FrogPrincesse

They seem to have to some extent. A lot of hype. The two guys at Animal make fun & engaging comfort food. But best chefs (West)?! Not even close...

Thanks Chris. The Local Taphouse sounds like a fun place. I definitely hope to visit Melbourne one day. I had a few great Australian beers last year in Sydney (fantastic trip btw); I will post my notes if I can find them...

Philip Ward's (phlip) Division Bell which I apparently forgot to post earlier. A challenging drink. Mezcal as the base spirit is a little overwhelming for my taste buds. I usually prefer just a rinse or a mix with Tequila.

Stone IPA with a fish taco at the Fish Shop (yes I do love all things bitter). Sierra Nevada's Black IPA at URBN. Chocolate. Rich and creamy. Burnt flavors. I did not really care for it. The Bruery's Rugbrod Danish brown ale (no photo). This one I really loved. Spicy, malty, a little acidic. Layers of great flavors.

Sam Ross is responsbile for their cocktail menu (he also designed the cocktail menu at Comme Ça, another David Myers' restaurant).

Rafa is right. It's from the Bartender's Choice app which I recommend getting if you haven't already... Amazing collection of cocktails for $2.99.

Beautiful. Regarding local lamb - you are in the US, right? Also, more details on the Robuchon recipe for leg of lamb, please. Most of the lamb we get around here (San Diego) seems to be from New Zealand. I have started marinating a few lamb shanks last night in preparation for our meal tomorrow. The menu will be: Beet and tangerines with mint and orange-flower waterLamb osso buco with shell bean ragout, haricots verts, and tapenadeVanilla semifreddo with rhubarb compote All recipes from Sunday Suppers at Lucques. Mario Batali tweeted his Easter menu earlier; it looks mouthwatering as well. I am taking note for next year!

Very cool to see all this buzz about the Nolita. The tequila variation sounds good too. I am going to sample Christian's new menu at C&C very soon and can't wait to try his new creations!

(from the "Cocktails I'm supposed to like, but don't" thread) That looks good (no Campari though, so not really a Boulevardier per se). I am always on the lookout for good cocktails using Bonal and may try this one tonight. The bourbon + bonal combo reminds me of the Mountain Man, but I digress... It is indeed excellent and surprisingly crisp for a brown, bitter and stirred cocktail. I forgot the salt and did not add it until the end.

The second course was this salad of Blood Oranges, Dates, Parmesan and Almonds (more details here).

Oooh that sounds right up my alley. I'll be making this tonight as I have all the ingredients (though not a vintage old-style bottle of LH151, sadly). "Vintage". It's not that old! I picked up half a case before they changed the bottle & formula so I still have a few left. That was only a year or two ago!

Last night's drink was the Warning Label from roguebeta cocktails: equal parts 151 demerara rum, cynar, and punt e mes; orange and grapefruit bitters; campari rinse; lemon twist. A distant cousin of the Boulevardier that we have been discussing lately.

+ 4 Moonshine! by Matt Rowley(mbrowley) Craft Cocktails at Home by Kevin Liu Vegetable Literacy by Deborah Maddison The Good Cook: Terrines, Pâtés & Galantines (Time-Life Books)

Just picked up at copy last weekend at a local store. It is gorgeous. I haven't had time to really study it yet.

That looks good (no Campari though, so not really a Boulevardier per se). I am always on the lookout for good cocktails using Bonal and may try this one tonight. The bourbon + bonal combo reminds me of the Mountain Man, but I digress...

Yes, and I like it much better.

I tried the Boulevardier (Ted Haigh ratios) with different vermouths in the past and was not sold either. This was just the latest attempt. I try to keep an open mind and regularly revisit these cocktails that I am supposed to like. I like (love) intensely bitter but it has to work with the other components. I did not like intensely bitter with the bourbon, it just clashed for me. Just not my thing.

Rhum agricole is widely available in France, you can buy it at most supermarkets and you would be astounded by the selection (and the low prices)... There are other rums as well but Martinique being an overseas department of France ("DOM"), its rhums are extremely well represented. The AOC is only for Martinique but rhum agricole is also produced in Guadeloupe and Marie-Galante. It's not necessarily the main kind of rum consumed in France, but it probably represents a good portion.

I forgot to mention the Boulevardier, that foul concoction (see here). The 1794 is a fine variation but does not count because the base spirit is different. I thought for a while that bourbon + campari could not possibly work, but the Paper Airplane and the Professional actually work brilliantly. Also the Left Hand which is a bourbon-heavy Boulevardier with mole bitters actually works for me.

I've never been a fan of the Boulevardier even though I love Campari. I use Ted Haigh's ratios from Vintage Spirits and Forgotten cocktails (1.5:1:1 bourbon:campari:sweet vermouth). It is somewhat tolerable with a maraschino cherry garnish, but for me the bourbon and Campari clash big time. Overall it tastes very sweet and intensely bitter. It feels harsh and doesn't have a pleasant finish. I liked the 1794 (on the right in the photo) much better. It was a more harmonious cocktail with a slow build-up where the spice was followed by orange flavors and then mellowed into a bitter chocolate finish (I used the mole bitters).

Mojitos are indeed very popular in Europe. I was proud to see the Ti Punch as #10. The Pina Colada on the other hand was a little odd. Although I have to admit that it is indeed the very first cocktail I have ever attempted. Part of its popularity is probably because rum is widely available and very cheap, pineapple juice and coconut cream are easy to find. I thought for sure the French taste with respect to cocktails must have evolved by now. I guess not that much!

Thanks Rafa! It's a good cocktail for sure. It's funny because I was just reading that the Americano was quite popular in France (one of the top ten most requested cocktails according to a survey I just read), but I don't think that they have been introduced to the Royale version yet.

Beautiful calamari, Keith. Last Friday we had prawns in a coconut curry with braised greens on the side. The curry recipe was from Sam Choy and it's pretty easy to make. It was very flavorful. The greens were an assortment from my CSA: cavolo nero (aka dinosaur kale), rapini, and arugula. The rapini stems were quite tough even after extending blanching, so we ended up picking out most of them. The rest was great. Last night we had a traditional banquette de veau. Nice and comforting.

Speaking of Audrey Saunder's ChamPino, here is its equal parts cousin, the Negroni Sbagliato. Vermouth-forward, which was a nice way to start a new bottle of Cocchi vermouth di Torino.

This looks yummy!! If I make it bigger would the chocolate pour out like the one in my picture?Thanks! You could make it a little bigger and take it out of the oven a minute or two earlier if you like a more liquid center.