jdl

If talking about music is like dancing about architecture, then talking about writing about food is like __________.

(Please show all work; partial credit will be given.)

I just wish the question would not be centered around is it Italian or not. Which has been the topic in the last three reviews by well known critic's

Re this: "Just as absurd is three stars on a four star scale."

How is that absurd? While I do think the review read like something closer to four than three, the NYT tends to be incredibly stingy with that fourth star. I'm pretty sure you can count on one hand the number of four-star restaurants in NYC right now, per the Times: Daniel, Le Bernardin, Jean Georges, Per Se and Masa.

They don't do half stars, so three is next best. And guess what? Your boy has good company in the three-star 'hood. L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Alain Ducasse, Aquavit, Bouley for instance.

How can anybody possibly read that review and think that Bruni is piling on? He's more or less declaring the "yeahbutisitItalian?" debate irrelevant.

Key graphs: "Would you find these entrees in Italy, even up north? Maybe, in a very fussy restaurant. In most others, no. And who cares? They're prepared with finesse, and they're the definition of luxury, no matter the geography, no matter the language."

And: "It owes apologies and explanations to no one. When a restaurant turns out this many dishes that make you stop mid-chew, nudge a companion and nod your head vigorously - because you're excited; because you need to start working off the calories any way you can - it needn't worry about fitting into a tidy box."

I believe that Carolyn Krug is still single and lives in New York.

I wonder how the Krugs themselves feel about this. Surely, the shift isn't lost on them. I once had the pleasure of lunching with Olivier Krug, who said -- over glasses of the Grande Cuvee and the then-unreleased 1990 Brut and the 1990 CdM -- that he rarely takes a non-breakfast meal without drinking some of his family's wine. (I almost asked him right then and there to adopt me.)

I wouldn't use the term disappointed to describe my feelings about the newer style of Grande Cuvee, while I do prefer the older bolder style over the lighter style reflected with the new bottle. I find that the newer style tastes like they are using more chardonnay in the blend (the old style was 50% Pinot Noir), I believe that this reflects the market's desire for lighter champagnes, and I would prefer that they muck around with the blending of the Grande Cuvee than the vintage wines. I also wonder if LVHM might be pushing the house to release the Grande Cuvee sooner than they would have in the past.

It's hardly a bad wine -- just inferior to the earlier iterations and not necessarily in keeping with the house style I love so much.

I have not tried it but I bought some. I have yet to be disappointed by a Krug.

Anybody here tried the 96 Krug yet? Is it worth the going rate? Do I already know the answer to that question? I'm afraid I do.

But I'm having a hard time getting my mind around the idea of paying $60+ more for a 750 than I paid for magnums of the killer 1988. Hell, you used to be able to find Clos du Mesnil for this kind of coin!

Price creep + weak dollar = bummed-out me.

But I do love me some Krug. And the 96s have been awfully good.

Three-course bar menu

Consommé, English pudding

Mmmmm, braised shoat shoulder!!!

[edited to transform this from a stupid one-line post that adds nothing to the conversation about CityZen to a stupid haiku that still adds nothing to the conversation about CityZen. but the creative process sure was delicious!]

What's good?

Surely, somebody is serving white truffles here this year. Anyone? Anyone?

I'm pleased to report that the NorCal winery whose new owners were afraid to ship more than a single bottle to DC per month wound up sending the full three-pack, which arrived just fine --- sandwiched, as it was, between full-case shipments from Seattle, Sonoma and Springfield, NJ. Take THAT, DC wine police!!

Are you looking to buy or find a place to eat them ?

Tis the season and all.

I was wondering about this as I received a call from a California producer whose mailing list I've been on for several years now. They wanted to let me know that they couldn't ship my entire three pack at the same time. I thought it might be the new ownership just being a stickler for the rules, as I hadn't heard of the one-bottle-per-month restriction before. Guess not. As it turns out, they've decided to send the entire shipment at once. We'll see if it actually gets here.

Meanwhile, I just took delivery of two cases from a certain New Jersey retailer.

How about moving to Los Angeles, where there are no four-star restaurants, according to the LA Times dining critic S. Irene Virbila ... and there's just one 3.5-star: Spago.

Great place to be if you want to argue about star ratings.

The Batali-Nancy Silverton pizzeria, Mozza, gets three stars -- same as Providence? Pshaw.

From the Association of Food Journalists 2007 Awards Competition...

BEST NEWSPAPER RESTAURANT CRITICISM

SECOND: Tom Sietsema, The Washington Post

(First was Gail Shepherd of New Times Broward/Palm Beach.)

Full list of winners here.

Is there a Web site with a menu and wine list, or is this all that's out there so far?

Is it true that Miss Rissa has left the restaurant? Say it ain't so!

This is old news, I'm sure, but it's new to me, as I just noticed this weekend: The Marvelous Market in Gallery Place has closed.

Sign on the door says service begins July 5, after some private-party action.

Things that do not seem to bode well for Mio's future: Nobody on DR.com aside from TinDC and I have had anything whatsoever to say about the food there (has anybody else even been?) ... the restaurant already lost its original chef, according to Tom ... and, though you can't see it online, the photo that accompanied today's "First Bite" column shows a whole lot of empty tables in the background. (Of course, that could just be a function of the time of day the photo was taken; but ....)

As they say in the old country: Ruh-roh!

Mine was.

The bread at Mio is better than the bread at Beck's, though it doesn't come out of the kitchen warm at Mio.....

(And, of course, there is no greater baked product served at dinner in DC than those Parker House rolls at CityZen. Schwing!)