BryanZ

I'm just now picking up this thread, and the food looks great. As Jose Andres and Spanish cuisine become a bigger influence to American cooks, myself included, I love to see this type of food. Is this book worth purchasing, is it valuable?

So I gave them a "test-run," and they are easy to handle. The knife actually cuts surprisingly well. I do understand those of you who have complaints toward the design, I, too, share some of them. We'll see how cleaning is. Since I'm hand-washing I don't forsee dried out food debris being too much of an issue (no dishwasher). They're made by Grunwerg Sheffield. The pattern isn't listed on the box. I'm glad this has spurned such great debate. The thoughts about table aesthetic are quite interesting to me. I plan on using matte black placemats and all of my china is very white and generally very large. I don't use prints or anything so it's not like the dimple-ing will clash with any of the patterns. ETA: Link to the Grunwerg contemporary patterns, here. The pattern is called Matchpoint. Apparently this company does have some sort of partnership with Global, as the knives are advertised on the site.

The heft is actually very good; I forgot to mention that. One of the reasons I ended up buying them. They don't "feel" cheap. And yes, this is for my project at school. Thanks for all the quick replies, keep them coming. I'm glad it appears I'm somewhat in tune with what people might deem acceptable.

I picked up a set of new flatware for six at TJMaxx for only $40. Under normal circumstances I would say this stuff is pretty unattractive, but I'll be using it in a very modern, semi-restaurant environment. So my question is, would you be put off if you saw this set on a table. This isn't exactly for home use so classic isn't really what I'm going for. Think modern and young. Should I keep this set or return it? I appreciate the insights. If public response is bad enough, it's back to the store I go. Close-up of pattern

Having visited Room 4 Dessert yesterday evening, I thought tonight was as good a night as any to stop by Chikalicious. While I enjoyed all of the items I tried, I found them to be quite simple in theory and execution. To be sure, the execution was more than competent, but many of the items were not unlike something I might come up with and attempt to (poorly) execute. And I have zero pastry skill. My preferences toward things modern has been made explicitly clear during my time on eG. While I cannot criticize Chikalicious on any tangible grounds, I founds the desserts lacked passion and spark. They served me what I want, when I wanted it, with a big smile and obvious professionalism, but this still left me wanting more. The desserts were more or less as I imagined them, and I didn't feel the need to try to think about what I was eating on a deeper level. For some this may be ideal, but I was merely content and happy, not intrigued and hungry for more. Chikalicious is a solid place and certainly worth a repeat visit. The flavor combinations are very logical without being staid, but no more than that.

Stopped by the new Tasting Room tonight with my family and came away quite satisfied if not overly impressed. I find myself drawing comparisons between here and Blue Hill, finding the latter to be more communicative, as Sneakeater alluded to several posts back, and admirably subtle in flavor delivery. The vibe is definitely downtown casual and friendly. Lots of people eating at the bar, sharing plates, and even conversing between tables. I'm kind of sad to see the "taste" part of the menu go, as this may have been a more fun way to experience the cuisine. Service was amiable but we found ourselves waiting for long stretches of time to get our apps and mains. It wasn't a painfully long wait but bordering on annoying and based on our early seating and a 2/3 full restaurant, this shouldn't have been the case. Perhaps the kitchen staff is still getting used to the new kitchen and greater number of covers. The food itself is very tasty and clean, with obvious strong market influences. In fact, many of the accompanying salads and produce-based condiments stole the show, as was the case all three of our appetizers. This is by no means a bad thing but makes one wonder how appropriate it is for the accompaniments to consistently outshine the main player. Besides the clean and clear flavors, the dishes didn't leave me begging for more. They were all good, sometimes very good, but lacked a certain pop or wow factor. Again, think Blue Hill lite.

There's a powder you can buy that's essentially flavorless and has similar melting characteristics to standard granulated sugar. Someone who knows a bit more than I do will come up with the exact name. Using a cotton candy machine you can flavor accordingly, be it savory or sweet.

I finally made it over to Room 4 Dessert yesterday evening to introduce myself to Chef Goldfarb and his cuisine. It is worth noting, and I'm not sure if this is a compliment or a criticism, that a large part of the R4D experience is watching and interacting with Chef Goldfarb himself. Yes, the desserts are tasty and thought-provoking, but I'm not sure if they would have quite the same effect without Chef Goldfarb's presence. It must also be stated (or perhaps reiterated), that R4D's desserts are not all that controversial in taste, technique, or execution. There are no pipettes or misters, no menthol- or tobacco-infused syrups, nothing too "out there." The dishes are presented in a logical, and in many cases literally linear, fashion, such that nothing is that far out of the ordinary. Where R4D suceeds (and for some fails) is most likely in the subtlety of its creativity. Diners looking for a faux El Bulli extravaganza will undboutedly not buy the "hype," as it's clearly not present. Diners coming in off the street will wonder why this place isn't Chikalicious or doesn't serve "normal" petis fors and mini-cakes. From a purely food perspective, R4D's desserts aren't the best or most creative I've ever had. They do, however, offer diners the ability to, as Chef Goldfard plainly explains, enjoy two very different experiences. Patrons may either enjoy desserts that fundamentally taste "good," without giving them much else thought. More interested diners can really delve into the desserts in an attempt to understand how the various items pair with each other and why they're served together in the first place. Having Chef Goldfarb there to answer questions only adds to this experience. For this reason, I suggest going earlier in the evening, when the restaurant isn't as busy. Despite my assertion that R4D is not all that controversial, or hyper modern, or what have you, I will admit that it's difficult to describe R4D's actual dishes. Again, I'm not sure if this is a compliment or a criticism (and again I'm sure it depends on who you ask), but it's certainly a place to be experienced. The sum of the desserts here are more memorable than their (numerous) individual parts. For those interested, I tried the Virtuality glass, the (Straw)berry Beret and Scotch Plains tastings, and the savory petits fors. Highlights included the top 2/3 of the Virtuality that reminded me a super airy key lime pie for the mature palate, the Scottish roll with marscapone and fennel in the Scotch Plains, the miso chocolate ganache with the petits fors.

Had an early dinner at Degustation last night after a somewhat harried drive all the way from Montauk. The reservationist was able to push back my reso to accomodate some unanticipated traffic delays, so that definitely helped us out and was appreciated given the restaurant's small size. My dining compnanion and I split eight dishes, all very enjoyable and one a complete blowout. This place reminds me of a cheaper version of the Bar Room at the Modern, with simpler preparations but more concentrated flavors. They're significantly different restaurants in cuisine (and certainly location), however, that each rises to more or less the top of its respective market. Service here was casual but competent and friendly. The place has a good downtown vibe with a bit of class and polish thrown in for good measure. While the most of small menu has already been discussed here, I will provide some brief thoughts. The croquetas were bacon, corn, and onion and were delciously crispy and rich. I could've eaten these all night. Another diner here remarked that the slow-poached egg was under-salted. I found the salting here to be compellingly sufficient, and I LOVE salt. It is likely that this discrepancy was probably the result of a minor variance in execution and not an error in the conception of the dish. I like to think of this dish as the breakfast food for modern foodies. The kampachi was a great follow up to the two richer dishes the preceeded it. My complaint here is that the blood line and a collection of fibrous connective tissue took up a decent portion of the fish. Again, a minor oversight that I would love to see corrected, but stuff like this happens from time to time. This was cooked sous vide, and the fish's texture was characteristic of this cooking technique. A diner next to me ordered the same dish after we had it and seemed to puzzled by the texture--neither raw nor flaky--but appeared satisfied with how the dish tasted. Squid stuffed with short ribs is already a classic. I've never had anything quite like it and was very pleased with the wide range of textures and meaty flavors. The accompanying lentils were a surprise and perhaps even surpassed in the squid in overall taste. Roast beef sandwich was much different than I expected but for the better. The concept of this dish is really cool and the foie gras mayo very tasty. Personally, I found this dish slightly under-salted. Griled quail was one of the simpler dishes of the night but the interplay between the bitter smokiness and vinegar reduction was very pleasing. Seared foie gras is an updated version of classic combination, cherries and foie gras. The addition of a sweet-bitter caramel water gelee was a great way to further cut through the richness. I'm going to take what Megan said about the Crispy pork belly and laud on another slew of compliments. This was blow my socks off good. Sweet, spicy, sour, sooooo tender I seriously got the chills after taking my first bite of this dish. I want more, now! Instead of dessert we headed to Room 4 Dessert after the meal. After tax and tip (no drinks), we got out of there for just under $50 p/p, not bad at all given the mini tasting menu we just received.

Just a quick little report. I know it's late in the season, but ths information is bound to be useful next year, too. Lobster Roll aka Lunch is doing its same old thing. Kind of run down but nearly always crowded. I've enjoyed their lobster roll and slaw for the past couple years now. Dosas at the Hampton Chutney Co. were like a revelation. It's quite clear this isn't really traditional Indian cuisine, but the two I sampled were incredibly tasty. The place isn't exactly cheap but you can do A LOT worse for the same price point nearly everywhere else in the area. The East Hampton Citarella remains perpetually crowded and over-priced. The quality, however, is admirable. I was upset to find that they won't cut many items from the meat and fish case to order and only sell in large "pieces." You're better off shopping at the Walbaum's or IGA (over in Amagansett) for staples.

What are you using for your freezing mold? People have alluded to using this technique before, but I'm just wondering what type of mold you use to freeze large batches.

All the seasoning in the world won't solve the crux of adding too much alginate or not washing off enough the CaCl. I'm going to go out on a limb and say most home cooks don't have a 0.1 gram scale. Additionally, we're not all using the same product and, as Chef T noted, this can have significant effects on the end result.

I've been to Almond. It was solid, simple, satisfying food. Unfortunately that's about the best I can say about Hampton's restaurants. At least at Almond they're not charging $45 dollars for a plate of roasted fish. Instead of going out for dinner, I've been cooking on my induction hob I brought along. Technically not allowed, but I've thrown together some pretty good meals cooking in my hotel room's bathroom and wet bar.

Gary's Wine has a good selection of that type of thing. They have a few locations in the area.

Hahahahaha. This makes me laugh. Indeed, I am into that sort of thing. The menu doesn't look bad, but I don't see El Bulli mentioned in the chef's background. I'll check it out.

Cherry liquor?

Any other notable mentions for this summer? I'm going back for my yearly trip and was wondering if anyone has had any good recent experiences.

F'in brilliant.

This is great. I'm anxious to see what people come up with.

As good a night in Durham as you're bound to have. I like Bullocks; I love Locopops. Now if you happened to find yourself on Duke's Central Campus...

I'd love to hear more about what this does. Is the lactate to be used instead of calcium chloride and added to liquids before the alginate bath?

Vadouvan knows his pork belly. I do mine at least 30 hours with 36 or 48 or more preferred. I go down to 65C, though. I just do some salt and some sugar. Then vac and bathe. The hit it with the torch or sear. Pork belly sous vide is probably my favorite meat right now.

Awesome.

To me, however, 11MP capped off with a Shack burger in the park sounds like a perfect evening.

What is PYO?