A Cuisine Qustion

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

Not sure I totally understand but I suppose you’re referring The Mansion operated by Robuchon in Vegas?

 

It actually hasn't been called @TheMansion for awhile, now taking on simply his name, as all of his other flagships

 

It's a fine restaurant, but I don't think it's 3-star worthy. It works (too) hard to keep its mystique.

[LookingAround]

Btw to all who like classical French food but with a slightly modern take. Le Coucou in nyc is da bomb.

[+ Funguy]

Thank you @Benjamin_Nicholas for the citations on Fettucini Alfredo. I'm at work with no time to look.

 

There is a significant taste and texture difference when made without the cream. When I make it and then sit down to eat it, I go "ahhhhh" and don't feel SO guilty!

[MikeBiDude]

Thank you @Benjamin_Nicholas for the citations on Fettucini Alfredo. I'm at work with no time to look.

 

There is a significant taste and texture difference when made without the cream. When I make it and then sit down to eat it, I go "ahhhhh" and don't feel SO guilty!

I’ll be trying it soon

[+ Funguy]

I’ll be trying it soon

 

You have to play with the butter and the cheese amounts until it is how you like it.

Make sure the butter is very soft, room temp, maybe a bit melted and add the grated cheese. Mix and mix and mix while adding the cheese. A good quality Parmesan can make a difference.

Then slowly warm the mixture until just about melted, add to the hot pasta for the final melt.

 

Good luck!

Edited January 30, 2018 by Funguy

[nynakedtop]

...Consistently good, esp the confit du canard

 

Be still, my heart...

[+ nycman]

quenelles de brochet, a poached mousse dumpling made of pike

 

If it's Quenelles you seek....look no further than the last French Grand Dame in NYC.....La Grenouille

 

BBaller, I've love to treat you to lunch any day....and we can discuss my pending adoption over dessert souffles (in the front room only, of course)....grin

 

Two of my very favorites are Le Veau D’or on E 6oth and La Boite en Bois on 68th.

 

Oh lord!....I though Le Veau D'or was closed YEARS ago. I have so many fond memories of cutting my French Cuisine baby teeth there.

So fucking old school....even decades ago....when I was taken there repeatedly in my misspent youth by certain older "gentlemen" from

the Upper East Side.

 

PS Le Veau D'or doesn't have a website that I can find....that makes me SOOOOO happy!

[+ Tarte Gogo]

Dear god, 5 pages in less than 2 days. The “favourite fast food” thread reached 3 pages in its first 5 hours...

I confirm: you guys like food more than sex.

[BSR]

Joel Robuchon's dining rooms are fine and dandy, but I don't have the patience for a 15-course tasting. I've dined at his namesakes in France, Hong Kong and his US flagship in Vegas. Much of the food comes across as fussy for the sake of being fussy and not particularly flavorful. It's one of the few times I've been disappointed with a 3-star Michelin rating.

 

Give me La Tour d'Argent any day. I dream about their pressed duck

 

"fussy for the sake of being fussy" pretty much sums up how I feel about a lot of contemporary cuisine. Instead of focusing on flavor, I get the sense that too many chefs are so wrapped up in being creative, different, and edgy that they ignore how the food actually tastes. Chocolate mousse made with coconut oil, hot chiles, and cranberries might be daring and ever so cutting-edge, but it also tastes like sh*t. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with innovation and putting a new twist on things. I don't exactly want everything I eat to be straight out of the 18th century. I just take issue with all these avant-garde culinary grads who are making it all about themselves, "look at me! look at how I'm breaking all the paradigms!", instead of focusing on the only two things they should be focusing on: the food and the customer.

 

By the way, I know a guy who worked at Joel Robuchon Las Vegas for a while. He said that the restaurant takes a substantial loss every single month and that the MGM keeps it running just to keep the high rollers happy. They lose $thousands a month just in broken and stolen dinnerware. I've never been to Joel Robuchon (I've only been to the casual version L'Atelier so far), but apparently they have beautiful china that is custom made for the restaurant and costs a bloody fortune. Of course, the occasional accident happens, but the lion's share of the losses result from diners stealing the plates as souvenirs

[+ nycman]

I confirm: you guys like food more than sex.

Correction.....

 

We'd rather pay for "great" food...than "ok" sex.

[+ Gar1eth]

I like onion soup and beef bourguignon. But most of the rest I can take a pass on. But what about some nice Tex-Mex with a sizzling plate of chicken fajitas? Years ago a friend took me to a place called Lauriol Plaza in DC (he also took us to some French restaurant in Annapolis). I have a vague memory of enjoying Lauriol Plaza very much.

 

Gman

[LADoug1]

Nobody has mentioned frogs legs. How do you all feel about that entree?

[Bearofdistinction]

Except for the escargots, there is nothing on their menu that I wouldn't be delighted to order. Sweetbreads are a favorite of mine, and it has been a long time since I have eaten anywhere that serves them. I have had venison occasionally, and even reindeer soup, but I am not sure what red deer is.

 

Red Deer is just a species of Deer

[Bearofdistinction]

Yes, as in every place has now felt the need to update to a point of food absurdity: Not everything needs to be so trendy.

 

Simple French cooking never goes out of style, as evidenced by the multitude of great little bistros around Manhattan that have survived well for many years. Two of my very favorites are Le Veau D’or on E 6oth and La Boite en Bois on 68th.

 

Sometimes I will go to a restaurant and it will take 5 minutes to describe each special -- What I refer to as "Torturing the Food"

 

ME: Id just like a piece of high quality grilled fish with a lil butter and lemon and Id like that with the Seaweed Salad

 

WAITOR: Im sorry Sir the Chef says those items do not go together and the fish can only be prepared as I described earlier

 

ME: Seaweed doesn't go with fish? Really? Would you ask the Chef to come to the table please

 

WAITOR: Im sorry SIR the Chef does not do that ---

 

ME: Tell the Manager thank you for the drinks -- This is for you (hands him a $10) --- And I was out the door!

 

Don't Get Saucy with me Bernaise . . .

[Bearofdistinction]

And let's not let this orgy of french cuisine conversation go further without mentioning Boeuf Bourguignon. One of my all-time favorites.

 

Thank You Julia!

[Kenny]

Nobody has mentioned frogs legs. How do you all feel about that entree?

Tastes like chicken. Teeny, tiny chicken.

[+ poolboy48220]

Tastes like chicken. Teeny, tiny chicken.

Agreed. The only time I've had them is stealing leftovers from a patron's plate when I worked a restaurant in college, but that's exactly what it tastes like.

[+ Gar1eth]

Sometimes I will go to a restaurant and it will take 5 minutes to describe each special -- What I refer to as "Torturing the Food"

 

ME: Id just like a piece of high quality grilled fish with a lil butter and lemon and Id like that with the Seaweed Salad

 

WAITOR: Im sorry Sir the Chef says those items do not go together and the fish can only be prepared as I described earlier

 

ME: Seaweed doesn't go with fish? Really? Would you ask the Chef to come to the table please

 

WAITOR: Im sorry SIR the Chef does not do that ---

 

ME: Tell the Manager thank you for the drinks -- This is for you (hands him a $10) --- And I was out the door!

 

Don't Get Saucy with me Bernaise . . .

 

I’d also like them to write my order down and not try to impress me with their memorization skills.

 

Gman

[BSR]

I’d also like them to write my order down and not try to impress me with their memorization skills.

 

Gman

Servers aren't trying to impress anyone with their memorization ability; not writing down the order at a table is standard operating procedure for posh restaurants. Writing down the order is considered too diner-ish.

[BSR]

Sometimes I will go to a restaurant and it will take 5 minutes to describe each special -- What I refer to as "Torturing the Food"

 

ME: Id just like a piece of high quality grilled fish with a lil butter and lemon and Id like that with the Seaweed Salad

 

WAITOR: Im sorry Sir the Chef says those items do not go together and the fish can only be prepared as I described earlier

 

ME: Seaweed doesn't go with fish? Really? Would you ask the Chef to come to the table please

 

WAITOR: Im sorry SIR the Chef does not do that ---

 

ME: Tell the Manager thank you for the drinks -- This is for you (hands him a $10) --- And I was out the door!

 

Don't Get Saucy with me Bernaise . . .

When a big-name Italian restaurant opened here in Las Vegas, they took a similarly snooty attitude. When the local paper's food critic asked for just water, she was told that only bottled water was available. When she asked why she couldn't get a simple glass of tap water, the server told her that it interfered with the taste of the food. She snapped back, "So I assume you boil your pasta in bottled water?"

[+ Funguy]

Sometimes I will go to a restaurant and it will take 5 minutes to describe each special -- What I refer to as "Torturing the Food"

 

ME: Id just like a piece of high quality grilled fish with a lil butter and lemon and Id like that with the Seaweed Salad

 

WAITOR: Im sorry Sir the Chef says those items do not go together and the fish can only be prepared as I described earlier

 

ME: Seaweed doesn't go with fish? Really? Would you ask the Chef to come to the table please

 

WAITOR: Im sorry SIR the Chef does not do that ---

 

ME: Tell the Manager thank you for the drinks -- This is for you (hands him a $10) --- And I was out the door!

 

Don't Get Saucy with me Bernaise . . .

 

Too funny - happened to me almost like that at a new restaurant in London about 7-8 years ago. I don't even remember the name but it was supposed to be sizzling hot and difficult to get a reservation. London was having a heat wave (!) and I was not in a mood for snooty waiters. I just wanted something plain - grilled fish with lemon and butter and a Caesar salad. As I was sipping my $22.00 Martini and biting my tongue to be polite, I lost it and said, "Fuck this!" We got up, walked out (after leaving cash on the table for the drink) and I took my drink with me.

[LookingAround]

Sometimes I will go to a restaurant and it will take 5 minutes to describe each special -- What I refer to as "Torturing the Food"

 

ME: Id just like a piece of high quality grilled fish with a lil butter and lemon and Id like that with the Seaweed Salad

 

WAITOR: Im sorry Sir the Chef says those items do not go together and the fish can only be prepared as I described earlier

 

ME: Seaweed doesn't go with fish? Really? Would you ask the Chef to come to the table please

 

WAITOR: Im sorry SIR the Chef does not do that ---

 

ME: Tell the Manager thank you for the drinks -- This is for you (hands him a $10) --- And I was out the door!

 

Don't Get Saucy with me Bernaise . . .

Did you see the move The Dinner? Reminds me of that restaurant in the movie haha

[Kenny]

've dined at his namesakes in France, Hong Kong and his US flagship in Vegas. Much of the food comes across as fussy for the sake of being fussy

But surely not the chicken roasted and braised inside a pig's bladder!

Edited January 31, 2018 by Kenny

[+ pitman]

Sometimes I will go to a restaurant and it will take 5 minutes to describe each special -- What I refer to as "Torturing the Food"

 

ME: Id just like a piece of high quality grilled fish with a lil butter and lemon and Id like that with the Seaweed Salad

 

WAITOR: Im sorry Sir the Chef says those items do not go together and the fish can only be prepared as I described earlier

 

ME: Seaweed doesn't go with fish? Really? Would you ask the Chef to come to the table please

 

WAITOR: Im sorry SIR the Chef does not do that ---

 

ME: Tell the Manager thank you for the drinks -- This is for you (hands him a $10) --- And I was out the door!

 

Don't Get Saucy with me Bernaise . . .

[+ azdr0710]

you guys and your fancy French "cuisine"!.....you do know why those fancy French sauces were developed in the first place, right??!!!.......I fear many people (certainly not us!) eat at the new place-of-the-moment just to say they ate there.....I'm talkin' to YOU, Shake Shack!

 

Edited January 30, 2018 by azdr0710