lesanglierrouge

Last night I dined at a restaurant in the 15th arrondissement called L'Os a Moelle (corner of Vasco de Gama and rue de Lourmel). The food was outsdtanding. They offered a four-course tasting menu for 38 eur with a choice of two or more plates with each course. We started with a chilled, frothy cream of mushroom soup with Bayonne ham and croutons, followed by a fillet of sole with creamy whipped potatoes, a nice demi-glace and then garnished with veal marrow and shaved black truffle. Then came a grilled venison tenderloin with braised endive and chestnuts. Dessert was roasted pineapple with almonds and a ginger sorbet and some sort of sabayon-like sauce. The wine was also incredible (their wine bar is just accross the street). I don't know how well known the restaurant is or Chef Thierry Faucher, but it was the best dining experience I have had in my month in Paris.

Thanks for your reply and an entertaining read. I'll try really hard not to put plastic containers of mustard on hot stoves while at LCB. When are you returning to Paris? Also have you decided what to do in with your internship? I think I would actually like to do mine a little outside of the resto biz (I have my whole life for that). I think it would be really cool to do that in charcuterie in Italy and/or Corsica. Do you know what kind of parameters LCB has for internships?

Torches are great in the kitchen. If your creaming butter, icing or cream cheese in a kitchenaid try torching the metal mixing bowl to loosen it up. During the dinner rush, if you ever have a sea scallop hit the floor (professional and conscientious cooks never follow the 7 second rule!), you can oil and season a new one and torch the outside to caramelize and finish quickly in the oven.

As a server I dealt with every bogus fad diet that these trash grocery store mags ever printed and I am obviously a little embittered. "Ask a lot of questions and make a lot of requests." -CRINGE- The fact of the matter is that the average diner is not in a position to dictate to a professional chef how to cook. This is sheer arrogance. I have seen countless diners make numerous special instructions on their orders until they completely ruin their own food, and then they blame the restaurant. It is irresponsible and unethical for this magazine to print disproven and outdated nutritional advice for their vulnerable readers. Aside from sucking the last few drops of joy from their lives this advice is unhealthy and annoying. Thank you gifted gourmet for pointing me toward my nemesis. I will watch it more closely now.

Let me begin by saying it is a great honor replying to this thread. Duck confit potato hash with prosciutto, fried egg and scallion For the confit: 2 duck leg and thigh pieces 2-3 cups rendered duck fat (can be purchased from many specialty poultry markets or you can render your own) 1 bay leave a few parsley stems 1 small onion, rough chopped 1 carrot, rough chopped 1 celery stalk, rough chopped 1 clove garlic, whole sea salt (very course) black peppercorns For the potato hash: 4 medium Idaho potatoes, peeled, small dice 1 medium onion, small dice 1 clove garlic, minced 1/2 cup prosciutto, small dice 1/2 cup scallion, chopped butter eggs for frying The day before preparing, cure the duck legs. Sprinkle the course sea salt all over the duck (add a little bit more than you would if you were just seasoning because it will be rinsed later). Weight down the duck with a plate or sheet pan and refigerate overnite. The next day thoroughly rinse and pat dry the cured duck. In a smallish sauce pan add your rendered duck fat and all other duck confit ingredients- do not salt! Cook at a low temperature for 3 hours or until duck meat pulls away from the bone. Remove duck and let drain on a clean towel. Strain the fat and reserve. When duck has cooled, pull meat from bone, being sure to remove smaller bones, skin and connective tissue. Don't worry about break up the meat, it will saute better that way. Blanch your potatoes in salted boiling water and drain thoroughly. Add some butter to a saute pan over medium-low heat. Add onions and saute until somewhat soft. Add some of the reserved duck fat, prosciutto, garlic and potatoes. Crank the heat. Tossing the saute constantly, add more fat as needed to prevent sticking (we're talking about a lot of fat). When the potatoes begin to brown, taste and adjust seasoning accordingly. When they are nicely browned add duck confit and scallion. Toss several times and kill heat. The hash can be kept warm in the oven until service. Fry your eggs to your taste in some of the duck fat(I reccomend over-easy, so the yolk runs over the hash mmmm....). Serve a fried egg over the hash.

As far as the employees go, the restaurant closings will be an inconvenience to most and a serious problem to only a few. I've seen a number of restaurants close here in Cols, OH and it usually has a short term ripple effect on the local job market. Sudddenly it becomes a buyers market when the resumes and apps start rolling in. Not a good time at all to start showing up to work late! But ultimately these things sort themselves out. BTW I would not be surprised if some of our locally spawned monstrosities here might rush in to fill the voids in the suberbs of Chicago. Ever-striving to homogenize the American dining experience, CMR (Cameron Mitchell Restaurants) and BDI (Bravo! Development Inc.) have deep pockets and notions of manifest destiny.

I will begin the Classic Cycle at LCB Paris in January. I'm interested in talking to people in the Paris restaurant business, anyone who might also be in this program or anyone familiar with the Paris restaurant business. Any input?