Lenski
-
Posts
219 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Store
Help Articles
Posts posted by Lenski
-
-
It was a very, very good and solid meal. Classic yet with interesting twists. I could not get into "Canteen" but I am going to SF as soon as I can....and I really do not care much for the city to tell you the truth.
-
My last 2008 dinner at Alinea
It was another incredible experience. I had the Tour with the "truffles" supplement ($65), which was good but very traditional, and it cannot be compared to the regular Chef Achatz mind blowing menu.
I think the restaurant just keeps improving. You have to see it to believe it. It was also my most expensive meal there ($600 per person) but worth it.
l
-
How well do you know me!
I think Chef Patterson entered my personal pantheon of great Chefs. It was a perfectly executed meal, it is top five for me. The variety of the menu, the permutations of the very different ingredients into a plate never ceased to amazed me. The "quince and huckleberry parfait," for example, does not sound very appetizing but it was phenomenal.
You are absolutely right that he works in a manner not too different from Chef Aduriz. Different elements and techniques but similar culinary philosophies.
l
Michael Mina was the other one.
-
First time at MM at the St. Francis.
The room was packed and the many tourists coming in from Union Square during Xmas made it a very lively experience. Yes, the room is very noisy indeed but, after a while, you get used to it and I think it contributes to the dining experience. I think having the bar so close to the restaurant brings a lot of energy to the restaurant. In this case, it was very good energy and I think Mario Daniele did a great job orchestrating the proceedings.
We had the tasting menu, without the wine pairing since I was all wined out. Thus, I drank cocktails all night. Malcolm, my head waiter, was excellent and he recommended three libations that were outstanding. A lemon verbena pisco was perfection in a glass.
The food was as solidly good as it gets. I thought the menu was the embodiment of what I imagine to be fine dining in SF....but with a lot of humor and elegance and without the pretentiousness that sometimes I unfortunately feel in some establishments.
The tuna, the lobster conchiglie, turbot and the pork belly were great. A great experience.
Questions, ask
-
I was in SF and Napa for the last week of 2008 (I had been in SF earlier in the year). I went to many restaurants but only two made me really want to write something about them.
COI/Chef Patterson
I was not prepared for this menu. I had been there once before and I enjoyed it. However, this time it was incredible, one of my best dining experiences of the year for me.
We had everything on the menu. The favorites were the Oysters, the Crab melt, the Earth and Sea, the Matsutake and the two desserts.
I did not care much for the "Abstraction of Garden in Early Winter." I thought the plating was too full and the chocolate did not do anything to enhance the vegs. THe "Abalone" and the "Fromage Blanc Tart" were pretty standard for my taste. The Cheese plate was also fantastic (big fan of Scanlan here).
Great service, great room and an outstanding meal. I am planning a one-weekend escape just to go to COI. It is worth 3000 miles and more.
Questions, ask.
l
-
I would highly recommend that you get a car around the B/SS area.
-
A difficult table to get will now be impossible...
-
Yes...although that should be a spoiler alert.
-
Before I forget, let me post a few words about my last meal at Mugaritz a month or so ago. The menu did not differ much from the ones above. Chef Aduriz had already decided what I was going to eat, so I did have to submit to his wishes. And, as usual, my meal at Mugaritz was outstanding.
A dish that I have not seen mentioned was an amuse that was served after the clay potatoes. It was Fried artichokes with black pudding (the black pudding coated the artichokes). It was incredible.
As were the now-famous "Ñoquis." The herbs were: Purple Dill and regular Dill; Parsley, Caraway, and Agastache.
The Carpaccio is one of the best dishes I have had this year
Leeks
Some of the dishes that I have not seen mentioned are the Kokotxas in a very garlicky broth, the foiegras, "estofado de pescados melosos."
The wine pairing was excellent.
The service was also excellent. I only have great things to say about Chef Aduriz and his team.
L,
BTW, can we have a MUGARITZ-only thread?
-
I have eaten twice at "Perennial" already. It is a large space on Lincoln Park. I will post later but I can only say that I would be very surprised if "Perennial" does not become a very hot spot in Chicago. The dishes sampled were from a 'Chestnut soup," "Corn Risotto," "Porkbelly," a great charcuterie plate, great desserts (chocolate with olive oil, a funky yet very tasty Ille Flottante, an out of this world chocolate concoction reminiscent of "Celler").
Very good food at very affordable prices. A new favorite for me.
l
-
If memory serves me correctly, they close on the Dec 21st for the holidays.
-
It is an immersion blender. Different translations that I have found:
túrmix (n.)
blender, juicer, liquidiser, liquidizer, mixer
diccionario analógico
túrmix (s.)
wdn
batidora, mezclador, mezcladora, túrmix — blender, juicer, liquidizer, mixer
túrmix (s.)
wdn
batidor, batidora, licuadora, minipímer, pasapuré, túrmix — blender, liquidiser, liquidizer
-
Very happy about "Manairó" (my last meal there was exceptional) and not surprised at all about "L'ANGLE" and "Cinc Sentits."
Fantastic news and Congratulations to ALL.
-
The last episode (Segovia, Salamanca, Vitoria) only features Bassols and Bittman. My only thought before I turned it off was "Please, get a room and stop this torture."
-
Thanks for the kind words. They still have the bar in the kitchen area and they still had it set for service. However, the six(?) spots remained empty.
I will send you pics when I get home.
l
-
Last week, following a friend’s advice, we decided to try “Avenues” at the Peninsula Hotel now under Chef Curtis Duffy.
There are three menus (a four, a seven and the 18 full tasting menu). We opted for the last one ($140 per menu).
The room is still the same “Avenues” room with, I think, a few different touches. It still feels like a very cold room to me. The clientele was older, very Winnetka and/or Glencoe, a little different from what I was expecting given what I had heard about Chef Duffy’s cuisine. The service was good—a very hard working staff—and my server Jason was outstanding. There is a clear “Alinea” influence in both the plating and the concept of some of the dishes; an influence that Chef Curtis, thanks to some very clever twists, transforms into his own creations. I was very impressed.
I will only talk about some of the dishes, but, overall, they were all very, very good. They were all complemented by a very large selection of different breads from pretzels, to English Muffins, Waffles and foccacias, among many others. Two butters and an emulsion of herbs was also served. Throughout the menu, there were many ingredients/spices that appeared many times under different preparations: fennel, coconut, ginger, cocoa and many others. They were all very interesting and since it was a long evening—almost four hours—I never felt it was repetitive.
The first surprise was the “White Truffle. Tapioca, parmesan, chive.” It was served in a small glass. IT had the tapioca pudding, parmesan in two ways (sherbet and a sablée that had been crumbled), and the Alba truffle shavings. Impressive.
Then we had the “Potato. Bacon, mustard seed, lovage.” It was his take on potato soup. There were several types of potatoes (Peruvian, fingerling). Actually the fingerling potatoes were used as table legs and the top was a frozen bacon consommé. Whimsical and satisfying.
It was followed by “Guelly Jack. Cocoa, pistachio, fennel pollen.” It contained Brined fennel and fennel marmalade among the different elements. Delicious. “Rock Fish and Roe, semillion verjus, hon shimeji, spruce” simply pan seared and then the spruce was transformed into meringue chips, cream and (coconut?) powder.
After the fish courses, the meats started with one of the best lamb dishes I have ever had, the menu simply read “Lamb. Cranberry, gingerbread, mint.” Excellent on all counts, to be followed by Squab (ok for squab) and the Wagyu (incredible).
Between the the lamb and the Squab, there was a very good dish with a description that augured danger: “Hato Mugi. Manchego, red wine, sorrel.” The Hato Mugi (Japanese Barley) had been prepared like a risotto and the Manchego was present in three different preps: grated, a slice and in the broth. I guess it was not for everybody but it was definitely for me. A sharp contrast but completely winning.
The palate cleanser was one of the best I have ever had in recent memory: “Carbonated Cabernet Verjus.”
The desserts were very good. The plating was a little off but they were very good. Both the Blood Orange sorbet, with fennel and black olive pures, and Moscovado sugar gelée accentuated with Praline crumbles worked very well. However, the big surprise was the “Carrot. Passion Fruit, white chocolate, lemongrass.” The plate looked like a lox platter thanks to the ginger and carrot confit that cornered the carrot and white chocolate (it looked like a frozen cookie). Incredible.
There were many other dishes, all of them very good. They do not have a wine pairing service per se, but their wine pairing (two and two, plus dessert wines) was very good also. For what I ate and drank, I would have expected to pay a lot more money. As it is now, it is a steal. I am surprised that the new "Avenues" has been flying under the radar. It certainly did not open with some of the hype that welcomed other Chicago restaurants but it ranks among the best meals to be had in Chicago. I, for one, will be visiting “Avenues” a lot more often.
There are pics if someone wants to see them.
L.
-
L’Angle/ October 19, 2008
Last year, I discovered Chef Jordi Cruz’s incredible culinary talent. My review of L’estany clar can be found here. After some delays, his new place L’Angle finally opened. The restaurant is part of HERE, a beautiful complex that includes the romànic monastery, the moderniste house, Alícia (Ferran Adrià’s food and science institute), a very sleek hotel, several restaurants and Chef Cruz’s L’Angle. I highly recommend spending a whole morning/afternoon to visit the installations, mainly the impeccably restored monastery. A cab ride from the Manresa train station will set you back around €15, a cab to/from Barcelona around €80-90.
I want to apologize for the quality of the pics. They do not do justice to Chef Cruz talent.
The restaurant has been appointed very elegantly, clean lines, a torrent of light, wood and black stone. Everything merges seamlessly with the setting. It is a contemporary space that feels very inviting and warm with a beautiful view of the monastery. The gardens that surround the hotel/restaurants are an olfactory delight thanks to the many herbs that grow there and that Chef Cruz uses in his creations.
We had the tasting menu with the wine pairing. However, we asked for a limited number of wines (we had plans that required a somewhat clear mind).
1) Gin tonic subtil. Gin tonic foam, apple, lemmon ice cream. A very refreshing start.
2) Esqueixada de bacallà infusionada. Cod esqueixada. A staple of Cruz. The little “spheres” are romesco and black olives. A highly fragrant Arbequina olive oil finishes the dish. An excellent dish.
3)A very delicate “focaccia” with foie and not your usual roasted beef.
4)Ostra amb destil.lat de poma verda. Another Cruz classic but with a twist. The leaf tastes, itself, like an oyster and the delicate bitterness of the green apple beautifully contrasts with the oyster
5)Fals nyoqui de tomàquet.
6)Truita de riu amb pinya (River trout with pineapple)
7)Rogers tractats com una amanida
8)Foie rostit amb pera al cardamom (Roasted Foie with pear and cardammon)
9) Arrosset gorgonzola amb escamarlans de costa, gelea veneré I rúcola. Another classic from Chef Cruz large cannon.
10) Turbot salvatge rostit amb infusió de bolets
11) Garrí ibèric pur amb poma
12) Criofiltrat de maduixeta
13) Masses de xocolatata a les espècies.
14) Sopa fresca de meló amb kefirs. (A very delectable and refreshing dessert)
And a week later, I had to go back to try the other “tasting menu.” I am only including different creations that were not part of the other tasting menu.
1) Mojito. The same technique as in the gin-tonic and still very refreshing.
2) Guisat de cloïsses amb fals nyoqui de carxofa.
An outstanding dish. The false artichoke gnocchi and the “cloïsses” (“clam” does not accurately convey a cloïssa or almeja) were absolutely sublime, the whole dish came together wonderfully.
3) Calamar de potera amb aigua de calamar I allioli de citronella.
The allioli was in the tube, but the “calamar water” was strongly infused with that, surprisingly, did not overwhelm the calamar: tender and lightly accentuated with black rice spaghetti.
4) Vieira saltejada amb textures d’oli d’arbequina, crema bretona, api-nap, soja en estats I clorofil.la. (Scallop sautéed with arbequina oil textures, bretonne crème, parnsnip…)
This is another classic from Chef Cruz. Superb ingredients and a wide arrangement of flavors.
5) Pop gallec amb gelea de pebrots, aromatitzat amb fum de faig.
A technique that I have seen before (Celler, for example) but it worked wonderfully here. Not for the weak of palate, the peppers gelea was strong complementing the delicate “pulpo” superbly.
6) Arrosset de llagostí I foie.
7) Llom de rap I gamba de costat amb guisat de pells I coralls, nyoqui tradicional de safrà I taronja amb oli Donostiarra.
Another explosion of flavors and top quality ingredients.
8) Espatlleta de cabrit amb bolets
A perfectly executed traditional dishes with some gustatory twists that shows how perfectly Chef Cruz combines traditional catalan cooking and modern techniques without compromising any and accentuating both. This is a trademark that is evidently in all his creations.
9) Brioix rostit al fron amb gelat de mel I cruixent d’anís.
All the desserts were incredible, but this one was devastating in its simplicity. The moist cake mixed with the honey and rosemary ice cream was a perfect way to end my reencounter with Chef Cruz.
If someone needs more info. on the dishes and would like a more detailed explanation or some pictures (I cannot upload them on egullet for some strange reason) email me and I will do so. I think he is a very talented chef and the new setting is incredible, a great compliment to his dazzling talent.
Lenski
-
Risks? Well, then Madrid must be in Catalonia now. Or at least an honorary Catalan city. Go to Diverxo, Senzone, Sudestada, Viridiana or Alboroque, and you'll see all sorts of risks...
I have been to Diverxo and Sudestada and I think they are not really representative of what the OP was referring to since these two restaurants (I like one of them very much) have adopted an Asian style and they mix it with the local rendering very interesting creations. A different issue than the one posed by the op.
I love "Viridiana" (the movie and the restaurant) but I do not think it is a risky restaurant per se. However, I think that the Catalan restaurant crowd (industry and consumers) is far more cutthroat than anywhere in the peninsula and that yields successes and failures. Both being the possible results of risk.
l
PS. I have never been to Senzone.
-
This might be a little off topic. However, there is a book that I have only seen in Spain titled "35mm." in which Chefs create a recipe around a particular movie scene.
For example: Heston Blumenthal does "Barefoot in the Park" and Achatz does "Adam's Rib" and Andoni Luis Aduriz does "Empire of the Senses."
Furthermore, a lot of Chefs create recipes around many of the movies named in this thread: "Vatel," "Babette's Feast" (Fermí Puig) etc..
Here is the blurb from the website:
"The book 35 mm comprises 45 cinema moments where a
gastronomic fact occurs. Common moments due to their
popularity or their quality such as the Wonca
chocolate in Willy Wonca and the Chocolate Factory,
Babette's Feast, some of Claude Chabrol's films, the
hamburger in The postman always rings twice, the
lollypop in Kubrick's Lolita or the tray of futuristic
food in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Forty-five memorable
moments, among which there will be a part very linked
to traditional and conventional cooking -even fast
food-, and another part with very contemporary
developments."
ISBN: 978-84-935310-2-7
-
Yes, it is. Thank you very much. One note about the picture: these canalons are much smaller than the regular sized canalons. I, seriously, could have eaten five servings.
L,hungry for canalons always.
On another note, my server at 5S, Eric, was absolutely brilliant.
-
Not even crying babies? I had a recent restaurant experience totally ruined by a crying baby.
-
In what way does this preparation enhance the experience? Anyway, apart from the preparation/presentation this one was simply oversalted.
Apart from the noise and the ruckus that would have also ruined my experience for sure (babies in restaurants have the same effect on me), could it be that Cantu's ludic culinary philosophy did not engage you at all? I personally love his kitchen and I think he is a very talented chef. But I could not take some of my friends there. What I consider ludic, they find ridiculous and viceversa. De gustibus...
-
They are very similar to Gaig (who, by the way, was eating at Tapaç24), but at 5S they are minimized....as if instead of "canalons" it were "macarrons." Gaig were regular canalons, no reinventing the wheel. Here they create another wheel, same dish conception different presentation and elements, same results. However, it is the process that the diner experiences (the known elements being confused by the different visual and textures). It is a very small dish, size-wise, but very effective flavor-wise. I will send you a pic.
It was my best 5S meal ever.
-
This is a very complicate topic with many layers (from nationalistic issues to terroir ingredients) and a comprehensive attempt to answering what nova cuina catalana is will probably fail.
However, I have spent the last month in Catalunya, Asturias, and the Basque Country. I also visited La Rioja. I am not sure what it is but there is a difference between what the Catalan Chefs are doing and the rest of the country (I will not talk about Basque Chefs because I also think that they cannot be compared).
If I were to compare Nacho Manzano (I ate at both restaurants "Marcial" and "La Salgar" and I love his cuisine), Francis Paniego (I am also a big fan) to any of their Catalan Counterparts (comparable in terms of price point, or at the, approximately, level of a one Michelin Star), I would say that the Catalan Chefs take a lot more risks both in terms of flavors and techniques. I am afraid that the reason has to do with competition. There are many restaurants in Catalunya that are working at the 1 or 2 Michelin Star level and their local customers are very much used to that level, whereas in the other Spanish areas, this yearning for modernity on the part of the diner might not be there yet. For example, I also ate at "indianu" and at "gerardo" and, as good as they are, I doubt that anyone would take it as "nova cuina" or "nueva cocina."
Also, Barcelona/Catalunya has become very sophisticated (in the best and the worst sense of the word) in gastronomical terms and are willing to accept the many different experiments that the Chefs offer them. (it is also part of the social game, think Boudrieu and Distinction).
I am not talking in terms of good/bad just that the Catalan cuisine socio-cultural paradigm/framework is very different from the rest of the country and thus it creates different results, strikingly different sometimes. I think that the socio-cultural framework would explain why almost 60% of Michelin Stars (will check my numbers lately) stay in Catalunya and Euskadi, two relatively small areas.
L, at a conference in Berlin and clearly not listening to the proceedings.
Coi
in California: Dining
Posted
I was actually expecting not to enjoy Michael Mina at all. Not only because the night before I had eaten at COI and it was such a wonderful and surprising experience, but also because it is not my kind of place. I went there to do a "been there" kind of check. However, it was a very, very good experience.
About San Francisco, I have traveled to SF 10 times approximately and I do not seem to connect with the city at all. I must be the only European who does not enjoy SF. I find it messy and dirty. I do not get North Beach at all for example. However, I am sure that it is me. If it were not for professional reasons and restaurants, I would not go there again.
But, next time, we will go to COI and Mina (and many others) and you tell me where to go.....
L, in Frankfurt