Bux

It's hard to imagine a patent for a dish in a restaurant. A product might be more patentable. You could patent an ice cream scooper, but not a scoop of ice cream. You could patent your process for making an ice cream cone, but someone can come up with another edible container very easily. I would think that maybe the first ice cream pop on a stick might have been patentable, but I'll bet alternatives would still show up on the market.

Sure all of the above and perhaps different combinations for different folks and I assume we are agreeing that none of that is necessarily a bad thing all by itself. I think much the same can be said for opera fans and baseball fans who enjoy catching a rising star, going to a stadium or concert hall they know well and feel comfortable in, growing by a better understanding of the sport or art, etc. What sport or opera fan doesn't enjoy a new venu when he travels and who among us is not nostalgic for earlier happy memories. Dining is just another pursuit that gratifies us in many ways both sensory and intellectual.

I think Charolais beef has been pretty well represented on Burgundian menus for some, if not exactly common. I wonder how much of the attention to the "rare" breeds might be due to mad cow disease. As the disease is traced to the feed, it might be assumed that these rare breeds are more carefully tended and fed a more expensive feed, or allowed to graze. In a supermarket I recalled seeing a display that had the phrase "viande bovine" and I didn't examine it closely at the time, but later wondered if somehow, "boeuf" was a word to be avoided.

I'm reminded of the avocado crab ravioli at l'Astrance for a savory adaptation of the same technique.

We had a lovely pre-dessert or dessert amuse, last week at Regis Marcon's Clos des Cimes in St. Bonnet-le-Froid. It was a thin slice of fresh pineapple folded over a puree of fresh strawberries. It was a wonderfully clean and sweetly acidic break between the rich savory course and the full blown desserts to follow. It's fascinating to talk about the derivation of the treat, but at the time all that mattered was the taste. Paula, I am becoming more and more aware of how a fine meal can be marred and even ruined by circumstances that sem not directly related to the food. As you so acurately posted, it's not just the disappointment and loss of time. Of far greater effect is having your stomach empty for an hour or two.

There is, or was, an a la carte menu, but why would one order a la carte. More to the point, we were with a friend who cannot eat fish or seafood and notified the restaurant when making our reservation and again when confirming. When we ordered, the waiter noted that he was aware of our friend's problem and that it was no a problem for the kitchen. Out came a completely fishless meal matching our tasting menu course for course and at times I was almost envious. No small feat when you know that the stard tasting menu is heavily into seafood and that I love seafood.Lizziee, I'm really glad you took the time and trouble to give us your positive and negative reports. I am most appreciative, and as you can see, so are others here. I hope the real reward is participating with those who share your insight and committment. This a tough group, but they're not so likely to attack as they are to demand more information. When we first had that, and I think it was at Santamaria's in San Celoni, it was translated as sea cucumber for us, but I think that was inaccurate and I forget what it is. You mentioned it as the wild asparagus dish, but unless I'm confused I though it was a seafood. I shall try and find my own menus, but can anyone clear up my confusion?Steve, in my reading of Lizziee's posts, I didn't see any sticker shock. In fact, I thought she commented on the relative inexpensiveness of the first meal and just noted that she was surprised that the visiting chefs were not comped on the second. The buisness of comping is an interesting subject, but one that may only infuriate those who never dined with a chef and reaped some of the benfits. I am looking forward to reports of meals at El Bulli this year, but almost everyone I know has been unable to get a reservation.

Let me add my name to the list of fans of both Basque and Catalan dining. Lunch at El Raco de Can Fabes was sensational, although I was unhappy to make the half hour drive back to Barcelona afterwards. The cooking is far less technical and much more traditional than at El Bulli, but it is a very sophisiticated cuisine and were it in France, it would still be three star cuisine. I've mentioned my pleasure at Ca L'Isidre and Can Majo in Barcelona in another thread devoted to that city. My only problem with Barcelona is that if you're tired and lazy and choose a restaurant at random in the central tourist area, you can eat very poorly. These days that's equally true of Paris and certainly of NY and the traveler who doesn't do his homework deserves what he gets. At anyrate it's served as a good lesson. Steve, in partial answer to one of your questions, I know that Martin Berasategui was very aware of the number of American chefs dining at his restaurant a couple of years ago and very attentive to a couple of NYC cooks. On the whole I find the Spanish more insular than their French neighbors. The interest these chefs have in France, the U.S. and other countries is probably not typical of the interests of their local clientele. Some time ago, I read an interesting article on Asturias in one of the glossies, but have seen little else about the area west of the Basque country. Galicia at the western end of the north coast has excellent seafood, but the with a few exceptions, the cooking is traditional. We got the sense that restaurants that are chef driven as in the US, France, Catalunya and the Basque country are just beginning to make themselves known with creative dishes or even those borrowed from other contemporary chefs outside the region. In any event I have this feeling of excitement about food across northern Spain right now.

Michael, I'm curious about your dislike of, or disinterest in, salt cod. Even apart from brandade, I've often enjoyed it and suspect your aversion is the result of badly prepared dishes. A good piece of salt cod when properly soaked, should cook fairly quickly and be quite tender. In my estimation a "good piece" hasn't been dried to rock hard consistency in the first place.

Lizziee, that's a very interesting post. I don't have much information to add to this. We were there in May of 2000 and loved the experience. It was an exciting meal. Perhaps it was more exciting than satisfying, but I'd say that the overwhelming majority of dishes worked and appeared to be the product considerable reflection. The dishes may have been challenging, but they were not experiments. They were refined and made sense. This seems to match your appraisal of 2000. Your 2001 reaction comes as a shock, but it was obviously a shock to you as well at the time. From my limited exposure to Adria's cooking, I'd have expected shock at the first visit, not the second. Thus your post is particularly interesting. After your first visit, I suspect you were prepared for further developments and innovation and were not expecting El Bulli to stand still. Steve raises a few interesting questions and I'm pleased you will take the time to address them. We're in no hurry for an answer, El Bulli is fully booked for the rest of the season. I'd be fascinated to learn the names of the chefs who accompanied you, but I wouldn't expect you to divulge such information. With the attention he's received and the clientele he's developed, it's not hard to wonder if he isn't pressured to push his cooking further than he should, but I've never had the impression he was driven by anything other than his own desire and interest. The most questionable aspect of our meal was when we were asked to smell a rosemary twig while tasting something else. This was not a direction I wanted to see dining head towards, but even so, I felt it was a sincere request. I am reminded of an article on Paul Liebrant in the NY Times not long ago in which dinner seemed more a cross between an interactive multimedia event and and an evening of S&M. I've eaten Liebrant's food and found him more experimental than Adria, or perhaps just less a master of his flavors. At any rate, when I cautioned someone else about the cutting edge of cooking, a Madrid food critic added that one can sometimes bleed at the cutting edge. Which reminds me that we have reservations to dine with friends at Papillon, Liebrandt's place. We shall see if my second visit brings me a better appreciation of his cooking or drives me away.

How I'd react to being asked to leave wne occupying a table after I'd finished eating would have more to do with how I was asked than just the fact that I was asked. I know most restaurants turn tables to make a living for the owner and staff and I know that people waiting for a table deserve the chance to dine. "Ladies, I don't mean to be rude, but if you aren't going to be spending any more money here this morning, then we need you to leave so that we can seat the people who are waiting." doesn't quite cut it with me. What did she mean by saying she didn't mean to be rude? Did those words accidently come out of her mouth. I'm not offended by the facts of life or the necessities of buisness, but how about a little grace in the request.

I think it may be valid to blame writers who just pander to their public, but you're certainly correct in noting that the food news reading public is not interested in the background history the way either a museum goer or sports fan is interested in that kind of information. We all eat, but as a society, we certainly do it with less intellectual interest than almost anything else in our lives. What do people want from food journalists? Probably nothing more than hints on where to get the most for their money when they eat out and easy step by step recipes that are infallible but leave out complex information.

Crisp Paupiette of Sea Bass in a Barolo Sauce is one of Daniel Boulud's signature dishes, or at least it's been reported as one his clientele won't let him take off the menu. This is how the the dish is described on his web site where the recipe appears. Paul Bocuse's Rouget en Ecailles de Pomme de Terre inspired this exquisite preparation of tender fish fillets wrapped in a crisp crust of sliced potatoes. (While I'm not commenting on the quality of this dish, nor suggesting anyone visit the web site, in the interest of full professional disclosure I will note that I was responsible for the original design of the web site and that I have had personal relationships with people who have worked for the restaurant.) I should think it's awfully hard to copyright or patent a recipe or cooking technique. As others have mentioned, lots of ideas make the rounds and this is not limited to kitchen creativity. It happens in all creative arts. Who gets credit for art deco? Every movement in art has it's originators and followers. In some cases the followers make major contributions. In most cases even the originator has just made a slightly bigger break in the evolution of styles rather than a real revolutionary change. Great chefs may originate a recipe, but in time it may enter the classic repertoire. I understand why some chefs may be upset by having a recipe copied, especially if exactly, but as a member of the dining public, I'd say it makes for better dining than to have every uncreative chef trying to create his own new dishes. I think Klc hit upon the biggest difference between food arts and the other arts, crafts and design professions--the journalists and critics are far less knowledgeable and the influences go unnoticed and unreported.

Indeed, there's a lot to be said about making food appetizing to look at as well as taste. I tend to affect the attitude of a prude or puritan while enjoying my foie gras. I may say it's only the food that counts but the truth is that I've come to appreciate all the other things around the food that make fine dining both a pleasure and an expensive proposition. That something looks good enough to eat may be a compliment in some arenas, but when it comes to food, sometimes "it looks too good to eat" is the ultimate.

Steve, I am ethically and professionally troubled, but also inclined to react with caution after reading one side of any story. I suppose the issue goes back to the original post and how much can we really expect from the food media. Within every profession there appears to be an old boys network that works to defend a status quo. I have referred to what I see as a food Mafia. The funny thing is that when I see a reviewer or even a food journalist pulled in from outside the network, I don't see fresh idea as much as I see disrespect for those who have really accomplished something and I see disapssionate writing where I want enthusiasm. I have great empathy for both ajay and Steve Plotnicki's views. Bill Daley can spell out the reasons why a reviewer should be free of entangled interests, but no one can tell me that one reviewer will necessarily be better than another just because he is without connections to chefs or restaurant owers and managers. If I eat in a restaurant and love the food without meeeting the chef or ower am I entitled t write a review? If I eat there five times, will I be in a better position to write the review? If I love the food so much and tell that to the chef will it make me more or less capable of writing an honest review. If the chef takes me on a tour of the kitchen will that help or hurt? If as a result of my enthusiasm, the chef buys me a drink or a dessert, will that taint my review? Suppose the relationship goes deeper will that taint my review? If what I see as a natural reaction to a diner's enthusiasm for the food he ate and loved is a reason to recuse myself from writing a review, it almost seems as if reviews have to be written by those who are lukewarm to a restaurant at best and the truth is that although I don't see eye to eye with Steve Plotnicki about not caring what the average diner will see and get, I want my reviews written by someone with passion for the restaurant. It I were an editor with a staff of reviewers, I'd let one of those who was passionate about a restaurant write the review for that restaurant. Sure I'm playing devil's advocate to an extent and the reasons Bill Daley suggests a reviewer should avoid making friends in the industry are obvious, but in the end impartiality will no more guaranty a better review than you can determine the quality of the food by knowing with whom the chef apprenticed. The idea of term limits is valid, but I suggest that in NYC, especially in regard to the most sophisticated restaurants, that term is about four months before every maitre d' knows exactly what the NY Times critic looks like. I recall reading Ruth Reichl's last review of Le Cirque. Her claim to have passed incognito was absolutely unbelievable to me. Why are all the good threads started when I'm away? There are a lot of interesting posts in this thread and I'm reluctant to respond individually to each.

How do they cut the quarter portion? Is the breast split in two? Do you get a piece of breast and some dark meat with each quarter or is it all dark or all light meat as in the states? I'm still curious about how our duck was cut in Les Loges in Lyon. Back to the sot-l'y-laisse, to me, it seems to combine the best of both dark and light meat offering the best taste and texture, but it would be hard to apportion it out with four portions to a bird. It is an interesting question as to what happens with leftovers in a restaurant and I do not mean that which remains on a diner's plate, but the parts that are not served. Presumably there are not a lot, but if single portions are always cut from a larger part, there were be too much waste to ignore.

Actually the two best trips are the first and the one we haven't yet taken. The next one always has the potential to not only profit from the mistakes of the last, but to achieve a perfection. I'm of two minds of this as well and could play devil's advocate on either side. It's true that the various regions of France offer different experiences and different tastes that can be discerned over short distances. It's also a fact that even for those who seemed to have traveled in every corner of France, each season is another experience and there is never a completely off season. Another fact however, is that France has become increasingly less agricultural and more homogenized. For those reasons, we have been finding Spain a rewarding place in which to travel, explore and find discoveries. Your impending trip to Brittany is a good example--I say this to urge you to go although my comments may put you off. We toured Brittany extensively in the sixties and loved it, but never managed to return until the nineties when our daughter married a Breton. We loved it anew and have been back several times in the past five years, but the long absence enabled us to rue the differences. The lovely little towns with stone houses were ringed with banal residential subdivisions. Every widow who wore the traditional local lace cap was now dead and buried along with her dress. What was street wear in the sixties is now seen only in the museums and at occasional festivals. There's no crepe like a real Breton buckwheat galette, especially one finished off with an oeuf mirroir on top, but the ubiquity of creperies all over France diminishes the regional impact and that at least half of the creperies are now creperie-pizzerias contribute far less to the experience of immersion in Brittany. And I will start reporting back shortly as I get organized and catch up here. As you can see by the length of this post, the inability to participate here was the frustration of our trip. Yes, the expensive places were not prohibitive for the most part and there were some real bargains in terms of meals and accommodations along the way. It was rather pre-spring in the mountains especially, but the fruit trees were in bloom and the tourists were still absent. Paris is a, if not the, culinary Mecca, but the French three star dining experience can be had outside Paris. At any rate Paris is my Mecca and I can't imagine my life without a Paris somewhere in my history, but there is more great food scattered around France than there is concentrated in Paris. To have eaten well in Paris, but not to have eaten at all in the provinces is not to understand French food. I could easily say that Paris is best understood by one who has traveled in the provinces and familiar with dining there at all levels. Sadly this may be changing as France loses it's agricultural heritage, but the heart of France is not Paris, perhaps because the heart of most Parisians is somewhere in the provinces. Lizziee, welcome aboard and I'd like to hear more about your side trips to Spain. Whether my experiences match yours or not, I look forward to reading more and discussing restaurants with you. I hope we'll discuss Regis Marcon when I get to post my trip. I loved the food, but have a far different view than yours in regard to certain aspects. Robert Brown sent an e-mail to me in care of one of our hotels. He mentioned that we had a new and serious eater on the board. I think jaybee expressed a view shared by many in regard to your post. We, on the other hand, have no problem skipping Paris and heading straight for the provinces. Our last trip beginning and ending in Lyon is a good example. Our last two trips to France started with a short week in Paris, but I strongly suspect our next trip might skip it again. It will depend on how late in spring or summer we go and how we will stay. While I have never eaten poorly there, I have had one report of service so bad that the diner could not even focus on the food. This is from a very reliable source--one whose opinion I would advise taking over my own. My two star experiences there were so good, that I am almost afraid to go back. I trust everyone has taken the opportunity to visit Graham Tigg's site. That this eGullet.com French board can give life to other site besides my own and allow us to share our knowledge and love of France is something I find most rewarding.

I think the little pieces of meat might be difficult to separate from the bone in the raw state and far easier to remove from a cooked carcass. I think it would also be more difficult to collect a bunch of raw sot-l'y-laisses and that once cooked they'd have a bit longer shelf life. If they were lightly cooked, say dropped in the stock pot for a few moments and then removed from the bones and chilled quickly, they'd be ideal for decorating a salad. Although truthfully, there's no reason they couldn't be gently warmed in a sauce and used to garnish a hot dish. Any pros among us with a better explanation.

I should say I'm offended by the pretentious and conspicuous use of fleur de sel in this manner, but I'd probably have to add a similar comment about the use of flecks of gold leaf decorating Bernachon's Palets d'Or. Perhaps it's better to adopt the philosophy of life espoused by cabrales in the beef thread in regard to a bit or pretense in haute cuisine"...but that can't be helped in French cuisine."

I assumed they are not new breeds and really meant to ask if the attention is new, or if I've just noticed it. As I mentioned, you can't ignore the posters in the Aubrac. If mad cow is a concern, and I think it should be, you are correct in noting that many, if not most, sauces are based on beef or veal stock and that many vegetables are cooked in veal stock and that fish aspic for the cold lobster is probably made from calves' feet. I read something in the newspaper this past week about a half dozen cases in France of a new strain of the related disease in humans. My suspicion is that these rare breeds are so well tended that they are unlikely to be getting contaminated feed, or at least less likely than supermarket beef in the U.S., where precautions are far more lax than they are now in France. Nevertheless, I tend not to order just plain beef in France, but I also don't ask if my tripe is from a cow or a pig. I think your concern, as well as your understanding that some things just can't be helped, is reasonable.

Since you've interjected curry into a thread about Lyon, I can't resist mentioning that we passed Le Tire Bouchon, a little bistro or bouchon, in Vieux Lyon last week and my wife said she thought she recalled reading a post by Steve Plotnicki that mentioned it as being a good place for a typical Lyonnaise meal. It was closed at the time, but I looked at the 15 and 20 euro menus in the window and much to my amusement, along with andouillelle and tripes, there was salade aux blancs de vollaille au curry on the 15 euro menu. I wonder how often it's discarded with the carcass when a chicken is cut up. It's a small piece and by itself, or even as a pair, it's not much to cook or serve. The next time my wife cuts up a chicken, I'll have to pay attention to where it ends up. I suspect it will be left on the backbone. It's the piece I go for when going through the remains of a roast chicken. It hardly ever gets into the chicken salad if I'm there. The best description of where it's located is the one given in my English edition of the Larousse Gastronomic--"small piece of flesh ... above the parson's nose of a chicken."

Are these rare breeds relatively new, or should I ask if the attention they are getting is new? It seems that in years gone by, I mostly remember talk of Charolais beef and that was it. In the Aubrac, one sees many posters and billboards extolling the Aubrac race.

Slowly, as I collect my notes and get up to speed here on eGullet. Bras was excellent, but it was opening night. We though we might sneak in a light lunch, but found out dinner was the first meal of the season, so we went back to town, had some salad and bought our knives. Anyway, they seemed a bit disorganized at times in the service department, though fortunately not in the kitchen. The biggest problem for Bras is that he has to be perfect just to meet expectations. Everyone else got the chance to be better than expected.

While salt in dessert has gained some recent attention (notoriety?) many of us as children, have enjoyed pretzles with ice cream or chocolate and a pinch of salt figures in many dessert recipes which may seem flat if made without the salt. More germane to Hermé's caramel macarons with fleur de sel are the carmels of Brittany that have traditionally been made with the salt butter of Brittany. I'm curious to know why fleur de sel is used when it's been dissolved into the preparation. It would seem to me that the feature of fleur de sel is it's fine texture, not its unique flavor.

I think it should come as no surprise that many chefs are not in their kitchens on a full time basis for a variety of reasons. We can start with the fact that many chefs have several restaurants these days. Chefs who are also owners, are to a great extent, executives as much as they are artists and craftsmen. They are not cooking every dish anymore than the great renaissance painters painted every canvas that came from their studio. I think I've mentioned Loiseau's comment that his sous chef cooks Loiseau better than he himself did. Sometimes I wonder where a chef should be expected to be at any time. Regis Marcon not only greeted diners at their table before diner, but personally carved and served our lamb at tableside last week. Michel Bras was actively working in the kitchen at ten in the morning, but by the time we had finished dinner the night before, he had already left for the evening. My sympathies here, lie with Paula because this has been a frustrating experience even if she can ultimately arrange a session to her satisfaction. I have some sympathy for the program as well as it appears they are trying to honestly offer a special experience, but that the logistics are beyond their control to too great an extent.

For what it is worth, we have enjoyed our meals at Jardin des Sens, (their restaurant in Montpellier) but have not eaten there since it got three stars. Sent from Lyon--back in a few days with reports;