docsconz

Excellent photos as always, but my mouse finger is starting to develop repetetive use syndrome from having to click over to your Flick'r account all the time I am jealous. This should be a great trip. It appears that you have started out well culinarily. I look forward to reading all about it!

According to Florence Fabricant in the New York Times the Chinatown location of Sweet-n-Tart has lost it's lease and closed.

According to Florence Fabricant in the New York Times Jack's Luxury Oyster Bar has moved.

According to Florence Fabricant in the New York Times The Tasting Room has moved.

Good point!

Moderator's Note: The discussion on China Bistro here has essentially been in the context of Bruni's review. Further discussion of the restaurant's offerings that do not directly address Bruni's review should take place in that thread.

Sounds like a great idea. I will be curious to read opinions and perhaps try it myself.

Precisely!

Nice reports, Daniel. The food looks good. Too bad about the chicken skin the second time around. Is the clientele mostly from the neighborhood? College crowd? Does this place compare to anyplace else that you have been to in the city? The little sardines reminded me of the Spanish baby eels - I can't think of their correct name at the moment. They have become rare and very expensive, though.

Rogelio, were there any particular dishes that you took the most pleasure in? Thank you for your report and photos. It seemed as if they were all new dishes. Were there any from previous years?

I usually try to utilize some of whatever ingredients I brought home with me, for example chiles from Mexico, unless I have been away for an extraordinarily long time.

It's good that they are offering pastas in the lounge. Early on they were not.

Thanks for the clarification, Joe. Is this a requirement for all the cooks at Alinea? ← Yes it is. ← I guess I was partially correct. One learns something new everyday.

The Siberian uni was not quite as firm as the Maine uni texturally. They tasted different, but at this point I can't quite pin down a good description of the taste of the Russian. I can say that I did enjoy both. One of the best things about Yasuda is the amazing variety and breadth of his offerings not to mention the quality. As for the College search...he is only going to be a junior in H.S., but I think an early start to see what is available at top schools and what it will take to get in is good for him. As for the food aspect, unless I will be living there many top College towns have good food although I certainly wouldn't mind NYC. Then again, tuition will be expensive enough.

I recently continued my son's College search with a quick visit to NYC. After a very hot afternoon on campus we cooled down and joined our friends Mr. Mrs. JosephB for a refreshing dinner at Sushi Yasuda. I requested the bar with Yasuda when I made our reservation and we got the bar with Yasuda. I did have to alter the date of our trip by one day in order for this to be accomodated, but it actually worked out for the best anyway. We ordered omakase and were treated to an extraordinary meal with great seafood, wonderful rice and delightful cold sake. When all was said and done we were full and cut off the meal after about one hour. While it was quick it in no way felt rushed. We proceeded at our own pace with yasuda serving us and for part of the time another party of three. It is perhaps this focused attention and continuing flow of this very efficient sushi master that makes the meal progress rapidly. In other sushi bars the chef is also accomodating other diners at tables throughout the restaurant thereby prolonging the experience at the bar. Personally, I prefer the individualized attention. Following are photos of our progression. A small salad given to us as an amuse. Tasty. Yasuda in action. Blue fin tuna - medium toro Higher fat Blue fin tuna Alaskan white king salmon King Salmon Sawani - Fresh white sea eel with sea salt and lemon. I loved the textural contrast the salt added. Copper River Sockeye Salmon Yasuda Service Shrimp - just cooked and sweet. Big-Eye Fatty Tuna Uni from Maine on the left and from Siberia on the right. A newly vacated table ready for turn-over. The fast and sure hands of Yasuda Maine Uni More Yasuda service Russian Uni - I liked the texture and flavor of the Maine uni more though this was noticably different. Seaweed Salad. People sitting next to me had ordered this from the kitchen. This was so beautiful we had to try it. It was the one disappointment of the evening, however, as none of the seaweeds had much flavor and I did not particularly enjoy the dressing that accompanied it. More tuna and Shimaaji Yellowtail. More Yasuda action. Watching the master is half the fun... ...the other half of the fun is eating and sharing the experience with great dining partners. The master at work. Anago - fresh dark sea eel. I love synchronization. Toro Roll. This was the only roll we had all evening. In other sushi bars I like to see what concoctions they come up with. Here the simplicity is best given the amazing quality of the ingredients used and the care with which they are handles. I do not do additional dipping when dining herre. Yasuda's subtle additions are sufficient for me. Anything more would simply mask the quality. Fresh sardine - one of my favorites of the evening. Shirayaki - fresh white freshwater eel. The view down the bar. Sea Scallop. Peace Passage Oyster. This wad salt and lemon and the essential brine of the sea - magnificent. Artisanal Green Tea Ice Cream made in Staten Island. This was barely sweetened and marvellous - a perfect ending to this wonderful meal. This was my son's first excursion into high-end sushi. I don't think he could have had a better introduction. This post is dedicated to Matt Hassett R.I.P.

Percy, what kind of onions did you use for the squid dish? Did you buy the squid in a special seafood market or a regular supermarket?

Doc, I assume the 2nd thread is the SK one ← In my opinion

This thread is pretty incredible. Now the Pennsylvania Forum has at least two of the greatest eGullet threads ever. Vadouvan (and others), the knowledge shared here is incredible. Thank you.

Funny you mention the spheres! There's this political humor show on Catalan TV these days, where the only non-politician character they regularly spoof is Ferran Adria. He is shown in a high tech kitchen, the highlight of which is so-called "sferificating oven" (forn esferificador or, as Adria pronounces, ejferificador). His sketches normally include throwing some kind of foodstuff into the air, from which it comes back in a completely different, absurd form. Once they spoofed Carme Ruscalleda, too, and it was so good I remember crying tears of laughter. And on another day they had the real Ferran Adria over and interviewed him. He seemed to take it with a grain of salt. If by chance you are over here and can get to see it (the show is called Polonia), by all means wait until he appears, even if you don't speak Catalan. It's that good! (Excuse the aside, I didn't think it was worth opening a new thread for this... but I thought you would find it funny) ← Thanks for the aside. I wish I could see it in the US. It is nearing time to start thinking about another visit over there and to see what I can do about EB2007. ← If you do a search on Youtube for Polonia Adria you will find several clips, made me laugh even though I don't speak a word of Catalan or Spanish. ← Thanks for the suggestion! is a link to some of these sketches on youtube. They are a good send-up to his DVD series.

Slightly OT: What festivals do you know of in September in the area? I'll be there 1st-6th, do have a car and am willing to travel. Unfortunately no reservation at elbulli as of now, but working on it.. ← Here is a list of festivals. Unfortunately, none correspond to when you will be therre. The one i was specifically thinking of, La Merce is towards the end of the month. That is a major holiday and was a blast when I was there two years ago. Good luck with the reservation.

Congratulations OG! I am in awe of the results. I am lucky if I can shuck one in the amount of time you shucked 18 let alone the winner's time. I love that t-shirt slogan "Shuck and awe"!

I am sorry to say that I was there this past Tuesday night with my family but was underwhelmed. They did have an unusually diverse and interesting menu I thought the food, including the eggplant was good, but the execution nothing special. My measuring stick remains Hemant Mathur's and Suvir Saran's cooking. In addition to the eggplant appetizer, we had vegetarian samosas, squid and shrimp appetizers, onion naan, a goat curry and chicken tikka with mango-based sauce. I found the cooking to be rather heavy. My favorite dish was the goat curry despite it being boney (as one would expect in a goat dish). The service was very good and the room quite comfortable. I would go again if in the area, but I would not make a special trip. Though not as extensive or unusual a menu, I prefer the cooking at Little India in Saratoga. Of course one sampling is not enough to fully judge a restaurant. The norm may very well be more along the lines of what was described upthread. Should I find myself dining there again in the future and find this to be my experience I will happily post that here.

If it were to be offered as a complete dessert in its own right perhaps, but the context of this dish is as a single step amongst a progression of many. Perhaps the flavor isn't anything particularly special. I would bet that it is very satisfying, however.

I would have to think that it has an incredible richness along with amazing textural contrast between the crisp shell and the creamy yolk. I would be very happy to try one

I am sooooo jealous. This sounds like it is shaping up to be a fantastic weekend for you all. While the food and surroundings are without a doubt wonderful, I am sure the comradery cannot be beat! Enjoy! I am looking forward to more commentary and pics. I will languish as a voyeaur through this thread.