ulterior epicure

I would welcome recommendations for Houston. I see Feast is recommended. Any others?

It's been nearly a month. Surely someone's gone in for a visit?

Do we know yet who will be Lee's replacement at Gilt?

The Black Bass, if you enjoy raw seafood (and if it's available). ← The tuna with fois appetizer is superb. ← Gah - that's one dish I still need to try. The recipe for it in "On The Line" seems relatively within reach of the avid home cook.

The Black Bass, if you enjoy raw seafood (and if it's available).

Are you going to leave us in the dark as to what you expected and what you received? I've seen any number of octopus preps in "tapas" restaurants, but two are most common: alla Gallega (boiled and coated with paprika) and boiled and baked until tender and soft. What was the version you had? Please tell me you meant "yolks."

Yes, sorry, I do.

Thanks. Can you describe those black sesame rolls a little? They look moist. Are they agar agar with black sesame? [Edit: I realized I've gotten these elsewhere. But go ahead and describe them if you like.] ← Certainly not. Chestnut flour and sugar, I believe. ← Chestnut flour? Christ, if you're cooking at home. You know you only get the good stuff from grandma, momma and auntie. Nope. They're ground black sesame with glutinous rice flour. The chefs who are lazy may use gelatin but the "gee mah guen" are supposed to be made in the same way as cheong fun, with some tweaks. ← Yes, I will concede - the restaurant possibly uses rice flour (or, you may know that for a fact). But traditionally, chestnut flour.

I recently had a most gratifying meal at St. John. The highlights, for me, included the ox tongue, artichoke soup, and the prune & armagnac ice cream. The apple sorbet (served with Polish vodka) was shockingly good as well. And, I can't say a bad thing about the gingerloaf (although the butterscotch ice cream with it was rather forgettable). The eel and mashers were nice, but the bacon made the dish a bit one-note. Grouse was good, as were all the other starters we tried. The hare was the only clunker of the night, though the accompanying lentils, spiked with mustard, were amazing. You can read more about my dinner (and see all the photos) at the ulterior epicure.

Thanks. Can you describe those black sesame rolls a little? They look moist. Are they agar agar with black sesame? [Edit: I realized I've gotten these elsewhere. But go ahead and describe them if you like.] ← Certainly not. Chestnut flour and sugar, I believe.

I had lievre a la royale a few weeks ago at Michel Rostang. It was okay. The accompanying rable cuit rose was offensively too gamey, even for me. I suspect it wasn't the best. The lievre itself, with a nugget of foie gras in the center, was okay. The sauce was very nice. Rustic. Hardy. The meat was not bad; not terribly moist, but not dry either. Full post of the meal coming... sometime, hopefully. I've got a mountain of meals I need to pile through first.

My best meal of 2008.

I have, but not since the price structure change. So, I'm not sure I can be of much help to you.

Though I have not been to EMP for lunch, I can totally understand (and appreciate) your assessment, BryanZ. Great report. I can't wait to check out EMP's lunch menu sometime.

I'm just curious what everyone's standard for a "*" (or ** or ***) is, exactly. FYI, here's Michelin's own stated standard. "Every restaurant listed in the Michelin Guide is recommended by our team of professional inspectors. The ones listed below have earned stars that reflect their exceptional culinary achievements, regardless of cuisine style. Stars represent only what is on the plate. They do not take into consideration interior decoration, service quality or table settings." Whether they follow this standard or not is another issue. NOW do you think Babbo and Craft deserve(d) one Michelin star?

I just had "Crispy Pig Tails" at St. John Bread & Wine in London. It was quite good - think braised pork belly schnitzel on a bone. Question: there was quite a thick layer of fat around the meat, which surrounded the bone. Or, was it fat? I've read the recipe and it seems that if you braise the meat that long, it would render and the fat would float to the top for skimming. So, is that a thick rind of collagen surrounding the pig tail meat and bone?

Wow - I had heard of her demise, then heard it was a false report so I stopped looking for news on kansascity.com. I won't try to pretend I was a fan or in agreement with her (too many postings to the contrary) but certainly sad to see her untimely demise. And my sympathies to her daughters and to Tim. Agree with her or not, she was a Missouri farm girl, well-traveled and a great supporter of the locals. She will be missed. I spent two days lamenting her loss; a day grateful that the news was errant, and now this. Perhaps a memorial fund at Broadmoor would be in order. ← I echo moosnsqrl's sentiments - word-for-word. If you haven't already, do take time to read the article about her in the Kansas City Star today.

And yet Jewel Bako retains its star. I'm not surprised the devi lost its star, though Babbo's loss does surprise me. ← Devi has deteriorated? That would be strange, since Suvir Saran and Hemant Mathur are still co-owners. ← Well, the last time I checked, Colicchio still owns the now starless Craft. And Batali still owns Babbo. ← Do you think Babbo has deteriorated? ← I'm unqualified to answer that question. The last time I ate at Babbo was in 2007, well before they lost their star. Actually, that was the only time I've eaten there. Judging by my experience, it earned its star solely because the food (for me, anyway) was good enough to overlook the decibel level and so-so service. I also can't give you an opinion as to whether devi has deteriorated. I've only eaten there once - this year in June, when the restaurant was arguably on its way to losing its star. I can't say I was terribly impressed. The food was good. Some of it was great. The service was pretty rocky (though the servers were all very welcoming, together, they were a bit incompetent). And, though I'm not one to usually care much about tangible refinements, the restaurant did lack the ambiance/environment regularly associated with a Michelin-starred restaurant (I would say the same of the noise-level at Babbo). I recognize that one Michelin star doesn't require the arsenal of silver and yards of linens that two and three stars usually do, but devi really could feel dingy at times. It's got it's own style which I can't say is unattractive; it just doesn't fit the "one star" mold in looks or feel. So, I guess what I'm saying is, based on my limited experience, I can't say that I'm convinced that devi was ever really supposed to be a one-starred Michelin restaurant - by Michelin's standards, not mine. Again, given the mass of devi devotees, I'm willing to concede that my one experience was not representative. Still, I was not shocked that it lost its star this year.

No, I don't think so. Michelin is a foreign tire brand, and their New York Guide is pretty new. It would be unrealistic for them to expect to become the go-to restaurant guide for New Yorkers. ...however much they might hope...

And yet Jewel Bako retains its star. I'm not surprised the devi lost its star, though Babbo's loss does surprise me. ← Devi has deteriorated? That would be strange, since Suvir Saran and Hemant Mathur are still co-owners. ← Well, the last time I checked, Colicchio still owns the now starless Craft. And Batali still owns Babbo.

If so, I wonder if they're also $14. ETA: Oops, our emails crossed. I guess so!

At first I was disappointed to see the schnitzel wasn't still on the menu last week, but after tasting its replacement I was more than happy to have the cassoulet. That is the ultimate cold weather dish..... ← WHAT??? The schnitzel ist kaput gemacht? Ich bin am Ende! Cassoulet better be damn good. ← I didn't get a go at the schnitzel. Be thankful that you at least got to taste it. I do want to ask ChefCAG what was in the cassoulet. Little pink dices of lamb sausage for sure, but there were flakes of white meat. Zeemanb, did you get those in your skillet? It looked and somewhat tasted like (very tender) flakes of chicken breast meat (as opposed to duck, I suppose). It looked too light to be lamb. If it was lamb, what did you do to it? It was very tender. ← It says lamb on the menu IT was lamb and then I changed it to chicken and burger's orzark ham.....I just realized I hadn't changed the menu the night you were there. We have to many dam menus at the restaurant...... ← It was dark chicken meat....legs and thighs. We braise them. ← Well, that explains why the lamb sausage tasted hammy (Van had told me there was lamb sausage in it, so I took his word for it). But the chicken, I thought you had bleached the lamb or something! And, I guess I got the lighter bits of dark meat in mine. Whew, I thought for a minute that I didn't know lamb from chicken.

At first I was disappointed to see the schnitzel wasn't still on the menu last week, but after tasting its replacement I was more than happy to have the cassoulet. That is the ultimate cold weather dish..... ← WHAT??? The schnitzel ist kaput gemacht? Ich bin am Ende! Cassoulet better be damn good. ← I didn't get a go at the schnitzel. Be thankful that you at least got to taste it. I do want to ask ChefCAG what was in the cassoulet. Little pink dices of lamb sausage for sure, but there were flakes of white meat. Zeemanb, did you get those in your skillet? It looked and somewhat tasted like (very tender) flakes of chicken breast meat (as opposed to duck, I suppose). It looked too light to be lamb. If it was lamb, what did you do to it? It was very tender.

You're right - pushing it, but not impossible. The 17.03 departing Euston will arrive in town at 17.23. The last train departing for Paddington is at 23.05, which puts one back in London just 8 minutes past midnight. That gives one a nice three hours at the restaurant. ← Roger le Goeland, You're absolutely right. Ouch. That was not only a typo, but a misreading. That's not 8 MINUTES past midnight, that's 8 HOURS past midnight. Depart London Euston at 17.03 arrive Cheltenham Spa at 19.23. Depart Cheltenham Spa at 23.05 arrive London Paddington at 07.16. The last train departing Cheltenham that will get you back to London at a reasonable hour is the 22.00 train, which puts you back into Paddington at 2.34. That gives you under 3 hours at the restaurant and leaves you with one groggy day at the office (this is mid-week travel times - weekends may be different).

You're right - pushing it, but not impossible. The 17.03 departing Euston will arrive in town at 17.23. The last train departing for Paddington is at 23.05, which puts one back in London just 8 minutes past midnight. That gives one a nice three hours at the restaurant. ← However, the price of the return trip, which would be nearly 100GBP, is quite a more irksome proposition to negotiate.