The Menu

[Bux]

The restaurant has been open for over two years now. How do you feel your menu has evolved in that time? I see some dishes that seem to have stayed. Have they become your classics? Are there dishes that seem to represent Blue Hill to you to the extent they are sacrosanct or are there dishes that you'd prefer to stop cooking, but are demanded by loyal diners? How has Michael's arrival in the kitchen changed the scope of the menu offerings. I know he's responsible for some of the dishes I've had, but I haven't seen an abrupt shift the general cuisine.

Do you think the tasting menu represents your food better than the a la carte menu or is it a question of the diner's mood? Do you find that diners gravitate towards or away from the tasting menu as they become regulars? Are these fair questions?

I know that sometimes, if a restaurant comes highly recommended, I'll choose the tasting menu to get a broader picture of what the kitchen can do, but at other times I might wait to order the, usually more expensive, tasting menu until I've come to respect the kitchen more. So maybe it's not a fair question, but I can ask if you tend to regard the diner who orders the tasting menu in a different light that the one who orders a la carte.

Please feel free to answer as selectively as you wish or just repond to the general subject matter.

[bluehill]

I agree, there has not been a dramatic shift in the food at Blue Hill and I'm happy you noticed. There's a philosophy, a formula in place, and I think, I hope, that it's bigger than Mike or me. But there have been several improvements, especially in technique, and Mike has been a great help here for sure, as well as introducing me to ingredients that I had not felt comfortable using. I think in the Fall you'll see many more changes and I hope you'll agree we're moving in the right direction.

As for tasting menus, your assumption is correct. The kitchen, the front of house, everyone save the dishwasher because of the extra work, respects the table that orders the tasting menu. It changes daily. It's a challenge to produce. It makes life here invigorating. And I think it represents the spirit of what we do more than anything else.