GordonCooks

I'm very fond of Lewis Cabernets and have some 97 reserves left over. You most likely have a bottle of the regular Cab which is almost as good and a much better buy. They are the typical Cal Cabs - packed with juicy fruit, spiced oak, and enough tannin to keep it interesting. The best part is they are very approachable upon release and good for 8-10 years after. edit sp

Restaurant JoJo A review by A.A.Gordon The name JoJo has come to define French country, bistro cuisine. In the deft hands of restaurateurs like Vongerichten or Boulud, the quasi-diluted American versions of La Coupole or Les Deux-Magots are passable. Given Rochester’s remote location and lack of culinary innovation, the resultant meal yielded predictable consequences. Entering through faux maple veneer doors, you are greeted by an adequately sized space, colors by Home Depot, and a hostess named Susan (who dresses more like someone named Trixie) Not having a reservation, we were instructed to wait in the bar area for 15-20 minutes while a table was prepared –more so while we waited for three housewives to finish mincing over who ate more of the calamari salad they split 3-ways The bar area is large by restaurant standards displaying copious wine storage and racks of marginally clean stemware. The highlight of the evening seemed to be an adequate martini made with Boodles gin with a whisper of Noilly Prat vermouth spoiled only by a questionable olive that found its way over my shoulder. We were prompted seated in a banquette and handed menus with the days specials that included Oysters on the half – $ 9.75, Clam Fritters w remoulade – $ 7.50, Country Pate – $ 8.50, and greasy fingerprints at no charge. Our server proved most annoying – reciting volumes of canned chatter through a smile that resembled a box of Chiclets. I had asked her if the Pate featured any Offal but was met with the deer-in-the-headlights glazed eyes. She was going to ask the kitchen which I sure was met with the same My companion and I decided to start with the Jonah Crab Bisque – $ 7.00, Oysters on the half, Clam Fritters, and a bottle of Grunhauser Spatlese Riesling – $ 36.00. Water was received in a timely fashion and a basket of something resembling “bread” found its way over. The wine was presented but the cork proved to be more mysterious than the Sphinx. After a long physical (and I’m sure mental) battle, the cork was extracted and a customary 5 oz pour was offered to taste. The wine had the typical slate overtones with bracing acidity and a nice herbal edge. “An excellent choice by me” I remarked to my companion. The oysters feigned “fresh” because they must have lost half their body weight in the journey from the kitchen. The rubbery consistency was surpassed only by the amount of sediment in the liqueur. A champagne vinegar mignonette was offered and it proved little more than a vehicle for coarsely chopped shallots. The star of this dish was the lemon wedge. The Clam fritters appeared to have Clam in them but I guess the term “fritter” means to batter and poach in room temperature Crisco and the remoulade displayed a color that has yet to named. The Jonah Crab bisque was observed from afar – after spending the best years of it’s life in the pick-up window – it was brought to us with a skin thicker than 3-day-old chicken a la king in army mess hall. I believe this to be the first time in culinary history that cream actually made something worse - it was sent back Due to pangs of hunger, we were forced to order entrees and hope for the best. I chose the marinated pork chop – 15.50 and my companion thought the Salmon – 15.00 looked safe. No temp was offered for either so I feared the meal may take a turn for the worse. Of course my fears were realized when my pork (with a texture like it was marinated in concrete) arrived with a piece of Salmon that looked like it was found on some Pamplona street corner after the running of the bulls. The Pork’s charred crust revealed a gray interior accompanied by a brown sauce of questionable origin and a mash of sweet potatoes. The alleged Salmon was served over wilted greens but exhibited a rather puzzling odor that can only be described as wet hay bale meets old aquarium. If you’re looking for a place to bring your ex-wife - then proceed by all means. But for this reviewer, – JoJo is a NoNo – check please

Her paid position required her to deliver a review on a deadline, which she did. If you disagree with the conclusion, that's fair enough. But she did her job. And by delivering an unorthodox conclusion, I would argue that she did a greater service than if she had followed the conventional formula. Every Review has a Star rating - That leaves her article as more of an Op/Ed piece. If this is the new direction of the Times reviews then so be it - but doesn't this cast a shadow on her other reviews? e.g. The food is 2 star, the bathrooms are 4 star, the sevice is 3 star, the bar is 1 stark, the wine list is yada, yada, yada...

I agree 100% with Rich - she accepted the paid position and reviewed her meals as such. If a sushi bar has 4 star capabilites, then grant them by all means. Complaining about the dining room is like bitching about the grilled cheese at Katz's. Yet another non-winsome, childish display to the detriment of Masa

This kinda of screws up my August trip to Chi-Town Wait until I get my hands on one of those comment cards!

Ok, then my money is on Mario Batali

I believe that changing dish elements on the fly, when the quality of the ingredients listed on the menu do not correspond to the chef’s standards, is common. Moreover, I’d warry to visit a restaurant that is willing to sacrifice the quality of the product only to adhere to the menu or due to a restaurant’s inability to change the printed version of the menu on time. I would probably be displeased that the service staff wasn’t aware of the replacement, but I would not consider the replacement itself or the lack of its description on the menu to be a mistake, nor would the service staff’s unawareness dramatically affect my enjoyment if the dish otherwise fulfills my expectations. In the end, the question always lies in whether you were satisfied, and whether the replacement was well balanced and played along with all the elements on the plate. If the dish succeeds after the alteration, extra points go to the chef for creativity, in my book. We've no problem with the substituting of ingredients on the fly, and love trying new things. But if the menu says one thing and we receive something substantially different, there's a problem. The waiter should have informed us. He obviously didn't know about the change (we had to bring it to his attention, and he had to check with the kitchen after opining that there was rhubarb on that dish); moreover, the kitchen didn't seem interested enough to inform him (and, by extension, us). And if a complex rhubarb sauce is substituted by halved red grapes, however fresh they are, we're going to feel slighted and underappreciated. Because in this case, it is all about me (or any diner), the paying customer. After reading this - you must have been at the table next to ours that night. If they also found your wine selection after an extensice cellar search - then I know it.

Richard Blais

So how does one get salt out of the ears? Why, you just rub your ears with ground veal when you're making meatballs. What a silly question

I can't recall if this has been mentioned at all on this thread, but Rocco's cookbook won a James Beard Award this year, oddly enough for the category "Cooking from a Professional Point of View." No matter what we all think about him and his shenanigans on TV, apparently there are professionals out there who think Rocco does some good work. Shocking, no? He can't be as clueless as he appears on TV. In an effort to improve my own cooking - I now salt things with my hand over my head. The results have been spectacular

I seem to be smoking milder cigars these days. Coyopa with Ashton Cabinet #6s Bacardi 8 yr old with Macanudo Vintage Lagavulin with Fuente Hemingways edit sp

2Vine still had great food but the same service issues. The penalty paid by being a scene place. Boom is no longer and has been replaced by Dish. Similiar place with lower menu prices..more of a casual bistro feel. Still a top ten in Roch-cha-cha Richmonds is still doing 'Uncle Ralph's Steak Out" and decent burgers and wings. Park54 is no longer as well. A victim of the area's expansion into fine dining. Park54 was probably my favorite restaurant. The food was always fantastic, the owner was a great host, and I made many friends whom I still am very close with. Probably the only place you could go to by yourself and always know you'd run into someone you knew. Dinosaur's food is not as good as it used to be but you can still find the watery drafts, drunken 40 something divorcees, and blues.

I think that was a given due to the rocky nature of the purchase by Arnault. The board lowered the mandatory retirement age from 75 to 70.

Read Me

Dale DeGroff back in the Rainbow Room days. The very definition of gentleman barkeep and mixologist.

House of Poon, Rochester NY

I think an acceptable atlternative would be a 3-way split. Seeing as how the wines have been designated for the first and second dinner. They'll just have to fight over the third.

The best part of the dinner will be the banter around the table - "This is dead, this is still closed, I've had this 3 times before, too young, etc, etc...."

Love Dujac - Had a wonderful 2000 Gevrey Chambertin aux Combottes over the weekend.

Salt! maple syrup, bacon, organic eggs, capers, rice, truffle oil.....

What? He didn't state Greek or Bulgarian? some people will eat anything

probably the wisest statement I've heard all year.

who knows - it looked more like the fermented tofu pockets my mom stuffs with sushi rice and yellow radish. I ate around it none the less.

Bouley – 4/24/2004 Saturday’s dinner at Bouley was very good. Upon a timely arrival, we were seated in the cozy corner on the right hand side of the red room. A good vantage point to view the activity of the restaurant. Avocado mousse w cucumber, wasabi sorbet, and apple foam acc corn taco/tuile with (parmesan?) mousse: Firm cucumber, cold sorbet, mousse and the foam synched well in flavor and texture. I like it. The taco was rather non-descript but gave it a little crunch. – B+ Tomato raspberry gelee w homemade tofu, osetra caviar, and yuzu sorbet: Rather gelatinous and bland. I tried tasting this several ways (a little this with this and so on) but it didn’t work any way I tried it - C Young garlic soup w organic egg and langoustine: Very good. Judging from the heat of the plate – an organic egg is cooked in the dish, A nice portion of langoustine meat is added, and a foamy soup is added to complete. - A Halibut in yucca skin w baby mushrooms, peas, and fava beans: The Yucca skin did nothing for the dish except complete the description. The halibut was tender and vegetables were of good quality. - B Sea bass in yuzu dashi sauce w scallion: The yuzu sauce was rather thick and dominated the flavor of the bass. I’m not a big fan or raw scallion but it was needed to balance this dish. – B- Baby skate w pineapple sauce: There was a lot more going on with this dish but the server’s description was rather confusing. I didn’t really understand what he was saying. The skate was good, I didn’t detect any pineapple. – B- Lobster w turnip puree, green and white asparagus: Tender tail and claw meat acc by asparagus. The white was served as a puree as well as sautéed pieces and the green was diced. Simple and effective - A Texas Kobe beef w Asian celery puree and horseradish sauce: Texas Kobe beef? Well, that’s what he said. He may have meant wagyu beef. The portion of beef was rather minuscule (4 slivers of about 1” by 2” and ¼” thick) and tough! If this was wagyu – it must have been shell or flatiron steak. The meat had none of the buttery type flavor in good Lobel’s wagyu or real Kobe beef. It tasted like a well-done chuck steak. - C 4-hour potato puree: What’s the big deal? Having a waiter come over with a side plate of potato puree and dropping a spoonful on each plate? Totally pretentious but good potatoes - B Yogurt sorbet w apple gelee and Asian pear: I guess no one wants to say frozen yogurt but that’s what it was. Good – B+ Chocolate soufflé w chocolate, caramel, vanilla ice cream: Another molten cake - B White chocolate cloud: Delicious and light. Huge spoonfuls virtually disappear in your mouth - A Apple ginger tart w pastry crème and sour cream sorbet w lingonberry: Familiar flavors, good – B- Strawberry and rhubarb parfait w almond crème: This dessert I like because it’s simple yet complex due to the almond crème - A petits fours The wine pairings were acceptable and highly encouraged when ordering the tasting menu. The wines by themselves were decent at best but paired well with the food Roderer Brut , Sancerre (label was washed off), 2000 Chavy puligny montrachet, a gruner veltliner, A-Z pinot noir, 1999 Sarget de Gruaud Larose, A banyuls style Grenache. In conclusion, I must say that I’m not having 4-star meals in 4-start restaurants. Everything was very good as a whole but I’m expecting great. Given the context of the meal and types of ingredients used. I’d rather be a nobody walking into Susur than a nobody walking into Bouley. Next time (if there is a next time) I’ll do what the table next us did; drink an old Montrachet, eat some foie gras, and order a plate of lobster.

Enoteca OTTO pizzeria Yet another of the Batali-Bastianich gastronomic temples delivers big bang for the buck. After a busy morning shopping in Soho, nothing is better than some hearty Italian fare. Well, House made Sopressata – toothsome, meaty, delicate and delicious. Accompanied by crusty Italian bread, I could have mad a meal on this alone. Caprese Salad (Winter Style) – Sweet San Marzano tomatoes with buffalo mozzarella, basil pesto and pignoles. The tomatoes were as sweet as apples and proved a worthy foil to the fresh pesto, silky mozzarella, and crunchy pinie nuts. Sicilian Olives – wonderful. Calamari Salad – this salad was listed as having potato and red chiles. I didn’t pick up any chili heat or potato but it was a good never the less. Hearty Seasonal Salad of Dandelion greens, ramps, endive, and fennel. Very powerful in flavor – not for the timid. It was a little overpowering for me when eaten alone but was quite refreshing eaten in conjunction with everything else. Pizza Olivia – A pizza of tomato, prosciutto, shaved reggiano parm, pecorino romano, and 20 year old balsamic. Very nice with the hearty cheeses and complex balsamic complementing each other. Gelato A trio of Avocado, Pistachio, and Ricotta A trio of Caramel, Hazelnut, and Coconut We also enjoyed some quartinos of Soave, 93 Barolo, and Vin Santo. After a couple of espressos - it was back to the trenches.