OT: Laguna dining ripoff

A few weeks ago in Santa Fe, I enjoyed a wonder foie gras-centric meal at The Compound on Canyon Rd. First course (I think I've mentioned this before, so apologies in advance) was FG with sweetbreads--a wonderful combination if one must combine FG with anything. Then a FG based sauce on a rare filet of beef.

Both dishes are specialties of the house. Ed Rasimus Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret) "When Thunder Rolled" "Phantom Flights, Bangkok Nights" Both from Smithsonian Books

Dunno about Garretson: Dale's tastes and my own are quite similar, and I liked Garretson's wines (though not his pricing) quite a lot.

Mark Lipton

Ris de veau is my other favourite food, so I would never complain about combining the two.

The very thought of the two together, with flash seared exterior, a little crispy in the case of the sweetbreads, and soft smooth interior has my mouth watering. Damn you Sir! My lunch of salad eaten at my desk just isn't going to satisfy today.. :-(

My wife knows that if she spots sweetbreads on a menu, she doesn't need to bother asking what I'm having for that course! My preferences for wine tend to be big whites or delicate Pinot Noir, depending on preparation- what do you like? Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

Bill, I think you'd actually like the DB Burger. Boulud's crew puts a filling of foie gras and short ribs meat inside good ground beef. It's shockingly good (admittedly the foie gras is an accent, but it does add to the dish). I haven't had the seasonal version where they add black truffle shavings. Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

] On 06 Aug 2004 17:10:45 GMT, snipped-for-privacy@aol.comnojunk (Bill Spohn) wrote: ] ] >>BTW Bill is canadian. ] >

] >I was willing to forgive his inadvertent insult in thinking me American...... ] ] Undeniably North American. And, I've already forgiven your inadvertent ] insult in thinking that being thought of as American would be ] insulting. ]

OK Ed, Bill, Brian and whom it may concern. With foot firmly in mouth I recant any implication that Canada is not part of America. Hopefully that will halt the recursion... :)

-E

Hi All, Don't know if this applies or not, but on a recent trip to San Diego, CA, where most restaurants post their menu by the door, we were amazed to see a restaurant displaying a menu with no prices whatsoever. I can understand "current price" for lobster, but how much is a salad? $2.95 or $50.00? I can only surmise that the restaurant catered to folks who have more money than ... common sense ... whatever. We didn't eat there, and it didn't appear that too many other folks did either.

Dick

That is an interesting point. I've only had it occur in one "fine-dining" establishment, and resented not being shown the bottle. I'll ask that many wines be decanted, and often this takes place out of sight, though not always. In these cases, I've not detected a switcheroo, though in many "by-the-glass" places, I have. I feel that you should be shown the bottle to approve, or disapprove. If decanting is done, and is done away from the table, I'd like the opportunity to taste the wine, when the bottle is opened, and again, approve, or disapprove - then the decanting can take place elsewhere. Yes, there is a certain trust at this point, but a quick taste, once decanting is done, should dispell any suspicions, that the wine was switched in a back room and the kitchen staff is heartily enjoying my '94 Caymus SS, while my guests are getting Rex Goliath!

Wish and courteous choices.

Hunt

Ian,

Thank you for your insight. I've made notations and will explore the geography some. It's often difficult to glean much from the food critics, unless you follow them and know their preferences. Some of the US places with the best reviews, must have sent out very well prepared press kits, and the critic phoned in the review. I've staked out a few newer locations in Mayfair, and Soho, as they are very easy walks from our inn. I'm trying to get the schedules together now, so reservations can be made almost two months out. From the press, some of these places are probably like the French Laundry in Yountville, where six months out, they are full.

I appreciate your time and consideration, Hunt

We Canadians are in America - North America.

We are NOT, however, Americans, nor in the USA, and don't make me go back and burn Washington DC again to prove it - the price of gas being what it is, and me on the West Coast, it would be an expensive point to make......

Ah - anything from a rich chard (on days when I am not on strike against the American or Australian wanton abuse of oak), to a soft off-dry wine like a Vouvray (the Sec also works), a Riesling (German by preference), or an acidic Savennieres, Pinot Gris, or Viognier.

In reds I'd agree with the Burg, and add a petite chateaux Bordeaux, a Loire Cab Franc, perhaps a nice Saumur Champigny, and an old style Italian Barbera, with some terminal acidity.

It all depends on how you prepare them of course; they are so adaptable.

I'll forward the offer you can't refuse. If you should find yourself in the Southwestern Colonies at any time in the future, let me know and I'll meet you at the Compound and I'll buy!

It would be an honor to benefit from your wine knowledge and I'm only about five hours North of Santa Fe.

(Of course, you'd be dining with a crass provincial.)

Ed Rasimus Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret) "When Thunder Rolled" "Phantom Flights, Bangkok Nights" Both from Smithsonian Books

Ohmigod! Be still my palpitating cholesterol encrusted heart. What a concept to ponder this evening over an orecchiette and salmon cold pasta salad, probably with a Gary Farrell Russian River Valley PN.

Ed Rasimus Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret) "When Thunder Rolled" "Phantom Flights, Bangkok Nights" Both from Smithsonian Books

Crass? I should think not. Ex-colonial? Indeed, so are we both, but the difference is that one of us is proud of the 'ex' part and the other occasionally regrets it....

By the same token, if you ever get up this way (as several people have done in the past, Mr. Lipton included, though he missed out on a Gavroche experience) I shall arrange a foie gras and sweetbread experience for you!

Mr. Hoare will be the next member of this group to share a trencher with us (what the heck, we'll give him his own), so I'll let him report back.

A sign in the Red Dog Saloon in Juneau, Alaska reads -

"If our food, drinks and service are not up to your standards Please lower your standards"

-- st.helier

At Gramercy tavern we had a tasting menu. One course was a single, very pink, lamb cutlet. I don't recall being asked.

I'm really surprised by your comment, though. I respect your experience, but clearly our expectations are different. Almost everywhere asks about beef steaks, except for those places with a strong-minded (arrogant?) chef who insists on you eating the food as he "created" it, but I have rarely, if ever, been asked about other meat. As for fish, I wouldn't even know how to answer how well done I like my salmon. If asked, I suppose I would say to do it the way they think is best.

What is your feeling about doneness of roasts? In the UK earlier this year at MPW's Belvedere in Holand Park, the lunch roast beef was quite underdone - too rare for some of our party, but you don't get to choose. At another place, my sister sent back her saddle of lamb as too undercooked, but again, no chance to specify. It's a very long time since I have lunched at Simpsons in the Strand in London, but I recall huge roasts being carved in front of you, with a choice of doneness - they ensured that the ends of the meat were cooked to different degrees of doneness.

--brian

Were I dining at the Red Dog Saloon, I would probably heed their advice.

Hunt

I seldom go to fine restaurants anymore. There are no really good ones in my area. And for my taste, few, if any remain in the US. The only reason I see for going to a fine restaurant is if they have a chef who can prepare food that is much better than can easily be prepared at home. Since I now have a mature collection of fine wines collected over many years, their wine lists seldom interest me at their usually highly inflated prices. If you want caviar, Wagyu beef, foie gras, and such you can now have top grades of these shipped overnight, and it does not take a good chef to prepare or serve these. I like the classic lightly poached whole fresh foie gras such as Petrossian sells, and want nothing to do with a rare piece of seared foie gras. I do like my steak rare, but not nearly raw.

My standard for restaurant comparison is the now long-gone Le Pavillion in New York City. Although I only ate there a time or two in, I believe, the early 60s, it forever showed me what a fine restaurant should be and how inferior most others were on comparison. The French restaurant Le Pavillion at the 1938 New York World Fair opened the eyes of the US to what fine French food could be now that fine wines were again possible with the end of prohibition in 1933. To meet the new demand for a fine French restaurant, Le Pavillion was more or less moved to Manhattan after the fair. I do not know anything about these early days. After WWII Le Pavillion was described by some as the only fine restaurant in the US. Not everyone would agree with this, of course.

When I dined at Le Pavillion, it was a fairly large restaurant with a quite large, well trained staff with the maitre d' in white tie and tails, the captains in tuxedo, etc. You were met by a person who may have been the owner and a very friendly check room lady. The maitre d' seemed friendly and took you to your table at once. A wait captain then at once came over with a menu and if you wanted wine, a wine list was at once produced. You were then given time to look at the menus. If you looked up and in the direction of the staff, someone was soon at your table. There were no long speeches. I asked what might go best with the wine I wanted to order. The roast lamb was suggested. I had a garnished consomme to start. This was made from scratch in the classic manner and made that served in most restaurants seem like dish water on comparison. I can only describe the lamb as infant lamb. It was roasted to a fine rare, but not raw, state to capture the best flavor, was perfectly seasoned, and had two tiny lamb rib chops, about the size of a US silver dollar, as garnish. It neary would melt in your mouth. I do not remember the name of the sauce, but it would be the envy of Escoffier himself. The suggested dessert was a classic fruit tart. The puff pastry was absolutely perfect and seemed light despite the richness. The berries were perfectly arranged in circles and covered with a perfect fruit glaze that was so clear it nearly sparkled. There was no rush. When you looked out in the direction of some of the wait staff, someone soon came to ask if you were ready for the next course. Soon dishes were removed, and the next course appeared.

The wine list was large, but not huge. It listed mainly French wines with first growth Bordeauxs going back many years. There were also many half bottles incuding first growths. The wine prices were not nearly as inflated as at many New York City hote restaurants at the time.

The decor was classic, and might not have been out of place on a smaller scale at a large French or English estate dining room.

These days, most so-called fine restaurants are too lazy or do not know how to produce a classic consomme or a proper classic sauce. I am sorry, but some kind of "juice" sloshing around your meat is no substitute for a proper sauce. The "juice" most likely is a reaction to lazy chefs who made sauce from canned stock and too much flour.

As for the restaurant in the LA area, I likely would have either walked out the door or demanded the manager when the fuss was made over the reservations. Of course if you are not alone, you sometimes have to be a little more flexible.

My mailbox is always full to avoid spam. To contact me, erase snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net from my email address. Then add snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com . I do not check this box every day, so post if you need a quick response.