ulterior epicure

Yes, it's small, but I *think* there have been morels and organic (Campo Lindo) chickens for sale there.

Yep, I found those morels a few weeks ago. So, what are you going to do with them?? You know, Zeemanb, we should gang up on this guy and find out where his stash of Jane Mansfields are; I have no idea what wooded areas in our 'hood are hiding these blonde beauties.

Delaware Cafe is getting a face-lift, physically and internally. The former sous chef pastry of bluestem, Joe West (eGullet member "JWest"), has been hired as the new Executive Chef. The restaurant is slated to open this Thursday, May 23 (correct me if I'm wrong, JWest). It will serve lunch and dinner. From what I hear, the menu will focus on seasonal, sustainable, and local products.

I've circled back to pizza bella recently a few times. The menu is slightly different. Most (if not all) of the opening menu pizzas are still offered. I *think* that the "Potato" and "Egg" are new. You also have the option of making your own, now. The antipasti list is now shorter. Brussels sprouts are still on the menu; I think it's being branded as their "signature" antipasto. There's also an "Antipasto of the Day," which has been different every time I've been there. The big news, (if there is any to be had) is that pizza bella is now featuring a "Nightly Special." I've seen a couple of these come out of the kitchen, and they've all looked great - especially the whole-roasted branzino on Fridays. I don't think there's much hope for the desserts here; the options remain quite limited.

I know that at this point, no one cares about the macarons or pastries at Bouchon Bakery. But, for those who do, I had a rather disappointing run through four of their flavors recently. Actually, the flavors were the least disappointing part. I actually liked the Bananas Foster and the Peaches and Cream. But, the macarons were shockingly gummy and chewy. Only one of the four was decent. Also, what is up with the large macarons only. I noticed the smaller ones in the pre-packaged boxes, but they were dipped in chocolate. Why would they do that? We also tried a Turtle Tart, which was rich and cloyingly sweet. It was very dense. The Doughnut (simply sugar-dusted) had a different texture than we expected. It was less like a traditional, fluffy yeast dough, and it wasn't the denser, crumbly cake dough. It was like brioche. And it was dry. I don't like brioche to begin with, and dry brioche is the kiss of death. A more detailed review can be found at the ulterior epicure.

I *think* that L.20 is open, no? Any reports?

A recent lunch at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon indicates that there have been some changes to the Robuchon repertoire (apologies in advance if any of this is repeated in posts above). For a more detailed review and pictures, visit the ulterior epicure 1. The foie gras with Parmesan foam amuse is now a more summer-like shot of tomato gazpacho (served room temperature). 2. At the time of our meal, the portion sizes seemed to have increased noticeably, but not significantly (at least, for the dishes that I repeated from my first visit, and with the exception of La Langoustine). Looking back at my photos, however, it seems not to be the case. Has anyone noticed a difference? 3. Run, don't walk, to L'Atelier for the "Multi-Saveurs" dessert. You have to like chocolate and red fruits. 4."Le Sucre" is off the menu now. Apparently, the pastry chef who invented it has been re-stationed in the Tokyo bureau, and along went the dessert. 5. For those who are interested, Joel Robuchon is slated to be in the restaurant next in September. 6. First time trying "La Lotte." It makes me never want to order monkfish at a restaurant other than L'AdJR again. 7. "La Langoustine" is now wrapped in rice paper, not brik dough. 8. I find it terribly confusing that they have three scallop dishes all entitled, simply, "Le Saint Jacques." There are also three "La Langoustine" dishes. 9. I cannot emphasize how good the bread at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon is. My friend inhaled the entire basket (which, I found terribly disgusting, even though I completely understood how it could be done). The Kalamata olive-studded fococcia was life-altering. They said that they make the breads in the building (it's a different kitchen in the hotel), but they are specifically made for and at the direction of L'Atelier. 10. Many of the (what seemed like) iconic dishes from it's first year are now gone. No more spaghetti with caviar. No more sea urchin with cauliflower (and the circle of green dots). Spaghetti is now an (inelegant) bowl of tangled noodles in a rich, creamy (and VERY buttery) broth with a generous helping of morels. It is rife with Parmesan. The flavor was extremely rich and bold. I could only have two small bites. My carb fiend friend ate the rest. Here's what we had (* dishes I've had before): La Langoustine* Le Saint Jacques (seared diver scallop with seaweed butter on scallop shell) L'Anguille* (eel and foie) Le Saint Jacques (carpaccio of diver scallop with sea urchin roe) Ris de Veau (roasted sweetbreads with spring laurel stuffed with bacon) L'Amadai* La Lotte (monkfish with pine nuts, sun-dried tomatoes, capers, and chorizo) Spaghetti (with morels and Parmesan) Multi-Saveurs (spiced red fruits, light jivara ganache, ginger ice cream) Les Herbes (pineapple-vanilla coulis, chartreuse sabayon, and aromatic herb sorbet) Lunch for the two of us came to somewhere north of $300 after tax and tip. We had no wine.

Off the top of my head: Frontera Grill blackbird The Gage Sepia are all open for lunch.

Lever House is one of those restaurants that had caught my fancy when it first open. However, with almost uniformly disappointing reviews and reactions, I never put it on my agenda. Now that Bradford Thompson, formerly of Mary Elaine's at the Phoenician in Phoenix, is taking over the kitchen, I'm hoping that I'll have a better reason to visit Lever House. What limited experience I have with Chef Thompson's cooking has been positive.

I hear that Tavern on the Green will be opening a San Francisco bureau. Will that be "Tavern on the Bay?"

I should also point out that the prices at bluestem have seen a recent increase. I believe the new schedule is 3-courses $60; 5-courses $70; 7-courses $80. I didn't pay attention to the 12-course "Spontaneous." Also, desserts, a la carte (in the wine lounge) are now $10. And, as to my previous post about my latest dinner: *semi-comp disclosure* - I ordered an additional course (the scallop) as a supplement. Somehow, it didn't quite make it on to my bill; the serve got an extra nice tip.

It's not a coincidence that you should make this observation. For the first couple of bites, I was annoyed, too. I agree that the long tubular "priest chokers" were the wrong shape and size to match the chunks of duck confit. While something like orriechiette might be more appropriate, I found that the dish was much more enjoyable after I cut the noodles in half.

moosnsqrl, did you have any of the dishes I had? Did you order the pea soup? Strozzapreti?

I had another solid meal at bluestem recently. Spring is here, and it's showing its colours on ChefCAG's menu. Here's an excerpt from my write-up at the ulterior epicure: The pea soup and strozzapreti with duck confit were my two favorite dishes. But, there's also a wonderful fava bean salad worth mentioning. And, if you're a shill for scallops like I am, you shouldn't miss the current version, which is attended to by *perfectly-cooked* shrimp and Jonah crab under a cloud of Champagne foam. Upshot, get your fanny over to bluestem and order everything. Oh, and Joe West has officially left the house. He's now at Delaware Cafe, which will be opening it's doors later this month, I think. Best of luck.

And, I also happened to have just had the Chef's Tasting at Le Bernardin ($180). We did not do the full wine pairing, opting, instead for two glasses of wine, each, which the sous sommelier paired for us based on our dishes. Not only were the pairings wonderful, my friend and my collective four glasses of wine cost just under a $100, which, at about $24 a glass, was not cheap, but certainly not shocking. The following evening, at Jean Georges, we again opted not to do the full wine pairing with our tasting menus. Instead, we asked for three half-pours. The sommelier poured three very exciting wines which paired wonderfully. If I'm not mistaken, six half-pours cost a total of just over $100. I'm not sure how much the full pairing would have been, but I don't think it could have been much more than $110-$120, if even that much.

I recently had a tasting menu at Del Posto. I will admit that we were under a VIP situation. We asked for a pairing, but asked for half-pours because none of us were heavy drinkers and wanted to enjoy our food. Five (nominal) half-pours cost us $150 each. I was somewhat surprised. (As a side note, though all of the wines were drinkable and quite amiable, none of us thought that the pairings were anything exciting. Furthermore, a friend of mine (who was not at the dinner) bothered himself with looking up the wines we had. Apparently, we could have each bought a bottle of every one of the wines we had for $150, to the dollar.) Good wine doesn't have to be expensive, but at $150 for five half-pours, I expect the pairing to be somewhat interesting, if not electrifying. I started this inquiry (about the price of per se's wine pairing) because I want to avoid a similar sticker shock when I go in a month. The last time I was there, I was a teetotaler.

Does anyone know what the going rate for the wine pairing (9 courses) is? I'm sure it varies, but I'm wanting a ballpark figure - say, within $20 +/-.

And, being the popcornhead that I am, I *love* the teaser while the site loads.

Nice work, ChefGEB, on the website! I can't wait to experience the "blueprints" in person!

Cobbled-together excerpts from the the ulterior epicure. You can see the full tasting menu items on the blog. The dessert portion of this meal was quite enjoyable. We had the "Apple," "Chocolate," and "Rhubarb," which was new to the menu as of that day. These are discussed in a separate blog post. As always, you can see all of the photos from this meal on my Flickr.

Are they mutually exclusive? ← Touché.

Hrm, maybe I have seen the cart, though I'm sure I've never seen the cheese menu. I guess, maybe the reason I've never given cheese a second thought at Jean Georges is because Iuzzini's pastries are some of the only ones I actually DON'T mind eating.

Forget Paula. Jean Georges has a cheese cart? I've never seen cheese on the menu at Jean Georges, no less a cart.

FWIW, Tenderloin of Beef Rossini is the menu at Del Posto, where I just had dinner.

Why does that NOT surprise me? So, 10% of this world really does do 90% of the work.