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Ore, thanks for another superb post. You always have some useful information in addition to your fine photos. Is that a raw sausage on the side of the plate above? I doubt it, but that is what it looks like. How did the potatoes taste? That is not an intuitive combination to me. Were they sweet? The color is beautiful.

Len, Welcome to eGullet! Unfortunately, I don't think too many New Yorkers are very familiar with NYS wines let alone out of staters. Even though I am from NY, enjoy wines and know that there are some very good ones, they are never my first thought for purchase or drinking unless I happen to be in the production area. Any that you particularly recommend?

Congratulations on a great three days. I have heard a bit about the place, but it was nice to get your level of detail. The photos are a welcome addition, but I'm getting carpal tunnel from all the clicking back and forth!

Thanks again Silly! Rafa's is indeed at the top of my list for that trip right behind El Bulli.

John, Rafa is open every day except Monday if I'm not mistaken, and he will close if the day's catch is not worth opening the restaurant. Regarding August, I'll try calling him tomorrow and will let you know. Silly. ← Thanks, Silly. I appreciate it.

It really is all relative. If one could afford it, had interest in discernment and did it often enough at a variety of places one could probably be sharp enough to pick up the differences and discern real quality at whatever price point The bottom line though is that if the restaurants can charge outrageous amounts and have enough clientele willing to pay for it then power to them. Of course the question of whether or not the restaurant is worth it hasn't been answered. A lot of people will like it (or say they do) because they are supposed to. It can be sort of an Emperor's new clothes kind of situation. Then again, it really can be better even if only marginally.

Calcium content for sodas seems to be something like 2-5 mg per 100g, with most at 3mg. Tonic water has 1mg. http://www.jdhodges.com/nutritional-inform...ood-group-1400/ edited to add - the link above is an easier to read version of the USDA data, which is available here. ← Interesting link - thank you. I don't know if the amount or form of calcium is significant or not, but it is an interesting question. On a different note here is another interesting link.

When my mother was making meatballs, I stood by her to get two great treats. The freshly fried meatballs were fantastic, but I also loved the raw, seasoned chopped meat. Those were the days before salmonella and its cousins existed! I was never overly enamored of Hostess cakes, but I still love Drake's Cakes.

One potential difference between most sodas and seltzer is the amount of calcium they contain. I will admit that I do not know how much calcium different sodas may or may not contain, but calcium is a potent stimulator of gastric acid secretion, which may and often does exacerbate reflux symptoms. It is for this reason that OTC meds like TUMS or Rolaids are a poor choice for people suffering from heartburn or GERD. Since they initially act as buffers they help in the short term until further gastric acid release is stimulated at which point it can become a vicious cycle as someone can take even more to counter the renewed symptoms. So if anyone does know the calcium content of various sodas I would be curious. If high this may explain why some people seem to have a greater problem with soda and GERD. If this relationship holds, it is also likely that the H2-antagonists like Pepcid, Prevacid, Nexium etc. would reduce or prevent the problem.

I agree that anything in moderation including soda is ok if one can define moderation. I certainly wouldn't legislate against the right to drink soda if one wants. Unlike Suzanne I like the taste of many sodas. I used to drink them a lot,but now I do so only rarely. I personally find little redeeming value in them health wise, while there is still a lot potentially negative with them. I think the biggest problem with them is that people have come to drink sodas "like water". That adds up calories and chemicals very quickly. While I wouldn't be too quick to condemn the soda habit, I certainly wouldn't recommend it.

I tried to book a party of seven for Saturday December 18th, but all I could get was on the waiting list. I initially tried calling on Nov. 18th at 9AM, the first time reservations would be accepted, but got a busy signal. I finally got through at 9:30AM, but the waitlist is all I could get. Ironically before 9AM I was able to get a 5:30PM reservation via Open Table, though I foolishly didn't take it because the time was too early and I thought I might do better by calling directly. I am not counting on getting a table and so have made other plans, but we would probably change those plans and go if they called us.

Thank you Victor for your specific recommendations as the albarinos and verdejos are amongst my favorite whites at the moment. I will have to seek out the ones you have mentioned. I see that the albarino was from 200 year old vines. That makes sense. While I don't know how a 200 year old albarino wine would taste, I doubt it would be particularly good.

I am happy to report that El Bulli was able to change my reservation and accomodate us. I am so psyched. I need to start planning now. Does anyone know Rafa's schedule and if they are open in August?

I must have missed this one. Can anyone provide a link as I'm sure this deserves to be read. Judith, Spain may not be the greatest white wine producer in the world for all the reasons Victor mentioned, but I am pleasantly surprised as to the exceptional quality of many of the whites it does produce especially given the country's overall reputation regarding whites. Moreso, I find that the whites produced there are generally superb matches for the foods requiring whites especially fish and shellfish. My personal favorites are the albarinos and the verdejos from Rueda. I'm sure some of the specific wines you mentioned are worth trying and I will seek them out.

It certainly doesn't exclude it, so long as it is discussed in the context of the cuisine or tourism. If the discussion is solely about the wine than it should go in that forum, which is another potential source for discussion on Spanish wines. It is preciesely because I don't necessarily know what to expect from the food in Spain today that I generally will defer to the sommalier at some of the finer restaurants. I haven't been disappointed, especially when I match glasses to the courses rather than bottles. Of course my last trip this was all arranged ahead to great effect.

I think this is a potentially interesting topic, expecially given the rise of the avant-garde, which potentially makes wine pairings more difficult. I must say though that during my most recent trip to Spain in which I dined at a number of top restaurants including Arzak, Can Fabes, Sant Pau and Abac, the wine pairings (all Spanish wines) were all superb. Judith, did you have any particular thoughts on the matter yourself?

Gorgeous Sam! Nice photos too. I want some.

Nice job, sam. lookin' good so far. You're still posting on this blog. I take that as a sign that things went well.

Congratulations and best wishes!

Good movie. I liked it much more than my wife did. The characters were quite complex. Neither of the main characters were either totally likeable nor totally despicable. Both had their shining moments (although I can't really think of Jack's right now other than to try to get his friend out of his funk) and both had some really raw moments. Miles is Pinot Noir and Jack is Cabernet Sauvignon.

I'll second the Oxo. It is very easy to use and much more intuitive (and safe) than my more expensive one. For a home cook this one wins hands down.

Thanks for the list. I got scared for a moment with the list above that did not include all the one stars. This certainly makes more sense. Is Mugaritz then only one star? I would have expected it to have two at least given the discussion here. I knew from your cooking school topic that Hofmann was a cooking school of significant repute, but I was unaware of the associated restaurant. Live and learn

This quote came from the article on Bourbon reds linked to in Gifted Gourmet's post above. To be clear it was the supermarket turkey that was brined and not the heritage bird. I'm not sure where in this thread anyone got the idea to brine the heritage bird.

While I haven't been there, based on the discussion on this forum is Mugaritz really starless? Another restaurant that I'm surprised is not on the list is Abac in Barcelona, superior in my mind to both Alkimia and Hispania. I've never even heard of Hofman before.

I absolutely agree with your statement. Just because something is made quickly it is not necessarily junk. This might be true without the soda. Once again, the point is not whether or not someone should like MCD's or even choose to eat it. While I believe the costs of doing so are much higher than their superficial appearance I do not begrudge someone the right to do so if they so choose. I draw the line, however, on essentially foisting the stuff on people who either have no choice or don't know better.