cabrales

Jonathan -- I recently purchased the book, along with the following: "The Invention of the Restaurant: Paris and Modern Gastronomic Culture", by Rebecca Spang. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/067...2505362-3096919 I will probably read the above within the next month or month-and-a-half, and could provide a short summary. I don't know whether that's timely. In addition, there are a few relevant out-of-print books in my gastronomic books collection that I try to draw from.

In Its "Saveur 100", Saveur (US) rates as the finest French market ("shell game", referring to seafood presumably) the Halle de Lyon. Maison Rousseau is named as a shellfish vendor and restaurant where, on a weekday morning (presumably very early), one can sample oysters, mussels, clams, etc. Escargots are also described as being available.

Since the Charles Barrier full menu is not available online, I have typed up the current menu below, with very rough translations into English: Appetizers -- Foie gras de canard des Landes confit au sel gris accompagne de pain aux figues 26 euros (Duck foie gras from the Landes, confit with grey salt and accompanied by bread that has figs) --Grosses langoustines croustillantes aux saveurs d'epices, legumes confits 36 euros (Large cruncy langoustines with flavors of spices and confit vegetables) -- Fricassee de legumes du Val de Loire et lard paysan, parfume aux herbes 20 euros (Fricassee of vegetables from the Loire region with lard, perfumed with herbs) -- Demi homard Breton au beurre de coquillages flambe au Calvados 34 euros (1/2 of a Brittany lobster, with a butter of clam-and-mussel-family seafood, flambeed in Calvados) -- Creme de potimarron a l'huile de noix, tartine de pain grillee aux champignons 14 euros (Cream of pumpkin with walnut oil, tartine of grillede bread with mushrooms) -- Nage de coquilles Saint Jacques et huitres de Cancale 24 euros (Nage of scallops and oysters from Cancale) -- Ballottine de poule faisane aux foies gras chaud et lentilles tiedes 26 euros (Ballottine of chicken with hot foie gras and warm lentils) FISH DISHES --Homard Breton meuniere a la fleur de sel, pomme de terre "Charlotte" 60 euros (Brittany lobster, meuniere style with fleur de sel, "Charlotte" potatoes) -- Noix de coquilles Saint Jacques d'Erquy, poelee de champignons 26 euros (Scallops from Erquy, pan-fried mushrooms) -- Grosse sole meuniere aux tourteaux, puree de pommes de terre parfumee aux herbes 35 euros (Large sole, meuniere style, with crab, potato puree with herbs) -- Turbotin roti au four accompagne de legumes de saison pour deux personnes 60 euros (Oven-roasted turbot accompjanied by seasonal vegetables -- for two people) Meat and Dessert dishes not typed in. Menus are at 36, 56 and 75 euros.

Helena -- Thank-you

Ed -- With respect to getting a gastronomic banquet at Ping's together, is that something in your plans? (There might be a range of preferences among members as to price per person, based on another thread) Also, what wine would tend to go well with the type of lobster dish you described?

Vivremanger -- What period are you interested in getting the specialties for? I have an almost complete set of Michelin guides since the early 1980s, and the guides contain a very few dishes for each restaurant in each year's guide.

You aren't supposed to chop the scallions. You are supposed to slice it parallel to the grain so it curls in thin strips while it heats in the sauce/oil. tissue -- Different restaurants have different preparations for the scallions. They can, for example, be chopped into cross-sections. It depends on the formality of the restaurant, among other things. Microwaving is, in my mind, a way to destroy fish flesh. I use the microwave a great deal, but, even when special equipment might be deployed, microwaving might not be the ideal way to prepare steamed fish.

Below is a description of an event relating to the tastings of wines from Ukraine and Georgia. Note that I received the information from a group with a certain number of people participating, and I am unsure whether the event is available generally. Have members sampled wines from those regions before? Might the event be worth attending? "... Lincoln Center on Friday, January 24, 2003 at 7:30pm for a very special Lincoln Center inaugural chamber concert Masterpieces of the Russia Underground ­ preceded by a **tasting of wines at 6:30 PM from the Republics of Ukraine, Georgia and the sweet wines of Massandra.*** The concert begins with a panel discussion led by ABC News anchor Peter Jennings. The distinguished Russian Pianist Vladimir Feltsman, who defected to the West many years ago, and Artist Members of the Chamber Music Society perform works of Shostakovich, Schnittke and other composers who kept artistic integrity alive despite Soviet political oppression of the arts. Many of these musical masterpieces reflecting the complex relationship between art and politics in the former Soviet Union have never been heard in the West. $40 tickets [this is part of a group rate; may not be available to members, who should verify] include the wine tasting, illuminating panel discussion and concert. Best bargain in town (below retail). Tickets are selling out fast. Please call Cathy Levin at Lincoln Center (212-875-5787) ..."

I have wondered about how marrons glaces can be made into ice cream. I had a delicious marrons (chestnut -- not candied chestnut) ice cream at Jean Bardet recently. Gordon Ramsay has, as Jon suggested, some good ice creams as well. I particularly like his milk flavored ice cream. At Greuze, as lizziee and others mentioned, Marc de Burgogne is made into a sorbet. I would imagine lavender syrup or rose syrup from Provence could be utilized in sorbet, as could absynthe (sp.), for that matter.

Varmint -- That's a question (together with the question of how the time of death impacts the taste of the fish) on which I do not have meaningful insight. However, there is a reason that many Chinese restaurants have fishtanks. In at least modern Chinese cuisine, the idea is that "fresh" fish (i.e., fish killed for the purposes of the meal shortly before the fish is cooked) is more delicious, *particularly for steaming*, than fish that has been lying around dead for a while. Fat Guy and I discussed briefly a long time ago whether, under the alternative view, it might not be good to keep fish alive in tanks for meaningful periods of time. For me, this is a very interesting question. On the Nobu new style sashimi, when jordyn and I visited Morimoto's Philly restaurant and ordered omakase, we received a dish with hot oil similarly poured over the sashimi as well.

Varmint -- What is your plan regarding whether the fish to be steamed will be kept alive until shortly prior to steaming? Do you plan to utilize relatively freshly terminated fish (this represents a departure from French and US cuisine practices of receiving fish that has been killed and then placed over ice)? I love Chawanmushi and Chinese steamed egg preparations.

For whole fish steamed Chinese style, an alternative is to season a bit before steaming and then pour heated oil (sometimes mixed with soy sauce and/or chopped spring onions or ginger) over the skin of the fish when the steaming is completed. For steamed fish, members might wish to consider sampling in particular the cheeks and the gelatinous material inside the head.

Further thoughts: I'm not aware of the practices at the particular chocolatier in question, but in many cases chocolates can be purchased in smaller quantities than a pound. They are frequently available by piece for certain varieties of chocolates, with weighing done in a precise manner. Thus, a small amount can be sampled at limited cost. The host, if she thought that appreciation of chocolates (like any other food item) was subjective, might not worry that the guests have a different subjective assessment of the quality of her chocolates. For example, I have a very limited ability to discern differences among dark chocolates and do not particularly like chocolate. If somebody invited me to a dinner and I did not appreciate the chocolate, my host should not infer anything negative about the chocolate (nor about me). She might take the position that preferences are subjective.

Below is a link to a Bonjour Paris report on the opening of Aux Lyonnais: http://www.bparis.com/newsletter1464/newsl...m?doc_id=136893 P Wells' report on Aux Lyonnais: http://www.patriciawells.com/reviews/iht/iht.htm Note that Vigato might now have two "bistros". Apologies I can't respond to the question on why baby bistros are appealing.

Further thoughts: -- If the guests are so limited in their analytical abilities that they judge a host who is purportedly a good friend (the case where the host would most care about the views of the guests) based on his choice of chocolates, those guests are not particularly attractive as friends to begin with, in general. -- The guests and the host might see the sampling of the chocolate as a process, with the cost of the chocolate being the cost of undergoing the process -- without assurances about a good outcome (i.e., more delicious chocolate). In this light, having tasted even bad chocolate would partially justify the cost of the chocolate. On the Pounds 450 meal, note that it is for two people.

"They" might well neither undertake either course of action. Their guests might be sufficiently knowledgeable that the guests could tell the difference, or the host of the chocolate might not care whether the guests knew. The host would only be embarassed to disclose the cost "for being thought a fool" if (1) the chocolates were not of sufficiently high quality relative to lower-priced chocolates, in the *host's* mind, (2) the host believed the guests could tell the difference between high and low quality chocolates, and (3) the host cared about what his guests thought *about the host* (instead of being confident in the host's own choice). It's like buying a diamond, in a way. Diamonds of very high quality can be very small, and there can be trade-offs, for any given price level, between size and the other attributes. I wouldn't chose a low quality, but large diamond over a small, high quality one. I don't need others to know my diamond is so pristine. I just need to know. It's the same reason I refuse to wear imitation jewelry.

I agree. For me, no part of France is inaccessible to visit for a sufficiently interesting restaurant.

robert -- An interesting implied point in your post. I've been surprised in inferring how far (or not) within France members are willing to travel to sample a restaurant. Given the generally broad coverage and efficiency of the French railway systems and most members' ability to drive, why wouldn't a commute of, say, 2-5 hours be justified and wouldn't that type of commute make available many restaurants, relative to any given origination point? I'm surprised that Lyons is not more frequently accessed from Paris, for example. That's a TGV ride of less than 2 hours! Or take the three-stars in Rheims and Joigny -- each is also within 2 hours by train of Paris.

It would be wonderful if I could steam chawanmushi. However, that does not appear to be an attainable goal right now.

loufood -- When you have a chance, please ask your friend to obtain details, if readily available, on the costs of membership in Le Cercle and on an indicative menu for that facility.

I recently discussed Le Cercle with a former lead chef for that part of Lucas-Carton. Apparently, Le Cercle offers slightly less gastronomic cuisine than the restaurant, but helps the overall economics of the restaurant. There might also be ego-related benefits derived by certain Le Cercle members, one might imagine. I will continue follow-up at appropriate times.

southern girl -- Might additional information be available on this project at present?

Bux, his wife Esilda and I sampled alligator at the NY restaurants show at Jacob Javitts earlier this year. The stand promoting the meat was close to the demonstration arena where we had just watched Chefs Barber and Anthony of Blue Hill demonstrate desserts. The alligator meat was fried in a saucepan, and was of medium fattiness. It tasted similar to pork or chicken, but seemed a bit more moist than most pork preparations. The meat was whitish in color.

robert -- Does the book indicate whether Brazier had one restaurant or two operating during the decade? Was only one of her restaurant three-stars at any given point? Somehow, I remember vaguely reading somewhere that the current location of La Mere Brazier is not the original venue where E Brazier worked.

I recently had a very good lunch at Lucas-Carton (76 euros for the food portion, based on the "menu d'affaires" or "business lunch menu"). Steamed duck liver from Landes wrapped in a cabbage leaf, in the vapor, paired with Jurancon "Symphonie de Novembre", Domaine Cauhape, H. Ramonteu 1996 (my very first three-star dish ever and now a nostalgic favorite of mine, after a resampling several months ago) Roasted pigeon from Kernivinen, "miroir" sauce, served with a creamy corn purée flavoured with white truffle [not slices, might have been oil], paired with Saint-Estephe Frank Phelan 1996 (second wine of Phelan-Seour). -- Polenta in this dish does not compare to very good polenta with sliced white truffles appetizer sampled previously. However, the polenta was surprisingly nice with the red-wine-based sauce of the pigeon preparation. The pigeon was delicious, and generous in proportion for lunch (about the size of dinner entrees, I would say) Chocolate coulant from "Samana" vintage 2001 pure cocoa from the Saint-Domingue Bay, paireed with Tawny 20-year port. This is not at all the Bras version of the "upright" coulant. Senderens had a flattish dish, and much less gateau surrounding the runniness of the chocolate. I ordered this to investigate the coulant, despite not particularly appreciating chocolate. http://www.lucascarton.com/page-dejeuner-a...-entrees-us.htm