snekse

Let's play a game of "Name That Dish". So I'm getting old and my memory is starting to fail me (which is why I started taking pictures of our meals). I waited too long before posting my pictures of Manresa, and now I have no clue what we ate. I hoping some of you have had these dishes or have a close relationship with the Chef that you might be able to help us identify what we're looking at. I've tried my best, but it's mostly a bunch of guesses. If you want to give it a shot, post your guesses in the Flickr comments (if you have a Flickr acct) or PM me with your guess. Manresa Pics on Flickr by Gastronomic Fight Club If you're interested in minute details, we also had an Oyster & Uni dish that's not pictured, but has been well documented by others. I'll have a full report eventually. Have too clear out a backlog of posting topics. The summary report would be that it was fantastic. Not the best food of our trip (which goes to The French Laundry), but it was our favorite place.

Do you still have the menu? Any truly stand out dishes?

Any further news on this place. I just looked at their menu today and it looks awesome!

I totally understand the reason for not providing us with the option of having an extended menu, but tell me straight out that the kitchen would be unable to do so. Don't lie to me and tell me there is no such thing. I do not, however, see how having dueling menus (most commonly his and hers) would have put an exceeding amount of pressure on the kitchen. I also don't have a problem with an establishment providing special treatment for it's VIPs. What I do have a problem with is when that VIP treatment interferes with the most basic treatment of it's other guests. Unfortunately "the most basic treatment" bar has been set very high at TFL, so anything that is moderately below perfection is amplified. Just a quick example. When we first started dining, the wait staff would stop by to fill our water delicately with a cloth napkin in one hand to be used as a splash guard. This was done smoothly with deliberate movements that almost make it look like an art form. By the 7th course, things started to go downhill and a couple of members of our service team started practically flinging water like I was at The Olive Garden. I could care less if they use a napkin or not, but if you're are going to set a standard, I do expect you to maintain that standard.

Maybe I should just rack it up to them having a bad night. Or a bad night for our captain/waiter. We had a party of 6 and we just kept getting shot down from every angle. I couldn't even get a proper wine pairing. When I asked about a "wine pairing" to go with our 9 course tasting menu, our captain told us that they do not serve "wine flights". Add to this the fact that our table sat for 45 minutes before seeing a single morsel of food and...well you get the point. So the service seems to be slipping a bit in my eyes, but the food seems to be getting better. It's unlikely that you'll be disappointed by the food. However, I was also not blown away by the food. This is actually why I wanted the extended tasting menu. I wanted items that were not standard French Laundry fall backs. Yes, the Oysters and Pearls is a classic, and for good reason it should appear on almost every tasting menu. But most of our other dishes just seemed out right boring. Boring can be sublime, as proven by their Meyer Lemon Panacotta, but unfortunately boring is usually just that. I will eventually get around to blogging about this visit, but until then, if you'd like to see what we had, I've got the pics posted on Flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/snekse/sets/72057594061076112/ (I was so excited about having the Oysters & Pearls again that I forgot to take a picture) Like I said, it's worth going if you've never been. I just don't think it's worth the time, effort and money to go back IF you've not been to the Bay Area's six other 4-star restaurants. U.E., I hope you truly enjoy your experience. Also, we should collectively coin a term for Haute Omakase. Something apart from the "Chef's Tasting Menu".

This is precisely what bothered me about our last visit. Your service can be entirely hit or miss depending on who you are, who else is there that night and whatever other reason they think that you are not fit for the same service as the table next to you. When I made my reservation, I specifically stated that we'd like the "Extended Tasting Menu" that I always hear about, but they never offer in printed form. I was basically told that no such thing exists. And maybe I've come to expect too much from TFL and other restaurants, but when a customer asks for an extended menu because they want the opportunity to try as many different dishes as possible, wouldn't you at least provide them with the option of having dueling menus such as what was served to vinobiondo? Vinobiondo, was it only upon your third visit that you were offered these things? Did you have to make a special request for the menus you had? It's this inequality of treatment that bothers me and makes it unlikely that I'll return (along with the fact that getting a reservation takes far too much effort). And if you think that the inequality is something of my imagination, read this excerpt from a Washington Post article.

I just found this thread thanks to following some posts by "Susan in FL". Glad to see "jsalmon" here. Anyway, here are the 3 beers that I most recently tried that I will certainly buy again. Leinenkugel's BIG BUTT Doppelbock The rich, malty aroma that rises from the thick, foamy head of this deliciously dark brew was first brewed in 1996 by the careful blending of two- and six-row malts and several specialty malts, including Munich and Dark Chocolate and two specialty hops. It's available January through March. Availability: January—March Malts: Two-and six-row Pale malt, Munich, Dark Chocolate, and Caramel. Hops: Cluster, Mt. Hood Alcohol Content: 5.8% by Volume Calories/12-oz.: 194 Carb. grams/12-oz.: 18.8 Serving temperature: Lightly chilled at 48° Leinenkugel's Creamy Dark Available year-round and aged slowly, our winner of 6 awards in American Dark Lagers (Bronze 2004, Gold 2002, Silver 2000 World Beer Cup®; Silver 2002, Bronze 2004, Gold 2005 Great American Beer Festival®) has the full, deep blackish-brown color of a stout, without its bitterness. Don't let the color fool you. This is a tasty, smooth brew with a nutty, crisp finish, handcrafted since 2000 from a rich blend of six malts and Cascade, Cluster and Mt. Hood hops. Availability: Year-round Malts: Munich, Chocolate, Wheat, and three Pale malts Hops: Cascade, Cluster and Mt. Hood Alcohol Content: 4.9% by Volume Calories/12-oz.: 170 Carb. grams/12-oz.: 16.8 Serving temperature: Lightly chilled at 48° Samuel Smith Taddy Porter Very dark, fairly full in body and packed with flavor. Intense, dry tangy character of roasted barley. “One of the world’s five best beers.”—Michael Jackson AKA The Beer Hunter The 2 Leinie's are great beers at a great price. Even if I tried a new beer a week for the next 5 years, I imagine these would stay in my top 50 list. Currently I'd put them in my top 15. As for the Samuel Smith, this beer is just out of this world. Granted I love malty beers, but the subtle tone in this beer makes it like candy. The biggest drawback is the price. At Whole Foods here in Omaha, it's about $11 for 4. That's just too much for anything other than special occasions. Currently in my top 3 list of beers, though I really can't think of anything I'd rather drink. I have yet to try the other beers Samuel Smith makes, but you can bet I plan on doing so.

I understand what you're saying, and I agree to some extent, but... The reason the pictures were not edited, is because that photo set was supposed to be a raw sample of the pictures that were taken to strictly show what the camera is capable of - not of my photoshop skills. The 125+ photos that I posted for that set is a small sub-sample of the 1,200+ photos I took that week. So all the photos in that set should be considered nothing more then samples from an equipment review. Also, the only reason any of the photos in that particular set have captions on them is because I was grouping those photos together to be included in another album If you'd like to peruse some of my other sets, you'll get a better sense of my story telling philosophy. Snekse's Photo Sets For an in depth story, check out our visit to Blackbird in Chicago. There's only 11 pictures, but each picture is heavily commented to let you know my thoughts about what you see. Dinner at Blackbird - Chicago

At the risk of getting flamed... The Rotunda at Neiman Marcus - San Francisco Sorry, I saw the term "Ladies who lunch" and I had to post in this thread.

As a long time lurker of this thread, I wanted to share my thoughts about my new camera. I took a week long trip to the San Francisco bay area and took pictures of almost everything we ate. I've posted a review of the camera here: Equipment Review - Sony CyberShot DSC-T9 @ Gastronomic Fight Club But if you wanted to jump straight to the sample pictures, I've posted 125+ photos on Flickr at full resolution with EXIF data. The pictures are untouched, for better or worse. Please feel free to leave any feedback comments on Flickr or here. Sony DSC-T9 Sample Shots @ Flickr by Snekse

We ate at the French Laundry on the 22nd. This was only our 2nd time there and my opinions have changed a bit about the place. I'm a little more in line with Syre after this visit. Oddly enough, I think the food was actually better this time around, but the service wasn't as good as our first visit. Even if it had been, I still think I would find it overpriced and uninspired. Some new energy needs to be injected into their food. I'll have a full write up and pictures in about a week or two. While we were in the area we also hit Gary Danko, Manresa and Citron. It was a real interesting experience comparing these places and should hopefully provide for some equally interesting commentary. In short my thoughts about The French Laundry is that if you've never been, you should go at least once in your life while they are still reletively near the top of their game, otherwise, explore what else is out there. You might like what you find.

No, unfortunately I don't.

Why only 90 bowls, but 100 pillows?

Thanks, I'll put that on my Soul Food ToDo list. Not sure what other places in Omaha serve Jambalaya besides Butsy's. Mmmmmm, Jambalaya.

I concur. Pretty darn good beer and a pretty darn good pork tenderloin sandwich.

I'll confess that I haven't tried a lot of the Vietnamese restaurants in Omaha yet, so there may be others that suit your tastes more. I've also never had a sandwich from TVAR. I usually get Pho or Vermicelli. I lived in San Francisco for a couple of years and I could never find a place that had Pho like this place. Some people don't care for it because they're used to a deeper broth, but I like the lightness and freshness of theirs. If you see the owner (the older guy with lots of gold chains), chat him up a bit. He likes to talk and he likes to please his customers. If you tell him what you like they'll start customizing dishes for you. I have a friend who eats there about 3 times a week now because he walks in and they immediately start making his food because they know what he wants and how he wants it. The cool thing is that they tend to recognize you after about 3 or 4 visits. Another insider tip is the fact that you can sometimes get them to adjust the size of the order. If you think the bowl of Pho is too small, ask them for a BIG bowl of Pho. It will be humongous. Because of this little perk, we tried to get them to change their name to "Big Bowl, Small Bowl" BTW, welcome to Omaha.

Yeah it is actually. Great place though.

PID being? My crockpot's "Low" setting is about 170 degrees. I've been thinking about getting a smaller one just for Sous Vide, but if I can regulate the temperature some other way, I might consider that. Like a reverse Wine-Stat Here's what Rival has to say about crockpot temperatures.

My thoughts exactly.... Let's do it - F..D.

The only place that I can think of that has an oyster bar is Absolutely Fresh. From the looks of an article in The Reader, that's probably the place. Let us know who it is! Because I've mostly heard good things about it, but I also wanted to express reservations about recommending it. I've heard great things about the Brazen Head, but I've never been. It slipped my mind when I posted. I'll go back and add it.

Well if you've been to Espana and Taste, you've already found about 10% of the good restaurants in Omaha ;-) Here's a quick run down of some of the better restaurants in Omaha from popular consensus of fellow foodies: Ahmad's (Persian, Old Market - 10th & Howard) Das Rhineland (German, Old Market - 10th & Howard) The Indian Oven (Indian, Old Market - 10th & Howard) V Mertz (Nouvelle, Old Market - 10th & Howard) M's Pub (American, Old Market - 11th & Howard) Vivace's (Italian, Old Market - 11th & Howard) Upstream (American, Old Market - 11th & Jackson) Ted & Wally's (Ice Cream, Old Market - 12th & Jackson) Waterfront Grill (American, Council Bluffs - Ameristar Casino) Flatiron Cafe (Nouvelle, Downtown - 17th & Howard) Bohemian Cafe (Eastern European, Downtown - 13th & Williams) Howard's (Mexican, South O - 13th & I ) Lo Sole Mio (Italian, 32nd & Oak) Espana (Tapas, Benson - 60th & Maple) Hiro (Japanese, Eagle Run - 132nd & Maple) Blue (Japanese/American, Eagle Run - 144th & Maple) The Vietnamese Restaurant (Vietnamese, NFM Campus - 72nd & Dodge) Jams (American, 78th & Dodge) Le Voltaire (French, Pepperwood Village - 156th & Dodge) Firebirds (Steakhouse, Village Point - 168th & Dodge) Brother Sebastian's (Steakhouse, 120th & Pacific) TasTe (California, Rockbrook Village - 109th & Center) Pasta Amore (Italian, Rockbrook Village - 109th & Center) Jaipur (Indian, Rockbrook Village - 109th & Center) Sushi Japan (Japanese, Oakview Area - 144th & Center) Grand Fortune (Chinese, 176th & Center) The Tasting Room (Wine Bar/Bistro, 180th & Center) Other popular spots that I like, but other may not enjoy... Dinker's - For the best cheap burger in Omaha, a little greasy, but tasty Nettie's - A bit of a dive Mexican joint for some chili that might knock you on your butt Trini's - Crappy Mexican, but dirt cheap, owned by the same ppl who own Butsy's The Taj - For quick, easy and cheap Indian Zio's - One of the better pizza's in town with lots of choices for toppings Don Carmello's - Another decent pizza place Bene Pizza & Pasta - I love getting a fresh roasted garlic & sausage pizza from here Famous Dave's - MPLS BBQ :-) Boyd and Charlie's - Decent, not great BBQ, but my wife likes their Corn Pie Brass Grille - The have some awesome sandwiches Barrett’s - Their philly cheesesteak (made with philly cream cheese) and the pork sandwich Cheeburger Cheeburger - Yummy burgers with 32 toppings to choose from and great shakes & malts HuHot Mongolian Grill - Basic Mongolian, a little american-ified, but better then most Kona Grill - Just go for happy hour with 1/2 price apps Great Harvest - If you like incredible dense bread Have never been, but hear good things about: Stokes King Fong The Pink Poodle Amarillo Fleming's Fernando's Genji Japanese Steakhouse The Brazen Head Places that I've heard mixed things about, or I just don't like, so approach with caution: Mister C's Omaha Prime The Passport The Pink Poodle The Sitar Charlie's Seafood (AKA Charlie's On The Lake) Charleston's Restaurant Cici's Pizza Butsy LeDoux's The French Cafe Sushi Ichiban Back to Guangzhou Colton's Woodfired Grill RoJa Other interesting things to know about some specific locations: As indicated above, the Old Market has the highest concentration of good restaurants in Omaha. South Omaha is the place to go for good Mexican. The Dundee area has some nice little restaurants with a very loyal crowd. The French Cafe doesn't really serve French food. The only place in Omaha that does is Le Voltaire and supposedly Cafe de Paris. I've never been to Cafe de Paris, but I've heard it's really expensive, the food's not bad, the service sucks and various interesting tid bits about the owner. Butsy LeDoux's used to be a pretty good restaurant, but they've seemed to have been on a steady decline for a couple of years. It's a bad sign when it's a Saturday night and your place is empty. I haven't been there in about 5 years, so I'm not sure if they've regained their footing or not. The Pink Poodle is supposed to have great prime rib, but I've heard it can be over cooked at times and their service is poor. The Sitar had some health code issues in the past and was one step away from being shut down. They received the lowest passing grade 4 inspection in a row. Sushi Ichiban isn't bad, but it's not the best and for the money, I'd rather go to Sushi Japan or Hiro. Blue is a bit over priced in my opinion and they are a little more fusion then Japanese. I don't like Thai food, but I always hear people talk about Thai Spice. If you eat at Grand Fortune, ask for their Cantonese menu. They don't tend to offer it to people who are not Asian. They also have Dim Sum on the weekends. Back to Guangzhou also serves Dim Sum, but it was pretty bad when I went. It's a shame because the restaurant is beautiful and they do a pretty good job with their presentations. The owner is also trained in the art of tea ceremonies which I'd like to try, but I'm not sure I want to go back. Yes, The Vietnamese Restaurant is really called The Vietnamese Restaurant. I've tried to convince the owner to change the name, but he won't budge. It's located RIGHT next to Nebraska Furniture Mart, close to Mrs. B's. It's in the small shopping strip at the north entrance on 72nd. Firebirds is a chain, but sadly to say, it's one of the better restaurants in Omaha. Same goes for Upstream Brewing Co. Wohlner's is a great grocery store, but a bit out of the way if you don't live in that area. Absolutely Fresh is supposed to have the best retail seafood, but I think they give their best stuff to area restaurants and the average consumer is picking from the leftovers. Or at least that's been my experience with the 120th location. Whole Foods Market has the best Gelato in Omaha, and I've tried them all. Their pre-made food can be excellent at times and just so-so at others, but they always have a great selection. Their meat case is impressive with dry aged beef, bison and goobs of sausage to choose from. They carry or are planning to carry over 400 types of cheeses. Their wine selection is pretty good. They are about the only place in Omaha that offers soba and udon noodles in their bistro area. The Omaha Wine Company sell's a TON of wine that you won't find anywhere else in Omaha. John, the owner, personally know about half of the population in Napa, but he can be a bit pompous at times. They're also a bit pricey. At 180th & Center there are 2 wine shops, 1 on each side of Center Street. Vino 100 sells 100 wines under $25. The Tasting Room has a bit of a different selection, but also features a bistro with some decent food. Both places offer tastings. While you're in the area, the Hy-Vee at 180th & Q has a *great* selection of wines. They're not difficult to find wines, but it's difficult to find all the wines they carry in one location. Chances are if they don't have it and The Omaha Wine Co. doesn't have it, it's probably not in Omaha. ======================= UPDATES: 12/15/2005 - Added The Brazen Head to Never Been, but Good Things =======================

I'm probably not the best person to be answering this since I haven't lived in CA for a while, but from what I recall...... Fly into one of the following: San Francisco (SFO), Oakland (OAK), San Jose (SJC), Sacramento (SMF) You'll need to rent a car if you're not staying in the Napa area, and even if you are, a car is still a good idea. Drive times will vary. According to Google maps, this is the minimum amount of time it will take: SFO - 72 mins OAK - 63 mins SJC - 105 mins SMF - 78 mins I'd plan on allotting for an additional 30-60 mins if not more. If you're traveling during rush hour, tack on another 30-60 mins. If you're traveling in a goup you might be able to use the car pool lanes, but unless you're coming up from San Jose, it's not going to help you a whole lot. The further you stay from both San Francisco and Napa, the cheaper it will be, but the less you'll be able to enjoy the attractions. I usually recommend anywhere that is not in San Francisco that is located near a BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) station. And of course make sure you have a reservation before you fly out. You might be able to grab a cancellation, but I wouldn't want to count on it. Good luck!

My situation proves one of Fat Guy's main points in his book -- loyalty pays. I have been a loyal guest of Relais & Chateaux hotel properties for 20 years and, as a result, have relationships with several general managers. I simply asked one of those people to make a call for me. He did. Interesting side note. We met a couple at the inn at which we were staying who visit Napa Valley once a year and eat at the Laundry three nights in a row each visit! I did not get to ask how the restaurant arranges menus etc for such a guest. Of course, a guest like that probably gets to make the next years' reservations during this visit. ← The easiest way to get reservation is the old fashioned way. Keller wants everyone to have a fair chance so...you can call in two months to the date at ten in the morning pst. You have to treat it like a radio call in contest. Call at ten and when you don't get through hit redial, redail, redail. I got a reservation the first time I tried and have gotten a reservation the same way for the next consecuative four years. Persistance pays but play it like a game. Don't be set on the date if you do not make it in the fifteen minutes the phones are open, try agin for the next day. The first time I went I sat next to a couple that had tried for two years to get a reservation but had only called once a day. Yes, I know I am lucky but persistance pays off. ← The phone route can be so difficult at times, but my wife actually got through and we got almost the exact reservation we were hoping for. A side note about the open table reservation. I didn't realize TFL was close the first 2 weeks of January, so that's why I was unable to make a reservation. Since that time I've been able to make a reservation once or twice a week. So now I have several reservations available for the forth week in January if anyone wants them :-)

How did you get your reservation? I've been trying to get one through OpenTable, but it's been gone every time I try, even when I hit the page at 3 seconds past midnight (according to the timestamp)!

Can you expand on what you mean by "perhaps fleeting"?