MobyP

But there are so many genuine heirloom varieties of pig, why do you think the US market is so dependent on the berkshire breed for an 'alternative variety?'

(This seems to be my repeated theme, but) If the prestige menu doesn't have the dishes you would like, substitute with ones that you would. I did exactly that, and had a very nice meal indeed.

Well put. I do indeed have the logic-chopping abilities of a very small root vegetable, poorly stored.

Bravo. That's entirely disprovable, and about as logically useful as saying: the extent to which you enjoy Racine will depend on how much you value antiquity in food; how much pleasure you derive from 'tried and tested' formulas in dining, and your experience in eating at similar bistros.

First off, a lack of change won't be an issue for a first timer. Secondly, it's only an issue with the tasting menu, and there are a large amount of other dishes on offer. Thirdly, if you want change, why not make up your own menu? I had a fantastic lunch there, and made several substitutions, including the pork belly with black truffle macaroni with lardo di collonato, sole veronique, and foie gras with crab bisque tuile and sea-weed - a gorgeous meal. It might take a bit of polite negotiation, your bill might be more or less expensive, but why not?

But would they have been able to afford alinea at NYC prices - that's the question.

Perhaps the reasoning is similar in Chicago - the centre for the MG-type approach in the US, rather than NYC. Ditto El Bulli.

Yer the best, M.

Tony - David agreed to cook for us, after taking my cue from you, and my seventh or eighth entirely innocent phone call asking: may I have a reservation please - yes the name is MOBY - MOBY P(umblemumble). So, to the food. There were many very good dishes, one really great one, and only two things which didn't work for me. 2 Amuse: Asparagus Velouté with coconut foam, Foie Gras Royal with Sweetcorn A thick, pure velouté - almost a fluid puree - rich with asparagus. Worked surprisingly well with the coconut foam (Matt - are you paying attention? ). The foie gras royal with corn. This was one of the dishes that didn't work for me. I've had several royals of foie, none of which I've really understood as it always seems to quieten the natural flavour of the foie. The corn was the dominant flavour here. The texture was very nice though. Cod Cheeks with smoked eel and apple purée with a red wine sauce This was great, and a beautiful dish. The red wine sauce was fantastically fruity, going very well with the apple smoked eel, and of course the cod. The brunoise of apple added a nice texture. Double Langoustine Love - Large sautéed langoustine, with langoustine tortellini with cock's kidneys, spinach, and a langoustine foam; then Cauliflower cream, with a warm langousting gelée, and an intense langoustine reduction The first part of this was very good, the langoustine with the tortellini and a really creamy, if huge, cox (or cock's or cockeral's?) kidney. It also announced David's style of cooking beautifully. This is very old, and very new. You could find these ingredients in puff pastry and drenched in a cream sauce, forty or fifty years ago. Now they're in a foam and tortellini. The flavours were nicely balanced , and very delicate. But the second part of this dish was absolutely delicious - the warm gelee with cauliflower cream and the reduction, quoting beautifully from the classic Chapel dish. It's like the last 100 years in gastronomy in one dish. Seared Scallop, baby squid, pumpkin purée, and squid ink sauce with roast pumpkin seeds Surely the largest scallop I've ever seen - it was the size of a small fillet mignon (maybe 2 1/2 to 3 inches across. Cooked perfectly. Curiously, the dish was made for me by the pumpkin seeds - somehow their nuttiness connected the sweetness of the other ingredients, the squid ink sauce, the pumpkin puree, and the baby squid. Wood pigeon and coxcomb, with a chevre pomme puree, peas, braised lettuce, jus, and date puree This was the most beautifully plated dish of the meal (although my photography leaves something to be desired). The use of braised lettuce next to the peas makes me think of Robuchon and Ducasse, the deep colour of the jus, and the largest coxcomb from the planet Zog, where cockerals are seven feet tall and rip your arms off if you look at them the wrong way. The texture of the wood pigeon was amazingly dense, without being at all tough. I didn't think this dish needed the date puree - it was a little sweet next to so much savoury, but a lovely dish to eat. Assiette de Porc - Braised belly (with asian spicing and palm sugar), blood pudding, choux farci of snails and herbs, pig's trotter croquette, jus, morels, and sprouting broccoli. We were starting to flag. Highlights, for me, were the blood pudding and choux farci stuffed with snails, although the belly was good. The trotter croquette was wild in texture. Entirely indescribable. The jus, again, was big and bold. And the composition an adventure. The deserts were skillfully done, although I was pretty stuffed by this point, and couldn't appreciate them as I should have done. And the mignardise, as the photo shows, were beautiful. I simply don't know how he did it with so few people in the kitchen. Now with the larger space, another member of staff, and a stove the size of Surrey, who knows what will be possible. I waited too long to go here, but I shall definitely return.

The question becomes: what qualifies you, in Mr Pang's eyes, for such an interesting meal? Would he have served this meal to anyone? btw - thanks for the pics ("Samuel?")

This might be transglutaminase, the same enzyme from the shrimp pasta. It is supposed to have a creaminess effect on ice creams.

The Perfect Pie - possibly the best review Coren has ever written. "To eat an out-of-season polytunnel strawberry in lieu of one of these is like screwing a cabin-boy in a ginger wig because you miss your wife."

As I have hinted above (with all the dèclassé of a hooker on a Mississipi steam boat), this was truly an epic meal. Some might call it an assassination attempt. Damnit, I call it lunch. Suzi and I might have made it there in 10 minutes, but it took me many days to get home. I woke up, wearing a funny sort of negligé, somehow having managed to make it onto the train to Glasgow, being slapped repeatedly by the conductor for saying inappropriate things to old ladies. I can't remember. I was hallucinating pig's trotters by this point. It's happened before. Best not to ask too many questions. I made it home two days later, having managed to earn the economy-class trainfare from a rather unreasonable sailor. No, I really don't want to talk about it. I've included pictures, and mostly bad ones, of this cavalcade of fantastic ingredients, prepared well. This is the sort of cooking that I've spent some time looking for. The man placed cox kidneys next to langoustines, and 5 inch coxcombs next to wood pigeon, for goodness sake. He quotes from Chapel in one dish, and then leads you through the bacchanalian slippery mysteries of offal with another. Truffles were non-existent, and foie was at a minimum, and they weren't missed. I'll write more tomorrow, as I'm holding the bubbah this evening. All in all, a miracle, considering the personel and space restrictions. David was very nice indeed, and we both thought Helen was extremely cool, and probably has her own harley-davidson to prove it. Anyway, enjoy. Asparagus Velouté with coconut foam, Foie Gras Royal with Sweetcorn Cod Cheeks with smoked eel and apple purée with a red wine sauce Double Langoustine Love - Large sautéed langoustine, with langoustine tortellini with cock's kidneys, spinach, and a langoustine foam: Cauliflower cream, with a warm langousting gelée, and an intense langoustine reduction Seared Scallop, baby squid, pumpkin purée, and squid ink sauce with roast pumpkin seeds. Wood pigeon and coxcomb, with a chevre pomme puree, peas, braised lettuce, jus, and date puree Assiette de Porc - Braised belly (with asian spicing and palm sugar), blood pudding, choux farci of snails and herbs, pig's trotter croquette, jus, morels, and sprouting broccoli. Pre-Desert: Brulé of rose and geranium (I think) flavoured with pop rocks, with a pineapple and angelica sorbet (no picture, unfortunately) Apricot kernal panna cotta and burdock root parfait Chicory root cheese cake with chicory ice cream Chocolate delice with salted caramel and tuile. Mignardise - see excellent pic above.

Nothing to do with hunger, have you seen the length of his legs? ← Hunger + space time continuum + champignon Sauvage... apparently I went missing for days, but it only felt like ten minutes.

You can walk it from the station in 10-15 mins. I have a report with pics to post, after a great meal, but am waiting for Suzi to return from conquering america to do so (as she has the rest of the pics). Apologies to D E-M.

My wife and I (plus nipper) will be in the Lot in August, and I managed to make a reservation for a long-anticpated meal there on the 19th. How far is Laguiole from the restaurant, and is it significantly cheaper than the rest of France for Laguiole products? I'm thinking of one of those beautiful blond wood-handled pen knives that go in the 50 euro range elsewhere. It would be great if I could pick one up for less.

Jay's falling behind... (possibly some supportive underwear might help?)

Admin: an archive of discussion on ADNY with Didier Elena as chef de cuisine, including the opening of the restaurant and early critical/media response, may be found here. Admin: the archived thread with discussion of ADNY under Christian Delouvrier as chef de cuisine may be found here. Has anyone eaten here since the new chef took over?

Does the meat actually end up being more salty, or just different-tasting? It looks wonderful. ← Thanks. I wondered the same - as - like Brittany - the sheep feed off the marshland watered by the ocean. Although I made a mistake: it was Kent-ish salt marsh, not Welsh. The flavour was really exceptional - really aromatic and delicate. And not salty! The colours in the picture didn't work out, it looks closer to veal than lamb. And it was marbled like prime rib.

Salt marsh lamb - a rare variety from Wales, similar to the pré-salé of France - with jus, olives, sautéed asparagus.

Yeah - they always cut the exciting bits.

400g flour. Knead. Rest. Roll. Pasta.

They accepted my lunch reservation for August.

Organic Salmon with lentils, bearnaise and new season's oil from a tuscan estate.

Interestingly, I find myself with a vast excess of karmic goodness (having, rather embarassingly, run out of storage containers), but an almost criminal lack of marmelade.