docsconz

Ok, now I'm drooling. Thick steaks are the best if they are cooked properly. Sam, I know you can. Those shortribs look awesome too. Canadian maple syrup is pretty good, but my local NY State stuff is pretty good too. It wasn't the best year for volume this year, but the quality is good. When I was recently in Montreal I brought back some birch syrup. I have yet to try it, though. There is no place better in the US for getting variety and quality ingredients than NYC (notice I said no place "better" - there may be places as good). It will be interesting to see how Toronto stacks up in this department. I know Montreal is excellent in this regard.

Our meals were very similar, Bruce, although yours was more extensive. i had neglected to list the Caeser amuse. I'm sorry I missed the McSweetbreads and the Quail pull-apart. It was so late and we were so tired that I didn't ask for a kitchen tour, although I would have loved to have seen it. My wife would have divorced me on the spot if I did that then

The important thing is that his food does taste and look very good though.

All these posts and we don't even have any food yet!

Like hell you will. *sweet smile* ← Before you clean up!

I have never sampled Marlene's fare, but I can attest to Sam's cooking skills, of which he has plenty. I would also like to see photos of the kitchen after he's cooked though I can't pick favorites here. Sam is a dining buddy, but Marlene and I share birthdays. It's too bad I'm so far away from either as I wouldn't mind sampling some of the "entries" of this competition By the way, I think Inniskillin is one of the most overrated and overpriced wines around. There are many better Niagara peninsula wineries.

While I only visited a few, the one I really enjoyed was Thirty Bench. I have not had better eisweins fom Ontario and few better from anywhere. great balance and complexity within. The people are very friendly as well.

I have had it and indeed have some in my cellar. I procured it in Montreal . It is delightful and well balanced. I will have to follow Carswell's advice next time I am in Quebec, though and seek out the Frimas.

I'm guessing that the pours were each about 2-3 oz. Each course doesn't necessarily come with its own pairing. Some pairings are intended to accompany more than one course. All in all, I think we had about 15 different pours, (IIRC) over the span of our 28 courses. And when one of us happened to finish a pour in advance of its final course, we were always offered another splash to get us through. Our experience was that empty stems are either refilled or removed from the table immediately. =R= ← This was my experience as well.

I'm very sorry if I gave you that impression. I did not mean to imply that at all. My point is that a lot is dependent on the diner too. This can include a lot of things such as having had too big a lunch or simply having the meal get off on the wrong foot. I find when that happens to me, the negatives tend to get compounded and sometimes taken out of proportion. If I am in the right mood, hungry and things are generally "right" I am much more apt to ignore the smaller things that in other situations might be magnified into bigger things. My point was not to question your attitude, but to describe how everything "clicked" for me. When that happens and the stars align an experience as supplied by Alinea becomes truly special. It often does not take much one way or the other to shift sentiment. That being said, I suspect your experience was not the norm for Alinea.

This is a legitimate question. We were treated very well. Of that there is no doubt. Were we treated "differently"? I honestly feel from observing the service around us at other tables that evening that the only thing significantly different was that I was referreed to by name. That certainly provides a warm feeling, but is generally insufficient to make up for lapses in service or decor or food quality. Those things are there or they are not. The tablesaround us appeared to get the same attention we did. As for the tour, I asked to see the kitchen upon our arrival. It was right there at the entrance as was Chef Achatz. It was also early enough that they were not yet in high gear. Beyond that I don't believe we received special treatment. We weren't comped anything. We received no extra courses. There was already more than enough food on the tour. I paid for every aspect of the meal and left a tip commensurate with my feeling of the service. As I wrote in my report above, there are a lot of intangibles that a diner brings to the table for better or worse. At a restaurant of the caliber of Alinea it is very easy for high expectations to be dashed often through no fault of the restaurant and sometimes through their fault. When things click it is phenomenal and one of my favorite things in life. By the same token, when they don't click it can be a huge disappointment. It has certainly happened to me, though fortunately not this past weekend.

gaf, What a superb debut on eGullet! Great writing and discussion of this restaurant. Welcome to eGullet! If this is any indication of yopur writing and insight I hope to see much more of it here. It seems as if we were most impressed by the same dishes on the same evening and had similar reactions to varying degrees. While I wouldn't say that you were harsh on the wine pairing, I have a slightly different viewpoint. I think that wines at a dinner like at Alinea is an important, but still supporting actor. It should not overpower or steal the scene from the food. instead it should enhance it and make it more pleasureable. The wines I had at Alinea at Alinea fulfilled their roles admirably. Most of them did not call too much attention to themselves, but I felt they all enhanced the meal. There were certainly a few that I wouldn't object to in my cellar and one I plan to go out and track down - the Madeira. In my recent expeerience directly and vicariously two of the most exciting food cities in the country right now are Chiago and Washington, D.C. I can't wait to get back to either!

My dinner at Alinea on Saturday night was one of the finest and most enjoyable dining experiences I have ever had for a number of reasons. I found the restaurant decor to be understated, interesting, elegant but not at all stuffy. The entrance was a truly fun beginning. Even though I had some idea what to expect, it was still somewhat of a surprise and set the tone for culinary magic to come. We arrived promptly at our reservation time of 6:15PM and were escorted to our table after a short tour of the kitchen and introduction with ChefG. We were seated upstairs in the back. The service proceeded to be amongst the finest I have ever encountered. It succeedeed at mixing the best of European elegance with American charm and did so in a way that was both warm and ultra-professional. The course delivery was seemless, which is saying something over twenty five courses. I was amazed that everyone appeared as fresh and energetic at the end of service as they did at the beginning. The servers' knowledge base about the food was also excceptional as were the explanations proffered for how best to eat it. My comments apply equally to the wine service as well as the food. I cannot say that I have ever experienced better. The food was fabulous. While I certainly enjoyed some courses more than others, there were no misses amongst them The pacing and progression was superb as the courses weaved in and out of the distinctions between sweet and savory. I was a little skeptical about this at first, but like the reverse progression at Susur in Toronto, it most certainly worked, especially at keeping the palate refreshed and energized. I took pictures of every course and though they are helpful to me they do not anything significant to what has already been posted here, so I will refrain. I will give specific comments about the courses shortly. The wine list is unbelievable for such a young restaurant, in terms of variety, depth, quality and value. To be sure there were a number of extremely valuable wines on the list that were well out of my price range, but it was also studded with interesting selections from various areaas at very reasonable prices. We opte for the pairing, however. This was simply sensational with the wines blending with or complimenting the food rather than overshadowing it. Joe catterson and his staff have simply done a remarkable job here. Again, I will provide more specifics shortly. No matter how good the food, service, wine or ambiance it is possible that all of this can be undermined if one is in the wrong frame of mind, too full to begin with or by any of a number of other possible external issues. Conversely, the experienced can certainly be magnified in the same way. It is my opinion that all truly great dining experiences require the diner and the diner's companions to supply some magic as well. The restaurant can only do so much. For me, one of the elements that supplied additional magic and made this a particularly special evening was sharing it with my wife, two eldest sons and my sons friend, who moved to Chicago from our hometown last summer. It was special for me to see each of them really get into the experience and enjoy it as much as they did. While I have certainly eaten very well with them and have had great experiences this was the first time either of them have had a twenty five course five plus hour tasting menu. My younger son at 13 years old is so far the youngest to have done this at Alinea. That they did it was one thing. That they enjoyed it as much as they did was particularly gratifying. It was also gratifying to see my 15yo son's friend enjoy it as much as she did. I knew my boys would be up to the task, but that she too got into it as much as she did was a very pleasant surprise indeed. It certainly endeared her to me! It also helped that she was a particularly pleasant and interesting dinner companion. It had the possibility of being an excrutiating five hours. Now to the food and wine! The PB&J, while not my favorite course from a gustatory point of view is emblematic of what I love about a restaurant like Alinea. I certainly love to be wowed by new taste sensations and pleased by the visual beauty of a beautiful presentation, but I also love the wit and creativity involved in taking something standard and reshaping it into a new identity. PB&J is one of America's classic comfort foods. This take on it while clever, fun and truly evocative of the original brought it to a new height. The wine pairing, one of my favorites of the night, was the Barbeito "Charleston" Special reserve Sercial Madeira from the Rare Wine Company. This wine had exceptional flavor and balance. The acidification level was perfect. It wasindeed a perfect foil for the PB&J. The Sour Cream, smoked salmon, sorrel and star anise was a refreshing dollop to return the menu towards a moresavory direction. This course was one of the favorites of my wife and 15yo. The Dungeness Crab with raw parsnip, young coconut and cashews served with Susana Balbo "Crios"Torrontes 2004 from Cafayate, Argentina was my first "Wow" of the evening. The flavors really sang to me off of this beautiful plate. It was a sublime juxtaposition of flavors and textures. A lot has been said about the Hearts of Palm. Once again, I felt these were a tremendous combination of flavors and textures with the added element of a definitive depth progression through the course. The vanilla pudding was probably my leat favorite of the five although I still enjoyed it. My favorite was probably the last, the pumpernickel with black truffle. Indeed the progression got more intense with each bite. This was paired with Hildegarde 2000 from Au Bon Climat. My absolute favorite course was the turbot with shellfish, water chestnuts and hyacinth vapor. This spectacular dish was magically enhanced by the scent of the hyacinth. The fish wa cooked perfectly and the broth wa rich punctuated by the crisp bits of water chestnut and the succulent morsels of shellfish. This was a grand-slam home run in my book. We tasted a Gaja Rossj Bass that was a beautiful complement to the dish. I was afraid it might have tried to compete, but the combination was one of harmony. The frog legs were another "Wow". they were served with spring lettuce, paprika and morels fresh and crisped. The legs themselves were served as bite size boneless morsels that were tender and delightful. The texture was reminiscent of shrimp. This was well matched by Altos de la Hoya Monastrell 2001 from Jumilla, Spain. We sopped up the remainder of the delicious sauce with the "tasting" breadds with which we werre supplied. Yum. Beef with flavors of A-1 was better than any A-1 could have been and was a fairly substantial course. Valpolicella from Tommaso Bussola was an inspired match. Hazelnut Puree with the apricot capsule of savory granola and curry shifted the meal back towards the sweet side. The curry was subtle but provided a lovely undertone. The pairing was "Pata de Gallina" Oloroso sherry from Lustau. I believe that like the name Alinea this course served as a marker or "new beginning" to the rest of the meal. This was a course more closely associated with breakfast items and like the PB&J a new riff on a classic. We headed into new directions. Next came the beautiful Prosciutto discs with passionfruit and zuta levana. I was quite pleased to see it served on the bed of mint sprouts. I was told that the presentation was dependent on the supply of these sprouts. from a visual point of reference this was one of my favorite dishes although from a taste point of view I didn't feel that it was as successful as some of the other dishes. My 15yo son thought it to be one of his favorites, though. We were served a cocktail of Guy Larmandier Rose Champagne Vertus with Vya for this and the following course, the Melon with gelled rose water and horseradish. I felt this dish had great balance although the dominant player was the horseradish. I adored the finger limes with olive oil surrounded by dissolving eucalyptus. This was totally refreshing, delicious and novel - another "Wow". Foie Gras with rhubarb, sweet onion and walnut was a success with Abbazia di Novacella Moscato Rosa 2001 from Alto Adige in Italy. The burnt orange with avocado and picholine olives was fun bit from the skewer - an interesting combination a well as presentation. Broccoli stem happens to be my favorite part of the vegetable. This too was delicious, although I must confess to having been slightly disappointed that it didn't follow the dish documented here on eGullet more closely. This paired with a dry 2002 Tokaji Furmint "Mandolas" from Oremus. The snapper with yuba, heavily toasted sesame and cucumbur was a wildly gorgeous dish that was pleasantly subtle. The wine was Saint-Roman 2002 from Alan Gras. Lamb Neck with sunflower seeds, kola nut and porcinis was a model of tenderness with the contrasting crunch of the seeds - delicious. I love a good nero d'avola and the "Tancredi" 2002 from Donnafugata in Sicily was no exception. The Artichoke "cussy # 3970" was a spoonful of bliss. It was served in the "antiplate". The bison with beets, blueberries and smoking cinnamon worked very well with the cinnamon notes provided by the olfactory presentation of the burned cinnamon. The Bowen estate 2002 Shiraz from Coonawarra, S. Australia stood up to this well. As we headed into the dessert portion of the meal, the bacon with butterscotch, apple and thyme gave us our "new beginning" This took another breakfast savory and modeled it into a pre-dessert, quite successfully IMO, but then I love bacon in desserts. Pineapple with Angelica leaf and Iranian pistachios was another "Wow" and was my favorite dessert of the evening. The combination was new to me and simply marvellous. This paired with Nittnaus Sauvignon Blanc BA 2001 from Austria. The Sassafras Cream encapsulated in mandarin ice was another example of comfort food taken to another level. Torres Malvasia de Oro from Spain was the match. The tube of Strawberries with argan and lemon verbena was another playful dish that worked on all levels. One must be careful not to aspirate the contents though! Liquid Chocolate with "milk" ice cream, black licorice and banana - superb as was the pairing with Domaine Despres "Cuvee Monsieur" 1995 from Monbazillac. The meal concluded with the sponge cake on the vanilla bean (to provide fragrance) and tonka bean cream. Needless to say we were quite full after five plus hours of eating one spectacular course after another. Quite full, but not unpleasantly bursting. The quantities werre right on as was the pacing as each of us was able to get through the meal without it becoming an ordeal. My hat is off to Chef Achatz and his staff. I will have to find a way to return to Chicago.

Nice work, Hathor! I am extremely envious of what you are doing. Wherre will you be going for the mozzarella production? Will it in fact be mozzarella or Fior di latte? I'm sure it will be delicious whichever it is.

These comments here have made me even more upset that I had to miss my meal at Can Roca last fall because of illness. I will have to try to squeeze it in this summer. Unfortunately, I don't know if that will be possible.

More to come, but briefly, I had the Tour last night with my wife, two eldest sons and a guest. It was phenomenal with everything firing on all cylinders. The food was dazzling, the wines perfect foils that complemented the courses rather than compete with them and the service as good as I have experienced ever. I will say that I was extremely happy that I skipped lunch.

I took my wife and two eldest sons to Chicago this weekend for a culinary blowout. The two restaurants I chose for this were Moto and Alinea (more on that later) Getting to Moto on Friday night was an adventure. Our flight was supposed to arrive in Chicago by 6:20 PM Chicago time to allow for an 8:30 reservation. When we got to the airport we discovered that our flight wouldn't leave until after 7PM EST - about two hours late! . When I discovered this I immediately called the restaurant to let them know. They couldn't have been nicer or more helpful. We pushed back the reservation to the vicinity of 9:30 PM CST. We were fortunate that after we arrived at O'Hare the traffic into the city wasn't too bad. We actually were able to get to our hotel, check in, briefly freshen up and hightail it in a taxi to Moto by 9:45! It was nice to finally be able to sit down and relax. Due to the lateness of the hour and our level of exhaustion we opted for the ten course progression. The Sushi cartoon was a juxtoposition of the familiar and the novel. The flavors werre familiar and good while the presentation was completely novel and fun. Champagne and Opah was a delicious invention and nicely matched with Jurtschitsch Sonnhof "Gruve" Gruner Veltliner 2003 from Kampal, Austria.. In a discussion with Chef Cantu we discovered that the French Onion soup with "frozen-hot" crouton did not work quite as intended. I couldn't figure out what he meant by "frozen-hot" after having eaten the dish, although once again the presentation was quite dramatic and as always fun. Apparently we shuld have eaten the crouton straight away to experience the sensation of the nitrogen. We hadn't and thereby missed this ephemeral effect. This was probably the one flaw in the service that we encountered as this aspect could have and should have been better instructed. Without that the course was probably my least favorite of the progression, although the wine pairing with the Terre Firme 2003 Albarino was simply sensational and for me salvaged the course. A brief side-note: I wholeheartedly agree with Schneier's comments on the wine pairings. They were uniformly superb and in most cases outstanding. I would also agree that there were no clunkers at our dinner. The lobster with freshly squeezed orange soda was unique and quite delicious. The rare Hollywood & Vine "2480" 2003 Chardonnay from Napa was a superb compliment. Artichoke, balsamic and macadamia served on a spoon was one of the highlights of the evening - simply delicious. The balsamico was a 100 y/o obtained from The Rare Wine Company, although the server couldn't tell me which Acetaia it wasfrom. I suspect that it was from Acetaia del Cristo. No matter, it was a sensational dish, although, ironically, one of the least dramatic presentations. It was served with a delicious Vouvray reserve 2003 from Yves Breussin. Talking about dramatic presentations, the french fry potato chain links with sweet potato pie was particularly so. It worked as did the 2003 Gewurtztraminer Spatlese from Fitz-Ritter of Pfalz, Germany. The highlight of the evening for me was the bass with a grilled tomatillo broth cooked tableside in Chef Cantu's justly famous box. This was an amazing dish with perfectly cooked fish and delicious broth. 2003 Petalos de Bierzo from J. Palacios of castilla y Leon was a nice match. The smoked paprika on the outside of the box lent complex olfactory notes to both the fish and the wine. Because it is getting late and I am getting tired I will mention a few quick comments about the rest of the meal. The lamb with braised pizza was a fine course. The doughnut soup was better than its model and the white and dark chocolate with yuzu very refreshing. my kids, however, got a particular kick out of the styrofoam with caramel dipping sauce. The bottom line of this restaurant is that it is all about fun and magic. Chef Cantu is a true magician in the kitchen.

As with any field, some farmers are worthy of the utmost respect while some are not. By definition, though they may both still be considereed farmers. The important thing is distinguishing those who are worthy of respect from those who are not. Tana's blog is doing a nice job of highlighting some farmers who are indeed worthy of the greatest respect. I disagree, however, with the assertion that grape growers are not farmers, whether it be for economic or other reasons. It is simply a matter of definition. I, for one respect a quality grape farmer as much as anyone else. A labor of love and quality is that regardless of the end product.

Is a cashier at McDonalds a waiter? ← That is a faulty analogy IMO. I don't really understand the logic of why perenniel vs annual is a significant distinction for such a broad designation.

I do not see how grape growers are not farmers even if winemakers may not be. To me, a farmer is someone who raises crops be they fruit, vegetables or meat. The ultimate product is essentially irrelevent.

This is generally true for lamb in the US. It is very difficult to find very young lamb here. By the same token, it is possibly even more difficult to find mutton. There is very little demand for that in the US. "Older" lamb still has a fair amount of subtlety without the overly strong flavor of mutton. Most importantly though is the economics. For some reason, it doesn't pay for lamb growers to sell their lamb too young. At least that is what a quality lamb raising friend told me recently.

I ordered some from Linton's seafood in Maryland the other day. The fellow I spoke to said the season is about a month behind because of the weather and that the water has been much colder than usual.

I did the Pave' and it came out great. interestingly, although the recipe said it would be enough for two cakes, I only managed to get one out of it. I'll try to post photos later. As I mentioned earlier, my wife is the baker of the family, so this was the first cake I ever made from scratch. It took awhile, but wasn't particularly difficult.

That looks like a doable (for me) recipe. I think i'll try it.

True, but the principle advantage of cooking sous vide is to cook to an exact level of doneness. It doesn't make sense to have that level be one of greater chewiness and increased difficulty of eating. Sous vide should reduce the chances of that happening. If Per Se is cooking the lobster sous vide and it is coming out tough and chewy then either there is a problem with the lobster itself or perhaps they are not doing it right. The other advantage of sous vide cookery is that it can provide better depth and evenness of flavor as well as doneness.