yvonne johnson

That's very kind of you Jason. I am on occasion in Newark and I know people are saying that the city is experiencing a revival, but walking the streets at night (I'm not a car person and use public transportation) is scary. It's as though I'm the only person there. I usually get right home and am glad when that train gets into Manhattan Penn. But I must linger a little longer one day and sample the food.

Jason has some great suggestions. It's maybe just me, but I don't find the top of the Marriot Marquis overlooking Times Square attractive, and I wouldn't call it romantic. I find it a bit on the tacky side, and the escalators and surrounding area near the hotel aren't very attractive either. I have a fantasy of how a proposal would go at Balthazar. Him: Will you marry me? Her: Sorry, didn't catch what you said. Him: Will you marry me? Her: For goodness sake, speak up, there's such a din in here? Him: WILL YOU MARRY, ME? Her: What? Can't make out a bloody word you're saying. You're starting to bug me. Let's just eat. (Thinking to herself: Can't take this guy anywhere!) PS Is Alain Ducasse still on the go?

Just as I was thinking of going to Meigas, I see it has closed. I can’t seem to find decent Spanish food in Manhattan. El Cid does pretty good tapas, at least they did a while back. Last w/end went to Riazor, 245 W 16, and it was dull bordering on the unpleasant. The stripe stew had something going for it as unlike the other dishes it had flavor. Chorizo appetizer didn’t have that delicious depth of flavor that even supermarket chorizo has, the paella was mushy and underseasoned and when I asked my husband how his pork with potato salad was he answered by shrugging his shoulders, so I didn’t ask for a bite of that. I’ve been to El Faro, and Spain….say no more. And why are these Spanish restaurants so grim looking? Do the owners think we expect the docor found in Goya's paintings of witches to make believe we are in Spain? So, where to go? Do I really have to leave Manhattan? PS: Newark is on my list for Portuguese.

Gotham (apart from X-mas day) is open for lunch that week, and they will be offering their ฤ bargain. To be on the safe side I suggest making a reservation before the trip. 212-620-4020. I don’t know if Patria does a lunch deal, and it’s pricey for dinner, but different. And some say the new-latin food has even improved since Rodriguez left. (But come to think of it the once I went since I didn’t think it had improved.) 250 Park Ave South @20th st 777-6211. Incase they’re homesick for meat and pots, there’s Les Halles (Anthony Bourdain’s superb chips, maybe the best in NY), 411 Park Ave South, b/w 28 the and 29th Streets), 212-679-4111 For inexpensive lunches or dinners I’d suggest going to either east or west village. For example, there’s a place in the west village called “good”, 89 greenwich ave, b/w bank and west 12th st, 691-8080. South American touches on the menu, but it offers burgers etc. too. Farther south, is Cornelia st which is lined with places, e.g., Little Havana, a tiny Cuban, is pretty decent. All the above are funky in their own way, and are places a 16 year old would not be embarrassed to be seen with their parent!

The UK Guardian www.guardian.co.uk is an excellent site. Registration is very easy--immediate access. Simply search topic/journalist of choice to get archived material

Welcome to the boards. Here are some notes on my visit (this past summer) to Bordeaux and surrounding area The Grand Théâtre restaurant. Wonderful foie gras pate (heaviest, richest I had over the ten day stay). Braised pork in dense reduction. Light desserts, e.g., compote with nuts. The dining-room is grand, chandeliers and so on, but service is not formal. Around 250F per person (not including wine). Didn’t manage to get to La Tupina but the locals with whom we dined one night said it is still really good as is Le Chapon Fin. These are two of the most raved about restaurants in Bordeaux I think. The full name escapes me: ends in “Dupont”, behind Cité Mondiale. Rouget (red mullet) app served cold; duck with foie gras, and best cherry clafoutis I’ve ever had. Good house wine by the jug. Lighter fare: Café Régent brasserie, place Gambetta. Bargain set menu—150F for three courses. Salmon with dill, roast lamb. Excellent St Julien les Fiefs de Lagrange 1998. Nlle Part Ailleur brasserie, 19 cours du Maréchal-Foch. Excellent salad: prawns, salmon, avocado, greens. St-Émillion Chateau Grand-Barrail, a couple of miles outside St E. Lobster with a refreshing light broth, a little strong on the lemon. Terrific ravioli with foie gras. Delicious pigeon. Lamb with cumin crust. Cheese (I love the cabecu) board was the most extensive we’d seen. Desserts didn’t impress me much. Very expensive. Is it worth it? Mixed view. My husband thought it was the best meal we had on this trip. I thought it didn’t quite make that grade. If you had more time I’d put St-Cirque-Lapopie on top of the list of places to visit. Of all the villages that are built into the cliffs in this area, this one is the most stunning. And I had a perfect mesclun, tomato, prosciutto salad at Auberge du Somral.

The question of what constitutes a good restaurant review probably deserves a thread of its own, and I’ll start one. Enjoyment of the food is no doubt the customer’s main criterion when judging a restaurant, but should we expect more from a professional reviewer? If I understand Michael’s argument (here and elsewhere http://www.chowhound.com/boards/intl/messages/4442.html, it is incumbent upon journalists to provide a wider perspective. Rather than see a restaurant in isolation, a restaurant--especially one that claims to be innovative and experimenting with weird concoctions—should be compared to its predecessors and peers. Is focusing on one restaurant, as though in a vacuum, akin to writing an essay on Plato without mentioning Socrates, claiming to be a travel expert but never leaving one’s home town? I’m overstating my case if restaurant reviewing is considered lowly and wider considerations are deemed irrelevant. If Blumenthal is borrowing from Martin Berasategui in San Sebatian, Michel Bras, Ferran Adria, desserts from Olivier Roellinger, as Lord M. is arguing and then presenting these creations as his own, and getting media attention on the basis that he is a genius…well, might there be a problem here? My question is: has anyone other than Michael been to the Fat Duck AND one (or more) of the other restaurants above? I’m seeking an empirical answer to the question about whether Blumenthal is a plagiarist. By the way, I agree that debate should be civil, but, in my experience, journalists can look after themselves (not so, jayrayner?), and questions should keep coming. That’s what makes debate..well..debate. (Edited by yvonne johnson at 10:39 pm on Oct. 17, 2001)

Illy and Lavazza, in tins, get my vote. I don’t buy beans anymore. We (me and my husband) used to buy beans and keep them in the freezer, grind in AM and so on. Illy ground espresso in tins is twice the price of Lavazza, and has, I think, a more rounded and delicate taste than the latter but I’ve not done a blind tasting. I use either for cappuccino or drip-made. I hardly ever order coffee when I’m out. I’ve had too many disappointments.

Jason (above) "Anchor Steam is good but the last time I saw it was in San Francisco". Jason, I've seen it in Manhattan. I've bought it from supermarkets and the like in the Village (Manhattan). Maybe NJ isn't so well served?

Welcome ChocoKitty. I liked the article on processed food too. (That was me, "Deleted Member", above. The moderators aren't going to get rid of me that easily:). Funny, when the posts are read in 'reply to post mode', my name appears.) In any case, congratulations on having an article accepted for publication. Are you willing to reveal the areas that interest you?

I’ve played around with several methods of cooking rice. Boiling on the stove-top in varying quantities of water. For the last several years though we’ve used one way that is very reliable. Pre-heat oven to 400F Heavy duty pan with tight fitting lid For 2 people 1 cup of rice (I do not rinse) 1 and one third cups water Stir and add salt Place foil between pan and lid Cook in oven for 20 mins for long grain. Slightly less time for basmati PS: If your other dishes aren’t quite ready the rice will keep warm in the pan out of the oven for some time. Any other easy means of cooking rice that egulletarians use?

I've only been to Lespinasse once (that is if I’m not mistaken. Maybe the St Regis has many dining rooms.) and that was for breakfast. I was being informally interviewed for a job. My two interviewers (there before I arrived) were drinking coffee but I could not tell whether they had ordered something to eat. I was given the menu and kindly told, “Please, have whatever you would like”. As I’m not a breakfast person and it's a bit awkward to chomp away and speak semi-intelligibly and I felt it might be rude to decline, I ordered only tea and toast. Presently, these arrived but without anything to put on the toast, and nothing else came soon. Was this an interview test to see if I could be assertive? After a few minutes I asked a waiter for butter. The interview went into full swing and I half-forgot about the toast. The butter never came. So the dry toast just sat there undisturbed. It turned out that my interviewers hadn’t ordered anything to eat. (I think they may have eaten with a candidate they’d met earlier.) And on reflection I would have felt a complete idiot going for a hearty breakfast, l that I didn't even want. Me munching away all by myself while being interviewed! What struck me about the dining room was that it looked fake-grand. Nice, big chairs, but it felt dull. PS: I got the job. Given the dilapidated state of the building where I would work, I now understand why I was interviewed at the St Regis. (Truth: I love my janitor’s closet!)

In case a reader was thinking of going: Peacock Alley is no longer (New York Times, October 3, 01). Fabricant wrote that the Waldorf-Astoria may reopen it as something else, but without the chef, Laurant Gras.

This is from memory, but the Diner's Journal has been at odds with the full review, and not far apart in time. Citarella for example. I understood the DJ entry to be very positive. The full review was, overall, postive and Grimes liked the dishes he admired on the Diner's Journal visit, but not subsequent ones. After what I thought was a glowing DJ write-up Citarella finally got 2 stars in its full review. [An aside: Grimes is wrong in in writing that "Young has brought *one* dish with him from Pop...civiche". Young has also brought the shrimp with basil in a crispy roll. I've been to Pop lots of times (that very under-rated restaurant that no longer appears in Zagat). Sorry, this is a record I play from time to time.] For another record (that I play again and again) I admire Grimes, but, to me, he sometimes writes reviews that are so favorable in the narrative form then he assigns only 2 stars. No doubt, the assignment is akin to grading a student's paper. It's fine, covers all the points, but doesn't have sparkle and doesn't earn an A. Maybe I'm falling for the US inflated standards. Everything has to be 4 stars to be worthy of notice. Grimes may have a point. We need to remember that 2 stars means "very good". And, "very good" is a fine grade.

Yes, it was me. I'd never been on the radio before, and when I'm nervous my voice reaches a high pitched squeal. Btw, Murray's chickens aren't as good as the ad on the show said. Gianone (sp?) chickens are the best. Air dried, from Canada. Jefferson Market has them. Fat Guy: I enjoyed the show. A very fine performance. And funny to boot.

I did see the tempting blood sausages on the menu and will try them next time. I agree with you--there's an interesting mix of people of all ages.

Admin: Several threads from 2001-2003 have been merged here. Balthazar, 80 Spring St (b/w B/way & Crosby)965-1414 I don’t know what took me so long. Ideas of trendiness and self-importance put me off I guess. But despite the dizziness experienced on first arrival-- a tremendous clatter a la brasserie--Balthazar delivered something quite pleasant for Sunday brunch. I didn't think a table would be ready for us as the booking procedure didn’t inspire confidence. The receptionist was taking reservations for both B. and Pastis and tended to get confused which one I was asking for. Added to which, I was given a reservation # as long as my arm. Steak frites was magnificent, pasta with artichoke and toms reportedly very good, and smoked salmon with grated egg and brioche toast also good, though salmon was a little on the dry side. We also went for a plum tart special (spectacular) and chocolate mousse that was more like a solid pudding, but I’m a sucker for that sort of thing. There was no sparkling wine /cava/champagne for under ๔. I suppose a second complaint would be paying for basket of bread (ฟ) but this was more like three loaves of sweetish bread which we took home. But still... Balthazar does manage to recreate the brasseries of France. Yes, the dour, though efficient, service too. I think I’ll try for dinner. I'm surprized how much I was taken with it. I think it may have been unfairly trashed in some quarters.

Having tried a few, I think “San Giuliano” (from Alghero, Sardinia, I think) extra virgin is very good for everyday use. Very reasonably priced too. Look out for green bottle that has bulbous upper half.

Steve. Good question. Some thoughts. As for last night, I was simply too full. No, I don’t consciously leave room for desserts, tho’I did when I was younger. As an adolescent I'd read the menu backwards. Now, the idea of ordering soufflé before I’ve had my app feels odd. In NY, I find a lot of desserts too sweet, too chocolate-y. That’s one of the reasons I liked HW Brachman’s (another thread) desserts “cultural, caloric or economic?” I was brought up on crumbles/cobblers and I like them. I’m not counting calories when I eat out, and money doesn’t come into it. I’m just full at the end of the main course. Maybe pastry chefs shoukd be telling their colleagues not to serve so much! Maybe worth creating a new thread on this. It’s interesting, b/c I (and no doubt others) have been neglecting desserts. Btw: I concur with Bux who said earlier that the level of discussion is high here. I’ve really appreciated your writing. And I'm not one for "afters".

Citarella takes you to the sea. Up and down elevators like plunging the depths, quiet small rooms with portholes. You look into these little spaces and see the sea, in changing colors. I’m going on a bit, but I’d go there even if there were no fish to eat. Amuse was tuna with a little apple (beat the apple thing I had elsewhere earlier. More later). Succulent eel with a little cube of avocado and some watercress. This was superb. Without care, eel skin a can be rubbery. This quickly dissolved. I also tried the shrimp with a little basil in pastry. This was one of Young’s signature dishes at Pop. Now the pastries are bigger. Pompano…what a fine fish. Grilled with little crisps of sweet potato. I tried the pink snapper, and this was equally good. No room for desserts. 贡 (for 2) incl a bottle of Lalou sancerre. You get 15% off during the preview period. This is terrific value. The place was not full. Slump is a reality? I give it 9/10. One point off b/c their tonic and seltzer are flat. The barman was very kind and took back our drinks, no q’s asked. I'll be back. Soon. [Now the apple thing. Beforehand, I met my chum at the Algonquin Hotel for drinks. I had the apple martini. What an abomination. Then, I went for a g&t and their tonic was flat too. What is it with NY bar-staff. You can’t have tonic without some fizziness.]

Andy, you can count on me. One of these days the USA lot will get their comeuppance! OK, a joke. ValueJetty (slight name change to save me from litigation) goes down over the Florida everglades with many passengers. One alligator to another: "For a budget airline, the food isn't bad"

And now, magnolia, the question is: Did you let on?

Which one are you getting for your new kitchen, Jason? :) Presumably the sushi sold in supermarkets is made using these? And I just love the music that comes with this page!

I’m not much of a cake person. I don’t get the attraction of light sponges or frosting. Heavy cake I find more appealing. Carrot cake, suet puddings and the like. Overall, I think I prefer tarts, especially plum, apricot and cherry ones. The best tarts I’ve tasted were German (found in Bonn), but next on my list are tarts made by Plaza Sweets (521 Waverly Avenue Mamaroneck, NY 10543 800-816-8416; 914-698-0233). Todaro Bros (2nd @ 30 St, Manhattan) carry them, but Garden of Eden and Balduccis do not appear to and their tarts are inferior. Plaza Sweets' tarts have a lovely almond-y pastry base and they are not too sweet. Warm the tart and pour some cream on. They go down exceedingly well at dinner parties.

Glad to see pompano again. It seemed all the craze around 10 years ago, but I've not seen it much in the interim. Vicuria (sp?) on West Broadway (no longer unfortunately) did a lovely grilled pompano that I still remember fondly. So I will be going to Citarella, but dinner is obviously quite pricey. Cost of entrees goes up to ี.