Steve Klc

You really need less specialized equipment than you might think. I know, this coming from someone who has a TON of specialized equipment and talks about it all the time. You can do all sorts of fantastic things with a rubber spatula, a silpat, a sheetpan, a rolling pin and a saucepan. Stuff you probably already have. But to get you going on basic pastry and baking equipment, you might also want to work your way through "Dessert Circus" by Jacques Torres. I'd add this book to my recommended entry level book list as well--which would now be Claudia, the Roux brothers, Lesley C's book and Dessert Circus. Books by pastry chefs who bake--not by bakers. (Plus I am a big fan of the Bill Yosses book in the Dummies book series. It's quite good, especially for someone who self-identifies as baking-challenged.)

Cost?

To bring this back to Boston Magazine a little more specifically, in the linked article there was this passage: "Copps says she was ''very involved'' in the decision to select the chefs who graced the same issue's ''best restaurants'' cover, including good friends such as English, Jasper White, Ana Sortun, Jody Adams, and Michael Schlow." I'm more interested in who did not grace the cover. Can anyone shed some more light? For instance, if Ken Oringer of Clio were not also included on this cover I'd have a real problem. I'd question the integrity of Copps and the editorial decision-making process for this ommission alone, if it indeed were true. Oringer is that good and has the national cred and recognition to back that up. Clio was a notch better than Radius (Schlow) but the fact that Radius had an elite pastry chef pushed them slightly ahead in my book. Well, the brilliant Paul Connors left long ago and that would have to have been taken into consideration for this issue. What I'd like to get a better handle on is who aren't the AFOA's--the friends of Annie's? I have no idea, but that's what I'd like to have seen addressed in this Globe article. The writer should have made the case for favoritism--rather than cast aspersion--make the case for Boston chefs who were left off. Did the chef of Mantra make the cover? These are the kinds of questions I'd like to see asked and answered. If not Schlow, White, Adams, Sortun and Todd English, than who? The pictures that get selected and who gets on the cover are decisions which can speak to editorial and publishing integrity. This is over and above any real or perceived bias in the restaurant reviews themselves. A reviewer like Kummer is responsible for his own voice regardless of "connections" and will be defined by his archive--at the Atlantic and at Boston Magazine. If there is any meat here, I'd suggest it is more likely to be found on the bones of editorial decisions--and we need some more information. I would have expected the Globe to take more of a serious shot.

One thing I feel pretty strongly about, Heather, is that home cooks can do a better job "baking" at home than they realize--or that they have been conditioned by popular authorities to accept. The problems I have with some of the sources cited in this thread and in the other thread are that 1) simplifying or dumbing down the "process" is weighted much more heavily than "flavor" and 2) the process is really not that tough or inaccessible to begin with and 3) the "form" of the final product is important and good form can be achieved easier than you think. Homey rustic and sloppy is just that--sloppy. It isn't inherently more flavorful. When you write "I worked in a bakery for a while in my youth, and know that I don't have the patience or equipment to produce "professional" stuff so definitely something for the home cook" I sense you're already drawing a distinction--a line in the sand--that you don't really have to. With all this is mind, my first recommendation for you to try would probably be the readily-accessible Claudia Fleming book. (If you can get your hands on Lesley's book or the Roux Brothers book, do that as well.) I think dessert-wise it is the best currently available as far as balancing accessibility, process, form and flavor. Plus, all this builds on itself--you develop a confidence and familiarity which feeds on itself and you'll be surprised what you can accomplish.

This is in East Coast stores, at least here in Virginia--$3.50 a bottle. .50 cents for shipping and $1.00 to the State.

But Barb--what about Robin, not Elisa? What's not to like about this from July: "Speaking of love, I spotted Avenue's celeb-owner Neil Stein this morning at La Colombe Torrefaction (130 S. 19th St.), sipping coffee with sweetheart Hope Cohen--at least I think it was Hope--at the next table while I pretended to be fully engrossed in The Sexual Life of Catherine M. Head shorn and Armani-suited, Stein emitted so much moneyed ease that I began to feel shabby, until I looked down and saw that Hope and I were wearing the exact same sandals! Yes, they are $49 Aerosoles instead of Jimmy Choos, but this just goes to show that Hope is a practical gal like me and that, more importantly, deep down inside, I'm the kind of woman Neil Stein could love. But could I love him back? Could I put aside my knee-jerk alterna-cynicism and give in to the ministrations of a man who takes capitalism by the balls instead of writing poems about it? I'm thinking it over." Or this from her very positive review of Bella and Ali Waks in November: "What's it really all about, this food thing? Why do you go to restaurants and read restaurant reviews, and why do I write them? Certainly, on the surface of it, you read to find out if a place is worth your hard-earned time and money, and I write to make money. Then there are subtler reasons. I want to impress you with what I perceive to be my cleverness, so that I might assuage my own self-doubts--a pathetic trait many writers share. Some of you may want to form your own judgments of restaurants and of the reviews themselves in order to feel smarter than other people, including me. Hogwash and illusion! For deep down, none of us are that petty. Restaurateurs cook, we eat, I describe it and you read it, and that, in a word, is joy. Beneath the pretense and the ratings, that's what it's all about." And finally, I submit to "Nigella Bites it Big" here: http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/archives....asp?ArtID=2428 I'm not familiar with Elisa's work at all, but she sure seemed get Django just fine by saying "not just anyone can run a restaurant where every dish tastes this good. For that, Django is indeed a rarity." http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/archives....asp?ArtID=2499 Her review appeared before Laban's.

Heather--I think we cross-posted--see my link above to Kathleen Purvis above--and I'd be interested in your reactions since you know Charlotte. I bet there is good stuff there it's just a question of how to get the word out--and the old media process mitigates against that happening.

Newspapers are very different animals from national glossy mags. But one thing that I think has been established definitively--you can become a very big fish in a small pond, and attract all sorts of media attention, without working in NY or any other perceived superior food city. People in the know have stopped asking "if someone is so good why isn't he in NY" or some derivative of that line. There's talent everywhere and creative, good, interesting cooking everywhere. But I just found this thread on interesting dining in Charlotte and it might be useful to pull some of this out of Chicago: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...&t=14474&hl=&s= with an amazing post by Kathleen Purvis, who just happens to be food editor of the local newspaper there. Would we ever read such a savvy, in depth assessment like that in Gourmet or Food & Wine? No, not ever. It would be cut and edited and simplified into a few bullets maybe once in a 5 year span. But we did have it here on eGullet which we can all take some measure of pride in helping to foster. By extension, you can't report on news or developments there unless you have a contact like this to write it or steer you in the right direction, agreed? Now multiply this by how many cities and sources? And then imagine how much space would just have to be set aside for restaurant reviews and coverage? What kind of attention span would readers have to have to process all of this and would this even make interesting reading? In her post Kathleen mentioned 5 or 6 fine dining restaurants--Zebra, Pewter Rose, Upstream, CiBi, Blue and Luce. These would have the best bet for national glossy coverage. What I don't know is how good, how creative and how interesting these are in comparison with the national scene. What I don't know yet is what makes these restaurants special or worthy of national glossy media coverage. So someone like Kathleen (or joler or Varmint) would have to make this case for coverage--or the chef or publicist would have to--and attract the attention of someone on the regional (Southern Living) or national level. And yes joler, there is money involved in this--it's just a function of how and where you spend it. Travel, support, out of house events, networking on the chef, restaurateur or publicist level. If I were an editor on the glossy mag scene reading Kathleen's post, what else might warrant a story for Charlotte? Clearly soul food--perhaps in Saveur. I'd like to read that. The key, I guess, is networking--getting someone to reach out to Kathleen to find out there's even soul food in Charlotte and to get her to place those fine dining restaurants into some context that the national media people could understand or get behind. Or some talented writer "reads" Kathleen, finds this out for themselves, pitches someone and gets an article published. None of this happens easily or quickly. There's just not that much space. And it's certainly not isolated to Chicago that foodies and the professionals on the food scene in a given city often feel their newspaper food sections don't cover them adequately. Jeanne McManus in her eGullet Q&A touched on this as well--newspaper food section editors have to serve many interests, in her case that's 1.2 million readers, many of whom are more interested in cooking at home than what's up on the fine dining scene. It's a wonder anyone is ever happy with newspaper food sections or magazines.

Bravo Hop--yes you have answered more than just a few. We now have a lot of common ground it seems. And basically what I'm (uncharacteristically) saying is Gourmet and Food & Wine deserve more slack than some on this thread had given them on this narrow issue of NY/LA restaurant bias. (I personally don't include Bon Apetit in this group, too middling populist, too amateurish, too homey.) My turn, you ask "are you suggesting that if up and coming restauranteers in Chicago (and elsewhere) want to get the coverage that their exceptional food deserves, then all they need to do is a better job of connecting with the sheep?" My answer, yes. We may have cross-posted but I got into that a bit above with getting "out of the house" and getting representation--both of these actions puts the onus on the chef and restaurant to go out and network, to travel, and yes, spend some more money. It usually is not enough to just do good work. We have all talked somewhat about playing the game on this site. I see this as an integral part of it. You go out and get media by doing good work and getting involved not by waiting for media to find you. This is true whether you work in NY or in Charlotte. I also think the maturity of a region or of a local has something to do with it. I tried to explain a little of how I see that with my DC celebrity chef mentor hypothesis above. Some of these cities and regions are just a little behind the curve--they got started a little late, learned how to play the game a little late, but now are rushing ahead. They've figured out how to get attention. Of course it always helps that you actually do good work. The Chicago--Bill Rice--magazine masthead observation is your strongest and I can't refute that. I agree with you. All I could say in response would be local sources--especially newspaper food writers and editors--are often the conduit for this information if not formally than informally. When "NY writers" are in town, they'll often dine with local food writers--they are themselves networking, lining up possible freelance gigs, letting each other know who is doing what--and they of course do this in local restaurants, making introductions all around. Sometimes, this happens on the sly--for editorial or journalistic reasons. But it still happens. I found out yesterday that a very powerful food editor took a very famous cookbook author to Zaytinya and had a great lunch. She didn't tell Jose in advance and didn't tell me until after the fact. Sometimes as chefs you know when writers and media are coming in--and are very clearly made aware!--and sometimes it just happens. But I do feel whether on the masthead or not local food media and local chefs do drive who gets covered locally--the national media turns to these local sources. So part of it is having savvy local media with national connections and relationships. I guess we just differ on how quickly this exchange should happen--I'm cutting F&W and Gourmet some slack and you're turning the screws a bit. I also don't think we see eye-to-eye on whether it is reasonable for F&W and Gourmet to meet the NY/LA/SF standard they set w/r/t other cities. At the national glossy level I just don't think the resources, judgement and space is in place to give all these cities regular and consistent coverage that would satisfy the passionate Hopleafs in all the second tier cities. Good arguments on both sides--a difference in degree--but if you're a subscriber--where might you be more likely to go? NY, LA, SF. So might internal resources always be inherently unbalanced because those editors believe their readers want the coverage to be this slanted? As I said, I don't know. But putting a local name on a masthead won't necessarily help--it's still the editor's call and the editor probably already knows how he/she feels on the issue! Now we're at what someone at the editorial level decides to do with this information and how it is then prioritized--gosh, who knows! I had tried to get Food Arts to cover what I thought was the amazing undiscovered food and wine scene in Ontario and Niagara on the Lake--to find an excuse to stick that into an article--any article--because NOTL deserved it. They were going to be hot, I had been there alot and KNEW it, so why not get ahead of the media curve. Be the first magazine to cover the region extensively like when Saveur magazine brilliantly outed the Anderson Valley as this amazing destination years ago before anyone else. And I was on the FA masthead! Instead, the mag covered the Hudson Valley food and wine scene, for me a vastly inferior food and wine area in comparison to NOTL. I had been there as well. Dreck. Editors and publishers account for these things regardless of who is on the masthead. And I think in time you are proved right or wrong but only by people who pay really close attention to things like this. For many, who have moved on to the next new thing--and not necessarily the next good thing--what has been covered, the mistakes or errors of emphasis--have been forgotten.

Egos away! Disengage if you prefer. But just to play devil's advocate here--when was the last time the chef from Fearrington House or Bistro Sofia got out nationally and networked, cooked with his/her chef colleagues in other cities, travelled at his own expense to NYC to cook for the Beard House or volunteered to participate in some big national fundraiser or charity effort, like a Windows of the World or 9/11 benefit? Chefs rally around causes, around each other and in many ways, that is how you can help put your restaurant on the media map. I don't know if the chefs at these places have done that but can tell you this is how many chefs around the country get out and interact with media. If they are doing this--if they've learned their lessons well--then they are on their way--the media coverage will come albeit possibly a little more delayed than you might think is warranted. And other local chefs there will learn from their examples and go out and do the same thing. In DC, this happened years ago with the likes of Jean-Louis Palladin and Roberto Donna and Michel Richard and Bob Kinkead and a few others--they all learned they were stronger when they banded together, held events, propped each other up by joining in on events--and the media joined in. The younger chefs--the next generation--learned these lessons as well and it perhaps helped them get media coverage out-of-proportion and at the expense of chefs in other parts of the country. But the jig is up--it doesn't matter where you cook you can still get media attention and still get your star turn--ending up on the Food Network and in the glossies. Paying publicists helps as well. You think NY restaurants and chefs get the attention they do just because it's easy for lazy writers to roll out of bed and into a restaurant? No, even these easily accessible NY restaurants and chefs pay for pr. They pay a publicist to have that NY Times writer just happen to stop by for lunch and try that interesting dessert infused with tobacco or that interesting liquid center white chocolate cake. That both ended up in NY Times Dining section articles at some point in the future cannot be a surprise. Magazines seem to play the same kind of game. Is it any surprise that restaurants and chefs in "the heartland" or wherever--who have representation, who have publicists, are heard about more often and possibly at the expense of others doing good work off the beaten path? Years ago, I once got attention from a national magazine because I wrote to them to introduce myself, said I was a nobody doing good work and sent them some pictures. I was featured in a photo spread 3 months later. If I had waited around for their editor to discover me it never would have happened. There are too many people doing good work in too many areas for any publication to stay on top on.

Thank you for taking the time to respond specifically and on the merits Hop and not just vent. You're in Chicago, right? So you're immersed in the scene and you're able to see that things may not be happening fast enough. Was the national glossy food media not on top of Tru and Trio and even say, Sandro Gamba moving from DC to take his star turn in Chicago? I don't know the answer, but would probably argue that they were if I had the time to do a search. But, being reasonable, isn't there always a lag time before anyone "gets" what is really going on, even locals possibly prone to puff up local talent? Isn't there always an inertia--which stems from certain local celebrity chefs dominating the scene--from a media perspective. A rounding up the usual suspects kind of mentality? Aren't many in the media sheep--who have to be led around or affected by a critical mass before jumping on the bandwagon? Don't many seek safe, comforting, reassuring accessible stories? You write "when they do publish anything about restaurants anywhere else, they only do so after that restaurant has become quite popular in its own area." I think that's largely true but does that also mean it is unfair, unreasonable or unrealistic? I guess that's my main generalization--would you pay significantly more for this kind of quick response, the extra staff, travel and expenses? And is it realistic to look to these old media sources to act more quickly anyway? Joler--without trying, you help prove my point. If you can't make the case here--clearly and passionately--and you're immersed in the scene, wherever you are--especially by drawing comparisons to what is going on elsewhere or what you've experienced elsewhere--how can you fairly and reasonably expect the national media to from afar? Lesley--that's a good scoop, were it to turn out true. There's nothing I hate more than very pretty advertorials.

But the mainstream magazines are doing a very decent job of this--have you not read about the exciting new things in Chicago and SF and Spain? Were you aware of Tru and Trio and El Bulli and Hiramatsu and the Fifth Floor and on and on before you read about them in magazines like Gourmet and Food & Wine? Did you know more about El Bulli before you read Phyllis Richman's article in Gourmet years ago? I doubt it. And if so, the average fine dining ethusiast didn't. Yes, we can make others aware of the new innovative and exciting things being done elsewhere at eGullet--but I don't think the case has been made that big glossy food media drops the ball on this. They read Food Arts--so they find out about things being communicated to pros--and then they go check them out. Eventually it filters to the mainstream audience. And fairly quickly. I submit national media is becoming aware NY is not the epicenter it once was. I don't want to be cynical here, but as a chef, if there was innovation going on in Charlotte, we'd hear about it. Chefs would be telling other chefs about it. It ain't happening. There's no Grant Achatz, Laurent Gras or Jose Andres in Charlotte. That's not to say there's not good honest cooking going on there. But you'd have to make the case there is more than just that there for the media not to be covering it as it should.

Joler and hjshorter--you both touch on something interesting--media coverage of second or third tier food cities--and I don't mean to start a war about what constitutes a second tier food and restaurant city--but let's just say everything below NYC, LA and SF/Napa. Or maybe everything below NY and LA. Some might say Chicago has pulled right up there. Whatever. But you write "I sympathize that there is not really a good source for articles about mid-west restaurants. Nothing of the sort really exists for the South either, and while we may be behind the times in some aspects, we do have our culinary hot-spots (i.e. Charleston, Atlanta, Charlotte)" and also "DC generally gets left out too, despite having a number of very good restaurants." I guess you mean mid-west restaurants outside of Chicago, because it seems every other article I read is about another hot trendy Chicago area restaurant or chef. You've both in essence made a general observation--that deserving cities and its chefs and restaurants are not being "covered" in national publications in a fair or reasonable manner. I'd have to disagree with this at least as far as the examples you've mentioned. I'm admittedly not up to speed on Atlanta, Charlotte and Charleston personally--but gosh, Atlanta has been continually featured, their chefs and dining scene continually puffed and gushed about in national media for what, 15 years? Atlanta is clearly on that just below the top tier media map, no? Can you really make the case that historically Atlanta has NOT been represented in media in fair proportion to other 2nd tier cities in major metropolitan markets? And yes, I'd like to read more about whether the Atlanta dining scene has continued to improve--has it? Is it getting even better, the populace more sophisticated, or has it leveled off? Now on to Charlotte and Charleston--again I ask, because I do not know, is there really such depth, such overall culinary excellence going on in both of these cities that we haven't already read about to death? Who else is in Charleston trying to do or actually doing the job Bob Waggoner is doing--and who deserves half the TON of national ink and exposure that guy gets? Is the food and wine scene in Charlotte so deserving, so over and above "hot" than what is going on in say Richmond Virgina, Portland Maine or Oregon, Cleveland or Columbus Ohio or Louisville or on and on all across the country? And I'll save my last reaction for DC--where I live and cook and have lived and cooked for 20 years--you have to be kidding? For 15-20 years, DC's chefs and restaurant scene, its brilliance and creativity and value and genius and ethnic diversity has been over-covered by national media--out of proportion to the skills and talent on display in say NYC and out of proportion to the actual level of really good, really interesting and creative cooking going on here. It's never quite lived up to what has been written--and written often--about it to my sense. It would be very tough for anyone to argue credibly that DC deserves MORE attention than it has received--and if you'd really like to flesh that out, I am willing to listen. Maybe you could start a thread on this in the DC board. It just seems obvious to me that DC, with its close proximity to NY and most media outlets, has benefited tremendously by a celebrity chef-fawning local food press and an equally cooperative NY media presence within arm's length. But I guess all this points to a larger question--do you look to these national cooking magazines for national restaurant information? And if that subject were to be covered more extensively--wouldn't that make it less of a cooking and food magazine and more of a travel magazine? Are these magazines covering "restaurants" in a proper balance for you? And can you reasonably expect them to be the most authoritative source for this kind of information? Look at the disdain things like the Gourmet Top 50 restaurants in the US provoked here on this site, for instance.

Shame there are no desserts faxed.

Sara--we've discussed Robin on this site before--have you read over those threads? Here was one: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...obin+rinaldi&s= In that thread, which was awhile ago, I wrote: "My read after this first column is that Robin is a decent writer looking for an edge, trying to establish a strong voice or an identifiable shtick in order to get noticed and attract readers. No more, no less. Personally, I think it might be fun to follow Robin a bit despite her misguided and probably faux-populist sensibilities. It isn't unusual for a free city paper or weekly to focus on the lower end of dining and food as its readership is young. Occasionally a writer for a paper like this--like Brett Anderson did while at Washington DC's City Paper--demonstrates a deft hand reviewing and appreciating high and low. Brett went on to contribute pieces to Gourmet and landed a job as a mainstream newspaper restaurant critic in New Orleans. We just might end up liking Robin." Find Robin here: http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/archives....asp?AuthID=103 Perhaps, Sara, you could reference a few examples of her work which you think disappoints--and state why? I've come around to "like" her and am prepared to take up a sword in her defense, though I admit to not being completely current of her archive. So swing away. In that previous thread, Holly Moore noted that Robin was not a full-time restaurant critic but a food writer with a general beat--a beat which just happened to include reviewing restaurants sometimes. Have you noticed an evolution in her columns--trying to compete more directly as critic, as more of an alternative to LaBan--who is the full time mainstream newspaper restaurant critic in town? I've followed LaBan and always read him before visiting Philly. He seems the consummate professional critic and a very good writer. Generally, to your larger point, I don't think it is uncommon for a "Weekly" type paper to hire "voice" before avowed food knowledge--in essence, hire a spunky writer with a style that might appeal to their target audience first--with the hope that the writer can pick up the beat and the specific food knowledge as he/she goes along. Even on a higher media plane--like the Washington Post and other newspapers--editors have a habit of hiring writers, of hiring voice--first. It's seen in those circles as an advantage. And a parting shot for you--is the best assessment of a critic how often one agrees with them?

Lou--why not start and flesh out that kill your own food concept in Cooking when you get a chance. I'd hate to divert this valuable thread or diminish what might become of your idea. They both warrant their own attention.

Yoshka--how strict and how supervised is your shop? Stephaine's right--there are so many chemical processes, additives, food science, trace elements in production and manufacturing plants which come into to play, it can be very, very complex--and the real answers to your question can be hidden. Depends how strict you are. As far as direct substitutions go, I have not had as much luck substituting margarine for butter in recipes designed to take advantage of the magic and mouthfeel of butter. That might satisfy stricture but usually not palate. When I explored kosher and pareve pastry I found what worked best--what had the best taste and what appealed to me as a pastry chef--were the recipes and desserts which didn't rely on direct "substitution" but instead on things meant to take advantage of acceptable ingredients--so in your case instead of dairy use coconut milk or almond milk--but use them to highlight their own taste, their own beauty as ingredients. Making your own almond milk--by boiling water with almond flour or ground almonds, infusing and then straining--can be especially rewarding. And yes, you will have to adjust your recipes--but my personal philosophy always was adjust them with an eye toward flavor--and not simply plugging in acceptable substitutes. For instance, meringues and dacquoises with nut flours can make excellent cake and dessert bases, ganaches could be made with blends of fruit purees, wine, coconut milk or almond milk with the texture balanced with some different types of sugars. What kinds of things have you baked so far? What's your clientele like?

Anyone know if this wine has reached the East coast Trader Joes?

As long as we're talking about actors owning restaurants in NY state, anyone heard anything about or been to "Tony Soprano's" restaurant? I have, and most of the tapas were really quite good--especially the shrimp and squid.

Have many of you have actually been to Perth Amboy? I spent a lot of time there over the years. Your group's moniker is well-deserved. I'll be e-mailing you to be added to your list, and if I can be in New Jersey for this, I'd like to come. There is safety in numbers.

Of course he was kidding, I used it as an opportunity to give credit where credit was due. And taking myself seriously, well, that's nothing new. Readers bitching about Sietsema as New Yorkers bitch about Grimes--it comes with their territory no matter what they write. Around DC it is like longing for Joe Gibbs as coach of the Redskins. You're new to the forum, but I've been very open and critical here (especially for a chef) regarding the job I feel the Post, Sietsema and Richman have done covering the food scene in our area. I've also tried to be fair and reasonable. In my case and in theirs, the work, not the resume, speaks for itself--what's on the plate and what's written. No amount of perceived ass-kissing can overcome deficiencies in one or the other. Unlike most other chefs, I've also had a few articles published. So I've been on both sides of the media fence. Maybe it helps me see things a little more clearly, maybe not. But as a result of my writing and my cooking I've tried to respect the people on both sides who I feel are trying to do good work and I hope there is nothing wrong with discussing that frankly and openly. Tom didn't like my chocolate-cardamom-espresso dessert at Zaytinya. I still think it's fantastic and I don't hold it against him. I've done it for a few chef-type events in NYC and when I was a guest of Disneyworld and cooked at the California Grill, that was one of three desserts I chose to do. All raves. I think Tom may have a thing with chocolate, and he definitely has a thing for liquid center chocolate cakes--he's said he doesn't like them, that they're too ubiquitous. He may not "get" chocolate the way I get it. I make that cake a different way than probably anyone else in DC--technique-wise something I adapted from Philippe Conticini--and I use a blend of chocolate that no one else in DC does. Now, maybe on this a diner will agree more with Tom, maybe with me. Either way, I'll get over it, so will he. It's the nature of our jobs. So is being on the receiving end of snide comments and cheapshots. It happens. It's his job to tell his readers how he sees things--and he's doing a great job staying on top of the food scene in DC, as well as in the burbs. Could he do even better? I'm sure some chefs feel he could. But who among us couldn't do an even better job? His approach to his job is impeccably professional--and his fact-checking is impressive. (And I've been reviewed by William Grimes as well and I thought his fact-checking was very good.) None of that has prevented me from discussing why we disagree at times. I've also read the Washingtonian for years--long before I even became a chef--and have met and dined with a few of their editors. For example--in the tepid Washingtonian magazine review of Zaytinya--which I have now just read--though they seemed to really like my desserts, moved to use the word "ethereal" in connection with one, there were two errors in just the two sentences about the desserts: that one used an "Italian" wine and that a cardamom "ice cream" was served. I wasn't mentioned by name and I wasn't contacted to check any facts prior to publication. The two wonderful wines I use there in the desserts are both Greek and mentioned on the menu (yes, I realize I used Greek, wine and wonderful in the same sentence) and the cardamom is either an espuma or sauce, not ever spun into an ice cream in the Pacojet. All of that is perfectly fine. That review, as any review, stands on its own merit. Neither review, and no amount of perceived ass-kissing, will have any effect on the quality or value or consistency of the $5.95 desserts being sent out each day to the average diner. That was nailed before the first critic even showed up. I do think your comment about missing Phyllis is an interesting one--one that comes up in DC foodie circles still--and one worth discussing if you'd like to start a new thread on it. I'd like to hear why. Could I be even more critical? Perhaps, but then that would be taking myself way too seriously.

Can you detect if the the heat--the cooking--does anything to the flavor of the puree? That aside, to one L of most Boiron fruit purees, I add about 100 ml water and 110 ml sugar (variable) and 5 sheets of silver gelatin. One charge per .5 L That's for fruit purees with some substance which have about 10% sugar, like most Boiron or Ravifruit. You are up to 5 C--so I would think you could get away with another sheet (to 6) and another charge and have it set up firm. At 5 C you may have to go to 7 sheets. What grade gelatin are you using?

I have to admit a bias here--Anne Willan's "Great Cooks and Their Recipes: From Taillevent to Escoffier" is my favorite book of hers--fantastic on so many levels and yet still unappreciated. What's your favorite Willan book and why? Which Willan books did you have a hand in behind the scenes? And is there a favorite moment or anecdote you'd be willing to share from that first formative period spent with her?

You know--I hope all you locals appreciate how damn lucky you are--not only Miel within a short drive and the soon to open up a branch in Center City--thanks for the lead Holly--but also within a short drive to Wegmans in New Jersey and its excellent Herme-developed patisserie and line of chocolates. Both are superior to anything we have in DC. Herblau--who's going into that Rittenhouse Sq. space of Mademoiselle de Paris? And Robert--you disliked Bennett's stuff when he was at Le Bec-Fin--or at least liked it less than Leroux's work?

Yes, 75,000 pounds of beans a month is a lot. But by the way, how do we know that selling $4 cups of coffee and espresso is a comparatively small portion of their overall revenue and profits? Might that be making an errant assumption? Has any of this been covered in the business pages in Philly? I'd suspect money is rolling in if the location is as crowded as some say--and though the bulk roasting and selling of beans to the restaurant side would do higher volume--that category also has tighter margins and much greater competition. Despite what was said "officially," I bet there was a solid business decision behind this move--my last visit saw vast areas of Philly becoming more gentrified, more commercial, more touristy, more expensive. There's development and revitalization all over, is it really so surprising that the quirky chess-playing lounging smoking artist crowd is getting pushed out?