cabrales

Margaret -- If you are comfortable discussing it, does your husband sometimes peel grapes for you?

I have some confidence that, despite market imperfections, the forces of supply and demand would work well to correct any attempts by a limited group of restaurants or food suppliers to inflate prices, assuming that destination restaurants that offer differentiated cuisine are not being addressed for this purpose. There might even be the possibility of arguing (although such argument likely has limited persuasiveness) that the introduction of the euro should facilitate price comparisons among restaurants located in different European countries, both by the residents of those countries and by Americans. The ease with which price comparisons could be made between say, French restaurants in France, on one hand, and Spanish restaurants offering French-predicated cuisine, on the other, could serve as a factor constraining a rise in prices at restaurants in France, to the extent restaurants in Spain were at least partial substitutes (that having been discussed in various other threads). Perhaps there might be an argument that most tourists do not travel for cuisine alone, and the relevant comparison should include the cost of accommodations, etc.

It's incumbent upon each diner to decide what methods for choosing restaurants are appropriate for her. Without addressing anybody on the board of course, if one is unwilling to commit the time and research required to learn about different restaurants, one can hardly complain about the pervasiveness of guides that rank or about the difficulty of identifying restaurants suitable for one's subjective preferences. It's like many things one may choose to "purchase" or forego -- caveat emptor (buyer beware). Note that certain guides, particularly the Michelin Guide Rouge, can be one of the helpful pieces of information used for restaurant selection.

Helena -- When I walk by corner stores or certain gourmet-type stores, I'll go in and look for ones that seem to fit the bill by visual inspection. Some of the grapes that have been adequate for me in recent times appear to be round-shaped and to have slight yellowish-type color tones along their surface. Then, the necessary munch with respect to a sample grape. I do not generally keep track of grape names, but dislike the "standard" crisp, oval-shaped, green grapes that are not sufficiently sugary. As previously noted, I do not eat peeled green grapes much nowadays. It's not the same without the peeling, preferably by another person.

Have members discussed Rue Lepic, close to Pigalle, on the board?

And who does this for you? Or are you patient enough to do this for yourself Suvir -- When I was a young child, the grapes were presented to me peeled and there were many, many of them available in any given sitting. I used to eat them several times a week when I felt like it. They were so clear-tasting, and yet also fairly sweet. Alas, nowadays, there is generally nobody to assist me in this regard. I rarely feel inclined to effect the peeling myself.

Bruno is Lorgues is about the same as Terre des Truffes, based on only one visit to each facility, but with greater variety in the available dishes. I do not know how Bruno's cooking has changed, and I suspect he utilizes frozen (or otherwise preserved) truffles for at least part of the year (??). That being said, I would consider either restaurant worth a visit and as offering reasonably good value for money. Based on only one visit to each facility, I would choose Bruno at Lorgues over Ducasse's Bastide de Moustiers for food, for example, particularly after the departure of B Witz for the Bruno/Ducasse La Celle venture. There is a chapter on Bruno in "Goose in Toulouse", entitled the "Truffle King".

Bulbous, peeled green grapes that are somewhat, but not unmitigatedly, ripe. Seeds removed to the extent they exist in the grape.

John -- When you have a chance, could you consider describing in what sense(s) you utilized the words "generously communal" (e.g., accessibility to all segments of the dining population; the sharing of meals with friends, family members or other fellow diners; an environment in which a meal is appreciated for its own qualities and seen for its positive attributes; an environment in which the nurturing of shared societal, cultural or other norms is encouraged).

John -- Thank-you for posting.

Leslie -- Your book confirms that there are a number of video monitors in the Daniel dining room, through which members of the kitchen team chart the progress of diners. Have you witnessed instances where the apparent enthusiasm of a diner towards presented dishes, or other aspects of the appearance of a diner or his interaction with the cuisine, have resulted in the kitchen sending out complimentary extra dishes, or otherwise conferring special treatment on the diner?

Bux -- That is the case, at Ducasse. The menu at the table is on a vertical metal stand. Then, when one leaves, one receives the current menu items on a semi-translucent sheet that is inserted into an ADNY folder. The folder is rather long, and has a slot that could be construed as a carrying handle. One receives, of course, bread as well.

Wimpy -- Have you considered attempting to identify a list of restaurants in which you would be interested, and finding out their closing dates (if any) in August from the Michelin Red Guide?

On menu collecting, note I now pencil in dates when the applicable menu was retrieved from the restaurant in question. Otherwise, I would quickly forget which menu applied to which meal at a given restaurant. I'd appreciate input from eGulleteers with menu collections as to how such collections are safeguarded. Mine currently sit in a pile in one of my cabinets. When I was at Chanterelle in NY recently, the restaurant had a little phamplet with miniature depictions of particularly nicely illustrated past menus. In NY, I find restaurants sometimes provide the insert with the dishes from the menu, and not the menu jacket itself.

Have UK-based members considered whether the suckling pig, which has to be purchased whole at St John and would be intended for consumption by multiple diners, is worth sampling?

jordyn -- If you can commit to attending (or having somebody else attend), I can purchase up to three tickets on your behalf. I will only need one, of the four that I could potentially purchase tomorrow.

For me, a faxed list of menu contents is not a substitute for the actual menu. There are some menus that have strong visual appeal, wholly apart from the wonderful dishes listed in them. For example, one of Grand Vefour's menus is a dark purple color with a character design on it. It is quite beautiful.

The food at Elvie's was good. The pork adobo was nicely flavored, and the pork in beef blood dish was appropriate as well (with a bit of vinegar rendering the appropriately thin sauce more interesting). The butterfish was a bit on the dry side, although its flesh had a saltiness and texture vaguely reminiscent of Chinese salted fish. The ox tail was, as Wilfrid suggested, poor. The saucing had an unmitigated peanut butter connotation and an unappealing texture. The underlying ox tail was not particularly appealing either. Lunch for three adults and a baby amounted to less than $20.

Note tickets for the November 5 Food & Wine event at Blue Hill become available to Amex Platinum members tomorrow.

Sometimes, it is necessary to ask a second time after an initial "reluctant" response. Consider indicating you would appreciate the menu a great deal, and hope an exception could be made. Consider requesting a copy of both the regular menu and, if separate, the tasting menu to the extent the tasting menu is ordered. On menus that require payment, Guerard's Pres d'Eugenie charges for menus. I received a menu free. However, there was a matching menu with a distinguished looking man instead of a woman (the gifted one) on the cover, and with a different colored broad ribbon (red or blue) encircling the fold of the menu. I purchased the additional menu.

Basildog has certain old menus (mostly from his restaurant, I believe) on the walls of the washroom of his restaurant. There are also certain letters and other memory-provoking momentos. The washroom also contains a guest comment book and a miniature porcelain decoration with Snoopy. . The area leading up to the washroom has photos of clients, of Basildog and his wife, etc. R Feenie at Lumiere (Vancouver, Canada) has the same thing -- framed menus in washrooms and in the corridor leading to the washrooms. Trotter wrote the forward to Feenie's book.

Gary -- At least you were not subjected to a "gratuit" video, relating to how Guy Savoy cultivates relationships with his producers, how close he is to "terroir" and how his menu changes with the seasons.

Miss J -- My superficial take on the rose ice cream was that it had a rosewater scent. However, I lack knowledge on how the ice cream was made at Cote Saint-Jacques. The ice cream was arranged as a half-dome-shape in the middle of the plate. It had a tiny piece of cherry on the top of it. Then, surrounding the half-dome were the candied rose petals, in a yellow color with burgundy rimming. Surrounding that creation were various berries (including blackberries).

Fauchon NY (Madison Ave store) carries "Confit de Petales de Rose" (Rose Petal Preserve). The smallest glass jar appears to be 120 g. The ingredients are listed as cane sugar, rose petals, natural rose extract, gelling agent, fruit pectin, acidifier, concentrated lemon juice. There is an indication that 3 g of dry rose petals were used for each 100 g of preserve.

I would imagine roses of mixed colors could be utilized, including those varieties that have yellow as their main color and that are rimmed with burgundy. I appreciate one may not be able to select the color of roses that are known to be pesticide-free. I've also had candied rose petals at Lorain's Cote-Saint-Jacques. They adorned rose flavored ice cream and accompanied various berries. Alain Dutournier at Carre des Feuillants has a dessert called "Litchis frais a la gelle de rose, petales parfumes et vermicelles croustillants" (Fresh litchis with rose gelee, rose petals and "crunchy" vermicellis). My notes: "The litchees were nestled within a large glass cup of small-sized bits of rose gelee, which was a blush pink in color and very soft. All of this was enmeshed in a rose-scented liquid. The dessert was aromatic. The taste was good too. Presentation points for the use of burgundy-colored rose petals strewn aoss the plate on which the cup arrived, and for the inclusion of a crimpled entire rose petal in the gellee."