cjbleid

nice post! El biscocho is doing some good stuff too

I am wondering if any one uses sugar, most likely invert sugars to aid in the texture of purees, savory or sweet. I tipically use liquid glucose to help smooth out savory purees, I have found this helps emulisfi purees in general and especially ones that tend to be watery. would dry or liquid glucose be better for this application? or is there even a more effective sugar. I expermented with glucose first just because it is produced from starch and is 1/3ird less sweet the sugar. thanks..

interesting article. I like that it pointed out that when times are tough, it is even tougher in California.

This has nothing to do chive but I thought I would report anyway. Just went to Jacks because of convenience and had some really tastey Italian food. I recommend trying it, can't say I had better pasta in S.D. Try the tuna bruschetta for an APP. and also the poached egg with chantrelle mushrooms, an APP as well. All pasta is made fresh in house. Reasonable priced and very good food.

I had heard the food had improved substantially after he moved. I've always liked Laurel and, really, have never had a poor meal there, although I did think that the kitchen was operating at peak skill level the last time I was there and probably not capable of much more. It's hard enough to manage 1 kitchen and 1 menu let alone two. The fact that he may be managing both Chive and Laurel concerns me. I wonder if he can sustain the quality at both over the long haul ← I also was thinking that. A good menu can always be written but exicuteing it is the challange. But I haven't been there so I will give it a try...

Didn't the chef from Chive recently move up to Laurel? 2 months is too long a time frame, why not say try Chive by the end of July and report back about the experience? ← the chef from chive did move to laurel... But I think he is now manageing both kitchen menues.

Some restaurants don't want to spend the $1,000 it costs them to participate, $1,375 if they aren't members of the CRA. Nine-Ten is a very nice, very good restaurant and presentation has always been one of their strong suits. However, the last time I was there for Resto Week (in 2007) the food was good, but not great, and certainly did not demonstrate what that kitchen is capable or producing. Worse was the service which was ATROCIOUS. Now, I happen to like Nine-Ten alot, but if that had been my only experience at the restaurant I would never return. The place was slammed and the staff could not cope or deal with it. The service was amatuerish at best. The abysmal service by inept and poorly trained high school students certainly detracted from the meal. Not to mention the noise level was so deafening that conversation at our four-top was impossible without having to yell at each other. I hardly think choosing not to support restaurant week because it doesn't show off restaurants well hardly makes any of us trailer trash. Why should I pay $30 or $40 for okay food, horrid service and too much noise just because it's restaurant week and we're supposed to support our local restos. My non-restaurant week meals at Nine-Ten have always been quite good with a manageable noise level, though service can sometimes be uneven. They do a terrific and laid back breakfast. ← "San Diego's "Restaurant week week is tailored to those folks who live in trailer parks." I was simply commenting on this quote posted by chefsteban, The fact that the restaurant is not as intimate during this week is obvious. The point of this event is to get people in the door, alot of them. Weather me or you would choose to participate is dfferent, but the quote listed above is pretty narrow minded in my opinion. I don't know where you may have gotten confused,.... I never implied that not participating in restaurant week made any of us trailor trash, I Just stated that 'participating' doesn't make us trailor trash. I just don't agree with this statement posted that all. I am actually suprised that I am the only one to mention this.

this looks like quality food during restaurant week and presented rather nicely... I guess people in trailor parkes like this type of dining experience too though. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jajagapgirl/

well then, thats a bold statement. chefsteban, where do you work so I don't go there. Yes its not exicuted as well as a normal week do to volume but to say its cadered to people who live in trailer parkes is a little ignornant. I apoligise if I am comming across a little off but to speak in place of the chefs and to say that every restaurant particaping is not worth it, mabe you should try market or nine-ten. What there offering is on there origional menu. Specially, because people are struggling for money at the momement, I feel its a gift to us and mabe we should not explore a new restaurant but visit our favorit. Visit you friends favorit restaurant possibly. Eating out during restaurant can be enjoyable if you want it to be. But if you are still critical, go out on saturday night the day after this is over, I'm shure San Diego restaurants will be empty.

RESTAURANT WEEK! where have you been? anyone...... [Host's note: To avoid an excessive load on our servers this topic has been split. The discussion continues here]

well.. mabe in la jolla, Georges or Nine-Ten are good choices. I know jacks just re-concepted to Italian, I would like to here some opinions about that. Market or even Addasion aswell. These are just my choices and I did just go to addasion. I don't have a functioning camera though at the monent so no food photos.

by the way I did eat at addasion in the grande del, great dining experience! dissapointing food but worth going. will post explaniation later on the experience.

Kouign Aman, is that something you would like to se or think would be sucessful in san diego. avon garde cuisine or science-food games ← I was simply answering your comment re our press. I doubt we've much of a market for "molecular cuisine" as a stand alone restaurant. Certain aspects of it are being incorporated into local menus and that works (foams certainly, probably 'caviar' here and there, but not as the main point of the dish). Classics are dissed, so places that reliably turn out perfect classics & riffs upon them get no buzz (Milles Fleurs for example). What kind of changes do you think would change the perception (or the reality) of San Diego's food scene? Do you suppose it would help this discussion if we all went to the same restaurant some time, so we could establish a common set of referents? It wouldnt have to be a gathering, necessarily. It could be that we just all try to get to the place within a month of each other. El Bizcocho? Chive? Other? ← I think that is not only a great idea but the only option to keep this discussion. As to my reply about MG, it was to clear up misperceptions about that style or interpertation of cusine not necessarally referenced towords your posts, they left the opportunity to simply view my opinion and possibly discuss more views on this cusine, or even aspects of MG showing up on menues in the city. For example not necessarally foams but things like fluid gells-turning a liquid into a puree. I guess when chefs seem to be isolateing flavors rather then layering them; this is a clear sign. showcassing technique to highlight flavor resulting in abstract presentations. I feel food is art and more and more chefs will start to show there creativity, specialy in the younger generation of chefs.

Do you really think there's a market/client base in SD for molecular gastronomy or avant garde, cutting edge food This is a city where the only foam is on breakers at the beach, not plates on the table. I think either would be a pretty tough sell. ← well the question was geared towards your opinion and explaniation rather then mine, but,... yea I think if it is exicuted well; full circle it would. That goes for any restaurant, avon garde just requires more skill, time and effort to acieve greatness. If there is a market for restaurants there is a market for all kinds all cusine. ← I tend to disagree. Sous Vide is probably already in use in many kitchens around the county, but it's an old and pretty well established technology. I think some of the culinary branches - especially molecular gastronomy - would not be received as anything more than a novelty and would not be sustained for very long. San Diegans would go, eat it once, say "that's very nice", and not return. What techniques, foods, styles of prep/presentation are you classifying as avant garde? I think if it's too trendy and too cutting edge, with the exception of some parts of North County, most of the rest of SD would find it to unusual to embrace with much enthusiasm. Safe and familiar is more the choice of food in San Diego; this is neither good nor bad, safe and familiar can be done very well. San Diego as a city has never been about blazing trails or cutting edge anything. It's been more about the respite and relief from the world of trail blazing and cutting edge. ← Well molecular gastronomy.. avon garde cusine really is the same food produced in other kitchens but exicuted with appling knowledge to product being processed. for example cooking fish in low temperature baths to a tempertaure of 101 to 114F. Any temperature above that most fish start to lose moisture, exception of high fat fish. Watching the different stages of egg protiens coagulate according to the cooking temperature, an egg can cook in 5 stages by 11 degree segments. Or even knowing why or how a souffle rises. Even better, molecular gustromony is knowing why your souffle didn't rise. With all this new knowledge in cusine it will effect most of the industry specifically fine dinning cusine. Exotic presentations and emotional dining experiences useing new serving utensiles just evolved from this. The use of industrial products will soon not be only used for avon garde cusine to create exciting dining experiences but for banquet production as well for reliance of quality and convience..

Do you really think there's a market/client base in SD for molecular gastronomy or avant garde, cutting edge food This is a city where the only foam is on breakers at the beach, not plates on the table. I think either would be a pretty tough sell. ← well the question was geared towards your opinion and explaniation rather then mine, but,... yea I think if it is exicuted well; full circle it would. That goes for any restaurant, avon garde just requires more skill, time and effort to acieve greatness. If there is a market for restaurants there is a market for all kinds all cusine.

Kouign Aman, is that something you would like to se or think would be sucessful in san diego. avon garde cuisine or science-food games

I don't know about san francisco, nothing really excites me in that city dinning wise. mabye Masas? LA is a way more exciting dining city in my opinion. Nashville and miami?? I just don't se it. anyway.... lets try to keep this a san diego discussion.

The Better Half, now thats a restaurant i'm curious about. Has any one been there lately? What did you like outher then the half bottle option, What about some food photos on this thread. I would really like to se what The Better Half is offering.

Hi, it looks like we cross-posted just now ... Aha, so you're from Boston, where I used to live back in the 1980s. And my recollection from then is that Boston, even though it is a major tourist destination too, is a city with a full three centuries of established culture, including a long-standing upper class with high-class expections; plus those 40-plus colleges and universities encouraging a large population of intelligentsia. Those factors tend to be a lot more fertile ground for discerning gastronomy. Even as an impoverished student, I and my buddies tended to know and seek out the foodie thrills we could afford (my first experience of French press Vienna Roast coffee was in the old Coffee Connection in Harvard Square). As you may have noticed, San Diego ain't like that. This doesn't mean you can't still find some cool foodie things going on, even though, like I said in my previous post, they're in the relative minority. Personally, I'm fond of the ambitions and aims of The Linkery--I don't think Jay posts here, but he's certainly aware of eGullet; he seems to prefer doing all his internet working of the crowd through the blog on his restaurant's website, which he works very effectively IMO. And there are others with comparable aims in terms of putting the focus on the food first, with the atmosphere important, but in service to the food as opposed to the other way around. That's what I'd like to see more highly valued in this city's dining scene. ← it is a little depressing that many people will spend $200 a night or more on alcohol but claim that fine dinning restaurants are not worth it and to expensive. But that will change,.. with change the linkery, as cool place with a great vibe. As blogs directly ascociated with a restaurant thay are communication to an, for the most part an allready established customer base. With only one side of cummincation except commenting, but still a great feature for our generation of restaurants.

wow it has been 2.5yrs of silence, but alot of obserbing. To your question of what would I change? Well that is very dificult thing to do, swade the preception of a city that thinks they are getting ripped off every time they eat fine dinning. Well I will start here and talk to the city it self (if they post). I have yet to se any form of communication between a chef and the people directly about dinning on a San Diego egullet thread, so I plan to be the first. Also I know alot of people in the business, I want to go to there restaurant eat and discuss on this thread and personially show that staff, chef, what ever what we thought of the experience. Mabye it will convince them to at least read what were saying if they wont post. being a chef from boston now living in san diego I simpithise with the consumer, alot of people are paying alot of money for badly exicuted food, but that is where the Union Tribune tells them to go. What kind of food experience would you like to start to se happening in san diego? modern cusine, atmosphere, service improvements? p.s what finially sparked me to post was all the trash talking on chowhound and there refusal to even let a san diego discussion egsist with out being eddited.

San Diego. I have eaten in LA and San francisco, and to be honest San Diego is not far behind these other california cities, this all taking population into account. As I brouse forums about San Diego I am constintely reading about how we the dinning scene are not like thse cities, we are San Diego, not them; and should be proud of it. Most comments on the threads are about how bad the dinning scene is rather then suggesting ways to improve it. This doesn't improve anything in my opinion. The dinning scene to me; not only aplies to the people running and working in the restaurants, but the consumer as well. So I ask... Why does San Diego recieve no press? Why are chefs hesitant to invest there time and money here? Why do mostly mediocor restaurants recieve the only press in the city? Why is the press refering mediocore restaurants to the public? More importantly If we want to add dinning as a destination topic for our city how are we going to improve. So I envite us all to discuss these issues because it going to happen, its just a shame thats it not here yet. There are a lot of talented passiopnate people in this city and we should support them.