yvonne johnson

A chum of ours who'd been given the so-called private number to GR made a reservation for a dinnner to celebrate his partner's birthday. (This was not a group booking, it was a table for 2.) All was going reasonably well until our friend was asked to sign and then fax an agreement that stated the table would be theirs from 7 to 9PM, and they'd promise to vacate the table at 9PM. (The time allotted, would not, I believe, allow enough time to have the tasting menu--at a reasonable pace, anyway.) Tired of the "book-exactly-one-month-in-advance-as-well-as sign-contract" rigmarole, chum thought to hell with this for a laugh and cancelled. GR has lost a customer who'd have, without a doubt, returned to GR many times. (I think Simon has posted before on a similar practice at one of MPW's places. Looks like this is cropping up more and more.)

I was thinking of you all as I had my tasting menu at Jean Georges.

My understanding is that a list of ingredients is not copyrighted. (A moderator can no doubt describe better......) But as far as I know, the instructions are protected, so if there is an internet link (which probably does not exist in this case), give link. Failing that, you may summarize the recipe's instructions in your own words and give reference/source which you've already done.

Interesting piece of evidence there, Miss J, that may well explain Adam's observations in the kitchen.

I did some investigation as I was interested. I phoned Chicama and they told me that Rodriguez opened a third (in addition to Pipa) restuarant in the Trump Tower but it is now closed. He has opened a new restaurant in Philadelphia called Alma de Cuba. (Is Philly becoming a dining scene? Didn't Moromoto go there?)

Wilfrid, there are a couple of tasting menus (we went for the regular menu). I was talking about Patria with consort last night, and I think we agree that under both Rodriquez and DiCataldo Patria has tended to go up and down. Some days you get the wow factor in all dishes, but sometimes a dish comes out ordinary, if not a bit dull. For several years Patria used to be one of my favorite restaurants. I still like it very much for its exciting flavors, but the inconsistency bothers me. I'll be back no doubt, but you know that feeling of anticipation when you phone for a reseravation at a place you can't wait to return to?.....well, I'm starting to think, "Will I take the chance?"

Every now and then we have lunch or dinner at Patria (250 Park Ave South, 212-777-6211), and over the dozen or more times we've been (while Rodgriguez was running the show and now DiCataldo) it has ranged from excellent, to excellent in places, to (though rarer) disappointing in general. Last week-end's dinner fell into the last category. I went for fried oysters to start. They were sitting on their shells, were lukewarm, almost raw, and the green sauce on top was non-descript. After one of the six, I knew I'd never get through them. Without making a complaint, I simply asked our waiter if I could order something else. Of course, he said, and I ordered salmon ceviche. In stark contrast, this looked wonderful--an oblong plate with medium-sized pieces of salmon leaning on slices of avocado and a sour vinagrette around about. Delicious. G's oxtail empanada was very good. (Starters c$12) Next, I had the special main course, skate with a crab cake, the description of which sounded appealing. A huge square plate arrived with a humongous skate wing, which tasted quite good and fresh, next to this was a cake of crab meat inside a few spinach leaves, and next to this were bundles of tiny asparagus wrapped in pancetta. The whole had been doused in lemon/lime juice. I'm a decent eater but there was no way I could've eaten all of this, added to which the combination wasn't quite right. If this was Nuevo Latino cooking then it had lost its way. The dish could've done with some crispy textures. G. had the suckling pig and the meat was nice and tender, though there was a star anisse reduced sauce that was unpleasant. (Mains upper $20s-$30) Dessert: ducle de leche fudge-like dainties covered in chocolate with very good vanilla ice cream under which were stewed cherries. (It resembled Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream when it used to be good.) Glasses of house champagne, and a red Maipo Valley (Chile) were good. The dining room continues to have a bit of a buzz, the breads are good, our waiter was on his toes, and we weren't charged for the appetizer that I returned (and we appreciated the way that was handled, no questions asked). We left feeling let down nonetheless. Patria's website: http://www.patrianyc.com/1.html Cabrales' report of meal she had at the bar a few months back http://forums.egullet.org/ibf/index.php?s=...=7794&hl=patria

All of that sounds very nice. I will need considerable time to get through all of these bottons (options?).

Wouldn't know from the avatar though, right? (Cool (coolest?) though the avatar might be.)

An article in today's NYTimes describes the last meal of a 5,300 year old preserved human (he was found in a glacier in the Alps). Sounds quite good. This chap (before he died of arrow wounds) had red deer, preceded by ibex, grains and plants. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/17/science/17OBSE.html But back to last meals in jail. Has to be a white mealy pudding, deep fried with chips. Has to be warm though. If they brought it to my cell cold or tepid, I'd scream. What a death sentence. Edit: I meant to add that I wouldn'd order posh food for my last meal either. Does this have serious implications? (In terms of posh food's importance, overall. Ho.)

Mispronunciation. I'll be eating my words later tonight.

My husband places a skewer through the chops at the height of the frying pan, so the ends of the skewers rest on the edge of the pan. Balances the chops pretty well. A few months back I used Ducasse's recipe that appeared in NYTimes. I made the spinach, and the marmalade also. The steak came out very well, though I would not leave it at room temp for ten minutes before serving as he advises. A little too long in the home kichen, maybe a restaurant kitchen is a lot warmer. He also suggests quite a lot of butter on the steak at the last minute--a good move, though I'd add slightly less in future. PS: After all that, making that marmalade from scratch etc., I asked my other half how he liked the meal. He said, "Really good, though I could've done without the fruit and vegetables".

Snowangel's post on forgetting reminded me. My step-granny invited around 6 people for dinner. She was meticulously neat and the table, as usual, was lovely with flowers, polished silver-wear and pretty glasses. We all sat down, and were surprised to see granny sit down too. She made no move to the kitchen to get the food. My mother, as politely as possibly, got up and slid into the kitchen to investigate. There was no dinner on the stove, and the fridge was bare--except for an electric kettle and furniture polish on its shelves. Oh, dear, my granny was truly demented.

In Jason's introduction, he says that your full-time job is assistant science editor at The New York Times. Do you have an interest in applying scientific method to the study of taste and cooking techniques? Secondly, there has been quite a lot of discussion about molecular gastronomy on the site. Do you have any opinions on this?

Impossible. He's serving 25 to life in Texas.

Tyke: You mean that when I was St Tapioca School for Vonnie Vixen Vampires (there's some truth in this), Simon wasn't at St Custards?

Why did I have to go to work today? What a fine meal thanks to Toby and Soba. All of it was wonderful, but here are some special mentions: the beets with herbs; the spaghetti with garlic and tiny tomatoes--was spectacular, so sweet yet the pasta retained its own flavor; the Ridge wine was especially terrific and the sweet brioche & then the peach dessert were great with Toby's home made quince & cognac liqueur. Fun it was.

More on good manners. Five hundred years ago, the astronomer, Tacho de Brache didn't want to insult his guests by taking a leak during a banquet. His bladder ruptured, then he died.

Earlier thread on bread. I see that Fat Guy is now taking the credit for stefanyb's and my posts. Impostor. And, I never got my prize. Just thought I'd harp on about that one more more time. http://forums.egullet.org/ibf/index.php?s=...&f=4&t=4010&hl=

Yes, it's Loco. Quite good. Healthy Pleasures on University Pl sells, or used to sell, it. More here from David Rosengarten http://www.foodtv.com/wine/locosoda/0,6496,,00.html

Tallen's story about the perfect seal reminded me. When I was around 5 years old, I got stuck in a dining room chair. My mum temporarily left the table, and I thought I'd see if I could squeeze my body, head first, through the space between seat and back of the chair. I got stuck half-way. My mother pushed and pulled but I didn't budge. Then she got a hammer out, widened the opening and I was set free. I was very embarrassed. Could've been worse I suppose--to the Emergency Room stuck in a chair.

I enjoyed dinner at Blue Hill very much. The highlights for me were the pork (described by our servers as leg, but, as Sandy quickly noted, it looked very much like loin) that had a pig (surprise) flavor (most pork is pretty bland in this city); the cool peach amuse desert--not too sweet, with juices that smelled of roses, and the "strawberries and cream" that came in a tall glass. The last resembled a very good trifle and went really well with the Banyuls. The meal, leaving aside the bread, had very little starch and meant we could comfortably go the distance. Our waitress, a beautiful woman with Spanish-looking features, was courteous and attentive. It was a pleasure to meet Rochelle and Erin, and to see Sandy once again. The meal was much more interesting and of a higher calibre than the two earlier meals (from regular menu) I've had at BH. I will definitely return for the tasting menu.

I don't see why this isn't a valid topic. If we have to jazz it up and make literary references and what not, I remember a short story by Daphne du Maurier in which someone has a terrible lower gastric accident in public. I think it was a priest too.

Your bio says that meeting Simon Hopkinson at Leith's School of Food and Wine was "a defining moment in [your] life". Can you say more about this? Specifically, what made this so?

Yes, that one is good. http://www.cartoonbank.com/cartoon_closeup...rOnly=&s_topic=