James Kessler

Ok I'm having a hard time figuring out the price of dinner at Jean Georges' main dining room. Is there a set price for a tasting menu? Would anyone be so kind as to let me know what an expected price would be for a tasting menu there? I may be dining there in the next few days and would like to know in advance what kind of damage to expect. Thanks!

When dicing an onion, I have been taught that there are three steps. Apparantly people differ about the correct order of the first two steps, but everyone seems to agree on the last step. After halving and peelong, you cut "planes" into the onion first. Then you do the "horizontal" cuts, followed by lastly cutting vertically and releasing the diced onion. Some people like I said, reverse the order of the first two cuts, but it doesn't help me with my problem. It's still the same. My problem is with the "planing" step. I have difficulty doing this safely. Once I cut my thumb in the process, and since then I've been more careful. However, I still think I could improve my technique. Could someone go into more detail about correct pressure, knife motion, grip on the onion, etc... while performing this manuver? Thanks!

My fiancee and I just ate dinner last night, Sunday the 2nd, at BH@SB. Absolutely blown away by the experience. We both can't wait to return. I'm going to try to get Sunday Brunch reservations for around the time of my birthday, at the end of October. My fiancee and I were trying to come up with appropriate words to describe the tastes of the foods we ate there. I came up with "honest" and she agreed. Of course "fresh" came up right away too. Another keyword from my fiancee was "clean." I thought that "clear" was more descriptive. Allright, let me try to recall the experience from the beginning. We arrived and parked by valet at around 9:00 for our 9:30 reservation. Walking in, we checked in and sat down in the lounge area while waiting for our table. I had a $12 glass of reisling which was outstanding! The waitress had said it was the best wine by the glass they serve there. At first I thought she was just saying that, but now I suspect she may have been right. It was the best reisling I've ever tasted. Wish I could remember what it was. I think it was from New York. If not from New York, then it might have been from Germany. My fiancee Diana, had a strawberry sangria that was equally impressive. She is something of a sangria-lover, having tasted many sangrias from as many restaurants as she can. I always have at least a sip myself. This one truly was one of the best, if not THE best sangria we've tasted. Very dry and clean tasting. It was made with some kind of French wine, if I recall correctly. We were soon seated underneath the mural, and began our meal. We decided to order the three-course after being explained that courses are portioned differently depending on how many courses and which courses you order. I agree that our portion size was very appropriate for each dish. The amuse was a parmesan-crisp-lollipop, pictured on an earlier post in a photograph here on this thread. First courses were from the seafood category. As you may know, there are different categories you can choose from, and you are allowed to order as many courses from any category you may like. So if you order the four-course meal, you could choose four different categories, or you could only choose one or two categories if you wanted, but you would get four savory courses. Dessert is not included in the number of courses you select. It is ordered seperately at the end. So, back to our first courses. I had red-snapper with seasonal vegetable ragu. (The language I use to describe the food may be inaccurate at times. I am not a chef, or a food writer. Please excuse me if I make some mistakes.) The "ragu" as I am calling it consisted of some local mushrooms, the last of the summer peas, (very sweet!) and some other vegetables I can't quite remember. It was all delicious and exquisite. All the food here is subtle, not overstated. It comes back to that honest, clean and fresh idea I mentioned before. Now, I also want to interject about the service. While we were looking at the menus, I mentioned Per Se in low, hushed tones to Diana. You see, I had eaten at Per Se previously, without her. You can read about my experiences there on my other post under the Per Se thread. In any case, I was making some kind of comment to Diana, my fiancee, comparing the two. I swear to you, I wasn't speaking loudly at all! Our waiter promptly came over and asked me if I was in the business. I am not in the business, so I said no and looked embarrassed. Secretly I felt pretty good that the very whisper of the words "Per Se" will get you the kind of awesome treatment we got that night. Ok, back to the food. Diana's seafood course was cod with local mushrooms, capers, and other vegetables. I really liked it, but she said that she preferred my snapper dish. It may be because she's not really a fan of capers that much. Anyway, both dishes were excellent. Oh yes, I'm almost forgetting about the bread. It was really tasty, buttery, warm, and addictive. We had two baskets with our meal. The butter it was served with was also delicious. Next courses both came from the pasta category. Mine was a pork tortellini, and hers was a corn ravioli with a creamy corn sauce and more local mushrooms. The pork tortellini had butter chard, and more local mushrooms. I also remember the taste of fennel. Both of these pasta dishes were extremely good. Diana and I loved both dishes equally well. Throughout the meal our service was going very well. We had several different waitstaff come to our table for different things, but they were all very good. By far the best though, was our main waiter. He kind of disappeared during the middle part of the meal, and let others serve us, but he re-appeared later on at the end of the night. I will get to that later. Third and final savory courses: I had the lamb, and she had the chicken. Let me go into the chicken first. Quite plainly prepared, laid over roasted corn, summer peas, and some kind of grain I don't remember. Now please don't misunderstand. When I say plainly prepared, I meant that in a good way. The chicken, we both agreed, was the best we had ever tasted. It was subtle, and not overly seasoned, but it was seasoned a little bit, and tasted the way chicken is supposed to taste. It was moist, with a natural butteriness that came through. It was utterly delicious. If you want huge, big, in-your-face flavor, this was not it. However, if you take the time to savor its subtleties, this to me was the ultimate chicken dish. My lamb was also impressive. Cooked to perfection, there were pieces of tenderloin, and also a nicely sized piece of braised shoulder. The tenderloin pieces were very good. Some of them were slightly too chewy for my taste, but it was just a slight bit. I didn't even mention it to Diana. Then some of the pieces of tenderloin I ate later on were not chewy at all. I think maybe they just needed to sit on the plate for a minute or two. The first two pieces I ate were chewier than the rest. The shoulder meat, however, was the best part of this dish. It was so tender, and so tasty! Covered in some kind of coating, like bread-crumbs and mustard seed. It was really outstanding. I would have liked to have had even more of the braised shoulder. I paired it with a glass of french red wine, I can't recall what it was, but it was an excellent match, suggested by the waiter. The lamb dish was served with roasted corn along with some other vegetables. I also ordered the side dish of more sweet roasted corn for $6. It was really good! There was a very subtle spiciness to it that was almost undetectable, but present. Perhaps it was a very light sprinkle of cayanne pepper? Next came dessert. Diana had the chocolate croquettes, pictured in a photo earlier in this thread. She's still talking about them now! They were really great. The chocolate was rich, without being overpowering. You know how sometimes you order a "rich" chocolate dessert at a place like TGI Fridays or something, and it is artificially rich to the point of being overpowering? This couldn't have been further from it. It was rich, but satisfying. A very honest taste again, like "this is how chocolate should taste." I don't think they make their own chocolate, but it tasted like they did. Very clean. My peach cobbler with peach sorbet and lemon thyme cream was also great. The sorbet tasted literally like an actual peach in sorbet form. I don't know how else to describe it. The texture was right on. Very sweet and tasty. The lemon thyme cream was an excellent complement to the sorbet, and these were served alongside a tiny cast-iron pot of cobbler. The cobbler texture and taste were perfect, as well. Not too sweet. If you mixed the sorbet, cream, and cobbler together in the pot you had a real treat. To end the meal I had a cup of coffee, which was also very good. I happen to be a real coffee lover, and take my coffee very seriously. This was extremely good. Way, way beyond Starbucks. Maybe not the very best coffee of my entire life, but it was definately very good. Now throughout the meal, I noticed a theme in the tastes that I haven't noticed as much in other restaurants. What I noticed was the way the flavors "spoke up" in the dishes. Now I'm a musician, so I made the mental comparison to a good orchestra. In a good orchestra in a good hall, you can hear all the individual instrumentalists seperately if you concentrate on them seperately. But, you can also hear the overall sound of the instruments blending in perfect harmony if you concentrate on the overall sound. It was the same with the food here at BH@SB. I detected individual flavors throughout my meal, such as fennel, mustard seed, paprika, mushroom, butter, and many many others. These individual flavors spoke up seperately and distinctly. However, they also blended so well in harmony with the overall flavor of the dish. I really appreciated this about the food here more than anything else. Ok, I said I would mention our waiter again. After the meal was over, he came to our table and offered a tour of the restaurant. Diana had never had a restaurant tour before, and I have only had the ones at Per Se, and at WD50. So, we gladly accepted. He also asked me again if I was in the business, and I replyed that I was not, but that I knew someone who worked at <very famous restaurant in NYC.> I will not name the restaurant here out of respect for my friend and the restaurant he works at, but it's one that is well-respected in this business. I DID name it to our waiter, though. I also made it clear to my waiter that I only knew ONE person, who did NOT have a particularly important job at said restaurant. Now our waiter took us on the tour, and as we approached the kitchen he said to someone there, "these people know LOTS of people at <famous NYC restaurant> and would like to see the kitchen." He specifically said LOTS, even though he knew full well that we only had one rather unimportant friend. Now I know that anyone can get a kitchen tour at BH@SB, and that we were not getting treatment beyond what others get, but I was struck by how friendly everyone was as we went around. Everyone we met waved, and introduced themselves with a big smile. Our waiter and all the staff was extremely warm and friendly. Diana and I were so relieved not to have that pretentious vibe that sometimes comes from other high-end restaurants. BH@SB was anything but pretentious. They were honest, warm, friendly, and helpfull. Diana and I cannot wait to return. I definately give this restaurant my highest review. Although I have heard the rumors of not-so-good service, and not-so-good food; my own experience of this place was basically near-perfect. I really can't think of what could have been done better. Everything exceeded my expectations by a long-shot. I can easily say that this was in the top 2 restaurant experiences of my life. Per Se would be the other. It is tough for me to say which one has the number one spot. Right now I am leaning towards BH@SB for number one. I'll let you all know if that is confirmed after I eat there again. I hope that happens soon!

I took the tour today and did a tasting of all the beers they had available on tap today. The bartender was nice enough to pour all of those beers for me just for a generous tip alone. The tour was a lot of fun. Information about the history of beer in Brooklyn, and information about the brewmaking process were included in the tour. It was all presented in a humorous, light-hearted and witty style. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and have a good time. Everyone on the tour was young, under 40. Most were in their late 20s or early 30s. Then we went into the "pub-like" area and I did my beer tasting. I really enjoyed all the beers I had. My least favorite was the pilsner, which tasted kind of like apple juice (not in a good way, IMHO.) I really liked the ale, lager, weise, and blanche beers. The IPA wasn't the best IPA I've ever tasted, but still pretty good. I did get to taste the reserve, but it didn't make a big impression on me either way. In any case, I would definately recommend the tour to anyone in the area! I drove out from White Plains with my fiancee just for this tour, and then we ate dinner at SEA, located very nearby. The whole afternoon was very enjoyable.

What is the best procedure for dealing with ginger?

Is that in Providence or Bristol?

What about creating a braising liquid using some of the chocolate along with some caramel-colored beer? I had an idea to braise a pork chop or loin in there, and serve along with roasted potatoes and veggies.

JohnL, amen! Your post listing all of those places in and around Westchester County was spot on! I couldn't possibly say anything better than that. Just wanted to say, good job.

Yes, I have eaten at Santa Fe in Tarrytown. I didn't think that came close to the level of Coyote Flaco. Hey, maybe it's just me.

Nobody's mentioned the Sesame Seed in Danbury! I think that place, for the money, is great! TrishCT, have you eaten there?

Last weekend of July I will be going to a wedding in Bristol, RI. I would love to get suggestions for places worth checking out in that general area. I'll be staying in Providence actually, so anywhere between Providence and Bristol is cool. I have no clue of the area at all. What's around? What's worth a drive?

I wouldn't put Coyote Flaco in New Rochelle's top 5 Mexican, let alone #1 in Westchester. Have you tried Little Mexican Cafe on Main St., La Flor de Michoacan (ice pops, shakes), El Gran Rodeo (North Ave.), or El Tejanito (North Ave)? Coyote Flaco is more of a drinks place - the food I've had has been pretty mediocre compared to some of the other places in town. There's also a new Dominican luncheonette that's opened in the last couple of weeks on North Ave., which I've tried once - I had a couple of excellent sandwiches there. ← Are all of these places you speak of located in New Rochelle? I don't think I've tried any of them. I don't know if I would claim Coyote Flaco as a "drinks place." The dining room is much bigger than the bar area, and all of the food I've had there has been VERY good. But, what do I know? I'm comparing it to about a dozen Mexican restaurants I've tried in both Westchester and Fairfield Counties. Out of the dozen I've tried, Coyote Flaco was head and shoulders better as far as food is concerned.

The chocolate is "Valrhona Caraque 56%" imported from France. The block is 0.54lbs. I guess it's not exactly all that huge. I was exaggerating a bit.

I can't believe all of the discussion about Danbury. I am a teacher at a private school located walking distance from that Fairgrounds Mall that everyone keeps talking about. I don't find Danbury to have that many options from a culinary standpoint, and it's not the prettiest area in New England for that matter. No offense, I think Candlewood like is just fine, but if you are looking for real New England charm, drive a little bit further North than the ol' "Hat City." As for restaurants in Danbury, I would suggest the Sesame Seed. Middle Eastern style and Medditeranean style cuisine at an extremely reasonable price. Nearby in South Salem, NY there is Le Chateau... the best chocolate souffle I've ever tasted. --- Oh, and New Haven is definately not a culinary wasteland. The pizza there kicks NYC pizza's ass! South Norwalk is not really worth a whole day trip from Manhattan, but if you're in the area, check out Relish. That is probably the best restaurant in South Norwalk.

I nominate Sals Pizzeria - 316 Mamaroneck Ave, Mamaroneck, NY. Incredible sicilian pizza like you wouldn't believe. They've got almost a cult following. No fancy-schmancy toppings, just traditional pizzeria fare, like you would expect from an old-fashioned pizzeria.

I have a huge block of high-quality baking chocolate. I will look tomorrow at exactly what kind it is, because I'm sure you will want to know. My fiancee bought it for a desert dish she never ended up making. Now I am more of a savory cook, and would like to find a dish to incorporate it into. No ideas came from a quick search of the RecipeGullet. Anyone care to share some ideas here? I was thinking maybe a sauce for some kind of meat dish? Or possibly someone might de-mystify mole for me? Well I'm open to any ideas, as long as they are savory. Leave the dessert to my fiancee for now, she's good at it. I'm more interested in a main course idea or perhaps a side dish.

I'm here to help! I make it a part-time hobby to try as many restaurants in Westchester as I can. I've tried almost every place worth speaking of in White Plains. I will tell you about my favorite sushi bar, period. I haven't found any place that can top it yet, anywhere. It is on Mamaroneck Ave. in White Plains. Called Seasons Japanese Bistro. Best mexican is Coyote Flaco in New Rochelle. Post again if you want more rec's, I'll happily give you more.

Like sushi? Season's Japanese Bistro in White Plains on Mamaroneck Ave. is one of the most outstanding sushi bars I've ever tried, bar none. I haven't even found a place in Manhattan that has topped it yet. Also, I just tried Meson los Espangolas (forgive the poor spelling) and it was extremely good. Service was very attentive, and the food was flavorful.

Well I'm quite relieved by oakapple's comments. This basically summarizes what I was trying to say about OIBL. Yes, it is in a category with Tavern and Cafe des Artistes, but it is at the top end of that niche, rather than at the bottom end. I know Egulleters don't represent the typical restaurant-goer, but it should be obvious to anyone that the overall reason for eating at a restaurant is OVERALL total enjoyment, not just pure stimulation of the taste buds only. With this in mind I felt as if OIBL delivers a fairly good package of overall enjoyment, even if the food doesn't measure up to SOME people's standards. By the way Dryden, I am a professional musician, not a professional in the food industry. I was listening rather closely to the pianist both times I was there, and I was extremely impressed. I don't know if it was your friend I was hearing, but if it was, then my highest compliments to your pianist friend.

Alright I can see that I'm fighting an uphill battle here. I'm just going to let it go by saying that to claim that this restaurant is "one of the worst in New York" from any standpoint, be it quality/price or otherwise is very foolish. I think if any of you thought about it for 30 seconds, you could come up with a list of resaurants you have tried in New York that cost nearly as much which have truly terrible food. I know I wouldn't have much difficulty. As for it being a "tourist trap," perhaps it may be frequented more by tourists than locals or foodies, but each time I went there I enjoyed it very much. I think that's about all I have to say on this.

I am aware of OIBL's status as part of the Tavern on the Green, Four Seasons, Cafe des Artistes tier of restaurants. Of course there will be substantial disagreement on this fourm and elsewhere. My opionion is that OIBL is head and shoulders above Tavern, and Cafe des Artistes. I have eaten at all of those, but not at Four Seasons. I've also tried the New Leaf Cafe, which I also think can't measure up to OIBL. Granted this is all just my opinion, but I felt the food was significantly better at OIBL than at all those others. And, as others have said, the atmosphere and service are quite exceptional. Many other NYC restaurants don't bring that level of service. As for the $65 prix fixe, I think that price is extremely reasonable. $200 for a tasting menu with fois gras at Per Se, on the other hand... well, you can make the comparison yourself. I'm not saying that Per Se's food wasn't good. All I'm saying is that for $65 you certainly get your money's worth and a very fine meal. As for the engagements every night, I have absolutely no doubt. There were at least one or two others the same night as my own. I am sure that the rose petal thing is not particularly unique, but it definately made my fiancee feel pretty special, and that is the point, isn't it? True, from a "pure food" standpoint, ONE might not be the "number one" in the city, but I don't think they are trying to be that. For a romantic and charming restaurant in the Village, with very good food and excellent atmosphere, they have definately lived up to their aspirations. I would consider it one of the most romantic and charming restaurants I have ever visited anywhere, and rate the food as very good or extremely good. Maybe not excellent or outstanding. Let's not forget what goes into a restaurant experience... it is more than just what is on the plate. That is perhaps the most important factor, but not the only one.

I ate there with my Fiancee on New Year's Eve around 18 months ago. I proposed to her there at the special New Year's Eve celebration dinner. It was somewhat expensive, but I think it was well worth it. I do have the menu if anyone is interested. I'll fish it out of the treasure box if someone asks about it. I can say that the special treatment we got was quite remarkable. The host took the ring from me when we arrived, and presented it on a silver platter (covered) surrounded by fresh rose petals, right before dessert was served. I didn't request this; it was just thought up by the host. If he is reading this, I would like to thank him for such an amazing job. Also I think I should apologize for getting so... er, ... nervous. I definately lost my cool that night, but it all worked out. Anyway. The point is, this restaurant is incredibly romantic and perfect in its presentation and service. Some of the most extrordinary waitstaff I've ever seen in my life, even when we came back again for restaurant week the following summer.

Best restaurants in downtown White Plains are definately Seasons and Trotters. Mulinos is ok, but I was underwhelmed. Morton's Steakhouse is a good choice for a business dinner, although I am not really a huge fan of the ol' Mort's. Trotters can be classy and trendy, but also noisy. Seasons really is the most incredible sushi I've ever had, including several places in Manhattan and all around the greater NYC Metro. I can't really speak highly enough about it.

I live outside of New York City, (close by, in the greater metro area.) Do these suggestions apply equally outside of NYC proper? If you are a chef, or work front-of-the-house, do you feel disrespected by a customer who "pushes the limit" by underdressing as much as possible while staying within barely acceptable bounderies of dress-code? Do you treat customers differently if they are underdressed? I eat out often with a friend at restaurants that are seriously trying to put forth quality presentation. I feel that the customer should likewise present him or herself in a quality fashion out of respect for the chef and the other employees. Often my friend will be dressed far less neatly than myself as we eat at very nice restaurants. Sometimes I think we are treated differently than the other customers if my friend is severely underdressed. My friend might be just barely meeting the standards of the dress code for the place, but in reality, a pair of cut-off cargo shorts with strings hanging off, and a pair of beat-up sneakers is not really "casual neat" or "smart casual." What are your thoughts on this? I know many of you work in restaurants either in the kitchen or front of the house. Tell me what are your thoughts?

Where I live, in White Plains, NY, it seems impossible to find any store that sells beer with a good selection of "good" beer. By good, I mean small craft brews, artisan brews, and otherwise "gourmet" stuff. Of course I have no problem finding Samuel Adams and the like, but I've got a taste for more variety than that. I've been trying to find all kinds of seasonal beers around, but to no avail. It seems that in Westchester county, the law of alcohol distribution means that beer can only be purchased in grocery stores, gas stations and convenience stores and the like. Or, you can go to a beverage distributor, which sells larger quantities. The selections at these places is no better than at the grocery store. If I go to Whole Foods Market, I can get slightly better selection than at the Stop & Shop, but I still can't find what I'm looking for. In nearby Connecticut, one can find a fairly good beer selection at almost any "package store" which sells wine, spirits, and beer. Wine shops in New York state cannot legally sell beer. I can't believe that the entire state of New York does not contain any specialty beer shops which have decent selections. Please help.