Chazzy

As lon as she goes to San Crispino for gelato she'll be alright. It's near the Trevi fountain so it's not like she'll be going out of her way to get there and they have the best gelato I've had in Italy, the fruit flavors are especially good.

Interesting, hadn't been to Lucca in awhile partly because the smoke always bothered me there. Still, I can't imagine restricting it ot the bar in a small place like that could make too much of a difference, at least the smoke would be less frequent I guess.

I think there was actually a law that required completely seperate ventilation if there were to be smoking in a restaurant which would basically make most restaurants non-smoking, but if that is the case it's certainly not enforced and I wouldn't expect it to be anytime soon.

Gourmet has an interesting Passover menu that you can find here.

New Laprise project? Do tell... And Dave, take it easy, I think we all definitely appreciate the things you and your partners have brought to the Montreal scene and it's an exciting time with you guys entering into another big project with the Hotel. Good luck to you in the future and keep up the good work, and like you I wish the same for Patrice and Stelio.

Now it's getting interesting.

Not too recently, but it's always been good though the menu doesn't change too often or drastically. I did hear, however, that he has some new stuff on the menu now though the one at chefallens.com seems pretty much the same as I remember. Anyway, it's probably the best restaurant in that general area (not going as far as Coconut Grove, South Beach, etc. 40 min. away).

Pourcels? Sorry Dave, just had to keep going, I look forward to hearing the plans when you can tell us.

I actually took cheekycook's comment to mean that Ward might be opening a new place there, but maybe I was just hoping that was the case...

Just a note to whoever moved this thread from the Montreal forum, this was discussing Morimoto's dinner at Soto in Montreal, not his restaurant in Philadelphia. EDIT by Jason Perlow: Sorry, I moved it out of Canada, not realizing it wasnt about his Philly restaurant.

Jonathan I don't doubt this, but where do you see two dessert flights in the menu you posted? I'm probably just reading poorly today, but I don't see it.

Thanks Chef, very interesting, and by the sound of it succesful as well. I agree with Ryne that this is a great way to really showcase all elements of a restaurant's cuisine fairly and properly, especially at a place like Trio where the desserts and main courses blur the sweet/savory line anyway. Also, does this also mean that the whole menu will be changing at the same time to what Ryne had or something similar?

chefg, if you're comfortable answering, is the course progression with two seperate "dessert" flights as Ryne described something that you are considering or plan to implement for all Tour de Force meals in the future?

Great report Ryne. I must say I'm pretty jealous, just reading about Trio I'm very interested in what they're doing, I have to get there sometime soon. Hopefully Chef Achatz will chime in with some thoughts on the new dishes and/or the feasibility of the beef course.

That's definitely high praise, especially since Steve Klc has written on this board that Jose "saves his best stuff for magazine work, consulting, charity chef events, Beard dinners and friends that impose and ask to get married in his restaurant". It'll be interesting to see if he decides to open a truly high end place in the future. My completely uneducated guess/hope would be that if he sees Grant Achatz at Trio and/or Wylie Dufresne at WD50 have success in this arena he will give it a go himself. If Fat Guy's already proclaiming him one of the best and he's not even offering his best stuff yet we hopefully have a lot to look forward to. Also, if you haven't already I'd reccomend checking out joseandres.com, there's not that much there but the bites section gives a glimpse of what he might be capable of at his most creative.

It's not open yet, seems like April 16th is the date by Patrice's comments here.

I'm not a vegetarian, but I was curious as to whether you are prepared at any given time to prepare a vegetarian menu or if this must be requested in advance (if available at all)? Obviously, I'd assume advance warning would be far better and in this case I was wondering what size menus you might be able to offer, my guess being that a Tour de Force would be impossible, but you never know. Finally, what level of innovation and new techniques would you say such a menu might have as compared to the regular menu, especially considering that you obviously would not have worked on these dishes to the same extent as others? Thanks for your time and great answers so far.

Pierre-Yves Chaput actually makes his own raw milk and goat cheeses and also ages raw milk cheeses from France, both of which he sells at his store. Chaput's very well known here and across Canada and I've even been served one of his cheeses at Gramercy Tavern.

Sounds like a great meal Lesley, when was the last time (if at all) you were at Anise not including the Purcel dinner? Do you feel Racha's cuisine has evolved and improved significantly over her time there? I must admit I haven't been to Anise yet, but had heard good things and been meaning to, now it seems this is definitely one of the top places in the city and I look forward to trying it out. Also I'm looking forward to hearing about your other meal when you have the chance

Or for fish try one of the high end Greek places, Milos, Faros, Molivos, etc. All of them have very fresh fish simply grilled and some other great things like grilled octopus and very good vegetables.

I'd be interested in whether anyone has tried Acqua Al 2 in the Gaslamp district, it's an offshoot of a popular Florence restaurant I've been to that had an especially good primi sampler (pastas and rissoto).

chefg, first of all thank you for this very interesting thread, I think your honest and detailed answers have made us all want to try Trio sometime soon. I believe your pastry chef was at Trio before you so I was wondering, if you feel comfortable answering, if when you came to Trio the owner gave you the option of looking for a new pastry chef or keeping Paula or if it was insisted that she stay. Similarly, how much of the staff are carryovers from before you were chef and how have these people, Paula included, reacted to the very different and modern cuisine you brought? Would you say some were skeptical (as Mario Batali says his staff was with olive oil gelato), did they find some things difficult or were they generally very enthusiastic and interested in your cuisine and techniques? Finally, have all your staff had your techniques and philosophy explained to them as we're having the pleasure of now?

Patrice, would I be right in assuming that you will also be incorporating vegetables into your desserts as I know you have taught/spoke on this subject in the past? If so, could you possibly give a couple of examples of this (though not necessarily ones that will be featured at Les Chevres)? Thanks...

Along the same lines Stelio, will any appetizers be meat or fish based or will the menu bypass the salmon/tuna tartar and foie gras that every restaurant seems to have these days (not that they're bad, in fact I love both when well done)?

Well now it seems Lesley didn't have to hide the chef's name in today's Gazette, either way good publicity for you guys. Good luck and I look forward to your opening.