docsconz

A Brooklyn Foodie tour would certainly encompass more than NBC, as for example some of the classic pizza places like Grimaldi's, DiFarra and Totonno's.

I feel the same as I always have. If they are produced by reputable cheesemakers, I will take my chances.

it's a little more complex than that. there were also a lot of piedmontese and toscani here, as well as a lot of Istrians, a group that i don't believe was even considered part of italy then. And there is also a fairly substantial southern population among the fishermen in southern california, where swordfish, sardines, squid and tuna are popular. ← of course it is more complex than what Francesco said, but he did say "very roughly" and with that caveat, he is not really off the mark. Funny thing is this thread did not start by searching for the origens of Cioppino, but by positing the question of the origens of the "no cheese with fish" maxim for Italian food and whether there was any validity to it being an Italian maxim or a myth instead. By my experience growing up in an Italia-American household (2nd generation) that was indeed a general rule. My father, in particular would not toleerate cheese even being offered with seafood pastas. Even so, there were occassional exceptions. Grated pecorino was used in the stuffing for my mother's crab sauce, to this day my favorite dish of all time. Getting back to Cioppino, it is clearly an Italian-American dish from the San Francisco bay area that used Italian fish stews as inspiriation with adaptations for geography and product availability. Food is an ever evolving tradition. Itis always based on some experience or inspiration even in the most hypermodern and creative of kitchens. Ferran Adria himself has said to me and others that the principle inspirations for his cuisine comes from the Catalan culinary tradition. Banal? Perhaps, but sometimes banality is still worthy of discussion.

Elliot, you were too easy to pick out in the blog. I look forward to your report on what sounds like an incredible meal. Some day i will get there or if not in time at Keyah Grande, wherever these two talented and generous people wind up.

They will also be using some NY people to help them put things together. Paul Liebrandt, for example, will be working with Paco Roncero for at least one night. It should be a fabulous event(s). I wish I could be there, but unfortunately, my schedule didn't allow it.

Any idea what the growth/production year is for these bottlings? I remember reading about a recent difficult olive harvest in Italy. Perhaps this is Manni's version of declassification for those olives and oil not good enough for his two principle bottlings?

Hi Mr. Bottisn. I'm sad I didn't make it to your restaurant when I was in Chicago last. So many other chefs highly commended it. At the risk of drawing attention to something that's nothing (or will get you in trouble - which I highly doubt), I'm curious to know how the sale and use of "raw milk" - if I'm not mistaken, is unpasteurized milk - is legal? I assume that the ice cream is a traditional custard, so it has to be heated anyway. Thanks u.e. ← It's only illegal if you get caught. But yeah, you're not supposed to be able to buy or sell unpasteurized milk which is also why many of our good cheese here are so different (and I would say not as good) as a lot of the cheeses from Europe. I've used it previously in a restaurant and even uncooked, the probablity of someone getting sick off of it is pretty low. The use of it is so nice though, unlike any milk you'll ever get because of it's creamier texture and also because you can actually almost taste the terroir of the animal it came from from the milk. Great looking preparation though, I needa get back to Chicago. ← While I do not know the laws in Illinois, in at least a number of states, certain farms can, in fact, legally sell raw milk. In addition raw milk cheeses can be made. They have to be aged for, I believe, at least 60 days. Using raw milk for ice cream probably involves cooking it, so there would be nothing illegal about it, necessarily.

As is Nell's. Disclaimer: I am a former investor. I was bought out. Welcome to eGullet, miss Jme! It looks like you have a lot of work in front of you. Of course, we expect reports.

I was told it was from Caspian Sea sturgeon (which could mean any of the surrounding countries). Didn't ask which one as I'm aware of the current political issues surrounding caviar, and I was there to dine not discuss politics. ← I suspected so, though I hoped that maybe they had developed some local production as i understand that they have sturgeon in Spain. This topic is not the place to debate the underlying issue here, but it does diminish my ardor to dine there. Regardless, i respect the artistry involved.

Mr. Bottisn, thanks for the explanation and welcome to eGullet!

Look in the miror

With all due respect to Paul, how do you leave WD-50 out of that statement let alone anyone else?

Sounds like the tuna belly was cooked in a much more traditional European style. We have become used to no or minimally cooked quality fish, so sometimes an ingredient like tuna belly can be jarring when cooked thoroughly. Funny, when I first saw this thread, I was thinking literally and thought it was about a new farm in the old farming community of Flatbush Do you know where they source their ingredients from?

Sounds extraordinary. Do you know where the caviar was from?

Sounds like your problem is much more complicated than simple GERD and you are well beyond the initial forays of treatment. Good luck and best wishes with your treatment.

What kind of doctor are you seeing? If not a gastroenterologist, you should see one. If a gastroenterologist do get a second opinion. Are you on meds? The current treatments do a really good job against reflux for most people. Have you had any procedures to assist in the diagnosis if the reflux has been refractory?

Wow, that looks to have been an extraordinary meal. The reasons for another visit to Chicago are piling up. Next week is the big Anesthesia meeting in Chicago. Unfortunately, it is not my turn to go. Ron, you mentioned the Chapoutier Shiraz-Viognier from Australia. Is this the same Chapoutier as the Rhone Chapoutier? If it is, I didn't realize they are now making wine in Australia too.

Just because a restaurant has been reviewed by the media doesn't make it a destination restaurant or anything more than a basic neighborhood restaurnt. Whether a retaurant is a neighborhood or a destination place is determined by use. Who is going there and why?

I don't find it offensive. I just don't like it. It sounds like the parts of the restaurant that I did find offensive have been toned down a bit.

Always good for spa treatments.

I had dim sum brunch sitting outside on a beautiful, sunny, crisp, perfect fall day yesterday. The only dim sum that I have ever had that could compare to this in terms of artistry was at Lai Wah Heen in Toronto. These are not run of the mill dumplings and such. They are beautifully presented, delicate and expertly crafted morsels of food. Our party had a variety of dim sum including the 4 Mushroom dumplings with sweet corn, Roast duck and shrimp dumplings, Rice Noodle Rolls with Pea-Nut Sesame Sauce, Steamed Lobster Dumplings, Malaysian Eggplant with Shrimp, Crispy Taro Root Shrimp, Crabmeat and Pork Soup Dumplings and Crispy Sesame Puffs for dessert. My favorite was the soup dumplings. The skin was thin, delicate and light and the filling was very flavorful. The taro root was crisp and not in the least greasy. The most disappointing to me was the steamed lobster dumplings as I did not get much lobster flavor from them. While they were still good, I do not feel that they were worth their premium price relative to the other menu items. I would return.

I think that is a function of the West Village itself as a particularly opulent restaurant would seem out of place and perhaps tacky.

My wife and I met John Talbott last year in Paris. We had a wonderful time together, but unfortunately missed his wife. At the time we discovereed that John and I were alumni of the same Medical School and our wives, both nurses were alumnae of the same College. Needless to say, when we found out that they would be in NYC at a time that was doable for us to make a quick visit, we jumped on the chance to get together with them to dine. A friend of John's had strongly suggested Dona, a relatively new Mid-town East restaurant that has received surprisingly little play here on eGullet even after Frank Bruni awarded it two stars last June. The space is comfortably elegant. We were seated in a corner banquette with a good view of the room. Nibbling on some bread sticks we ordered cocktails (an "updated Bellini" for me - Cava with lavender infused peach syrup) and perused the menu. It seems that they may have redone the organization menu a little bit from the way it is presented on menupages.com. I did not see or notice distinctions between traditional and modern and wound up with some of both. The menu was organized in three parts: appetizers, mains and "seasonal", which were essentially the specials of the day. In addition they offered a tasting menu. I started with the scallop appetizer: diver scallop, saffron gelee, pickled celery & taylor bay scallop, marcona almond espresso. This dish was very tasty as the accompaniments married well with the raw scallops. I particularly enjoyed the taylor bay scallops with the marcona almond espresso, the sauce of which tasted very much like uni to me. Next I had the Duck & Chestnut Mezzaluma that consisted of duck confit, duck jus, queso di cabra and fresh sauteed mushrooms. This was quite tasty and quite rich. For my main course I had a dish that apparently was from the "traditional" side. This was grilled Branzino with artichoke confit & fingerling potatoes, artichoke broth lemon & extra virgin olive oil. Though still quite good, this was my least favorite of the dishes I had. My wife had the Paella soup, which she enjoyed very much and a seared tuna dish that was less successful as it was a bit on the dry side. We split two bottles of Spanish reds. One was a monastrell and garnacha based wine from Jumilla. The other was a cab blend from the Emporda in Catalunya. Unfortunately, I do not recall the specific producers, but they were both quite nice and good values. I agree with Chefboy's assessment of the sommalier as being very sharp. I will leave it to John to describe his and his wife's meal. The service was good without any significant gaffes. Donatella repeatedly visited the table next to ours, but was not really "working" the room. I did not see Chef Psilakis at all and do not know if he was even in the house. Overall, my wife and I had a wonderful time. Though most of the credit for that belongs to the company we kept, the food and restaurant deserve at least some credit for that as well. While I can certainly recommend this restaurant and would return, I did not find it so compelling that it command my attention over other restaurants that I have yet to dine at or some of my current favorites. I think Bruni's assessment of this restaurant was accurate.

Saturday would not be a day to judge lunch at anyplace (or nearly so) in NYC for this purpose.

It used to be that tasting menus were the sole province of high-end restaurants, but nowadays you see them even in "mid-range" places. ← I think that even most restaurants without tasting menus could arrange them with advance notice if the patron was so inclined. For example, I know that Chez Sophie in Saratoga, a mid-range restaurant, will prepare them on prior arrangement. Perry Street would probably do it with advance arrangement as well. I don't think the distinction between neighborhood and destination restaurant is as clear cut as it used to be. There are many restaurants that fit into either category depending on who is making the assessment. A restaurant that I may not consider going out of my way for may be the cat's meow to someone else who would gladly travel around the world for a chance to dine there. There is greater subjectivity inherent in the distinction now than there used to be, though there remain restaurants that clearly fit either category.