yasuofenix

I use to work for a couple restaurants in New York and it paid crap. It was like $9 to start for only 12 hours but you actually worked closer to 14. And one week it was 6 days then 5 days then repeat. They say 12 hours working, but you got your own station to run and have to do a lot of the prep work you come in earlier. Like I said closer to 14, and with that you make less than $9 because of the extra time. Then there's pay taken out for family meal in the bigger places. It really sucks. And these two restaurants were 1 michelin starred places. I staged at a two star, and was offered a job. But the pay was too low and it was actually dirty which surprised me. Never work at a dirty place no matter how many stars. Most places will try to pay you less because well they don't really need you. Everyone wants to be a chef these days. Unless you have some special talent you are easily replaceable. And I never asked for pay they just told me it. It was always like take it or leave. But if you love to cook it won't matter. Stage in a few places feel it out and whichever one takes your fancy try to get the job there. If its your dream you will suffer for it. But whichever place you get into try to work there at least two years. Put that in your head is my advice. Good luck dude if you need any other advice I'll help if I can, just PM me.

By the way how is Greengrass? I've never been. Someone recommended it to me, but the same person also recommended Norma's. That place was like any other diner in Jersey, or even going to Denny's. I never listened to that person again.

My only option would be to get on the L Train and head over to Egg. I haven't been there in a while but last time I went there was a line when I left. It was a Friday morning. It was disturbing. A lot of places in Manhattan do breakfast, but are not impressive. So when I have my day off I stick to my regulars. Stage by my old apartment on 2nd Ave but I doubt thats what ur looking for. Then there's Gottino on Greenwich Ave. They open at 8am I believe and you can even get some boar pate, nettle meadow kunik cheese, waffles, espresso, crepes, whatever. If its decent outside you can sit in the back, but i prefer the bar seating. But Egg was my all time favourite. Two poached eggs, grits, bacon, broiled tomato, hash browns, beet greens, grapefruit juice, and more hash browns. And if your nuts you can hang around and when it hits noon head over Peter Luger for a burger before the crowd comes. I miss my days off...

Good for Boulud if he gets it. I'm sure he'll be celebrating. Maybe they'll go nuts and give EMP the 3 stars. Its possible, but I doubt it. If Michelin hands out more stars does that mean more Europeans will be coming? More visitors the better, but I hope they stop taking pictures of the Gay St/Waverly St. Street sign that gets annoying after awhile. And why do Europeans hang out at Pastis? Isn't it like an American going to McDonalds? Wait nevermind I go to McDonalds in any country I'm in.

I've never been to Jewel Bako despite living right across the street. But I did go to Desgustation and I liked my meal there. But I haven't been there in awhile. Its hard for me to go to a place that has hardly any dessert unless its a Chinese place. I love going to the Pig, I use to go there quite often but currently away in California. My friends in the industry and I use to talk about Daniel getting a bump up. When Michelin first came out it got the two stars and Daniel played out like he didn't care. But a friend working there said he got all pissed off and even scaled down the number of tables available. True or not? I've only been there once and it was before the redesign so I don't know how many diners it can handle now. I would imagine he would want three stars, he's French for christ sake and from Lyon. He's making money without them, but 3 stars for a French chef would mean something.

Has anyone been to Tabla lately? I went there when they had their "street food" menu. It was okay, you could definitely get better food in Queens or even in California. To eat the food up there in the dining room was weird. They had banana leaves as tablecloths. I remember this because I ordered tea and the pot burned the leaves. I just looked at our waiter and we both laughed. They should definitely get into the Chaat business. Them or Devi. I was at a chaat place in East Bay and the place was packed full of people. The price was cheap and it tasted good. Anyway, sorry. I've only been to Yasuda once and it was very good. I can only attempt to compare it to Kurumazushi and 15 East. And all those places are great. I hope Spotted Pig and Wallsé maintain their stars. I imagine they would.

Strauss seems like a big dairy company out there. I don't mind it so much for my personal use, but if it were to use it in my business I'd want to look for some place smaller if possible. I saw Strauss everywhere, its like Stumptown Roasters, getting sick of it because its everywhere. Doesn't mean its bad but too corporate.

Thanks for the responses. I saw Cal Poly on the History Channel episode of Modern Marvels: Milk. I'll check them out.

I hope EMP finally gets some stars. The chef seems very serious about his food. And I'm glad he finally named her pastry sou-chef as the real pastry chef. His "ideas" for dessert didn't suck, but it could be more focused. Angela is her name I think. Do they still have that Quark Souffle? Ever since I was a kid I didn't like the stuff. I tasted it there once, luckily for me it was drowned in passionfruit.

Hello all, Does anyone know of any good milk in California (North or South)? I know there's Strauss and Clover. Whats everyone's opinion of them or others? I found one in Southern California, but I can't remember how to spell out the name, it sounds French. There's so much dairy and cattle in California but it seems like most of it is used for cheese of beef. I thought I'd at least find a place like Milk Thistle here in New York, but couldn't find any. Milk Thistle is currently my favourite dairy because of its taste and type of cow used. If you're ever in NYC stop by Union Square and try some. I'll be moving to California so I need my good dairy fix. Any help is great. Thanks in advance. Alex

I was just in San Francisco. I went to Bi-Rite and Humphrey's. Right off the bat I will say that I am biased. I've been making ice cream for some time and I eat a lot of ice cream. I know people eat a lot but some days I eat half a gallon. But maybe thats not a lot to some? Anyway, Bi-Rite was super busy when I went. The one toffee flavor I tried was good. The vanilla was like any other. I'm a bit picky when it comes to vanilla, if you can't get that right it ruins my experience. I didn't care for the texture either, too much overrun. The sweetness was pretty balanced, but as far as purity I'm not seeing it. Its obviously me cuz everyone see's "purity" differently. To me its about a constant struggle to balance between the flavor of the dairy and the ingredient. Bi-Rite to me did not achieve that. I couldn't taste any of the dairy, and as someone who drinks a lot of dairy I know what is good and what is average. You should even be able to taste what the cows have been eating. I have experienced this flavor in both Laboratorio del Gelato and GROM. Supposedly Strauss is suppose to be good dairy, but I've been trying it from other places too and its overrated. But there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of ice cream/dairy suppliers in CA. So lack of choice? Humphrey's - I sent them an email but never got a response. Its probably the worst ice cream I have ever tasted next to Angelato in Santa Monica. I wasn't mean in my email just inquiring how could they sell ice cream with so much ice crystallization. I mean I could see them, they were the size of tick-tacks. I have no reason to lie. They advertised the vanilla as "Tahitian Vanilla, yeah so what?" I asked them why they put that, I was told it was because most people ignore vanilla. Man... I'm the wrong person to talk to then. I recognize that everybody works hard, no doubt. But that vanilla was horrible. Please don't anyone take me as a snob. I was fortunate as a college student to travel to Tahiti and see the vanilla fields. If I were from Tahiti I would sue that place. Its not even close, if you don't want to use extract and only beans you better use a whole lot of beans. Otherwise its just disrespect. As someone who takes ice cream very seriously I don't know... best ice cream I had in California was at Spring Hill Dairy's small shop in Petaluma. Sure it was a little old fashioned; but the density, overrun, flavor of dairy was top notch. If that place took it seriously and took the time they would be a real destination. Maybe I caught that place on a good day and those places like Bi-Rite etc. one bad ones. Who knows? You can never make ice cream technically perfect, but some places try too hard and fail easily. Maybe I should just shut up and start my own ice cream place. Anyone willing to help?

I was just there yesterday for lunch. I forgot it was restaurant week, and would have never gone if I knew. When I arrived I almost fell asleep from talking to the hostess. It was like talking to a corpse. All the waiters looked like they were working in a prison. Its always funny to me when someone says "Have a nice day" when their face says go to hell. I went there twice before for dinner when they first opened. They were actually very nice, where did those people go? The food is good but what happened to grandma's ravioli? Its different from when I use to go to A Voce. Is this the grandma from the other side of the family? Carmellini is still one of my favourite persons to get a great meal from, the problem isn't him its the people who bring the food he worked so hard to make. I'm leaving New York soon so I wish him the best he's a badass, the only thing I wish I could say to him is that he should do something big. The economy sucks, but once it picks up he's a man who can do great things in a higher setting. Its almost a waste for a man like him to be this casual.

i've been there twice so far. my girlfriend and i ordered the chicken. it was good and a sizable portion. i did think there were a bit too many herbs as well. i love the ricotta and bread (i first had it at A Voce). One night i went they had very large prawns and they were quite flavorful but i wish they left the skin on. we also had grandma's ravioli which i swear were different at A Voce. But they were still good. then we got dessert. i wasn't really wowed with anything both times i went. thats all i have to say about that. the waiters were super friendly, but the crowd was kind of disturbing. a lot of jersey and long island accents being thrown out. i'm originally from jersey and i shutter when i hear an accent. (I don't have one... well maybe when i speak spanish) i was a big fan of his from A Voce, and while i wasn't wowed i think the food was good and i'd go again and again. the price isn't bad. i wish they would bring back the tropical tiramisu and bomboloni. i think this restaurant will turn out to be a great place as time goes on. i just hope carmellini doesn't become too casual because that man can make some mean ass higher end food if he wanted to.

i too have had very dry pork and potatoes. unfortunately it was all inedible. i'd give it another try since i live close, but I'm not in a rush.

Ninety minutes? Total? Including ordering (wine, etc.), nine courses, and pre- and post-meal snacks? ← I'm just curious... what was your main course? That sounds awful for a main course to be fridge cold. You should have said something, and definitely mentioned you were in the food industry. If anything its also pretty bad on your part. You're a chef, what would you have done? I mean... cold main course? I assume it was a veal, lamb, or beef probably sou-vide as well. I've only eaten there twice and both times they were great experiences. One of my lobster dishes was slightly overcooked so I can understand that. I hope you write them because 90mins at per se is crazy. I was there for lunch and it took 3 hours, easily.

I was just at Le Bern not too long ago. The last time I was at Per Se was last summer. From those experiences I'd say you can get a better experience at per se. The view is nice, the room is comforting, the staff can be super friendly, and they have a good gin & tonic! As far as the actual food goes, its good... but none of the dishes I've had there in the times I went were as excellent as any of the dishes I recently had at Le Bern. But I'm biased, I breath seafood. And I once worked in the same place as Aldo and he's the best. Regardless both restaurants are excellent and have some of the finest people working there and produce stellar experiences. If you want to impress somebody and make them feel they got a meal out of it I'd say per se. The price could be the same for either.

The Crispy Black Bass with Iberico Ham and Green Peppercorn Sauce at Le Bernardin. It was technically perfect and the flavor was so pure. The first time I had the Muscovy Duck at EMP. The 2nd time it wasn't the same. The wagyu with bordelaise I had at Per Se. I usually like some bite on my meat but that piece was like silk. It was like the first time I ate toro, just effortless. The radish salad at Spotted Pig. And the soft chocolate ganache with avocado lime and espresso at WD~50.

I would prefer Little Owl myself because the food is generally good, the staff are friendly to me at least, and I always leave full and satisfied. I've had some bad things in the past, but they haven't taken away from my positive experiences there. But for Valentine's Day... I don't know that place is cramped like others have said. I only ever sit at the bar I run away from tables like the plague. Hearth is also a good choice, but I always feel swindled a bit. It just seems like a bit too much money for the food. A lot of things have tasted great, but the price for some of those things are trapped in my head. If thats not an issue then that could be the place for you. And while I don't necessarily think Hearth has better tasting food than Little Owl it has more notable things on the menu like Pumpkin Tortelli or some olive oil poached fish. Another place I would have recommended was Allen & Delancey for Valentine's Day. But the chef left some time ago and I haven't been since so I don't know if the quality is still the same. The desserts were delicious, the bread was baked to order, the place was dark and cozy, and some of the dishes were outstanding like the lamb or duck. Hope this helps. I don't go out on Valentine's Day anymore after too many disasters. I celebrate it a couple days before or even a week later.

Do you want to know chefs only in France? I don't know a whole lot, but here in New York there's quite a few. David Bouley trained under him, Kurt Gutenbrunner of Wallsé, some of the chef-instructors at the French Culinary Institute, there's some others I can't name off the top of my head. I've heard some crazy stories like Paul Bocuse and some other guys cooking 100 schnitzel at the same time. I'd like to see that.

I've been looking forward to going there. Thanks for the post! I'm a big fan of her food. I hope to get there soon and try that oyster roast. What were the desserts like and were any good? Were there a lot of people?

hey all, has anyone cooked turkey breast sou-vide before? How long does it take and at what temperature do you all usually get it to? I'm curious I'd like to try that one day. I hate dry turkey breast. Thanks in advance!

oh my god that is horrible news. i work right around the corner and love going to that place. what am i going to do? first avoce now this place.

sad for kurumazushi but i have a feeling the old man doesn't care. i had the best service there, for me at least, better than per se, daniel, and even EMP with my girlfriend working there. And I'm not Japanese so there's no reason to treat me extra nice. In my personal opinion Chef Humm is a great chef and deserves One Michelin Star, but there are too many things going on at that restaurant for him to get one. The places needs to be shook up and cleaned. I've never been to Ko, only Noodlebar. I went there four times and only once had a good meal. The other times it sucked and I wasn't alone. Weird huh? Some people love EMP and some say they had horrible experiences there.

Jaymes, Thanks for the info, I already did that search and it led me to where Kenneth recommended. Its not so easy, but I did read someone bought a plant at Lowe's. I find that strange, thats the last place I would think to look. My uncle bought his in Chinatown a long time ago, but none to be found anymore. My girlfriend's family is in Fremont and she'll be there next week so it would be good to talk to the people personally. My family is from the Philippines so I'm familiar with the Filipino markets around the area but its never the same. Its so sweet. Anyway... I'm going on and on. Have you ever tried Kalamansi Jaymes? Any other BRIGHT ideas?

thanks a lot Kenneth. Lucky for me I know someone in Fremont, CA so they can go check the stuff out for me.