cabrales

Steve -- In case you are interested, I noticed on a recent visit to Troisgros that the 1990 H Jayer is now labelled "collection" (without a price on the wine list; I forget whether its price was labelled when I sampled). The 1991 is at Euros 370; the 1992 at Euros 350. I did not order either, choosing instead a modest Griottes Chambertin, a nice Corton Charlemagne Bonneau de Martray 1992, and a Puligny-Montrachet "Les Demoiselles" 1993 Madame Francois Colin.

dlc -- Apologies; I don't know. I recently had some at Troisgros, and they were not shy about serving it. That restaurant, I have observed, has at least two largely identically endowed cheese platters. Sometimes one of them is moved around to a table by being carried by two dining room team members. Also, I don't consider myself particularly knowledgeable about cheese, although I like some varieties enough and am trying to gain knowledge.

Steve -- I can't address Hevin's motivations, but Christian Constant not only has sorbet/ice creams, but also has a relatively robust traiteur operation. Herme sells ice cream too (including in the Ishpahan, spelling, flavor), along with coffee beans, mini sandwiches and other items.

Do members have any updates on this restaurant?

When loufood and I visited the J-P Hevin shop in question, it *only* had prepackaged items. There were individual bags with a single chocolate, but they were prepackaged too. Most of the selections in the individual bags were included in our box, upon a quick skim. Even the macarons were pre-packaged and not available individually at this particular store. Interestingly, J-P Hevin sells ice cream too (not sampled).

Matthew -- Are you aware of any of the short-haul airlines out of the various London area airports that fly to Girona? How do you plan to get from Girona or Barcelona airport to Roses, if you are not driving?

Helena -- There are different types of products at different levels of cost. If the abalone you describe is very inexpensive, it could be purchased and sampled depending on a diner's desires. I wouldn't subjectively buy it, though. One can buy dried whole abalone in certain US Asian food markets, but one should be very careful.

Jon -- Recently, I have already been skipping bread/butter (I know this is shocking for some members; I like to sample butter, but intake has been reduced lately) and petit fours, for most meals. When I currently order cheese, it is one or two blues only or Vacherin or Epoisses, if in prime condition. Usually one type of cheese, and requested in small quantities.

Dried abalone one purchases in Asia has to be rehydrated and then prepared, usually using braising methods. Obviously, dried abalone cannot be eaten as sashimi. When it is of top quality and prepared skillfully and larger, it is a real delicacy. The best quality abalone are presented whole, for dried abalone. One has to be very careful not to be tricked when purchasing dried abalone as with other "expensive" ingredients. The Ed Q&A has a question posed on canned abalone -- Calmex, which appears to be one of the stronger brands (Mexican abalone). There are versions from, say, Australia as well. I have been sampling a couple, and still believe Calmex is more attractive than any other cans I have sampled. The fresh abalone that began this thread is what one can find at, say, Sushi Yasuda in NYC (not always available).

I wonder whether Oishii gets mentioned so much because it's very good, or because its competitors are relatively weak.

Wilfrid -- You know that question is somewhat moot for me.

N.B. After discussion with Cabrales, we've pulled her questions to fresh_a off this thread. They will appear elsewhere on this board. I've been in contact with fresh_a who has generously agreed to answer questions as well as he can about his profession and about restaurants from his professional perspective. Cabby posted her question at about the same time as fresh_a and I were sending each other messages. I thought her long list of questions were off topic in this thread and result in the thread being hijacked, whereas they would be far more interesting and effective in a new thread devoted to questions to a concierge. Cabby and I agreed and now I need a day or so to work out the details. We don't want to chase fresh_ a off the site with our imposition, so let me see how he'd like it handled. I look forward to this thread. Bux

Bux's explanation is about right, as to my concerns. I believe, at certain restaurants, there is a set of shared expectations as to how the dishes in a meal might generally progress. (By the way, I happen to believe that restaurants expect clients to order aperatifs, although that is not necessarily the prevalent practice and I like ordering champagne regardless of whether it is expected.) It is not a question of a restaurant trying to maximize a client's expenditures, nor a question of inflexibility on the part of the restaurant. Perhaps more a question of the ebbs and flows of a meal. (On very rare occasions, I have felt like cheese *and* dessert are expected to be ordered, although that is much more the exception.) Note I would rate myself as fairly secure, both personally and with respect to the cultures with which I identify. It's a question of choosing to embrace the norms in which one places herself (I happen to agree wholeheartedly with those norms and to enjoy them, so there's not much of an issue in my case, except with respect to desserts and cheese.)

US abalone, fresh, tends to be crunchier and denser than conch or any of the clams generally found in US sashimi venues. It has a wonderful crispness. Second, fresh (and dried) abalone tends to have a little ridge of flesh material with little indentations, along certain of its outer perimenters. Nice texture there too. Third, abalone, which is principally white or off-white in its principal component, sometimes has some greyish or blackish material that is not akin to the coraile of scallop in taste, but that is something very different in taste and texture (softer, like ankima or monkfish liver) than the principal component of the abalone. That's my take. Abalone comes in many different types, the respective prices of which vary greatly. The very expensive abalone sampled in Chinese cuisine is not the same as the fresh US abalone.

Matthew -- El Raco de Can Fabes is a Michelin three-starred restaurant (together with El Bulli near Barcelona, and Arzak and Berasategui which are no within the Barcelona environs) that is arguably the natural accompaniment to a trip to El Bulli. http://www.relaischateaux.com/site/us/rech_rg.htm http://www.racocanfabes.com/gb.htm (property site, with indicative menu; indication closed Sunday nights and Monday; this can be lunch opportunity, for example) When I checked about a year ago, there was a direct train from Barcelona to San Celoni (requiring very vaguely 1 hour or so perhaps). However, you probably need a car for El Bulli and you could easily drive using the same car to San Celoni. There is a small inn in San Celoni (restaurant will tell you the name) that is the best bet, as it is steps away reported from Can Fabes. You might want to review recent discussions on Espai Sucre as well, which I have also never visited.

Steve -- Thanks If the Degas exhibit were not coming up, I would be quite tempted to plan a day-trip for this weekend.

I am considering implementation of the "no dessert and no cheese" policy for many of my meals in 2003, unless I am taking in a prix fixe meal or I see a dessert listed in Michelin. I ask whether it would be possible to not order dessert and not order cheese, and stick with digestif or coffee after the principal dish (perhaps after a little break). It reflects a number of considerations: 1) my desire to diet, 2) my not liking chocolate (I rarely eat petit fours, chocolate or otherwise), and 3) my liking mostly blue cheese. Where I feel the dining room team might react negatively to this policy, I will order dessert or cheese. Any way to make the situation less potentially akward?

Well, if it's not the dried Chinese type abalone and it is fresh abalone, sashimi.

Le Bec Fin recently regained five Mobil stars, a designation that is very significant to Perrier. http://www.lebecfin.com/eventDetail.cfm?id=2 Note the good-valued lunch at $40. A five-course chefs' choice (presumably) tasting is $67, also a good deal. The linked materials indicate that Perrier's signature dishes are crab cake, potato-encrusted squab and quenelles. Have members sampled these items? I do not believe I sampled them on prior visits (dated). Also interesting is the inclusion of certain signature dishes on the Bar Lyonnais menu, which might offer a good second meal (dinner) on a day trip to Philly. For example, the quenelle de brochet does not appear to be on the indicative lunch menu. A NY-based member could wake up at a decent hour on a weekend, take a bus to Philly, take in Perrier's $67 lunch degustation, visit the upcoming Degas/Dancers exhibit, and then take in a quick dinner at Bar Lyonnais before a return to NY. Hours of restaurant not yet verified. The Degas exhibit runs Feb 12 - May 11, at the Philly Museum of Art. http://www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/exh...its/degas.shtml

I am a subscriber -- no wonder I have not received a magazine in a while. I wonder if I can get my money back. The last version I received had a "drawn" cover, and featured game (gibiers).

With all respect to patissiers, I'm considering relinquishing the ordering of all desserts (unless they're part of a prix fixe menu) -- not just all chocolate desserts -- in France and elsewhere. If I didn't think that relinquishing dessert and cheese would not be well-received by restaurants, I would have done so on my last trip. In the US, I am going to begin experiments in this regard as part of my plans for 2003. I might order a digestif in place. Only an experiment.

tarka -- I assume you are also visiting El Raco Can Fabes at San Celoni, which can be accessed by a quick train ride from Barcelona? Note I have visited neither Can Fabes nor El Bulli at this point, but Can Fabes could be worth the quick journey.

The Conrad is in Pacific Place, a nice shopping center that has an MTR subway stop on the same line as Central. Taxis are also readily available from several locations within this huge complex. Of limited interest to foodies and very convenient might be the Japanese department store inside the Pacific Place complex -- its basement, like most other Japanese department stores in HK -- has a food fair of sorts for Japanese food. The sushi is not the best item to sample, but some hot foods are passable. If you are looking for a quick, mediocre-quality snack very close to your hotel, there could be some interesting items to sample there. This is extremely inexpensive food.

What are yu-sheng and jai? I believe trillium's reference to jai is to a primarily-or-all-vegetarian dish. Typically, over the New Year, it contains, among other things "fat choy" (not formal translation) -- a black vermicelli-thin seaweed or vegetable material (?) -- and might contain certain limited non-vegetarian items (e.g., dried oysters, which are pronounced "ho see", sounding like "good things"). The vegetable dish will usually have Chinese black mushrooms, and have a brown-colored sauce. "Jai" generically can refer to Buddhist vegetarian cuisine when used in certain contexts. However, that is not the New Year's reference.

Pan -- When you have a chance, please consider discussing what winemakers were available to be visited in Chablis.