Destination: United States

review: king of the hill…

Sea Bream Manresa, Los Gatos, California Three years ago, I stumbled upon greatness. Manresa opened a chapter to an era and a process. Last month, I returned and found that process not only undisturbed, but evolved, advanced, and flourishing within its own world. It was great to return to the place where so much for […]

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review: king of the hill…

Sea Bream Manresa, Los Gatos, California Three years ago, I stumbled upon greatness. Manresa opened a chapter to an era and a process. Last month, I returned and found that process not only undisturbed, but evolved, advanced, and flourishing within its own world. It was great to return to the place where so much for […]

Continue

best of 2008, the restaurant edition…

Milk Chocolate Tree Gordon Ramsay Royal Hospital Road Boy, people sure do love lists. Since publishing the “best dishes of 2008,” I’ve received numerous emails inquiring about my best restaurant meals of 2008. As I said in that post, this year I have been blessed with many very good meals. But a few float to […]

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best of 2008, the restaurant edition…

Milk Chocolate Tree Gordon Ramsay Royal Hospital Road Boy, people sure do love lists. Since publishing the “best dishes of 2008,” I’ve received numerous emails inquiring about my best restaurant meals of 2008. As I said in that post, this year I have been blessed with many very good meals. But a few float to […]

Continue

best dishes of 2008…

Softball-Size White Truffle l’Ambroisie, Paris, France Gastronomic self one-upsmanship was not my intention when 2008 began. But it happened quite unexpectedly. For the past three years, I’ve recapped the top 25 dishes in a year-end review (click here for 2005, here for 2006, and here for 2007). Annually, I announce with certainty that my lucky […]

Continue

best dishes of 2008…

Softball-Size White Truffle l’Ambroisie, Paris, France Gastronomic self one-upsmanship was not my intention when 2008 began. But it happened quite unexpectedly. For the past three years, I’ve recapped the top 25 dishes in a year-end review (click here for 2005, here for 2006, and here for 2007). Annually, I announce with certainty that my lucky […]

Continue

review: subtle innovation…

Amada Philadelphia, Pennsylvania You know you’re going to have a good time at a restaurant when you’re greeted by a half-ton bronze pig. At the whiff of good food, my name becomes Achilles and a fine selection of cheeses, especially, goes straight for my heels. That’s how Jose Garces got me in a gluttonous bind […]

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review: subtle innovation…

Amada Philadelphia, Pennsylvania You know you’re going to have a good time at a restaurant when you’re greeted by a half-ton bronze pig. At the whiff of good food, my name becomes Achilles and a fine selection of cheeses, especially, goes straight for my heels. That’s how Jose Garces got me in a gluttonous bind […]

Continue

review: the perfect plate of pasta…

Vetri, Philadelphia Is there anything more pleasing than a perfect plate of pasta? Perhaps. But not much. I can pinpoint the day and hour of my last plate of perfect pasta. It was corzetti, and it was more of a taste, rather than a plate. I ate this standing up, negotiating armfuls of *stuff* – […]

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review: the perfect plate of pasta…

Vetri, Philadelphia Is there anything more pleasing than a perfect plate of pasta? Perhaps. But not much. I can pinpoint the day and hour of my last plate of perfect pasta. It was corzetti, and it was more of a taste, rather than a plate. I ate this standing up, negotiating armfuls of *stuff* – […]

Continue

review: class act…

Salmon Cornets per se, New York I bet you know what this picture heralds. Was it was transcendent? No. Was it life-altering? No. But, everything was technically flawless, which is more than I can say for my previous meals at both per se, which I visited in 2006 and The French Laundry, which I visited […]

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review: class act…

Salmon Cornets per se, New York I bet you know what this picture heralds. Was it was transcendent? No. Was it life-altering? No. But, everything was technically flawless, which is more than I can say for my previous meals at both per se, which I visited in 2006 and The French Laundry, which I visited […]

Continue

review: blanc burger + bottles…

Boulevard Pale Ale Onion Rings blanc burgers + bottles I had anticipated its opening back in March, and positive press and word of mouth in the subsequent months only intensifed my hungry curiosity. Over a recent weekend I descended upon blanc burgers + bottles not once, but twice. The first night, the tiny Westport burger […]

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review: blanc burger + bottles…

Boulevard Pale Ale Onion Rings blanc burgers + bottles I had anticipated its opening back in March, and positive press and word of mouth in the subsequent months only intensifed my hungry curiosity. Over a recent weekend I descended upon blanc burgers + bottles not once, but twice. The first night, the tiny Westport burger […]

Continue

review: get it together…

Antipasto: Octopus Carpaccio Insieme It’s astonishing how powerful three words, strung together, can be. Beef heart risotto. See? It didn’t take much to convince me to put Insieme on my itinerary. Sure, I had heard wonderful things about Insieme from valued sources. That it’s one of Marco Canora’s and Paul Grieco’s restaurants was also encouraging. […]

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review: get it together…

Antipasto: Octopus Carpaccio Insieme It’s astonishing how powerful three words, strung together, can be. Beef heart risotto. See? It didn’t take much to convince me to put Insieme on my itinerary. Sure, I had heard wonderful things about Insieme from valued sources. That it’s one of Marco Canora’s and Paul Grieco’s restaurants was also encouraging. […]

Continue

review: home run…

Aquavit, New York A restaurant that has been disparaged, or has received wobbly reviews at best, has nothing to lose and everything to gain. Aquavit was such the underdog. I like underdogs. Needless to say, expectations have a lot to do with one’s dining experience. Regarding Aquavit, mine were heavily guarded, which probably explains, in […]

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review: home run…

Aquavit, New York A restaurant that has been disparaged, or has received wobbly reviews at best, has nothing to lose and everything to gain. Aquavit was such the underdog. I like underdogs. Needless to say, expectations have a lot to do with one’s dining experience. Regarding Aquavit, mine were heavily guarded, which probably explains, in […]

Continue

review: eclipse…

Eleven Madison Park Last time, the earth stood still. This time, my meal at Eleven Madison Park was a total eclipse. Neither the sun nor moon disappeared. But, for the five blissful hours that my hosts and I dined, it seemed as if the whole world’s attention had been diverted to our table. Eleven Madison […]

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review: eclipse…

Eleven Madison Park Last time, the earth stood still. This time, my meal at Eleven Madison Park was a total eclipse. Neither the sun nor moon disappeared. But, for the five blissful hours that my hosts and I dined, it seemed as if the whole world’s attention had been diverted to our table. Eleven Madison […]

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