Bux

Carried away enough with the entertainment potential of the occasion to successfully imitate Nigella, although you need to add the accent next time. It appeared obvious at the outset, you chose those ingredients the more resonable chefs left over. I think it was the onion that would have led me to skip it, had I been choosing from a menu by reading the ingredients in the dishes. As you note, beets and corn are sources of sugar and we've actually been seeing quite a bit of corn deserts from corn cakes to corn ice cream in New York. The onion was a complete surprise to me when I got up the courage to taste it. For those who weren't there and can't imagine how it would work, let me describe it by saying the rings were crisp and sweet as candy. Eating one was not unlike biting a sliver of sweetened coconut, except more sugary. It may be that one needs to be a super taster to get the onion flavor at all. The dessert was audacious. Whether it worked because of that, or in spite of it, I don't know, but I found it very successful. Colleen was quite candid in admitting how much of the dessert was based on hunches or even what might be called whims, but it was also obvious that she did a folowup tasting to be sure this was a dessert for the mouth more than the mind. This is the sort of thing that separates chefs such as Adria and Gagnaire from many other "creative" chefs who either do not taste their work before serving it, or are just not very discriminating in their tastes. Colleen also had the advantage of presenting her dessert first, as sweet food can dampen a palate quickly and sugar abates hunger, but I think her dessert was the most successful of the lot of interesting ones that afternoon. The question about the candy cap mushroom ice cream needs to responded to by noting that there were not enough of them served to our row. As the deserts were passed from the right, we passed them on to our left. When the last three desserts were served, the three people to our right immediately realized there were no more and so they didn't pass them on, although by that time, Esilda, Suvir and I had passed all those that had come our way. We noticed that a presentation plate of four desserts was at the demonstration counter and later we made our way to the, by then, partially melted "ice cream sandwhiches." There were two left when Suvir got to the plate and as he held the plate out for Esilda and I to take one to share, someone else quickly reached over and grabbed Suvir's while he (Suvir) stood there with his hand full of empty plate. You should have seen the look of incredulousness on his face. We were all laughing so hard I think the perpetrator was out of ear shot by the time we started cursing him. It was very hard to appreciate the too soft ice cream as it oozed between the crisp pecan rice krispie cookies, especially as I was almost doubled up with laughter. The small dried caps we smelled offered up the promised scent of truffles and maple syrup. I was also reminded of a dessert with a mushroom caramel sauce served by Regis Macon in France.

I'm inclined to ask if you're kidding, but obviously you're not. I don't think it's my proximity to people in the restaurant business that leaves me appalled at hearing of this sort of behavior. It's intolerable here in NY where almost all restaurants turn tables and far more serious in Paris where many restaurants, and all of the top ones, have a single sitting. You might just as well go in and rob the owner at gunpoint. I understand the concept of not turning tables may be lost on Americans who can't fathom the seriousness with which French restaurateurs and chefs take their responsibility in providing a fine evening and thus can't reciprocate to the same degree. If this happens to the extent you say it does, and if your friends do it after using your name to get the reservation, I have to believe the average American tourist will think nothing of being a no show, it's hard to fault any restaurant who's learned the hard way that there are too many American's who don't appreciate the reservation, let alone more than a few willing to harm the restaurant financially. You're a tolerant man if you still call these people "friends." Have you thought of poisoning them, running them over with a car, or at least pushing them into the Seine. Or have you learned to use the term "American" as pejorative that indicates you expect completely clueless intolerable social behavior from Americans. I assume your British, Italian, Spanish and Chinese friends would not behave this way. What is the serious American gastronome to do? While I was aghast at the hotel cancellation penalties we ran across in the Loire Valley and Burgundy, my wife has made it a habit to send a credit card number with the initial request for hotel and restaurant reservations [That's a dangerous practice as you may find yourself with a confirmed reservation for a room that's three times the price you are willing to pay.] whenever our reservations are not made by a concierge or friend. In the latter cases, a follow up confirmation fax with credit card number is a good idea. Maybe we need some way to convince the French we are serious. We, know who "we" are how do we let the French know we are a select group of serious connoiseurs? American Express will actually charge a no show, but it's hard without a written confirmation, for the restaurant to prove you really made the reservation. Marc, with your location, Plotnicki's money and my idea, we need to establish a bonding agency that will bond American diners. Of course the prospective diners will need to make a hefty deposit before we will bond them and those serious enough to do that, are not the ones who need help in getting reservations for the most part. Oh yeah, and can you get me a table next month.

First, I love good anchovies. Admittedly, most of the ones found in the US are miserable little examples fit only to make sauce or put on second rate pizza. By and large, the ones in small tins are far worse than the ones packed in jars, but that's a generality and the worst I've purchased in the states were in a jar and purchased in a shop whose wares are of the highest quality. I've heard that salt packed anchovies are usually superior to oil packed ones, but I've not had the opportunity to use them. For this reason however, I would wash only as many as needed right away and repack the others adding more salt in needed, in an airtight glass container. Although I have not used the salt packed anchovies, I have kept sausage casings in salt for years without spoilage. If you like anchovies, the tin should not last for years. Generally speaking, the anchovies I've been served and bought in France and Spain, most notably Spain, have been far superior to those I've found here shipped from Italy. Without a doubt, the best anchovies in my mind, are those referred to as bocarones. (sp?) These are whitish and packed in vinegar. They have a much shorter bottle life and are usually sold in bulk. Again some are meatier than others.

I haven't had a Teuscher chocolate in years, but my understanding is that a good many of their chocolates have a shelf life of less than a week, and must be kept cool to last that long. I haven't had a lot of Belgian chocolates, but the best I've had has been Pierre Marcolini. His style seems a cross between traditional creamy fat Belgian chocolate and the much leaner French style. I suppose I'd have to go with Bernachon in Lyon for the best I've had. There have been some wonderful choclolate threads here with great contributions from our own very knowledgeable Steve Klc along with help from other professional pastry chefs. I don't know if the search engine will help. "Chocolate" probably pops up too often in too many threads in terms of desserts and even Hershey bars. These threads are probably worth searching for however.

"Lamazou" or something like that is closer I think. Read the Ed Levine newspaper clipping if it's still on the wall or in the window.

In a way mogsob's summed up what we've all said and points the way to getting to the bottom of all this. I would, however, question the idea that the more organizations you copy the better. I think you don't want to seem like you're on a vendetta. First see if you can get the truth and then attack the guilty--or those who don't own up to their part in this. By the way, it was last weekend that Ellen was in Paris. I hope we get a report here.

Sounds like you've had some rude morning after awakenings in your day.

I'm a pro NY type, but certainly not anti Montreal. We've made a few trips there over the years. Often when we had reason to go to the Adirondaks, we'd travel through Montreal and spend a few days. We always enjoyed our stay. It was cheaper to go via Albany or Burlington, but we enjoyed Montreal more. That's not much of a positive statement I realize, but I meant to say that we did go out of our way to be in Montreal. We weren't discussing Montreal. We were discussing bagels and bagels are one point in Montreal's favor. They are not a point in NY's favor. It's been a while since we've been there however. We usually ate well in Montreal, and generally inexpensively. L'Express was a choice a couple of times. Toque was a dinner of note. I do not remember the bread. I remember the market and I recall bringing fruit and goat cheese to the Adirondaks which are south of Montreal, but higher in altitude and with a much shorter growing season. Are there anti Montreal types?

Suzanne dates herself, but she's correct. The real NY bagel is dead and most of the population is too young to realize they missed it. The Montreal bagel while quite different, seemed to maintain the best qualities and in many ways represents the opposite of the contemporary bagel in NY. Bagels are at least one point in Montreal's favor. In fact, one can make pretty good bread pudding with day old croissants. A day old bagel is for the birds. Bread in general, freezes pretty well for short periods as someone noted.

Meredith, by the way, announced she is leaving Esca and will be in charge of the gelato at Mario's new pizza place. Her great concern is that there's no fresh fruit available at the time the restaurant is opening. While you can't have too much pork, it's not as complete a diet as gelato and pizza.

I have to say there wasn't a clunker in the lot of desserts. That's saying a lot as I had some really great desserts the day before at Craft Bar. Craft's apple fitters with caramel ice cream are sensational, but I might have liked the almond cake, which tasted of butter as much as almonds, with the poached pear and vanilla ice cream even better. The Monday crew have a lot to live up to, but I've already been impressed by the little I've tasted of Patrice and Colleen's work and have lttle fear that they and Michael will disappoint us. For sheer entertainment value however, Suvir can't be beat. I'm not even sure he can cook. He had a real Indian there who obviously knew what she was doing and I wasn't sure Suvir wasn't faking his part, but he had great stories to tell and kept us in stitches as we eagerly awaited our samples. I for one will not get within ten feet of an unripe tamarind. I'm sure his story of eating them as a child was the inspiration of the original Jeckel and Hyde story. Suvir was good enough to remember to tell everyone that they could learn all about Indian cuisine and have just about every culinary question they could imagine, answered at eGullet.com. I noticed he listed it in the official program as well.

I believe that was the bacon. I didn't really look to see if it was there booth or their distributor. Nearby was Marcel & Henri's charcuterie francaise. I have a suspicion that this place has been featured on Bouland's A la Carte web site. I should check. The had an andouillette sausage product that was made of tripe, but unlike the true French version, this one appeared to have the ingredients all ground up.

We weren't very good about making orderly rounds of the exhibits but there was some good bacon (is there bad bacon?) and pretty good commerical French charcuterie to sample. Also of note to me, as I've been using Danesi Gold espresso beans for some time, a new offering from Danesi that is also an all Arabica espresso roast. This one is has 'doppio' in the name and comes in a black package. I have to try and talk DiPalo's into carrying it. I thought it was the far better of the two brands I tasted, although I didn't get to compare it side by side with the Danesi Gold. Campbell's was proudly displaying large cans of time saving "bases" for those who had customers to feed with a vengeance. Large cans of fat, starch and embalming fluid which you could make into your own unique dishes with, I suppose appropriately, pieces of dead animals.

Old threads rarely die here. Even those without new posts are useful as reasearch. the search engine is excellent and should be even better as this software develops. Your contribution to our database of information is well appreciated even if no one is contemplating an immediate trip. Thanks for your input. Spain is undeservedly under reported and discussed on this site and I'd like to see that rectified.

A few of things to note. Whenever you add a post to a thread, the thread rises to the top of the list. When people do a search on a topic, it's often handy to have relevant posts in one thread. If you're taking the thread in new directions however, you should be aware than people may not read through several pages to get to your recent post. It's always a judgement call whether to start a new thread or add to an old one. Bringing chese back into the US is a good topic. The law is fairly exact about not allowing raw milk cheeses less than 90 days old, but there's good evidence that inspectors are only interested in commercial import. It seems as if no one cares about small amounts brought in for your own use. Listeriosis is the main concern and perhaps the only one. The disease (if it's in your cheese in the first place, and it's not common in raw milk in France) will not be spread and at worst, will affect you and not an innocent public. We did not attempt to bring in any cheese on our last trip as we were over loaded with jams and other artisanal products that, when we packed for the return trip, proved more than heavy and burdensome enough in our luggage. A French friend however, brought in some wonderful lait cru Mont d'Or and Epoisses a few months ago. Purchased at a reliable cheese merchant in her home town, they were the equal of any we had in fine restaurants.

A few of us managed to meet without the aid of a Heineken booth. Most of the people I met gathered after the first demo of the day and Suzanne was among the group. Don't worry about her spending all her time looking for the Heineken booth. I missed Nick and I assume the Caped Chef, but since I didn't know what he was wearing, I can't be sure he just wasn't avoiding me. I really enjoyed the demos for the tastings as well as for the tips, personalities and entertainment. I probably won't make it back tomorrow, but expect to be there on Monday when Michael (mlpc), Colleen (chefette) and Patrice (Patrice) will be feeding, instructing and entertaining those who get seats at the demo.

I know only what I may have read about 'que. I would not have gone to Blue Smoke had I not been dragged there by a French chef who discovered barbeque while catering an event in, I believe it was, Tennessee. I assured him he would be disappointed and suggested he wait at least a few months to let the memory of the real stuff fade. I had the distinct impression he was disappointed nonetheless. Still it wasn't a bad evening and one can do worse if you're not adamant about what it has to be. We had the fry bread. Deep-fat fried carbs. What's not to like? The pulled pork was very good, but I'm making no claim on anything like authentically delicious. The pork ribs--I believe the St. Louis ribs--were almost as enjoyable. The Texas Style beef ribs? That's charitable, or ahr's were juicier, meatier and less black than ours. We pooled our orders and shared all the food. The beef ribs went unfinished. the cole slaw that came with the meat orders was gobbled up quickly. We probably should've ordered a side. The fries were outstanding. I only wish I had fries like that when we were in France. Better potatoes in France, but these fries were well done, crisp and dry like fires should be. I could eat fries and beer all night. I might order bottled beer next time. I thought the drafts were universally a little flat, but the house brand was pretty good. I'm not a connoiseur of collard greens, though I like lots of bitter greens. I found these too bitter and watery. I remain convinced the French, Spanish and Italians know all about cooking greens and the Americans know nothing.It does make you feel you've left New York, or at least Manhattan, the moment you step through the door. Maybe that affected my senses, but it seemed almost everyone was at home and I wondered why they came to NY and were eating what they could probably get better back home. Of course the younger ones could have been recently displaced homesick college graduates newly arrived in NYC. Who knows if they could tell good barbeque from bad after a diet of dorm food, Burger King and KFC. On the surface, it doesn't remind you of a Danny Meyer restaurant and yes the servers don't have that stamp of professional Meyer organization training. Then of course you realize, he really knows what he's doing at times. I think these people are trained to give the impression this is a temporary job just for atmosphere.

I'm sorry to hear anyone is underwhelmed at Blue Hill since I've been a fan and gone out of my way to recommend it to all manner of people since my first meal there. Perhaps only Cabrales has touted it higher. Of all the people we've taken there, and they range from some very sophisticated diners quite used to three star Michelin dining to those who rarely eat out and then only for social reasons. The only one so far to find fault was someone who does not enjoy eating out and doesn't understand why people make such a fuss about food at home or in restaurants. (I'm not the food snob I'm made out to be, nor even the one I want to be. ) I'm constantly reminded that taste in food is very subjective and that my most disappointing meals are often at Michelin three star restaurants. In a way, it's healty for a restaurant that draws so many raves to occasionally get an unsatisfactory review here. It's a reminder that not every restaurant is not going to pelase every palate and that if you don't enjoy a meal at a universally acclaimed restaurant, it's not your fault either.

We tasted Van Laer's rillettes de lièvre au chocolate, or something like that, last year and couldn't wait to dine in Maxence as a result, but for some reason, when we finally made it last month, our dinner fell short of our expectations. It was a good meal, but it was flat. Maybe it was our fault, but we didn't find the carte exciting and that may have left us ordering poorly. I have no complaints, and maybe after our experience with l'Astrance, we expected too much from one star in Paris. I had an excellent boudin noir served with sauteed apples and puree of potatoes presented in a small pan on the side. That's normally the sort of dish I'd order in a brasserie or a old time bistro. That I ordered it here may have been an indication that I was unexcited by the menu. I had some croquettes for a starter and although they were crisp and greaseless, I found the filling stodgy. I did get my satisfaction a week or so later in Romoratin at a two star dining room where we had a most staisfying cuisse de lievre en civet au cacao. I owe eGullet a report on that meal and one in nearby Onzain at another two star Relais Gourmand. Both meals were "delicious" and reminded us of exactly why we come to France and cause us to at least rethink our strategies about focusing on three star avant garde restaurants, which is why I need to talk about these dinners.

Neither Michelin nor GaultMillau make Cherbourg seem like a destination. Michelin lists three restaurants without either stars or the distinction of offering a good buy at an inexpensive price and GaultMillau lists a totally different place which it awards a rank of 11, one up from the entry level 10. Michelin: Cafe de Paris, 40 quai Caligny Vauban, 22 quai Caligny Pommier, 15 bis rue Notre-Dame (a block west of the other two across a square) GaultMillau: Le Faitout, 23 rue Tour-Caré (that street seems to run into the quai just north of the two restaurants on the quai) Good luck.

I know nothing about NJ, but congratulations and/or good luck, whichever you find most applicable. Seriously, I wish you the best.

But if Herme is in trouble himself, his two shops--both on the left bank--will be in trouble. Korova was his wife's restaurant, although they sold his desserts and pastries.

Mrs B. and I expect to attend as many of the demos as we can. I haven't had time to check the schedules. I believe they are on Saturday and Monday. I look a lot like my avatar. You know, kinda square, but with a beard. I haven't selected my clothing yet, but maybe corduroy slacks. I've been wearing them more often since that cabbie in Paris said he thought I must be professor or artist because of my "velour" pants. If there's one thing the French know, it's surface.

Whatever you do, I hope we'll hear the upshot of this and learn something.

I think the most reasonable thing to do in Spain, especially for a visitor, is to drink Spanish wines. There is little reason not to drink them. I suppose that if I were a native I might want to educate myself and for that reason I would explore the wines of the world as I do occasionally here in the states. However, not to sample the local wines is, to me, missing the opportunity inherent in travel. While neither NY State nor California wines dominate my drinking here, I went out of my way to drink California wines when traveling there and will go out of my way to serve American wines to European guests in my house--particularly French guests. It's not to impress or necessarily educate them, but to offer an experience they're unlikely to get back home. In any event, Spanish wines can be very good and my impression is that they are a real bargain in comparison to French wines in Spain or in France. There seems to be a much higher mark up on Spanish wines, than on French wines sold in this country and restaurants in Spain seem to have a lower mark up than restaurants in the US or France. I suppose I'd urge you to have at least a glass of txakoli the same way I'd urge you to have a glass of muscadet if you were in Nantes. If not for the wine, than for the terrior. It's a good choice in a tapas bar, especially one specializing in seafood. Red wine, sherry and beer are also good choices. It's an easy going country. If you look outside the Basque region and I would include Navarra as Basque, I'm a fan of albarinos from Rias Biaxas in Galicia. They're usually inexpensive, and in fact, I much prefer the fresher ones that haven't seen any barrel aging. Godellos can be nice as well, although the one producer I most often see here is not my favorite. Nevertheless, I'm hardly an expert on Spanish wines.