docsconz

A Preview of What is Yet to Come:

Now that is a beautiful breakfast!

You should definitely hit the food and Cocktail Museums located together within the River Walk Complex. IMO, they are currently the only reason to go in there, but they are worth it.

Back out on the Product Fair, we paid a visit to some new friends I made at dinner the night before who were representing Cheeses from Quebec. One of my favorite things to do when visiting Montreal is to buy Quebec cheeses at the Jean Talon and other markets. I particularly liked the cheese shop Chaput. My son and I chatted with our new friends for a few minutes and sampled some of their nice cheeses before we made our way back to the main theater.

François Pellerin and Enrique Suarez:The Art and Science of Sense-ational Beer and Food Pairings Sponsored by the Quebecois brewery Unibroue, this workshop focused on pairing specific Unibroue beers with various foods. While I did not participate in this seminar, I did enjoy tasting a variety of Unibroue beers in the product expo hall. I had never had any of them before then. While I am still generally a wine drinker more than a beer drinker, I did like the depth these beers offered.

Iacopo Falai:Fatto in Casa: Developing a Practical In-House Bread Program Falai addressed the benefits of and practical aspects of running an in-house bread program such as he does at his three restaurants. He focused on making a pan dolce 5 different ways for the hands-on component of his workshop.

Nice review of the Alinea book by Fabio Parasecoli in the latest issue of The Art of Eating. I remain anxiously awaiting receipt of my copy.

Quick visits to the workshops: Wylie Dufresne: The Evolution of a Dish: An Interpretation of Eggs Benedict This was another packed workshop. Wylie expounded on his riffs on various comfort foods using Eggs Benedict as his prime example.

I am happy to read this as the pastry chef at this Umami Moto is my niece. Unfortunately, I haven't been myself yet.

That's true, Black Friday was something else. Friday would have killed the entire weekend's dining. At least with Monday, they had a chance to rebound by the following weekend.

Indeed and I hope this and other restaurants continue to do well, though Black Friday, so far, pales in comparison to the potential impact and scale of this economic situation.

It is going to be interesting to see how the level of opulence described by PaulaJK and others will go over in the current economic environment. I wish him luck, but would not want to be an investor right now.

Will you be getting Albert Adria's Natura? This has been quite the fall for big Technoemotional Cooking books! ← As someone else already noted, it is only available to pre-order on the El Bulli website. Although interested, some of the same methodology and technique may have already appeared on previous El Bulli's books (like the microwave sponge/foam demonstrated on Bourdain's No Reservations Spain episode). For me those books serve as an inspiration and training rather then necessarily replicating the same recipes. ← I agree that it will be interesting to see what is new about this book that isn't in the other elBulli books.

Wow, what a major change in tone from post to post! Was this due to bartender variation, a Sunday night or something else?

By the way, how does this work exactly? I'll try to get a reservation at el Bulli for the first time, and I don't really care about the exact day I'll go, can I just send an email stating that any day is fine or does one have to specify an exact reservation day/time? ← I would suggest giving an exact date or range of dates that would be preferred, but also mention that you would be flexible if it made a difference.

Thanks again for the follow-up, Bryan.

There was time for a quick lunch after Morimoto's session as the workshops were set to start. My son and I had some very simply prepared Alaskan sablefish right out of the CVap at the Winston Industries booth, then had some more prepared a bit more elaborately by Barton Seaver at the Alaska Seafood Booth. The WI sablefish was, in fact, cooked for Chef Seaver to finish. Both were delicious. I wish I had easier access to this quality of fish where I live! In addition we had some tasty lamb burgers prepared by Chef Franklin Becker.

I'll definitely be getting it even if it was 50 pages and no text. After Bourdain's tease in the No Reservations Spain episode... Pastry chef's everywhere, when they see this, will gape in fear and awe and wonder. I feel for them. Like Eric Clapton seeing Jimi Hendrix for the first time, one imagines they will ask themselves "What do I do now?" ...and the short but very cool look into what it's about, how can I not? I was going to preorder it but I haven't been able to find it from a Canada or U.S. dealer, anyone seen it anywhere? ← Given the stature of the author and the book, I am surprised to have seen very little buzz about this book. I would think that it is likely to be every bit as significant as The Big Fat Duck and Alinea books, if not even more.

Interesting. Thanks, Bryan. What did the fish taste like? Was it particularly distinctive?

Wow, you really packed it in! The rabbit livers and oysters were amongst my favorites at Cochon as well. I would hate to see your cholesterol and triglyceride levels after that trip! I know that I did not look at mine after I got back.

For those who may be interested in seeing more of Morimoto's presentation see Starchef's website for a podcast summarizing it more succinctly than I did. There is also a description of Morimoto's technique for breaking down the monkfish with photos by Michael Harlan Turkell and a recipe for Blowfish Carpaccio with Monkfish Liver Ponzu Sauce very similar to the one he did at the Congress.

Bryan, what is "Balik" salmon?

Thanks, Daniel & Kerry. I'm glad that you have enjoyed it so far. I am having fun reliving it here. Morimoto did get more than a few chuckles with his "Bam!" though I suspect he may have received more from a different audience.

What is "edible" to one, may not be to someone else, depending on a number of factors such as previous exposure, genetics and health. I would define "edible" as something that can be eaten without making the eater physically sick. Generally there is a lot more in the world that is truly "edible" than most people allow for. Many times people can get sick from eating things they find unpalatable, but that does not necessarily mean that it was inedible.

Morimoto continued... Morimoto returned to his seaweed wrapped monkfish loin that he had placed amongst hot rocks and put into a 400º F oven. Steam erupted as Morimoto poured water over the hot rocks. With the steam dissipating, Morimoto removed the loaf. Carefully removed from its stony bed, Morimoto placed the loaf on a cutting board and began to open it with his knife. Plated with some of the hot rocks, a squeeze of yuzu finished the plate. Iron Chef Morimoto with his six plates completed in under an hour.