docsconz

To date, Arun's remains the only truly disappointing meal I have ever had in Chicago. Daniel, I am sure you will have better luck at Alinea. I am looking forward to your post.

I have been meaning to read this thread for some time, but haven't had the time necessary for it until now. Wow, what a great job by Zeitoun with superb commentary by the eGullet faithful as usual. I was surprised too by the similarities of your meal at Arzak with mine from last October! When we were there Elena was just acknowledging being pregnant- time flies! I wonder if her pregnancy might be one reason for the static nature of the menu? We had a tour of the lab, which certainly seemed busy. I loved Arzak - great restaurant. Despite its stasis, I wouldn't mind having the same menu again.

Do you have the link to the original recipe? I found those same caterpillars (I think) chomping on my parsley.

Is this even possible? I fear that I will be unable to return to Chicago while this menu is in place

I have to try this (El Mariachi) as I am starving for good Mexican up here.

Chef Matt Secich and The Inn at Erlowest get 4 out of 4* from The Albany Times Union. The only other restaurant in the Capitol District to be so bestowed by the ATU is Sargo's in Saratoga, a restaurant, I must confess, to which I haven't yet been.

I get down there so infrequently even though it is only an hour from where I live. What are some current favoriites in or just outside of Albany? How about favorites in differrent genres?

Man this thread is making me perspire! I might have to dig up some of my own porn, er, I mean fish and seafood photos!

I understand "spatchcock" to be a procedure for taking out the backbone from a fowl and flattening the rest of the bird out. Was this referring to a specific kind of bird here or just the technique? Either way, I would be curious to hear more about the bird. It looks as if you had a wonderful meal, although nothing seems to have broken new ground. Of course, that is not necessary for a great meal. This restaurant certainly intrigues me and if I ever find myself fortunate enough to be in Sydney, I will make a point of dining there.

This is really a Manhattan Forum, coquus; but there were rumblings several months ago about a new forum for a separate food discussion forum OUTSIDE of Manhattan-- hopefully that will come to fruition. Until then, non-Manhattan topics will pretty much get short shrift. ← I take great exception to this statement. If this were strictly a Manhatten Forum it would be labeled as such. It is certainly difficult for anyplace outside of NYC to compete just because the rest of the state is so large and much less concentrated. That certainly does not mean that there aren't things of tremendous value to discuss. By all means non-NYC NYS discussions are certainly encouraged. I, for one, particularly encourage topics about outstanding farmers and producers from around the state. Unfortunately my knowledge and exposure is limited to the eastern third of the state and I don't really wish to be saying the same thing over and over again.

Great job! I have been stopping at soft peaks too. I can't wait to make a batch now and serve it with fresh, local strawberries.

With strawberries and cherries in season jam season is now. My wife just made her first batch of strawberry jam with local (upstate NY) strawberries - yowza! Of course that is not to say that those jams at the market may not be from last year.

It should fail in a place like San Francisco and many other places in this country as well! Unfortunately, not every place is fortunate enough to have even decent Mexican restaurants. That is certainly one of the culinary weaknesses of where I live. While I do not find the food horrofying, instead reasonably palatable, I would be very happy indeed, if the chain failed everywhere for the reason you mentioned.

Taco Bell? Shudder. Sorry. It's just that many of the worst food experiences I've ever had were at Taco Bells. Including 2 cases of food poisoning. And beans from a gun (or is it a hose?) scare me. Is your evaluation that it's passable based on liking most of their menu items, an observation of consistent quality between locations, both, or something else entirely? ← Now I'm not a big fan of any fast food joint even though my first job 30 years ago was at a Burger King in Brooklyn (at the time the busiest in the country). Nevertheless Taco Bell is passsable, because I don't find the product to be particularly offensive. I have never been sick from it. While I would never choose it over a decent Mexican Restaurant, I would choose it over almost any other fast food joint if fast food was my only option.

Must do's: At least one lunch or dinner at one of the area 3 star restaurants. I dined at Arzak which was wonderful. A coastal excursion with fresh grilled seafood for lunch. getaria is a good choice for this. An evening excursion through old San Sebastian for Pintxos. A day lounging on the beach.

I couldn't disagree more on McDonalds. It is my least favorite Fast Food chain (not that Ireally have any particular favorites). Ironically, Taco Bell is one of the few FF joints that I find passable in a pinch. I used to like Chik-fil-A when I lived in the South. There is no place, however, that I would necessarily try whatever they put on a menu.

I appreciate Jason's excellent explanatary posts on the product. While they are pertinent answers to questions asked in this thread, additional discussion of this particular product or dragon's beard candy generically should continue on this thread.. This topic should be limited to further discussion of this candy in the New York region. Thanks for your understanding

Mumin, thanks again for your input. I look forward to more insights from you. Can you add any specifics about any dishes that might have been added at the restaurant?

This is an interesting question. How much refinement, experimentation and change does go on during the season? I would suspect that the summer courses are largely planned out during the winter, however, I would be surprised if there was no room for additional creativity during the summer months. Perhaps Lucy, Revallo or someone else familiar with the day to day workings of the restaurant can chime in?

My vote would be for the turbot. That was probably my favorite amongst many great dishes. This feeling has only increased upon continued reflection. Runners up would be the artichoke, finger lime and pineapple dishes.

I don't believe the issue is with the grape at all or even various production/vinifiaction methods. i believe that it is simply a matter of overexposure. The grape, especially the overoaked examples simply became ubiquitous and ultimately boring. There is no question that if one looks even a little that there are wonderful chards out there of various styles. My two american favorites are Kistler and Pahlmeyer. Both have oak, but layers of complexity and flavor as well.

I want to make 3 points that haven't been made. I am not a doctor - but I have a reasonable degree of medical knowledge for a lay person. I know enough to know what I don't know. (And I apologize in advance if some of what I say is blunt or in any way offensive.) My first point is that specific neurological problems can be very difficult to diagnose - both in terms of what they are - and in terms of what caused them. It is entirely possible that what your wife has wasn't caused by her surgery - but is the result of something else (and - indeed - you haven't said that the doctors have said that the bypass surgery caused her current condition). Doesn't mean that her treatment will necessarily be different (it's said that there are 200 neurological diseases and only 3 can be cured) - but it might be. Therefore - although I'm sure you have confidence in your doctors - I would get a second opinion concerning her condition at a major medical center with an excellent neurology department. If this involves travel - so be it (we went to Mayo in Rochester a couple of years ago just to get a consult with one of the best heart valve surgeons in the country - it was money well spent). The second is that if your wife is a candidate for rehabilitative therapy (which I assume she is from your message) - it is very difficult to get the best care (which is very intensive) at home. Therefore I suggest looking at the best rehab places you can find (my father-in-law had fabulous rehab following a bad stroke - and the rehab people were able to bring him back to about 80% of normal - which was kind of a miracle in our opinion). I am not sure whether speed is of the essence in terms of therapy for your wife's condition. I know it is in the case of stroke victims (they usually get back most of whatever they're going to get back within about 6 months or so). This is something you ought to discuss with your doctors. The third is that while the internet is terrific for certain things - in the medical area - it leads people to think they know as much as doctors. I have a cartoon on my bulletin board - it's one doctor talking to another - and he says "With the internet, my patients come self-diagnosed, have second opinions and already belong to a support group." Don't use the internet as a substitute for getting the best medical providers you can get for your wife. And once you get those medical providers - listen to them - and forget about trying to "play doctor". My husband may need back surgery - and everyone in the world seems to have an opinion about that ("I read all about this on the internet" and "you want minimally invasive surgery" - or "you want an artificial disk" - etc.). When we were sitting face to face with an excellent neurosurgeon - discussing our options - we realized that all of these opinions from a bunch of lay people - although well-intentioned - were nonsense. I wish you best of luck in this difficult quest. Robyn P.S. I spoke with my husband this evening. He's a lay person who knows more about medicine than I do (he's a retired medical malpractice lawyer). He has heard the University of Alabama Medical facility (which I believe is in Birmingham) spoken about in good terms. So that's a place where you might start in terms in getting that second opinion. And if you get into the neurology stuff - well it's useful to be able to deal with ambiguity. There's not a whole lot that's cut and dry in neurology (as opposed - for example - to having blocked coronary arteries and getting a bypass). Just find good doctors you trust - and listen to them. ← Well said.

Fabulous report! Great photos and thoughtful commentary. I am really starting to get excited. I am curious to find out when the time comes what will be the same and what will be different from your menu and others presented here and mine given he seasonal nature of at least some of the ingredients highlighted in certain dishes such as the favas. How long did your dinner take? What is the average duration? I recently completeed a 24 course meal at Alinea in Chicago in 5.5 hours. I am curious to get a sense of what to expect along these lines at El Bulli.

I've added captions to Jason's food pics, above. ← Thanks, That must have been a nice list of specials. The crispy quail looks particularly interesting. I was guessing they were fried oysters.

I have never left there hungry. I'm never bloated either. Just satisfied.