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When I return to Paris, I will almost definitely plan a return to L'Astrance. I would like to return to Pierre Gagnaire simply to give it a second chance as I was disappointed with my meal the first time despite its obvious skill and potential. As for returning to a meal from the past, I would love to return to L'epi Dupin from 1999. Of course, when I return to Paris there are simply too many places that I want to go to (including Spring) that it would be difficult to return anywhere!

Fort Lee is not bad. I have a sister who lives there and have been to Silver Pond a number of times. It's not bad so long as one stays away from the fried dim sum, but it is not special. I will go back because it is often more convenient for me than other NYC dim sum spots, but not because it is a superior or even a particularly unique experience. As far as dim sum in NJ, I prefer Dim Sum Dynasty in Ridgewood to Silver Pond. Neither hold a candle to Chinatown Brasserie. I find this topic interesting coming from a different trajectory. Due to family in NJ, I often stay there when coming down to the metropolitan area and so am inclined to try exceptional places in NJ out of convenience. However, I haven't yet found anything to prevent me from heading into the city when looking for a special experience. Cucharamama is the one place so far that I would consider making a special trip from where I live in upstate NY. Indeed my wife did so a few weeks ago to go to a Sunday afternoon chocolate festival there with her sister who lives in Jersey City. To me the bottom line is that NJ has some very good food with some of it quite compelling and worthy of a detour for a change of scenery if nothing else. However, if I lived in NYC, it would not be my highest priority to make a special trip there simply for the food. Ironically when I was in Medical School in northern Manhattan many years ago, I found it to be much more convenient and better to do my grocery shopping in NJ rather than in Manhattan. Of course at that time, from where I lived it was easier to head over the GWB than it was to head downtown especially as I had occasional access to a car. As it is today, I prefer shopping at the 125th St Fairway for routine shopping over anything accessible to me in NJ. That is not to say that the Asian groceries aren't fun and good. They are, but when I stock up down there, I tend to buy things at which the Fairway is better.

The assumption here is that Americans generally prefer their crusts less crusty or well done. Evidence offered is a preponderance of light crusted commercial breads and pizze. While I am not disputing that the vast majority of these crusts are indeed underdone, I am questioning the assumption that it is because Americans want or prefer them that way. I suspect the true reason is because most Americans don't really care and accept what they are given and what is easiest. Most crusts are underdone, I posit because it is cheaper to produce them that way since it requires less oversight, care and manipulation to do so. A well done crust comes close to being an overdone or burnt crust, which means waste and increased costs. Me, of course I prefer a more well done crust and don't mind spending more for one that is perfectly done.

Conversely, there is at least one restaurant in Westchester that I have made a special trip for from upstate and would do so again - Blue Hill at Stone Barns. I would make the same trip from NYC without hesitation.

Thanks for taking me to a few places I was previously unfamiliar with! I am surprised that you found Franny's to be a notch below, but then it has been awhile since I have been.

I'll throw my $0.02 in. I visit NJ fairly often to visit family and am happy to eat there when it is convenient to do so. There is plenty of very good food, however, with the possible exception of Cucharamama there isn't one place at this time that I can think of that I would make a special trip to go to NJ for in order to dine, while I frequently do so to NYC whether I am in NJ or at home in upstate NY.

Thanks Ah Leung. This will likely be as important a resource for anyone going to HK in the future as your tutorials have been to aspiring cooks of Chinese dishes! Have a great trip!

I'm looking forward to trying it for myself later this month now that some of the initial opening hype and jitters are past. I have great faith in both Sam and Francis' abilities.

Man, go away for a week and look what I miss! Great pics on Shola's blog.

Very interesting. That is a big job! Elena Arzak's technique for Squid Powder and the recipe for Squid “Begi Haundi,” in Abstract can be found here.

More from Starchefs on the Pacojet competition including photos and the winning recipes. I still have a little more to go before I finish this report. I haven't forgotten it, but unfortunately I may not be able to get to it for another week or so.

Alas, the kitchen is not mine. I wish that it were. It is as functional a private kitchen as I know.

I'll be going towards the end of the month. I'm very much looking forward to it. As for what is Italian, it is many things, not one. Trabocchi is most certainly Italian. If the restaurant were in Italy would it still be questioned as to whether or not it is "Italian"?

One major omission from the second night was a puree of smoked tuna with capers, cauliflower and sriracha that we snacked on a lot bit and was also used on the sixth pizza. The puree (and pizza) was magnificent. I could have spent the whole meal munching just on that with a little of the bread. Of course, this was an A&A concoction!

I think the reality of the matter is that they were among the available ingredients as they had been cooked earlier in the day. The pizza cooked so fast that somehow the yolk remained runny. It was delicious and probably my favorite of all with the possible exception of the pear apple, stilton and pancetta. I couldn't share this with all my eGullet friends in actuality, so the best I could do was share it virtually. I know that it is not quite the same thing. However, for those in the NY area, Alex and Aki obviously do cater while they are waiting for the right restaurant opportunity.

Pizza with sausage, tomato, onions and mozzarella Pizza with tomato, eggplant and mozzarella Alex and a quattro formaggi pizza with mushrooms.pizza. Three finished pies. Pizza with Asian pear apple, Stilton and Pancetta Somehow in my delirious hunger I missed closeup photos of several finished pizze including the mushroom, pecorino, mozzarella and egg and another that for the life of me I can't recall. In any case they and the chicken were all so delicious and we were so stuffed! Of course we had dessert though as my wife baked an apple pie with local northern spy apples. Earlier in the day, Alex and Aki had mentioned in the course of conversation that neither had ever had an ice apple cider dessert wine from Quebec, so I brought a 2000 Pinnacle that proved to be a perfect match to the apple pie. Unfortunately, the food and the wine had caught up to me and once again I neglected to take a photo of it! In any case, we all felt a wonderful exhaustion borne of fantastic food, wonderful wine and fast friendship. This was a weekend that I will never forget. Hopefully, someday there will be a sequel.

Thank you, Michael. Nice blog!

Roasted cipollini from "Our Farm" at the Glens Falls farmers market. Close-up of the tomato-eggplant and mozzarella. Eggs and mozzarella on top of the mushrooms and pecorino. Greg readying a pizza for the oven. A pizza in the oven. Tom, Amy and I picked at the chicken carcasses while we were waiting for the main event. The chickens ready for the table. The next wine...Abadal, a beautiful red from just north of Barcelona I picked up this past May. Greg had asked that I bring something he had never had and amazingly, I did! ...and the next wine, another beautiful red, this time brought by Aki and Alex. Tom opening the wines while I pick. My wife took the shot on the right.

A pizza oven is supposed to be for making pizze so of course pizze were made. Our friend Amy made the dough earlier in the day, while various topping combinations were devised based on the ingredients on hand. Amy made a beautiful tomato-eggplant dish using the last of the season's tomatoes and farmers market eggplants as she also visited the Glens Falls farmers market. The experienced Greg was the pizzaiolo with the dough. Six different pizze were made. Alex cuts Asian pear apple for a pizza. ...and adds it to dough as a base layer. Aki adds Stilton and pancetta to the apples to compose one pie. Aki adding Amy's tomato eggplant as the base for another pizza. Mushrooms and pecorino. Eggs cooked in the water bath. Alex couldn't totally pass on modern technique. Mozzarella topped the tomato and eggplant. Everybody's enjoying the show... ...and the next wine. to be continued...

Amongst other things, we nibbled on the Cypress Grove Truffle Tremor and Michael London's Fire Bread and baguette - delicious - especially as we were all salivating over those chickens. We also sipped upon some lovely "Tir Na Nog", a fine grenache from Down Under.

The chickens were cleaned and dressed by Mr. Talbot. They came with heads and feet attached.He is principally if not solely responsible for what was shown by these photos. What I may have neglected to mention before now is that the Fern Lodge kitchen possesses a beautiful, built-in, wood-fired pizza oven. It was put to very good use on this night. Don't be in a hurry. Take it slow. Feel the heat. Getting there Not quite. Patience. Time to add the offal. Oh yeah! After a suitable rest, Alex was back at those chickens completing the job...

Warning What follows in the following post is pure unadulterated food pornography Do not enter if you have not eaten over the last hour as it features fully exposed blue-foot chickens in heat

That morning when I drove to Friends Lake to pick up Alex and Aki, I dropped off a few ingredients so I wouldn't have to later. Amongst them were some stellar shiitakes I purchased from New Minglewood Farm at the Saratoga Farmers market, Cypress Grove Truffle Tremor cheese, Saratoga Apple hot Italian sausage from the Glens Falls farmers market, Mrs. London's baguette and Fire bread and three California raised blue foot chickens that I had purchased from D'Artagnan for an occasion such as this. The idea was supposed to have been that we would all participate in the cooking. We did to varying degrees. My wife and I returned a little bit later than we intended to find chicken and other preparations underway, led, of course, by Alex and Aki who were not getting paid for their work with this dinner. Much of the prep work done, we settled down to have some wine and nibbles.

...we were off to find the cheese wizards and we did in a nearby building. We met Lorraine Lambiase and Sheila Flanagan, the co-owners and cheesemakers of Nettle Meadow. The farm and cheesemaking operation was started in 1990, but has only been owned by Lorraine and Sheila for the last three or four years. Sheila in the cheese making room. Crane Mountain on the left and Kunik on the right are my two favorite cheeses from this farm and two of my favorites in this country and exceptions to Fat Guy's rule. Lorraine explaining to Aki and the rest of us how the molds are used to fashion the cheeses. Sheila cutting samples. The Kunik is in the back. The Crane Mountain in the foreground is an example of one quite young. The flavor of this pure goat cheese is mild with a very creamy consistency. While still very good in its own right, it gets better with age. The Kunik is a mixed goat and Jersey cow milk cheese. It too is mild, but with a bit more flavor than most camembert style cheeses in the U.S. It also ages well, but is probably better eaten at a younger point than its sister Crane Mountain. Kunik is named for the first goat on the farm back in 1990. The cheese was produced by the original owners who now have a dairy and cheese operation in Quebec and still produce another version of "Kunik". Crane Mountain is named for the Adirondack mountain that overlooks the farm. A more aged version of the Crane Mountain, the last in stock that was truly ready to eat though it gets even runnier and better with even more age. Indeed their current supplies are such that they had no Crane Mountain ready to sell to us. What they had was still too young so they wouldn't part with any just yet. It sells out quickly. Their most popular cheeses are their chevres and fromage blancs, with a number of flavor variations including what is shown here and more. The lavender, rather than added directly to the cheese infuses it like a tea during the cheesemaking process. All are very good with the flavored cheeses making good dessert options. The plain chevre is very mild, which apparently is what the majority of their customers prefer. I tend to prefer it a little more "goat-y" myself. Alex and Sheila had an interesting discussion as Alex was intrigued by the infusion technique and envisioned many additional possibilities. Of course, Alex freely shared these ideas as he so often does. After an enjoyable discussion and sampling we were off and I dropped Aki and Alex back at the Fern Lodge while I returned home to a much needed nap. The same crew as the night before would re-convene later back at the Fern Lodge for a much different, but no less satisfying dinner. If anyone had any doubts as to Alex and Aki's skills cooking conventionally let them rest right now.

Saturday we got to see another side of Aki and Alex. Somehow I got up fairly early the next morning to go get some things for dinner. I made trips to both the Glens Falls and Saratoga Springs farmers markets despite the fact that it was cool and quite rainy. After my shopping excursion I zipped back up to Friends lake to meet Alex and Aki and take them to a nearby cheesemaker, Nettle Meadow. Though I have greatly enjoyed a number of their cheeses and met one of the owners previously, I had never been to the farm so it was a new experience for the three of us. Though it was sloppy and rainy we were undeterred. The first part of our visit was to the farm itself where we visited with the animals and were shown around by one of the ladies who takes care of them. The animals, primarily goats but many others as well, looked to be very well taken care of and reasonably happy. In fact, the farm hosts a shelter for imperfect farm animals including a one-eyed turkey hen, a thoroughbred with a bum leg and others. Were it not rainy and very muddy outside, the goats would have been out there as well. Aki maked a new friend. The chickens didn't seem to mind the mud. Curious kids who just wouldn't sit still for the camera! Mr. Bill(y) Aki made another friend. The shelter barn The animals were great to meet, but our main purpose was coming up soon...