Simon_S

I'm also familiar with the drinking game, or at least the concept. I've never had the onions to actually go for it. Still, I love the quote, and it regularly pops into my mind when ordering wine at a fancy restaurant. So many people call me Si that I nearly always use that as a sign-off. However, "si" and "cerveza" may be the only two Spanish words that I know... Si(mon)

That would be Withnail and I. Si

Aargh, this one's driving me insane!!! What about another: Stew, no ketchup. Si

[pendantic] Off-topic, but I must point out that the word "wherefore" does not mean "where", it means "why". When Juliet says "Wherefore art thou, Romeo" she is not asking where he is! [/pedantic] Si

Seriously, just call the hotel. They speak English. Ask them about bed and breakfast only. That's what I did last year. To get to Roses your best bet is probably to hire a car. It's a fairly painless drive from BCN. Si

That simply sounds wrong to me. I'm looking at the Almadraba website now and while I obviously don't know your exact dates, it looks more like 140 a night rather than 500. It's definitely not worth 500 a night!! Si

The answer for 8 is "The Odd Couple". Use your coaster. Si

Ja!

Correct on both counts Chad! Any idea about the flaming hog balls? Si

Joining late, but here are a few easy ones: "You can't have the duck" "Scoop of chocolate, scoop of vanilla" Flaming hog balls Si

Well, we're back from our week of attempting to learn how to stay upright while hurtling down snow-covered mountains. I'm not so much fondue-filled as teeming-with-tartiflette -- you've gotta love Reblochon! One things for sure, I certainly didn't lose any weight while skiing. Of course, the problem is that given the intervening week, I'm really not sure I can provide a detailed review of our night in Mint. While I'd love to give a course-by-course account of what we ate, I simply wouldn't be able to do it any justice. I can say that we had the taster menu, that it involved a selection 3 amuses, a pumpkin soup appetiser, scallops, foie gras, seabass, lamb, cheese, rhubarb pre-dessert, apple dessert, petit-fours, oh, and there was a sorbet in there also, but those are just words and in this case are bordering on the meaningless. Specifics aside, I can say that I was really blown away by the entire experience. Having had such a good meal there before (reviewed above) I was somewhat concerned that it wouldn't live up to my memory. I needn't have worried. Indeed, it easily surpassed my last meal there, and virtually none of my criticisms above apply any longer. This time I found the cooking to be much more focused, the plating absolutely beautiful and the overall effect was of a confident chef working at the highest level. There were, of course, bits that were not quite as good as others -- Corinna has mentioned the truffle oil, and maybe the seabass had one ingredient too many on the plate, but there were too many good things to list and the standard of cooking was always top-drawer. I was left in no doubt that this is the most exciting restaurant in the country, and I hope to be a regular visitor. A special mention must go to the wine pairings which were just spot-on. There were some very interesting selections, always served with words of explanation from the very knowledgeable sommelier, and in terms of breadth and depth it was ridiculously good value at €60. A marvellous evening was topped-off by a long chat with the chef which stretched far into the early hours of Saturday morning. Dylan McGrath is as single-minded as you would expect, but he is extremely personable and friendly, and was happy to chat to us punters long after he should have been in bed. My respect for his cooking was only heightened by meeting him, and he is as generous with his time as he is with the food he serves. We got to see the kitchen after service and it was shocking to me that food of such calibre comes from such a small space. Unbelievable. Right then, I wish I could say more about this, but I just can't. You can probably tell that I like this restaurant! Still, the combination of food, wine and company ensured that our meal on Friday will live in my memory for a LONG time. Just go. Si PS Corinna, I think you want this smilie: That's the one I need to use when you refer to us as the "country's leading gastronomes"!!!

This is very interesting. I'm there on Saturday for the chef's taster menu so I'll report my findings! Si

There's at least one crowd that will deliver from a number of "proper" restaurants too, giving a very wide selection. I've never used them, but I have their brochure at home and they seem to run the gamut. Can't remember their name off-hand, though. Si

Corinna, that was a really great post, and based on my one and only visit I agree with almost everything you said. I just have to pick you up on one thing: I'm not so sure about that one!! In any case, I definitely think Mint is a restaurant to be taken seriously, and I just can't wait to get back there. It will also be interesting to see if the tasting menu has changed much since our last visit. At the very least, I'll know how to pace myself a little better this time... Si

This not using the toilet thing has my interest somewhat piqued. Is it possible that when water is not drunk with a meal, and when wine is consumed in anything other than copious quantities, it simply may not be necessary to visit the small room? I'm guessing here, but against that backdrop, the "rule" might not be so unusual. Si

I thought about this whole issue quite a lot last night, especially in light of two posts which I read just as I was stepping away from the computer: This got me thinking, as I really do intend to be in New York in April, really will be trying to get a "top" table at a prime time on a Friday night (for my girlfriend's 30th), am really not looking forward to hitting redial transatlantic, and will be really displeased if I don't manage to get a reservation. So, if faced with the prospect of no table and no obvious way to get one will I use the service and pay $50 or thereabouts for a reservation? Will I swallow my pride and climb off my high horse? Will I be offering up thanks that such a service exists and toasting those who had the foresight to provide it for a fee? Too right I will!! And you know, in so many other walks of life I'll do that exact calculation and will regularly decide that the money is worth it if it removes hassle and saves me time. So while I'm still left with an uneasy feeling about it, I know I'd use the service in certain circumstances, and in those circumstances I might consider it good value for money. I'm not sure where that leaves me in this discussion, but I felt it was only fair to reveal my somewhat hypocritical position! Si

Hmmm, I know where you're going with this question and it's a good one. Ultimately, my unease stems from the riskless profiteering aspect of the business. I simply don't want a middle-man in my dealings with a restaurant, even if it balances out in my favour sometimes. If the restaurant implemented this policy themselves I'd understand and while I wouldn't necessarily be "comfortable", I would accept it. But as long as there's someone in the middle taking a cut that could be going towards another bottle of wine, I'm not going to be happy. Si

Now this is something I'm simply not familiar with, so I can't comment. I'm assuming the over-booking and consequent inability to seat diners on time is an NY problem. It doesn't really exist in my local market. Nonetheless, I think there are two issues being confused here. Whether restaurants have these problems or not is not relevant to the issue at hand. Whether I'm paying for the "free" option in some other way is not the issue at hand. I'm in agreement that the system doesn't quite work. What I don't accept is that a third-party charging for bookings is in any way a good thing for me, and as a consequence I don't have to like it! Of course it's good for some people, there wouldn't be a business model if it wasn't, but I'm one of the "little guys" and I don't want anything to make it more difficult/more expensive than it already is, especially not if it's going to line the pockets of someone selling something that I personally don't believe should be theirs to sell. Even if I *am* currently paying for the free option, this service won't mean restaurants reduce their prices, so no matter what way you swing it, I'm coming out worse. Precisely! So at the moment I'm in a competition for a very limited number of tables that this business will now ensure are even more limited. Gee, great! Says you. I think it's a big deal. In this example, "before PTT" I could eat the way I wanted to eat, "after PTT" I can't. There's a change, I don't like it, and whether anyone here things it's no biggie, or $50 isn't that much, or worse things happen at sea, or whatever, it impinges on my enjoyment and I'm not happy about it. Of course, given the fact that I only make it to NY for a few days every few years, it's not going to impinge on me directly, but it's the principle of the thing. I'm certainly surprised that something, no matter how small, that potentially deprives us of the chance to dine and offers the chance to the highest bidder instead is receiving such support in a place like eGullet. Si

As an aside, I thought I might share this unusual coincidence. I was looking up the information for a restaurant in Dublin that I wanted to book, and happened across this on the restaurant website. Si

I think you do the average diner at a high-end restaurant a disservice if you think they aren't aware that restaurants are businesses. Of course they are businesses, and if those businesses need to change their booking policies to ensure success and survival, then so be it. What surprises me is the robust defence of a third party attempting to put a price on something that is currently free. Are we *that* blindly accepting of free market economics that we just shrug our shoulders? "Oh well, maybe I'll have to pay for that table in the future, but hey, that's the market?" Nobody can argue that there's a potential demand there, and that the people behind this service may make some money out of it, but I don't have to like it, and I don't have to think that it's all fair game. Furthermore, the illusion alluded (ha) to above is a crucial part of the restaurant business, and I don't see how it benefits me to feel even more 2nd class by facing the prospect of having to pay a third party for a primetime table. Of course, that's a long way down the road, but (like the transfats ban) this is a slippery slope. If the business model proves successful, it would be ridiculous to think that it wouldn't expand. I'm not buying this either. If "the industry" started doing this across the board, punters would just suck it up and deal with it. New Yorkers are hardly going to stop going to restaurants. This is common practice in certain restaurants over here coming up to Christmas for example. When faced with it, people generally shrug their shoulders, say "well, I suppose that's only fair", and get on with it. No, the reason it upsets me has nothing to do with illusions being challenged. I simply don't want to have to pay for something that right now I can get for free. It upsets me because if I'm visiting NY and want to eat at some of the premier restaurants, I want to be able to book in advance. I don't want to go head-to-head in the queue with a corporate entity of 50 people hitting redial the moment the reservations open (an exaggeration, but nonetheless). I don't want to relinquish my table to a business that will now charge me for it. Bar a few "assurances" that this surely won't happen, it just feels like a slippery slope to me. Si

It's so long since I've been to Chapter One (Dub) that as soon as I heard the news this morning I thought I'd get in before the uninitiated and book straightaway. On congratulating them about the star, my colleague who did the booking was told that the phones hadn't stopped ringing all morning, which is somewhat surprising given the relative lack of publicity in the mainstream press thusfar. There are a lot of people really delighted that Chapter One has finally been recognised -- it's undoubtedly long overdue. Personally, I just can't wait to get my hands on that charcuterie trolley again. The other aspects of the Michelin press release seem reasonably conservative in Ireland. Certainly Jacob's Ladder didn't deserve to keep its bib, but I think there are a few more restaurants that may be deserving. It will be interesting to see what restaurants are included when I finally get my hard-copy of the guide (I decided I'd splash out). The most recent one I have is not that insightful, and the standard of restaurants here seems to be improving (in many cases) and there are quite a few new ones on the scene over the last few years. I wonder will Michelin have kept up. Si

Nathan, your defence of this service has been so robust I'm wondering if you're getting a piece of the action...? Si

I'm shocked and stunned and not a little amazed at this. Is it really possible to fire someone for asking for 1 day's leave? I knew that chefs had to work very hard under difficult conditions, but this is ridiculous! Si

The name is hardly the issue, I'm sure the restaurant doesn't care what you decide to call yourself. It may care, however, that people are making a secondary market in reservations at the restaurant. Of course, they may not care, as long as the restaurant remains full, but I suspect they won't be too pleased at others making money in this way. Maybe it's only a matter of time before restaurants offer this service themselves... Si

If they monitor the website and see that, for example, the 8:00 slot on Saturday is up for sale, they consult their own records, see who booked that slot, and hey presto, they know what the name is. Of course, if there are multiple reservations for a particular time it won't work, but I'm assuming the restaurants in question stagger the bookings to ensure that the load on the kitchen is spread. Si