Bux

Noted, thanks for the update.

Can we stop debating whether the ingredients are a surprise. We know they know it will be one of two choices and it's obvious they will come prepared with a complete selection of dishes for both choices. Finding reasons to suggest the theme is not a surprise is a dead giveaway you're not reading the thread before posting. I agree with those who felt Bobby Flay's dishes seemed a bit like a rerun. That might certainly hurt him with a judge who's been on a previous panel. Nevertheless, I've liked all the versions of eggs Benedict. I have a soft spot for breakfast of eggs and potatoes. Shumai is a Chinese dish, but it's apparently one of those that's been adopted by the Japanese and it's as Japanese as pizza or French fries are American. While you'd expect a representative from the Asia Society to keep those straight, shumai is unlikely to appear on a Chinese restaurant menu except for those serving dim sum, while many Japanese restaurants feature shumai and gyoza as appetizers. The Chinese name for gyoza slips my mind, jaotze? I thought it was a close contest in terms of food appeal. We can't really taste it, so appeal is all I have to go on. Tsai's margin of victory seemed a little higher than I expected, but as I just noted, for the winning challenger to come from the network ranks hardly proves the results aren't a product of the producer's script. In fact, it actually begins to lend credence to the idea that it's all show and no competition. The recent comment about the order the shows are being shown is interesting as well.

You can't read Dostoyevsky and Umberto Eco all the time, but after a reading of such authors, I don't know that I'd stick around for a jury discussing and rating their work unless the panelists had something to say. I'm not a big fan of rating restaurants by the numbers or stars and would love to read one erudite review by someone who knew something about food than see a collection of scores by a bunch of unknowns. It is the reason why it doesn't surprise me that Zagat Surveys are no more reliable than they are and far less interesting than they should be. Nothing would be more frusutrating perhaps, than a panel of one scholar and two inarticulate laymen. That's been the situation at times on the new Iron Chef where it's made all the more frustrating by editing and hiding the individual scores. If the scores were to have any meaning, wouldn't it be more meaningful, even as entertainment value to disclose the individual judges' scores. What would be the purpose of concealing the individual scores other than to cover the potential for the producers to play footloose with those scores to keep the matches as interesting as in the wide world or wrestling? The individual scores would have value to entertain and we'd all like to know how our favorite judge voted. Last night the challeger beat the Iron Chef, but the challenger is also an employee of the network. I caught the catfish episode last night. I was surprised that the judges knew so little about food. I don't think of catfish as a particularly exotic ingredient. Yet Steingarten was the only person who said he'd had catfish before (once) - and his commentary about the basic ingredient was that it tasted "muddy". I thought the main reason Batali won is that in most of his dishes - he chopped up the catfish - mixed it with other ingredients - fried a lot of it - and basically managed to come up with dishes that didn't taste like catfish. Even the movie stars on IC seemed to know more about the main ingredients than these panelists did. By the way - who is the woman sitting between Zagat and Steingarten (they gave her name on the Food TV website - but not her background)? Robyn ← I just dont know if its correct to say that Steingarten isnt knowledgeable about food.. Infact, I know he has written things about catfish, down to how their taste buds form. And I believe his comment about the catfish being muddy was in reference to a carpacio dish. I think this gave me a very clear picture of how raw catfish might taste. ← I agree that Steingarten make his comment in specific reference to one particular preparation and as such it was one of the more objective comments made. Steingarten can be personal, catty, petty, arrogant and just witty for his own amusement, but he is also a knowledgeable expert on the subject of food.

That's a pity. I've found a few reviews of Gaby's on hotel booking sites. They're quite positive. They also sound as if they've been written by people who like hotel food and who haven't been too close to either France or food restaurants. Okay, that's unfair of me to say, but they weren't very convincing. I wonder what a visiting chef will be able to accomplish, if it's a hack kitchen. I hope Chef Fagegaltier gets to see some better kitchens while she's here. I guess I hope you're wrong about Gaby's, although I'm not holding my breath.

I often find uses for the container in which the olives come, but I can't imagine a use for the liquid.

I never said that I came off as an asshole. It must have been someone else who said that. I also never said that other guy comes off as an asshole, only the someone might be entitled to feel he's pompous or even an ass.

There's an interesting line up of female chefs and I'd be curious to know what some of them are cooking here in New York. On the other hand, at a few of the restaurants in question, I'd think my money might be better spent on the resident chef and the appearance of a guest chef might not be so interesting unless I was a regular who know the regular chef's food very well. However, there is a lesser known chef whose restaurant in a tiny village in a remote part of France, is one I've touted many times in the France forum. Nicole Fagegaltier and her sister, run a charming restaurant in a tiny stone village in the Aveyron. Less than a year after our first visit, they renovated a small stone building across the stream with guest rooms. Our first visit was promted by a page in the GaultMillau guide which credited the restaurant as offering the best value for the price in all France. It seemd an absurd statement, but truthfully, after dining there, we were not ready to argue otherwise. Chef Fagegaltier is going to be cooking at Gaby's, the restaurant in the Sofitel. It's a new hotel in NY and a new restaurant. I've heard nothing about Gaby's or its chef, but it will be personally interesting to see what Chef Fagegaltier will do here.

A chat with chef Igles Corelli in the Italy forum.

Wells' book is an credibly useful guide to Paris. Nevertheless, it's least usefulness is as a restaurant guide. It's just not up to date. Too many restaurants have opened up since it was published and too many have changed hands or gone down hill. Simply because the average English speaking person living in Paris seems more interested in good food than the average American living in the US, I suspect the Zagat Paris survey is probably better than the average Zagat Survey. That said, I have so little interest in any Zagat Survey that I've never really looked closely at it. I'd use a combination of Michelin Guide and personal opinion. On the whole, I'd rather have a guide with text rather than numbers and stars. Margaret makes a good point although you will have to do some work to find the recommendations here and you will find confusingly opposite opinions. You'll have to decide which one is right for you.

Cerignola olives are so bright in color that I've always assumed they were dyed. I'm told they are not, but it's hard to accept. I don't know that I've had an authoritative opinion on that. If the colors are natural, the green are picked unripe, the black are picked ripe and the red ones would have been picked somewhere in between. Perhaps there is something about the way they are cured that retains, or heightens the color. A quick search on the net wasn't productive. Here, you can order green cerignola olives in a six pound can. You can also get six pound cans of green picoline olives. For those who are unfamiliar with cerignola olives, you can find a relatively good picture of all three cerignola olives here.

Except that he is really only a food enthusiast and really does not add anything other than his opinion. I find his criticism pretty cold and very shallow. And i do not give it much weight. ← I'm curious as to what you mean by "really only a food enthusiast." Steingarten participated in a popular eGullet Froum Q&A back in 2003. He's been writing about food since 1988 and has authored at least three food books that have achieved significant acclaim. There are few food authors who research their topics as well as he does. You're entitled to feel he's pompous or even an ass, if that's your opinion, but his opinion is that of a professional culinary journalist, not someone who's only a food enthusiast. Perhaps I've misinterpreted your comment.

I'll bet he didn't save enough money on feed to buy a new herd of goats. I wonder if they'll press charges assuming it's been determined that the old feed was still sold and used. The French, for the most part and as far as I know, don't usually eat goat meat. I suspect that's why there's little fuss. Should it be determined that the same feed was given to cattle, there might be a bigger outcry.

Michelin is reliable, but I think Campsa is a better judge of restaurants. The street maps in Michelin are worth having however. There are several good restaurants for simple seafood at the wharf at Bajo De Guia in Sanlúcar de Barrameda. We were pleased at Restaurante Mirador Doñana. I can't say if it's any better of worse than Bigote. Manzanilla was the perfect wine for most of seafood we had. It's not really as alcoholic as most people think and when it's fresh, it's just great with seafood. My notes are not that good for Jerez, but I think the tapas bar at which we spent a lot of time was called Gallo Azul. It was on an acute corner and seemed popular with tourists and locals. We thought the Hacienda Del Rosalejo in Villamartin (east of Arco De La Frontera) was a great find. It wasn't a match for some of the best meals we've had in Spain, but we thought worthy of a good recommendation and maybe a star or better. I'd certainly go out of my way to go back. I am surprised I don't hear more about it, but it's off the beaten track. The truly great meal between Aranjuez and Jaen is Las Rejas in Las Pedroñeras. It's a detour for sure, but it's a true destination restaurant. Aranjuez has a good restaurant. I thought I read something here recently.

Sara Jenkins has left the kitchen at 50 Carmine in Greenwich Village says Florence Fabricant in the NY Times, Wednesday 26 January 2005

across the atlantic herve this works are very informative and inspiring, a bit more user friendly I have found than mcgee, but certainly not as comprehensive under one cover ← As I understand it, This hasn't published much in English. In spite of that and in spite of the fact that we're an English language site, his name comes to the fore from time to time.

Not only was Loiseau not going to lose a star, but the new Michelin guide had already hit the shelves giving Loiseau's restaurant three stars. He knew he had three stars. And Bourdain has said the book debunks that assertion. Rumors die hard. It appears the thrust of this thread is about The Perfectionist. Let's discuss the recall of the Michelin 2005 Benelux edition in another thread - Michelin - Benelux Guide 2005, another blow to their rep.

Reactions to the award of a Bib Gourmand to an unopened restaurant and the recall of the Benelux guide from both the press and members are the topic of a thread in the Food Media & News Forum. Please join the discussion there. This subject has also been brought up in the Chat with Derek Bulmer the head of the Michelin Guilde in the UK.

John Talbott reports that he "heard an explanation - not an excuse mind you - there is no excuse - but the owners were known to the reviewer(s) and were reliable professionals." Is that a reasonable explanation. I'm sorry to put you on the spot for a problem outside the UK, but many can accept and even defend a certain conservatism for being late to award or take away a star. It would seem untenable to have developed a reputation for conservatism and then even list a restaurant that had not even opened months before the publication date. The explanation doesn't seem like a valid reason or a good excuse. That the guide is being recalled, seems to confirm that is was a mistake and perhaps a costly one. Edit to add: According to the BBC, the restaurant's listing was discussed with the owner not only prior to publication, but before the restaurant opened. "Ostend Queen restaurant owner Fernand David said "We reached an agreement to appear in the 2005 edition of the Red Guide and to not have to wait a year unnecessarily," he told Le Soir."

It's a place to grab some oysters on the run. It's next to a colorful market, although perhaps not one of the best in Paris.

Last fall, after hearing so many conflicting reports, we decided we had to see for ourselves. Our assessement was posted elsewhere on the forum and it pretty much coincided with that of pierre45. The food was not that bad, but one could easily eat much better for the price and perhaps a little better for much less. We had no complaints about the service we received and that offered to those who spoke English and not French was perhaps, overly solcitious. I don't fully share pierre's pessimism, precisely because I loved Aux Lyonnais which he staffed. A problem I see, is that while Aux Lyonnais seemed to get a batch of Brits and Yanks, who for the most part knew the food, or were with someone who could order for them. At Benoit, we saw a few tables of older wealthier diners, who were not only clueless about French cuisine, but couldn't care less about learning more. They just wanted a meal, that wasn't too strange to their tastes. That kind of traffic is not going to drive a kitchen to do excellent work.

From what I saw of Kreuther's work at Atelier, I'd be surprised if he took a job that didn't let him produce first class food. I've rather expected this to be a step up in terms of haute cuisine for Danny Meyer.

McGee''s book -- the second edition of On Food and Cooking - The Science and Lore of the Kitchen -- will not only answer most of your questions, but have you asking many more which will also be answered. It is also, for a book that gets very technically involved, very interesting and informative to read with the historical references and anecdotal information.

In the Food Stuff column of the NY Times Dining section on 26 January 2005, Florence Fabricant reports that "Alain Ducasse plans to take over Benoit, a Parisian bistro that opened in 1912. A final agreement has not been signed. The owner, Michel Petit, who has run the place since 1959, is a grandson of Benoit Matray, the founder, and may stay as a consultant." Can anyone confirm this report? We were far from pleased with Benoit recently and found it not to be a good value. On the other hand, Aux Lyonnais, in which Ducasse has a half interest, was most pleasing. Benoit, however, seems to attract more tourists and perhaps those with less food knowledge. Then again, maybe it was a bad day.

Many of our English-only speaking members may not peruse Rogelio's excellent digest of the Spanish food news. Therefore, I'd like to repost this here. Nice to see our own Jordi Artal get top billing, but it appears to be a good list even if you already know Cinc Sentits. Of note are several bars in El Born.

It was, as I mentioned, quite a long time ago, but the dish made a good and lasting impression. Although memory plays funny tricks on us, I recall a very white sauce and a chicken that was equally white. If memory serves well at all, it was a whole large chicken split between the two of us and I would guess that it was slowly and gently poached and served in a sauce that was made from a white stock, lots of cream and a good dose of vin jaune as well as morilles. I was unfamiliar with morels at the time. It may well have been my first encounter with them. They were certainly not common in American markets or middle class restaurants at the time. Thus I can't say if they were fresh or dried. I can't even say for sure what season it was, but it was late fall or early spring as there were unexpected snow flurries the next morning. It was not a luxurious hotel or restaurant, but sitting by the window, having my coffee and watching the snow flurries with the memory of the previous night's dinner had me feeling cosseted as never before and it was one of a series of experiences that's addicted me to small hotels in small French towns. I recall the hotel's name as Hotel de Paris. So many wonderful experiences were in Hotels with seemingly generic names -- Hotel de la Gare, for instance. I am sure the chef's name was Jeunet and while I'd no longer expect the chef to be there, this thread inspired me to look up Arbois in the Michelin Guide. There is no longer a Hotel de Paris, but there is a restaurant, by the name of Jean-Paul Jeunet, with 12 rooms. I suspect it is the son of the man who cooked for us and that he's emphasized the restaurant, but kept the few rooms and added an annex near by. It appears he's also modernized and upscaled the restaurant as Michelin says it's an elegant contemporary dining room. He's also earned two stars and the most rewarding thing I can report is that one of his signature dishes is Poulet de Bresse au Vin Jaune et Morilles.