gruyere

Is anyone else having trouble accessing the website www.montrealenlumiere.com

My suggestions would include: Poissonnerie Nouveau Falero 5726 Ave. Du Parc Avenue Montreal, QC H2V4H1 (514) 274-5541 La Mer corner of Rene Levesque and Papineau As far as proximity to the West Island, Pecheur du Marche is an excellent choice. Contrary to the implication in the name, it is not at Marche de la ouest but is on des Sources, close to the market. 'Big Al' runs a very good business where you won't find the diversity of products available at la Mer, but you will find sushi grade tuna and other fine fish.

Is the English version already available or expected date of ???

Cod tongues are indeed a local favourite in Newfoundland. Like many uniquely local products, found virtually anywhere in the world, it helps to have an intimate knowledge of the subject. A key consideration when it comes to cod tongues is the size. Small is often beautiful in the food world and this holds true in the case of cod tongues, particularly if the gelatinous side of the product is off-putting. The small ones (not much larger in diameter than a toonie) tend to fry up nicely and are almost devoid of any gelatinous texture. Of course as mentioned above in the oyster example (and one could potentially add seared foie gras to the debate) there are those who appreciate the gelatinous inside that is so unappealing to many others. The pork cracklings that usually accompany the dish are known locally as scrunchions. Expertly prepared ‘tongues’ of the right size, accompanied by Robuchon style creamy mashed potatoes and steamed asparagus all topped with a decadent quantity of scrunchions is most certainly a world class taste treat…. albeit like a good, very dry martini, one that may be an acquired taste.

I sincerely hope Michelin goes ahead with the Bay area project. The very idea that they are contemplating such a guide may serve to dispel the naysayers who would have us believe that there is no place for them on this side of the Atlantic. Michelin is likely to provide a better information source for non-Americans. Zagat, for me, is little more than a phone book, but I think it serves the American public reasonably well. I would place my confidence in Michelin, but I don’t consider Zagat as much more than a self fulfilling prophecy of the latest cheerleaders, as knowledgeable or inept as they may be. When last in Paris, I was discussing restaurant choices with my hotel concierge. Mistakenly assuming my Canadian manner of speech to be American, he held his hand over the Zagat guide and said something like “Do you want a restaurant that would appeal to Americans?” and moving his hand to the Michelin guide said “Or do you want a good French restaurant?” This may come across as the quintessential French snub but I can assure you he was simply trying to be helpful, seeking out my desires and trying to match them with an establishment that would meet with my approval. It is difficult to compare one to the other. They are so different as to make comparison a bit of an ‘apples to oranges’ exercise. They are both guides with a common subject under review but their approaches are so different that they may as well be considered entirely different products.

These lists are generally a frivolous, somewhat meaningless exercise, especially when CNBC or other like organisations take a cursory glimpse of what is on the landscape. The omission of Paris is likely an attempt to appear original. In fact what it does is add further to the ignorance factor. This from the March 2006 edition of Gourmet magazine: To quote editor in chief Ruth Reichl "This is Gourmet's sixth single city issue. Devoting ourselves to exploring Paris, Rome, San Francisco, New York and London was wonderful, but spending time in Montreal was perhaps most exciting of all." Another editor said "This is not just a charming city with terrific food. And it's not just fun to be here. What's really great about Montreal is how much hope it gives you for the future. These people have really figured out how to live." I’ll take a dedicated food journalist working for a respected food magazine over the opinion of CNBC, thank you very much.

Les Caprices de Nicolas??? or ???

Dansereau traiteur did a very nice job at the recent Royal Victoria cocktail. The food was very good and nicely presented ( a little ‘Thomas Keller ish’, but they aren’t alone in that regard). Contact Yves Levesque 514 735 6107. I have been to a couple of functions where Otago has done a wonderful job but the events were much smaller than 400, so I’d check to see what their capacity is.

I am not sure I agree with that. I am going to crib a number of positions that others on this thread have supported in the past. Where in New York can you find a bistro such as l'Express or many other Montreal establishments where the majority of customers speak French, where you can eat legal raw milk cheeses and local foie gras to your hearts content and do so from 12:30-14:30 if you want an eat and run lunch or do the same thing from 22:00-24:00 or any other of the time for that matter. To quote editor in chief Ruth Reichl "This is Gourmet's sixth single city issue. Devoting ourselves to exploring Paris, Rome, San Francisco, New York and London was wonderful, but spending time in Montreal was perhaps most exciting of all." Another editor said "This is not just a charming city with terrific food. And it's not just fun to be here. What's really great about Montreal is how much hope it gives you for the future. These people have really figured out how to live." Don't forget this is a New York based staff. You see more is not normally better. A food culture has to come from the people. The brilliant chefs, staff, entrepreneurs and other hard working personnel simply find a way to nurture, expand, reconfigure and facilitate the innate desires of those they serve. Brilliant chefs creating incredibly expensive meals for the expense account crowd does not necessarily create a desirable food culture. Get this issue. It makes for very interesting reading.

Does anybody have a recommendation on where to buy black cod?

I couldn't agree more. Foie gras producers are generally smaller, non-factory style enterprises where the animals are permitted some sense of freedom and an outdoor existence. The number of birds used to produce foie rounds to zero when compared with the numbers that are caged by the corporate factories to produce boneless, skinless chicken breasts wrapped in non-recyclable plastic; or even more repulsively to manufacture such vile products as chicken nuggets. At least the duck gives up its life for something delectable and magnificent. The cowardly mission of certain groups, particularly lawmakers, to appear to be concerned about animal rights by banning foie gras is perplexing when they pander to the corporations that create much more hardship for many more animals.

I agree that it is utterly inexcusable for US restaurants to serve wines from their own country. As opposed to restaurants in, say, France.... ← It is actually quite commendable to serve wines from your own country. I did not mean to imply otherwise. My point is that outside of most major centers the diner does not have much of a choice to consider say French, Italian or Spanish wines all of which I personally prefer over Californian. Admittedly this is a personal preference and somewhat of a sweeping generalisation. I have found wait staff in most non-major US cities to be profoundly lacking in the knowledge of wine from anywhere but California. In general I think there is some confusion in this thread wherein fast service is regarded as good service. For my money I prefer relaxed and knowledgeable service. This style is much more prevalent in Europe and I would suggest that Montreal/Quebec could be considered as adhering to this custom. Corporate in-out turning of tables is not my idea of dining. In Montreal a two hour lunch is 'eat and run' whereas in most of North America a two hour lunch is an impairment to career advancement.

She may well be right about certain things, but I find her glee in having her water glass filled on a consistent basis to be both representative of the author and of the American resto scene in general. Sure it's easy for the corporate culture to insist on training standards that require servers to keep water glasses topped up or to offer the crab dip or the next main of equal value to the lesser of the previous two early bird specials is discounted by 10%. It is much more difficult to employ front of house staff who can discuss ingredients, wines that don't necessarily include the wonderful California product, treat a single diner like he is more than a pain in the ass, understand the difference between an aperitif and a digestif and in general be aware of the fact that for some people the quality of the meal really is more important than the Superbowl. My experience is that outside of very few American establishments this is not the case. And if the population of where you are eating is under say 500,000 you may as well invite Colonel Sanders over for dinner.

Toronto certainly does not equal Canada. I find the service in Montreal to be much better on average than TO. But I would go a step further and say that the worst service I have experienced is in the U.S. outside of the major centers. There is no doubt that any knowledgeable person would rank NYC as a food city of international class. But outside of a few major cities the knowledge of front of the house staff is remarkably unsophisticated. French wines are almost unheard of and staff’s ability to discuss some of the world’s best products is highly limited or non-existent. By way of clarification I don’t think of this approach as good service: “My name is Troy and I’ll be you’re food service consultant tonight and this here is Nancy (big smile) and she’ll be pouring your wine. Now why don’t we just go ahead and get ya started with some crab dip?” Patron: “We’ll just start with a red Bordeaux, but I don’t see any on the menu.” Waiter: “Well now is that a Napa Valley or Sonoma grape, cause Shane over there is a so-mell-e-ay and he’ll be real happy ta fix ya up with one them Bore-do-o-s. Patron: Maybe we’ll just start with a bottle of San Pellegrino. Is there something on the menu that is particularly recommended tonight? Waiter: “Everything on the menu is fantastic…… I’m not sposed to do this but if ya order the chicken fingers with the special barbeque sauce I’ll bring ya a side of honey mustard for no extra charge.” Fast forward to meal-end, Waiter: “Are ya still workin’ on that or can I put it in a doggie bag? “ I frequently travel to the U.S. (from Montreal) and am often in non-major centers. It really is incredible just how lacking the cuisine of the average American town is. You would think that Sarasota, for example, would not exactly be the backwoods, but on a recent trip there I would rank it extremely low on any reasonable scale. Wine lists are almost all Californian and presentation and ingredients outside of ‘Hamburger Helper’ are pretty much non-existant. To the masses the cuisine of America is fast food or if you want a Gourmet experience try TGI Fridays or if you really want to go upscale stand in line with your restaurant beeper at The Cheesecake Factory. FG makes reference to service in the UK as close the world’s worst. There is no doubt that it is certainly not the world’s best, but in my travels there (2-3 times a year) I find it is improving at one of the most encouraging rates that I am aware of.

Read the book Kitchen Confidential. Bigfoot is a restaurant owner who is succesful because of his attention to detail and cost control. If you're a supplier don't give Bigfoot anything but the best price. If you don't he'll find out and you will pay dearly. Bigfoot has an innate sixth sense for the business, but nevertheless works bloody hard. Bourdain worked for him for a period and developed a great respect that served him well throughout his career.

It sounds as though your experiment worked well. One thing that I like to do with cippolini onions before braising, is sear one end. Carefully cut off the root end and then sear it in a hot dry non-stick or lightly oiled conventional fry pan over medium high heat until you get that carmelized look on the seared end (probably 2-3 mins). It produces a pleasant flavour that stands up to the relatively lengthy braising time.

Moose 1111 has pretty much stolen my thunder and I would say ditto to all of his CCP references. I would add a double ditto to the suckling pig and foie gras rissoto which was my 'dish of the year'. In general Pelletier's take on the old and normally worn out 'surf and turf' theme was a welcome and I thought innovative addition to the 2005 landscape. How en Route missed the boat on their rankings is beyond me. Pelletier and Marsalais have put their heart and soul into this place and it shows time after time.

There is a short review of La Bonne Cuisine de Madame St. Ange on page 58 of the November edition of Gourmet Magazine. Given that it was first published in 1927 it is likely to provide a thorough treatment of classic French cuisine which in and of itself makes for a beautiful collection. However if you are also hoping to cover Nouvelle and modern French cooking some of the other suggestions may be a better choice.

I would second Larousse Gastronomique. It is more than a cookbook. It is encyclopedic in nature. Although it has thousands of recipes it also provides definitions and uses for little known ingredients, speaks to the various doneness temps for various meat, fish and fowl, comments on the food cultures of many countries and offers many more benefits too numerous to mention. I cook from it only occasionally but whenever I’m stuck, it is my benchmark. I consider it the most valuable resource in my kitchen. In a way it is my Linus blanket. However I would warn that is your penchant is for Oriental or Indian or other than Western (Europe/N.America) it will be less valuable.

I just checked the SAQ website and under gift cards there is no indication of any discounts. Did I miss something?

I believe you are referring to Michael Smith, The Inn Chef.

I genuinely don't know what you mean. I suppose those forums would be off-limits to me, then? Also, which forums are you referring to? ← Pan, I am not referring to any particular forums. As I said my point cannot be supported by any direct quote, only by my interpretation of what has been implied by some posters. I have the impression that a particular group would like to see some forums designated for ‘real name only’ participants. This group, in my opinion, has a disproportionately high content of industry insiders and they may have a point. Maybe the rest of us would have ‘read only’ status. However I have never seen eGullet as a place where “the washroom at the front of the cabin is reserved for our business class passengers.”

I post anonymously for personal reasons. I run my own business in a professional manner, employing several hundred persons within a conservative industry environment. Likewise I head up certain charities. In my home town of Montreal my name is far from a household word, but it is quite unique and has an unusual spelling as a result of its British/French heritage in the Channel Islands. Under my real name and with the incredible power of search tools there exists the distinct possibility that my posts will be viewed by persons with whom I would prefer to maintain my privacy. Additionally and unlike many industry related professionals I may not have the opportunity to defend my position to those who might want to use it for other than its intended purposes. I, the person who runs my business, have a stiff upper lip and operate in a busy, efficient manner. Most of the people in my office wouldn’t say shit if their mouth was full of it. I, the person who takes great pleasure in spending a fall Sunday afternoon tending to his veal stock is also the one who follows Bourdain’s instructions to “take that slab of beef out of the fridge at least an hour before and fuck the department of health.” That same person spends hours planning the next restaurant visits, especially to France, Spain and Italy. The latter person is more relaxed and is becoming more and more how I see myself. It is certainly my eGullet persona. Although I take my interest in food, restaurants and travel very seriously my participation in these forums is strictly recreational. I have no axe to grind and have never posted anything other than my honest assessment of a situation or issue. My disclosing my identity to this forum would provide absolutely no benefit to eG but it would seriously limit my input for the reasons stated above. I recognise that this debate has been percolating in one form or another for some time now. I believe it has boiled to the surface because certain of the foodie elite, particularly the NYC foodie elite got their tits in a wringer over comments that DP made in his recent book. They didn’t agree with much of what he said and generated a somewhat herd mentality of the ‘establishment’ to gun him down because he was critical of some their untouchable friends. They have made compelling and eloquent arguments to support their position. Furthermore, they believe that at least one poster on the other side of the debate has a vested interest and should disclose his/her identity. Like the vast majority of eGulleters I do not personally know any of the characters involved but found the book quite entertaining, although possibly falling short of a Pulitzer nomination. It has not in anyway altered the respect I have for Keller or any of the others referenced in the book nor has it influenced my use of the FLC or Bouchon, two works for which I have immense respect. The inertia that surrounds all of the other positive commentary about TK from a myriad of sources is simply too great. The elite have taken themselves too seriously and overestimated their own importance. There is now a spoiled brat mentality that pervades this debate maintaining the position that eGullet or at least certain forums within eGullet are meant for the well known or at least somewhat well know contributors and therefore require an identifiable right of passage. This has not been said in as many words but the implication is consistent with recent input. I think it is extremely important to understand that there is a very distinct difference between those who consider eGullet as an extension of their professional life and those of us who simply participate because of our passion for its subject matter (and that does not imply that the former group is not at least as passionate). However I do respect the point that those with serious credentials and certainly those with a stake in the debate can be considered to have a responsibility of disclosure. On a final point, suggesting that it makes sense to encourage (as opposed to requiring) posters to do so under their given name is a futile exercise. If someone is going to take an irresponsible approach to their contributions they will find a way to do so under one disguise or another. Wonderful place that it is, I believe this is very much the exception on eGullet.

where people can debate topics as varied as Alinea's tableware, Fresca, Hong Kong street food, and Michelin stars in NYC -- and, as this thread indicates, can discuss those topics from varied perspectives. ← Alinea's tableware, Hong Kong street food and Michelin stars in NYC are exactly why I love this place. I have not figured out how "this thread indicates, (people) can discuss those topics from varied perspectives." I could even be intrigued by the cult Fresca following, but an MBA like discussion on McD's corporate strategy simply doesn't do it for me on the eG Society for Culinary Arts and Letters. However I will admit to being influenced by a severe dislike of the American fast food industry. I checked the number of viewers and replies and there is indeed a large number of participants in this thread so I think I will simply butt out and find my way to more 'eGullet-like' topics (IMHO).

Isn't discussing this supplier of industrial body pollutants rather below this fine and somewhat sophisticated site? Add to this a reputation for severely wounding the landscape of some of the world's great cities by way of its plastic arches and it makes this a rather distasteful ‘nugget’ within an otherwise useful and most interesting forum.