Vadouvan

OUCH.... Andy...... Sorry, after several trips through London, if it wasnt for the Indians, Pakistanis and the proximity of Southall, I would have starved to death.

I dont need to point that out, everyone knows that already...... *JUST* as all the newest high end restaurants in Manhattan in the last few years are subsidized by hotels or real estate developers. Ducasse..Essex Gilt...Palace JG...Trump Ramsay...Rhiga Robuchon....Quatre saison Per Se...Time Warner developer / Ken Himmel ??? Those concepts just seem economically impossible if they all had to build from scratch and pay rent from day 1. That's why there are 1000 meals almost daily flowing through Buddakan and places like that.

They may not be impressed but they do notice, those kinds of restaurant startup expenditures are only hapening in NY/Vegas/AC......so what do those 3 places have in common ? Massive swarms of people of which the fact that they may or not be locals is irrelevant. Ramsay is doing it because NY is the capital of high end in the USA. yes / no ?

Thanks.....but *YOU* are making yourselves better cooks. Answers are out there, its the willingness to seek them and ask questions that make people better at what they do.

Short cures may help in fixing the spice component of the cure Bill but I believe you can also do that by just adding the spices to the braising fluid vehicle. I would cut it into maybe......3x3 chunks and not move it around too much. If you finish over a grill, you woud have to cool it completely till solid and then gill it. Pork bellies are notoriously fragile post cooking because essentially the layers between lean and fat will seperate while hot so your grill will just be a mess and possibly ruin the meat too, just braise and eat..........Or grill before braising...that would work. Percy....in order to get more melting bellies extend your cooking time. The belly I had with you last time was 70 to 72 hrs......I know the length of time is absurd but think of it as a certificate of deposit, the earlier you get out, the worse of you are ..... Also double bag. Cryo seal and the seal the sealed bag again in another cryoseal. Lengthy cooking sometimes opens the seals of bags. Cheers

It can be dicey... The ratio of salt to sugar in my dry cure is pretty conservative but also enough to assure that searing the said item would burn it very quickly because of caramelization. Note this is different from the typical misuse of the word "caramelize" when people are cooking meat or fish. Searing a piece of meat in a pan is not "caramelizing" it, you are just BROWNING it and putting a surface crust that makes it tastier...ie the Maillard reactions. THUS.... That is why the slow roasted technique works because only hot air contacts the product. I presalt for a few hours for Items that will be CESV (cuit en sous vide) as I find that the post cooking flavor profile is better. Brining Liquids tend to give a corned beef type texture which I am not a fan of depeneding on how long you brine but they do result in moister end products with poultry . Brining also is requisite for smoked meats. I dry cure my pork belly and sucklings and then cook for about 3 days but I now have ha ratio of cure to meat by the pound...compunded with time to ensure it isnt over salted. I think WD 50's pork belly for example is brined as it is pinker and may involve the use of sel rose.......speculation here. My Japanese boys at Gari tell me virtually all sushi fish is lightly presalted for some period of time.

Yes ...Professor but they take it up a few notches..... like there is an EAT IN ONLY bim bim bap that comes sizzling like fajitas at chili's Soft tofu with seafood, Rice Pancackes with stuffings, kimchee stew..... Nothing super heavy duty but Korean none the less.......grilled short ribs are a winner too.

Again , my opinion but I am preeeetty certain thats the deal. You gotta admit trying to establish an upper echelon signature restaurant is hard enough, but in NYC you must be walking on pins and needles.........rusty ones...! Depends on how much you know and how you define cutting edge.. Not to give Clintonian answers...BUT Fat Duck is the most well known because PR builds on PR and they do have some unique interesting dishes. The Achilles heel of FD however is that an overwhelming majority of the menu hasnt changed in about 3 years and that is across seasons.....same food, spring, summer winter. Imagine if Jean George was still serving the original Jojo food. I thought the food at Ramsay's place on the square, some of it while not "molecular" was creative....I remember vanilla shallots with Orkney Salmon and pork belly....awesome...! My opinion, i think the most cutting edge chef .......and food I have had in Britain was Anthony's in Leeds, kinda a hike from London but well worth it. Croissant veloute anyone ..... It was deeeeelicious. Here is there site.......scan the gallery http://www.anthonysrestaurant.co.uk/ and the requisite e gullet thread.... http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=37235&st=0

GIWA....Simple good Korean Food. 1608 Sansom street Essentially the Korean version of Tampopo. Just had another bim bim bap. As Lundstrom would say.........The shizzy

UE.... GR isnt at all even close to being on the cutting edge of creativity or plating to the degree that other chefs are lining up to crib his ideas, certainly not anywhere near PerSe for example. Look at the UK gullet thread. Its just properly cooked and basically plated food. UE.... I would be interested in your reports from London, you ought to take a trip. The British definition of creative is much different from the American one. The best meal I had there was at GR's Maze and La Trompette is Chiswick, Aikens. I suspect if GR had realised he would eventually open a restaurant in NYC, he may not have signed deals to Star in reality shows that portrayed him as a holier than thou raving lunatic. Now everyone know's he can talk and tear people down, they just want to see if he can back it up with serious food. Bloggers arent as active in the UK to the degree that they are in the states besides, I suspect that 99% of the typically british tasting palate is flawed. A lot of the stuff that made him famous and notorious in London probably would not fly in NY. Can you Imagine telling Frank Bruni to get the F out of your restaurant ? I imagine most International celebrity chefs opening in NYC now try to keep a low profile to avoid Ducassian welcomes......

Which when you interprete the above statement, it becomes so absurd that you wonder why any intelligent person would make it anyway....does that mean there will be a photo-nazi in the dining room checking camera angles or the tables will have ejector seats ? What exactly consttitues "banning", will they take your picture on the way out like a shoplifter to assure "banned" patrons no longer return.........the whole thing is just silly. NOTHING.......but the absurd rationale in my answer above.....! ......I said "I THINK the writer was taking creative latittude" THINK is the contextual word that disclaims that the following statement after it is based on MY observation and not a widely accepted fact.........!

Alexandra, I do not think that Vadouvan meant to cast aspersions on the press as a whole, but having been the victim of inaccurate reporting in the past on some non-food issues, I can assure you that what Vadouvan speaks of does happen. . . . I do not think you should take personally the transgressions of some of your colleagues. I do not do so in Medicine. Thanks Doc, if ALL physicians were perfect. we would never see Xrays of surgical tools and swabs inside people weeks after undergoing surgery.........but they are out there, it certainly doesnt mean all doctors suck. Alexandra.....2 things.. First you have a great website and I like finding out about new writers and bloggers so kudos to that. 2. As doc mentioned, journalistic accuracy *IS* a problem that isnt specific to the world of food. My statement wasnt to attack you personally so there is virtually no reason for you to be offended. Besides, I think it's worse for you to disagree that accuracy is an issue because it just encourages the behaviour. Even worse than outright inaccuracy is selective editing that re-contextualises the point you were making. Journalists arent sensitive to that which is why I dont say jack to any food writer any longer. Case and Point: Earlier this year, I was interviewed by a publicaton about Stephen Starr about what I thought of his restaurants as someone who had worked for him in the past...... I said: Stephen is a great guy on a personal level, although people trash his places as being unoriginal, i personally think they are missing the point, its about execution and most of his restaurants do it as well or better than the alleged places that inspired them" The publication for the sake of editing said: "he is a great guy but the restaurants are copied from other concepts" So you see, not all food writers walk on water..... I seriously doubt Gordon Ramsay said he would ban anyone in his restaurant with a camera that was my point. besides, you need to feed the Japanese tourists in NYC................

Tartetatin i will give you 2 answers. 1. Generally Broad 2. Specific. 1. E-gullet is indeed a discussion board and people are free to write about honest experiences. If the restauranteur in question (whom I know personally) reads e gullet often enough to act on your review, then CLEARLY he gives the forum enough credence to take it seriously and not write you off as some disgruntled crackpot. Thus your "friends" need to chill. 2. I read the specific review of your dinner and I think you need better dining partners. Not to insult you or your friends but this is the same dinner where.. Your Waitperson shook and over fizzed your champagne with no apology or wipe Spilled your amuse bouche on you and served you a foie gras torchon with the plastic wrapping STILL around it...... among other issues....and they found absolutely nothing wrong with it ? Are you kidding me ? Without giving it away and thus adding fuel to the fire, I spend about 4 days a week in your city and I find that as a whole, people in that city put more of a premium on relationships with the restaurant owner than the actual intergrity of the food or service. Your review was spot on and in my opinon quite generous based on how abysmal your evening sounded. The only time it is completely inappropriate to write about a bad meal is when said meal is free. If you are paying for your experiences, you can talk about it, we all work hard for our money.

At this point, I have eaten at all his places except amaryllis and the execution is near perfect, the issue is creativity and originality, Most of the food can be described as "old school" by American standards while being delicious. In fact his best restaurant in London in my opinion is Maze on Grosvenor sq. maze is like an Atelier without an actual cooking bar but dining at the bar at Maze in London has been one of my best bar experiences....and the best cocktail list I have ever seen. I am looking foward to that London Bar side of his new restaurant....

I agree with Oakapple, certainly flash photography can be disruptive in a "fine dining" atmosphere. However you can stick a $100 lens that lets in tons of light on a digital SLR like a Canon Rebel XT or Nikon D-50 and up and get excellent detailed pictures, besides most photo importing software has pretty good enhancement features. Most of Philadining's pictures use no flash as I have eaten with him several times... None of these pics were taken with a flash... http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=92185 The way it reads in the Times isnt one of discouraging intrusive flash photography, it's one of making sure no one takes pictures of the food. Certainly Gordon should be given the benefit of the doubt as we are well aware that every time you talk to the press, between the actual conversation and printing, accuracy sometimes takes a vacation. If on the other hand Gordon Ramsay actually wants to discourage any photography with the threat of banning customers, that would just amount to stupidity and BS. Fact is pictures of food from *ALL* the most revered restaurants on the planet El Bulli French Laudry Arzak Per se Ducasse Bras Arpege Ect ect are on e gullet and countless blogs, between Augieland, Pim, UE and Plotnicki not to mention others. Even Gordon Ramsay's food on hospital road is at .... http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=4836&st=210 So what's the BFD...... I think it's the writer taking some creative latitude.......

Right on ! Phyliss dig it ?

Not really because it wasnt unbearably hot in the summer either.

I had a cooktek and an Iwatani, both were OK but could not handle larger pots efficiently I just upgraded to a Diva and it is amazing in all respects. It was expensive but well worth it. http://www.divainduction.com/products.php?product=4

Interesting Andrew, I had a recent conversation with Alex Talbot (http://www.ideasinfood.typepad.com/) on the fine line between inspiration and plagiarism. We concluded that anything that came out of a discussion of "ideas" with a 3rd party should be credited. In a funny way, I have had elements of dishes that were so specific they were clearly taken from his site in restaurants all over NYC but the "young creative NY chefs" coincidentally came up with the idea. Not to stir the pot, there is nothing wrong with asking for help but if this was a term paper or thesis, this would be the defining quote... On the subject of food, there is no new food, filo pizza has been done for 20 years as is pizza on a multiplicity of crisp bases

La Tienda is just an online retail store and has nothing to do with the hams other than selling it and other "spanish products" on thier website. The product is actually imported by Fermin USA who sells it to La Tienda as well as Dibrunos. Dibrunos does not buy from La Tienda.

Casa mono. Sweetbreads are the best in NYC, razor clams on the plancha rock, duck egg with mojama, scrambled eggs with cockles, grilled quail, ect ect.....no wait at lunch.

*NOT* as big as your camera though.....

The reputation was based on the previous owners not the current ones. Not my opinion just so no one gets thier panties in a bunch, just the facts.

Way better that D'art and palacios. NICE percy....patatas bravas con chorizo....... They also have the new Fermin Iberico chorizo.......the Salchichon rocks.