Rail Paul

There's a NY Stock Exchange ad running on TV, with "ordinary folks" explaining how they trust companies who do biz on the Big Board (he he he) because of its rules and disclosure policies. The lead off ordinary person is a chef who looks very much like David Joseph of Blue Sky. Is it he?

The Willowbrook / Wayne store in NJ is an absolute zoo on the weekends, with people ten deep at the registers and 20 deep around the food sample stations. But, on a Tuesday evening, with the outdoor temperatures 3 above zero F (maybe -12 C?), and a howling wind outside, shoppers are few, samples are many, and wine prices are superb

I've been impressed with the Times's Wednesday survey of wines. It's an interesting overview of a varietal, or region, or style, and I've tried a number of wines as a result of your panel's comments. As a panelist, do you have the opportunity to suggest a group to sample? And, which wines have you most enjoyed? Related question - How much lead time have you been given prior to developing or selecting a recipe to accompany the wines sampled? thanks!

I'm not aware of any restaurants that advertise they use irradiated products, nickn. Most people prefer a benign ignorance of what goes on in the kitchen and up the food chain, from what I can tell. I followed up a few open items folks have raised in these posts. MeatNews, a trade publication, cites a study in the New England Journal of Medicine that 20% of US ground beef in supermarkets may contain measurable bacteria or drug residue. Antibiotic drugs are administered to help cattle gain weight, there is some concern these low doses may be abetting the growth of "super sized antibiotic resistant illnesses" in humans who consume the meat from said animals Meat News The same article also says the USDA's Office of Food Safety and inspection Services believes it has the right to shut down a processor for two or more violations of humane slaughter laws or cleanliness regs within a 12 month period. Ralph Nader's Public Citizen believes irradiated beef is unhealthy. The Center for Science in the Public Interest notes that irradiation will kill vital nutrients in food. Science in the Public interest The NY Times says in an October 26, 2002 article, that the American Medical Association has determined that irradiated foods are safe to eat, concurring with research developed by the World Health Organization. It's interesting how the battle lines drawn over irradiated foods mirror the battle lines drawn over genetically modified food materials

Sorry to hear that. That's the place in Liberty State Park, down by the CNJ station? Dee and I had dinner on their outdoor deck in September. Warm breeze, view of the new Goldman Sachs building and the sailboats moored in the Morris Canal Basin. Small jazz group playing live background music. It was all very nice, but the place was almost completely empty. That's often a danger sign.

There's an article in the NJ section of the Sunday Times which mentions the lack of restaurants in JC. The context is "82,000 investment jobs have moved to JC and the restaurant space / quality is woefully lacking." The big story is people trading their downtown job / 1BRw/DR UES home for an office in JC, 3500 sf home in Chester.

I'd say you're doing just fine, Kim. Anything which reduces the bacteria count in your kids' food is a good thing. I'm somewhat dubious of so-called junk science, long on speculation and short on clinical trials and research.

Wegmans has a specially marked area in the meat section to highlight their irradiated products. I'll stop by S-R in the next few days and see how irradiated meat is presented. The artwork shows a blue label on tubes of meat, similar to the Montfort products. This may also address msp's comment. Our local S-R grinds at least some of its beef locally. It would make sense that the Surebeam enhanced meat would be processed at a central facility.

Any word on when this restaurant will be opening? 130 Bowery is the address Thanks

The new S-R circular advertises the arrival of irradiated ground beef, using the Surebeam Fresh technology. Wegmans has had irradiated beef for about a year in NJ. My understanding is it has sold very well. "(U)sing a non-nuclear concentrated beam of electricity to help eliminate the threat of food borne bacteria." Of interest is S-R's advice to cook the meat to 160 degrees. I don't recall that advice prominently mentioned at Wegmans, if it was mentioned at all. Prices look like they are about a dime to 15 cents per pound higher than the store brands @ 2.39 for 80%, 2.79 for 85%, and 40 cents more at 3.39 for 93%. I assume they zap the beef in the store, but I don't know for sure.

There's a location in Livingston. NJ 10 East, just east of Circuit City, adjacent to the Gateway store. OK place, didn't seem unclean, food was decent. Didn't see any compelling reason to hurry back. I believe mcDonald's is an investor.

Argyle does a lot of catering, they've been in that corner of "Little Scotland" forever.

The $350/k a year number ought to make anybody suspicious. There was a scam (probably still is) in which people with veterans benefits, START grants, etc would be seduced into special training programs which would provide them with high paying jobs. About 8 seconds after the government loan payment cleared, the program came to an end. Repeat every few months Students didn't get an education, promoters got the money, taxpayers got the shaft.

=Mark - what are your thoughts on whether a British pig could be smoked and pulled as effectively as a Virginia or NC pig? The concept is relatively straightforward, I wonder if the pig breeding is sufficiently similar to make a similar result? Paul

Same experience happened in journalism after watergate. J-schools were flooded, and people went out to find a barren job market. Same experience happened in the Catholic church with people lining up to be priests in the 1960s, when they felt they could change the world. In one of my former companies, we'd hire 100-200 elementary ed grads yearly who graduated to find there were NO jobs anywhere. So, they went and processed claims or rectified billings, made double what they'd make as a teacher, and hated it. I'm of the (cynical) belief that your job should give you money, and your avocations should enrich your life. If you're in the small group where your job does both, that's great. Treasure it, because few others have that joy.

I ran searches on monster.com and on hot.jobs to see what was on the market for pastry chefs. The simple answer is not much. Hot jobs had a whopping three jobs (one in the UK for EEC residents only), monster had about fifty, but included sous chefs, executive chefs, etc. I searched the St Louis Post Dispatch for pastry chefs, found no ads. One for a "pantry cook / pastry assistant" at the University Club. Line cook wages were $10, and 10-12 at other places. Hostesses and banquet managers at the place with the $10 cook were offered $12-$15. Also searched the Greensburg PA Tribune Review. No pastry positions, three cook positions, no wages noted. The analogy of Chefette's position to Karl Marx is very apt. Marx believed that the unique contributions of the worker-persons would be lost as machinery made workers interchangeable and without individual value (the lumpenproleteriat). If restaurants can buy machined, pre-made desserts from Chatterly's or Blini, and sell them for $7-15 a slice, and the buyer doesn't care, why should the restaurant care? If the customer doesn't throw it back, pocket the profits and go on with it. Maybe this is a consequence of the dumbing down of taste? (edited to remove typos and avoid Wilfrid's wrath with a slight mis-statement of Marxist theory)

I think the future is very obvious. A few talented people will create and invent recipes, following which hundreds of people will execute them precisely, night after night. Works in the French Laundry, Ducasse, etc as well as it works in Pizza Hut or Cheesecake Factory. McDonald's succeeded in part because of all the unpredictable dreck out on the highway. Get something that's consistent, clean, and won't kill you. It's not a bad business model, but it's a terrible model for creative, challenging, and, yes, expensive, dining. A few people will retain the affluence to regularly dine in expensive, customized places and will be able to pay for the experience. The same people who can both appreciate and pay for a $25 dessert that leaves you in awe...

Suvir - thank you for the recommendation. may I ask if you've tried the International Spice Market on 9th avenue, at 40th, just below the bus terminal? Their spice products seem very fresh, and I've noticed chefs buying cayenne, comino, etc in multi-pound quantities. They also sell semolina flour, several grinds of whole wheat and corn, etc for baking. Nice when you don't need a five pounds of something... Paul

Welcome, Rene - Your forthrightness is impressive. Where else would you select as your favorite places to spend $25 per person on dinner? As a professional, you must have identified places which excel at various price points. Which meet that target and are within 15 miles of Hackensack, and don't require crossing a large body of water? Paul

Is this to say that someone at Denny's is earning pay similar to someone at an upscale joint? Doubtful. One interpretation is the value added by the local chef is minimal in some cases. If the owner can find somebody who cooks well, can follow a recipe, and is willing to work for $15 an hour, that's the end of the story. In NJ, several ($50 pp) restaurants have eliminated the "named chef" and allow relatively lower skilled cooks to produce the goods every night. Similar to many NYC restaurants, I suspect. A consulting chef stops by occasionally. Customers don't notice a difference. Does Ducasse cook every night in each of his places? Or Vongerichten?

Good observation I'd speculate that rent is one of the largest numbers in a Manhattan restaurant, perhaps even equalling labor costs in a few locations. If you're paying $150 per revenue sf (total rent divided by revenue producing space), you have to turn a lot of tables before you pay light, heat, insurance, wages, workers comp (big number, btw), etc. In many chain operations, the franchisee (local operator) bears the operating costs, forking over a share of gross revenues to the franchisor (McDonald's, BK, Wendy's, etc).

The trend toward on-the-menu wine recommendations for each entree is a form of upselling. If this provides an informed suggestion (perhaps in lieu of a somolier), I think the concept offers a lot of value. especially if there are 2-3 suggestions for each entree, or a generic cue ("goes well with a fruity red wine" keyed to the list of wines). Described that way, do you want the $30 or the $50 choice? You may notice the $19 gem, but that's not likely. Dell computers has perfected upselling, often without additional charge. On my last two orders, they've upgraded me on speakers or video cards. I'm assuming the goods were already on the dock, and my order was close enough to match and ship. Dell doesn't record sales revenue until the goods leave the loading dock (unlike a few of their competitors).

Taboni - when you have a moment, would you like to comment on Sogno's and Angelica's? Favorite items, BYO or no, etc Thanks Paul

I don't know whether it recently closed, but I heard on the news about a week or so ago that the restaurant was being closed because of the situation with its lease. (Probably the landlord wants to do something that'll bring him/her more $). The report I heard didn't indicate a specific closing date, just that "the landmark was doomed." Don't know about the Board o' Health, but the HJ sign was still up about two weeks ago. Until perhaps 1999, that location, B'way at 46th? had an ancient sign, with the Piegiver (Jinmyo alert!!) leaning over to present Simple Simon with his pie. Sign probably dated from the 1950s, an eternity in Times Square. A new, simplified sign has been there for all of this millenium, though.

National Public Radio had a feature article about the Old Homestead burger on Weekend Edition Saturday. Pre-recorded piece as the reporter was in the restaurant, eating the burger. Reporter Brooke Gladstone described the burger (medium rare) as "slightly gelatinous" in the center. Wasn't greatly impressed. Liked the fries though, and intended to take the remains of the burger home to her dog, or to her boss, whichever got there first. Tone of the piece was a slightly arch view of decadence in the big city. Should be on the NPR website later today.