Chef/Writer Spencer

Fair enough. But is making your customers feel ignorant-- even if it's educational or morally uplifting-- a good way to run a business? Well if you're point blank obviously trying to inflict a mortal wound on the unprepared, or uninformed then yeah, you should have your ABC card revoked and be subjected to the torments only available in hell--or Applebee's as the case may be. But, if you're strategic, nurturing, pleasant, visably interested in trying to enlighten then passing on knowledge can be close to reverence. Case in point--my case--The French Laundry. Those folks--now I'm talking about Pedro--the Mexican who presented the cornet with the chive tip glued to the side of the tartar, the wait team, Bobby the sommelier, Laura the manager, Thomas himself--are among the most knowledgeable restaurant people in the world. Bar none. They could have been stuck up pricks like the some of the staff at Daniel (thank you Leslie Brenner). They could have looked down their nose at me, not given a shit that I took time out of a busy Christmas bum rush at my restaurant to max out my credit cards on last minute airline flights, rent a cars, hotel, etc. But they treated me like a VIP, told me histories behind each dish, a funny vignette about the Vermont chick with the two cows who only made butter for the French Laundry, they kept asking how "I knew" Thomas. I felt like the coolest dude in the world. They could have easily chucked my feelings to the end of the line but, as classy, considerate people do, they performed the necessary function as liasons between the unknown and the curious. How does this relate to menus, I know, I know.... Lutece 1989, 12:35 pm, full restaurant...Benoit, the head waiter, called in sick with some BS story..... The menu looms, you see salmon with bacon and cabbage, baeckoffe of pork, and a couple of other dishes written in French. You ain't got a clue what to order. Salmon with bacon and cabbage...doesn't necessarily sound that interesting, kind of boring actually. Baeckoffe, what the .... You're waiter is monitoring six tables, all VIP's, deeply weeded, but visably cool. He finally gets to your table, apologetically but making all the motions of a guy thinking about twenty five things at once, with the "I had to pee two hours ago" stutter step making you nervous. Do you dare ask him about salmon and bacon. What would they do at The French Laundry? If you've got knowledgeable and caring waiters then you can get away with salmon and bacon. If you've got Pierre le Huff, you may want to stick a translated "battered with applewood smoked bacon and lightly pan-fried" underneath the stark wording. Make sense?

While I basically agree, it occurs to me that the American style is essentially more democratic: anybody can read the description and get a sense of what they're going to eat. Whereas if you're at a French restaurant and see, sayf, "tournedos Rossini" and don't know what those are, you have to fess up to your ignorance. Fessing up to ignorance, despite what the French think, is cleansing. If you fess up then knowledge is gained.

peel em, tourne em (rough four-sided barrels are fine)blanch em, saute in butter with fresh thyme, then glaze them slowly with some veal demi so they get sticky...man oh man.

Not that I don't agree with most of this stuff but it reminds me of Dead Poets Society, where they're reading about Poetry according to J. Edward Pritchard. Those of you who saw that movie will know what I'm talking about. " Rip, rip, rip. Rip it out, tear out the whole thing. Be gone J. Edward Pritchard." That aside, there's something to be said for manipulating the wording of menus. Put the word truffle on it and you can charge outlandish prices--even if the dish in question is only slightly enhanced with some bottom of the barrel summer truffle oil. I like the way the europeans do it. None of this, "served over a bed of...", "atop a..." "grilled to perfection...". It's more like steak with vegetables and red wine sauce. I loved Lutece's menus when Soltner ran the place. Not a lot of fluff. It speaks to the attention span and knowledge of the intented "demographic".

I think 'polite' might be a better description. I just couldn't bring myself to tell the weird beardy man begging the introductions to chefs, to go away. It's a character failing. Jay Rayner is a polite man, except, it would appear, when he has the internet to hide behind. That can be said for a lot of us. except I may be slightly more prone to tantrums face to face than my polite demeanor in these forums may belie.

no man, there's not. but you could take the day off if we're getting to ethereal for ya. i need to do that sometimes when they gush about the superior intellect of these guys. i can relate. but if you don't think watching t. keller address a group of star chefs isn't stirring then there's a disconnect implanted in your soul (i mean that in a nuturing way). man, adria and keller in the same room, and chattin' it up. Wow. too damn cool.

Laurent - Perrier actually. Very nice though. YOU RULE LYNES....

Hey fair enough. If being a celeb. chef meant swilling Billecarte with T. Keller at a star studded gala I'll sell my ass to the highest bidder. I think the whole celebrity sellout angle was discussed in a previous thread, that you can find here

Have you not noticed, he is always like this, although much as I hate it I do largely agree with him. Only in their own imaginations in most cases. Paul are factions forming

Ryne, I'm more thrown by a lamb rack hamburger than anything else. Why in God's name would you want to desecrate a nice piece of meat like that? I detest chefs who fool with their food to the detriment of the food itself in the name of hypermodernism or whatever you food theologians call it. That whole menu Jonathan reiterated sounded like it was created by some goobersmootch that just graduated from the Ferran Adria school of hide the salami. It's a sad state of affairs for sure when you've got to weed through a menu to get at the heart and soul of a chef's metier. Everyone is on a collision course with creativity. What happens when everything has been created? I hate to think of what the trends will be when that occurs. Whatever happened to the Mario Batali (simple is better) style?

hey simon, who pissed in your cornflakes this morning. by the very nature of these mega chefs being who they are they've become celebrities, like it or not. personally, i derive great satisfaction knowing all of my idols had to endure close quarters with each other.

Mmmm, gay flavour...... wonder what that would taste like? I dunno, a generous portion of Bob Fosse, with a dusting of Rock Hudson with a Village People coulis? With Paul Lynde souffle for dessert? Sorry, but Fosse was notoriously hetero. For the entree, I'd suggest a generous portion of Nathan Lane...but that might make the Paul Lynde souffle redundant, so I'd also suggest substituting Tommy Tune for dessert (so light, frothy, and archetectural in design). How bout an Elton John ice CREAM sandwich?

I hereby nominate this post for Grossly Evocative Simile of the Month. Two awards in one month. Watch out, my heads getting bigger and bigger with each passing post.

It's about homogenization in the suburbs. The plain fact is that the chains are safe, familiar, and moderately priced. Again, you'd think that people with more money would eat better and at better establishments. But that's not necessarily the case...not by a long shot. When restaurateurs sit down and try to figure out what demographic their pandering to ultimately the suburbs get the TGI Friday's gloss over. Opening a gastronomic temple in a rich part of town, while seeming like a 2+2 thing to do, is a risky venture. As a rule, unless you're in South Beach, NYC or somewhere cool like that, you're going to fare better with boring and familiar food in the better parts of town. Sure, you can all probably state examples that break this pattern--I can name a few myself--, but as a generality restaurateurs want to make money. How do you make money? Know your demographics. Remember, it's always the guy with the Amex Platinum Card and new Jag in the parking lot that tips 10 percent on perfect service and the best meal of his life.

Actually I don't think the vegetarians would have fucked the onion soup as I'm pretty sure it was made with chicken stock-and a damn fine chicken stock at that. Come to think of it, the others may correct me, but I don't recall anything on the menu at all for veggies, at least not in the main courses. I agree with the above comments. Odd to criticise foie gras for being too much like liver because of course.....it is liver, but the tranche was more like the texture of fine calves liver rather than the melt in the mouth goo that you can get from sauteeing (as opposed to roasting) it. The food was all very intense , beautifully presented, very heavy on sugar at the end with pre dessert, a whole panapoly of amazingly rich desserts, chocolates and little cakes at the end with coffee etc. I really enjoyed it but it reconfirmed my feeling that I could only eat this kind of meal once every....oh I dunno....two days? That's what I meant. He didn't give a minute of thought to the vegetarians obviously. What was his concession finally when pressed to respond to the vegetarians cries of Ramsay's poor judgement? I can't remember...didn't he don a PETA cap at a celebrity event or something? I know, I know, there's a thread on that subject...I just forgot where it was.

I like ammonia reeking cheeses. I like red fuzz on white. I don't serve it. I love stinky cheese....but don't expect the rest of my customer base to come along with me in that pursuit.

ammonia is rather offensive perhaps but on cheese not necessarily a sure sign to throw cheese away. i never throw blue cheese away. it can be as funky as an athletic shoe full of vomit and i'm still going for it.

Always good to read a FL review. Thanks.

I'm with ya compadre...ours is called Bolla Pasta...owned by the most affluent and well-respected Italian restaurant owning family in Memphis. And it too is located in the best part of town...and probably like your restaurant the mutherfucker flourishes...sheeps to slaughter...doesn't it taste nice...... I am of the opinion that there is a place in the restaurant hierarchy for a good, family pasta place..silly names aside. It does seem strange that a high end place cannot flourish as well in some of the communities you all have mentioned...I guess rents, LL, competition all come into play. And sorry, I will never consider a BYO to be a high end place...great food, yes..but a high end place, to me, is a full service, full liquor license establishment that encompasses the entire dining experience. Where I can dine for three hours, apperatif to port...without bringing a mini cellar with me. Sometimes Byob in a high end restaurant is a welcome thing. If you know the wine list and you don't see anything you like you're free to bring your own bottle that you think would match the food better. It really has nothing to do with liquor licenses and/or the ability to get one and maintain it.

he's talking about the rendezvous bbq place in memphis rosie.

WORD! Tell us something we don't know.

Moutarde de Meaux on some Colorado lamb, a little rosemary, green garlic. Forget about it.

rockin' good simon. good to see the foul mouthers continue to thrive. a nice big bowl of fuck you onion soup for the vegetarians. i'm going to eat that man's food soon. gotta pay the french laundry trip off first.

I'm with ya compadre...ours is called Bolla Pasta...owned by the most affluent and well-respected Italian restaurant owning family in Memphis. And it too is located in the best part of town...and probably like your restaurant the mutherfucker flourishes...sheeps to slaughter...doesn't it taste nice......

As we contemplate our navels yet again the real subjects are being pounced on by eGulleteers at a good clip. Shall we join them in the pursuit?