Steve Klc

I, too, just got the issue and as I always do first, read one article picked completely at random. This time I picked Jane Kramer's piece. Big mistake. It reminded me of what I didn't like about the old New Yorker--wordsmiths so personally nostalgic, self indulgently boring, yet so tired it never carried me over the threshold of actually caring about the subject. Late in the piece, tacked within a paragraph which just seems interminably long, is this nugget, which I find representative of the whole: "My stove is smaller here (though my pots are bigger). I do not write easily about myself. I am not as tasty or exotic as the characters I usually choose." So true. I'm going to re-read it down the road to see if I wasn't sufficiently sensitive and nuanced with this driftwood. When I read more I'll weigh back in. Jaybee--yes. Bux--how long has there been a "food" issue? The three best food-related pieces I can recall--Gopnik on French cuisine, the Wolfgang Puck profile and the Ronco guy profile--weren't part of larger themed issues.

Hi, sorry Lizziee and everyone. Marc graciously offerred months ago to help get me a sample of this stuff and I never followed up. I'd PM him and see if he could recommend a contact or share an item number. The e-mail I have for the company in Barcelona is solegra@intercom.es which I am taking off a container of powdered agar agar and the phone numbers are 93 423 51 31 and 93 424 40 13 and the fax is 93 426 15 12.

For interesting, stylish high end cooking in DC, I now recommend driving out to Great Falls for Yannick Cam at Le Relais rather than Elysium, if you can only do one. My current ranking would be 1. Le Relais (apps avg $16 though there are at least 6 or 7 which cost $8 or $9, entrees mid/high 20's, desserts 9) 2. Cafe 15 and 3. Elysium--based on two meals at Le Relais, four meals at Elysium and the gala opening of the new Sofitel, which houses the mod, urbane Cafe 15 and where I got to meet the chefs and Antoine Westermann and taste much of the menu and Westermann's representative style. (I was an invited guest and did not pay at the Sofitel for those who care about such disclosures.) I've waxed poetic elsewhere on the site about how Yannick's ethereal deep fried soft shell crab quarters with a cilantro, sherry vinegar cream sauce is the best single dish I've had in a year or two. My other favorites--the cold soup of mussel, apple and curry which I described elsewhere; a wheatberry soup with duck confit and mushrooms; the composed salad of asparagus, olive tapenade, quail egg; the lobster ravioli--called "ravioli de homard, petit ragout de mais aux blancs de poireaux" on the menu--served over a stew/broth of white corn and leeks; the risotto with salsify, pan roasted chunks of shrimp flavored with truffle oil. Why Le Relais over Elysium? Better chef, slightly better food overall, much more polished service, much better wines and much better desserts. Obviously, I've championed Elysium, its chef, his potential and his concept and still highly recommend it. Le Relais is just a better overall experience--it achieves a better overall level of excellence in more areas in a "Ducasse complete experience way" though I don't mean to say Le Relais should be compared to ADNY. I also suspect Elysium will continue on a downward arc from my last visit for a bit and that we may have seen its best effort for awhile, since the Post review came out and it was mentioned in Food Arts. Cafe 15 is stylish in a restrained way--elements of Westermann's supervised cuisine here remind me of Daniel Boulud and especially of db Bistro Moderne. Depending on where you are staying, it is centrally located in a "nice" part of DC and might be the most convenient for you. The hotel interior and exterior reflects a sort of "DC dumbing down" as compared to the very interesting new Chicago Sofitel property--but in DC they had to gut and renovate an older, historic building rather than start from scratch. As I said, I haven't taken a meal in the restaurant itself yet, though I noshed my way through elements of the menu--presented in tasting menu or appetizer portions. Very refined, elegant, subtle flavors and textures--conservative yet interesting and not dated--wise use of gelee, of foams and emulsions (including an incredible pea foam layered atop a tiny cup of bacon in gelee) as the best chefs are capable of--regardless of whether they are conservative, as Westermann is, or innovative, as Adria is. Certain critics operate under the misimpression "foam" is a fad--one taste of this foam and you, too, will understand why it appears on the menus of the best restaurants in this country and abroad. Note that Le Relais also does an incredibly bargain-priced $26 three course fixed price dinner in their bar area, which has 3 or 4 tables, includes your choice of a glass of wine off their list by the glass ($9-12 otherwise) of about 15 choices, and offers several interesting choices of app, entree and dessert. It might meet your bargain budget as well. The night we sampled this menu--and loved it for the price--we had a perfect creme brulee, which should not be disparaged in a city of depressing desserts, is a rarity to find well done and was appreciated by both of us (two pastry chefs) and his "Chocolate mousse cake with orange coulis" which was served with a chocolate sorbet. This was excellent for DC but would be merely acceptable for more knowledgeable diners or more knowledgeable chocoholics--chocolate mousse packed into a demisphere mold resting on a very thin chocolate/cocoa jaconde with nice orange flavor and a very nicely executed sorbet. It could have been more bitter, more acidic, with some crunch--but as it was it was better than any dessert I've ever had at Citronelle or any of the other comparable price point restaurants around town. But, this brings me back to the reason Cafe 15 rates so high on my list is of the three restaurants Cafe 15 has a real pastry chef--a fantastic young French pastry chef named Romain, I think, and his desserts were superb, by far the best tasting in DC, very Herme/Valrhona/Bau influenced. (If Le Relais or Citronelle were smart, they'd steal this guy away fast otherwise they risk being surpassed down the road.) Elements that should be thin, flavorful, moist, crisp, unctuous, whatever--were so--and were done in miniature, which as any pastry chef will tell you is harder to do well. My favorites of the Westermann-supervised dishes--again, all presented as stylish pick-up amuses in little cups or on Vietnamese soup spoons and a word to the wise--if you are salt-phobic, don't eat here. Salt is not over-used but it is used properly, emphasized inherently in ingredients and noticeably added if necessary: Osetra caviar, shellfish aspic, cauliflower cream (really a foam/emulsion;) Red bell pepper bavarois, Maine lobster, herb jus; Duck foie gras and fig marmalade; Crunchy vegetables, sauteed crab meat in spices; Crayfish broth with Riesling; Marinated sardines with vegetables confit; Chilled tomato consommé, gourmet "tartine;" Scrambled eggs with fresh tomato and basil; Beef tartar with fried quail egg; Foie gras mousse with black truffle; Tuna tartar with dill; Desserts which stood out? All of them, from the one bite financiers to the excellent, excellent rhubarb marmalade to the chocolate cream "Grand-Mother style"--which Colleen really liked but I thought was too thick; he did a perfect floating island with infused verbena custard, a close to perfect lemon madeleine with wild strawberries and thyme tuile and a very polished very Herme-like rose macaroon with raspberries. I'm of course a huge fan of Jaleo on the budget-to-moderate end and am employed by their restaurant group. Along with Cafe Atlantico it would make my top 10 in the city, which is also moderately priced. I'd do both, first, over every other moderate option mentioned. Most of the others mentioned-- I find disappointing for their price point or effort mailed in, though because my experiences were disappointing I haven't made the effort to go back or stay current in the past year. I wouldn't go back to the DC Coasts, Pangauds, Equinoxes, Roberto Donnas of DC unless someone dragged me and was paying. (Just me--I'm sure each is capable of excellent cooking.) I haven't re-worked Jaleo's desserts yet but they are quite good--Jaleo perhaps sells more desserts than any other restaurant in the city as well. But in October Zaytinya opens--that's Jose Andres's new Greek/Turkish/Lebanese influenced restaurant which I'm currently developing the desserts for. I'll have complete creative control and ongoing supervision, unlike at Grapeseed. When you know your dates, message me and I'll let you know if we're open. At the moment, I can't guarantee the desserts at Grapeseed meet my level of expectation--I just got back from vacation and haven't been there in a few weeks. The high-end hotel wildcard I'll throw out to the thread is Maestro in the Tysons Ritz--I haven't been yet but have heard very good things about the chef (Fabio Trabocchi) from some palates I trust. I've had endemically poor bordering on horrifyingly indifferent customer service experiences with every previous restaurant incarnation at this Ritz--but I'll go in with an open mind. For my hotel money--the rejuvenated, revitalized DC Four Seasons, with new chef Douglas Anderson from Vancouver, has shown me they are already capable of great things--if given the chance by their clientele.

OK, rant coming. There's nothing wrong with leveraging old content--especially in a vanity publication as this seems to be--if that content is updated, freshened or value-added in some way--like by adding a few chef's notes that may have been cut from the actual television broadcast or some editorial comments perhaps by the producer or director of the spot. I suspect Marc's interesting column and the other new content will determine whether the venture sinks or swims. I hope it doesn't turn into another print outlet for celebrity food authorities and freelancers to dump articles their larger circulation glossies don't want. Excuse me, but do we really need Mo' Mariani? There's value in old content--especially if someone smart annotates or explains its influence on current cooking, its place in history or the timeline--but that takes work--and you have to pay someone to develop that. My fear is this is simply leveraging--trying to make a buck, any buck, off of older content That said, my overall impression of the Great Chef shows is not favorable--and this is just an impression of watching maybe 50 episodes from various series--not something researched. I wonder what value is really there in the show "archive." Not much on my radar. Whenever I happen upon a show it is more often than not dated, it appears to be 5-8 years out of date or a repeat, poorly filmed, framed, etc. I feel like I'm watching the B movie equivalent of an actual film--occasionally diverting but neither arty enough nor interesting enough nor campy enough to actually be a good B movie--and rarely do I feel I'm watching a "great" chef. I'd settle for an interesting one. If anything, the shows I've watched convince me chefs are uncomfortable in front of people, in front of a camera. Frankly, I'd rather read Marc's descriptions of what the chef intended and demonstrated and have more comments extracted from the chefs themselves by a skillful interviewer--someone who knows food. (At least we can revel in the absence of silly benign shills like Sissy Biggers and Gordon Elliot.) The calmly reassuring narrative voiceovers--dropped in from the ether rather than from a visible interactive host--drive me nuts, though. So does the omnipresent hum of a range hood. It pisses me off that 75% of the time I tune in to see bad old French pastry or stupid archaic American plated desserts which have no relevance anymore--or what seems like bad German/Swiss/Austrian cooking. I guess I'm not subjectively pre-disposed to like the Hawaii shows or the New Orleans shows either, so I won't even comment on them. These days, though, this media strategy seems ill-advised: re-packaging older content, older ideas into a new paid-circulation print publication rather than making it available on the web in an archive for free or for a slight fee. It will be interesting to follow Marc--who is erudite and knowledgeable, and as Bux has already noted, has been generous with us here at eGullet. But first impression--almost all of this should be on the web, freely archived and accessible. It would save alot of paper.

I'm curious about the Israeli cous cous--it was used in the desserts, right? I'm guessing like in a rice pudding? is there any chance it was tapioca or was it labelled Israeli cous cous on the menu? (Tapioca is much more often seen, thanks to Claudia and others) I thought I was one of the few to ever play with Israeli cous cous in a dessert--last year I had some balls of the pasta floating around with apple balls in a caramel saffron apple soup. I poached the cous cous in apple juice instead of water. I'd like to find out more of what was attempted--even though the attempt did not succeed.

Sure, you can cover a genoise cake with rf. Just fill it, soak it, crumb coat and close it with a metal spatula and an Italian meringue buttercream as usual. Perhaps use a little more buttercream to give it more strength, make sure it is perfectly smooth and cover it with rf right out of the fridge. (I never use underlayers of jam or marzipan and always, only, use buttercream under rf because I like the mouthfeel.) And then just make sure your fondant layer is not too thick--certainly less than 1/4" Personally, I always use some version of a mousseline cream with white chocolate or fold melted but cooled white chocolate into an Italian meringue buttercream when I have to use white chocolate mousse. (In a pinch, lemon curd folded into a buttercream is also a wonderful, unctuous cake filling. We usually always have these in the fridge or freezer.) You could use an egg yolk buttercream as well. Regardless, white chocolate mousse isn't a favorite filling of mine--for taste and flavor reasons not performance. What I do is close to what Rose was aiming for in her book and what you did--so I doubt I'd have much to add. You're already doing it well. Also, have you tried two thinner layers of mousse rather than just one in the center of the cake--this works well with genoise. You could even use the Silverton, as it would soak into the genoise rather than squish and still cut and taste fine. It's the whipped cream folded in that's potentially problematic and to get around that you either don't use whipped cream in the first place or stabilize it as in a bavarian or cream with gelatin to hold its shape.

Shawty--as Malawry noted, Trader Joe's is where you can get Plugra for $3 a pound year-round. It's the place you go--if you are lucky to live near one--when Fresh Fields/Whole Foods Markets decides to screw you by charging $4 a pound for their butters. I believe they're California-based--somewhat of a blend of Price Club/Costco with gourmet supermarkets like Whole Foods--very fairly priced, limited selection but what they have is usually at least pretty good. Besides Plugra, we regularly buy their cream, high quality frozen items like burritos and dim sum dumplings, some wines, beers and water and occasional other gems. In our area--DC and VA--I'd rate their customer service and staff pleasantness at least as good, if not better than Whole Foods.

how are you making white chocolate mousse now? how heavy a cake are you planning to use--i.e. genoise or more like pound cake? and when you say firm enough--do you mean firm enough as set up in the fridge--or firm enough when you actually get around to cutting the cake at an event, after it's been sitting out (and warming up) for a few hours during the reception? have you tried a white chocolate mousse the way you know how to make it--and had it squish out all over the place when you try to cut slices? also, will this be for an indoor wedding cake, in air conditioning or outside? and if this isn't enough questions already--are you covering the cake in buttercream or rolled fondant?

Do you know if it has been pulled from the website? I tried to look when I first read your post and their server was down.

Great term, interdicting. Which country are we talking about Elizabeth Ann? Is this an EU thing or a US thing? And Mamster--didn't you do a piece on sichuan peppercorns a few years ago--ever here of anything like this? Seems certain foodies have been lamenting the varieties of these not true peppercorns available for some time--which actually aren't peppercorns (true pepper is a dried fruit, a dried berry) but a different dried bud (rue).

Gael Greene has been mentioned elsewhere, what about throwing the two very large hats into the ring from New York magazine? I'd be interested if someone could make the case for Adam Platt and Hal Rubenstein.

Rochelle--there's a photo of the Julia Child culinary team in the Washington Post's "Out & About" Style section--on page C3--have you seen it yet? The photo isn't online, but the write-up of the event is: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...2-2002Aug5.html

Rochelle--did you investigate what the student withdrawl or separation process was--especially with respect to refunds of tuition already paid--before you decided to enroll? I wonder what the student handbook says--or any legally binding contracts--in terms of percent refunded versus number of weeks into the program? Usually schools, especially state certified schools, have to maintain certain standards and make all this public. Booting a student must definitely be an act of last resort. There's no adding students mid-term. And I bet this student is now off the hook for 85% of his future tuition commitment. A serious loss for the school but something which may come back to help the remaining students--a better instructor to student ratio and more personal attention. And as far as an instructor paying extra attention to the students worst-prepared going in or worst-performing while there--it's a constant battle.

Shaw--in your example, volume production aside, whether you make it by hand or by machine there's no reason to think the product wouldn't come out equal. I do think you have to conduct this on two tracks--home and pro--but both parallel each other and to a certain extent, I think what we might say about one could apply to the other. Doughs in Kitchenaids come out just fine and are mechanically aided, right? I've made certain doughs in Cuisinarts--and you just have to figure out how to compensate for the high heat by pulsing, since there is no slow speed--there's science inherent in each machine's process--and how to use that to your advantage should you choose to. (Indeed--machines require you to ratchet up your knowledge base--because you have to figure out what you stand to gain by using a machine and how that "gain" fits into the grand scheme of things.) Those sheeters are in many pro kitchens not just those of wholesale commercial bakeries--and in any event, I just think of them as a tool--one tool among many--to make more efficient the rolling out process but even sheeters still require skill and dexterity to use--the user has to adapt to and learn the nuances of the machine in order to use it well. I could roll out a dough or rolled fondant on a sheeter if I wanted to but I can get it just as thin, just as consistent when I roll it out by hand with a pin. What's the difference between any of these machines (tools) used in foodservice from the home based versions--say an ice cream freezer--there's a Krups for $50 or a Pacojet or batch freezer for $3,000? Would anyone seriously say either of these is duplicitous and prefer me to get out the salt, shovel some snow out of the cave and hand crank? No, it's another Luddite red herring. Sheeters, proof boxes, microwaves, Cuisinarts, immersion blenders, iSi Profi whippers charged with compressed gas, silpats and non-stick silicone sheets or molds, all of these are tools. No different from a knife or a pot. They have nothing inherently to do with taste, palate, honesty--and they all require an awareness, a skill set, a methodical approach, as does using and cooking with a knife. What's always curious is the misplaced emphasis of the sort a John Thorne would wax poetic about--oh, the evils of machines. Sorry, machines are tools, optional tools at that. A knife is a tool, an oven is a tool. The only evil is inherent in the culinary Luddites who don't realize time and technology march on--and in those culinary authorities who feel machines are a substitute for knowledge. Machines aren't. In the kitchen they are tools to be embraced and bent to your will. A question--is it duplicitous for hotels to buy frozen croissants--the ubiquitous kind I talked about above--then thaw, proof and bake them off--and tell their customers that they were "fresh baked" or baked off this morning?

Robert--no, croissants are very different--a yeast-raised dough. (You could make croissant-shaped products out of puff but that's not what Jin and I were referring to.) I guess technically you'd call it a leavened puff dough. Flour, salt, sugar, yeast, milk, butter. I'm simplifying the variables and steps here, but you make a detrempe, let it rise (ferment) push the detrempe down, fold in a butter block as with puff, roll and turn somewhat similarly. But when you actually cut and shape the dough you also proof it and let it rise again--before baking--in a somewhat warm, very humid area. Activating the yeast just right, doubling the volume just right, getting the proof box just the right temp make croissants very tricky. This all before baking. So it's much more difficult to do croissant well than puff well. Puff--no yeast, no proofing, no rising, no intermediate (read tricky) variables--just incorporate butter into the detrempe, roll, turn and fold. When you're ready to bake off a puff shape--just cut it, wash or glaze it depending on what you're doing with it--and bake. What people have figured out--that croissants freeze well after they are shaped but before they rise, before they are proofed . That's why all the croissants you have now in hotels taste and look the same--they're bought pre-shaped, frozen, thawed, proofed and baked off.

Yes--Basil--I think what I really want, and see this thread as being valuable for, is kind of a re-awakening--a step toward kindling a new awareness of how consumers should approach goods and how they should approach the choices chefs have to make on a daily basis. (Is it more important that ingredients be sourced locally or that they are good? Is it more important that a dish or preparation be authentic or be good? That kind of thing.) It isn't adjectives or code on a menu--like "home made" that's of primary importance--but seeing those choices which chefs make as personal. There aren't as many clear cut rights and wrongs but more differences in degrees. And customers walk through the door for many reasons--some of your customers I am sure come because they know precisely you will personally oversee everything--that everything is home made--and that there is value in the fact that you don't offer a wide range of choices. One ice cream, if it turns out ok and if it doesn't, no ice cream that night. I, too, would rather try as many things done by a chef's own hand--and I'd probably be a little more forgiving and understanding of the efforts--the personality if not perfection injected into those efforts--at given levels--than I would be of glittering four star places. My expectations are different. I guess my main issue is that I value effort over adjective and reputation and that I value criticism and reflection over assumptions and blind faith. To go back to the sorbet angle--I don't begrudge anyone trying to do it in house even if it the end result is less than stellar, flawed and less than what I might find acceptable as a pastry chef. My problem is only with those who can't tell or explain the difference, try to dissuade others from thinking there is a difference and try to pass off a product as the best of its kind--when it isn't the best. That's different from someone putting forth a product and saying here is what I created today, enjoy. None of this applies to you--and it isn't meant as personal. But I see this alot more here in the states--assumptions on the part of the diner that are based on misperceptions created in the media or on tv or by the chefs and restaurateurs themselves--and it irks me. So when you chuckled about how could you put "home made" on your menu for an item when every damn item on the menu is home made--I just wanted to try to flesh that out a bit, tell you I empathize, but that there are a few other ways to see it. And, risk credibility by saying sometimes, sometimes, a case can be made for outsourcing--and made for the right reasons. It might allow you to give more to your customers and give more of yourself in other ways.

Basil--I agree with your observation about "home made" completely. A question, though--do you make your own bread because it is better/cheaper/more cost effective/more personal than what you could obtain by outsourcing? Or does it fit more of a personal philosophy--you want to do it all? Is the sorbet the other "more highly rated" restaurant buys better than the sorbet you make? Better flavor, texture, consistency? If it is outsourced to a specialist who knows what they are doing--has very good freezers--knows how to use a refractometer and liquid sugars and powdered glucose and keep the stabilizers in just the right balance without going over the line to be "gummy" on the palate--that outsourced sorbet might be great. In this case I don't know. But an outsourced sorbet can be excellent. A restaurant (not your restaurant) making its own sorbet might use fresh fruit of inferior quality--not flash pasteurize it first, not have a clue how to control sugar percentage, nor how to use a completely natural stabilizer, have lousy freezers shared by the cooks which involve opening and closing all day long and which correspondingly creates high and low temperature fluctuations for the sorbet, allowing its structure to deteriorate and ice crystals to develop rapidly. I guess my larger point here in this thread is the first consideration has to be whether the finished product is good--and in the case of ice creams and sorbets many restaurants aren't doing them well. Chefs don't understand the science behind sorbet. Many can't afford the cost of a serious batch freezer. As a diner I'd like the best ice cream or sorbet on my dessert and don't care where it comes from. I'd prefer it to be made in house, for there is greater control and creativity which can be exerted in house--and I'd most definitely praise and value a restaurant making their own frozen elements in house if they are good--but outsourced ice creams and sorbets are, sadly, often far superior to "home made." Often, they can bought in small amounts more frequently if prioritized. And I guess that brings it full circle back to how this thread started--I don't see it as duplicitous or cheating to outsource ice creams and sorbets--any more so than I see outsourcing bread as a bad thing. Especially if the outsourced products are every bit as good if not superior to what could be made in house in a given environment and at a given price point. Claiming something is "home made" is no guarantee to quality, it's a misdirect and that perception on the part of the public should be changed. Something that looks and tastes good is good. Also, a chef or restaurateur trying to do everything in house should be appreciated for that philosophy--but not blindly so.

Robert--a note about expecting pros to do certain things and since you have a special interest in doughs, let me say puff and phyllo would be the only doughs I'd buy frozen or encourage others to buy frozen. That's because the frozen product can be had at a high level. I feel doughs like brioche, croissant, danish you have to do yourself--and if you don't have the time or staff resources to do them--and then proof and bake properly--then don't do them. Do something else. The commercial alternatives are not good. So, most really good pastry chefs do them sparingly--say just for Sunday--but when they do, they are treats and superb.

David--I'll answer you from the perspective of a chef. My wife or I carry a digital camera with us and occasionally sneak pictures if we think it won't disturb other diners. We sketch a bit and also take little notes--sometimes on napkins--but usually in our Visor. I've dined with other chefs--a few of them James Beard Award winners--and they carry Palms or Visors with them everywhere they go, they're the "PDA's" that Jhlurie mentioned. It has their schedules months in advance, phone numbers of all their contacts, etc. When they see something interesting on the menu or have a creative thought about something--they write in it their Palm. Some Palms can "scan" business cards into them. Not every chef does this--probably not most chefs, but as I said, these are some of the best chefs. One of the reasons why they are the best is because they pay attention to detail, they admire and respect the work of others and they are constantly thinking of things, filling up notebooks with creative ideas--ideas they'll probably never get to implement. There's a technological side to staying connected and as your life as a chef gets more complicated--you have to use these tools at your disposal in order to save time and be more efficient and be more accountable to those who depend on you. You're just starting out--but using these tools help as your own network expands, as you get to know more chefs and have greater responsibilities. Don't be afraid of them--they can help you get to the next level. I even have a Handspring Visor Prism--into which I can slip a tiny little digital camera in order to take pictures--like sliding a credit card into your wallet. Plus I carry all my recipes, files, articles and photos in my Visor. Sometimes it's easier carrying this around than my laptop. This isn't for everyone. Computers and tech, geek stuff scares some chefs. It's kind of like using the microwave or newfangled "inventions" like the way Ferran Adria started doing foams in the whipped cream dispensers. Some chefs never cross the bridge or open the door to this--the choice is yours.

Beautifully composed and written Shaw.

Well, I can't vouch for how good Pepperidge Farm is--and I have seen some frozen puff not made with 100% butter. But I'm with Suzanne on this, I've personally used Dufour on occasion, liked it and you see it all over the place in supermarkets and gourmet food stores. Pros can get brands and bigger sheets than home cooks can. But Dufour should be readily accessible to you.

I'll be going to the Med. bakery this weekend and will report back! And it sounds like Lotte might be similar to the huge, wonderful Korean/Asian market Chefette just mentioned out Lee Highway near Gallows Road. An amazing market.

Oh, it helps tremendously Oliva. Thanks so much. I wanted to give you an opportunity to go into more detail and didn't want to assume anything. It's better that way and more helpful to find out the whys behind our choices. Keep posting here and elsewhere because you're appreciated. Me--specifically--from the Italian store? Love--and make special trips for--the Milano and Capri subs, pizza, balls of frozen pizza dough, Nancy Silverton's baguettes. Also sometimes a bottle of wine with "frizzante" occasionally hard to find elsewhere, like a Moscato d'Asti or Brachetto d'Acqui, marinated artichokes, fresh mozz and other cheeses if convenient, though I'm not making a special trip for these or for the cheese.

Lizziee--is that Impressions column similar to the NY Times "Diner's Journal?" I always liked the concept behind that--a pre-review in other words and a way to get more timely information out, both to the restaurant itself and to the public. Have you noticed a trend with Impressions where a full review will follow a pre-review?

Foodie--one of the only things I like less than chocolate dipped strawberries--I, too, dislike them even if done well--is chocolate dipped strawberries with champagne--a terrible pairing even if you use a demi-sec or rose, which is only mildly more successful than the usual brut champagne pairing. But then, my palate has never understood the pairing of chocolate with champagne. I've always written that myth off to marketing synergy.