
Steve Klc
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The problem, Gavin, is most of our favorite American dessert wines are so limited in production it doesn't pay for most wineries to "sell" them or distribute them. I doubt you could get Chappellet or Navarro in the UK and I've mentioned these on the site often anyway. Like Steve before me, I'll share some of my favorites from the past year or two which you might have access to in the UK: two Australian wines stood out and each has received media acclaim--the Seppelt D.P. 57 Rutherglen Show Tokay (I had the 1996) and the Yalumba Museum Show Reserve Muscat; I guess the Hungarian 1996 Royal Tokaji (Aszu 5 Puttonyos) would qualify as a usual suspect but was excellent and deep nonetheless; To Steve's Italian suggestions I'd add a few lighter weight but inexpensive enjoyable wines: the 1997 Zeni Moscato Rosa Trentino, the 2000 Alto Adige Moscato Rosa, the 2000 Gatti Piero Brachetto and the 2001 Michele Chiarlo Nivole Moscato d'Asti. Very easily quaffed and nice dessert matches.
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I don't know about "new" to you, Gavin, but Canadian icewines were accepted into the EU last year so all sorts of sweet Ontario beauties should be available in the UK. (For all I know they've been in the UK all along.) Inniskillin would probably be the most accessible. For some instances I prefer the Vidal, for others the Riesling--rarely the more expensive oak-aged Gold label. The Inniskillin Sparkling icewine is a gem. I've also sampled about 15 other excellent Canadian icewines--and which may be more readily accessible to you in the UK than here in the US--where only Inniskillin has made substantial inroads.
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Back to the irradiated ground beef issue and New Jersey for a minute--I just returned from my local Fresh Fields/Whole Foods Market--which regular readers may know I despise just about everything about (Long story--goes back to the fact that they store their bulk chocolate right next to the Gouda cheese)--and checked out their ground beef. Lots of warning stickers on the packages saying cook to 160 degrees for bacteria, etc. and then picked up a pamphleton "Irradiation" on the way out the door. In this "Education Series" it states: "We believe produce and meat products should be packaged, transported and stored to retain maximum nutritional value without the use of irradiation. In addition, consumers and industry leaders have been adamant that irradiation does not comply with organic food production." It doesn't go on to say, but I imagine it could, that "we also believe you should cook all your burgers until they are dry little briquettes or hockey pucks because of this stance." Now, to me, it seems this provides a clear distinction in the marketplace from Wegmans--which offers irradiated meat which can be safely cooked and consumed at all levels of rareness--does it not? Have other New Jersey supermarkets come down on the Wegmans side or the Whole Foods side? Will this affect any of your ground beef buying decisions? And a question to Fink and Nick, though he's in SF--do you have the option of buying irradiated beef if you want to and serve it rare or medium rare--or is the NJ statute locked into a temperature and the inspectors "don't know nothing 'bout no irradiation?"
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Northwest Cuisine -- is Cascadia it?
Steve Klc replied to a topic in Pacific Northwest & Alaska: Dining
You have expressed my thoughts exactly Ben. Which is why coining the phrase "Decidely Northwest" seems so brilliant--it circumvents the whole issue of arguing and defining a "cuisine" doesn't it? Which brings us back to girl chow's astute post. Does anyone know if Kerry used "Decidely Northwest" when he cooked for the Four Seasons or if, indeed, someone else coined the phrase? -
Ed--your friend in Chicago probably sells so much because Chicago is a food-savvy town, latin cuisine is on the rise, Chicago foodies are up on all the "trends" and the drink probably has filtered down to even casual diners as a result of media exposure. I was in Trenton, NJ this weekend and my wife asked for a mojito--it was nice, sunny, we were out on a wooden deck--it just seemed the thing to ask for. (Not a beach, mind you, but close.) She's had one or two previously, at bars or nuevo latino restaurants. The server gave her a blank stare and had never even heard of the drink. Things take time to trickle down. Pretty soon "Cachaca" will become a household word.
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Northwest Cuisine -- is Cascadia it?
Steve Klc replied to a topic in Pacific Northwest & Alaska: Dining
Schielke--at the ingredients level, I'd guess it would be more about sourcing--identifying and obtaining local/regional products and differentiating the levels of quality between them--and chefs determining what makes them distinctive and unique. Surely you're aware not all salmon, crab and halibut come from the Northwest. As you ask, there must be more to this. And Nightscotsman--at the places you have eaten, are there common threads, blends of ingredients, fusions or deconstructions which might separate out some contenders from the pretenders--or to your eye is it just more of a regional sameness, a mish-mash? Would a venue have to offer "innovative" or "exciting" combinations or dishes in order to be "Decidely Northwest?" On another level--stuff grows out there and matures at different rates than elsewhere--does that show up on menus or in the farmer's markets? I'd guess an example of what might make a cuisine "Decidely Northwest" would be a chef taking a piece of locally-sourced game and pairing it with a special pine needle or fruit or berry only grown out there, no? Finding some of the magic present in things grown, fished or raised when combined with other things from the locale? On another level--are there historical Northwest dishes--common names or forms that appear on menus out there and have entered the culture? Re-inventing or deconstructing these dishes might qualify as "Decidely Northwest." -
I laughed so hard I just knocked the iBook off my lap MsRamsey. Thank you for another one of eGullet's little joyous moments.
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True Blue, but only obliquely. I'm trashing--or at least raising some speculation about--the concept and customer service policies of the Herbfarm, as reported by Southern Girl. Believe me, if I were in attendance my opinion might be different--I am, really, all about what is on the plate--and might have been so swayed by Jerry's magical dishes that I could look past the dog and pony show and the legion of problematic non-food issues as well, diminshing their importance in the grand scheme of things. But I know myself--and I am surely not alone among eGulleteers reading this and saying the same thing I said--albeit with a little poetic license--I'm just not going. I won't accept the contract--the offer--which this chef and restaurant appear to be making to me. If I was clever, Blue, it just slipped out, unintentionally. But the fact remains I'm not in the Pacific NW to know the current scuttlebut about Kerry and Cascadia and any potential decline since he opened. Seems to me "Decidely Northwest" as potential gimmick is something worth fleshing out on a separate thread as well--tls raises an important issue: I'd think either ingredients are sourced from the Cascades and the region as promised and promoted or they aren't and whether it takes more than sourcing regional ingredients and trying to bring the best out of them to qualify as "Decidely Northwest" is a legitimate question. A question, by the way, we have all over the site in terms of micro regions and terroir. On that thread, a question I'd ask of you locals is if Kerry's self-identified "Decidely Northwest" cuisine is viable--how special or unique is it, in the context of other chefs out there? Was he just the first to coin and market the phrase "Decidely Northwest?" If so, kudos to him and he wouldn't be the first savvy chef to position himself strategically. I sense some of the same savvy in how the Herbfarm has positioned itself, wouldn't you agree?
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Not relevant to this thread Blue. If tls were to post a report about his experience at Cascadia or how he knows Kerry isn't in his kitchen, I'd appreciate it and probably respond there. Since I met Kerry, got to know him a bit and formed a high opinion of him, things may have changed.
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I am reminded of the technique, credited to Thomas Keller, of poaching lobster in butter extolled not too long ago in the NY Times.
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Southern--first off, I'd like to join the chorus thanking you for diligent reporting and wonderful reads on this and the other "credit card guarantee" thread. I am solidly on the side that says a 30 day cancellation policy with the $50 minimum credit card guarantee is both unfair and ill-advised, but I'd defend the right of any chef or restaurateur to establish such an egregious policy. I simply wouldn't ever eat there and not only that, I'd write about it and talk about it as often and as publicly as possible. On this thread you have told me enough so that I never have to worry about not going to this gastro-tourist gimmicky self-involved hokey production. I don't care how inventive or emotive this Northwest amateur hour--oops, six hour--touring production of "Cats" is, it just won't ever be worth enduring for me because it is still "Cats." I don't care how good the individual dishes may be I would be so frustrated by what seem to me to be one anti-customer service policy and procedure after another I would probably have to stand up and scream. And go outside to play alot of bocce ball. (In fact, I'd probably prefer to take my food and wine at the bocce ball court rather than a communal table in the barn but I'm sure I'd be "encouraged" not to.) This is fine dining shtick for the Branson Missouri busload and USA Today crowd. In fact, I hope USA Today runs a nice full color picture of the herb garden so I can pick up some hyssop or lavender, rub it between my fingers, smell it and get as close to the Herbfarm and Chef Jerry's perfectionist banquet cooking as I'm ever going to. Give up on this place and go have Kerry Sear cook for you. Order the wines you want or not. Tell him to create a tasting menu for you with herbs and flowers in every course. Go home happy and flex your muscles by accepting or rejecting suggested wine pairings. A few questions--were the wines forced upon you and the vintner chosen for the evening made known to you when you made your reservation? If not, seems just another poor choice on the part of management. Also, were the bulk dining tables, oops, family style planks, the same price as the regular tables? How do you suppose you were given the choice of a regular table--did you reserve early or are the communal tables somehow seen as desireable? What good is their wonderful deep undoubtedly Wine Spectator award-winning wine list if they're jamming visiting winemakers shilling their own wine down your throats without any choice on the four busiest nights of the week? It's a good way to control risk, spoilage and costs, minimizing the need for knowledgeable sommeliers, experienced servers or an opened wine bottle preservation system as well. It's an end-around a wine-by-the-glass program. (I'm getting ready to scream again at how disingenuous and self-serving this all seems that I'm going into my living room to play a little simulated bocce.) If you dine there Monday through Wednesday is it also a similarly fixed price, fixed course menu with pre-selected wines from their cellar? If so, it would seem you aren't ever able to order off the list, Southern, at least according to any definition of "order" which we've probably come to understand outside the planet Herbfarm. Are dish substitutions offered in the event of allergies?
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Thank you for the clarification Fink--I'm now more impressed with Kat Man Du for complying with the law and thank you Paul for the irradiated ground beef angle--just another reason, as if I needed one, to appreciate what Wegmans is all about.
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I just had first hand experience with a big New Jersey burger--at Kat Man Du on the Trenton waterfront where I went to see my sister sing on Saturday night. I didn't actually taste the burger, but it was huge and cheap--$5.95 or $6.95 with pickle and spicy fries. My dad has big fat fleshy hands and fingers and he needed both hands to maneuver this extra wide thick thing around. I also didn't get around to asking him if it was any good. He's had alot of burgers in his day and I probably should have asked, but it rained on us just when I had considered asking him. In any event, I'd nominate it as a contender for you NJ big burger fans. Shameless plug alert: Go especially on a night my sister is singing--her folk rock acoustic duo is called Elaysha and here's their site: http://www.elaysha.com/ However, you are not allowed to order the KatManDu burger medium rare--indeed, the only way you will be served a burger at KatManDu is cooked all the way through--no red no pink just gray. This has never happened to me before, though I've heard vaguely of this and admittedly don't order burgers much. Our very nice, cute, young and competent server--who kept me well-plied with Yuengling lagers and iced teas all night--mentioned something about restaurant policy and State law and I jokingly asked if we could sign a waiver in order to get the burger other than gray and she said no. With this in mind I read through this thread--and took mention of steaming, browning all the way through, griddled, and consistency, etc. but as I read through this thread I noted only one mention of a burger cooked a certain way--i.e. cooked on request to medium rare. So--is there such a State law--and are all of you NJ burgermeisters eating these gray burgers and/or not specifying a degree of doneness when you order? I used to have a strategy in bar-food type places, like a KatManDu, even if they had a full menu, to order a medium rare burger because you could count on it coming fresh off the grill. There seemed a higher likelihood that I'd find a burger more acceptable than the crab cakes. Am I living in a time warp and have I missed the new ground beef edict that not only is gray good it is the only way? Has this been legislated?
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Michael--we've linked to that Food Arts Taller article before--it's scanned and on the el bulli media website. Jose wrote that piece. Is this it: http://press.elbulli.com/scripts/fitxa.php...p?id_article=20 I also think Bux may have given you part of the answer as well, on another thread, when he talked about the "Fast Good" cuisine concepts and various other consulting projects of Ferran. You have to work that out somewhere. And from what I know of Jose--who thinks alot like Ferran thinks--they have more ideas in notebooks and in their heads than they know what to do with. Who wouldn't want a Taller of their own in which to play? I think it is more lab, retreat and a technical culinary playground. And as far as your Balaguer efforts Michael--you're now in the position to translate Spanish pastry terms for the rest of us! Actually, I am as well. Right now I'm teaching myself Spanish pastry terms and phrases by reading the Spanish and English book versions side by side. (I know, but it's August.) Thank you for the new links as well. On your point about a possible second wave of chefs re: Adria--I wonder if part of the issue is that the first wave of chefs were established, pre-eminent US chefs--Trotter, Keller and their travel mates--who couldn't/wouldn't be seen as learning or working in the Adria kitchen. Younger US chefs trying to climb the ladder--like the Ken Oringer generation-- wouldn't be hindered by career or reputation.
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Tina, yes, for years and years. You can catch up with Corby here, the Atlantic maintains a model online presence and there's a substantial free archive of Corby's past work here: http://www.theatlantic.com/food/ The recent restaurant review "worth building a trip around" is an interesting gimmick. Too bad he chose Colvin Run Tavern. Maybe it was a natural progression for Corby--since he started the restaurant review gig for Boston magazine a few years ago he must have discovered what a great (read easy) gig restaurant reviewing is compared to other forms of sourced, well-researched, well-thought-out food writing.
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In response to a Shaw comment, Suzanne said recently: "What source of pride is it to say one has not subscribed for 5 years? Snotty, is all I can say." Well Suzanne--surely you can say more? Something more substantive or meaningful would help. If you've noticed changes in the magazine--what are they? It would seem you just might agree with Shaw's observations yet that irks you in some personal way that you have to criticize the messenger. Shaw's post seems courageous in a typically Shaw way--just when every other media type is talking about the new Remnick "New Yorker" and how it has regained its stride under a new editor--Shaw goes against the grain and says, well, no, it isn't that good, it isn't that relevant, it could be even better and here's why. That's neither obvious nor un-necessary Suzanne. Doubt me? Remember who said early on that Ducasse was getting a bad rap in New York? Shaw took the time to list a few factors in response to a typically thoughtful Researchgal post when she asked why continue to subscribe if the decline is increasingly obvious: "1) Cultural literacy among the set that reads the New Yorker, thus it's self-perpetuating; 2) No direct competition; 3) Inertia; 4) Doesn't look so bad viewed relative to the general decline in journalism; 5) Gradual declines aren't acute and few people bother to dig up New Yorker articles from way back in order to view the decline all at once." I'd say the lack of a viable online presence affects the perception of #5, which mitigates against the New Yorker as well. If you have read the New Yorker for so long, Suzanne, you're in a position to add more to the discussion than inferring a misplaced sense of pride on Shaw's part for not subscribing and crystallizing his very reflective posts on this thread down to "snotty." Agree or disagree, but make your argument, if one is to be made, dispassionately and on the merits. And for those who think the New Yorker is the best of its kind--I'd ask if you are also reading the Atlantic Monthly as well? For me, that monthly has had sustained relevance and is the closest thing I've seen lately to a must-read among "intellectually engaging" magazines. It's more cogent, more tightly written and edited than the New Yorker--and even though Corby Kummer's best work is behind him, as he drifts further toward worthless "destination restaurant reviews" and the simple, Cal/Ital, Slow Food, terroir abyss, the magazine is still strong.
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David--would you speak a bit about your relationship with wine, how you and your Wine Director interact and procure your wines? Is it collaborative? As a chef, do you take more of the lead with wine selection--i.e. do you first create a dish and then try to choose the best wine match for it or the reverse--do you start with a wine and then build a dish around the wine? Or do you turn the whole thing over to him--you create the dish that best represents your thought and feeling and say to him--find a match? Since your list isn't on your website--I'm curious how you feel Canadian vintners are doing, how well represented Okanagan wines are on your list and which are your current favorites? How well represented are the wines of Ontario and Niagara-on-the-Lake? Do you have an easier time procuring European and Australian wine than American wine from CA/OR/WA?
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By the way room62rocks--thank you for weighing in. Please read through some of our other nascent DC board threads and add more of your perspective.
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No, not related. The chats do have a folksy, fun feel to them and for the people who tune in regularly, Tom is very helpful, entertaining, breezy and smooth. The Post's Live Online features are some of the coolest things going on there and Tom has a devoted following. Deservedly so, in my mind. He's a very interesting guy--online, in print and in person. That said, no, I don't like the chef/restaurant dish and gossip element that has crept ever so slightly into his style--he now contributes a few paragraphs of "dish" to the weekly Food section as well--and he carries it off but as long as we're going to maintain the artificial barrier between lead restaurant critic and food writers--the charade of the importance of anonymity--and the delusion that the supposedly small Post readership percentage interested in chefs and restaurants is effectively being served by his one review (and by Eve Zibart's review in the Post Friday Weekend section) I'd rather see the critic be a critic and not dish, not trade in gossip and not repeat coyly what's been gleaned from all sorts of reliable sources. I'd rather he have paid serious attention to Restaurant Seven, Elysium and Le Relais in a timely manner instead. But that's the problem Post management opens itself up for when they expect their restaurant reviewer to do more than simply review restaurants. Frankly, the Washingtonian magazine reviewers have been doing a better job than ever before and are beating Tom to more of the significant reviews. At times in those chats he drops thinly veiled negative comments about certain "anonymous" restaurants--not directly naming them but regulars just know he's talking about Galileo, or Citronelle, or Kinkeads, etc. Or do they? Recently he said this online: "And an aside, if you'll allow me: There are three top restaurants in town that account for the bulk of my reader service complaints, and I continue to be amazed that the people in charge of their dining rooms fail to take any action. Having been dissed myself over the years at all three of them, I can sympathize with readers who sidestep that famous seafood restaurant, that haute Italian address and The Third Place." Now, to my way of thinking it would just be better to name names as we do here on eGullet. Bash them if they deserve it. I, for one, would applaud a more activist Post critic. It's about time we had one willing to say to a sacred cow--stop mailing it in, you're not as good as you think you are, you wouldn't make it in NYC--and not say it obsequiously. From a week or two ago: "What's been your biggest surprise lately... a place that either didn't live up to the buzz or somewhere that surpassed it?" Tom Sietsema: "Let's just say that a Very Big Deal is about to lose its Well-Publicized Hire (he types, cryptically)" But--the other side of this is access--and by exposing himself like this, in the way his predecessor Phyllis Richman did--he does take a risk, extend his reach, establish himself as a personality out in front of the written review, and yes occasionally say something he'd probably like to take back after the fact. That's the danger online--no wise editor looking over your shoulder.
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someone with the Iron Chef book can probably answer that. I assumed it was because when they built the original stage it was only designed to have three elevator podiums.
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There are cartoonish elements of the show and the outcome--as far as the judging is concerned--may or may not be fixed and pre-determined. The competitors may or may not have been tipped off as to the likely ingredients x hours before the event. None of this matters. None of this is on point. What is on point is that what these chefs are asked to do in the allocated time frame is amazing and difficult. For the challenger it is a foreign work environment and is even more difficult. But the work, skills and creativity involved is impressive. The camera work, translations, hokiness of spirit all recede from the main action--which is undeniably impressive.
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Just came across another very good article on Ferran--which includes interviews with a few other chefs, including my friend Jose Andres, and also a nice selection of recipes. It is different in style and scope from the previous articles we've discussed here on eGullet over the past year--those in Esquire and Gourmet and Food Arts--and I feel this is worth reading. I realize we already have more information on this site about Ferran and El Bulli than on any other online or print source except El Bulli's own magnificent website, but this article may help some of you holdouts to convert. A few excerpts: "Adria's mind is like a computer, absorbing and processing everything," Andres says. "He always carries a notebook and his expression is full of wonder, like a little kid, when he discovers something. He shares everything with other chefs — except the new dishes of the season." And "One of the most important lessons I learned from Adria is to make sure you make the best product you can — whether it's a hot dog, hamburger, tortilla or haute cuisine," Andres notes. He demonstrates Adria's influence with his deconstruction of the traditional Spanish tortilla — the flat, potato-onion omelet — into one-part potato foam, one-part onion purée and one-part sabayon, layered in a sherry glass with a topping of deep-fried potato dice. Similarly, he elevates the classic but simple concept of a tomato and anchovy salad to the sublime, again deconstucting and reassembling its basic ingredients to achieve ethereal results. "This is a simple dish brought up to another level," Andres enthuses. "Tomatoes have the most amazing natural gelatin. [Plus] the sweetness and acidity of the tomato paired with the saltiness of the anchovy make it a perfect match for a Verdejo from Rueda." And "What inspires me about Ferrán is his philosophy that the old ways should always be challenged, that we should look at everything from different angles," Andres muses. "The old-fashioned way is to protect the product's form and taste. He believes that we should change the form of the product but maintain its flavor or even make it more flavorful." So, while Andres' style at Jaleo is, he insists, "very classical" and "in development," he acknowledges his mentor with dishes like a deconstructed clam chowder. Here's the link: http://www.thewinenews.com/aprmay02/cuisine.html Oh, in case anyone is interested, the glorious Oriol Balaguer pastry book has been translated into English and is now available from JB Prince. It's the closest anyone will come to El Bulli and Adria desserts in English until Alberto's plated dessert book in English is released in November.
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I'm sorry to all--just found this thread. There's alot of interesting stuff if we can control the bickering. As Nick, another chef by the way, has mentioned, David/Chop of Nicholas is out--has been out for weeks--and has proven himself an interesting, valuable young voice. I am very happy to have him here and he intrigues me--and I've come to this realization after it seemed every single one of his early posts pissed me off for one reason or another. David has raised some very nuanced issues--about New Jersey fine dining clientele and not least about one I sympathize with as a pastry chef: desserts sales, because dessert sales aren't solely or even mostly related to the dessert itself. That may sound strange to some--but desserts typically underwhelm--even in elite food cities. It isn't a NJ thing. Ask yourself--how many good to great meals have you had where you've been let down by the dessert? Health and dietary concerns augur against ordering dessert. Good cheeses appearing on menus augur against dessert. Chefs serving you so much food and huge slabs of meat and starch augur against ordering dessert. Mostly, though shitty perfunctory desserts by undertrained pastry people, chefs who can't afford to hire a trained pastry chef, a service staff who wants to turn the table and probably hasn't even tasted the desserts or have taken the time to understand them let alone SELL them to the customer all impact dessert sales. Here's another--desserts don't exist in a vacuum--the name recognition of your pastry chef affects dessert sales--if diners have read about the pchef, if the pastry chef's name is alongside the chef's or on a separate dessert menu it helps and if a diner goes into the experience aware that the pastry chef is known--is significant in his field--you will be more likely to save room for dessert and indeed become conditioned to expect a satisfying dessert. The better inversion of this question--using David's line of thinking--is "Are New Jersey diners less pre-disposed to order and appreciate dessert than NYC diners?" Someone earlier said "The reason that things like pepper in dessert are considered unique and special is that they ARE unique and special. If it wasn't considered odd and avante garde would a place like the gramercy tavern or the like put it on there menu." Well, Claudia's desserts were good, very very good but not avant garde...and pepper in dessert is not unqiue. Her desserts matched her chef's cuisine and sensibility--which also was decidely not avant garde. There was a time when there was NO such thing as an identifiable dessert--and pepper was in everything--sweet and savory. What we eat today stems from this era. The only thing unique about any spice in dessert is that Americans have been conditioned and homogenized by vanilla to the exclusion of all other spices. (There was a time cinnamon was more prevalent in chocolate than vanilla--which is in every block of chocolate now.) These days, pepper on fruit can hardly be considered novel to knowledgeable foodies anywhere in this country. To argue otherwise just proves David's point about the possible lack of awareness of NJ's foodie and fine dining clientele. Rosie mentioned the hits and misses as well--very good point. Even the very best pastry chefs have personally favorite desserts--desserts they created which rock and which please them--that no one buys. It happened even to Claudia when she was at Gramercy. The good chefs and pastry chefs take the time to figure out why--it could be a staff or communication issue, it could be wording on the menu, price, position on the menu, whatever. David mentioned moving it to the tasting menu--good choice; another mentioned comping guests with free desserts or dessert tastes to get it out there on the dining room floor--also good. Get it out there by hook or by crook. Now--some other realities: fresh apricots often aren't good. Apricot is not an inherently popular dessert ingredient here in the US. David--my tip--add chocolate to the dessert and make it your summer chocolate dessert. Even given all these other factors--apricot, black pepper AND chocolate will sell. If it's good it will keep selling. It just has to be good.
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Patrice--you know you are welcome anytime! Here's another review of a recently opened restaurant, not by the Post's "lead" reviewer but by Eve Zibart--who writes a restaurant themed food column in the Friday "Weekend" section of the newspaper. Sometimes it's a full review of a single restaurant--other times, not. Eve is perceptive--and clearly fell under the spell of Mina Newman at Restauarnt Seven, as I did back in January. Here's the link to her review of Restaurant 7--the stylish newcomer to our area with a transplanted NYC chef and where Colleen and I have had 3 very good meals in their upscale restaurant portion and one not so good lunch in the cafe section: http://eg.washingtonpost.com/profile/10717...ext=restaurants The problems? Why didn't Tom Sietsema review this place already? He was behind the curve on Elysium and off the curve with Seven. The Washingtonian magazine reviewers have found alot to like about this place and have said so in print. My first meal in January knocked my socks off--finally, some interesting food in Virginia. Unfortunately, the desserts sucked then and they still disappoint now. Also, the restaurant Seven cooking and plating has come to emulate Bob Kinkead and Kinkeads/Colvin Run Tavern--typically big uninteresting safe conservative power DC food--and over the course of our visits what I liked about Mina's food and presentations in the beginning has now faded slightly. There's still hope, however. Maybe the next NYC chef transplant will not bend.
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No Patrice. I haven't followed up with him yet. But definitely in France. He might not be out of school for too long. Here's an excellent review of Le Relais by the fair and knowledgeable Tom Head, who was with me at the Sofitel opening and who recommended we go to Le Relais: http://www.washingtonian.com/dining/Profil...s/lerelais.html Here's the press release: Accor Hotels’ Sofitel Lafayette Square,Washington D.C. Launches A New Partnership With Michelin Three-Star Chef Antoine Westermann. Washington, D.C.—The luxurious Sofitel at Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C. announces that Michelin three-star chef Antoine Westermann has joined its team as a consultant. Scheduled for a late spring 2002 completion date, the new Sofitel is located at 806 15th Street, NW and will feature the elegant, French contemporary 60-seat Café 15 restaurant overlooking 15th Street. The 237-room hotel is aconversion of the former historic 180,000-square-foot, 12-story Shoreham office building with a handsome, updated interior by renowned French interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon, who also designed the Sofitel New York, which opened last July 2000. According to Francis Cossutta, General Manager of the Sofitel Lafayette Square, Chef Westermann will supervise the kitchen staff, training the Sofitel chefs in Washington and in his own restaurant in France, for reviewing product content and quality, and overseeing the hotel’s banquet operations. He will also create seasonal menus for the Café 15. During Chef Westermann’s regularly scheduled visits to Washington, the hotel plans to host events, such as wine dinners and chef’s tables, to showcase the newsworthy chef and his signature menus. To maximize Chef Westermann’s unprecedented involvement as the restaurant’s consultant, his sous chef Anthony Clemot from France will work fulltime with Philippe Piel, the recently appointed executive chef of Sofitel Lafayette Square, Washington, DC. This will ensure that the hotel’s Café 15 restaurant and the banquet operation maintain the same quality standards Antoine Westermann has achieved in his Michelin three-star restaurant, Restaurant Buerehiesel, in Strasbourg, France. A native of the Alsace-Lorraine Region of France, Chef Antoine Westermann has reached superstar status along with chefs Alain Ducasse and Marc Veyrat of France, and Gordon Ramsay of the United Kingdom. He has entered this very exclusive group as one of only four chefs in the world to hold more than three Michelin stars simultaneously. Besides receiving numerous accolades during his career, such as Chef of the Year by GaultMillau in 1994, Chef Westermann has created his famed Michelin three-star restaurant in France; a nearby boutique-deli selling select dishes from his restaurant menu; and a Michelin one-star restaurant, the Fortaleza do Guincho, outside of Lisbon, Portugal, where he serves as the culinary consultant. Westermann notes that he has surrounded himself with a cooking staff who share not only his deep-seated love and appreciation for quality ingredients and but also his own cooking philosophy, which is building upon the classics and expanding upon them with a sense of creativity. This makes his working days much like being with his own family. As he concludes, "To not advance any more, to not do any more research, to not question yourself any longer—that is to die a bit….Therefore, live in the cuisine of movement the creative cuisine, which vibrates the five senses and the spirit." Built in an historic landmark building erected in 1880, the hotel is located at the corner of Lafayette Square, which borders the White House. An exclusive location, close to the famous museums of the Smithsonian Institute, national monuments, principal government agencies, Embassy Row, and the Convention Center. It contains 237 rooms, including 17 suites, lobby lounge, and six meeting rooms for up to 160 people. The hotel also offers a fitness center. Its restaurant offers exceptionally refined contemporary French cuisine by consulting Michelin three-star chef Antoine Westermann at Café 15. Location: 806 15th Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20005 Phone Numbers: Reservations: (800) 763-4835 or www.sofitel.com Hotel: (202) 737-8800 Fax: (202) 639-4677