Blue Hill (NYC)

[Stephen Jackson]

Yes, if I had one criticism, it would be that it was a little too dark in there.

[Bux]

Yes, if I had one criticism, it would be that it was a little too dark in there.

You hear that guys?

[DavidJS]

So Stephen going back to the supermodels at the W Hotel are you talking about the bar lounge staff or the hotel staff. Any phone numbers? Okey, I'll be expecting hate mails from all the female viewers.

If you want good coffee/ espresso try Cafe Gitane and ask for it strong. It's in the SoHo area.

[SamanthaF]

Yes, if I had one criticism, it would be that it was a little too dark in there.

You hear that guys?

Don't encourage it Bux

(Has anyone seen Majumdar?)

[Bux]

Don't encourage it Bux

I've got to get it out of my system so I don't bug Dan about it once more. I'm going there soon.

Once I told him I thought they improved the situation and he replied that they put us in a corner where there's more light.

[Bux]

I find their new desserts interesting, but often less successful than the savory dishes.

We had dinner late last week at Blue Hill. I've posted in great length about the food and how much I enjoy it. Suffice it to say that once more I've had the kind of meal I've learned to expect. We did not take notes and were involved in conversation with our two companions who are in the food service industry and who seemed to enjoy the food as much as we did. One of them turned out to be a vegetarian. This was evidently not a problem for the kitchen who rose to the challenge and sent out a vegetarian tasting menu that appeared to offer serious variety from course to course. I had not particularly thought of Blue Hill as an ideal place for a vegetarian before, but it may well be.

More interesting to me was the selection of desserts sent out that evening. While I've found the desserts less successful than the savory dishes, I've always enjoyed the desserts and could probably have eaten the rice pudding that was one of their opening desserts, at least twice a month for the rest or my life. However, the desserts we had on Thursday supported the rest of the meal better than any previous desserts. Briefly, among the desserts we sampled there was a lime/avocado dessert, a mango cannelloni, and a soufflé with passion fruit ice cream that provided a very fitting end to the meal. The petits fours and mignardises were also impressive--particularly the marshmallow knots and the fig triangles.

The new pastry chef deserves mention. We spoke with him after dinner. He's from the southeast coast of France and agreed with us that some of the most interesting food ideas are currently coming from Spain. I suppose there are some who find the food here a bit too gentle, but I find Blue Hill worthy of recommendation as a destination restaurant all the more so now.

[robert40]

Hi Bux,

Ok maybe you did'nt take notes but you just cant leave us hanging like this.

More detail's on the tasting please!

And if there are those who are bored with the details they can turn to food network and check out Bobby Flay.

Thanx.

Robert R

[cabrales]

The menu for Blue Hill's J Beard dinner on April 3 has been released:

Reception

-- Maine Crabmeat with Spring Onion Shortbread

-- Shots of Romaine Lettuce Soup

-- Bay Scallops with Raw and Preserved Jerusalem Artichokes

-- Chicken Liver with Soy and Poppy Seeds

Dinner

-- Asparagus Terrine with Soft Goat Cheese, Fennel Gelee and Lemonette, with Ata Rangi Sauvignon Blanc 2002

-- Wild King Salmon with Pickled Ramps in their Own Sauce, with Jakoby-Mathy Kinheimer Rosenberg Riesling Spatlese 2000

-- Spring Grass-Fed Baby Lamb -- Canneloni, Chops and Loin, with Podere Capaccia Querciagrande 1996

-- Lime Sorbet with Marinated Avocado and Salted Caramel Crisp

-- First Rhubarb with Soft Meringue and Tapioca, with Gatti Sparkling Brachetto 2001

-- Petit Fours -- Marmalades and Preserves with Financiers

:laugh:

Other interesting J Beard dinners coming up, which I will attend, are: Julian Serrano on Thursday, May 1; Michael Mina on Friday, May 2; and Rick Tramonto and Gail Gand on Saturday, May 3. I am not attending the Mario Batali J Beard dinner on Tuesday, May 6, or the Out-of-House Event at Craft on Friday, May 9.

[Vanessa]

Hey Cabrales, what a lovely surprise

v

[cabrales]

I had another very pleasing meal at Blue Hill recently. Mike was again in the kitchen :laugh: My dining companion had experienced one of Mike's outstanding all-Concord grape meals last year, and had been looking forward to this meal.

(1) Beet Veloute.

(All dish names unofficial)

The meal got off to a good start with a shotglass of beet veloute laced with horseradish sensations. The beet taste was well-conveyed. Interestingly, the texture of the veloute reminded me slightly of pureed tomatoes (including with respect to the little granules one can feel in the mouth for certain tomatoes). Even the color of the veloute was a bit redder, with a slightly more limited amount of purple hues, than certain beets. But it was not just the color of the veloute that was worthy of note visually. The appropriately gentle horseradish, in a thin creamy texture, took its place as a modern-looking blot of white color on top of the veloute.

It was wonderful seeing Christopher again. :laugh: He poured us Proseco, Ombra from the Veneto region, and was wonderful detailed in describing the origins of the name of the producer.

(2) Meyer Lemon Sabayon.

I was absolutely won over (hmm -- more accurately, won over yet again) by the next course. I was presented with an eggshell (with the top portion removed), nursed within a whimsical-looking ceramic egg holder depicting an adorable little chick! The colors of the egg holder were spring shades; they were cheerful. :laugh: Christopher winked that the restaurant had placed tracking devices on the two egg holders, as the risk was too great under the circumstances! I soaked up so much pleasure from those egg holders that I admittedly did covet them ... and not just because I have a special interest in eggs and chicken.

How perfect that the sabayon inside the eggshell was flavored with Meyer Lemon (another product to which I am drawn)! The acidic, slight sweetness of the Meyer Lemon combined well with the slightly different-tasting hint of sweetness in the sabayon from yolk effects. Inside the sabayon, which occupied much of the inside of the eggshell, was fresh, clear-tasting crabmeat. A few lengths of deep fried squids' legs protruded invitingly from the sabayon. Adjacent to these items was a piece of fried, drier (in a good way) anchovy or similar fish. All the foregoing items were small in size, but flavorful.

As with so many other dishes I have received at Blue Hill, this creation was so on target with respect to my subjective preferences for ingredients and the manner in which they are combined that it made me think yet again how fortunate I am to have identified a restaurant in the US that resonates in that way for me. :laugh:

(3) Citrus Cured Salmon with Potato Foam.

This little dish was tasty as well. The salmon was presented in chunks, and the citrus elements of the curing had been appropriately controlled and were subtle (in a good way).

For me, it was the potato foam that was the prominent component of this dish taste-wise (not in the sense of being more aggressive-tasting than the salmon, but in the sense of capturing interest, through offering unexpectedly pleasing tastes, once in my mouth). I am uncertain whether this was intended, but this pleased me considerably. It toyed with the notion of what a diner should expect when being presented with a dish visually. Why shouldn't it be the potato foam that is more interesting when taken in?

I've had my share of potato foams at different restaurants. Here, the potato foam, while prominent with respect to taste interest, was still subtle and very well-executed. It had a hint of an unusual (in a very good way) kind of sweetness, and yet conveyed starchy sensations (despite its texture). Also, I appreciated that the foam was not too "cappuccino-froth"-like.

(4) Sea Scallops with Romaine Sauce and Endives.

Adorable dish, with slices of fairly large Maine sea scallops conveying their intrinsic flavors. A clean dish filled with conviction on the part of the chef. The accompaniments to the scallops, which had a bit of olive oil and a very little bit (appropriately) of fleur de sel on them, reminded me of a garden after a bit of rain. A very appealing Romaine sauce that was included in an appropriate quantity. Raw (?) endive sections, cut-up, and microgreens continued the refreshing aspects of the dish.

This was as delicious as the sea scallop carpaccio that Dan had made for me a week before, yet the two dishes were very distinct. It is meaningful that Dan had Mike had each made a scallop dish and a trout dish (see below) for me, that I liked all of the dishes, and that the dishes had come out quite distinctly. For example, Dan has furnished smoked trout.

(5) Local Blue Trout, Roasted Beets, Pinenuts and Grapefruit.

Such a gentle dish. The trout was delicious in a soothing way. It was nice that the beets were not "loud" either. I liked the beet components interwoven into this meal. The pinenuts did express themselves in this dish, imparting a bit of depth to the dish. The grapefruit were appropriately muted within the context of this dish. (I neglected to note the paired wines for this and the prior course.)

(6) Duck with Beet Puree and Kelp.

This dish was very well-executed. Of note was the type of duck utilized, which a small farmer had been breeding to constitute a cross between a French and a Dutch duck. The flesh was flavorful, and there were reasonable amounts of fat between the skin and the flesh. The beet puree was interesting, imparting not only a bit of sweetness but also some complexity. (I wonder what kind of stock or other item had been incorporated into the puree?) Kelp is not ordinarily associated with duck, but here the combination worked.

The wine pairing was, I believe, Acanzio Mauro Molino (spelling), 2000.

(7) Fruit Canneloni -- Mango, Passionfruit, Bananas

Two canneloni flavored with fruit had a coulis-like mixture with passionfruit seeds to top them. This course was appropriate, with the tapioca and coconut components being helpful. The wine paired was a Coteaux du Layon, 2000, a late-harvest Chenin Blanc.

(8) Lemon Trio -- Lemon Yoghurt; Lemon Curd Ice Cream; Lemon Tart.

I liked this dessert. The lemon tart was delicious, with a nice caramelized thin tuile on top of the tart. Good base for the tart, and good control of sweetness vs. acidity in the tart. The item served in a shotglass had wonderful sweetened lemon peels woven into; in that context, the bitterness of the peel was also presented, conveying a taste slightly reminiscent of kumquat.

Overall, a very good meal from Mike.

A separate recent meal from Dan follows:

I was almost giddy with anticipation, as I stepped into the doors of my subjectively preferred restaurant (still) in the US. Jean-Paul welcomed me, as did the various other dining room team members. An adjacent table had former Mayor Dinkins and Ed Bradley (spelling) among the large number of diners.

I had brought an ‘85 Salon, and the team was very gracious about handling that.

The amuses were appropriate. Duck proscuitto with apricot puree featured a piece of duck that was not as thin as proscuitto might sometimes connote, and that was also smoother in texture than one anticipates for duck. Interesting (in a good way). While I do not generally prefer apricot, the puree accompanying the duck was nicely made, with a suppression of the sweetness that can be excessive in apricot concoctions elsewhere. A small addition of baby greens on the side of the plate was not sampled. The second amuse was a small shotglass of brocoli or similar veloute with parmesan. My dining companion and I agreed that there was a distinctive meat-based sensation to the veloute – perhaps from bacon (his guess) or veal stock (mine).

(1) Carpaccio of scallops with Meyer lemon

This was a very nice dish, with the freshness and controlled acidity of Meyer lemon interwoven into the thin, oil-based saucing. There were strands of Meyer lemon peel that added a hint of bitterness, highlighting the good intrinsic quality of the scallops utilized. Sprinkles of fleur de sel and diced chives were appropriate too, although I might have subjectively preferred just slightly fewer grains.

(2) Monkfish with golden beets, pinenuts and soy beans

This dish was delicious, with the monkfish appropriately cooked incompletely. Golden beets in small, round slices of medium thickness formed a “base” when they were placed in an overlapping manner to form a larger circular shape. They were less acidic than the average burgundy-colored beet, and were therefore a more softer background (appropriately) for the monkfish. The beets were also not unduly sweet; they had sweetness, but it was appropriately limited (due to the intrinsic characteristics of the beet). A pairing with the monkfish that worked. The pinenuts were surprising with the monkfish, but welcomed. They went well with the green, slightly crunchy texture of the soy beans too. There was a very little bit of vegetable shoot on top of the piece of monkfish. Also, the saucing was of an appealing consistency, having almost connotations of what an egg yolk (when heavily diluted) might bring. The saucing contained bits of chives too.

(3) Smoked trout with walnuts and cider and soy

A large filet of smoked trout that had nicely strong soy sensations on the nose, but not in the mouth. I liked this dish too, despite an initial question about the softness of the flesh of the trout. The smokiness was appropriately limited, and there was a certain limited darkness from the cider and jus-based saucing. I am ordinarily not a big fan of walnuts, but in this dish they were appropriate. Our dining party moved onto a super red Bordeaux for this dish.

(4) Roasted poussin with black truffles, porcini, chickpea salad and homous

A well-executed dish that was also delicious. Poussin pieces were very moist and smooth-tasting. Very flavorful at the same time. The black truffles and porcini in thin strands were complementary in adding to the aromas and the intensity of the dish. These two accompaniments were appropriate, as were the whole chickpeas and the muted homous.

(5) Lime sorbet, avocado dessert with caramel tuile

Mike had given me a taste of this dessert when it was at an earlier stage in its conception. I liked it better then, given that the sorbet appeared more acidic and stark in this iteration and the avocado in Mike’s original version seemed somewhat more ripe and therefore more imbued with fat. In this version, the circular tuile carried more butter sensations and there was also a sticky sensation (involving stickiness to the teeth) that was an improvement from the original tuile. I do not recall whether the original version I sampled had the little slivers of lime confit on the plate adjacent to the avocado base for this dessert. I still like the small dicing of the avocados, and the fact that they seemed integrated into one another.

(6) Green apple sorbet with green apple cream and something else

This might be a creation of the new pastry chef, hailing from France. In using not that many different flavors, this pastry chef has the potential to be in keeping with BH’s mentality for savory courses of highlighting ingredients

(7) Passionfruit souffle with passionfruit ice cream

I liked this dessert. The souffle was nicely done; served in a large cup-like clear glass container that had nice steel handles in a good shape. The souffle was not unduly sweet, and its texture and flavor were appropriate. The passionfruit ice cream was served on a Chinese-rsetaurant-like porcelain spoon. This also appears to be a creation of the new pastry chef.

Mignardises were small madelaines, served with a jar of orange marmelade.

[robert40]

Cabrales,

Great report as always.

Monday I took the family to watch the parade and almost went to otto but ended up at Katzs for a cornbeef sandwich which was so good I also ordered a pastrami.

But the highlight of the trip was jumping out the minivan while the wife is huffing and puffing she's double parked and running to look at Blue Hills menu outside. ( I'm a easy to please man}

The door was open likely due to the spring air and I was temped to take a moment to say Hi to Dan or Mike but decided not to push my luck with a angry wife and a minivan.

Robert R

[sammy]

So how was the Blue Hill event at James Beard?

[jg488]

I had another very pleasing meal at Blue Hill recently.

Cabrales, was the meal you described the $65 tasting menu? If not, how much did it cost? And was there a corkage fee?

[chopjwu12]

there was so much talk about blue hill has anyone been recently?

[Steve Klc]

I went a few weeks ago, it's as good as it ever was, if not better, because Dan and Mike hired Pierre Reboul as pastry chef. He has a Pacojet and he knows how to use it. Their relationships with farmers and suppliers remains strong, the night I dined a farmer who had just dropped off a bag of arugula flowers was also eating at the bar. His flowers ended up on my cured salmon dish. I think their tasting menu remains a relative bargain pricewise for NYC. I've written elsewhere that I thought the petits fours tray Pierre sent out to us that night was the best I had ever had in the city and that includes Ducasse. Blue Hill is a gem and should still be on everyone's radar--especially if you favor their kind of a la minute saucing with clean direct flavors--my dishes that night had nice balances of acidity and fruit-forwardness.

[rozrapp]

We had dinner for the first time at Blue Hill in May. I had intended to post a report, but kept putting it off. Your question about it has prompted me to finally do so.

We had been to a matinee at the Minetta Lane Theatre, and Blue Hill is quite conveniently located only two blocks away. Our reservation was for 5:30. We were seated immediately at the corner of a long banquette, a table that had caught my eye when we first entered the restaurant. The comments by other eGulleteers that tables are rather close along the banquette is accurate. But this corner arrangement made for quite comfortable dining. The room is relatively small, and I thought its understated contemporary décor was very pleasant and soothing. Our server, Maureen, was friendly and cheerful. She asked if we were going to a show, and when we told her that we had just been, she said that she would see to it that our meal was served in a relaxed manner. She then discussed wine options with my husband. Since I don’t drink, he decided on a glass of red. (The menu ticket that I took home says “Notapanaro,” so I presume that that’s the name of the wine?) We ordered from the a la carte menu. Excellent bread and butter were brought to our table.

My first course was the poached foie gras. I am a foie gras junkie. I had heard great things about this method of preparation, which was new to me, so I was anxious to see what all the raves were about. Well, all I can say is that everything that has been said about it is true. It arrived in a little copper pot. The foie gras was divine, as were the perfectly cooked baby root vegetables. And the duck consomme was full or flavor and delicious. A perfect dish! My husband’s first course was the crab lasagne with a mussel and grain mustard sauce. He said that it was excellent in all respects.

For the main course, I continued with the “poached” theme and ordered the duck – another one of my favorite foods -- and my husband ordered it as well. We also ordered the one special vegetable side dish available that evening, the fresh asparagus. When the main course was served, we encountered a major glitch -- the duck was not hot! Actually, it was just barely tepid. Maureen was not in the room at that point, but we were able to get the attention of the maitre d’. When we informed him of the problem, he whisked the plates away. Maureen then came to the table to ask if the problem was with the doneness of the duck or with the temperature. We said that it was the latter. We also said that we liked our duck (this was magret, aka duck breast, sliced) medium rare, which was how the kitchen had prepared it. She made some comment that the oven might not have been at the proper temperature, and that she would talk to the chef. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of that. We suggested that the asparagus, which had arrived on a separate platter, be taken back to the kitchen to be kept warm. She agreed. We didn’t have to wait too long for the replacements to be brought out. The duck this time was warmer, though I thought it could have been still warmer. However, the meat – again cooked medium rare -- was very tender and extremely succulent, and the carrot stew accompaniment was extraordinary. The asparagus were tasty, but at $14, it was the only thing we ordered which I thought was a tad too pricey. (To be honest, when Maureen told us about them, she had not mentioned the price, and we hadn’t asked.)

When it came time for dessert, my husband immediately opted for the one that involved mango. I was hung up between the Baba au Rhum and the Chocolate Bread Pudding. I asked Maureen to describe them both for me and, after she did, I chose the Baba. When the desserts were brought to the table, there was a third plate with the bread pudding. “Just thought you’d like to try it,” Maureen said. I guess this comped dessert was the kitchen’s way of atoning for the duck glitch. All three desserts were delectable in every way.

By the time we left at about 7:15, the restaurant had filled quite a bit, but there were still a good number of empty tables. There was background music, but it was kept mercifully low, and the general noise level as the restaurant filled up was not particularly high, making for easy conversation.

Blue Hill is a wonderful restaurant. Despite the glitch with our main course, the cuisine measured up very nicely to all the glowing reports, and I think prices overall are quite reasonable for the quality being offered. We are definitely looking forward to another meal there.

[Pan]

Thanks for giving us that report, Roz. One of these days, I'd like to go to Blue Hill, but perhaps someone else will pay.

[chopjwu12]

that was a great report and i thank you. I must go back again. Veronica might try to get a job there when we move to newyork. Im workign on wd50 lets all cross our fingers for the both of us.

[Pan]

Good luck!

[Bux]

I know Dan and Mike well enough to almost wince when I read negative comments about Blue Hill. I also know of Harold Moore, who was last chef at Montrachet and who is now in the kitchen at Blue Hill. I think that says quite a bit of the sort of respect the kitchen has among other chefs. In a way however, I am relieved to read of faults, especially minor ones, because there are always going to be some people who are disappointed, at least some of the time, at any restaurant. Reviews and posts on eGullet about restaurants should help decide where to eat and how to get the most out of the dining experience once that choice is made, but what's written is far more important than what some people consider the bottom line -- was it good?

If eGullet can guide the right people to the right restaurants, it will serve a much better purpose than a guide such as Zagat where the numbers from diner with my taste and understanding of food are averaged with someone else whose opinion is uninteresting to me. From Zagat I get the same score when my alter ego rates high and my nemesis rates low as I do when my food doppleganger hates the place and someone else loves it.

Rozrapp's careful documentation of the things that displeased her is the kind of thing that serves us very well. I'm pleased to learn of her server's interest in offering a relaxed meal and not assuming an early diner has someplace else to go that evening. I'm not pleased that the price of an expensive side dish was not mentioned in advance.

I haven't had that poached duck since the early days of the restaurant, but I've had poached fish. I wonder if the relatively low temperature at which the duck is cooked has anything to do with the temperature at which it is served. It seems to me that not just at Blue Hill, but at other modern restaurants, I'm getting tasting menus of smaller courses and that the dishes are often warm, rather than hot, but that the temperature seems right.

[Aquitaine]

Thanks, Bux, for your thoughts about retaurant "guides." I go out to eat very rarely and find that a guide like Zagat is of no help to me whatsoever, for the reasons you note. Wherease I spend an inordinate amount of time checking out eGullet members' thoughts!

And I add my thanks, rozrapp, for your detailed notes.

edit: Klc, your comments encapsulate what I have come to think about Blue Hill. I'm particularly interested in supporting that strong farmer-supplier-restaurateur relationship, which, thank goodness, is becoming more widespread.

Edited June 17, 2003 by Aquitaine (log)

[gingerbread]

I ate poached duck at restaurant. It's not supposed to be hot to diner -- like poached fish, it's supposed to not be actually hot. But I see how diners with more custom believes about temp could say something about temp of dish.

[Sparkitus]

Just a quick note to Roz: the wine you had was "Notarpanaro" from the south of Italy, I want to say Campania, and if memory serves me correctly, it is from the negroamaro grape, dark and earthy stuff. Also a bang for buck. Shouldn't be too hard to find (I've seen it at Union Square wines for about $20).

[macrosan]

I ate poached duck at restaurant. It's not supposed to be hot to diner -- like poached fish, it's supposed to not be actually hot.

Is that you who is saying so, Ginger, or is it the chef who told you ? I had poached duck at Blue Hill a while back and it was the "normal" temperature for a hot dish.

If you say it's not supposed to be hot, then what temperature is it designed to be served at ? Warm, tepid, cool, cold ? My view of this is just that if you're right (which has not yet been established) then they should say something to that effect on the menu. There is no "tradition" I know of that says poached dishes are served anything but hot. So what would be the purpose of surprizing diners with a dish presented in a way they might dislike ?

[rozrapp]

Just a quick note to Roz:  the wine you had was "Notarpanaro" from the south of Italy, I want to say Campania, and if memory serves me correctly, it is from the negroamaro grape, dark and earthy stuff.  Also a bang for buck.  Shouldn't be too hard to find (I've seen it at Union Square wines for about $20).

Thanks for the info, Sparkitus. As I mentioned, it's my husband who is the wine drinker. He was pleased with this choice. Said it went well with the meal. It was $8.50 for the glass.

Regarding the issue of the duck’s temperature, I agree with Macrosan that if an item which one normally expects to be served hot is not going to be, some notation of that should be made on the menu. It actually did cross my mine that, perhaps, this duck was intended to be served cool – though I have to admit that I would not have preferred it. So, when we called the maitre d’ over, I specifically asked him, “Is this duck supposed to be served hot?” He did not say, “No, it is intended to be served room temperature or lukewarm.” Instead, he agreed that it should have been hot. And our server concurred. In fact, as I wrote, she mentioned that perhaps there was a problem with the oven temperature. Based on Bux’s explanation that the duck is poached in the oven at “a relatively low temperature,” it now seems to me that what Maureen was saying when she said she was going to discuss the situation with the chef is that the oven temperature might have been in need of some tweaking in order for the duck to be properly hot. Based on all this, I think Gingerbread is not correct in her assertion.

So call me persnickety when it comes to the temperature of the food being served to me. But I have run into this problem before at other upscale restaurants, maybe not often, but enough times to make it an annoyance. Just a few examples. At Eleven Madison, my main course lamb arrived barely warm. At Chez Catherine, an upscale French restaurant in NJ, my main course seared duck breast was tepid. (I wrote about this on the NJ board.) And just last weekend, we had dinner at an inn outside of Washington, D.C. and our first course seared foie gras arrived stone cold. (Yes, I do order duck and foie gras quite often. ) I didn't believe that any of these dishes was intended not to be hot, and I am not at all shy about asking -- politely, of course -- that the situation be corrected. Furthermore, when it is just the two of us and there is a problem with only one of our dishes, when we send it back to be adjusted, we make sure that both our plates are taken away and brought back together. That way, neither of us is eating while the other has to sit there and look on longingly.

So you won’t think I’m just a chronic complainer or that upscale restaurants can’t get it right, when Daniel was in its old location, my husband and I had an 8-course tasting dinner (which turned into 17 dishes since we were served two different dishes for each course, plus an extra dessert); not one of the dishes needed to be returned. We have eaten many times at Veritas and have never had to send anything back. And we recently had dinner at Town for the first time, and everything there was perfect.

I think that when it comes to dishes being served at the correct temperature, too many people either don’t care enough about what they are eating or are too afraid to speak up, not wanting to make a fuss. Thus, they accept what is placed before them and eat it, even if they are unhappy with it. Well, I can’t do that, particularly when I’m spending a boatload of money for a meal. In more casual places, when it comes to temperature issues, we’ve found it’s mainly the soup that’s the problem -- that is, hot soup that isn’t hot. (This is my husband’s biggest bugaboo.) I’ve lost count of how many times we’ve had to send the soup back to be heated. On the other hand, soup is one item that I don’t remember ever having to send back in an upscale restaurant.

I guess we can chalk it all up to the trials and tribulations, along with the ecstasies, of dining out.