docsconz

As for where this trend came from, I would have to think it has a lot to do with the increased exposure and popularity of sous vide cooking. It is easier than ever to cook eggs perfectly time and time again by cooking them in the appropriate temperature water bath in their own shell rather than plastic.

If just having peas as a side dish I prefer fresh or frozen, however, canned peas are wonderful with small pasta such as pastina, tubette, or orzo. The flavor marries perfectly with a little olive oil, onion and S&P. The soft texture goes well with the pasta too. I suppose that one can do this with egg noodles too, though I never have

The prices mentioned upthread are at the enoteca (the bar area). In the main dining room, it is still pretty expensive. ← I understand. When I was there that was the part that I thought was egregiously expensive.

I may have to think about going back - it sounds like they are priced more realistically. What is available with this prix fixe?

Based on my experience in Latham I do not expect it to supplant Little India in my estimation. As for Mino's, I understand that they are moving to Beekman Street.

Perhaps 18th Street, in the neighborhood we call Pilsen? ← Maxwell Street? ← Bingo! Thanks.

Unfortunately I spent only a very limited amount of time in Chicago in 2006, but I didn't waste it! Alinea, Avenues, Schwa (the quail egg ravioli was my dish of the year!), Frontera Grill, street food at the Mexican market (the street name is eluding me at the moment). There were many more I would have liked to dine at - perhaps in 2007.

Thanks for the report. I have been holding on to a few of some of these plus some Beaucastel. You have made me excited to try some, though I am still in no hurry.

Gastronomically inclined Phoenicians must be rejoicing now. I would be thrilled if he were in place and open by the time I get to Phoenix this spring. Best of luck to Chef Poli and his new restaurant and best wishes to those who worked with him at Butter.

I would rather that it was wrong. Good luck and best wishes to Stelio, Patrice and the others in future endeavors.

similar thread on this topic ... another thread in the same vein is here.... ← Mel, thanks for the links. These other discussions are related in spirit, though this topic appears to be highlighting actual menu abuse with English as the original language.

So cryptic! I haven't received it yet, but I will be sure to look out for it. Is this the first edition entirely of his content?

I do not disagree with you, however, "nice" jeans are indeed permissable there.

From the New York Times obituary linked to above:

How large is a larger group?

You can. I would suggest a sports jacket though. A tie is not necessary. You will be more comfortable with a "smart" outfit.

I'll tackle the easy question - high end lunch. Jean-Georges. End of story. There is no better place for lunch that can come anywhere near it for value. This could arguably be the best haute cuisine value in the world. $12/course? For this food? Don't think twice.

Although I haven't been there in quite some time, I am surprised to read this about Palena's wine list as I was under the impression that it has been a perenniel favorite of Robert Parker and his associates. It was in fact, reading about it in The Wine Advocate that first put it on my radar.Then again, maybe they bring their own too.

Thanks for sharing your list, Kevin. The General's Daughter is a place I very much want to try. Unfortunately my last few trips to California I was unable to work it out. That is too bad about laidback manor. I would have liked to have tried that as well. Unfortunately modern creative cuisine can be a tough sell to a conservative dining public. Topolobampo is wonderful. I try to make room for it whenever I am in Chicago. Unfortunately, there are now a number of restaurants that I try to make room for there. Given that I am rarely therre for a long time I may have to put them on a rotation. Lanny's Alta Cocina Mexicana sounds particularly intriguing to me as the alta cocina concept of Mexican hasn't reached anywhere near it's saturation point. There remains a lot of room for successful creativity there. I can't help but notice the number of tapas places on your list. I think we are likely to see more and more of them on these kinds of lists.

I have been to Dim Sum Dynasty a few times now for dim sum and this past saturday wa the first time I was disappointed. The previous times were without cart service. Ordering from the menu, though not as much fun as choosing from carts, produced fresh, wonderful dim sum in a timely fashion. On Saturday, however, the carts were very slow making their rounds and the dishes were not at peak form by the time they arrived at our table. We ordered soup dumplings. After a half hour wait, I reminded the waiter who then went and pulled some off a cart. These were simply the worst soup dumplings I ever had. The skins were thick and fragile and they were cold. I would return because of prior experiences, but not for the cart service. For that I prefer Silver Pond.

I'm not sure who you are referring to. Some of the waitstaff were familiar. Those who waited on us were not. Nevertheless, our waiter was no newbie. He was very well-informed about the food and cooking. We had excellent service. One person who wasn't there that I missed was Wylie's father, Dewey. I don't believe that his absence that night was indicative of any larger absence on his part. Thanks everyone for the positive feedback on the photos. My seat was relatively well-lit making the photos much easier to work with. The biggest problem with low light situations is avoiding blur.

Si, given your culinary interests, I think you must experience Wylie's and Alex's cooking for yourself. I will be very interested in your response.

The foie gras reminded me of Israeli cous-cous only a little softer. It also reminded me texturally of Wylie's shrimp "cous-cous". The conception of the dish was marvelous. The Bacon, egg, toast was not an encapsulation in the Adria sense. Texturally it was like a tater tot, though softer in the middle like a croquette.

I had no trouble swirling in the glass I had. I don't recall that being an issue in the past. FWIW, we did not have the pairings. Instead we had an albariño and a white rioja. They were ok with most of the dishes, though the rioja clashed with one of the seafood dishes. We were done with wine by the squab and did not feel like ordering another bottle by that point.

It has been a little over a year since I had last been to WD-50. A few things had clearly changed, the most significant of which is the departure of Sam Mason and the arrival of Alex Stupak. Wd-50 had been my favorite restaurant in NYC for a number of reasons. Would it still be? Due to a visit to NYC of one of my closest HS buddies and his wife, it was a good time to revisit this restaurant. We arrived Friday evening just before our reservation time of 9PM after having driven three+ hours through wind and rain and a day of work. We were seated at a nice table overlooking the kitchen. The menu had a number of items on it that were new to me, while the tasting menu was a mixture of new and standards. The restaurant was new to my friends, but not to my wife and I. Though we have had and enjoyed the standards, this evening I wanted to try new stuff to see if Wylie and Co. were still as creative as they had previously been. The kitchen was kind enough to indulge us in a tasting menu of items new to us. Bacon, eggs, toast Malted chestnut soup, salmon threads, celery root Foie gras in the round Crab "roll", black bean, mint, pickled ginger Pinenut cassoulet, rabbit sausage, smoked octopus Langoustine, popcorn, hibiscus, endive Kampachi, cranberry, kolrabi, nori crisp Squab breast, beets, wood sorrel, coconut pebbles Yuzu curd, spruce yogurt, pistachio "Creamsicle", rooibos, squash, orange blossom Chocolate cream, umeboshi, beet I don't really know why I even had a doubt as to how this meal would be or whether WD-50 would still be my favorite restaurant in New York. If upon Sam mason's departure he would have been replaced by someone unknown to me, maybe. However, he was replaced by one of the very few people who could possibly have stepped in to his shoes at WD-50 - Alex Stupak. I was familiar with Alex from his work at Alinea. Not only was the transition from savory to dessert seamless at Alinea while Alex was there, it was also here at WD-50. The desserts were simply brilliant, with pure flavors, wonderful, unintuitive combinations, great technique and a simple (appearing) artistry on the plate. Alex's desserts are all that and if it weren't for Wylie's wonderful antecedent courses, worth a visit for them alone. But please, if you have any interest in creative cooking and wonderful, novel flavors, don't pass on Wylie's courses. I really don't understand some of the criticism that WD-50 has received here on eGullet. The flavors are excellent as are the textures. The plates are well-balanced on both regards. Perhaps the newness of the combinations and flavors are sufficient to challenge more conservative tasate buds, though I would not expect that some of the critics are all that conservative ordinarily. There waasn't a dish that I didn't find compelling. My two favorites from the savories were the crab roll - I loved the pickled ginger, and the langoustine - the popcorn was subtle, but added an extra dimension to the dish. The kampachi was new to the menu that very day and is a winner. The foie gras in the round and pinenut "cassoulet" both featured creative techniques along with delicious results. One of my friends found the chestnut soup to be his favorite dish. Wylie has always done squab superbly (I first had the delectable bird at 71 Clinton Fresh Food during Wylie's tenure) and this was no exception. The beets added both color and depth of flavor. One noticeable change from when I was last there was the absence of a sous-vide circulator in the kitchen. Wylie had been using it routinely with seafood, but felt that he would not be allowed to cook the fish at the low temperatures that he liked with the technique. As a result, he has gone without the technique. He cooked the kampachi at 128 degrees F in a vapor oven. The skin was extra crisp as they kept the scales on for that purpose. The result really was superb. The desserts again were dynamite with perfect balance of sweet, salt and acid. The yuzu curd didn't just hit the spot, it slammed it. The rooibos foam provided flavor that was familiar but not too much so - I loved it. The chocolate cream was certainly delicious, but it also happened to be one of the most strikingly beautiful desserts I think I have ever seen. My photo does not do it justice. To be honest, I was tired when we arrived for our 9PM reservation. I was also a little bit apprehensive. I woke up quickly as my taste buds were brought to life and we and our friends proceeded to have a lovely evening. Though this is very early in the year, it is going to take a lot of really incredible dining to dislodge this meal from my top ten list for 2007. It would have made 2006 easily.