docsconz

I think the tomato skin becomes a problem with long cooking. This is a quick dish in which the tomatoes retain their vibrancy. I liked it equally without and with the Parmiggiano.

Thank you. The tomatoes are simply sliced in half and than cooked as per the resipe after the garlic and red pepper flakes. The skin is indeed on. This dish can easily be made in half an hour.

I made this and though I don't think I got it perfect either, it was still mighty good. One thing I didn't do was make the pine nut puree. What is not to like with this dish?

We had some good orange cherry tomatoes from "Our Farm", a local farm that sells through our Farmer's Market so decided to make "Spaghetti Sciue Sciue alla Caprese" from Naples at Table (pg 160). Not only was this dish very quick and easy, it was delicious too. The term "sciue sciue" means "hurry, hurry" according to Schwartz. It employed the tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, red pepper flakes, salt, plenty of basil, a little oregano and some Parmiggiano-Reggiano to taste. I definitely recommend this dish while these tomatoes are still in season. If not, a jar or two of piennolini would work quite well also.

Naples and Sicily actually have a lot in common culinarily, especially given their history together under the Spanish. Indeed there is a lot of influence of Spanish cooking, especially in Neapolitan cooking. My mother's family is from Campania and my father's from Sicily. A common dish I had growing up was the potato and egg "frittata", essentially the same as the Spanish "tortilla". Spain and southern Italy also both have a lot of Arab influence in their cuisines. The raisins and pinenuts, common in both, may also be an example of that. I will also add my admiration for the dishes presented here.

Have you stopped going to the cinema/theatre because they prevent you taking photos? ← No, but then I am not replying to a query on cinema/theater forum either. Obviously for most people it doesn't matter, but for many with a passion for fine cuisine it does. I tend to agree with U.E. on principle here. It is not that I don't wish to try his food. I do. I wouldn't mind an objection to flash photography, but I find that photographing my dinner really does help me remember it better. If I am going to spend the kind of money that I do on fine dining I would at least like to be able to remember it better. Unfortunately, my memory is not photographic. If it was, I probably wouldn't care. This is not to say that GR doesn't have the right to prohibit photography in his restaurant. He does, but then I have the right to choose to go elsewhere. There are enough great restaurants that see the value in photography that this restaurant won't be missed, at least by me.

don't squeeze them out. its like milking a chicken. puree them with a little bit of water and then add to the sauce. a little sac never hurt anyone, put you can always strain them out if squeamish. ← I love that analogy! Milla, can you please be more specific as to what you would do to obtain a reasonable amount of ink for a sauce for this dish? Thanks in advance.

This restaurant looks very interesting indeed. The photos of the food on their website are mouthwatering. What are their prices like?

I can certainly understand the desire for something cheaper! Nevertheless, whether it be this time or another, you owe it to yourself to visit and dine at Can Fabes at some point. It is a special restaurant and your Catalan experience just isn't complete without it.

My wife and I made this dish tonight to feed ourselves and our three hungry sons. We increased the scale of the recipe by a factor of eight. The original recipe was for tapas portions. We were making dinner portions. We used 2/3 pork and 1/3 beef and cut down on the amount of sugar that the recipe called for. The dish was indeed excellent, especially the sauce. I bought a bushel of New York peaches this past week and this recipe was a good way to use some of them. Peaches are my favorite fruit as well.

Mouthwatering report, Andy. Though the preparations were a bit more involved, the pristineness of the ingredients remind me of Rafa's in Roses. I doubt the quality of the ingredients is that much superior to a place like Arzak. The preparations are certainly very different though. Arzak relies much more on the combination of ingredients and techniques. It appears that this restaurant holds to the primacy of the ingredient with a simple zen-like preparation.

They may not be impressed but they do notice, those kinds of restaurant startup expenditures are only hapening in NY/Vegas/AC......so what do those 3 places have in common ? Massive swarms of people of which the fact that they may or not be locals is irrelevant. Ramsay is doing it because NY is the capital of high end in the USA. yes / no ? ← He's doing it because, "if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere!"

While it doesn't really fit your criteria of being Rafa's-like or particularly close to Gerona, you could complete the circuit and dine at El Raco de Can Fabes for lunch. In any case, I look forward to your reports.

Your mention of Arzak reminded me that I did indeed have calamares and their ink there. I culled this photo from my report of my lunch there two years ago. I could go for some more of that right now!

I just received the fall catalogue from J.B. Prince and noticed a few Alinea serving pieces in there including the wine cork presenter, "Eye", Alinea pin, "Squid", "Squid" Trivet and "Sectional."

Vadouvan, as a food journalist who's interviewed many chefs (Daniel, Heston, Ferran, Cantu, etc etc etc) , I find your statement insulting and false. Sorry. As for taking photos, I agree with most of you: flash photography is disruptive (and makes the place feel touristy). I am pretty sure they wouldn't bother those taking slow speed photos, without a flash, like I do - I often use my wine glass as an improvised tripod! ← Alexandra, I do not think that Vadouvan meant to cast aspersions on the press as a whole, but having been the victim of inaccurate reporting in the past on some non-food issues, I can assure you that what Vadouvan speaks of does happen. Unless I know a reporter well or have faith in that person's ability and desire to render a fair interview, I no longer respond to interviews verbally. Instead I answer written questions in a written format. I do not think you should take personally the transgressions of some of your colleagues. I do not do so in Medicine.

A couple of things in defense of TT: first, it was clearly stated that this was not the first and only visit by TT to this restaurant. Second, do you really think Frank Bruni does not mention specific incidents during his reviews?

OK, folks, let's keep this topic on track with discussion of items directly related to WD-50. Hot ice cream, as cool as the concept is, should be discussed elsewhere, unless it is coming out of WD-50's kitchen.

This is a very good point. While you certainly have the right to write whatever you did, the fact that your friends made the reservation meant that they were associated with you and now with your opinion, which they may or may not have shared. This can be a sensitive issue, especially if the place is one your friends are fond of and may have an association with.

I think all reviews are reasonable so long as they are done fairly and without malice. Personally, I tend to write reports that accentuate the positive unless I feel that the "bad" was particularly noteworthy. For instance, if I have a meal at a restaurant that is not in keeping with the general tenor of the reputation of the restaurant, chef or restauranteur or my expectations based upon other reports here, I will report it. I wil never write a bad or a glowing report about a restaurant that I did not honestly feel deserved it.

My goodness, P.N., that Pizza looks fantastic! I long to be back in Napoli for la vera pizza napoletana. I was under the impression that mozzarella di bufala had a higher moisture content than fior di latte, although the moisture content of both is proportional to their freshness. It is the moisture content of the bufala that requires an oven with a very high temp so that the crust doesn't get soggy. In southern Campania, around Paestum in Salerno province all of the bufala is used. The meat, as one might imagine, is quite beeflike.

Certainly the cities you mentioned would be on anyone's list of US cities with international appeal and influence. Other non-controversial choices IMO would include Chicago, D.C. and Seattle. Las Vegas, N.O., Boston and Philadelphia would be subject to debate as for their level of international appeal. Philadelphia would certainly be there if Shola ever opens a restaurant Any number of other cities could certainly be considered. My point about NYC is just that given its clear international standing, it remains very conservative when it comes to food. That is not to say that there aren't pockets of people pushing the envelope and patrons of those people pushing the envelopes. It is just when it comes to culture of any sort, in general NYC prefers a "hit", whether it be a hit Broadway show or an internationally recognized chef who isn't too "out there" Even ethnic cuisines fit that mold unless they have large pools of recent immigrants to support "authentic" cuisines or large pools of expats. This may be one reason why really good Mexican has had such a hard time getting a foothold here. New Yorkers really want what they are familiar with. From what I can tell, I think Gordon Ramsey will fit in fine as New York also likes some "attitude".

By "major city", I mean major on an international scale with international influence.

Admin: Split from the thread on Gordon Ramsay in NYC. NYC quick to embrace innovation? In culinary terms? Could have fooled me. Although I love it, NYC must be the most culinarily conservative major city on the planet.

If your culinary interests lean towards hypermodernism than WD-50 should be a priority as it is the best example in NYC and one of the best in the US and beyond. The style is uniquely WD.