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I can't wait to read more about "Eating Out Abroad- The Diary of an International Food Critic." I'm sure that it will be titillating.

MattyB, welcome to eGullet! I am sure that you will be able to find someplace in Montreal for this, but if you can't and want to drive a couple of hours south, Brunetto's in Warrensburgh, N.Y. makes a great seafood fra diavolo with lobster and other shellfish. It does need to be ordered in advance and can feed a small army.

Daniel, they look simply delectable. Here are the clams I mentioned above from Kiosk Universal in Barcelona's Boqueria.

We had 4 nights in Cape Town. Dinners at Cape Colony and One. Waterfront are documented in their own topics with photos. The third night we ate at Constantia Uitsig. This was perhaps our most ho-hum meal of our entire two week trip. It wasn't bad. It just wasn't anything special and certainly not worth the premium for a ride out from the waterfront. Perhaps La Colome is better. Our last night we had a reservation for Blue Danube. Unfortunately we were so full from an excellent lunch at 96 Winery Road that we cancelled. Instead we had a nondescript light dinner near our hotel. Wineries visited included Meerlust, Vergelegan and Rust En Vrede, all a lot of fun with excellent wines. All three wineries were beautiful properties, though Vergelegan was particularly stellar. We went to Spier too, though not for the wine or the food. We went to play with the cheetahs. I got to play with 8 cubs. That was fun. I also stayed at Grootbos, a nature reserve/resort near Walker bay. The food was outstanding. I will get to a separate thread shortly.

Great job YT. It shows the value of photos over time. You have given me reason to photograph again when I return there. I had been thinking that I couldn't add to your work with the camera. While I can't match your quality, I might still be able to add to the evolution. same for others.

Not to take anything away from professional critics (and fortunately we have a number of good ones on eGullet such as Lesley), but I get a lot more out of eGullet reviews than I do from most professional critics. It is hard to get a worthwhile sense from someone posting for the first time, but over time and through direct interaction with other members one can get a much better sense of shared affinities than through someone who is a total stranger. In the Montreal and Quebec forum, amongst others I can always rely on Carswell and Lesley for their knowledge and insight. Others provide equally great insight in other areas. Although I haven't been to the new location yet, the old Toque has always been a world-class restaurant to me. One thing I agree on with Tom Gandey is Laprise's foie gras is amazing. I have never had better anywhere.

Interesting thought. You could select a few top restaurants and call them to see how receptive they would be to working with you on this. you could then select the one (or more if you wish) that is most enthusiastic or most excites you. I would be very curious to read the results. I wish I had thought of that last time I was in Paris!

Debate between tasting menus vs. ala carte is an old one. If I am ata restaurant that is new to me or I am unlikely to teturn to for a period of time due to location, tasting menus have served me well by showing me much more of the breadth of a chef's cooking. If I am at a restaurant at which I am a regular, a la carte makes more sense to me. I am familiar with a chef's work and can therrefore focus on what works best for me because I already have an idea of it That is not the case at a new restaurant even if I have read extensively about it. I would suggest going with a style that you are comfortable with.

Rachael Ray is a person who can inspire people who are interested in food, but have limited time to go cook a meal rather than order out. She is the "everywoman" on tv. She also happens to live in the same part of NY that I do. I am happy that a local has made good I have never met her, although I have seen her at one of my favorite food places in Saratoga - Mrs. London's.

Stellar photos as always, Molto. Of course, the subject matter helps make them that way too The food looks fabulous, esp. the foie, although it is difficult to single anything out.

Ah Leung these recipes are really nicely done. I will have to try them soon. Thank you for doing them.

I got them last year online from Rising C Ranch.. While not cheap, they are no more exxpensive than their other fruit and of very high quality. Their heirloom navels, cara caras and sicilian blood oranges are particularly good.

That's never a bad prescription!

YT, those are amongst the most fabulous food photos I have ever seen. Wow. i can't wait to experience at least some of those dishes. early December, here I come!

Classic! Somiatics indeed.

Interesting story, Megan. It's funny how food associations get made. Most are probably formed early on.

I wouldn't even entertain eating blood. ← Why not? I'm just curious. ← Can't put my finger on it. Same reason I wouldn't drink pee, I guess. I know their both sterile and all. It's just a bit revolting. Now when I eat meat it must have _some_ blood in there, so maybe it's an ill-founded emotion-based preference. Would you drink a small cup of blood? That's what's happening if you eat dinuguan or a civet sauce. ← Thanks for answering. This clearly is a matter of personal preference and therefore not a question of right or wrong. My point of view is that blood is an edible and nutritious part of an animal just like the muscle or other organs. I may or may not enjoy blood in specific preparations or raw, but I would not a priori say I would never eat it. I have infact eaten it a number of different ways and in different recipes although not often. I see the situation as no different than someone not eating any particular part of an animal or kind of animal other than for specific religious or ethical reasons. Once again, I appreciate your honest response.

Did you use the blood?

There may be something to this yet!

Moderator Note: I believe that the few posts here describing Andrea Strong's reviews are so far relevant to this discussion, however, any further discussion of her reviewing style and substance should be brought to another topic.

I wouldn't even entertain eating blood. ← Why not? I'm just curious.

← I don't see how one can use this to even suggest a conclusion that one may be able to change mood by changing what is eaten. Even if what one eats does reflect one's mood, it certainly does not necessarily follow that what one eats effects one's mood. It may, but one cannot draw that conclusion from this.

Thanks. In that sense a true Coq au Vin would be a "civet" except that it is not considered wild game. When we made a "true" coq au vin with a recipe from Christian DeLouvrier we used coq's blood as a thickener. One dpertinent difference for this thread is that we didn't bleed it ourselves. It was done for us by the butcher.

Funny, before this thread, I always thought eating "civet" meant eating the animal of the same name that was purportedly involved in the Chinese SARS epidemic a few years back. Seriously, what does one specifically mean when using the word as it has been used in this topic?

Now I'm really upset that I didn't get to Robuchon. I did, however, get to Aux Lyonnais on our first night in Paris. We too had a superb meal there. It was also the first time my 6y/o really loved mushrooms.