It does seem like a shame to go to a restaurant twice while I'm here in such a great culinary city. Call it laziness - Cochon is in Opentable, so that helps. We did have reservations for elsewhere originally, but I changed them last night. Cochon it was, and I think I'm even gladder.
I won't get into dinner last night. No, that's a lie: I simply have no photos. We dined at Redfish Grill across the street at the Chateau Sonesta Hotel. Busy place, but I had Opentabled it, so no worries. Large, cavernous, loud. If we'd been able to hear the waiter better we might have understood his accent a little more. The menu wasn't promising: any place that uses mushrooms in half or more of its entrees is hiding things through the use of those cheap bulking things.
My friend Bob and I ordered, and barely had the wine arrived than the dinner did too. Suspiciously fast, but then, mine was a mound of dirty rice surrounded by a few pieces of seared fish (not too bad, mostly good for the salt) and some shrimp. I should say that the shrimp was mostly shrimp heads and I was feeling to polite to suck them clean with gusto. Given this meal, small wonder it arrived in probably less than ten minutes. Turning tables was their ploy. A shame we had almost a full bottle of wine to kill. We stayed on and sipped and shared a rich dessert of peanut butter chocolate pie, then waited for quite some while to attract some attention and get the bill.
The kicker? That bit cost more than the meal the night before in which I'd had three courses, shared a half bottle of wine, and had coffee. My advice? If you actually like food, then don't bother going.
You can understand, then, why I wanted some place I had tried and liked for tonight.
I met Melissa (pictured with me - and isn't that a fabulously sharp-looking shirt on me?!) and Courtney at the Hilton at a reception that had a nice complement of Big Names. The two of them told me they needed to hang out with me more, but it's really all down to the connections Martin (pictured at the top) enjoys. Nice event, though. We walked over from there and settled down to dine.
I started with the headcheese. I gather they do a bunch of their own charcuterie at the restaurant. I don't think I've ever had headcheese before, but it sounded intriguing, and it proved to be a good choice. A little mustard, some toast. Yum!
I followed that with the rabbit and dumplings. Also good. I think I liked my cochon two nights ago more, but this was tasty. Martin also had the rabbit (hence the photo at top), CG enjoyed the brisket, and Melissa went for the oyster and bacon sandwich.
We washed it all down with a decent rose - South American, I think (Courtney ordered it). Pink wine, only a very light light ruby in colour instead. Dessert followed, and CG and I chose wisely: a cornmeal pineapple upside down cake with coconut sorbet and dulce de leche. Whoa! The sort of thing I want to lick clean. So good. I craved more right away. Awesome, and I worked at getting the last drops of sauce (well, melted sorbet!) poured off the plate onto my spoon without the slightest shame!
A good meal, like a change of clothing available to me, makes a difference. Ask me on Thursday at work how the conference was, and I'll offer some good reviews. The hotel room is quite nice. Two good meals out. I've seen a number of familiar faces and met a few new ones. Some great programs - I will dig up what I can on the ACRL ANSS program on the social science of food and link it because the two speakers I saw before I had to leave were really super. Oh, and I bought 5 new pairs of khakis, each a different colour, for $14.99 each at The Gap. Fun!
So, yes: it's hot, my feet hurt from my shoes, I had a bad arrival experience, the view from the room is not as stunning as it might be.
Boo-hoo! I'm having a good conference, and my feelings about the city have improved dramatically from where they were following my first, tightly-budgeted trip here.But most of all, I just really want another go round of that cake awaiting me for breakfast tomorrow morning!
:-P
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12 comments:
I had dinner twice at Superfine in Brooklyn, so I think it's okay to eat somewhere you like in a new City.
I hate restaurants that rush you through a meal, but I admit I've had a hand in a few with "30 minute chairs" and one who's private motto was "Shut up and eat your spaghetti."
Here's my revolutionary plan for restaurants in the US:
1)Normal sized portions, quantity doesn't reflect value; it's quality that counts
2)Staff is on salary, (no more of these bullshit "right to work states" where tipped service personnel make a minimum of $2.13 an hour).
Tips become a reward for great service, not a weapon the customer wields when a waiter has 7 tables or the kitchen is bogged down because management is trying to save a few dollars.
3)Staff are trained. I'm not talking about reading a manual and watching a video somewhere in the back of the house. I'm talking about learning the menu, knowing the wine and feeling like they are involved in the business rather than being replaceable units in a machine.
4)This last one is hard and totally unachieveable; Americans need to slow the fuck down, pay what a meal and service are worth and learn how to treat service people.
I don't know how the notion started that waiters, bartenders etc. were second-class citizens and had to dance like circus monkeys for a 15% tip.
That tip is the cost of eating out, it just hasn't been properly added to the bill to reflect the true cost of doing business. Basically, management has shifted their payroll onto the customer's whims.
There's also an attitude that somehow waiters and other tipped personnel don't pay taxes which is wrong. Everyone is taxed at about 9% of their sales. I don't need to do the math for anyone to know that waiters aren't banking their tax-free income in Switzerland.
Wow..that's a lot for me to rant about at 8:00 AM. I know you, Peter are a model customer, have extravagantly courtly manners and tip at least 20%, but if you will have this printed up I'd appreciate it if you'd pass out the fliers in Chicago..LOL :-P
By the way, the Rabbit and Dumplings look great and the cornmeal P.U.D.C
sounds amazing. I'm glad you tried the headcheese, I really like things like that and I think it's been given a really unfortunate name.
Extravagantly courtly - that's me!
I do find myself generally sympathetic to waitstaff having done 6.5 years full time in a restaurant and summers before that. I also notice things that shouldn't happen, like the turning tables too quickly ploys. I know why they do it, of course, but I don't always want to play along.
I will get onto disseminating your manifesto as early as I can!
I'm at an age now where names like "headcheese" are magnets for me on menus. Off to Bayona tonight!
As for the PUDC: Oh-my-fricking-Gawd! Best dessert in ages!
Jeph, I think we've gone back and forth on this before: I'm not a fussy man, but I see no use for button mushrooms. The texture is revolting and the taste is displeasing. Give me a chanterelle or a morel, and I'll be good. Champagne tastes on a beer budget is what my stepfather would say.
As for the shirt, well, I make it look fabulous, don't you think!
LOL
Mushrooms...they're Peter's favourite food ;)
Yes, the shirt looks fabulous on you!
It IS a great shirt. I'll tell you another terribly named dish that I love; scrapple.
"Manifesto" has had a bad rap ever since Ted Kaczinsky. I prefer "Four Point Plan".
I tried scrapple when in Philadelphia for a conference a few years back. Not a favourite, but not horrible. I like breakfast meats, but not necessarily in a breakfast context!
I think scrapple is much better than a breakfast item. Think about it, it's polenta and offal, more terrine than anything else. I'll have to add a scrapple provision into my "Four Point Plan"
Polenta and terrine? And here I thought it was essentially flat sausage!
nah, scrapple is corn meal mush and bits of liver etc.
the wine was a rose of malbec, crios i think -- information available at Sam's Wines, for the record: http://www.samswine.com/Products/Product.aspx?SKU=10031730
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