vivin

We had quite the opposite experience with service at ADPA in Feb, 2002. Our reaction to the food was similar - not the most creative but perfectly cooked. Service was impeccable though. In fact, of the six 3 starts visited inside a week, they were tops in service. thanx for the update..

BLH, I think you are right. should not have gone after the life altering experience the first time. first time, we were in the room closest to the kitchen (before renovations) but were seated in the first room (closest to the street) on the second visit. definitely made a difference. btw, Le Grand Vefour (the day before GS) was mind bogling good.

BLH, thanx for the report. Glad to hear that they still care. My first experience was like yours. The second lacked in every respect except the final tab - suffice it say that it was considerably more than yours. I felt ripped off. Maybe it was an off night. vivin.

I am still trying to go thru the various sub sets of discussions going on here, but as to the original query: My friends quote me saying - I would rather eat at under 10 USD per person or over 100 USD per person. Nothing in between is worth it. These are not hard limits, of course (these days even a Subway meal is close to 10 dollars). The 100 USD would be 150 except for the existence of Babbo (that continues to serve 4 star food at 2 star prices). What allows higher end places charging a lot more to deliver a much better food/service experience ? I do not think the reasons are that hard to see. What is the upper limit of what I am ready to pay - For a once in a long time experience (like at the ADPA earlier this year) - I would not blink at rather large sums. My wife thinks that if and when we hit the 1000 USD per person figure, she might start to worry. We would rather pay big sums of money for great food experiences than blow 10K for a set of drapes. The same argument applies to high-end music equipment. The kind of money people see fit to spend on expensive cars is much more than what we spent on our music collection and equipment. However, the same people who buy BMWs look at us like we are nuts. It is just that we choose to spend our money somewhere else.

I wish there were more young chefs who learn from people of Passard's ability and spread the happiness. If there is a market for his food, it will happen. Nobu in NYC has numerous spin offs (with varying success), because, there is a queue of people waiting to get in everyday at Nobu. I passed by at 10:35 last night and, surely, there was one. If there is no real demand, however, what can be done?? Same is true of arts/music etc. There is not much of a market for Bill Evans immitators - while everyone wants to copy the latest pop diva. You and I are arguing about something that few people care about (it probably always was this way - I could be wrong). vivin.

Steve, Thanx for a wonderful report. Your experience seems very similar to what we had (right down to the menu lineup). And your feelings sort of mirror mine. On the issue of cost, I have to say that 1) I usually am the first to scoff at clever-dickey food. However, Passard is one of the few who really makes it work. Admittedly, this does not happen very often. 2) I would rather eat Passard's remarkably different cuisine once in a while rather than pay a traditional and boring meal chock full of expensive ingredients that are not used very creatively. Ultimately, I have had dozens of so-so French-New York meals that have cost me in the neighborhood of 200 dollars per person. They leave me uninspired and fall short on the palate. I question those more than Passard's cooking.

Guy Savoy doubled their prices for the tasting menu over two years. That was the most expensive of our meals the last time I went. One piece of advice - don't let 18 year old servers tell you what wine to order. I would love to hear how your dinner is. Enjoy.

The tasting menus at L'Arpege and Ducasse were 300 and 290 Euros respectively. Thereafter, just figure in your budget and desire for what you want to spend on wine. I think we spent about 1200 Euros at L'Arpege for lunch for 3 people and more at Ducasse because of more expensive wine.

JJS Les Ambassadeurs was a big disappointment when I went there last 2.5 yrs ago. My recent trip to Guy Savoy (in Feb) was disappointing as well. How about L'Arpege ?? We liked it a lot. Although Le Grand Vefour and Ducasse topped our experiences. vivin

what is up with you people ???? one response in 3 days ????

Can we please add another board for "creative food writing." I would rather read this thread rather than any of the fiction on the NYTimes best seller list. ...I laughed so hard, I was choking ... in pain ...

Had the following at Pongal last night: Appetizer plate Bhel puri Onion masaala dosa Idli Mysore masala dosa The meal was mediocre. The mysore masaala dosa had no masaala lining the dosa. I had to ask for it separately. Not very good. The potatoes inside were very bland. The coconut chutney was no good. The sambhar, otoh, was very good. The appetizer plate was really bad. Everything had been pre cooked and then obviously reheated in oil etc. Not done part of the way and then cooked to completion (as should be done). Mavalli was much better.

OK, I will go to Pongal and report back.

I have been to Mavalli recently. It was ok. never been to Pongal. A south Indian friend is coming to town and he gets no South Indian in Providence where he lives currently. which one of the above two is a better choice for dosas, idlis, etc. thanx..

I went to Dimple recently and tried their Pav Bhaji. I stayed away from chaat type northern Indian food (although the Pani puri turned out to be very very good). The bhaji was extremely disappointing. It turned out to be this orange red mix of onions and tomatoes primarily. Looked (and tasted like) like the onion-tomato tadka that is made for various beans. Bombay frankie was good but not the real thing. it had a potato patty instead of the mish mash that I remember being in the frankie in Bombay. Overall good experience though.

I can only hope that the rest of us can partake in the ritual that Suvir described above in the various posts. Now if I could only get such meals regularly with some "sangeet" (music) afterward....(we can dream, can't we...) vivin

My friend had angel hair with sea urchin/green chilli sauce (a special) at Babbo a few months ago. It was yummy.

We stayed at the newly renovated Pont Royal this past Feb. Very nice albeit not as chic as Montalambert. The rooms were not that small. Nice quiet neighborhood and good service. The restaurant was nothing to speak of and seemed to be closed most of the time. thanx for the news...

I am late to the party as usual. Nockerl, there are a variety of bhel mixes available (Haldiram being one brand). Some of them have packets of spices that come in the package (not unlike Ramen noodle packets). In a majority of the cases (all?) these packets of bhel spices should be discarded before they make their way into your bhel. The tamarind chutneys sold in bottles are decent enough (tamarind date is even better imo). We dilute them a little with water so it coats the bhel mix better. But I have never met a cilantro chutney in a bottle that I liked (addition of vinegar as preservative being the culprit). So we make our own (or forgo it altogether). Lightly browning the potato pieces before adding it gives it the extra crunch (but can make it heavier). Too much onion spoils the party. Fresh cilantro and green chilies are a must. I will find out the brand of bhel mix that includes papri to eat it with.

My favorite dessert at night (on weekdays) is cold cereal with milk. Basic 4 (only cereal that is tasty even when soggy - actually only when it is really soggy), tried special K with strawberries that FG likes. Wife picks out all the strawberries before I get to them. She has been buying some Low Fat Granola one. I grew up eating cracked wheat type cereals with a good amount of milk and claified butter (yes, that is right) along with sugar thrown in. Like cereal...vivin

I grew up on home made ghee from buffalo milk. I might have tasted cow milk ghee - might not (how sad). Some of the dishes just do not taste the same without its use. Others, I could do without it (too heavy). Do you buy it in bottles? which brands. I tried Maya ghee when my parents visited last year. not bad, I think.

I have to admit that the idea of coloring food is alien to me. My dad's restaurant has NEVER done it. In fact, the red tandoori chicken that I see around here puts me off to the point that I do not eat it anymore. I do not remember home cooked food to be colored in any way. Maybe you can classify spice coloring as coloring of food. I think the natural coloring provided by spices is what people are used to looking at. Well there is the use of unground spices that hardly imparts any color (I think). What do you use to color food?

Been a while. Need to go. thanx..

Or you could build one. If anyone is interested, I can get a recipe from a friend who built one (successfully, without setting anything on fire). vivin

Thanx to all who contributed and piqued my interest. Had brunch on Sat. Wife had the gnocchi and pancakes while I tried Salmon and chicken pillard (sp??). Overall good, wife as usual ordered the better stuff. we liked it, especially for the price. Not bad for a neighborhood diner. will go back. vivin