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mikeczyz

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Posts posted by mikeczyz

    Argyle Street - Chicago

    in The Heartland: Dining

    Posted

    I love Argyle Street. I second hopleaf's thai pastry recommendation. If you don't limit yourself to SE Asian, try the Sun Wah BBQ Restaurant. Most of my 'white' friends find it to be a dirty little shack, but the meats there are fabulous. Try the rice plate with roasted duck, bbq pork and some greens for the low low price of $3.95.

    mike

    Olive Oil Questions, Options, Favorites

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    was at the williams and sonama store yesterday sipping and dipping in their olive oil selection. i found some that were peppery, fruity, one that was downright disgusting (tasted strongly of fish oil), different weights, from all over europe. is it all personal preference? i really wanted to buy a bottle, but didn't know if i was going to make a wrong choice...

    mike

    Jean Georges and Nougatine

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    Jean-Georges Menu - Egg Caviar.

    A large round plate supported a smaller rectangular plate, which in its turn held a bowl with crystals of coarse fleur de sel serving as an anchor for a shiny, brown and what seemed to be soft-boiled egg, the shell of which was sliced at the top to make room for vodka- and lemon-infused whipped cream and caviar crowning the egg like a fancy bonnet.  The layered edifice of plates added a visual effect of an altar where the egg was the centerpiece

    THis is the dish on the cover of vongerichten book simple to spectacular, yes? i just read through the recipe and it seems to match.

    mike

    Laurent Manrique

    in California: Dining

    Posted

    On Aqua pre-arrival of Laurent, the restaurant is continuing Mina's recipes. In particular, one recent occasion menu was described to me as reflecting Mina's dishes. Interestingly, one can see various French Laundry influences:

    Duet of West Coast Oysters -- Classic Rockelfller, Champagne Tapioca (although FL's "oysters and pearls" probably did not contain champagne -- I'll check later -- the utilization of tapioca with oysters at Aqua likely has some FL inspiraton)

    Cauliflower Soup, Lemon Infusion, Beluga Caviar -- This might or might not be inspired by the cauliflower panna cotta with osetra caviar at FL

    Dungeness Crab Tortellini, Braised baby artichokes, shellfish brown butter

    Crispy Skin Black Bass, Butter Poached Main Lobster, Melted Leeks, Golden Chanterelles (the inclusion of Butter Poached lobster is again an FL influence)

    Herb Roasted Tenderloin of Beef, Truffled Root Vegetable, Bacon-Wrapped Scallop, Celeriac Puree

    Scharffen Berge Chocolate Souffle, Tahitian vanilla-infused Kumquat parfait

    $125/person

    Will you be going? I'm curious as I'm thinking of heading to Aqua at the St Regis in Southern California.

    Mike

    Nuevo Leon

    in The Heartland: Dining

    Posted

    :biggrin: By the way, did you catch what one eGulletteer had to say about too much vodka on the "Stuff I won't drink any more" thread? She said it made her take her clothes off.

    Hmm Maybe "horizontal" is not the best way to describe this outing!.

    I'm in.

    Thanks for steering me over to that very enjoyable thread (your lengthy post on page 3 in particular). Btw, I think it was tequila that made the lady remover her garments, not vodka.

    wanna gimme a link to this thread? i can't seem to find it.

    mike

    Daniel

    in New York: Dining

    Posted · Edited by mikeczyz (log)

    Nobu the COokbook has just informed me that hamachi is the name given for young yellowtail, and buri for older yellowtail. But yellowtail is......?

    Snapper? Tuna? I'm confused too!!!!

    mike

    P.S. I've run into three kinds of tuna in my life, blue fin, big eye, and ahi. anyone know of any others?

    Farallon

    in California: Dining

    Posted

    the seafood is as fresh as you can get outside a Japanese restaurant.

    the seafood is ridiculously fresh. and it's not all that expensive. i've always said that if farallon were here in chicago, i'd go there for lunch every day on my off days. i find that the 40 dollar five course is an astounding deal. here's teh link to my first lunch there....

    Farallon

    Rereading my post brings back so many fond memories!

    mike

    Daniel

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    Bux suggested contacting Daniel Boulud's personal assistant ...

    Gee, did I really give her e-mail address in public? I better hope it's also on their web site. :biggrin: I may become the first guy who makes it a point of eating there when the chef isn't in town. :biggrin:

    i've emailed the address given and i received a gracious response. they were more than happy to send me the online menus. not that this is an encouragement to bombard the address with requests, but it's just to calm bux down. i don't think you'll be in trouble at all, if my experience is the norm.

    mike

    The Restaurant Gary Danko

    in California: Dining

    Posted · Edited by mikeczyz (log)

    Since Stone and Cabrales wrote such wonderful descriptions of the restaurant and the kitchen...I will forego repeating the details. I have been acquainted with Gary since his days at Chateau Souverain. When we arrived we were whisked to the kitchen to say hello. Sary told us of his plans to expand the wine cellar area downstairs, add some prep areas and a dumb waiter for ease of service. As it was a Friday night, we kept our visit brief so as not to interfer with the kitchen's routine.

    Upon being seating we were treated to glasses of Billecart Salmon Rose while we perused the menu. Shortly thereafter the Gary began sending out the amuse. The first was a potato and smoked duck soup with frizzled leeks and truffle oil. The depth of the flavor and pungency of the ingredients was amazing. One of the best soups I have had in ages. The next amuse was a bite of roast lobster with enoki mushrooms. Again very flavorful. The third was a small torchon of foie gras atop homemade melba toast. A nice counter point to the smooth, lush foie.

    My dinner companion and I opted for the 5 course tasting menu. We chose the 2000 Domaine Le Flaive "Clavillon" Puligny-Montrachet and the 1999 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape (which the sommelier immediately decanted so it would open up some before our main course.

    I began with the Pancetta wrapped Frog Legs with sunchoke garlic Puree, Potato, Lentils and Parsley Sauce. A large deep bowl arrived holding four plump frogs legs resting atop the Potato and lentils. Along one side, the sunchoke garlic puree and the other a drizzle of parsley sauce. The pancetta wrapping had just the slightest crunch to it. I have had similar dishes where in order to get the legs cooked properly, the pancetta ends up tough and overcooked. That was definitely not the case here. The lentils also had a hint of pancetta flavor. I did not detect any garlic flavor to the sunchoke puree, which I would not say was a negative, as the dish had plenty of flavor.

    My dining companion chose the Glazed Oysters with leeks, salsify and two caviars. It looked lovely and she pronounced it to be excellent.

    The second course we both chose Seared Sea Scallops with truffles and Leek Potato Puree. An huge, golden slightly crisp diver scallop perched atop  the leek potato puree and sauced with (I think) a veal stock based truffle sauce. The scallop itself  was sweet and rare on the inside. A good foil to the heady flavor of the truffle sauce. The leek potato puree provided texture and color rather than flavor (again not a negative as the dish was well balanced).

    Next we both chose the Seared Foie Gras, Caramelized Red Onions and Fuji Apples. The sommelier provided us each with a pour of tojkai. Unfortunately, my foie was a bit more cooked than I prefer. The flavors, again, were well balanced.

    For my main course I chose the Beef Medallion with truffled winter vegetables. Three slices of beautifully rare, tender beef atop a mix of root vegetables. The scent of truffle wafting up from the plate. Excellent.

    For her main course my friend ordered the Herb Crusted Loin of Lamb with Winter Vegetables, Tian and Farro Risotto. I only got a small bite of the lamb (none of the accutrements as my friend was hording them :shock: a good sign!). The lamb arrived as she requested, medium rare. It was tender and flavorful.

    We both opted for the cheese course. I chose the Humbolt Fog, Brin D'Amour, Epoisses, and another goat cheese whose name escapes me. Each at the proper consistency, served with a very nice walnut bread. I accepted the offer of a glass of port-a twenty year tawny, but, I did not hear the producer as a friend from Napa stopped by the table as the glass was delivered.

    We declined the offer of dessert and petit fours...but were pleasantly surprised by the addition of an extra gold wrapped package of cookies to go with our cinnamon coffee cake.

    From start to finish a very good 4 1/2 hours of dining at Gary Danko.

    interesting hearing about the vip treatment you received in comparison to cabrales/stones' meal.

    mike

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