docsconz

Did you question it when it was brought out and obviously not what you were anticipating? If a dish is described as one thing and comes out another that is not to your satisfaction because it is different than what was described send it back.

Could it be he may have been pulling someone's leg?

definitely don't tell them your palette is not developed, or that you like sweet wines. speaking as a sommelier, to me, i would not certainly not bust out impressive and more expensive wines for you. just don't really say anything about how much you know and leave the pairing up to them. pay attention to what you're drinking and remember what grapes/styles you like. the worst thing a guest can say to me is "i want something dry," or "i don't like oak" or "i dont like chardonnay/merlot/" "i like pinot grigio"......those 4 things pretty much instantly make me aware that this guest is not a wine drinker. without getting specific, you can sound immediately informed about wine if you say something like "i want wine that speaks of a place" or "i want terroir driven wine" or something like "lets stay in france for this evening if possible..." if i went, personally, i hate wine paired with food (with each course, of a 7 course tasting). you get 2-4 ounces of something, and you never really get to learn that wine. its always best to go from a bottle of white to a bottle of red. or do half bottles. ← Gnerally good advice, although my personal viewpoint is that I like pairings. I suppose it depends on the restaurant though. In a restaurant that I am going to for the food, wine pairings make a nice complement. If the restaurant is more of a primary wine destination I will choose the food to complement the wine. At Per Se I would do the former. It has been awhile since I have been to Per Se. I believe they did do individual course pairings then, however, I was recently at The French Laundry and they did not. They did have a nice selection of half bottles though.

Thank you, Alexandra. I will have to keep a look out for some of these wines. Do you have any idea where they tend to be available besides Nova Scotia? I would think I might be able to find some next time I am in Montreal.

One thing I have taken to doing is limiting my bread intake. That can be very difficult sometimes, though.

These are currently my two favorite restaurants in the world. I don't agree that Adria is not concerned with flavor. I thought the flavors there were well developed, clear and delicious. They tend to have a more European focus in that the underlying ingredients are generally European (e.g. spherical olives or mozzarella, espardenas, salicornias, etc.) although more exotic (to them) ingredients are often used as well. The dishes certainly do evoke emotion. I feel the same way about Alinea though. The restaurants are very similar in a number of ways even though they are not in the least bit clones. El Bulli offers a European country charm with a fabulous seaside setting. Alinea offers American urban sophistication. While both exult in the creativity of their cuisine, they also both have fun with it and expect their patrons to as well. I don't find either restaurant to be pretentious or precious. They don't have to be.

Sounds like an extraordinary meal for sure. Was it just the two of you at the kitchen table? While I love the excess a meal like that affords, my overall experience suffers when it is too much and it literally becomes work to lift the fork. I suppose it is better than not enough. Someday I will figure out how to pace myself.

I agree with Ame in 2, disagree with Slanted Door in 1. TSD was perhaps the most disappointing meal I had in the Bay Area on my recent visit. Ame was indeed excellent.

Read them and weap.

Is Nova Scotia good terroir for any particular varietal or type of wine? What are they trying to produce? How is it similar geologically and climatically to Champagne? It is not an intuitive choice to me.

Where's Ling when you need her? Any other Montreal residents out there? I would love to know! u.e. ← I believe Ling is from Vancouver

I haven't looked for valet parking in NYC for some time, but I had a job when I was in HS as a valet for The Olde Homestead, ironically just down the block and around the corner from Del Posto. There was no charge. Of course that was a few years ago

Speaking of Chez Panisse, I think I would choose that in the fine dining category. While it is not in San Francisco, it is IMO worth the trip from San Francisco. It is also the quintessential California (at least Northern) restaurant and still amongst the very best therre is. Only having eaten at the Cafe, I am making an assumption that the quality of the restaurant is comparable to that of the Cafe. The assumption is based on others comments here and my own experiences at the cafe.

Simply unbelievable that Chicago, of all places should do this. If it wasn't so hypocritical I could accept it better.

The service at El Bulli when I was there was exactly described in this excerpt. It is nice to see that at least in my experience their objectives were fully met.In fact, I have never had a more relaxing service experience anywhere. This started the moment we entered the door of the restaurant.

Our dinner did indeed cost a little more than the Chef's Tasting Menu, however, even with paired wines at $72pp it was considerably less costly than TFL. The nearby hotel was less as well.

I have to admit that, while I have never eaten at La Madonnina del Pescatore, I do find some of Cedroni's creations somewhat puzzling, at least on paper, and I cannot imagine how they would work at all. A friend that visits him at least twice a year, and is clearly a fan of his cooking, strongly insists that if you haven't tried them you should not judge: since you have, I will add your opinion to my suspicions. On the other hand there are a few dishes of his that sound very intriguing. I don't get what you mean with Cedroni being Portuguese: as far as I knew he is from Senigallia and has spent most of his life there. ← Don't understand about what you don't get about Cedroni being Portuguese? It is quite simple. Cedroni is from Portugal. I don't believe the info you have is correct. Cedroni is not from Sengallia and has not spent most of his life there. ← Interesting, if true, in that Portugal is even more culinarily conservative than Italy. Do you have any references or links to confirm your assertion?

Well done again, Alberto. Thank you. Any idea how Cracco winds up with such thin slices of fish? What sort of reaction did the Italians and Italian press have towards Wylie? By the way Marchesi is the chef I would guess was alluded to above.

Smart move by the restaurant. For a very small investment you will likely be a fan for life.

Truffle schmoo? Sounds like a great meal, Wendy! Nice wine selections too.

Yes we did! ← One of the best deals in San Francisco!

Would you, John, elaborate on the final comment made? Or others, since I know the Slow Food movement is well known by many who read this forum. ← I know people who think that Slow food is a bit reactionary and wish to go back in time. From my experience that is not the case at all. While preservation of culinary traditions is a central part of the organization, the main thrust is the preservation of biodiversity. That is to say that they consider it of paramount importance to protect and promote local variety, quality and uniqueness. Ther certainly is a political element of the organization that some people get entangled with, but I feel that that purpose is secondary and subservient to the culinary one. The reason I feel that these aims of Slow Food is consistent with haute cuisine is that much if not all of haute cuisine also depends on the quality, variety and uniqueness of the ingredients used including hypermodern chefs like the Adrias, Blumenthal, Achatz and Dufresne. There is nothing in Slow Food that I can see that is against creativity so long as the traditional foods and techniques are not forgotten in the process. A recent article in Slow was all about how today's traditions were at one time innovations. If everyone started cooking from one palette of ingredients in one style that would be opposed by the Slow Food Movement, but individual creativity within or without a tradition using varied and quality ingredients is from what I can see totally consistent with the tenets of the Movement.

Nice report. too bad about the Pacific Grove lowlights. There is too much great food at all price ranges to have to suffer through meals like those. Did you have any happy hour 1$ oysters at Hog Island in the Ferry Market?

It was indeed a marvelous array of ingredients and technical virtuosity along with it. Chef Kinch is cerebral, talented and generous. The kitchen knows what to do with the variety and quality of the ingredients at their disposal. In our post dinner discussion with Chef Kinch, he was talking passionately about the primacy of ingredients and his hopes for their own garden produce. His cuisine is a very interesting mix of influences from French to Japanese to Italian to Spanish and beyond that ultimately he makes into his own. My recollection of what he said to us was that he viewed French cuisine as his most elemental underpinning both in approach and technique.

The topic on Identita Golose 2006 in the Italy Forum has an interesting discussion that is somewhat pertinent to this topic in that the primacy of the ingredient has been presented as a principle focus. I think it would be interesting reading for the people who have posted on this topic.