Month: October 2012

How much kimchi could a Mainer can
If a TechE can kimchi?

This article is a fantastic example of only ONE of the contradictions our society operates under so that we can live the good life without ever having to confront the consequences. And the big sign of our American Willful Ignorance is the fact that Romney is so close to winning the election. But I digress.

I think this audience understands better than the general public that ALL meat has a name (even if it’s an ear tag code, or a cage number) and that someone cared for that meat as it grew, however well or poorly they cared for it. American society HAS declared dogs and cats and a few other house pets NOT meat, and I also acknowledge that some meat is grown for emotional pleasure, but I still think we can call an old hen or an old ox “meat” to prevent the anthropomorphizing of livestock. So even when our meat works with us to plow our fields, that doesn’t erase the ultimate purpose of their existence. We should, instead of protesting, celebrate that these two Bos taurus escaped their date at the slaughter house for so much longer than their compatriots. I am heartened that there appear to be so few protesters of the decision that the college has made, and I love the retort of one student to those protesters of the fulfillment of Bill and Lou’s destiny:

“Why aren’t you at factory farms right now?” Ms. Hardiman said.

To every person who would spend the time and money to take Bill and Lou off to some Old Ox Home and care for them until their “natural” death when they could be buried, I say the same thing. There are SO MANY other worthy causes that need that money, effort, and time, why would you deny those causes your support and give it to animals that otherwise would have been slaughtered for hamburger long ago? Our emotions (“Death Panels!”) sometimes get the best of our society.

Among the last few things we are pulling out of our garden are dry beans that need to be shelled on a later winter day.

The overwhelming tasting menu was dead to me after our experience at French Laundry back in the 1990s. Don’t get me wrong, that meal was an incredible show, the food was inspiring, and I’m so glad I had that experience (way back when), but all of the shortcomings Mr. Wells describes in his article were there. I would have loved to have the El Bulli experience as well, and may well find a tasting menu that doesn’t beat me into submission some day, but I agree with Mr. Wells that in the hands of a non-genius, the Big Tasting Menu (BTM) will be lethal.

As Wells points out, often the food is incredible; the problem comes in the ritual that denies a diner any bit of the normal restaurant routine. To me, the BFM is a front-of-the-house construct, often initiated by people who really don’t know what “service” means. It’s hours of “look at me, look at me!” as if we were a passive audience at a theater performance. Dining can include elements of theater, to be sure, but dining by definition is the act of sharing food with people, not “experiencing” food by ignoring your fellow diners.

Still, I take issue with people who equate BTMs with the GastroTech dishes (foams, airs, etc.). That’s the mistake of using El Bulli as your main example of both. when, by all accounts, the El Bulli meal was NOT overwhelming, and there’s a reason that Adria’s techniques are now used around the world — the techniques are just that, no different from turning egg whites into foam with a wire whip. They worked very well in Adria’s hand, but not every chef is Adria…

Also one should not equate a BTMs and fixed menus, as at Chez Panisse. I’m very comfortable with a chef having confidence that you will come to their restaurant no matter WHAT they serve, but he/she better deliver. The BTM is more about intimidation than it is about satisfying hunger and curiosity.

It can be a pleasure to put yourself at the hands of your favorite chef/restaurant and have them truly “serve” you the experience they fully intend. Some of my favorite meals in restaurants have folded the tasting menu concept into the a la carte meal by allowing you to order your dishes off the menu, and then offering tastes and teases from the kitchen that compliment what you are about to eat, or what you have just eaten. Restaurants that offer the BTM beside their standard a la carte menu have the right idea: let the GastroDouche have his ShockAndAwe experience at the hands of his personal Top chef, but allow his dining partners to get what they want if they choose. And let the people at the table eat, and talk, and drink and make merry. The focus should always be on the diners, not the service and food alone.