Bux

It's always a treat to have some reassurance one is not necessarily delusional, in spite of what others say. I have also, albeit rarely, had white salmon. Although I'm suspicious of its veracity, there is the story of some guy who bought a salmon cannery sight unseen and discovered they were canning white salmon. He feared it would not sell, but then got the bright idea of prominently labeling the cans with the following message. "This Salmon Guaranteed not to Turn Pink in the Can."

I agree that the scores were really meaningless, but the effect of that tasting was a shockwave that did not go unnoticed. As Capaneus already noted, it didn't matter if American wines were the equal of French wines or not, what mattered was that they could no longer be ignored. Their biggest critics changed their tune when the drank the wine before seeing the label. Bear in mind that the event, was pretty much a non-event when it was held. Taber himself admits that when he covered the tasting, he had little expectation his story would make the pages of Time, which is why almost no other representatives of the press were even there. The organizer, Steven Spurrier, an Englishman with a wine shop in Paris, hadn't expected the results. He was just trying to drum up some interest for his little wine shop. The rest as they say is history. The book offers some background and history leading up to the tasting in Paris and a good deal of research into the development of the California wine industry. It's presented in an absorbing manner and I'm tempted to say the material is well edited, but I should also disclose that my daughter was the editor. Tabor is probably a more enthusiastic supporter of the changes in wine making technology brought about in California than I am, but I don't hardly think his book represents the anti-Mondovino position and I found it be a much fairer appraisal of what for lack of a better term may be referred to as scientific manipulation in the process of winemaking that that of Mondovino. The Judgment of Paris is getting good quotes and pre-publication press. "The Judgment of Paris is a fascinating recounting of that historic event that was like a lightning rod to the budding wine scene in California. It is a must read for anyone interested in wine." -- Daniel Johnnes

I believe he may have meant Francis Bacon not Roger or even the other earlier Francis, but I can see as to how the confusion might arise. If there's nothing else we should know here, it's our bacons.

I can't swear to it, but I seem to recall an omble chevalier in Régis Marcon's Auberge des Cimes that was white fleshed as well as in a cream sauce.

Not to mention in a better position to make acquaintance with chefs in Catalunya and all over Spain.

Yes, the herds eat grass when they are eating the fresh green stuff growing on t he ground. Later in the winter, I guess they eat dried hay and other feed.

We'll look foward to having another discriminating resident voice.

My guess is that every time a local group of housewives (where they still exist) gets together to publish their recipes, there will always be a few that have to show off just how modern, well read or well traveled they are. I will note that when I've been down to Puerto Rico visiting in-laws, I'm often taken or directed to restaurants featuring local food, but when it's time for home cooking, I'm surprised to see how much of the meal resembles what I'd expect in middle America.

Kid, there was a time in this country when scallops were always breaded and deep fried. Well not always, but usually and you were not likely to get them anyway but opaque through and through. In a diner, greasy spoon, or any place that promised to serve you home cooking, the odds weren't bad that you what got wasn't scallops, but plugs cut from skate and usually frozen. Who could tell what was under that breading anyway. I guess we've always had raw clams and oysters, but the rest of America's seafood was usually cooked and most often overcooked. I'm still shocked there's an audience for translucent scallops, and lobster and shrimp that's not rubbery. Still, there's nothing in wrong in frying just about anything if it's done right. There is, or was, a fried clam place in southern RI, just across the border from CT. What I remember most about it is not the fried clams or fish, but the Rhode Island clam chowder. It tasted like clams instead of cream or tomatoes.

We enjoyed a lovely meal at that location in the 15th when it was Detourbe's restaurant some years back. We were most impressed by the ration of quality to price and by the charming service. It was a visit to Paris marked by great bargains in dinner -- Eric Frechon and la Régalade (Camdeborde) as well.

I assume you moved into town when you found out where the party was. I've always found Taxis in Spain to be pretty inexpensive. Although we've not taken a taxi to elBulli from Roses, I've generally recommended it as a reasonable thing to do. I don't always recommend following what I do as the reasonable thing to do. No one's ever mentioned the price before. I assumed it was well less than that. It's good to know the price.

At least we're not going to be fighting over reservations for a while. The one thing I will note is that there are far fewer women in the business than men and that the percentage of men who rise to the top is greater. That's in no way particularly reflective of women's abillities to cook or be creative. On the whole, I'd have to say I don't find a genetic link between gender and the ability to cook or be creative, although there are a number of cultural aspects that come into play and which few of us can ignore completely. I have eaten very well on the food from kitchens run by women, but off hand, I can't think of many woman chefs in NY whose restaurant I would declare one of the best from personal experience. I don't eat a lot of steak in restaurants. I don't see all that much foam either, but when I see it, it's well used. Let's just assume I lead a sheltered life. Nevertheless, I wonder who else you'd put up there in a group with Daniel Boulud, Dan Barber, Eric Ripert, Wyllie Dufresne and a host of others I think have more than enough creativity and the talent to pull off the creativity. Bear in mind that I'm not interested in creativity if there's not the basic ability to cook and head up a kitchen staff necessary to provided excellence on a constent basis.

Now this is something I never would have ordered. Given a choice of this discription and anything else, I'd probably have ordered anything else. Oddly enough, both my wife and I thought it was the best dish of the evening when we were there. This is a reason I tend to go with omakase, the tasting menu, the chef's menu, the surprise menu, or whatever they choose to call it, if I have any confidence in the chef, or even any strong interest in what he's doing. Sure, I'll eat a few courses that are not to my taste, but I'll also experience a few courses that I wouldn't have thought would be to my taste. Missing out on those whould be the real shame. Naturally, other diners don't necessarily share my sentiments or my taste. By the way, I haven't been totally convinced by the cold hollow foie gras preparations either time I've had them. Its the foie gras itself which seems too cold, which is interesting because I'm a great fan of traditional cold torchons. The shrimp canneloni worked far better than the shrimp noodles for me largely because the pasta doesn't really feel or behave like pasta. As noodles, they don't twirl on a fork for instance. As a stuffed tube however it doesn't need to be like a pasta wrapping and here it provides a novel tube of a new food stuff rather than questionable noodles. This is an interesting material for me. There are a fair number of courses on the tasting menu and we, as a table of four, all liked just about all of what we had, but we each had different favorites and less favorite dishes. In fact, it was very much the kind of thing most people might say after a meal at a far less innovative restaurant or even at a very traditional one.

Those relaxed rules apply to those producers willing to go through the red tape and inspections necessary to win approval or licensing for export to the US. It used to be that only canned meats were permitted to accompany tourists, even though a number of cured meats were allowed to be imported via commercial avenues. The regulations are always subject to change when outbreaks of animal diseases occur and sometimes, although unacknowledged, there are political reasons behind the enforcement of bans. I've had discussions about this with my local Italian source who does much of his own importing from Italy. New regulations are passed, old ones are enforced with new vigor and he finds himself unable to get the products he used to from time to time. From tienda.com: Until recently there were no Serrano hams in the U.S. and we are proud to carry all that are available. Until now there has not been a slaughterhouse and curing facility in Spain that conforms to the exacting standards of the US Department of Agriculture. Our goal has been to secure a firm commitment from a Spanish company to build such a facility to produce Jamón Iberico. This is a far more complicated process than the one followed by La Tienda to bring the first Jamón Serrano to homes across America. Amigo Foods also offers a serano ham. http://store.amigofoods.com/jaseseham.html I tried some of the Redondo Iglesias jamón at the fancy food show in NYC a couple of days ago. It was very good, but it reminded me more of prosciutto than the jamon serrano I've had in Sspain. It may have been the aging, the mechanical slicing or any number of other factors including a palate that had been exposed to pickles, olives, cheese and a number of other strong flavors.

You've made a number of perceptive points and I'll be the first to admit that a kind of bashing on the internet has not represented highpoint of intellect or or critical opinion, but I seriously question the idea that any introduction to cooking is better than none. I might also go so far as to say that you may have discovered fine wines in spite of ordering a white zinfandel. Plenty of people never get past instant mashed potatoes and plenty of people develop a deep interest in cooking after exposure to simple honest cooking.

I'm wondering if that's not backwards. To a foreigner, particularly an American, the differences between Nicoise and Italian cooking may be lost, even though they are readily apparent and distinct to a local. There may be a superficial similarity that makes the two appear to be more related than they are while there are underlying differences that are more meaningful but less obvious. Pissaladiere is often described as pizza without cheese, but it may share more in common with other regional French tarts simply in terms of the basic pastry. The ingredients may be more similar than the techniques and thinking behind the dishes. Pastry shops in Nice are French pastry shops and won't be confused with Italian bakeries or pastry shops. The kinds of cheeses found and the way they are used will tell you a lot about the cuisines, perhaps more than olive oil or tomatoes.

"Top" is a questionable term to apply to the winner of a popularity poll conducted among a rather limited and subjective choice of voters, not to mention that the magazine didn't choose the winners although they did choose the panelists. In addition to chefs, critics and restaurateurs, there were a share of just plain celebrities. If I recall correctly they were asked to name their favorite restaurants and not necessarily those they thought deserved critical acclaim for the food served. An international panel to be sure, but one heavily stacked with representatives of the publishers homeland -- the UK. Guess what, I'm more familiar with restaurants in NY than in Seoul or Sidney. Duh. The purpose of publishing the list is to create the kind of controversy that brings attention to the publisher. Lists such as these tend to be self perpetuating amongst the less than culinarily critical segment of the panel. It would be wiser and as well as more discriminating to judge the llist by the restaurants on it than the restaurants on the basis of having made the list. Anyway, I believe the list was pretty well trashed on the site when it was first published, but it comes up from time to time as if it were news or meaningful. I've heard both good and bad about the restaurant. It may be that taste is subjective or that the restaurant is inconsistent.

ahhhh,.... I wouldn't ← You'd be surprised at the penetration we have in non-anglophone countries. Assume anyone in the food industry in the US, is aware of the site.

The answers to both questions may be best answered by the restaurant. From the FAQ on their web site: "Are there vegetarian dishes? There is an appetizer and an entree offered each evening." NY is not a great town for appreciation of avant garde food. Thus reservations seem a bit easier than at other restaurants of this caliber, but reports are that they're full most nights. You can search for available tables on their web site.

I'm off to the Fancy Food Show in NYC. I'll pay special attention to any imports from the French Alps.

Thanks for posting that. I wanted to post that myself, but as Dewey recognized my name and asked if I was the same Buxbaum that posted on eGullet, I wondered if maybe we were getting special treatment. I recall looking at the number of wines and waiter mentioning that they paired wines with every other course and thought that the pairing didn't seem to be a bargain although someone posted it was. The other time I was there, we just had a few glasses of wine. As best I can recall, they touched up every glass at every course. In some cases it meant two full glasses. or maybe more. I can't recall, but certainly it was fair value. It is however difficult food to pair with wine and I wasn't that pleased with some of the pairings with the exception of the dessert wines. I very much liked the idea of two dessert wines with the two desserts. I preferred one quite a bit to the other, but I thought it really set off the two desserts to have to have two wines. Dessert wines are far more popular than they were when I first started drinking wines with dinner and I think that's great. I enjoyed the cava with the first courses and might have chosen to continue it with a couple of more courses and then moving to a red wine. I think wine pairing is far more subjective that many would like to believe. By the way, when Dewey asked I was the guy from eGullet, I replied that they've come a long way in terms of computer literacy. I first met Wylie in the Greenmarket he was talking to Mike Anthony who's now chef at Stone Barns, but who was then at Blue Hill and had, with Dan Barber, just done a pretty arduous Q&A here on the site. I was going to suggest that Wylie might like to do the same, but when I asked him if he was familiar with our web site, he asked what a web site was.

That's a creative use of the word "contribution," as in I get up in the morning and before I shower and brush my teeth, I make a contribution to the sewage of NY. I really shouldn't talk that way as I may have been in a McDo many years ago, but I can't remember. I know I took my daughter to Burger King once because she was very cooperative at the doctor's office. She was very young at the time. She said the onion rings were good. I said they tasted like soap. This weekend we were up very early to do a chore. We were actually woken up by a phone call and did the chore before having breakfast. We headed for a pastry shop for espresso and pastry, but my wife decided she really wanted bacon and eggs. We popped into a place that was a gem of a diner/luncheonette in terms of an interior that defied progress. It belonged in the Smithsonian. I had two eggs that I doubt were cooked in butter or bacon fat. More like margarine. There was a mess of bacon, but it tasted as if it was cooked yesterday. The "hash browns" were the worst potatoes I have had in my life. We didn't bother to have coffee. I've never had an Egg McMuffin, but I'll bet it's much better than what we had. McDo may well be more of a contribution than I'm willing to admit. That it's become so popular in France is not something that makes me proud. I remember when you couldn't get a bad meal in Paris. Sadly that's not the case now and more sadly, the locals seem to keep places with bad food in business. Whatever the case may be, McDo is not something we've given to the French. McDo came long after the Marshall Plan. It's something the French bought from us of their own volition.

I'd probably make a reservation at Alkimia or Hisop because I haven't been there. On the other hand, that I haven't eaten in those places yet may be an indication that they're not as high on my list. I suppose the question is do I have a preference between those places I know. My most facetious answer would be for me, or for you? At least I don't have to choose for Doc, he's made his own choice. The truth is that they're three different kinds of places with different appeal. Can Majo is right across the street from the beach and a lovely place for a most informal meal. If I recall correctly, it specializes in simple seafood dishes and Catalan rice dishes. The view of the beach make it a pleasant lunch spot, assuming you get a table outside. When reserving, it's essential to make sure you've reserved an outdor table. Cinc Sentits and Abac have much in common although I think it's fair to say that Abac is more the accomplished and more formal of the two. I also found it a bit stiffer. I wholeheartedly agree with Doc about the intangibles. Possibly because I've been communicating with Jordi for the past year beginning before he opened the restaurant it was the more enjoyable meal. Credit must also go to Amelia, Jordi's sister not just for the gracious hospitality, but for her wine list and for the pairings of wine and food. It's a new restaurant and not yet in any guidebooks. Can Majo provides a simple seafood meal that's not to be scoffed at. Cinc Sentits and Abac offer more sophisticated cooking. I'll through yet another restaurant in the mix because I haven't been there in a long time and think it's due to serve me another meal. That's Ca L'Isidre which offers sort of up to date versions of traditional and classic Catalan cooking in a simple bistro setting. Maybe it's due for me simply because on our last trip, we focused on very modern cusine in Barcelona.

That Viridiana desn't have a Michelin star is a travesty, or at least further evidence that Michelin isn't a good reference for Spain. It does have two soles from Campsa and I suspect it's accurate to say that the restaurant is overlooked internationally, but I suspect it is well known by Madrileños. Garcia's food struck me as both personal and creative, but not what one would call avant garde. I think it would satisfy the most discriminating demands of sophisticated diners, but also appeal to a wide range of diners in spite of the very personal style. I too enjoyed it more than some Michelin starred restaurants, although I am a fan of the samll tasting menu. In fact, if I had a complaint, it would be that the portions are too large and that my appetite began to wane before Garcia stopped sending out dishes, each as enticing, if not more so, than the last. I'll add that the dishes were enticing enough to overcome any ack of physical appetite. Although we arrived at the early hour of nine pm -- early in Madrid -- it was close to three in the morning when we walked back to our hotel. I was glad we were within walking distance. I was just as happy not to ride in a car with such a full stomach, but an even longer walk would have been appreciated. The most interesting aspect here is, as you mention, the inequity of Madrid playing second fiddle to Barcelona in terms of Gastronomy. I worry less about being unfair to Madrid, than I do about misleading the gastrotourist who has much to discover in Madrid. I have long felt that Madrid is a good city in which to live, but that Barcelona has more to offer tourists, while those who live in Madrid argue that Madrid had more to offer than Barcelona. I am willing to consider that true, especially in terms of gastronomy, but that doesn't change my mind that it's less inviting to foreign gastronomes simply because there's not much published in English that can serve as a guide. I have been eating increasingly better in Madrid the more I rely on friends in that city than on guides. Perhaps that's generally true in most large cities including Barcelona, Paris and NY. It just seems more apparent in Madrid. My image of Madrid food has been of overcooked heavy food, (except when it's undercooked braised meat and vegetables) yet I've had the most impressingly flavorful peas in my life not long ago at Arce, (one sol, no stars. The rest of the meal was also impressive.

I think we begin to get into the Roshomon syndrome or perhaps the tale of the blind men and the elephant. When someone is famiiar with one area and not the other, or especially when one's experience is based on a visit or two in a particular season, no matter how acute that person is what's around him, the experience is limited. Consequently, the the insight that arises may be accurate as far as it goes, but not broad enough to paint the big picture. "Italian-like" is also a very ambiguous term. The foods of Alsace may be very German-like to a Parisian or someone from Provence or the Cote Basque, but it's a world away from German cooking. I think there are distinct differences between the Catalan and Basque foods you will find on both sides of the Pyrenees. In all cases good points can be made about recently changing borders or about the artificiality of current political borders, but the differences are there.