Busboy

i'm not sure if you're directing that question to me, but it's easy to decide on food and wine and then just order the wine. when it comes to the table, order the food. ← That's a good strategy. Asking the waiter not to fire the first course until the wine arrives works. I agree with your early post about pacing the meal yourself...too often you end up with waiters hovering over you waiting for food orders whan they haven't even brought a cocktail over yet or flinging courses out one after the next, without allowing enough time to savour each one. Dammed uncivilized.

Hmmm. I don't see what's wrong with the wine sitting out for a few minutes. I'm exactly the opposite -- I go batshit if the wine doesn't get to the table before the food. It's a bit less of a problem if you're going really high end, and are working with both a sommelier and a server but, generally speaking, your waiter can't be both in the bar/cellar getting your wine and in the kitchen getting your food at the same time. In addition, the server had more control on the timing of the wine, especially on a busy night. But really, if it's a problem, just tell the waiter, in a polite rather than demanding voice: "you know what I hate? I hate it when the wine gets to the table before the food," and he or she will do their best to make sure it doesn't happen. (I was in Miami once, at a very swank joint, and had the equal and opposite of that conversation with my waiter. And when the food came out first, I suggested I was disturbed, and they made everything very, very right).

Re: the Platt book, what caught my eye was not that one didn't get up during the meal, but -- as I recall -- that it was a bit of a faux pas to visit the WC during the entire course of the evening, from apero to the infamous orange juice. Indeed, I believe that she says at some point that when straightening for guests, the French don't even worry about the loo, as no guests will see it. On the broader subject of manners, I've always found the French -- like pretty much everyone else -- are pretty happy with anyone who smiles, makes an effort to be polite and doesn't insist on things being done the way they are "back home."

Bisquick pancakes and waffles are terrible. But, if you're wasted enough, the coffee cake is great. The best thing to do, though, is to get yourself a dutch oven-type thing, fill it with peaches (fresh, if you're a yuppie, canned if you're a Boy Scout insane enough to backpack canned peaches and a dutch oven into the wilderness) some personalized mix of sugars and cinnamon, throw a layer of Bisquick on top and bake yourself a cobbler. Idiot-proof. Delish. Especially served warm with homemade ice cream.

Yeah, Bouchon has been a thought but, on the other hand I cook that stuff at home -- often from the Bouchon cookbook -- and my "regular" is a French Bistro (and I've been to a couple in France). Not that I don't believe that Bouchon is better than all those places (though our home-cooked stuff is quite swell) but it might be fun to get a little further off the reservation. Speaking of reservations, is Bouchon already so booked up that contemplating a res for next Saturday night is absurd, anyway?

The service feels annoying more because the people running it feel like leeches than because there's anything wrong with it. But really, they're just pikers, ten-percenters, under-assistant West Coast promotion men or whatever. And I'd pay good money to get a reservation to Per Se on my next trip to New York. Any attempt to make a reservation there is such a pain in the ass that I'd gladly pay to have it reduced. But, what I really wanted to say, is why don't restauranteurs like Keller take the law of supply and demand and just auction off every table every night? This is the menu, this is the minimum bid, and you must include wine? Top bidders get first choice of table time, every pays up front with a credit card, and the free market triumphs.

JFK once famously described Washington DC as a city of "Northern hospitality and southern efficiency." It sounds like our restaurant industry has at least become a little more southern, hospitality-wise, than New York's. Though I have had enough run-ins with restaurant staff and general pomposity to find the article pretty funny. I remember one waiter at a fine Italian place here who clearly implied that the chef himself had caught that nights branzino (-ini?) with his own bare hands, and later sized us up for many seconds as though determining if we were worthy of the cheese course. And a good friend just complained that a beloved half-'hood, half-fine dining restaurant had gone all-tasting, all the time, food was taken in hushed, worshipful silence, and the waiter had used a Louisville Slugger as a suppository. Maybe, once again, DC is following New York's culinary lead.

It's been a long while since my gig at Williams-Sonoma, so spot-welding may have improved, but I used to look at those ridiculously expensive welded Cuisinart brand pans we sold and thank my lucky stars that we'd had the sense to buy riveted stuff. I am large, clumsy and very hard on things: computers, bicycles, whatever -- I break them. I want a pot that even I can't fuck up and I don't trust those cheesy little welds for a second. And, as a former professional dishwasher (my wife says the one thing I do artfully and efficiently is clean the kitchen), I guess I don't find it hard to clean the little buggers. Just takes a little fingernail action.

Colorado Farmers Markets

While I'm there, can you send a couple of pounds of tarbais over to my hotel COD? I got some cassoulet cooking coming up... Local places are good because I always like to hang with locals. (A particularly interesting experience ion Puerto Vaillarta from where I just returned. Not many other Americans at the cockfights). And because sometimes you just want to have a comfortable lunch and not a nine-course feast.

Don't miss the Vouvray in the Touraine! Love the stuff! ← The sweet Vouvray iw well worth trying too. Quite subtle. I had not heard of it until I tried it there; you'll find it in a winery called "Champion". As far as I can remember, it is in a mountain cave. In fact many of the caves are used for this purpose as the conditions are ideal. Following the wine route is fun if you are interested, but nothing like the fireworks of Burgundy or Bordeaux. It's a good spot for goats' cheese too. With all the chateaux, the Loire is enchanting and very romantic. It looks like you have planned a lovely trip. I'd love to hear how you get on. ← If you're in the sweet Vouvray part of the world, try as much Savennieres as possible. One of the best wine values in the world (so sez Robert Parker, not just me ) and not well known at all. A Chenin Blanc-based wine, I believe, which also comes in a sweet variety, though I prefer the regular (sour? savory?) style.

Ended having drinks and a nosh at the new art museum -- excellent temporary/contemporary exhibit by a pair of local collectors, decent tuna tartar (but kick-ass considering it was an art museum restaurant). The we wandered over to Luca D'Italia for a decidedly mixed meal. The weirdest thing was that they had one of those vanilla scented candles stinking up the whole place. I mean, they're offering a truffle menu against the backdrop of an aromtherapy joint? I didn't take notes but the overall impression was fine but inconsistent. The truffles were luscious, some of the plates were vastly oversalted, service was excellent -- altogether we had a lovely evening.

I would suggest Eggs Benedict in honor of that traitorous bastard Bob Irsay who literally moved the Colts out of Baltimore without warning in the middle of the night.

Agree, and a in fact have heard this treatment suggested by local beef legend Michael Landrum, who now has two steakhouses in the Washingtonian's Top 100 list. Not being a Canadian boy, though, I've never heard Schwartz's or Lester's and so use -- gasp -- McCormicks. By the third time you've done it, it takes about 3 minutes to make a Bernaise sauce and nothing makes you look quite so cool to your guests as whipping up a steak Bernaise with one hand behind your back, as it were. Plus, it tastes grreat. One night I got a little trashed before dinner and added finely chopped capers and cornichons. I'm sure there's an official French name for this variation, but we just call it "lumpy Bernaise." When making a Bernaise for the first time, always be prepared with about six times as much tarragon on hand as the recipe calls for. I don't know why, but they never call for nearly enough. Since you add it at the end, you don't have to sweat the exact amount and can just add to taste. This is better for a strip or something a little more austere than a rib-eye, so that no one actually keels over from a cholesteral OD at the table. It also should be served with some variation on the fried potato thing, to mop up the excess. Note that you can make Bernaise with red wine, if you accidentally drink all the white wine before dinner, but the resulting color can be aesthetically challenging. For a skirt or an onglet or a flank, we like to make a compound butter out of roasted garlic and anchovie. And butter, of course. And, if there's a couple of tablespoons of beef stock in the house, you can cook it down to a goo with red wine, roasted garlic and anchovies (again -- I may be in a rut) and throw in some capers. It's a bit nasty -- but nasty in just the right way.

I think some of you people are just young punks who think they invented everything. I was doing doing fondue with my parents while Nixon was still in power. Potato skins were peaked in '78. I never actually saw spinach mixed with sour cream and onion dip, but it was a Sunday afternoon special in my house back when the Colts playedout of Baltimore and Sonny quarterbacked the 'Skins. Raspberry did make a major appearance in the 80s -- I assumed that they finally bred a breed that couldmake it up from Chile during the winter. $10 Supplemental for the prix fixe when I was working at the swel French place in 1984. Italian was the new French for a bit in the 80s; California cooking came east then --- the whole seasonal produce attitude and that sort of thing -- and mango salso got big. And, on the more swell level, all those reduction sauces now touted as light and modern replaced Bernaise circa 1981. Free range chickens, sushi, expensive (and worth it) Indian food... Jeez -- who could forget sun-dried tomatoes? I liked skinny ties and REM, but when Kim saidt he food was better than the music and the fashion, she was damn right in one way (speaking of fashion, remember big shoulders andm en's jackets in the colors of 70s appliances? Avocado and burnt pumpkin?). Things were moving in the right direction, real fast. Outside the silly stuff (New Coke) things were getting a boatload better. You couldn't much buy fresh herbs other than parsley and maybe some thyme in a DC grocery store in 1980. 25 years later they're still a lot more important than foams and airs are going to be in 2030.

It's on my list, and as I read through it I will mourn the idea that somehow there isn't a good way to reconcile the legitimate complaints on so many kitchen people, and the possibility of making great food.

At the risk of sounding ignorant, I'd like to point out that a good number of French kitchens (in France) in were/are unionized and they seem to cook pretty good. One could also suggest that Atlantic City -- for all its charms-- has never been abd is not likely to becomea fine dining destination. Not that unions can't be a pain.

You know, I love all things French, but mignonette sauce annoys me. I don't know why they bother...seems all thin and nasty. Actually, the best thing to eat with oysters is oyster crackers. But not crumbled on top, or anthing. Actually, if you did the crackers in a little 'Murken cocktail sauce and then hit oysters with straight lemon, you kind of make the the highbrow and the lowbrow folks happy and, I think, cover all major food groups. If you have a beer with it, that is.

Don't forget Tuna Carpaccio. And here in DC, Thai food first swept through. While Sichuan faded away.

Dude: Nouvelle Cuisine Cajun.

Looks like I'll have one night in Rutherford -- three, really, but two will be working -- and would much appreciate any suggestions anywhere in nearby both for dinner or for wineries to pop into. I've seen other friends pop back to DC with wines I know we can get here, so onscure is appreciated. And, as the anti-Miles, I bring years of prejudice against Cali Pinots with my baggage (though either they are improving or my palate is ) and will happily drink Merlot (or whatever). Will be travlleing w/ co-workers, so ability to drive six hours for one great meal/vineyard/view is limited by their common sense. Thanks.

True, except that it's spelled "couvert". ← I don't see why I should be able to spell or type any better in English than I do in French.

Is it pumpernickel, or real seeded rye? I love good rye bread and it's surprisingly hard to find. ← seeded rye

I take a great delight in offending purists by slapping my oysters with a good old-fashione d ketchup, horseradish, lemon and Worcestershire sauce. Sometime's, when I'm feeling swell, I'll make a granita by boiling together a little saki, some spiced Japanese rice vinegar and a little chopped ginger. This may offende the purists, too, but it's so darn cool, they're afraid to say anything. And sometimes I'll get all purist on myself and just eat them plain. There's time to eat a lot of oysters in life.

I believe that in French, a "couvert" also refers to the place setting which, of course, is a fine shorthand for a diner, which is how it came into usage in English as piperdown explains upthread.