docsconz

Excellent report, Phil. You mention Ferran's infatuation with Asian textures, flavors, ingredients and techniques. That isn't new, though it may be more pronounced. He has had a profound interest in Asian cooking (primarily Japanese) for a number of years now. The variation from table to table is at least in part due to their keeping track of what a patron has eaten on previous occasions and adjusting a meal accordingly. I believe that there is very little happening at elBulli by chance. Their level of organization is truly astounding.

Cheeks, yes, please. you can have the eyes from my fish

Take the trolley or walk.

My Sicilian grandfather's favorite part of the fish was the eyes. I never have gotten into them, though. I eat a lot of offal, but that is where I draw the line. I don't know why.

The oyster and shrimp po' boys at Parkway are excellent. I especially liked the shrimp. The quality of the shrimp is outstanding. I pretty much agree with everything Philadining wrote.

AG does a great job of capturing the magic of elBulli. It is an entertaining and informative report.

This concept is illustrated by the fascination with one of Spain's most famous artworks located in the Prado in Madrid, Francisco Goya's "Saturn Eating his Son." Many cultures eat baby animals, but none, in my experience, as well as the Spanish. I am thoroughly enjoying your report, Faine. You have captured much of the magic of my favorite culinary destination and this without even having touched upon its ultra-creative cuisine (with the exception of Etxebarri). BTW, yours is one of the most compelling accounts of Etxebarri that I have read. I also loved your description of Meson Candido. The restaurant is actually run at present by Candido Lopez Cuerdo, son of the scion you mentioned and yes, he does cut his cochinillo with a plate! I'm looking forward to more!

The low prices are not currently reflected in the summer resort community in which I live.

Phyllis stepping down is a great loss to the eGullet Society community. She has done a great job and hopefully will continue to provide her insights in the forums, if not the management.

Outstanding as always, Bryan. Thanks!

He actually didn't trounce Moonen in anything but the first challenge, in which Moonen failed to plate a dish and scored no stars. But for that, Moonen would have been the victor.

I like Tony Bourdain - a lot. He is a great personality, knows food and I generally find him very entertaining. His show is usually informative, albeit formulaic. I would love to be doing what he does. What I don't like, though, is how he repeatedly takes contradictory attitudes depending on where he is. While he never puts down well made traditional cooking, especially offal, he often has unkind things to say about creative cookery and tasting menus in general unless he happens to be on air dining in such a restaurant. He was very quick to take the same approach at Star Chefs last year following the lead of fellow discussant Marco Pierre White in dissing multicourse tasting menus, despite his being on record as raving about elBulli and recently Arzak and The Royal Mail. In the same episode as his Arzak meal, he chimed in when discussing the merits of Etxebari how that kind of cooking focusing on the fine product was so far superior to fancy cooking techniques that distort the product. I wouldn't have a problem with that if he was specific or even if generalizing he expressed that there are indeed exceptions, but he doesn't. He casts a very wide net and it comes off as rather two-faced. I don't think that he actually is, but I would prefer it if he didn't come off that way.

Sorry, Nathan, I have to agree that Cochon isn't really new paradigm. I can see why you make the stretch - it got a nice cocktail program, not formal, not too expensive and has a cool vibe. However, it really is just a traditional place that fits its location and does what it does quite well. Not all hip restaurants are new paradigm.

From my experience, pricewise the restaurants are similar.

Any photos?

I'm not saying that it is impossible, but it is difficult to enjoy a fine dining meal at restaurants such as you mentioned with a 9m/o baby in tow no matter how accommodating the restaurant may be. That is not even taking into account the effects a 9m/o may have on others. Of course, you know your baby and yourselves, so your mileage may vary

I'd like to see Thomas Keller. But I don't think that will happen. I think I'd faint twice and die from intimidation if I were in a competition and he was a judge. ← I think it is highly doubtful it will be Thomas Keller. My guess Joel Robuchon. He may very well be more intimidating then Thomas, if so. ← How about Guy Savoy? Both?

Currently writing from our room at Ferrero. The feast, in a couple of hours. Tomorrow, El Poblet. ← Sweet. I look forward to your report.

August may very well be a problem as many places are closed. All of the restaurants currently under discussion are worthwhile. Another that I will throw in the mix is Ferrero by Francisco Morales and Rut Cotroneo in Valencia. Paco is a disciple of Aduriz and is brilliant in his own right. My top meal of the year so far was by him this past January when he was still in Madrid at Senzone. Given that they are in a resort hotel, the likelihood that they will be open is high. If in the area of Valencia, Ca Sento is another not-to-miss restaurant. Valencia is a wonderful area in many ways that doesn't get a lot of play here.

If the tuna is truly "fresh" and hasn't been frozen, this is reasonable.

Going to have to disagree on this one. This is a big thing, at least out here in the northwest. With the whole sustainability issues and what not, I see no problem putting up something like "Cascade Farms Beef Tartar"...Because out here Cascade Farms does beef quite well and why not promote your farm partner? ← I agree. The source of a product is a useful bit of information. I prefer it even if the specific farm is one that I'm not familiar with. If it is good I can familiarize myself with it. If not, I may avoid it in the future.

Who or what, for example? McWilliams didn't provide any examples of free-range producers like Flying Pigs farm who do raise their animals humanely. As I said, he used a broad brush, incriminating the term "free-range" without discrimination. Show me examples otherwise, please. I believe that by doing so, he would have given more power to his argument that not all "free-range" is what it is cracked up to be, just like not all organic is what it is cracked up to be. He could have mentioned, but did not, that there is a certification for humane. He might have even raised criticisms of that process to further his argument, but it is not clear that he is even aware that it exists. It is not so much the actual message that he wrote that irks me, but how he wrote it. Nowhere in the article does he say that questionable practices are universal. He also takes some pains to elevate "free-range" above factory farming, starting with: Then: and He damns with faint praise. It is impossible to defend factory farms on the basis of humaneness, especially while attacking the kinds of farming practices that he does. He may not specifically claim that questionable practices are universal, but he doesn't really say anything to dispel that possibility either. The implication is that the exceptions are rare, if they exist at all. I may be exaggerating slightly to make a point, but only slightly. It would have been a stronger piece by pointing to positive examples amongst the negative. That's not how I read what Janet wrote, especially since she used the words "ideally" and "complex." ← This is what Janet wrote: I am simply pointing out that the "ideal" is currently impossible, though it can not be ruled out in the future via practices such as tissue culture, which would raise all sorts of other discussion points, including whether or not that would truly be "ideal" even if the "meat" was truly delicious and varied. The complex part of the discussion, like with the term "organic" is the variation in what the term "free-range" really means and how much "righteousness" it can claim. The factory farming side is not at all complex - it is on the "evil" side.The problem is that well-meaning terms get co-opted by marketers who end up blurring the original meaning. I will repeat, that the problem is not his basic message. to me the problem is the irritating way he communicates it. Some may be put off by Alice Waters' style. I am put off by Mr. McWilliams' style.

McWilliams isn't subtle; I'd call him unsentimental. I'd also not characterize his piece on disease among free-range swine with the word "attack," a perjorative that indicates, um, bias. He is a (his words) "concerned consumer trying to get to the bottom of what we eat." I don't understand why McWilliams is obligated to highlight farms that adhere to explemplary standards. Would we be better off not having the information he presents? More to the point, if he's succeeded in "narrowing the distance in the minds of consumers" between factory farming and free-range, that's a service, because the distance in a significant number of cases is narrower than most people think. ← I don't have a problem with McWilliams or anyone else pointing out that even "free-range" doesn't necessarily mean "cruelty-free" and that some "free-range" farms may use techniques that on the surface appear and may even be cruel to various extents, however, he paints with too broad a brush and incriminates many farms and practices beyond what they deserve. I believe that it is his obligation in pointing out practices that he deems questionable, that these practices are not, in fact, universal. No doubt that the term "free-range" has to some extent, been co-opted as has the term "organic" diluting its meaning and value to consumers. This remains a good reason to know your farms and farmers if at all possible. Janet, there is no such thing as a source of meat that doesn't harm animals. The question is are the animals treated reasonably well and have they been better off than had they lived in other circumstances or would they have been better off if they had not lived at all?

Beautiful write-up, Tupac! I want one now!

I envy your experience. This is perhaps the restaurant in South Florida that I would most like to visit.