SethG

Sorry, I'm not sure I get your take. Are the "foodies & trendies" the people who like DP, or are they the people here complaining about the price? If you're saying that fancy methods and high prices are not required to make good, honest food, then I think I follow you. But try one of DP's jelly donuts before you dismiss the place. My mind was changed.

This is the same place I mentioned above at post #9 of this thread. The link in that post to the Times article about the restaurant still works.

Welcome, Marcia-- those loaves look great! I've made that bread, so I know how hard it can be to divide and shape. (It is an extremely wet dough.) Yours look like you did a super job.

Isn't the Johnny Apple article nice? He had quite a lot of positive things to say.

Thought y'all might enjoy this feature in today's NY Times (free registration may be required): Crossing the Potomac to Southeast Asia

I ate ate Bouchon on Saturday night with six others, and I thought the place was exactly what I'd hoped for: competent bistro food in a convivial setting. The room has a brasserie feel to it. Lots of tile, high ceilings, bright, noisy. I thought the epis brought to the table were a nice touch, although the bread tasted like nothing special. I loved the oysters with which I began the meal, and the rare leg of lamb I ordered was good, but nothing to shout about. Several folks ordered steak frites, and while I didn't taste the steak, I did snag some fries-- these were very good.

I was in Vegas this weekend, and took a walk to the Bellagio on Sunday morning to check out the shop. It looks even better in real life than in the photos. I wanted to try the desserts, but made do with a chocolate croissant (excellent) and a double espresso. I planned to come back in the afternoon for some cake but unfortunately I never made it. My loss. The place was totally packed by the time I left at 8:45 a.m. or so. Most people seemed to be going for the crepes. Congratulations, Neil. You guys are doing beautiful work. Sacher Torte, by the way, is named for the Hotel Sacher, where the cake originated, so the alternative spelling doesn't make a lot of sense to me. (Actually, to be most correct, the cake was named for the Sacher family, who both created the dessert and opened the hotel.)

I had a good run of weekend baking going, but after failing to bake this past weekend, I'm afraid I won't be able to bake either this weekend or the next one after that. I find this situation simply unacceptable-- I cannot let three weeks pass without a visit to the world of Pierre Herme! So I think I'm just going to have to make something from the book in the middle of this coming week. I haven't decided what, though. I still have some sweet tart dough in my freezer, but I might do something quick like the mousse. (I don't have the book with me, but I believe that one is pretty quick, right?) Edit: Those crepes look great, Elie!

I'm not a dumpling expert, but I do love them, and last weekend I went to Ocean Port Seafood, which was featured in the $25 & Under column a few weeks ago. I was blown away by the variety and inventiveness (and good looks) of the dumplings, most of which contain seafood. This place was packed for dim sum but the turnover is constant so we didn't have to wait long.

I think you'll get no clear answer to this question and you'll be sorry you posed it. FWIW, as someone who took issue with one of your ratings, I think you should keep giving them. I like the way you use the rating to sum up your experience, tallying the strengths and weaknesses of your latest meal.

Gosh, you guys are impressive. I have two kids (14 months and 3 years), I do all the cooking, and I can't manage to plan; I have no aptitude for it. I failed every class in junior high that required me to keep a notebook organized and I'm no better now. What's more, my freezer is full. There's no way I'm getting lasagne for twenty in there. I buy staples, fruits and vegetables on the weekends and plan mains by the seat of my pants, often shopping on my way home from work. My wife tends to come home after the kids have had dinner. We tend to eat together after the kids are in bed and I feed the kids the leftovers the next day. Actually, to be truthful, I usually eat a fair bit with the kids and then eat again with my wife! Once kids get to be over a few months old, if you're lucky, they go to sleep much earlier than you do. This gives you time to do more elaborate cooking than may be possible when your newborn infant is up during the evening and every few hours overnight. So what I'd suggest, dougery, is that you can let the cooking slide for a little while. You'll have a lot more flexibility again, probably sooner than you think.

I saw that one tonight as well, and every time Richard spoke I was reminded of the boorish boss from The Office.

Okay, so I'm not the only dissenter. Although dissenter may be a bit strong. I think the DeLonghi is fine for most baking tasks, but for stiff doughs it seemed to me it wasn't up to the job. (And then again, most stand mixers aren't really up to the job either.) I seem to be in the minority on this opinion, and I'd try it again, but I don't want to break another mixer!

It's been a week, so.... is the pastry shop open, Neil?

I see some pretty avid bread bakers here extolling the virtues of (shudder) canned bread, so I think I'm going to have to give it a try. You can't possibly pay $4 a can for the stuff, though, right? (That was the price on the link above.) For $4 you can buy really stupendous fresh bread. Or a premium bar of chocolate. Or a thousand things that just have to be better than canned bread.

Wow. That stuff looks... interesting. I'll have to check that out, or maybe I shouldn't. Seems like you had to be there.

Wha?? Please explain. I haven't seen this, or at least I don't think I have. I'm having a hard time imagining canned raisin bread.

I wasn't fortunate enough to be along for the ride, but eGullet's New York Pizza Survey thought Lombardi's was definitely coasting. Follow the link to read all about it in detail. (The discussion begins at post #199.)

Sounds like an authentic French experience! Seriously, overall sounds like the place will meet my expectations.

Lookin' good, yellowmnm81! Edted to add: and welcome to eGullet! Would you please explain your moniker? Are you a food chemist?

That mousse looks really good. I think I'm giving Pierre a rest this weekend. I'm considering some tunnel of fudge instead (in honor of the departed bundt pan inventor). Anyone else making anything?

I have the previous generation 5 quart DeLonghi mixer. I got it cheap, this past June I think, when they introduced the new line. I bought it because I was pissed off that my KA died on me, but I gotta say after working with it a while the KA is overall a better piece of machinery. The design of the Delonghi is such that you can't mix nearly as much in its bowl as you can in a KA 5 qt. mixer, because the spot where you plug in your paddle/whisk/hook is much lower than on the KA-- it literally dips into the bowl. In addition, although the machine's motor has a 10 year warranty, the rest of the parts do not. And the rest of the machine is not nearly as solid as the KA. There are numerous plastic parts, and just a general air of flimsiness that the KA doesn't have. I tried making my sourdough dough with the DeLonghi and while the motor sounded fine, I was afraid for a minute that the whole machine was going to fly apart. Since that time, I have grown to love and rely upon hand-kneading, so I never put lean, French bread-type doughs into the mixer any more. It does a fine job with egg whites, cake batters, and wetter bread doughs. And the non-stick paddles and hooks are nice. I use the machine almost constantly. But I've basically decided the stand mixer isn't the way to go with regular bread.

i wouldn't go to bouchon if you want to be dazzled. very good for breakfast and lunch. it's french bistro food, and not much unlike what you could get here in NYC. don't miss Lotus of Siam, though. go twice in fact. three times if schedule permits. ← If it were just me I'd go to LOS and Rosemary's, but I'm with a group of seven other guys. (Yeah, that's right, I dance for Chippendale's, and sometimes we go out after our shows on the road. So what?) I want to plan something that won't take us too far off the strip or challenge anyone much-- so I think Bouchon fits the bill. If it's well-executed bistro food I'll be very pleased. So I'm looking forward to Ms. Foodie's report. And to Neil's pastries. P.S. I don't really dance for Chippendale's.

Oh yeah. Ditto. I can't wait.

Hey, that's fine by me. I'll be arriving in town on the 15th. But no more excuses, Robertson!