Banco

We still subscribe to the Post and I read the Food feature in the Food section Wednesday morning while sipping sustainably produced coffee in my bathrobe dressing gown. I think the main reason why people here have not commented on it more is because they've heard it all before. Anyone here who has read Omnivore's Dilemma or similar treatments of the American food and agriculture scene, which many of us have, has long since processed the arguments and analysis (pro or contra) presented in the Local Family Newspaper two days ago. And then Waitman goes and ruins all our sophomoric fun in another thread by climbing on a soapbox and making rational, reasoned arguments. Sheesh!

Dan, have you looked at Hasty Bake? I can't speak from experience, but I've heard they're very good and they certainly look well made. ETA: Ah, I see Zora mentioned this already.

(Such a deliciously vile thread! And I thought a dressing room full of opera queens was catty!)

I work a block away from his pathetic little store fronts far-reaching top-tier empire and often walk down that stretch of Penn to wherever. Today, for the first time in a very long time, I happened to look to the right and think to myself, "Oh , there are those burger-and-pizza joints 3-star emporia worthy of Manhattan run by the 15-minute-fame-jerk guy with the composer's name. Soggy fries, lukewarm pizza, medicocre burgers, fucking loud music. That's what stuck in my craw ass rectum memory.

I'll be there with wife and kids (1 of the former, 2 of the latter) in tow. I have no idea what we will bring, as our kitchen and dining room will have been gutted by that time. Maybe some Hot Pockets and Slim Jims.

Amazing!

The mention of Tebaldi got me going, so I couldn't resist sharing THIS. The outburst at 6:31, where the regal stoicism of Desdemona fractures for a moment as she bids a final farewell to her servant, never fails to move me to tears.

Just watching her breathe is a master class in proper technique.

I usually climb the barricades on the side of "culture" vs pop "whatever", but it is very fun when this distinction blurs. Case in point: Henry Fonda moving like a Praying Mantis, Charles Bronson's craggy face in the Spanish sun, all set to a dance of death by Ennio Morricone and directed by the Visconti of the Western, Sergio Leone. I just ordered this on Blu Ray and am veritably moist at the prospect. SPOILER ALERT: If you have never seen this movie and think you want to, then don't click here.

Nice to be at Corduroy again after such a long time. We arrived before 5:30 as the place was just starting up its engines, but by 7:30 the whole restaurant seemed full. The welcome, the service, all staff we encountered were the model of professionalism. We both started with parsnip soup with tarragon, which deserved all the raves it has received here. We shared a shiso salad that struck me as a bit lackluster--carefully made, to be sure, but lacking a focus of flavor beyond the pure textural dimension of the vegetable. Perhaps it simply couldn't compete with the soup. We followed with some beautiful scallops that had a perfectly seared exterior and melting tenderness within, garnished quite simply with haricots verts and trumpet mushrooms, but heightened by a delicious Jerusalem artichoke sauce that felt as if it had been lovingly pressed through a fine chinois. Desserts were a highlight, even for two people who don't normally order them. The apple tart (with a bit of marzipan underneath?) was transporting, especially its caramel sauce that had been taken just to the beginning of bitterness without going over the edge. I don't know if this was intentional, but it was daring and the result was magnificent. The pistachio bread pudding was a hit with my companion, but I think she ended up pining for my tart. (Don, insert joke here.) A Pouilly vielles vignes went well with everything, even the artichoke sauce, and was served at the proper temperature, which unfortunately these days is somewhat of a novelty. There is definitely a simplicity--even austerity--to the cooking here that forces you to focus on the quality of the ingredients. This is an extremely unforgiving way to cook that highlights any flaw in technique. But chef Power passes this self-imposed test with flying colors. Still, it would be interesting to see what this former student of Michel Ricard would come up with if he were to unfurl his technique on more elaborate or complicated dishes. This is not a complaint, just a thought.

I have been similarly punked. Still, I agree with the sentiment.

We've been there for dinner only once and it was excellent. This weekend we were there for cocktails, again excellent. We're hoping to get back soon.

I hate folks.

Agreed. Wine and soup usually end up competing with each other.

True. It's that same lack of respect that leads some to conclude that people like you are Luddites or old fogies. "Was der Hansel nicht lernt, lernt auch nicht der Hans."

Don, you've got it all--or individually--wrong. I also suck as an individual.

I only heard of a piss funnel for the first time--I had to Google it--when I was offered a role in a baroque opera. I feel very sheltered very ashamed.

I thought of italicizing the whole thing; guess I should have.

I can't understand how people can relativize this kind of behavior, and it is significant that they need a great deal of words to do so. Life is full of distractions, technological or otherwise, but anything that you intentionally do to divert yourself from someone you have chosen to be with is rude. It is also rude to use audio and video devices, vibrators, ball gags and piss funnels in restaurants or other public places where they are not expressly allowed. This is so basic.

Rubinstein = the epitome of Chopin interpretation. Just to think: those stubby fingers!

Once I found a staple in my Pho. Obviously, that could've ended very badly. And once in Germany I found part of a plastic bag in my pasta, probably belonging to the bag in which it had been cooked. Really makes you wonder what goes on in the kitchen, but I always try to be very hush-hush about it with the server. People make mistakes; no use alerting the whole dining room (or everyone will want one, etc., etc).

Sonoma seems to have found its culinary feet again after Nick Sharpe's departure to Ba Bay. Today a new item was added to the menu, ricotta gnocchi with spring onion, bacon, and chilies. The small portion for $13 confirms what was said upthread, but the dish itself was truly remarkable. Chunky bits of house-made bacon were a wonderful textural contrast with pillowy gnocchi that could have come from Palena's kitchen, all highlighted by a decent kick of ground chilies. Chef Mike Bonk said spring onions were one of the first and only spring vegetables he's been able to find, so he decided to put this dish on the menu.On a gray and wet day, it was a delicious foretaste of a spring that seems never to arrive. One of my favorite dishes here is meatballs and polenta, for 9 bucks. With one of the excellent salads that Sonoma has always had on their menu, it makes for a satisfying and relatively economical lunch. But overall the prices, even more so for wine, are indeed high. I don't know what the rationale for this is, but I assume there is one (Hell, I go there!). At happy hour they can be slammed, at lunch as well, then on other days at the same times almost empty. The rhythm of the Hill, I suppose. But I don't like paying $16 for a glass of Sicilian red, especially from a wine preserver/cooler that still is not up and running.

I work in a large, public institution that tends to attract all manner of "patrons," some of whom even have worse personal habits than the employees. Their presence inspires me to wash my hands with warm soap and water several times a day, using the towel to turn off the faucet and open the door. Believe me, my hands are as squeaky-clean as Anita Bryant's taint.

John Lanchester, in a recent issue of the New Yorker, wrote a balanced but generally positive review of "Modernist Cuisine." Click. The mgazine also has a blog based on the piece: Click

Is it possible to post a link to Derek's article on the Yelp profiles of these mouth-breathers without actually having to sign up for a Yelp account?