Vadouvan

Philadining.....It was specifically used on the kampachi dish. I think Chef Leib concieved it that was so it was finished tableside. The bottle has a tag behind it saying it was partly developed by the university of Firenze...i think.

Actually they dont, i wouldnt bet on it if you go now. See...........this is why I hit high end spots in the first week, every one is eager to please. New high end restaurants are overstaffed, staff basically do anything you ask for nicely....... as in " would you bring over that $150/12 fluid ounce of olive oil and pour a bunch of it on this saucer?" It would be simply economically foolish to pour Manni oil tableside for everyone. they may be good at Gilt but I am sure they aint stupid

Deal, I have to say they were quite generous, I think between my table of two had about a 5th of the bottle. Incidentally, I had just dined at Per Se not too long before and I noticed on the menu Manni Olive Oil "PER ME".......I just chalked it up as another of those gratuitous Per Se quotes..... You know.........Satur Farms "Radishes" with Chalk Hill "Goat Cheese" and Manni Olive Oil "Per Me".. (not an actual Perse menu Item) as Thomas Keller saying I have my own olives Damnit. However upon further googling......It turns out Manni makes two oils.. Per Me and "Per me figlio"...for me and for my child. Great oils, we tried both at Gilt.

I am waiting with excitement for Will and Bobby's Place. Those two ought to come up with some some inetersting stuff. What's the skinny Akwa ?

I already know two people who were flying in from London for a week who rescheduled flights today until strike is settled. We do have a fabulous town but who wants to walk around back and forth in 2o degree weather. If the strike lasts till thursday, New york is screwed. Restaurants will over order, purveyors will raise prices ever so slightly...lots of cumulative effect of increased traffic. the only restaurants that are going to put any employees in hotels are those that are in or affiliated with hotels.........and even that may be a stretch

(To the sound of Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man in the background) It is this spirited discussion despite the fact that we may not always agree that keeps us gullet-eers together..............even though I joined last week.....haha ! Reminds me of the SEINFELD episode when the jewish guy makes jewish jokes but justifies it by saying "It is our ability to laugh at ourselves that has kept us together as a people"....even though he converted to Judaism the day before. In retrocpect, Laundry or Per Se ? Bugatti or Bentley...........Its alllllllllllll good.

OUCh ! Oakapple.....accusations of "stiffing them on the tips" are uneccesary. The quote a little over $150 could be interpreted as anything between $150 and $ 180......yes I drink very little wine since I have a latent sulphite allergy. Nothing wrong with tap water, if it was so pedestrian, they wouldnt offer it. I suppose one ought to feel more refined by ordering bottled water that is called spring water but is actually filtered water. Dont get me wrong, I love the place, Keller is undeniably a great chef but a recent $400 meal there left a bit to be desired. raising your prices based on supply and demand solely without any quantifiable increase in quality or value index wont affect business since there are millions of people in MANhattan. I personally would love some element of increased percieved value. Its all fine and good, but new restaurants are coming who are going to tap into your customer demographic, GILT is here, Gordon Ramsay is coming, Joel Robuchon is coming ect ect. Yes Shacke...French Laundry is a much better dining experience than Per Se. In all senses. Worth every penny and more.

Lets not kid ourselves, there was a ridiculously generous incentive given to Thomas keller to get the restaurant "Per Se" into the Time Warner Center by its developers. I had always assumed that once the Economics ofwhat it takes to run a restaurant of that caliber catch up with the reality of the cash flow. the prices would steadily climb. this is why I go to high end restaurants a lot within the first year. I remember having a dinner that cost a little over $150 at Per Se when it opened. Then there was a 5 and a 9 course. The 5 had choices, 9 was tasting. Then they made the price of both menus $175 Then both menus became $225 I have personally lost interest in the place because while it still is a solid place, there was no marked quality upgrade in the food for the extra $50. I was particularly miffed last summer because one of the courses in the tasting was referred to as "Lobster Mitts"..........basically leftover claws from the butter poached lobster. Unacceptable and super chintzy for a restaurant of that caliber. The fact is ultimately, they would save a lot of money by eliminating any menu concept that includes choices and if it hasnt happened, its going to.....I bet you.

Jeez.... That was some pretty damn good "non Flash" photography. Not bad sir Geoffrey....not bad Indeed!

Sea Urchin Naturale, I translated as "sea urchin not screwed with too much". Although it wasnt pure UNI a la Yasuda, it was a custard texture that was pure sea urchin flavor with caviar and sone white foam I dont remember.......Stunning! I dont know who the pastry chef is, although as I said earlier, while the pastry was OK, it wasnt as ambitious as the food. If Gilt needs anything, it needs a Sam mason type modern dessert architect. Interestingly, referring back to my old Art Culinaires.....sam was Leibrandts pastry chef at Atlas.

No AKWA, not only is the death of NY gastronmy absurd, this is the birth of NEW, New york gastronomy. I like WD 50 but its like a Phillip Glass concert. I love Per Se but its like a Bethoven piano sonata by yvgeny Kissin. Both outstanding. GILT was Miles Davis "Bitches Brew" Complex......and Nailed it. You either love it or dont ge tit.

Whoops..! REST OF MENU APPS... We did not try these dishes. GOLDEN NUGGET VELOUTE TORTELLIN OF DIVER SCALLOP.CHORIZO, WILD SORREL OYSTERS AND BLACK TRUFFLES BEUFORT CHEESE TARTLET,LEMON BUBBLES BLACK TRUFFLE CRUMBLE BABY TURNIPS AND ROSE' GRAPEFRUIT,SAUCE VIN JAUNE SCOTTISH LANGOUSTINE IN PREPARATION,ROYALE, TARTARE AND CRISPY.

2am wide awake after a day of culinary debauchery in Manhattan that started with some fantastic scrambled eggs and Binjte potatoes from Union square greenmarket, sweetbreads at Casa Mono, plate of Jamon and Pane con tomato at Bar Jamon, arguably manhattans best properly made espresso at St Ambroeus on Madison and 77th followed by a short walk down to 50 Madison's new "million dollar baby"...GILT. Service was supercourteous and professional. Well choreographed movements in the dining room, expedient,efficient. The purple DNA sculpture on the website which I viewed with some trepidation actually was much more elegant in the way it wrapped around the bar. Great juxtaposition of modern and classic. On to the food. First of all, NO PICTURES. Flash photography would be far too obnoxious in the dining room and I personally think there are intellectual property issues with pictures in high end restaurants with cookbook potential without expressed permission of the chef so use your imagination. If that doesnt work, RUN, dont walk to Gilt as the food was spectacular. Of the conservative high end Manhattan jewels (Per Se, Jean Georges, Daniel, ADNY Essex), this was a creatively superior meal with the same level or better of technical execution. The classic pairings that you find in these restaurants while delicious have become passe (no pun intended). Paul Liebrandt take a less traditional approach with some startling flavor deliveries. Canapes: BUTTER NUT SQUASH TUILE RIBBONS TAMARIND MARSHMALLOWS KATAIFFI WITH YUZU AND CORIANDER OLIVE OIL FINANCIER, SPICY YOGHURT. Talk about off to a great start, if this was a musical performance, it would be the Tannhauser Overture. the psuedo savoury finacier was brilliant with a sprinkle of togarashi, the Kataiffi exploded with the taste of what I believe was coriander, the flavor changed in my mouth 3 times in about 6 seconds. Tamarind marshmallows added a piquant note to perfectly textured candy. Amuse Bouches SMOKED EEL/MELON SOUS VIDE WITH SHERRY HAZELNUT CLOUD, MOUSSE OF FOIE GRAS CAULIFLOWER SORBET/ORANGE TUILE GLAZED DUCK/AVOCADO/OLIVE OIL All perfect, Cauliflower sorbetto rocked ! Bread and Butter: housemade, an absolutely fabulous Brioche, serrano ham bread and potato bread. 2 butters, one french, one Devon. Butter was good but we noticed 2 bottles on Manni olive oil, which I have been hunting like the CIA is looking for bin laden.....so we promptly had them whisked over. Some damn good Olive oil. Tasting menu is $92, 3 courses plus a few supplements for pricier dishes. We ordered 3 ....3 course menus and told chef to arrange them however he pleases. 1st courses --------------- BALLOTINE OF FOIE GRAS,QUINCE CREAM,GELEE OF COTEAUX DU LAYON Coteaux De Layon is one of my favourite non sauternes dessert wines behind Loupiac and Jurancon, gelee was perfect texture, and interesting garnish of a tulie that tasted like nori was present in it, great tableside service, KAMPACHI/RHUBARB SALAD COOKED WITH MUSCAT GRAPES/HIMALAYAN SALT. Great addition of piquillo puree, olive oil sorbet and toasted almonds. More manni olive oil......manni more manni more.....! "FLAVORS OF WINTER" PEEKY TOE CRAB, SEA HERB GLASS FINANCIER OF ARUGULA AND STILTON SEA URCHIN NATURALE ROASTED BABY ABALONE, NANTUCKET SCALLOPS, OXTAIL GELEE SWEETBREADS TAMARILLO. Basically, 5 more amusey type dishes together. Arugula financier was the shizzy.....awesome. Uni was garnished with caviar and some foam All great. 2nd Courses --------------- FOUR STORY FARMS MILK FED POULARDE, WINTER PETITS FARCIS, FOIE GRAS JUS. That was some good chicken, we both agreed the tastiest thing we ate all night was the little stuffed cabbage roll of confit meat. Great presentation, very Gagnaire/Bras -esque..........or maybe just very Leibrandt. OCEAN TROUT, SLOWLY COOKED WITH CLEMENTINE AND SUNCHOKES Served with escargots. Perfect sous vide cookery, presentation was very Tetsuya-esque. CANNON OF LAMB,ROASTED WITH FRESH PINE, HEDGEHOG MUSHROOMS, PINE NUT CUTTLEFISH ROYALE. Presented tableside and then whisked back to the O-R for some quick surgery. Comes back beautifully presented. The pairing of cuttlefish and lamb was starting to push it but I ate both seperately and they were tasty. I think if you dont process the intellectual thought of the reasoning behind the combo too long and you just eat it while its warm, it was good. Hell..... if New yorkers are running downtown to eat fried cubes of mayo with a little tongue, they should be cool with some squid with Lamb. REST OF MENU WE DID NOT HAVE: (but looks goooooooood) MILLBROK VENISON RED CABBAGE MARMALADE,SWEET/SOUR BABY CARROTS/ARGAN OIL. DRY AGED BLACK ANGUS RIBEYE (POUR DEUX) WATERCRESS - LEMON BALM PUREE,SMOKED POTATO FONDANT MAINE ROASTED LOBSTER CAULIFLOWER CREME,CAPER RELISH,TOASTED BLACK CURRANT OIL DOVER SOLE COMTE CRUST,MELEE OF BABY LEEKS AND SMOKED HADDOCK TARRAGON MUSTARD SABAYON. DESSERT : We pretty much had them all, good solid creations but doesnt quite match the ambition of the kitchen/savoury food. I think they went deliberately more conservative with desserts. my thoughts......if you are gonna cross the alps with Hannibal in the winter, just go all the way, skip the chocolate stuff, i know the kitchen is capable of some spectacular stuff since the dinner menu has some interesting dessert - ish garniture. I cant wait for some..... Cauliflower Sorbetto, Nori tuile from the foie gras dish, green tea gastrique and crystallized shiso leaf. . The dessert amuse was SPECTACULAR. BLOOD ORANGE CONSOMME AND SORBET WITH LAVENDER HONEY TUILE. So there you have it. This seems an overly enthusiastic review but the food was good, the room was beautiful and the whole experience reminded me why I wanted to cook really good food in the first place. My first cookbook ever was WHITE HEAT, Marco Pierre White, there was Marco, thin, scraggly, long hair rock star looks, great quotes and just kicking it out. The villain you want to hate, but he cooked some goood food. OTHER TIDBITS: Rather than just saving money at IKEA or Crate and Barrel.. Serious investment in Bernadaud, FABULOUS Ercuis flatware and some rubenesque wineglasses of undetermined origin. Definitely my best high end meal in Manhattan period. Going back in less than 2 weeks.

Bob ??? Who is zeees ?

Hey philadining....any tips on non flash digital photography ? Can we ADOBE enhance the pix ?? You are the E gullet god of all things photograhic....... In GILT's defense, NYers are GLUTTONS for abuse...if you open a 6 seat restaurant that requires you to pay up front if you show up or not, I bet it would be booked solid.

GILT is open to the public as of tonight, we got a saturday reservation because we left a voicemail 6 weeks ago and a lady with a strangely fake but interesting accent called us back to confirm. I think it was really nice of the restaurant to follow up and actually call. My praise was however eroded by the fact that they have the most ridiculous reservation policy. BASICALLY *YOU* (the diner) have to call the restaurant 2 days before your reservation to confirm it otherwise they wont guarantee you a seat. Maybe its just me but that's bizarre. Ducasse, Per Se,JG,Daniel all call you to confirm. We shall see how long that flies or if NYers put up with it.

First Congratulations. The best restaurant specific management program is at Cornell University. Outside of that, I would think a graduate degree in business at least puts you on a higher academic scale that 95% of people in the restaurant business. The degree is great if you want to end up CFO or Director of operations of multi restautant entities such as China Grill Management or Starr Restaurant Organization Ect ect. If your ultimate goal is just to manage your own place someday, it isnt that complicated in the sense that its something you learn by immersion. Ultimately you are going to have to get a job somewhere and just learn the details of what your responsibilities are. As you move to better places, those details get refined. A little server experience isnt a bad idea so you can see the other side of the coin as far as how "managers" come across to employees in differing styles. Although, most people seek "experienced" managers, the truth is there isnt enough skilled sensible people in the industry who are not drug addicts so odds of getting a job are quite excellent as most people will train you to the specifics of that operation. Seriously I dont mean to make it sound so easy but if you can figure out excel spreadsheets and live through "group dynamics" classes, you can run a POS system and a restaurant. Just go get a job if you have the time. The hours are not the best but it really is the best way to learn.

I dined at both Atlas and Papillon and I cant wait to try Gilt. I have a reservation for saturday evening. I shall certainly report back with excruciating detail, the room may be too fancy for cameras. From What I have heard, the previous Gagnaire reference by AKWA is the skinny.