ulterior epicure

Yes, I found Chef Achatz's response to Chicagoist (excerpted by tammylc immediately above) extremely thoughtful, accurate, and articulate.

michael_g. Yes! I was thrilled to see the recipe in the current Saveur (March, 2007 issue)! u.e.

Glad to hear that you were able to obtain the information you sought.

Trishiad, where do you sell chocolates? Would love to know more about your business! Can you link us?

I'll echo Bryan on this one. As one who often (more often than not) dines alone, I actually have (pleasantly) found no difference in service, quality or availability of reservations between dining solo and dining with another. The only drawback I can see, are at places which might be more conducive to sharing - a la family style, like Craft (from what I've heard) or at a tapas place. If you're going the tasting menu route, the portions are already geared for one anyway. [Edited for grammar]

Thanks for that tip, FG. Actually, if there's one thing that I could complain about with Sushi Yasuda, is that Yasuda does often churn out sushi faster than I can eat at an enjoyable (i.e. leisurely) pace. It's also probably a whole lot easier to get a seat at the other end of the bar. You wouldn't have happened to have caught his name, would you have?

Where is the bar in Jean Georges? Do you mean Nougatine? Or, is the bar in Nougatine considered a part of Jean Georges, the restaurant, proper?

Bonus!

Thanks FG. BTW, I take it you weren't at the sushi bar? If not, then... Very true. And this tends to be the case at every top sushi place in town, from Masa all the way on down to the lowliest neighborhood joint. If you're not at the sushi bar, it's sort of like you're at a different restaurant. ... I might be inclined to say that I would be appreciably happier sitting at the bar with Yasuda than off-bar with a less-expensive, but no less-quality meal. Of course, it depends on what your focus is. A spot at Yasuda's bar to me would be like "ring-side" seats for an avid boxing fan. The game is the same whether up-close or in the nose-bleed, but the experience is just that much more interactive and visceral.

Given this last paragraph, I'm curious, nxstasy, which chocolatiers specifically have refused your request for an approximation? You did say that you have noticed a "trend." Certainly, that seems to suggest that you've encountered multiple chocolatiers with this attitude... or at least more than one or two.u.e.

I can definitely see both sides of the (nxstasy v. John DePaula) coin. However, nxstasy, do bear in mind that a lot of "high-end" chocolatiers use "high-end" ingredients for their fillings, and so charging by pound might get complicated (i.e. multi-tiered pricing). For instance, would it be fair to charge you the same price per pound that you would pay for a high-end liquor-infused ganache-filled chocolate as one that's filled with regular chocolate ganache? I can certainly see why a chocolatier would want to price chocolates individually. It all boils down to whether you, as a consumer, happen to think that the product is worth your hard-earned bucks.

Sorry, I have to admit that I didn't read your post very carefully. Knowing that these topped the C.R. list, I gather they were going for the commercial chocolatiers.

Christopher Elbow www.elbowchocolates.com Price per pound: Unknown (priced by the piece, currently too late to try calling) Can't show a photo, their website is all Adobe Flash. ← Thanks for starting this thread - I'm an avid chocoholic (only the dark stuff). Clearly, I'm not as devoted as you, nxstasy, as I don't have the patience to upload all of my chocolate photos. So, I've linked them into this post. 1. Christopher Elbow: I have almost every single chocolate he's ever made on my flickr account here. Also, if you buy the chocolates in-store, they are $1.50 p/piece, as are the pates des fruit (which, I believe, I have a photo of everyone he's made). He has also begun selling hot chocolate mixes - powder that you add milk (or water) to ($16/bag). He's also got some various bars and turtles, and puddles and ancillary chocolate treats. 2. The Grocer's Daughter is another Midwest chocolatier up in Empire, Michigan. She's a lone woman operation with the help of one guy. She turns out some pretty amazing hand-dipped truffles (that are huge). I'm not sure the price, but I think they retail for $2.50 p/piece. She also makes turtles, puddles, and season treats, as well as a new "Wally Bar" (named after her assistant who used to work at Zingerman's Deli in Ann Arbor, Michigan. You can see some of her truffles on my flickr account here. I just recently received a batch of truffles from her, along with a Wally Bar and a Valentine's Day "Chocolate Pulp Heart" and will be posting soon on my blog about them. 3. Miscellaneous: Incidentally, have another set on flickr that posts about miscellaneous chocolates I've tried from around the country and nation. I have some Vosges chocolates, as well as Andre's Confiserie chocolates in that set I also have another set devoted to Pierre Marcolini chocolates. I think his chocolates are the most expensive I've ever paid in the U.S. - they run somewhere near $2.75 p/piece... not sure... AND, I just realized that I ate all my La Maison du Chocolat chocolates without taking any photos of them... But, thankfully they have a boutique in NYC (I think two now), and I'll be sure to snap some samples for this thread (although maybe this is not of Midwest concern). Regardless, you can order both Marcolini and LMdC chocolates online. Edited to add: I also have some Leonidas chocolates in the Miscellaneous chocolate set on my flickr account. As you may know it's a Belgian confectionary (they have an outlet in the Loop (Chicago)). They are cheap but gross. They literally plague every corner of Belgian streets like ABC in Hawaii, or some coffee chains... Leonidas would get my vote for the worse chocolates, along with Canaday La Chocolatier in Chicago. u.e.

I live in KC... what do I expect. Certainly not TJ or Ikea banging down my door... sheesh. No kidding. Our WF sucks. Mostly (I shouldn't complain, because we at least have one!!) because it's all the way down South and I'm all the way up here... So, on top of being in a TJ/Ikea-less KC, I'm also opposite ends to everything worthwhile about this city... (and they'll probably open the TJ and/or Ikea in Olathe, if they ever do appear). Oh, I do live near the airport, which makes for easy escapes. I will say, I have a love-affair with WF's cheesemongers... my little trysts away from the gross shrunk-wrapped offerings at my local markets.

Dynasty Supermarket on Elizabeth near Mott makes really good tendon. It's braised and availble for take-away near the BBQ meat counters which are on either side of the entrance of the block long store. It is so tasty! The tendon's sold unsliced so it's the entire chunk of tendon. From what part of the cow, I don't know but it is v. good. If you can, go tomorrow during lunch and get some. I think they run out towards the end of the day. ← Great suggestion, Gastro888. Unfortunately, I'm not a New Yorker, so I can't just skip down there for lunch any day. But, I'll definitely keep in mind. Oh, and FYI, I think that most beef tendons are taken from the leg/shank of the cow. And yes, I especially love it when they leave it whole... as I did when I roasted them. A good friend of mine is a butcher, and is able to get me some really awesome cuts occasionally.

Not to be crass, but I hope you're not recommending, or suggesting, this as a dish to be tried... If so, where?

Good question, and I would say, "yes." It's not an organ, but it is a "rare" cut, or "end" cut. I just braised some beef tendon the other day - took five hours. Makes you really appreciate what Asian restaurants are doing when you think about how good it is. I especially love beef tendon pho. Any recommendations? Thanks, larrylee, for pointing me to this thread. I'm a sucker for good offal. I really wish F. Henderson would open a bureau (if you will) on this side of the "puddle." [edited for misspelling.]

Touché!

Touché!

... that is, until Adams Chunky has a recall.Sorry, don't mean to be snide, just an observation that it could happen to anybody and with any company. Take, for instance, that scare with spinach a few months back. Who would ever think that those fresh-looking and nicely bagged "organic"/"natural" and "healthy" produce would ever be re-called. I remembered that they cleared out EVERY thing closely related to the spinach family in the markets for weeks - couldn't find leafies, dark or otherwise, anywhere for a month! I guess my point is: you never know who/what could be contaminated. I've heard many times in this past week, "I'm so thankful that I don't buy Peter Pan, and that I use brand X." Perhaps. Truly sorry to hear about the chaos at the RN station. I can imagine that it's not a pleasant job. Thanks for making our lives better.

I know it's absolutely foolish to be accounting when talking about restaurants like L'A JR, et al. But, out of sheer curiosity, I decided to add up the current tasting menu, to the best of my abilities based on the a la carte:

You did a fine job of expressing the experience. I understand what you mean. Thank you.u.e.

Well, guess what nakedsushi... since I posted, I've made no less than 6 batches - and all turned out beautifully. 1. Yes, it does get sweeter and better over time, IMO. 2. Question: for all you experts: sometimes, the rice that floats on top forms a thin layer of fuzz, which I can only imagine is some form of mold. Must I scrape this of before eating (i.e. is it toxic)? Or, is edible and completely safe to eat? (The mold is blanch white - just like the rice, not green nor black).

This is not to underestimate the potential greatness of what the current $190 tasting menu might offer, but FYI: I just got a peek. Gone are those wished-for days of the "value" tasting that Sneakeater and others posted about in the restaurant's fledgling days (what, we're talking four months ago?)... oh well. Of course, gone from the tasting menu are the $39 "L'Oursin" and now-$98 "Le Caviar Oscietre" with capellini. The famed $17 "La Langoustine" with pesto is still kicking. A little suprised (and disappointed) that there is no cheese course. u.e.

Sneakeater, you and I are totally/I] on the same wavelength. u.e.