cabrales

awbrig -- The non-digital Canon Elph 2 I had been using broke down, so I had to use disposable cameras. Some of them had flashes; others did not. I looking to buy a high resolution digital camera that is very small. How small is the Sony you have?

BLH -- What did you think of the decor at Guy Savoy -- did you like the modern art aspects? Which room were you seated in?

marcus -- I don't disagree with you. As I have mentioned, my wine knowledge is very limited. I just know what I subjectively like, and try to sample bottles on restaurants' wine lists that are not too expensive. However, for the meal in question, I'd like a Burgundy and not an Haut-Brion. I think the meal will be one of the most memorable of my life, if it pans out.

I'd appreciate members' input on a restaurant in Boston for Saturday lunch and for Sunday lunch. (Note I am not interested in Aujourd'hui, and will be having dinner at Clio) My present Saturday booking is Sel de la Terre. The applicable criterion is quality of cuisine.

marcus -- I just subjectively prefer Burgundies, although I really like Haut-Brion. robert -- I see. I'm hoping to have the bottle in hand by mid-October, as the period during which I might need the bottle would begin generally in late October. It would be a great outcome, but would it be inconvenient or otherwise burdensome?

Steve P -- Premier Cru, mentioned by MartyL above, has a 1990 Echezeaux, DRC for $350 on Winesearcher. In your mention of $300, were you mentioning Echezeaux or Grands Echezeaux? I would really prefer DRC or something special, as the wine is intended to accompany something special. Would a 1/2 bottle of d'Yquem be appropriate after an Echezeaux or Grands Echezeaux if one were sampling, say, small fatty pigeon?

While I have no knowledge about restaurant externships, going to a facility that is generally perceived by others to be excellent is appropriate to maximize your options going forward. It's generally easier to move "down" (to the extent restaurants are perceived by other restaurants to be hierarchical in quality) than "upwards".

I'd appreciate members' input on where in NY a very nice, lone bottle of Grands Echezeaux could be purchased retail. Please note the pricing of relevant bottles, and try to remain under $400 if practicable. On Winesearcher, I noted DRC Grands Echezeaux at $300 for the 1986. I'd be interested in NY retail prices for H Jayer Echezeaux as well.

I noticed 1/2 bottles of 1980 d'Yquem selling for $80 on Winesearcher.com, and the same size of 1985 selling for $85. I'd appreciate members' input on (1) how inferior these vintages are to other d'Yquems, and (2) whether the indicated prices are fair. What vintages of d'Yquem would members recommend?

Andy -- No, it was after the meal

Basildog -- Does La Tante Claire score an 8?

Bux -- I'm going to let the member with whom I dined there take the lead on describing the meal. Andy -- A discussion of why I preferred other styles of cuisine followed. That's about all I'm comfortable discussing at this point.

robert -- Would this new paradigm be appropriate for diners who have not sampled many of the three- and two-stars, like you already have? I find myself making a number of revisits to restaurants that I dislike because, among other things, (1) dining and/or traveling companions might not have visited, (2) there might be signature dishes left at these restaurants in which I am interested (e.g., George Blanc's Bresse chicken in a crust of "gros sel" salt; Bocuse's Bresse chicken cooked in a pig's bladder), (3) I might think a cuisinier's style has evolved over time, (4) the restaurant might be "on the way" with respect to a particular other restaurant destination (this is the case particularly in Burgundy), and (5) the restaurants I like more might be closed during the applicable period or on a given day.

Welcome, NoMI To provide a bit of context, I rarely accord a meal a "very good" assessment, so good-minus with a caveat that my conclusion would have been more favorable absent the oversalting is not a poor evaluation.

While I am ostensibly on a diet, I had dinner with a very good friend from out of town at Annisa last night. We secured last minute reservations, and the dining room did not appear to be full. I found the meal good-minus-to-good, with one very good dish, but too much aggressiveness for my subjective tastes in certain other dishes. As background, Annisa used to be a restaurant I appreciated quite a bit in NY. I don't know if I have changed in the two years I have not visited, or if the restaurant has changed. Perhaps the former. I liked the restaurant's cuisine, but also its female chef and maitre d', and the women producer wine list (except for sakes). The decor had a minimalism to it that I also liked. We ordered the 5-course tasting menu. The restaurant is generally receptive to including dishes from the a la carte menu that a diner specifies as being particularly interesting. Apparently, the only item on the current menu that cannot be included in a tasting menu is the chicken with white truffles (query whether frozen or otherwise not fresh) and pig's feet. The meal began with a nice amuse -- a single escargot and celeryroot puree, all lodged inside a mini thin pastry cup. The snail was buttery and conveyed garlic, which was nice against the base of celeryroot tastes. (1) Beef Negimaki in Broth with Bone Marrow. This dish featured, as the reference to negimaki suggested, several thin slices of beef curled into a small roll-like stub item. The beef was raw, but became cooked from the ox tail-based broth that was poured over it at the table. Inside the little beef "roll" was, appropriately, shiso leaves and there was apparently also wasabi that was not detectable. The beef was alright, and the broth was appropriate, but I did not particularly like this dish. The bone marrow was appropriate, being represented by two or three little, almost further softened (by the liquid) masses inside the bouillon. There was a grainy, carbohydrate substance at the bottom of the broth -- I could not identify it. Overall, an average dish. (2) Sauteed Foie Gras with Soup Dumplings and Jicama. This was a dish I requested, but it did not seem to me to be as delicious as I remembered. The foie gras piece on top of the single large, crescent-shaped dumpling was nice. The dumpling, which can be eaten either with chopsticks/Asian ceramic spoon or with fork/other utensil, did contain a flavorful mixture of chicken stock, foie gras mousse and very limited hints of jicama inside. However, I found the skin of the dumpling a bit thicker than I remembered, and that detracted from the dish slightly. Still, a nice pairing with slivers of raw spring onions on top of the dumpling and reduced balsamic vinegar below it. A good dish, although it disappointed me slightly in view of my expectations. (3) Ragout of Lobster and Steamers with Corn, Chanterelles and Tarragon. This dish was very good (by US standards), and I would recommend it to members who like lobster and who visit Annisa. The lobsters included were the flesh of very small lobsters, and there were two small halves. The flesh was flavorful and gentle, and the lobster had been poached. The deshelled steamer-type clams added a bit of elasticity, and the corn was a nice base. The dominant sensation of the dish was the saucing -- described as a tomato-based oil (although the tomato tastes were not evident). The saucing was a thin, non-greasy oil/jus that was very reminiscent of the sea -- fishy in a wonderful way. The saucing had tiny specks of coraille inside that were helpful. (4) Grilled Lamb Tenderloins with Golden Raisins and Onion Pancake. This dish was average-to-average-minus because the aroma of a pureed spinach cake that had been flavored with cardamom, tumeric, cumin, etc. was very dominant. It invaded the lamb, which was appropriately prepared and was accompanied by a nice thin lamb jus. Also, this dish suffered from the unattractive nature of the onion pancake, which I imagine is a take on the scallion pancakes in Shanghainese cuisine, just like the foie gras dumpling is a take on Shanghainese soup dumplings. (5) 1/2 Terrine of Sweetbreads, Lobster and Chicken Liver with Tokaj Gelee. This was not part of the 5-course (4 savory courses) tasting menu, but separately ordered by us at the end. The lobster in the terrine-like presentation was wonderfully flavorful, and nicely mixed with the "smooshiness" and intensity of manipulated chicken liver. The sweetbreads were also in the terrine, but took a backseat role in this dish. Nice combination of tastes, particularly when combined with the sweetness of the small cubes of Tokaj gelee. Apparently, this is not the Hungarian or Austrian dessert wine, but one from Australia. One weakess in the dish was the inclusion of an unusual variation of watercress, whose bitterness and saltiness were not appropriate to the dish. However, the watercress was easily excluded from my sampling. (6) Blueberry and Lemon Terrine with Lemon Verbena. A nice dessert. Inside a white oval container with a lid were, from the top of the composition, (a) lemon verbena gelee, (b) fresh, sweet blueberries, and © lemon curd that was not tart, but mutedly sweet. A nice combination. Next to the container was a row of very small madelaines containing poppyseed, and with some icing sugar on top of them and some type of somewhat tart lemon sauce underneath. The flour used for the madelaines did not produce appealing madelaines. My dining companion had a chocolate dessert that included banana mousse -- a very interesting whipped cream like texture for the mousse. Mignardises were (1) a tiny popsicle of blackberry (or a similar berry), (2) candied ginger (warm) -- a julienne, and (3) frozen mint chocolate item. The interesting aspect was the sandwiching of a warm item by two rather cold items within the mignardises. We drank Chateau Faugeres, St Emilion 1999 ($50-60). The total bill, with tip, was around $270. We visited the extremely small kitchen, in which all the cuisiniers that night were women (the plongeur was a man). The sous-chef to Anita Lo is a woman. Unfortunately, Ms Lo was not in attendance. After dinner, we proceeded to Bubble Lounge. We drank Veuve Cliquot Grande Dame 1993 ($30 for full tasting glass) and Jacques Selosses Blanc de Blancs ($11-12). A much better selection of champagne by the glass (e.g., Perrier Joet Blason de France, spelling or name, at $30; "R" de Ruinart at under $15; Tattinger's Comte de Champagne at $30) than Flute. Also, a nicer environment than the Flute closest to Times Square, which is too dimly lit.

robert -- Note dessert might not be a huge spread for a number of potential reasons, only one of which would be consistent with your intepretation. When I received the spread at Bocuse, I found it silly for so many items to be brought before me and would have preferred a single dessert. An alternative interpretation is that diners no longer expect a huge spread to be brought before them -- they prefer a less diverse range of items for dessert. In addition, spreads may sometimes involve items that are prepared *in advance*. Some might prefer a delicately crafted dessert that is ordered or known in advance, and that is more targeted and less copius, and that is made to order. Touching on a topic of interest to Steve Klc, I could not necessarily explain why dessert trolleys have largely disappeared (with some exceptions, e.g., Buerehiesel, Jamin). However, I wouldn't necessarily attribute such disappearance to negative intentions on the part of cuisiniers. As for chefs changing their menus, I think there are many explanations for why some chefs might change their menu less frequently or might change fewer of the dishes on their menu. First, there are some places, like Bocuse or L'Ambroisie, where diners expect certain signature dishes to be available (the truffle soup VGE, the bass in a pastry crust, the Bresse chicken in a pig's bladder for Bocuse; the curry langoustine dish of Pacaud). So those would stay on the menu for places that have signature dishes. Could you imagine going to Taillevent intending to sample the seafood (is it lobster?) sausage and not finding it on the menu? Or if La Tour d'Argent kept various duck dishes, but took off its signature duck dish with the blood sauce as the first service? Second, certain chefs' cuisines are more responsive to seasonal ingredients than others. For example, Lameloise's pigeonneau is generally available year-round, because I doubt that wild pigeon is necessarily utilized. However, some places are more known for products with seasonality, like Regis Macon and his mushrooms. Third, some chefs are less active with respect to the daily supervision of their restaurants and may utilize certain similar dishes across different establishments, such as Ducasse with respect to ADNY and Plaza Athenee (although I have only had a few meals at either restaurant). I wonder whether the Pourcels utilize some Jardin des Sens knock-offs at Maison Blanche in Paris, for example. Fourth, changes in menus might only be relevant for a certain segment of the dining population for a restaurant (e.g., those who have dined at the restaurant before). Presumably, if one has never visited a restaurant, apart from issues of the cuisine being traditional or more updated, one would not have sampled any dishes there before and even longstanding dishes would be "new" to the diner. Fifth, perhaps some dishes for certain restaurants are simply so delicious that the cuisinier would like to keep them on the menu, such that their retention is not an indication of laziness or lack of caring about diners, but might represent a desire to make the dish continue to be available to them. For example, I suspect that Meneau believes, appropriately, that his oysters in a gelee of seawater dish are delicious. His retention of this dish on the menu might reflect the fact that he likes the dish. Sixth, significantly, even repeat diners might wish to resample a dish. Sometimes, I find it amusing to see how a dish evolves ever so slightly over time. For example, one of my favorite dishes sometimes has mini chanterelles included in it. I find it amusing to see how it is on any given day. I also enjoy sampling different wines with a given dish, and determining how that affects the dish. Furthermore, even if a particular dish is the same, if it is taken in the context of a different progression of other dishes during a meal, that can alter the effect of a dish in interesting ways. Thus, a given dish can bear different sentiments during different meals. For me, taking in the same dish over time can be most rewarding.

After my meal there last month, I actually told the chef I did not prefer his food and I believed it was too complex.

Aurora -- There can be a restaurant that one knows is "it" after sampling its cuisine, even though one might still be looking forward to meals at other restaurants. That one finds one's subjectively preferred restaurant does not mean that thereafter the experiences with respect to cuisine become limited. It's a very special situation, and perhaps awbrig has it with Trotter's. awbrig -- When you have a chance, please describe the Kitchen Sessions in which you participated. robert -- For me, and based on limited data of course, Trotter's doesn't even stack up to the best chefs in the US, let alone certain chefs in France. However, it might be unfair to make that assessment after having only had one meal at Trotter's.

North of Michigan Avenue.

awbrig -- The answer to your question is no, but I was serious. I wonder whether some members have searched for decades for something not yet secured.

My diet is going to ruin. A very, very good friend is in town, and I have succumbed to Annisa reservations.

awbrig -- Isn't it wonderful to have found a restaurant that is an ideal subjective match for a diner's preferences? It's wonderful you have located that restaurant. At what approximate age did you determine that Trotter's was that restaurant for you? I wonder if some diners attempt to locate such a restaurant, and never find it during their life.

I noticed a new user with the name "NoMI" on the members list. The sign-up date is today. Why would a member choose the name NoMI, unless he were affiliated with the restaurant? Perhaps it's the member's preferred restaurant? NoMI -- Any thoughts, if you are comfortable posting?

awbrig -- No wonder you seem to have so much info about the place. Over what period have you been to Trotter's 80 times, and do you get bored with the cuisine sometimes?

awbrig -- Is the corkage $50 or $80? jordyn might be able to advise on this.