Bux

The fact that you already have one variation available makes it less necessary to have another. What could a gourmet club offer a New Yorker except for the chance to serve his own wine? One of the joys of using restaurants is the ability to vary your experiences. I suppose in a way, the James Beard house is already that kind of a club. I've not really got sufficient experience to say much about their ability to provide the best of what's around and to vary the experience. One meal there offered me the chance to have a dish I'd already had in the restaurant whose chefs were cooking. It was far better in the restaurant for several reasons--fuller staff, less restricitions, familiar facilities, staples, etc. I suppose most of these things could be overcome, but you'd pay more for the same meal than at the restaurant, so you're back doing what the Beard House does, bringing in chefs from out of town. Not better food, but novelty.

Keep the U curve in mind. I've seen a real turn around in my lifetime. Food awareness has increased tremendously, but the raw materials have not yet come back to top quality on the scale with which they were once available. As a kid I and local plum tomatoes that were incredible. I remember the farm on the Brooklyn Queens border when I used to go with my father who was in the wholesale produce buisness. We'd bring home a basket, but those same tomatoes were available all over Brooklyn in average greengroceries. Today it's a big deal to go to GT or Blue Hill for their tomato salads or maybe to the Greenmarket ofr heirloom varieties, but that used to be everyday stuff in August in Brooklyn. Unfortunately there are still people who think things are better just because they can get fresh tomatoes in January--fresh, but tasteless.

My impression is that even when it seems as if the menu has gone for a long time without major changes, there are day to day minor changes that probably keep it relatively fresh and interesting. When I'm pressed for time, the short answer to a question about what the food is like at Cafe Boulud, is "delicious." The cooking is very up to date and there's no shortage of creativity or finesse, but the food is usually satisfying in an old fashioned way. I actually haven't been there in a while and I'm looking forward to my next meal there.

There's something less elegant about a screw top than an old fashioned beer bottle cap. I seem to recall Jancis Robinson favoring them as a solution. I don't know if they'd last any less time than a screw top. I think they lost the market to screw caps because the really tight ones required a bottle opener, but that might be exactly what the wine connoisseur wants. I collected bottle caps as a kid. Who the hell ever collected screw caps?

I think you're eating better than you used to and I'm not, Sonny. Let's go back to Jaybee's post. All of those things that are not as good as they used to be, are also not as bad they were either. So while the average chicken, egg and French bistro meal is not as good as it was when I was a kid, there have been recent improvements and those with a bit of time, energy, money and interest can do better at least in the short history of things. We've hit bottom and there's a light at the rim of the rut.

I'd like to take a moment to thank Dan and Mike on behalf of the members, and especially on behalf of those who have privately told me of their appreciation for their enthusiasm and for the candid responses they posted here. The members also deserve credit for the questions posed and for making eGullet a site that's attracting major voices in the food and dining industry. Mike and Dan were both eager to participate here. Although few of you may have realized, the Blue Hill kitchen, restaurant and business were making the heaviest demands on Dan's time in years just as this eGullet Q&A got under way. Yet, Dan was telling me to extend the deadline for questions from members in spite of their work load.

I know that neck of France about as well as I know the left side of Mars, but I have dined and slept in Bethune at le Meurin. I suspect it's a good hour from Calais and as I recall, I left my car in the open public parking across the street from the inn. I don't recall if there was another option. If you don't mind less than secure parking and a longer drive, I can assure you of a night's stop in a foodie oasis. I thought it a little inconsistent for a two star and found the hostess a little forgetful about our wine, but the overall meal was very good and far worse could be forgotten in memory of the extraordinary eel in kriek sauce. The rooms upstairs over the restaurant--you ascend a staircase in the restaurant lounge--could best be described as guest house, rather than hotel, but the grand bed was very comfortable and came with a huge comforter and too much central heat. We actually had to crack open the window. The bathroom, with stall shower was shipshape.

At least you've hit upon the reason I thought it was necessary to define your terms. I don't know if you can find that sort of perfectly cooked French food today. Part of the problem is that, there are few diners who want that option more than from time to time. I'm not even sure most people would consider that haute cuisine today. I suspect it's not profitable for a top restaurant to maintain a menu full of items like that, but I'd look at the restaurants Wilfird suggests. I don't know if they have web sites with current menus, but you might call them and ask each of them to fax a copy of their current menu. My second suggestion would be to contact the best French restaurants in town, I'd skip le Bernardin as it's primarily a fish restaurant and aks them if they could prepare a certain dish for you on order. I suspect the kitchens of Lespinasse, Daniel, Jean Georges and the like are well stocked with classically trained line cooks and they could fulfill your request with no trouble. As for options, I suspect the devoted fans of comtemporary art enjoy a vist to the Louvre or Prado from time to time. I've often felt there was use for a museum restaurant--not a restaurant in a museum, but one that cooked food no longer in style. Just as museums have special exhibits, this restaurant could present the food of la Pyramid or l'Hotel de la Cote d'Or from the 50's as a special offering for two week period. Could you get the best line cooks and chefs necessary to do it right or would you only end up with eager students and a lukewarm version of the original? Good luck on your hunt and please let us know if you find what you are looking for, where you find it, and how good it was.

Could you better define your terms. For me "haute cuisine" is almost inextricably aligned with French cuisine. I also fee that haute cuisine kitchens can only allow themselves to stay so far behind the times or risk being too stodgy to be considered "haute." I see a vast difference between contemporary and trendy. Lespinasse, Daniel and le Bernardin would fit the traditional bill for me. As Wilfrid suggests, a few of the older names might work better for you. I don't know the four seasons at all. The press it receives is exactly the kind that arouses no interest in me. "Fine Continental/American dining" is a much of a warning as I would need to surmise it's not my kind of restaurant.

I've had a variety of interesting desserts there, but with the exception of the rice pudding and chocolate bread pudding, only the simple pre-desserts of fruit soups with sorbets, stir me the way the savory courses frequently do.

The more I read of posts by amateur, (in the best sense) diners with sophisticated communicative skills, the more I understand the subjective nature of restaurant appreciation. Some of us have a wider range of appreciation than others, perhaps, but we don't all want the same thing and we're not all excited by the same foods or music. I'm frequently put off by Wagner, I enjoy Beethoven but Bach can get my full attention with a single intstrument, better than most composers can with an army of musicians--call it an orchestra, if you will. Blue Hill's food is like that for me. It's not so much that the food is pared down as much as that another flavor would be extraneous.

I thought you used cannele and I follwed suit as it apeared to be the most familiar. I'd certainly go with Lenotre, but I've never seen the "t" at the end nor can I recall an accent mark, but I was notorious for my poor showings at spelling bees. A reliance on spellcheckers has not helped.

Of course my daughter says this as a professional after working in a couple of top kitchens. The best words to come out of the mouth of a child lately have been "You can't teach a new dog old tricks." It's absolutely true, sometimes children and novices just have to learn the hard way by experience.

I think those are unfair questions as Fat Guy noted this was his ideal if he had the money, and not what he expected from newspapers across the country. To restrict an abstract proposal on the basis of current budgets and interests is to deny that a system should or even could improve. One of eGullet's functions may be to raise consciousness about ofood and dining so that restaurant reviews will become more important to consumers and editors.

Thanks. I really enjoyed that report for your thoughts about restaurants and dining trends as well as for the information on Mirazur and Chibois. We ate at the Royal Gray many years ago. I believe it was in the mid-late eighties. Do you remember if it had one or two stars? I think it was one and I was quite conscious that it seemed expensive for a one star place. We had just begun to start traveling again after a hiatus of about a dozen years. Funds were tight and I was very aware of our budget. What I remember is a meal that consisted of inexpensive cuts of meat prepared in simple country fashion and an array of fresh flowers that must have cost more than the ingredients on the plates. The bouquets were truly memorable, but so was the food. For all it's apparent simplicity it was superb and we were impressed by the quality of the cooking. I have not spent much time in that part of Provence, but the Bastide Saint-Antoine has been on our list. I've heard mixed reports, but they've ranged from good to excellent. Someday I may return to that part of the world and your post will serve as a consumer report on Mirazur, but right now it's abstract and your comments about modern, casual restaurants offering innovative food at medium-level prices are more interesting. I think haute cuisine has a good bit of life in it, but I agree that talented chefs, including those who already have a luxury haute cusine restaurant will be opening the sort of restaurant you describe at a faster pace. I think there's a demand and I think chefs find it a challege worthy of their time and effort. The latter may be affected by the fact that there is a demand and that there's a public ready to appreciate and support such restaurants with their mouths and their wallets. Mouths in this situation may mean eating as well as speaking, but what any creative person really wants is a bit of verbal praise for his ego and enough financial support to continue his endeavors. My only question before I wholeheartedly endorse reporting this as a trend is to be sure it's a trend and not just that I'm finding these restaurants because I'm looking for them. Then again, if enough of us are looking for them, they'll arrive to meet the demand.

Perhaps the classic canneles were at Amat's restaurant in Bouliac across the river from Bordeaux. That he lost and never regained his second star was a mystery to many of us. That he lost his restaurant was a tragedy. I'm not sure of the spelling and don't know if either then "n" or the "l" are double or both.

If my daughter has said anything quotable, and I believe she has said many things worth listening to, her best line has been "You know why this tastes good? Butter."

Klc, if no one has noticed, is clearly a gastrotekkie in the kitchen and dining room. Sometimes a high teckkie, and sometimes a low tekkie, but always a gastroteckkie. If there's one image of Steve and machine that will stick in my mind it's him using a funky pastel green Korean blender/spice grinder at the NY Chocolate Show under the banner of Kitchenaid. I'm no more surprised he carries a Visor than I would be to hear he dines with a small slate and a pocketful of colored chalks. Whatever he needs to get the job done. And I mean that in the best way.

I would say that discretion is important. When we're traveling my wife will almost always be sure to have a fist full of business cards and take notes on the back of them. We've also used a very small pad. If possible, she will conceal her note taking from staff and other diners and try not to attract attention to her activity. Between courses she will usually ask me to briefly describe my dish. While she's discreet, she's also not overly concerned about being noticed. She will try not to leave the pen or paper on the table while she's eating. I've wondered a few times if it hasn't improved our service.

I trust I didn't imply that I would't like to see restaurant reviews reach a level of food writing above consumer reports. On Asimov's recent MarkJoseph column, Fat Guy also points out the bit I would see as justification for the review and it's not to knock MarkJoseph's steaks or praise those of Peter Lugar, but to note the difference and educate those who don't know the difference. That the review is of a mediocre restaurant of a genre that has little personal interest to me is insignificant in my finding redeeming value in the piece. Asimov covered a lot of ground here and satisfied more than a few interests, especially when you consider the restaurant review as form has inherent problems. All things considered, that Asimov is being presented as a substitute and that his primary appearances to readers has been as a reviewer of "cheap" restaurants, whatever plans the Times has for him, I think this was a thumbs up performance.

I've had a couple of thoughts while reading this thread. One is that restaurant reviews are not in a class of their own. Film reviews are similar. Why is it that we don't rate paintings or museum shows with stars? Almost every newspaper in America will rate films by the number, but I can't ever recall seeing a four star book review. Come to think of it, even theater reviews escape the numbers game. (Am I wring on this?) It seems that books are regarded as literature and art as, well ..., art, but movies and meals are consumable products like washers and dryers in our society and their reviews are treated as consumer reports. I think film and food has evolved, but the popular media (newspapers, TV, glossy magazines, etc.) have not resignificantly recognized that change with a change in reviewing patterns. On the whole, I suspect the majority of their audience or market is not interested in seeing change. To go back to architecture for a minute, the Times caters to the 1% because although we all use buidlings, only 1% thinks about architecture. With film and food, we all use it and we all think about it. Few people buy architecture, everyone buys movies and dinner. On the whole, I'd rather read a literate account of a restaurant by a food writer than a restaurant review. I'd probably rather read a food writer's historical account of a restaurant long gone, or a fictional account of a great restaurnant that never was, than a restaurant review, but when I read a restaurant review, I'm probably as guitly as the next person in seeing it as a consumer report. I think a large part of that is conditioning.

Tom Colicchio Restaurants: Gramercy Tavern and Craft, both in NYC. Cookbook: Think Like a Chef

Here's a recipe from Daniel Boulud for short ribs braised in red wine and served with celery root puree and brasied celery.

Bingo indeed. Russ sems to have been the first to point that out. All humans have some biases. It's not possible to eliminate the subjective in reviews of food, film, art, music, etc. There's a reason we don't all honor the same critics. It would be interesting to learn the roster of Michelin inspectors over the years. I'm not a great one for consipracy theories, but you have wonder how it happens that after years of respect a certain restaurant finally goes from two to three stars just as the supporters have all but given up and perhaps who it is that keeps Roellinger at two stars.

Steve, I remember that interivew with Behr and it was worth a re-read if my memory serves me well. In fact I just took a peek at it. I could write a rave review about Blumenthal and not do the same for Liebrandt right now, but I understand your point about the Fat Duck seeming outside the range of previous spotlights in the Art of Cooking. Nevertheless, Behr had an interest in Arpege and Pierre Gagnaire when Shaw interviewed him and I don't see the Fat Duck as that much of an extension. Whether you trust his ability to critique those kinds of restaurants as well as report on ingredients is another story. My one overall negative criticism about dinner at the Fat Duck was a level of sweetness that progressed over the course of dinner. I found it too pronounced in the sweetbreads. Nevertheless I was most favorably impressed. The mustard ice cream and red cabbage soup was a stunner. I did not understand the tea-lime froth, but enjoyed the rest.