Deux Cheminees

[steflink]

Is the prixe fixe at Deux Cheminees $85 per person? Does it live up to the hype? My husband and I are thinking of dining there next week.

Stephanie

[Diann]

(This was the only thread I found on Deux Cheminees, so I'm going to use it.)

Somewhat unsurprisingly, Michael Klein reports that Deux Cheminees is closing in June, Fritz Blank is moving to Thailand, the building is being sold, and as previously reported, his HUGE library is being donated to Penn.

I know it's a Philadelphia institution and all -- question is, should I rush over there for a dinner before they close? How is it nowadays? Anyone been?

Edited February 27, 2007 by Diann (log)

[philadining]

There was a brief discussion of a recent visit in this thread. The report was of an enjoyable, if uneven, meal. But I've had the same thoughts, should I shoot over there and have some Fritz Blank food before he skips town?

[Vadouvan]

(This was the only thread I found on Deux Cheminees, so I'm going to use it.)

Somewhat unsurprisingly, Michael Klein reports that Deux Cheminees is closing in June, Fritz Blank is moving to Thailand, the building is being sold, and as previously reported, his HUGE library is being donated to Penn.

I know it's a Philadelphia institution and all -- question is, should I rush over there for a dinner before they close? How is it nowadays? Anyone been?

It may be worth it for nostalgia, I cannot comment on the food as I havent experienced it in 3 years. For multiple reasons not limited to it's size and location, the building alone regardless of what is inside it is worth several million dollars.

It's one of the last few privately owned buildings in Philadelphia designed by Frank Furness AIA.

I bet the realtors are scrambling like vultures already.......

http://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/a...chitectId=A0478

Edited February 27, 2007 by Vadouvan (log)

[shacke]

I would give this a complete and total pass given the myriad of other dining options in the city. Been twice, last one was about 2 years ago but I doubt anything has changed.

BOOOR-ing.

[I_call_the_duck]

An article in today's Philadelphia Business Journal stated that the restaurant is expected to close June 8.

According to the posts upthread, the food may not be as good as it was in its heydey to deserve one last meal there, but here's a nice juicy tidbit that just may convince me to stop by.

Before closing, on May 26-27, Blank plans an on-premises "tag sale for foodies" to liquidate what he refers to as "my entire household of books, kitchenware, furniture, ephemera, memorabilia, tableware, and other assorted 'things' and collectibles," Blank wrote on his blog.

The sale will include French copperware, beer steins, miniature animal "statuaries," food-related post cards, cookie jars, assorted crystal, candy dishes, bookcases, side boards, desks and many other items.

On one hand it would feel as if I'm going through a dead (or dying) relative's belongings, but on the other hand, I'm sure there's some pretty cool stuff in there, and it's not as if I'm getting the stuff for free.

Wondering what he's going to do with that table?

[MarketStEl]

It may be worth it for nostalgia, I cannot comment on the food as I havent experienced it in 3 years. For multiple reasons not limited to it's size and location, the building alone regardless of what is inside it is worth several million dollars.

It's one of the last few privately owned buildings in Philadelphia designed by Frank Furness AIA.

I bet the realtors are scrambling like vultures already.......

http://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/a...chitectId=A0478

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Sotheby's has a lovely Italianate building just two doors down on the block already; the building's been pretty much vacant since Bauman Rare Books left it last summer.

And there's that burned-out shell of a condo conversion catercorner.

I hope it sells quickly, but fear it may not.

[katbert]

Details for the tag sale for Deux Cheminees

mmm, french copper. Someone please go and check it out, I don't know if I'll be in town that weekend.

[mattohara]

i'll be there at 7am with camera

[wkl]

any guesses what the per pound price for the copper will be? isn't copper pretty expensive these days? i wonder if the price will be the current market quotes for copper.

also, is there any added value in used copper cookware as oppossed to new?

[KatieLoeb]

also, is there any added value in used copper cookware as oppossed to new?

Do I need to know the current price of copper if I'm not planning to melt the pan down? I dunno. Can you put a price on the karma that comes with a pan that's been used by a brilliant chef and cooked dishes that made happy memories for hundreds if not thousands of people?

I'd say that's worth the price of admission right there. The pan comes with good vibes in it already. Works for me.

[wkl]

"Do I need to know the current price of copper if I'm not planning to melt the pan down? I dunno."

katie, i was wondering because the link above states the copper cookware is being priced "by the pound".

i'm just thinking current prices will make the used cookware just as pricey as new stuff. and definetly more expensive than when he originally purchased it.

i thought maybe there would be some decent deals on the copper cookware because it's used.

[Vadouvan]

i'm just thinking current prices will make the used cookware just as pricey as new stuff. and definetly more expensive than when he originally purchased it.

Bill you are correct.

The weight of a heavy old copper pot multiplied by the current price of copper makes the old pan more expensive than a brand new copper pot of the same size.

Additionally the new copper pot (in all likelyhood) will be one that is lined with stainless steel (which is permanent), and not tin (which erodes quickly).

If you further add the cost of re-tinning (which is outrageously expensive assuming you can find anyone who still does it) to the old pot, the price by the pund becomes completely absurd if you are buying the pots for anything but nostalgia.

Copper is really just romantic, stainless steel is the best cooking medium.

[KatieLoeb]

Oh. Well that's enitrely different, a Miss Emily Litella would say.

I guess I didn't read the link too closely. If it's pricier than a brand new one then it's really not worth it, good skillet karma or not.

[MarketStEl]

Stainless steel the best cooking medium?

I've been led to believe otherwise -- that aluminum conducted heat faster and cooled down faster. The makers of Farberware (stainless steel pots with aluminum-clad bottoms) and Revere Ware (stainless steel pots with copper-clad bottoms) obviously bank on this understanding of the relative performance of stainless vs. aluminum and copper respectively.

What about stainless recommends it over these two metals (besides the fact that copper pots must be lined with another metal, something aluminum pots don't need)?

[wkl]

thanks for the reply, v.

i was wondering wether the copper stuff was tin or stainless.

btw, doesn't alot of the weight of copper cookware come from the cast iron handle? i mean, how much of a copper saute pan is actually copper?

using the current price of copper to price the cookware hardly seems a reasoanable way to price these items. maybe, that isn't what chef blanck is going to do. i don't know it just seems odd to me. he must know what he wants for the stuff, why not just price it accordingly?

sandy, you should search the kitchen consumer forum. there are many threads, with informative posts by slinskey, explaining the differences between cookware surfaces.

[philadining]

Yeah, I doubt that there is going to be a ticker running, indicating the current spot market for copper. That "by weight" thing was probably just a simple way of pricing them: bigger pots = more money. If he has a lot of them, and he probably does, I can imagine just not wanting to think about how much to price each one, and just say $X per pound, done.

Copper is a great conductor, so copper pots are very responsive to the heat source, but it's not a great surface for foods (unless you're whipping egg whites) hence the tin linings. So, there's a real functional logic to using copper, but I suspect V is right that most folks do it out of sentimentality, they're not nearly as durable as other types of cookware.

BTW there are still people retinning copper, with tin, and while it's not cheap, it's not as nutty as I would have thought. Come on, you can guess it... that's right www.retinning.com

[Vadouvan]

Stainless steel the best cooking medium?

I've been led to believe otherwise -- that aluminum conducted heat faster and cooled down faster.

Yup....you were mislead.

Aluminium also reacts to acid foods unless you cover it with that grey crap that calphalon uses.

It's garbage.

Stainless heats evenly, has lower acid reactivity *AND* works on all 4 currently available cooking surfaces unlike aluminuim.

Edited May 15, 2007 by Vadouvan (log)

[brucedelta]

Stainless heats evenly, has lower acid reactivity *AND* works on all 4 currently available cooking surfaces unlike aluminuim.

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OK I give. 4 cooking surfaces?

1 - Fire based (gas, charcol, wood, etc)

2 - Induction electric

3 - Radiant electric (I include halogen in this group)

4 - ?

I can not think of number 4 (I thought of steam, but it is not a cooking surface)

V, I am sure you know this but to be fair in this context I think it needs to be acknowledged that stainless is in fact a poor thermal conductor, but a great cooking surface. That is why most good stainless is really clad cookware where some material with better thermal properties is sandwiched inside the stainless cladding.

[Vadouvan]

1.Gas

2.Electric Coil

3.Radiant Heat

4.Induction.

Induction happens to be the most efficient but it requires steel (magnetic) pots and doesnt work with copper or aluminium.

You can bring the same volume of water to a rolling boil 3 minutes faster on induction than any other heat system.

Partially correct bruce.....

Mauviel pots have excellent thermal transfer without any claddding. In conventional methods, the differences in heat transfer as so marginal as to be irrelevant so cooking surface becomes the issue for me.

[philadining]

damn, I was going to guess "nuclear"...

[mrbigjas]

damn, I was going to guess "nuclear"...

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hahaha or chemical. what is the best pot for a self-heating MRE?

[wkl]

"hahaha or chemical. what is the best pot for a self-heating MRE? "

um, colombian?

i mean, it would make it more appetizing. with the munchies and all.........

[brucedelta]

1.Gas

2.Electric Coil

3.Radiant Heat

4.Induction.

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Bzzt - I disagree. Electric coil is just a instance of radiant. In what you call radiant the coil is below or in some other surface, and therefore the coil can be manufactured in a way that optomizes performance. In a coil cook top you just have a heavy duty coil that is exposed and very durable. This large mass makes it slow to respond to tempature changes and that is why people do not like them. But, It still cooks via the same mechanisim as radiant.

One could argue that it is conduction, but if you place a coil below the glasstop it would work just fine there also, therefore proving the primary mode to be radiant.

For this reason I believe radiant and coil fall into the same catagory. If they are different then one could argue that a gas flame is distinct from a wood flame and have yet 5 catagories.

[katbert]

i'll be there at 7am with camera

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So who went?

Whatcha get?

I went to NYC and forgot to bring back bagels. But I did get a mocha millefeuille from Bouchon Bakery.