Chef/Writer Spencer
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Posts posted by Chef/Writer Spencer
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As a guy who has worked in both high end successful restaurants and high end unsuccessful restaurants that should have gone all the way...location is important, very important, maybe 64.56 percent of why closer to your audience is better. But, press and word of mouth is ultimately (if the restaurant that is off the beaten track can hold on until its merit is verified city wide) more important. A good press agent can make a TGI Friday's sound like Taillevant. Word on the street is the best way to sustain a good restaurant, next to press and marketing. That's just the way it is.
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How would you explain the success of Restaurant Nicholas on Rt 35 in Middletown. I have bias against restaurants on highways but he is very busy and very expensive. Others that come to mind are Ryland Inn which is in the middle of nowhere; Amanda's in Hoboken a city where it is extremely difficult to park; and Rat's which is a schlep. All successful.
Ryland Inn is located in the county with the single biggest residential growth in NJ...over 8000 new homes within the last 24 months, , average asking price 440k.
Rat's is located in the 4th largest municipality in the state, Hamilton Township, so while it is a shlep for N. Jersey folks, it is easily accessible to a densly packed area...295 is the most heavily travelled interstate, if I recall from something I read but I might be wrong.
Amanda's is also in a densly populated area, but the dense population is in walking distance, so the parking issue is only relevant to some.
Out of Rosie's list, RN seems to be succeeding despite its location...neither densly populated, nor is it in a pretty area that can be considered "destination dining"...like the Sculpture Gardens at Rats or the "Inn" feeling at Ryland.
But, I second Rosie's bias of restaurants on Highways.
as stated before, financial wealth does not insure that these people will frequent higher end restaurants....look at my example above.
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How would you explain the success of Restaurant Nicholas on Rt 35 in Middletown. I have bias against restaurants on highways but he is very busy and very expensive. Others that come to mind are Ryland Inn which is in the middle of nowhere; Amanda's in Hoboken a city where it is extremely difficult to park; and Rat's which is a schlep. All successful.
Wonderful anomolies. PR giants, good food, an ability to translate high end stuff in terms that the less than savvy can appreciate. Honesty, good service, word of mouth. the ability to make nervous diners feel welcomed. good pricepoints. a combination of all. you'd be surprised how many restaurateurs think they can get by on a name and better than average food.
Talent matters, as do the ability and willingness of an audience to appreciate talent.
I agree to a certain extent. Without a doubt if the chef ain't on then the carion swoon eventually but I know a few mega talented chefs that haven't been properly PRed and are now painting houses. Talent isn't a sure fire means to packing a restaurant. Remember the chef from Northern Exposure..the angry guy, who freaked out when one of his prep guys (the big indian) used bacon instead of pancetta. Adam Arkin's character. With that guys talent he should have been commanding CIA grads at a Ritz Carlton but instead he was pumping out French classics in a diner. -
How would you explain the success of Restaurant Nicholas on Rt 35 in Middletown. I have bias against restaurants on highways but he is very busy and very expensive. Others that come to mind are Ryland Inn which is in the middle of nowhere; Amanda's in Hoboken a city where it is extremely difficult to park; and Rat's which is a schlep. All successful.
Wonderful anomolies. PR giants, good food, an ability to translate high end stuff in terms that the less than savvy can appreciate. Honesty, good service, word of mouth. the ability to make nervous diners feel welcomed. good pricepoints. a combination of all. you'd be surprised how many restaurateurs think they can get by on a name and better than average food.
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FOG CITY DINER SAN FRANCISCO.
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When restaurants that are typically busy slow down for no apparent reason it's not uncommon to find waiters and cooks alike huddled around trying to come up with THE answer. "Everybody must have gone on vacation all at once." "School's back in session, parents spent all their money on school supplies." "Tax time." I believe that there's a collective unconscious that dictates the ebb and flow of the frequency of patronnage. A Murphy's Law, an unspoken shift.
When restaurants located in under populated, poor or unsustainable locations are busy upon first opening, then, like the wind, die down and turn into Titanics, the reasons are a little more clear cut. Either the owners are shitty at PR, the food sucks or they've grossly miscalculated their abilities to turn chain restaurant junkies on to the Greek sushi idea they thought would pack the place in.
I worked for a big time restaurateur who, when his first restaurant went "double platinum" thought it would be the next logical thing to open up a brasserie with his highly recognizable initials on it in a strip mall in an affluent part of town. He and his partners, while scouting locales, sat down in the abandoned Bagel Bar, looked out at the throngs passing by on the main thoroughfare and decried, "We're gonna make a mint." Unfortunately for them, they didn't realize that the folks that lived is this rich area were more into the burger and chain joints that were acned all around their spot. Those places packed, his place has now got a sign on it saying, "Sekisui sushi, opening soon."
Then you've got the recession, which has been an utter death knell for restaurants country wide.
I could go more in depth but reading Bourdain's "Owner's Syndrome and Other Medical Anomolies will suffice.
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Gay bars are a well-known phenomenon, and of course a percentage of the customers and staff at most any restaurant (or anyplace else for that matter) will be gay, but I'm wondering whether cities other than New York have actual gay restaurants.
For example, there's a restaurant on East 58th Street called Townhouse. It is a self-proclaimed gay restaurant. The New York Times refers to it as an "upscale gay restaurant." I assume most of the people eating there, and most of the staff, are gay. The food, however, has no sexual orientation -- just as a gin-and-tonic at a gay bar is the same as a gin-and-tonic at any bar.
I'm interested in learning more about this phenomenon. A search on Google revealed -- you guessed it -- http://www.gayrestaurants.com/ but that site seems to be a listing of restaurants recommended by or for gay travelers. I'm more interested in actual, bona fide gay restaurants.
tell me you didn't say bona fide steven!
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Oh, fried pickles are so. good. and the ranch dressing is necessary. I have to say I'm not all too sure about deep-frying while drunk, though.
I have frequently been known to go for tortilla chips (even Torengos - they're all the same size so when you're drunk you can make nice patterns with them on the plate) with shredded cheese and *gasp* nuke until the cheese melts. Dump salsa on top and chow.
I have also occasionally taken a piece of baguette, spread Nutella on it, and topped with sliced cheddar cheese. This should be consumed with orange juice which may or may not have vodka in it.
When I am "drunk" I have a tendency to want to bake cakes.
I'd hate to manipulate a sack of flour drunk.
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i go for the vlasics...make a tempura batter with flour, soda, dill and salt...get the fryer at 340 and fry me some pickles...ranch dressing "infused" with prepared horseradish... know what i'm sayin'
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Meaux (a town I lived in for three months) makes the best whole grain around. The best.
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In Secrets of El Bulli, Ferran Adria sets out 27 observations that others have made on his cuisine. I have translated his introduction to this section and the observations themselves. Some of them are clearly very personal (e.g. number 14) but others apply more broadly to avant-garde cuisine.
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What people have said about my cuisine
It is difficult to analyse the nature of my cuisine, because among other reasons it is hard to separate my ideas from my personal preferences. For this reason I have taken advantage of the great cooks and lovers of fine cuisine who have attended the courses we have given over the last four years at El Bulli, by compiling a series of their observations and hence providing a vision that complements my own. Naturally, observations that appear to some as a virtue will appear to others as a defect.
1. The element of surprise is very important.
2. We should bring something new to almost every dish, not just offer a mixture of ingredients.
3. Sometimes I use many ingredients (elementos) in a dish, sometimes far fewer.
4. To really understand this cuisine, it must be eaten in a tasting menu.
5. Almost every dish is served in small quantities
6. There are no second-class products; we get as much from a sardine as from caviar.
7. Nothing must be superfluous: everything must have a reason for being.
8. The complexity of simplicity.
9. This is a provocative cuisine, one that should lead people to think, rich in irony and humour.
10. It is also a transparent cuisine.
11. The cold savoury dishes (foams, jellies, ices, sorbets, soups) are without doubt what make our cooking distinctive; another differentiating element is the combination of many textures in a dish (menestra en texturas)
12. Nobody should really know where the "meal" ends and where the "desserts" begin.
13. We constantly search for new techniques…
14. … and new ingredients
15. We don't use fish fumet.
16. Temperature contrast is important…
17. …as is textural contrast.
18. We rarely follow the basic structure of "ingredient plus garnish". Garnish and sauce should be combined.
19. We have little interest in plates of meat.
20. But we have a passion for tapas, snacks, petits fours -- that is to say, for "little bites".
21. We look for consistency, for minimising technical faults as dishes are being cooked, seasoned, etc.
22. We use relatively few systems of cooking.
23. We respect the basic ingredients. Although we constantly transform ingredients, our point of reference is always the primary taste of the product.
24. Sauces that are soups, soups that are sauces. It is rarely possible to describe our dishes using the vocabulary of classical cuisine.
25. A passion for flavoured oils and vinaigrettes.
26. Almost every dish is matched to the rhythm and harmony of the meal. Each is carefully thought through.
27. Taste is the most important factor; cookery, before anything else, is about making things delicious.
Is it subliminal that TASTE is no. 27. I know, I know, some you guys want to smack me. It's ok.
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Lupa, Babbo, Esca, not OTTO.
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ugh, English food again.
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OK, let’s go international so everyone has a chance ( F**king Padstow!!! )
Cream of Garlic Soup
Pecan-crusted Rabbit with Creole Mustard-Tasso Cream Sauce
Toasted Pecan Roulade with Caramel Mousse & Praline Syrup
Think a truncated group of emerald warblers
S
NOLA or one of Emeril's spots...There were more cajun references in that lead than at a hundred Wild Bill swamp runs.
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This is becoming an endless shell game of semantics and definitions. Where's the point, under this shell--nope, shuffle, shuffle,under this one, nope--shuffle, shuffle. Is the world of food better off with what Adria has done. HELL YES. Are the rip offs flies buzzing in his ear. GOTTA BE. Are they any less of a force to reckon with because they like to make consomme into pappardelle...HELL NO. As long as there are chefs pushing themselves--even if they rip the masters off---then the dining public is more than likely going to benefit. And the excitement these guys create will ensure that gastronomy will remain a vibrant aspect of modern culture. (YES, I am bi-polar).
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put a large pot of water on the stove and bring to just below a simmer
peel asparagus and trim bottoms (reserve for later use)
season asparagus with salt, pepper, a pinch of sugar, olive oil, blanched lemon zest, lemon juice
place in a ziploc bag and suck the air out of it
place in another bag for added strength
place asparagus in the pot of water just below a simmer
cook for three hours, remove bag from water and let rest
serve hot from the bag or let cool and serve chilled, let them cool in the sealed bag they will pull in their own juices
while asparagus cooks, sweat asparagus trim seasoned with salt and sugar, add vermouth, cook out alcohol, add lemon juice then strain
taste broth and emulsify with butter or olive oil to add body to dress the asparagus or use the liquid to poach a piece of fish to serve with the asparagus
twodogs
Thats fascinating. Why does it cook for so long? What happens to it after three ours? What effect does the sous-vide have?
J
Hey, no matter what hip technique you use if you cook asparagus for three hours--I don't care if youre using stalks the size of Kong's forearm---you're going to have soup. Can you coax more flavor out of vegetables with redneck sous vide? I say it's all smoke and mirrors...
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Turtle Creek..that sounds far away...this is a UK Restaurant
uh, joke...
I thought it was funny.
Thank you Claire. Some folks just don't see my genius...
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I didn't know there were more than two decent restaurants in the UK. There ain't no way in hell I'll get this one.
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Turtle Creek..that sounds far away...this is a UK Restaurant
uh, joke...
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Hey, Mansion on Turtle Creek....(he slinks back behind the hot line and deep fries self)
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Terrine....ah, just a guess, though it's not exotic enough---St. John
Beef...Gordon Ramsay's place.
Dessert...Daniel...
I suck.
Wooopppsssss.....ST JOHN
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Terrine....ah, just a guess, though it's not exotic enough---St. John
Beef...Gordon Ramsay's place.
Dessert...Daniel...
I suck.
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this sounds like redneck sous vide.
Sous vide? And what makes it redneck? The ziplock bags?
As for the three hours, white asparagus isn't any tougher than green asparagus is it?
Yeah, the ziplocks make the thing redneck. Ask Achatz if he's doing his sous vided caramelized dairy thing in a ziplock and you're sure to get a mind ful. I for one love rednecks, so don't take it as a slam.
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cut 1 spear into 5 different pieces. Make a different sauce for each piece. should be easy
Ha
What a creative idea Deano!
Sounds like something that my overly creative ex-sous chef would do. It also reminds me of Jean Louis Palladin's tasting of root vegetables. That was pretty cool actually.
Gay Restaurants
in Food Traditions & Culture
Posted
my aren't we getting all Village Voice....