Vadouvan

LPS I had two meals in the first 3 months of Gilt and they were well done, though we got some extra attention, I would have to say the first one was among the top 5 meals I have had in the USA, and certainly not the most expensive, though the Perse experience was a bit less solicitous and more luxurious, Leib's cooking certainly was more creative. Certainly you could trace the inspiration in many ways back to Gagnaire-Balzac / Sketch but still it was pulled off sucessfully. The only thing I wonder about it the general lukewarm nature (temp wise) of sous-vide seafood, otherwise excellent. It's public knowledge that Leibrandt and Lee replaced each other, Lee permanently, Leibrandt maybe not.... but that is the deal. Not planned that way, just a twist of fate. Strange though because i dont see Leibrandts cooking philosophy in a Starr restaurant. I like Starr but he isnt interested in that kind of precision food. Strange bedfellows indeed.

Because the bags are designed for room temp to cold storage. The seal expands when heated....and therefore leaks.

Aaron......no cheating at the back of the class...... You can get a starter vaccum machine from Target for $90. That's the average cost of 5 cocktails in Manhattan these days. Seriously you may not be convincing anyone of that argument here.... Bryan Z...care to chime in ?

The "Garden of Eden" off of Union square has a pretty damn good selection last time I checked, a bit outrageous on the pricing but mostly excellent quality.

This one http://www.starchefs.com/events/icc/2006/index.shtml

And to add to Fat Guy's comments.......Clearly $$$$$ sensitivity isnt an issue here ? Dont overlook Yasuda San either, name your price, he will make you some banging dishes.

I say.... 1. Take a dartboard 2. Write in the center "WD 50" 3. Write in the out lying concentric areas in order Perse JeanGeorges Cru Gilt Ducasse. 4. Aim as best as you can for the center and throw 3 darts. 5.Restaurant with the most darts wins.

Not to be Alarmist ATram but do confirm that. Unless you pal is a food chemist/researcher, it probably isnt.

If you use the term "most creative" I personally dont find that phrase to be subject to interpretation, the obvious answer like an elephant on our coffee table is WD-50. Perhaps the poster needs to define more succinctly cuisine, Refined Classic (Perse) Vs Modernist Creative (WD 50)....? Other than that, it just becomes an opinion poll. No ?

Is there an issue of whether it is "Food Grade" or not ?

Matt, I missed you, timing was bad and UN assembly made traffic ridiculous. Anyways Doc sconzo will post some nice pics in the next few days I think. By the way cell my cell. will PM you the number. Seems like it was a success.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/15454776.htm

Hence the reason several people think the Zagat ratings are fundamentally flawed.

My initial post on the "Impact of E gullet" started in a general sense and dealt with a specific incident regarding scallops, I declined to name the restaurant out of fairness since we know in all organizations, Ineptness exists in two forms. 1. Institutionalised Ineptness when it just seems like nobody who works there has clue. 2. Isolated Ineptness when you have one or two jackasses working for you. I am starting to be inclined to believe that dinner at XIX tends to #1. First of all..... WINE. If you dont have the wine the customer orders,inform them and let them make another choice, do not substitute your judgement no matter what. It is incredibly rude and borderline deceptive. In this day and age when you can buy a laser printer for $300, there is no reason why any restaurant should have a wine on its list that isnt actually in the restaurant. If he was a "sommelier" why is he knowingly serving you warm wine ? (back to my accent thing) Why does a busperson and not a waiter or "sommelier" ultimately have to pour the wine ? AND even buspeople should know you dont pour the whole glass full. and 2. The twice cooked scallop incident happened there too. Its just unfortunate because the attitude we were responded to with was incredibly unwelcoming. Its a shame because it could be a great place.

I also wish restaurants would stop using the term homemade.

It would suck for the intergrity of the board....beacuse it may be tantamount to manipulation aka shill-o-rama. But people do value that "personal" relationship to a point of absurdity. Lots of people who never actually went to Django after the original owners sold it dindt go any longer prior to Laban's review becaue.... "Amy and Brian werent there anymore" I heard that quote a million times...... This has nothing to do with them, just a recent example of irrational conclusions based on the "personal relationship" as opposed to the food.

I suppose it is a human relationship you cant interfere with Andrew but I have always found it disturbing in the sense that VIP or familiarity policies whether instituted or de-facto tend to create as much ill will as the good will they generate. In one sense, focusing special attention on people you know takes away due attention from those you dont. Is that always true ? Someone goes to a restaurant and raves about it though the rave is partially due to the personal relationship with the owner but that is barely stated. For a Humorous example of this.... Read AG's recent brouhaha with Le Cirque... http://www.amateurgourmet.com/ Scroll down to "Only a jerk would eat at Le Cirque" Makes e gullet negative reviews look like choir boy tantrums....

Bob, i guess it was confusing how I wrote it. It starts on the 15th as you say, I just parked under the convention center bridge close to chinatown. There are lots of places open early in chinatown....

Just came back, stopped at the market after Dim sum in chinatown. I do have to say its a great idea, sadly no amish..... Still great nonetheless.

This may not be the correct board for this discussion but since it ties into the local restaurant politics, here goes. Feel free to disagree or add your comments.... As much as I appreciate E-Gullet, I absolutely think it should remain a forum for honest discussions of food and people's dining experiences. Its a much more mature forum unlike the "kids with matches and dynamite" playground of chowhound. "I" and I am sure "most people" who post about negative experiences here are not trashing restaurants out of pleasure nor do we seek something in return, it simply is a report of our experiences. The true impact of e gullet in the real world is tiny compared to what the masses out there are seeking. It is now increasingly the fact that many local "restauranteurs" monitor the board and are in fact responding to customer gripes directly through e mail or indirectly through the board to respond to the perception of "negative publicity". There is no doubt that restaurants are difficult to operate, a lot of us have been in the industry in various forms and some of us intend to return to it. The point is nowhere is perfect and there is a likelyhood of bad experiences at any place. I think at the end of the day, what people are looking for is how problems are dealt with ............not to "celebrate" the fact that there are problems. Many a time chef's are in the kitchen paying attention to 30 different things and some issues slip by under the radar. At the end of the day, customers dont relly care if you stayed out late the night before, had a hangover, your dog was sick or your significant other is pissed at you......they want the food with "most" of the intergrity it is being marketed with. In recent incidents, relating to me, Tartetatin ect ect. The smart ones Ross Essner, Todd Lean have responded generously even though that was not what was being sought. The particular postings were not rude, presumptious or biting, just detailed about the experiences. Restaurant people seem to get angry at customer "complaints" and find customer "service" to increasingly be a burden. Now after that long-ass disclaimer, the particular incident that brought this back to my attention is as follows, perhaps it should be in the restaurant's thread but it's a larger issue.. After being inspired by the recent inquiry restaurant XXXXX I decided to go to dinner with some out of town friends after fondly remembering a delicious lunch. Diner X ordered a seared scallop dish that came with a puree of cauliflower I think. Whatever puree it was is irrelevant to the story. In any case, the scallops were lukewarm, plate was cold as was the puree. This was brought to the server's attention who promptly whisked it back to the kitchen. Upon returning...and closer inspection.........everything was "hot". Every item was reheated, even the scallops which by this time was as bone dry as king tut. The same scallops down to the one that had a chunk eaten out of it by the diner to determine it wasnt even remotely hot...... Diner X asked that the whole dish be re-cooked as by this time the main Item was egregiously overcooked. The restaurant "manager" intervened with an "attitude"....."what's the problem now?"...... Insisting the dish was fine.... How does one handle that ? Is that asking too much from a restaurant of that caliber ? A "free" Scallop ? Big deal ?

WHAT constitutes "late night" for you ?

Not to make it a ethnic/Nationalist issue but it goes beyond wine Katie. The unfortunate fact is that Americans sadly *always* defer to Europeans in matters of taste....even if the person doesnt know Jack. Restauranteurs are still very provincial in thinking........why do you think despite the fact that all the other employees are black, white or mexican, the hostesses in Pan Asian restaurants are always cute asian chicks......... It's the selling of romanticism and unfortunately the public buys it like gasoline in the summer no matter the cost.I think KL, Melissa,LaurenB and Marnie O are as good as anyone but Americans love accents and male authority that's why it's hard for female sommeliers to be established, Rigatoni al Amatriciana sounds better to most with a thick Italian accent as does "Moulins a Vent" with a heavy french accent. It's using ethnic gender roles to sell romance. The trend for wine service in the future is the Train and recite model and I think anyone who reads Andrea Immer's yellow book can figure out the rest on thier own.

The realities of the romantic expectations of restaurant patrons expecting a qualified person specifically qualified and employed as a "sommelier" doesnt really work with the economics of 98% of all restaurants. There are maybe 8 people total in Philadelphia (myself NOT included)who are "sommeliers" in the classic sense of someone who has actually tasted most if not all the wines and has some basis to suggest pairings with the food beyond studied recitation or a hunch. Everybody complains about wine markups but they dont account for wineglasses, refrigeration, storage, other logistics and an extra $50k miminum of the restaurants payroll.............THUS restaurants can only bring in consultants to train the staff on pairings specific to what they serve and stock. Should a place like 19 have a sommelier ? Perhaps but they dont.......and its an economic reality. Majority of people only focus on it in restaurants because of the romantic aspect of expertise.......but in truth will rush out and buy anything Robert Parker talks about simply on numerical ratings. The place that does the most convincing job of giving answers to wine queries is probably Tria and while the place is great at what it does, you can see right through the servers that the answers arent coming from actual passion and connection to the wine, they are reciting what they have been trained to say. Anything wrong with that ? Nothing other than once again, it speaks to the fact that the more you know, the better you can control your experiences.

Laban gave it a great review.....3 bells maybe ? I have only had lunches there, the $19 lunch is a bargain and most meals have been spot on for the price point. (3 courses). I am sure dinner and it's prices may set different expectations.....

How accurate is Eater's deathwatch ? Has it been historically true ?