MobyP

Those are the beauties I remember - thanks Ellen. Please keep 'em coming.

Returning to the Ducasse input question: I came across a very similar dish and presentation of the above in the L'Atelier Ducasse book - turbot napped with a champagne sabayon, and a langoustine, with sauce natua around the dish. I think it's labled as a Jean-Francois Piege recipe. Perhaps Louisa would know.

Conor - Here's the link. Registration required.

Brilliant write up, Tony. Speaking of, how did he know you were our Tony? (Chef, if you're reading, I always book under Miriam Knobgag, to maintain anonymity) Sigh. I hope I get up there soon. Very very glad he's using trotters. It sounds like superlative food.

The scam is the that Booths are selling walnut-sized ones - of medium quality - for 1900 a kilo, and the Italian guy has much more powerful ones (firm, solid, very pungent) of the same size for 21 or 2,200, golf ball-sized ones for 2,400, and even larger ones for 2,700 per kilo. He (obviously) adjusts the price to the size. But the quality far outstretched HN's and Booths, and seemed on par (but for half the price) of Harrods.

Moby...how does ole Patsy loook these days? ← She looked bloomin' marvellous. Far better than the truffles, that's for sure.

Sam - how much help are you getting with this? And, if offered, are you good at accepting it? I tend to have to do these big meals on my own - but then when someone does offer their help, I'm at something of a loss as to what they should do. Yours, Choppy of Chilicothe

Went to Harvey Nick's (saw Patsy - Joanna Lumley outside!) - and they had a few mangy specimens at 4200 a kilo. Harrods had some beauts at 4000 a kilo - still to rich for my blood. Finger's crossed for Borough tomorrow. I hope the price is lower.

More Fi - give they beying crowds more!

Taverymuch. ('Ere, I bet you knew that number by heart - c'mon, fess up)

As I've only been there 50 or 60 times - which one is Booths?

A fantastic review. Thanks.

Chef Chu - for one! Actually - minus Ducasse himself, and his chef from Monaco - that makes 47.

Mathhew - brilliant. I had jet lag this weekend, and slept right through Borough Market (awoke extremely pissed off). Where else in London are white truffles to be found? And are the borough truffle places open on Thursday or Friday?

This is of course pure supposition of your part Moby and in my opinion not a satisfactory basis upon which to be drawing conclusions about the restaurant owners and staff's behaviour, and in particular to be using words like "shocking" and "outrageous". ← Sorry Andy. It's not supposition, but me recounting what he'd already written: The only supposition I'm making is that PWeaver is quoting Claire accurately. If that's what she said, or even a rough estimation of it, then as she wasn't an invited member of the party, she was basing her opinions on incomplete information picked up by herself or members of staff. As to my flowery adjectives, I withdraw them as a subjective statement, until the occurance is confirmed or refuted. Perhaps Claire and Claude would like to comment on this? Would it be possible to ask them for comment, Andy?

Ellen - thank you again. If I may, I have some gacky (like geeky, but far more respectable) cooking questions: 1. How did they cook that prawn? 2. D'you think we could take a guess at what went into that champagne sauce? - Shallot, champagne, champagne vinegar, fish stock, cream ???? Maybe some mushrooms? FG, Ellen, what do you think? 3. And that nantua sauce seems almost marbled - how was that achieved?

Ellen - thank you thank you thank you Intraining - congratulations.

I have to side with Winot on this as well. Besides, as you say, this is a public forum. If Claire and Claude want to give their side of things, they're free to post under the same guidelines. It seems clear to me that Claire and Claude tagged the table as industry. It also seems somewhat evident that the staff were eavedropping throughout the entire meal, and picking fag ends (Bux and Americans - this expression means picking up ends of sentences and extrapolating the rest of the sentence indicated - usually inaccurately - by said ending), then reconstructing what they had picked up back at the waiter's station (or elsewhewre). Anyone who's waited tables will know what this is like. The fact that they had booked five months in advance, to be told by Claire that she thinks they're taking the piss is shocking. That she would previously comment: is also outrageous. This is completely unacceptable behaviour. The only explanation I can make of this is that they read the table wrong - by eavesdropping. And then started misinterpreting the table by this false impression. Marco Pierre White, I understand, once threw Raymond Blanc out of his restaurant because he shrugged during a meal. Obviously, if you're standing 20 feet away, trying to extrapolate meaning from the mannerisms of a table, you're going to make mistakes. What's not acceptable is to behave in this manner because of it. I'm stunned by this. They should have asked for ttheir money back. I've been in restaurants of different levels with almost half of this board - and I can't think of a single instance where the people I was with (and I) didn't engage in some form of deconstruction of the experience we were having. It's part of dining out. You don't behave in a manner unacceptable to the room - i.e. in a way which would disturb the meals of other customers. But, equally, we all analyse what we're eating, and how it was cooked, and if it could be bettered. And we don't expect them to bug our table, or eavesdrop on our conversation. Let's be clear - the conversation of a table is none of their business. At best, it was indiscreet and ill-mannered to listen in. At worst it's a violation. To then use the fag-ends of that conversation against them - in public, and presumably in front of the rest of the room - is completely offensive. But isn't that what PWeaver said his head chef did, when he approached Claire at the end to clear up any misunderstanding? It was Claire and Claude's reaction to this approach which strikes me as deeply regrettable.

I had an Italian (Northern) chef friend in LA who knew 4 words of English, but cured and smoked his own guanciale (and sell me slabs of it on the side), and it would bring me to tears it was so good. Made the Batali Babbo stuff taste like cardboard by comparison. I've made various attempts at curing my own, but I've never equaled his original. Now I've found a pancetta tesa (partially cured) in London, though imported from Italy, which has a massive, stunning flavour. The affumicata (smoked) I find a little domineering.

While I'm not his biggest fan - I think you'll find both those points to be wrong. Keller was both classically trained, AND spent a year in France in old world classic haunts (Taillevant, Guy Savoy to name but two).

Isn't there a pepper/chile stall in the downtown green market? I had a dish of piquillo peppers stuffed with oxtail at Batali's Casa Mono a few days ago. A great match.

You can't remove the sensuality from eating. To say that Dufresne doesn't stretch his food by the pleasure principle is only to say that it's all very nice without actually being . . . very nice. For those who haven't eaten widely along these lines: This isn't because it's avant guarde - but because it's Dufresne's cooking. Gagnaire certainly had me groaning with visceral pleasure (not to mention squirming with shock). Blumenthal's ice-creams (not to mention his other dishes) - bacon and egg, sardines on buttery toast, pommery mustard - were nothing if not absolutely sensual. To hear Tarka speak of Achatz is a study in adjectival sensuality. A meal last week at WD-50 had me agreeing with many of the above posts. The cooking was very well done, imaginative, well crafted - but none of it in a world of limited budgets was a reason to return. The most exciting dish was actually a tagliolini made with pureed shrimp which Wylie sent us as an extra course (I was fortunate enough to be dining with a aquaintence of his). Generally I thought the apps portions were too small, and oddly, the mains were rather over-large. Perhaps catering to some New York quirk. The crowd was interesting - it didn't seem to have many train-spotters (like meself), just New Yorkers out for a good meal. The deserts, I thought, were sensually the most successful - especially the Carrot-lime ravioli, coconut tapioca, lime sherbet, cumin. A fantastic dish, and a real adventure to eat.

When Jamie Oliver opened his place in London, he announced that it would take at least 8 years before they had paid it off. A year and a half later - voila, they've paid it in full. Bistro math - it will get you every time.

I can't stand it. They now have the whole truffle menu. I must've missed this by days. MENU tartufi di Alba Farm Eggs « en cocotte », mousseline of sun chokes, Tartufi di Alba Sea Scallops pan seared, boston lettuce velouté, shaved white truffle Turbot from Brittany « au Champagne », crayfish Nantua, White Truffles Hen Pheasant from Scotland, vegetables “au pot”, Albuféra sauce, Tartufi di Alba Your choice of dessert from the menu Friandises & gourmandises $ 320.00 CARTE tartufi di Alba « Mâche » Salad, golden sweet breads and “sot-l’y-laisse”, demi-sel butter, Tarfufi di Alba Foie Gras Ravioli, shaved white truffle Maine Lobster, cardoon gratin, Tartufi di Alba $ 70.00 per course

ADNY had a Molteni - it looked like they were beating the crap out of it, and it seemed to be more than up for the job. Alternatively I was speaking with Wylie Dufresne about his Bonnet, and he said "she looks after us very well indeed."