Bux

I told you you should of used my name. If not mine, you should have tried using Ferran Adria's. If nothing else, this goes a long way to proving that either they're going out of their way to give everyone a chance or that they don't play favorites and assign tables in order or randomly, but with equal opportunity. If there is a system, maybe Pedro will figure it out. Ultimately however, every uncovered system just leads to another new system.

If a review can inspire the right people to check out the right restaurant, it serves a purpose. I felt the way Bryan did about the place after reading the review. It would be an interesting place to check out, although it's clearly not the destination restaurant I feel I need to reserve far in advance or the place I'll regret if I miss it, but it gets a place on the list.

For years I've confused you with Chrisa Mirault.

Let's split the difference and say you were half right. If bigboy's guys were the Provincials, I assumed my team was the Sophisticates. I"m prepared to play on either side. Martinis in crystal stemware, beer in a paper cup, I've been comfortable with both--and equally uncomfortable in the company of those who are not. In retrospect, I guess I should have just said that a lot of people I know, and don't know, seem to read and be influenced by restaurant reviews. I also meant to say "movie reviews," not "moving reviews" and I'm kind of surprised no one's asked if I meant reviews of moving companies (I have seen articles on what to look for when you hire a company to move your household belongings) or reviews that touched the heart. Whenever I've bought or read a copy of the NY Times outside of NYC, it seems as if parts are missing. I've also read on eGullet that we Manhattanites don't get to see the restaurant reviews that appear in the editions circulated in suburban NJ or Long Island. Thus I had reason to suspect "provincials" might not get to read Bruni's reviews.

We're drifting from the unreliability of Michelin regardless of where it's rating restaurants and beyond the point made (in small print) by mutual funds that past performance is no guarantee of future results. In fact, a previous disappointment at a Michelin starred restaurant was one we sought out not for its Michelin star, but because we tasted their rillettes de lapin at a Salon du Chocolat the year before. Right there was dark chocolate in it. The chef had great word of mouth from his previous restaurant and he wowed us with the rillettes but we found the menu banal and the food rather average when we finally got there. As for your last statement, I've been going to France on an irregular basis since 1959 and on a limited budget in the beginning. In the sixties, it was so depressing to return to NY from France that I dreaded leaving in the first place simply because the memory of a short trip left a lasting memory I couldn't match, certainly not at the price I could afford to pay. The food was just universally better in France at every level we experienced and the dollar was strong enough for me to afford a level or two up as well. In the past decade and a half perhaps, things began to improve here, while France has seen some decline particularly in the middle cuisine. After too long a hiatus, we began to travel again in the late eighties. The change had started, but by the mid nineties I began to notice the differences. Lately, I find myself comparing touted restaurants in Europe, unfavorably with ones I know in NY where I can eat better and sometimes for less money. I posted many stories and examples illustrating the phenomenon. I don't hold with absolutes and I wouldn't argue we're the greatest food city in the world, but the credibility of our restaurants, chefs, sous chefs, line cooks, etc. is world class. There was a time I'd urge a young cook or culinary student to go to Europe to understand food. Today, I'd do it to encourage him to broaden himself, but we understand food here in the states today and European chefs understand that we do. The better I eat in Europe, the more likely it is that the chef who's prepared the food is likely to speak highly of the talent in American kitchens. I probably wouldn't have said that as recently as ten years ago.

I don't know. Honest speculation made in good faith with one's prejudices laid out to be reinforced or rebuffed as factual could make for a positive discussion. Maybe it's grist for another topic. In one form or another we've already discussed how much we think a restaurant reviewer should know about food and restaurants. Some believe all he can, while others believe certain kinds of knowledge will unduly influence his opinion and make it less valuable to readers. In a cosmopolitan market such as NYC, we might ask how important is it for the reviewer to have lived in the city and be familiar with its resources and how useful/harmful is it to have a reviewer who's imported from outside the region. It might well be a discussion that parallels the one about the new NYC Michelin guide. Nevertheless, it's germane to a discussion about Grimes and Bruni. - Bigboy, What's silly to us sophisticates is that anyone reads moving reviews before deciding what to see or reads Consumer Reports before buyng a toaster. Of course, if you're saying that the NY Times reviews are particularly less dependable than others, I may or may not want to debate the point. Then again, I don't believe the local restaurant reviews show up in the Provincial editions of the NY Times. Is that true?

The chef of any two or three star restaurant is likely to be a successful business executive whether he's in the kitchen every day feeding 40 people for dinner or away in Rio doing a charity dinner while his sous chef is responsible for 250 covers each night.

My knowledge of Asian cuisines is very sketchy outside of Chinese and Japanese. I've never been in any other Asian country and those are the two countries whose cuisines I am also most familiar with here in NY restaurants. Of course I live in NY and therefore it can be safely assumed that I have sampled the foods of a number of other Asian countries, but my knowledge is relatively slight. I wonder if Bruni is less familiar with Asian cuisines simply because he's been based in Rome and not NY. I was just in Rome for the first time in many years, but spent less than 48 hours there and wasn't really lookiing for Asian restaurants while I was there. I'm kind of reaching for answers, but it's far easier, I think, to pick up knowledge of Asian food here in NY, than in most European cities. Then again, it may depend on what part of Asia we're talking about, or what part of Europe. There are plenty of Vietnamese restaurants in Paris, Indonesian restaurants in Amsterdam and in the southeast corner of Spain, a vacation spot for Spaniards and other Europeans, it seemed as if every other restaurant was a Chinese restaurant. I withdraw my speculation.

From WorldTable - Dinner at le Calandre: I also noted that this may have been the finest meal of our trip, but that it was not a strong three star meal in our opinion. In citing it as the finest meal, I'm reminded of a camp I attended as a child. Everyone managed to win some awards over the summer. If it wasn't in sports, it might have been as most will to taste new foods. Remarkably, that was one of my distinctions and not one my parents found credible as I was a picky eater. In terms of our trip, Dal Pescatore would be the finest restaurant in terms of setting and service as well as flawless food, if not particularly exciting food. Il Rigoletto might earn the best meal title. At any rate, there's a photo record of the courses we had, more text and some non-food related comments about the town and neighboring Padua at the above reference link.

Yes, I was speaking of France and more specifically of Paris. I'm not even sure if the businessman's lunch special exists at provincial, or rather rural, multistarred restaurants even in France.

Let's agree to limit the discussion on Daniel Boulud, a Frenchman at least, and Alex Lee in this forum. To answer the questions though, it was the herb ravioli which Grimes described as inferior to that which can be had at any run of the mill trattoria, and should I ever hear news related to Alex's professional moves, I will report them in the most suitable place to which I have access to post, which is not likely to be the France forum, unless he opens a restaurant in France. The red wine in the Crisp Paupiette of Sea Bass in a Barolo Sauce, seems to have changed from Barolo to syrah and back if I'm not mistaken, but Daniel has said his clientele has not allowed him to remove it from the menu although his cooks are often weary of making the dish. Mention may belong in this forum as Boulud credits Bocuse with the inspiration for the dish.

I've never heard of "levain" in relation to mature butter. Ptipois would be in a much better position than I, and it's an unfamiliar term to her. I suspect "levain" isn't being used to indicate sourdough starter. If there's an update here, I'd like to know it. I do not understand the use of fleur de sel in any product where it has been dissolved. It distinguishes itself from other salt mostly in its crystalline form. It has "hooks" which enable it to stick to food better than most salt crystals. Once dissolved, it merely imparts a salty taste, although it raises the cost of production and adds a pretentious (in my opinion) note to the product. I feel that way about Pierre Hermé's caramel macarons. Perhaps it also has less impurities than other sea salt, but those are probably good for you and can't have much effect on the final taste.

We never ate at Androuet, but I understood that it offered more than just a great selection of cheeses. It offered meals in which cheese was featured in every course. That's a far different experience than just a good wine bar offering an excellent cheese plate.

I certainly agree with that. I'm not sure that's the sole basis for awarding one star, but I'll think about that. Part of Aux Lyonnais' appeal for me is similar to that of the original la Régalade, although I don't think it's as good or that the appeal is as strong, but it does remind me of the places in which I cut my teeth on French cooking. Oddly enough, I've had the opportunity to watch some of those original places decline to the point where they no longer reminded me of themselves, so it's not a false or misplaced nostaligia. None of those original places in which I ate as a student or just after we were married had, or merited a star, but those were different times anyway. Later visits to France involved starred restaurant in increasing numbers and those experiences built on a good foundation. I'm not sure that foundation can be as well had at unstarred restaurants these days. I see less of the continuity between the classes of restaurants, but I think Aux Lyonnais is the kind of place that upholds the traditions at the base level.

I tend to agree with you and your wife. As for Bocuse, I think it serves a different purpose now, than it did, or maybe it serves the same sort of purpose, but for a different sort of diner. The same may be said for Michelin and any star system. It's of more value when you're learning about food than it may be when you have experience. I've been luckier than you in regard to my companions. I didn't even mind a fussy baby, although it meant I spent most of my second meal wheeling him around outside the restaurant. I've not thought that Aux Lyonnais deserved a star, only that Ducasse had the ability to staff a restaurant and make it worthy of a star if he chose to do so. Aux Lyonnais is what it is. I've enjoyed eating there immensely and many people, French people as well, never eat as well in their life and certainly not at Olive Garden or Buffalo Roadhouse or whatever it's called. However, I must apologize for being the cause of any discussion regarding its merit of a star, even though I've eaten less well at starred places. The system is broken, but awarding a star to Aux Lyonnais is not any sort of fix. It would simply add to the confusion. Christian Parra used to make and serve a remarkable boudin noir at l'Auberge de la Galupe, his two star restaurant in the Pays Basque. Parra today runs a more simple rustic place closer to the Spanish border in the Pyrenées. I have reason to believe it's his recipe that arrives at Aux Lyonnais in cans and which is served to diners there. That would serve to illustrate degusto's points in regard to short cuts in preparation, but I defy anyone to find a better boudin noir in Paris, home made or not. "Short cut" is not synonymous with delivering an inferior product to the table. Still, I don't argue that Aux Lyonnais deserves a star. That I'd prefer it to Benoît implies that I don't think Benoît deserves its star.

Perhaps that's one of the better, or at least more interesting, things about message boards. I don''t mean that as a personal comment. The meaning of many posts is completely lost on the rest of us from time to time. Ambiguity, doubt and the abstract concept are all food for thought and sometimes thinking is its own reward. Speaking of ad hominem posts, my pet peeve is the post that mocks another member's attempt to communicate on the boards. I'm speaking of the comment that goes well beyond sarcasm as it applies to comments made in the post to which the taunt replies. I think you know it when you see it and examples need not be posted by me, or others following in the thread. Such attention to one party would be unfair and unreasonable as well as take this thread away from its useful discussion on the subject of anonymity, etiquette and honorable posting in the forums. The mocking tone is rare here, and that's one of the Society's blessings and rewards, but it's not unknown. When it's made by an anonymous poster, it reinforces the impression that anonymity is being used to screen behavior, and perhaps opinions, that would embarrass the poster in public. Then again, as I've seen it here, but more often on other sites, with real names attached, we should understand that some people have no shame. Few of us manage to always earn the respect of those with whom we disagree in the forums, or even those watching a debate from the sidelines, but I think that's a more reasonable goal than simply winning the argument. It's quite possibly a harder goal to attain at times. Previewing my post before I hit "add reply," I see that Jonathan added that "condescending remarks" are on the decline here. I agree and for that reason they stand out more. The general tone of the forums makes such posts all the more noticeable, and I trust offensive to the membership.

It's perhaps worth noting that on the France board, I was reminded that our most disappointing and overpriced meal in Paris last fall was in a restaurant with a star. It was not a terrible meal, just not as good as others at the price and more expensive than some that offered better meals.

Interesting, Bux. Would you like to elaborate (here or in another thread) on how you compare the two? ← I've gone into some detail in the past regarding Grimes' first review of Daniel and the disparaging comments he's made in print about chefs and their profession as well as my sense that his reviews rarely conveyed any joy in eating and less in dining out. During his tenure I began to pay less attention to restaurant reviews in general unless I was particularly interested in the reviewer or the restaurant. I really don't have a lot to say about Bruni's reviews and don't really read them regularly or thoroughly.

I'm told my four year old grandniece asked her grandmother, my sister, where bacon comes from. When told pork, she asked where pork comes from. When told pigs, she replied "you must be kidding."

....Ahh, but Brenner wrote the book after Daniel had been demoted to three stars... albeit, he was able to regain it again under Grimes. But, Bruni has yet to comment... By the way, where's Alex Lee now? U.E. ← Grimes' stars were irrelevant to the quality of the cooking. I remain convinced he had his own agenda. In any event, it was interesting that he reversed his decision rather quickly and reviewed Daniel before getting around to covering many of the other top restaurants. I think he realized he needed to do that to restore some credibility. for a number of reasons I had close access to the restaurant in those days, it may have overlapped with the period in which I was helping Daniel understand what he wanted in the way of a web site. Although Grimes was able to cite changes in the menu to support his claim of improvement, all of the changes I saw at the time were the kinds of little things Boulud had been doing since the inception of his first restaurant. He's a restless chef always intent on changing things. Oddly enough the one dish that never went off the menu and wasn't changed to my knowledge, was the one dish that Grimes held up for his most savage contempt in his first review. It went unmentioned in the second review. What Daniel did do in that time was make a number of changes to the dining room itself. In my opinion most of the early changes were for the worse and the worst of those have disappeared, but somehow they were all overlooked in the second Grimes review. So don't get me started on Grimes and Daniel. If there is a flaw, or skew to Brener's book, it was that the Americans in the kitchen spoke freely to her, while the French had a tendency to keep their thoughts private. Thus she got more insight from the American line chefs than from the French and the perspective may show, although I don't think it's her fault, or necessarily a fault in the book. There was a thread on Alex in the NY forum. He's the chef at a country club near where he lives. The commute is short and the hours are far better than working in a top Manahattan restaurant kitchen. He gets to spend much more time with his kids. There was however, speculation that he might be looking to open his own restaurant. I'm not in a position to offer anything other than speculation myself and it wouldn't surprise me if he did, or if he didn't, open a restaurant. He's still close to Daniel Boulud and prepared a salad of smoked short ribs, baby beets and leek with a horseradish mustard cream for a luncheon celebrating Daniel's 50th birthday to which many of Daniel's cooks and alumni contributed.

For a number of reasons, we have a number of our best meals at lunch. They're usually every bit as large as a dinner, and usually as pricey. We then skip dinner altogther, or have a light bite. This works better in Spain than in France for a number of reasons. One is that tapas bars offer the opportunity eat lightly late in the day. Dinner is also so late that a grand gastronomic experience can last long into the wee hours. One of the reasons to do lunch in Paris is that it's often easier to get a lunch reservation than it is to get a dinner reservation. Dining in a restaurant with a view or a terrace (in season) is another reason to consider lunch. I've also gone on record a number of times in this forum, but not yet on this thread, noting that the prix fixe lunch menu may, or may not, be a bargain. Often, it's well priced but offers no clue as to why a restaurant deserves its stars. More often than not one gets what they paid for, or should I say no more than what they've paid for.

It's always sad to think of Loiseau, but one of my favorite quotes from Burgundy Stars, William Echikson's book on him, is when he introduces his sous chef as the guy who cooks Loiseau better than I do. I suspect some of the useful, if not necessary, talents for a chef to have if he's ever going to be a biggie, is knowing how to spot talent, hire it and train it. Leslie Brenner in her book on Daniel talks of the time Boulud went to Lyon with his executive chef, fully confident his third in command could run the restaurant for a week or more.

I didn't realize Benoit had a star, either that, or the experience of our meal there last year wouldn't allow that information to penetrate. It may even have dislodged the information that led to my choosing Benoit. Now I better understand why I don't understand the one star choices in NYC. On the other hand, I rather expect Ducasse to be able to earn a star. I've been a fan of Aux Lyonnais.

I rather expected it in 1998 after our 1997 meal. I fear that Michelin has withheld that third star for so long that giving it now would be an admission of wrong doing as well as possibly require them to rethink Bocuse.

There's a potential conflict of interest in every post I make. I try not to live up to my full potential. My teachers always said I was an under achiever.