Busboy

Bless you moosnsqrl. I saw this same episode today and wondered the same thing as Blondelle. I love great recipes for inexpensive cuts of meat. Question though, seems like a lot of cloves. Do you think this would dominate the dish? I could always use less, but usually prefer to follow a recipe as written the first time. ← Has anybody cooked this? I think we're eating it tomorrow night, but had a small question -- would you put the meat on a rack inside the pan, or directly on the bottom of the pan. Also, 170 degrees internal seems awfully well done to me -- I'd pull it at 155 and assume that the temp will creep up to 160 0r so as it rests, but I'll listen to others, as I have never roasted a butt before.

I think Dino is a pretty obvious choice -- despite TS's mediocre review, very much the flavor of the month, still -- but I'll let that slide in respect for your pointing us toward the Lobster and Pine Nut dumplings.

I was thinking more along the line of Keller's "Oysters and Pearls" where the pearls are actually tapioca, or the "fettuccini" served at Michel Richard's Citronelle, which uses shredded cuttlefish instead of pasta. So, Toad in the Hole becomes, I don't know, Texas frog legs in a basket of fried shredded potatoes, and Bubble and Squeek is something (mouse? probably not)served in that Iron Horse sparkling wine.

There's Little Penguin brand. My wife and I bought a couple of bottle while out in the Oregon back-country and their Chardonnay was so bad we started calling it Penguin Piss, which has a certain ring to it.

It was my understanding that this was not intended to be a very formal state function because Charles is not (yet) a Head of State, as the media noted ... because the British royal couple was planning their tour here in the States, the President and Mrs. Bush wanted to recognize that and play host to them. Perhaps this is why it was not a "much heralded celebration". Just one possible explanation for the more modest dinner. There were no press events surrounding this trip, nor actual formal discussions in which foreign heads meet the press at podiums with the President ... The much more elaborate event was held in Washington at the British Embassy and was quite, shall we say, celebratory? article and pictures here from Hello Magazine UK with Camilla resplendent in gold lame ... no mention of the food ... alas ... ← Back when I was a waiter, I did a couple of gigs at the Embassy. I hope that, in the years since, "Cool Britannia" has made its way into the embassy's kitchen. Otherwise, the less said about it, the better. Think Steamship Round roasts, boiled potatoes and the like. They always served an excelent claret with dinner, though. The President is rumored to dislike both swank food and formal events, so the simplicity of the menu may reflect his, and the First Lady's (who runs these sort of things) tastes. Perhaps one reason they brought in the new chef was to, as Emerson said, "simplify." The menu for the President's first State Dinner, (here, ) was a more elaborate affair, and included both the dramatic dessert and the influence of the host nation one often sees. It looks altogether more daring to me. Not sure exactly what dishes might be served, but it would have been fun to see some Thomas Keller-esque (he of "oyster and pearls" and "coffee and donughts" that are not what they seem) wit to such Britisj classics as "bubble and squeak" or "toad in the hole."

So, the Post food section has been runnning a new feature called "worth a trip" featuring individual dishes from local restaurnats worth going out of your way to get. The choices so far have mostly been pretty obvious, and pretty close to downtown, as well. So, I'm throwing this out to the masses. What unjustly obscure dish, restaurant, market etc. is "worth the trip?" Please, no usual suspects. I'll start with the Vietnamese "fondu" at Viet Royale in Eden Center. The waiterss sets a portable burner (aka "burner in a box"), on your table, fires it up and then drops a pot of spiced vinegar on the flame. The comes raw beef, sliced thin, onions, basil, and other savory stuffers, etc and steamed rice wrappers. You boil the meat and the onion in the vinegar, using your chop sticks like fondue forks, then roll it up with basil and the other stuffings in the wrappers. Very tasty and -- as with all audience-participation dining -- fun.

Many years ago, FDR fed His Majesty George VI -- the first reigning British monarch ever to visit the U.S. -- on hot dogs, though not at a state dinner.

I haven't any doubt that many of the diners have eaten well in their time. I also have found (again, when I have bumped up against the political elite) that they tend to sacrifice meal time for work, and that they spend a great deal of time at crowded banquets eating bad food. Last night, for example, I ate with a couple of Deans, a few very rich people and a smattering of distinguished political and diplomatic veterans in a private dining room of an elite university. A very swell crowd (they let me in because the organizers were kind enough to feed the staff), but lousy food. I'll bet even Yo-yo (caught him at the NSO the other night) walks back from his rehearsal and calls room service, because his first priority is to play, and between rehearsals, logistics and other concerns he doesn't have much time for fabulous gourmet spread. And, neither he or anyone else goes to a state dinner for the food. And, the menu is a poltical statement. JFK used state dinners to show his sophistication, Jimmy Carter Americanized them to show his folksiness, Reagan went all French to show he wasn't Carter, Clinton got all New American and now Bush does buffalo. Being invited to a State Dinner is totally cool, but don't expect the food to be astounding. To the original point, I would have tried to work a Brit tribute into the menu. The Buffalo thing is cool, though I prefer beef. But, maybe, one of the many wonderful Brit cheeses for the cheese course, or maybe a Buffalo Wellington, just for fun. God knows, you can't serve Brit wine, but maybe a good port after dinner - or a porter before.

Not even this? Stress-free cows ... a good thing ... ← To paraphrase a waiter I once worked with, who was asked for a bottle of "California Burgundy," Camembert, Madame, is from France. (Not that Vermont cheeses aren't worthy of being served at a state dinner.) I suspect you're dead wrong on this. Having scanned the guest list (I am from Washington), worked in politics and minioned to rich people, I'd guess that a good part of their diet is mediocre room service from swank hotels, sandwiches at their desks and steakhouse fare. OK, Nacy and Merv may live well, being Californians and in the entertainment business. But there were a lot of people there who eat at the White House Mess -- presitgious, but not delicious. My occasional glimpses of food at the top have been extremely disappointing.

Keep in mind that, at a state dinner, the food is the least important thing. Being invited is the most important thing, and sitting close to somebody powerful is the second most important thing. It's not so much dinner as ceremony. Also, when serving 130 VIPs more or less simultaneously, I imagine that creating dishes that can be served quickly and efficiently (like those buffalo loins) is the priority, rather than the excellence of the food. ← Can anyone say "wedding?" ← If you've ever had a sit-down dinner at a wedding that was more than tolerable, you're a luckier person than I. I've eaten at swank spreads and worked at swank spreads. Banquet food is banquet food.

And one last thing: there is no such thing as Vermont Camembert.

Keep in mind that, at a state dinner, the food is the least important thing. Being invited is the most important thing, and sitting close to somebody powerful is the second most important thing. It's not so much dinner as ceremony. Also, when serving 130 VIPs more or less simultaneously, I imagine that creating dishes that can be served quickly and efficiently (like those buffalo loins) is the priority, rather than the excellence of the food.

It's not in the neighborhood, but if you eat at, say Montmartre and then jump on the freeway, you can be to Arena in minutes. Similarly, you might be able to make an even quicker dash from MoZU at the Mandarin.

I'd like to see the "worth a trip" get a little more adventurous. What do we have so far: The chips at Palena, the lumpia at Courduroy and now the chicken at the Colorado Kitchen (I forget what the fourth one was). Talk about rounding up the usual suspects -- all within a two-zone cab ride from the Post. Why not the Vietnamese fondu at Viet Royale? How about the pork neck bone and beans at the Hitching Post? How abut the tripe soup at Haydee's?

Quesadilla and beans, with fried potatoes on the side.

Well, a man who pays for dinner automatically gets laid. I mean, that's his right. ← No, it's my right. I expect an expensive dinner *and* I expect to get laid. Otherwise he's history. ← ← So, two six packs of beer and large pepperoni isn't enough anymore?

My feeling was that, if they weren't curing their own hams, it was being done by a neighbor up the road. Very un-corporate, not even a muslin sack with their name on it. Just a country store with lots and lots of pork.

One of the best plates I've ever eaten was in a French 2-star called Le Bateau Ivre, one magnificent baseball-sized sea urchin served with a lime froth of some sort. Extraordinary. If I'd known, I would have skipped the tatsing menu and ordered the plate a la cart -- a lady at the other table had a plate with five of the spiny beasts arranged on it. The first time I ever tried them, again in France, I was served tiny little guys about the sized of golf balls. The guts had been dumped out, abd I was given a demitasse-sized spoon to scrape out the the remaining urchin-sludge on the sides of the shell. Quite tasty, as well, but not very filling. Friends in Greece tell tales about fishing out their own sea urchins and sitting on the balcony, cutting them open and slurping them down straight from the sea, accompanied by sunset and Greek white wine. Once you get paste the weird factor, sea urchinns have an extraordinary and distinctive taste, briny, but sweet, almost fruity, as well, like an oyster only more elegant and concentrated. I don't know if I've ever seen them for sale, retail, in the U.S.

Not an expert, but I'll throw in my 2 cents. First, the best damn country ham I ever ate was bought at a contry store called Laynes, near Lexington, Virginia. No website, but you can call 540-463-7170. It was exquisite stuff, with a velvet texture and a light hand on the salt, so it didn't need to be soaked, as some country hams do. I left in the fridge wrapped in butchers paper for weeks, the only effect being that it seemed to get a little saltier as the moisture continued to evaporate. I believe that Smithfield ham is pretty much the same stuff as country ham, it just has a legal right to use the famous name, but undergoes the same curing process. I can't see the point of buying a baked ham, especially if you're going to shave it atop biscuits (or baked Wellfleets, if you want to have a New England meets the South snack). It will last forever anyway and I prefer the uncooked taste and texture. I like the bone in, for the same reason you do, to make soup eventually. Also, it's just cooler that way. I haven't tasted hams from the other places you mentioned, but let me again suggest making a call to Layne's.

A not-bad way to prepare a pumpkin is to steam a bunch of mussels in white wine and shallots, strain and add some of the juice to the pumpkin guts during the pureeing process, and then spoon the -- de-shelled -- mussels into the soup just before serving.

The gun was, to my knowledge, given to B. Loiseau by a gentleman friend of his. Besides, many people in the countryside are hunters and own guns. Some of them may be chronically depressed and hunters at the same time. ← In "The Perfectionist," Rudolph Chelminski's recently published biography of Loiseau, Cheminsky writes that the shotgun was a gift from Mme Loiseau. I suspect, however, that a country boy like Loiseau had others others at hand, whoever gave him the one he chose to use in the end.

Just a quick note on the translation -- only posted because it's very relevant to the food. Elaborée in that sentence doesn't mean "elaborate". It means "developed", or "built from" or something to that effect. The sentence means, "Invited to taste their cooking, which has been developed from products and little secrets of the immediate area, ... ". In other words, the food at chez Norbert could be very simple. This is a great thread, I hope we can all add our favourite "bonnes addresses". ← Argh -- another "faux ami." just when I got assister and attender down pat. More on topic, let me throw out my one potentical contribution, in Vacqueyras, in the Southern Cotes du Rhone wine region. There's a little cafe called RESTAURANT DU COURS, Cours Stassart, 04 90 65 87 08 that sits under the plane trees, across the street from the bell tower that serves fine and inexpensive grilled meat in a perfect setting. Vacqueyras is an old walled town of 1000 souls, and the cafe sits atop what was once the moat surrounding the wall, on what is now a narrow street lined with houses and shops. About the time the bell tower strikes seven, Le Patronne ambles out, throws a little cardboard, some wood and some grapevine cuttings into the grill they've rigged up in in front of his place, and the grilling begins. It's the French version of mesquite grilling, I suppose, quite distinctive and not for everyone. There's a lot of good, cheap wine to go with it, mostly grown within walking distance of where you're sitting. They don't speak much English, but I like that. A lovely place to hide from the hustle of monied tourists (though a few show up) and wine that you have to "taste" as opposed to drink (you'll get enough of that in the tasting rooms during the day). BTW, if you're in Provence, the very helpful Provence Beyond website offers more than a few tips on local eating, classified by town, often at the bottom of the page.

I'm not going skinny dipping anywhere that's far enough north to see the northern lights. Shrinkage is not romantic. Nor is hypothermia (except for that sleeping bag cure).

As I find myself in the very early stages of planning a trip to France for early next summer --somewhere between Avignon and Lyon, I suspect -- I look forward to seeing this thread fill out, and perhaps to adding a contribution or two myself someday. If you don't mind, I'm going to link my thread to this one, as well, so I can find them both more easily when I need them.

Charles, Hello..... Both Van Gogh and Andy Warhol did portraits of women and those can be found in many museums of modern art. Wouldn't it help the person looking at those portraits if they knew just a wee little bit about the lives of those artists? Or, in a restaurant, knowing just a tad of knowledge about the differences in flavor and texture between a T-Bone and an entrecote steak? I hate to sound pompous but ignorance is not bliss. It is simply ignorance and in the end that robs us of the ability to gain full enjoyment from either a painting, a steak or a glass of wine. ← I think there's room for people want to just walk into the gallery and say "nice painting." You and I may choose to get to know the backstory better but, in a world that places many demands on most people, requiring homework of anyone who wants to quaff a glass of wine or look at a painting or catch a bit of Shakespeare on Friday night seems a bit puritanical. Sure, the cheap anti-intellectualism of the VV ads is juvenile, but who cares. Not our problem. People destined to like wine will start with the swill -- I remember the Mateus Rose and Blue Nun of my own misspent youth, not to mention the Gallo Pink Rose -- and move up at their own pace. More worrying to me is that approaching wine-drinking as though it were an an academic discipline intimidates and puts off people, by making it seem that simply enjoying the stuff is somehow an inadequate; as though have to know soil types and weird adjectives to prove that they're worthy. And while what wine knowledge I've garnered over the years (stipulating that I am in not in the same league as you or many others on eGullet) makes it more likely that I'll choose a bottle of wine I enjoy, it doesn't in itself make the wine I'm drinking any more enjoyable. Ignorance may not be bliss, but neither is knowing harvest dates, brix, precise blends or how long the juice sat on the lees. I'm sure I'd be just as happy if I knew nothing about wine save that I liked it, but had you working at my corner liquor store putting the appropriate bottle in my hand as dinner approached, as I would be knowing as much about wine as you do and picking it out myself. Happier, probably, because then if my guests made faces I could shift the blame away from myself. Of course, the Cat in the Hat said, "it's fun to have fun, but you have to know how," so maybe I've got this all wrong.