Joe Gerard

I finally made it to GROM yesterday. I sampled five or six varieties and each one had an intensity that I have not experienced in any frozen dessert. The pistachio was amazing, with the deep flavor of roasted nuts. They tone down the sugar so the flavors really come through. Luckily there was no crowd so I was able to get back on line and keep ordering. By the third time they were looking at me a little strangely. I don't know for sure what is in this stuff, but there was none of the sticky mouth feel that I associate with the use of gums and stabilizers. The taste is absolutely fresh and clean. Another NYC food obsession - just what my expanding waistline needs.

Berasategui was one of the highlights of our trip to Catalonia and the Basque region earlier this year. A stunning room, impeccable service and amazing food. They had no problem serving me the tasting menu while my wife ordered a la carte. The food at Arzak was almost as good, but with a packed dining room the service was harried and the pace of the meal a bit frantic for a three star. Extebarri deserves the hype.

Perhaps it was because I had eaten at El Bulli the night before and been slightly underwhelmed. Maybe I was just delirious with joy at having completed the seven hour trip from Roses without incident. Whatever the reason, I was in the right frame of mind for my meal at Extebarri, and I was blown away. This was one of the most spectacular meals of my life, leaving me to ponder the joy to be found in the most pristine ingredients, simply and artfully prepared. Lennox, the sous chef from Great Britain, introduced himself, and after a brief conversation we gave him the go ahead to put together a tasting menu. What followed was truly amazing. The first course was house made butter from goat's milk, spread thinly on a small piece of grilled bread, and covered with shavings of a local, seasonal mushroom. This was absolutely stunning. Next was the house made chorizo which is all you have read about and more, soft and unctous. These were followed by the Gambas de Palamos, the most famous shrimp in Spain, simply grilled with sea salt. These left me momentarily awestruck, but I recovered in time to devour mine and have a go at my wife's shells after she was done in case she had missed any of the juices. We were then served oysters, given just enough smoke to add flavor without overwhelming the briny flavor of the sea. A huge spoon of caviar followed, Iranian I think, again put on the grill for just the right amount of time. My new favorite foodstuff followed, Esperdenyas, and then a huge portion of center cut Bacalau prepared in the traditional Basque fashion. I was thrilled to see a bowl of lightly grilled mixed vegetables next, sliced artichokes with their stems among the mix, each tasting like they were just picked and kissed with light smoke from the grill. Slices of cote de boeuf followed, of incredible flavor and tenderness. My wife was groaning audibly at this point, but surprisingly we received a second meat course of baby milk fed lamb chops from Aranda del Duero, also wonderful. Desserts were next - smoked Idiazabal cheese ice cream served over raspberry sauce. The ice cream was complex, smoky and sweet at the same time. A terrific dessert. A grilled pear served with cinnamon ice cream finished the meal. The quality of the food here is enough to wake up the most jaded gourmand, but what makes Extebarri so special, aside from the obvious hook of the many charcoal grills, is Victor Arguinzoniz Olazabal's obsession with obtaining the freshest, most pristine ingredients and honoring them with simple, honest, straightforward - but often completely unique - preparations. I will end on a practical note. Take our advice and arrive in the truly beautiful little village of Axpe in late afternoon and stay just up the hill at the Mendi Goikoa, a lovely little 18th century stone farm house converted to an inn. You will hear nothing but the sound of the few farm animals nearby as well as enjoy amazing views of the valley and surrounding hills. Besides, you will never get there from San Sebastian in the dark.

Doc, I must say that you have done your usual great job with both text and photos, but you have made me sick with regret for cancelling the reservation I had made on my trip as it conflicted with another I had made at Hispania and there was no way to do both. Actually I chose Hispania because I didn't want to short change traditional Catalonian cuisine, and I did enjoy their old school versions immensely and had a great meal on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. I will try to find the time to post my notes on the trip - 16 meals and 28 Michelin stars later its tough to know where to start. I hope to read about the rest of your journey. Joe

You mean Lupa when Mark Ladner was the chef? Apparently he has forgotten how to cook since his move to Del Posto. And of course Lidia Bastianich, who has been present every time I have been there, must be getting rusty as well.

De Karmeliet, a Michelin 3 star, is by far the best restaurant in Bruges. It will cost plenty, but it is exceptional. Obviously it is not appropriate if your family includes small children. Den Dyver is best known for using beer in all of their dishes and matching beers to drink with them. I found the food mediocre at best.

I had a nice dinner at Tru on a Monday last fall.

When is your trip? We're going the last week in April. I would love to hear what you think about L'Esguard as I have a reservation as well. There isn't much that has been written about Sanchez Romera, but he will be in NY for a dinner at the Beard House in a few weeks. What other places are on your agenda?

I have been to both several times. Ssam Bar had a line of people waiting to get in each time. I don't like to linger under those circumtances, and there wasn't anything to keep me there longer (dessert, comfort, etc.) Even Bruni acknowledged as much in his review. The food is often great, the comfort level not very good. My point was simply that it wasn't enough for Bruni to state this. He had to make his positive review a polemic against a different type of restaurant he clearly has no use for. He anointed fans of Ssam Bar as torch bearers for a new type of dining. Perhaps they are simply people who really love the food but wish the place was a little more comfortable. Sort of like the way I feel about Prune. I am hardly hung up on spending a fortune for pomp and circumstance. My personal favorite restaurant, Au Pied de Cochon in Montreal, is hardly upscale, and Picard is quite comparable to Chang in sensibility, if a bit more experienced. I hope they are both around for a very long time. I just don't believe it has to be at the expense of any other type of restaurant.

I agree, so I guess that makes three of us. I think even the Michelin rating system would be preferable, if it were combined with actual commentary. One advantage to Michelin is that the majority of restaurants would not receive a star, thereby eliminating much of the carping about whether zero, one or two stars is appropriate. In most cases it would force the focus to be on the content of the review, and not how many stars the critic awards. They have alternative categories set up for places that do not really fit into their star system. Just a thought.

First, it's useless to compare Bruni's reviews between fine-dining and non-fine-dining restaurants. As we've established on these boards many times, Bruni does review a restaurant in a given category, even though he probably shouldn't. That's just the way it is. That's why Ssam and Little Owl can have two stars with Gilt and The Modern. Furthermore, no one has really suggested this as the new fine-dining. Rather, it represents the way youngish people like to eat. The backless chairs and the two stars don't bother me in the slightest, and I'm more of a "fine-dining" kind of guy. And I'm young. And soooooo damn savvy. ← Actually, I hope that "youngish" people like to eat at Momofuku instead of Megu, Spice Market or Buddakan, but I doubt it. Most likely it will be the "oldish" people I see there all the time who will end up supporting it.

Sorry for not responding sooner but it takes me awhile to get my decrepit body out of my wheelchair and over to the computer. Dude, I'm 48, I have a two year old, so I'm not quite ready to be pushing up daisies. I think you need to be reminded that this forum is not limited to those who share your many opinions, and that every post that you disagree with is not a personal attack. Lighten up a bit; clearly I was attempting a bit of humor to make a point. Simply because people are willing to put up with numerous inconveniences, if not downright physical pain, to enjoy a restaurant's food does not take its owners off the hook for the decisions they make about the comfort of their customers. Bruni chooses to ignore all of this but if someone looks at him the wrong way in an expensive French restaurant, there goes a star. Two stars is laughable when ADNY has three. I have suffered the indignity of dining at a six inch deep counter staring at the wall three inches in front of me to eat at Noodle Bar. I have absolutely no problem with it. What bothers me is when people suggest that this is a viable alternative for the classic fine dining restaurant simply because they prefer not to have to wear a jacket or learn enough about food and wine to lose their sense of awkwardness in a French restaurant. And that this makes them "savvy." It takes effort to develop an appreciation of any art form. Unfortunately, I think many people are no longer willing to do so.

By no means am I suggesting that Chang's food is not terrific. I would argue that there was no need for Bruni to use his review of Ssam Bar to take another cheap shot at fine dining. You're right, these paradigms can and should co-exist. But I would argue that Ssam Bar is not an example of a new fine dining paradigm. If there are no backs on the seats, for Godsakes, it is not fine dining, and Chang would probably be the first to say so. Lets remember that Bruni demoted ADNY and Bouley. Lets also remember, that were it not for a recent influx of chefs from elsewhere, we would have two top level French restaurants in this city. Thats one more than Wheeling, IL.

Lost amid the hoopla about Chodorow's full page ad was another of Bruni's gratuitous, self-congratulatory attacks on fine dining in his laughable review of Momofuku Ssam Bar. "By bringing sophisticated, inventive cooking and a few high-end grace notes to a setting that discourages even the slightest sense of ceremony, Ssam Bar answers the desires of a generation of savvy, adventurous diners with little appetite for starchy rituals and stratospheric prices. They want great food, but they want it to feel more accessible, less effete." Just who are these new "savvy" diners? I'm not sure, but one thing is clear, they are not savvy enough to realize they are sitting on chairs without backs. Apparently it is ok to subject your customers to hour long waits rather than take reservations, punish them with seating that borders on torture and rush them through their meals at warp speed as long as you don't perform any "starchy rituals" like those effete French guys. I love Chang's food as much as the next guy, and of course there is a very welcome place for this type of restaurant in NYC, but to suggest, with careless abandon, that it (or Sripriphai) is as good restaurant as GR at the London (and one notch below ADNY and Bouley) displays dizzying ignorance.

Come now, is it really that difficult to make a reservation in the Open Table era? Even when calling, I have never had to do more than write down a # and time to confirm. I will say that opening the reservation book only thirty to sixty days in advance is a major pain in the ass, especially for travelers.

It is difficult to comprehend how a restaurant critic for the NYT could display such total ignorance of the restaurant industry, even total ignorance of what it means to dine in a restaurant. But our man is up to the task. I shouldn't be surprised given his long history of pseudo-populist drivel about the poor plight of the restaurant critic in NYC, forever besieged by chefs who serve classic French food that he can't understand, servers who trouble him by describing the dishes and menus that dare to credit the artisanal suppliers who provided the raw materials. Also, it appears that our man took an incomplete in Marketing 101 since he is shocked by the presence of cookbooks in restaurants as well. It may come as a shock to Frank, but some of us choose restaurants and tasting menus precisely because we wish to sample the cuisine of a particular chef working at the highest artistic level. We want to eat their food. Apparently Frank would prefer to be able to stroll into any restaurant he likes on a given evening and eat what he feels like eating instead, served the way he personally likes to be served. I would suggest that a better option for him would be to stay home and make his own dinner, an act of journalistic altruism that will never be forgotten, unlike his reviews.

I can highly recommend Laurie Raphael as well as chef Yves Lebrun's beautiful Initiale. Both are located in the Old City not far from the Frontenac. You should have no problem walking. I do remember that Initiale closes for a time in January however.

I had an excellent meal in early December and the Bollito Misto was magnificent! It will be interesting to see how the desserts evolve. ← It should be interesting as she's internationally renowned for making authentic Italian desserts and pastries. ← You mean no Tiramisu or Cannoli? I'm ok with that. Most pastry chefs who end up in Italian kitchens never specialized in Italian pastries and desserts - Gina DePalma at Babbo is a perfect example.

I had an excellent meal in early December and the Bollito Misto was magnificent! It will be interesting to see how the desserts evolve.

I received a yes for April 26th on my first shot. I'm still pinching myself!

b I had dinner at 11MP last night, and while I didn't love every dish, the hits outweighed the misses for me. One of the highlights was the first set of amuses. The tuna roulade with fennel, the goat cheese napolean and particularly the sweetbread/chives cornet were outstanding. The latter, if sold by the bag, could replace every snack food known to man. The second amuse, small mussels served in a carrot nage, was extremely flavorful but very, very sweet, and this is where the trouble set in for me. My next course was the Foie Gras Terrine with Port Gelee, Raisins and Hazelnuts. There was a second layer of gelee sandwiched in the middle of the terrine, and as a result it also was very sweet, tasting disturbingly like a brownie. Now I like brownies, but by this point in the meal I felt like I had already had dessert. The Foie Gras creme brulee that accompanied the terrine was very good, by far the best version of this dish I have had. My wife's appetizer, the Consomme of Hawaiian Blue Prawn and Main Diver Scallop, was a nice dish but not very exciting. The entrees were clearly the highlight of the meal. The suckling pig confit with its crackling skin was simply amazing. Its apparent simplicity on the plate does not do justice to the concept and execution of the dish. The Poached Organic Poularde "En Consomme" with Black Truffle Mousseline was also terrific. The texture of the chicken managed to be firm and meltingly tender at the same time. The truffles under the skin and the intense consomme were sublime. This was a beautiful, refined dish. We added a cheese course of three selections from Switzerland including a runny, unctous Vacherin. Desserts were the Caramel Coulant with Raspberries and Salted Caramel Ice Cream and the Chocolate-Hazelnut Souffle with Gianduja Ganache and Expresso Bean Ice Cream. The little caramel cake was slightly overbaked so its center did not run at all when cut into. The souffle was lovely but was baked in what is basically an oversized shot glass so there wasn't much of it. This is indicative of what I like to call "The Incredible Shrinking Dessert Syndrome". If desserts get any smaller in NYC restaurants the staff will have to hand out magnifying glasses to every patron upon entrance. This leads me to the overall question of portion size. With the exception of the chicken, every dish was the size of a tasting portion, as others have pointed out. If you want to leave full, make sure you have plenty of bread, and add some cheese, or order the tasting menu. Finally, I would like to know if anyone else found the dishes to be served much less hot than one would usually find. Many dishes were served with consommes, and they were warm, not hot. I believe this was intentional, not a serving or timing issue, as many dishes were served this way. All in all, certainly a quirky meal but I would definetly return.

Yes, Devi is probably the worst restaurant to ever receive a Michelin star. I can only presume ADNY was dropped due to the planned move, but that seems very strange as there is no chef change and they are still open.

I visited in May, but stayed on the French side. I can recommend Rosemary's and Bistro Nu in Marigot as well as Poulet d' Orleans. They are all unique island experiences. For the best "restaurant" experience I recommend Le Cottage - very friendly people, good food (excellent duck plate and caramel souffle) and very knowledgable wine service.

Joe, you are confusing URENA 32 E 38th Street. with URENA'S 2262 3rd avenue. Completely different restaurants, you are referring to Alex formerly of Blue Hill. ← Correct. I never heard of the place you have in mind, and I think I'm rather obsessive about restaurants!

My wife and I enjoyed a very nice meal at Amada this past Sunday. Spanish cuisine is so poorly represented in New York - and sadly, the rest of the U.S. - that it was nice to be reminded of how good it can be.Um......Joe...Amada is a very good restaurant, Spanish cuisine isnt poorly represented in New York, You should try Urena's, Tia Pol, Boqueria and Casa Mono/Bar Jamon...................In fact while I love Amada, I can comfortably say without hesitation Casa mono does everything they do much better and Cheaper.....especially the a-la plancha items. The razor clams, bacalao balls and sweetbreads at CMono are the reference standard of flavor. ← I agree that Casa Mono is outstanding. I know Urena is being classified as Spanish but even using modern Spanish as the standard I'm not sure I would agree. I have heard very mixed comments about the others. I still think this is slim pickings for a city like New York, but there are surprising holes in our culinary reputation - Chinese, Thai, Mexican, etc.