Bux

This probably isn't the place to discuss it, but I sometimes think that "nice" restaurants think that putting prices or a menu on a website has a cheapening effect, or something. Witness that the Jean Georges website has menus/prices for JoJo, Vong, etc. but not for JG. Well, I guess Daniel Boulud wouldn't agree that providing prices has a cheapening effect because his web site provides that information for all his restaurants. He even includes supplementary charges on his Daniel menu. I'm with Bux. And this is something that eGulleteer VivreManger has complained about. A restaurant web site can have all the bells and whistles imaginable. But if it doesn't provide important information, i.e., up-to-date menus and prices, then, for me, it's worse than useless. First, I've moved the last two posts and this is now the place to discuss this. What cheapens the JG web site is reading outdated information like this which is currently on JG's site. In 2001 Didier Virot opened his own restaurant called "Virot." It didn't last long and he now has Aix on the upper west side, but you wouldn't know that from reading the JG web site. I wonder how many of those prices listed for dishes at his other restaurants are valid. If a web site doesn't provide important information, it's worse than useless. Just as bad, or maybe worse, is when the information is there, but you can't find it. Perhaps the ultimate perversion is the message that tells you your browser isn't good enough to read my web site. The web site must dazzle you at all cost. If you're not willing to download the proper browser -- the one that shows off the designers talents in the best light, well then, you're not going to find out what's on the menu. There are web sites that are no longer about communication and ones that are not about the restaurant, but the web designer.

I think distinctions have to be made between names that describe a certain kind of product, a range of products, and a place. It'a one thing to make cheese, it's another to make blue cheese and still something else to make Roquefort cheese. An attempt to secure the name boudin for a sausage made in Louisiana would not only be contested by French-Canadians, but by all of France where boudin noir and boudin blanc refer to blood sauasge and a white sausage not unlike weissewurst. "Arcadian boudin"could be worthy of protection as could "boudin Quebecois." Joe, who moves to San Francisco would have to earn a living selling "Joe's boudin." No one can say it's worse than what's made elsewhere by it's not entitled to carry the place name. There are many reasons other than the water, why a regional product might taste differently if made elsewhere. Of course the protection would make more sense if there was a local agency that oversaw production and ensured that certain standards were kept.

I'm bringing this to the fore in response to a following post.

Paula, was the chef and Mme. Gagnaire in the house the night you had terrible service?

I love you, Ruth. That is exactly what cilantro smells like! But, I like it anyway. I take back all the nasty things I've said about you.

Whaddymean, supposed to contrast. I love ice cream. I spoil my ice cream. It can do anything it wants to do.

But I do want a pickle in my sandwiche cubano. Ah, there's just no accounting for taste or it's inconsistencies.

I swear by DiPalo. Louis is my go to guy for anything Italian. Arthur Avenue may be part of a thriving Italian-American neighborhood and a more colorful neighborhood to shop in than Little Italy in Manhattan is today, but Louis is in Italy several times a year working with this suppliers and staying on top of his import business.

Hey, thanks Bux! Actually, when making tuna salad I do prefer the one can white one can light mixture. Bit water packed, nanny nanny boo boo. One more incomprehensible: Putting anything more assertive than a squirt of lemon on oysters on the half shell. I'd understand a few drops of mignonette sauce, which is probably no more assertive than lemon juice. I prefer lemon juice myself, so there's hope for you yet. Now what do you drink with your oysters? That's less of a problem. I'm tolerant of quite a few white wines as well as beer. I draw the line well before Coca-Cola though.

Some of the worst food I have ever eaten in my life came from the kitchens of great hotels.

The Basques serve black cherry preserve with cheese, for what it's worth (if you're seeking validation).

If we can get to Paris this fall, I think I'm going to skip a dinner and sit in the place St. Sulpice with a liter of glace caramel. If I'm still hungry, I'll have an ice cream sandwich for dessert.

Interesting. Here in NY, fresh ricotta cheese is rather wet and loose. I'm speaking of the really fresh ricotta one buys at an old fashioned Italian-American cheese and salumi shop, where they make their own ricotta and mozzarella. Is fresh ricotta in Italy so much drier that it can be cut into dice or chunks or are you talking about something closer to what I can buy here as ricotta salata? We've made variations of that sauce with fresh ricotta, ricotta salata and fresh mozzarella. (It's even good without the pasta.) Do you ever peel the tomatoes, or is that too French a thing to do? We usually peel the tomatoes. I'd also note that when we grew our own, the skins were very tough. It may be the New York City environment. It ends to make us all thick skinned. I've found the local tomatoes in the Greenmarket also have relatively tough skins. Removing the seeds and juice is another interesting thing. For years we commonly did that with most tomatoes that went into any dish that wasn't just salad, but after chefs started using the tomato water and the jelly that sticks to the seeds as featured items, we have had to question the value of removing them. Just for the history of it, I wish I could remember who first taught me to put oil in the pasta water and who first convinced me to stop. I'd like to watch someone remove orecchiette with tongs.

"cost ... dinner ... bargain ... tasting ..." As to the cost, it you were having a dinner at one of NY's better restaurants, a three to five course meal would be almost that much money or considerably more. The pairing of wines alone for a five cost meal could well run $75. Depending on the size of the pours, you'd certain pay more than $75 for less than full glasses of those ten wines in a good restaurant. On the basis of wine alone it's easy to consider the evening a bargain. I would have been disappointed, not because I thought I didn't get my money's worth, but because the offer was for "dinner," and that doesn't seem to be a meal to me. It was a tasting of wines and meats -- something I value, but also something I normally find less satisfying than dinner. I also think it's less than reasonable to make any comparison with dining in a fine restaurant, not only because they didn't serve a meal, or even the kind of preparation I would expect from the kitchen of fine restaurant, but because it didn't appear as if either the comfort or ambience of a restaurant was there. It just wasn't dinner and it wouldn't have been dinner even if I was not hungry at the end. I much prefer small courses. On the other hand, although I'm a carnivore, or at least an omnivore, I've not been that much a fan of plain grilled meat. Thus it would have been fascinating to have tried such quality meat, the beef in particular, unadorned and to have compared the specimens. Lobel is a butcher, but Morrell is the operator of two restaurants as well as a wine store and the timing of the event, not too long after the second restaurant opened, could easily lead consumers into thinking this event was as much to publicize their cooking as the meat and wine. It's realy a matter of communication. As often as not, when a diner leaves a restaurant unhappy, it's often because of a lack of communication and quite often a matter of not getting what one expected.

More of a tasting excercise, than what I'd call a dinner, but it sounded interesting if not the bargain it seemed to be. It works well enough in most of the Rhone and in Bordeaux. Come to think of it, it works well in some of the lesser known wines of the southwest of France.

According to gayot.com, Pierre Hermé is "launching an ice cream collection" at his rue Bonaparte shop this summer. Of course this is the site that earlier brought the incorrect news that the shop was closing. So we need verification from those of you in Paris.

Hey I got a life outside eGullet, or a reasonable facsimile thereof. Okay, you're young, but not just out of high school. You should have some smarts and be able to handle situations. It's hard for me to comment about your budget. I tend to lead a simple life when I'm not splurging on restaurants, although that can be frequent. On the other hand, my wife's a travel agent and that both gets us some perqs in places and puts a burden on having to try expensive places so she can recommend them first hand. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it. Money doesn't go far in Europe this days. I go back to the days when Europe on $5 a Day was not only a popular guide book, but a reality. (This may also mean you may get more age specific recommendations from others.) The euro is strong and the dollar weak. England is probably more expensive than the continent. Spain's not the bargain it used to be, but, in general, it's less expensive than France. I am just not up to date on Italy. If you really want to focus on food, as opposed to say, sex and drugs, I'd forget the rest of Europe for this trip. I'll recommend you split your time, not necessarily equally, between France and Spain. I hope someone will make a good case for Italy. I know it can be made. You've got to decide how you're going to get around and if you're going to improvise the trip or plan it tightly. Avoid Easter week and you're probably traveling at the right time of year and avoiding high season. Consider what I think they call an open jaw ticket, flying into a city like Paris and coming back from another city so you don't have to retrace your steps. Some people get a cheap round trip to Paris or another city and find they have to buy an expensive train ticket to get back to Paris at the end of the journey. I don't know too much about public transportation. It's good, but we generally rent a car. Renting a car is a great way to get around, but for a solo traveler, it's rarely economical. I hitchiked when I was in college. Nowadays I'm reluctant to recommend it as a safe way to travel and it's much harder as there are too many superhighways. What have you read? I'd go with your instincts, but they match my prejudices, so it's easy for me to say that. I'd plan a week in Paris, a week in Barcelona and maybe two weeks traveling around mostly in France just to give your trip a framework for preliminary planning. you may want to focus more on Spain. You've posted here rather than in the France board. The Basque area is exciting. Where have you eaten? Have you been to any restaurants that in any way resemble the French Laundry? Are you ready for a three star restaurant in France or Spain, or maybe the question is how much will you get out of eating there in relation to what it will cost. I'd certain splurge on one or two of the great places -- either two or three stars. Generally speaking, better value outside of Paris than in Paris. Are there places you're read about that inspire you? Write to the chefs and see if they'll let you observe what happens in the kitchen. What have you got to lose and you may make a contact. Am I being helpful in directing your thinking or planning, or just confusing you? No matter what, this thead will be more productive if others join.

Dried pasta is also different from fresh pasta that is store bought, but not necessarily better. I make this distinction as it's possible to have homemade pasta that's dry or fresh. Even in areas where we have personal preferences, it's not necessary to believe one is better than the other. For years I made my own pasta. I suppose it was being able to have something special, not necessarily better, that was my motive, but when I tried a good brand of dried pasta again, it was like rediscovering a new aspect of food. The dried, by the way, is more reliable than my own fresh pasta.

Neither of those should be under emphasized. While I love and make great exceptions for children, I also expect them to behave properly in social situations. While one shouldn't beg to be served, it should also go without saying that "please" and "thank you" are no less in order when speaking to wait staff than they are when dealing with anyone else.

Jaleo is a gem in that regard. We've made return trips and I've always been happy to eat whatever anyone else didn't want on the first pass. And if I've had to eat the first round all by myself, well let's order another round of dishes. I've been happy enough even to finish off the dish ordered by a picky eater and then rejected. It's all good enough to eat and the portions are small. It's a good place to go with parents who have picky kids as well as with kids who have picky parents. Kids don't have a monopoly on pickiness in our extended family.

The French have children's menus (sometimes). Here's an example. You'll have to click your way though the opeing splash page and then click on the photograph accompanying "Le menu enfant Gastronomique" to find such items as: Duo of trout and smoked scallops, junior portion (6.00 euros) Slice of home made foie gras (6.50 euros) Plain or cheese omelet (5.00 euros) Small puff pastry with warm asparagus and chervil butter sauce (5.00 euros) etc. They do serve ice cream as a dessert choice, but emphatically note that they do not serve hamburgers or fires. Apparently a good many French children are no longer being properly bought up and they've noticed. There is one piece of bad news on the page. You have to be under 12 years of age to order from this menu.

If you have time, check out Hondarribia just across the border from France on the coast. It's a neat town with a centuries old section and an interesting fiherman's quarters that's quite reminscent of Barcelonetta in Barcelona, only much smaller in size and scale. I don't know much about the food there. We spent the night there after having lunch at Martin Berasategui. We never could work up an appetite for dinner. I managed a few tapas around town and my wife nursed a few glasses of wine as she accompanied me on my quest for tapas. There's been a lot posted here on the Basque area and not much else I can add. It's been a few years since we've been there, but we're looking forward to returning soon. If you have an interest in eaux-de-vie, I'd highly recommend a visit to the Saint-Gayrand distillery. It's south of Agen in Moncaut. It was kind of hard to find and well off the beaten path. It would be wise to phone ahead and see if he's still operating and if someone will be there, as well as to get instructions. 05 53 97 13 83, or perhaps 05 53 97 53 97. Once there it could be hard to leave. When we were there, the owner was quite free with his pours and eager to have company. His products were also excellent -- some of the smoothest eaux-de-vie I have ever had. It's a very small artisanal operation.

That's a difficult question to answer with so little personal information. Have asked Thomas Keller for his opinion? That's not a retorical question. Do you know him, have you eaten at the FL or is your opinion based on what you've read? Any answer to any of those three questions would be a good excuse to write to him in the hope he answers and you start a history with him. England, although I've eaten well there, would not be my first choice by far. Good food is not ingrained in the culture the way it is in parts of the continent. I'm sure locals can prove I'm wrong, but unlikely in ways that will affect the green tourist. French food is still the basic classic western food and in general most influential. On the other hand, the most excitement and creativity is probably found in Spain, particularly northern Spain in the Basque region and Catalunya. I've less recent personal knowledge of food in Italy, but I retain a sense that it's one of the coutries where it's hardest to get a bad meal. Tell us how you react to those opinions and it will be eaiser to help you focus on what will ultimately be your decision to make. Are you looking to take cooking lessons in Europe? How much money do you have? How old are you?

Huh! I got a million analogies, but I'm scared of the analogy police. The point is that if you're getting soft shelled crabs that in any way remind you of fingernails, either you're getting one shitty example of crab between soft shell and hard shell, or you're bringing a problem to the table. I didn't grow up eating soft shelled crabs and it wasn't until rather late in my career as a gastronome that I even tried them. I was a convert on first taste. I was truly expecting some shell problem, but it just wasn't there. Then again I've learned to eat fried shrimp with the shells in Chinese restaurants, so we may have a different perspective here. Regarding the tuna fish discussion, I have to say [pick a cliche here about taste or one man's meat, etc]. On my scale of preference, the mid priced solid white albacore in water or second rate vegetable oil is as low in taste and pleasure as canned tuna gets and, in my opinion, a particularly poor value. I much prefer chunk light in oil, but a good grade of Italian or Spanish tuna packed in olive oil (and I've never seen a bad grade) is so much higher on the scale that it's easily worth the measly four or five times the price you may have to pay. Sweet pickles are just not part of my culinary vocabulary. I don't buy them and wouldn't know what to do with them if I had them in the kitchen. Capers with tuna, fresh or canned, is a classic combination. Tuna and roasted red peppers is another. Onions or shallots are also good with tuna. I really dislike sweet store bought mayonnaise and have long preferred tuna salad with home made mayonnaise, but after having a canned tuna, roasted red pepper and anchovy sandwich with olive oil in a bar in Madrid this spring, I've not had my tuna with mayonnaise. Of course the French classic tuna niçoise doesn't use mayonnaise either as I recall. It is also a dish designed to be made with canned tuna for all the nouveau attempts to upscale the dish with fresh rare tuna. I've had my say. The rest of you can go on enjoying what you thought was good, if you want.

Alicante hasn't been mentioned here very often. Vserna posted this in February in a thread about regional food in Spain. "The retired/unretired Joël Robuchon has had an apartment for years on the Alicante coast. He once told me that he craved as much 'conejo al ajillo', rabbit sautéed with garlic, in the Alicante hills he often crosses on car and on foot, as the refined modern stuff at Moraira's La Sort restaurant, whose chef, Josep Moll, is a Robuchon protégé." Here's the web site for La Sort. It's in five languages including Spanish, Valenciano and English. As always, I'd urge trying Spanish if you can understand enough Spanish. Valenciano is, if I recall correctly, a dialect of Catalan. If Moll is a protégé of Robuchon, and worth a mention by vserna, I'd give it a try. I see that La Sort doesn't rate a star in the Michelin Guía Roja, but La Seu gets one star. It and La Sort are in Moraira -- 75 kilometers up the coast from the city of Alicante. Girasol is a mile outside of Moraira and rates two stars along with red forks and spoons for it's refined elegance, impeccable service and wine cellar. Generally speaking I find Michelin reliable when it comes to little restaurants as well as the starred ones, but it's not necessarily the last word. Ask around when you get there. I am leery of recommendations by hotel people and others in the tourist industry, not so much because they may get a referral fee, but because they're used to satisfying the tourist taste.