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I believe it is. I have heard good things about it although I haven't been.

It's too bad. Eartha's was on its way to being my favorite Saratoga restaurant. That distinction still resides with Chez Sophie.

From my point of view I hope and expect to detest neither. I don't find their approaches to be mutually exclusive. I loved Santamaria's cooking and am excited to soon be visiting El Bulli. What is important to me is great food. It is so much the better if it is served with imagination, wit and style. I found that to be the case at Can Fabes and certainly expect that at El Bulli. Perhaps if I were cooking and invested in a certain style I might be drawn more towards one than the other. Fortunately, I am just dining.

Thanks again for all the input. He is a member of eGullet although he hasn't posted yet. The trip has actually scheduled a visit to McDonald's. He doesn't generally eat fast food here. He really is more interested in experiencing the local cuisine. A friend of his just got back from the same trip (People to People) and said he enjoyed the food except for that cooked during the two night home stay near Xian.

Perhaps, although I don't believe it is a good thing for the product.

Great job, Louisa! It was a fun episode. I missed the name of the restaurant in which he had the entrecote and also the bakery. Anyone catch them?

I am not optimistic.

There is a new restaurant recently opened in the Arts area on Beekman Street. It serves local quality produce cooked in a modern style. While I haven't been yet, I hear it is good. Unfortunately, I don't know the name. I will report when I have additional information. In other Saratoga updates, I believe Max at Mrs. London's continues to proceed developing in the space next to Mrs. London's on Broadway, although I very much doubt it will be open before the end of the summer. I predict, though, that when it does open it will become the class ofthe Saratoga dining scene. Max London was really starting to rock in the kitchen at Eartha's when he left to pursue other projects.

I had dinner at Sargo's last week and was extremely disappointed. The place is beautiful and the menu reads well enough to get my digestive juices flowing. Unfortunately, though the decriptions are appetizing and the plates very nicely presented, the food was only mediocre at a very high price. My main course was the veal stuffed with lobster. The description certainly sounded intriguing and this is supposed to be one of the restaurant's sugnature dishes but the reality was that the dish lacked balance, complexity of flavor or any real pizzazz. The lobster was lost in the dish. It seemd to be there only for the luxe quotient it provided. I certainly didn't taste it. It really didn't add anything texturally either. The flavor of the dish was utterly dominated by the herb stuffing of the involtino. The service wasn't good either. We had empty water glases for an extended period of time with no one to even flag over to fill them. While I would consider returning under the right circumstances I would be in no hurry to do so. In my estimation there is no comparison between this restaurant and either Chez Sophie or The Inn at Erlowest. Erlowest is probably the more direct competitor stylistically. There is no question for me that Erlowest offers the finest dining in the region, though Chez Sophie remains the bellweather of Saratoga dining for me. Rich, what do you recommend at The Wine Bar?

Anna and Michael, Thank you for the specific suggestions. I'm not sure how much of an opportunity he will have to eat independently, but I wanted to give him a better idea of specific things to look to try should he have the opportunity. We'll see.

My 15yo son is heading to China tomorrow with a student group. He will be visiting these cities as well as Xian. While most of his meals will be planned out for him, what should he be looking out for in these areas? What food items are particularly notable for an adventurous 15yo diner? I know that this is inexcusably last minute, but I appreciate your insights even if they don't get to him in time. I hope that he wil be posting about his experience upon his return.

Brett, that looks like a fabulously wonderful menu. Your photos and descriptions do a great job of providing insight into the essence of the cuisine. while I haven't eaten there, now I would very much love to. To address some of the discussion you started about comparing restaurant styles, I would say that there is a lot of room in this world for many different styles. I equally enjoy simple, well prepared stellar ingredients and complex dishes. I also enjoy the creative, intellectual aspects of cuisines such as Arzak, Dufresne and Achatz. I will be visiting El Bulli later this summer for the first time and am very excited by the prospect of visiting it and eating their creations. I am equally excited about the possibility of visiting Rafa's for relatively unadorned impeccable seafood. I say the more variety the better. My only requisite is quality.

How did I miss that initial thread? Great job there and with this excerpt. I was surprised to read that the veal comes from Canada. Is veal excused from the restictions on importing Canadien beef into the US?

I haven't been so I'll keep my thoughts to myself.

We all have our biases. Thanks for the useful and interesting post. Please keep us apprised of developments at this restaurant and others you may know as well as anything else food related.

Great report as usual, Daniel - but only twelve courses! Great photography, too. What did you use? I know the lighting wasn't good enough for conventional non-flash photography. Besides, you had some really nice close-ups. The dishes looked extraordinary. Similar enough in style to a number of the dishes on the old menu, but different enough to make me want to return to try them for myself! It looks as if Chef Achatz and his crew have hit another home run.

What did they say?

Judith, What an incredible and authoritative post! Thank you for your thoughts and impressions. Were you and Elie (FoodMan) aware of each other's egullet connection when you dined at El Bulli?

You know me so well and we've never even met!

Part of the reason more are being exported/imported is because the interest in and demand for is increasing. Ironically, I think part of that interest stems from the over homogenization of the internationally styled wines of the more traditionally popular varietals. Jim, I agree wholeheartedly with your assessments of Italian whites (and reds) as well as the Spaniards. As for the Beaujeaulais, I'll have to try some for myself as I must admit I haven't had any for quite some time. Terry Robards, former wine critic for the New York Times has alwways been an ardent supporter of those wines. He particularly touts their aging potential.

Probably just bad luck. It will be interesting to see if these reports become more common. Would be a shame if that were the case.

Thanks for the info and welcome to eGullet! The menu certainly looks appetizing. Have you tried it?Any particular standouts or signatures?

I found the answer to my question - hot fudge, bananas and peanut butter. I am sure it is excellent, even if thename isn't entirely appealing. It sounds a little too reminiscent of concrete shoes. But then it could fit into the "death by chocolate" realm of dessert titles.

Ummmm, Concrete Jungle. Any idea what is in this?

Adam, great job. It all looks fantastic. I am not particularly knowledgable of this area. It certainly looks to be knowledge worthy though. What kind of figs are those? They look more elongated than what I am used to.