Steve Klc

I get it from them directly--800.222.6250--two 1 pound bags of whole bean at a time, sent next day or two day air, with shipping $34.80 Please post about your home roasting experiments Owen.

Alan--anyone who has read this thread knows Toronto Life is a magazine. (Thanks to SteveW.) Dig up a few old threads here on the Canada board--where we (Lesley included) discussed the Toronto food and wine scene months ago--and assessed it rather positively. I was one of those people very impressed with Toronto and NOTL--not even considering the very favorable US/CAN price to value comparisons--and took several trips there in the past year and a half. My wife bought her wedding dress from Adele Wechsler, a terrific Toronto designer, and I'm addicted to icewine. Here's the link: http://forums.egullet.org/ikonboa....;t=5586 How'd we do Alan? And Alan--you really think being a good writer makes one a good food critic? Sorry, around here you'd find serious disagreement. That's unintentionally one of the funniest things I've read in a while. It's not all about opinion--and some opinions are more valid than others. And as far as being taken too seriously, well, some people do know what they're talking about--you might be one of them--and the discussion forum of eGullet is the perfect, timely, public vehicle to assess who does and who does not. Lesley raised a valid issue for me which transcends the border between our countries--one which you seem to reinforce--that magazine restaurant reviews/criticism are possibly compromised, inherently, by the form, which depends on advertising to a greater degree than newspaper criticism? Perhaps you could join several of the threads we have on the subject of critics on other boards--unless you'd prefer to consider Canadians in isolation or you've written and covered the Toronto scene for so long and in such depth that you don't get to eat in Chicago, SF, NY, Paris, France or Spain to have a rounded picture. Do tell which Toronto restaurants opened in the past year "on par if not better than" cosmo cities like Chicago and New York? Are you comparing new (less than one-year old) Toronto restaurants to new NYC restaurants or new Toronto restos to the best NY has to offer? I'm not sure--either way, name names please. Right now I read more than a tinge of home-town defensiveness in your reply and that's not what most of us here are about. I am sure Lesley did not intend to slight you. We here in the States have too many good writers who are much better at writing than they are knowledgeable about food, chefs and restaurateurs, unfortunately.

A few specifics angrychef would be nice. Rants are, of course, welcome but evidence and argument and specifics even better. There's no politics amongst chefs? We band of brothers, we noble few? Chefs don't network among their peers, pad their resumes, get other chefs to open doors for them, steal recipes and ideas--oops, are inspired by other chefs, promote their buddies at the expense of the truly talented? When did chefdom become an altruistic meritocracy? All critics crap? Hardly. Critics eat out ALOT more than working chefs--and more than a few critics are knowledgeable, erudite and fair. You write if critics "can criticise a chef for lack of creativity they should be held to the same standard." Well, here at eGullet they are. We criticize the food writers as well as chefs, restaurant policies, cookbook writers and the diners themselves. You also write "the funniest thing about all of this is that most critics get respect via the media outlet they work for, whereas a chef must earn it by his own right." Well, that doesn't prevent any of us from discussing the merits of what appears in print from the New York Times to Gourmet magazine, from Toronto Life magazine to French and Spanish websites. In our online world you have to earn respect from your content--whether it is on the page or on the plate. There are no sacred cows around here. However, I've seen alot of media respect conferred upon untalented but media-savvy chefs working at famous properties--who buy alot of product--completely out of step with their actual ability and creativity. It clearly works both ways. I guess it seems I disagree with just about everything you said--and how you said it angrychef--but it's not personal and I hope you continue to post, rant some more even, and that you engage us all--as we will you.

I wrote earlier in this thread--"My initial suspicion is that this is one grand global advertorial--no more, no less--paid by Wedgwood and in collusion with chefs, writers, and personalities who have been paid off to be involved." I've seen nothing since to change my mind. This is about hype, name recognition and brand--involving elite chefs and restaurateurs but doubtless not involving meaningful competition, judgement or actual quantifiable criteria. I can't imagine it is taken seriously by any chef involved except as a marketing tool.

My current ranking is 1. Graffeo dark mostly 2. the Perugia blend Owen mentioned ocassionally and 3. Illy in an absolute pinch. Only for espresso in my Sylvia/Rocky setup. When I travel I bring along a baggie of coarsely ground Graffeo dark and a small French press. Owen--I asked you this on the rival NY board coffee thread, but since you posted the Torrefazione stuff here, I'll ask this of you here as well--how long have you used the Perugia and have you noticed any decline since they sold out? Do you have a link for information about David Schomer?

Of course, it doesn't hurt when a "food writer" is also a talented pastry chef, as Lesley is. Not just a "baker," a "baking authority" or a "baking journalist," but a real pastry chef. Her "Baking & Pastry: Basic Techniques," (Macmillan Canada, 2000) written with her pastry chef husband Bertrand Bazin, has just been brought to my attention and I've now had a chance to explore it. Every eGulleteer at all interested in dessert should buy this slim affordable book immediately. It is, quite simply, the most concise, accessible, beautiful, helpful introduction to French pastry techniques--with the best step-by-step action photos I've ever seen--currently available. It rivals the masterful "Roux Brothers on Patisserie" (1986) as the best single volume French pastry source in print. I wish I had written it. At 126 pages, with recipes in weight and volume, tons of color photos, the Chesterman/Bazin book is far superior, in impact and value, to the leaden, wordy, repetitive, recycled, simplistic, unrefined "In the Sweet Kitchen" by Regan Daley. (Which, of course, won the IACP Cookbook of the Year award.) How Lesley's book has been allowed to fly under the radar up to this point is embarrassing. Shame on Macmillan Canada for dropping the ball and not fully realizing the value of what they have. Perhaps they should headhunt whomever was responsible for pr on Sweet Kitchen. That person is a genius.

Glenn--it's not personal. It's just that there are or have been several threads on this subject--and rockefeller666's attempts to distinguish them and narrowly define them aside--I worry about saying the same things over and over again and droning on too much. The fact is many people use espresso roasts in a variety of non-espresso machines to get "coffee" as close to a true espresso as possible. In a way, comparing espresso and coffee styles is like comparing French and Belgian chocolate candies--both use the same essential ingredient to produce a different, yet distinctive end result that is nonetheless intertwined. I guess my sense is too much of this thread really belongs elsewhere--on General or Cooking--rather than in NY--but it has happened here and it has been easy for many of us to expand on Cafe Sabarsky and the Meinl blend and the Grimes espresso piece into larger concerns. On this thread Glenn, the only unaddressed questions of yours I see are 1) about heating cups--you run some hot water through the "empty" grouphead and portafilter--to heat them actually in the process--and collect the water in the cup--heating it; the cups also warm up sitting on top of the machine and 2) about whether you should recommend to your restaurant to switch from Lavazza--I'm solidly with Owen on this--even the better grade of Lavazza stinks compared to several of the alternatives--whole bean Illy, Perugia blend, Graffeo are far superior. (I have not tried Danesi, Bux, and don't have enough experience with Peet's to compare adequately, rock666) I guess I'm in the camp that feels beans for espresso have to be darkly roasted enough--but not be inappropriately dark. The "lighter" styles of espresso roast have been less satisfying for me as have the too-darkly roasted blends--dark, black and oily just for the sake of being bark, black and oily. (Many have commented that over-roasting is a way to disguise poor beans to begin with and I'd agree with that.) Maybe you're feeling there are questions of yours from other threads that have gone unanswered Glenn--just find them--and push that thread to the top of General or Cooking or wherever they are and we'll address them. And rock666--you wrote recently "I don't want to deal with the cleaning, the hassle and the expense" of an espresso machine. I don't know how much experience you have with espresso machines and indeed, offer no judgement of your current methods--but I can tell you cleaning an espresso machine is about as time consuming and involved as cleaning a French press pot, rinsing the glass cylinder and the steel filter--in fact, it might even be easier--you press a button, which runs a few seconds of water through the machine, press the button again, swipe with a cloth, turn the machine off. It takes 5 seconds. Yes, there is a hassle--they're not called "semi-automatic" and "semi-commercial" for nothing and yes it is more expensive. But with it comes greater responsibility--which Glenn fears a bit--than the press--but let me ask all of your Press pot plungers this--how diligent are all of you at cleaning the plunger and screen? That thing collects oils over time--as has been mentioned by others--how many days do you go, be honest, just rinsing it under water, how black and dirty do you allow it to get, before you really disassemble it and clean it back to shiny stainless steel? There's more effort involved in properly cleaning the simple French press than many people realize--each pot is diminished slightly by rancid oils allowed to collect in the mesh and grill even if you use bottled water and great beans. One thing I'm still interested in--how do we really think Cafe Sabarsky is using these Meinl blends which seem light--in espresso machines? I find it hard to believe they are not doing drip or filtered coffee--anyone else?

Yukio Hattori--wasn't he on Iron Chef? Competition may have been fierce but does anyone know if there ever was any actual competition? I may have missed the press releases previously--but wasn't this a few people--the juries--dining out at the selected restaurants? Were any details ever released to indicate otherwise? Are we at least being led to believe that the Grand Jury visited all the finalists after being winnowed from the nominees?

I first discovered Graffeo at their San Rafael store in 1986 or so. Not too touristy an area--all locals actually. Later I found out Alice waters served Graffeo, I think that tidbit was made public in a Food & Wine profile of her daughter and the cafe named after her. They've been on the map for a long time. Owen--I used to use Perugia blend, too, and every now and then change off Graffeo for it. They sold out, didn't they, and Torrefazione is no longer family held, right? Have you noticed a decline in the beans or blend from years past? I'm with you rock666 about beans making the biggest difference--but technology and machines, properly used, sure do help you extract the inherent character of those beans and the roaster. oh, and jaybee, nespresso is also jumping on the "Grand cru" bandwagon with a designer line of select espresso pods--have you seen them? They're presented in a case like rare teas or cigars.

Was that Casta Diva Bux?

Peter--the Graffeo Dark roast blend that I use for espresso now is the same that I used in the French press for all those years. And Yvonne, I, too, was a fan of Yergacheffe in the press--acidic, clean, flowery and winey--though I never tried the D & D style. Peter's right in seeking clear distinctions but there is no clear answer. The best method to make coffee depends on how one chooses to define coffee--to define what coffee means to them. And depending on style and preference, I have seen espresso roasts much lighter than dark roasts destined for the press. Depends whether you're talking Northern Italy, Southern Italy, Seattle, etc. And I have enjoyed lighter roasts in my Sylvia for espresso and not enjoyed the same roast in the press; the inverse is also true: each method of preparation emphasizes or clouds certain traits, and each grind setting does the same. Which is why this is such a voyage of discovery for each individual.

My problem at the high end, Steve, is I expect a glass or taste paired to each course. Of course at Bras you'll probably have something wonderful in dark chocolate with a Banyuls and say gee, that dessert wine went so well. And I've had success going from dry red to sweet white to sweet red, since I usually get a lot of desserts and try to taste as many dessert wines as possible. But I'm in a distinct minority. Most pastry chefs are threatened by dessert wine and most restaurants don't understand it--and don't pair each dessert to an appropriate wine. When you go to Bras--see if they have a white Banyuls. It's very rare and tightly allocated in the States and I just tried it for the first time last night. Wonderful. I can't wait for your control-acquiring pastry chef diatribe, since I am a very control-requiring pastry chef. Of course, who has the control actually has little to do with creating a successful transition from savory to sweet and creating harmony and flow all the way to the end. Thank you for following up and please alert me when you publish or post your diatribe.

Try it anyway Gary and please post about it. We'd welcome it as we welcome you.

This guy is still a putz. (Sorry that wasn't more stylish Peter :-) Check out his latest update--he reworked the intro and fine dining section--though it remains underwhelming, unaware and laughably out of date in so many instances.

No jaybee, I haven't tried either the vacuum style or the insulated press version; my use of the French press is down to about .005% of the time. So you'd be covering good ground helpful to me and others around here if you continued to report back on your travails. Depending on my mood I think I wait at least 4 minutes and perhaps longer sometimes--and like others have mentioned, I think John Whiting, I just do small batches each time I want a cup or two rather than doing a large amount in a large press.

Thank you Steve--can you recall a bit more about the "cake" in terms of size, shape, density, composition, whatever? I'm intrigued.

I have to shake mine, too, usually as the beans age a bit. Lavazza stinks. The fact that you like Graffeo is a very positive sign. Now you are experimenting with the professional machine at work. Another very good sign. You are on your way. Why did the Grimes article make you think twice about getting a machine? Because so many people around town are not doing a good job making espressos? If anything, the Grimes article crystallizes what a few of us have been saying on eGullet since the site debuted--if you like espresso you have to make it yourself. end of story. And once again, I have to ask, why did Bux and I scare you off from getting a machine? It is so obvious you want to, dare I say, need to that you must be the only person around here who doesn't realize this yet. Continue to play with the machine at work, try to identify what variable(s) you are not completely understanding--and we'll talk you through it. When you're ready, give yourself over to the dark side and join us. Jaybee and glenn--have you been using the French press?

Hacked apart with a knife or a clump of choux (2 or 3 balls) can be broken off with your hands. Alot of fun, actually.

Jinmyo--that's 1.619 dollars to you.

I second CathyL's suggestion--it travels well and can be made ahead. Pick up a bunch of flowering chives now in the farmer's market and saute them off at the last minute and you're all set. Microgreens and a Vietnamese-style green papaya salad (matchsticks) would go nicely as well--cool and crisp.

Mao--on the Sugiyama thread and this one, I'm not sure we have created two distinct schools--in my mind, we've distinguished one school which requires greater knowledge, experience, expense and awareness--which subsumes the other. The Sietsema/cheap eats/chowhound track is simply groupthink, a valid, though marginalized, component of a much more nuanced and sophisticated whole.

Thank you Pan--perhaps he could answer the questions I asked as well, which were ignored: "do you feel Tamarind has evolved or changed at all since it opened? Has the food and service, in your opinion, remained constant and at a high level from day one until today? Did you have any meals there that were at all inconsistent? The reason I ask is that I've long admired Raji Jallepalli and wonder how a restaurant--any restaurant--could overcome the loss of such a talent without missing any beats?"

Really no disagreement here, Jinmyo. That fat is used in abundance professionally should not be a secret anymore and if this article drives that point home to anyone, great. We're swimming in it when we dine out at the high end, which always used to amuse me when a customer worried about the fat content of a yogurt or fromage blanc ice cream or sorbet in a fruit soup. Still, for me, it did take up alot of column inches for the few revelations. I'm with Bux channeling Shaw when I read "But without a lot of help, you can't. It is, in fact, virtually impossible for any home cook to cook like a chef." Nothing could be farther from the truth, in fact. I'd rather more time been devoted to access to ingredients--appreciation of why those ingredients are superior--and technique/skill differences rather than equipment differences--but then newspaper Food sections around the country don't want their locals to even sense that the quality of, for instance, fresh seafood they're getting locally is not as good as that of New York, Vancouver, wherever--because then the local seafood suppliers (read: local advertisers) would get upset with them. Part of this equation is not talking about it--these kind of stories don't get approved by the editors on the local level. Writers--even those slotted in secure positions-- know not even to pitch the story because a local advertiser would get upset. Malawry speaks a bit to this, well I think, and when she states "I'd also be interested in learning more about what you can and can't make in advance and why" I guess she crystallizes my sense that a different dish could have revealed more.

We got into this a bit on the Sugiyama thread. It deserves wider consideration and it is intimately tied into the perception of Sietsema as a reviewer, his recommendations and how we come to understand and assess food, chefs and restaurants. Clickety: http://forums.egullet.org/ikonboa....;t=6369 I'm clearly in the anti-Sietsema camp when it comes to vision and outlook, though that wouldn't prevent me from trying any of his cheap eats places that were unfamiliar to me. I wouldn't be prompted to wait for Mao's delciously ironic "100 Best Occidental list" from him, not that one would ever be forthcoming. Steve Plotnicki's post on that other thread about a Cheap Eats guy carrying little weight for him, moral or otherwise, as far as being able to appreciate the higher end rings true for me.

Now we're starting to get somewhere. I hesitated weighing in first on this because my reactions were--when did this guy get three stars? what's so tough about this? and what am I missing? I use dumbed-down all the time, sorry it offends Sandra. I also feel I've used it correctly--if you ever catch me being condescending without merit, please alert me. There's a big difference in my book between a concession and dumbing down. This article speaks to those concessions, albeit in a simplistic way. Oh, more staff. Oh, done ahead. Where's the meat to this article that even a moderately aware person wouldn't already be aware of--and where's the meat to this dish in terms of technique, inspiration, access to ingredients or creativity? Writers and editors responsible for dumbing down--this lack of respect shown to home cooks--would not use the term to describe themselves or what they're doing. They may not even realize it, it is so ingrained in mainstream food writing that it must be in a code or guideline somewhere, perhaps in Louisville at the IACP headquarters. This article isn't an example of dumbing down--it is very well written and speaks to differences and concessions--but it is a good idea not really executed well in my mind. I read it and said "what's the big deal?"