Almass

Phoenicians? Does mean that the Ancient Lebanese invaded Algeria? ← Invaded is not really the term to be used. The Phoenicians established trading routes and post in Algeria and saw the birth of Carthage (Tunisia now). - Berbers: Original indigenous population with the great dynasties of the Almoravides (Al Murabitun) and the Almohad (Al Muwahiddun) - Pheonicians: Traders - Romans: Invaders and occupiers

I was somehow perplexed with HB Snail Porridge! Maybe you could tell me why you think that it was excellent? Let me try to put some deconstruction in this dish and please do correct if not accurate. 1- Sifted porridge ? what is the point in using porridge and then sifting it to keep the flakes only. Is it for taste or presentation as it might make things rather messy! 2- The porridge is subsequently prepared in clarified butter. 3- A pre-prepared green paste composed mainly of Parsley (if my memory is correct) garlic - butter - ham - maybe almonds and other ingredients is then added to the porridge to form a puree used as a base. 4- The Snails (naked) are then sauteed in clarified butter (again). 5- The green puree is laid on the plate and the snails placed on top. This is again topped with Jabugo ham shredded a la tobacco (ham in puree and one more time separately in a layer) and again topped with shaved Fennel stripes (blanched?) that have been dressed with two kinds of oil (was it sesame and walnut? I think). Do you concur with the following: A- There are so many food items and flavors in this dish which makes one wonders about simplicity and unity of taste. B- Each layer is a taste on it's own and in fact unaffected with the other layer. C- The snails are simply sauteed and do not borrow any flavor from the remaining ingredients. D- So are you supposed to eat by layer or cram on your fork as many morsels of all the different food elements? E- With the somehow pronounced and unique flavor of Jabugo ham and fennel, does one still taste the snails? or is it not supposed to do so? For a strange reason, watching HB preparing the Snail Porridge has immediately reminded me of Tracy Emin's Bed and the sheep or was it lamb or shark in formaldehyde or even the stupid display of the room with the light switching on and off. I suppose HB food is a Tate thingy and although they are giving art courses on modern art at Christies, I am at awe in front of such culinary avant garde achievements! Maybe then, you can explain to me how and what should we appreciate in HB Snail Porridge?

The way the N.African cuisine is perceived is of course with the Tajeen, Couscous...etc and it is not perceived as a "spicy" or "hot" cuisine but more as an exotic cuisine in the sense of amalgamating both nuts and fruits. It also so happens that N.African cuisine is not percieved as a Middle East or Mediterranean or Levant cuisine and at the same time it is also not perceived as typically African so it sits somewhere in between. N.African cuisine has connotations of being heavy, fatty and filling and although succulent in every way. The question to be asked is whether it is still more of a home cuisine than a restaurant one? Granted that Morocco is already a well travelled country. Maybe the phenomenon has to do more with the opening of Tunisia/Algeria and even Lybia and the influx of tourists to these countries and the trials of their respective cuisines in local restaurants and not in "all inclusive" hotels with their mishmash of Intl buffets. You would go to a Moroccan restaurant and not to a North African restaurant or a Tunisian or Algerian or even Lybian to that matter. So is North African cuisine as a concept still searching for it's identity?

You can blow torch almost anything going in or coming out of the oven. - Hey, this pizza needs a crispier cheese=BlowTorch - Hey, this Gratin will look better with a bit of crust=BlowTorch - Hey, this pie needs a bit more color=BlowTorch - Hey, this cheesecake needs some iced brulee=BlowTorch And finally, the ubiquitous Pavlova looks so much better with the use of a BlowTorch and while you are at it don't forget the meringue crispy on the outside and chewy on the incide. BlowTorch=No end of fun

Typical Marco experiences. This is so frequent to have different people having different experiences at the HydePark. I had a roller coaster of different experiences at MPW restaurant and it seemed to be related to the phase of the moon and the alignement of the stars in MPW galaxy. Same with Gordan Ramsay and incidentally he seems to take few leafs out of MPW finanancial genius by having several Ltd companies for each restaurant and to top it all a Holding Ltd company. Go figure. But what is puzling in Jay Rayner's article is the fact that he checked companies house on MPW companies but he shied away of getting the financial documents that would have clearly given him as to whom are the shareholders and the percentage of equity each owns! Maybe he was saving on 19quid or he is just saving us the embarrassement that it would have caused to MPW as some shareholders name are rather delicate and embarassing. It is the same old system where a restaurant cannot possibly keep the same standards day in and day out. To top it all, the financial losses do not make it easy to run such multi stared establishment. And anyone bothered to interview the creative director of a well known agency as to how these famous dishes were designed. The role of the Chef is twofolds. One is to run the kitchen and two to cook the blooming food. It is when these Chefs consider themselves above the level of staying in front of an open stove that the s**t hit the fan. It is when MPW and GR and others are too busy making TV programmes or opening new joints that level start falling down. When those guys were working the kitchen, the levels were fantastic and then GR decided to put in place his selected protegees picked from you know who and MPW was too high to be able to stand up. Will F. Adria he fall in the same trap? and what of other capable famous Chefs? Time will tell. Further to Andy Lynes observation. Post edited to correct J. Rainer gender.

El Bulli. Ca Sento. Mugaritz. Las Rejas. Welcome to Spain, circa 2005! PS: Yes, that little faraway country - distance, zero kilometers from Hendaye... ← Ahhh, the famous Ferran Adriá. "Grater le dessus et vous decouvrirez le dessous". Quote: ...Adria, now 39, began his culinary career at age 21. Straight from his economics studies and military service, and without any formal kitchen training, he landed a temporary cooking job in 1984 at the two-star El Bulli. He was given a copy of the classic Escoffier Cook Book, which he memorized from front to back. "I read everything I could — I became my own university," the now-iconic chef says. Within a year of Adria's arrival, Julio Soler, the small restaurant's manager, unexpectedly found himself in need of a head chef. He knew he need not look elsewhere to fill the spot. To prepare for his new role, Adria first began a grand tour of top kitchens in France. He then apprenticed at Georges Blanc in Vonnas and Restaurant Pic in Valence. In 1990, Adria and Soler purchased the restaurant and Adria began cooking food that nobody had ever seen before. In 1997, El Bulli received its third Michelin star...end quote copyright: Carole Kotkin - Wine News Magazine 2002 Hummm, a wee bit of French influence I presume? Pas vrais?

Yups, they are nitebirds in Beirut. But this has to do as a way of life. In most cities where nitelife is heavy (except old London with archaic closing times) dinner must start as late as possible as it is a disgrace to hit the niteclubs/discos...before midnite. So dinner at around 22.00hrs and niteclub around 24.00hrs. But in Beirut this goes on at 04.00hrs for breakfast at Marrouch or Knafeh bel Jebn at Samadi or a Mankusheh at the bakery and hit the sack at 06.00.

Je vous laisse le plaisir de le decouvrir vous meme. Mais tout de meme vous n'aller pas me dire qu'a travers le monde les "grands" restaurants avec ou sans etoiles ne sont pas Francais? Et la pluspart des menus n'empruntent pas des mots et des plats Francais. Et les bon viveurs? Ils boivent quoi? Mais c'est du vin Francais bien sure. Finalement, Le Francais c'est bien le language de salon dans certains cercle sophistiques. P.S. je suis sur un clavier non Francais donc je perd les accents. I leave you the pleasure of discovering the matter yourself. But, you are not going to tell me that the "grand" restaurants, with and without stars, in the world over are not French? And the menus do not borrow Fench dishes or French words. And the "bon viveur" what do they drink if it is not French wine. Finally, Is'nt French the language of the salons in sophisticated circles.

Here in France, French food is perceived as the epitome of living. It is the French way of life, it is the savoir vivre and it is the complete meal procession from the aperitif to the digestif and le pousse cafe. The world over eats French, drinks French and pretends to speak French as the language of les salons. French food has to do with a culture of savoir vivre with a culmination of arts a travers the painters, poets, philosophers, writers and yes even les ebenistes. So being it Mexican, Chinese or other food, some elements have been adopted and incorporated in the French palette and the few "ethnic" restaurants that found their way to answer a local "ethnic" demand or to fill a "curios" gap will remain as a distraction and will not be part of the mainstream. P.S. And to put inquiring mind at ease: This is strictly my opinion

That is exactly what I mean. Thank you! Do you know what it is called in English? My German neighbour and the fellow at the German Metzgerei thought I meant Tartare but my friend in Germany said it wasn't the same thing. ← Strictly speaking Hackepeter is minced meat. But in a breakfast context and with a bread roll, then it is a particular mince with onions, persil and S/P. Now the difference between Hackepeter and Steak Tartare is that Hackepeter is Porc and Steak Tartare is Beef! So your friend in Germany is correct.

This is, without a doubt, my favourite type of breakfast: Brötchen; frische Käse, Hackenpieter (spelling?), and more. And definitely lots of good European coffee. ← You mean Hackepeter. Unless you mean to say Aufschnitt which is cold cuts.

Does he still cook Cassoulet with Olive Oil??!???

WoW, your post about Portal being a French restaurant with strong Portuguese and Mediterranean influences" made me curious enough to visit the site to understand more how a French restaurant lives with Portugese and Med influence! http://www.portalrestaurant.co.uk/food.menu.htm Well it looks more of a "Fusion" thingy as they also have a Japanese/Chinese items: - Tofu and shitake mushrooms in filo pastry, vegetable chow mein. The Frenchy stuff is, of course, Foie Gras - Madeira sauce - Bearnaise sauce...etc. Menu is really more fusion than anything and why the vegy soup on the menu? Nothing special here. I am intrigued to try: - Bacalhau confit with houmous - Chocolate semi cuit, crème fraiche and chilli anglaise, white chocolate ice cream. Why say Chocolate semi cuit... maybe it should be only Chocolat semi cuit, but then again it is hairy when you start mixing languages in the same dish name. Maybe it deserves a visit to at least try the Fried banana raviolis, hazelnut ice cream, rum and raisin sauce!

"braised chanfana" A Portugese dish of braised Lamb/Goat...marinated in red wine...etc

Actually the expression is, "hits the nail on the head." But I guess that's for another website altogether. (By the way, I think he misses. The nail, that is.) ← LoL, of course, it is: hits the nail on the head.

There is a specific type of cherries to be used as in the original Limousin recipe. The whole idea is to have sourish cherries in there like: Griottes - Amarelles or Guigne. This type of cherries is hard to remove the pits as it will take with it some part of the flesh and you end up with bits of cherries and therefore better to keep the cherries whole. Leaving the cherries whole does make a big taste difference to the dish and you have simply to manage the pits with the fork. Warning: Some recipes are with the tail as well.

I think it is good to bring back to the top afn33282 post who nails it on the head. Well, my generally incoherent thoughts on this are as follows: Words are nothing but tools. This idea behind this thread was not the romantization or beauty of words, which you can usually enjoy in an appropriate context. It has more to do with clean versus sloppy thinking to me. There are those who prefer working in a chaotic environment. They might let their dishes pile up when they cook, and then clean it all at the end of the night, or more likely or often, get somebody else to do it for them. (Though I am sure you are a true dish dog [a complement, where I am from], NulloModo). Not me. I prefer to clean as I go--keeping my tools clean, and I prefer to use my tools well, as they were designed to be used. Sure, you can use the butt of your Wusthof as a pestle, but me, I'll get the pestle out of the drawer. This subject at hand has less to do for me with using a French word as the French would use it because, well oooh, how French of me, but because I get a particular, if grim, joy out of precision in application of technique, and out of efficiency. Why make up another prononciation when there is already a perfectly good one? To me, somebody who says they want their French Dip "with au jus," is either a) ignorant of the word's original origin, meaning, or usage (most likely), or b) intimidated by the idea of using a foreign word and is responding to an instinct to Americanize it, or c) plain lazy. I think the reastaurant manager (a dubious category if I ever heard of one) who boasted about his chef's "verblanc" probably has never picked up a book on French cooking, but was jazzed by the idea of being associated with French food somehow. That to me is laziness combined with ignorance. When one misuses words taken from another language, it also shows I think just a bit of disrespect for the language that gave us the word in the first place. Now I am no linguist, but I suspect that either we borrowed it because we didn't have an acceptable substitute in the first place, or the word came in organically through cultural mixing, or the foreign word just sounded so much cooler than ours did. Misusing the term I think lends to a sort of cultural isolationism for which we Americans are often reviled. I like the idea of paying a bit of respect to the language from which the word came by using it correctly. It makes me feel mindful of the influence that that particular culture contributed to my vocabulary and what it contributed to the subject at hand. I enjoy the concommitant feelings of gratitude and connectedness to that culture, in such a case, not because I want to sound or be French, but because I like the idea of different cultures/cuisines being linked in many ways and contributing to each other. I do believe that once a word's usage has become firmly entrenched, it is often a waste of energy to struggle against the common tide. My mother has constantly reminded me since my childhood that the proper prononciation of forte is "fort," but as 99% of the people I have ever met say "for-TAY," and I am really not interested in getting in a discussion on prononciation with 99% of the people I meet I don't bother to say anything. At this point, too, "for-TAY" has been so much accepted, that nothing I or any number of "grammar nazis" say is going to change much. See the following entry for forte at Webster's Online for some enlightening commentary. I have long heard that a new word often gains permanent credibility when it is used in a publication such as the New York Times. Perhaps an editorial in the Times or some other similar media source might change the direction of things with regards to the usage of any give word, but it would take a true wordsmith with uncanny powers of argument and a knack for the popular voice to really start any momentum, I think. What I am saying is that past a certain point there is often no going back. Also, you have to choose your battles, and forte is a word that is so seldom used that its fate doesn't matter too much to me. On the other hand, when one becomes personally invested in any realm of human endeavor to a certain degree, one often begins to appreciate specificity. Describing something accurately is part of appreciating it well, and the further you wade into a subject and the broader and deeper and more complex it becomes in your sights, the greater the need for explicit and exact terms to sort out all the phenomina that you are presented with. The better your word for something, the better you can think about it, I say, and the better you can engage in what the word refers to. I generally regard eGullet as a community of such dedicated folks, who care about perpetuating and advancing the notion of integrity in all things culinary. I mean, goodness' sake, they made me write an essay to get on here! If there were ever a community which would be interested in promoting quality of thought when it comes to food, it might be something like this one. And part of high quality thinking is living by high standards when it comes to expression. While it may be a waste of time to expect everybody to go around correcting perfect strangers on their use of "au jus," I think people like us are perfect canidates for standing against this rising wave of ignorance that will likely add one more element of ambiguity in the already often unclear realm of communication. I mean, I don't care enough about politics (sheepish grin) to get into it with anybody on who our next presidential canidates should be. My supply of resources is not great enough and personal scope of interests is not wide enough to devote myself to complete rigor and richness of knowledge in all subjects. But I care about food, and as best I can I will try to be an example of clarity in expression and faithfulness to meaning when it comes to discussing it. After all this, I must concede that every language has its own rythms and often-unconciously-felt natural aesthetic lines. It is no surprise to me that words morph when they have been in the context of a different language's aethetic for long enough. I think that it is part of the give-and-take involved in the growth of any culture. I think, though, that it is more on the "take" side. The "give" side has to do with, I would say, staying connected to the history of the features of any given culture, and that includes its terminology. Chris, word nazi, who had to look up how to spell "rhythm." ←

I've been to both and for Food: I would go for Chandelier Sheesha: I would go for Fatafeet Atmosphere: Fatafeet is by the Creek and Egyptian laid back while Chandelier is Lebanese see and be seen. But, when in Dubai, I stick to my full Apple Sheesha on the pool by the sea with my GF and the gang in our swimming trunks watching the sunset and later hitting the showers before dinner.

Can of worm now officially open! Au jus purist definition implies two concurrent factors: 1- Cooking in natural juices and dripping with no thickening agent e.g. Cream-Wine...etc 2- Served and presented swimming in it's own jus and not in a separate sauciere. You will find a menu entry as: - **** au jus - **** servis au jus As of late, it is also acceptable to signal that the dish has been cooked with the addition of other ingredients and thus is called: **** au jus de Cepes or **** au jus de tomates ...etc As for gravy, and rightly as you said, this is thickened sauce and thus not the same as Au jus. Drippings, provided not thickened, would be a better word for Au jus.

I thought you were recommending Fatafeet because you had a nice experienced and I refrained from commenting out of courtesy. The place is third rate and I am being generous here. They are located on the Creek and although it is a good location but can get very humid at times. The main traffic of this place is to have a Sheesha (water pipe) and not so much the food in itself. I am not too enthusiastic about this place and would prefer to have my Sheesha by the pool of the hotel overlooking the beach. Interestingly, the latest craze is Apple Sheesha and they manage to place the tobacco inside the cut apple as the furnace and the cored apple is half wrapped in alufoil where the coal sits on top. Looks good and taste good as well. Try it sometime.

I hear what you are saying and my intention is not to bash GR but the TV program format and the fact that GR approach does not translate very well on a professional level. Your position is that GR is a successfull entrepreneurial restaurateur with many restaurants under his belt. My answer is GR is the public face of these restaurants and there are other people involved on the financial and business side making a marketing success of GR image vide the restaurants. GR is first and foremost a Chef and a lucky one to that matter and there is nothing wrong with being lucky. But to say that all the work, all the restaurant and all the marketing image is of his own doing would be doing a disfavour to some powerfull partners pulling the strings in the shadows. At the end of the day, restaurants or no restaurants, this is strictly business with all the niceties hidden in the background. This would be beyond the scope of this thread and let's take it to PM should you wish to take it further.

The Hyatt Regency has a Persian restaurant called "Shahrzad ". and The Intercontinental hotel has also a very nice Persian restaurant called "Shabestan". Try Sumak with a Fattoush salad (coarse cut cucumbers-tomatoes-lettuce-parsley-mint leaves-onions-mashed garlic-Arabic stale or toasted bread-EVOO-Lemon juice-S/P and Sumaak).

Yeah, you're right. I forgot the bloke's bottom... Whether these type of restaurateur are a representative sample, I will not be able to tell. On the other hand. This is a TV program and they tend to sense the market as to who would like to be on TV and such. We recently had a request for any restaurant that is planning to start up as it seems another TV program is being planned. Also it is important to note that such programs are so much mushed and edited to answer a particular ratings need that most of the time you end up with rubbish as an answer to the producer v director v diva v TV station/channel. As for the dining cost being too high for the town people. This is a one star restaurant with one star prices and it would hardly be looking for random people in town to be potential customers! Ramsay should be more carfeull conducting a field research or sensing the customers as they are not the type you find in a local village market!

Maybe this guy is not as ignorant as you put it and maybe he is a fine connaisseur in case he ordered a bottle of your best wine and asked to have the bottle carafer which is what I understand from your post. It is acceptable and highly advisable to "Carafer" a good young wine or "Decanter" a vintage fine wine. The idea to transpose a young wine into a Carafe is to aerate the wine and get rid of extra tanin thus revealing the beauty of the wine. You really should not drink wine immediately after the bottle is uncorked and wait at least for few minutes by swirling the wine around to oxigenate in your glass. Carafer is valid for both red and certain white wines. You should give a little time for the aeration before tasting the wine and if you are familiar with the restaurant, they could carafer your wine in advance. On the connaisseur and fashion scale, carafer is pretty high on the list and people who do so are not as ignorant as they seem to be. On the other hand people who do not know this particular wine tournure, would draw a wrong conclusion. I will leave the Decanter part for another time.

It has been few years now that I visited Le Doyen and your write up brought back nice memories. What I always liked about this restaurant, beside the high quality of food and service, it is their welcome for cigar smokers which is the epitome of a meal for me. So thank you.