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Favorite foods: Shack burger, brats, foie gras, pork, pasta, cheese, gelato, banh mi, saam, noodles, pizza, braised ribs, sausages, omelettes

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The Ten Most Recent Posts By Livetotravel

From Talk

What Happened to the AG?

Hey - how come the Amateur Gourmet no longer carries your link and logo on his site?

From Talk

Best April Fool Joke.

And this was posted on ruhlman for god's sake! Didn't he see the date?!

A lot has happened in two weeks (good article reflecting impact of all our ranting about the treating animals humanely on food industry, nyt week in review), but the most startling may have been the press release that dropped into my email box just this morning announcing that Grant Achatz will close Alinea:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, April 1, 2007

FOR: Alinea
1723 N. Halsted Street
Chicago, IL 60614
312.867.0110
www.alinearestaurant.com

(Chicago) – In a dramatic move, Chef Grant Achatz will be closing his restaurant, Alinea, on its two-year anniversary. Perhaps the most heralded restaurant in the country since its opening, Alinea will be closing after service on Saturday, May 6. Chef/owner Grant Achatz, widely considered the American leader in progressive cuisine, has decided to pursue his other passion, that of acting. The spark was reignited for Chef Achatz when he recently appeared on the mainstage of the world-renowned Steppenwolf theatre with acclaimed author Michael Ruhlman, as part of the theatre’s Traffic Series. “I hadn’t been on stage since my eighth grade production of Oklahoma and I forgot how it felt to express myself that way. I’m looking forward to the challenges of embarking on this new career,” states Achatz. Achatz has garnered worldwide recognition and acclaim for his Progressive American cuisine and hopes to reach that same level in the field of theatre arts.

Alinea serves progressive American cuisine Wednesday – Friday 5:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 5:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Jackets are recommended for gentlemen, and smoking is not permitted in the restaurant. Private dining is available for up to 14, valet parking is available and reservations are strongly recommended. For reservations or further information, please call 312.867.0110 or reference www.alinearestaurant.com. For media requests or more information, or to discuss the meaning of today’s date, please call Jenn Galdes at Grapevine PR, 773.588.2004.

From Talk

Anyone know where to buy dry, packaged, strascinati pasta in NYC

Looking for this wonderful pasta made by Pasta Pasta in Italy. Can it be obtained in NYC?

The Ten Most Recent Comments By Livetotravel

From Ed Levine Eats

Terroir

Love it - succinct, just the right info and no purple prose ;-) and the pix are killer! I want those meat balls!

From Ed Levine Eats

In Search of the Perfect Food Review Rating System

Ed - I like your alpha-rating system for one simple reason - NYC is "starred" out - just completely starred out - TONY, NYM, NYT, RG, etc ad naseum. If you had chosen to go with stars I think you would have created dis-interest from the outset.

I also think that the alpha-system allows you to go into more areas of the eating/dining experience...
Food A
Bun C
Burger A
Seating D
Decor B
Service A
etc, etc

Good luck - I look forward to your reviews - have always loved to read your take.

From Ed Levine Eats

French Food in the States: I'll Take the Duck, Skip the 'Tude

Well said - I wish that could be on billboards all over town! I just booked a May 3rd reservation for 2 at Benoit through opentable - I'll let you know about the 'tude quotient ;-)

From Ed Levine Eats

Are Chefs More High Maintenance than Other People?

Wow, another man who really doesn't like women - how unusual - so Spitzer/Paterson like.

From Ed Levine Eats

Ed Levine's Serious Diet Week 10: Discovering Nature's Best 100-Calorie Snack in Seville

pluots at Fairway - a typical 5 oz pluot has 80 calories

From Ed Levine Eats

Is Bar Boulud Special Enough?

Bar Boulud, and all the other permutations, here, there, and everywhere, is a case study in branding - once a brand is defined for it's inventiveness, high quality, and superb products nothing short of that will ever suffice.

Maybe Monsieur Boulud would be better advised to reject the Trump-like egotism of self-named projects, and just build great, profitable restaurants that do not bear his initials or name - thus staving off the ready-made criticism that high expectation breeds.

From Required Eating

In Videos: Korean Kimchi Commercial

Ah, the beating heart of primordial kimchi.

From Ed Levine Eats

Gramercy Tavern Meatball: The Best in New York?

I haven't tried them at Gramercy, but I'm salivating as I write this...meatballs at Frankies 457 Spuntino are "to die for."

From Required Eating

Iron Cheffing and Judging Are Legit (If Imperfect)

Say what you will Ed, but the general public is deceived into believing that these wondrous chefs only find out the secret ingredient when it unveiled dramatically at the top of the show.

Just another sign of our culture accepting "little white lies."

Whatta we tell our kids Ed - how will we spin this?

From Ed Levine Eats

Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 4: The Gauntlet

Ed - we're all pulling for you! You have more will power than I could ever muster in your circumstance!

BTW - Love your birthday celebration style. It's my wife's birthday this weekend and we're heading to Le Bernardin for lunch tomorrow, Rose Water for dinner Sat night, Stone Park for brunch on Sunday and Jean-Georges for lunch on Monday.

Thanks for being my food muse!

Responses to Comments by Livetotravel

From Ed Levine Eats

In Search of the Perfect Food Review Rating System

I don't have a strong preference for letter grades vs. stars vs. numeric scores... as long as you understand the value of the rating, it's pretty much same-same to me. Being able to use plus or minus does allow for nuance, which is helpful. But the 14 possible ratings aren't much different than Zagat's 30 point scale (which in reality is more like a 14-29 scale).

But I do very strongly agree with the idea of "context" -- i.e., comparing an A+ dive to a B- haute cuisine? Their scores are relative.

Perfect real-life example: Out here in So California, the Zagat for In-N-Out chain is a 24 for food, while Morton's and Ruth's Chris are both rated 25 for food. Clearly, comparing an above-average fine-dining-type steak house to even the country's best drive-thru fast food joint, is like comparing saltines to artisanal bread. (Similarly, in NYC, Gray's Papaya at 20 vs. Nick & Stef's at 22 may be accurate, but in wholly different contexts.)

I've always wanted to see at least two levels of categorization, and ideally three or four... it's alway been my one huge peeve with Zagat, especially when you're in an unfamiliar area, and have no real way of being sure what kind of eatery you're in for.

From Ed Levine Eats

In Search of the Perfect Food Review Rating System

Why not Casual 5-0 stars, and unqualified 5-0 stars?

From Ed Levine Eats

Terroir

The food looks fantastic. Great pics!

When I first saw their name it looked like "Terror" which caught me off guard.

The new rating system is simple and elegant.

From Ed Levine Eats

Terroir

Great review. I agree with Kerosena, prices would be great. It may be that your search for great food only lends you to write whether it is 'reasonable', I think actual numbers may prove useful for some of us.

Also, the letter grades are awesome.

From Talk

Alright. Do people really hate fruitcake?

Costco's has a remarkably tasty fruitcake available during the holidays. It is filled with pecans and cherries and other non-dayglo fruits. It reminds me of the kinds of fruitcakes I see for sale at Saks during the holidays for $50 but at Costco it is only $12.

Bouchon also has a delightful fruitcake like loaf. I think it is also seasonal. No problem with bad fruit overcoming the cake there, of course.

From Talk

Alright. Do people really hate fruitcake?

Regarding the cakes at the Collin St. Bakery, they make one that only has apricots and pecans. I guess it still qualifies as a fruitcake. Check it out.
http://www.collinstreet.com/pages/apricot_pecan_cake

From Talk

Alright. Do people really hate fruitcake?

I don't like fruitcake, even when it's homemade by a talented cook (like my mother; she made it as part of her Christmas baking binge for several years).

I know I'm not alone. I once heard the Chieftains sing something called "Miss Fogarty's Christmas Cake." You can google the lyrics easily.

It wasn't until I was grown that I figured out why I hated it so: it's mostly the day-glo fruit - which is composed principally of bitter, leathery CITRON. That, plus the fact that there is far too little cake. Oh, and the raw taste of whiskey or brandy, not calculated to appeal to a child's tastebuds.

And yet I love pannettone, which is a nice challah-type bread spangled with the same day-glo fruit. But not nearly so much, and no whiskey.

If the Corsicana Fruitcake is anything like the "quintessential fruitcake of the South" that brooke29 links to - no wonder it's a thriving business. No citron!!

From Talk

Alright. Do people really hate fruitcake?

There are all sorts of things called fruitcakes, and it's a little like saying you don't like cheese because you tasted one kind of cheese and didn't like it. As a former deeply picky eater, I can sympathize. I don't like the red and green candied cherries, I don't like the soggy nuts, and I don't like the fake rum flavorings. However, I make a dark, spicy cake that utilizes raisins, currants, dried apricots, mangoes (if I can find them) and pineapple, that goes by the name of fruitcake but tastes very different than the stuff one thinks of under that name.

There are also some Irish fruitcakes that are blonde, so to speak, and they're also marvelous. Don't condemn all fruitcakes.

From Talk

Alright. Do people really hate fruitcake?

I always thought fruitcake was some sort of holiday gag gift. I would never think of actually eating one!

From Talk

Alright. Do people really hate fruitcake?

I was a fruitcake hater until the day I was given one of these-

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1919,154167-236194,00.html

This is the quintessential fruitcake of the south, and is similar to the one popularized by The Colin Street Bakery in Texas. It ain't cheap to make, but if one does not skimp on quality ingredients, it is an fruitcake epiphany!