BryanZ

Very interesting. A little bit complicated, but I could see myself getting into this. Using my super rudimentary understanding of Japanese and the overly theatrical graphics I think I can understand what's going on. Thanks for the heads up, though. edit to add: If anyone has watched the first episode, what is that smoking type device they're using at the 14 minute mark. I want to figure out what that is and how to use it, ASAP.

First of all, I like this new blog idea. First the podcast, now this, Bruni's going high-tech. I also find that his writing in this is more intimate and accessible. No snarky humor, no strained hooks, just reasonably valuable reflections on dining trends, new locations, etc. In that vein, I think that this medium is a good place for him to use the quotes from his friends. The reservation piece brings the perspective of the "common man" trying unsuccessfuly to get a good table at a top restaurant. I find his emphasis on quotes in his weekly reviews less convincing, as we're supposed to be getting his critical views, not those of the companions he arbitrarily chooses to bring along.

That is spectacular. I miss NJ.

I cannot conceive why one would want to cook a rib roast to 171 and hold it there for over an hour.

Was it? I'm not so sure.

egg white souffle! there's a recipe in julia child for a cheese version, but you can totally make it with any kind of vegetable puree or whatever. no need for egg yolks in a souffle. i might make one myself this week--i have a bunch of egg whites in the freezer too... ← Ditto. Sometimes egg white souffles are better than the yolk-y version.

← I'll take a stab. I attribute neither sound writing nor astute analytical skills to Frank Bruni. If you read his other reviews, there's absolutely no way you can say he's a good writer. As I've said before, his voice in prose is that of a flowery high school girl. He takes an admitedly complex dining situation and oversimplifies it with the crutch of a "hook" he always relies on to mask his generally poor judgement. Umm, no, no, and no. sara waxman, I shame thee.

That is a sweet looking picture in the NY Metro piece. After reading the piece, I find Platt's description to be a very accurate portrayal of the restaurant. Unlike Bruni, he isn't obsessed with the "hook," and makes astute observations on the complete dining experience--the gilded setting, the sometimes complexity of the food, etc.

Project's post brings up a lot issues that are raised in sous vide cooking. If one thing's for sure, it's that a lot of what we eat doesn't meet the FDA's criteria.

for example? ← Sous vide and slow roasting give a more consistent custardy texture that I find a welcome change. I've found that too many seared foie dishes are unnecessarily bitter due to searing and paired with a cloyingly sweet accompaniment. The taste of the foie itself is gone. Don't get me wrong, foie is my "most favoritest" food in the whole world but searing is only the beginning of the story. ← It's slightly strange to say the taste of foie is "gone" from searing. It's like saying the taste of meat is gone from a grilled steak. ← Perhaps "detracted from" is a more precise way to evoke what I'm talking about. Too often you get a poorly conceived foie dish that's essentially carbonized on the outside. To me, that's not good eating. A beautifully seared piece of foie is spectacular, but it's often where most people, even foodies, stop their foie appreciation. Yes, seared is great, yes, a classic terrine or torchon is great, too, but there's much more there. And one could easily argue that a heavy char is only good on certain types of robust steak. I wouldn't want a top-grade piece of Wagyu (perhaps the foie gras of beef, so to speak) with a heavy charred crust. That, too, detracts from the essence of the meat itself.

The cooking at places like JG, Per Se, and Le Bernardin (and probably ADNY but I can only judge from what I've seen and read, as I haven't eaten there) seems very measured and controlled to me. Very, very good, and still transcendant, but Gilt adds a measure of creativity to fine dining. Creativity not just in the menu, but in the way dishes are imgained, served, and presented. Perhaps they should be focusing on a more singular and repeatable experience, but to me I find the "inconsistency" refreshing. I use "inconsistency" not necessarily in the derogatory sense, but in a sense that inspires a bit of anticipation and personability. Is the food a higher quality at JG and Per Se, yes, but Gilt has its own somewhat quirky niche within the NYC fine dining circuit. I find Gilt and Cru to be good foils of one another. Both are great restaurants serving creative cuisine (though Gilt is somewhat more expensive), but I find Gilt much more pleasurable because the restaurant just seems to have more inspiration.

Personally, I would go ever rarer.

I do like the consistent color of the lower temperature roasting. I still find myself partial to a higher temperature roast, but I think I'll give the long and slow a try.

Brian, how do you go about slow roasting it? ← You can do something as simple as roasting individual slices at about 325 ( I suppose you could go much lower, too) until the fat renders out and the slices have turned more gelatinous. I don't have a distinct recipe, as I've used this technique at home once. I simply seasoned with some crushed Maldon salt (a drizzle of artisinal honey adds a mellow sweetness. Nevertheless, my version turned out quite nicely and was more subtle than a pan-seared piece. If you want some caramelization, bust out the blow torch. Lots of great chefs do roasted foie, Blumenthal, Dufresne, and even Keller has a roasted foie recipe in his TFL cookbook.

Well, seeing Chefs Cantu, Tramonto, and Tourondel should be very interesting and make for good battles. Ralph from Hell's Kitchen, however, may not make for as engaging television.

for example? ← Sous vide and slow roasting give a more consistent custardy texture that I find a welcome change. I've found that too many seared foie dishes are unnecessarily bitter due to searing and paired with a cloyingly sweet accompaniment. The taste of the foie itself is gone. Don't get me wrong, foie is my "most favoritest" food in the whole world but searing is only the beginning of the story.

The staff at Bin54 is really great. They know what they're doing and what they're after. As far as I'm concerned, you can't get much better than that. Too often there's a disconnect between managment and service staff, between the kitchen and the rest of the staff, between the diner and the servers. Bin 54 just seems "tight" to me. I also have found Grasshopper to be quite good recently. It's funny that we've got what's essentially an old-school French bistro and a new-age Pan-Asian bistro being run by the same guy.

Yeah, I wholeheartedly agree. Thankfully a place like this is right up my alley and is very engaging in its best dishes. I look forward to heading back in the spring, as well.

If you want that really seared outer layer and a more raw inner layer it seems that freezing is the way to go. Conversely, I've found seared foie gras to be only the very beginning of foie preparation and now prefer more subtle cooking methods.

Light smoking of a semi-oily fish like salmon is a really good technique. It harkens back to the familiar flavors of more pedestrian cured smoked salmon but can be heated very slowly (perhaps after the initial light smoking) to give that creamy texture that Varmint describes--perhaps a sous vide bath, followed by a short smoke, then a quick sear. The floating grilled cheese sandwich seems cool, too.

Perhaps a mod wants to split off its own thread for JuJuBe. It seems to warrant its own space. And a damn shame about that game. At least Carolina fans can count on having better food even if they admittedly have a worse basketbal team.

Great find. Though that review is much, much more negative than Bruni's review of Gilt. It also plays up the vaunted expectations angle more, with repeated references to Le Cirque.

I would never ever cook a good rib roast to 140. That seems absurdly high for "medium-rare." I emphatically suggest pulling it at 120F, no higher.

I'm surprised no one has created a dedicated thread for this restaurant. I find this to be one of more significant openings in the Triangle of late and one that, in my opinion, represents the direction Triangle dining needs to go. About a year ago I joined eGullet and spent a good deal of the spring debating the merits of the Triangle's restaurant scene. While I learned a lot about the wide variety of restaurants in the area, both high and low-end, my main contention remained unresolved. The Triangle had numerous "traditional" restaurants (ie some solid ethnic restaurants, very good New Southern ones, some decent French bistro cuisine) or ones that seemed several years behind culinary hotbeds like NYC, Chicago, and Washington D.C. While I learned that it was foolhardy to expect the country's best and most cutting-edge here in the Triangle, I wanted more restaurants that represented some of the more current trends in moderately upscale dining. Bin 54 fits this bill very nicely. The food here is by no means Dufresne or Achatz, but it does represent a significant frame-shift in American steakhouse cuisine and restaurant design. The food is inspired by the likes of Laurent Tourondel, the menu reads similar to Tom Colicchio's Craft, the elegant stemware is the same as at Paul Liebrandt's Gilt, and the flatware is evocative that of used in Danny Meyer's The Modern. All of this exists in a somewhat obscure stripmall in Chapel Hill. I recently had dinner with Chef Dale Ray and found the food to be legitimately stimulating. Again, we're not talking avant garde, but rather a sound representation of the New American steakhouse. I will post full comments on the food and such at a later date, but for now I felt compelled to bring some attention to a restaurant that is not only trendy but worth eating at, too.

Dry age it first for a week then shave off the dried out layer. Then I'd cook to 120 internal and the temp will easily go up to 130. This is perfect med. rare in opinion. Finish it with a blast under the broiler to get a slight crust and some Maillard action. 250 seems a little low to me but if its that big perhaps you want to cook it that low. I would tend to say 325-50ish.