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That sounds delicious, Food Doc. Can't wait to dine here. Has the service improved or is it still pretty hostile? Should I avoid conversing with the staff?

Dining there on the 20th which is between the Alinea collaboration and the switch to the new dining format. I hope they are going to be able to deliver.

If the IQ is really that much better on the LX5, maybe it's time for me to sell my LX3. It's kind of painful to drop $500 on a new camera with my LX3 is quite nice already (but perhaps not nice enough?).

I spent about 10 days in Montreal at the end of June so I have some insight. APDC is not an easy place to get a reservation for on the fly, so make sure you are sure you want to go there and plan ahead and call. I tried to do it when I was there and it didn't work out. If possible, rent a car and take a 2.5 hour drive to the capital - Ottawa and dine at Atelier. It's very well done. I can speak more about this if needed. Toque was a great meal. It's across from the convention center and I came straight there after a convention. I called to make sure that a dress code was not an issue (I had no time to go back to my hotel to change and I was wearing jeans and a shirt) and they assured me it was ok. When I walked in, the hostess looked disgusted but I explained who I was and that I had a reservation and they immediately warmed up. I had the tasting menu with foie gras supplement and it was quite a long meal but not too bad. Maybe 2.5 hours. I ate alone and the service was great. Food was good too but I must warn you, nothing I ate in Canada was like life-changing good. Check out Le Salle a Manger, Juliette et Chocolate, Le Club Chasse et Peche, and of course Schwart'z Smoked Meat. Note: these are not all fine dining, I am just telling you this is good food. Check out pics here to give you an idea of dishes/plating.

To those recommending high end point and shoots, I will have my Panasonic LX3 with me which has f/2.0 but despite this wide aperture, it still does not fare as well as a 1.8 or 1.4 in a dimly lit restaurant.

Excellent options provided all around and I sort of like your idea too lesliec (certainly the cheapest option).

I hope this is not too unusual but does anyone want to dine with me in New York, early November? I will be there for a UN event (11/6) but other than that my focus is food. It's my first visit there and while I really hate dining alone (especially fine dining), I do so when I am in a new city and my travel companions simply have no desire to spend the money. I don't travel often so I don't have much choice; eat alone or never be able to try such and such restaurant. Anyway, I haven't made reservations but plan on dining at: Eleven Madison Park, Corton, Jean Georges, various Momofukus, Le Bernadin, Cafe Bolud ... If any locals want to meet up, let me know. HOST'S NOTE: Click here for the terms under which this is listed on the eG Forums.

Thanks for the recommendation Prawncrackers. I wish the site would let me see what the other colors look like. You mentioned you got the Pro version of the Hadley, did you find that too large? It looks like a large briefcase. I don't switch lenses during a service and just stick to primes. I was looking at the small or digital size.

This is an odd topic, to be sure, but I think this might be the perfect audience to ask. This is not a discussion about whether photography should be taken in a restaurant. But for those of us who do take pictures, particularly high end ones from the likes of Ulterior Epicure, how do you get your gear there? I was in DC two years ago and went to Minibar in a suit, riding the subway. I carried my SLR in a Lowe-Pro bag which looks great but let's face it, it's a piece of technical gear. I felt extremely out of place both outside the restaurant (imagine me dressed up wearing a nylon backpack) and inside (where I was asked if I wanted to check it in). I am talking about situations where you are in a city without a car. A large city like NYC, Chicago, or DC where you are there on vacation and very likely taking a subway/metro. Do you just carry the camera naked, by your side, for the duration of the subway ride, through multiple stops? Do you just cab it (can get quite expensive)? Are there "nice" SLR bags I am not aware of?

Thanks for the advice guys. I have been reading the forums and other sites I could get my hands on. Sorry to have offended any of you. That was not my intention. I'll be visiting for 4-5 days. Thanks for your list in particular, Buckethead. Good eye, it's a long story. Thanks for the warm welcome. Sorry, I can't tell if you are being sarcastic. From the response of the other members, it seems like you are. But like I have said, I haven't had much luck finding restaurants. Maybe they are all local secrets. I found multiple hits for Han Dynasty. Is it a chain? Also does Philly Tap Room differ from South Philly Tap Room or are they the same owner/franchise? I am looking forward to water ice.

extended reply below.

Hi, I want to visit a friend in Philadelphia next month with the side agenda of dining. I don't know anything about the area and to be honest, Philly does not really pop up on the culinary radar, or at least it doesn't reach us here all the way on the west coast. So far I've come up with: Zahav Vetri Restorante Amada Volt (though this is over 100 miles away) What else am I missing? I want recommendations of all kinds, not necessarily just fine dining, although that's what I am currently having difficulty finding. I am sure my host will take care of the cheesesteaks and "ice water (?) for me. Any and all help would be appreciated.

Thanks everyone for your help. It looks like I did the right thing by slowly unscrewing it. Thank you too David for your attempt but I came here to post after trying the obvious answer - using the handle to release the pressure.

Last night I tried my hand at making a 40 second cake using Adria's method. I make a batter with ground pistachios, sugar, eggs and flour and filled a 1/2L ISI whipper canister. I put it in the fridge and when dessert came, I charged it with two nitrogen cartridges. I made many mistakes here - used mixer instead of blender to mix, did not pass through a sieve, chilled for too long which made the batter thick. Long story short, nothing came out. The nozzle was clogged and because of the pressure, the cap was on tight. I was frustrated because I had guests over and they were waiting for dessert, not really aware of what was happening in the kitchen. I stupidly started unscrewing the cap, pausing to shake the canister hoping to move the batter around and promote venting. I also kept pumping the lever and every 30 seconds I would get some to sputter out. My fear during this whole ordeal is that I reach the end of the threads and the cap explodes off, taking my hand with it. Or an eye. In the case where an isi charged whipper is clogged, is there any way to vent it safely?

Hi, sorry for digging this up but I did not want to start a new topic. Question: Is it possible to use a Pacojet, particularly the beaker aspect, in a home environment? Can a home freezer get cold enough to freeze them properly?

A Whole Foods opened up here a few months ago. It's a really big deal because traditionally we can't get any good ingredients. Well, surprise surprise, they cannot get pork belly. I am not the only one that's asked her. They told me plenty of people request it but they are unable to get it. I am talking about pork belly here, not the heart of a Unicorn.

Thank you both for your advice!

I can't stop staring at your crust. I have eaten and made plenty of crust in my life but yours looks amazing. It doesn't even look like a traditional (pot) pie crust but more of a flaky (fruit) turnover. Is this the recipe from the book or did you do a variation?

I made the Cauliflower soup but found it very thick, but still tasting delicious. I must say though that it really intensifies the cauliflower flavor and while I LOVE cauliflower, in any preparation, this one felt a bit synthetic or strange to me. It's hard to explain it until you've tried it. Also, my beet chips were not nearly as nice looking as the book's. I think I sliced mine too thin. Much thinner than yours and a tad thinner than the book's. Yours seem way too thick, but hey if it works it works.

If you go straight to the bath from the freezer, rather than room temp or fridge temp, what adjustments do you make to the cooking time to account for this?

I haven't followed this topic in a while but does anyone have the Master Recipe with weight measurements (tested, please)? I would greatly appreciate it. P.S. I realize that different flours have different gluten so let's just say King Arthur AP.

The resting time they noted, IIRC, was just a standard time for cookies. These are so soft, you need to rest them at least 15 mins before even attempting a move to a cooling rack, then it should stay on there some more. It's not an issue with moving, it's the recipe or my prep of the recipe. I will let things rest overnight. And I'll check out my oven temp too.

Tan - I will rest the dough overnight per your instructions on my next match (who knows when). You will not find the recipe in the Ad Hoc book. Or the Bouchon book. But just google it and you'll find it with no problems.

According to BakeWise, the reason cookies spread too much is because of moisture, low gluten production etc. When you cream, you wrap the flour granules in fat so they can't react with water to create gluten. One way we can get around this is to add a little bit of water to the flour and mix that up (leave it clumpy) then mix in the other ingredients. I don't like this idea since I have never seen anyone add water (straight up) to a cookie recipe. Another thing that keeps cookies soft is honey which is hydroscopic, but I didn't use it in this recipe. I can understand wanting to keep dough chilled (so fat stiffens) for pastry/puff pastry since you want slow release of the fat in the oven. But I don't understand how it matters in cookies. Is it to give time for the other ingredients (which ones? egg proteins?) to set. Once the cookies are in a 350F oven for a few minutes, won't the butter be all melted anyway?

Overcreamed? I thought the rule of thumb was most people don't cream enough and only good can come from it. I'll admit I don't know enough science behind baking. Let me consult McGee and BakeWise