docsconz

That is absolutely correct. The salient point of this whole discussion is this : There is no reason for anyone or entity to oppose this ban. The majority of evidence show's that the "have not's" are the people who live in the poorest urban communities in America. There just happens to be a collateral issue of people who eat deep fried foods every now and then. The "have not's" as we have chosen to label them pretty much eat fried foods for 90% of the time. Typically a fast food breakfast, a fast food lunch or fry shack lunch and possible another fried dinner. It's easy to sit on the computer on e-gullet and dine in fancy restaurants but it really wont change the lives of the people on this forum. Go to North Philly, Trenton, Baltimore, Atlantic city,Detroit and see what the poor people eat. The only two other points are these : THE COST ISSUE : The cost issue is pointless because the people who refine frying oils already have alternatives on the market at insignificant cost increases. We are talking the big agrodudes like Archer Daniels Midland. The markup on breaded deep fry foods in fry joints is high enough to absorb the slight increase in oil. Even if they pass it on to the consumer, the "have not's" will still continue to buy it because they have no options and that is what the are used to. The cost issue is Invalid. THE CIVIL LIBERTARIAN ISSUE : The food libertarians want you to believe that allowing the government to legislate food is a slippery slope and thus there should be a blanket denial of government involvement in what we eat. It's frankly absurd because there are laws on the books and procedures determining what is safe or adulterated. As medical research gets more sophisticated the law catches up. Most of our elected officials are intelligent enough to draw the line between politics and absurdity. Case and point: Governor Eliot Spitzer isnt going to allow a Foie Gras ban to Pass in New York but isnt opposed to a trans-fat ban. He is *actively* opposed to classifying Foie as an adulterated product simply because of witchcraft science by the PETA nazis. They arent going to slowly take our food away but to continue to let the poor people die of heart disease is Immoral. Even if we dont care, guess who pays for it, social security, medicare and emergency rooms. Translation : YOU. ← Excellent post. I am not in favor of willy-nilly bans on what we eat. I am in favor of reasonable ones though, especially when the risk is generally well hidden as they are with trans-fats. It would be one thing if there were real advantages that would be lost, but if there are, I haven't encountered them.

Well, I was just curious what people thought of the situation. I didn't want to do anything about it. The Restaurateur's "art" always fascinates me, including why some restaurants will flourish and others nearby with equally good food will die. As it turns out, we've pretty much stopped going there, but entirely because we've found other places whose food we enjoy more. It has nothing to do with the second corkage fee. And it has nothing specifically to do with another story that I had completely forgotten until today; we dined there one night and were told that the special that day was Sea Bass, which we've had there before and loved very much. When it came this time, it actually was "Chilean" Sea Bass, which we don't like. We noticed it as we were eating it, and as we didn't enjoy it, we basically just picked at it. As I say, we order so many courses (frequently three appetizers to share amoung the two of us) that we were pretty full, and decided not to send them back and wait for something else at that point. But when she cleared the plates and saw that we hadn't eaten much of it, she asked if we didn't like it, and we said that, in fact, no, it was actually "Chilean" Sea Bass, which we don't like. Her reply was, "Yes, I didn't make that clear" and made no attempt to remedy the situation in any way, and charged ($36 dollars each) for them. Of course, we chose not to send them back or make an issue of it, but again I think a restaurant should be somewhat gracious about regular customers not eating their food because they don't like it, and we thought her attitude over the wrongly described food was pretty cavalier under the circumstances. Exactly what she should have done, I can't say, but leaving it as she did didn't exactly create a winning feeling either. But I can't say that that's specifically how she lost us either. When we're on vacation, we always try some new (to us) restaurants in the mix, and have recently found some that we enjoy a lot more, so for our last two trips, she lost us as customers by attrition. Her lack of a "gracious" attitude didn't actually drive us away, but when we found newer places that were more enjoyable all around, when it came time to choose a restaurant for dinner each night, her place just never came up. That's life, I guess. I think you called it right earlier. ← They really didn't do anything to instill any sense of loyalty either. Maybe that is why they were always so empty. Interesting story and question.

As you described the situation, I think it would be nice and good business just to waive the second fee, but certainly not something that they are obligated to do.

Just to put another slant on this fun topic, what were some of your favorite restaurants from the 80's and why? I spent the bulk of my time in the 80's in Medical School in NYC and Residency in Charlottesville, VA so my choices will mostly reflect those places. Some of mine in no particular order: Ferdinando's in Brooklyn, was and still is an iconic Sicilian restaurant. The panelle special sandwiches remain a favorite, but my all-time favorite experience there was on a beautiful May day shortly before my Med School graduation when a few of my classmates, myself and our respective fiancees (we were all about to get married) bought sandwiches and seafood salads for take-out and had a picnic on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade overlooking lower Manhatten and the Brooklyn Bridge. I have never enjoyed a picnic more. Monte's Brooklyn - the best linguini with white clam sauce ever! Il Mulino Greenwich Village. This was our go-to restaurant for special occassions from the late 80's through the early 90's. Caramba Columbus Avenue. This would not be my cup of tea today, but was a fun place for a splurge every now and again while in Med School. This was when the chimichanga was king. La Maison Japonaise Flatiron? Mentioned above. this was the first self-consciously "fusion" restaurant I ever experienced. Japonica Union Square - our goto place for sushi. Empire Szechuan -Broadway and 96th St(?) Our goto place for Szechuan Chinese The Silver Palace Canal St. Our goto place for dim sum. The Columbia P&S Faculty Club 168th St. - Since I was only a student I could only visit this place when taken by a faculty member. It was ahead of its time as it served tasty Spanish style "tapas" in the 80's. The Silver Thatch Inn Charlottesville, VA. Our special ocassion place in Virginia. Guadalajara Charlottesville. I really learned to love Mexican street food at this restaurant. Eastern Standard Charlottesville. This is where we first saw the possibilities of creative cooking. Pollo al'ast Sitges. I don't recall the name of the hole-in-the-wall rotisserie chicken place we ate at during a trip to the beach from Barcelona, but I have never in my life enjoyed eating a chicken more than I did there. Restaurante Reno Barcelona - my first carpaccio. I did get sick trying to smoke a Cuban cigar though. Mrs. Ou's Medical School Cafetria kiosk Hanover, N.H. where I first learned to really appreciate Chinese cooking. Joyce Chen's Cambridge, MA. where I expanded my horizons with Chinese cooking. These are some that pop back into my memory as being particularly special for one reason or another. Yours?

Just like anywhere else, this cuisine will work in LV based on whether or not it is done well and the end product is good food. The problem is that like with any other cuisine just because it is showy it isn't necessarily good. Though the techniques used may not be difficult the emphasis placed on creativity is such that only a few chefs are consistently able to come up with winner combinations that are new, visually interesting (a hallmark of the cuisine) and delicious. It is therefore no surprise that a self-consciously creative vanguard chef has not set up shop there yet. I see no reason why it would not necessarily work if it fills a niche. It doesn't even have to be the font of a chef's creativity either. The Benazuza in Sevilla appears to be quite good and successful with "best of" elBulli format. I could see that or a similar approach from Grant Achatz or a few others working there. What that style restaurant has in its favor is that the vast majority of diners at high end Vegas restaurants are tourists. It doesn't matter to them whether the menu changes on a weekly, monthly or any basis. Most would just as soon go for "the highlights" that they may have heard about.

My and my family's favorite in this genre is Cooper's Sharp American Cheese available at fine deli counters. It is quite tasty as is and wonderful melted over fried eggs for a breakfast sandwich (had one this morning with bacon on a baguette) as well is in an omelette or with scrambled eggs. It's also great for grilled cheese.

Thank goodness for that I wish that were true where I live.

I guess to you then, "weird" does not connote negativity, necessarily? Anyone else? Maybe it is my perception of this that is "weird"!

What does the word "weird" connote? To me the word does not connote a positive attribute. Instead, I see and I believe that the general population sees "weird" as something that is less than desirable. The implication when "weird" is used to describe something is that it is off-base and generally undesirable, certainly not something that is generally used positively. The word "unusual" on the other hand is much more neutral and can be used to describe something that is good or bad. It is basically devoid of an inherent value judgment. Had Cuozzo used that word, I would not have taken him so much to task. Jordan Kahn's desserts are certainly unusual in terms of their composition and their plating. They may be considered unusual for their flavors as well. However, I do not find them to be the least bit weird - at least not the ones that I have had.

My sentiments exactly. I think that there is a place in this world for these and other approaches.

Chez Sophie in Saratoga Springs wrote about it in their newsletter when the law was passed allowing this. IMO it shouldn't matter whether the driver has access to the wine or not. If there is suspicion the driver will be tested. If the BAL is above the legal limit the driver will be DUI. If below, then it really shouldn't be an issue especially as legal BA limits have gotten much lower in recent years. If there is no behavioral reason for suspicion no test should be needed.

He did say popular!

Photos from Aromtics, Wine and the Spanish Kitchen: Of Sherry, Albariño, and More, the Saturday afternoon breakout session I attended at the marvelous Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies in the Viking Range Corporation tasting Theater. This facility was incredible. I would be happy sitting there all day and all evening tasting wines and nibbling on morsels. It was better equipped than most medical school classrooms in my experience! Steve Olson aka "The Wine Geek" led the session with a little help from his friend, Jose Andres. The wines we sampled. The specifics are listed in the article above. Not that anyone was in danger of starving, but marvelous tapas from mini-bar were provided with which to taste and pair the wines. Ruben Garcia passing out tapas. Jorge Ordonez of Tempranillo Imports. If Ordonez or Eric Solomon's (also in the tasting audience) names are on the bottles of Spanish wines, it is my experience that the wines will be good and generally fairly priced. That is certainly not to say that they are the only ones importing good Spanish wines, but I haven't been disappointed by any of theirs that I have tried especially at the lower end of the price spectrum where the values are superb. Garcia and John Paul Damato are in the background serving the tapas. The tapas: the specific dishes are mentioned in the installment.

close doc, but no cigar ← Bummer!

you may be right, but you must remember two things: 1. Ramsay is very persistent: he will never give up until he achieves his goal 2. He has secret weapon. Obviously very little can be disclosed at this stage, but he will soon secure the services of America's most popular Englishman as his Maitre d. 4 stars will follow, as night follows day. ← Rowen Atkinson will be his maitre'd?

Though I am ashamed to admit that I haven't eaten at the Modern (Bar or otherwise) and thus can not make a direct comparison, I do not share your impression that the four course London Bar dinner was insufficient to make a meal. I found my dinner there to be a reasonable value in terms of the food quality and quantity even if it did not blow me away or make me itch to return there. My biggest issues when I was there were service oriented. I remain curious to try GR, though I am not overly impatient for my opportunity.

I'm not sure from reading your initial post on this, but was this the first time that you dined at J-G? If not how long has it been since you last dined there and how were the desserts different? I am curious, because I have always enjoyed the desserts very much and know of no particular reason for a change in style or format. Obviously people can and do have different tastes and preferences, although yours sound akin to my own. My sense is that your experience may have been an aberration for whatever reason.

JohnL, perhaps Cuozzo should hire you as his ghost writer as your points are much more clearly stated than his were. I don't have a problem with asking the questions that you gleaned from his article (though I think you may have read at least as much into the article as you claimed I did! ). They are indeed legitimate questions and worthy of discussion - perhaps on a new topic if not directly related to Varietal. If those questions were in fact Cuozzo's purpose, it was unfair of him to lay them entirely on Varietal's (a new restaurant) back. It would have been fine if he did indeed raise the questions in a clear and unambiguous manner and then used Varietal's tonka beans as an example, but he did not. The article was entirely about Varietal and if his intent was indeed to raise those more worthy questions his method was at best unclear and at worst either ignorant or malicious. The yin-yang nature of Varietal's offering is unique and not intuitive though I don't think the alleged disconnect is nearly as wide as it has been made out to be. Jordan Kahn's desserts don't taste weird. In fact, I think they taste quite delicious. They are creative though, fusing unusual technique and unusual ingredients into what I considered a rather tasty and harmonious whole. Ed Witt's food is also quite tasty and clearly the work of the chef. I did not feel that the food conflicted at all in terms of taste. In terms of style, however, they are quite different. Where there is a disconnect is that Jordan's desserts are clearly more unique in concept and execution than Ed's savories, which stylistically are similar to those of a number of other restaurants in New York. Jordan's desserts, though philosophically related to those from the likes of Alex Stupack, Will Goldfarb and Sam Mason to name three are still original unique in their actualization and style. If people have an open mind and enjoy different styles of cuisine, I think Varietal is worth visiting. If on the other hand, people have strong preferences for one style or another, they may not be pleased with an entire meal there. It strikes me that Cuozzo fits into this category, though I have not had reason to read enough of his work to have a real sense as to how true this may be. One group that this restaurant may be particularly good for is the set of people who are interested in trying more creative cuisine, but prefer not to do a whole meal with. BTW, I find tonka beans work very well when used like Jordan and others have used them.

I have been following this thread with interest. If one believes the old maxim that "there is no such thing as bad publicity" and one assumes that the eGullet Forums are indeed influential, this whole discussion may actually wind up spurring business at James by piquing people's curiosity!

More Saturday photos: Thomas Keller, Andoni Aduriz and Harold McGee enjoy a chat. Jose Andres introduces Pintxo-master Patxi Bergara while Michael Batterberry looks on. Carles Abellan during his tapas demonstration. Jose Andres and Ruben Garcia preparing tapas from mini-bar. Arturo Rubio and Marilu Madueño from Lima, Peru's Huaca Pucllana. Madueño and Huaca Pucllana pastry chef Andrea Massaro. Japanese tapa-sushi master Kiyomi Mikuni from Tokyo, Japan.

It may not be likely, but stranger things have happened. Even if they expand a little bit it could have a significant impact in the availability of prime tables. As for restaurants expanding their pricing according to demand, that would be a function of true market forces. At least I would still have a greater possibility of scoring a table in advance for myself without having to pay the additional fee of the "broker" or I would have the choice of saving a few bucks on less desirable times.

Thanks to Shirley, here is a link to video of Heston Blumenthal at Madrid Fusion. Unfortunately, the quality of the video isn't the greatest.

As someone who occasionally travels to Montreal for dining amongst other things, I think location may have been a factor in its demise. It was out of the way for all but the most dedicated visitors and was probably too innovative for a neighborhood place. The quality of Montreal's dining scene is too good nowadays and there is too much competition for tourists' dining dollars. If it were in Old Montreal or at least closer to downtown on the other side of the Mont, it may very well have been more successful. Of course this is easy to say in retrospect.

I don't think that we have misunderstood anything. At this point they are limiting the reservations available for any given restaurant, however, should this catch on with their "well-heeled" clientele they will need even more product to sell. I still think it is shady and will result in no good for most restaurant goers and restaurants.

I wouldn't have recommended the book if I meant to denigrate it, yet I am happy to hear that a revised edition will be released soon..