PLAT DU JOUR: NORI CHIPS

NORI CHIPS

WILL THE REAL LYKKE LI PLEASE STAND UP?

My absolutely favorite (and current) obsession which can be heard at any given time in the dining room, Lykke Li.

View my fav vid of her here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngd45o-M_M4

LYKKE LILYS!

Meet Lily Kate, the newest addition to our family. (I know it's not restaurant-related, but c'mon, how could anyone resist? So, if we close early because we have an empty dining room, now you know why. She's hungry too!)

PLAT DU JOUR: ESCOLAR

ROASTED ESCOLAR

>> fiddlehead ferns, asparagus, carrot, peas, carrot emulsion, mico amerith

JOKE OF THE DAY.

One of my first lessons in the restaurant world (and inevitably one that I am constantly reminding myself of) was to make it clear to all when I am present. Even if I've been in the closet we refer to as our office for a couple of hours, it's quite easy for the staff (and my husband) to forget. If you don't constantly make it known which part of the restaurant you are in at all times, you are undoubtedly going to either hear something you'd rather not hear or be the unintentional target some prank or another. And, more times than not, the red dot always falls on my chest.

Today; however, was different.

Yes, today was the day when the joke was not on me.

It all started when Flo came off the line and into the office during lunch service.

"Hey, did you see that Kaleb is at table 42?" he asked. (Kaleb is one of our old servers who still pops in from time to time through the back door, donuts in hand and as if he's coming in for shift)

Without even looking away from the computer screen, I veered a tad towards him, "That's not K-Love. I just sat them a few minutes ago, silly."

"Aww, man," he chuckled, and walked away.

Minutes later, I made my way near the kitchen bar, and set my sights on Christopher.

"Hey, are you going to go talk to Kaleb? He's at 42," I asked.

"Yeah, in a sec," he said, unconvincingly.

Assuming that the battle had been lost, and looking down at the ticket that was being shoved into my hand, I returned to my post at the register.

From across the dining room, I made eye contact with Flo. As if reading my mind, he mouthed, "He already knows."

Just as soon as the words were lipped, Christopher cut us off from view of one another, rounding the corner from the kitchen and into the dining room.

"Hey," he screams, "What're you doing in town?" as he bolts to the table.

Startled, the couple faces him - Christopher realizes he's been the butt of the joke.

"Uhhh," he struggles, "I'm so sorry. I thought you were someone else."

From all angles of the restaurant, laughter could be heard. As Christopher retreats back, he turns his head toward me taking in the huge grin on my face.

For once, the joke's not on me.

((I'd like to add that for their unwilling participation in our little scheme, the couple indulged in a complimentary dessert, along with a mass of apologies. I really didn't think Christopher believed me. Turns out, the guy knew Christopher from a culinary class and had wanted him to come out to talk to him anyways. Yes!))

PLAT DU JOUR: FALL BEET SALAD

FALL BEET SALAD

>> pickled beet puree, radish, grapefruit, candied pine nut, curly cress

FRESH MEAT

We are ready to bite into some inspiration and luckily, these are about to hit our doorstep and one of our shelves (above pic). Even though the last one won't arrive until late December, nevertheless, they are coming. You should grab a copy for yourself, foodie or non-foodie alike!


ALINEA
BY GRANT ACHATZ
"A pioneer in American cuisine, chef Grant Achatz represents the best of the molecular gastronomy movement-brilliant fundamentals and exquisite taste paired with a groundbreaking approach to new techniques and equipment. ALINEA showcases Achatz's cuisine with more than 100 dishes (totaling 600 recipes) and 600 photographs presented in a deluxe volume. Three feature pieces frame the book: Michael Ruhlman considers Alinea's role in the global dining scene, Jeffrey Steingarten offers his distinctive take on dining at the restaurant, and Mark McClusky explores the role of technology in the Alinea kitchen. Buyers of the book will receive access to a website featuring video demonstrations, interviews, and an online forum that allows readers to interact with Achatz and his team...

...The debut cookbook from the restaurant Gourmet magazine named the best in the country...Alinea holds the Five Diamond Award from AAA and Five Stars from Mobil, and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the Washington Post."



UNDER PRESSURE: COOKING SOUS VIDE
BY THOMAS KELLER
"Sous Vide is the culinary innovation that has everyone in the food world talking. In this revolutionary new cookbook, Thomas Keller, America's most respected chef, explains why this foolproof technique, which involves cooking at precise temperatures below simmering, yields results that other culinary methods cannot. For the first time, one can achieve short ribs that are meltingly tender even when cooked medium rare. Fish, which has a small window of doneness, is easier to finesse, and shellfish stays succulent no matter how long it's been on the stove. Fruit and vegetables benefit, too, retaining color and flavor while undergoing remarkable transformations in texture...

...Through years of trial and error, Keller and his chefs de cuisine have blazed the trail to perfection—and they show the way in this collection of never-before-published recipes from his landmark restaurants—The French Laundry in Napa Valley and Per Se in New York."



A DAY AT ELBULLI
BY FERRAN ADRIA, JULI SOLER, ALBERT ADRIA
"A Day at elBulli: An Insight into the Ideas, Methods and Creativity of Ferran Adria reveals for the first time the creative process, innovative philosophy and extraordinary techniques of the multi-award-winning restaurant, elBulli, and its legendary head chef, Ferran Adria...

...Situated on a remote beach on the northeast coast of Spain, elBulli is famous for being the ultimate pilgrimage site for foodies, and a reservation that is nearly impossible to obtain. Each year elBulli is open for just six months, and receives more than 2 million requests for only 8,000 seats. Renowned for his spectacular ever-changing 30-course tasting menu, Adria's pioneering culinary techniques have been applauded - and imitated - by top chefs around the globe for the past decade, and he was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people of our time...

...If you weren't one of the lucky few to get in this year (2008 reservations were booked a year in advance), you can now experience the restaurant like never before. This generously-illustrated 600-page ''day in the life'' features over 800 photographs, menus, recipes and diagrams, and presents a guided tour through a full working day at elBulli."



THE BIG FAT DUCK COOKBOOK
BY HESTON BLUMENTHAL
"The authoritative must-have from the culinary genius behind The Fat Duck, the restaurant named best in the world by Restaurant magazine...

...This lavishly illustrated, stunningly designed, and gorgeously photographed masterpiece takes you inside the head of maverick restaurateur, Heston Blumenthal. Separated into three sections (History; Recipes; Science), Blumenthal chronicles his improbable background and unorthodox rise to fame and, for the first time ever, offers a mouth-watering and eyes-widening selection of recipes from his award-winning restaurant. He also explains the science behind his culinary masterpieces, the technology and implements that make his alchemic dishes come to life...

...Chef Heston Blumenthal has been described as a culinary alchemist for his innovative style of cuisine. His work researches the molecular compounds of dishes so as to enable a greater understanding of taste and flavor. His restaurant The Fat Duck, in Bray, Berkshire, was awarded three Michelin stars in 2004, and voted the Best Restaurant in the World by an international panel of 500 culinary experts in Restaurant Magazine’s list of the World’s Best Restaurants 2005."



THE COMPLETE ROBUCHON
BY JOEL ROBUCHON
"An incomparable culinary treasury: the definitive guide to French cooking for the way we live now, from the man the Gault Millau guide has proclaimed 'Chef of the Century'...

...Joël Robuchon’s restaurant empire stretches from Paris to New York, Las Vegas to Tokyo, London to Hong Kong. He holds more Michelin stars than any other chef. Now this great master gives us his supremely authoritative renditions of virtually the entire French culinary repertoire, adapted for the home cook and the contemporary palate...

...Here are more than 800 precise, easy-to-follow, step-by-step recipes, including Robuchon’s updated versions of great classics—Pot-au-Feu, Sole Meunière, Cherry Custard Tart—as well as dozens of less well-known but equally scrumptious salads, roasts, gratins, and stews. Here, too, are a surprising variety of regional specialties (star turns like Aristide Couteaux’s variation on Hare Royale) and such essential favorites as scrambled eggs. Emphasizing quality ingredients and the brilliant but simple marriage of candid flavors—the genius for which he is rightly celebrated—Robuchon encourages the beginner with jargon-free, impeccable instructions in technique, while offering the practiced cook exciting paths for experimentation...

...The Complete Robuchon is a book to be consulted again and again, a magnificent resource no kitchen should be without."



DESSERT FOURPLAY: SWEET QUARTETS FROM A FOUR-STAR PASTRY CHEF
BY JOHNNY IUZZINI, ROY FINAMORE
"Consider the strawberry: its familiar flavor and texture; its fresh, sweet smell. Now imagine the same fruit distilled and carbonated for a refreshing soda, slow-roasted for a reinvented strawberry shortcake, made into a creamy strawberry ice cream and a chewy strawberry leather, and combined with coconut cream and crisp chocolate pastry. Alone, each dessert is a taste of paradise, but together this “fourplay,” or tasting, created by Johnny Iuzzini, superstar pastry chef of the celebrated four-star restaurant Jean Georges in New York, is a sophisticated explosion of a familiar flavor that begins with the taste of strawberry rich on your tongue and ends with an effervescent tingle in your nose...

...Far from the conventional slice of cake at the end of a meal, Johnny’s seasonal creations—four mini desserts in a quartet of complementary flavors and textures—are a culinary adventure. In Dessert FourPlay, he shares his secrets and inspirations, delivering standout recipes for incredible desserts that can be served alone or combined into his signature fourplay groupings, creating the perfect sweet finale for any meal...

...With the home cook in mind, Johnny offers tips on simplifying professional recipes and provides basic recipes for transcendent cakes, cookies, tuiles, ice creams, sorbets, granités, and more. These building blocks can be used to create magnificent multifaceted desserts, or they can be perfect desserts by themselves. Some recipes have surprising versatility: the shiny smooth chocolate glaze Johnny uses to ice cakes doubles as the ultimate hot fudge sauce; a lemony madeleine batter becomes a layer in a cake...

...Iuzzini pairs cool with hot, crispy with creamy, sweet with spicy, and the expected—chocolate, strawberries, and cinnamon—with the unexpected—chiles, beets, and chocolatey puffs. The result: desserts that refresh, inspire, and satisfy beyond expectations. Dessert FourPlay invigorates all the senses and inspires home cooks to create innovative desserts of their own."

((ALL PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS FROM AMAZON.COM))