docsconz

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.

Evidence to the contrary. Restaurant magazine in the UK also reported that Ramsay had been spotted dining at Nobu in London three days after the New York opening. Ramsay was also due to be cooking a gala dinner in Vere in Dubai on the 2 and 3 December. ← In both times I was there for dinner (once in the main room and once in the london bar) he wasn't there unfortunately. john ← While he certainly wasn't there while we were, we did have a late reservation. It is possible that he had been in earlier and left. It does, however, seem very unlikely that he would have been therre and in Dubai at the same time, so unless he didn't do that gala dinner that Andy referred to, he could not have been at the restaurant on the 2nd and 3rd of December.

I guess that this is because Miguel Sanchez Romera doesn't want to appear on any guide and has asked to be deleted from all the guides. ← Interesting that Michelin hasn't complied.

sneakeater, i just wanted to first say thank you for the kind words and also for coming by the restaurant to see us. it's always a great personal pleasure of mine to "feed" egulleteers. i also wanted to apologize for the duration of time you waited for your dessert. this is by no means an excuse, and should not happen under any circumstances, however, that particular night our POS (that's the name, i'm not saying piece of shit) computer system went down, and many tickets and orders were lost all night long. i again am so sorry that you were on the receiving end of this dilemma, and it is a major detail that has been corrected, and i can assure you will not happen again. i would love for you to come back and see us, and have desserts the way in which they were intended. also, just to clarify... the sauce on the wolfberry dish is ketjap manis, which is southeast asian condiment made from soy sauce, licorice, star anise, and molasses. thanks and sorry again. j. ← These are the kinds of things that can happen anytime, but brand new restaurants seem to be more prone to them and so should get cut some slack. The important elements for a new restaurant are in place - good food and good attitudes.

I may be mistaken, but so far as I know Embutidos Fermin is the only Iberico producer currently available in the US. The Redondo Iglesias that you had is most likely jamon serrano and not iberico.

I'm surprised that I cannot find L'Esguard in the online Campsa Guide.

I can't answer your last questions, but here is the online Campsa for Etxebarri and for Ibai. I do not know if they represent a change in rating.

Is it necessary that they be home-made or are store-bought items ok? One item that I have enjoyed as an accompaniment with certain cheeses is Cranberry Fool, a condiment that first came to my attention via the Rosengarten Report.

Thanks Harlan. These photos give an idea of the painstaking level of detail and workmanship in this work. This may be a reason for the pacing issues mentioned. The plating takes time, but it is ultimately more than worth it. I imagine that Chef Kahn is at this point doing all the plating himself, though I could be wrong about that. The sable spiral is what Chef Kahn demonstrated at the International Chefs Congress in September when he shared the stage with Paul Liebrandt.

Thanks for the info, Mar. This is very interesting. I suppose that one reason I didn't see any of this or hear much about it at the conference is because it probably is not currently being exported to the US. I will have to keep an eye out for it next time I am there.

Thank you, Judith. We just opened a jar of Ybarra brand "alta seleccion" piquillo pepper stuffed manzanilla olives that I bought from tienda.com. They are marvellous and exactly what we remember eating at various tapas bars in Barcelona. I could easily eat a jar in a sitting.

The tapas or pintxos plate prepared by Patxi Bergara and his crew consisted of (from the bottom and moving clockwise) Tortilla de Patatas, Aceitunas Verdes Rellenas de Pimiento y Anchoa (pepper and anchovy stuffed green olives), a cup of Romesco sauce for the calcots, Escalivada Catalana (roasted red pepper and eggplant), Mejillones en Escabeche (mussels in Escabeche sauce), Ensalada de Naranjas con Granadas (salad of Valencia oranges and pomegranates), Coca de Cebolla con Pimientos, Anchoas y Queso Manchego (Catalan bread with onion, peppers, anchovies and Manchego cheese), Queso Cabrales, Jamon Serrano and Falsa Lasana de Anchoas (I'm not sure what makes this a "false lasagna", but it is a signature pintxo of Bergara) A piece of bread was in the middle of the tray.

Indeed these are very Adria-esque platings, perhaps more so than any other I've seen in NY. While I'm perhaps a fervent modernist, I'm still not entirely convinced by this style of plating. Striking and beautiful, yes, but even I feel as if there might be too much going on and not enough aesthetic focus. This is by no means a criticism of Chefs Kahn, Adria(s), Stupak et al, but rather a gut reaction. Regardless, I'm very, very excited to eat here now and will do so in the next couple weeks. Now that we've have a Varietal thread, can you divulge approximate prices, Doc? ← actually these platings are not at all like anything from adria they are more like grant which is direct line from the second book of michel bras totally different school of aesthetics most of the adria platings have 1/4 the amount of components looks beautiful a rose by any other name still looks good ← El Bulli 2005 Desserts. You are correct that Albert Adria's desserts are in general a bit more spare than the desserts presented by Chef Kahn, however, the aesthetic influence as well as the influence of Grant Achatz and Michel Bras are clear. Of course the desserts are not the same, they are very much originals of Chef Kahn, who has developed whose own style. However, I don't agree with your assessment that they "are not at all like adria." I think that can be seen in the link I presented above.

This is a cool series covering an area that in today's restaurant marketplace gets very little consideration - maybe because they tend to not wear tuxedos or other formal attire. It is a fascinating view behind those seldom noticed scenes. What was your inspiration for undertaking this series?

To address some of Sneakeater's issues: I believe I mentioned in my report that the pacing was suboptimal. I can appreciate your take on it as well as it was late and we were tired during our dessert extravaganza. As such we could not appreciate them as fully as they deserved to be appreciated. Nevertheless the conception and production were outstanding and the flavors and level of sweetness right up my alley. There were not any flaws in the restaurant that I saw that could not be completely attributed to having been open for only four days. The disparate styles are a concern not because they are not good - they are excellent- but simply because they are disparate. Hopefully there is enough of an audience open and appreciative of both styles that the restaurant thrives. My fear is that most people gravitate toward one style or the other and for those people it may be an incomplete and therefore unsatisfying restaurant. It is a bold move that I hope works out in the end.

Hi Eliot, The Conference consisted mostly of general sessions with one presentation at a time and four periods of concurrent small group sessions that took place over Friday and Saturday. I will be describing the ones I attended in upcoming reports. The audience was by a large margin professional consisting of chefs, educators, media, producers and corporate development personnel and executives. My wife and I were amongst the few non-professionals there. I suppose that I am media though I am certainly no professional in that regard. Funny that you ask that last question. Prior to the conference I had no plans to return to Spain in the near future. As a direct result of the conference though, I am now planning a return trip to Catalunya and a first vist to Valencia and Alicante this spring. Among the restaurants I have yet to experience I hope to visit El Celler de Can Roca, Can Jubany, Can Gaig, Comerc24 and others in Catalunya as well as Ca Sento, La Sirena, Monastrell and Levante in the Valencia/Alicante region. Of course there are plenty of restaurants from other areas of Spain that were represented that I would love to experience. I have to make a point of getting to Madrid one of these days as well as Galicia, Asturias, Navarra and the Basque Country. How could I not want to return to Andalucia? There is simply not enough time nor money in my world to do what I want to do and eat all that I want to eat and I am quite fortunate in that I am already better off than most. Mind you, I am not complaining.

Interestingly, there were a few items in his dinner that seemed to come from the Bar menu such as the beets and the scallops. Yje location of the table is a front row seat to the action, though nicely and safely tucked into an alcove. It does look as if it would be great fun.

Thanks Mar. I haven't knowingly had Teruel ham and I don't recall anything being said about it at the conference. Do you know what breed(s) of pig it comes from? How is it priced relative to the hams from Extremadura? Speaking of Calcots... Llorenc Petras peeling a calcot. Carles Gaig eating one.

Photos from Rice Traditions in Spain: Preserving, Adapting and Re-imagining. Gerry Dawes and Carles Gaig. Rafa Morales is in the background. Mari Carmen Velez and Lola Velez from la Sirena. Rafa Morales and Maria Muria Lloret Carles Gaig finishing a dish. Maria Carmen Velez cooking her paella with Gerry Dawes looking on.

From Harold McGee's New York Times column The Curious Cook as linked to here.

what percentage of the population, or the readership, would you think has any idea what grass-fed beef is. i'm guessing a very small one. this should come as no surprise. ← Probably no less a percentage than those who have any idea what beef even eat or are fed at all.

A few photos from Spanish Ways with Pork and Lamb: Marco Antonio Garcia carrying lechal for his demonstration. Peter Kaminsky discussing his love affair with Spanish pork. Jose Andres and Santiago Martin of Embutidos Fermin. Joan Roca working with pork. Garcia working with the "lechal" or suckling lamb. Roasted "cochinillo" or suckling pig. Candido Lopez Cuerdo cutting the cochinillo with a plate. Nando Jubany working with pig trotters

Here are some photos taken while waiting for the shuttle from the parking area to the conference: ...one of the main hall of CIA/Greystone: ...and one of the breakfast being put out:

The thread for Varietal is located here.

Thanks for the notes. Beaucastel has always been one of my favorite producers and one of the better values in winedom even though recently prices have started to skyrocket. I have a few bottles of most of the wines you mentioned. A vertical tasting sounds like a great idea.