JosephB

We were four for dinner at L’atelier last night. Mr. Robuchon was in the kitchen, which I suppose is not a very common occurrence (I would guess 20% of his time is spent in NY). Well, he wasn’t exactly in the kitchen. I never saw him touch a plate or wave a spoon, my effortless surveillance stretching from 8:30 p.m to midnight. Robuchon was basically working the room like a seasoned politician, with a very boisterous handler at his side to make introductions and translate for the chef, who apparently speaks only a few words of English. The room was virtually full with a rather glamorous international set. Half the room was speaking French, with some Spanish, Hebrew and English mixed in with the chatter. Robuchon seemed to know the French speakers quite well, exchanging hugs with them. He seemed to have the most fun at the bar, however, where the crowd was especially jovial. At this stage of his successful career, Robuchon is entitled to have all the fun he wants. Our meal was superb and the service excellent. I'd like to think that Robuchon'e presence had something to do with our delightful evening. We'll have to test our experience on a night he's not there. I'll add some details about the meal later.

I think they were the basic whites if I remember correctly. ← That's right, as preferred by Marcella Hazan.

The sign on the buiding states that the opening is in April, 2007. We're looking forward to it. It's two doors over from Beard Papa, the Japanese choux place.

GROM is an artisinal gelateria from Turin that is set to open this spring on Broadway and 76th Street. Grom's website states that its production is centralized to maintain the quality of the product and the uniqueness of the flavors. Some of GROM's flavors are made with ingredients that are on Slow Food's Ark of Taste, including Huehuetenango coffee, Bronte pistachio and Ciaculli mandarin.

I saw an episode of Iron Chef America last night with the Chef from Moto in Chicago. I've never been there, but weird is an understatement in decribing his work. Whether it affects the food negatively or not I don't know, but edible paper with the chef's image on it is just silly and unnecessary to me.

The restaurant does not open at all until October 3rd, according to the concierge at Time Warner.

Dufour in Manhattan produces a very high quality product. http://www.dufourpastrykitchens.com/index.html I buy their puff pastry at Citarella or Fairway. However, it's more than $7/lb.

The waiter described the topping as a "butter puree," though it tasted like it had potato in it. Maybe they're calling it "butter puree" because it was more butter than potato. I believe he said that the stock was made from the very well baked potato shells. He said that entire process was somewhat lengthy.

It is one of the better places in town, I've eaten there at least twenty times. The staff is better than most, and helpful. It also has low turnover, I see the same faces over and over. When the NYT recently reviewed it, two stars I thnk, they commented that it has been around for a long time, like 30 years. For some reason, it stays off of most people's radar. ← It's worth noting that Oriental Garden is expensive by CT standards.

Go to i Trulli

John, my understanding of basic Mexican white rice from Kennedy is that the rice it quite literally fried in a good amount of oil until golden colored, then drained of the excess oil, and then simmered in good chicken broth. Was the method you learned different? On that note, for purposes of comparison I would appreciate as many details as you can provide of the exact cooking methods you were taught in Mexico. Thanks. -Joe

John, what's the white stuff on the comal?

Doc, this is like the like the local news at 11:00: "When we return, a story you're not going to believe . . . ." What a tease!

My thoughts from last Friday's dinner. Better late than never. First, thanks to philadining for organizing the dinner, and to Shola for a fine performance. Also, I enjoyed meeting all of you. It can't be said often enough: It really is a privilege to be one of the relatively few people who have experienced a StudioKitchen meal. The dishes Shola prepared were all delicious. I was particularly moved by the wonderful lobster salad, which had a striking high note from a tomato gelee. One may argue that lobster prepared in this way loses its true identity, but I'm convinced now that textural quality was what Shola was after in the dish, and it worked beautifully. Another highlight was the appearance of micro-greens and herbs in several of the dishes. These greens were far from ordinary, and were treated with a most delicate hand by Shola. Another dish which left a strong impression was the pork belly, which was cooked slowly so that the belly turned to custard. More remarkable was the glass-like finish on the belly's topside, which would put most renditions of crème brulee to shame. It's worth noting that a starch in the form of perfectly prepared farro made a cameo appearance with the pork belly. Earlier in the evening, a challah toast point showed up, but didn't stay long. Seriously, as much as all seven courses were satisfying, the absence of starches, especially with the good amount of wine consumption throughout the evening, left me feeling slightly peckish at the end of the evening. If I just had one baguette . . . . Fine company and the intimate dining setting of StudioKitchen turned a great meal into a unique and special happening, which I hope I can be part of again in the future.

Alfanoose Maiden Lane, NYC

Yes, a skilled home cook could execute all of the dishes we ate at home, except for the sushi. So what your get is very good quality homey bistro food at a reasonable price. Add to that the fun atmosphere and David Bouley's presence and accessibility and it adds up to good recommendation.

Doc, I see now that it's worth having you weild that camera around in the middle of lunch. Nice job. I would add that the only dish prepared sous vide was my tenderloin, which was obvious from the absolutely perfect color of the meat from end to end. Our server told us that JG is just beginning to use the sous vide technique, and that at present only three dishes are made that way.

I was also there on Thursday evening, and had a lovely time.

Excellent report, doc. Yes, the pretension was almost laughable, especially the sign in the bathroom reminding the staff to wash their hands, which was written in Italian! With such attention to detail you'd think they'd remember to fill the TP dispenser, which was empty. I will note, however, that doc’s estimation of the amount of meat on the carpaccio was grossly understated. There was certainly 4 oz. of beef on the plate. Notwithstanding my skepticism, I also wish the Batali Empire the best of luck in this new venture.

I visited the Bangkok Grocery today on Mosco St. While I was chatting with the owner, Nong, she mentioned that she had an excellent Thai restaurant to recommend to me -- Pongsri in Chesea. I told her that I recently heard on eG that it was good if one read a Thai menu, but that I was skeptical. She told me to go to Pongsri, tell them that Nong sent me and that I eat the same way Thai people do, and then leave the rest to them. She assured me that meal would be memorable.

You're welcome to go yourself next time. We told some good stories when we came back from that procurement, but I would just assume never go back there. Though the butchering area looked as clean as an operating room, the area where the birds were caged was pretty disgusting. My next rooster will come from a poultry farm on the East End.

OK Doc, on the amuse we had a cantaloupe soup with prosciutto foam; a tiny puff pastry with pesto and parmigiano; and one slice of Hamachi with wasabi granita. We then had between us, seared foie gras, raw tuna cubes in a dashi and rice vinegar broth, with a demitasse cup of buttery mushroom soup; risotto with porcini and balsamic; garlic soup with frog legs; beef tenderloin; squab; trio of berry dessert; trio of chocolate dessert; marshmallows; petit four. One cocktail, two sparkling water; one glass Loire Valley white. $136 + tip.

We were in the main room, and had a beautiful large round table near the window. It was perfect.

My wife and I finally tried the Jean-George lunch today, and agree as most have here that it's an extraordinary and unsurpassed value that should be taken advantage of as often as possible. We ordered three different courses each plus dessert, and were offered a trio of amuse-bouche. Everything was excellent. We both felt that for lunch we couldn't eat anymore without feeling too stuffed. As was the case on all the other occasions I've been to JG, I saw chef JG watching over things. I have no doubt that no matter what happens at his other restaurants, JG will always jealously guard his flagship. We plan to go to JG for lunch as often as we can. We also discovered that babies are welcomed in the Nougatine room. They even have a high chair.

Why doesn't that surprise me. I know first hand how labor intensive preparing curries pastes by hand with a mortar and pestle can be. And that's at home. I've always wondered how they did it on a large scale at Sripraphai. We have a dear friend from the north of Thailand, who once owned a Thai restaurant in Boston. She thinks it's crazy that I make curries by hand, though she has told me that my curry pastes are some of the best she's ever had. Nang, the owner the Bangkok Center Grocery store on Mosco Street, also thinks I'm nuts. In fact, she asked me to invite her over the next time I make curry pastes at home. But she still thinks her frozen curry pastes from Thailand are of excellent quality. I haven't tried them. I'm not backtracking from my opinion that the food at Sripraphai is excellent. However, I will say that I've always been more drawn to the salads and fragrant soups and rices more than anything else. I've always attributed my lesser interest in the curries to fullness by the time they arrive at the table, but maybe it was something else? Anyway, I's also be curious to know what that stuff is that they're using. I think next time I'm there I'll corner my favorite waitress on the issue.