BryanZ

That uni looks totally ridiculous. Like seriously.

Isn't the point of the tofu to be like a foam? A reimagination of a familiar ingredient used in a novel context. I was able to sample both Jean-Georges and Ssam uni dishes in the span of a few days a couple months back and found the Ssam dish to be more memorable.

Bruni's two-star review of the Four Seasons strikes me as a bit odd. Not only does it read in a somewhat disjointed fashion, but the two star rating seems rather high given the prose that accompanies it. There is more bad than good, or so it seems, and this is hardly the trend in two star reviews.

I was under the impression the chocolate dish was still horizontal. Vertical? Very cool.

tupac and I are on the same wavelength. When I was at Daniel a while ago--it's posted somewhere here--we were kind of rushed into ordering. Once we ordered the tasting menu, they kind of relaxed the whole pace of the meal. I think that's evocative of the type of experience many receive there.

I've had nice results with sliced bacon. Put a few stips in a bag, cook at 60ish overnight and its very tender. Crisp slightly under the broiler and you've got the best of both worlds.

Wonderful pictures. That terrine looks totally out of control.

Nice report. If you're from Richmond you're but a short drive from Durham, NC. I rip off dishes from Degustation like woah; you should come by.

Not my wife yet -- we just got engaged 2 weeks ago. All our friends and family were speculating that I'd pop the question during our trip to NY, so I fooled them, and Hazel herself, with a surprise trip to Monaco instead. I got down on one knee, she said yes, we drank champagne, ate at Louis XV, it was a fab weekend, but I digress... That's pretty baller. Duly noted. As a rule we don't like to be too rushed, and we're used to dinner taking 3-4 hours at a nice place (lazy Europeans, you see!) On the other hand it may suit us to get out a little earlier on that particular night, to ensure plenty of post-dinner cocktail time. The general consensus, I think, is that a non-tasting menu at Daniel is usually not more than two hours if they can help it. That ensures them three seatings in a night.

It's interesting because in each dish the sea urchin sort of serves as a condiment. They were too different flavorwise, however, to make an accurate comparison. I may have favored the Ssam one more if only because it was more creative with the tapioca and whipped tofu. That's certainly a fair point but at that point it was the reservation we had and it didn't seem worth it change it.

Thus far I've taken the maldon salt, a raspberry syrup, chai custard and cooked it almost like a creme caramel. Then topped with a dollop frozen mango mousse. Not exactly the same, but an inspiration. The salt lies at the bottom of the glass in big flakes that Maldon is known for. The salt adds texture but in my opinion didn't do enough to counter the sweetness of the syrup. It would work better at the end of a meal, with cheese or as I served my version before cheese.

JK is right on in his descriptions; they align exactly with my experiences.

This is probably my life story summarized in one rhetorical question. Anyway, nice itinerary. Your biggest disappointment will likely be the hot dog your wife is set on. Your birthday meals on the other hand should be great. At Daniel you might feel rushed so you might have to take initiative and tell them to things down if you really want to savor and celebrate the occasion. That's my only warning.

Is 773-252-1466 the correct phone number? No one is answering the voicemail is full.

Brookes University? I'm not sure if that means anything to you. We met this cute girl on the bus who helped us find the venue, literally called "The Venue".

3/18/07 My last meal in Barcelona. After so much eating over the past week or so we were able to sleep in a bit and finally take some time to relax in the morning. After packing up our things we headed to Cerveceria Catalana, a beer and platos restaurant open on Sundays, the day when most everythng else is closed. We weren't expecting a lot but were pleasantly surprised with the simplet yet tasty offerings. They had these mini baguette sandwiches that I believe were called flautas. They were declicious and perfectly sized. Jamon serrano, pan con tomate Wonderful. This was a bit more expensive at maybe €5ish, perhaps a few cents more. Chicken livers and roquefort Something of a risky order at only like €3.25 or something but totally delicious. Not in a silky foie gras way but in a slightly cruder, more offal-like chicken liver sense. Tortilla My first true Spanish tortilla in Spain. It was good, though perhaps not as good as I wanted it to be. There was nothing wrong with it, it just wasn't as enjoyable as or our other selections. Cuttlefish a la plancha Whereas yesterday's squid at the Boqueria were small and delicate, these were big and meaty. Totally delicious though, even the tentacles are pretty easy to mess up. This was like €7-8 or something, cheaper than similar offerings at the Boqueria. With this meal we headed off to La Rambla to walk around. We got some gelato and simply killed time until we had to catch our plane. Not wanting to put an end to our travel yet, we raced from our flight to the bus back to Ludlow and literally sprinted back to the Oxford St. dorm. From ther we threw our bags into the room and headed straight back to Marble Arch where we caught an express bus to Oxford. There was very little express about it and we found ourselves in Oxford about 1.5 hours later to catch the second half of a Bright Eyes set that happened to be going on that night. It was a rather expensive and time-consuming side excusion but those who know the g/f and I know our devotion to Conor Oberst's musical stylings runs deep. After coming right back around and getting on the bus back to London we stopped at Ranoush Juice for more shwarma and called it a night. I would fly home the next morning. And thus concludes my first culinary trip to Europe. I have absolutely no regrets about not spending that much time looking at sites and am totally pleased with how the trip played out. I only wish there were more meals in the day (and more money in my now decimated bank account). On my next trip I would probably like to get away from the cities and eat more locally, less fancily. And to use Amex conceirges as little as possible. Definitely that. I have no further pictures to post but would like to make at least one post reflecting in the differences between American and European fine-dining.

I have no shame so fingers were employed. It was a bit undignifying but it tasted good. I do believe they say the tasting menus are for the table. If you're crafty, and I'm sure you are, you might order tasting menus for you and your husband and tell the kitchen that you'd like to just order a couple smaller things for you son and share. He is a kid after all. Then, here's what they call the "prestige," you let your son eat your husband's dishes and let your husband eat what your son ordered. Tricky, I know. Gavin, you need to take the 11:25 Regional from Estacio de Sants, which you can also catch at Passeig de Gracia at 11:29 or at Clot/Arago at 11:32, it puts you in Girona at 12:56. ← SD is right on. I picked up the Regional at Passeigh de Gracia at 11:29 and was about 20 min early for my lunch reso. That's the best bet though. Kind of like a hybrid. Silky at first but large and thick enough that it did have a bit of chew. Had it been sliced into smaller peices, it would've been more silky thorough and through.

3/17/07 part 3 The last significant meal of the trip would be Cinc Sentits, a highly approachable restaurant serving modern yet relatively simple Spanish food. Cinc Sentits provided an enjoyable meal with very polished service but, as others have noted, operates on a different level that the starred establishments we had been eating at. Cinc Sentits is a very well-run restaurant if not necessarily a great one. I mean that as no slight but as a reflection of the experience and complexity of the cuisine. Although we ordered the seasonal tasting menu, a slight miscommunication led us to be served what was effectively the chef's tasting menu of "signature dishes." At the end of the meal we noted the discrepancy and were more than willing to pay the €15 difference (€50 vs. €65 per person) but they graciously offered to change the bill to reflect what we were expecting. A very nice service recovery that embodies the smooth hospitality the restaurant embodies. Amuse 1: Maldon salt, maple syrup, cava sabayon, something else foamy on top By now a relatively famous dish in Barcelona that appears in a lot food blog and the like. I thought it was a bit sweet but a nice idea. You bet I'm going to riff off this dish. Amuse 2: Romesco sauce, fried vegetable stick for dipping The romesco was really good. They tried to clear it away, twice, but we held onto it to dip bread into. Pea soup, squid A nice light start to the meal. A chicken broth held fresh peas, herbs, and lightly caramelized onions. The g/f remarked that it tasted like something I would make. Light and clean but not necessarily all that life-changing; it's chicken stock, peas, and squid. The squid bit was nice, but seriously, how the hell do you eat this with just a spoon? The squid was too large to eat in one bite, and who would want to anyway. Squid is also not known for being the easiest thing to bite through easily or cut with a spoon. Foie gras tart, sherry vinegar syrup, chives An excellent dish, probably my favorite of the night. Nice combination of pastry, foie, astringent herbs and syrup. One of the few, if only, hot foie dishes we had all trip. For the next dish, one of us opted for the fresh prawns, a €9 supplement. The prawns were prepared simply While the meat was sweet and tender, it was the head juices that made the dish, acting as a sauce of sorts. The heads were duly decimated and bread was used for wiping the plate clean. The €9 supplement for just two prawns seemed a bit high overall but I realize they are very expensive wholesale. After seeing them flapping around at the Boqueria in the morning I couldn't leave Barcelona without trying some The normal dish at this point in the meal was seared scallops, crispy ham, and a sweet onion syrup The onion syrup really made this dish, so thick and flavorful. I would've liked a slightly deeper crust on the scallop from an execution standpoint. If you're going to cook a scallop it better have a good crust. Sea bass, cuttlefish noodles A creative fish dish, but again slightly lacking in technical execution. I judge a dish's technical expertise against the quality of food I serve people. If I can regularly execute a fish like snapper or sea bass with crisp skin, I expect the same from a good restaurant. The edges of the skin were crisp but the center was not. The noodles were cool and tasted good in a sort of caramelized ragout but were perhaps slightly more chewy than I expected them to be. Roasted Iberico pork, jus, apple A good dish but it did not nearly reach the heights of the Abc pork dish. The skin, again, was crisp in some places but not all over; at Abac the skin was literally so crisp you could hit it with a knife and it would break with an audible crack. Catalan cheeses A surprisingly nice cheese course that featured rather clever accompaniments. These played well with the cheeses, though I must admit the offerings were tame compared to the full cart at Abac. Four textures of lemon So how funny is this? After the dozens of plated dishes consumed over the week, this was the ONE that we forgot to take a picture of. There was like lemon sorbet, foam, granita, and something else. It was nice if somewhat simple; another flavor would've been appreciated. Peanut butter ice cream, milk chocolate ganache, cookie/cake thing Like a Resee's peanut butter cup. While the flavors of the dish were nice, the plate was too sparse, even for my tastes. There was no garnish at all. If I sound like I am being overly critical of this restaurant please do not take it that way. The meal was enjoyable, but I found myself more able to critique this meal than any other because it fit right in with my abilities and the style of food I serve. While the foie dish was superior to what I can pull off, I could probably execute aspects of a couple other courses better myself. Nevertheless, I would still recommend Cinc Sentits to someone looking for a simple modern meal in a chic but totally unintimidating atmosphere. Again, service was great throughout and pacing was spot on. ETA: So in the few minutes since I made the original post, I've come to a realization of sorts. As I wrote this report and even now I still think of this as a "simple meal" Not counting the two small amuses to start the meal it was still eight courses. I'm pretty jaded.

My apologies for the lack of posts over the past couple days. I've been cooking for people for the past two nights and that takes up pretty much all of my time. Anyways, back to the action. 3/17/07 part 2 After a brisk walk back to the hotel and a quick change of clothes we were off to Girona to each at El Celler de Can Roca. After about a 1.5 hour ride we found ourseles in Girona and soon obtained a taxi to take us to our final destination. I should note, however, that the amount of graffiti in Spain is substantial. Not just the occasional tag on a bridge or overpass but entire train stations would be covered in it. Strange. We arrived at the two-starred El Celler de Can Roca at shortly past 1, a bit early for our 1:30 lunch reservation. The cab ride is less than ten minutes and about €7 each way. Overall it was a very easy, if somewhat time-consuming, expedition from Barcelona. It was strange to find the entire restaurant empty of other guests, save for one older gentleman dining alone. In Paris, arriving at 1 PM was a late seating. In Barcelona, we found ourselves alone for about 30 minutes until the room began to fill up. By the time we left, there was not an empty seat in the restaurant. There was some sort of gastronomic festival going on. All the better for me, more courses. €100, or maybe €110. Silly Disciple told me this was a bit more than they usually charge because of the extra courses/special menu for the gastro week. A glass of complimentary cava was served to start off the meal. A nice touch. Snacks I recall liking these more than those at Abac, though not by much. The lighting is weird in these pictures because we were seated right next to a window that bordered a small pool that lies in the restaurant's courtyard. Lots of overexposure and weird reflections in the images. Amuses Foie gras and chocolate, pigeon mousse, and something else tasty I can't quite recall. I should note that bread service here was quite good. I wasn't all that impressed with their baguette-style rolls, but their softer breads, esepcially the tomato bread, was unique and delicious. Oysters and cava A really texturally interesting dish, if not as delicious as it could be. Lightly cooked, I believe, oysters are served in a vessel that was at one point half of a wine bottle. A server comes by and pours in some cava to act as a yeasty and astringent sauce. The cava is texturized (thickened and made more viscous is a "slippery" sense) with what I think is xanthan gum, since the texture is one I'm very familiar with. I tried to find out but technical names were easily lost in translation. Sea urchin, seaweed gelee A dish that encased the true essences of the sea. Not only did this have a ocean water like salinity running through it but also a deeper note thanks to the vegetal quality of the seaweed. I also love sea urchin so this was nice to eat. Mussels, flavors of reisling A totally excellent dish. Perfectly sweet and creamy mussels are topped with various purees and sauces incdluing apple, white truffle cream, and a few other delicious items. What totally blew my mind, and was probably the most memorable item of the entire trip was the mussel topped with distilled earth. Totally ridiculous. I believe Doc posted on this technique at the NYC Chef's Congress or some other conference but it was soooo cool. A perfectly clear water tastes just like earth in the best and most subtle way, literally linking suff and turf. Hot asparagus mousse, smoke Another cool dish, but not a souffle as the English-version of the menu called it. A hot asparagus foam was piped into a ring of thinly sliced white asparagus. What made this dish cool was how it was presented. Beneath a glass dome, a head of wood smoke enrobes the mousse as it travels from kitchen to table. When the servers remove the domes, a wonderful puff of fragrant smoke rises up into the diner's nose. Cod, pumpkin This was my least favorite dish of the meal. It was fine, just not all that compelling. I would've liked more passion fruit to cut through the rich fish and somewhat bland pumpkin. Prawn bonbon Much, much better than it sounds. A subtle chocolate shell encased a sweet-salty, almost creamy prawn filling. A very interesting but tasty way to end the seafood part of the meal. Iberian pork "carpaccio" The server described this to us as carpaccio of Iberico pork. If this was in fact a true carpaccio it marks the first time I've ever eaten an entire dish of raw pork. Sure I've had pork rare or even blue, but this would take it to a whole new level. Anyway, this was delicious and didn't taste cured as a ham would. It was creamy, faintly porky, and went extremely well with the egg custard and potato glass. Very unique in an almost rustic sense. Piegon, berries, citrus Seriously, we did our best to fight against Europe's pigeon over-population problem. This was a nice preparation with various types of acidic and sweet fruits to act as foils to the bird's gaminess. The type of dish I would come up with, only executed better. Baby goat, truffle sauce This was a very delicate preparation of goat, though it could've done without the light breading that surrounded it. The truffles and green vegetable puree kind of took center stage, but in a good way. Rose foam, chocolate, pistachio ice cream The rose foam was extremely delicate and subtle but just assertive enough so that you knew what you were eating. I also really liked the abstract sugar "ramekin" the foam was piped in to. The ice cream and chocolate gave the dish a bit more weight but surprisingly did not overpower the rose component. At the meal's beginning we had asked them to substitute in one dessert that can highly recommended by Silly Disciple and several others. They graciously accomodated this request. So I received: Trip to Havana: Mojito ice, chocolate/tobacco "cigar" This dish was sooo cool and I'm so glad I've ordered it. It seems modern pastry cooks love messing around with menthol, tobacco, and savory ingrdients in their desserts. While I think that each has its place in the pastry world, this dessert was the best tobacco application I've ever encountered. The tobacco is very assertive and lingers in the mouth, just like a real cigar, but is faintly whisked away by the cooling and refreshing mojito ice. The g/f got: Anarchy 2007: All sorts of crazy shit The modern Spanish plate I was waiting to see. Total craziness on a plate with no real rhyme or reason. This is not a plating style that I would ever subscribe to, but I'm glad I finally got to try something in this vein. All kinds of fruits, gels, crumbles, cakes, sorbets, glasses. Anarchy. Petits fours A nice assortment with a cool serving tray, though not quite as cool as Abac's ladder. The offerings, while not all that unique seemed more tasty and easier to eat than others, perhaps because of the smaller (but more numerous) that preceeded it. The raspberry pate de fruit was actually just a raspberry covered in sugar, a nice but simple touch leaning toward the pure as opposed to the processed. The chocolate brittle thing was also really nice. The g/f and I both agreed that this was our least "filling" meal beacuse of the smaller courses, although it was still one of our longer ones. In this way, the meal further reaffirmed my belief in super small portions, a la Alinea. I'm still at that point in my eating life where I'd rather eat 10+ very small things than 4 more substantial items, even if the four items are of marginally higher average quality that the selection of ten. I can't quite decide if I liked this meal more than l'Astrance. There were certainly more fresh and "Ah-ha!" moments (the mussels, the pork, the cigar) here but it was not as technically refined and consistently fundamentally delicious. Both were excellent experiences, nevertheless. With but one more significant meal left, my time in Europe would soon be drawing to a close. Coming up are Cinc Sentits and Sunday morning tapas at Cerveceria Catalana.

How far in advance should one book a table? Will they do single diners given how few tables they have?

Oh yeah, that's fine. Then PTT is screwed.

3/17/07 part 1 This would be my last full day in Barcelona and, therefore, on the European mainland. To start off the day I woke up early to check out the famous Boqueria market for breakfast. The g/f, still too full from the night before (Dare I say, cranky? No, impossible.) opted out of this early morning journey. After walking from the hotel to the Boqueria it was total sensory overload. Although Tsukiji, to which I have been at least a few times, is much larger and has more "weird" stuff, the offerings at the Boqueria were diverse and delicious-looking. Of particular note were the various types of live prawns and langoustines, items almost impossible to find in the States. I also enjoyed seeing all the local fish. As I mentioned before in my initial post at Borough Market, I'm not a big fan of taking pictures in working markets, so I have none. I do have pictures, however, of some traditional Spanish dishes I enjoyed after being led through the market by eG member Silly Disciple. SD had helped me out in planning the trip via PM and was gracious enough to meet up with me that morning. He also paid for more than his fair share of our plates and ate less. For this I am thankful. SD, if you ever find yourself in NC or NYC or Chicago (this summer), I'm your man. There are several tapas/plate bars in the Boqueria. Pinotxo is the most popular and located at the market's entrance. We opted for a less-crowded option, however. Tripe stew A nice and hearty way to start the morning. Tender tripe with just the faintest bit of texture. A dish I thoroughly enjoyed but not for everyone. Cured tuna Tuna, white beans, olive oil. Simple but so delicious. Squid a la plancha Although I did not get as many razor clams as I may have wanted, I did get my fill of squid and cuttlefish dishes. One of my favorite preparations is just like this, a la plancha with some olive oil, lemon, parslely, salt. Awesome. After some nice conversation, I bid Mariano goodbye and rushed back to the Antic Espai. I had to reawaken the g/f after my excursion and quickly get ready for our trip to Girona and the two-starr El Celler de Can Roca. This would prove to be one of my favorite meals of the trip.

You're welcome. Since that was the first day in Barcelona, no. It was all traveling and eating. Working backwards, I think I mentioned all the stuff I saw in Paris. Mainly we just walked around and when we saw interesting things we'd check the map and like, "Oh, that's..." Paris was very pretty overall but there was no explicit sightseeing planned beyond where our feet took us. In London we did take a day to see Big Ben (which I actually thought was really cool), Houses of Parliament, National Gallery, and all that stuff in that area. My sightseeing is literally just "seeing" with my eyes the "sight." I'm not one for lengthy tours or the like. In Barcelona we would see Sagrada Familia (also very cool, espec when on the inside and looking up), Barcelona Cathedral (but only because we were just walking through the Gothic Quarter). I would have it again at Cinc Sentits, whose time here will come, and while it was good it was not nearly at the same level.

Dude, you're 20? This much I did not know. If that much is true and you were served wine...tisk...tisk. I think the SLA needs to be alerted. In regards to older people feeling intimidated by younger people. Yeah, it happens, they're douches and insecure. I needed a freshman year roommate who'll fly across the Atlantic to eat with me. Seriously, however, the $30 does seem high. The reasons could've been any or a combination of those you mentioned.

I don' think it is alienating at all. The clients of PTT could still make their reservations personally if so inclined and if not and it is a busy restaurant, others will. Those others won't be alienated by the fact that all the reservations had been taken by PTT and unavailable to them. ← But doc, don't you think it would be foolish to deny a customer who has made a reservation in any form. As oakapple noted, a diner who is turned away after taking the time (and, in this case, monetary) investment is not likely to return to the restaurant and will likely tell his/her friends about it. Even if PTT is to blame, the prospective diner will blame the restaurant or, at the least, think the restaurant unhospitable. Again, there is no law or rule against a service like PTT. I know if I was coming in from out of town or for a special night, paid to get the table to PTT or otherwise, spent the time to come down there, then be denied, I would be PISSED. The restaurant is kind of in a shitty place, yeah, but to deny diners with reservations, even if there are walk-ins waiting to take their place just seems foolish. Restaurants are often bullied into seating customers who claim of having reservations when in fact they don't. I can't see a restaurant turning away customers in the fashion outlined at Eater.