Pan

That was never my impression, but then I don't recall ever trying to eat the grass raw. Is your statement true even if the grass is freshly-picked or otherwise really fresh?

Tsk, tsk! Please, no ad hominem attacks, even if in jest. (Remember, we can't see facial expression here, but here's an emoticon: ) And then, there are those Zagat "Awards of Distinction," whatever the hell that is.

You order all those courses in Italy?

They bailed out on you?? What can be said? Cosi fan tutte [...] ← I think that would be cosi fan tutti, in this case. Which is essentially Mozart's point, anyway, isn't it?

I'd bet on it. ← I just want to clarify: I wasn't suggesting Saudi prejudice against Maghrebis, just that perhaps a Saudi looking for a chef expert in Middle Eastern cuisine may not be thinking of Maghrebi-style cuisine. But of course I could easily be wrong and you would be in a position to know better.

Funny member name you have! I believe you're incorrect that Korean soju cannot be brewed from sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are one of the ingredients in at least some Korean sojus.

The Yellow Pages are online: www.superpages.com. I use that site often and stopped getting the paper Yellow Pages a few years ago. For what it's worth, full Manhattan Yellow Pages are still delivered free to my building. I thought Verizon put out one of them, but I didn't pay close attention. So I could have a copy of the paper Yellow Pages but see little need for it.

For what it's worth, my parents lived in Italy for over 2 years and were both fluent in Italian at one time -- I mean really fluent, to the point that when they traveled to Bologna, they were laughed at for being "fiorentini," and my mother translated documents from Italian to English professionally.

Looks great, though! How did it taste?

hzrt8w: I love both the chicken dishes you've posted so far on this thread. In terms of eating out for 7 days, I can do that easily. If anyone has an event to propose, please do contact a forum host for the area where it would take place.

Just a thought, but are you sure your Saudi employer would want a Maghrebi chef? If they're looking for Middle Eastern cuisine, I would think that would encompass Arabia, the Levant (Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan) and Iraq only. Maybe Egypt. Maghrebi cuisine is wonderful, but it's pretty different from Levantine cuisine in various ways. Another thought is, don't overlook Paris. There are many Lebanese people there, for example. I can't be of more specific help, though.

If you think Katz's is worried about not being included in a Michelin guide, I suspect you have another think coming. But you'd be incorrect if you think it's just their pastrami that's great. Have you tried their turkey? And in any case, Michelin could have included the place and warned diners what things to avoid.

There is a minimum charge for all the private rooms. The one that seats 20 was going for $600 last year, as I recall. There are also rooms that seat 50 and 10, I think. Yes, talk to the manager. There are different rates, as you can choose to pay more than the minimum, depending on your menu.

Let me answer a question with another question: Do you think that New Yorkers are the main audience for a Michelin guide? I would think New Orleans, once it gets up and running again, and that Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington, DC would merit guides. And probably various other cities (I think we'll see arguments for Atlanta, for example, and perhaps Miami, and some Texan cities and so on -- St. Louis, Minneapolis, Honolulu, Seattle, Portland, etc., etc., etc.), but it's all about what the Michelin folks think their market will bear.

Elie, you've been doing some good cooking, from the looks of it! I'm not sure whether I've had steamed eggs before. How are they superior to boiled eggs?

Does anyone know if it's possible to view this show online?

Yeah, but that was because they were unknown foreign things from across the ocean, as far as Europeans were concerned. The same cannot be said about crabs vis a vis China, I don't think.

What specifically are you most excited about?

Daniel, I'm really impressed!!!!

Robyn, have you been to Devi? I still haven't been there yet. Would anyone like to argue they merit a Michelin star?

That looks good. Nice tomatoes. Is it tomato season in Japan now?

Great post, oakapple; thank you so much for telling us all about the guide! Why do you suppose they decided against bibs gourmands in this guidebook? By the way, I think the Eater list of venues they apparently would have included in the guidebook includes too much chaff, though there are certainly some well-respected names there.

At least when I got it, the old-style roti canai was flaky when pulled apart and chewy, but closer to the thickness of a flatbread than to today's roti canai.

I'll see if they remember. You, an idiot? I hardly think so. My parents have read some threads I've sent them from time to time and were beneficiaries of recommendations of the Li Family Restaurant in Beijing, Amma when Suvir and Hemant were there, and some other places, but I doubt they'll sign up any time soon, partly for reasons that would be really off-topic to discuss in this thread. But definitely, they could have interesting things to contribute if they wanted to. Oh, I can't remember what they ordered, either. Sorry.

With all the discussion of rating systems and stars here, I think that some of you would be interested in the Culinary Historians of New York's upcoming event on "The History and Impact of Restaurant Reviews on the New York Dining Scene". From this PDF file: