Tasting Menus

[tony h]

Are you saying that you've actually eaten in Emeril's?  If so does this constitute a 2 day suspension from eGullet?

When I was last in vegas - 4 yrs ago & for 2 days -  I stayed at the big pyramid.  I've never been so scared by vertgo in my life.  The first visit was 10 years previous to that for 1 night - I had a ball.  But on the second trip it had lost its edge - its now pacified & family friendly. Disneyfied of you like & utterly horrible.  A bit like Renoir's works, really.

[cabrales]

Are you saying that you've actually eaten in Emeril's?  If so does this constitute a 2 day suspension from eGullet?

blind lemon higgins -- I have eaten once at both Emeril's N.O. Fish House and Delmonico's in Vegas. That was enough to convince me I need never eat at an Emeril-affiliated restaurant again. My decisiveness in this regard should mitigate against the 2-day suspension and reduce it to 2 minutes, and those 2 minutes should be reduced to zero because, for the first time, I have been prompted by eGullet activity to visit a restaurant I had clearly determined to be unworthwhile after one visit -- the Second Floor of Smith's of Smithfield (see UK Forum, write-up to come). I chose that restaurant solely because there has been divergent dialogue on the board today, and I wanted to reduce the risk that my original assessment would inappropriately close off dining opportunites for, or otherwise mislead, members.

The Fish House is worse than Delmonico's by a significant margin because more can go wrong with fish (e.g., unpleasant generally on the nose) in my mind.

On the question of visiting bad places, a review of my posts on the UK board might confirm how my curiosity leads me to poor meals with some frequency (witness the peacock-and-reindeer fiasco at Archipelago).  

[Bux]

cabrales:  The waiter looked at me with a serious frown, and said that including the dishes would disrupt the progression of the meal. I did not press the matter further.

I understand the nature of your curiosity, but I also have some appreciation for the chef's interest in seeing his tasting menu as a whole, and the composition of the whole as a creative act and not just a progression of dishes.

[cabrales]

but I also have some appreciation for the chef's interest in seeing his tasting menu as a whole

Bux -- I appreciate that places like Gagnaire might be among the least receptive to additions to a tasting menu, and that, given the length of such menu, there is no real need for additional dishes. However, I also believe that there could have been points in the meal at which additional dishes could have been accomodated. Note the dining room staff member did not suggest another dish better suited to the progression of the meal and the dishes on the tasting menu. I find it difficult to imagine that there were no dishes on the a la carte menu that could have "fit in" at least adequately into the meal.  

But I understand your point, and note that the response I received at least confirmed the restaurant was not profit-driven with respect to our dining party

[Bux]

Well it's the same with art forms such as painting and sculpture. The artist may not be the one best fit to explain his own work, but he deserves the right to present it as he sees fit. So I respect Gagnaire's desire to control that situation, even if he's wrong.

[Degustation]

There's this restaurant called Accolade located in the Crowne Plaza hotel in Toronto. The original premise was based on having only tasting menus without menus (I think Rob Feenie helped with the original idea and Ned Bell took over as chef. Bell then left for Senses and Michael Potter took over). The diners can choose from 4, 6 or 8 courses and whether they want the wine pairings. The diner only gets to warn the chef of any allergies or dietary constraints. If there are two diners, they would get two totally different tasting menus.

When I got around to trying it, they actually had menus and the maitre d' explained that guests preferred choosing the tasting menu. So the menu had a table d'hote consisting of four courses, while the seafood tasting menu, the vegetarian tasting menu and the chef's tasting menu were all six courses but can be bumped to eight courses (extra dessert and fabulous cheese selection). My fellow foodie and I requested that we each have a different eight course tasting menu with matching wines - everything up to chef's discretion. They were happy to oblige, and they said it was easier for chef to do this. Since the menus were different we also had two different types of wine with each course.

When we returned the second time, they had made another change. The menu this time had categories of listed items: Appetizers; Fish, Seafood and Shellfish; Meat, Poultry and Game; Desserts. From that you could prepare your own tasting menu with the price based upon the 3, 4, or 5 courses. There was also the Chef's Selection tasting menu. We again opted to have chef develop two different 8 course tasting menus with the wine pairings.

I don't know if it was because Potter was not there the second time but the quality and creativity was definitely superior the first time. I hesitate to try it again because who knows what it will evolve to. I suspect the restaurant was trying hard to cater to the hotel clientele who may prefer a more conventional approach to dining.