matthewj

less money.

woops. my mistake, I really need to spell check before I send

I loved making brunch, Who do you think got the kitchen brunch going in the first place.

I know chef, I know the management. I know what they will, and won't do. They won't do much. they are always a day late and a dollar short. Chef could have avoided this two years ago. This could have gone better. Funny everytime I think of Matt Levin. I think of his ecargot and hazelnuts, at Moonlight. Oh wait. That was someone elses dish. My question is why did they so quickly went with this path.. It seems should i say rushed. And to have a person who has never worked for Lacroix take over seems a bit. Should I use a chef Phrase "strange"

I agree with that whole heartedly, sounds like you have spent some time in that kitchen. If so when, may i ask. The inexperience of the kitchen is chefs fault he had a slew of great talent over the last 6 years he has been there and I am not even speaking of my self. He had plenty of great staff. He blew it. The hotel blew and they are going to feel it. The pastry department has a great staff, and a great chef . My bets are he is the best in the city. He is the most versitile and most senior staff. He is aslo the most creative It may take about 6 months to feel the overall effect. I

we will still have Tanners Brothers. I agree apples and oranges

Looks like they did not check to see if the short ribs had braised long enough. Rookie mistake. Should not have been made. And the uni and crab combo, especially with peeky to too watery, needs to be drained and well seasoned to make it worthwhile, . I could expect niether was done correctly. Like I said the Mice are dressing up.

I grew up in buckingham, I can not believe that it is closing. I remember after all dances soccer games and track meets going to that store. That place was a right of passage for teenagers

like I said V perception is a funny monster. Chef not there = not as good. No offense S. SOmetimes things were not always what they seemed. There is no lion in the kitchen any more. Only mice playing dress up

what the H--- is farratto, are you kidding me, they should be shot. Atlanta is good. Still going to Alperge in the fall, and Mylasia.

I would also add that his job is slightly easier, since all the hard work of organizing, ordering and systems are put into place. All he has to do is not mess it up and create something close to Lacroix's food... err did i say Lacroixs food? That is not as daunting task as it seems. But brunch is going to be a bear.

I know what you and i think, but i would really interested o know what everyone thinks as well. Perception is a funnny creature. Especially since we are in the game. My other question is a general, but still appropriate. I believ that you, V, and Mark Vetri are the sole carriers of this task. NO?

This is the eqivalant of giving Daniels to Rocco Despirito. I wonder what chef has to say.

eloquent as usual V. You and i kow that this is now a money grab. They should have kept Jim Coleman if this was to be the out come. Like i said before and i will say it again a 5 million dollar waste of time. Ask Marty how he feels about it

Reactions to the coming events very soon... questions comments observations....? who has got the (Jamba) Juice?

It is good that all of us agree on the same thing. All you have to do is convince the owner of the building to agree. (which seems to not be very easy.) What i am baffled about is how in the world did a BYOB think that it was going to make even a little profit, without the revenue of beverage. i know that the BYOB craze in Philadelphia is at almost epidemic proportion's, it still makes no sense to put a BYOB there. I looked into that place not too long ago. I found that not only the outrageous rent, but it was also net net. Rent is too high in Philadelphia without enough clientele to support all of the restaurants on a daily basis. Salt I believe was the best chance the place had. The owner just needed to believe in the chef some more, and give it a little longer. I believe it could have worked out. On a further note, The marigold reference. I do not think Marigold could sustain a steady stream of clients, without liquor revenue

unless the building is bought outright, and the upstairs in converted to an upstairs facility, you still need the beverage revenue to make the space feasible. The space could be like a small "prune" if one had an avenue to buy a cheap liquor licence, but that is not going to happen in Philadelphia.

Katie is right. that space is ridiculously high in rent. . For that small space it is 8,000 dollars a month just for rent. No liquor. You would need to sell crack. to make up your lost revenue. The kitchen is way too small, and you can not turn enough tables. It is a great spot but will never become a restuarant of much if the rent is so high, plus the expense of liquor

Amazing. Absolutely amazing. That This city of Philadelphia is actually considering this crap. I am sorry, but it is. There are sooo many thing wrong with city council, that a distended liver should be the last on their list. City council seems to bury it's head in the sand when other cities are positively changing. ( smoking, alcohol, pay to play, unions) but looks to another city for a stupid ruling in that city. (Chicago). They should focus in on the fact of how hard it is to do business in Philadelphia, and how high a liquor licence can be for an owner. Or why they kept Mayor street in office. Geese, ducks, Chickens, cows, pigeons, ect ect. are raised as food. Food. When are these crazy zealots going to stop. They only reason foiegras farming is under attack is it is not a big business compared to chicken farming. It is a lot easierto go to war with sonoma Foie gras, than to battle it out with Perdue. Guys, good luck.. I am glad i moved more and more everyday. Hey V what is going on up there. excuse me whilst I eat my hemp, and scrounge for my holistic way of life

sugo means sauce. And it is usually a meat sauce. But sugo is made most of the time with a various assortment of meats, ect... and is an intence extraction of meat with the stock or sauce passed through a medium sized strainer, or tamis to extract some actual protien as well as the essence of the meat. Usually served but not exclusively as a heavyier dish with taglitelle.

It saddens me that our industry forums have come to this. This is not the reason I started working in the culinary field. This whole thread will eventually detract anyone from creating anything, in fear of being called a cheat, a thief, and uncreative. Some people should ashamed of themselves. I always believed our work is and was for the guest first. Not some mudslinging king of the hill. Too Bad. If the chefs in question have such of fear of being copied then they should not be producing cookbooks with descriptions and pictures of what they doing. Now wonder the French guarded their secrets for so long, and only passed them to the best apprentice. I also question, with an exception of large hand full that are blogging in, how many here actually work in the food industry, and how many are just soccer moms.

I can agree to that. that statement. Maybe he is quick to judge. But his appearances and critics of restaurants is not always consistent with time allotted for the restaurant to come unto its own. I was very tentative including the wine comments about Django, because I did not want it to become a focus of discussion. In saying that, I believe that it should be addressed since I believe on of the major reasons, that the original owners were not able to obtain a liquor licence is one of the reasons that they left. I also think that Laban wanted to see something more, an almost upward evolution of a restaurant, taking the next step. Not just doing the same genre of food, good or bad. I think that BYOB's were originally a means to and end to start a fully operational restaurant. Now they have become a standard, and a solid wine, service, and overall good dinning experience is often overlooked. Many times patrons will l compare stars or bells... with other stars or bells... Four bell Django Four Bell... Fountain... I agree not in the same catigory, but then BYOBS should have a separate rating. I also believe the original Django owners unknowingly started this paradigm and should have the credit and recognition follow them. Such as when a chef leaves a restaurant in Europe Michelin demotes the restaurant a star. This way the restaurant, and new chef can win on its own merits, and not just the standard of the old establishment. In any case nice response Philly dinning. Well said

I am sorry. And I am no means trying to insult Django, the new and and old owners, and also I am not trying to insult said reader, and blogger. Just interject an opinion I am fine with Laban relinquishing the 4 star rating of Django as of late. One. the restaurant cannot hope to obtain the rating simply because it maintained the name, and crust of bread baked in a pot, However cute it maybe. Two, I believe that a restaurant needs to be As Laban puts it . Four bells is superior in "Every aspect of the dinning experience." That means Wine service, Wine list, Wine steward, Professional service, cutting edge food, if not impeachable food. This category of restaurant rating should be and is reserved for the highest standard of restaurant dinning from both the stand point of the guest as well as the critic. These rating should be a benchmark of a superior experience not just Attentive water service, new paint, and a bill that is consumer friendly. If this was the case every restaurant could pattern themselves after mediocrity, rather than try to aim for a higher standard. Such as Le Bec, Fountain Room, and Vetri. These are the markers of excellence.

...err... sorry just popping in, on a discussion. I have worked all over the USA for the last ten years and for the last 5 years I have noticed a definite change in labor, not only the lack of labor but the lack of quality labor. I have a friend at who is a Sous Chef at Ducasse, in NYC, and I have a good friend who works for Laurant Gras in NYC, both of them are struggling to find cooks. Most cooks are told in Culinary Schools now that they will be stars in two years, also that they are going to make a starting rate of 15-18 dollars an hour. Plus none of these younger kids want to work as hard. I have also heard from my chef who is French they are having a hard time filling positions. I remember when I was younger it was almost impossible to stag. in Europe, now it has become much easier. The good cooks are cooking abroad.

I liked that he mentioned Francesco, I have always thought he got unfairly panned by the local press. I wish he could have laid off on the Stephen Starr tipper so much. He did not mention any of the old guards. Which I am a little surprised but not too concerned. I am glad that Philadelphia has gotten better press. Congrats on the mention. Keep on doing good work and more will follow