docsconz

Mercat 45 Bond St., New York, NY 10012 nr. Lafayette St. 212-529-8600 Here's a profile from NYMag. and here are impressions from Restaurant girl.

The obnoxious behavior was our own. Met some friends with their kids for breakfast at a diner. We finished the meal and were waiting for the check, getting impatient, waiting for the check, getting madder by the minute. The struggle to keep the kids from wandering around the restaurant from boredom was becoming fierce. We finally got the attention of our waitress and asked her for the check. She leaned forward and, like a magician, plucked the check up from the middle of the table where it'd been sitting for the last hour or so. Granted, it was propped up between the condiments and the jelly holder, but we still felt foolish to say the least. No one in our party saw her place it there. We left a big tip for taking up her table for such a long time waiting for a check that was already there. ← Goes to show that not all obnoxious behavior is on purpose!

I would still like to know which of the "better" restaurants are doing this. While you may be right that at least some of those restaurants are doing this, all I have really seen is conjecture despite the obvious confidence of your assertion.

Another point to consider for the breakfast demographics of the area is that there are a number of hotels in the area including one in the TWC itself. NYC has very few B&B hotel options and travelers often like a good breakfast. It may take a little while for them to discover Landmarc, but if the breakfast is good and reasonably economical like the rest of the Landmarc business model, the travelers should eventually find it.

This is a list linked to in the article from Slate. The list is of chefs who use Sysco products and who have been showcased in Sysco newsletters. While i am sure they are all competent chefs the restaurants are not exactly a compendium of the very top restaurants in the country. Even so, using Sysco pre-made products isn't the issue. The issue would be passing them off as one's own. Certainly some do. They have to live with themselves.

It may or may not be a secret and I would be surprised if at least some restaurants don't outsource their desserts and claim them to be in-house as there certainly are many, many mediocre restaurants who need all the help they can get, but where are the top-notch places that are doing that? It's one thing to outsource from someone like Will Goldfarb, but then I would think the restaurant would wish to promote that. It's quite another to outsource from a Sysco and then want to take credit for it. As I said earlier though if all they would do anyway is mediocre desserts they might as well outsource. I don't have a problem with that. The deceit is another story though. Still, Nathan, you are throwing around a lot of conjecture and claiming it to be common knowledge, when there is really no evidence that it is. If there is evidence, it hasn't been provided here so far as i can see.

Wagyu beef sliders supposedly available today at Bouchon look and sound marvelous.

My answer to the original question of this topic would be that if the pastry chef is capable of and doing delicious, interesting and creative desserts (as opposed to run of the mill) then having an in-house pastry chef and team can be very important to a restaurant. If all the pastry chef will do is create standard desserts, then why bother if it can be outsourced more economically?

This will be a topic to keep an eye on. Thanks for doing it.

According to Grub Street should be opening tomorrow. Some photos at Buddha Drinks Fanta. According to Eater opened yesterday. BTW the food in the photos linked to above is gorgeous.

That's what I was able to dig up as well. This has vaulted toward the top of my go-to list in NYC.

When did it open? Should be fun!

There is a concept written about in the elBulli books that they call "The Sixth Sense." This is all about factors that effect one's perception and enjoyment of food. External associations and the concept of "surprise" are elements that contribute to that sense. Making ice cream "chewy" may or may not be inherently "better", but the contextual change may in itself be fun, interesting and pleasure enhancing - at least to some. If one enters with a closed mind, it will almost certainly not be appreciated. From my experience, I am more than willing to see what Chef Stupack can do. ← Thanks doc, valid explanation. I just think sometimes this stuff gets a little gimicky. As cynical as I am I to go to these restaurants with an open mind. In fact the 3x I've been to WD-50 I've really enjoyed the creativity of the concepts of each plate, as well as most of the all the flavors. Sweet and Savory. The last time I went I sat at the bar specifically to try Alex's desserts, and was annoyed to find most of the dessert that described on the menu scattered all over the plate and I couldn't really sink my teeth into any of it. A crumble here a swipe there. By the end I was taking all of the contents on the plate and pushing them to the center, so I could get at least 2 maybe 3 bites of substance. Perhaps I'm close minded or old fashioned, and belong with the cuozzo crowd. It's just that Iwasn't really Wowed by anything or surprised either. Oh well, I'll keep eating and keep posting, Peace ← Your question was valid. I wasn't suggesting that you have a closed mind

There is a concept written about in the elBulli books that they call "The Sixth Sense." This is all about factors that effect one's perception and enjoyment of food. External associations and the concept of "surprise" are elements that contribute to that sense. Making ice cream "chewy" may or may not be inherently "better", but the contextual change may in itself be fun, interesting and pleasure enhancing - at least to some. If one enters with a closed mind, it will almost certainly not be appreciated. From my experience, I am more than willing to see what Chef Stupack can do.

The last few comments are reassuring as that is indeed how it should be. I have known some chefs who are very defensive and of course there is the "they just don't get it" response. The problem is hearing that a couple of times could turn someone off from offering criticism. At this point I tend to give constructively offered criticism if I know the chef and have an idea how that chef will deal with it, the meal is a marked negative departure from previous experience or if asked. I don't offer praise if I don't feel it is warranted as I believe that sends the wrong message.

This should be interesting. Chris, in addition to being a very talented chef is a very engaging guy and should show well on tv.

Diane, may I ask what your experience with paella is? If you have experienced the paellas of Valencia and Alicante you will most likely be very disappointed by the dish in NYC. If not, the ones mentioned will likely be satisfactory. While i do not believe they offer paella, I like Casa Mono for Spanish influenced food and though I haven't eaten there yet (I tried to once but it was too busy), Tia Pol is popular and has a good reputation for Spanish influenced food.

Just out of curiosity, but did they ever explicitly admit to the laptop or just the bag?

Explain please....... ? ← I would like to read more on this as well. As for South American fine dining, your best bet may be over the river in New Jersey at Cucharamamama, Marisel Presilla's Pan-American restaurant.

The peach place we went to in Peach County (very large place) had 3 crops - peaches - strawberries - and pecans - different seasons. The biggest problem IMO will be the thousands of Mexican farm workers who will be out of work. I don't think Georgia is prepared to take care of them. The peaches from the southeast come here in Florida at times different than those from California - the ones from from the southeast in the early summer - those from Californiia in the late summer. The seasons are just totally different. Robyn ← My experience in northeastern NY is that California peaches are around throughout the summer with Southern peaches arriving in mid-July and extending through mid-August at which time Northern peaches are available.

I guess I don't really see that what Neroni said was really talking trash, although Rivera must have seen it that way. It didn't really get ugly until Rivero made his statements. Without them, the whole thing likely would have blown over pretty quickly. Too bad.

I would hope that the effected farmers have more variety than a single crop to bring to harvest and sell, although few would have the cache in that particular region that peaches have. The problems in the south may prove to be a boon for farmers in other areas like California as peach prices are likely to be high.

Yes. ← I don't recall Neroni making any accusations other than "irreconcilable differences."

If it is an isolated response, it is easy for them to discount though they should still listen and be happy to get the feedback. The reason for that is that if they get that kind of feedback with some consistency it becomes less easy to discount and perhaps more valuable since maybe they can recognize a problem before people start simply not coming to the restaurant anymore.

The sound of the seashore and other associations are an interesting avenue in fine dining. Paul Liebrandt is another chef attuned to the role of sound in fine dining. From an interview I did with him last fall and available here.;