cavalli

[mastermatt78]

but what we had at CAVALLI last night did not taste niether champagne nor peach--------and was way too sweet---my apoligy

[Lesley C]

Aha! It's a gussied-up Bellini. They told me they add vodka and peach schnapps.

You didn't like it? Mine was just fantastic.

[carolswidler]

Did you ever have a Fuzzy Navel?

[mastermatt78]

congradulation on the *** and half today ,a very inspiring write up.

but with a soild team like PASQUALE,GIANNI,FRANK AND GAETAN what could possibly go wrong....regards...............

MATTEO

Edited September 13, 2003 by mastermatt78 (log)

[Culatello]

The last reveiw of Cavalli got was Horrilble there was things said in that article

that should not of been said ,using examples of other artists ( chef's) to compare to the chef's at Cavalli was uncalled for ,It goes to show that the true colors of this reporter came out.

I would like to see the day we get all food critic's to do a banquet with 3 days notice and the chef's in the dining room and the critics in the Kitchen

[ace]

critics comments. i read once a review of jardin panos in the gazette describing how they have an excellent lamb brochette .i was very suprised having worked there that it does not exist .i am suprised that the critic did not know the difference between pork and lamb .also a lot of people were led to believe that it is lamb.i personaly dont eat pork and i am sure alot of folks as well. shame on the critic.

[Lesley C]

Culatello, you picked the wrong critic to prepare your banquet; Philippe Molle happens to be an excellent chef (ask Francoise Kayler or Robert Beauchemin, and you might have a point).

The fact that Molle is still a working chef may be the problem here. He's obviously comparing his style to the style of a restaurant like Cavalli.

I was excited to hear Molle was going to review restaurants, but after reading a few, I've lost all interest. The guy ordered tuna and calamari when he went to Vargas Steak House. He barely eats any food and often skips desserts. I mean really, what the hell is that?

Half-assed, and I wouldn't hesitate to say it to his face.

ace, that critic is now dead, so, your wasting your shame.

Look, you can shit on critics as much as you like, but trust me no one is complaining when they get a good review. Well...almost no one.

Ask Angelo Baggio what he thinks of critics, or Norman Laprise, or Romano Nadir.

[Culatello]

I can see where your coming from Lesley but my point was to his reference to other Chef's , Useing big Names in comparison to the two younger chef's that are trying to do something different.

He may have a few points as to the service and to some of the dishes ,he says that the fish was cooked well then he says that the oranges and fennel made a bad combination,don't order it if you think it's a bad combination right or wrong.

The veal cheeks he might have apoint ,you've tried his veal cheeks at Herve's banquet.

I'm getting off topic here the point is we can't put up and coming chef's down like that critisize them constructivly.

There not my style ethier, but I appreciate there work and creativity,If we were all the same style there would be no reason to go try out new restaurants

[cook-em-all]

Culatello, are you Frank's and Gaetan's agent?

Claude Pelltier once told me not to get too high or too low about reviews.

He also told me a Chef feels pressure from staff, owners, critics, suppliers and of course customers. My point is, if you want to be Chef you have to take the good with the bad.

Edited January 21, 2004 by cook-em-all (log)

[Lesley C]

Has Claude Pelletier ever gotten a negative review? Too bad Nicolas Jongleux isn't around anymore to give his opinion. He would have a hell of a lot to say on the subject.

[cook-em-all]

What I got out of what Claude told me was that you have to keep an even keel.

You can't let a great review make you complacent and you can't let a bad review destroy you.

[Lesley C]

Very true. Smart one that Claude.

But you shouldn't ignore them either, and I've seen people do that as well. Even when reading the most harsh, unjust review, chefs should remember this person is at the very least a customer.

[ace]

by the way why is every resto a copy of French Laundry.STICK TO THE BASICS .

take lessons from rosalies, moishes, queue de cheval,if i am going to spend good money to eat, i want to eat .alot of it looks pretty and all but no substance.

[Lesley C]

Hey ace, whoever you are, different strokes for different folks.

There are fewer and fewer French-Laundry style restaurants in Montreal. Why knock places like Toque! and Bronte if they do a nice job with their cuisine.

And if all we had on the scene were carbon copies of Queue de Cheval, I would pack up immediately and move to France.

[Culatello]

First of all I'm no ones agent

What I'm trying to say is,don't say that there trying to copy toque,and not succeeding

Anyway I can't express myself in writing as well as in speaking ,so forgive me if you don't understand where I'm coming from.

I strongly beleive in critiszim,because it's the way we better ourselves,me being my biggest critic I'm almost never content with my work and always pushing the my limit's.

Edited January 21, 2004 by Culatello (log)

[ace]

is that the only thing keep you here.toque is overrated .i understand that the first bite is the best . but when i go out to eat i like to indulge .micro portions do do it.a fat 24oz steak does it ,or maybe a three pound lobster on the side.take it easy sweety .

[cook-em-all]

Lesley, negative comments in a review should certainly not be ignored.

They tend to be eyeopeners.

[Lesley C]

Do me a favour ace, don't EVER call me sweety.

[ace]

since there is no muscavado around .try lantic sugar they will tell you where to pick it up

[identifiler]

I don't know why you folks are so uptight about the review. I've read it, it's not a big deal. Don't forget Molle writes for Le Devoir, his readers are different from other papers. I think he expressed himslef pretty clearly that he is always dubious of restaurant with a serious face lift like cavalli. This might be a cultural thing. I have noticed a serious divide between what the french community and the english community see in a good restaurant. And clearly, there was some stuff that was off that night, so be it. I disagree with Mollee on his orange fenoil story or the fact that his Italian friend is a Gnocci expert (that's such a cliche)

On the other hand, what is this thing about sacro saints chefs that should receive rock and roll star status. I'm no groupie... Nobody deserves a perfect Carte Blanche in this world reguardless if they are the prime minister or a janitor... Give it a rest, every one has a job to do. The jongleux thing... I'm not sure exactly what that means. Are you saying that Jongleux was depressed from restaurant reviews ?

The problem I see with Molle is that he is a traditionnal/practicing and he introduced his thoughts quite well when talking about Bocuse new trick pony... he obviously has a grippe about restaurant that have a high price tag with only the plate to contend for. That's the problem with larger places, they rely strictly on the plate but charge you for the full experience.

I'm not critical of Cavalli because I know I could eat very well there. But I do want to bring a case in point, the super resto genre has seen a lot of growth in Montreal and I have noticed quite a degradation in services in those installations. For example, I love Rosalie, I go there all the time, my GF loves the food and the plates are always well made. However, almost every single time, I have had pretty bad service or atmosphere... I can live with that, but when you're paying for service and you ask questions and the waitress is "eeeehhhh maybe, let me check" and then gets back with a half ass answer with great tits, I figure... This isn't just about food. When I eat at the bar and I see Gino there, or whatever his name is (the coke dealer looking shareholder (sic) who keeps saying "fuck this fuck that and where is my fucking rap music and fuck I just stained my muscle shirt!", seriously...) You figure, it's not just about food... At the end of the evening, after a meal, you walk out and think, we had a great meal, the food was purfect and the service entertaining. Imagine if I get the exact same experience and there is sand in Dave's beautifull salads... I'm gonna be twice as pissed off as I should, because now I have to deal with the sand and the Gino and the price tag and the emphasis on cleavage. It's a double edge sword and I have noticed that these resto's have started to become quite complaisant about service in general, that as long as the butt and botox is on, then there should be no issues. That is very dangerous turn to take for a restaurant because the very last shelter that is left for you, is the decor and the plate, if the plate is messed up once, the frustration is all the worst. Quite honnestly, I love seeing beautifull women around me, but for some reason, it just doesn't do justice to the lack of service or the slease factor. I 'd rather get perfect service from an ugly old lady who knows her stuff (owners need to think about this). Stop doing buisness thinking that blind consumerism alone will keep things going. That's why the big threes are slowly going under after spitting out huge collections of SUV's just because "it sells".

That's my two cents

Everyone brought a lot of good points and Molle is sincerely an awfull reviewer- I agree with everything Culatello said but I think there is some reality in his review that needed to be stated. For the rest, comparing local chefs, what a dumb ass thing to write (that I think is where Molle is really out of order).

Edited January 21, 2004 by identifiler (log)

[ace]

thumbs up intefiler well said.sleaze factor .maybe you should tell eatomuch to stop bringing his kids in places like that .i think cavali is going to do well no matter what people say.

[jersey13]

Identifiler,

Well written and entertaining as always.....

[identifiler]

Ace, James is that you ?

You got the wrong lad dude, you're replying to a punk looking father of three kids who makes a habit of crashing nice restaurants with kids... The trend-setting anti babies have never won a single battle against the prada wearing bitch that I can be.

[identifiler]

But thanks for that Muscovado lead ! Well appreciated hahahaha

[ace]

no sweat fellow food connaiseur,you eat out alot.............