docsconz

Sorry! I would have posted more if I had them, especially internal shots.

I haven't yet visited Portugal, but plan to at the end of a culionary trip to Barcelona and San Sebastien in October. I know that it is not enoughtime for anything more than a taste. I'm hoping to whet my appetite for further adventures. My question is what would be the best way to do this? I am particularly interested in the fresh fish and shellfish as has been so mouth-wateringly described here as well as getting a sample of the sites, culture and history. Three possibilities that come to mind are Lisbon, the Algarve and Oporto. Any thoughts? Miguel?

Here are a couple of images from my visit to balaguer last summer. i apologize that they are a bit short on substance, nevertheless the first might prove useful to someone looking for the place and the second is an example of the colorful design to go along with the amazing chocolates. Me with the pastry chef on duty at the time. A colorful array of candy boxes set up in the anteroom.

I'm glad you found Chez sophie such a success. to me it is restaurant both with great food and personality - a great combination. I have been to Hattie's and have enjoyed it, but am much less familiar with it as I have not been in a while. I'm sorry I missed the jazz festival this year as we were out west in Durango and Santa Fe. It would have been fun to hook up with y'all there. We'll just have to do it at the races!

I just returned from a brief visit to Santa Fe and had dinner there last night with largely the same menu as yours. I wish I had read your review prior to my dinner, because I think you were pretty much on target with my own assessment. The overall meal was quite good, although I cannot say that anything blew me away. we also didn't have quite the variety that you did. I wasn't thrilled with the selections on the tasting menus and given that it was a Monday, the seafood tasting was not on my list, especially since the softshell crabs on the list were received on Friday and cleaned at 3PM. My favorite dish of the evening was the escargot. I also had both the ahi tuna/N.Z. salmon sashimi with sesame oil (good, but ordinary) and the yellow-fin tuna/ salmon/avocado tartare. I thought this was good, but the sauce that went with it was too sweet. The crab cake was tasty, but heavy. The tomato tart was also tasty. I enjoyed the strawberry - organic arugula salad with walnuts, although this too was perhaps a little sweeter than my ideal (not from the strawberries). My main course was the meat and potatoes filet mignon. This actually came with asparagus and carrots too. This was a hefty dish and the most expensive one on the menu. It was good, but the elk was clearly the better dish. I also got to taste the shrimp, which was good too, but I wasn't as blown away by it as you. The breads were exceptional IMO. They included a roll with sesame and poppy seeds that was perfectly baked and a delicious lavosh made with NM chile and corn. Both were irresistable. For dessert we shared the caramelized grapefruit. This dessert did a good job of marrying the flavors of the grapefruit, toasted sesame ice cream and ginger. Once again, though there were added elements that were too sweet, taking away from the very fine native flavors of the ingredients. Our wine was a 2001 The Steading. This did a nice job with the meal and was I thought one of the better values on the extremely mediocre and over-priced wine list. The room wass lovely and elegant and not too stuffy. Service was good, though not faultless. They initially brought the wrong wine - Woodcutter's White instead of The steading. Overall, this was one of the best meals I have had in Santa Fe, but there is still room for improvement.

Bruce, Where else did you eat in santa Fe? I will be there for a couple of days at the end of this weekend. The last time I ate at The Coyote Cafe it was an absolute disaster. That was about a year and a half ago. The first time, however, about 15 years ago was fantastic. That was where I first had seared tuna with mango salsa. at the time it was new and a revelation.

It seems a lot has changed since I left C'Ville in 1990. I was there for four years training in anesthesiology. at the time the best restaurants in the area IMO were Eastern Standard and The Silver Thatch Inn. I have no idea if either is still in business.

Amazing work and nice photography too! Congrats.

No one here or Frank Bruni is denigrating David Bouley's importance to the history of cuisine in New York, the United States or even the world. The man is and has been a giant. The question at hand, though is how is his eponymous restaurant performing now? By most accounts here and according to Mr. Bruni it is at the three star level. History is important, but goes only so far. This may be the best thing for Mr. Bouley and for his dining public in the long run if it inspires him to renewed and further greatness.

My read of the review was not nearly as negative as those complaining about it here purport. While it may not have been the most definitaive review ever written, I do believe he made his point credibly. He didn't pan the food, he just didn't rave about it in the way one would expect from a four star. In essence, he gave it three rather than four stars because of the inconsistencies that kept cropping up, both in the kitchen and in the FOH. He didn't dwell on the recommended dishes, because that was not the thrust of this article. he made positive comments about the food, but he had to justify and therefore spend more space on the reasons he was less than fully enamored with it. It seems to me that most of those complaining most vociferously have some investment in Bouley, emotionally or otherwise. I have had an awful meal at the old Bouley and a fine meal at this one, nevertheless, the tenor of this review to me is very close to what I've been reading here on eGullet. As far as the Red Cross issue, I believe those with some knowledge of the situation and the emotional investment in Bouley, the person and the restaurant, have made more out of it than is really there. To those without that investment, I suggest the comment is one of historical perspective only without casting aspersions. at least i did not take it that way. It is my feeling, as I have stated elsewhere, that a three star restaurant is a great restaurant, though not quite as great for whatever reason as a four star restaurant (IMO nearly perfect in every way). I cmae out of Per Se having spent more money per person than I ever have at a restaurant and still felt that it was a bargain. That , to me bespeaks a four star restaurant. While that could conceivably happen at Bouley and probably occassionally and maybe even often does, the sense I have is that for a variety of reasons it is not often enough to warrant the fourth star - at least not at present.

I'm not sure that it really needs to be revamped. The distinctions are usually pretty clear from the reviews. People just need to keep the stars in perspective. A restaurant aspiring for four stars but winding up with only two is disastrous for that restaurant, because they will not be able to afford to stay open and continue with what it takes to aspire to four stars. On the other hand, a neighborhood joint getting two stars is fantastic and likely to be a boon for business because it is also likely to be a great though not overfancy restaurant. The problem with the NYT review is when there is a disconnect between the content of the actual review and the number of stars given. For example, if Bruni did a full review on V Steak in the manner that he did in the Diner's journal and proceeded to give it four stars (or even three). If that were to happen on a consistent basis, I would lose all faith in the system. As it stands now, it is not perfect, but I do think it is reasonable when kept in persepctive.

Barbera is a nice match. Othe good ones are zinfandel or syrah (or shiraz) or petite syrah. Justin Huber, a Mets minor league understudy for Piazza at catcher is from Australia, so maybe the shiraz would be in order. You know, for the future.

Rich, it is clear that one can (and often does) get great food that strictly from a culinary point of view is as as good or in some cases maybe even better than in a four star restaurant or that the overall experience can be (and sometimes is) better than said four star restaurant. It is also often the case that the non-four star restaurant is a better value than the generally more expensive (usually significantly moreso) four star restaurant. When that happens, enjoy it. The problem here is the sense that because a restaurant is not four stars it necessarily means thaat it is not a great restaurant. This couldn't be further from the truth. Once again, the difference is that the four star has the blend of luxurious atmosphere, great food and grreat service all of which are consistently if not universally delivered. Four stars are a specific caliber of restaurant. It is extremely expensive to aspire to, which is why it is vitally important that those restaurants who do aspire to it achieve it. People do not want to pay four star prices for a restaurant that is not four stars. On the other hand paying one, two or three star prices for a meal of four-star food, but without the other accoutrements is a happy thing for those whose principle interest is the food. This is one reason why it is important to a restaurant like Bouley to keep that star and not so critical to a restaurant like Babbo to not get it. From a business point of view it is all relative.

Probably not D'Yquem, unless it is the fois gras "burger".

Was it a magnum? I thought it looked bigger than that.

Just returned from Binghamton and yes, it is a culinary wasteland for the most part. The best meal I had all weekend was grilled half-a chicken at the youth league ball-field yesterday afternoon. That was actually extraordinary. There was no sign of ZOPS near the ballpark, but I did have a Lupo's pork Spiedie at the B-Mets game last night. It was ok, but nothing special. On the other hand, I can see how these can be comfort food items for Binghamton natives. This afternoon I had another pork spiedie at The Spiedie and Rib Pit in Vestal. This one had mushrooms and american cheese. It too was ok, but not truly special. My wife had a Greek style chicken spiedie. I couldn't find any lamb spiedies anywhere. My overall impression of Binghamton wa chain-restaurant city. Some of our group were quite happy to find an Outback Steakhouse.

This sounds more like a three star review to me, but very different in tone and content to what I got from Bruni's journal report.

Apparently the bottle was from the 1989 vintage. My guess for cost is around 2 grand - purely a guess. Piazza was told not to drink it until around 2020.

This has been a fascinating topic. Thank you.

So far I like what I see of Bruni. He appears to not be swayed by gimmickry without substance. I agree, based on my interpretation of this review, two stars would be a gift.

This is really the crux of the question. What do the stars represent? I believe we have reached a general consensus regarding 4 stars, but fewer than that runs into some difficulty. I have devised my own view of what stars should mean. Four stars have everything in the exceptional range on a consistent basis. Three stars IMO have the ability to be four star on any given night, but do not do so consistently or do so for most things but lack at least one element at the 4 star level on a consistent basis. To me a two star restaurant is exceptional on several levels, but is sufficiently lacking in at least one area to ever be able to strive for four stars. A one star establishment is very good on a number of levels, but not truly exceptional in any. Granted, this is not necessarily what the NY Times or any of you would use, but it makes some sense to me. Thoughts?

I have had some good and fun deconstructions, however, these sounded particularly gimmicky

When he gave Piazza the bottle, John Franco said that Trachsel told them to get it because he was tired of Piazza drinking all his wine on the frequent plane flights.

On account of setting the record for most home runs by a catcher, Mike Piazza was just given a gift by his teammates that appears to be a jeroboam of Chateau D'Yqem. I could not tell what vintage it is. Not bad.

A guess, opinion or knowledge?