cabrales

Espai Sucre and Comerc 24 are included in an article in The Observer from this summer: http://travel.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,...4434473,00.html

Chef Ripert -- I'd appreciate any available updates on your consulting role with respect to Geisha, including examples of flavor combinations. To what extent (if any) have certain dishes at Le Bernardin evolved as you have further explored spices and herbs from Asia and other parts of the world?

marcus -- Yes. But note that Krug also offers Clos de Mesnil, a single grape champagne. My favorite champagnes are Salon, aged Ruinart Blanc de Blancs (latter is subjective preference), and others too. I need to work on vocabulary to describe wine tastes. Perhaps when I have time, I need to attend a basic wine tasting course. (I also really like Bollinger R.D., most vintages, even though it is not a single grape and has qualities different from most of the other champagnes I like. On Bollinger R.D., it should be noted that this wine appears to be underpriced at both Arzak and Berasategui, at slightly under or over $100. Relative to other champagnes' mark-ups at those restaurants, that was not a bad deal. I find Bollinger R.D. works well in many meal contexts.)

In the January/February 2003 edition of the AmEx magazine Departures, Arthur Lubow describes certain of the "newer generation" chefs around Barcelona. The article is entitled "Barcelona: Way Beyond Tapas". Note I have not sampled the cuisine of any of the younger chefs featured. After an hommage to Adria, Lubow describes: -- Akimia is in Barcelona's Eixample district. Among the dishes described is a "fried egg" composed of cauliflower cream with candied lemon and caramelized onion flavors. The interior is egg-yolk ice cream and sevruga. The chef is Jordi Vila. Address: 79 Carrer Industria; 207-61-15 (unclear what numbers to dial before this). -- At Hisop, the chefs are Oriol Ivern and Guillem Pla. 9 Passatge Marimon. 241-32-33. -- At Santa Maria restaurant in Barcelona (not to be confused with Chef Santamaria of three-starred Con Fabes close to Barcelona), the chef is Paco Guzman. 17 Carrer Comerc 315-12-27. --> Also in the El Born district is Comerc 24 (recently opened by El Bulli disciple Carles Abellan). Comerc 24 is recommended by Adra. "Carles Abellan surely understands our spirit . . . He was here nine years, and we have talked often in the kitchen. I think that Comerc 24 is very nice because it is accessible to all the customers. It's fun", Adria noted. Abellan noted, "I don't want to be super creative, I want to be medium creative." Indicative dishes are asparagus with mayonnaise foam; sardines marinated in balsamic or fried in parmesan; onions tempura with soy-foam dip. Prices $40 for festival menu of tapas; average price also $40. 24 Carrer Comerc. 319-21-02. --> Espai Sucre is very close to Comerc 24. It was opened by Jordi Butron, whom F Adria's brother (A Adria and pastry chef at El Bulli) considers to "make the best desserts in Spain". "Cold tea soup with spiced team ice cream and surrounded by pureed and minced tropical fruits and fine-chopped macadamia nuts"; "peppered milk with a yellow citrus cream, slivered Granny Smith apples, toffee, and a few spicy arugula leaves"; "tea cream, a black sesame wafer, a pool of unsweened yoghurt, a coffee-and-chocolate cake, sweet grapes, and a scoop of ice cream". Five course menu for $30. Three-course meal for $20. Savory dishes $9-11. 53 Carrer Princesa, 268-16-30.

Grimes describes Terrance Brennan's Seafood & Chophouse in today's NYT (Diner's Journal). This is the restaurant in the Benjamin Hotel that has replaced An American Place. Grimes notes that the restaurant is "the culinary equivalent of a Cadillac with tail fins", an American restaurant "harking back to an era where meat came in enormous portions . . . and desserts were either frozen or on fire." The described entrees include sirloin, filet mignon, porterhouse and rib-eye, with six potential sauces from which to choose or to be served with flavored butters or other items. Side dishes are $12 each. Seafood appears to be simply prepared with a sauce. Apparently, appetizers are heavy in raw bar items, although other items are available. Desserts include Baked Alaska and pecan pie cheesecake. Grimes concludes: "Mr. Brennan, a very refined chef, is obviously having a great time cruising right down the middle of the great American culinary road. His new restaurant is all text, no subtext, like that imposing charred lump of chateaubriand that arrives on a trolley, like the return of the repressed." I'm glad Grimes is back. I don't agree with many of Grimes' assessments, but, for me, they are better than Asimov's and his writing is more pleasing than that of Asimov.

The Winston Churchill is a cuvee that I have only sampled once before. The 1993 had some nice undergrowth notes on the nose, but its taste in the mouth and aftertaste were not particularly impressive. Note I tend to prefer single-grape Chardonnay champagnes, and the inclusion of the 1995 Pol Roger Brut 100% Chardonnay contributed, together with the Winston Churchill, to our selection of the Pol Roger flight. Note that that flight was not available upon an earlier visit to Bubbles. The 1993 Winston Churchill was included in, among possibly other things, a flight called Sourire de Reims et Epernay, consisting of (1) the 1993 Winston Churchill, (2) Krug Grand Cuvee, and (3) Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 1995 (which I would prefer to the Winston Churchill and have sampled at non-NY venues). That flight was $70. A slightly larger pour of any of the three included in that flight was $30. I almost ordered the deviled eggs ($7.50) at Bubbles. I'm not sure what the retailo price of Pol Roger non-vintage might be, but I like Jacques Selosse Blanc de Blanc (not available at all stores) in a lower price range (not necessarily at some stores in the US). I consider M&C White Star and Nectar Imperiale poor. They are unduly sweet. When I visited the M&C caves at Epernay, I was told that White Star was made specifically for the US market and is not consumed meaningfully in France.

lizziee -- As always, thanks for your efforts Have any members sampled Taillevent under Soliveres?

I had dinner at Lupa last night (bar area). The evening began with champagne at Bubbles. My dining companion and I shared a Pol Roger Flight, consisting of the following for $35 (3.50 oz pours of each): Pol Roger NV, Brut Reserve 1995 Brut, 100% Chardonnay 1995 Brut Rose 1993 Cuvee Winston Churchill While Pol Roger is not a particularly good producer, I wanted to sample this vintage of the Winston Churchill (ordinarily $30/glass for what the lounge member indicated was an intermediate pour between 3.75 oz and 5.75 oz). We proceeded to Lupa, where we secured a seat relatively promptly at the bar (with some proactiveness on my part). I had the $15 small platter entitled Affeti Piccolo (the larger version is $30). This included Proscuitto di Parma (purchased; everything else was house-made), Finocchiona, Salumi, Mortadella, and Testa (which was nicely moist). Overall, this disappointed me, relative to my expectations. The tastes were appropriate, perhaps good-minus. However, I have limited experience with most aspects of Italian cuisine and am not necessarily positioned to evaluate the quality of the various components of the platter. For entree, I had rigatoni with veal. I liked this dish, which was served in a generous portion. Nice cooked down veal, with a matching sauce, conveying home-cooking and wholesome sensations. With a muscato d'asti, a quartino (?) of Italian red and a flight of amaro (my dining companion was quite familiar with these, and Nina had previously pointed me to order them), the bill came to under $70 before tips. A good meal and a good value. Evaluation of quality of pasta overall not possible with one meal, but I see myself revisiting this restaurant despite my generally not preferring Italian cuisine. As Nina had mentioned to me, the amaro (bitter liquids with herbs) selection is extensive. A flight of around three brought a fourth that the restaurant offers to clients (due to certain amaros not being capable of being sold in the US). Tastes varied considerably, from ones that were thick and syrup-y to ones that were more appealing to me. Tastes included (very roughly, and not official descriptions): rhubarb; orange/mint; red berry; walnut/coffee/molasses, etc.

Artisanal breads would tend to be tastier than machine-produced breads, I hope.

Burgundian truffles are quite nice, and they are not white (nor of the Alba variety).

Yes, I've confirmed Le Regence is no longer at the Plaza Athenee. http://www.plaza-athenee-paris.com/us/index-us.html Only Ducasse affiliates are involved in restaurants at the Athenee now. There's a summer, informal restaurant called Cour Jardin, but that too is staffed by Ducasse personnel (I recall vaguely from a recent Thuries article on Ducasse's henchpeople). Even the bar is ostensibly (!) supervised by Ducasse personnel.

lizziee -- On the linked webpage, the last entry for Briffard's resume was as follows: "CHEF DES CUISINES - DIRECTEUR DU RESTAURANT LE RÉGENCE HÔTEL PLAZA ATHÉNÉE - 75008 Paris 1 Macaron Michelin, 18/20 Gault et Millau, 3 Etoiles Bottin Gourmand (Translated: "Chef de Cuisine -- Director of the Restaurant Le Regence, Hotel Plaza Athenee, 1 star Michelin, 18/20 G-M, 3 stars Bottin Gourmand") I believe Le Regence was the restaurant that predated Ducasse's restaurant as the "gastronomic" restaurant at the Plaza Athenee. It's possible Briffard has done something between the Plaza Athenee and beginning at Elysees (?). I'm uncertain about this, and have not sampled Briffard's cuisine.

When is this event? If it's in very early January, I could hand-carry some salted butter from Jean-Yves Bordier of Saint-Malo back to NY. He was named cremier of the year by this year's Champerade (spelling). He supplies butter to at least three of the Paris three-stars, Roellinger, Le Cinq, Frechon at the Bristol, and La Regelade.

I'd be interested in attending (obviously not as a participant in the bakeoff, nor as a judge, given my inexperience in evaluating bread). Perhaps I could be a non-judging eater at the event. On bread, Veyrat's Ferme de Mon Pere has a separate little hut (on the right hand side as one drives into the compound, before a building with the rooms) where bread is made. I noticed some recipes taped or otherwise attached to the wall and should have copied them down (including for Veyrat's version of a Poilane bread, which I found a bit interesting).

The Santamaria dinner might have been of interest to me, had it been on a weekend. Other better-known chefs are Regis Marcon and Michel del Burgo. I'm not sure how reputed the chefs from Spain are, other than Santamaria (no negative connotations, just absence of knowledge). I consider Coisel to be among the better one-stars in Paris, although not as strong as L'Espadon at the Ritz (which I believe merits two stars now) or L'Astrance (the same, although it's likely too soon for Michelin to award it and the ingredients and non-food aspects might have to become more luxurious). He used to be a sous-chef to Senderens at Lucas-Carton. Chiberta under Coisel is better than it was under the former chef. Decor has a slight Guy Savoy feel to it (without the latter's artwork and certain other modern aspects).

The utilization of ginger to flavor oil is common in Cantonese cuisine. For example, certain stir fry dishes could benefit from this. Among other things, in Cantonese cuisine, ginger is paired with stir-fried pieces of cut fish or used (typically in thin strands) on top of whole steamed fish that has a soy/jus-based sauce and that has hot oil accompanying it. One of the purported rationales is that the ginger cuts the "fishy" tastes/smells of the fish (not that that is necessarily desirable, in my own view).

I'd appreciate any updates from members on Parkheuvel.

In reviewing a Brussels tourism website, I noted a reference to "caricoles, small snails that have been slowly simmered -- a Brussels specialty". Have members heard of or sampled such items? Apparently, there are some vendors of caricoles near Place Sainte-Catherine. Also, is the Christmas Market in Brussels (generally in the Grand'Place area) worth visiting, for food items?

Steebles -- That is a very nice Avatar you have there.

Suvir -- As you know, I can't cook, so others might be better equipped to address the question of old vs. new ginger. However, here are certain preliminary thoughts: -- Young ginger tends to have smoother skin (as far as ginger skin goes) that is more uniform in color. There tend to be fewer areas where the skin has "gathered additional material" and less "veining" in the skin. -- Old ginger tends to have an appearance that is, all other things being equal, larger and also more "uneven"/knobby. -- One key difference is texture. The older ginger tends to be convey the sensation of more "strands" within the flesh, more delineation of sorts. It is less tender, but has character that one might want in certain dishes (or Asian dishes at least). For grated ginger, I doubt the older type would be preferable in certain dishes. -- The taste also differs. Old Ginger is a bit stronger, and may be slightly "hotter". -- While ginger is not one of my favorite flavorings, I note that it is an ingredient which appears to be utilized with some frequency by numerous French chefs, including Alain Senderens. The french term is "gingembre".

Toby -- Thanks for mentioning young vs. old ginger. As you know, there's a significant difference in taste that might not be emphasized in, say, French cooking (I assume young ginger tends to be used in modern French cooking). However, the potential uses of old ginger (e.g., in casseroles, stews) are broader than most diners consider.

Chefs -- I'd be interested in hearing whether dining room team members might communicate a diner's interest in cuisine and/or wine (please indicate which) to you at Verbena. Is that done with some frequency, and how much information is provided? Finally, when you receive such communications, what is your general reaction (if any)?

Lesley -- When is the opening night gala? Also, if one were to book Marcon for Institut de tourisme et d'hôtellerie du Québec, who would be called?

Lesley -- Would it be accurate to infer that Santamaria is not cooking anywhere?

Lesley -- Do you have the information on the restaurant and date for Gagnaire?