docsconz

Thank you Pedro, I will not look down. I am going to stay the night in Roses, though not sure where yet. ← Thank Bux, we are going to rent a car in Barcelona. We are thinking about eating at Cinq sentits, Alkimia, Abac, Hisop or Can Majo while we are in Barcelona-do you have a preference ← Even though this is addressed to Bux, the beauty (or horror) of this site is that I can throw my $.02 in I haven't been to Hisop or Can Majo, though I am sure they are superb. Abac and Alkimia are both excellent. One thing that Cinc Sentits has that they don't is the eGullet connection with that intangible extra it provides. Jordi and his family are extremely gracious and accomodating. Unfortunately for me, the evening I was there I was already stuffed and therefore unable to enjoy it as much as I should have. If you can go to more than one by all means do so. I would rate Abac slightly ahead of Alkimia.

My absolute favorite dish from my mother growing up was bucatini with a stuffed blue crab sauce. I would always ask for this on my birthday. She would take crabs split by the fishmonger (tops pulled off and kept) and stuff the tops with a bread crumb, cheese and herb mixture. The tops would be placed back on top of the cleaned bodies and tied together with string. The crabs would then simmer for a few hours in a tomato sauce imparting the most incredible flavor. When I have access to live blue crabs, i make the dish myself. Unfortunately it is not nor will it ever be as good as hers. Other favorites included fusilli with chopped meat sauce (we made it for dinner tonight) and white clam sauce.

As an avid fan of this restaurant I am glad that you had a wonderful meal there and chose to post your thoughts here. Welcome to eGullet!

I'm a little late to this blog and disappointed to find out about our blogger's current circumstances. Great photos and like all the best blogs educational too. Nice job!

Just goes to show that these lists aren't always right.

Just go with an open and relaxed mind and you can't help but enjoy it. How much you like it and how special you think it is will probably be determined by how into avant-garde cooking you are.

I do believe that your meal was even worse than mine. That is shameful for $85. It appears as if the place is resting on its reputation. Too many meals like this and that won't last either. The dishes are pretty though.

My wife has the same concerns, but I suggest you check out the sous vide thread if you haven't already. As for me, I'm not that concerned at the temperatures used for cooking sous vide. I'm more concernedabout the potential for bacterial illness if not handled properly. Is it any less hands on than roasting?

I bet you can get Frog Hollow fruit there. It would be interesting to compare them to some of their competitors too.

They are just so wonderful on their own it is sometimes hard to justify using them with other ingredients. They do make for great desserts though.

As opposed to the smell? Or are you talking about situations where you can't sniff the fruit? ← With this fruit you can't miss either. It also feels right.

Word. This is my favorite restaurant in NYC. I would not want them to change it. It is just about perfect as is.

Pretty site. Nice stuff. Interesting pedigree.

Your worms are probably parsley worms AKA black swallowtail butterfly larva--those big gorgeous butterflies we love to watch. See this link for a picture. I believe swallowtail butterflies are very bitter, so birds won't eat them. Generally, brightly colored bugs are bitter. ← Thanks for the link. I believe that you are correct. Here is a photo of my "worms". I'm glad I didn't try to fry them

I'm on Farmer A's Shipping list again for the summer. So far three shipments - apricots, nectarines and peaches. All have been incredible. I used a number of the apricots to make an apricot packet from Pierre Hermes Desseerts book - wow! I have also paired some nectarines and then again peaches with local strawberries and 40y/o balsamico from Pedroni - simply some of the most delicious desserts i have ever had. Since I ws at home, i licked my bowl Here are some photos of the nectarines and peaches:

I guess you discovered the secret of their success

It has been awhile, but better late than never! On a side note, I recently made Apricot packets from Desserts by PH using fresh Frog Hollow Apricots. It was an amazing dessert. Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos.

Keep 'em coming!

I believe that Topolobampo is more sophisticated and creative, while Frontera Grill is more traditional and less formal. Topolobampo is by no means stuffy, however.

I don't know if this is the case, but your work reminded me a little bit of that of Diane Arbus - in the way that you capture the underside of your subject. Obviously, the subjects themselves are somewhat different.

Very interesting work. I look forward to seeing more of it and reading more about it here on eGullet. Welcome to the site, albeit belatedly.

which he btw herve this wrote the forward for the original edition why the change all the same what a great book takes the fact that two generations of swiss, etc. are using these techniques and eats their lunch ← My suspicion is that they felt that Wylie may be more familiar to an English speaking, in particular American, audience than Herve This. It may also be that Chef Dufresne is particularly close and well connected with the Spanish avant-garde. I am trying to decide whether I should get this book now or when I am back in Spain later this summer. How far is Gerona from Roses?

I agree that the policies do not seem to make good business sense. This is belied, however, by the fact that the restaurant continues to remain busy and seemingly profitable. Ultimately it works for them. I didn't have the pleasure of trying those other steakhouses you mentioned, Joe, so I can't compare. I did find myself enjoying Rays very much though. DC has become a superb restaurant town. I was led on my recent visit by recs from this board. I was not disappointed. I am sure that there are other restaurants such as those that you mentioned that are also deserving. I had a great dinner on a previous trip at Obelisk and another at Galileo (in the distant past). I was less enthusiastic about Kinkead's, however.

While I am not going to retract what I said a month ago, I would like to update it. The ambiance, French clientele, fullness and reasonable price (114E for 4) at Le Comptoir at lunch remain. However, today I ate with Colette and two other exigeant eaters and while my foie gras/veggie terrine and pig's foot main were OK, except for the tuna had by one of the distaff folk, the rest (tuna slices on salad, gaspacho, beef with veggies and salad nicoise) was banal. ← This is bad news. I figured that this was at leat one place I would absolutely try to get to during my upcoming trip to Paris. I will continue to monitor opinion here.

Topolobampo is perhaps the finest mexican food I have ever had. One of the things I was particularly pleased with was the breadth and quality of their wine list and the excellent recommendations for pairing that we had. Next time I'm back in Chicago it is a must for me along with a return to Alinea.