Finest Binge: Summary

Across 5 meals comprising significant critical acclaim across two cities, I was exposed to a broad range of ingredients, flavors, techniques, dining rooms and service.  I learned a lot about all of these elements and of my belief of what makes a meal great.  I tried to avoid comparisons across these restaurants in individual post, as each dinner certainly deserves space for its story & experience.  This post is the opposite; this post will compare everything experienced in this week of great eating.

It's hard to pinpoint which meal was "the best."  Marea was hearty & satisfying; Bon Soiree was creative & stunningly well-executed; Next's el Bulli was clever, and enjoyably hands-on; The Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare was a spectacle of precision applied to perfect ingredients.  I give the edge to el Bulli for its interactivity & historical significance.  The friend who was with me for the week preferred Bon Soiree.  I'd gladly have any of these meals again (including Eleven Madison Park, though I won't be funding their chance at redemption).

Most impressive was Bon Soiree.  I might be biased by the BYO aspect & enjoyable bottles I took, but to have that meal outperform EMP, challenge Next's el Bulli menu for overall quality, and come with such a relaxed, enjoyable atmosphere made a great experience.

Most memorable dishes: composed duck plate & the raw ingredients from Chef's Table (along with the spectacle of caviar scooping); pheasant dish with a chocolate-influenced sauce at EMP; pasta dishes at Marea; motoyaki, duck, "Chocolate 8 ways" at Bonsoiree; rabbit & shrimp dishes at Next.  These have all hung in my mind as standards for great dishes.

The lasting impression of those dishes, meals, and varied formats have been implanted in my mind and compared against all fine dining meals since then.  It's been over 6 months now, and the memories are still vivid.  This week will always stick with me as an educational experience and surely formative on all future food experiences.

Finest Binge: Introduction

This is the first of 7 entries chronicling a week of great dining experiences: 8 days, 5 meals, ~12 Michelin stars, a few of the world's toughest reservations, and a bit of comparison between America's 2 greatest culinary cities, New York & Chicago.

The concept began simply as a weekend trip.  I had a friend living in New York who planned to move away from the city in February.  Having only been to NYC once before (visiting her last November) and realizing this was probably my last chance to go back with a free place to sleep, we started planning a last hurrah / "pack up the apartment" weekend.
One Monday in January I downloaded an auto-redial app for my phone, blocked off an hour on the work calendar, and the first reservation came: Friday, Brooklyn Fare.  Soon after my friend booked a table at Eleven Madison Park for Saturday night.   Planning non-food activities during the day Friday & Saturday--plus a group going away dinner Sunday night--left us only with lunch Sunday.  Marea would fill that gap.  One serious food weekend was on tap.
Not long after these plans were set, Next season tickets went on sale.  I was number 718 in line; guaranteed a table, but rather deep in the queue.  When the following Friday came up available for Next's elBulli menu, I couldn't turn it down.  Now it became a two city event.  Then--via Twitter--Shin Thompson offered a free dinner for two as the prize for helping him creatively celebrate Valentine's Day.  He liked my idea, and we lined up Bonsoiree for dinner Thursday.  
The schedule was set:

• Friday 2/17: Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare
• 2/18: Eleven Madison Park
• 2/19: Marea
• 2/23: Bonsoiree
• 2/24: Next: elBulli

As these plans are more aggressive than my typical eating habits, I held high expectations--not only of the food, but of the educational benefits from having these meals so closely together.  In the weeks leading up to this beautiful binge, many questions crossed my mind: what new foods & flavors would I encounter?  How high is the bar set by these restaurants?  Will the Chicago & New York scenes feel significantly different?  Will there be challenging dishes I fail to understand?  Is fine dining something I enjoy--will I actually like all of these meals?

This series of blog posts hopes to convey the answers I found and detail the experience of each restaurant.  My New York friend, a culinary school graduate & line cook in the fine-dining realm, accompanied me for all of these meals and provided a professional palate with kitchen insight.

Following this entry I will create a post for each of the 5 meals mentioned above.  Then a summary piece.  I hope these are educational & interesting; it was quite a memorable week and I want to share the experience.  Feel free to comment if you have a question.  Thank you for reading.

The Film Bender

Another one I’m slow to post...this was from September of last year.  Again, better late than never...

Recently I went on a food binge; sort of.  It was a binge on food documentaries.  I browsed the streaming selection of Netflix and a few documentaries caught my eye.  Several hours later I was downing vitamins & had sworn off processed foods and meat.  Well almost, but the arguments presented were more powerful than I expected.  Here’s a rundown of what I watched & some of my thoughts:

• Forks Over Knives.  My favorite of the 3, this focused on health benefits of a “whole foods, plant-based diet.”
• Good: presented strong facts based on research conducted by sources that felt credible
• Bad: it was a bit vague on some details.  Ex.: no mention as to whether or not fish contain what they present as harmful protein
• Hardest hitting point: rather strong evidence that high consumption of meat can aggravate/accelerate some types of cancer
• Watch if: you are skeptical of vegetarian or vegan diets.  This piece does a good job avoiding the humanitarian motivation in favor of health & science
• Food Matters spent significant time describing the benefits of nutrition, the body’s ability to heal itself, and the fallacy of “a pill for every ill”
• Good: grounded in the single stance of “nutrition,” this provided good detail on what the subjects believed. Ex.: Niacin to treat depression
• Bad: did little to develop the credibility of those presenting their ideas.  A bit too much conspiracy theory and “well this worked for my cousin”
• Hardest hitting point: after years of denying Prozac actually increased risk of suicide, Eli Lilly filed for a new patent--citing that the new drug did not cause these side effects (http://www.narpa.org/prozac.revisited.htm)
• Watch if: you’re into the emotional side of things, or have particular interest in nutritional treatment of cancer
• Food Inc is probably the most widely known food documentary.  It focuses on the influence & detrimental impact of large agriculture businesses.
• Good: the deep research into multiple industries (beef, chicken, corn) brought out common, important, believable themes
• Bad: I’m not won over by the humanitarian appeal, so some scenes were a bit lost on me (growing up in a rural setting numbed me I suppose)
• Hardest hitting point: the development & transportation of corn, much of it used to feed animals, accounts for a significant portion of our nation’s fuel consumption
• Watch if: you have a strong concern for animal rights, or an interest in understanding how agribusiness works

In sum, watching these 3 films did impact my diet.  More greens, more fruit, and a bit more thought to where my food comes from.  While the points made in these films are occasionally drastic, the changes necessary to adopt their principals are minimal.  I’d encourage anyone to watch with an open mind and consider what one’s diet is doing for their body.

Michel Ruhlman at The Butcher & Larder

I wrote this up waayy back in October, shortly after Michael Ruhlman visited Rob Levitt's butcher shop to discuss hits latest book, Twenty, and share the merits of cooking.  Better late than never...

Michael Ruhlman, author of many great books around the subjects of chefs & cooking, recently made several appearances in Chicago to promote his latest book, “Twenty.”  He’s always done a great job getting his hands dirty in the kitchen, then explaining complex elements into easily understood concepts anyone can comprehend.  I’m a fan, so I was clearly in when given the chance to hear him speak at The Butcher & Larder.  It was a scene of ~25 folks intently listening to Ruhlman discuss Twenty, chefs he’s worked with, and the importance of cooking.  Rob added commentary along the way as he made sausage that would eventually become part of Escarole soup (from Twenty).

The candor conveyed by Ruhlman was impressive.  He showed passion to get more people cooking--”cooking well is living well.”  He stated that people don’t think enough about cooking; that most people let a recipe do the work for them.  This mindset allows them to think that cooking is difficult, when it really isn’t (I was nodding my head here).  His way of framing it: “It pisses me off that so many people can’t roast a chicken.”  Touche.  It shouldn’t be so hard to get folks to pull out a pan & invest a bit of time into cooking, but it is.  His books “Ratio” and “Twenty” aim to break down the “cooking is hard” attitude by providing concepts that are easy to grasp & apply across many dishes/recipes/tasks.  

His talk was great; he said a lot of things that were quite insightful.  The trouble is in spreading the message--sure a lot of food-focused people understand what he says and see cooking as an essential, obtainable exercise...but what about those that view the kitchen as a daunting arena?  Someone who believes that cooking is difficult isn’t likely to pick up a cookbook and believe that they can cook.  It is yet to be seen how far-reaching the food movements currently underway can be.  While it’s unclear whether or not cooking hatred can be overcome on the broad scale, Michael Ruhlman has certainly provided materials to be a catalyst to change.  

Fun with pairings

Bbq, terragon pepper, "butchers rub," and sweet & sour grilled chicken with cauliflower and cous cous served alongside 3 wines from the past week.  Interesting and educational!

BBQ--paired best with the Gewurz
Terragon pepper--best with Gewurz, good with the rose too
Sweet & Sour--great with the Pinot
Butcher's rub--outstanding with the Pinot

• 2004 Franz Hirtzberger Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Rotes Tor - Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau (3/30/2010)
  Note after a few hours of being open while on ice.
  Nose of honey, a touch of florals, white peach, pear, and an occasional mineral streak. Feel in the mouth is medium or richer, with a nice honey backdrop allowing for various white & citrus fruits layered on top; nuances of dried florals present themselves as well. A touch of sweetness is intriguing. Finishes with a mineral acidity accented by a touch of mild white pepper on apricot, white melon, and generic citrus fruits. Juicy, mouth-watering acidic flavors carry on for quite a while. Drinking great tonight. 90-92 (91 pts.)
  
• 2002 Mount Cass Pinot Noir - New Zealand, South Island, Canterbury, Waipara (3/30/2010)
  After a few hours past opening (no decanter though), nose is cherry, some root vegetable, and a touch of funk. Tasting brings an overarching earthiness, with bright acid in cherry form buttressing a medium, complete mouthfeel. Transitions to vibrant, more fruit forward black cherry, raspberry, cherry, and nicely acidic finish. Tannins are almost completely resolved.
  
  Likely drinking at peak, but food friendly despite leaning (slightly) toward a fruit-forward profile. Had with a sweet corn, bacon, and cheddar risotto and proved to be an admirable pairing. (88 pts.)
  
• 2007 Murphy's Law Lemberger Rosé - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley (3/29/2010)
  Nose of strawberry puree, bubble gum, and a hint of floral & citrus too. Tastes of strawberry bubblegum, transitions to candied bright red berries & that hint of citrus. Good acid, enjoyable body, but a short finish. I like it though; a nice food friendly sipper (82 pts.)
  

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