Vadouvan

I actually agree with Laban. LBF probably wont be around next decade. Not my personal opinion, just an observation and prediction... The restaurant currently doesnt have Georges P as the sole creative head as far as food is concerned. Menu is a mix of old classics and some new "creativity". For many years, no one has seriously challenged the top end of philadelphia restaurants. Even LBF realises they are becoming a dinosaur, peoples tastes have changed, who wants to seat through a 3 hour $500 meal in Philadelphia, sure there are lots of people but they are getting long in the tooth. I personally know for a fact that Perrier considers his biggest threat to be SRO. That is why LBF has slowly moved away from the price fixed dinner to a la carte options. Unfortunately, with Striped Bass's 4 bell, its pretty much polishing the deck chairs on the titanic. Capeneus if LBF is in business and perrier is still the "chef" on January 1 2010, I will pay for your dinner.

They specifically said that to me and lots of people I know on the phone and it was public knowledge. It doesnt offend me at all, I am just telling you that was a fact not a guess. Artificial as in the place is booked 30 days ahead sometime after 29days of that practice because the practice forces people to conform to the schedule. The fact that the place is packed on weeknights as you state is also a result of that. you can fill almost any restaurant on friday and saturday night, the point is to filter people into weeknights. I am not making this up, its a widespread practice. You are completely missing the point, they arent rejecting anybody. Its simple math statistical analysis. It has nothing to do with the economics of philly. The perception of desireability is universally effective regardless of zip code. Of course Django was desirable, it would be very naive to ignore the psychology of reservations. Dude I have worked in 4 restaurants where we had meetings about it.

Also.... We all may be ignoring the fact that the kind of "BUZZ" Django had was unsustainable. At some point, new places open, people move on, those who have tried it a few times find other new places to go. Most of the above have nothing to do with Django per se, its just the natural evolution of a dynamic restaurant environment. No matter how good a place is, as long as other restaurants keep opening, you cant keep your name in the press forever nor can you assure the steady customer stream. Speaking of customer stream..... Lets not kid each other.... (and the following isnt directed at Brian or Aimee personally) People get tired of artificially booked restaurants. By artificially booked, I mean getting your customers to reserve EXACTLY 30 days (or any other specified number) ahead. You would be deluding yourself if you thought it reflected how truly busy the place was. The reason it happens is that restaurants use that method to assure a steady reservation stream. How well it works depends on how large your interested customer base is. For a place like French Laundry or Per Se that has essentially a NATIONAL audience, they can do it forever and there is no reason to stop. For a Django with a mostly local audience, it works initially but gradually recedes. Peoples lives are just too complicated to plan dinners 30 days ahead forever, it becomes a local experience that is reserved for special ocasions. The biggest danger of the perception of unavailability is that people will just assume you are and wont bother to call and make other plans. The change may also have started before the change in ownership, restaurant interest can be cyclical like economics. Remember the economic surplus that started in the Bill Clinton Administration actually started in the George Herbet Walker Bush administration, but he who wears the crown, gets the spoils or the wrath. Remeber those embassy hostages in Iran ? Well, Jimmy Carter negotiated thier release. Who took Credit ? The Gipper. This may have nothing to do with Greg or Ross at all.

Interesting similarities to the Bruni/Gilt discussion. I too hope the public is much more evolved mentally to rely solely on food critics. Although I am loathe to outright Trash any restaurant, clearly even by Laban's description...on the bell key.... Django's 4 bells under previous ownership was a hard sell and just made no sense outside of the context of "favouritism" as Katie suggests. Let's use the non scientific comparative context of a 2 bell demotion. Which is worse ? 1. 4bell to 2bell 2. 3bell to 1bell 3. 2bell to no bell I put it to you that all 3 are equally aggregious. What it says is that a restaurant falls far short of the expected and or touted ambition that it strives for. I find it diffucult that barring complete ineptitude and a deliberate scuttling of an operation, it is virtually nearly impossible for that to happen. Complicated by the change of ownership however negated by the fact that the new owners paid a reputed significant chunk of cash for the place. Nothing convinces you to do a great job better than a financial stake in an operation. I would therefore have to agree with Katie ..............combined with knowing Greg salisbury's approach to food and people............the bells unravelled as soon as the bill of sale was signed. I dont know how this will affect the restaurant but I suppose we shall all find out. Laban's review is so far credited with the demise of TRUST now El Vez. Similarly mediocre Le Jardin is still open despite the worst review in the history of journalism... "This cheese is similar to a fromage" said the server to Laban. So I say support Greg Salisbury and see 4 yourselves. Think of it this way, if it was new and from scratch, a two bell review isnt as bad as a 2 bell demotion.

The correlation between this quote and the discussion at hand is that... Much as we are discussing misdefinition of a category of restaurants... "Sarcasm" should not be confused with "humor" The fact that one may be aware of the inclusion of the sample doesnt mean one should define the sample erroneously.

And quite frankly..... Spirited discussions on "semantics" serve to inform all and keeps the forum interesting. I am all for clarity in the finer points of any subject matter....

Well Said.

I dont even think the interest in studying the application of the specific chemistry matters. The term "Molecular Gastronomy" is essentially esoteric embellishment. I agree with Bondgirl that people have cooked and baked for years while not being aware of the specific chemistry that makes dishes sucessful (cornstarch, Cream of tartar, temperature of proofing dough, Jello,salting ham for Proscuitto/Serrano). A new awareness of how those things work (Physics and Chemistry) may be referred to as the "molecular study of gastronomy" but to say any chef practices "molecular gastronomy" or any particular restaurant is a good place for "Molecular Cuisine" is frankly wrong and silly. Also correct. the current vogue is to use chemicals that have been traditionally used in mass produced food and agro-industrial business in the forum of small scale fine dining. Referring to : carageenan Xanthan Gum Gellan Gum Methylcellulose Transglutaminase Sorbitol Isomalt Dextrose Ect ect.... While the applications are interesting on a small scale, they arent "new" per se. You could basically claim to be involed in "molecular gastronomy" simply by dressing a salad at home with any bottle of commercial salad dressing containing one or more stabilizers or emulsifiers. Much the same way as you could have a hamburger at White Castle........ "A La plancha"

Outstanding experience. Loved the room Loved the food Loved the people Apple tasting with the apple tatin sorbet to die for.

I dont know why this would happen based on the previous review but I ate there and the food was completely mediocre to amount to a complete waste of time. I read the chef was at blue hill and el Bulli but this may be among the top 5 worst restaurant experiences I have ever had in Ny. The food was just solidly mediocre, what was discribed as nantucket bay scallop wasnt a bay scallop at all, the foie 3 ways was amateurish, the rabbit app was gratuitous and cold. The room is too bright, no atmosphere and looks unfinished...down to the exposed electrical conduit coming out of the wall. None of the dishes were heated, it was just so unappetizing we decided to cut our losses and skip entrees. Just really poor.

He just didnt get it. This is a problem with metropolitan newspapers focusing on consumerism and hiring clueless food critics. There are so many similarities between Gilt, Sketch in London and Gagnaire in Paris. Bruni is simply way out of his league of food appreciation. Cant wait till the three star review of del postos overpriced nothing new "I"-Talian food.

My point exactly so the use of the term "molecular gastronomy" is just Hype BS ? Maillard reactions happen in griddled hot dogs as well as Sous vide Mishima ribeyes....ect ect Why dont they just use the term creative ?

This is why we have urban architects and pedestrian walkways....I am sure they will figure it out.

The whole dish as a whole was underwhelming particularly since the main protein was inedible. A plate of soybeans and sauce isnt quite worth 25 bucks....Pork bellies taste much better with rendered fat and crispy skin. I felt like I was eating raw bacon.

Definitely Gilt for inventiveness. The word "molecular" by the way is being grossly misused by the entire food world just because a couple of chemicals are used as ingredients. There is very little "Molecular" about "Molecular gastronomy".

Had a suckling Pig belly at Asiate, best I ever had. The Cafe Boulud one is excellent too. I found Wd 50's to be too fatty and relatively tasteless in comparison to Boulud and Sugie. Blue Hill is excellent too.

Stick with your El vez plans. Lolita isnt better than El Vez, its just cheaper.......plus they dont do lunch. El vez actually has Latin people cooking the food. lolita is cute but totally westernized. Tria is good but where they get cheese from is irrelevant, cheese is cheese. In fact I have seen the Tria cheese guy at Dibrunos.....! Buying guess what......Cheese.

Dear Katie... The review should be seen as a blessing in disguise. You never want to get 4 bells because 50% of people will immediately consider you to be overrated. 3 bells is exactly where you want to be. Based on my experiences at Amada, I would not disagree that it should have gotten 4 however, heavy lies the head that wears the crown. Besides Vetri, I have never had a "4 bell" experience in any 4 bell restaurant. Expectations are just so high and they are never met. 4 bells also result in folks resting on thier laurels, 3 makes them strive for more perfection (even if they have already reached it). To sum Amada up....its a fantastic addition to the philly restaurant scene. I think Laban's review was right on and should not be seen in any negative light. The only thing I noticed to be odd on 4 visits was the bacalao croquettes.... If Amada needs to do anything, its the less emphasis on fancy and more on solid rustic like Casa Mono and Tia Pol, I think that was La bans point with the sous videry....

The WD 40 comment is pointless. Its really humorless when people continue it since WD 50 opened 5 years ago now ???

Morning doc...i see your point. Wish I had parents like you when I was growing up who took thier kids to WD 50... Ayways I am bored with the Starr/Morimoto/NY/Philly thing and i will leave with this.... Regarding the Jazz analogies... Let the chips fall where they may.... The Rants on "smooth Jazz" are justified because it is extremely annoying to hear people express deep knowledge and appreciation for the art from without a clue as to its origins... "I am really into jazz, I like David Sanborn and Kelly G" Who is Keith Jarett ...... how about Thelonious Monk......... Uh..........Charlie Mingus.......... Rahsaan roland Kirk......... Smooth Jazz is kinda like saying... "I am a vegetarian but I love Sushi" For clarity.....pet peeve #2 is people who eat seafood and call themselves vegetarians. You are not a vegetarian if you eat anything with eyes or a bivalve. Wrong side of the bed today.... Yaaallllll have a nice day.

I am not using the term "Italian- American" as a pejorative, merely to seperate more authentic from less authentic. Perhaps you should take a trip to philly so you can understand what I am saying. The food in Batali's places (esp) Babbo/Lupa is much closer to "Italy" than what I eat at typical BYO's in Philly. The term "Italian American" is widely used by expariate Italian friends in NY. I never said "not Italian American means Babbo". Jeff I agree that some of the food in his places is very good, in fact i had that sweetbread special too...Bay scallops , Orange brown butter.....YUM. Lechon at ALMA Soup at Morimoto.... I have no prob with Starr, just wondering why people who dont go in the first place do ?

Say What ?

Since I dont know how to do this quoting stuff, here are your replies. 1. SNEAKEREATER. Your point is taken as far as new yorkers knocking it but my point was having a discussion on the gullet which probably has a very food savvy audience about the merits of 200 seat meatpacking district restaurants is sorta like preacing to the choir. At some point the bitching was just pointless. One would have a more alert audience explaining the concept of doppler radar at a meteorologists convention. 2. DOCSCONZ. INVENTOLUX Sup doc ? Two restaurants that are alike and the food tastes exactly the same ? Besides Mcdonalds ? You are correct. Even French Laudry dishes dont taste as good at Per Se......but hey, its kinda different watching construction in columbus circle as opposed to a sunny day in the garden at Napa. 3.HERBICIDAL. Yo Herb, I am not saying no one is capable of it, I am saying No one HAS done it. I was frankly suprised STARR just didnt make a deal with Batali when he opened Angelina ???? I Imagine he would be as good or better draw than Marcus Samuelsson or Portale. 4. CHERIE. Sovalo is good but it isnt like Babbo, It's distinctly more california Italian in the vein of Oliveto and A-16.

Before folks start hurling daggers, hear me out. Philadelphia has a huge influx of Italian restaurants however, they are all basically exactly the same, same food, same variations. "tastes" in what is considered Italian also tend to be more conservative...Translation "Italian American" Batali's non red sauce more rustic cooking is completely different and I just dont see a ton of folks getting into it. Dont get me wrong, I am not saying philadelphians dont get it, in fact they do.....what's needed is one brave restauranteur who gets it and nails it. ANGELINA was an attempt at that but the food was just subpar and too fancy. That's one of the more important stratas of Italian food missing in Philly Mid priced banging authentic dishes without grilled calamari, arugula salad with goat cheese and seafood pasta specials. Almost like a panorama but better food............. New York however.........Would I spend 10 million to put a Buddakan in the meat packing district ? Hell Yeah......its like printing money. Remember, just like the people in south jersey keep olde city in business, the people in NORTH jersey do the same for lower manhattan on weekends and all summer. Trust me food isnt always the primary reasons people go to these places. Everytime I stand around in one of those places like spice market and i have 3 drinks, its like 35 bucks already........that's wassup. Starr is no fool.

Which brings up the point that singular experiences are different for everyone. Some get lucky, some dont. I dont think any restaurant is on its game 24/7. On the list of top 15 things I have ever eaten in a restaurant ....period! Oxtail ravioli with squab liver sauce and a glass off Amarone. BabboNYC. Philly could use a Babbo. the scary thing is "Babbo" is less likely to work in Philly than Buddakan in NY.