docsconz

A great day! Thanks to all of you who made it a reality. Needless to say the food and drink was outstanding as were the setting and weather. It was a lot of fun to put faces to names. I arrived home still stuffed, but since I had purchased some of Jonathon's flatbreads, I just had to try them. They were so good I am fully restuffed.

VivreManger, Excellent post. I'll have to look for Le Fromentier next time I'm in the lovely city of Montreal.

Amen.

Robert, Great article! What a delight to read and dream of being there. I was particularly intrigued by the assador with impecable grilled seafood. It reminded me of my experience at the Bar Universal in the Boqueria Maerket of Barcelona - Yum! Honest, straightforward and delicious.

Another Calcab I think is grossly over-rated is Caymus Special Select. I have never really been turned on by it.

I wish I had seen this thread before I made dinner tonight. I love duck and can cook duck breasts well using Bitman's technique. Tonight I cooked a whole Pekin duck by a recipe from Julia Child's , which is usually right on. I steamed, braised then roasted it with S&P, sage, thyme, onion, carrot, celery and white wine. It was ok, but unfortunately overcooked, even though I timed it for less than the recipe. Oh well, I should have known to look for a thread here.

What is your favorite California Cab? Both the single best ever tasted and the old standby that year-in-year out you can always rely upon? The best I've ever had was probably a 1991 Philip Togni. I remember it being voluptuous with smooth body, plenty of fruit , great balance and a real drink-me attitude. My year-in - year-out standard is probably Chateau Montelena with Phelps Insignia a close second. a couple of years ago I participated in a vertical tasting of Montelena from 1992-1997. There were no clunkers in the bunch. Yum.

My favorite of the petite chateau is Puy-Blanquet . I first had it with the 1985 vintage. Last night I had a 375ml bottle of the '95 with beefalo burgers with sauteed mushrooms and stilton and sauteed spinach with fresh tomatos and garlic. It proved to be an excellent combination. The retail price tends to run from $15-25 750ml depending on the vintage. I bought it in NE New York.

Not speaking too much french, I haven't had a problem at either Chaput or Hamel. Both are great cheese shops and I always go for native Quebec cheeses since I figure they are hard to come by in the US and they are so good. I generally try a number of different ones at Chaput (I was there Saturday and spoke with the same counterman I spoke with last spring and I must admit that I didn't notice any changes in the shop) and buy the several I like best, Their 10yo cheddar from Ontario is the best I've ever had. In addition we bought a delicious (now finished) triple cream (camembert like), and two chevres. I was disappointed that they currently do not have any Quebec bleus. Chaput or whatever it is called has by far the best atmosphere of them all. It is also not too far from St. Viateur bagels - the best in the city. I absolutely recommend both Atwater and Jean Talon Markets. Atwater I think is somewhat better with meats and chocolates, but Jean Talon is better with produce and cheese ( I like Hamel better than the Fromagerie of Atwater).

I love Thirty Bench. Their Ice wines are outstanding. They are extremely well balanced between the acid and the sweet - moreso than other Niagara Peninsula wines I've ttried including the most overrated in my book - Inniskillin. The wines are hard to come by in the States. I got mine at the winery. How did you come by yours.

I found the St. Viateur bagel bakery and cafe on Mont Royal Est agin and brought home a couple dozen bagels. It is a particularly good spot for watching them bake the bagels. It is an interesting process there - moreso than any other bagel bakery I've seen - perhaps because of the volume. Other large volume places such as H&H in NYCdon't have the main ovens on ready view from the retail area.

Good lamb is perhaps my favorite meat. I eat enough of it to bring up the numbers

I have a '59 that I'm saving for my 50th b-day. I haven't had any that old yet, but those I've had have been sublime.

Nice report - sounds like a great dinner.

I, for one, am looking forward to your reports with vicarious pleasure wishing I was able to be there.

Rosalie's desserts may not be the most sophisticated or novel, but they are full of flavor and simply delicious. I had an apple tart there that was simply magnificent. It is too bad if Toque's desserts are going downhill. I have enjoyed them immensely in the past.

I am eating an outstanding apple variety that is new to me - "Sansa", purchased today at the Queensbury, NY Farmer's Market from Saratoga Orchards. It is sweet and sour with great crispness. The color is a mottle of red and yellow-green. This may be my new favorite eating apple.

This whole concept is extremely exciting, especially in the hands of people who know how to implement it. I really, really, really wish I could get out to Chicago for this dinner. I have yet to dine at Trio or had the pleasure of Mr. Laiskonis' desserts, but I must make a point of it in the not too distant future. Wow, my mouth and mind are both salivating just thinking about this. The pastry chefs of Barcelona are doing great things with combinations of chocolate and all sorts of other flavors and ingredients. Amazing, amazing, amazing!

docsconz: You need a job? I think you would fit in well here. Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll just have to content myself by visiting your place next time I'm in Chicago

If you want to see a show...go see a show If you want to be part of the action..apply for a job If you want to see artists in action..go see a play Artists haha...i think you should stay in the nice room out front...its not pretty back here I have never dined in a restaurant kitchen table, but why should you think it uninteresting to the non-professional? Actually, I think restaurant kitchens and techniques are fascinating. I might not if I worked in one all the time. I work in an operating room daily. To me that is nothing special anymore, but my sister-in-law always questions me about "interesting cases". It's rare that I ever have something to offer her, even though the most mundane surgery is interesting to her. It is not boring, it is simply routine. That being said I can understand a chef or the cooks not liking being under what amounts to an extra spotlight.

For the show. To be in on the action. To see the artists at work.

In my experience the best pastry chef in town is Patrice at Le Chevres. The desserts at Rosalie, Toque and Chez L'Epicier aren't too shabby either.

A challenging ingredient for a sweet dish might be any of a number of mushrooms. I recently had a black truffle flavored chocolate "truffle" from Cacao Sampaka in Barcelona that knocked my socks off so much my toes were sunburned. How would you do porcini for example as a "sweet" dish? How about lobster or crab in a dessert? Just because I can't think of a way to make it work, doesn't mean you can't Taking more traditional dessert items and using them for savories is less problematic in that most have probably been used in one way or another as part of various savory dishes. Where and when is this dinner likely to be presented? I would potentially be interested in critiquing it, if needed

Another superb article from Craig. How do you do it? What is your assessment Craig of where Angelo Gaja fits in? His name was notable by its omission from your lists. I realize that he is more well known for his barbarescos, but he does also make some well known barolos.

If only I knew this two weeks ago