Reignking

Despite the shortcomings -- most of which could probably be overcome -- I would try it again (my wife, less likely, though!). The food is extremely creative, intriguing, and surprisingly affordable. It's one of those places you would want to try many times to see what he comes up with next. That pea dish that I had was quite memorable. Most interesting was the chef's background. While waiting in life for the bathroom, I was reading a review of his that mentioned he used to have a 14-course pig-focused meal (at other place, obviously!). To go from extreme to the other is a demonstration of his talent.

Or, for cleanliness. I thought her demo tape blew Jeffrey's away. Not my cup of tea, sure, but I saw more promise from her.

Show is over, and look at the overwhelming response here

It definitely is meant to be more casual -- you have communal tables, and kids are more than welcome. It is nice to have an interesting dining experience that's a little more casual that usual. As I mentioned, we were ignored for 22 minutes. Our waitress was inattentive, and the restaurant was only half-full. And it was terribly uncomfortable because it was so quiet that you could hear everyone else talking (but that's an issue with the atmosphere, not the service). It was awkward. If you have the tasting menu, you are going to have the best service (I would hope!), so I doubt that our experiences could compare.

Maybe CBS missed it when it was on the air...for 2 weeks.

What is vanilla powder?

In an interview, Jay Rayner said that Gail sat in because he hadn't yet received his U.S. work papers. This implies that the two episodes Gail judged were shot first.Anyone care to guess why they weren't aired in order? ← Because #6 was boring?

Great episode last night. I had always liked that Quickfire, but I loved the main challenge. I'm stunned Art survived. What was so special about Chiarello's chickpeas? That wasn't very well-explained.

I want a pie chart. With a side of standard deviation.

Seeing this thread finally got me motivated to review it at another web site. Since I had only been once, I hadn't mentioned it, but I have since read others' issues about service. The food was very interesting and sometimes brilliant; however, the overall experience was uncomfortable. Luckily, I think service is something that could be addressed easily.

Lavender.

While I found the food truly interesting and yummy -- that pea dish was fantastic and brilliant -- the service and atmosphere was awful when I was there. It really detracted from the experience, and I'm usually not bothered by things like that. And the dessert was not good at all -- granted, I was taking a chance on beet caviar with geranium soda and orange sorbet, but it was not good. The soda portion was intriguing, but the "orange creamsicle" did not come together at all.

Thanks for the details. I didn't understand his twitter.

I think they are better than previous seasons -- last year, there was the woman with short hair, the goofy guy that still got a show, and Big Daddy.

For what it's worth, I haven't found Echire in stores, but only in some very, very good restaurants where I've been inclined to ask (Robuchon in Vegas, and Joel in Atlanta, which is one of the best restaurants here).

"Center for Science in the Public Interest" -- could that be more vague? Ah, it is these idiots again. I think I just read something else stupid they put out about sodium, and how something had 3 1/2 teaspoons of "salt" in it. Denny's is a scapegoat. They have an agenda. (Found it -- this was the other complaint that I was reading about. The meal in question was the Admiral's Feast at Red Lobster.

I think they're trying to make it even more obnoxious than before, which is no mean task. The sad thing is, after the terrible intro, the show only gets worse. And what ever happened to Waffle House? I was waiting for her to come back after culinary school and whoop everybody's ass. ← http://www.accesshollywood.com/qanda-gordo...an_article_8881 She went to culinary school.

I found myself completely disinterested.

I need that clarification, too! What Ptipois had to say was very insightful, but I'm not sure what the OP needs.

You'll find some other sources in this thread.

Are the plexiglass walls separating the dining room from the kitchen new?

I suppose you know of Échiré? As I searched for that butter, I came across this online store. Perhaps that will give you some ideas.

Why do they waste so much money on updating the intro every season?

I actually missed most of the last one. It was up against some other shows I watch, I DVRd it, but they fell off. Oh well.

Egg yolk? I actually don't mind that, in the right context -- on a burger, for example, where it is another component (mainly texture, because it loses out to other strong flavors). I find runny egg dishes disgusting. I like them cooked -- "dry" as we called them. Not wet. My scrambled eggs or my omelets should not be wet. Or an egg sunny-side up? No thank you. I tried a poached egg the other week -- it was actually the rubbery egg white I found revolting. The egg yolk, again, blended in with the rest of the food (salmon Benedict). I really don't get the foodie fascination with them.