docsconz

I am pleased eGullet has provided another dividend. Mark, thanks for the recommendation of Eartha's. I went tonight for the first time. Max London is a very talented young chef (22 y/o)with a very bright future ahead of him. What was particularly interesting about the meal is that he took fairly standard and almost cliched dishes and made them fresh again. I started with a sesame crusted seared tuna. This was bathed in a tasty sesame-soy-jalapeno oil sauce and accented by a nice dollop of avocado cream. I next had a salad of warm balsamic cremini mushrooms over baby spinach, toasted pine nuts and shaved parmaggiano cheese that was a superb blend of flavors and textures. My main course was roasted halibut over white bean puree and covered by roasted cherry tomatoes, artichoke hearts and zucchini. This dish was also excellent, but a notch below the others. The bulk of the flavor came from the bean puree, but it could have stood to be slightly more assertive. Dessert was a smooth and delicious chocolate panna cotta. In addition I got comped a tasty apple "dumpling" with cinnamon mascarpone and then a house-made toasted almond ice cream. The service was attentive, friendly and professional. If there is a weakness that I can identify after one visit, it is the wine list. It isn't bad, but neither is it anything special. I am looking forward to returning soon.

Well, which restaurant is it? I'm not against bad press, but if good press is available, let's hear it. Chez Sophie in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Your post is making me hungry Your recipe sounds similar to the simple, but oh so good linguine with EVOO and garlic. The diced garlic is added raw to the hot pasta and EVOO to cook just enough to mellow it. Salt and pepper to taste, of course.

Sea Urchins at Mondelo Beach, Sicily

How does one attach photos. These are awesome. It really captures the flavor of Arthur Avenue. This is probably the market in the US most like in Italy, although it is not quite the Vucciria .

Let me know when you will be in the area. Perhaps we can set up an eGullet meal.

Sunrise has an interesting and helpful website. Significant range of buffalo products, from filet mignon ($20) to chuck ($6). They offer tours, too. Based on the good doc's prescription / description of several places, it sounds like a trip to the North Country may be in order. I chased trains operated by the Delaware & Hudson Railroad back there in the 1970s, the area has probably changed a little since then... Here's the website for Sunrise Buffalo The area around Cambridge, N.Y. is beautiful to boot with verdant rolling hills. The Cambridge Hotel is a nice place to stay in the area with decent chow. The other places I mentioned in Shushan are nearby as well.

The Bronx Zoo is right around the corner and makes a great side trip when going to Arthur Ave.

What you made was a classic Marinara sauce - easy, quick and delicious!. Actually it is classic without discarding the garlic and not including the crushed red pepper. It goes great over palin spaghetti. Do not add grated cheese to this sauce. Nice variations include sauteed shrimp or other shellfish.

By the way, Chevrilades usually come with wooden sticks impaling them to keep them together. The sausage is awesome grilled - true comfort food for an Italian-American from NYC .

Jason, Wonderful post with fabulous pictures. I love the retail market on Arthur Ave. It is probably the single best place to get Italian products in the USA, however, it has its idiosyncracies. One of your pictures of Pete's Meat Market showed the sausages called Chevrilade. If I am not mistaken, the Chevrilade on Arthur Ave. is made from lamb. There are usually a number of different types of chevrilade, the most popular of which contains cheese and parsley. Their chevrilade is tasty, but IMO is no match for the chevrilade from Brooklyn made from pork. The most notable producer that I know is Esposito's Pork store on Court St. They also make great fresh mozzarella and braciole. While I don't know for sure, I would guess by the word chevri-lade, that the true origens of this sausage may be from goat. Anybody know for sure?

Mark, Thanks for the additions. I haven't tried Eartha's since Max London took over. Is he any relation to the London's of Rockhill Bakehouse and Mrs. London's Bakery, both of which are outstanding. Rock Hill bakery in South Glens Falls bakes fine artisanal breads and Mrs. London's in Saratoga makes incredible cakes and breads.

Could it be that the reputations of a lot of wines around the rest of the world have increased because they have started making "Parker" - style wines? I assume you mean, big, bold and brash as Parker's style. Most of the more well known and currently glamorous wines from the rest of the world (with the possible exception of Burgundy which Parker never could get a handle on, thus Rovani) all share these attributes (e.g. Gaia, Guigal, the top Australians, Clos Erasmus, etc.). It may be that Bordeaux hasn't lost anything, but that as you said the rest of the world is just making better wine. That is a good thing. It is also true that how well and for how long these wines will age is yet another question. I hope to be able to answer that someday .

I am satisfied with "middling restaurants" if I have eaten well-prepared and tasty food at a reasonable price. My expectation at this restaurant is not the same as with a world-renowned chef, for which I will pay much more. The problem is that it is not always easy to get well-prepared, tasty food at these restaurants, however, I am probably disappointed less frequently than at "superstar" restaurants. Again, it is not that the food is necessarily "bad", just that it doesn't always live up to the hype or the price. Some examples are the previously mentioned Nobu, Arun's Thai Restaurant in Chicago and the first time I had dinner at Daniel in NYC. When the food does live up to the reputation at the World-renowned restaurant, it is also my experience that there is nothing better. When I travel I look for all three levels. If I am near a world-class restaurant I make a special effort to get there. In addition, I will often make a special trip just to go to a particular restaurant. I am currently trying to plan trips centered around El Bulli (unfortunately it will have to wait until at least 2004 since I didn't get a reservation for this year) and Eigensinn Farm in Ontario. I also enjoy dining at representative local restaurants that come highly recommended. A recent trip to Sicily provided some wonderful examples of these "middle" restaurants that served outstanding food. The best examples of these restaurants tend to serve regional cuisine using good quality local ingredients. Another factor for the quantity of middle restaurants is that's all a lot of people can afford. Most people in the world probably can't afford even these, thus we come to the other extremis, epitomized by "street food", once again the best of which tends to be regional cuisine using quality local products (this may not be the case in the USA). In summary, I agree that the most sublime meals come from the world-renowned or soon to be world-renowned chefs in sophisticated kitchens, but I am often truly satisfied and amazed at the food from top-notch "middling" restaurants as well as "cucina povera".

A few years ago my wife and I went to a local restaurant for the first time. It was my birthday. We didn't have reservations, but we went late and they seated us without a problem. It was a Friday night and I was pretty relaxed. The waiter took our order then proceeded to drop off our wine and bread with a spread of garlicky white beans that was delicious. My wife and I sat there enjoying our wine and bread with the spread and we sat there and sat there and sat there. For once in my life I wasn't getting worked up about a perceived slight. About an hour later the waiter passes by and looks at our table. A sudden look of shock appeared on his face. He had forgotten to place the order. He was effusively apologetic. Since my wife and I were in a mellow mood, it wasn't a major problem. To make a long story short, the restaurant comped the entire meal, which happened to be excellent once it came out. Needless to say, this was a totally unexpected result that impressed us so much we immediately made reservations to return shortly thereafter for our anniversary. The restaurant quickly became one of our absolute favorites that we frequent whenever we can. The waiter is now the chef/owner of the restaurant. What particularly impressed us was that they took what would likely have been a negative (the food was good, but the service was lousy) and made it into an absolute positive.

Nell's Restaurant. The Chef/owner is Phil Mihalsky. Before coming to Seattle he worked in France and NYC. He started in Seattle at Dahlia Lounge before moving to Marco's Supper Club. From there he opened Nell's. I know Phil to be a very talented chef so I became a small investor despite his restaurant being on the other coast. It's nice to hear such a positive review. I have no doubt it was earned.

How do you use the roots?

Do you feel some customers have too much expectation of superstar chefs.Our local "celebrity " restaurant has some guests who ,IMHO ,are expecting a religious experience, not a well cooked dinner. I guess it depends upon why the chef is a celebrity and what he/she charges for your patronage. If I am traveling to Gerona to dine on Ferran adria's food at El Bulli, I do expect it to be a "religious" experience. If it is anything less it is a disappointment. This would be the case partly due to expectations gleamed from sites such as this. On the other hand one of the most memorable dishes I ever had was a simple rotisserie chicken (pollo a'last") at a hole in the wall restaurant in the beach town of Sitges outside of Barcelona, primarily because it was so archetypally delicious and so unexpected. Along the same line, the most disappointing meal that I've had recently was at Nobu. Admittedly my expectations were stratospheric. It had been the restaurant in NYC that I hadn't been to that I most wanted to. Was it bad? No. In fact the meal started quite well, but then subsequent courses failed to be truly exciting. In a restaurant in which my expectations were less (and the check) I probably would have been very pleased. It is for this reason that I can still find more ordinary restaurants "great" and "interesting" if they do what they do well and at a price point commensurate with the experience. That being said, I will always seek out the truly transcendant meal regardless of price. I don't mind paying what it takes, but I hate getting ripped off.

I find that my level of enjoyment is based upon my preconceived expectations. If the food is good for what it is supposed to be, I am satisfied, be it high end superstar chef creativity, simple, well prepared bistro or trattoria or street food. If the food doesn't live up to expectations and hopes, the meal is a disappointment.

I actually did find Tru to be a bit stuffy the one time I ate there. In fact, when the room became too warm and I took my jacket off, they made me put it back on even though there were maybe 4 or 5 other parties in the room. Overall it was fine, but I don't feel I need to go back. I guess it depends upon what you mean by "stuffy". I had no problem wearing a jacket and tie there. The night I was there it was quite comfortable (and I overheat fairly easily). I did not feel that the waitstaff ws condescending or intrusively formal. I was able to relax, enjoy my companions and the meal, which I thought was very good, but a notch (maybe two) below Trotter's. Given it's reputation in various circles, I find it notable by it's absence in most posts on this thread including Awbrig's latest. While I enjoyed it, I would dine elsewhere in Chicago next visit before returning there.

My most embarrassing moment at a restaurant was a few years ago when we brought my father to what was at that time my favorite local Italian restaurant. My father was a semblance of his former self. He could still walk and communicate, but had lost some inhibitions. I had come to know the chef/owner and asked him to prepare some specific dishes ahead of time to please my father. While the dishes were quite good, they did not precisely fit my father's specific mindset, a fact he made no bones about. The chef left with a "headache". While I apologized later to the chef, the restaurant was never quite the same for me.

Don't forget the "other T", Tru, although I preferred Trotter's. Both are elegant without being "stuffy".

Which Ice wines did you bring back? Have you tried any yet? What are your thoughts?

One of the things I love about eGullet is that each thread develops a life of it's own. I started this thread with a report about dinner at Chez L'Epicier - a dinner I found very enjoyable. It then developed into a discussion on a particular dish I had and described, followed by a discussion of originality vs. copying a dish and now an education on a specific dish (molten chocolate cake) that wasn't even part of the original meal. I certainly could not have predicted the direction this thread has taken. I'm absolutely serious when I say that I love this. This really is a fun way to learn all about food in ways both expected and unexpected.

If one is looking for wonderful, well balanced dessert wines and cares to look outside of Europe, I would suggest some of the non-vintage Australians such as Rutherglen's Tokays or Ontario Ice Wines (vintage). My personal favorite OIW is Thirty Bench Reisling. that unfortunately can be hard to come by in the States.