jogoode

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Yesterday, I got to take off from work for a few hours at the last minute and had lunch at Le Bernardin with Bond Girl. I was happy to see the room almost full when we sat down, at 12:30. I was the only one there in a five-dollar blazer with big, gold buttons. Ripert was shaking hands in the dining room, and when I left he was sitting and chatting at a table. Lunch started, as it had the two other times I'd been to LB, with toasted bread and salmon rillettes, which I could have eaten all day. Before only one of my three lunches, the second one, did they serve an amuse -- a great one of thumbnail-sized pieces of fried squid, mentioned earlier in the thread. No amuse this time. Bond Girl: HAMACHI TARTARE Topped with Wasabi Tobiko; Ginger-Coriander Emulsion I would never have ordered this dish, but I'm glad she did. Like most tartares, this was a cylindric pile of chopped fish. The wasabi tobiko, which I usually dismiss as kitschy when I see it on a menu, delivered texture in sweet, bracing pops. The ginger-coriander emulsion came, I think, by way of a light mayonnaise beneath the fish. Excellent yellowtail. Me: BAY SCALLOP-SEA URCHIN Marinated with Lime and Extra Virgin Olive Oil: "Ceviche Style" In my experience, the raw apps at LB come in much smaller portions than the "lightly-cooked" apps. I could have finished my dish in two bites, but I took it slowly, constructing perfect little bites of scallop, thick cut to retain its texture, lobes of urchin, microscopic diced tomato, and a few slivers of red onion. The lime and olive oil was combined to silky effect, and the lime didn't overwhelm, as it does in so many ceviches around town. If I could have had a meal composed only of those tiny portions, I'd would have happily stayed through the dinner service, constantly nibbling. I had been dreaming for a year about the dish of urchin pasta with warm urchin and caviar that they serve, but I couldn't bring myself to pay the $50 supplement. Extra Course: Ravioli of Argentinean Shrimp and Wild Mushrooms Foie Gras-Truffle Sauce I've eaten this dish every time I've been to LB: the first time I ordered it, the second someone at my table ordered it, and here it was again. I get a little star struck when I eat dishes like this -- truffles do that to me. I can say that the dish was well-executed each time: the pasta had been cooked perfectly, the sauce was rich but did not overwhelm the flavors of the shrimp, the shrimp themselves cooked just through, never chewy. Bond Girl said the dish was good but a little flat. I see her point. I think a little more salt on the ravioli -- to be sure, it was not bland -- would have cut the richness of the sauce, added another dimension of flavor, and encouraged the cilantro and mushroom in the ravioli, which were welcome during my first taste of the dish, about nine months ago, but were not as clear this time. Sorry to ramble, but this was the first time I had gotten to try the same dish more than once in a four-star. Bond Girl: SKATE Poached Skate Wing with Lemon Brown Butter; Tangy Carrot-Lemon Broth and Butternut Squash I wasn't so sure about this dish as I ate it and when I thought about it after the meal I decided it was truly disappointing. My dad had skate on my second visit and it was great, in brown butter with capers alongside "braised lettuces." Yesterday, it was encircled by funny balls of butternut squash and had poured around it a not-very-tangy carrot sauce, possibly with coconut in it. The skate was cooked well, but the dish did not excite. Me: WILD ALASKAN SALMON Barely Cooked Salmon on a Bed of Red Wine Braised Leeks; Black Truffle-Butter "Vinaigrette" Ask me what is my least favorite fish. Go on, ask: salmon. I can never decide what I want at these damn restaurants. Everything sounds great. But sometimes, impulsively, I order the thing I think I'm least likely to love. I do, though, love raw salmon, so I thought that barely cooked, this salmon had potential. It was one of the best dishes I've ever eaten. This was the first dish I've had at LB that was aggressively salted. The salmon was warm, cooked enough to shed its resistant texture but not nearly enough to flake: the two pieces were still a vivid orange-pink. The truffle vinaigrette was nicely acidic, the leeks tender and sweet. Desserts (we were given a sampling because Bond Girl knew someone in the kitchen. Ditto for the extra course): CHOCOLATE Warm Chocolate Tart with Melting Whipped Cream and Dark Chocolate Sauce ALMOND-PEAR Warm Baked Almond Cake; Marinated Pear Salad and Pear William Sorbet YUZU Yuzu Lemon Tart and Ginger Parfait topped with a Thin Caramel Tuile The yuzu and the chocolate I had had before. Both are very basic, and very good. The almond-pear, which I thought at first was almond-green apple, was awesome. On my first visit, I thought the service unfriendly, or at least a little cold. Nothing specific gave me that impression, it was a general feeling, but my subsequent visits have corrected it. The service is unintrusive; it included nothing gratuitous. This meal was special because it was the first meal after which I got a tour of the kitchen! I had never seen the kitchen of a restaurant, and I was surprised at how small it was and how many people were stuffed inside. I also saw the relatively new kitchen (2 years old) that serves the private rooms upstairs. I met a few sous chefs and Ripert. What a day! And all this in my horrible, horrible blazer...

What was the "sour and spicy vegetables" like? How was it served?

Hey, come on, JJ, be brave! If you find yourself in that situation again, just lean over and talk to him. He's just the kind of person we want here! (Well, one of the many kinds). I've had great conversations about the finer points of Detroit Coney Islands (hot dogs with "chili" and onions) just because I started talking to a neighboring table (this in NYC and DC). You're right. I missed out! I had decided that I would say something if an appropriate opportunity presented itself, like if both of his companions left the table at once, or if there was a break for both of us in the food service. Maybe I'll try to track him down... BJL, you might get away without making a reservation very far in advance. I found out I was getting off early from work and called at 5pm to reserve for 7pm. But that was a Sunday.

uni

I stopped in at Amma last night for dinner. Great, as usual. I sat very near a man working toward his PhD in Food Studies at NYU, or so I overheard. I wondered the whole night whether he knew about eGullet. Didn't want to interrupt his meal and ask. Are you here?

Welcome to eGullet! How was the octopus served?

Hi JJ, I'm JJ. Yours, JJ P.S. Great stuff; keep it coming!

Welcome Cathy-Ann! I had that same chocolate cake the other day and thought its dryness might have been an aberration. I guess not. But their house-made coffee ice cream is very good. I've never been to Caserta Vecchia. What's the cross street?

I got off a bit early from work yesterday and rushed to make it to DiFara's. I was expecting a long line to get in to the small place. I suppose some people -- not me -- think that there are better things to do on a Saturday night, because the place was almost empty; of course the many kosher pizzerias on Avenue J were packed. I was excited to try the square pizza for the first time, because of Sherri's pictures, and was prepared to order an entire pie. But I heard one of the other customers ask for "half a square" and decided to do that, too -- it's good to know that's possible. I ordered my half with pepperoni. When it came out, hot, the cheese was almost liquid and the pizza was spilling oil. I feared for the crust. But it stayed crisp and the pizza was great. The few blobs of fresh mozz melted on top tasted almost like ricotta and parmigiano on top added dimension to the taste. The sauce, though, which sort of combines with the low-moisture mozz, is my favorite part. I hope you all are still planning a trip to Grimaldi's...

I ordered chicken again, because I didn't hear back about the squid. I do wish there were more chiles in the kung bao and a little less Sichuan Peppercorns --if you eat part of the dish as leftovers, the peppercorns dominate and it tastes almost metallic. Today, I did something I thought I'd regret: I ordered for delivery a lunch special. Those lunch special combinations, I figured, would not include anything interesting, but when I order from the menu I end up spending so much money. So I gave in today and decided to try the double cooked roast pork lunch special, which, like when I ordered the red cooking pork with chestnuts, I thought would be like the dish braised pork shoulder at New Jersey's China 46 or Hunan Cottage. Wrong again. I got salty, fatty, bacon-like strips of pork sauted with scallions, big pieces of ginger, and lots of large spicy green peppers. A great dish! Could have been a little spicier, but if I order it again I'll ask.

Thank you all, this helps a lot!

i need to know how to order from Grand Sichuan the kung bao squid Pan recommended and get the "good version". If I order "freshly killed chicken" kung bao, they give me the authentic version, but how can I emphasize that I want this version of the squid. I'm asking for it over the phone...

What type of flour do they use for pasta dough in Emilia Romagna? Or would they use different flour when making dry than they would in fresh pasta? Please excuse any ignorance about the pasta-making process that this question demonstrates

Relative to the Asayoshi, Per se, Rare, etc., Cafe Gray is affordable -- the average dinner there, from what I've read, will cost half as much as the other places (or one-fourth as much as Asayoshi). Does that mean $100 a head instead of $200, or is it worse than that? Something like that. That's why it's only relatively affordable.

Such as it is: http://www.mixny.com What a site!

Relative to the Asayoshi, Per se, Rare, etc., Cafe Gray is affordable -- the average dinner there, from what I've read, will cost half as much as the other places (or one-fourth as much as Asayoshi). And he's a very exciting chef. So not only is it relatively affordable, it's a relative bargain.

One of the many articles on the Time Warner building and its restaurants mentioned that Kunz would serve at Cafe Gray a dish similar to one he had served at Lespinasee. Now that I think of it, maybe it was a short rib dish. Either way, I now want some suckling pig... aha: "and some classics, like the braised short ribs and mushroom fricassee he did at Lespinasse..." - from the now unlinkable Times article by Florence Fabricant.

I'm glad you brought this up. I'm more excited about eating at Cafe Gray than Per Se, partly because of its relative affordability, partly because someone said he'll serve the suckling pig he served at Lespinasse. From the little I know about him, he seems like a very exciting chef.

And the writing in the review seems a bit different than Burros' last few reviews. More energy, maybe.

Isn't there bacon foam in Asiate's Caesar Salad Soup (I remember FG mentioning it)? And Citarella's online menu lists "Roasted Sea Scallops with Warm Potato Salad, Cabbage and Horseradish Foam."

Does ADNY fill all of its tables every night?

It should be said that everyone has prejudices that they bring with them to the table. Even Steingarten, who set out to rid himself of his aversions and succeeded has biases, I'm sure. Maybe he still turns down ant eggs when he sees them on a menu in Thailand, because he appreciates their flavor, and enjoys them on some level, but doesn't dream about them the way he might dream about a Milky Way. HOWEVER, when your preferences stop you from trying a particular food, it simply makes it hard for many readers to relate to the reviewer. That said, I understand that Ms. Burros is in a special situation, and has done a fine job. I think what the critics of Burros are taking issue with -- or at least what I am taking issue with -- is the general practice of avoiding a particular food, which, perhaps, is not entirely apprpriate for this thread. No one is asking, Steven, for And all contribute to my respect for her as a journalist. I suppose all I should have said is that learning of her aversion to something I enjoy makes it hard to relate -- not hard to trust -- her reviews.

Celeste, great pasta -- some homemade, some imported from Artisinal producers. $9-11 each.

Hasn't this place only been around for a month? That's early to review a place, right?