Suzanne F

I'll bet the restaurant complained to every available media outlet. In the hope that someone -- anyone -- would pick it up -- oh, goody, more publicity, and positive at that (even if self-generated)! Whether I like that or not, I think they had every right to do so. It's called "marketing." Think of all those Post readers who never saw the original article; now they are on Gabriel's side against the big, bad, NYT.

I would, but then I'm another greedy fat American bastard. (Although in my case it's because I spend all day every day on my duff. Overeating is not the issue.) Well, not if it were something like oatmeal, I guess. And certainly not for the excess toast. But the 90% of a Katz's sandwich I can't finish, or the remains of a platter of perníl and rice and beans from Sophie's Cuban Cuisine, sure. I am NOT greedy; I am frugal. If I cannot stop them from proffering outrageous amounts of food for my hard-earned money, or get them to charge me less money for less food, it is my housewifely stinginess that requires me to take what I have paid for. The thing is, though, I WILL use that food when I get it home. I do not take it home to admire it; I take it home to transform it into another meal, thereby getting full value out of my dining dollars. Which I mentioned in this related Cooking thread. I would be happy to not be served excess food; but as long as I am, I cannot let it go to waist, er waste.

Hey, as long as SOMEBODY enjoys them!

Actually, I try to avoid the urge to do that -- except with chicken which is my particular midnight vice. Oh, and cold french fries, too. I tend to turn steak into Thai salads, fish into fishcakes, and roast beef into hash. Anybody do onigiri?

While there's nothing wrong with eating that leftover piece of steak in front of the open fridge at 2am, part of the fun of bringing home excess food is turning it into something else. What's the most creative thing you've done with your doggie bag contents? (Preferably for another meal, but from this crowd ... ... )

'Smatter, Big T, just get some sad news? The points Britcook makes are mostly valid, at least regarding the ludicrously large portions in "average" restaurants here. But when one approaches those portions with the mindset of "I paid for it, it's ALL mine, I want my money's worth" then the result is either overeating or bringing the excess home. I'm for the latter, obviously. But I can usually determine before I start eating which bits will work better later, and so eat up the glommy stuff that won't be any good re-worked. At any rate, nobody is forcing you to take anything home. Except, curiously enough, Ducasse, with the bag of lollipops and pastry for the next day. How do you explain that???

Did you happen to notice if they had Kokoretsi on the menu? (innards wrapped in more innards and grilled over charcoal, YUM) I've been told they had it in their old location. As a matter of fact, does anyone know who might have Kokoretsi?

No, that was David Bouley.

Frankly, the menu you listed seems perfect to me. So: Take your photos of the desserts (PROPERLY plated). Clip your reviews. Start looking for another gig. And don't slam the door on your way out. Sorry, but he IS the boss. You cannot change him. No matter how much the customers love your stuff, no matter what the reviewers said, it is his decision to make. Let him figure out for himself how much that whipped cream actually costs. I've been there, believe me. I worked for almost 2 years at one of the most creative Asian-fusion places around. But the chef left, and the new chef was not open to trying anything different. When I was doing pastry, I wanted to replace the "Seasonal Fruit" (= raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries ALL F***ING YEAR ROUND) with a salad of tropical fruit and jicama in a chili-lime syrup. Oh, no -- too "adventurous" for our customers (who were already used to eating a sundae of coconut ice cream, mango salsa with lime leaf and cayenne, and tamarind sauce). And a tart filled with pudding made with Thai black rice? Don't make yourself crazy. When you find another position, wish him well graciously and sincerely.

Family story: my mother, 3 or 4 of her sisters, and her brother stopped for lunch at a diner. Several of them order broiled flounder, and no one could finish the portion. So my uncle asked the waitress to please put it all in a doggy bag to take home. "And please put in some tartar sauce," he said, "my dog Ellen likes tartar sauce." Ellen, of course, was his wife waiting at home.

OH NO!! Not another condiment to jam into my cupboard! That stuff sounds great -- gotta get me some, especially since I can be happy with a big bowl of rice.

Do you really only mean Russian, or do you mean all the former SSRs? Because THAT is a vast, varied area. Georgia has very different foods from Uzbekhistan from Russia from ... well, you get the idea. Lumping them together is like trying to talk about one "Mexican" cuisine or one "Italian" cuisine. I happen to like Georgian food -- lots of coriander (cilantro), sour plum sauces, ground walnuts in savory dishes, spiced grilled meats. Chicken tabak (cooked under a brick). But a good Russian Borshsch, with a strong beef stock and chunks of meat, cabbage, beets, and other vegetables is great for this time of year. But oh! this indignity of calling coulibiac "a fish pie!" Puff pastry, duxelles, rice pilaf, the gelatinous inside of a sturgeon's backbone, herbs, and more -- that's like calling beef wellington "a beef pie."

Oh. please don't drop Montrachet from your lunch list. Chris Gesualdi, the last chef there to earn 3 stars, has returned. but do be aware that the only day they serve lunch is Friday.

I would pick Craft over Balthazar any day. For the food, not the scene (I don't care about scenes, but I hate noise, of which B has far too much). And to toss another possibility into the mix: Ilo (although I haven't been in a year or so).

We wanted to order the chai pot de crème, but they were out of it.

Last night, not one but TWO groups of eGulleteers plus friends dined at Diwan -- it seems to be turning into one of our clubhouses, and they don't even serve the Flaming Orange Gully! Our group consisted of 3 who had been there before and 2 who had not. We tried some favorites and some new (to us) dishes. As always, everything was splendid. The quail appetizer was the hands-down favorite: tender, complexly flavored. The mushrooms, which were new to all, were fabulous: just regular big white mushrooms (unless they were cremini?), but between the marinade and the hint of smokiness, unlike any other mushrooms. Cakewalk was 100% right in praising them. We also had the beggars' purse, but I think having to cut it into thin pieces (one order is not really enough for 5 people) lessened the effect. Since they were out of the crab paratha, we tried the keema-stuffed bread ("Indian quesadilla?") instead. It was good, but not in a class with the quail and mushrooms. Entrées were the lamb chops, halibut, chicken with ginger, vegetable keema, and giant prawns. Lamb, fish, and prawns were big winners; and we all marvelled at how moist and tender the chicken was. Veg keema got a bit lost. Lemon rice was outstanding: subtly flavored with great texture contrasts (love those crunchy lentils in it!). The one dish I had building up for weeks to the 2 newbies -- the crispy okra -- was as good as ever, but paled in comparison to the other items. Desserts were: pineapple sorbet (served in 1/2 pineapple shell -- looked suspiciously like something from Bindi ); rice pudding; rosmalai; and kulfi. Just to let everyone know: they have changed the kulfi, and no longer serve it with Suvir's citrus sauce. The change in the kulfi is for the better, we agreed: smoother, creamier, not so icy, and the flavor is also subtle and not too sweet. Still, I missed that refreshing sauce. The rice pudding was very loose, and had a strong flavor of roasted nuts -- again, not very sweet, a pleasant change from most Indian sweets. For wine, we had J Russian River Valley Pinot Gris 2001. It went beautifully with the food, and even the non-drinker among us enjoyed a glass of it. The brandy we were given after dinner was very light and easy to drink; unfortunately, we didn't ask what it was. The staff was gracious as always. Even as we stayed on and on, talking -- the last to leave, long after Chef Hemant and the rest of the kitchen staff. He had stopped by our table during the meal, and fairly glowed as we complimented his food. He IS a master of the tandoor! Okay, so NEXT time I want to try more of the vegetable dishes, and have the tandoori paneer. And and and and ...

Use it. Just remember, though, that if you cut meat or fish or poultry on it, you'll have to scrub it down thoroughly and sanitize before cutting anything else on it. Don't want those bad buggies to get you. So if you don't want to have to stop to clean in the middle of prep, use a cutting board for the meat, and the surface for anything else later.

Coconut oil? I thought that's supposed to be TERRIBLE for you! (But I could be wrong. )

Okay, 4 suggestions: 1) Whatever you make, cook LOTS MORE of everything than you think people will eat. Because they probably WILL eat more than normal, and because: 2) for the last meal that you have, bake a whole big bunch of potatoes, heat up any leftovers, and use them for potato toppings. A good excuse to finish up butter, sour cream, etc. 3) if there's new, clean snow, get some maple syrup to pour over it. And some good sour pickles to eat alongside. No, I am not kidding! 4) unless you've got a killer quick-and-easy biscuit recipe, don't bake. Buy all the breads, cakes, etc. You can always gussy up bought cake with a freshly-cooked fruit compote (made while you're eating the rest of the meal).

Or, as my MIT-trained husband learned: "You can't pass heat from a cold to a hotter. You can try if you want, but you really oughter notter." Sorry. Carry on.

How many people, how many meals? Any specific likes, dislikes, and/or deeply-held beliefs? any allergies? What's available locally, what might you have to bring? And what do you two like to cook? OH, sorry, where are my manners? WELCOME! Prepare to lose much time here, and love every minute. To get back to your question -- haven't seen Gourmet, so I don't know what your thinking about. But if you can make dishes that build on one another (that is, take part of one to make another one later), you'll save yourself a lot of work. All those opeing questions were just to get an idea of the circumstances -- such as, will you have proper cooking facilities or will you have to wing it a lot?

Katie -- now I understand why "beer-can chicken" doesn't quite work: the opening from the pop-top isn't big enough to let much moisture out. Your method sounds good. Do you then use whatever stock that's left for the pan sauce?

Because it's so ... foreign. I happen to think that even badly-done Indian food is many times better than a Big Mac -- but many many people will never try anything DIFFERENT. Related story: we have a research assistant from Bangladesh working with us -- very sophisticated young woman, graduate of Smith College, currently studying for a Master's in Public Finance at NYU. Yesterday I was prepping artichokes for dinner (office is in our apartment) and making stock with the scraps. When Zarin left for the day, she asked what she had enjoyed smelling. Arthichokes? What's that? In the ensuing conversation, she let on that she has only recently started to eat and enjoy -- SPINACH. And that broccoli was very exotic when she was growing up.

Yeah, that's why I don't pay that much attention to their list. I mean, I go to Les Halles downtown (3 blocks from my house) when it's late and I'm starving but that's not what I would seek out. I'll much sooner check a place on OpenTable than I would on Idine. Did the article mention how they are a source of funding for restaurants? Years ago, they really used to have the restaurateurs by the cojones; don't know if they still do.

If you want to mine through a fair amount of well yeah, crap, you can check out the sites listed on Chef2chef. One there that I like is Hub-UK (isn't David a member here?). Not all the sites are for recipes -- Table-hopping with Rosie is there, and eGullet, www.suvir.com, and HollyEats.