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"James" Restaurant

bigboss

By bigboss
in Pennsylvania: Dining

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wkl

wkl

Posted
Posted

a shucked oyster, meaning... raw? wouldn't it be difficult to eat an raw oyster with risotto?

the combination seems odd to me. is there some precedent for risotto topped with a raw oyster? or for that matter, risotto with a poached oyster?

also, once prosecco meets intense heat... goodbye flavor.

Vadouvan

Vadouvan

Posted
Posted (edited)

Bill

I believe the theory is that the residual heat from the risotto "ccoks" the oyster.

That probably also explains why the recipe asks that the "risotto" be left to rest with a lid on the pot which is just a bit wierd as it is a technique used for pilaf style rice dishes.

sparkling risotto
......good one.... :smile: Edited by Vadouvan (log)
wkl

wkl

Posted
Posted

thanks v.

still wondering if a slightly cooked oyster would be hard/messy to fork with rice?

the heat also would kill the bubbles in the wine.

Vadouvan

Vadouvan

Posted
Posted (edited)
the heat also would kill the bubbles in the wine.

So why use prosecco at all ?

We agree.....

It has no flavor if you cook it.

No bubbles.....

and strangely..........you probably are going to think I am wierd....

BUT...

looking closely at the article and the photographs of the process, something looked strange.

I thought I saw a word but just to be sure, I scanned and photoshopenhanced the picture.

2nd pic down on the right, wine is being poured into the pot and you can just make up the word on the neck of the bottle........." R O E D E R E R"

Roederer.......as in Louis Roederer

http://www.champagne-roederer.com/

Forgive me for being nitpicky but wouldnt one at least use a "prosecco" in a "prosecco" risotto.

It's not even prosecco, not that Roederer is bad......just wierd.

Go get phillymag.

Edited by Vadouvan (log)
dagordon

dagordon

Posted
Posted
the heat also would kill the bubbles in the wine.

So why use prosecco at all ?

We agree.....

It has no flavor if you cook it.

No bubbles.....

and strangely..........you probably are going to think I am wierd....

BUT...

looking closely at the article and the photographs of the process, something looked strange.

I thought I saw a word but just to be sure, I scanned and photoshopenhanced the picture.

2nd pic down on the right, wine is being poured into the pot and you can just make up the word on the neck of the bottle........." R O E D E R E R"

Roederer.......as in Louis Roederer

http://www.champagne-roederer.com/

Forgive me for being nitpicky but wouldnt one at least use a "prosecco" in a "prosecco" risotto.

It's not even prosecco, not that Roederer is bad......just wierd.

Go get phillymag.

everyone knows that you have to store the proseco used for proseco risotto in a roederer champagne bottle, the chemical properties of that bottle are what allow the bubbles to survive the heat. these people are obviously doing stuff that's way over your head.

wkl

wkl

Posted
Posted

"Forgive me for being nitpicky but wouldnt one at least use a "prosecco" in a "prosecco" risotto.

It's not even prosecco, not that Roederer is bad......just wierd."

and wierder that if they didn't have prosecco they would insist on using sparkling wine. sparkling wine , still wine, whatever for this type of preparation.

dagordon

dagordon

Posted
Posted

http://southphillyreview.com/view_article.php?id=5391

What a terrible review (not as in the restaurant gets rated poorly, but the review itself is just bad).

Small plates food "pretentious"? As in, the size of a portion of food is pretentious? So is a giant plate of food modest? She "liked the use of frisee" in a salad?? Baby brussel sprouts in a salad showing the chef's "culinary imagination"? "I nixed fish because it is light." Fish is light? Do you mean the particular fish dish on the menu, which you don't describe, or are you really asserting: "Fish is light"? "cauliflower creama" was "creamy"? really? I could go on...

Rich Pawlak

Rich Pawlak

Posted
Posted
http://southphillyreview.com/view_article.php?id=5391

What a terrible review (not as in the restaurant gets rated poorly, but the review itself is just bad).

Small plates food "pretentious"? As in, the size of a portion of food is pretentious? So is a giant plate of food modest? She "liked the use of frisee" in a salad?? Baby brussel sprouts in a salad showing the chef's "culinary imagination"? "I nixed fish because it is light." Fish is light? Do you mean the particular fish dish on the menu, which you don't describe, or are you really asserting: "Fish is light"? "cauliflower creama" was "creamy"? really? I could go on...

It's Phyllis Stein-Novack, ferchrissakes! You can't take it seriously.

Rich Pawlak

 

Reporter, The Trentonian

Feature Writer, INSIDE Magazine
Food Writer At Large

MY BLOG: THE OMNIVORE

"In Cerveza et Pizza Veritas"

Rich Pawlak

Rich Pawlak

Posted
Posted

The author of the review you are referring to.

Rich Pawlak

 

Reporter, The Trentonian

Feature Writer, INSIDE Magazine
Food Writer At Large

MY BLOG: THE OMNIVORE

"In Cerveza et Pizza Veritas"

dagordon

dagordon

Posted
Posted
The author of the review you are referring to.

Thanks :smile: That I knew. Not sure if you're trying to be funny. What I meant to ask was what it is about the woman that should make one not take her reviews seriously. But if this isn't the appropriate place to discuss this that's ok.

Andrew Fenton

Andrew Fenton

Posted
Posted

You can read her archived columns here. Since I don't usually read the South Philly Review, I hadn't read her work before. But you don't have to read many articles before you get the idea.

It'd be easy to make fun of her cranky-grandma style-- but I'll hold off, because what's the point? She's writing for an audience that only marginally overlaps that of eGullet. That, and the economics of neighborhood newspapers, mean you're not going to get anything in the same solar system as cutting-edge food writing...

Vadouvan

Vadouvan

Posted
Posted
Thanks  That I knew. Not sure if you're trying to be funny. What I meant to ask was what it is about the woman that should make one not take her reviews seriously. But if this isn't the appropriate place to discuss this that's ok.

The South Philly review has no media clout, that being said it is still possible for the publication to have a knowledgeable writer. Her style is antiquated and doesnt reflect current eating trends or requisite food knowledge so it seems. Critics are only as good as thier worst reviews.

Vadouvan

Vadouvan

Posted
Posted

The bad review cannot also be blamed on her solely, the restaurant was kinda asking for it, the menu is over-embellished to the degree that culinary neophytes will clearly misunderstand what to expect. Sauces and ragu's that include chocolate should not taste like chocolate, chocolate deepens tha accent. The restaurant should not list chocolate on the menu description.

This is similar to the technicalities of the Roderer prosecco incident.

Mole does not taste like chocolate but chocolate is used in mole.

There are very few reasons to hand cut parpadelle, the more menus are embellished, the higher expectations are.Using the word "Creama" simply because you define yourself as Italian influenced is just asking for it.

MarketStEl

MarketStEl

Posted
Posted (edited)
Thanks   That I knew. Not sure if you're trying to be funny. What I meant to ask was what it is about the woman that should make one not take her reviews seriously. But if this isn't the appropriate place to discuss this that's ok.

The South Philly review has no media clout, that being said it is still possible for the publication to have a knowledgeable writer. Her style is antiquated and doesnt reflect current eating trends or requisite food knowledge so it seems. Critics are only as good as thier worst reviews.

Nota bene: The South Philly Review and Philadelphia Weekly are sister publications and have been since PW predecessor Welcomat was established in 1971. (Edited to add: The Review was founded in 1948.)

My guess is that the editors of the former know their audience, for better or for worse, every bit as well as the editors of the latter do. The Welcomat (which was founded as a community weekly and evolved into an opinion forum under longtime editor Dan Rottenberg; I wrote a few essays for that paper not long after arriving here in 1982) changed as its audience did--or perhaps more accurately, changed to attract a different audience. That audience doesn't yet live in South Philly, though it is moving in and has pretty much completely colonized Bella Vista. Unfortunately for those readers, South Street is the demarcation line between the territories of the SPR and PW.

Edited by MarketStEl (log)

Sandy Smith, Exile on Oxford Circle, Philadelphia

"95% of success in life is showing up." --Woody Allen

My foodblogs: 1 | 2 | 3

jmbrightman

jmbrightman

Posted
Posted

Phyllis reviews on a 3-toque scale. Serving a large, icy cold martini gets you one toque. Serving a dish of olive oil with bread gets you another toque. Having the chef/owner recognize her and schmooze a bit will get the third toque, and a review suitable for framing. It has been her formula for many years.

MarketStEl

MarketStEl

Posted
Posted
Phyllis reviews on a 3-toque scale.  Serving a large, icy cold martini gets you one toque.  Serving a dish of olive oil with bread gets you another toque.  Having the chef/owner recognize her and schmooze a bit will get the third toque, and a review suitable for framing.  It has been her formula for many years.

Highest professional standards, I see.

Well, it is a community weekly, though generally regarded as one of the best of its kind in the state--but that's mainly on the strength of its news reporting, not its criticism.

Sandy Smith, Exile on Oxford Circle, Philadelphia

"95% of success in life is showing up." --Woody Allen

My foodblogs: 1 | 2 | 3

serpentine

serpentine

Posted
Posted
Well, it is a community weekly, though generally regarded as one of the best of its kind in the state--but that's mainly on the strength of its news reporting, not its criticism.

Generally regarded as such by whom?!

jmbrightman

jmbrightman

Posted
Posted
Well, it is a community weekly, though generally regarded as one of the best of its kind in the state--but that's mainly on the strength of its news reporting, not its criticism.

Generally regarded as such by whom?!

The Pennsylvania Newspaper Association's Keystone Press Awards. The Review typically is in the top 3 annually for local news and feature writing, as well as photography.

Vadouvan

Vadouvan

Posted
Posted

No offense but is "Trey Popp" a real name or pseudonym ?

I know the city paper was looking for a new writer a few weeks ago....?

Great review nonetheless.

I dont get the part about squash blossoms and tomatoes.....?

Diann

Diann

Posted
Posted
No offense but is "Trey Popp" a real name or pseudonym ?

I know the city paper was looking for a new writer a few weeks ago....?

Great review nonetheless.

I dont get the part about squash blossoms and tomatoes.....?

I think Trey Popp is his real name, I've read his reviews before (he's not new to Citypaper).

Squash blossoms and tomatoes, I think the guy is just saying it's winter, he wants to eat hearty winter food like kale, not unripe tomatoes. The whole seasonal thing.

Vadouvan

Vadouvan

Posted
Posted
Squash blossoms and tomatoes, I think the guy is just saying it's winter, he wants to eat hearty winter food like kale, not unripe tomatoes. The whole seasonal thing.

I guess that is true, the concept of seasonality is complicated due to greenhouses and hydroponics.

You can get good tomatoes and zucchini flowers right now.

Certainly better tomatoes will be had in the summer but zuchin flowers from greenhouses are virtually indistiguishable.

When are we going to james Diann

serpentine

serpentine

Posted
Posted
I guess that is true, the concept of seasonality is complicated due to greenhouses and hydroponics.

You can get good tomatoes and zucchini flowers right now.

Certainly better tomatoes will be had in the summer but zuchin flowers from greenhouses are virtually indistiguishable.

That tasty zucchini flowers are available is not at all the point.

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