kayu

Judging by the fact that their specialty seems to be cookware and tableware (i.e. not cutlery), that their 5 piece knife and knife block set is half the price of a semi-decent Japanese 24cm gyuto, and that none of the three main kitchen knife forums has any info about the brand, I would hazard a guess that the chef in question is merely using it as a cheapo beater knife. (A guess that's supported by how he or she appears to be cutting on a metal surface.)

After a superlative dinner in the summer of 2008, we returned to Alinea for another round of the tour this weekend. Our menu was quite similar to the one so lovingly described by uhockey -- right down to the rather unfortunate kumquat sazerac (which you'd think they'd have corrected, if not perfected, after a few months). I'd agree with most of the highlights pointed out in uhockey's post: the chao tom, the distillation of Thai flavors, the very entertaining multi-tiered seafood reveal (for us, Jonah crab), the duck (with morels, asparagus camomile foam), and the foie gras (pressed through a sieve into liquid nitrogen, and texturally superior to Ko's shaved frozen foie). Despite my degree of satiation at that stage, my personal favorite was the final savory course. Nestled among the charred frisée on the hot birch log were several pieces of stupendously delicious squab, which, for what it's worth, was the finest meat cooked sous vide that I've eaten. We noticed more missteps on Sunday than on our previous, near-perfect visit: the horrendously overpowering sazerac, too thick and dry pasta surrounding the black truffle explosion, the overwrought and underwhelming sturgeon dish, too much (and overly dressed) pork belly filling in the DIY roll. The service, too, felt more frazzled than before. Nonetheless, it was a very, very impressive and memorable dinner. One thing that I'd say is that it appeared most of the other diners had ordered the tasting menu. Having observed the differences between the tasting and tour menus on both visits, I would highly recommend the latter because the former misses out on almost all of the tastiest (and certainly most dramatic) dishes. With the tour, the meal is by far more of an experience. Speaking of experience, I'm extremely glad that I'd somehow avoided this thread and other reports of the "Chocolate" dessert. We were all the more awestruck and delighted because we had no idea what to expect when they brought out the silicone mat. (Given Achatz's predilection for aromas and aromatics, we inconpicuously put our noses down and started sniffing our table, thinking that we detected a very faint whiff of lemon.) As the Chef de Cuisine started plating the dish (or, rather, table), we managed to regain enough composure to remark to him how much more theatrical our meal that evening was compared to two years ago. Beran responded that he felt the restaurant had matured a lot over that period. Alinea's greatest strength lies in its ability to achieve a kind of transcendence where every additional ingredient or technique applied to a dish serves to pare it down to its essence. Even when dishes (like the single bite of green almond/cucumber gelee) don't wow you with their deliciousness, they achieve a purity that is art. And yet, on occasions in this meal, we could glimpse certain dishes (like that sturgeon dish, which had far too many textures and tastes competing for my palate's attention to little end) struggling to achieve effect. If an increased sense of theatre marks the maturation of Alinea, dare I voice a concern that as it continues to grow, it runs the danger of lapsing into self-parody (cf. the fall, so to speak, of vertical cuisine)? Certainly, it seems churlish to say something like that given how much we enjoyed the entertainment...

Yes, after reading several enticing accounts of non-alcoholic pairings (yuzu-based spritzer, anise bloody mary...), I was rather surprised too. Did you request the pairing in advance as well, or were the drinks created ad hoc? Part of me actually suspects someone dropped the ball behind the scenes and my pairing request had not been noted in my reservation. I hasten to add this is utterly speculative and that I find this idea almost unimaginable, but our server did appear to have been unaware of my request when I mentioned it to him, and this would explain why nothing especially interesting was served to us until late in the meal. No need for apologies at all. I have your post to thank for introducing me to the idea of a non-alcoholic pairing, and if every drink had evinced the same degree of inspiration either in their pairing or composition as that almond milk, $45 would have been well worth it. Incidentally, we too love the Navarro juices and have ordered many cases directly from them. Funnily both the gewürztraminer and pinot noir juices at Per Se tasted distinctly more complex than any other time we have experienced them (including at Zuni where we first tried them). Not sure if it was an effect of drinking from generously proportioned wine glasses (we're not quite that fancy at home) or maybe the temperature at which they were served, but the former bore a woody, almost smoked redolence and the latter displayed a lovely, yes, pinot-like, tannic structure. Quite inexplicable. Speaking of JG, I don't think I have seen others mentioning this, but while in most respects Per Se is outstanding, our dessert courses suffered in comparison with, say, Johnny Iuzzini's marvellous work. Don't want to dwell too much on the negative, but even taking into account the terrific mignardises and ambrosial crème brûlée, the sweet courses were the weakest section of the meal. Last thing I must mention is that the cheese course was incredible. I'm a purist when it comes to cheeses and tend to favor them cut in large hunks from a cheese cart and minimally adorned. However, the Cashel Blue with Agen prune, Tellicherry pepper sablé, hazelnuts, and cab sauv reduction was the best "arranged" cheese course I've ever had. The meld and contrast of flavor and texture was so masterfully exquisite and delicious that it makes my mouth moisten just thinking about it now.

I don't post as much as I should to these boards, but thought I'd add a cautionary note to the thread. Although individual non-alcoholic beverages are included, non-alcoholic pairings are, in theory, priced at $45 a pop. I had seen this mentioned in an NYT article from 2004, but based on sickchangeup's post, I'd assumed this had since been rescinded. However, at the end of our (excellent) lunch today, an unexpected extra $90 was added to our bill. As you'd expect, the GM was gracious enough to remove the charge -- but this is good to know, especially since I had confirmed with the reservationist that non-alcoholic beverages are included when pre-requesting the pairing over the phone. For those curious about what our beverage pairings entailed, I'm sad to say that while they were tasty, the drinks' overall lack of creativity was a disappointment. Sparkling French apple cider with the amuses, orange soda with foie gras, Navarro gewürztraminer juice with the fish, the pinot noir juice with the meats, and a very nicely-made iced mocha with dessert. The most (well, only) inspired drink accompanied the final main course (côte d'agneau/cauliflower agnolotti for the chef's/vegetable tasting menu respectively): jasmine-infused almond milk that did a wonderful job not just of pairing our individual dishes, but subtly tied them together. As others have noted above, the kitchen is in good form. Service, it has to be said, did not ascend to the TFL's feats of telepathy, but the food yesterday was superior to my last visit there. The two highlights were lobster claws and lentils with shaved foie gras 'salami' (yes...); and garlic pain perdu with a fantastically meaty king trumpet mushroom. Finally, it's worth adding that reservations appear startlingly easy to come by ATM. Both I and the deliriously-content (and VIP'd) solo diner at the next table nabbed OpenTable reservations earlier in the week. When I booked, there were no fewer than three times available to me.

Bringing up this old thread because I'm planning a trip to PEI on the last weekend of July and would very much like to gorge on oysters and mussels while there. However, as I understand it, there are two fishing seasons on PEI: April 30 – June 30, and August 10 – October 10. What happens between these dates? Are oysters and mussels still readily available at restaurants and seafood suppliers? If so, are they stockpiled (with detrimental consequences for freshness/taste)? And I guess while I have your attention, any restaurant suggestions beyond what Frank Bruni suggested in 2007 (i.e. Dayboat and Flex Mussels)? Many thanks!

UPDATE: Despite normally being open on Sundays for lunch, L'Epigramme is not serving lunch on the 4th. L'Astier, however, is doing dinner. Any suggestions for Sunday lunch would be gratefully entertained...

Many thanks, John. Here are a handful of other possibilities for the week of New Year's from my, and my diligent concierge's, research (with a spot of help from Alec Lobrano): Breizh Cafe: Closed only on Dec 31st. Fine Gueules: Reopens on January 2nd. Carte Blanche: Open January 2nd, 3rd (evening only), 5th and 6th. Also has a 100€ NYE dinner. Café Des Musées: Reopens on January 4th. Jadis: 70€ NYE dinner For more ideas, also see julot-les-pinceaux's helpful post.

This topic is of great interest to me as well, as I'll be arriving in Paris on New Year's Eve and leaving on the 6th, thus managing to miss such desired tables as Pierre Gagnaire and Le Timbre. Here's what I've found out so far: Les Fine Gueules reopens on January 2nd Le Timbre reopens on January 6th Spring reopens on January 5th Carte Blanche has a 100 Euro NYE menu, but is closed on the 1st Pierre Gagnaire reopens on January 7th I'm delighted to read that Itinéraires will be re-opening before I arrive, but I am curious to see what other bistros of interest might be open.

I hadn't thought of actually foraging for these herbs myself. Intriguing suggestion! Aside from wood sorrel, can any other herbs generally found in New York parks?

Hmm. Thanks for the reply, but it appears they only have dried herbs (and, lovage aside, none of what I'm looking for). Any other suggestions?

I'm gathering the ingredients for a meal from the Noma cookbook. L'Epicerie and its ilk seem the best place to find things like gelatin sheets and lecithin, while Siggi's Skyr is available in stores around town; now I'm looking for a reliable source of fresh herbs in Manhattan. Among other odd herbs, the Noma cookbook calls for woodruff, wood sorrel, sea buckthorn, chickweed, as well as more commonly seen (but still not typically found at Whole Foods) ones like lovage and nasturtium leaves. My recipe choices will be limited by what herbs I can find, so I'll take what I can get. I spotted chickweed on the menu at Jimmy's No. 43 last night, so I imagine it can't be too difficult to procure herbs of its kind. My first thought is obviously the Union Sq Greenmarket. Are there any particular stalls I should look out for, or best days to look? Any suggestions for other markets or stores?

I had a very, very impressive meal at The Square a few weeks ago. Among the highlights were: A set of very amusing amuses. beetroot ravioli lollipop, foie gras parfait in a mini ice cream cone... Fabulous sweetbreads sauteed with girolles... The humongous sweetbreads were THIIIIIS big... Pre-dessert of a super-fresh beignet with raspberry and yogurt - the beignet's insides so soft they were almost custardy...

Two frequent recommendations for Big Sur are Big Sur Bakery and Big Sur Roadhouse. Otherwise, Cielo at Ventana Inn and Post Ranch Inn are the best options for fancy dining.

Canteen's eggs benedict are splendid indeed. I think it might just be my favorite spot for a weekend brunch. Universal Cafe is by all accounts another superb option, but the lines are somewhat risible.