cabrales

southerngirl -- Apart from Aspen, what are the more interesting events of similar type in major cities?

For members in Vancouver, Ouest is now offering an all-mushroom tasting menu The website provides the following indicative mushroom tasting menu, which sounds appealing to me: Lentils du Puy and Quebec Foie Gras with Wild Mushroom a la Grecque Pine Mushroom Carpaccio with Fresh Duck Ham, Housemade Organic Rasins and Young Greens Cauliflower Mushroom and Quail Bouillon with Tiny Raviolis, Scented with Truffles Carmelized Halibut with Yellowfoot Mushrooms, Smoked Bacon Ragu Island Chanterelle Fricasse with Slow Cooked Bison Short Ribs, Honey Glazed Root Vegetables (I wonder if Island Chanterelles refer to specimens from Vancouver Island? ) Autumn Setting of Nougat Glace with Fresh Vanilla

southerngirl -- When you have a chance, could you describe the event a bit more? For example, does the city in which the event is held vary from year to year? Are admission charges significant, and how early do participants generally book?

One might imagine that some of the chefs had trained in France, and would have been able to speak at least passable French. Perhaps the number of restaurants offering what is perceived to be good training in the US is such that cuisiniers do not do stages in France as much?

The Today Show had a segment featuring Joe's stone crab. Apparently, the stone crab season begins about two weeks from now, and ends in May (unclear?). Between May and about now, the stone crab claws that had been offered at Joe's and that were available to be shipped had been subject to freezing.

awbrig -- Surprisingly, we received no amuses. There were also no other courses. We received no parting gifts, except an indication that the menu for the evening would be subsequently printed out and mailed to one of us. May I ask what types of parting gifts you have seen being provided? I took many pictures, which I expect to mail to Matt Zito for scanning onto the board. The pictures will include views of the kitchen for members' inspection. Our sommelier was not Belinda Chang, but a youngish man with brown, almost black, hair. Our serving member was primarily Dori, a young woman who has not been with Trotter's long but who had a good attitude. Jinmyo -- Yes, I like monkfish liver alot. In the last four months, I have probably had it five or six times, but mostly at Japanese restaurants (e.g., Sushi Yasuda). I wanted to comment on the style of Trotter's cuisine. I did not perceive that there was a general French style to his cuisine, although he obviously utilizes considerable French technique. There were more elements traditionally associated with Asian cuisine (including in ingredients, saucing and presentation) than I had expected, and more utilization of oil-based and wine-based sauces. That I was not wow'd by the meal likely reflects not just inherent characteristics of Trotter's cuisine, but also my subjective preferences.

jordyn, Matt Zito, two other friends of jordyn and I had dinner at Charlie Trotter's kitchen table recently. For me, the meal was good-to-very-good (using US standards and not French ones, to be clear), but not inspired or otherwise special (except for the aspect of dining in a professional kitchen). I suspect at least some of my dining companions would rate the meal more highly than I have. (1) Olive Oil Poached Scottish Salmon with Dill. When I walked around the kitchen at later points during the meal (I walked around the not particularly large kitchen perhaps three times, with stops at all relevant preparation stations on each walk), I was told that the typical slow poaching at low temperatures was being utilized. The poaching oil had, among other things, dill, flat parsley and chives included in it. A small piece of appropriate-tasting salmon was presented atop a puree of cucumber and small juliennes of pickled or cured mini radishes that had the reddish skin of their exterior along each end. Surrounding this was a good amount of salmon roe, adding "glide" in the mouth as well as the feel of their round shapes. What made this dish less attractive for me was the significant cucumber elements, as that vegetable was presented not only as a puree, but also in the chlorophyl-like, "green" saucing based on cucumber. The saucing also had noticeable dill elements. Lemon and lime zest had been grated onto the salmon. The four members of our dining party who drank began with a bottle of Jacques Selosse Blanc de Blanc NV ($110), which MartyL had brought to our attention and which I enjoyed. The first four items of the tasting menu were served in a black bento-like box, divided evenly into quadrants. Each was served in a small quantity, with at most two bites being available to be sampled. Despite CT's mention of fourteen courses for the kitchen table menu, the size of the first four courses suggests that ten courses might be a more accurate description. (2) Marinated Blue Fin Tuna with Cucumber and Wasabi I was not impressed with this part of the beno box either. jordyn and I agreed that the tuna, in medium-sized cubes, was more attractive than that at Morimoto's the week before. However, I found the tuna quality to be cast in a less favorable light when compared to the O'Toro tartare sampled at Jewel Bako. The saucing, while containing a bit of yuzu (the wasabi was not detectable by me), was predominantly cucumber. Particularly after the salmon described above, the cucumber was not subjectively appealing in this dish. The tuna might have been marinated slightly in soy. (3) Japanese Rice Cake with Sea Beans, Broccoli and Thai Vinaigrette This was fine, but nothing special. The rice cake was about the size of a piece of sushi, but included rice that was "stickier" than that typically utilized for sushi and had a quasi-crust on its top portion. Sea beans might be appearing with greater frequency on US menus at this level, and they were alright. The broccoli was appropriate, having been cut into very small bits and not have been cooked prior to serving. The Thai vinaigrette was described as including ginger, cilantro, orange juice, lime juice, jalapeno and sesame. It was appropriate subdued in this dish. (4) Tourchon of Monkfish Liver with Organic Soy This was one of my favorite preparations of the evening. The piece of monkfish liver had the textures of foie gras, but not the greasiness of certain foie gras. It tasted clean, and was very good. The soy had seeped nicely into the outer portions of the liver, and was much nicer than regular soy sauce. (5) Millefeuile of Squash with Gazpacho Sorbet This was a small, long section of very thin (in a good way) millefeuille, interspersed with supple squash, heirloom tomatoes and limited (appropriately) amounts of ricotta. This was a delicate dish, and I liked it. The millefeuille was light when taken in. The gazpacho sorbet was nice as well, being slightly spicy and bearing tomato flavors in an appropriate intensity. I still like Blue Hill's tomato sorbet better, but this version was nice. (6) Steamed Maine Diver Sea Scallop with Olive-Leek Emulsion The single largish plump scallop served was appropriately cooked in this dish. The leek sections sitting underneath it were softened, but had a certain darkness from the olives with which they had been flavored. For some reason, the seasoning of the leeks reminded me of burdock. Also included were pickled/cured radishes (apparently raw, I believe) -- probably the same type as had accompanied the olive oil poached salmon with which the meal began. There was a bit of herbed, green-colored oil to complete the dish. I had initially thought about ordering the 1992 Haut Brion Blanc for $300, but noticed Chassagne Montrachet, Ramonet, from 1981 and 1982 (in the $300-325 range for each bottle). We spoke with the sommelier, and he appeared to strongly prefer the Ramonet. We therefore chose the Ramonet 1982 ($315), which was wonderful -- developed and probably the oldest Chassagne Montrachet I have had to date. Ramonet is one of my favorite producers, and I am not frequently disappointed when I choose a bottle from it. (7) Hawaiin Moi with Cardamom Infused Carrot Emulsion This was my favorite dish of the meal. The moi, a whitefish, had glistening, silver skin that was left "on". The flesh was flavorful, and the sunchokes included in the saucing showed through. Yellow, round and red baby carrots were nicely included. I liked the overall effect of the saucing emulsion, which did not necessarily taste like carrots. (8) Canadian Foie Gras with Montana Huckleberries & Hickory Nuts An appropriate preparation of foie gras, with a beautifully purplish sauce made from huckleberries. The taste of huckleberries appeared, to be, to be a blend of cassis and blueberries. The hickory nuts were difficult to detect in the dish (in a nice way). A braised onion and red wine sauce was also included. jordyn shared a $100 glass of 1980s d'Yquem with a friend, but I adhered to the more reasonably priced ($11-13) Muscat. Lady T had mentioned how much she had appreciated this pairing by CT's sommeliers on one occasion, and I was the beneficiary of her experience. The d'Yquem was wonderful on the nose, however, and it was interesting sitting next to jordyn and his friend as they enjoyed it. Had the meal up to this point been compelling, I believe I would have been more tempted to order the d'Yquem (which NoMI also had by the glass, at $47 for the younger 1994 vintage). However, given my desire to be more budget conscious for a while, I opted for the enjoyable Muscat. (9) Breast of Bobwhite Quail with Delicata Squash The quail dish was appealing, accompanied by red wine braised fennel. The little pieces included were delicious, being moist and flavorful and relatively delicate. What added to the quality of the dish was a small mass of shredded quail meat on the side. We proceeded to a Merus that other diners could better describe ($175). (10) Illinois Rabbit Loin with Risotto & Boudin This dish was average. The red wine sauce appeared a bit duplicative of the utilization of red wine in certain other ingredients in prior dishes, but that was not a significant problem. A decent amount of summer truffles accompanied the dish. Summer truffles were included in a number of Matt Zito's dishes, as Matt had called in advance for a vegetarian menu. The serving team member described them initially as "black truffles" -- not necessarily the most accurate term. There appeared to have been some thought put into the construction of the menu for Matt, which contained some of the dishes from the CT vegetarian menu. (11) Grilled Wagyu Strip Loin with Lobster Mushrooms This dish was fairly good. The beef, from Texas, was not as delicious as other Wagyu preparations I have had, and arrived in the form of 3-4 smallish slices of regular beef slicing thickness. One problem, for me, was that the meat appeared to have been presented medium. I would have preferred a rare preparation, and probably should have been more proactive about communicating that preference to the serving team member. The chunks of lobster mushrooms were very flavorful. (12) Manchego Millefeuille (not official name; not meaningfully sampled) I skipped this course, but the triangle of manchego within a millefeuille-type structure appeared to be too sweet (perhaps from quince?? or fruit confit?) from a tiny sample. (13) Pink Guava, Passion Fruit, Nino Banana, Papaya & Coconut Sorbets with Lychees The pink guava and papaya quenelles was the flavors I liked. The former was grainy, and nuanced. The latter had significant bitterness, almost as if some of the seeds inside a papaya had been ground in (like not). I do not like passion fruit sorbet generally, and the coconut sorbet lacked the texture and granularity of coconut. The nino banana was quite intensely flavored, and was not bad. The lychees were small and softened, and embedded in a loose, crushed gelee. (14) Sauteed Black Mission Figs & Fig Sorbet; Caramel/Coriander Ice Cream; Pumpkin Tart with Huckleberries, Marshmallows & Clove Ice Cream. The figs were alright -- nothing special. The ice cream was also acceptable. The pumpkin tart was fairly nice, with uneven ridges along the outside of the tart and with a nice taste to the pumpkin elements. I took in Toaki Aszu 5 Puttayos 1996 ($14/glass) with this. (15) Mignardises, including a nice mini white chocolate with rose petal dust. Overall, the meal was good-to-very-good, but it did not seem inspired. Note this is not necessarily a criticism; most meals I take in are uninspired, in my view. The portion of the bill allocable to me was $370 after tax and before tips. While I would eat at CT if I happen to be in Chicago in the future, I doubt I would make another trip to the city for Trotter's cuisine. That being said, the kitchen table experience was somewhat interesting. Miscellaneous Trotter's kitchen team works in an organized, non-harried manner. Everybody appeared to know what was expected and there was no shouting or other indications of heightened tension. The kitchen table was comfortable -- I did not feel pushed or otherwise physically constrained. There were plenty of opportunities to tour the kitchen, and, as mentioned, I did so on at least three occasions. I walked the entire kitchen area, which is not particularly large for a restaurant serving up to 240 covers a night (in two services). Many of the chefs appeared not to speak French. Trotter appeared for five minutes, but did not even bother to say hello. Not that I would necessarily have wanted him to ask how the meal was proceeding. For all relevant purposes, Trotter was not supervising the kitchen that night. I had asked a serving team member whether the kitchen could prepare a particular dish Trotter had prepared in connection with the Relais Gourmand 30th anniversary in Paris recently. That request did not pan out, although the serving team was nice about declining the request. Service was quite good, and the sommelier appeared relatively knowledgeable. The washroom on the ground floor has menus from primarily restaurants in France framed as wall decorations (e.g., Michel Trama, Bernard Loiseau, an old Troisgros menu). As mentioned by another member some time ago, Rob Feenie of Lumiere, Vancouver, apparently got the idea for a similar decorative element from Trotter

Lady T, jordyn, a friend of his and I lunched at NoMI on Saturday. I appreciated Lady T's spending time with us, and enjoyed discussing her non-culinary interests. Sandro Gamba offered a meal that was good-minus, but that would have been better had over-salting not affected some dishes. The lunch was my first sampling of Gamba's cuisine, so it is premature to make an informed assessment. The composition of some dishes was appropriate, and Gamba does not appear to adhere closely to the Ducasse approach which I subjectively dislike. As jordyn's friend has our party's menus, "official" dish names have not been included. The restaurant accommodated my request for 1/2 portions of appetizers and entrees, to enable me to sample more dishes. I did not take dessert as I was quasi-resting up for dinner at Trotter's kitchen table that evening (write-up to come). (1) 1/2 Carpaccio of American Sturgeon. This dish had good visual effects, consisting of 4-5 thin slivers of cured, quasi-translucent sturgeon flesh. The pieces were presented on a square-shaped platter. The flesh has a nice elasticity to it, from the curing, but already contained some saltiness (presumaby from the same process). As a result, the additional saltiness in the herbed oil saucing (orangish in color) pushed this dish towards being significantly oversalted. Note oversalting is a complaint I have had in the context of a number of restaurants. A row of diced sundried tomatoes and chives was appropriate. (2) 1/2 Mussel Cappuccino Veloute with Cumin This was my preferred dish of the meal, despite, again, oversalting of the thin (in a good way) soup that lay beneath the appropriate amount of "froth". Interestingly, the effect on the nose and the initial dominant effects in the mouth, of the soup was of foie gras Lady T ordered the same dish in full size, and concurred. The foie gras taste was appealing, with the mussels inside the soup and the later limited tastes of mussels being nice as well. If the veloute had been salted less, it would have been quite attractive. It was interesting that cumin never expressed itself as a separate taste in this dish. To the side of the little copper serving container for this veloute were mussels sitting in their shell, above a mix of diced green/yellow/red peppers and carrots. The vegetables added crunchiness, but they appeared to me unnecessary. (3) 1/2 Braised Chicken with cous cous This dish was below average, because the jus-based saucing was almost (but not actually) slightly congealed when the dish arrived at our table. The saucing had been allowed to cool inappropriately. I found the chicken meat itself not bad, but the saucing to be a signficant distraction. The largish beads of cous cous (tasting like firm tapioca) might have been Israeli cous cous. They were sitting in a cup fashioned from zucchini. (4) 1/2 Salmon Risotto with Black Raisins Given Gamba's reputation for offering good risotto, I had to order this dish. The risotto was nicely prepared, with an integration of Parmesan (appropriately subdued) into the cream and butter that enveloped the rice. However, for me, the raisins added slightly more sweetness than ideal. The salmon piece was relatively small, even for a 1/2 portion, but was appropriately prepared. Lady T wisely chose a Mersault Joseph Matrot, 1999, at $69. There were a number of reasonably priced bottles that we could have chosen. Upon entering the restaurant, one passes by a dark-wood, nicely decorated room that stores some of the restaurant's wine. This restaurant appears to pride itself on its wine list. On Brink of Key Chef Change We were advised by one of the dining room team members that Sandro Gamba is leaving NoMI (presumably, permanently) to start up a new restaurant at another Park Hyatt on the West Coast (?). The chef's replacement has not been determined. NoMI also recently changed pastry chefs. Decor; Miscellaneous The decor is modern, with chocolate browns and a great deal of cream/white. Round-shaped lamps with dangling blush-colored crystals hang along the portion of the restaurant's main room that is closer to the very small kitchen area that was partially obscured, but partially visiable. That area was so small that our group decided it could have been utilized only for finishing off dishes, and appeared to be more for show than for operational convenience. The main room of the restaurant has slanted glass and offers a nice view. One has the sense of space and air and light when dining in the day under decent weather conditions. Our table was in this "front" row. The ceilings are high, and along the ceiling above the front row was a large, white-colored modern art sculpture with large twisted "strand" effects (somewhat like worms, coral pieces or certain depictions of genomes). NoMI had a terrace, adjacent to the restaurant, that appeared to have been serving simpler fare. I did not have time to peruse the menu available at the terrace. Visit to Art Institute of Chicago After lunch, Lady T and the NY group visited the Art Institute of Chicago. The museum was stronger than I had contemplated, with a nice selection of Monets (including at least five versions of paintings depicting a stack of wheat) and a key Seurat whose name I do not recollect and which reminded me of The Bathers (seen at the National Gallery and also depicting a scene by a river). Ironically for me, I saw one of the individual Burghers of Calais sculptures by Rodin at the Art Institute. During the past three weeks, I had seen some version of the Burghers of Calais rendition in three different venues. Just goes to prove that traveling for food can yield a number of ancillary benefits.

Additional observations regarding Morimoto's: -- Morimoto's was in attendance, including, for a meaningful portion of our meal, near/at the sushi bar. Interestingly, he did not stake out the part of the sushi bar from which non-bar diners could clearly see him, but, for much of the time, relegated himself to the "back" portion of the bar along the longer side of the structure. He had glasses on, and had a ponytail. Unlike certain of the chefs below him, his name was not embossed on his chef's white jacket. I requested a tour of the kitchen, but was gently refused on the grounds that things were busy on Saturday. We received menus probably pre-signed by Morimoto. -- I inquired whether, for omakases at less expensive levels, there was a difference in the number of courses. Our dining room team member answered in the negative, noting that generally it was a question of the ingredients included (e.g., otoro; oysters instead of clams, etc.) -- Some of the larger sake containers looked fairly nice. They appeared to have been made from, or made to resemble, longish bamboo stalks.

John -- I only have the 2001 Guide Rouge with me at this moment, but under the section on where to go for different dishes, there is a section on cheese. The two Michelin recommendations are: (1) Montparnasse 25 (14th arrondisement), in the Hotel Meridien Montparnasse, then with one star: 19 r Cdt Mouchotte, 01 44 36 44 25, closed Sundays. Meals 220 francs for lunch, 330/420 for dinner; carte at 360-450 francs. (2) A l'Escargot (outside of central Paris, apparently, at Aulnay-sous-Bois -- 19 from Paris) 40 rte Bondy, 01 48 66 88 88, closed Sundays and Mondays. Meals 130 francs/180; carte 200-360. Note I have not eaten at the above restaurants.

Passard IS a culinary genius.

While I fly business class some of the time, I fly economy with almost equal frequency. There are sometimes very good deals on direct flights to Paris from the East Coast (e.g., $500 in recent days), and, even when those are not upgradeable, I do not hesitate to purchase them.

David -- Below is ample reason for my not having mentioned Club Gascon. http://forums.egullet.org/ibf/index.php?s=...&hl=club+gascon

After several recent meals at the Joe Shanghai's West 56th St. branch, I am inclined to believe that the quality of its soup buns has deteriorated. A recent visit to the Pell St branch hints at the possibility of a deterioration there too, although I lack sufficient data points on that branch. Razor clams with black bean and jalapeno were mediocre. Separately, I recently ate at Tse Yang in midtown. Another diner chose the venue. This is a Chinese restaurant that has Haut Brion on its list. Sadly, the food was mediocre. There were two prix fixe-type menus, one at $45 and the other at $55. We ordered the $55, which included (1) sharks' fin and crabmeat soup -- lacked authenticity and harbored too many sugar-based tastes, (2) appetizers of fried small scallops and shrimp drenched in an unappealing sauce, accompanied by an unduly aggressive Singapore-type noodle dish, (3) Peking duck -- not bad, (4) shredded duckmeat with juliennes of vegetables -- unduly sweet and also overcooked, and (5) caramelized apples (apple quality was poor, with significant sogginess; "caramel" exterior was mediocre).

MartyL -- As always, thank-you (and thanks to other members) for responses in this thread.

I'm considering going to Clio again, and noticed some interesting bottles with reasonable mark-ups, in order of subjective declining attractiveness: Chassagne Montraachet "Boudriotte" 1996, Ramonet $90 White Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Beaucastel 1995, $75 Pouilly Fume "Pur Sang", D Dagueneau $85 http://www.cliorestaurant.com/ (Choose "Menus" on left-hand-side)

The website of two-starred Jean Bardet (Tour) indicates there is a vegetable-driven menu, among other choices. Note that Bardet has a significant garden, cultivating hundreds of varieties of vegetables. LEGUMES DU POTAGER, Menu tout légumes - 69.00 € (Farmers' Vegetables; All Vegetable Menu at 69 euros; rough translations only) LE FONDANT DE NAVETS (Turnip fondant) **** LES ASPERGES VERTES, PETITES BETTERAVES ETUVEE salade d'herbes (Green asparagus, little beetroot, salad of herbs) **** BARIGOULE D'ARTICHAUD VIOLET créme de basilic (Barigoule of purple artichokes, basil cream) **** L'ASSIETTE VERTE DE LEGUMES DU MARCHE yaourt bulgare et piment d'Espellette ("Green" vegetable plate of the market; yoghurt and Esplette) **** LES PETALES DE TOMATES CONFITES A L'HUILE VIERGE citron jaune et piments de la Jamaïque, sorbet au thym frais (Petals of tomato confit with oil, yellow lemon and Jamaican pimentos, sorbet of fresh thyme) **** PETITS FOURS FRAIS ET SECS **** CHOCOLATS I have not sampled Bardet's cuisine, although that is soon to be remedied.

Sherry Lehman, Madison Ave, had several interesting bottles of champagne on offer on my recent visit. There was a bottle under $30 that Alain Senderens at Lucas-Carton had endorsed, and the name of the bottle included L-C. Also, a rose. In addition, I noticed Daniel's house champagne on offer for less than $30. None of the bottles have yet been sampled. (Daniel's house red was also available at a very reasonable price.)

BLH -- I vaguely recollect that the truffle menu (not yet the season for this) at Guy Savoy was under 300 euros. There were other menus -- Menu Prestige and the Festin Menu -- that were considerably less than that. I can't be sure, though.

In the kingdom of the blind the one eyed man is king. LML -- Surely you didn't intend to concede that Blumenthal's cuisine is better than that of other UK cuisiniers.

David -- If I had two meals in London on weekdays, two meals at Gordon Ramsay RHR. If the restaurants had to be different, that restaurant and La Tante Claire, although I might be slightly curious about Menu, GR's restaurnant at the Connaught. Note my responses would be the same if your question had been expanded to encompass the UK.

robert -- It may literally be a month or more before I retrieve the book.

I strongly agree with vivin's recommendation of L'Arpege. Les Ambassadeurs was not bad for lunch when I went there. It can be expensive for a two-star if certain a la carte items are chosen, but there are prix fixe lunches. I would go there over Meurice.

JJS -- Below is a description of a lunch at Le Meurice. I wasn't particularly enthusiastic about it, although I was undergoing a somewhat unusual period with respect to dining fatigue at the time. http://forums.egullet.org/ibf/index.php?s=...6512&hl=meurice Have you eaten at L'Astrance? What days are you seeking (and what times you be willing to accept)? I can call and speak French to see if that might help. Consider PM'ing me your last name, if that is not already disclosed on the board.

JJS -- That's somewhat surprising with respect to Guy Savoy, given the lead time. Were you flexible with different dates and times?