MobyP

I'm almost positive that I used to get very, very drunk here - but I'm just not entirely sure...

That has to be the ugliest fish I've ever seen.

I've seen a Robuchon recipe along these lines.

Alex, Harvey Nicks have taken several (moderately) obscure requests in good humour, and delivered on time, even if they don't always know what you're talking about. Certainly they will have sweetbreads (lamb and veal), also caul, and recently were seen to have pyrenéen lamb. Farmer sharpe at Borough is part of a collective - which with the example of veal, means he shares animals with different farms - and has taken odd requests at advance notice. For instance, he just furnished me with 5 or 6 veal tails. Don't know much about (his-tor-eee) properly cut escalopes.

More asparagus tomfoolery

White asparagus with braised morels, an idea taken from the book.

It's hard to find fresh gourmand carrots in this country.

From today's NY Times article:

I've only ever had brilliant food and acceptable service at Yauatcha.

You should write to the management, Ori. I'm sure they've heard the other side of the story by now.

It's interesting. If this restaurant were in France, and they were serving lamb from Lozere, or pyrenees, or pre-sale Brittany, I think we would both be gouging our eyes out to eat some. Also, was that last lamb that we saw being pan-seared also described as 'spit-roast?' That's not an allegation, btw, just interested. As to the rest, if you don't see it (or feel it or believe it), then that's fine too. I'm too tired (from baby duty) to raise it as a debating issue. Still, if people are interested, menus for Cerutti at Louix XV can be found here and those from Paris (which I think is slightly less adventurous) can be found here.

Steven - you know I'm a fan of Delouvrier. And you and I - I believe - agreed before that the meat section (which is the only one I reprinted) has been the let down in terms of imagination. I'm not sure why you bring up Per Se. I'm not equating the style of menus in the slightest. Looking over some of the other Ducasse menus in Paris and Monaco, we find dishes such as: Many of which are using similar base ingredients, but it strikes me as a more interesting set of ideas. At Louis XV, in stark contrast, there seems to be menu after menu of fresh seasonal dishes, taking in a number of different influences. The trio of pork dish that we both had, in terms of imagination, simply wasn't cuisine at its finest and once again comes down to not much more than meat, potatoes and jus. The lamb dish was also basically meat, potatoes and jus (and that's two out of five). In the fish category, in which I agree you usually find a broader set of ideas, you find once again Turbot with a champagne sauce - which is what Ellen took a photo of a few months back - but a substitution of asparagus for the langoustine or crayfish. I find that repetition a bit surprising. The raw and cooked asparagus is a pure piece of Ducasse aesthetic, though I'm sorry we don't know more about where the asparagus is from. Taking a quick glance at the Daniel menu for comparison: Now, I'm not saying that the style of restaurant is the same, or that they are necessarily drawing from the same influences, or targeting the same audience - although they might be, I just think it reads as an exciting collection of ideas, using as much seasonal produce as possible (although I grant you, he repeats the 'whole animal' idea four times, but I find that more compelling than pork chop "en caserolle"). I would love to see some of the old Lespinasse menus. I bet Delouvrier could stand up against any of his contemporaries. I just don't think this Printemps ADNY menu is an example of it.

The new meat menu at Ducasse: With the exception of the squab (and Ducasse has been mixing pigeon and those Riviera taggiasche (sp?) olives for a while), I'm just not sure that it's an improvement. A roast chicken - okay. Any number of Parisian restaurants will give you the same. A rack and saddle of lamb - I presume is close to the one that Ellen took pictures of. Which is to say - meat and potatoes. But then to follow it with a pork chop and a steak? Either Ducasse is reigning in Delouvrier too closely, imo, or he's underestimating the palate of the American and International market.

I just realised that there are no jerusalem artichokes in this book. Isn't that a bit odd, coming from a bastion of modern classical cuisine?

This might be of interest. The old Garlands/now Bluestar.

For cheap and (almost but not quite) cheerful, there are a number of convention hotels around the Earl's court area - which is a short distance from Tom Aikens (5 mins by cab, 15 by bus, 30 by foot).

I posted this in the Ducasse Grand Livre thread, but I think it works quite well as a bit of food porn. New season English Asparagus sauteed in butter, with a white wine mousseling sauce, and veal jus.

Spam fritters, surely? Rejoice indeed.

Andy - I entirely apologise. I was being facetious, but ommitted the smiley. They aren't. They're driven by a group of chefs deciding they taste delicious. Some are subject to post-facto analysis; for instance the caviar and white chocolate. Heston created the dish, and then showed it to a representative from Firmenich (a Swiss flavouring and perfume company). The rep posited that the elements of white chocolate and caviar night share some amines - chemical components which eventually break down into amonia (also found in maillard reactions). The Firmenich gentleman took it away and discovered this was correct. There are some dishes whose invention might have been aided by chemical analysis - for instance, Heston Blumenthal discovered that one of the components of red cabbage was mustard oil - this lead to the idea of making a red cabbage gazpacho, and using the pommery mustard ice-cream as a garnish. But the reason he serves this dish is not because red cabbage contains mustard oil. The reason he serves it is that he and his staff thought it was delicious. That I find it delicious is irrelevant. That you may or may not find it dubious is equally irrelevent. The dishes tasted dubious because you didn't like them. For many years I found oysters disgusting. Does that mean that oysters are disgusting, and that the 'rationale' of pulling shell fish from the ocean, ripping them open and eating them is flawed - or simply that I didn't like them? Dirk, your mouth may indeed be at fault. It might bear all the weight of original sin, and be accused of war crimes on a Lincolnshire sheep farm, but that's not the topic we're discussing. Still, if you want to consult me - well, I just wouldn't. No one else does, probably for a very good reason, and I don't see why that should change.

This may be what Andie above mentioned, but you can use them to line a timbale. Cook until done, and then butter a medium sized bowl, and line the bowl with the strands of noodle, winding them around the edges, and coiling them until they meet at the centre. Then fill with goodies.

I think it's a good thing. I'm only sceptical because my Fat Duck experience didn't live up to the scientific promises. Although there's plenty to praise about the place, especially the a la carte, I can't help feeling that the science is inappropriate if it can't overcome the fundamental hurdle of making food taste nice. ← Dirk, as far as I can tell there isn't hostility to those who don't like the fat duck (Andy's remarks aside), but to the sort of reasoning you exhibit in your post. Food science has nothing to do with being a good cook, any more than owning a food processor means you are able to be a good cook. Heston never confuses the two, and has said so explicitly in just about every interview he's ever given. There are no 'scientific promises,' and I'm unsure why you even raise the idea. Science can't make food taste nice any more than my grandmother. Next time you're in the area, ask to see the kitchen. There are chefs, and sous chefs, and stagieres, sweating over hot stoves, cooking food. That you didn't like it has nothing to do with anything but your experience of it. To keep laying it at the feet of 'science' is fallacious.

Finally - a good use for the Ducasse veal jus - in a Ducasse/degusto/Jackal influenced recipe. Sauteed new season Aparagus with a white wine mousseline sauce and veal jus.

Unquestionably Mikael and Vedat have eaten in more 3 star restaurants more often than all but a very few people, and, it would seem certain, the vast majority of chefs. Thus they know more about the experience of dining in such places than most of the chefs who cook in them - that's the central paradox of working in that part of the industry.

If I could get you further South, we're less squeamish down these parts. I would love to help you with that boar's head (plus I have the book).

Ah, yes, thank you. Yummy. happy with my choices. maybe i should have added west, in vancouver, david hawksworth's place. i should have included that though not sure which of the list would have to have vacated to make room. marlena ps i'd like to see an awards night for like, cheap places, hideaways, tapas bars in la boqueria market, taquerias of divine-deliciousness, bhel puri houses of crisp-salt-crunch-sourness, turkish kebabs of perfection. you know, awards like this. well i like both: upmarket perfection and funky perfection. ← Marlena - do you regularly eat and travel so broadly?