Bux

Recipe for Patrick Jeffroy's Huîtres en Gelée de Coco et Curry can be found in this Roellinger thread.

Paul, I thought that was a particularly good follow up to Robert's post. Welcome to this board. I hope we'll hear more from you in regard to the rest of your trip. I'd like to hear more about Jardin des Sens. It's a restaurant we've loved but in which we haven't eaten since it's had three stars. In the meantime I've heard very mixed things about it. Please feel free to start a new thread unless you discover an old one about the restaurant.

One of Jeffroy's recipes appears elsewhere on this board, posted by Bouland. I think it's in a Roellinger thread. I'll add the link tomorrow, if Bouland doesn't beat me to it.

It may well be that some people are quite willing to pay to be in the company of other people who are willing to pay to be in the company of Ms. Wells. I suspect there's a brand thing going on here.

There are some dishes I'd like to try and would be far more likely to order a la carte the next time I am there.

Tommy doesn't have a lisp.

Wilfrid, my copy arrived yesterday afternoon. It's really only the magazines with the pictures that arrive late, but I'm sure we, I mean my wife doesn't get every copy of the Victoria Secret catalog sent. I quickly read the Gopnik article because he's one of my favorite writers--when he's not writing about food--and because I saw the photo of Dan and Mike. I like Gopnik's writing but I found the article a little food lite, although still interesting. Anyway, it heavily favored Dan Barber which was alright as I favor him as well although it appears as if Dan was favored mostly because Gopnik related to him as an academically educated person rather than as a cook. The food they prepared got the short end of the deal and the Greenmarket was not so much more fortunate. The relationships posed between food and art, or rather food and writing as art forms were interesting, if not always so convincingly made. As I started reading the article, one of my early thoughts was how clever of Peter Hoffman to offer a challenge to his friend the writer that would inevitably lead to an article in which he would inevitably be featured. Then I got to thinking that it's unlikely the New Yorker collects approved food related articles until it has enough to publish a food issue. I think the food issue is a regular feature and articles are solicited from authors, or authors target submissions towards this issue. The greater likelihood is that Gopnik approached Hoffman, a friend and chef, looking for inspiration, ideas and suggestions. It would appear that Gopnik was not entirely seduced by Courtine's idea of the jeu, or maybe Gopnik is just not a food writer, or not my food writer. He nonetheless writes intriguingly about people and places. That's quite a photograph of Batali. He may well be a clown, or a jester for our times, but he's no buffoon as others have noted. The article and the rest of the issue will have to wait a day or two.

No it's not. The drinker has to drive to cause an accident, He has to fight to cause you harm in a browl. All the smoker has to do is smoke. We all know that life as we know it is dependant upon some butterfly in the Amazon, but clearly the direct effect of drinking too much alcohol is not an automobile accident while the direct effect of smoking is msoke in the air all around the smoker. This is not an argument about the larger issue. It just disputes one point of your post.

This is always a tricky issue. How much is a guide worth in any situation? You have to account for the value of your time spent in researching information and for the depth of knowledge of your guide as well as his, or her, contacts in the field and the access they might afford. Finally there's the added value of hobnobbing with the personality involved. In this case, I suspect there is a large group of people quite happy to pay for the privilege. If I were inclined to take such a tour, I'd have to consider if I was willing to pay for that privilege and if so, how much, but first I might have to consider if I cared to be with a group of people willing to pay for that privilege. In general some people are more than ready and willing to pay others to do their research and in some cases lead them by the hand. Many travelers are excited by the opportunity to plan their own trips, while others are eager to hire a professional consultant to do the work and some manage to find a preplanned tour to their satisfaction. When they get to a foreign city, some travelers are eager to strike out on their own and often prefer the interaction required to deal with getting meals and getting around on public transportation, while others will have a local guide meet them to ensure they get the most out of their visit. Finances have a lot to do with how we travel, but personality differences may be the key.

Jordyn, we agree a bit and disagree a bit, but you raise a couple of particularly good points. The branzini was very appropriate to the theme of the restaurant, if it is the Mediterranean world as found in Marseille's population, as I think it is. It's exactly the sort of dish that would be expected in a tasting menu there. The other issue is the one of desserts in restaurants that are not content to serve creme caramel, creme brulee, chocolate mousee or tartes made off premises, but which are not large or expensive enough to have a pastry chef. It's a thread up Steve Klc's alley.

I assume this was your first visit and thus I can't ask how it compared with other visits. I can ask about restaurants you do like. Daniel's food is pretty subtle. I'm wodering if the food was off that night, or just not your kind of food. I can easily understand someone not liking the burger, but I found it interesting not boring. In truth it was one of the those things I appreciated as an idea more than a dish, but every now and then I think about it and my mouth waters. I guess I dont like eating a meal on a bun in a nice restaurant although as I recall it was hard to pick up and bite and I resorted to the knife and fork.

You have to register to read the Times online, so I don't know if this link will work for others: Outings Near Paris for Fine Meals By JACQUELINE FRIEDRICH She seems to be a good voice. She's been writing on France for the Times for a while on Sundays. The articles always focus on the food. This article has high praise for les Magnolias which was mentioned here on several occasions by Margaret Pilgrim. Apparently it's easily reached from Paris by the RER suburban lines. Patricia Wells gave it a poor review and noted it was not worth the trouble of finding. Apparently Ms. Wells got lost several times on her way. The review was enough to make you wonder if she knew her way around Paris at all. Everyone else seems to feel it's easy to find and get to as well as worth the journey. I believe it has one Michelin star. I've not eaten in any place after reading one of Jacueline Friedrich's reviews, so I have no comment on her credibility, but I've used her book on Loire wines with pleasure and she writes with some authority. I'd be inclined to think she's relatively trustworthy. Paula, thanks for reminding me of the article. I meant to mention it somewhere yesterday. If belongs here.

I understand the need for cancellation policies and charges, but they should be reasonable. I certainly appreciate anyplace that apologizes for the need and charges a fee that is understandable. In NYC, no shows at restaurants are a problem and the lack of a cancellation fee results in restaurants over booking to compensate.

I'm not sure I understand why you thought Alex Urena came to the table, or to what the explanation of his shyness was an alternative. I don't understand the use of "de rigeur" in your post. I don't believe Alex was seeking anything. He came to pay his respects as best he could and he came out of respect for a person at the table with whom he has a professional relationship. It was a gracious act and not directed at either of us. Our place was to appreciate that the existing relationship might be more important than our own interests and understand it was the reason he came to the table. Someone who knows him professionally recently described him as "painfully shy." That's not an interpretation. It's a description.

I understand. But is there a groundswell of demand from non-smoking bar tenders for such a measure? Or are they more worried about their tips. I really don't care much about smoking bartenders in this context - and I repeatedly drink in bars where the bartender's smoke is the main annoyance, not least because they leave their cigarette smouldering while pouring drinks. That's a good question, if not the question. I'm not aware of any demand from non-smoking bar tenders, although I've heard of some complaints from cocktail waitresses. The other questions that also need to be addressed are whether these employees are free to raise the issue, (financially free rather than actually in slavery) whether the government has the responsibility to act on behalf of their welfare or the health and welfare of future employees. Is there an outcry from child laborers around the world? Should we wait for one? I would enjoy seeing the ban enacted, although I'm not sure it's the right thing to do. It seems to work in California, but I haven't observed that for myself. It may be unfortunate that restaurants fought the smoke ban so heavily. The consequences have not been dire as they predicted and their expressed fears now may seem like they're crying wolf again. The appeals of the smoking population of bar denizens seem to need more attention than most people are paying. I think it's a pity that more bars haven't gone smoke free like Danny Meyer's have without a law.

A few weeks ago we ate at Jaleo, 480 7th Street, NW and enjoyed it a lot. It serves tapas and while small plates can add up, we found it very reasonable. It seems like a place ideally suited to small groups and dating situations, but we were there with relative and two young kids on a Friday night. It worked great as the kids could pick and choose without having to commit to a whole dish. I think you could easily have three or four dishes and some wine and stay around $30. Our dishes ran from $4.50 to $7.50 each.

Sergio's is close enough to Havana Chelsea to do a take out comparison some day. Are they open on weekends? Open for dinner? I suppose I'll have to wait for Nina's report on Taza de oro or risk it myself. Do you have a preference between the two or did the chorizo make the difference on this one?

I've only eaten plates at Havana Chelsea once. The most I have to say is that the portions are very large, as are the sandwiches Cubano if you get the one with chorizo, and the night we were there, the selection was small. More and more I've been disappointed with inexpensive latino restaurants, unless it's something that can't be cooked at home. Back to the sandwiches, I've felt they've got good ingredients and they get the balance right, but as I've not had many others in NY lately, it's good to have confirmation. It would actually be nicer to take them out to a park, but I can't think of one that's really close.

Our room was exceptionally small, but I believe they gave it to us for the view. We may have been on the top floor, but a high floor for sure and had a view looking north and could see the a large part of the right bank as you looked pretty much down rue du Bac and over the pont Royal. I'm less a fan of the neighborhood as it's quiet, but it's also an accessible location and a short walk to the right bank and the Louvre. I also thought we had good service and found the staff very pleasant. Of course they knew my wife was a travel agent and this was a bad period for tourism, so it stands to reason we may have particularly nice treatment. One of the reasons we were there was because my wife didn't know the hotel and one of her clients whose taste she respects insisted on staying there over the course of several trips and thus she felt a need to check out the hotel in regard to recommending it to other clients. The decor left me cold, but we didn't spend much time in the room and when we were there, I looked out the window or I was in bed. Plotnicki may not have liked the decor of the whisky bar on the ground floor. My own abode is so spare and brutally undesigned that I enjoy all sorts of well padded environments, no matter how tacky. I maintain that appreciation by always opting for the spare minimalist interiors when I have a chance or a say in the matter. Ditto for restaurants. Because the neighborhood is quiet, a restaurant of the sort planned, might really be a shot in the arm for the neighborhood as well as the hotel. A good serviceable restaurant more than a destination restaurant is what any residential neighborhood generally wants.

Cabrales, thanks for answering my question about the difference between the inclusion of citrus here and elsewhere in the tomato salad. We agreed the other night that it was unecessary and maybe better left out in one particular dish, although the slight flavor of the juice was a positive addition to the dish. I'd be the first one to agree that it's almost always a matter of balance rather than one specific ingredient. There are combinations of foods I will rarely order on my own although they've become commonplace in American restaurants, yet I've had those ingredients marry in a dish that was part of a tasting menu in certain places. I'll often order a tasting menu just so I'm not iinfluenced by my prejudices, but that doesn't mean my prejudices aren't reinforced when I get the combination I dislike. Blue Hill and Daniel are two restaurants that I almost absolutely trust to send me food that will thrill without exception, even when the list of ingredients might have deterred me from ordering the dish in question. That's different from saying they're the two best, my two favorites, or even the two most trustworthy restaurants in NY, but it is a testament to my sense of their sense of balance. Nina, we all love Blue Hill and you've never been there. Has it occurred to you that there's some natural order in this and that you may be challenging the gods by attempting to dine there? Your not eating there is just a small sacrifice we're all prepared to make.

Just to add to what the others have already said, if you're enthusiastic about what you are doing and honest in what you say, there's no such thing as shame in telling us about it, or in promoting the restaurant. We like to eat and most of us like to eat well, or at least as well as we can afford to eat. We can decide where to spend our money, but we welcome all the news we can get about our choices. Shameful, would be a post by a restaurateur that declared he just discovered this incredible place that, in fact, was his own establishment. Post a menu, post a link to a web site if you have one and expect public feedback and criticism from the first members who eat there. If the early reports are positive, enjoy them. If they're less than enthusiastic, let's hope they're useful. Good luck. The dining public in the U.S. is getting more educated and more demanding every day, but it's also a more rewarding time to cook for them.

No one is an authority on Italian cooking, or should I say that everyone in Italy is an authority, but Mario is a well qualified voice on the subject. There are EVOOs that are inexpensive (everything is relative) and relatively neutral in taste. I mentioned the Carli brand oils we've been using for cooking. The difference in price between the regular oil and the extra virgin is about a buck a liter. I suppose that's ten bucks a year, but I don't keep track of how fast we replenish the supply. If we use it faster, we should probably buy the larger can for a savings. When it comes to the better extra virgin olive oils, we're really not talking about a product, but a range of flavors and tastes. If I were running an Italian restaurant I don't know if I'd settle on a house oil that would represent my style of cooking and offer a standard flavor or if I'd have a variety of oils open at any time and match them to particular dishes. For me, variety is the spice of life, but I only open one EVOO at a time in the interest of freshness. EVOO is clearly an acquired taste. Most French mayonnaise is made with vegetable oil. We used to make it with half vegetable oil and half rather bland olive oil, but mayonnaise made with egg yolks and a really flavorful EVOO can be an incredible treat. Of course it has to be used with a food that takes to olives and it may limit the other seasonings you choose to use in the salad or sandwich.

I'll let you know when the guys at the post office finish reading my copy.

That seems such an obvious question that even I had to think twice. I remember when the current ban on smoking in restaurant was being proposed a similar question about no-smoking restaurants was asked. What I recall was that maybe with an exception or two, no one had the nerve to try, but the response of the restaurant industry was that restaurants in NYC would die if the proposed ban was passed as law. Guess what, it didn't happen. The industry thrived, until now, but it's the economy that drives restaurants not smoking. The only point I'd make is that there are popular bars that people don't seem to avoid that are non-smoking, but they are upscale bars. Any of Danny Meyer's restaurant bars come to mind. Anyway, the intent of the current proposal is not to provide a smoke free environment for people to drink in, but to provide a smoke free working environment and that's what the arguments will have to address.

From what I understand, Alex Urena is a very shy man and not comfortable in front of strangers. In the good old days he might have made a perfect chef. Today we expect a chef to be more comfortable schmoozing than cooking. I don't think it's fair to criticize his discomfort in public. It's really not part of the job we should expect of a chef. I don't think it was disinterest in our opinion, but a genuine unease in talking to others. That he came out to the table was a sign of resepect and should have been seen that way. He did say he had inherited the Marseille concept with the job. I gathered it's not his restaurant to do with as he wishes and perhaps that it's his job to create some of the north African and middle eastern food that the owner feels is appropriate to Marseille. Marseille is a city with a large north African and Arab population. I think Mike is bringing some interesting food to Blue Hill and I thought the food never suffered in the months Dan was there alone, but I still believe Alex must have had some responsibility for the opening menus. Yes, Blue Hill is currently the more compelling restaurant, but Marseille is a useful one to know as you may not be able to get into Blue Hill on as short a notice and variety is the spice of life. My wife thought the sommelier was a bit scruffy as well. I thought he perfectly matched the character of the room which was so forties scruffy (in a nice way). I don't think there's anything that reminded any of the reviewers about Rick's place as much as the simple fact that the room is so forties and Casablanca is the forties' film. Is there anything else you really need to know about the forties except WWII and that's covered in the movie. I really liked the room and wide spaces between tables. That is I liked the room when there was enough daylight coming through the store front windows. As dusk arrived the room darkened and by nightfall, there was not enough light to read the menu. fortunately I had already selected a red to finish the dinner. The effect, in spite of the wall of glass on the street--really a nice view of the pedestrian traffic and street life in this very recently changed and changing intersection--is that of speakeasy where the food is best unseen, there are no labels on the bottles and you worry more about being spotted, than anything else. The sommelier's comments on the Deiss Bergheim Pinot Blanc I had selected were right on, and had I bothered to get his advice on the middle of the menu, I would probably have selected one of the Loire reds rather than the Albariño, a white. For what it's worth and the credit/blame is all mine, we finished the meal with a Brusset Cairanne. All of these were in the high thirty dollar riange. A Loire red might have been in the low forties for those looking for some insight to the list. There are a few wines in the twenties, but they didn't have appeal or come with a sense of security. I neither looked for the job of chooser, nor received any sense of budget, but I thought lower rather than higher seemed appropriate. If I had a problem with the service, it was that the waiter did not articulate the dishes very clearly. However, with several interested and interesting companions it was just as interesting to guess and discuss the food on the basis of taste without names.