BryanZ

But that's not really relevant. Japanese living in America are going to have to eat American beef (pretty much whether they like it or not). In Japan, however, consumer confidence in American beef might be low (as tokaris explained), and this might make American Wagyu or any American beef unpopular.

I've found I've had the opposite reaction. Immediately after my meal there I thought it was very, very good. But now that several months have passed I find it more memorable. I find myself better able to remember the intense focus of the dishes at Per Se more than its other competitors.

You don't have to call 2 months in advance.

Not to highjack this thread at all, but I was wondering the same thing. The high-end business side of restaurant development seems to be somewhat elusive. Does USHG, China Grill Management, or B.R. Guest hire summer interns or something of that nature?

I want to try the extreme lamb.

Daniel, food looks great yet again. How did you do the madolines? Alinka, perhaps you've been asked this before, but how do your pictures always turn out so high-res. Your lighting seems consistently better than most and your focus sharper. What kind of the camera do you use and on what settings?

I take it the green is roe, am I correct? What makes these shrimp different than thsoe from, say, the Gulf of Mexico. I'm not familiar with this species.

I'm surprised no one has commented on how hilarious this post is. I appreciate it, jackal.

Well okay, but would you care to comment on this link, please? The article's author seems pretty knowledgeable. I'm not concerned whether authentic Japanese Kobe beef is better than non-Kobe Wagyu beef -- I'm just curious if American bred Wagyu was/is shipped to Japan. The article was written in '98, and things have changed since then -- you can get Wagyu beef here now. The author, Tanith Tyrr, finally managed to find a small, independent producer who sold her an entire steer, after having banged her head on a wall, speaking to a number of Wagyu farmers who were pretty evasive about the fact that they shipped their stuff to Japan. ← I think the point that sdelgato was trying to make is that the Wagyu/"Kobe" beef served in most restaurants in this country is not nearly as good as what is in Japan. From numerous personal experiences I can 100% vouch for this fact. Wagyu beef in Japan is unlike most anything in this country and is, as stated in the above article, closer to that of high quality toro or a meaty foie gras. It seems to me that anything even remotely close to the Wagyu lineage is automatically branded as "Kobe beef" in this country. That is entirely untrue, and it's a shame that many in this country have been misled into thinking that they're consuming legitimate Kobe beef.

I've always used propane with my blowtorch, but I thought there was some concern as to the safety of a propane flame when in direct contact with food to be consumed. I'm aware that most grilling is done w/ propane but isn't this different since you risk "contaminating" your food with byproducts from unburned propane (or something)

What's the best kind of fuel to use when blowtorching a sous vide protein? I know there has been some disagreement about this on other threads but what type of fuel canister should I be buying?

I've just read through most every sous-vide thread on eG, but I have one nagging question about the actual setup/function of the circulating water bath. I thought I read in a different thread that circulating water baths have a hook-up for a water input. Does this mean they have a some sort of input to which you have to attach to a hose? Can't you just pour water in and the pump inside the unit will circulate the water by itself? I hope I'm not being unclear, but I just don't want to buy something that I won't be able to use. Sorry for missing out on a pretty obvious part of sous-vide technology. I'm excited to invest in the equipment and make sous-vide cooking my holiday project.

I love Tona. I'm glad he's still there. He was a great server.

Interesting report. You didn't happen to get a phone number, did you? I know this has been asked before, but no one has come forward.

If you miss out on the first seating at six you're going to be pretty screwed. The restaurant seems to be full by 6:30, so if you can't make it at six perhaps go at seven and try to get the first free table after that initial turn. I went at around 8pm on a Thursday night once and had to wait about 30 minutes. This type of wait seems typical. The sushi is about the only thing on the menu that doesn't represent a great value. The Japanese dishes are small but very well prepared, especially the tofu with truffle sauce that Docsconz recently mentioned.

I've always appreciated Docsconz's perspective on food and dining from his posts in the NY forum. That he continues to gush about Alinea in comparison Per Se and wd~50 (probably my 2 favorites in the city) is a testament to how revolutionary Alinea really is. Thanks to his spectacular post, I'm even more excited about my visit to Alinea later this month. One general about the restaurant itself, is it better to sit upstairs or downstairs? Is one markedly better than the other that I should try to request a table on either floor?

Interesting... Good news for us diners, bad news for the restaurant.

I'm not sure how credible this is, but the recent Wall St. Journal article about "chefs' secrets" mentioned truffle salt as a superior alternative to truffle oil. They note how truffle oil is looked down upon in most culinary circles, but truffle salt is supposedly the "real deal." Again, I'm not sure how credible this is, but it adds some basis to Jason True's story.

Today's review of Cookshop seemed to be one of the more convoluted ones in recent memory. Ten Commandments, virtue??? The pseudo-religious language added nothing to the review and seemed way too contrived. Ruth Reichl recently noted in her eG conversation that a restaurant review should be a good review. It should provide good information, but it should also be entertaining and engaging. In this review it becomes painfully clear how hard Bruni is trying to draw in his readers, to the extent that his writing is fragmented and confusing to read.

What a fascinating thread. Is this legal though, don't you have to have like health department licenses and the like to serve food commercially? Also, one thing Daniel has yet to answer and is highly pertinent, is how much he is looking to charge for a meal. Is this going to be casual, family-style meals, or more StudioKitchen tasting menus. With all due respect, I think trying to put out tasting menus on Shola's level is far beyond the reach of most of the eG community (chefg excluded). Also, is this meant to be a profit-making venture or simply a side-hobby?

I happened to go back to Upstairs last weekend. I got there right at six and found the restaurant to be packed from that point on. Chef Bouley was not working the stove this time around, but I noticed absolutely no drop in the quality or food. I had the pleasure of being seated right in front of the stove, and it was great to see two young cooks banging out top-notch food that everyone seemed to enjoy. I really, really enjoy this restaurant for its bustling, nearly chaotic atmosphere. Again, not the place to go for a lengthy meal, but a great value for the quality of food offered.

The pasta rollers are where it's at. Making fresh pasta is time consuming in itself so not having to hand roll the dough is great.

Enoteca Vin has been getting good reviews. Also, Nana's if you're in Durham. And Magnolia is by no means poor, just perhaps not as good as some have raved.

Narita in Japan, despite its small size, has very good food (by airport standards). But then again, that's Japan for you.

I felt that the level of creativity was much higher at wd-50. While I do not contend that every dish at wd-50 is a smash success, I think that it challenges the diner more tha Venue does. Venue seems to present many familiar flavor combinations in a new, retooled, or whimsical way. I thought most of the time this worked very well, but I was simply not as blown away by Venue as I was by wd-50. With that said, I don't hold Venue's lack of customers against it. Some people might be intimidated in such a situation, but I thought it was almost tragically endearing. I remarked on some of the technical shortcomings simply because I noticed some slight over sights that could have been magnified in a full house. For example, when my dining partner got up to go to the bathroom, her napkin was not folded or replaced. Several items were mispronounced and the servers, as others have noted, did not have a comprehensive understanding of the food. Although wd-50 is more of a "casual" restaurant, the service and overall feel was more serious and cohesive. And of course, I will be going to Alinea in about a month. If dRock is right, it will blow both Venue and wd-50 out of the water.