docsconz

This is a great point. Until this weekend I had only ever tasted one dish of theirs and that was literally a taste of their Pacojet contest entry at the Starchefs Congress. Nevertheless, I loved the aesthetics of their food as well as the concepts they employed in how they paired ingredients and the techniques they utilized. Because I was so curious, I really, really wanted to get a real sense of what they were doing and not just a photographic or conceptual one. Well, this weekend I did get that sense, and I can say that there is plenty of wonderful gustatory substance behind their visual and conceptual styles. Their cuisine is very much flavor based and designed to please. Like any excellent chef, they are also very well grounded in classic technique in addition to their modern, creative approach. Ironically, this report will still only provide a virtual experience for those readers who haven't experienced their cooking. For me at least, I will be able to continue to follow their careers with a greater understanding of what they are actually achieving and I look forward to enjoying their cooking many more times in the future.

Alex and Paul served the first course. For a view of that course as plated by Alex see here. The lighting in the dining room at the time did not allow me to photograph the dish as Alex presented it, so I altered it a little: Island Creek Oyster, cauliflower, mustard, brown bread The oyster were not exactly raw nor were they exactly cooked. They were shucked then poached in their own juices for 20 minutes at 48ºC before they were chilled. They incorporated some of the best aspects of both elements. The consistency though slightly firmer than a raw oyster, but not as firm or congealed as a thoroughly cooked one. It retained some of its wonderful rawness without truly being raw. In addition, the brininess was added back with a spoonful of the poaching liquor. Being an oyster purist I would have been very happy downing a dozen of these just as they were. Even so, the accompaniments provided good flavor and textural complements to the oyster. The cauliflower had been pureed in hard cider then mixed with yogurt and mustard and set with the assistance of carrageenan. In this dish and elsewhere, Alex and Aki used various powders. They were not necessarily obvious or noticeable. They weren't trumpeted for their own sakes, but to achieve specific culinary effects. Speaking of complements, we went for a classic oyster combination with the first wine. The pairing of this intensely mineral rich wine worked great with the briny oyster itself, but wasn't quite as stellar with the assertive brown bread and mustard components of the dish.

Nina, your blog is not only about where I used to live, but also my current backyard!

I love the Mets bowl! I am also excited to see the borough of my birth through your eyes and mouth.

It was time to start taking most of the food out of the cryovac bags. Aki is holding "cherry-lime leaf kohlrabi" Apple-jalapeño, a condiment for the Hot Chestnut-Ginger Knot. Jars for soup service. Alex plating a salt slurry to keep the oyster of the first course in place. Aki cutting cubes of lamb for finishing. The lamb is actually two different cuts, belly and neck glued together with activa in order to achieve a thicker and more flavorful cut. Thee meat was pre-cooked sous vide to be finished on the stove. Aki cutting the walnut infused compressed cucumbers. All spread out. The sous vide pre-cooked turkey wings remain in the cryovac - for now. Aki picking flowers. Sharon and Greg work on the wine. The oyster plating gets closer to service. More bagged goods. Those look appetizing! Our first course, the oysters are almost ready. It is time to sit at the table.

The kitchen started to get fired up. I first became aware of these salt blocks and the myriad of potential uses for them at David Burke's Demonstration at the Starchefs ICC. Ironically Aki and Alex missed that demo as they were busy with the Pacojet Competition at the same event. Our table was set and awaiting diners, food and more wine. Our experienced hosts also had the tremendous foresight to hire young man to help with service and cleaning. He did a fine job.

Nah, I didn't take any food photos. Good catch on the "bollen" typo! Of course that should have read "pollen". Not only is that kitchen handsome, it is incredibly good for doing what kitchens are supposed to do - cook. This is a particularly great kitchen for entertaining and events like this, even though this one was relatively small. Our hosts used their hospitality experience wisely.

For a great sense of their work at Keyah Grande check out this great report from my very good friend, molto e. This report and several personal correspondences of experiences at Keyah Grande were major influences in my continued interest in Alex and Aki's careers.

The dinner would be Friday night at the Fern Lodge, whose kitchen and dining facilities and overall ambiance are exceptional. Alex and Aki having done all their prep prior to driving up from the City were supposed to arrive at my house in the early afternoon so we could go up to the lake and set up at a leisurely pace and enjoy some daylight. Unfortunately, they misjudged the time it would take and arrived at my house shortly after 5PM. We quickly regrouped and I headed up to the lake with them while my wife followed a bit later. In some cases, the delay might have been a harbinger of disaster. Not so in this case. They had a cooler full of their prepped food vacuum sealed to conserve space. The unloading was quick and efficient. I had an inkling of some of the things they were working on from following their blog, but I finally saw the actual menu. This would be interesting. Though the kitchen was well equipped, Aki and Alex brought all the equipment (outside of actual burners) that they would need. In the photo below, Aki is unpacking the Polyscience circulating water bath, the most specialized piece of equipment that they brought with them. Getting used to another kitchen can be daunting, though I think Alex and Aki settled into this one rather quickly and easily. Another special piece of equipment they brought with them was a set of Himalayan pink salt slabs that they would grill scallops on. Everything in its place, they were ready to cook... ... and we were ready to enjoy.

I first became aware of Alex Talbot and Aki Kamozawa several years ago through posts on the eGullet Society Discussion Forums and through friends and acquaintances who were aware of their work. I followed their careers at Keyah Grande in Colorado and then when they returned east through their incredible blog, Ideas in Food. They were always so creative, their food looked marvelous and they documented their work religiously and openly. Though I had never tried their food (it wasn't for lack of desire on my part), we had opened a dialog while they were still in Colorado. They returned east with the idea of opening their own restaurant/ small inn outside of New York City. One of the areas they have been considering is the area in which I live, the Upper Hudson River Valley. Last spring they came up to look at a few possibilities and i arranged for a good friend of mine, who is a Realtor and very interested in food to show them around the area. Though nothing has come of that visit as far as finding the right location for their project, it was great to finally meet each other and continue a dialog. My friend, Tom and I thought wouldn't it be fun to bring them up to do a dinner for us and some friends. He and his wife are people we always enjoy being with and we thought we could include a few more people. Alex and Aki were off to Montana for the summer, but would be back for the fall. We met up again at the Starchefs International Chefs Congress in NYC in September and firmed up our plans for this weekend. It would be fun to actually experience what I had been admiring visually and conceptually for so long. We thought of friends of ours who we hadn't been able to get together with for too long who would be the perfect complement for this meal. Greg and Sharon Taylor, the former owners of The Friends Lake Inn in Chestertown, N.Y. were instrumental in my wife and my culinary development in the 90's as we frequented great wine dinners at the Inn and became close friends with them. After they sold the Inn, which continues to do a great business they built (literally) a new house on Friends Lake and altered their hospitality approach to that of a small, but luxurious B&B, The Fern Lodge. When Alex first gave me a price for the meal, I almost gagged as it was considerably higher then I naively expected. Nevertheless, after consulting with Tom and his wife and the Taylors we determined that we would go ahead. Tom and I would split the cost of paying for the dinner, while the Taylors would host the dinner, house Alex and Aki and provide most of the wine that we would enjoy. As I hope to show with this topic without mentioning the specific cost, the weekend was an absolute bargain.

All the way from his restaurant, Calima in Marbella, Spain, Dani García discussed and demonstrated the influence of Andalusian Landscapes on his culinary work. Jose Andres, the irrepressible chef from Washington, D.C. translated. Garcia showed clips of the Andalusian landscape and fascinating examples of his work based on those land and seascapes. One dish, "Below the Sea - The Ocean and the Mist" used various edible components to produce a seascape worthy of many an aquarium. For landscapes he showed "El Torcal de Antequera: Andalusian Rocks Eroded with Time and Seen in Winter, with Chocolate and Orange." Images, descriptions and recipes for these dishes and several others can be found in this PDF article (in Spanish). There is an English translation of the recipe for "El Torcal" in the Starchefs Program. Another dish he focused on with an on-site demonstration was "The Ingot of Liquid Gold." Garcia's "Liquid Gold". This is a mixture of "aromatic water", gold dust and vegetable gelatin heated to 69ºC. Getting the gold hot and liquidy. At room temperature it is a fairly solid gel. An expert with working with liquid nitrogen, Garcia gave tips for using it safely. For example, It will harmlessly roll off bare skin, but becomes dangerous should it become absorbed in fabric." Dani Garcia through the haze of liquid nitrogen An unabashed promoter of Andalusian olive oil, Garcia employs a double entendre as he mixes olive oil with pulverized gold then siphons it into liquid nitrogen, fishes it out and puts it through a Pacojet to get a mousse like consistency, which he then puts in ingot molds and freezes it to -30ºC. To get it really cold he dips the bar into liquid nitrogen for several seconds then dips it into the molten gold to coat it and make it shiny resembling a real gold ingot. Garcia composes the plate with ground macadamia nuts and Caviar de Ríofrío

You get what you pay for, though I have always had good luck with president's Choice products when I could find them. It doesn't surprise me that you would get crap for $5.00, but it does surprise me that you got crap from President's Choice.

Frankly, unless you have trouble tolerating the meds, have specific contraindications or cost is a major issue, I would not worry about avoiding them as they are very good and even reverse some disease that is already there.

Reading all the lists in that 2007 Restaurant issue of Gayot shows me it is all BS. I suspect that they simply missed the inclusion of TFL on the list. ooops Even so, I think they tried too hard to be geographically inclusive. I'm not saying that NYC is where all the great restaurants or chefs are at, by any stretch, but really, not one of their top five pastry chefs from NYC? C'mon. I will take Michelin's lists over Gayot any day.

Very cool. Does the phone need special software to use the photo to get the info?

You got me with a good typo, Judith! My spellchecker obviously missed it as did I. As for the Buffalo milk skin, you are absolutely correct about the carrageenan as kappa carrageenan is used along with buffalo mozzarella, milk, salt, pepper and a thermomix at 80ºC.

Shannon Bennett of Vue de Monde in melbourne, Australia was up next with his uniquely theatrical cuisine was up next with a presentation entitled Improv Theatre: Dishes Born from Quick Inspirations. Theater has always been an element of fine dining whether it was old-world style table-side finishing of dishes to contemporary open kitchens and bar-seating in front of restaurants. Bennett is a showman with his cooking, adding modern theatricality to his cuisine based on good flavor. He focused in this demonstration on the preparation of a specific dish, "5 Minute Bouillabaisse with Toro Tartare, Buffalo Milk Skin and Aromatic Herbs." The title of this is deceptively simple. Though the actual cooking time is brief, the prep time is probably quite lengthy. A Cona pot used to make the bouillabaisse The Cona pot set up and ready for action Setting up the Cona for the infusion. Bennette added crayfish bones, shaved fennel, shallots, tomato puree, carrot, tarragon, basil, thyme, celery leaves, crayfish antennae and spies to the top bowl. Mussdel stock was poured ino the lower boowl. Beginning assembly of the plate with toro tartare Heat was applied to the mussel stock The Cona pot wsa placed over the stock. s the stock heated a vacuum was created forcing the stock up into the top bowl where it was infused by the ingredients there. The vacuum was broken and the infused stock returned to the bottom pot. Buffalo milk skin had been applie over the toro, rouille dots were placed on the skin and covered with baby basil shoots and Chef Bennett poured the infused stock over the dish. The final plate: 5 Minute Bouillabaisse with Toro tartare, Buffalo Milk Skin and Aromatic Herbs. I tasted the infused stock backstage. It was delicious.

Did Trotter eat the duck liver? Was it foie gras or simply plain old duck liver? Nice pics. Thanks for sharing. Looks like it was a great meal.

I just found this photo of Arzak's finished squab dish:

You could always do the degustation and add a dish or two depending on what is on the degustation that day. Either way, I don't think you can go wrong.

Thanks, Bueno. The pleasure is mine as it helps me keep a sense of my meals in my feeble memory. That some people read and enjoy these posts make it all the more worthwhile and satisfying. I hope to be able to continue to keep you well fed.

I have to agree. It doesn't sound very appealing, but I would try it with an open mind. I had Joan Roca's oyster with distilled earth and found it to be very good, though that isn't intuitive either. nevertheless, I doubt that this would ever catch on in more than a small handful of restaurants. I'm glad that this is able to provide something of interest to some people. It helps justify my being there as an amateur amongst all those great chefs and media professionals.

This mirrored my wife an my own situation so well I just had to quote it. The rest of Andy's report just nailed this restaurant so perfectly, I do not need to repeat it. I will add a few photos from our lunch just before hopping the BART back to Oakland airport for our trip back east. I wish we had gone earlier as I would have repeated it probably several times. I don't know that the food is necessarily that much better than elsewhere, but the love and the soul really shine through. If I lived in San Francisco, I would dine here regularly. We actually arrived before the opening time of 11:30 since we didn't have much time and I did not want to get shut out. We were actually the second ones there. My wife had the most purely flavored and smoothest pumpkin soup imaginable. I had outstanding halibut ceviche with avocado, hearts of palm and house-made potato chips for an opener. Chef Leary and one of his two assistants working behind the bar. My wife's treviso salad with sottocenare and walnuts was perfectly balanced. The truffle in the sottocenare gave off just the right amount of truffleness without overwhelming the balance of the salad. Piping hot, this carbonara was divine and a prfect example of a dish that just seemed better because of the place and all that has gone into it. Somehow, I didn't get a photo of the excellent quince tart we shared for dessert. Let the lightbulb go off in your head and get to Canteen .

It was indeed savory. This was apple pie a la mode and with cheddar cheese all in one. This was a good example of a deconstruction/reconstruction that worked well even if there is nothing wrong with the original. The presentations were not hypermodern in the Alinea, elBulli, wd-50 way, though I suspect that Patterson uses modern technique in his preparations. He is adventurous with ingredients with a very strong Japanese ingredient palette amongst other areas of influence. The restaurant minus the decor and atmosphere reminded me of Blue Hill at Stone Barns more than it reminded me of any other single restaurant.

There are small towns and there are small towns.