docsconz

Not to defend it, but this type of culinary school sponsorship deal is fairly common. I do believe that CIA is engaged in a number of them. In fact, the trip I am getting ready to go on is in part sponsored by Viking Range. They sponsor the CIA's World of Flavor Program amongst other things.

I just hope that if DP does get four stars on a re-review it is because it is truly deserved and has made changes to justify a bump-up. From what i saw of the place it has far to go, but then that was awhile ago now and perhaps they have made some of those changes to justify even a three-star. I love great food and I love luxury, but I hate pretentiousness. That is what I saw when I was there in its early days. I hope that attitude and its trappings are gone, although based on what I am reading currently about the place it appears that there is a lot more room for improvement in this regard. I did get the impression that Bruni has cut Mario and friends a lot of slack that he doesn't generally give to other restaurants.

Welcome to eGullet, Blue Ridge! It has been almost 16years since I lived in Charlottesville. At that time some of my favorites included Guadalajara for some of the best Mexican food I have ever had in the US, The Silver Thatch Inn and Eastern Standard in the Downtown mall. Are any of them still alive and kicking?

The best thing to do would be to call them with your concerns. They are very accomodating within reason.

Very interesting interview, Mel. It gives a nice perspective on the event from the participant's point of view. I haven't been to his restaurant yet, but it sounds like one that I tend to enjoy very much. When is his episode scheduled for?

That's almost the same recipe I use - so simple, so good and guests are impressed. ← This is very similar to Casa's recipe, except that she adds a little pimenton, which I love in this dish.

Sounds good. I like the Penelope Casas recipe in her Tapas book.

Is this the CIA trip? If so, you'll have a wonderful time. I did their Oaxaca trip 3 or 4 years ago. Pricey, but I never regretted it. I'm doing a benefit/fund raiser with Ricardo next Friday. He's a real sweetheart. ← It is indeed. I went with them to Spain in2004 - great trip.

Therese, this continues to be a fascinating account. Please continue.

Any thing more on this?

I just realized that Ricardo Munoz Zurita will be a staff member/instructor in the upcoming culinary trip to Mexico City, Tlaxcala and Puebla that my wife and I will be attending. Does anyone have any questions they would like me to ask him?

Therese, I too am enjoying your posts as they bring back memories of my recent trip to Paris with my family. I take it that your friend from Deauville is French. The American stereotype of the French is that they are all very much into food or at least moreso than the average American. Your description appears that she is an exception to that.

I would vote for Starwich given the recent discussion with Spiro Baltas.

Who said she was hungover? She may have taken this.

Butter is essential. Life is too short to use a butter substitute (unless it is really good olive oil).

Great blog, Megan! I have just now been able to catch up with it. It is always good to get another's perspective on the City. I love Chelsea Market too, but you missed my favorite spot there - The Lobster Place has excellent seafood and is super for getting fresh-shucked clams and oysters to snack on while shopping. For chocolates, I think Kee's on Thompson is the coolest shop in the City. It is tiny with the truffles hand-crafted right in front of you - and they are soooo good. Great job!

I found the crab dish particularly fascinating. Thaks for sharing. I am also looking forward to your commentary.

There ought to be a law.... Clearly this must be illegal!

Thanks for the review, Charles. I am happy to see that Chef Secich is settling in in D.C. While he does occassionally have some misses, his cooking is more typically extraordinary. I am still very upset that he was not able to pull together enough financing to be able to stay up here in northeastern N.Y., but this just gives me yet another reason to visit DC.

Will is selling Alginate and Calcium Chloride??? That's above & beyond the call of duty, eh? Awesome ← Indeed he is and in reasonably sized packages.

I had dinner last night at Silver Oak while in town to visit my FIL with my family. While the restaurant clearly has a lot to recommend it including a lot of food for the money and very good and friendly staff, my conclusion is that the style of food is not really my cup of tea. I pretty much got full just looking at my appetizers. The dishes are not short on flavor, but they tended to be heavier than I care for. I had a pasta special that interestingly would IMO have been better without the special ingredient of soft-shell crab. Now I love a good soft-shell crab as much as anything, but this one, lacked flavor and texture and was overwhelmed by the rest of the dish, which fortunately happened to be very tasty. While I ate the crab, I preferred the tastes I had without it more. My veal chop was in itself superb, juicy and perfectly cooked, although I didn't care very much for its supporting cast. It is impossible to leave this restaurant hungry and for those who enjoy this style of cooking and saucing, the accolades are richly deserved.

I was down in N.J. for a couple of nights with my family to visit my FIL and after a homemade dinner Ednesday evening hoofed it into the city to check out R4D. The place and desserts are every bit as cool as has been described here. I believe Will has a winner here. The location is great, the atmosphere warm and the desserts and beverages superb. It is also tres cool that R4D is selling items like their teas and things like calcium chloride and sodium alginate that not good hypermodern kitchen should be without. Congratulations, Akwa and best wishes! I'll be back.

I think Montreal has much to be proud of. I love visiting the city. It has a lot of character and style. I just don't get there often enough. This is a nice issue. I don't think anyone will learn much that hasn't already been covered here, but the issue provides a little additional validation.

The short version of the story is that enzymes in grapefruit juice alter the metabolism of certain drugs, amongst them various statins and as a result can wind up with elevated blood levels and a higher risk for side effects. Depending on your individual situation and desire for grapefruit you may wish to speak to your doctor about altering your statin dose to accomodate your diet. Unfortunately for me, grapefruit is also purportedly a kidney stone stimulant and people susceptible to stones should limit their grapefruit intake.

Shola is good friends with Alex Talbot and his wife Aki Kamozawa, he said some of the inspiration for this dinner was provided by thier "working relationship". For more info on who Alex and Aki are .... Click...http://ideasinfood.typepad.com/ These two Rock. ← Very interesting. Thanks for the link.