A good artisanal ``sourdough'' is, or should be, the sign of a slow rise, natural yeasts, bread that is literally alive instead of the industrial product of a chemical lab. There are other breads for other occasions - pain de mie, baguettes, foccaccia - but natural-starter bread is the alpha and omega.
There are people who prefer grape juice to wine, too...
I submit that the finest ice cream experience to be had in the United States is the fresh-strawberry milkshake at the Highlands Bar and Grill in Birmingham, Alabama.
Alabama strawberries!
Frank Bruni is recognized in restaurants. William Grimes was recognized (although he seemed to have a few anonymous months). Ruth Reichl was recognized, no matter how flashy her disguises. Bryan Miller might as well have had a neon sign flashing above his head. A critic who is not recognized at a major restaurant is a critic the house doesn't care about, and the sad thing is that there are maybe a dozen kitchens in the country skilled enough to change anything substantial about a meal, except for possibly portion size, when they do spot a critic. A kitchen can cook only as well as it is trained to cook, and the idea that there is some special meal it can pull out when a VIP walks in is a myth. Except of course at Daniel, which really does have a high gear.
White Lily isn't the only, or even the best Southern flour. I've been mail-ordering for years from Weisenberger Mills, a family-owned, century-old water mill in Midway, Kentucky - if there are better biscuits than those made with Weisenberger flour, I have yet to taste them. The grits aren't sad either.
www.weisenberger.com
If Ramsay is worried about what the critics think, he might try putting something decent on the plate, which he has so far failed to do in the United States. He's trotting out the same argument of every half-assed playwright, film director, painter, sitcom star, novelist and trequartista since time immemorial. Unfortunately, the only thing that counts is results - A's for effort pretty much stop in grade school. Or as football fans are fond of saying: ``Scoreboard!''
If by most important restaurant in America you mean restaurant most reminiscent of Marie Antoinette playing shepardess with perfumed sheep, you are correct.
Even the idea of a contest is absurd: Los Angeles is the second-largest city in greater Mexico, with millions more Mexicans than even Guadalajara. There are restaurants, taquerias and trucks from almost every conceivable region of Mexico in the metro area; an extensive network of farms and ranches growing Mexican-specific produce; and a hungry audience that knows exactly what the food from their village needs to taste like. Anybody who would posit another U.S. city as a better place to eat Mexican food is myopic, suffering from extreme nostalgia, or more likely, not getting to the right places in Los Angeles.
I hate to quibble, but the date region is better described as in the eastern part of Southern California. The specialties of the southern part include carne asada fries, fish tacos and incredibly hoppy beer.
Actually, the charcuterie is not particularly exciting. And perhaps, compared to the high-level Spanish and Italian charcuterie we've all been eating, the restrained world of terrines, pates and galantines is fairly tame, but really - who wouldn't rather have a slice of Babbo's testa than Bar Boulud's pallid head cheese, which is not even best of breed in New York; who wouldn't prefer a bit of Iberico, not even the bellota, to Bar Boulud's wet, underflavored ham? The boudin blanc is pretty extraordinary - Boulud would get his Lyonnaise stret cred yanked if it weren't - but the bar for meats is much higher than it was even a couple of years ago.
Wow, that's an amazing story, John. Would you consider posting the recipes on Serious Eats? Maybe we can find a pastry chef who will test the recipes.
I would love to work with you on getting these recipes on Serious Eats.
Mrs. Herbst's did not close because the ethnic enclave was disappearing. It close because the 3rd generation had moved on (for example, one is a physician in L.A.) and because the land had become so valuable that it was inevitable that it would be sold. But what a fabulous bakery it was. I have a loose-leaf binder with ALL of the Herbst recipes (including non-bakery food items). Long story - but my grandmpother and the original Mrs Herbst were friends in Hungary and came here at the same time. And my non-Hungarian wife can make a pretty good Dobos Torte and palascinta.
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Let's not get bogged down in debates about how to spell certain varieties of mushrooms. I think we can all agree that eating at Blue Hill at Stone Barns is a unique and delicious experience.
Cassaendra, it doesn't matter how you spell Portobello when referring to the mushroom as different distributors in the US and Europe may employ either spelling rather than the other.
Maybe you should have a drink.
i love sourdough... actually I didn't like it when I first tried it, too tangy for my kiddy tastebuds at the time. But, now that my pallate has evolved, the ones I've had recently are not even as tangy as I remember the original being... they just taste like regular white bread.
I don't know how this rates with Bay Area dwellers, but I liked the Boudin sandwiches I had the last time I was in SF.
I live in Darwin, Australia, and work in a bakery and I've got to say, sourdough is my favourite type of bread that we make there. Actually it is my favourite type of anything we make there. You know a bread is good when a seventeen year old girl chooses it over a brownie or a cream bun!
SF sourdough isn't ideal for everything but just because you can get a passable (not great, but passable) loaf at every supermarket on the west coast doesn't mean that it has ruined every other kind of bread. I live in NYC and don't think that the lack of good bread in local markets and bakeries is because of all the rye bread baked in the area. I think his anger is really misplaced on this one. Of course, I also have no idea who he is or why I should care about his opinion so whatever.....
Alcoholic- margaritas hands down (fresh limes though)
Non Alcoholic- iced tea
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