BryanZ

Would it be wise to ask for two different tasting menus or just order the same one for both myself and dining companion? That above menu looks so insanely good.

I would say Colette Peters. She does some AMAZING stuff if that style is what you're looking for. I am also very good friends with another cake designer who works with Colette and runs a cake design school with her. I can get you more info if you need it.

Just go with an open and relaxed mind and you can't help but enjoy it. How much you like it and how special you think it is will probably be determined by how into avant-garde cooking you are. ← Oh, trust me, I am ready. I have wd-50 followed by Per Se a couple days after. It should be a good run and interesting to compare the two, as both are arguably at the "top" of their respective genres.

Going very, very soon. It better be awesome.

Glad you enjoyed the Ryland Inn. I'm glad to see I'm not alone among those who think it compares favorably with the best of the city.

I think the Ryland Inn is the best restauran in New Jersey. Though this is only my opinion, I've eaten at nearly all of New Jersey's highest regarded restaurants. Though some may gripe that the service may not be up to NY Times 4-star standards, the experience is decidedly very un-NYC. I've eaten at all of the NYC's 4-stars with the exception of Masa and Per Se (though in about 2 weeks I will be experiencing Per Se) and find that food at the Ryland Inn to be less challenging but also more feminine and seductive. The addition of Chef Shelton's fresh vegetables and, especially, herbs does volumes for the light, ethereal aspect that characterizes much of his cuisine. Although I cannot say that the Ryland Inn is better than the best restaurants in NYC, it is somewhere that should be experienced. I also suggest taking advantage of two different types of tasting menus, allowing you and your partner to try as many things as possible.

Not the biggest fan on Opah Grill. Decent quality for the area, but I cannot stand oversauced, muddled fish. Although some may say they are creative, some of the dishes there seem to be overly contrived. Though, again, for the area is not too bad. I would definitely recommend Pierre's. Great solid food with just enough creativity to keep it interesting and a really nice and dedicated chef. I've been going there for years.

The pork at Blue Hill certainly is marvelous. I was also told they raise their own pigs as well. The difference seems quite noticeable.

I made the peanut butter burgers people have been talking about. The roasted nut flavor was quite nice, though stronger in some patties than others. I think next time I should mix the meat better to more equally distribute the peanut butter. Has anyone had any experience with grinding their own meat without a dedicated grinder. I don't use ground meat enough to warrant purchasing the attachment for my KitchenAid mixer. Can I just put cubes of meat in the Cuisinart food processor?

AnnT that chicken looks marvelous. I do something like that though it's not quite as involved. As for the Mushroom Napoleon, I can PM you the reciped if you want.

Would Cru suffice. It's perhaps a little more elegant than the others mentioned but you could try some great wines and food.

Generally speaking, it's all awesome. Thought I might substitute out the salmon for the scallops. In my opinion, the scallops are a much more creative dish.

That sounds awesome.

Phyllo was baked for about 9 minutes at about 400. I built each crisp individually after precutting the necessary layers. I used melted butter to bind the layers, and I'm sure the thin layer of cheese helped to keep the crisps together. It was pretty simple, in general.

Father's Day '05 Wild Mushroom Napoleon with Mushroom Broth, Spring Lettuce, and Herbed Parmesan Phyllo Crisps (adopted from The Inn at Little Washington) This was ridiculously good. I used porcinis, chanterelles, shitakes and these really cool tiny wild mushrooms that I'd never seen before. The phyllo crisps were very tasty, as well. USDA Prime Grilled Strip Steaks with a Roasted Beet Syrup and Fennel Watercress Reduction The sweetness of the beet syrup worked very well with the rich, butteryness of the meat. I strained both these sauces many times to reduce the amount of large particles and to improve on the mouth feel. Fresh Blueberry Crisp that I forgot to take a picture of.

He was on sale at Shop Rite, a store I haven't been in for for many, many years. I actually had him killed at Shop Rite using the knife through the head process. I watched the process and the head literally exploded right as it was split and sent water gushing everywhere (I guess he wanted to go out with gusto). I then took him right home and boiled a big stockpot of water with some vinegar. I put Larry in the biggest stockpot I had (a very tight fit) and poured the boiling water over him. I let him steep in the water for about 10-12 minutes then proceeded with the disassembling. I was very pleased with quality of the meat. This was the best lobster I've made at home but I think this is because of the gentler cooking process. Rather than boiling it to a rubber consistency, the steeping in hot water and light butter poaching yielded and exceptionally tender lobster. Although the shells were thick, there was still a substantial amount of meat inside. Also, where a smaller lobster usually has very little meat in the body cavity and in the legs, Larry was chockful of little morsels that just went into the lobster and corn chowder I just made.

I portioned it out to four people but could've served more if I wanted to. I had a bunch of claw and even some leg meat (he had big legs, too) left over. I made lobster salad for lobster rolls the next day that served a few more people. And tonight I'm making a roasted corn and lobster chowder. I source my morels from Wegmans or Whole Foods.

The chronicles of Larry the 6 lb. Lobster: People have done this before and I've always admired the pictures. There's something quite awe inspiring about a lobster the size and weight of a lap dog. After being steeped in near boiling water for about 10-12 minutes, he was put on the big board and, umm, disassembled. It was a violent but rewarding process. He had large claws. The inside of this claw was about the size of a nice sirloin (and about as thick). N.B. That is not my hand. I think Larry was used well. We used all of him for this dish: Lobster Mac and Cheese, adopted from Thomas Keller with a whole lot of mushrooms thrown in the mix. It was Orzo pasta in a lobster bisque, thickened with marscapone. On top of that was medallions of the lobster's tail, lightly poached in beurre monte. Between the medallions was a composition of morels and fresh spring peas in a balsamic, demi glace and truffle reduction. To the side, I served lightly smoked chanterelles and some asparagus also lightly poached in the beurre monte.

Went back to the Bar Room again last night for another very nice and not too expensive meal. We ordered the steak tartare for the second time but, other than that, tried a bunch of other new dishes. Sorrel soup with foie gras and barley - The sorrel broth was cream based and served very foamed. Very pungent herbal flavor and an interesting mouth feel. To eat this part of the soup alone would've been too "herb-y" in large quantities. With the addition of the barley cake and the nice sized piece of foie gras on top, however, this soup achieved a very nice balance. The grainy nature and starchiness of the barley added a very nice textural element and the foie gras, when eaten with the soup, rounded out the whole dish very nicely. Overall, a very interesting dish that I would order again on a late spring day. Sea scallops with poppy seed crust and parmigiano reggiano - the combination of the barely softened cheese and roasted poppy seed crust was very, very tasty. The cooking process mellows out the poppy flavor and imparts a very nice roasted essentce to the sweet scallop. An excellent dish. Roasted lamb loin and vegetables - This dish was more traditional than the dishes preceeding but was still very good. The lamb was very tender, cooked very well, with just the right amount of lamb flavor. The vegetables included roasted yellow beets, carrots, pearl onions, and fennel. All this was served with a very nice pan sauce. Again, simpler, but a nice piece of lamb. Citrus stuffed quail with pear and lentils - This dish combined pear and lentils, two things I would not think to serve together. As a whole, this was a sweet poultry dish, but worked well with the mild nature of the quail. Like all the other dishes, it was presented simply but with flair and was very enjoyable. If one wants a sweet poultry dish but doesn't want something so heavy as duck, I'd recommend this. Buttermilk panna cotta with rhubarb ginger compote - the panna cotta is served almost like a parfait. The comote rests at the bottom of the glass with the panna cotta at the top. This is all topped by a sweet, caramelized syrup that I could not specifically identify. This dessert was a nice way to finish the meal. The panna cotta possessed a smooth mouth feel but the sourness of the buttermilk, rhubarb, ginger cleansed the palate. As I've said before, I love the Bar Room. Although it does not have the polish of many other of my favorite NYC restaurants, I love how I can have a great meal there and try a bunch of different dishes for just over $50 per person.

I'm sorry if this has already been discussed, but has anyone attempted to recreate the DB Bistro Burger by Daniel Boulud. Braised short ribs, foie gras, and truffles in a big hunk of ground beef sounds good to me, but I'm wondering if it's possible to do at home,

How fitting that this thread was resurrected. Today I bought a 6 lb. lobster from Shop Rite. Generally speaking, I hate that store and haven't been inside one for years. But I had the yearning for a lobster the size of a lap dog, so tonight was lobsterfest. Did a Lobster Mac and Cheese adapted from Thomas Keller. Topped the bisque, orzo, marscapone creation with medallions of lobser tail cooked in beurre monte. Then served that with smoked chanterelles and a composition of morels and sping peas in a balsamic, demi glace and truffle reduction. Mmmm, Shop Rite, you did me good. edit: In no way shape or form were the mushrooms, demi glace, and truffles sourced from Shop Rite. That must be made explicitly clear. We can thank real grocers, like Wegmans and Whole Foods for that.

This place isn't as good as Origin Thai, is it?

That story is so cool. I'm working part-time right on Columbus Circle and have begun stalking the restaurant as much as possible, picking up menus as often as I can from their outside kiosk. I can't wait until I go on July 20th.

On Hell's Kitchen, Chef Ramsay blasted Michael for keeping the roe on his scallop. People here make it seem like it tastes pretty good. I'm guessing the guy on HK just prepared it poorly.

Nailing that eel to the board is so bad ass. I've never seen that done outside of Iron Chef. I'm hoping it actually tasted good.