docsconz

How is it possible for someone to have an opinion and write so many posts on Per Se without eating there. ← This is a fair question. I would say that while oakapple has posted quite a few times on this topic, I just reviewed the posts that I could find via a search of the topic for his user name and not once did I see any comment offerering an opinion on the quality of the food prior to the one above. All the previous comments I could find were either questions about the restaurant or its policies or comments on specific policies with potential repercussions beyond that of the restaurant such as the service charge and Per Se's pricing policies. Actually, Oakapple has been a model poster within this topic (and beyond).

Perhaps we should discuss this practice in a separate thread on cattle husbandry, but why is it considered advisable to separate the calves from the mothers so early? For veal? ← Veal is a byproduct of dairy cattle farming. The separation is because we drink milk and eat cheese.

These are all valid questions. Foie gras production as all animal husbandry should be done as humanely as possible. That some foie gras producers are not humane is most likely true. They, but not the industry as a whole, should be shut down.

This is exactly what I was getting ready to post Look at how important and expensive certain spices were in the past: i.e. sugar, salt and pepper. Empires were created around them.

It seems that Joseph B and I are the only eGullet members to have so much as a morsel there so far as I can tell. I can't believe that nobody here has been curious. Fess up!

The internet can be a wonderful thing! This was an outstanding apartment and perfect for our family of five. The kitchen was well equipped as well as modern and spacious. The owners are in fact Scandinavian. The location was very good as well, situated in a real Parisian neighborhood as opposed to a pure tourist area. We used the kitchen two evenings with one dinner with friends. I cooked some Bresse chickens and a few other wonderful market items. I certainly wouldn't want to go to Paris or anywhere with great restaurants and cook exclusively, but then I wouldn't want to go anywhere with great markets and not be able to cook at all. We actually used the kitchen a fair amount even if we did not cook a lot of big meals. That apartment had a lot going for it besides the kitchen though. I just hope that it will still be available the next time I want to return to Paris

Ah Bux, be careful of sweeping generalizations. We had our kitchen completely renovated and while we don't have a Viking oven, we have sufficient space and modern appliances to do almost anything. And, there are apartments for rent that do too. Not to get DocSconz's PM mailbox flooded, but the place he rented last year had a splendid open kitchen with great eqpt; it resembled a loft in SoHo (US) more than a flat in La Boheme (Left Bank). I think the trick is to view photos and know the size of the rooms before one decides. Also, not to be too chauvinistic but Americans, Scandanavians and others in Paris for a few years often get their kitchens renovated because they're used to cooking in bigger spaces and couples need elbow room to pass when cooking ensemble. ← Thanks John The apartment we had did indeed have a great kitchen. Here is the link.

But it is also food market heaven with ingredients that are at best difficult and at worst impossible to find in the US. If one enjoys cooking and one has a reasonable kitchen, it is a fun alternative to restaurants at a fraction of the cost.

The only point I am arguing is your use of the word "psychological" and the denial of physiological and neurological. While in either case "it might all be in one's head", so to speak, the distinction is an important one. That there are situations in which the response to pain is unusually well controlled using "psychological" techniques is certainly true. That there isn't an underlying physiologic explanation is another question entirely. That the physiology may not be very well understood at this time does not mean that it is not present.

Maybe, maybe not. I'm inclined to believe that the author looked at the issue carefully, and just couldn't come down on one side or another. Michael Saunders is similarly undecided in his account of foie gras production in From Here You Can't See Paris. And people have complained to me that they wish my foie gras piece had ended on a decisive note. I held off on the last paragraph because I knew people would expect some sort of decision. Finally, I couldn't make one and said so. While you can buy cows that have been raised humanely, etc., you can't buy foie gras made without force feeding the birds, so it is, in that respect, different enough to stay gray for me. So I don't think of it as a cop-out. But the assumption that a neutral stance equates to waffling is a common one. ← It is certainly not inconceivable that theauthor of this piece truly is unable to draw a decisive conclusion. I believe, however, that given the strong feelings that this subject arouses, that even if he had a conclusion on either side of the argument, the magazine likely would have tempered it to the degree published anyway simply to avoid the possibility of alienating parts of its constituency.

slkinsey, I agree with everything you have said, except when you said This statement is grossly untrue. Pain is very difinately physiological and neurological even as there is also a psychological component to it. In my job I eliminate pain using approaches that have very specific effects on people's neurologic physiology. Whenever I do a nerve block, I eliminate the sensation of pain (though not necessarily the stimulus) by interrupting the neurophysiologic pathway of the stimulus. Just because the ultimate processing of the sensation of pain occurs in the CNS doesn't mean that the process is purely psychological. That being said, I agree that the anatomy and physiology of ducks and geese are sufficiently different than that of humans and the reasons you pointed out that the perception of careful gavage to these animals as painful is a conclusion based on anthropomorphism and not on logic.

I say forget the reviews, go with an open mind and let us know what you think after you have experienced it.

The article in question actually showed a fairly balanced approach to the question. That the ultimate conclusion of the author was indecisive was, however, IMO a copout. This was probably because the magazine wished not to offend either camp.

Woodstock Water Buffalo in Vermont is the closest thing to local that you are likely to find. While it doesn't approach fresh mozzarella di bufala in Campania, it is pretty good. Their buffalo milk yoghurts are excellent.

← This is what enthralls me about Ferran Adria, El Bulli and a few other like-minded and talented places. The restaurants cater to every aspect of one's soul. The food is delicious, beautiful, fun in a wonderful atmosphere. This certainly appeals to the hedonistic side of me. In addition, though, what sets El Bulli and a few other restaurants apart is the fact that so much thought goes into every aspect of the cuisine. It is food for the mind every bit as much as for the body.

Well, you'd better add Butter to the list, too ← OOPs! Schwa was already on my short list. Yes, Butter is now too! I am going to have to set aside some time for getting back out to Chicago between these two new ones (for me) as well as a required return to Alinea and a few others as well.

This settles it. Schwa is now officially on my short list!

This excerpt provides some good insight into Ferran's Manifesto that he delivered at the recent Madrid Fusion Conference. In particular item #3 of the manifesto: which appears to come directly from in the excerpt.Cool stuff.

I think it would be a great thing. Although I am an interested diner, I would be very interested in attending such an event if I could somehow make my schedule co-incide with it. Rather than taking away from the madrid Fusion, i think it would add to it as a complimentary piece.

I can be such a literalist sometimes

...and that's a bad thing?

It's more likely that we'll keep ripping them a new one until they do

A very interesting dichotomy of opinion has developed here about this restaurant.

So that's how they got the name! That makes sense. I don't know how they are lately, but when they were in their original location they made some of the best pizze in the area.

There are a number of them that I am particularly curious to see because I am familiar with the chefs' work. It is nice to see Roberto Donna getting another chance.