sammy

Unitl the Termes (Baby Numanthia) showed up on WS Top 100 list, I'd have voted for the Toro region of Spain as being underrated. The prices seem to have gone up considerably since. I also understand that a number of large producers have bought up land as they recognize the potential.

My mistake on the porterhouse steaks. Maybe it's the whole strip steaks I'm thinking of.

Pssst... Porterhouse... $4.99/lb at Stew Leonard's this week. I believe Stew Leonard's uses deceiving ads regarding pricing. They advertise porterhouses at $4.99 per lb and filets at $6.99 per lb but it is typically the price untrimmed. Your heart sinks after watching the butcher remove approximately 1/3 of the steak as it is all fat and the $6.99 then becomes $8.99-$9.99. Still not a bad deal but deceiving nonetheless. As for Lobel's, I was a skeptic. I could not understand and refused to believe that their steak could actually be that much better than others. That was until I ordered a bunch of steaks when they were running their internet special. To this day, the best steak I ever had. As FG says, is it worth the $40? I'm not sure but I'd rather save up my shekels and get one steak from Lobel's rather than two from just about anywhere else. FWIW, I recently bought several porterhouses from Citarella. The price was close to $30 per lb (it was aged) and while excellent, the flavor and consistency did not equal the Lobel's meat.

The day after Christmas, we spent two days in NYC. On the 26th, we noticed there were people waiting on line to get into the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company and TGI Fridays while a number of local establishments were not very busy. We walked into the Morrell Wine Bar in Rock Center late that afternoon and grabbed seats in the bar area without difficulty. We didn't eat but if we did, I'd guarantee we would have had better food and drink than the other establishments mentioned without spending much more money.

My two go to books are: Zuni Cafe Cookbook by Judy Rodgers and Thrill of the Grill by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby Although I regularly cook from several others, I find myself most often going to the two mentioned above as I view most of their recipes with confidence. To me, that says a lot about a cookbook.

Interesting, I was at the Harlem Fairway last week and noticed two different labels for the La Squisita brand of canned tomatoes. One said authentic San Marzano tomatoes, the other said either just italian tomatoes or italian style tomatoes. I'll check the can when I can home. The San Marzano tomatoes were priced higher. I've been happy with the La Squisita brand in the past (my second favorite to del valle (spelling?)). Their tomato paste cannot be beat. Simply spread on bread with a little olive oil is great. I plan on doing a taste test right out of the can next weekend.

Gilbert Cranberg, former editor of the editorial page of the Des Moines register chimes in here in support of Krugman's blasting of George Will in the NY Times last week regarding journalistic ethics. Krugman's comments included: "The real surprise, though, is that two prominent journalists, William Buckley and George Will, were also regular paid advisors to Hollinger. Now, I thought there were rules here. First, if you're a full-time journalist, you shouldn't be in that kind of relationship. Second, whoever you are, if you write a favorable article about someone with whom you have a personal or financial connection — like Mr. Perle's piece on the tanker deal or Mr. Will's March column praising Lord Black's wisdom — you disclose that connection. But I guess the old rules no longer apply." For those unfamiliar with the situation, Will wrote an article in support of media baron Conrad Black not disclosing that he had a financial relationship with him.

Comparing dry aged meat from Lobels and wet aged meat from Food Emporium is ridiculous. The quality of the meat is different from the start which makes the dry aging vs. wet aging debate worthless. Throw in freshness, cryovac, butchering, etc. and there are so many other variables involved.

From Lobel's website: "There are two types of aging: dry aging and wet aging. Dry aging is the choice of the discriminating chef. The wet aging process involves sealing meat in airtight Cryovac bags. Wet aging does less to enhance flavor and tenderness than dry aging. Dry-aged meat is increasingly difficult to find because the process is expensive and time-intensive. During dry aging, the meat's natural enzymes act as tenderizers, breaking down the connective tissue that holds the muscles. At the same time, the evaporation of moisture improves texture. Dry aging continues until a thin coating develops on the meat surface. The coating seals in flavor and juices during aging, and is then trimmed off. Loss of weight results from the evaporation of moisture and from trimming, and both of these processes add to the cost of dry aging meat. "

Small nuance: Although both Morton's and Ruth Chris served "aged beef," I believe they both use "wet" aging instead of "dry aging." Makes for less weight loss and less of that "beefy" taste.

There is no circumstance where you could justify poor behaviour from kids in upscale restaurants but I have to think that the patrons and management of a high-end restaurant would expect a different kind of experience on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day than almost any other day of the year (save for mother's day, father's day and thanksgiving) These days are typically family get togethers. Again, not the behavior is acceptable, but I believe the expectations of management and customers should be lowered on those days.

Can't speak for the one in NJ but I had one of the best steaks I've had this year at Flemings in Las Vegas. Both the ribeye and the strip were excellent. Done perfectly with great taste and texture. The ribeye in particular had that good, beefy taste which seems to be lacking lately. They have a tremendous list of wines by the glass, some overpriced but some real values as well. They also served the wine in better than usual glasses(for steakhouses).

Had a mini winter beer fest tonight with a few friends. Among the six beers we had, two were from Dogfish. The IPA was very good but the chickory stout stole the show. Probably the most complex beer I've ever tasted. The taste and chaacter of the beer changed as it warmed up a bit. Definitely going to pick up some more of the chickory stout. Of the other four which included Red Hook Winterhook, Brooklyn Chocolate Stout, Red Hook Blackhook Porter and Sierra Nevada Celebration, the Brooklyn was the most enjoyable. I've always enjoyed the Blackhook Porter but it seemed completely outclassed by the others tonight. Our goal is to taste as many different beers as there are bowl games. Back to the beer distributor tomorrow.

As Yogi Berra said.... "deja vu all over again." But I guess he also said, "it's not over till it's over." Can't we just re-read the first 26 pages instead of continuing? Unless of course there's some new ground that somehow didn't make it into the 26 pages.

Hit the Daily Double on Saturday: 2 dogs at Super Duper Weenies (one new englander, one californian) and dinner at Pasta Nostra. Agree with Jeff, Pasta Nostra is one of the best restaurants around but the prices are getting out of hand. As Joe Bruno (The Pasta Nazi) has mellowed slightly, the prices have gone through the roof. As an entree, I had ravioli stuffed with ricotta from Italy with bolognese sauce. Maybe 9 or 10 raviolis: $24. My wife had nantucket scallops with a side of pasta: $36. Appetizers in the $12-$14 range for really good but unadorned food served in a storefront setting. I continue to go back, really enjoy the food, then bitch about the prices on the way home. The wines are however a treat.

According to Marcella, yes. She specifically notes the point at which the fat separates from the meat and NEVER skim it. That's where much of that bolognese flavor is and cannot be replaced by fresh olive oil.

Agreed, not much is less kosher than chinese with all of the pork and shellfish. Another fun part of the "going out for chinese" experience was the family dinner ordering. We'd first have to decide how many we were ordering for and go through the "cloumn A" and "column B" routine. Usually involved all sorts of arguments at the table and we inevitably ordered way too much food because if someone's favorite dish wasn't included in the ordering of the family dinner, he/she would order it anyway a la carte and then refuse to share. Plenty of shrimp toast vs. egg roll fights especially. Maybe the lazy susan was the attraction. Whatever happened to the pu pu platter? All of these questions confirm that more study is needed.

Looks good. It's probably just the photography but I would expect it to look more oily. Part of that fat separating from the meat goal discussed above. And you're right, it never makes as much as you think. Lots of "shrinkage" as George Costanza would say.

Does anyone watch Rachel Ray for the recipes?

I agree. There is definitely something to this concept of Chinese on Sunday's. Unless there was some other holiday or event, Chinese on Sunday was almost automatic in my family, except during the summer months when a barbecue was more in order. If it rained on Sunday, there was never even a discussion as to what was for dinner. The only question was whether we were going to go at 5:00 PM or 5:30 PM.

I might be useful, however, as an example of a working food writer who has various relationships with people in the restaurant business. I think you will find that many food writers conceal or downplay those relationships because they feel the public can't handle the truth. I have no such reservations and can, as usual, discuss my personal experiences as well as what I see as industry norms. Marlene, except FG opened himself up to that on page 1. edit to tell you that I forgot to stick my tongue back at you.

I'm not trying to "catch" anyone out. JP asked FG if Michael was related to Doug to which he responded yes, they are brothers. I believed and still do that that should have been disclosed in his rave review of Mix. The only reason FG is on the hot seat is because he is the one that wrote the review, just like Bayless was on the hot seat because he endorsed BK. Not many members seemed to have a problem with making that personal.

That's what I've been saying all along.

All very true and he had always been upfront with that. He was also up front about working with Colicchio on a story while he was at GT. He always speaks highly of GT and I have been to GT several times and have always had a positive experience, very much in line with my expectations after reading FG's reviews. I have never been to ADNY but have no reason to believe his reviews are anything but credible. Whether intentional or not, his relationships in those instances and I'm sure countless others, were disclosed and his credibility was enhanced by doing so. The only reason this thread even exists is because after several FG posts raving about the restaurant and denigrating other NY Restaurant critics for not liking it, we find out that in addition to his liking of Ducasse food, he's signed a new book contract with the chef's brother as his agent. The fact that we were aware him disclosing relationships in the past but for whatever reason him deciding not to in this case, definitely causes people to ask "Why?" Another question would be, and this is not related to a reviewer's bias at all, did FG eat the same food as everyone else at the restaurant or did he eat better because of his relationship? That's still another reason why disclosure is important.

This is not an accusation, simply a possibility in response to your lack of imagination shown in your post above. Say said literary agent has a better success rate pitching books at a particular publishing house. Said agent's brother is chef at a new restaurant. Prospective author would like to hire said literary agent but agent is too busy and not accepting writers that have not previously had any books published. Prospective author gives agent's brother's restaurant rave review. Connect the dots. I'd argue that the above scenario is what some readers might think of when they find out about the relationship some time AFTER reading the review. A reader may ask, why didn't he disclose it upfront? I doubt anyone would think of that scenario if the relationship was disclosed WITHIN or BEFORE reading the review, especially with a reviewer that they had come to trust as objective in the past.