docsconz

In my initial post I mentioned two reasons: first, it's interesting to see how the same wine tastes with different foods; second, it's a great pleasure to live with a wine throughout a long meal and to watch it develop over the course of two or three hours of drinking. ← For the bulk of my restaurant experiences I agree with you, however, for certain restaurants, of which Alinea represents a prime example, I personally prefer the course by course synergism rather than experiencing an off pairing that does no good to either the wine or the food. It is also a particularly good device when all the diners are having very disparate food experiences and the restaurant is willing to tailor pairings individually.

If not the very best dish I ate in 2006, the quail egg ravioli at Schwa was right up there. I loved Schwa, but like my second visit to TFL, it suffered from dining there on a travel day. In fact due to an airline delay, I took a cab straight from Midway to the restaurant with my suitcase.

An evening at a restaurant is a pleasure that depends on many different factors such as the quality of the food, the service, the environment, the company, one's tastes and not least one's state of mind and body. As such any compilation of favorites is therefore a subjective one and may very well differ between individuals who shared the exact same calendar of experience. In my own list, my rating conveys my overall experience and knowingly or unknowingly all of the factors I mentioned above played a part. Even the relative rankings are probably somewhat dependent on my frame of mind when I reviewed them, though I have reviewed them a number of times over the past weeks. While these meals were my absolute favorites of the year, I had too many other great meals to mention. Their absence from this list is no slight to them, but rather a testament to the particular specialness of those that follow. My top ten with dates and comments: 1. Studio Kitchen 3/17/2006. link to dinner description with photos. An amazing combination of delicious, beautiful, creative food in a comfortable and intimate atmosphere, served by the food's creator and shared with nine other fascinating people (including the late M.X. Hassett) all the while savoring excellent wines at a steal of a price - what could be better? Shola Olunloyo stopped doing Studio Kitchen very shortly after or else this would likely have popped up several more times in my top ten. 2. Alinea 6/11/2006. link to dinner description with photos. The third time I have eaten at this restaurant and the only time (unfortunately) in 2006, it just keeps on getting better. Sharing this meal with Ronnie Suburban and Yellow Truffle added context, history and great companionship to the meal. It was also to be my last experience at Alinea with Alex Stupack and Jordan Kahn in the pastry kitchen and Joe Ziomeck in the FOH. They have moved on to other pursuits at which I have no doubt they will prove exceptional. Though their shoes are large, i have faith in Grant Achatz and the rest of the team at Alinea, my favorite restaurant in the United States. 3. Jose Andres' Minibar 5/16/2006. link to dinner description with photos. If one can't have fun eating at this restaurant, one can't have fun eating. The food was beautiful, creative, playful and of course delicious at this cozy interactive restaurant set within a restaurant. things can't get any better for those diners who enjoy watching food prepaaration as theater and interacting with the preparers at the same time. It also didn't hurt that my wife and I shared this experience with Ruben Garcia and Llorenc Petras and their wives. I subsequently had the pleasure to get to know both a little better at a couple of culinary conferences. 4. Jean-Georges 9/20/2006. link to lunch description with photos. Lunch at Jean-Georges is the most incredible value in fine dining (with the possible exception of dinner at El Bulli). The food is sensational and downright inexpensive ($12/course?). Sharing the meal with my great friend Joe Bavuso, his wife and a friend helped make this extra-special. 5. Chez Panisse Cafe 3/30/2006. link to lunch description with photos This lunch culminated my California spring culinary odyssey with Elliot Wexler aka Molto e. The cooking and ingredients are just so pure and so right. There is a reason that this restaurant has lasted so long in this day and age of ephemeral restaurant life - the food is simply perfectly prepared and satisfying. 6. The French Laundry 3/28/2006. link to dinner description with photos. My first of two visits to TFL in 2006, was all things considered the better overall experience. Though the second dinner was perhaps more uniform in quality from top to bottom, the highs were higher with this meal. My company was stellar both times, the first with Elliot and the second with my wife, the best man at our wedding and a friend of his. Ultimately, what probably made the difference in my enjoyment of the meals and my final ranking was the fact that the second time was the culmination of all day cross-country travel. In short, my wife and i were already exhausted by the time we arrived for dinner. 7. Perry Street 9/18/2006. Link to dinner description - unfortunately no photos. There was a time not too long ago that I was one of those who thought that Jean-Georges Vongerichten had "jumped the shark." That was before Perry Street and my most recent meals at J-G. The food was vibrant, creative, beautiful and full of flavor. I partook of this dinner with my brother and my sister. Bruce Willis was at a neighboring table. He also must like Jean-Georges' style as I ran into him again two days later at J-G. Well, if JGV has jumped the shark, I am happy to say that he did so unscathed. 8. Ame 3/26/2006. link to dinner description with photos. Sunday night dining is not supposed to be very good. I'm glad that nobody told that to the people cooking at this San Francisco star. Once again, this meal was with Elliott and was the first of our culinary tour together. A strong friendship rose from this. 9. Pujol 3/9/2006) My wife's and my Culinary Trip to Mexico in March was not only a highlight of 2006 for us, it was also one of the best trips of our lives. The food was fabulous, but much of it was not restaurant based. Of those that were, Pujol was outstanding; providing a modern touch overlaid on traditional Mexican cuisine. It was a fitting finale to an outstanding vacation. 10.El As de Oros 3/7/2006. Also from the Mexico trip, this was street food at its finest, though it was located in a market stall in Puebla. The cemita milanesa may have been the single best sandwich I have ever eaten.

Steven, I do not see anything wrong or even pushy about Alinea's language regarding wine pairings. They happen to do a fabulous job with it and would IMO be doing their customers a disservice by not highlighting it. As for the comparison with El Bulli, it is a different restaurant with a different style and focus. They both work well. The wine pairings happen to work particularly well at Alinea and IMO represent a good value for the amount, variety and quality of wines served not to mention the synergism a good pairing has with the food. That Adria chooses to focus less on that aspect of dining should have no bearing on the experience at Alinea. Each approach works very well for the respective restaurant. I think your argument is more cogent if using restaurants other than Alinea as examples, where prices may be inordinately high for mediocre wines that don't even necessarily match all that well with easily matched food.

I still don't understand the either/or choice that seems to be implied in this topic. I find that wine pairings work very nicely and truly complement the meal at a restaurant such as Alinea at which multiple small courses are served and at which the staff is geared towards and expert at matching wines with the courses. There is definite value added to being able to try these wines that complement the specific course. Alinea isn't serving dreck when they do this either. Nevertheless, for those who prefer to order by the bottle, the option remains with an outstanding list. If I am with a large group (6 or more), ordering by the bottle at most restaurants clearly makes more sense, especially if the number of courses is relatively limited. If I am ordering off the menu a total of say, five courses, or less and the platings are larger, it also makes sense to order by the bottle especially if the course selections lend themselves to specific types of wine. Sometimes though, when ordering off the menu and everyone is ordering all over the board, specific course pairings make more sense if offered. Personally, I'm happy that it is an option at many if not most fine-dining restaurants, even if I do not always avail myself of the opportunity.

Steven, your point is a good one, but must the options be mutually exclusive? If I am at home or at a more traditional restaurant I will tend to be more bottle oriented, but if I am at an adventurous tasting-menu oriented place known for their pairings as well as the food I tend to indulge with that. Both approaches have their places and value.

Remember that no cooks in this city can produce a memorable meal that rivals these two cooks with their price points. And, IMHO, they rival chefs with a much higher price point. Apart from their highly sophisticated cuisine, there is something very special going on at "Schwa." I cannot put my finger on it; however, I believe the (welcome) lack of pretentiousness, Nathan's exquisite taste in music (not to everybody's taste but...), and the sense of camaraderie established by their cooking/serving combination makes "Schwa" an experience to behold and savour. Here is to 2007 and my respects and myI-am-not-worth-it shout-out to Michael, Nathan, Blake, Pedro and the new guy whose name escapes me at the moment. Lenski, ← I think what you described is a very important ingredient in Schwa's success. Though the food is undeniably excellent, the challenge will be repeating the quality and consistency in a larger venue should they be so inclined. I am by no means urging this, as what they have now is indeed something special and it would be a shame to spoil it if they were unable to transfer that specialness to a lrger setting. In the meantime those lucky enough to dine at Schwa should enjoy it for what it is.

One question would be who and what is still there. A number of businesses apparently fled. I hope they have returned, but don't know.

Of the more casual places I tried, El Bajio was my favorite. There are now two locations. Unfortunately someone else will need to give location details or you can look around the forum for them.

That's too bad. My forays into NYC are too infrequent and there are too many places that I want to return to or try for dinner that I don't know when I will have a chance to get here. Lunch would have been a perfect intro. Nevertheless I am always intrigued by top-notch Mexican. I recently discovered the first decent Mexican restaurant in my neck of the woods - I will post about it after I go another couple of times.

It didn't sound like they would. if they are more of a Nuevo Mexicano bent they may not use much cheese at all. Gotta love the crema though.

Are they open for lunch? This place sounds very promising. any idea what kinds of cheeses they are using. I find that one can tell a lot about a Mexican restaurant's commitment to quality by the quality and varieties of cheese they use. I expect less of a place that uses Monterey Jack though it can still be good. I am intrigued by places that use real Mexican varieties either home made or imported. They are less likely to take shortcuts in other areas as well.

That would be a bargain in almost anyone's book. based on your report above with outstandintg photos and commentary I would tend to agree that ZB is a place to watch. I would hope to experience it for myself one of these days.

I too do not see this as an either/or situation, but if I had to choose one, it would be On Food and Cooking.

John: I am glad you guys all went on Thursday. Phoning you crossed my mind to see if you were going to write a review but I knew better and figured I would just check the site. Marcea and I came in for a late dinner (around 8:15) and enjoyed the shrimp app. and the arroz con pollo. Though the location does not provide for much in the way of foot traffic, I am hopeful that the word will get out about GG Mama's and that people will travel to enjoy the experience. I wanted to also mention her rather extensive breakfast menu (which I am making my way through including french toast, Spanish omelet (yum), various fruit drenched pancakes, etc.) and lunch menu including various sandwiches with Donnah Digan Lewis' personal touches including a number of vegetarian delights). Also she is working on wireless internet so even a cup of coffee can be accompanied by surfing if so inclined. I would highly recommend a visit to those interested. James housedoc@roadrunner.com ← James, Thanks for the initial recommendation. It was well worth going. I will have to try breakfast and lunch there at some point as well. BTW, welcome to eGullet! Sorry we missed you that night.

Given that this question is way off-topic for this thread, let's for now just agree to disagree on this. Alinea and WD-50 are two of my favorite restaurants. You are correct that the styles are quite different, but I disagree that Grant doesn't strive for complexity. I think Alinea is much more like WD-50 than either Perry street or J-G (both of which I also adore). We could certainly get into an extended discussion on this, but this is not the right place for it. The last point I will make here is that just because something tastes great doesn't mean that it isn't innovative. To put this back on topic, I think that ultimately the most culinarily successful restaurants are those that are consistently and frequently innovative with pleasing food. The other element is that they have to be able to sell it to the public.

I don't think J-G is a dinosaur, but I disagree as to where you place Alinea on the spectrum. The food is much more creative than one might think based on how satisfying it is. The combinations are quite novel even if Grant Achatz doesn't overutilize new techniques for their own sake. I also think that one of the things that sets Alinea apart on the creative/innovative side is how often the menu evolves. I know of no other restaurant in this country whose menu evolves more continuously than Alinea. To bring this back on topic and relate to the point I made regarding Alinea, one thing I think that has changed in the rarified atmosphere of fine dining is the premium placed on newness and creativity.Though some top restaurants can (and do) get by with minimal menu flux and evolution, the dining public more than ever craves variety and newness (for better or worse). It happens to be incredibly difficult to continuously come up with new dishes and new techniques. The variation that one sees on most NY restaurants (and elsewhere in the US and beyond) is mostly minor. It is a rare thing to see the continued creativity of a Grant Achatz. Some of the top restaurants will occassionally come out with a new dish, though most are content to rest on their "signatures." If a restaurant has developed a sufficient reputation for those signatures this can be successful and so long as those signatures don't get too far behind fashion, will likely be even more successful over time than a restaurant that is constantly evolving (with exceptions). The problem is that fashion changes have outstripped a lot of restaurants and others have simply run out of creativity.

I had dinner at a small new restaurant in Glens Falls (midway between Saratoga Springs and Lake George) with my family this evening. Located off the beaten track at the corner of Sanford and Ridge Streets, the restaurant is tastefully and comfortably decorated. The cooking is done by Donna Digan Lewis with mostly Latino and Asian influences. The menu is not extensive, but everything we had was quite good. For appetizers we had Sesame Tuna Satay with peanut sauce and crisp fried large shrimp with a slightly sweet spicy sauce. The tuna was cubed, coated with sesame seeds and seared. It was served over a salad with a thick peanut based sauce on the side. The shrimp consisted of a generous portion of perfectly fried large shrimp served piping hot. For main courses we had Arroz con Pollo, Pork Loin, Beef Tenderloin and Vegetarian Couscous. The Tenderloin came with sauteed vegetables and roasted potatoes. I didn't taste it, but it was cooked correctly with a generous portion of meat. My two sons who each had it, enjoyed it. The Arroz con Pollo, Pork Loin and Couscous all came with the same sides red beans and perfectly fried plantains. The pork came with rice too. Everything was quite tasty and well received by my family. Appetizers were each $8 per serving. Mains ranged from $12-20. Not having a liquor license, the restaurant is BYOW. If not the best, this is certainly one of the best restaurants in Glens Falls and well worth a visit if in the area. Unfortunately, the web site is under construction.

I liken it to Broadway. There are plenty of new openings each year. Some are very well produced, but for whatever reason have limited runs. Others, ill-conceived, bomb out more or less quickly and others become big hits with multi-year runs fueled largely by out-of-town visitors lured by the name and reputation of the show, but also supported to varying degrees by New Yorkers.

Photos from Of Mushrooms, Botanicals, and More: Cooking from the moderated by Maria Jose Sevilla and featuring Llorenc Petras and Andoni Aduriz. Sevilla and Petras. Cultivated Mushroom varieties available in Napa Valley- an impressive array to Petras. Andoni Luis Aduriz ...with translator. Cardboard display stand and bowl for his dish "oxalis salad." Construction of the Oxalis salad, a representative dish of Aduriz' "Techno-emotional" style using products of woodland origen. When making this dish at his restaurant he uses actual woodland foraged produce. Scent on a stick. Six disparate scents that when combined create the scent of sweet basil. Mixing the "clay" to coat the "pebble" potatoes Dipping the potatoes into the clay. Marcos and Pedro Moran congratulate Aduriz on a job well done. Aduriz and yours truly after his demos.

Photos from the first Aduriz demonstration, Signature Flavors of Spain's Top Chefs: Andoni Luis Aduriz: An overview (literally) of the Aduriz demo. Ferran Adria, Jose Andres and Dani Garcia can be discerned in the background. Ruben Garcia and Oriol Balaguer looking on. Harold McGee taking notes Aduriz discussing his philosophy with the assistance of a translator. Ferran Adria is looking on. Aduriz' assistants putting together small bowls of samples of previously made kudzu gnocchi. Thickened kudzu starch. Pouring the warm starch into a piping bag. Making the kudzu gnocchi by piping the malleable warm starch into an ice-cooled bath. Aduriz pouring the idiazabal broth around the gnocchi. Aduriz using a pressure-vacuum cooker to make Chive Soup. Making flavored bubbles using fish tank pumps, juice, eggwhite powder, xantham gum and salt.

While it is truly unfortunate that it has come to this in Spain, one must realize that not all freezing techniques are equal or result in equally good results. A blast freezer does a much better job of preserving the texture of fish than simply tossing it into a regular freezer. How the fish is wrapped also makes a difference. Since they are not used to it, it mught take the Spanish chefs a little while to find a level they are comfortable with, but I suspect that if they ultimately have to they will learn quickly.

Photos from Spain's Vegetable Kitchen: From Artichokes, Piquillo Peppers, and Chickpeas to Mushrooms and Other Forest Botanicals Teresa Barrenechea doing the introductions. Andoni Aduriz Onstage. He is watching his video presentation on a monitor. Photo taken from a video monitor of Aduriz' Forest Botanicals Salad inspired by Michel Bras. Enrique Martinez working with his "Condensation" technique. Martinez' Asparagus with Truffles Pedro Moran explaining an Asturian Fabada. Francis Paniego of Echaurren in Ezcaray, Navarra, Spain demonstrating the use of Spanish peppers. Llorenc Petras discussing characteristics of a boletus mushroom while Teresa barrenechea looks on.

Thank you for the clarification, Jose. They certainly did do a wonderful job. The food was fabulous. It didn't hurt that they had some pretty good recipes to begin with. I was amazed at the quality of the food that was prepared for so many people - not just at the Tapas lunch, but throughout the conference. ← Here is a photo of the people primarily responsible for the Tapas lunch.

I think this is a wonderful thing. Top quality farmers should get the recognition they deserve. This can only encourage others to continue what they are doing. It was great to see a farmer, Jenn Small of Upstate New York's Flying Pigs Farm on a discussion panel on sustainability with a number of well known chefs at the International Chefs Congress in New York City.