docsconz

"Welcome!! Just a friendly reminder, everything here will kill you.. The animals, well, they will kill you.. The plant life, yup they are all poisonous and deadly.. The insects, well we have freaky looking things you have never heard of that will not only sting you to death, but they will bite you, disease you and then kill you !! Reading this sign too long will kill you.. Just remember everything here wants you dead.. Have a great day... ← The place really is "to die for", though.

Nougatine for lunch on a saturday may or may not be WOW worthy (I did have an excellent Saturday lunch there a few years ago), but Jean Georges' main dining room for lunch during the week certainly is! I had the pleasure of dining there last Friday with my good friend, Joseph B. Lunch here is not only a great value for NYC, it is one of the best values on the planet for haute cuisine. One must have a minimum of two plates for $24 with each aditional plate costing $12. This is great food for less than appetizer prices at a moderate restaurant and the choices! desserts are even cheaper at $8/plate. We were brought a lovely three-part amuse starting with a perfect oyster with a delicately lemony sauce that brought out the essential briny oceanness of the oyster, a broth with a raviolo and tuna with avocado, a crisp and a spicy sauce. This went very well with the house-made Meyer-lemon-kaffir lime soda. My first ordered course was Young garlic soup with sauteed frog legs and curly cress. It was delicious with a vibrant acidity to it. The grenouille were superb. While my dish was excellent, Joe's was outstanding and the first Wow of the lunch. He had Black Sea Bass, fragrant coconut juice, parsnips and lime. What a stellar combination, subtle, complex and utterly delicious. We split a half bottle of Meurseault for the first few courses. Next up for me was the next Wow; Turbot with Chateau Chalon sauce. This dish was marvellous with more wonderful acid from the vin jaune and plenty of body from who knows how many egg yolks. I could have licked the sauce off the plate. Joe had Maine lobster, celery root, black trumpets and maple. This dish had a $5 supplement. It too was outstanding. Glutton that I am I had to have an extra course. I had to have the signature Sea Scallops, caramelized cauliflower, caper-raisin emulsion - another stellar dish that richly deserves its reputation. After that course we were back on track together. We shared a half-bottle of Cristom pinot noir from the Willamette Valley and both ordered the perfectly prepared Pan Roasted sweetbreads, licorice, grille pear and lemon - simply great. Joe had the Beef tenderloin with savory onion jam and tamarind mustard. Excellent. I had what was probably my favorite course of the day and obviously anothe Wow - the Broiled squab, onion confit, preserved lemons and squab jus was one of the two best renditions of squab that I have ever had. The other was by Wylie Dufresne when he was at 71 Clinton Fresh Food. The spices and preserved lemon were in perfect harmony with the perfectly cooked squab. We viewed the cheese course, but decided to pass for dessert instead despite its obvious allure. I had to have chocolate so I had the molten cake with vanilla ice cream and fennel semi-freddo with bitter chocolate ice cream - very nicely hit the spot. Joe had the "Exotic" that included various tropical fruit desserts including passion fruit and a crisply fried sweet banana - light and delicious. It was getting late in the afternoon at which time J-G-V himself came out to survey the remnants of the dining room. He graciously came to our table, where we had a nice chat and he very kindly agreed to accompany me in a photo. We were not quite done, however, as the mignardises arrived in the form of delicious fresh cut marhmallows, macaroons and chocolate bob-bons. Funny thing, that the one bon-bon we were going to leave was the one that turned out to be our mutual favorite - the mint. We both envisioned peppermint like in a Peppermint Patty, but instead it was delightfully refreshing spearmint. On the way out I managed to get a few photos of the kitchen still in action. While the cutting edge of food preparation and avant-garde cuisine may have moved away from Jean Georges over the years, the restaurant remains a place of beautiful, creative, sophisticated and delicious cuisine. It confirmed for me that Michelin was correct in awarding the restaurant three stars. Whether the other restaurants in Chef V's empire live up to his name or not is a legitimate question. This one certainly shouts it out strong.

I think whether one is disappointed or not depends to a certain extent on expectations. This is not Bouley, it is Bouley Upstairs, a very informal bistro serving good food at a fair price. The night we were there it had a very happy vibe with people enjoying their food and each other. We got into a few fun conversations with our neighbors and I managed a nice chat with Chef Bouley while he was at the stove (He didn't miss a beat). I promised some photos and here they are: This yuzu/sake/vodka based cocktail was superb. It was a perfect refresherand accompaniment to the sushi: The nanzenji was incredible. This was a very hearty, fulfilling soup. The lobster was very good and an excellent value, although I would have preferred a little less sweetness in the balance. That is my fault as re-reading the menu description I should have guessed that is what it would have been like. Joe's scallops were tasty, but they were overshadowed by the assertive mushrooms. A neighbor's Bouley Burger: What really made the place fun and special was watching David Bouley cook and interact with his clients. These photos, I think, convey what I believe makes this place special.

Hey Doc, do they play hard rock music? ← When we entered the restaurant there was a piano player playing soft jazz. By the time we left the pianist was long gone and the sound system sounded more like babbo. Has anyone eaten in the main dining room yet?

Thanks, Bux. My understanding is that it is made of shrimp like the canneloni and noodles.

Perhaps the greatest meat eater on earth, the great white shark: This creature certainly provoked my flight or fright response.

Clearly my preference as well. What fascinated me there was that every animal no matter how lordly was part of the food chain. Even lions and leopards suffer predation, especially if they are weakened by inability to procure their own food supplies. A few years before my visit there was a bull rhino that for some reason attacked a bull elephant. That rhino wound up as some other animal's dinner. The safari experience reawakened a bit of existential thought that had largely lain dormant since I was a teenager. As for spearfishing, I have a photo from the trip that I will try to post later that awakens the same feelings in that realm.

I don't know any details at this time, but look for some upcoming special dinners with Spanish colleagues in the new year. If this past year's Navarra dinner was any indication, they should be awesome. I will make sure they get on the eG Calendar if and when I get info on them. Thanks for the comments on the photos.

It's funny, but I sort of feel the same way. It is not that I didn't have a great or memorable meal there - I did. It is just that since that time I have been fortunate enough to have had a number of meals that have eclipsed it in my mind, both in the US and abroad.

Photos from WD-50 last Weekend. We were there to celebrate my son’s 16th birthday. I did not get a good photo of Salmon, cream cheese, capers, red onion. This dish did inspire our breakfast the following morning. Foie gras, candied olives, green peas, beet juice. I loved everything about this dish. Carrot-coconut “sunny side up” brought verisimilitude to anew level. Great flavors in this amazing “imposter” Shrimp cannelloni, chorizo, thai basil. As I said upthread, this was worth my long wait to try. I loved this dish. Shrimp cous-cous. My younger son tried a few things away from the tasting menu. This was one of them. A great dish and interesting contrast to the cannelloni. Beef tongue, fried mayo, tomato molasses – a Dufresne classic. Cocao-dashi, lemon yogurt noodles. This dish combined delicious, unique, new flavors with a fun presentation. The balance when the noodles were added was superb. Langoustine, celery root, banana mustard. Another unique flavor combination, this was one of the few dishes that I found the presentation to be uninspired. I guess dishes that taste this great don’t have to have such an inspired presentation though. This was incredible. My son had the lamb chops cooked sous vide. Once again excellent. Venison loin, pickled cherries, brussel sprouts, oatmeal panna cotta. The sum was greater than the individual parts, although those were fine too. Pork belly with swiss cheese soup – awesome. Cider sorbet, pine needle gelee. The pine needles were the essence of the north. Great dessert. Manchego cheese cake with pineapple foam and quince. Delicious. Crème brulee with liquid tangerine underneath. I like to consider this “Tangerine Dream.” Butternut sorbet, pumpkin seed cake, chocolate soil, mole. Chocolate mousse cake as birthday cake. Some shots from around and in the kitchen: Wylie and Sam at the pass. The kitchen of Wylie, Sam and company does some wonderful things with food. They excel at creating novel flavors and textures in a unique style using great craft and cutting edge technique. In addition, they excel at uncovering flavor essences under new textural facades. All of this is done in a supremely relaxed environment. I love the fact that WD-50, El Bulli, Arzak, Alinea, Citronelle and Moto from my experience are working to achieve similar ends, but each in its own inimitable way. I look forward to trying restaurants such as Minibar, the brand-new Gilt and Manresa amongst others.

Africa. The name means many different things to different people around the globe including the people who live there. There are a few things, however, that I believe are undeniable about the continent. It is incredibly rich in natural resources and these have been incredibly exploited. Despite this history of exploitation, the continent remains rich in natural resources, some of which I recently got to see and experience first hand on a trip to the Republic of South Africa. The specific resources that I am referring to are the continent’s wildlife. That there remains a significant population of wildlife is testament to the value of wildlife for tourism and the value of tourism for a sustainable economy. I recently had the pleasure of partaking of a three-night safari at Singita Boulders Lodge in the Sabi Sands Reserve adjacent to Kruger National Park in northern South Africa. First off, I will say the Lodge is astounding, providing unparalleled luxury in the bush. It provided for stellar game viewing. The remainder of this article is not a travelogue for Singita nor will it be an accounting of the animals that I saw and checked off on a list. Rather, it is an exploration of some thoughts that my experience at there aroused in me. The eGullet Society for Culinary Arts and Letters is all about food and this post is all about food as well, just not about food as we typically think about it or discuss it. This is more about to be or not to be – food that is, and the elemental nature of the food chain. This is something that I believe we don’t often get to see, experience or understand in modern, industrialized society. Those with experience with farms and slaughterhouses have some sense of this of course, albeit in the context of the human environment. What struck me on safari, however, was the very elemental nature of the process. Of course, I am not the first to have been struck with these thoughts nor are these thoughts likely to be revolutionary or profound to some other people. Humans eat for pleasure in addition to sustenance. In the wild eating may or may not be pleasurable, but it is clearly a matter of sustenance. It is not really a matter of “eat or be eaten”. Rather it is more like “eat and be eaten”. This applies from the base of the food chain, all the way up to the massive carnivores and herbivores. Ultimately, everything must eat and nothing escapes being eaten. It is one thing to read about this in textbooks or scholarly journals. It is quite another to see it up close and experience it first hand. The first experience that got me thinking about these elemental processes was on our first early morning game drive. Our guide, Coleman and our Tracker/Spotter, James, had found some fresh leopard tracks in the road. They set about to find him and in impressive fashion, they did. We found him in the bush on the side of a road that we were taking to cut him off. What was interesting was what was on the other side of the road. It was a large female kudu calmly munching away on some brush. The leopard was well aware of her and intent on stalking her for his lunch. The kudu in her turn was well aware of the leopard and managed to keep the brush that she was eating directly between her and the leopard. The kudu had found a nice lunch spot for herself, yet needed to keep from becoming the leopard’s lunch. We were parked in the middle of the road just short of being directly between the two animals. We sat there for approximately ten minutes watching this drama before us. Our emotions were in an uproar. Were we going to witness a kill? Did we want to? Did we want the kudu to get away? What would happen to the leopard if he didn’t make this or other kills? Despite the intensity of the leopard’s purpose, once he started to get too close, the kudu finally realized that there were other good lunch spots for her and she bounded off safe for at least a few more moments. The leopard, in turn, appeared to take it in stride and lay down to pose for our cameras for a few minutes. Our emotions had been spared this time. What became apparent here is that the hunter is not necessarily the one with the advantage. Finding the right prey in the right situation at the right time takes work and effort with no guaranteed pay-off. It might be days or weeks in some instances for the right situation to develop. Indeed, it might never occur at all. There was another female leopard we came across. Three years ago she had in the course of her life traumatically lost the use of one eye. It was felt by many at Singita that she probably would not survive long without good binocular vision and that the loss of depth perception would ultimately be her undoing. That may yet be the case, although three years later, not only does she continue to survive she has bred and become a mother of a couple of newly born leopard cubs. Indeed the cubs are still so young they have yet to wander away from their lair and we were kept away from them so as not to disturb them. Still, the mother needs nutrition in order to nurse her cubs. When we encountered the mother, she was on her way back to her lair to check on the cubs. She was coming from a fresh kill of an impala that she made that morning. After spending some time following the mother in the Range Rover, our guides tracked down the kill. The leopard had eaten only the entrails of the impala and had tried but failed to tree the kill to save it for later. The impala carcass lay at the base of a tree so far undiscovered by any other opportunists. After continuing our drive we returned to the kill after nightfall to discover a lone Spotted Hyena eating its fill. Much of the carcass that had been there earlier was already devoured. The hyena was clearly an efficient eating machine, barely noticing our presence. The leopard would not be getting any more of this impala. The food cycle was observed throughout our stay at Singita. Termite mounds were nearly ubiquitous as were the creatures eating the termites. They provide a nutritious meal for Southern Yellow-billed Hornbills amongst others. Old termite mounds are homes and hunting grounds for other animals such as snakes and mongoose. Cape Buffalo, Elephants and White Rhinoceros would eat plants and brush at their whim, blazing new trails through the rapidly growing brush. Impala, zebra and giraffe did so as well, although a bit more skittishly as they always had to keep an eye, a nose and an ear out for predators. The lions were particularly impressive. We followed one pride of ten lions that included three lionesses and seven cubs extensively. The drama there involved one cub that had gone missing. Had it become some other predator’s dinner? That would not be the case this time, as it had rejoined the pack by the following morning. Another large pride, in the meantime, had brought down a wildebeest and feasted on it to fill their ample bellies. Sooner or later the pride of ten probably would too. Throughout this time I never felt like prey even amongst the great predators while in our open-air Range Rover. This was partly so because so long as we stayed seated in the vehicle it appeared that we could travel+ amongst these creatures without apparent concern. In addition the guides had a rifle for our protection, just in case. We trusted their experience and know-how. We did have a near run-in with a bull rhino one time, but that was not about being food. It was a question of territory and his poor eyesight. No, I felt very safe, that is until our last morning there. No sooner did we get to our vehicles for our morning drive than our guides spotted fresh leopard tracks that led right through camp. In fact a couple from our Rover group had heard some unusual sounds that morning from their cabin before coming out for the drive. We found the leopard just past the camp not far from our friends, or indeed our own cabin. Was I ever really in danger, likely to become leopard or hyena food? Perhaps. There is a reason they have a big warning sign on the property as well as an admonition not to walk anywhere outside alone at night. It was this connection though that made this a special experience and not just being in a special zoo. Perhaps for the first time ever, I really appreciated my place in the food chain.

I had a couple of tacos at L'Esquina last week. They were ok, but nothing special.

Welcome aboard, Megan and John!

A description of the decor and work arrangements from today's NY Times

Still is

I had dinner last night there with my wife and two eldest sons to celebrate our eldest's 16th birthday. We had the tasting menu with essentially the same items with the exception of one dessert. We all thought it was fantastic, although I could see some of the dishes not being to everyone's palate such as the dashi-chocolate-yoghurt dish. It had a bitter undertone that might be off-putting to some. I found the bitterness to be in the right proportion. I will follow with photos (no, I was not the New York reporter) when I get a chance. By the way, I had been waiting a loooong time to get a chance to try the shrimp pasta. I absolutely loved it. One of my sons had the shrimp cous cous. That was great as well. Wylie, Sam, Dewey and the rest of the crew were incredibly gracious in letting us in the kitchen and showing the boys how they do certain things. Our waiter, Tona was outstanding again. We had the pleasure of having his service previously as well. This remains my overall favorite restaurant in NYC as it combines great, creative food that is different than anywhere else, delicious and a fun atmosphere.

In town for a few days, so I met my buddy, Joseph B for an early dinner at Bouley Upstairs. Our feelings echo most of the sentiments above. If one wants elegance, go elsewhere. If one wants a place that rocks and serves excellent food at an amazing price with a great vibe, this is the place. Watching David Bouley himself man the stoves and cook our dinner was a particular treat. Chatting with him even moreso. Eating the output of the kitchen better yet. We struck up a number of friendly conversations with those seated near us. The epitome of the evening though was watching two children about 8 & 10 years old standing in front of the open kitchen watching Chef Bouley cook and watching him converse with them while effortlessly doing what he was doing - a golden moment. I started with a cocktail and Joe with Champagne. While I do not remember the name of the cocktail it consisted of sake, Belvedere vodka, yuzu and grapefruit sorbet. It was spectacular with just the perfect balance of acidity, bitterness and a sweetness. It also happened to be a great accompaniment to the food that immediately followed. We opened up with sushi. We shared a a couple of pieces of O Toro, uni and kobe beef. The uni was silky, cool and delicious, as good as any I have had. The toro was buttery and flavorful. Neithe of us thought that the beef fully worked in this context, however. While it was good, I felt that not only was the combination with the rice not synergistic, the sum was less than the total of the parts. I would not order that dish again. The highlight of the meal, however was the nanzenji, steamed homemade tofu with truffle dashi. This dish had incredible depth of flavor with a truly silken consistency - superb. Joe had the Stage harbor day boat scallops with fresh coconut juice, ginger and wild mushrooms, while I had Chatham day boat lobster, rosemary, apple and parsnip puree and red wine sauce. Both dishes were very good and certainly stupendous values. The scallops though I felt were somewhat overwhelmed by the mushrooms and my personal preference would have been for a bit less sweetness with the lobster preparation. We shared a half bottle of 2004 Brundlmayer Gruner Veltliner, an excellent accompaniment to the food. Thinking that we might eat again elsewhere we forewent dessert and set out trekking on an emotional and gastronomic high. One can eat very well and inexpensively here, but the price can climb fairly quickly too if one particularly enjoys the sushi and wine - fair enough. While I too wouldn't come here just for the sushi, it does make a nice adjunct to the rest of the meal. I took some photos and depending on how well they come out I will likely post some early next week.

Great place. I was part of Kathleen's party. The drinks were superb. I particularly enjoyed the Applejack Cobbler.

I made it in to Del Posto last night as part of the soft opening. I willqualify my following statements by saying that we did not eat in the main dining room or off the main menu. We had "spuntini" in the lounge. I have but one word if some things don't change - disaster. Were it not for some very capable and genuinely warm help from the hostess and our server, the disater would have been complete. Joseph B and I wandered up from Tribeca after a wonderful early dinner at Bouley Upstairs (to be posted separately, but the contrasts in value are extreme) basically to take a look at the new wunderkind restaurant. We were excited, especially when we were allowed in to be able to have something in the lounge. The location is a bit bizarre considering what many perceive as the owners aspirations for official recognition. While the area is certainly growing and becoming more sophisticated it remains for the moment well of the beaten track and aesthetically unusual for a restaurant of its aspirations. The entrance is somewhat nondescript and situated behind a pay telephone bank blocking the view of the restaurant from across the street. The entrance sits below elevated roads and ramps. They do have valet parking for those inclined to drive there, which may be a good idea as public transportation is not particularly convenient. Entering, the room itself is cavernous with an outward air of elegance, but basically cold in feeling if not in temperature. Tables are expansive and widely separated. The hostesses are extremely friendly and charming and the interaction we had with them and our server was clearly the best part of this segment of the evening. We had come in just hoping to see the restaurant, but were thrilled with the opportunity to sample it. We were shown to the lounge and seated at a low table near the bar. This is wherre things started to get bizarre. Apparently, in the future in order to secure one of these cocktail tables one will need a reservation specifically for one of them. There is a special menu of snacks or "spuntini" just for that area. The main menu is strictly off-limits there. One cannot have anything to eat at the bar either. The problem with this scenario is that the spuntini menu is outrageous - in a bad way. It is the most overpriced bit of hyperbole that I have ever witnessed in a restaurant. Since we had already had dinner we weren't starving, but our dinner had been a light one and our walk up from Tribeca had allowed us some appetite. It was difficult to find anything really appealing on this menu, especially for the prices quoted. The dessert menu presented didn't even have prices quoted. We saw arancine there for $21. Arancine are basic Sicilian rustic fare. Joe and I happen to love them, but were certainly curious as tho what could make these so precious. He had to have them and in addition we ordered beef carpaccio along with a glass of Aglianico each. The wines by the glass were somewhat limited and extremely expensive as well as the Aglianico was $18/glass. A bit later, the arancine arrived. There were six small orbs, one central one surrounded by five others on a simple white plate with bechamel underneath the arancine. There was no additional adornment. The arancine were tasty. They were cheesy with a speck of ragu within. For a fraction of the price these would have been enjoyable. At the price chargeed they were obscene. The carpaccio was no less obscene. This appeared to be hand sliced and pounded top round once again laid out on a plate with a drizzle of olive oil and a little flaked salt on one side of the plate and two small tomato pastey bruschette on the other. While the meat was sliced and pounded well it was not particularly flavorful and would have benefitted by additional salt at least. I am guessing as to the portion size, but this approximately one ounce portion of meat on a plate cost us $22. By far the best part of the dish was the bruschetta. Although we were unable to order from it (we would have loved to sample a pasta), the main menu appeared more reasonable, although hardly inexpensive. The carte appeared to be entirely classical with little in the way of obvious innovation. To be clear that statement is an observation not a criticism. Given Batali's track record for food at the wonderful Babbo, I have no doubt that the food will be well executed. Though I was disappointed with the carpaccio in my mouth, the arancine at least were delicious. They do have several tasting options including a 10 course "Del Posto Tasting Menu" for $120 that included two or three pasta dishes. Mario was in evidence in the back of the bar with occasional forays into the dining room to chat with particular patrons. While he was not wearing his trademark shorts, he was wearing blue jeans as well as his orange clogs. Given what he has apparently always stood for with the rustic simplicity and heartiness of his cuisine, I cannot believe that he is not genuinely embarrassed by the over-the-top pretentiousness of this restaurant. In many respects it is the antithesis of everything he has done before and appears to me at least to be blatant pandering to the culinary press. The funny thing to me, is that I cannot see it in its current construction as being anything more than a disaster that will likely put a major blemish on King Mario's midas touch. Now I do realize that the restaurant is not officially open and that many of the criticisms levelled here could change. As one who previously respected Mr. Batali immensely, I sincerely hope they do and the restaurant achieves the greatness aspired to.

Thanks Bryan for the comliments and the confidence. Both times that I have been at Alinea I have sat upstairs in two different rooms. While that clearly has worked for us, I have no reason to believe that therre is any significant difference as the downstairs room is equally attractive. I have no doubt that you will be treated very well and enjoy the restaurant immensely.

I like it. I would have liked more food pictures, however.

This may be true if you are looking to simply pass through Andorra, which given your anticipated schedule is all that you would be likely to do. If, however, you were a hiker and wished to spend some time in the mountains, it is truly magnificent. While the food may not be at the level of surrounding areas, it is not bad. It also happens to be a good place for luxe food shopping.

Take your pick of any of the high-end sushi houses in the world. Two that float the boat for me are Sushi Yasuda and Kurumazushi in NYC. Many of the trends of western seafood restaurants seem to be coming from these places (general not specifically the restaurants mentioned). I agree with the statement that pretty much all the ultra high-end restaurants in the world emphasize seafood in their kitchens. The Spanish luxe restaurants are particularly adept with these ingredients, exotic or otherwise.

There definitely was something familiar in this very unusual dish. For my wife and I it reminded us of a specific place of a different era for whatever reason. Fascinating.

I was planning onmaking some comments about Alinea and where I see it in the grand scheme of North American dining per my experience. To my taste, Alinea is the overall best restaurant I have been to in North America. That is take nothing away from any other restaurant I have been to including WD-50, Per Se, Citronelle, Jean-George, Daniel, le Bernardin, Charlie Trotter, Moto, Gary Danko, Susur, Toque etc. I have not been to the French Laundry or many other places so my experience certainly is not exhaustive. What sets Alinea apart to me is the combination of intense creativity, great tasting food, whimsy, superlative service as good as I've ever had that is both efficient, informative and unintimidating, a stellar wine program and a comfortable, luxurious environment. The only down side for me is that it is so far away in Chicago. On the other hand, that might be a good thing as I could see myself going broke if it was too accessible for me None of the other restaurants that I have been to have that exact combination that is so important to me. The closest that I have come to this in the past was at Union Pacific in its heyday with Rocco DiSpirito when he was making some amazing food, but that lacked in consistency and Citronelle last spring. WD-50 is my favorite restaurant in NYC and I will be returning there soon to celebrate my eldest son's 16th birthday. I love that restaurant, but it has a completely different vibe. They are really apples and oranges. WD-50 does not have the same level of luxury that Alinea has. That is not necessarily a bad thing and I prefer WD-50 to Per Se even though Per Se is more luxurious than WD-50 with great food and service too. It is just that for me Alinea has succeeded in blending every aspect of fine dining (to me) together so perfectly. The only restaurant in my experience that I feel has succeeded even moreso for me is El Bulli. Having been to both Alinea and El Bulli within the past year, I believe I am in a position to make some comparisons. While I have not yet been to Jose Andres' Minibar in DC, given that restaurant's size I think I can safely say that Alinea is the closest thing to El Bulli in the US at the moment. While some people may scoff at that or take it the wrong way, I make the statement as a compliment to Alinea. To say that it is most like El Bulli is not to say that it is a clone of El Bulli or an El Bulli wannabe. Stylistically Achatz resembles Ferran Adria very much. The kind of creativity, level of service, techniques and even the plating clearly owe a lot to Adria. But that is where the similarities stop. Adria's cuisine in my limited direct experience, but also through my understanding of having kept a close eye on the restaurant's doings for some time, is largely deriviative of his Catalan and Mediterranean roots. Even though he incorporates other influences, in particular Japanese, Adria's cooking as adventurous as it is, is based on his local tradition. His ingredients and flavors generally reflect that. In addition, it is my sense that above all else, Adria strives for the essence of flavor. The epitome of this for me was his olivo sferico, the gel encased olive essence and his mozzarella sferica, the same concept with the essence of mozzarella di bufala. To me Achatz is striving for something different. While his techniques may be similar, Achatz's restaurant is clearly American. By that I mean, his culinary palate is not based on a particular tradition in the same way that Adria's is, nor is he after the essence of particular flavors. His art is taking from many traditions and blending them into unique and delicious combinations. Visually similarities of style abound. On the palate I find them vastly different. Both offer an incredible sense of fun and whimsy as well as ideal service. That to me is extreme attentiveness, efficiency, anticipation and also playfulness and excitement that is clearly but subtly conveyed to the diner. Both restaurants know where to draw the line and manage to not overdo it. I will leave this post with a thought that WD-50 is to Arzak as Alinea is to El Bulli.