11 Friday May 2012
Posted in i ate there
You can’t make a reservation, and you can’t pay.
- Nathan Myrvold on having dinner at the Cooking Lab
Last night I had the rare privilege of attending one of the dinners at the Modernist Cuisine Cooking Lab. The phrase ‘rare privilege’ can be overused, but in this case, it is completely warranted. The purity and concentration of their flavors is off the charts. Twenty-nine courses of it. Needless to say, but it needs to be said: it was amazing.
23 Monday Apr 2012
Posted in blow shit up, i ate there
Jet Windy City Gastrophysics
I hear it’s pretty hard to get into high end restaurants. I’m not so sure – either the problem is exaggerated or I have an awesome lucky streak. My dinner for Next:Childhood? I just got online and reserved a ticket. Benu in San Francisco? I put in a request on the waiting list and a table cancelled.
So when I wanted to get into Alinea, considered the best restaurant in the US, and even the world (depending on who’s ranking), I called their reservation line. It was busy. I called again. It was busy. I called again. They answered and I made a reservation. I wouldn’t call that persistence. I guess it’s either not that hard or the food gods want my taste buds to do some worshiping. And if all else fails, of course, you can always rap battle.
15 Wednesday Feb 2012
Posted in i ate there
For the next three months, Grant Achatz’ Next Restaurant will feature a 30 course meal from the recipes of Ferran Adria that he created at elBulli. I was lucky enough to get a ticket on the opening week to what is literally the hottest reservation on Earth at the moment. With thousands of people vying to get in, how did I manage to pull off the impossible?
A rap battle, of course.
24 Tuesday Jan 2012
Posted in i ate there, uncategorized
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When I was in San Francisco, I managed to score a seat at Benu, the two star Michelin restaurant in the SOMA district. It is headed up by Corey Lee, whose career has seen action in seven 3-star Michelin restaurants in England, France and the U.S. He was also the chef de cuisine at The French Laundry. The Real Deal. And, my first Michilen starred restaurant (Next doesn’t count, right?).
20 Friday Jan 2012
Posted in i ate there, uncategorized
I had the opportunity to try out some of the fine dining establishments of San Francisco while I was there. My first stop after my flight was a burrito in the Mission district. It put a sudden end to that day’s culinary explorations, however; I was so stuffed I couldn’t think of taking a bite of anything at all.
The next day, I didn’t know where to eat, so I checked out the 26 new places to go at SFGate.com and SF Eater 38 and determined a couple of places to go. That evening, I found myself at Commonwealth at 18th and Mission (whose address is 2224 Mission Street – what’s up with that, San Francisco?).
24 Monday Oct 2011
Posted in blow shit up, i ate there, uncategorized
Crap Photo, But Proof Of My Attendence
I don’t do restaurant reviews. That’s not my thing. There’s something maddening about people blogging about their experience, hurling superlative after superlative – “mind blowing”, “forward thinking and innovative”, “absolutely amazing”, etc. Actually I have two favorite overused quotations. One is a phrase like “completely unique”. The word ‘unique’ cannot have a modifier. Either it is unique or it is not. There are not grades of uniqueness. The other is “quite possibly the best meal I ever had”. I love how the word “possibly” is always used. Just a little hedge. You know, not to offend anyone else who’s cooked for you in the past. Your mother-in-law might be reading, after all.
