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I think that this is a better role for the internet and sites like eGullet that are able to give a more dynamic picture of a restaurant at any given time. The problem with a review of a new restaurant by a meedium such as the NYT is that becomes its set opinion unless and until it is reviewed again. A restaurant may be terrible, but if it is making solid progress it should be given a chance to stabilize in that context.

"Haute and basic" were my words used to paraphrase points Fat Guy made in his posts. They were not a quote. I don't really want to argue who offered what definition. The salient point is that the definition is either so wide that whatever paradigm it may be it is not new or so narrow as to be almost irrelevent at this time.

Maybe he dropped the $2k on the bottle because he wanted it and he could do it. The restaurant response may or may not have been secondary to it, though I'm sure it didn't hurt.

for sure. what does this have to do with Per Se? ← Though the title restaurant, this topic goes well beyond Per Se and cuts to cultural diferences in restaurant management at the highest levels. While I agree with Fat Guy's assesment above, I still think that one should not be presed for time in a 3* establishment. That being said, I have not had that experience at either Per Se or TFL.

how does this differ from: "chef-driven haute and rustic cooking combined in an informal, casual atmosphere."? ← I didn't mean to shortchange you, Nathan, but as I have tried to indicate, the broadness of your definition makes it such that there really isn't anything new about it. Fat Guy's definition went into more detail, but as such limited it to the point that I don't think it really includes much beyond Momofuku. That was the point about my going through a list of restaurants upthread that meet some but not all criteria for the definition. A trend and a paradigm may yet fit into the tight definition, I just don't think it does yet.

I just found it odd that Bruni would comment on the fact that it has been improving, but continued to review it now anyway. I would think that for a new restaurant in flux, it would be fair and pruent to wait until it stabilized. If it continued to just be uneven that would be one thing, but I would think the more pertinent and useful review would be when the restaurant shook out and declared itself. That could have been one month, two months or one year.

Based on the comments in this topic on Provence, the restaurant, it sounds like Bruni's photograph in time of this restaurant was accurate, however, I have to question his reviewing a restaurant 2 months out from opening that he described as improving. If the restaurant showed no signs of improvement or got worse it would be one thing, but to give a mediocre review to a new place that seemed to be getting better just doesn't seem fair. He probably should have waited until it reached a plateau.

So . . . . the people who don't believe in it should be in charge of that? ← I just think it's rather curious that not one example offered by anyone else has been deemed acceptable. ← I don't think that it is all that curious given the tightness of the definition. Certainly if taking Nathan's definition at face value, the field is wide open, but then it becomes clear that the paradigm really isn't new. What makes it a new paradigm perhaps follows more along Fat Guy's definition, which is haute and basic cuisine on the same menu in a casual atmosphere though not necessarily cheap. The only restaurant that clearly fits that bill to me is Momofuku. The problem is I see it is that one restaurant does not justify using a term "paradigm." Other restaurants that have been used to support the paradigm such as Bouley Upstairs or R4D do have some elements of the paradigm, but in general their paradigm isn't really new or totally consistent with that used to describe Momofuku. Bouley Upstairs doesn't really have the menu mix that MSB does and resembles many other restaurants that are casual offshoots of more haute restaurants. R4D is a dessert bar with modern trimming. While it is a relatively new concept, it isn't really mixing haute and basic desserts. It owes more to the Adriaesque Vanguardist movement than anything else. At this point I see this new paradigm as being nothing more than wishful thinking, although it does have the potential to become a truly new paradigm if the Momofuku style really catches on.

I agree that in a three star restaurant one should not have to worry about turning a table. This is especially true at a restaurant like Per Se at which there is only one ordering option.

For Mondays I can suggest Rias de Galicia, a bit pricey but quite possibly the best Galician in the city. If you like seafodd, this is heaven. ←

Funny thing is Président is one of the better butters available in the US. What that says is that a lot of French industrial food is still better than most of what is available in the US. Real artisanal butter is very difficult to find in the US. One generally has to settle for the best of the industrial brands.

The orange with mushrooms and shrimp, though not intuitive is that much of a stretch. I don't think any of us would have been too surprised had the citrus been lemon or lime rather than orange. I suppose the orange adds a little sweetness beyond its citric acid depth. Nevertheless, it is intriguing. In the other mushroom and shrimp dish (nice variation on "mare e montagne") you say, Stevarino, that the shrimp was added after the mushrooms, but the dish was done as soon as the shrimp turned pink. I would have to think that the mushrooms cooked for some time prior to the addition of the shrimp. That is the shrimp did not immediately follow the mushrooms?

If enough people weren't willing to spend $8 for those eggs, they wouldn't be $8. Whether they are that much (or any) better than other eggs is impossible for me to say as I haven't had them. I think that it is unlikely that they are better enough than the eggs I buy at $3/dozen at my farmer's market to make them worth it to me, but that isn't really the point. The point is that obviously, for whatever reason(s) they are clearly worth it to somebody. I think that is great both for the producer as well as for those willing and happy to shell out the money for them. The Ferry Market is a wonderful place. I am glad that it exists and gets the attention and prices that it does. People have laughed at me when I spent the equivalent of $4 for a Frog Hollow peach after shipping. They may not be the cheapest or best value peaches available, but I do not know of better! People will pay for quality. The good part is that as more people are willing to pay for quality and more farmers are willing to make the investment to achieve that quality (because they are able to get a return) the more likely that markets for the the equipment and other components necessary to achieve that quality will become more widely available and cheaper, thereby making the quality produce more economical to grow and raise and ultimately cheaper for all.

Doesn't look like much of a skirmish let alone a WWIII foodfight, John Nevertheless, I am quite sure that you haven't "lost it"!

Another thing that makes Wing Lei special is that it is not a "chain". Chef Chen and the restaurant can only be found in Vegas. It is not a clone of some other restaurant somewhere else. As much as I loved L'Atelier, I can get it elsewhere. This is not something that one finds every day in Vegas.

Excellent report, David. Thanks for getting back to us. Interesting to see that your dishes were quite different from the ones Eliot and I had. Those spot prawns in particular sound amazing!

John, I think that there is a place for out-of-season foods, though they are clearly inferior with few exceptions to in-season produce. I personally don't mind the idea of ordering from other parts of the world to get the best and globalization has allowed that to occur to some degree (In the US it is hard to beat the flavor and juiciness of the peaches and other fruit from Frog Hollow in California, but they are definitely shipped in-season and are quite pricey as a result. One of the glories of eating in France as well as other parts of Europe is the amazing variety that eating seasonally offers. It is fun to look forward to the season of that special fruit or crustacean that one cherishes!

I am hoping to attend this year's Fancy Food Show at the Javits Center in July. Since this will be my first experience there and the volume of the show appears daunting, I would love to see what tips, tricks and strategies eGullet Society members have used and recommend for getting the most out of the show. Here, here, here, here here and here are topics on previous years' shows. I am particularly interested to know which eGullet Society members may be exhibiting, what they will be exhibiting and where they will be.

Thank you for the well-written and considered report. I have to admit that I prefer tortilla chips with guacamole too, as the cucumber and jicama seem to "water down" the guacamole flavor, while the chips enhance it. Nevertheless, it is a refreshing alternative. Those softshells sound incredible. Whenever I have a cocktail at a restaurant or cocktail bar, I enquireas to its relative sweetness and avoid those drinks characterized as sweet. There is a big market for those drinks and should be no wonder that they are offered. Good luck on your boards!

These are interesting articles, Salli, especially the latter. I can understand the love/hate relationship restaurants have with bloggers. It is not uncommon in the blogosphere for criticism to be leveled with a sharp knife. It can get or appear personal and especially galling when coming from anonymous or not otherwise identified pen-named bloggers. On the other hand some chef/restauranteurs have particularly thin skin. I think that in general restaurants have benefitted greatly from the internet including organizations like ours and individual bloggers. As blogs have proliferated though, it gets more and more difficult to keep track of them. The quality can be exceptional, but it is a full-time job to keep track of them. As such, I only regularly read a select few. I generally prefer to focus my attention here as it continues to be an excellent source for discussion on a wide range of topics and areas. I do find a number of blogs to be particularly good resources when I am interested in exploring specific areas either conceptually or geographically.

Interesting, though a bit pricey for a vintage without a significant pedigree. I paid about the same a couple of years ago for a 750ml bottle of Yquem from 1959, my own birth year. Thanks for the tip. Has anyone here tried the 60 Yquem?

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I haven't seen anything available from Chianti or Piedmont and haven't read of anything in particular to search out. Given that I haven't seen that vintage considered great anywhere, I am not necessarily expecting something amazing. I would hopefully find something decent and worth drinking to celebrate a family milestone with. The port option is certainly becoming more interesting.

Not to take anything away from the photgraphers, but how do you know that they are using minimal modification?

Are things still pretty much on schedule? At this point when do you expect to open?

In the sub-genre of restaurant food photography, I haven't come across much better than molto e's.