docsconz

Speaking of calling for a reservation... I've been trying to do that and have been getting a somewhat garbled message. I gather that the time for calling to make a reservation is limited, but after five or six tries (obviously not at the right time ) I have not been able to make it out? Can anyone tell me the best way to make a reservation there and what their reservation policy is?

What we do in the name of research and science!

I'm actually surprised you guys don't know this, as it's pretty common knowledge in the wine world: the original owner of the vineyard had a strong affinity for Chateaubriand, and the name Chateau Haut-Brion is actually a pun on this. ... and if you believe this I have some swampland in Florida to sell you ← I was goinig to stomp all over this until I saw the last line. You should have saved this for April 1. The origin of the name of this place name dates back the Middle Ages when it meant "mound" or "hill". If you want some details about Bordeaux check out Dewey Markham Jr's book, 1855 A history of the Bordeaux classification. This is the best historical wine book I've ever read. The political maneuvering alone makes this an exciting read. At least to me. Anyway, here you'll find information about the original family that owned Haut-Brion (Pontac), how in the 1600-1700s Graves red wines were more favored by the British middle class than anyone, and how Pontac even open a tavern called The Pontac's Head in London after the great fire of 1666. "Haut-Brion in particular and Graves wines in general came to define for the English the characteristics that a wine of quality was expected to possess." Of course we could all go to www.hautbrion.com and click the forums link and read the answer. But that would be too easy. ---------------------- Kenneth O'Farrell Fri Apr 2 2004 at 07:46:21 (597) What is the origin of the name Haut Brion? Does it mean anything, e.g., a place, a person, or a thing? ---------------------- Château Haut-Brion Fri Apr 9 2004 at 11:45:21 (598) The name "Haut-Brion" is the name of a place name where we you can find 4 growths which are : Château Haut-Brion, Château La Mission Haut-Brion, Château La Tour Haut-Brion and Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion. The origin of the name of this place name dates back the Middle Ages when it was meaning "mound" or "hill". We hope that our answer comes up to your expectations. Jean-Philippe DELMAS ← Thank you for your fine research. I still like the O'Brien myth, though! It is more romantic So what if it is not true ?

I do the same thing only the places I want to see are the great restaurants and food markets. Any sights convenient to those beget greater interest as a result.

This was one of the better episodes with both chefs wipping up impressive dishes. Batali was clearly the winner as his dishes were much more focuseed and interesting. They really looked as if they would taste wonderful. I agree about the bruleed figs in mascarpone. That dish was intensely mouth-watering. Batali proved he is a genuine Iron Chef.

Thanks for the notes. I can't say that I am a big fan of pinotage either, but then I haven't had many. One thing I do like about the grape, however, is that it is distinctive. That alone sets it apart and gives it some value in this day and age of viniferous homogenization.

Very interesting article. While on the surface Powell's concerns seem genuine and worthwhile, in reality they smack of megalomania. Here is one person taking it upon himself to fix something that isn't broken in a way that is much more likely to harm more people than the mushrooms he is worried about. Wow. The underlying ideas aren't necessarily bad, but it is certainly the wrong way to go about it.

Pedro, I am curious to hear more about these. especially Moo and Santamaria's place. What do you (or anyone else) know about the latter in particular? I'll follow whoever to a new thread if indicated.

Are we certain of the Irish end of this? It was usually *Scots* gentlemen crossing the Channel, entering the King's Scots Archers, and often being granted estates as they got themselves noticed by the King. I'm not aware of any such steady and regularly-rewarded influx of Sons of Eire. ← Certain? Not at all. That is why I started the thread, although I had heard bits and pieces specifically about the Irish in Bordeaux. MacQuin may in fact be a Scottish name, which is why I subsequently stated I perhaps should have opened a Lynch-Bages!

True - My bad. Nevertheless, the fact that he would mention it on a public site indicates to me that the idea is under very serious consideration.

Since we are talking hotels here, any thoughts on the Hotel Omm? or the Restaurant Moo? Note from the host: This thread was splitted from Casa Camper thread

As if there is not enough pressure for reservations, I will remind everyone that Ferran Adria mentioned here that El Bulli will be taking an extended sabbatical after the 2006 season.

Congratulations and best wishes to Bebe Esme and family! Therese has it right about the issues with eating and drinking during labor. As an Anesthesiologist who is frequently called upon to administer analgesia to laboring women, I frequently give the bad news of nothing but ice chips from then on. Even those make me cringe a little bit I am not very concerned about vomiting during labor, but if a C/S is needed emergently and a general anesthetic is necessary, vomiting or passive regurgitation could be a major problem, especially with chunks and stomach acids. Unfortunately both of these things are much more likely to happen to a pregnant woman than to a non-pregnant one and a pregnant woman's airway is generally more difficult to maintain than a non-pregnant one. An IV is necessary for any woman getting labor analgesia. This should take care of most of the hydration/thirst issues, although some nurses run them too sparingly.

Nice article. I should have had a Lynch-Bages.

One last thought from me on this topic this evening: It may very well be (and I hope it is) that the concerns expressed in this topic are unfounded. The fact that they exist I believe is wrongly attributed to xenophobia, although that may have some bearing. Because of a perception of unbridled growth and little regulation, there exists in the US a perception that Chinese produced foodstuffs may suffer as a result. If this is not the case, it is up to those producing the food and marketing it to change that perception. I italicized "food" in my initial post to emphasize the fact that these issues do not necessarily apply to other Chinese products.

Yeah, damn the gas prices, just open Alaskan Nature Preserves to oil exploitation. Get a bigger SUV, eat more smog while you look for pristine wild salmon in your dead salmon rivers. Get some perspective...please. ← The issues above concern me as well. As you have so vividly pointed out these issues do have a relation to food in a direct way. They are worthy of significant discussion in their own right for a number of other reasons as well - possibly on a site devoted to environmental politics. I made no claim that the U.S. is unblemished in this regard. I do, however, have some ability to judge where and who my food comes from. I believe in buying from known and trusted producers locally whenever possible or from whatever country when not. I will be happy to buy quality Chinese products when I can identify a trusted source. Multinational corporations do not in general fit that bill for me as regards food.

I don't believe xenophobia has anything to do with this, at least not from my perspective. Do you deny the issues with respect to Chinese environmental regulation? Until China develops a better reputation with regards to the environment for food production, I will be skeptical of the underlying health issues of its export food products, especially something like salmon (if it in fact comes from China in a generic sense or worse yet an unidentified area) I do agree that processing is a separate issue and in this regard they may be working in a state of the art way in many places. How does one distinguish between native Chinese produced food products and Chinese processed products? This discussion about China is not meant to absolve any other area from similar concerns. I have many of the same concerns about European and North American farm-raised salmon for example. I would be very pleased to learn that my concerns are indeed unfounded as regards Chinese food production.

I didn't say anything about an embargo - just an explanation of why there may be concern about food products coming from China as opposed to products processed in China. I certainly wouldn't paint all products from anywhere in a generalized light. As you said, though, "quality control can be a problem" Rightly or wrongly that is a perception here.

A concern with Chinese food products is what impact the environment may have had on it. My understanding is that there is a lot of pollution and very little environmental regulation there.

So maybe as with most myths and legends there is some truth behind the story. Interestingly I read that Haut Brion was the first wine to market itself with the name of the winery. According to the Larousse Encyclopedia of Wine (1994) pg.137,

I had this tonight with a beef stew in honor of St. Pattie's day It was a dark purple with a lovely nose reminiscent of berry fruit. The wine remains quite young with a strong but not overbearing tannic structure and plenty of fruit. Over the course of the evening the tannins mellowed leaving soft fruit. While I think this wine still has plenty of time, I don't think it will be one for the ages.

The O'Brien to Haut Brion does sound plausible, although I could find no reference to this "legend" in either Hugh Johnson's World Atlas of Wine, 4th Ed. or The LaRousse Encyclopedia of Wine. I suppose this amouints to a wine based "urban legend".

That sounds consistent with the little I remember of the story.

Does anyone know a working website? I tried www.restaurantleclub.com , but this does not seem to be recognized. I got that one from The Montreal Highlights Festival Website.

Depending on your son, it may be difficult to dine comfortably at a fine dining establishment. While this might be regrettable on one sense, it may be an opportunity to explore some other areas of New York Cuisine. Some examples would include fine pizza, such as Franny's in Brooklyn, great Thai such as Sripraphai in Queens, Szechuan Chinese such as Grand Szechuan in Manhatten, excellent Greek such as Molyvos in midtown. all of these places will provide excellent fare in a more relaxed environment that can deal with an 18 month old. They will also be relatively quick with the possible exception of Molyvos. This strategy served us well in London a number of years ago when we went with our then 10 and 9 year olds and three month old baby.