fauxtarga

Can these new convection toasters pull the same tricks most ovens can, just in a smaller form factor? Will these guys do roasted vegetables nicely, and can it finish off a piece of fish/meat that I start on the stove? I'm looking at the Cuisinart as a good way to avoid having to use the entire oven for small quantities of food.

People always look at me like I'm kind of lame when my eyes light up at the sight of Bread Pudding on a dessert menu.

Thanks a bunch! Will definitely check it out.

Sometimes I think artistic cuisine is more about the communication of sensation and emotion through the medium of a food product. Nourishment and satiation (is that a word?) seem like they are just another sensation that most cuisine provides. If the chef/artist means for us to feel less full via the use of absence as part of a meal, sometimes that is conscious decisionmaking at work. The pizza stamp at Trio, for instance, made one think of the sensations and flavors of pizza and made the recipient keenly aware of the absence of the big slice of pizza, both in the mind and in the gut. I'm under the impression that food is very powerful in that it can directly assert control over the eater's experience - the textures and flavors are experienced with incredible immediacy, it's difficult to be passive about it. In contemporary cuisine, we see control over the eating experience with increased specificity, through technology and technique artists can assert increased control over the final product.

This is interesting - you are boiling down blank cobs (no kernels)? What does this do, do you use it as a base to reduce? Is it like making corn stock? Or am I just misreading this and you are just using the kernels. Good luck.

Jerk Chicken Patty and Ting is really quite the excellent combination, and Ting is one of my favorite sodas that I don't really see enough of. I used to go to the Jamaican Flavors place on Sullivan St, but I'm not sure if that's the right name - pretty sure it changed like 3 years ago when they renovated the storefront. One question though, for you guys what is the ideal patty - is it in the flakiness/denseness qualities of the crust? Or is it the spices of the stuff that is inside? I mean, the texture of the stuff inside to me has always seemed to be kind of mush, but that's what I've grown to expect and enjoy. Is this the way it's supposed to be? Does anywhere make a patty with like chunky chicken or chunky beef? Heck with all the upscale street food thats floating around the city (dumplings, hot dogs, ramen, etc) I wouldn't be surprised if someone came out with a Jamaican Curried Braised Oxtail Patty.

This last comment, and some of the previous comments about the cost of artwork really make sense to me. To me, a meal at Masa might be worth it not just because of the underlying costs of the experience, but because of the specificity of the meal. If, as some say, some lunch services are nearly empty, this seems like the ideal time to go. You would be sitting at the bar with the sole attention of someone who is at the top of his game. You could interact with him, see how he cares for and manipulates the fish that he has dedicated his life to making into something beautiful and delicious. One thing that makes the preparation of sushi/sashimi really interesting to me is that it doesn't necessarily require vast armies of kitchen personnel to prepare. Your experience can be controlled by one person, or few people. And as people who love food, chefs are our artists. And if Masa is the kind of chef that you respect and admire, having him personally and specifically prepare your food is worth saving your money for. How much might it be worth if the Adrias and Kellers and Gagniares of the world were accessible behind a bar in a restaurant with 26 seats, preparing complete dishes for you? Or for that matter, any of the artists we admire in the visual or musical arts. Hey, I could be really off base here, I've never been and I'm slowly and surely convincing myself to go.

These were interesting and fun to try, if not entirely successful. Re - the chive chip/custard - I also had problems with browning the things, but I'm embarrased to post pics of those because I got lazy and squared off the ends instead of having a nice "band-aid" shape and chickened out on the egg shell presentation and served it in ramekins. If the FL Cookbook is about anything, it's about not being lazy and chickening out. General comments: The book is a good excuse to buy new toys if you don't have them. Could be called TFL Cookbook, Fun with a Silpat and Drum Sieve. Also, it gives you insight into the "classics," oysters and pearls, the butter poached lobster, coffee and doughnuts, etc. It was also one of the first books I got that introduced me to some of the more esoteric techniques that are not often used in the home kitchen, eg, chlorophyll extraction.

I just had the strangest memory of David Burke putting a piece of tuna into a dishwasher on a tv show - this was wrapped tightly in saran wrap. I know this isn't exactly a precision temperature controlled environment, but is this meant to approximate sous vide for the home cook? Has anybody here tried this, maybe with a vacuum sealed bag?

I wouldn't be averse to some kind of tastefully done cookbook tie in with anecdotes from the writers... and some glossy porkchop money shots.

I didn't get a chance to read through all the articles but I was under the impression that the main reason why US Coke/other soda is made with corn syrup was because of the tariffs that make imported sugar expensive. I could be wrong, but my understanding was that this was to prop up the domestic corn and sugar industries. http://www.popsoda.com seems like it carries the Mexican Coke, but Pepsi bullied them into not selling their stuff. Mexican Coke is great, but I'm off it primarily because of the greatness of Boylans Sugar Cane Cola.

We really liked the noodle soup bases that had substance to them, like the one at Minca, though we found the Momofuku broth to have a very clean pork-quality to it that we liked. Some of the lighter ones, and ones that had more pronounced bonito flavor we thought might be better in different applications. This was pretty un-scientific and not rigorous at all - we missed some of the major uptown noodle places (we eat this kind of stuff quite a bit and are just trying to find a place to agree on). I was responsible for Menkuitei, Momofuku, and Minca because they are all convenient for me, and I also got some from that Tokyo La-Men place on University to throw into the mix. So it was pretty unscientific, no numbers or anything, though we did use black coffee mugs.

I really enjoy the food at momofuku - any kind of salty broth featuring a poached egg wins my vote. Have to agree though - the ramen is too huge and you can't eat it by yourself if you plan on eating other things. We got two small plates (pork buns and salt shrimp) plus two ramen and beer (for two people) and that was simply overwhelming. I'd rather pay 8 or 9 bucks for a portion that was around 2/3 the size of the momofuku ramen. I'm doing a blind asian noodle soup broth comparison tonight and Momofuku was happy to provide a quart of their stuff plain for a couple bucks. I have a feeling they are going to come out on top.

Many kinds of butter with many kinds of salt, with many kinds of bread. A latest favorite: With Maldon salt or fleur de sel on baguette.

That sounds kind of scary. Any places you can recomend? Mens Pocky + Hitachino Nest Red Rice Ale sounds like a not so bad combination.

Discussion on the warm vanilla cakes: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=36204 This is the most useful because it has Chef Yosses's own commentary on the recipe. I have the recipe from the Hesser article but I'm not sure if we are allowed to repost them on EG because the Times now charges for it. If you have a service that allows you to dig through old articles like Factiva or Lexis Nexis you can get it under the title: "An Exotic Import: Hardly Plain Vanilla" by Amanda Hesser Which also seems relevant to this thread. "The Best Meal in Town" by Jonathan Reynolds Has his interpretation of the recipe. I'll have to check if I have the Food Arts version. I get the impression that the 12 bean ice cream involves taking your favorite vanilla ice cream and using 12 beans/quart, if I recall. But that sounds funny because my consumer machine makes the stuff in 1 qt batches, and it seems kind of unlikely that they would use a small batch size like that in a professional setting. Actually scratch that, 1 quart makes a lot of sense, for just one flavor. Pacojet = 1.2 qts.

I must say, that reading through the EG discussion on this restaurant more accurately predicted my experiences at this restaurant than any of the reviews out there. Cheers and thanks. Question - when replicating the Landmarc ice-wine cocktail it's a 2:1 ratio of Ketel One:Hunt County Ice Wine, right? Am I going to run into problems stocking this for personal use because the wine won't keep? What about the Pineau des Charentes? Is that shelf stable?

This certainly is a good excuse to make Bill Yosses's warm vanilla cakes and the ice cream with the "12 bean" vanilla ice cream. Thanks!

I tend to favor the "Aztec" hot chocolate, but the Marie Belle one I found was lacking in that kick. I've also been given some of the Torres stuff to make at home, which was nice, but for some reason I just want to make it a little punchier. Is there something like chipotle powder I can add?

Has anybody tried Chef Keller's Pot Au Feu from the FL book? Seemed kind of daunting when I first read it, but it looks incredible and I'm dying to try it out.

Just a note for NYC pocky/pretz seekers - sometimes Yagura on 41st street (btw 5th and Madison) has sales where you can get the stuff really cheap. Probably not worth the trip if you're not close by, they are kind of infrequent. I used to work by there and have great memories of loading up on 99c Corn Pretz, I would rearrange my desk drawers to maximize concealment and easy access.

Just wondering - How do I go about sending drinks into the kitchen and not make it seem like it's the first time I'm doing it? Do I add it on the check? Can one do the same for your server, or is this considered bad form? Not allowed to drink during service? Just seems like a nice way of saying thanks. I eat out late quite a bit - and as things wind down I imagine myself in the position of the staff and find I'd really be hurting for a beer or cocktail.

Did any of you guys from NYC get to swing by Williams Sonoma when Mr. Bourdain was "demo"-ing the cassoulet? (The demo was as good as one could expect for a dish that implies a multi-day prep) Here's some pics, for those interested: Explanation of the dish. Mise en place Finished. I really liked the haricot tarbais, thought they really fit well. Will have to get some from D'Artagnan. Sorry I don't have any close-ups, this was one of those eating and standing things. Cheers. -J

Thanks for all the advice, thinking about it, it probably would be kind of unweildy, though I like something with a little heft. The thickness is probably more of an issue for me than the weight - I'll look into some of the other blades you recommended. Cheers.

I will be out of the city this weekend so unable to get to Landmarc till next week but maybe some of you can help me make the argument to my dining companions to trek across and down. How do the Foie and the Marrow compare to their counterparts at Blue Ribbon? I love those dishes there, as well as the sweetbreads. Hmm, there seem to be a lot of commonalities between these restaurants. Coupled with the Landmarc wine program, those two dishes alone are worth the trip. Why do I feel like I'm looking at someone else's girlfriend or car a little too intently? And they have Boudin Noir too? Oh me.