gfron1

Last week I had the opportunity to eat at Jordan Kahn's Vespertine in Culver City, the new restaurant that Jonathan Gold just proclaimed the top in the city. I decided to fly across the country because I have long held that Jordan is the most creative chef in the country in recent years. I'm sure others could make the claim for a number of chefs, and certainly anyone from that opening class of Alinea, but Jordan, to my way of thinking, ups the ante every time. I was so disappointed when I failed to dine at Red Medicine before he closed it that I swore I would not miss his next restaurant. And hence my trip. Plenty has been written already about the spaceship experience, but it all starts with collaboration. Collaboration with ceramic artists. Collaboration with metal smiths. And most importantly the collaboration with the architect who built this amazing space just for Vespertine. I'll note that this is across the street from his daytime restaurant Destroyer, which was the r&d part of my trip related to my own restaurant opening next week. The building is three stories plus a roof space which is enclosed in the grid. First floor - entrance and art installation; Second floor - main dining; Third floor - kitchen; Fourth - roof lounge. There is also a outdoor garden with heated concrete benches surrounded by horsetail plants (you can see a bit on the bottom right of this pic). As would be expected at this price point the team had done its research. As I walked up the street (I was staying at a nearby AirBnB) the valet greeted me by name even before I was on the property calling out, "Good evening Chef Connoley." Just to be clear that means he had researched my face and background. They didn't know who my guest was (who is far more famous and important than me!), but I didn't tell them who I was bringing. After foraged seasoned sparkling wine in the garden they brought us into the first floor where we were sent to the third floor. As the door opened Chef Kahn was waiting for us. Greetings and pleasantries, dietary concerns and preferences, and then he just chatted me up about my upcoming project...He and I have a lot of parallels although in very different realms, but near identical sensibilities and philosophies. He sent us up the stairs to the roof where we were again greeted and sat at a low cushioned bench. Custom furniture everywhere including this table that was pegged for lights and dishes to be placed anywhere...all custom fit of course. The manzanita branch held some kelp and seaweed both natural and with superfluous quotes. Then snacks... I don't remember everything and you can decypher from the menu at the end of this post. All were delicious. All were intriguing. All were beautiful. This one was a cracker set inside a ceramic "bone" that cracked open to reveal the crackers... The star of the night was, as often is the case, the most simple - mango encased in sunflower petals. My VIP guest for the evening and I enjoying an early buzz while the LA sun sets. My spouse Tyler is insanely jealous that he keeps missing out on my LA trips, last year to n/Naka and then this one. Oh well pooker, keep dreaming! It was down to the dining room next. I was a bit on a budget (I know that makes no sense eating here at $250 per person but that meant I had to go with the cheaper wine pairing ($115 v $185). We saw the wine book...huge and custom designed case and covers. Then the courses started coming out (around 10 I believe). Sweet pea stuff: Scallop stuff I remember this one - some crab dip...not my favorite - a bit boring but still yummy The only dud of the night - turkey. Interestingly I've since read other people saying the same thing - I think its time to kill your darlings: And then we were done. Staff brought us back to the first floor and out to the garden for housemade liquors on the seated benches with an opportunity to view the stars with a provided telescope. It was too cloudy for us but a neat idea. And one final nice touch...a note from the chef. I assume everyone gets one, and maybe they're all personalized as mine was: The menu provided via email the next day: And a quick comment to say that as much as I loved Vespertine, I equally loved the more casual Destroyer across the street. Superb oatmeal and berry bowl. Interesting take on avocado toast, although a friend screamed, "Deconstructed avocado toast? F&%k off!" This last pic is a comparison of Destroyer's avo toast and Sqirl's that I got the next morning.

...and what was I just saying...Eater's response.

Yesterday Jonathan Gold proclaimed Vespertine to be the top restaurant in LA. I just ate there last week and thought it was amazing, but it's only been open a month or so. Last year a chef in St Louis was a semifinalist for Best Chef, Midwest after having been open only a few months. That restaurant's quality has dropped dramatically in its second year. I know that most of the magazines, and JBF, consider best "New" restaurant to be up to three years old, which to my mindset is smart because it's not about what you can do one night, but repeatedly over time. So I'm wondering what other examples are there of chefs and restaurants proclaimed "The Best" a bit too prematurely only to fall and not be so great.

A little late, but I don't want to assume that you know "the obvious," so how bout some professional kitchen basics: 1. Wear non-slip close toed shoes. 2. Wear long pants (or mimic whatever you know the chef to wear) 3. Wash your hands always, often, forever and well 4. Don't touch the chef's knives unless they offer them to you 5. Be aware of your surroundings so you don't bump into something and ruin other projects the chef may have going on 6. Be honest about your knowledge. If they chef says, 'dice a mirepoix' and you don't know what dice or mirepoix is, just ask...most chefs love to teach.

One event at a time please....but I had mentioned to Kerry before that as I continue to get established in St. Louis I would love to suggest it as a site for a future event. Today I toured Bissinger's Chocolates with the head chocolatier who was extremely generous with his knowledge, and I was surprised at the level of hand crafting that was still going on. On a side note, Rick Jordan is ceasing operation and maybe leaving the field. Sad since I think he's one of the top in the nation...plus side I'm checking out his used equipment [please let's not sidetrack the intent of this thread with comments. I just wanted it stated so we can talk about it in Niagara.]

While we wait for the building to come to fruition... I'll be opening a new daytime café

I'm so proud of myself I actually planned ahead this year. I have both duck and quail eggs brined so I can have the salted yolks and I have all of the ingredients! Hopefully the recipe I'm using will work better than others in the past.

@cdh & @liuzhou Thanks. cdh, We have a number of Asian markets and the ones that I go to most have no staff that speak English, and many of the products don't have English except for the nutrition label. Naturally they have some, but enough that I've been befuddled for a while. liuzhou's comment about red tea would explain a lot. I'll use those characters next time I shop and see what I find. Thanks again!

We drink a variation of British black tea for breakfast every day. More often than not we end up with a black tea from the Middle Eastern market (nothing fancy, something like Al wazah). I know that black teas are more oxidized than oolong, and we don't want the perfume of jasmine. But, I tend to be Asian groceries far more than any other kind and so I'm always trying to find black tea there. My latest attempt (realizing that most packages don't have English translations on them) was to buy "Vietnamese black tea," which seems far more green than black. I haven't taken the next step of google translating labels...yet. To make sure I'm clear - regular Asian grocery selections, not fancy tea room selections; every day black teas; bulk value teas. So please help me figure out what I obviously can't figure out on my own. What should I look for?

I suggest we refocus this whole thing. You had legit questions. And, there are people willing to walk you through them. See if you can't get us some hard numbers to help us in our recommendations.

And so then let me give you my experience as a knife addict. As many here know I went on a binge after getting my JBF nom. I had done ungodly hours for so long with no treats for myself, and so I decided to buy a "nice" knife as a reward. That nice knife led to over a dozen knives. All belong in that Italian performance sports car showroom. And while each gets time on the cutting board, as has been said a thousand times in this and other forums, I really only need a great gyuto, a pairing or wa-petty and maybe a solid meat chopper. 90% of my usage goes to my Carter gyuto, my Fuji wa-petty and Kato Nikiri. In the meantime, I have to secure, transport and maintain my whole set, and keep a detailed inventory for insurance purposes. I don't regret it, but that money and mental energy could have gone somewhere else. I actually much prefer helping friends find new knives for their sets as an outlet for my energies nowadays.

Yes, the latter. In my first years I was a hyper-bean counter and ultimately relaxed enough to find the balance. What I would like to add is why are you having these concerns? Tell us what you actual food costs are and your average margin across the menu. Its one thing to say your costs are too high but if you come back to us at 20% then I'm going to say you're low. So we need some figures. I'm also sitting here wondering if you're a 20 person brigade or a 3 person operation. And, is it only food costs that make you have concerns about inventory disappearing. Are you that worried about theft, and if so why? If theft is your issue I would wonder who your staff is (professionals or guys who wander in off the street), and how much you're paying them, and how good and what style is the supervision (micro-manage, no supervision, pedantic, etc?)

Very good chance that I'll be able to attend this one.

@btbyrd just a couple of thoughts. First, I absolutely adore my Fujiwara wa-petty from Bernal Cutlery. I know you already have one so I'm just sharing this for the good of the cause, but this guy is the lambourghini of small knives in my kit. Every time I let someone hold it they literally gasp at the balance on it. This, btw, was the knife that a cook grabbed to pry open a coconut at one of my events and had the tip in the coconut before I screamed across the kitchen for her to stop. No damage was done except my life shortened by a few years. The other thing I wanted to share was about sayas. Read up on the difference between a regular saya and a compression fit. Compression fits are made tight enough that the knife won't slide out of the saya on its own. My first compression fit was done by a young artisan who didn't get it quite right...how do I know?...because it broke the tip off of my gyuto. I generally have paid $10-25 for regular and $35-50 for compressions (depending on the wood). I think its worth it for a compression but only if you know the maker is experienced.

This is what I hunted in New Mexico. Really vicious animals but also blind as can be.

The next morning I headed into town (Ste Gen) for the Farmers Market. I try to hit those up anywhere I go whether I need anything or not. This was a small one - four booths under a pavillion at the VFW or Odd Fellows or something like that. What I know of the area I expected goat cheese, corn and jam. Well, they had jam at least I bought a few dozen eggs because they pricey ones were $1.65 a dz. In St Louis the going rate is $6/dz - highway robbery! I also got a loaf of zucchini bread (hoping to find pawpaw bread), a bag of some sort of pea like a black eyed pea but it wasn't, and some heirloom tomatoes. Everything was so cheap. I felt bad not paying more...but I got over it. Heading out of town I stopped at a family tradition - Oberle Meats. Oberle has been doing their thing since 1870 - that's a long friggin time. The proudly advertise 6 generations of the Oberle family have made sausage. For us, every trip to the cabin we would stock up wtih Oberle dog (think pork summer sausage), Oberle cheese (think velveta with garlic powder), and smoked pork loin (don't think, just eat). After getting out of the creek but before dinner we would slice up the Oberle dog and have it with cheese and crackers. Great snack for a family of growing boys (all we had were boys with all of the cousins) on a hot day. As we've all matured we've come to appreciate the loin even more. For Tyler and I it became breakfast with the heirloom tomatoes and fresh eggs and zucchini bread. One other site of interest is the Old Brick. From their site: Our family knows it because Grandma Irma (remember her?) worked their in her retirement as the hostess. She wore gold head to toe every night sitting by the door greeting guests and chatting up the latest small town gossip. She did that for around 20 years and was an institution. We didn't eat there on this visit - everything is fried so not really our thing. The one food origin related to the Old Brick is my family's infamous grey spaetzle. Pork liver, flour, salt; pressed through a colander into boiling water; served with brown gravy. Mmm...that's the good stuff (joking). Made at every family gathering. Never eaten. The original inspiration came from the Old Brick. That pretty much wraps up the vacation. The next morning I had a Missouri Mycological Society foray at Charleville Winery which was a bust because its been so hot and dry, and then back home to civilization!

No feral pigs this far north yet, but armadillos are here so the pigs will make it soon enough.

Here's what my family said about our specific plates (with my notes for context):

My spouse was raised in Zambia so we eat a lot of greens and enchima (polenta) using the enchima as our eating utensil.

So the dent in my car and the deer on the side of the road reminded me that I hadn't had time to go to the shooting range lately and pop a few rounds off. I'm not a gun nut, and I don't necessarily enjoy sitting on a hot range shooting at paper circles, but I like to keep my skills sharp. So I took a few hundred rounds and my .22 and had the range to myself. Depending on what I hunt I generally use my 30-06 because in New Mexico I was typically stalk hunting elk, javelina or deer. I think that's too much firepower for Missouri, but I didn't bother with a tag this year because its just not the same here. Seems like most people do private land leases for hunting and sit in blinds waiting for an unexpecting deer to walk through. I don't know if I can handle that boredom. I definitely prefer stalking the animal. But then again, maybe that's why I didn't have much success back in New Mexico. This was the first time at the range when I needed to put a white background behind my hanging targets so I could see the target. I have terrible eyes but corrected near perfectly with my contacts. But last year all of a sudden I needed readers. I'm 49 so I hear that happens. But it was so sudden and timed right with my move to St Louis. One theory I have is that before the move I was foraging 6 days a week in the vast wilderness so my eyes were in a constant state of exercise looking in all directions and all distances. You had to to survive and also because of the beauty of both the flower and the mountain vista. Once I moved to St Louis my foraging dropped to just a couple days a week and you can only see a few yards ahead because land is relatively flat and covered in forest. I think my eyes just stopped being exercised. I've noticed that the past month as I've gone out foraging more, that my eyes have improved slightly. All I know is that it's only going to get worse from here. After shooting we decided to hit the wineries. You may not know this but Missouri has a major role in the world's wine scene. To my taste now they wines are mediocre on a good day focusing mostly on Nortons and Chamberlins, but there's 200 years of growing. THIS short essay gives you the history. The fact that the French wines were saved in part to Missouri wines in pretty interesting. We decided to hit all of the ones in the area in one fell swoop (and we did swoop at the very end). We started at Cave Vineyard which is named after its large cave on the property. They don't really use it and they make you buy a bottle of wine if you want to see it, but its a good start for our wine tour. Next was the Crown Valley Brewery and Distillery. Very big, very corporate feeling but decent enough moonshine and beer. I liked their sour beer enough that I bought a 4-pack to enjoy with dinner. Crown Valley also has a vineyard which left us ready to move on, but there's some history I want to drop in. One of my aunts is an avid genealogist. And in our cabin you can find all sorts of interesting documents that she's brought down over the years. BTW, she has our family line traced back to the 1600s. One of the documents is a recording of all of the grave sites and cemeteries in the region. On one of the pages I found the line "old slave graveyard." Now I'm sure I learned about Missouri's role in slavery and the Civil War back in school, but I'll admit I'm rusty. As I started asking locals, it turned out that this area was filled with old confederate plantations, and in fact, the Crown Valley Vineyard was the largest plantation in the area. They only tore the plantation building down in modern times to put in the vineyard. And, that graveyard can be found on the property of the vineyard (but is not part of the public tour). Hearing all of this opened my eyes as I started reading names on old dirt roads a bit differently, looking at land plots, and thinking about modern Missouri rural politics. [Please remember everyone that we agree not to talk politics on this forum, so let's not and just note the history of this area.] Starting to feel our cheerios, we headed off to Chaumette Vineyard. I kinda liked the wine here - not sure if it was the wine or the placement in our tour. But if you're ever in the area, this is probably the best food you'll find. We eventually sobered up and came back for a belated anniversary dinner and really enjoyed it. Finally we we to Charleville Winery. These are the little guys and I think the best of all of them. Again, if you go and don't like it we'll just say I was sloshed at this point, but I do think its really good. The fun thing is that we could literally walk over the hill for 20 minutes and be at my cabin. By drive it was a bit further but these are neighbors and when I told the owner who I was it was clear that my family had been regulars over the years because she knew a bunch of them. Nice to know my family is keeping up with their indulging! Our grandmother from the area, who died about a decade ago, when we had her viewing we all knew what we had to do - everyone brought cocktails and placed them on her coffin and we had a party. The quote of hers that we all retell the most is when someone mentioned a fatty dessert at a restaurant she said, "Honey, at my age I save all of my calories for alcohol." That's Grandma Irma Okenfuss for you! When I got back to the cabin that night I started looking over a topo map that someone had left which had some interesting markups. Persimmon field caught my eye!

You and me both sistah!

I spent an average of three hours a day gathering, and with a recent cool spell many mushrooms had popped. There were these guys which I didn't even bother with because there weren't enough to care about: Maybe a Lacaria And plenty of Turkey Tails and False Turkey Tails: And Honeys (Armillaria mellea) which I left: And these pretty Mycenas: But of course the best was the most unexpected because of the dryness, and it was these perfectly young oysters: The Honeys I wanted to confirm the ID since I had not seen these before in person, so I did spore print. The spore can either be white or if its one of the lookalikes (jackolantern) then the spores will be cream. To my eye there's no confusing the two but just in case...and the spores were white, so Honey. But I also wanted to show how I spore print when the options are lighter colors - I put half on a white paper and half on something darker. Also found some milkweed - too late for these guys but I know where to get the next year! You already know about my pawpaw success and because I found some super loaded bushes I gathered Spicebush berries even though I may have enough. I'm working on a new use - making a fermented drink from them. All of this was gathered on private land in the Mark Twain National Forest. I had been gathering chanterelles in the area but I had never dug this deep on the land before. I already told my sous chef that he's coming with us next year and we'll go two weeks earlier when even more will be prime for picking. Later that day, however, despite my final words to Tyler being, "Watch out for deer. They're really thick in this area at dusk." Which led me to decide to go to the shooting range the next morning.

Patience grasshopper. Coming in 3, 2, 1...

Once I was off that rickety old ferry we were in Illinois. I learned that part of Missouri is in Illinois and part of Illinois is in Missouri. Look at the state line on Google maps and you'll see how the river has changed over the years. Little blips of land are on either side and down south - Kaskaskia Illinois is in Missouri. We wondered how they dealt with law enforcement and insurance and post offices and such. We hit up MODOC then an old limestone fort, but mostly we saw corn ready for harvest. We were there right as the combines were doing their thing. The old fort is deChartres which as mostly reproduction so not extremely interesting but allowed us a photo op in the cellaring room and I thought it was interesting seeing the list of medicines in their museum which were all things that are forageable. This didn't surprise me and in fact, one of my key aids in foraging is the book Native American Medicinal Plants by Daniel Moerman. Really fascinating book that has vast amounts of ancient wisdom. In Kaskaskia we found this super old church and it didn't seem like they were being very churchly with their pecan tree. I don't know but the Jesuits I was raised with would have encouraged you to eat those pecans if you needed them. The quirky stop of the day was at Chester, Illinois. Never saw this coming but was the home of the guy who created the Popeye cartoon. And interestingly, he didn't create Popeye as the cartoon, but rather Thimble Theatre which was about Olive Oil's family and at some point Popeye entered the scene and took over the show. Now the town has something like 20 different Popeye themed statues around town. After the day of driving we got home, I foraged some shiso and wild ginger. Tyler made a wild ginger simple syrup, muddled the shisho, added bourbon and a splash of club soda and we settled in for the night around the wood burning stove.

Tons more. And more season to gather in. Mushrooms alone - I had lobsters and rare burn morels, but here there's at least 20 different varieties that I've served already. And yes, cattails are everywhere, but more importantly, safe to harvest cattails out in the woods. Twist my arm. Here's Lexi as a pup.