Bux

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.

Those little balls of pasta known as Israeli cous cous were kind of trendy a few years back. Plenty of respected chefs used it and plenty of people whose palates I respected seemed to like it. I've found it a pleasant variation on the starches one is often served as a garnish. We just ate dinner in Marseille. Rail Paul's judgement seems close to mine. I found none of it unappetizing, most of it interesting and some of it quite good. If I was disappointed, it was not in relationship to either what's been written here or in other offsite reviews, but I did not find it as compelling as Blue Hill. I've always assumed Alex Urena, the chef here, was partially responsible for Blue Hill's opening menu as he was co-chef there when it opened. We did the tasting menu which may have an extra course as one of our party was known to Alex. In the great tradition of eGullet, others at the table will identify themselves if they so choose and certainly they'll disagree with me to some extent. -- We had an amuse portion of the "brandade croquette" on a bed of what was described as aioli cheese with some green (basil?) olive oil and what appeared to be mustard seeds. A traditional cod fish cake or cod fish croquette is basically salt cod and mashed potato cakes that are deep fried. Is there a younger generation of diners who are familiar with brandade but not cod croquettes? Perhaps. The aioli was a bit bland (I didn't find and maybe misheard cheese). It could have used some oomph in my opinion and the croquettes could have been fishier, but they were crisp and without residual oil and it was a nice presentation. The oil and mustard seeds were a nice touch. Someone noted the croquettes could have been hotter. The first course was the "Heirloom tomato salad, fromage blanc sorbet." This was a small portion and there were some nice tomatoes of at least three different colors in there. There were also too many cherry or grape tomatoes which didn't deliver the taste of the heirlooms. There were also a few citrus slices (orange?) that I felt detracted, rather than added to the dish. While they could just be ignored, I found this was a case where less could have been more. Using the menu Cabrales just supplied, I guess our next course was the "Shrimp Kataifi; romaine lettuce and green mussel sauce," although ours had tiny, but tasty clams. The waiter's descriptions were not always audible and often short. We guessed spinach for the greens, but I thought there was a pleasantly bitter edge, but not as bitter as arugula. Kataifi, I understand are thin strands of phyllo. I might have guessed very fine angel hair pasta that had been deep fried. Anyway it was nice and crisp, but possibly too much for the delicacy of the shrimp it wrapped. My wife said it did not overwhelm the shrimp which she found sweet (in the best sense). A pretty fine dish with or without the full appreciation of the shrimp. Poached branzini on a spiced mound of eggplant, tomatoes, fennel and maybe peppers may have been the "Sauteed striped bass; roasted peppers and zahatar sauce." While others remembered having branzini, I was sure it was the Italian name for a fish we know well here, but I couldn't place it even after having it. Striped bass fills the bill in retrospect. The small filet was served with the skin. I don't know if this is authentic middle eastern or Mediterranean food or not, and I don't normally gravitate towards this kind of dish, but I thought it was very successful and interesting. It's nice when a dish is both these things. I enjoyed it very much. My wife, and others found the dish too spicy for the delicate fish, especially as it was poached and not sauteed. I thought it was excellent poached and that it supported the spiced vegetables nicely. My wife's notes stop here, but we also had halibut. Presumably the "Roasted halibut; portobello mushroom confit, zucchini, carrot julieene and pil pil sauce." I don't recall the hot pepper as a believe "pil pil" would indicate. I do recall a veal stock based sauce, some julienne of leeks if not the other vegetables and thought it was delicious although halibut would not have been my fish of choice, nor that of any of the others. Halibut usually offers little in the way of taste of texture that I find desirable and I was not alone in this regard. Still it was a very tasty dish if not the same one as listed on menu supplied by Cabrales. "Roasted duck breast, farro risotto and brick de canard" followed. The "brick" was a little duckmeat pie. In French brik is, or is akin to, phyllo sheets. I found the pie a little dry and thought of some really fine pastillas (bistillas?) that had a juciness from raisins and a much more interesting taste and texture. I missed the chance for a real north African treat here. The duck was also overcooked for my taste. My first taste of the faro cooked in cream led me to think it might have been a risotto with corn. I don't know why. I liked it. my wife thought it didn't work with the duck. this should have been a real winner and thus was a noticeable disappointment. Desserts were cute, but also not as successful as I would have hoped to get. A fruit ceviche with mango sorbet in a white chocolate cup just didn't work for me. The sorbet was too spicy--overpowering ginger was the consensus. Unpleasant acrid aftertaste for me and the white chocolate just added a note of fat. I should note that I'm not a great fan of white chocolate--a misnomer if ever there was one, this is chocolate after the chocolate has been removed, leaving the cocoa butter. A chocolate buñuelo was a better tidbit--a ball of molten chocolate in a candy/chocolate(?) shell with crushed nut(?) coating.

It is only when you bring up air conditioning, or even fresh air for that matter, that I remember the French are insane. What the French do not like are air conditioning, cool air and drafts. I have seen Frenchmen and Spanish men pull out sweaters and put them on when someone opens a window in a draftless 90 degree (F) restaurant. The fear of draft is almost paranoid. Things are changing, especially in the places that cater to an international crowd of North Americans and Asians. As for hazing in restaurants or physical abuse of the staff by the chef, it's no worse than the mental or financial abuse that has been common to the trade over the decades. A French kitchen is probably less democratic than the French army. This is not to condone such a situation, but one shouldn't be surprised to hear of it.

Freeze dried wine would eliminate corked wines. Of course the idiot who invents this will probably do some market research, learn that wine drinkers are resistant to attempts to eliminate corks and will decide to package his product in a cork sealed bottle to appeal to traditionalists.

In NYC, I do a lot of tasting at Di Palo's on Broome Street. The best time to taste is in the winter when the novellos first start coming in. My favorites tend to be the ones with the most fruity olive taste. My wife usually likes a bit of bite in the taste. Nevertheless we go through variety just to keep our diet interesting. There was one EV novello that I found a bit bland but in a lovely way, that Louis (the proprietor) described as buttery. We also regularly use an olive oil made by Carli for cooking purposes. Currently we're using their EVOO which runs about ten bucks a liter, but don't quote me. We've also used their standard olive oil with is about a buck a liter cheaper. I'm not very extravagant, but that doesn't seem very expensive. Neither have a very pronounced flavor, nor have I ever seen these open for tasting.

If nothing else, I am greatful for the information on wine matching. I would have selected a St. Julien rather than a Pauillac in my ignorance.

The rooms can be very small. I believe those at the Montalembert next door are also quite small. I am however surprised about your experience with theft. We found the staff very friendly and had no problems with anything left in the room.

I've used this and other brands. This brand has been the most useful to me. I do not cook Indian food. I basically use curry powder as the base for one sauce, although it's a sauce that has variants depending on what it's going to accompany or what is going to be braised in it. Curry powder is never the single seasoning in the sauce or the dish. Other spices, herbs and garlic often appear in the dish. Overall, when I use curry powder the dish is going to have a French/American nature with perhaps a flavor reminiscent of the Indian subcontinent and will often be a dish with which I choose to serve a chutney or two. One of those might be a West Indian chutney. If my dish has any resemblance to Caribbean food, it's to the food of the French West Indies and similar to what's generally called a "columbo." I will also use a pinch of curry powder in other foods that I don't want to have any Indian connection. I use the powder as if it were any other powder. I know the taste and use it for the flavor of that taste as I used cumin for that flavor. It's no more a shorcut than not grinding my own paprika.

Shaw's photograph appears to be one of the private rooms on another level, at least according to the test on that web page. Could you clarify? I'm assuming sevral of those options were not ones you thought were legitimate just from previous restaurant experience. Was it more than just wondering which breads were supposed to go with which dishes?

The hotel reopened maybe three years ago after being closed for many years. (Like maybe 10 years.) We spoke to the manager not long after 9/11 and they were seriously affected, along with other hotels, by the loss of traveling Americans. They had stiff competition from the Montalembert hotel next door and I recall a restaurant in the hotel that seemed like a half hearted attempt. Either they only served lunch at the time or it was Sunday and the restaurant was closed, but I recall an American a the front desk wondering what he was going to do for dinner. I think he was asking the concierge for the name of the closest restaurant. As Paris becomes more New Yorkicized, I suppose this Robuchon venture is a no brainer, but I don't see it aiming for anything more than a star, if that. It sounds like a great place for the day you arrive from North America jet lagged and in need a small meal at an odd hour.

Marc was kind enough to have shared his article on MICRI in a thread on Miguel Sanchez Romera's restaurant, L' Esguard, in Saint Andreu de Llavaneres, near Barcelona. in the Spain dining forum back in May, prior to publication in the magazine.

Wimpy, If your're still looking for restaurants open in August, check out Flora, 36 avenue George V. Cabrales offered the link to Patricia Wells' online review in her post Los Olivades.

This is an interesting subject that might be well discussed in the NY board. I understand Bruno went to work at Alain Ducasse's restaurant in NY. My guess is that Bruno had clients who were loyal to him. Politics may make strange bed fellows, but running a finacially successful restaurant in NYC is a complex business.

Andy, if it's any consolation, whenever I was there in connection with my proposal for the web site, all I only remember getting a few garlic focaccia rolls. But they were so good right out of the oven that I suspect that's not much consolation. It sounds as if Leslie had to get her hands dirty from time to time and her free food was just compensation. I wonder if it's fair to ask Leslie if the fact that the kitchen at Daniel is one of the few that are reasonably air conditioned had anything to do with her choice of subject. Leslie, just kidding. I tend to agree with your choice of subject and for the reasons you generally offer elsewhere

Taste in food is very subjective, but I believe reaction to dining experiences overall is just as subjective. The trick is not to hide one's subjective reactions, but to present them as objectively as possible, which is what I thought Robert did very well and very fairly. I don't think Cabrales was denying Robert's right to complain. I welcome her "defense" of Loubet and his Moulin to the extent that it explains her feelings and even to the extent that she plays devil's advocate. I think eGullet serves its members best when it encourages discussion and presents the widest possible assessment of any restaurant or situation. I don't think we function well as a jury deciding thumbs up or thumbs down and I doubt anyone has posted anything that Paula shouldn't find useful in making her decision about dining at le Moulin de Lourmarin. My guess is that she really wanted all thoughts, opinions and even speculation as long as it's presented as what it is. What's been said will dissuade some potential diners from making a reservation and not others, but I think it will also serve those who choose to dine there and make them more aware of where the rewards are and where they may not be. PaulaJ, you don't say if you have reservations at the inn, or just the dining room, but the information on cancellations may be most useful.

I think the relative questions one might want to ask about any restaurant is the one Michelin bases its star system on--how far out of your way would you go to eat there? The other gauge is one Plotnicki proposed some time ago and that's how far in advance would you consider making reservations. At one end there's be those restaurants you've happy to book over a month in advance and make an arduous trip to dine in, while anticipating the meal. At the other end are those restaurants you pass by on foot without an umbrella on a rainy day with little more than the hope someplace else has an open table.

Particularly in reference to Daniel and Cafe Boulud, there are some questions here that members might want to ask of Leslie Brenner (author of The Fourth Star: Dispatches From Inside Daniel Boulud's Celebrated New York Restaurant) while she's still answering questions about the book and the restaurant. The eGullet Q&A session was supposed to end today, but as last minute questions are getting interesting, Leslie's agreed to stay on for a few days and maybe this thread should continue there for a behind the scenes opinion. I think I posted elsewhere (maybe the Cello thread) that Daniel doesn't have 380 seats. I don't think there are 380 chairs including the bar and the room for private parties. 380 covers would represent turning tables at least once and maybe more often in a night. Offhand I don't remember the numbers. Maybe Leslie might. I've personally experienced an event in the main dining room where some 130 people were served perfect scallop, risotto and rare lamb dishes and the meal was cooked while Daniel and the sous chefs were in the dining room eating as were many of the captains. The managment and discipline are superb. Still, a multitude of different orders over the course of a long night with tables turned once and maybe twice is going to put a strain on any facility. I think it would be naive to think otherwise. The question might not be whether Daniel Boulud could turn out better food in a restaurant half the size, but whehter another chef with a restaurant half that size is doing that. Then you'd have to ask if he's making a profit. No restaurant is going to serve great food for long without being able to serve it profitably. It's interesting that Daniel took the restaurant that was too small to turn a profit and turned it one he thought could. He added a few more tables in the new layout for Cafe Boulud but also had the expense of a gut renovation. The food and service are a bit less formal however. I would never say I've found the food better ar Cafe Bouud, but I might say I've found it more satisfying at least from time to time.

My guess is that they just don't understand food anyway--who the hell serves beef stoganoff with rice. Don't knock yourself out thinking about it and don't knock yourself cooking. Cook a decent version of whatever you'd normally cook without company. I assume ground beef dishes are not above what you'd have on a weekday night anyway. No need to try and impress them as they're just as likely not to understand as be offended or embarrassed, and there's no need for you to have another really bad meal. Feed yourself and share it with them. I wonder if they eat out and I wonder if they notice the difference when they do. Do you know?

Leslie, this is sort of a follow up to a response you gave where you noted that you felt the establishments you visited in France paled in comparison to Daniel--both in terms of service and the food itself. Although we had eaten in the first Restaurant Daniel not long after it opened, I first recall meeting Daniel Boulud in 1995 or so and it was late in that year that I had a chance to talk to a few of his cooks. I found that opportunity very interesting. One of my questions asked of a cusinier who had come from France was about how his experience in the kitchen of what was one the most highly respected French kitchens in New York, would look on his resume. His response in 1995 was that in terms of his career back in France, his opportunity to improve his English would be an asset especially if he moved to management or the front of the house, but that the time he spent in the kitchen would be seen as if he had stopped working in a restaurant. No one in France had any interest or respect for restaurants in America. Some five or so years later after a recent visit to France, we were talking and he spoke of the respect and vip treatment he had received at some of the great restaurants in Paris and the provinces--by this time he had been executive chef of Daniel's catering division and executive sous chef at Daniel. I asked him if he remembered our first conversation and he said he did and that the attitude of French cooks towards American restaurants and chefs had changed drastically. By the time you were writing your book a tremendous change had occurred in the way French chefs viewed their counterparts in America. Was this evident and was it evident that this was a new thing, or had the new status become taken for granted so quickly?

Provence attracts English speakers who like to talk about their travels. Two winters ago, we had lunch in a one star place of some charm in Eygalières--le Bistrot d'Eygalières I don't know that I'd describe it as compelling, but it certainly showed signs that it could become that. As I recall, Margaret Pilgrim ate there on our recommendation and enjoyed it at least as much as we did. GaultMillau listed it as one of their finds that year. It's only a 15, but acoup de coeur in the latest GM. The chef is a young Belgian and his wife is a charming hostess. They had added some inviting looking rooms upstairs, but we had an appointment in Nimes that night.

How did I miss this before. Obvoiusly you get get clubs do you? People join clubs because others can't.

Getting back to an old discussion about the absent chef, my guess is that you'll eat better at the chef's restaurant when he's not there, than you will eat at another restaurant when he's doing a guest shot. When it comes time to put his food on your plate, his trained team is more important than he is. I think the Beard House will only give you a tease and not the full power of a great visiting chef.

I don't know if MICRI found its way into our meal at l'Esguard in June, but this is from our notes on that meal. I would have preferred a stock based sauce and I thought this was not the strongest dish, but still very good and the overall meal was easily worth a star.

We're all glad to hear you have Internet access and a good conscience. We expect to hear from you on a regular basis.

Robert Brown mentioned he was "trying to finish my long post on Lourmarin" in an e-mail message. My understanding is that his reaction is mixed, at best. I've alerted him to this post.