Stone

By "commercial pad thai sauces" do you mean pad thai's made at restaurants, or are their "pad thai sauces" jarred and sold at markets? I've never seen such a thing, and I can't imagine why any restaurant would need it. I've also never seen a recipe for pad thai calling for tamarind anything.

Do you think he knows that people can't see his face on the radio?

Note the italics and two exclamation points.

And what's what that strange orange glow in many pad thais? I don't recall seeing anything like that in Thailand.

What did Penrose write? He's the "Emperor's New Mind" guy?

How could I forget that pineapple cake? Wow. A number of people said it was the best dessert they'd ever had. The desserts we had were much better than desserts I've had at other Asian restaurants, which I usually find painfully sweet. These complex, with mellowed sweetness usually counteracted with a subtle savory spice.

I just returned from a good, but disappointing meal at Stone Barns. Service, service, service. The place is unbelievable. An incredibly beautiful stone building surrounded by silos, stone walls, and fields. Gorgeous fall day. Lovely. There were seven of us for Sunday brunch. I was surprised at how limited the menu was. Three app choices, three entrees, and three desserts for $42. Very limited. There was a harvest festival going on that day which may have contributed to the limited selection and the slow service. The app choices were a salad with pistacio and apricots; cod brandade with salad and toasted almonds, and mushrooms on a sweet polenta cake (I can't remember what this was actually called). I had the cod, which was terrific. Creamy mashed potato with bits of cod mixed in. Great texture, with the fish offering a nice flavoring without being overpowering. Fresh herby greens and toasted almonds on top. The mushroom/polenta option was good, but not great. Everyone found the polenta overly sweet. And the servings for our table had meager portionss of mushroom compared to what I noticed on other tables. The salad was good, but didn't seem anything special. People noticed a dearth of apricots. The entree choices were poached salmons with assorted beans, roasted lamb with eggplant and an English breakfast sausage with creamy eggs. I ordered the sausage, and it was excellent. The homemade sausages were amazing. Incredibly fresh and plump with a terrificly smooth texture that I don't notice in sausage. The creamy eggs were very different. Much like a creamed egg and sweet corn soup, flavored with eggs and chives. There wasnt much of it with the sausage, but I really liked it. The salmos was very well cooked, but I didn't think it was anything special, same with the lamb. We also ordered a separate plate of the creamy eggs for everyone to try. This plate was overly salted. For dessert, I had the chocolate bread pudding with caramel ice cream. The ice cream was terrific, with a great caramel flavor that wasn't too rich. The bread pudding was basically a heavy chocolate cake. nothing special. The food was all good, but not great. And I thought the portions were a little small for the price. They weren't tasting menu size, but not entree size either. The service for the afternoon was very slow. It took a long time for our first course to come out. We ordered a basket of fresh bread ($8), that we had to ask for three times. The last time, our server told us that the bread was being warmed, but when it finally came out it was room temperature. They never brought butter. Service of coffee etc., was sloppy, with lots of dripps and sloshes. Another table stopped by to say hello on their early exit from the restaurant. After 1.5 hours, they had been served only one course and gave up. Two drinks were really the highlight of the meal. The purple basil mojito was wonderful, with a different and spicy take on the standard drink. And the not-bloody mary was great. Made with vodka, tomoto water and small hints of chili (habanero), it was a very fresh and nice change from the usual bloody.

Allow me to talk about Devi, if I may. I took the family there last night for a little celebration. It was great. Even my "I don't like Inidan food" dad, a.k.a. "Poppy Grumpus", thought everything was terrific. Here's how the night started: Dad: "Brains! They're going to serve us brains?!!" Mom: "I'll have a martini." Good night mom. Bradley: "I don't eat Indian food." Andy, to the server: "Do you have any real Indian food? I don't see any aloo gobi?" Well, things moved on from there. The table ordered three regular tasting menus, three vegetarian tasting menus, shrimp biryani and two orders of tandoori shrimp (for the point counters). For an amuse we were served a small fried dumpling of ground lamb and lentil. It had the look and texture of a medium sized falafel. It had a nice flavor of the lamb and soft spices, but I found it a tad dry. The next dish, papad & mung bean chaat was very nice. Not as memorable as the bel poohri, but very clean and crisp. A small pile of sprouted mung beans served with wafers of papad, with some chopped tomato and chutney. I liked it, but think it would be better served as a palate cleanser in the middle of the meal. Next up for the meat person, grilled scallop, served with manchurian cauliflower, red pepper chutney and bitter orange marmalade. Excllent dish. The large, plump scallop was wonderfully fresh and moist. The cauliflower had improved since my last visit --it was crisper and the sauce was lighter, still with a sharp bite. The bitter-orange chutney was also very good, with new, interesting flavors. About this time, they brought out three types of naan: keema, onion/parmesan, and cauliflower. The cauliflower was my favorite. The cauliflower was very subtle, at most an aftertaset. The bread was light, not at all greasy. This was followed by the tandoori stuffed chicken legs. Actually, they seemed to be breasts to me, or else that chickens got some big gams. good sized rounds of meat, stuffed with minced chicken and spinach. I expected these to be dry, but they weren't. The meat had a very smooth texture to it. The vegetarians got the idly. I didn't try it, they said it was terrific. next Up was the grilled tiger prawns. Very straightforward presentation of prawns that had been marinated in yogurt, garlic and spices. These were the hit of the evening. Unbelievably large, moist and tender. The flavor was incredible. I also ordered a dish of the puffed lotus seed, chenna and cashew sauce for the table. I warned everyone that they may find the taste a bit off, but surprisingly they seemed to like it more than I did. really a terrific and unique dish. The halibut was good, but a very small cube sized portion. Not that anyone was complaining. By this time, I was ready to explode. Last up was the lambchop. Mixed reviews, based on the texture. The chops are marinated in papaya, which starts breaking down the meat. Some thought this was very good, others found the soft meat a bit offputing. The tandoor also fails to get a strong char, but I thought this was more than compensated for by the marinade. So, in addition to all this, I got to eat much of the shrimp biryani, cause one of the "I don't eat Indian food" contingent just picked out the shrimp. It was terrific -- filled with nuts and bits of onion and sitting in an aromatic cream broth. I also got bits and pieces of the vegetarian tasting menu much of which was larger portions of the meat menu side dishes. One standout was the yam kofta. By the time the meals were over, we were all stuffed to the gills. Perhaps the one criticism was that the meal took a long time -- about 3 hours. The breaks between the courses of the tasting menu could have been shorter. Then they brought out one of each dessert on the menu. We pretty much ate them all. I rarely feel that the dessert portion of a meal stands up to the entrees, but these were unbelievable. chai pannacotta, banana flan, kulfi with gold leaf, mango cheesecake, and more. Not everone loved everything, but I was shocked by the range of the beautiful presentations. every bit as good as I've seen at any other restaruant. So, by the end, the bill, with tip, was $800, for ten people. About $100-125 was drinks. I've heard people question whehter $55 is too much for an Indian tasting menu. Maybe it is for "real indian food", like aloo gobi. But not for this. Unless you don't like Indian food.

I'm not saying anything of the sort. But, yes, I think it's gotta be more than good dough, a tasty sauce and some well-purchased cheese. You make an interesting point: Should all "star" ratings be read with an implicit qualification that they apply only to other restaurants of the same class as the restaurant being reviewed. There is a lot of of utility in this position. Most importantly, it eliminates what I see as the fatal flaw in using a 5 point system to review the thousand restaurants in NY -- there is so much diversity within each grade that it becomes meaningless. This suggestion removes that problem because it automatically creates as many 5 point systems as there are "classes" of restaurant. Give a pizzaria 4 stars? Why not? It's the best a pizzaria could do. Give Popeyes fried chicken 4 stars? Sure, it's better than all the other fast food places (and most fried chicken places). But this system has it's own flaw -- what are the categories? We could easily understand if Bruni said that V is one star "within its category." Sure, there would be some finagling around the edges, but most of us could agree on the type of restaurant V is competing with. But what about Blue Smoke? The bbq doesn't compete with almost any bbq I've had, but it's a much better dining experience. This introduces too many additional layers of subjectivity into a process that tries mightly to be objective. I think that is why the NYT has and should strictly maintain a $25 and under collumn. Let its main reviewer(s) review the "NYT" restaurants -- those befitting mention in the country's newspaper of merit. For the rest, there are ample substitutes that will do the job every bit as good as NYT. From the Voice to dozens of websites. You don't need much talent to say whether a restaurant serving standard pasta dishes uses too much salt, or overcooks its ravioli. (That's going a bit too far, but you know what I mean.) Maybe that's why Bruni's prose is so ridiculous. He's trying wax eloquently about mediocrity. Good food, but mediocre on the grand scale.

Yes, and no. I chose V because it came to mind quickly, it received one star, and most people I know who've been there said it was a great place that did some weird stuff. I could see some "high end" places getting no stars -- Tavern on the Green comes to mind. Or perhaps a restaurant like V just deteriorates to the point that it's serving crap. Or, if the NYT limited its reviews to the the top 25% of retaurants. Within that smaller, more select category, I think it would be meaningful to rate a restaurant such as V one-star. But I for one find it hard to believe that V is not categorically a better restaurant than some of the places that received two-stars from Bruni. And I haven't eaten at V or any of the two stars. If Jean Georges turned their Trump Palace/Tower/whatever restaurant into a pizza place, I'd be surprised if it maintained 3-stars. Unless they served killer wings.

Shouldn't the New York Times review do more than tell people living in a few block area where to go to grab a quick, good meal? It's the bloody New York Times for chrissakes. I could see a review explaining why people from all over the city should head out to the outer boroughs. But I've got enough good Italian places within a four block radius of my apartment. Tell me something special, or I'll just pick up the Village Voice. They do the same thing, in a paragraph, for dozens of areas.

From my casual observation, I wonder if Bruni missing the difference between a one-star meal and a one-star restaurant. As for "democratization of the reviewing system," or whatever better phrase was used above, It seems to destroy the system. When dealing with only 5 ratings (0-4 stars) it is almost impossible to meaningfully review $25 and under local places within the same scale as V, Jean Georges & Per Se. I've never been to V, but unless the waiter sneezed on me, a cockroach crawled of the salad, the steak had no pink or the oysters gave me the runs, I fail to see how it can be ranked at one star when then are so many restaurants who, on a perfect night, will not provide a dining experience equal to V on a sub-par evening. A flawed concept at V (perhaps its onion soup -- but I'm just choosing this as an example), is still better then most every restaurant in NY. Just as the best pizza place shouldn't rate above 2 stars (if that). Let's assume that DiFara's is the best frickin' pizza that God himself could conjure up. Is anyone going to rate a slice of pepperoni at 4-star with Per Se? Of course not. Then how could a bad meal at V be rated 1-star with Murray's Knosh Bar? I agree with whoever above suggested that Bruni and the star system should be reserved for the top restaurants. Or something like that.

I'm thinking a yellow cake, with lots of coconut. A light, coconut icing. Topped with toasted coconut. Capable of being made well by an idiot.

Apologies if this is duplicating a discussion somewhere on this site. I was reading the thread about cracks in cheesecakes and noticed all the advice to use a waterbath. That reminded me that I recently heard (or read, perhaps here), that a waterbath will affect the final product. Cakes cooked without the bath will be denser and creamier than those cooked with. Seems an important consideration. ???

A friend reported eating great salmon that was cooked in the dishwasher. Aparently, a large filet was well wrapped in foil, along with lemon and aromatics. It was placed in the dishwasher, which was run (without soap). She said it was excellent. She didn't know whether the pot scrubber setting was used.

I'm surprised people think that Carmines is overrated. It's "rating" is for a family, fun, kitschy restaurant. I've eaten there many times. You get large portions of pretty good food, heavy on the garlic. At very reasonable prices. It's not trying to impress people. I've never had a bad meal there.

Are Le Toque and Martini House still the two best non-French Laundry reservations for Napa?

True, but some of them are over or underrated. You'd be wrong. And even if you weren't, that would only prove that some are over or underrated. Yes and no. But that's why the discussion is interesting and helpful.

Steve?

I'm reading On Food and Cooking now, copyright 1984. I noticed immediately how many time he writes "we don't know how/why this works/happens." I kept thinking that a revised edition highlighting what we've figured out in the past 20 years would be fascinating.

I don't have a wine fridge, so my options are regular fridge, cool dark basement, or living room. Any ideas? What's optimal?

And save the liver. For God's sake, save the liver.

My understanding is that true free-range chickens don't necessarily taste better or worse because the producer can't monitor the chickens' food as well. The inconsistency in their diet leads to inconsistency in their taste.

I forgot two things: They serve butter chicken as a side dish -- odd. I've never had "butter chicken" before, but my understanding is that it's pretty much the same as chicken tikka masala. Well, same or not, this was the best I've had. It tasted like CTM, but the flavors were much more developed. Not necessarily spicer, just fuller. And the rice. Unlike most Asian restaurants, the rice played a small role in this meal. Three small scoops of rice. They were very good. But the menu didn't seem to have a basic basmati rice or nan option. I needed something to help scoop.

Last week I had the pleasure of dining at Devi, the new creation of Chefs Suvir Saran and Hemant Mathur. The restaurant had not yet officially opened, and so I served as a guinea pig for the kitchen and staff. A happier pig I could not have been. Devi is located on a quiet block of 18th Street, just East of 5th Avenue. The room is a comfortable size, allowing an intimate setting without any overcrowding. The ceilings are high and the walls are draped with thin peach-colored fabric. “Windows” cut into the fabric expose absolutely beautiful displays of authentic Indian artifacts. Large wood facades that seem to have been transported from the windows of an old home in India and marble carvings give authentic charm without being at all kitchy or distracting. The front door is framed, from the inside, with a spectacular carved wooden columns. The upper balcony is fronted with beautiful carved marble. Many of the dishes on the menu will be familiar to fans of Amma and Diwan. We started with three appetizers: Bel Phuri, Crab Kulcha and Manchurian Cauliflower. The bel phuri is as Roz described it. Excellent. The crab kulcha was also a pleasant surprise. I’ve often had onion and/or garlic kulcha in the past, which was a large nan, stuffed full of onion/garlic. No different here. But the nan was wonderfully soft, fluffy and moist and not the least bit oily. There was an ample amount of crab inside and it was served with a wonderful yogurt sauces. The manchurian cauliflower is also excellent, I almost asked for another order. Large cauliflower flowers are lighted breaded (in what appeared to be pakora breading), fried an sparely covered in a fiery red sauce. The sauce removes crispness from the breading, but the overall effect is for tender flowers with a crunchy stem. For the main course, I ordered Phool Makhane Kee Sabzi (popped lotus seeds with chenna (indian ricotta), peas, fenugreek leaves, currants and cashews). This is possibly the most unique Indian dish I’ve had. If you’ve had lotus root, you’ll recall that it is often served sliced horizontally, and it has little holes circling the disc. Those holes hold the seeds, and I for one have never heard hide nor hair of them. Suvir has taken them and “popped them like popcorn.” He then mixed them with peas and put them in a wonderfully fresh curry. The combination is unique and compelling. At first I found the texture of the lotus seeds odd, and almost off-putting. My friend said that she simply didn’t like it. They are somewhat like popcorn, and if you imagine popcorn in a sauce, you’ll know what the seeds were like. Simultaneously crunchy and chewy, fresh and stale. But the sauce forces you to keep eating and the texture of the seeds quickly wins you over. The sauce was exceptional in my opinion, due to the underlying sourness from the chenna. This left a subtle sweet tang that greatly complimented the peas. Overall a terrific dish, but I expect many will not be able to get over the texture of the lotus seeds. My friend ordered the salmon dish. It was a tower of fish and flavor that was expertly crafted, but slightly overwhelming. The main item were two large pieces of fresh salmon, cooked perfectly – moist and bright pink. On the bottom, mashed potatoes flavored with mustard seeds. In the middle, a dark malabar chutney (similar to Suvir’s tomato chutney, but with more spice). On top, the wonderful fried okra. (I wondered where these would appear.) Each piece of the dish is excellent, and they don’t class at all. However, they are each significant and may overwhelm some tongues. I was disappointed that they didn’t have meats on the menu, but that night was the seafood/veggie night. I’ll have to go back as a paying guest. When I have time I'll be more articulate and put up the pics.