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Broken English

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Everything posted by Broken English

  1. Eleven Madison Park cookbook, as great as it is, uses exclusively the whole "cups and spoons" measurements, and the one that got me was the recipe calling for three cups of sliced potatoes. The mind boggles.
  2. I was taught to push bread to as deep a golden brown as possible without starting to burn it. It's always worked for me, but it is true that bread has a particular sound when tapped, and with a little experience, it's also pretty reliable. For the most part, oven temperature for all the breads I've made has been the same, between 200 and 220 celcius thereabouts. I would say that the reason for tapping the bottom has more to do with ensuring you have a flat surface which gives a more consistent sound from loaf to loaf.
  3. Stopped watching this around season five, the level of retarded people competing made it too hard to enjoy the few talented cooks that were there. I sort of grew tired watching Ramsay do the same thing over and over in the quest for ratings as well. I much prefer Top Chef now, as far as the reality shows go. Good luck to your friends though, I bet they'll get a fair way into the season, considering some of the "talent" they'll no doubt be up against.
  4. I forgot to report back, haha. As I said, it was good, not mind blowing, but there were some dishes like the beef tongue, the mackerel and the foie (though that dish longed for more foie for a bit more balance) that were transcendent. Definately worth a repeat visit.
  5. Very similar to the menu I had about a month ago. It was good, but to be honest I preferred Ssam bar. I'd head back again though, it was a great night.
  6. I think it's pretty safe to assume that the list is fine dining based, and a reflection of what's hot right now. Whether that is the right way to do it is up for debate, but it is what it is. I'm very surprised by Eleven Madison Park being so high on the list. The few people who've been that I've spoken to have said it is average at best. My old chef went last year and said that the food was all lukewarm and the sauces had skins on them from sitting around too long. Another chef friend spoke of cocktail orders forgotten, slow service and mediocre food. Not having been, I can't really comment, but in a 3 Michelin star restaurant that has been hyped like crazy, I would have expected better reviews.
  7. Yeah, that could be the reason for Next's absence, yet El Bulli topped the list all those years, and Momofuku Ko is on there. I don't know about the rest of Canada, but there isn't any restaurants of top 50 calibre in Toronto that I know of/have been to.
  8. Before you open, at the very least you need a good chef and a good front of house manager, both of whom can recruit decent staff and generally organise. Without those two, you are doomed, a restaurant's opening often makes or breaks the entire enterprise. Owning a restaurant is a lot like being the parent of a newborn, they require all your time and dedication, and if you can't give it that, then I wouldn't bother. My father opened a restaurant a few years back, and found it far harder than he had ever imagined. Luckily though, with an amazingly talented and dedicated chef and a keen eye on the front of house, the place is a success, but not without cost. The biggest mistake you can make is assuming that because you eat in and enjoy restaurants, you are qualified to own and operate one. It can and will bite you in the arse. Good luck.
  9. Pizzeria Mozza (LA), Pizzeria Bruno, Caffe Calabria, Blue Ribbon Pizzeria (San Diego), Pizzeria Ortica (OC) Urbano in LA city is mighty fine as well.
  10. That's something I've struggled with over here, I think it's basically napolitana sauce. Why you'd call it Marinara is completely beyond me. It's on par with calling a pizza a "pie".
  11. I didn't see a thread on the newest list, so I thought it may be worthwhile to discuss. The list can be found at http://www.theworlds50best.com/awards/1-50-winners/ A few surprises for me, with Dinner by Heston Blumenthal so high on the list, and the absence of Next and WD-50 from the top 100. Good to see some Aussie expats like Brett Graham and David Thompson receiving some much deserved love, though for me Australia was under represented. In my mind both Marque and Attica deserve top 50 status, and there are a couple of others that could easily be in the top 100, like Sepia for instance.
  12. I've just returned from a stage at WD-50. I've never seen a place use so much meat glue in such creative applications, even to treat knife cuts, haha. Amazing learning experience.
  13. The sorbets and ice creams I've tried using this technique have been sublime, but still turn very solid after two days in the freezer.
  14. At work we use a combination of sucroline and glucose, which to my understanding, gives a lower freeze point, and because of the sucroline (an invert sugar) you can add more glucose (this lowering the freeze point) without getting that horrible gummy texture that too much glucose gives to ice cream. This just comes from conversations with the pastry chef, I'd love a little more insight.
  15. Its a decent show, though not without it's flaws. I watched the first two series, and Mum has recorded the most recent season to DVD and is bringing it when she comes to visit in August. I think equating it to Top Chef is a little unfair, they're very different shows. I don't mind the length of time until the first elimination, the scoring system and critiques from some of the contestants who have no idea is just as interesting/entertaining for me, if not more so. I do think they could get better guest judges than Tobie Puttock and Karen Martini, but then again they have the appeal for the demographic, with their Jamie Oliver and Better Homes and Gardens backgrounds. It's not so much a show for the serious foodie as it is a show for the casual viewer.
  16. In my experience with Aussie supermarket creams, there is usually a little note/picture on the package stating "for whipping" or "not suitable for whipping". That's the dummies guide, but the replies in the thread cover the more extensive explanations.
  17. Great report, but that pork bun (just the bun, not the filling) doesn't look anywhere near as good as the one at Ssam I had last week. My sister went just after it opened and loved it. I can't wait to go when I get back to Australia, though I did go to Ko tonight, so I can't complain too much.
  18. I was randomly looking at the Ko reservations site, and I managed to score a seat for tonight. Lucky I'm in NYC at the moment haha. Can't wait, I'll definately report back.
  19. I ate there about six months ago. It was pretty good, though there were some elements to dishes that didn't work. The fiery jalapeno in the chimi churri destroyed the lamb flavour in one of the main courses, and a few courses were a little bland, though there were some cool ideas and flavours on the plates. It's fairly reasonably priced from what I can remember.
  20. Yes, do keep us posted! And if they're on the menu somewhere I can stop by and try them out, let me know. I'm curious. Big anticlimax, the chef forgot to order the sake, so we just went with traditional caviar. It was just for a catering event that I've suddenly found myself in charge of, which is a nice break from the restaurant a few days a week. I was actually in Guelph a few weeks ago helping my roommate move some furniture back to Toronto, it's a really nice little town. I'm working at Centro at the moment, so if you do feel inclined to pop in, let me know and I'll organise a nice tasting menu. We've just changed head chefs, and we've just started doing our own charcuterie, which I'm stoked with. I won't be there for the month of April though, as I'm staging in NYC, but drop me a PM if you want to come in and I'll do my best to hook you up.
  21. Thank you both. Yeah, I'll be hydrating the agar in something other than the alcohol (not sure on a recipe as yet, all I've been given is the dish description along with the instruction of 'make it'), then adding it to the sake which I'm going to hold at around 60C, then use the cold oil trick. Unfortunately there's no guar in the kitchen.I'll post some photos if it turns out haha.
  22. I have to make agar based sake caviar at work on Tuesday, can anyone tell me whether alcohol affects the set of agar, and if so by how much? I can't find any reference to the topic in Modernist.
  23. I made the bacon jam at work today, seeing as we weren't too busy. It is sickly sweet, I'm thinking I may omit the sugar and halve the maple syrup for the next batch. The flavour would have been great if it weren't so sweet, it's almost like tasting simple syrup.
  24. I'll wait and see what the exact system is like before commenting, but I'll be disappointed if it excludes solo diners, as I think that's the best way to experience the place.
  25. You could try using agar and dripping the mix into cold oil to create jellied 'caviar'. It won't be liquid inside but the look is pretty much the same and I find it much easier than actual spherification.
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