GordonCooks

Ditto!

How was this revolutionary in 1 9 8 7? ← He was one of the first to start replacing much of the butter and creme in dishes with concentrated stocks, reductions, etc ← The replacement of butter, cream, roux based sauces with reductions, lighter sauces in general turned the French culinary scene around almost two decades earlier. It was called Nouvelle Cuisine. Back to America this 'trend' was entrenched in the Left Coast well before 1987. I don't disagree with Trotter's influence on certain American chefs. I don't agree that he was a seminal force in the revolution described above, he transported it to Chicago. Of course he put his own spin on it and developed a "style" or 'approach' that's been embraced by his fans. ← I didn't say "the" first - the first multi-course tasting I ever had was at Trotter's back in 89 - I didn't even know what an amuse was back then.

How was this revolutionary in 1 9 8 7? ← He was one of the first to start replacing much of the butter and creme in dishes with concentrated stocks, reductions, etc

Too bad you didn't wait at least an hour for that 97 Grange to show - it's sinful

From what I rememeber, the prices are about the same (but cheaper due to the canadian dollar) One vendor had beautiful loins of OTORO that were outstanding.

Nice work!!

It's on my re-visit list but I want to hear something positive before I pull trigger

Lesley, Although I've only visited Montreal twice, I have read your reviews and noted your suggestions made in other posts. Whatever the place, NY, Chicago, Toronto, Montreal, I always enjoy and appreciate a good meal, prepared well, with great ingredients - no matter the locale. Must be the foodie in me

I would add that I think that Vancouver's scene is the Hottest at the moment.

Well, I'm guessing Rob would say ..um.. err... Vancouver? That's not Toronto, right?

This has to be the most useful EG post ever!

I very much enjoy Robert's Executive steak house

I always get Pizza Marguerite

Lyon is considered by many to be the culinary heart of France moreso than Paris.

It's still a mystery to me why this topic gets so much attention. Why can't both cities have excellent restaurants with talented chefs? The market is cleary geared to the needs and desires of their individual consumer base - both cities serve theirs quite successfully.

WineBid - I've scored some deals and a few clunkers.

Sounds like the smart thing to do - Lee is doing big $$ I hear (more then Susur) and probably occupying more of his time. I'll assume then he goes to the all tasting menu format (at Susur) - things will improve ← ← We ate at Canoe on friday and are happy to report that Anthony Walsh's food keeps improving with every visit. I feel that Susur is still one of the top tables in spite of some mis-steps. It seems more like growing pains with LEE taking up time and staff. Look for an overhaul in the upcoming months when they get the tasting menu only set and some fresh faces in there. ← may i suggest that you consider splendido and thuet the next time you are in toronto. ← Both are on the agenda - when Marc was at 'The Fifth" it was my favorite Toronto restaurant at the time.

I'm guessing Pudgie's and Pudgy's are the same. Besides Canandaigua, there is also one on Norton St in the city.

I'm with you, when I was 10, if a sheet of pizza from Pudgie's was involved, that was a good party, man! But it very well may have been objectively a culinary crime. I just had a pizza from (local chain) Pontillo's about a week ago, and it was decent quality and tasty and all, but of that squishy doughy style. Chester Cab touts its Chicago style stuffed pizza, is that what people liked, Gordon, or their regular? I like deep-dish pizza, but again, different animal. I never thought of it before, but I wonder how pervasive the "sheet" phenomenon is? Up in Rochester it's pretty common to be able to order a small or a large or a sheet, maybe a half sheet of anything. Of course this is absurd to anyone who values a Neopolitan crust, but the indigenous pizza is almost half-way to Sicilian so that crust can really be whatever shape and size you want. Of course, I've been ruined by Patsy's in East Harlem, and the Lombardi's in Philly, so almost everything else is kind of disappointing, but every once in a while I regress to that childlike state DeVeaux mentioned "when any pizza you got was good." ← Pontillo's used to be the best in town (20+ years ago) with rapid growth comes reduction in quality. Chester Cab's deep dish is quite good (maybe not Lou Malnati's good but as good as Uno)

La Nova's Buffalo style wings are decent but for something unique and better than the average Frank's red hot sauce - their BBQ wings are hard to beat. The clean-up every year at the Buffalo Wing-Ding. Duff's are good but Buffalo style wings in general are not so unique that they can't be duplicated by other places as well or as consistently. Each bar has their own level of crispness, sauce methods, choice of size - moreso a matter of personal taste.

I wonder if Mom's if the place I'm thinking of. My girl has family in the Niagara Falls area and every family reunion - someone brings some of those bready, sweet pies.

Niagara Falls? I think that's home of the thick, Sicilian pie. In the Buffalo area, La Nova has to be near the top (their wings are the best though). Rochester ? Chester Cab make a solid pie with a nice crust and tasty sauce. Carbone's in the suburbs make one of the best pies as well. We used to do a pizza taste test every year where you bring your two favorite cheese pies - consistent winners have been Carbones, Tom & Nancy's, Mark's, Brandani's, Chester Cab, Guida's. This year's dark horse prediction is TK's by a fellow pizza lover.

The first wines of decent quality I remember having were a 84 Jordan Cab and an 87 Davis Bynum Fume Blanc as a know-nothing 21 yr old. The first pinnacle wine I ordered for myself was a 1986 Chateau LaTour. The first bottle I put in a wine "cellar" was a 1994 Screaming Eagle that was a gift from a CA vendor and wine afficionado.

When wine started to be more than the food on restaurant checks.

I love St.jacobs too, we are about an hour from there. We'll be taking everyone there in my upcoming food blog. Can you tell me more about St. Lawrence? Is it open everyday? *wondering if I can make the trip up to TO and back home in one day* ← I've only been on Saturdays