KD1191

Not sure if this is changing, but we had dinner here on Tuesday with a Parisian friend who commented that she could not believe the pork belly (very likely the best I've had) had come out of that kitchen...calamari with squid ink risotto also rather bucked the trend of what I'd assume would be called "LRSH style".

Spotted this poster in the visitor center at the Château de Chambord...makes me think that the product was not always the syrupy sweet concoction we know today.

Had the 2007 Cantillon Lou Pepe (Kriek) this weekend. Excellent, could have aged it longer without issue. Though, it was perhaps the best kriek I've ever had. Nice funk, plenty of sour. Cherry was there, but not at all sweet.

Do you know if anyone has checked La Maison's slightly less convenient location?

Sure, that's what it looks like...and even if that's all, I guess it'd be somewhat interesting (don't see a lot of other examples of odd-color labeled Rittenhouse), but what about the "selected by" and the part on the site where it says it's limited to 530 bottles? It makes me think this may be single-barrel (or a couple single-barrel bottlings). And, while it's getting more and more common for a bar or store to select a barrel or two of bourbon, I haven't seen many single barrel ryes (outside the ultra-high end such as the Rittenhouse Very Rare).

Has anyone seen custom bottlings of Rittenhouse before? Looking for a place to pick up a few things in Paris next week, I came across this...

After tasting the 2010 (my first Stagg), I really needed to find a bottle of the 2009 (which received even more rave reviews). Today was the day...spotted for $90 on the shelf of a specialty liquor store. Amazingly, there were two in stock, but I couldn't bring myself to buy both. A quick search to confirm the proof (141.4), and we were off. Tasted in the same fashion as above, there's butterscotch up front, fading to roasted nuts & hickory. Noticeably sweeter than the 2010, but less aromatic. Just might be my favorite sipping whiskey ever. It is a good day. Don't miss this in a JT-style 50/50 Manhattan. Divine. Done and done...and I mean done. Divine is right.

I don't like the implication that chefs banning photography must be scared or pretentious. It's just as likely that they are reacting to a lack of common sense by diners. A perfect example occurred when we were at Eleven Madison Park a few months ago. We'd ordered the whole chicken, and the server presented it to the table prior to plating. It was a beautiful specimen, with impeccably burnished skin. As she was returning it to the kitchen, a diner at another table stopped her and got up with a large camera and took several photos of the chicken, asking her to pose it this way and that. For my wife and I, the laugh at the time was worth whatever delay might have resulted, but I could see another person being upset by their food being gawked at and held hostage by the inconsiderate photog.

After tasting the 2010 (my first Stagg), I really needed to find a bottle of the 2009 (which received even more rave reviews). Today was the day...spotted for $90 on the shelf of a specialty liquor store. Amazingly, there were two in stock, but I couldn't bring myself to buy both. A quick search to confirm the proof (141.4), and we were off. Tasted in the same fashion as above, there's butterscotch up front, fading to roasted nuts & hickory. Noticeably sweeter than the 2010, but less aromatic. Just might be my favorite sipping whiskey ever. It is a good day.

I can understand a ban at Ko...in a practical sense it'd be hard to take photos there without disturbing your neighbors. Now, is that a deficiency of the restaurant (the ban and/or the seating)? Not in my opinion, but I'm sure there are people who will refuse to eat there as a result. Chang's "It's just food," rationale, is a bit too cute for my own liking, but I'm not much of a photog, so it's not going to stop me eating somewhere that prohibits photography.

The tequila was El Tesoro, and I'm relatively certain it was the Reposado. I didn't see the Mezcal go into the drink, but it was almost certainly a Del Maguey product, and if I had to bet I'd say it was the Vida (San Luis Del Rio).

Proportions? I'll second that request. Sounds delicious. It's not something I'm ever likely to try and make at home, so I didn't ask. He also had the drink half made by the time I returned to the bar from hanging up my coat, so I didn't even see which Mezcal was used. I can say that the VH's allspice dram is currently trending extremely spicy. A few search hits seem to indicate it was previously on the menu at Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co in Philadelphia...but there's nothing close to a recipe.

Had an 'Inland Julep' at the Violet Hour tonight courtesy of Mr. Stephen Cole. It was a drink he'd enjoyed earlier this week from the hands of Alex Day in L.A. (at the Varnish? It's hazy...I can't recall). It was Mezcal and Tequila (El Tesoro, I think) based, heavily laced with house-made allspice dram. One of the most interesting drinks I've had in some time. Absolutely overwhelming in the olfactory sense...as drops of the highly pungent dram were sprinkled throughout the mint bouquet.

I can't seem to find any info on what days Experimental, Curio and Prescription are open. I'll be visiting Sunday-Tuesday and was hoping to hit all three. Any further details on days/hours of operation would be greatly appreciated.

I've really enjoyed the drinks I've had with SI, but more recently I've been having similar thoughts about the Banks 5-Island Rum. Tried it?

With the La Favorite blanc, I like this one from KatieLoeb upthread...but I switched out the simple for rich (2:1) piloncillo syrup and used Bittercube Lemon Tree Bitters instead of the rhubarb. Nothing like funky sugar with funky rhum.

I'd been reading this thread from the beginning, but only this morning realized my own quirk. My wife takes cream and sugar in her coffee, I like the smallest touch of cream. I prepare both in the mornings, and always insist on stirring my coffee first, lest an iota of her sugar make it into my cup via the shared spoon.

If you really like the drink and want to get the piquin flavor, I'd suggest infusing the bourbon. The alcohol is more likely to draw out the flavor than the syrup.

Fall Fashions 2 oz Heaven Hill Bonded Gold Label (imo this is to bourbon as Rittenhouse is to rye) +1/4 oz Blis Bourbon Barrel Matured Maple Syrup 10 drops Bittercube Blackstrap Bitters After a long stir, strain over large ice and garnish with 2 more drops of bitters, freshly grated nutmeg & a large swath of lemon peel.

The "family tree" idea is great, but I'm not sure about this rationale. Keller is situated such that he need only accept the most talented/highest potential talent applicants. To truly gauge this, one would need to measure/compare the number of people who flame out after working for high profile chefs vs. those that become stars.

I like the flavor of Templeton, but I don't currently have it my bar. I picked up a bottle when it first came out, and went through it far too quickly, mostly due to the fact that it's 80 proof. I would like to revisit it at some point in the future to see how it works in combination with a higher proof Rye as Dan Perrigan has done above.

The Saz 6 is a perfectly fine mixing rye, you could do much worse. I think it's a bit overpriced, but when one of the best products in the category (Rittenhouse 100) is frequently available below $20, there's not much that couldn't be described that way.

The OP did say in a subsequent post that they had tried to deal with it that night and had not been successfull. If you had a terrible experience somewhere because you happened to attend on an evening where all of the staff you'd grown to love/expect were absent, would you stop at mentioning your displeasure to one of the staff that same evening? Or, might you perhaps consider following up with the absent chef and/or manager you purported to have a relationship with prior to airing the dirty laundry?

From the Guardian piece linked upthread: Here is what I find a bit off-putting. The OP wants to eat their cake and have it too. They want to post their opinions like a journalist, but when they are called out for them they want to retreat to the customer mode and be horrified that they would be held to account. They want to pal around with the chef, but insist that he not take the sort of offense that he certainly should if a friend publicly ripped into his restaurant because a perfect storm of staff absences lead to an off night. Yes, perhaps the review is far from scathing to the naked eye, but I can't conceive of an honest reason for it to have been published. There is an agenda here, to be certain. If the previous 6 visits had all been exemplary, the aberration should have been handled in private baring an indication of a pattern of descent.

I've lived all over the U.S. and have yet to find a city I'd rather live in than Chicago (though it too is starting to wear on me). New York grows on me more with each visit, but would not be a very high choice. Paris definitely ranks higher, but if I could live anywhere I think Bangkok might be tops. On some days, though, (and today happens to be one) I think it might be fun to move back to the my great grandparent's homestead in the middle of nowhere Montana and see if the farming gene made it to this generation.