Snoader

Just back from Barcelona. Wonderful meal at Gelonchs place (http://www.gelonch.es/). Very friendly service. Food overall very good, sometimes I would have liked a little bit more contrast (either something acidic to take the edge of some sweeter mains or some more accentuated salt use). Very good desserts. And reservation by email was very easy. Also went to Allium (http://www.alliumrestaurant.es/), small Slow-Food-place. Very simple, but also quite good. Of course not the level of Gelonch, though. For tapas, I would like to mention El Xampanyet. Crowded, incredibly friendly and very, very good food. Probably not the cheapest place around, but very good quality and a lot of fun. Actually liked it much more than Ciutat Comtal which was good but for my far too "professional" for a tapas place. Just a matter of taste I guess. I preferred the Cava-pouring fun crowd behind the counter at Xampanyet. (Many more places to visit... will need to come back... Gresca on top of my list, unfortunately closed on Sundays)

While re-reading this thread I was wondering about some opinions on the issue of flipping. I have used the 'Alain Ducasse'-method that Fat Guy so emphatically endorses (and it really does produce a great steak), but I also just re-read the McGee argument for flipping your steak often. Any opinions on the flipping issue? I might just have to do a little experiment soon to compare flipping often to flipping twice, but I remember reading that flipping specifically is not a good idea.

I am not sure if this is 'old-fashioned' enough for your purpose, but I highly recommend antica trattoria on polk. Mostly because of the food, but for a place in SF it is definitely not hip or modern. So is the food - very original Italian cooking, no twists or anything. But very good. http://www.anticasf.com/

I am wondering about Chez TJ. I haven't been there yet, have only seen the place from the outside, it looked nice. I am surprised by the 2 stars just because it doesn't even come close to make the Top100 list of the Chronicle. In fact, the most recent review by Bauer basically rips the place apart (Chez TJ Review at the Chronicle Does anyone have a clue how those two really different impressions can be explained?

I have made a couple of Brasato or similar kind of red wine braised beefs. I usually make them entirely on the stove top, but I was wondering if results are better if the actual braising takes place in the oven (as many recipes recommend). I looked around a couple of recipes and I am surprised by the range of recommendations for temperature and time. I understand that for braises a couple of minutes don't count, but I was wondering what experiences people here have with different times and temperatures (and whether they prefer oven or stove top). Obviously I am going for a brasato that is not too dry but tender. I am wondering if a low temperature with longer time is better (slightly towards the ideas that are applied in sous vide cooking without the complicated technology, more old-fashioned).

As far as I remember Fonduta is the italian version of a cheese fondue - I would use bread cubes, perhaps toasted. of course you could also use other things to pick up the cheese. In terms of getting the cheese 'right' - I think you have to be careful with the order of adding ingredients, the milk probably shouldn't be to cold. I also remember having the cheese soak in milk for some time before cooking.