Bux

Unfortunately, I didn't have access to post for over two weeks after my return from Italy and thus the freshness of my response is lost. Alle Testiere was our first real meal of the trip as we flew directly into Venice. Some paninni or a piadina in bar earlier in the day, weren't memorable and don't count. The meal was good, very good in some ways and an excellent informal start to the trip. It was no more informal that I expected, but the last two posts do a god job of explaining or describing the disappointing aspect of the meal. A "sophistication or the rich comforting flavors of family style meals" were really not all that was lacking. I like the latter, but can do well without the former. What I missed here was the precision of cooking and I think that fault comes through in Lana and Vedat's posts. While there's little a chef can do to improve less than pristine seafood, there's ample opportunity to bring pristine seafood to the table in less than the most favorable condition. Oddly enough, it was the simplest dishes that suffered. The squid with black linguini was excellent ad so was the swordfish. The mantis shrimp, the red shrimp and the above mentioned soft shell crab satisfied us less. Still it was a good meal and we were not displeased, but I sense the word of mouth is a bit over rated. The staff seems to speak English and Spanish fluently and they are both helpful and friendly. That too makes it no surprise that the restaurant was almost full of English speaking diners when we arrived just before our eight o'clock reservation. The couple next to us was American and Alle Testiere had been recommended to them by friends. There were two sittings and it appeared that the second wave of diners was more local.

Rocketman, There's was nothing evasive aboout honoring Fat Guy's decision not to mention the author. Fat Guy knew who wrote the article and chose not to use her name. It was his decision and I follwed suit by clearly acknowledging I knew exactly which article he meant. At any rate, her byline was on the web page to which Fat Guy linked for all to see. To quote Fat Guy once more, "The story is available online here: http://www.timeoutny.com/eatout/240/240.eat.ramps.html -" It's a pretty good article and no, my daughter doesn't need a literary agent. By the way, what's the relevance of the fact that the author of the article was my daughter? As I do, she signs her writing. We're both proud of what we say and do. And what part of your amazing post did you think offered a rebuttal. What I did in my last post was rebut your statement that I never said brother Doug was sous chef. I said that early in October I posted that Doug had been referred to as a sous chef at the restaurant and I quoted the message in which I said that. My posts are long because no matter how many times I repeat myself, you ignore what I say. Doug wrote that "Peter" owned the restaurant he worked in with Alex Urena and he said that Peter wasn't a chef. I said Dan Barber owned that restaurant and the article that said Doug was a sous chef describes Doug's role in the kitchen as less than that of a sous chef. Dan is clearly described as the man in charge and handling all of the chef's duties. Can you rebut the error of the chef's name? Can you rebut the fact that Dan was in charge of the kitchen when my daughter was doing her research? It's clear you have an emotional attachment to this book, but are evasive about letting others know why. Why does this seem like deja vu to me?

Just like in college, the ability to make the best use of the resource. Of course there would be some subjective decisions to be made in regard to the prerequisites and who met those. Extreme curiosity would be one of the qualifying abilities sought from an applicant, just as knowledge of contemporary cooking would be. Just as the admissions board for a top school looks for diversification, so would the reservation committee. I might even propose auctioning off ten percent of the covers to the highest bidder using the income to provide need worthy scholarships for those who couldn't afford even a fair price. Then again it might actually be fair to compensate the staff for their labor before we give away free meals. But yes, you are right, establishing the basis for admission would be a nightmare in the real world and not nearly as easy as proposing one on the net.

Egads, do I feel spoiled. the last three macaron purchases I've made in Paris were from Hevin, Herme and Laduree from last to first. I don't ever recall buying them from anyone else, although I've certainly had mediocre macarons. Laduree and Herme were on recommendations. Hevin was on a whim. I am as lucky as I am branchée. I will sleep contentedly tonight, although not as well as if there was a Hevin chocolate macaron on my plate after dinner. High maintenance is not the worst price to pay for excellence.

I'm with you on suspecting that brandade would work better for me as well on a coca. Attitude can be everything, or at least enough to cover other faults. Recovery is often more important that the original faux pas. Recently, a hostess three feet away from us, let two drinks slip from a tray. The drinks hit a vacant table ten inches away from ours. The glasses broke. Liquid went flying. No one got wet, thankfully, but it was a sort of minor disaster in a packed brasserie. In about the time it took for the drinks to hit the floor, runner, waiters, a manager and wine guy attacked the mess with mops, towels and a new place setting with the kind of precision that wins auto races in the pit and without regard to who on the staff was wearing a suit and who had an apron. My wife and I sat there impressed at the service, with nary a thought of why it was called into play. I was referring to onions being a large part of the blood sausage stuffing. I've never thought of blood sausages as being sweet, but they are rich and sometimes seasoned with clove, nutmeg, ginger or cinnamon. That combination evokes a sense of sweetness. Onions too could make it sweet.

Obviously you don't eat with, or talk to, the same people jasper does. Note that, to the best of my knowledge, I don't know jasper and have never dined with him. Further disclaimer: About a million years ago, or at least sometime before eG, I linked to Fat Guy's restaurant review site from my web site, with the notation that it was an excellent source of restaurant reviews. I added the disclaimer that we didn't share the same taste however. It's really hard, or perhaps pointless, to dispute an individual's subjective opinion. It appears that even credible and educated palates won't agree. Michelin is simply one of many in the mix. I'm partially on jasper's side on this one. I didn't find the cooking better at ADNY than at Daniel. I understand there's a sense of luxury ADNY affords. I think awarding three stars to a restaurant whose chef changed while the reviews were being written is a questionable departure for Michelin, but possilbe not without precedent and then again, they've announced that this guide is setting new standards. "New standards are a step in the right direction," some would say. "God help us" is the other perspective. Apparently, although I don't read Zagat Reviews, its style is growing on me.

Amusing and maybe even more significant at that, especially in light of the shortcuts exposed in the rating system in Europe. I won't detail the incidents you and others have already noted in this thread. They've also been covered in great detail elswhere in the appropriate forums. Whatever one may think about the ratings based on one's own experience in rated restaurants, errors of the factual kind do a lot of damage to the integrity of the guide as a whole. They undermine credibility and it carries over from the text to the ratings. My only defense of Michelin is very left handed, it's competing with Zagat Reviews and a collection of old, often out or date, reviews, often by different reviewers with different standards. This doesn't mean to say that I think all of the Michelin ratings hand together. I have a clear impression that not all the reviewers went to all of the same restaurants. As for NY Noodletown, I supsect that if pressed, many of us could come up with places listed in some of the European Michelin guides that are just as "divey." It's also worth noting that Michelin does list tapas bars in Spain. The symbol used for a tapas bar in Spain is used for a couvert-less designation of simple comfort in France--"cheap eats." Inconsistencies of inclusion plague other Michelin guides as well and are probably one of the pitfalls of trying to publish a guide to so many disparate restaurants. I've yet to see a guide, and that includes any bunch of NY Times reviews, that goups restaurants very close to the way I'd order my favorite restaurants and I haven't seen one that doesn't overrate a few of the restaurants at which I've been terribly disappointed. [insert appropriate French and Latin aphorism here.]

Historically, there's been no basis for a comparison as the two publications have never rated any restaurnants in the same venue. What you're speaking of is perception. It's certainly going to be eaiser to get "a" star in a systen that has four levels of stars than in one that has only three levels. A side by side comparison might place inclusion in Michelin with one star in the NY Times. The Times reviews unsatisfactory restaurants. The Michelin guide recommends all listed restaurants relative to their price and location.

My guess is that if Fat guy, Oakapple, and 48 other fin becs who post in this forum made a list of their choices for one, two and three stars, there wouldn't be one list I'd agree with completely. Moreover, if I made a list, I'll bet I won't agree with it entirely either in a few months. More likely, I'll wake up the next day and think of a place I forgot about including. At any rate, these lists are never as definitive as people have wanted to believe Michelin's lists are. If Oakapple seems to be one of Michelin's supporters here, I read his posts as saying that if Michelin gives a restaurant a two star rating, lots of people will agree and most people will agree that it's worth a star and maybe three.

To the best of my knowledge, bacalao in Spain can refer to both dried salt cod and fresh cod. The paste you are familiar with is likely brandada de bacalao a relative of the French brandade, although recipes I've read are very different. As for coca, I have to admit, I really don't know what it's supposed to be like and wasn't enthralled with the idea of cod fish and manchego cheese. Somehow, I recall an hors d'oeuvre of coca someplace in Catalunya and wasn't stirred by what I recall as a cracker with toppings. I assume mr. alacarte ordered an egg white omelette and the server didn't deliver one. Are you saying restaurants rarely get that order correct? Was the blood sausage sweeter than other blood sausages? I"m wondering if it was the seasoning or if it may have had lots of onion in the stuffing. I'm trying to remember our tapas, which we all shared. There were excellent cod fish fritters, a very nice dish of octopus with red and yellow peppers, and some fried squid. The squid was cut in rectangles rather than the more commonly found rings. For me the squid was the least interesting of the dishes, although I had no fault with it. I enjoyed my black "paella," as I wrote, although it didn't particularly remind me of Barcelona or Catalunya or even Spain. I think the food is more interesting at Casa Mono where it's so much harder to get a table. Perhaps we lucked on what we ordered, but we'd go back. My guess is that coca sounds better than it tastes however. We were with someone known to the house. Our server was on her toes. We ordered tapas and only after we finished those did we place an order for main courses. I get the sense that it may be permissable, or even expected, for tables to just order rounds of tapas or share the paellas. Three out of our four desserts were excellent. One, I thought, just didn't work as well as it might have sounded, even though it was the one the waitress suggested.

A slap for being a fan of meritocracy? Not reasonable, especially when you'd be ahead of me.

DeMarchalier - http://www.demarchelierrestaurant.com/main.html

Katz's is a one trick pony as has been suggested, but I'd also note that it's a much idfferent kind of trick than Lugar has to offer. I haven't seen the actual guide yet. Were any diners listed? Were any of NYC's ubiquitous "coffee shop/luncheonettes" listed. I'd list Katz's, but I can also understand why it seems like a sandwhich shop or diner rather than a restaurant. I'm assuming the Second Avenue Deli was listed. spelling

St. Veran is a town in the Mâconnais and the name of a wine from a designation area in, around or near the town. The Mâconnais is in southern Burgundy. Wine made from chardonnay grapes in the designated area of St. Véran, should be entitled to the AOC of St. Véran, Mâcon Blanc or Bourgogne Blanc if conforming in other aspects to the laws governing those appellations. The St Véran AOC is not all that old and dates from the early 70's. Prior to that the wines would have been bottled as Mâcon Blanc or Beaujolais Blanc as the area is on the cusp of those two appellations. I'm not even sure some of it isn't still entitled to be called, and bottled as, Beaujolais Blanc. On the other hand, I never saw much Beaujolais Blanc and now see less on the market. In my opinion, oysters from Brittany deserve an austere Muscadet from the vinyards closest to Brittany, but the list of acceptable dry white wines is very long and includes most of the dry Loire wines, the drier crisper wines from Burgundy--Chablis in the north and Macon Blanc, et al in the south and some of the drier Alsatian wines as well as dry whites from Bordeaux. I was once assured by a fisherman on the west coast of France, that Entre-Deux-Mer, a minor appellation nearby, was the finest wine in the world. It too would go with oysters.

However, you don't know that for any travel or restaurant guide that has a corporate publisher. And at other media outlets where you do know the reviewer's name (Frank Bruni at the New York Times), you still really don't know much of anything about the process or standards that led to the review. I don't so much care what the process was, when I can read the book and draw my own conclusions. Nathan made a rather pertinent point, which no one so far has disputed: I do agree with Fat Guy that not all screw-ups have the same weight. Theoretically, you could have just a handful of errors, or perhaps just one huge error that invalidates the whole exercise. I haven't yet seen that (much as I cringe at some of the mistakes), but I realize some people do. What's interesting is that those who say the guide is nearly worthless can't agree precisely which mistake(s) put it over the edge. For Rich, it's the lack of a star for Tasting Room, but to Fat Guy that decision is "within the margin of error." (I concur with FG on that one.) Another way of putting it is to ask what other guide having an equivalent purpose (a pocket-sized book for out-of-town travelers who want to dine well) has done a better job? Zagat is the comparison everyone is making, for obvious reasons. While I have no doubt that Zagat will remain king of the local market, no one yet has claimed that Zagat is better; only that it has its own set of peculiar flaws. ← I feel Fat Guy is making some of the wrong points, but just as Michelin's mistakes over time don't necessarily negate the validity of it's ratings, Fat Guy's mistakes may not invalidate his overall opinion. In your previous post you offer the kind of information that, along with the Brussels incident is telling and damning. Michelin is way understaffed for the job. They're taking short cuts in gathering their material, and I suspect, in reaching some of their conclusions by relying on already published material by others. It lends an air of alien falseness to the guide. If they, or anyone else, publishes what may be not much more than a synopsis of respected or educated opinion, it's going to be full of holes and hard to defend, but likely still more reliable than a Zagat Survy where the participants need not be qualified.

I've had one sommelier express the opinion that too much work had gone into creating the wine collection and that putting the complete list up on the site was of more value to the competition than it was to the restaurant. I'm not defending that position, just mentioning one opinion. I'd also note that other restaurants have made a feature of their online wine list. As a diner, I'd find it useful to be able to gain a familiarity with the list prior to arriving at the restaurant in question.

The wines served by the carafe at Balthazar are acceptable and there's no need to forego wine to stay under $100, although I don't know that I've done that with tax and tip included as well as wine unless we were just having hamburgers and sharing a salad. I suspect we'd have to skip coffee as well, which for us means espresso. It's very good espresso, well above restaurant average, but it's four bucks a shot. Hamburgers are excellent, by the way.

From the Michelin Website - a Michelin Press release: http://www.michelinman.com/difference/rele...a.html?source=5 ← I'll concede that the title does seem to make the claim I say they don't make. The text is less emphatic about not missing places particularly noting that the guide "offers a broad selection of more than 500 restaurants and 50 hotels in each price and comfort category." This is the sort of language I've interpreted as meaning they don't claim to publish a complete of definitive list. I'm not sure you've won me over, but you make a good case. Thanks for the link. There are even more interesting things to be read there. The last sentence you quote is one of them.

Perhaps like colleges, restaurants should consider the abilities of the applicants and the applications should require an essay and references. Smiling and ducking.

For the record, I love fresh cheese, fromage blanc, good ricotta and the like. I also kiss my son-in-law and grandson. I do not need to be seen eating andouille and livarot.

This is so basic that I didn't even think to mention it, but I have been on sites that are frustrating if not absolutely useless and frustrating. Peggy's point is absolutely on target. I don't want a song and dance when I want a phone number. I particularly don't want loud music when I'm surfing late at night and Mrs. B is sleeping, but I have turned to using earphones just to avoid random noise in the house at night.

Verizon tells me they no longer deliver yellow pages for Manhattan. I just got a small book covering a district in which I live on the edge. I would have thought my daughter was on the other edge, but she got a book for a different district on the other side of her residence. For the most part, our "local" directories don't cover at least half our respective local neighborhoods, or the ones in which we'd look for a restaurant phone number. It doesn't matter, I'm far more likely to google a restaurant first, rather than look in the yellow pages or a guide. I'm on the side of less glitz and greater speed. Greater speed obviously means faster loading, but it also means ease of navigation. If complex menus load quickly in various points on the screen in no hierarchy, it may take me longer to find what I want to know. Restaurants are getting more computer literate, but I recall traveling and choosing a restaurant in FT. Lauuderdale whose menu was not all that different in terms of the food, but the prices were perhaps 20-25% higher than shown on the site. That's unacceptable.

The best places eat? I don't think Michelin itself has ever claimed to be the ultimate word in regard to all the best places in any location. The original point of the guide was to insure the traveler would find an acceptable place. All of the places listed, whether at the high or low end of the price scale should be acceptable at their relative price points. They never claimed to have all the acceptable restaurants in town covered. They were a guide for the traveler, not a service to the restaurants. To be sure, the total absence of a restaurant top rated by others, would be embarrassing. I think we can say that for a visitor to any town covered by Michelin, it's a relatively reliable way to find a satisfactory restaurant at all prices, even if it misses a few worthwhile restaurants from time to time. If you're in NY long enough to exhaust the list, you'll undoubtedly hear good reports about a worthwhile restaurant omitted from the list. The guide is more llikely to serve as the first step in the selection of a restaurant, rather the final arbiter of where to eat. The guide to NY may be better than Zagat and the NY Times in terms of reliability, but it you need better information, you can always ask me. That's not meant to be sarcastic or funny, it's just a comment about the subjectivity of taste. I disagree strongly with some of it's ratings. It's annoying perhaps, not to have one's tastes reinforced by authority, but that's life.

I'm a great fan of web sites as a source of information and much less so as entertainment. If I can't navigate quickly to the information I need, I find the site fails to meet my needs no matter how pretty it is or how expert the designers are in using the latest multimedia technology. Occasionally a web site charms me with it's graphics, music or story line, but all too often the designer loses sight of his job as a communicator. I think the tide is turning back to communication however, and the excesses of creative graphic designers are fading as the medium matures. What I want as a consumer may not be what a culinary journalist wants when he's researching for an article. I remember when Ferran Adrià introduced the ability to download images of his food at various resolutions suitable for print and electronic media. I thought that was a creative innovation in service that would pay off in even better publicity for him. For a brief period of time, I designed and maintained a couple of restaurant sites. The nicest thing anyone ever said about them was that the first, and more complex of the sites, "navigated like a kayak." I still think that's one of the most important aspects of any site meant to be informative, although my sites might not pass the minimum level of eye appeal expected today. In my defense, I was only hired (ate up most of the profits in the restaurant anyway) to develop a structure and form to enable the chef to visualize his own needs, one of which turned out to be the need for a little glitz. None of those sites are online today. To return to my point, one of things I stressed when "selling" a chef on the need for a web site in the first place, was that somewhere in the world, there is a journalist who's writing on deadline and needs a bit of information at a time the restaurant is closed and the PR staff are all asleep. The answer to whatever question that journalist might legitimately ask, should be easy to find on the site. This was a world class restaurant likely to find itself mentioned, if not featured several times a month in food, travel and general interest publications all over the world. This was also a time when URLs weren't appearing in every print ad and on every business card and piece of literature. The changes in the past decade have been amazing.

Henry, I'm not sure I understand you and I suspect that Ptipois may not as well or more so in terms of restaurant cheese courses. There are, or have been, in Paris, restaurant(s) specializing in courses in which cheese is the main, or principle ingredient. The last time I was at Picholine in NY, they weren't doing that, but they had an excellent cheese cave and offered an extraordinary selection of cheeses as a cheese course before, or as replacement for, dessert, albeit less naturally than such would be presented in a good country two restaurant in France. For some reason, I feel I've experienced my best cheese courses in good country restaurants in France, although I'm sure Ptitpois and others can make good recommendations in Paris.