newguy

Out of pure coincidence and location, my wife made reservations so we could meet friends and that happened to be an approximate middle location. Always heard great things. I really wish I could say it lived up to the reputation. We split starters, hush puppies that were so hard we were almost unable to cut them. A fresh pasta and mushroom adish called rags and mushrooms or something. that was exactly that, a few mushrooms and pasta. Shrimp and Grits that was ok and a scallop wrapped in bacon special. the scallop and bacon was not bad, but whatever the garnish was, and i can't remember, was just terrible. Entrees we had a potato wrapped catfish etouffe. i have never seen such violently overcooked fish with a 4" crust made of iron, ever. shrimp, jambalaya. a large scoop of rice, some sauce and 5 shrimp. a steak special that was ordered because the menu steak was not available (with 3 other people in the restaurant) and a short rib dish that "needed" a knife. we did however get a kick out of the tv screen with the live feed into the kitchen with the 2 women that would throw stuff in pans and walk out of sight, and the chef that walked the dining room while those pans were on the stove... If this place is open in october i'd be amazed. the server had to go to the liquor store next door to buy soda for service. when asked for dessert we passed and headed to that turkish bakery for something good

try this. it's a picture of one available on ebay. we call them sauce guns and we buy screw on tips for smaller amounts or more controlled amounts of liquids... http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Stainless-Steel-Sa...9QQcmdZViewItem

this was exactly what i heard about. there were "only" 15 courses or so though, not really sure of all the chefs in attendance though...

anyone know or hear of a charity game dinner taking place either this week or next week with a number of chefs participating?

The number of "relevant" places (as FG defined it) surely numbers at least 100, and perhaps more. Anyone monitoring the message boards (EG, Mouthfuls, Chowhound) can readily find the restaurants that are repeatedly recommended by knowledgeable diners, over and over again. There are a lot of them. I think the object of the thread—though perhaps it has morphed a bit—was to discuss expensive, high-concept places that were formerly considered trailblazers, but are no longer regarded that way—Vong being a prime example. this is exactly what i was referring to, without the sarcasm. vong is no longer "relevant" so it should just close? why? the food was "great" once. maybe it still is for some that have never been there. i'm sure it still turns quite a profit or else it would have closed by now. so it's not "relevant" but it was the first of it's kind 10 years ago, doesn't that make it "relevant" no matter what?

why does a place have to be "relevant" to be open? if you are talking about restaurants being "relevant" there would be 6 places in ny.

Maybe it's just me, i'm sure it is. If I had 45 minutes and happened to be in a nice restaurant, I'd be more than happy to sit and talk to my wife. But thats just me, since I see her about 45 minutes a week total. The rest of the time I have to worry about people and their precious 45 minutes...

waiting for your food has nothing to do with the "service" portion of your meal. someone telling you that they'll take your coffee order with dessert is horrendous service. waiting for your food is because of the kitchen or the way the customers were seated all at the same time. it happens, it happens everywhere. cut the place a break. i always tell my friends and family that they should all be "lucky" enough to watch a full service, and watch the cooks work in their environment, the heat, the pace. after that, you'll be more than happy to sit in the air conditioned dining room with your wife enjoying a little conversation and some free time, instead of complaining. everyone that eats should work in a kitchen.

Do you guys have any idea how that kitchen works? Peter, the chef/owner is the only cook in that place. A dishwasher and his wife helps him to plate occasionally, but thats his staff. All they need is the servers to seat a few tables at the same time and that guy is slammed. Thats a nice restaurant, with good food. you said the food was good overall, although your wife needed her filet cooked more, so what? these are strange reasons not to go back to a good place.

when you hold the onion half with the cut side facing you where you would begin making the horizontal cuts, turn the onion so the cut side is horizontal on your board. make your slices as close together as you want, and you do not need to make the horizontal cuts. you will get very small pieces. i came across 1 restaurant that used this technique, and i've never seen anyone else do it before, or since.

I'm 34, work about 70 hours a week, give or take and i have 2 kids 20 months and 4 months. It's all up to the wife basically. she works full time, but from home most of the week. we pay for day care some times which is a fortune. and we are lucky the parents live close and they pitch in often. however, i have 1 day off and on that day off i watch 2 kids. watching 2 kids isn't easy at all, let alone smashed in between all that work. i suppose that that helps keep the anger and agression up while i'm at work. i mean if i was happy all the time, i wouldn't be able to be a chef... i mean, i think you'd be hard pressed to find chefs that are able to stay married, let alone have kids. thats not sarcasm either. most chefs i know have been divorced at least once.

I took this class probably 5 years ago. I later went on to culinary school at ICE, and found that through the 1st portion of school, I already knew what I was doing from the la techniqe course. I met some good people in there, learned a lot of old school techniques, gained weight and had fun. i'd be surprised if you didn't like it.

Why don't you try to encourage your son? Take him to a few fine establishments, teach him the great side of the industry. Have him speak with some chefs of your favorite places and see what they did when they were younger. Or else you can send him to a grueling culinary program, and/or have him trail in some places and he can see how hard the work actually is. Make sure that is in the summer too, when it's a bit hotter than usual...

what you want to do is put some kosher salt in a square of foil and wrap each individually. then put a layer of kosher salt down in a pan, and place the beets in the salt. put them in an low oven, 250 maybe and leave them alone for a few hours (if they are big). those are the best beets ever.

you should seriously just go into every restaurant that you may have an interest in, and talk to the chef in charge. they'll probably have you trail a few days and see what your deal is, and maybe put you on a few days, you never know.

so how do you make that jalepeno emulsion?

i've had a white gazpacho with cucumbers, grapes, a little garlic and almonds. puree everything and make it cold. refreshing and delicious and will supply a little nutrition with the grapes and nuts too.

depending on what kind of place, but give or take you'll first probably get a garde manger position because most places in ny don't really care if you have moderate experience or not. they like you to learn from the bottom. as far as salary goes, you'll be lucky to get $25k year. or roughly enough to pay 4 months rent in a 400 sq. ft. studio in manhattan...

It closed? i thought this was supposed to be one of the best places in florida. i was there a few years ago with 3 friends. we ordered a tremendous amount of food and basically none of us were impressed with anything. especially the service. they really liked to clear setting while others were still eating.

I can't believe you were that dissapointed with NO.9 park (i mean i can if you say so), but i had one of the best meals of my life there. the food was fantastic, service parallel to the food. yes it's expensive, but no worse than anywhere in nyc. it's amazing that an experience could vary that much. HA! We took your word and that of others and went to No. 9 Park and were NOT favorably impressed. That place is a ripoff, IMO! If I were a Bostonian, I'd never set foot in there again. The only positive thing I can say is that I enjoyed the bread/rolls. Hey, Honeymoon Guy---if you're looking for a reasonably priced meal in a place that is even minimally romantic: No. 9 Park is not for you and your bride! The tables are so close together that you're practically sitting in your neighbor's lap. And forget about having any sort of private conversation....you wouldn't be able to hear your companion anyway what with all the din in the claustrophobic dining room. We were seated next to a 40-something couple who were obviously on a first date....the lady was lovely, the guy was a loser. Probably took her there to show her how much money he could spend on dinner. The owner must be paying an arm and a leg in overhead what with her choice location right off Beacon Hill; I got the distinct impression a big percentage of our meal cost was going toward the rent. The food was OK, but not what I'd consider a good value. 'Nuff said about No. 9 Park. On a positive note: we very much enjoyed our meal...the food/general ambiance/service...at Pigalle. I'm back home now; hub is still in Boston, now attending a conference. He reports that he and his associates have been pleased with dinners at Troquet and Hamersley's Bistro. I regret that I missed going to those places. Many thanks for all the suggestions!

ya know, i've been working in kitchens now about 4 years and i had the same thoughts when i first started. somehow it just went away. but there are always thoughts of what i will eat in certain places if they are not upscale places. i won't eat fish in a lot of places. i'll attempt to smell things before i eat them, and if i smell or taste something "sour" without tasting lemon or vinegar, i kind of get freaked out. if you are working on the line, you have to be higher up than a few people. walk by and tell them to clean up. keep your station immaculate. wipe everything down repeatedly, and never get lazy about that. there are 3 things i try to keep in my mind when i'm working: am i working faster/cleaner/neater than the guy next to me. unfortunately, it's sometimes the chef, so probably not, but the others i can answer yes to. and if i see someone is sloppy i'll say something, or i'll just go by and clean up after them. no one wants to feel like their mom is following them around in the kitchen. as far as your own sanitation goes, you should wash your hands so many times that your hands hurt when you leave. and for a place that is buying frozen oysters to sell raw, well, i'd probably look for a new job... this time just trail a few days and look to see what things look like. check out the walk ins, check to see how many times fish and meat come in. where does the produce come from etc... it'll make your day much easier.

you should have done some reading about that place on this site before going there. most of us disliked it, and discussed it...

spring pea soup with mint and prosciutto. vegetable spring rolls and any type of asian sauce thin sliced marinated skirt steak on crouton with goat cheese smoked salmon with cucumber, red onion and sour cream/creme fraiche mini mushroom tarts fresh mozzerella with pesto just a few ideas. if the guest of honor eats a specific way, then i don't like to single that person's beliefs, allergies, likes or dislikes out. instead, make nice things that don't contain that stuff and everyone won't notice.

do yourself a favor and go to NO. 9 Park.

send me your envelope, i'll send you whatever you want...