icecreamparty

thanks so much for the quick response! last night, had a meal in teh neighborhood since the weather was a bit disagreeable. visited orontes and shared some nice grilled lamb chops and the meze. today, will head to albert cuyp market, and wander a bit aimlessly. will definitely have a surinamese snack (or two). thanks, and if there is more, do let me know! will probably also check out de koffie salon, IJschype (sp? - the ice cream spot), and whatever seems interesting and delicious.

going to amsterdam tomorrow (i know, last minute) . staying in de pijp. would love any recommendations: looking for good, honest food, not necessarily michelin recs, but if you have anythign specific, id love to hear. also , looking for things that are delicious but budget-conscious. heard there is a great variety of surinamese, indonesian, int'l food. specifically interested to try an indonesian rijsttafel. any recs? what is the price range? any thing uniquely dutch? any very good coffee/espresso places (real ones)? thanks !!

It seems like this forum has sadly been fairly dormant save for some great activity a few years back. I will be spending a week in Marrakesh starting 21 Dec, and would ADORE any advice on eating, markets, products, etc. I am in the process of reading through all the links provided in former entries in this thread. Also, specifically interested in any advice for places just outside of Marrakesh, as I'm especially interested in seeing the desert and heading to some of the Berber villages in the mountains. I am obsessed with bread, and have read a few accounts in the past (although in my attempt to recall the titles, I failed..) about their "bread" culture, and it is no doubt intriguing. If anyone has any personal insight, experience, contacts, etc., I would adore it. Thanks a lot, and I will of course thank everyone with copious amounts of photos. Also, is it worth checking out some of the European (ex-Michelin chefs, etc) joints in Marrakesh? I am interested in very local foods/flavors/traditions but was wondering if it's worth a jaunt to the other places... Also, any information regarding sweets (I'm a pastry woman) woudl be great...

sorry to perhaps go astray from the current mugaritz v. mb trend as of late... will be in bilbao/san sebastian next week and doing some last minute planning. a few questions: car or no car? i think we will opt for public transit unless we decide on a day trip to the countryside (i.e. biarritz, or to vineyards), as our trip is short - less than a week. also, necessary to have an intl driver's license? i hear it's cheaper to elect to drive a manual car,.... any highly recommended vineyards ( i did see the above posts about one in rioja) that offer tours/restaurants/possibly accomodations? would be interested int eh same for cheese (i also saw a reference to the town of idiazabal). ive seen some interesting things online about "agriturismo"....offering lodging in more rural areas for a more 'basque country house' experience.. has anyone done this? any must see destinations outside of ss/bilbao that would require the use of a car and/or reservations/planning? thanks so much and this thread has been a wonderful resource and source of inspiration for our trip!

you can always call us at room 4 dessert and well carry the station to you ppy

thanks to all for the support of the event and the afterparty we will keep you informed as to the upcoming schedule and welcome the input of the egullet community regarding potential seminar topics cheers ppy

i think it just depends on your definition of "molecular" being pretty narrow wylie is certainly more focused on the specific nature of various hydrocolloids than gagnaire, i really dont think that is a significantly more "molecular" nature it just appears that way to the end user, and more importantly, the media- the understanding of complex disperse systems (which is what hydrocolloids are currently referred to) seems to derive from herve this discourses, and gagnaire is the chef to work most closely on these themes in the most detail

interestingly i dont know if the word "molecular" can apply to a style of food rather than an understanding, but noting the inspiration from gagnaire evident in paul's food it is important to note that gagnaire is one of the few chefs to actually work directly with herve this who was responsible for the term

actually no i think that good tasting dishes are necessary rather than just entertainment value that comes much easier in this town then taste and that is not a dig against varietal/ just a daccord with vadouvans underlying principle it is a restaurant after all. to feed people. hay is edible/i want something that tastes good! having only tried the desserts, i would say that i would have to refrain from comment on the entire restaurant/ certainly an important opening

the restaurant i am looking for is brand new opened 2006 spring time

If I'm reading the chart correctly it's the Clos du Roy in Chenove. ← this is the first year of that restaurant or the first year listed thought he is around for a while

anybody know the name of the new one star in and around dijon first year one star thanks

actually we do it all here in the dish station wg Classic. Full article here. ← I guess he rents a seperate test kitchen/production space somewhere. The kitchen at R4D is...well there isn't a kitchen! ←

please help

Indeed these are very Adria-esque platings, perhaps more so than any other I've seen in NY. While I'm perhaps a fervent modernist, I'm still not entirely convinced by this style of plating. Striking and beautiful, yes, but even I feel as if there might be too much going on and not enough aesthetic focus. This is by no means a criticism of Chefs Kahn, Adria(s), Stupak et al, but rather a gut reaction. Regardless, I'm very, very excited to eat here now and will do so in the next couple weeks. Now that we've have a Varietal thread, can you divulge approximate prices, Doc? ← actually these platings are not at all like anything from adria they are more like grant which is direct line from the second book of michel bras totally different school of aesthetics most of the adria platings have 1/4 the amount of components looks beautiful a rose by any other name still looks good

i think that for foreign tourists of which new york has unprecedented numbers especially those with money of which there are currently unprecedented numbers (a cause de euro) michelin guide is still the most important guide in the world even if new yorkers may prefer others, it certainly showed itself to be as or more accurate than any of the current ratings best

likewise, ill echo u.e.'s request for recent reports. im on my way out of detroit, but having missed the pleasure of dining under its previous chef, would still like to see what they have going on. any detailed reports? who is the charge of pastries there now that cbarre left?

I'm hoping someone can provide insight to someone newly minted into the fine-knife world. I know Christmas is barely a week away, but I am lookign to get a very good Chef's knife as a gift...first, looking at Henckels and Wustofs and finally, after reading a few boards on eGullet, drooling over the Japanese ones (www.japanesechefsknife.com)....I had my sights set on the Hattori HD Gyuko 270mm knife mentioned above, but having never actually handled the knife before, I'm a little nervous about having it rush-shipped over here in time for Christmas. Also, I was searchign aroudn for US vendors and came across www.korin.com, located in NYC. after speaking with them, I was informed that Hattori Ichiro knives are "fakes" and not as good as real Hattoris. Ichiros are the variety sold on the former website..does anyone know anythign about this? It seemed quite improbable that they were the same because of the great discrepancy in price (~110 from japan, ~870 from korin)...?? Any thoughts? Can anyone suggest a hands-down beautiful and highly functional chef's knife...i am partial to Japanese ones. On a slightly unrelated note, does anyone store their knives on wall magnets? Is that just an aesthetic thing that's not so functional as say, a block? this may sound like a dumb question, but...is it safe? Of course you still go back to your Wusthofs for everyday cooking and chopping. A 6 inch petty knife is not the right knife for that. A Gyuto is the Japanese equivalent to the Chef's knife. I do 90% of my work with a 270mm (10.75") Gyuto. Yes, 90%. I can break down big cuts of meat and I can easily and quickly mince a clove of garlic with this knife. So big or little, I use a Gyuto. I have a 270mm Hattori Gyuto (among others) and it's not flimsy at all. Matter of fact, it's currently the go-to knife in my block. I don't have the same petty knife you have so I can't comment on it except that you shouldn't judge a whole line of knives based on a petty that was made for delicate work. Small knife, smaller handle. My Hattori Gyuto has a good sized handle that's extremely comfortable. Other brands like the Misono UX10 line has pretty beefy handles. Japanese blades are forged to a higher HRC (60-64) than Euro(55-59) knives making them harder, thinner and lighter. Because of the higher HRC, they are more brittle than Euro knives making them a bit more prone to chipping if you cut bone or try to cut frozen food. So, don't do that with a Gyuto. Use something else like a Western Deba: a double beveled thick/heavy knife with Gyuto profile. If I need to break down a chicken, I use a Honesuki: a Japanese boning knife. I have a 3" paring knife, my wife uses a Watanabe Santoku and sometimes one of my 240mm Gyuto's if she needs the length. My point is that there's a Japanese knife for every job. Also, Japanese knives don't need to be sharpened as often because they hold their edge better and longer than softer Euro knives. I used to have a couple of henckles and Wusthof's that I used for a long time because I was told they were the shit. Then I bought my first Gyuto last September...a Kikuichi Stainless. I promptly gave those used POS knives away to a friend of my wifes (whom I don't like that much because I would never give them to someone I did like) and I've never looked back. I've converted several friends one who was a diehard Henckles user. It didn't have to say much either. I just had them cut up some veggies. Japanese knives need to be tried out before one can make a sound decision. Making a decision based on what you're heard and not seen is irresponsible. Shun's, while good knives, they do not represent what Japanese knives are all about. Kershaw Shun knives are good knives with VG-10 blades. They have nice handles but they are different than standard western handles. Most Japanese knives use the same western style handles that are on Euro knives. They have knives with traditional handles on western style knives but it's not common. Traditional handles are most prevelent on traditional knives. Take a look at THIS site. They have a huge selection of western style knives at the cheapest prices you will find. The best brands IMHO are Hattori HD, Tojiro Powdered Steel and DP, Misono UX10, Ryusen, Hiromoto and Masamoto VG10. I hope this is helpful in understanding a little bit of what Japanese knives are. Cheers, Bob ←

SLOWS BBQ: heard a lot of hype and gave it a try about a month ago. ill begin with the disclaimer that i am no bbq expert...at all. i ordered the half rack of ribs accompanied by a bevy of tantalizing sides (6 in total since 2 come w/ ea entree and i was dining w/ 2 others). the ribs: great smoky flavor...there is no sauce on it..just a spice rub. and tableside, you can choose from 5 different sauces: i believe there was a spicy one, sweet "carolina" one, vinegary one..."house"..and something else. i expected meat falling off the bone, which wasnt exactly what i received, but after getting over that aside, i enjoyed the meal. sides are in general excellent....and i was able to taste the pulled pork off a co-diner's plate..and i think id opt for that on my next visit. other new things in oakland cty: frittata in clawson (main st nr 14 mi). surprisingly inviting and cheery breakfast spot that i find far more enticing than the usual offerings (toast, breakfast club, ohop). a little pricier, though. saw some new breakfast place on woodward (nr oslo) in detroit...detroit breakfast house and grill.not sure if this is a quick build-up due to the superbowl...or somethign worth checking out. on 2nd thought, a qwuick google seach yields that it's a venture fr the owners of seldom blues and sgb...has anyone been yet? theres a new deli on woodward nr 14/15 mi...stan's? chain or independent? new thai place in royal oak... from what i hear, an excellent "tapas"-style place in windsor...the name of which eludes me now. i must highly recommend a latte and croissant at cannella patisserie and creperie in birmingham..located on hamilton row across from sy thai... weekly (or often, daily) it feeds my pastry addiction. and, although not so new, if you havent been, id suggest giving three: a tasting bar (windsor) a try. ive been meanign to make it back, as the menu changes often. detroitegulleters: if theres anythign else out there worth trying, let it out... im 110% willing to make the drive!! and lastly, ill have to concede to the former cmments regarding "high-end" detroit restaurants..ugh. too many that just are mediocre... and to add to that, not enough cheap hole-in-the-walls or independents with really really good food...<im craving the ethnic eats of nyc...

ive posted some photos from the show [see link below in my sign.]...sadly not great ones and not many due to the fact that my fingers were too sticky with chocolate and i was constantly being swayed by the hordes of people to really bother with my camera. sorry akwa, no photos of the bikini.

ill second that request. in fact, i was so sad because i missed sunday's activities due to prior engagements, but had really wanted to see sam mason akwa speak. i heard sam mason was really goofy in his presentation. did anyone venture to the IHMRS at javitts? they had a series of talks under the banner of "restaurant futurists", which ended up being very illuminating. i think i may have spotted a few eGulleters, but none would have known me so i kept my distance ...there were some really great lectures, including panelists such as harold mcgee, wylie dufresne, david arnold, lidia bastianich, dan barber, and others.

i hope im not guilty of asking a "stupid" question, but is it $25 per day...no option of a multi-day pass? those that have been...is this worth travelling for? (i.e. impromptu trip out from detroit) also, is it so crowded to the point of ridiculousness on saturday that opting out of work middayfriday is advisable? if the culinary demos are open to the general public, is it difficult to really get a view of what's going on or to interact w/ the chefs? thanks everyone!

very much looking fwd to your first piece. in fact, the entire article was very inspiring it just goes to show that putting your efforts toward your true passion can definitely pay off in the long run...thanks

wow, i did not know that they open for dinner wedn-fri!! great! i will have to try it out some time soon. thanks guys, for all the suggestions. A few ideas - Sweet Lorraine's in Berkley (I think - if not Berkley then somewhere close to that) Vining's Bistro on Woodward Hong Hua on Orchard Lake - upscale Chinese Loving Spoonful on 12 Mile in Farmington Hills If the timing is right - American Harvest at Schoolcraft Culinary Institute - best bargain in town ← ← ←

thanks a lot for the prompt response i would actually love to try the american harvest place @ schoolcraft however i thin k they are only open for lunch adn then the occasional dinner?? has anyone been and can verify? also, no weekends, right? ive never heard of vining's...hmm . A few ideas - Sweet Lorraine's in Berkley (I think - if not Berkley then somewhere close to that) Vining's Bistro on Woodward Hong Hua on Orchard Lake - upscale Chinese Loving Spoonful on 12 Mile in Farmington Hills If the timing is right - American Harvest at Schoolcraft Culinary Institute - best bargain in town ←