stefanyb

66 Puff piece in The NYTimes tomorrow.

Yes! Have you had experience with it? What do you know about it?

WILL EVERYONE PLEASE RECONFIRM THEIR ATTENDANCE AND STATE EXACTLY WHAT THEY'RE BRINGING I'll be doing this a few times

I've had a particularly interesting maki roll at Mizu Sushi, NYC that is called a spicy scallop roll. It contains raw scallop, tempura crumbs, spicy sauce and is rolled in a wonderful soft seaweed wrapper much lighter in color than regular nori and more pliable. It seems to almost be translucent. It definitely is trans-lucious. Anyone know about this?

I'll be doing this a few times

Perhaps 4" in length? If it's 4" in diameter, then it's a lobster in shrimp's clothing. You know, when I wrote that I said to myself that someone was going to call me on it. What I meant was that when the little critters curl up on themselves the resulting circle had a diameter of about 4". Okay, okay, I must remember to be more exact. Me bad.

Oh, I just want to add that we each had a marinated, in yogurt and spices, tandooried shrimp that was perhaps four inches in diameter and succulent beyond description. Didn't want to forget that!

Yes, yes, those small breads, oooh. One with onions another with, perhaps, spinach? It felt like having a private chef. The boar chops were superb, prepared to just the right level of doneness and oh so juicy. The kulfi was in a citrus soup, I loved how the bitter citrus played off the sweetness of the kulfi. A wonderful end to a stupendous meal.

I'm so happy you wrote this part. When I was in the South of France I asked a few people how to pronounce Les Halles and in the South only I was told it was lay ahlluh with the last syllable deaccentuated.

One eGulleter and five hangers-on were wildly fortunate in snagging a table for six, Saturday evening at Diwan. To say we were treated royally would be an understatement. Our table was visited numerous times by various members of the staff including the Maitre d' and twice by the charming and talented Hemant Mathur, Diwan's incredible chef. Some of our group, not being eGulleters , had not been exposed to high-end Indian cooking and were literally blown-away by what was served. Hemant came to our table and I reminded him of the dishes we had had at the banquet and what had impressed me most (a hard choice) and asked him to do something similar but with much less food. He served us bel poori, samosas, spinach-lentil cakes, wild boar chops, lamb chops, grilled shrimp, biryani rice (I don't remember the exact name) with a nan covering that had to be broken into like a pot-pie, shredded fried okra, all kinds of breads (fabulous), raita, and a few vegetable dishes, one with chick peas, all of which were perfectly spiced and wonderful. For desert a very caramelly kulfi. We had three bottles of Peachy Canyon Zinfandel and stumbled out onto the sidewalk two and one-half hours later with giant smiles on our faces. Thank you so much Hemant for your marvelous hospitality and thanks too to you, Suvir, for all of your help especially at this particular time.

I'll be doing this a few times

WILL EVERYONE PLEASE RECONFIRM THEIR ATTENDANCE AND STATE EXACTLY WHAT THEY'RE BRINGING

Which reminds me of something that I experienced years ago after meeting up with a young couple on a flight to Heathrow. We proceeded to share a car into London and since it was about four in the morning, London time, we all went for a cup of coffee. I literally did a spit-take when they ordered coffee and toasted "English muffins".

I've had the cioppino at Tadich Grill. Simply the best including the toast they serve it with. I love that place. I'll even consent to wait for a seat.

Hey, this was a real question.

Okay. So what's the correct pronunciation of Les Halles? Layz- oll ? or Lay- Oll? or Lay-Olluh? Tony, help!

plus: Jakubc Mazal Ellen Ranitidine Everyone must bring something, preferrably handmade yeast bread. If not, then something else that is appropriate to this gathering. The event is getting closer! Its very exciting to think that so many eGullet luminaries will be present and the news of the day is Awbrig will be sending bread also. So there'll be bread from: London California Chicago and NYC, of course. Soon I'll PM everyone the address.

This is going to be at Madison Square Garden, no less. I've started making my placards already

Great art may, or may not be a matter of opinion, but it's certainly more about idea than technique. The technique may have to be good enough to carry forth the idea, but it's a means more than an end. Great food however, just needs to taste great. Steve- I don't agree, as you might have guessed. There is a vast difference between great technique applied in a special way and great art. Of course no food made for the primary purpose of consumption can be great art but if we limit this discussion to art, technique is only tangential to the merit of a piece of art. I'm not saying anything you don't already know and agree with. Great art is art whose ideas have influenced other artists. How it is perceived by the viewing public is the cultural aspect of its creation. The opinion part is the sticking point in any argument like this because, oftentimes, the ideas that are communicated by the work are not absolutely clear and so the discussion as to what they are begins. Furthermore, there are instances where great technique is the kiss of death for the work. Bux- You're beginning to sound like Jim Leff with his deliciousness is deliciousness mantra. Yes, great food has to taste great but, at least for me, I wouldn't say JUST has to taste great. But, yes, I certainly would agree that great art is more about idea than technique. As a matter of fact, seeing someone other than me write that here makes me mist up with pleasure.

Well, we always know about the crackpot part. (Sorry, couldn't resist) I thought she meant he was good at spotting celebrities who were crackpots. I think Stella meant crackerjack celeb spotter and I'm not so sure about the Robert Goulet spotting anyway.

Wilfrid, you do mean Waters, don't you?

But EVOO has minute pieces of the olive still in it and they burn very easily. The beauty of EVOO is that it was never heated. Once its heated its no longer EVOO really. Why would you put it in the pan at all?

Having not been to London in quite a few years and actually never really deeply knowing it, I must say that my comments are based more on, I suppose, general , probably prejudiced, feelings. Be that as it may, I do not remember seeing any appreciable numbers of interracial couples in the streets of London. Of course, thats just anecdotal experience. Just walk the streets of NYC. There isn't a combination of skin tones per couple you won't see if you keep walking around on any given day. Try riding the subway, which, I might add, is mostly fabulous, fast and cheap. Consider just the sheer numbers of people who positively interact every day and their diversity. This is a let it all hang out city and yet I witness moments of shared kindnesses all the time. I'm not saying 100% of the time but often. And I'm no Pollyanna, believe me. Of course, when I've been in London I've been a tourist and I did find people on the street quite nice, but I didn't see the warmth and kindnesses I often see here and I did feel a certain look down ones nose quality in lots of places. The experiences I had included a gentleman, when asked to blow his cigar smoke the other way because I was sick with the flu said Absolutely Not. All this amounts to not very much, I suppose, but food-wise, friendliness-wise and affordability-wise, for me, its no contest. (of course, I'm prejudiced)

I may have posted this here in the past but humor me........ In the 70's(I think), I saw the film "Babette's Feast" and then ate the same feast at Petrossian right after. There was one dish I particularly remember, something Sarcophagus where one used a spoon to eat the brains of a small bird, I don't remember which kind, much like a soft-boiled egg. It was a decadent experience, not to speak of creepy.

Bring me a bucket