale, and one aperitif, the Lillet Blanc. There is no preparation or presentation for the Lillet. A simple pour in a simple glass. We could have bought and entire bottle at the local supermarche for the price at Le Meurice. It was romantic, I have to say. We were made to feel comfortable even though we were renting a flat nearby. When I am in Paris, the ROI on my experiences is always in my favor. We have wonderful memories and just dive in. Of course we can do it less expensive, but dressing for dinner and having a cocktail at one of the best hotels in the world is priceless. I wouldn't do it again, though. Maybe George V next

We recently spent significant cocktail time at two locations over the course of a week. Le Fumoir and Le Meurice. As one might expect, we paid three times as much for twice the quality at the Bar at Le Meurice. Our standard operating procedure pre-dinner is a Lillet Blanc and a Kir Royale each. There was quite a difference in the quality for both. The Kir Royale I can understand because of the quality of the Champagne. The difference in quality for the Lillet Blanc existed, but I did not verify (mid-romance) if we were served Reserve Jean De Lillet. Our investment for Lillet Blanc and Kir Royale was 54 Euro. At Le Fumoir, we had cocktails, running 10-12 euro each. They were fine, properly crafted, but did not wow us, but after the Louvre, they sure hit the spot.

Thanks all for translation. I don't think I'll be able to walk out of the Louvre and into routier; but when we get out on that road...

I searched for 'routier' and didn't find much. Can you enlighten me? What is a 'Routeir'?

Boy, what a thread! Next up, you should compare and contrast milk vendors. Perfect for a nice saucer of milk.

Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but Muscle Milk?

sorry I disagree. Sysco sucks. Us Food sucks. I am a Chef in a mid level restaurant. I kick both of their salesmen out because their quality is crap. But then I also do not buy farm raised fish (yes, I do not like color added fish) and I would rather die than serve that. Why on planet earth would you buy anything that IS SUPPOSEDLY ORGANIC BY SYSCO WHEN YOU COULD ACTUALLY BUY FROM EITHER A GREEN MARKET OR AN ACTUALLY HIPPIE FARMER? sorry the term organic means absolutely nothing anymore... try looking for the renegade label. Organic simply means that they have paid the 5,000 dollar fee to use that term. Organic used to mean something long ago. Organic now only means you have bought and paid to use another marketing tool. The problem is our government is solely interested in promoting large corporations over us, or we, the people. Take your blinders off. We are so blinded by advertising... In America we spend the least money of any nation on food. Why is it that we buy scallops with fibrin to make perfect form pressed medallions or buy scallops that are dipped in a chemical to make them soak up 25% more water or that Hormel injects it's pork with water or that we genetically alter our food supply or that our governbment allows nuclear sludge to be moixed into our pesticide (6%) with no warning labels. Why does single consumer want to buy anything that is slightly related to Monsanto? Why? because large corporations advertise and we are led to believe that this stuff is safe for human consumption despite concrete scientific proof to the contrary. Try actually reading the label of most Sysco products and read the large amount of additives and fake ingredients they add to make their food appeal to the preconceptions we have of food. No, sorry brother people buy from Sysco because they do not know any better... and most of their clientele has yet to ask the questions. ← Amen.

Thank you for bringing attention to this show. I PVRd a few shows last night, and have been enjoying them all morning. It has been more than a decade since I visited London, but I have a friend that travels there regularly. He makes the claim that great food is easier to find, but it is still a challenge, and that when you find it, you pay a premium. Is this still true? And if so, how difficult is it to find the product Rick Stein showcases?

Yes, I think it changed the flavor quite a bit. The smoke flavor was subtle, but definitely present. I just want to say I cooked it that way once in my life. The kids didn't appreciate it, but the adults did.

We had our Memorial Day paella party on the beach in Northern California. We used local oak wood for the fire and rigged up a simple grate over our family firepit. We mixed meat and seafood because of the crowd. We also had some leftover abalone, picked that morning. We weren't prepared for taking pictures, but here they are: The soffrito and chorizo blending with the Bomba rice. Tending the pan over the firepit. Note the dogs waiting patiently and the ocean behind the house. I hear that the sea air makes a difference, as well as the smoke from the fire. Bubbling away. We added a sprig of rosemary from a plant started by my great-grandfather. Some of the finishing ingredients: pre-seared chicken thighs, clams and mussels from Hog Island, prawns from Mexico abalone from Noyo, and peas from the freezer... The finished product with two glasses of a rose cava I picked up at The Spanish Table in Berkeley. It turned out great, and the family loved it. We opened up many bottles of Jumilla and sat on the deck, watching the sunset. This is my fifth attempt at paella, but the first over an oak fire and near the ocean.

I'll be doing a paella for 10 people this Memorial Day weekend. We'll be on the beach, pacific side, and use some neutral wood for the fire. I'll take pics and report back. Question: is it traditional to serve with an Aioli?

OH MY GODS! My Wife just had a look on her face that I see only in candlelight! That ankimo looks great! Can you share the recipe? Larry

I don't think that would get you anywhere as July 8th is a Sunday. ← My intent was to illustrate 'not enough detail' vs. 'too much detail'

To all those that have received a 'Yes!', do you mind sharing how you phrased your email request? I guess that there is a sliding scale between 'I'll take any day you have' and 'I want table 3 on tuesday, july 8th, 8:43:30pm, but we will arrive at 8:36:4pm' Thanks in advance Larry

I go through the Trader Joe's brand California Arbequina Olive Oil like there is no tomorrow. Pa amb tomàquet just about every weekend in the fall.

I tried to be tricky and made two requests. I requested September 3rd, 9pm in english, which was declined October 26th. My wife, who uses her maiden name Zermeno, requested June 8th, 8pm in spanish. Hers was declined Friday, November 3rd. I really thought we had that one. Dang.

My wife (who is Spanish) sent her request (in Spanish) on 10/16 and has not recieved a confirmation nor a rejection. For what it is worth...

Thanks everyone. I will experiment on myself only. I'm still deciding what to do. My bride used to have it at a kid in enchiladas. But alas, I only have enough for one.

We were at farmer's market this morning, and we were looking at the decorative corn stalks. My bride found the cobs contained a black fungus. Each stalk had 2-3 infected cobs. I grabbed a number of them and am willing to experiment. Can anyone verify that this is actually Huitlacoche?

A new restaurant opened up across the street from Panolivo. It is called Artisan, and we stumbled across it driving home from the Santa Barbara Harvest Festival (rained, btw). Artisan is very new, less than a month old. The chef's name is Kobayashi, and he worked at Asia de Cuba in SF, and at Brix in napa, and if I remember correctly, he is pastry-centric. We had lunch at the bar sunday afternoon, and the other owner, the chef's brother Michael, took care of us. I had the Local Cod fish and chips, my bride the burger. The chips on both plates were shoestrings, and came with housemade ketchup. The fish was wonderful, light, cooked correctly, and flavorful. I would have liked more traditional chips. The burger was fine, and after an early afternoon of wine tasting, hit the spot. It absorbed those 16.6% zins. I have not tried anything else, so this recommendation is for those that want to experiment and report back. We did love the 8 Layer chocolate cake with Guinness ice cream. We hit 3 wineries before lunch: Garretson Wines, Orchid Hill, and Hug. Artisan Restaurant edited to stay on topic: Our first choice was anything with Mole at Villa Creek, but they are closed sunday lunch. They open at 5pm. We've eaten there before, and loved it. Nothing like the Buffalo Ribeye with Villa Creek Garnacha.

I felt that Sam's Quick Fire dish was quite interesting and Harold thought so as well. I think he will be one to watch. I also got the impression that Harold felt more comfortable voting for the guys. Could have been the editing showing him speak more to the male chefs' dishes. Reading the bios online, there just might be a civil war between the Adria / Keller followers and the Batali / Lawson followers, with those straddling the line coming out the winners. It is also interesting that we have two California Central Valley entrants, Michael and Mia. They only live an hour apart (and an hour from where I live). I wonder what made the demographics skew like that.