Maestro

[robert40]

I have been hearing great things about Fabio Trabocchi at Maestro's.

Has anyone been there?

RR

[vengroff]

Sorry I can't help other than to say that I have also heard good things. I'm going next month and will report back in this forum.

[robert40]

Vengroff,

Thought you may be interested in the present menu I got yesterday via fax.

The Starters

A trio of tartar; Ahi tuna, Tasmanian King salmon and cape cod scallops.

Thick slices of foie gras stuffed with pistachio and prosciutto in vin santo- cherry glaze, grilled country bread.

The Pastas

Plancha Grilled Skate Wing between Pasta Sheets With Russian Beluga Caviar.

Main Lobster Ravioli with Ginger Port Wine Jus.

From The Sea and From The Land.

Roasted Mediterranean Sea bass with Whipped Salted Cod

Norcia Black Truffle Sauce.

The Study of Jamison Farm Lamb.

Locally Raised Kobe Beef Rossini, XXI Century.

The above is from Maestro's Evolution Menu.

The Starters.

Imported Buffalo Mozzarella with Plum Tomato Sorbet and Chilled Tomato Soup.

"Cappuccino" of Pan Fried Porcini Mushrooms, Chestnuts and Crispy Parmesan.

The pasta and Risotto.

White Creamer Potato Gnocchi and Norcia Black Truffle.

Risotto Tossed with Fresh Herbs and Extra Virgin Olive Oil With Ragout Of Snails and Pancetta.

From The Sea and Land.

Hay Baked Lightly Smoked Turbot with Olive Oil Mash and Pearl Onions

Smoked Hay Sauce.

Spiced Roasted Muscovy Duck with Caramelized Endives in Date Sauce.

Roasted Four Story Hill Farm Milk Feed Veal Chop with Fricassee of

Sweetbreads and Prawns Ossobuco Jus And Gremolada.

Above from The Tradition Menu.

Three Courses $72 Four Courses $84

Plus they have a daily market menu.

I tend to like myself small chef driven restaurants and not mega bucks hotel restaurants but Fabio Trabocchi may be the exception.

This menu will likely change by next month but it gives at least an idea.

Do enjoy and I'll be looking forward to your post.

RR

[vengroff]

The Maestro web site is here.

[Steve Klc]

Shame there are no desserts faxed.

[robert40]

I do believe the above menu is newer as the one on the website has not changed in some time.

Steve Klc,

No they did not fax the dessert menu.

Robert R

[vengroff]

I took my wife to Maestro for her birthday this week.

Executive Summary: Fabio Trabocchi and his team deserve the hype. Get to Tysons Corner and just let him cook for you. Two standouts were bacalao gnocci with black truffles and sea urchin in the shell with porchini mushrooms. Just about everything else was great too. The open kitchen is just stunning.

I'll post a full report soon.

Edited February 10, 2003 by vengroff (log)

[robert40]

Vengroff,

Really looking forword to your report!

RR

[vengroff]

I took my wife to Maestro for her birthday this weekend. We both enjoyed it immensely, and I can't wait for another special occasion to go back. The food was very impressive, both in concept and in execution. On top of that, the atmosphere was simply electric. It makes for an exceptional overall experience.

The first thing you notice when you enter Maestro's main dining room is that the kitchen is open in the extreme. The dining room and the kitchen are virtually one. I could talk about the Versace china, the richly textured wallpaper, or the cute little animal sculptures on each table that are made entirely from cutlery. I won't though, because once you settle into your seat, none of these really seem to matter compared to the acres of stainless steel, copper, and cast iron on display and at work in the kitchen.

We were fortunate enough to obtain one of the tables directly adjacent to the kitchen. I highly recommend requesting one when you make a reservation. Of course, if you prefer, the dining room also has some quieter, more discrete corners.

The only thing that separates the kitchen from the diners is a small island. This is where chef Fabio Trabocchi and one or two of his assistants handle final plating and presentation of the more intricate dishes. The nearest diners are just a few feet away.

Behind the chef, a brigade of about twenty cooks work three savory lines and a separate pastry kitchen. Things were already going at full tilt when we arrived at 8pm. Everyone and everything in the kitchen was in motion, yet there was an air of absolute control. Every action was precise, every move deliberate. It was like watching an elegantly choreographed ballet.

One of the most amazing parts of the ongoing spectacle was that there was essentially no kitchen noise in the dining room. It was almost eery to realize that despite the frenzy of activity nearby, we could easily carry on a conversation in a normal tone of voice. How, we wondered, could the cooks possibly be communicating? Looking carefully, we could see that everyone in the kitchen had a tiny secret service style ear-piece in one ear and a microphone clipped to their collar. With little more than a whisper, they were all in full communication.

Eager to see what this magnificent looking kitchen could put on a plate, we began pouring over the menu. Maestro's menu has three sections, "La Tradizione," a collection of traditional Italian dishes emphasizing fresh ingredients, and updated for the modern palate, "L'Evoluzione," which incorporates elements of other cuisines, and "La Creazione," the chef's customized tasting menu in four, five, or seven courses.

Eager for all there was to experience, decided on the seven course creazione. Our waiter had explained that we could offer as much or as little advice as we wished in how to construct our meal. Anything from, "I'm allergic to shellfish and I hate beets," to "Just cook for me." We opted to focus on seafood, with only a single meat course, followed by cheese and dessert. We also asked that the pasta course be the gnocchi with bacalao and black truffles. Our waiter asked if we both wanted the gnocchi, or just one. The reason, it turned out, was that for most of the courses we were each served a different dish. I had never seen this done on a tasting menu before, but it is a brilliant idea. Although we would be served in seven courses, we would actually sample a dozen dishes.

Alas, if it had only been seven courses. By the time all was said and done, well over four hours later, our waiters had delivered no less than twelve plates to each of us. There were two amuses, five savory courses, cheese, two pre-desserts, dessert, and chocolates.

I did not take notes or bring a camera, but I've reconstructed the meal as best I can from memory. Please forgive me if I miss a tidbit or two. What I do cover will obviously be the aspects that left the greatest impressions on me.

Amuse I - Salmon tartare with black olive tapenade in a crunch savory thimble.

This was a pleasant, if fairly standard welcome to the table. It was straightforward and, I suspect, designed to appeal to the palates of a wide spectrum of diners. After all, we would be heading in very different directions once it came time to order.

Amuse II - Langostine soup with ouzo cream.

Once our menus had been taken and we had begun to discuss wine options with the sommelier, two demitasses of rich shellfish reduction were delivered. Along with the anise, there was an undertone of ginger that really held things together.

1a. Pate de foie gras with dates, foie gras mousse, and rustic grilled bread.

1b. Salmon and tuna tartare, with langostine, dungeness crab, and caviar.

The foie presentation was tremendous. It was like a slice of a three layer cake perfectly iced with a sweet fruity jelly. Opposite corners of the plate were decorated with an airy foie mousse and a pair of sticky dates. The pate itself was smooth and mild.

The salmon and tuna were presented in one inch squares, lightly drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with coarse salt. Adding anything more to them would have been wholly superfluous. I didn't get a chance to sample any of the rest of the plate, but it was reported to be very good.

2. Bacalao gnocchi with black truffles, truffle sauce and balsamic vinegar.

This was the star dish of the evening. The gnocchi were not the fluffy potato dumplings you are used to. Instead, their shape was reminiscent of dim-sum dumplings. A round pasta shell was folded over a salt cod filling and crimped together where the edges met. Each dumpling was topped with a slice of black truffle. A rich truffle sauce, some pesto, and aged balsamic vinegar finished the dish. Every taste and texture here was perfect. My wife, who is well known to be a gnocchi junkie, was over the moon.

3a. Seared sea scallop on a bed of salsify in a scallop shell.

3b. Sea urchin and its roe with porcini mushrooms and dill, served in the shell.

Both of these dishes were presented on a base of rock salt. Out waiter made a point of advising us that the salt was there to stabilize the shells on the plates, and that it was not edible. Obviously there had been some kind of salt incident in the past and he was keen not to see it repeated.

The scallop was seared golden brown on each side. The salsify was very interestingly flavored. It featured a combination of spices not commonly found in savory dishes in western cuisine. These included vanilla, and one or more of the "cookie spices". It had a very clear caramel sweetness that I have enjoyed in vietnamese cuisine.

The sea urchin was about 5" in diameter. The meat and roe had been removed and prepared with mushrooms in a seafood and mushroom sauce, probably thickened with the roe itself. The mixture was returned to the shell, then piled high with more mushrooms and dill. The roe was silky smooth and the meat of the sea urchin was soft and sweet. Mushroom essense infused everyhing. It was the single best sea urchin dish I have ever had. I could have eaten three or four of them.

4a. Hay-smoked turbot

4b. John dory with wild mushrooms, squid, and squid ink sauce.

I had heard about the turbot dish before, and was looking forward to it. Unfortunately, I thought it was the weak point of the meal. It was simply too smoky for either of us to enjoy. There wasn't really a chance for any other flavor component to assert itself.

The john dory dish, on the other hand, offered several different flavors that were interesting both alone and together. Alongside the fish, four or five different varieties of wild mushrooms were sauteed until just tender, then presented with small calamari and a sauce of their ink.

We had started with a couple of glasses of Veuve Clicquot, and for the past few courses had been drinking a 2001 Miner "Simpson's Vineyard" Viognier. I don't drink a tremendous amount of white wine, but this is one of my favorites. It had some nice citrus to go with the seafood we had been eating.

With our meat course, we had our eye on a half bottle of '94 Opus One. Unfortunately, the sommelier informed us that he had sold the last bottle the day before, but neglected to reprint that page of the list. Instead, he offered us a '98 Auraujo Eisele Cabernet for the same price. It had soft tannins and a lot of fruit. It showed that even in a year when the weather isn't great, experienced growers and skilled winemakers can put together something very enjoyable to drink.

When we were talking about the wine, it came up that although the list is very broad, with excellent coverage of Italy and California, it is for the most part very youthful. For example, I don't think there was a single Barolo older than '96. The sommelier (I regret not making a note of his name) explained that Virginia's restrictive import laws make it very hard for him to take full advantage of the world wine market. For example, he said that with a single phone call he could have several cases of outstanding '90 Barolos on the next FedEx flight into Dulles. However, it would be in total violation of state law. I hope that the recent bill that will allow consumers to import 2 cases a month extends some similar privilege to restaurants.

But enough about the wine, back to the food...

5a. Rare seared veal with sweetbreads, braised beef cheeks, and mashed potato.

5b. Seared beef steak stuffed with foie gras confit, topped with shaved black truffle and accompanied by port-wine sauce and celery root.

The beef cheeks put the veal to shame. Tangy and gelatinous, they melted into the potatoes that topped them. The veal, by contrast offered more resistance than to the knife than I would have expected. Sweetbreads were crisp and tasty.

The beef and foie dish was presented with its port sauce in a small ramekin atop a ceramic tower on the place. A candle under the tower kept the sauce warm. The presentation was a bit of a gimmick, but the tastes worked well. Although the beef was sliced very thin before rolling, it was still well seared at the surface yet rare near the filling. It was a very beefy beef, and we enjoyed it both with and without the truffles and port sauce.

6. A selection of eight cheeses.

We had four each, but ended up sharing most of them. The cart looked good from a distance, but upon closer inspection it did not have the variety I would have hoped for. In particular, not a single sheep's milk cheese was offered. We did have a good stilton, a couple of nice goat cheeses, and a creamy gorganzola. We also liked a hard salty Italian wine-washed cheese whose name I can no longer remember. The cheeses were served with what was advertised as an apple jelly. It reminded me very much of membrillo.

Pre-dessert: Lychee panna cotta with homemade grappa.

A silky smooth panna cotta served in the same glass demitasse as the soup we began with. I think the lychee worked very well. It's an underused flavor in western pastry, which I for one would like to see more of.

Birthday course: A light moussey little cake accented with sculpted chocolate waves and a single candle. We had seen this come out to a couple of other tables, so it wasn't much of a surprise when we got one. Obviously Maestro is a popular birthday spot. Fortunately, there was no singing.

Dessert a: White wine souffle with sorbet.

Dessert b: A selection of sorbets, including white peach and apricot.

I was on the verge of bursting at this point, but I did my best to make room for the souffle. The top was crisp with carmelized sugar and the center light and airy. I also sampled the sorbets. I particularly liked the white peach. All of the desserts had the same kind of technical perfection as the savories, if perhaps less overt creativity.

By the time we got around to coffee, the stainless steel lines were being scrubbed clean. Many of the line cooks had left the kitchen. I'm not sure if they had actually gone home, or if they were just pursing additional duties in some special backstage kitchen. The sous chef and the maitre d' stood chatting in French, reviewing the night's activities. Only the pastry kitchen was still in full operation.

I remember reading elsewhere that the whole open kitchen concept was a testament to Fabio Trabocchi's ego--a way to put himself front and center before all his guests. I actually could not disagree more. If it were all about him, he could hide the rest of the kitchen away and simply wander the dining room alone, as so many other chefs do. Instead, although he directs the whole operation, the focus is on the entire brigade. Like a conductor without an orchestra, Trabocchi without the entire kitchen behind him would just be some guy who gets all dressed up and waves a little stick in the air. It's the entire kitchen that is on display here, both in front of you, and on your plate. Bravo!

[Steve Klc]

Cost?

[vengroff]

Sorry Steve, I should have mentioned we spent $112 per person for the seven course creazione. I think three courses went for $74, five for $94 plus or minus a couple of dollars. With wine, the bill broke $400 pre-tip for the two of us.

Edited February 10, 2003 by vengroff (log)

[vengroff]

Vincent Feraud is the sommelier's name. He was previously at Lespinasse in DC and Jean-Louis at the Watergate. In any case, he is a charming and very knowledgable fellow who has put together a very broad and rationally priced list.

Cabby, in particular, might appreciate the vertical of Opus One half bottles.

[awbrig]

Vengroff, how Italian is this place?

Is the ambiance dressy, romantic, formal?

[robert40]

I have had my heart set on trying this place sense reading reports from Joe H

months ago.

But just have not had the opportunity to do so as yet.

My expectation's are so high that I'm afraid of being disappointed after driving from upstate N.Y.

But yet thats a risk we all take I guess.

Any opinions?

Robert R.

[vengroff]

Robert,

Have you been to other place that Joe H really likes, or dislikes for that matter? That's probably the best way to judge whether your palates are in tune with one another. If they are, then I'm sure you will enjoy Maestro very much.

Like Joe, I think Fabio is doing some really exceptional work, but you can read all about that above.

If I understand you, you're asking whether driving all the way down from upstate New York, for the sole purpose of eating at Maestro, is worth it. I don't know precisely where your coming from, but it's got to be at least an eight hour drive, possibly a lot more, right? If it were me I would be hesitatant to put all my eggs in one basket. I have no reason to believe you will have anything short of a lovely meal at Maestro, but if you can spare the time, I'd recommend you take three or four days to explore the city. There are some really excellent dining options across the price spectrum. Browse though the threads in the forum and you will read all about them. If you plan your trip in this way, then if one of the four places you go has an off night, you can still come away with a satisfying return on your driving investment.

[alice]

I appreciate your feedback for your dinner in February VENGROFF. We are always looking to better our service, food and everything at Maestro through feedback from our guests.

Please feel free to look at the dessert menu at www.maestrorestaurant.com. It has always been posted there along with the Tradizione, Evoluzione and Creazione menus.

Thank you.

Fabio Trabocchi

[chefette]

Well, we ate at Maestro last night and it was probably the most amazing, interesting, and visually beautiful meal I have ever had. Serious foodies really must go there. Fabio is fabulous.

We had a tasting menu featuring about 14 courses of meticulously crafted tiny, sumptuous and fascinating courses all beautifully paired with very interesting and delicious wines by Vincent, the sommelier.

1- Amuse: tube tuiles one filled with buffalo mozzarella, one filled with salmon tartar each topped with a demi spoon sized quenelle of olive tapenade on a thick clear glass disk with two quarter sized impressions in which the tubes stood.

2- Amuse: A magnetized angled cup of warm foamy milk gazpacho with a half crayfish in the shell on the side;

3- Le Acciughe: Marinated fresh Florida Anchovies with confit sweet red peppers, marjoram, bottarga di maggine, citronette of baby capers, lemon zest;

4- Il Mosaico: Mosaic of wild king salmon, seared blue fin toro, caribbean princess conch meat jelly on saraceno potato pancake with white salmon caviar;

5- Le Cappesante: Pan-fried Cape Cod scallop wrapped in focaccia crisp, nova scotia hand picked chanterelle mushrooms and salsa verde

6- I Spaghettini: Homemade chitarra spaghetti, santa barbara sea urchin in crushed peperoncino, young garlic sauce and crispy celery;

7- Il Branzino: Wild Brittany Coast line-caught sea bass dusted with fennel pollen cooked in a cocotte, sauteed fennel in fennel-anise sauce;

8- Il Cappuccino: Cappuccino of Castelluccio lentils with grilled country bread, seared Belle Farm foie gras, milk froth, and Montegottero hazelnut oil;

9- Il Piccione: Tuscan style flat crispy pigeon cooked under brick, bay leaf caramelized carrots, english peas and grapes in cremonese fruit mustard

10- Il Bue Rossini XXI Secolo: Locally raised Sunny Side Farm Kobe beef, XXI Century

11- Pre-dessert: Panna Cotta with basil infused Grappa

12- Il Souffle al Torcolato: Peppermint and chocolate souffle with Sacher Sorbet

13- Madeleines with warm chocolate sauce

The descriptions hardly do the food justice. Each course was picturesque, was a suprise, and just more perfect than you could really imagine. I wish I had been taking pictures. I also feel terrible that I don't like some of the elements in some of the courses, but despite my basic dislike of fish one of the real standouts all night for me was the crisp-skinned sea bass which was really wonderful. The panna cotta was litchi panna cotta (soooooo good), and the madeleines were about the size of a fingernail, served warm in a tiny crock with cups of melty chocolate for each of us to dunk them in.

Steve will have to provide the accompanying wines which were also amazing. Probably the most interesting to me was a very herbal white that we had with the scallop.

So, bottom line, Fabio is GREAT and people should make a point of eating at Maestro. It would be a shame to miss out on a talent like his.

[chefette]

I neglected to mention the beautiful open kitchen. It was really cool to watch the chefs all crafting the food. I would have to say it really rivals the FL. I counted about 9 cooks, all steadfastly at work.

[vengroff]

Bravo!

That has to be the answer to the "what's the word?" question.

[Joe H]

It does rival the French Laundry. In fact it rivals the Michelin three star Le Calandre in Rubano. Along with Laboratorio D. C. has two of the best Italian restaurants on earth. I honestly believe that Maestro today is worth at least two Michelin stars, certainly it is equal to or better than both of the three stars that I have been to in Italy. In the Wall Street Journal article from a month or so ago the reporter and her husband who went there told me that they both believed it was the best meal that they had at any restaurant anywhere in the past two years. This includes annual trips to Italy where they will eat at starred and exceptional restaurants twice a day for a week or so with the purpose for him to pick up ideas that he might incorporated in his Manhattan restaurant. http://www.chowhound.com/midatlantic/board...ages/14103.html is the link to my original post on Chowhound from January 4th of this year.

[Monica Bhide]

I thinkI have read this thread a hundred times.. I hope I can go there sometime soon!!!! Sounds nothing short of fantastic

[Steve Klc]

One thing I think is interesting is that I had read all these reports that Maestro is an Italian restaurant and Fabio cooks Italian. It's not necessarily and he doesn't necessarily. His cooking is every bit as modern, contemporary and interesting as the very best French or Spanish or American chefs who are globally influenced and inspired. What Fabio does is global in scope and with the skills he demonstrated, his sphere of influence in coming years will be global as well. Like other elite chefs around the country he flies in some fresh things--sourcing wild King salmon, the sea bass from Brittany, the fresh anchovies from Florida, etc. AND buys locally. It's very personal, very sophisticated yet very delicious food: it transcends labels like "Italian." And even though we were there on a "slow" night--only 50 or 55 covers--Fabio runs an impeccably quiet, serious kitchen that has to stay amazingly focused due to its mutli-course tasting menu approach even on a slow night. And you get this level of sophisticated achievement and sourcing night in and night out: 9 thin quiet focused young guys, heads down, communicating via lapel microphone and walkie-talkie just efficiently getting the job done all in plain view--another 9 guys in groups runnning food to the floor on silver trays--and Vincent pouring the juice passionately to every table in the room. Our main server was Fernando and he was assured, friendly and young.

We were there for 4 hours--Fabio came out of his "open" kitchen once--for about three minutes total--to say a brief hello to our table and to another table. That's it. Then it was back to quiet focused hands-on work.

"Fabio is fabulous"--I think chefette crystallized that well. I can't add anything to that. His is an oasis of delicacy, intensity and refinement amidst what all too often is a predictably arid and conservatively bland desert. Allow him to cook for you, as we did. Don't be put off by terms on the menu that you do not understand--take a chance and order dishes even when the only word you fully understand in the menu description might be "with." Allow Vincent to choose wines, as we did. I tried less-than-discreetly to keep track of all the wines in my Palm and fortunately when we were about to leave, Vincent slipped me a handwritten list of the wines--he said he had noticed me trying to keep track and he appreciated our interest.

Here's what Vincent chose for the meal Fabio chose and what few mental notes I remember:

Ca'del Bosco Franciacorta, a sparkler which was incredibly flavorful, the equal of any $50-70 retail bottle of champagne I've had;

Etude carneros pinot gris--served with the anchovy and mosaic salmon courses, exotic and adventurous enough to stand up to the food--and it had to be because of the pleasingly salty mullet roe ("bottarga di Maggine" on the menu) Fabio presented this as a thin shaved slice curled into a circle stacked atop a curled anchovy filet--like two wedding rings. It was a perfect marriage with the lemon balanced by the brininess of mullet roe.

Sauvignon blanc, Venica (ronco cero? I'm not so Italian vino-literate) this was the very herbal white Colleen mentioned--green, grassy, herbal with strong aroma of summer savory or purple basil--a wine probably hard to appreciate if drunk in isolation--but perfect, perfect with this scallop and chanterelle dish. One of the little treats of this meal was that Fabio included the mottled orange roe, which I hadn't had in a while. I'm grateful to Colleen in that I got to have her little fava-bean-shaped piece of roe as well.

Vincent poured a Tocai ronco, Venica from Friuli with the pasta and sea urchin dish and what I have to say about that is it didn't get in the way of the dish, which was my favorite overall dish of the night. Unexpected culinary muscle-flexing is what this simple, quietly avant-garde dish was. (Fabio and his pastry chef could build a dessert amuse around the very delicate crispy celery, maybe candy it slightly and serve it with green apple sorbet and a green herb.) The wine also enhanced the sea bass-fennel pollen-crisped skin which was my favorite individual element of the night.

Then our first of a series of very food-friendly reds, Les hauts de Gramenon, Vinsobres 2000 (a Cote du rhones villages from Bobby Kacher) with the rustic foie gras lentil dish. A very tough dish to pick a wine for because Fabio broke the "foie always with sweet and fruity stuff" rule with this dish. It wasn't overtly sweet at all except in a vague seared caramelized way. When Vincent poured this he whispered "I make no promises with this wine" but we all enjoyed it.

Then I took the next wine quickly off the label: Robins Rietini (Reatini is the region, right?) 1997 Chianti RSV with the pigeon followed by a Valpolicella Ripassa by Zenato, from Veneto with Fabio's take on tournedos of beef Rossini, which were like thin little sushi rolls of kobe beef filet wrapped around a foie gras center. The wine was a very approachable yet still gutsy ruby red, with just enough power and intensity to hold up to the dish.

It's a nice touch that the basil grappa is poured tableside onto the panna cotta. I didn't care too much for the peppermint souffle (I don't like souffles) but the chocolate sorbet and the chocolate hiding in the bottom of the souffle dish were great. We concluded with a dessert wine I had had many times before and is all around town, the Maculan torcolato, and it was a fine liquid dessert in a glass. It didn't go with any of the desserts but it wasn't meant to; it went well with the darling madeleines.

Oh, and one of the dishes Fabio is doing at the Starchefs event next week is the panna cotta with grappa, so those of you going to that can try it there.

[vengroff]

One thing I think is interesting is that I had read all these reports that Maestro is an Italian restaurant and Fabio cooks Italian.  It's not necessarily and he doesn't necessarily.  His cooking is every bit as modern, contemporary and interesting as the very best French or Spanish or American chefs who are globally influenced and inspired.

Steve, I think you hit the nail right on the head with that comment.

[bilrus]

Allow him to cook for you, as we did.  Don't be put off by terms on the menu that you do not understand--take a chance and order dishes even when the only word you fully understand in the menu description might be "with."

I'm glad you say that. I am embarrased to admit that I was at first a little intimidated by the menu.

But all the raves encourage me to just get over it - soon.

[Steve Klc]

I empathize completely. One dining companion the other night was in the same boat--and I used that comment specifically here because that was something he said the next day recounting the experience to his business colleagues--and it was relayed back to me. There are hundreds of Maestro diners that will be in that position--initially intimidated. That's where trust has to come in. And if more diners see chefs giving themselves over to the creativity of another chef--as we always try to do--maybe they'll feel a little more confident to do the same.

And all of sudden you just might find yourself at the point where reading fennel pollen, scallop roe, bottarga, uni, whatever, doesn't faze you, doesn't scare you toward something more familiar. Hopefully you trust, you order, and you appreciate a dish on the chef's terms.

Our companion is affluent and cultured, flies and sails all over the world, yet was a bit intimidated by the Maestro menu. His business dealings usually take him to conservative power places like the Palm for a steak. Yesterday he said our dinner at Maestro was the second most amazing meal he's ever experienced--topped only by the 21 course wedding reception Jose Andres cooked for us when Colleen and I got married. He still talks about that experience--how the idea of so many very little dishes seemed so foreign, how he never heard of cuttlefish before but just dived in because the preceeding dishes were so good, etc.

Both of them were exceptional in part because he trusted and he gave up control.