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I thought it was more like taking credit for having made a correct prediction. With the large number of detractors the original Varietal had—including quite a few published critics—it's pretty hard to give credit to any one person. It would be almost like waking up the day after the election in 1948, and saying, "See, I told you Truman would win."I find Cuozzo entertaining, but I do not rely on him for dining recommendations. ← Mark, I have to disagree with your interpretation on this one. "Others saw a delayed reaction to the column I wrote..." strikes me pretty plainly that he feels at least somewhat responsible or at least would like to be considered somewhat responsible for the demise of that iteration of Varietal rather than having simply made a correct prediction.

Thank you Shaya. I love traveling, but I love it even more when I can do it with my family. As my two eldest sons are at an age getting close to College, i don't know how many more trips like this we will be able to do both financially and opportunistically. I strongly urge you to travel with your children if you can afford the time and money. I have also had the pleasure of doing one-on-one trips with my two eldest sons and hope to be able to do it with my youngest in the future. Those are particularly special.

Juliaca We were heading back to Juliaca to catch our flight back to Cusco as the end of our trip was approaching. Given that we didn't have showers on Taquile and we were supposed to have dinner that night at Huaca Pucllana in Lima, we planned on arriving in Juliaca early to find someplace to shower before our flight. As it was we'd be pushing getting to Huaca Pucllana on time for our reservation. However, as we arrived in Juliaca we realized that a major event was going on. Given that it was carnaval, there was a big parade going on in the center of town. This parade was very different to the one we followed on Taquile. This was a several mile stretch of young Carnaval dancing groups. The streets were lined with people and food vendors, all set up to watch the gyrating bodies wiggle past. Of course, being Carnaval in peru, there were plenty of kids with water buckets and foam spray cans dousing anyone they could! Tired, hot, but exuberant dancers. It was quite warm out and I don't think these people minded getting splashed with water and foam now and again as well as pounding down various beverages. Unlike the parade on Taquile, I did not have the sense that alcohol played a prominent role with these dancers/musicians. Selling churros amongst the crowd. Popcorn and potato chips More colorful dancers working up a thirst and an appetite. Selling empanadas. I do not know what they were filled with. Frying eggs with a portable fry station. Cooking anticuchos. I don't know if these were beef hearts or some other meat. The churro stand The making and eating of Churros. Piping hot, they were delicious and addictive. We went back for seconds and thirds. A few more images of festive dancers. Needless to say, this event grabbed our attention and we didn't get our showers. We did make our flight though it was running a bit late. What we didn't realize is that we would have a surprise in store for us once we got to Lima.

Other than that it was good, I'm afraid that I can't tell you too much about it right now due to an increasingly sketchy memory. I believe the base may have been chicken stock, but at this point I wouldn't swear to it. The quinoa was cooked in it much like barley is within certain soups.

Anyone who has to point out how influential he is, probably isn't all that influential.

Dean, you have a beautiful family! The photo of your daughter eating the turkey sandwich is priceless!

Thanks for doing this excellent report with such fine quality photos. What places did you not get to that perhaps in retrospect you wish you did or would make a priority of next time? What places would you make sure to return to next time? Why for both questions?

Thanks for the link. I agree with Bryan. Not only is Cuozzo a poor food critic, he also appears to have quite the ego as he relishes taking "credit" for what has transpired at the restaurant:

I really hate this guy. ← Is this new or from his original article? If new what is the context of his piece?

Taste can't be proved or disproved, but I find this difficult to believe. Since my visit to Ssam Bar, I've been to The Modern, Country, Daniel, and Eleven Madison Park. If money were no object, I'd choose any one of them above Ssam Bar. In. A. Heartbeat.Obviously, money is a factor for most of us. It's nice to know that you can waltz into Ssam Bar any night of the week, wearing whatever you want to wear, and have a very good meal at a fraction of the cost that other places charge for comparable quality. While The Modern, Country, Daniel, and EMP were my four best meals of the year so far, I certainly had others that were very good, came close to or met Ssam Bar's general level of excellence, and took place in much more enjoyable surroundings. I wouldn't say Ssam Bar is an emperor with no clothes. It thoroughly deserves all the praise it has received. But some of the praise seems to me over-the-top. ← This post says very clearly what I tried to convey. Clearly this restaurant resonates very strongly with some and less so with others. I and the others with me fit into the latter category. I found the food to be good, though not extraordinary. While I feel that surroundings amongst other factors play into how one receives food, I have enjoyed wonderful food in less than ideal surroundings and been disappointed with food in otherwise perfect conditions. I have also championed restaurants that others have been less enthusiastic about. Such is life and that is one of the things that makes it interesting. I am glad that I tried MSB, but it will not be a place that I will make a point of getting back to for its own sake with the limited time I get to dine in NYC. That being said. under the right circumstances I wouldn't rule out a return either. I didn't dislike the place, I just didn't like it as much as many who have posted on this topic.

Moderator's Note This topic will be left open for discussion of the original Varietal. For discussion of Varietal under Wayne Nish, please start a new topic.

Great report, Peter! This is a trip that I dream of doing - perhaps some day! I love all the photos and I too, am awed by your ability to report in this detail while on the road!

According to today's New York Times, Jordan will be heading to San Francisco. No other details published.

Wayne Nish will be the new chef at Varietal, making a more traditional cuisine.

If I remember correctly, Marlene, you are not particularly into seafood, which is a shame in Barcelona as it has some of the best seafood anywhere. With that in mind I would suggest Jamonissimo for a sampling of Spain's unparalled hams and Gaig for some of the best canellons you can imagine. Of course, do see the Boqueria. In addition to Pinotxo there are a number of other excellent kiosks worth sampling.

I forgot this one from the Huatta market I'm not sure if these were big leeks or more likely tortora reeds.

To a significant extent I think the issue being discussed here depends on the kind of food being prepared in a given restaurant. More traditional restaurants have less overlap between savory and dessert items and the better ones will likely still have pastry chefs for the foreseeable future. Where I think the line gets fuzzy are with more modern restaurants. The distinctions between savory and sweet are already fizzy in places like Alinea, WD-50 and elsewhere as savory chefs try their hands with sweeter elements and techniques borrowed from the pastry lexicon and pastry chefs do the reverse. Sam Mason is a classic example of the latter. He has made a name for himself by incorporating traditionally savory ingredients into his desserts and he is now about to embark on a restaurant at which he will be doing savory courses in addition to desserts. As Vadouvan said, it goes both ways. Pastry chefs will not become extinct (I certainly hope not), but I do think that we will continue to see more overlap of roles within the kitchen. Unless one really prefers a traditional style I think it would be wise whether a savory or sweet focus, to maintain some familiarity with both areas.

Agreed. They were great with substitutions and I've heard they'll even let you share a tasting. I wish more restaurants would be flexible. I would definitely order more tasting menus if the whole table didn't have to. This was also our 10 yr old's first experience with what I consider fine dining so I was glad it was a bit more casual and fun. She had a great rapport with both our server and the general manager. ← I agree that this restaurant would be a great introduction for the culinarily adventurous child. It is relatively relaxed and not too far out of the experience of most children who are accustomed to dining at less lofty locations.

Moderator's Note: This is a very interesting topic, but it can be a very emotional one to. Please refrain from personal attacks and address the issues directly.

Yes, we were as far into the restaurant as you could go...maybe because we had a child with us. My wife replaced the tuna with the egg. She actually didn't like it that much. It's steamed inside the glass and had a mushy consistency that she wasn't crazy about. Luckily, I was there to finish it for her! I also had the quail but my wife chose the veal. It wasn't quite as tender as I would have thought and was slightly oversalted (I thought). I enjoyed the quail much more. Since my daughter wanted the chocolate sensation, I traded the one I had from the tasting menu with her for the souffle. I can't quite remember but I think it was almond and some kind of liquor. Very light and fluffy. I thought it was great but then again, I'm a huge souffle fan. To me, there's no such thing as a bad souffle. ← I'm glad wwe did what we did, although I think some of the better desserts may not have been on the Discovery menu. The souffle sounds great. One thing I really liked about their format is that not everyone in a party had to order the tasting menu like in most restaurants. Ron and I each had the Discovery while his family ordered ala carte.

funny thing about this topic is that I think that NYC is currently enjoying a major renaissance of great desserts in varying styles. Vadouvan hit upon a few in his post above.

← I'll bite. At the moment and since the middle of last summer it has been none other that Grant Achatz since Alex Stupak moved to WD-50 and Jordan Kahn moved to NYC where he subsequently opened then left Varietal. I have not been back to Alinea since Alex and Jordan left, but have no doubt as to Chef Achatz' abilities. I did have the pleasure of enjoying WD-50 and Varietal with Chefs Stupak and Kahn respectively and both were great. This is an interesting topic. My own viewpoint is that there will always be a place for a talented pastry chef even if Vadouvan's prognistication becomes mostly true, which I think it will as there simply aren't sufficient pastry chefs at that name recognition level and the economics will rule. What Varietal taught is that savory and sweet components of a restaurant really should be on the same wavelength or the juxtaposition can be jarring. I am noticing more savory chefs in fine dining restaurants controlling the dessert sied as well as the savory even if they work with a pastry chef. Of course, some do it better than others and do it quite well, while those who don't should probably get the appropriate help.

By all the way on the inside of the bar, do you mean the side opposite the entrance that I photographed above? I'm sorry that we missed you! The egg wasn't on our Discovery Menu. The veal was but it was a choice between that and the quail. We chose the quail. Did you have the Discovery? How was the souffle and what was it like?

The Andres vs. Flay battle was one of the most entertaining and interesting I have seen on ICA. Both teams seemed to do extremely well with their product. The show was an interesting contrast in culinary styles with all of Flay's dishes riffs on traditional methods and Andres' all very creative employing much of the Vanguard arsenal.

Thank you. You got it. That is exactly what they are.