Hot Kitchens, Hot Tempers

I was amused to read this story in the New York Times Diner's Journal, of a customer who was thrown out of the eponymous Marc Forgione restaurant by the chef for going into the kitchen and complaining about the chef's verbal abuse of his staff. The short version: dining party is seated; chef loudly and repeatedly berates waiter in kitchen; discomfited diner goes into kitchen to complain; chef takes umbrage at diner's uninvited entrance into kitchen; chef asks customer to leave restaurant. It's not so much that the story was in itself so amusing, but rather that something very similar happened to me several years ago.

We were having a breakfast at a restaurant that I'd prefer not to name - it's somewhat embarassing. OK, it was Jerry's Deli, and it was a long time ago, and it hadn't quite sunk to the depths of mediocrity that it now happily occupies. Frod Jr. and Little Miss F were with us, and were much younger - maybe 6 and 3, respectively. The restaurant was not terribly busy, but the food service was nonetheless unusually slow. Meanwhile, as we sat, we couldn't help but notice that a stream of pretty much uninterrupted yelling and cursing was coming out of the kitchen. Jerry's is a big, cavernous place, located in what was originally a cafeteria and which had housed a number of nightclubs before its current incarnation. And though we were seated a good twenty yards away from the entrance to the kitchen, there was absolutely no mistaking the noises that were coming out of there.

Now, I happen to be a fan of colorful and creative cursing. But this was not particularly creative, it was not getting the food out any faster, and it was providing an education to our children that we did not particularly desire at this particular point in their upbringing (needless to say, they had never heard me or Mrs. F say any such things - the fact that a 2-year old Frod Jr. used to shout "Dammit!" from the back seat of the car when we got stuck at a stoplight was purely spontaneous behavior). And so I asked our waitress if she could perhaps ask the chef to stifle the profanities a bit.^[*]

The result was not unexpected. Either the chef lit into our poor server the same as he had been doing to his kitchen staff, or she was too terrified to even say anything, but the stream of high-decibel profanity continued, unabated. And we still didn't have any food. So after several more minutes, I went back into the kitchen, spotted the chef who was doing all the screaming, and said:

"Listen, everyone in the entire restaurant can hear you. And it really doesn't make a difference to me, but I've got young kids here, and my 6-year old son just asked me when his fucking french toast is going to be ready. Do you think you could tone it down?"

It got quiet after that. We weren't asked to leave. And Frod Jr. got his fucking french toast.

My take on the kerfuffle described in Diner's Journal? The diner was right to complain but did so for the wrong reason. Generally speaking, it's none of your business how a chef deals with his/her staff. However, if it's intruding on your dining experience, then it becomes your business. It's not your place as a diner to tell a chef how to run his team, but it's absolutely your right to complain if the commotion in the kitchen is distracting you from your meal. On the other hand, if Chef Forgione is serious about the "sanctity of the kitchen," then he better find a way to make sure that whatever happens in the kitchen doesn't make its way into the dining room.

Updated to add: Here's a little further detail from Marc Forgione, reported in GrubStreet.

^[*]Asking someone else on the staff to intervene in the kitchen is a step the Diner's Journal author skipped, and one that might have avoided the breach of the kitchen ramparts which so offended Chef Forgione's sensibilities.

What's Your Beef?

Several months ago, Miami New Times ran a feature story by Jackie Sayet, "Bogus Beef," on local restaurants' mislabeling of beef sourced from American or Australian producers as "Kobe beef." The article confirmed that many South Florida restaurants were blithely describing items on their menu as "Kobe beef" that in fact were not.

Genuine Kobe beef, which comes from a particular breed of cattle (Wagyu) raised in a particular prefecture of Japan (Hyogo), is among the most prized (and expensive) in the world. In recent years, producers in other parts of the world have sought to duplicate the product, and there are now farmers in the U.S. and Australia who raise Wagyu and cross-breeds. The product is often quite good, though not of the same quality as the genuine Japanese article, and carries significantly lower prices. Though there seems to be a good bit of confusion, this is really not a complicated issue: if the beef doesn't come from Kobe, Japan, you shouldn't call it Kobe beef. As the article details, that simple rule is supported by Florida's Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which said:

The use of the term Kobe beef on a menu or special board is a misrepresentation. ... Use of the terms Wagyu beef, American-style Kobe beef, Australian-style Kobe beef, and (country of origin) Kobe beef are acceptable, providing the operator can provide supporting invoices and product to match.^[1]

It was a well-written and well-researched piece, and I'm happy to hear that it is in line for a Sunshine State Award from the South Florida Society of Professional Journalists.

When the matter was brought to several restaurateurs' attention during the writing of the article, many of them claimed to be unaware and pledged to make immediate changes on their menu to correct the mislabeling. There's just one problem: it appears that virtually none of them have actually done so.

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Joël Robuchon - Molecular Gastronomist and Revisionist Historian?

Of the chefs who are typically credited with the popularization of "molecular gastronomy," several may jump to mind: Heston Blumenthal, for sure, who was a participant in the first 1992 "International Workshop on Molecular and Physical Gastronomy" (Harold McGee, one of the other original participants, has written a great history of the event); Pierre Gagnaire, the only other chef participant in that original workshop, and a regular collaborator with scientist Hervé This since then; Ferran Adrià, who was doing his own pioneering work in experimental cooking at the same time and whose food is often given the "MG" label;^[1] here in the U.S., Grant Achatz, Wylie Dufresne, Homaru Cantu.

And Joël Robuchon? Yes, if he is to be believed. In a recent interview in the New York Post, Robuchon is quoted as saying:

Too many chefs are attracted to molecular gastronomy. ... It's not the kind of cuisine that should be important, with all the additives. I know I was really the first one to make it famous, but I have complete control of what I'm doing. The danger is that those who don't have the knowledge and that control start using additives that are not acceptable.

***

Right now, I am doing the reverse of molecular gastronomy. I'm working with scientists to find ingredients and produce that are proven to be good for you. Turmeric is very good for you. White tea is better than green tea. One of the dishes I'm experimenting with is carrot purée with turmeric. Also white-tea gelee and sea urchin.

Robuchon is undoubtedly a great chef, duly recognized as "Chef of the Century" by Gault-Millau in 1989.^[2] And yet there is no way around it: he has absolutely positively no clue what he's talking about here.

"I was really the first one to make it famous." WTF? Unless you consider the physics of incorporating a stick of butter into a pound of potatoes to be "molecular gastronomy" (and of course, it actually is, but I don't think that's what he means), then I don't think there's another soul in the food universe who would back up that claim. Indeed, a Google search of "Joel Robuchon molecular gastronomy" yields nothing at all until 2006 (nearly 15 years after the term was coined, and so late in the game that other chefs had made a point of disassociating themselves from the term "molecular gastronomy" as describing any particular style of cooking, much less their own), and even then, none of those references would remotely suggest he had anything to do with making it famous.^[3]

"Additives"? What is an "additive"? Agar agar (a seaweed derivative)? Gelatin (derived from animal collagen?) Cornstarch? Flour? And is there really a significant risk that restaurant chefs are serving untested ingredients to unsuspecting diners, and waiting in the kitchen to see if they blow up like Violet Beuaregard? I suspect there's more danger for diners lurking in all that butter in the potato purée.

But even more absurd: "Right now, I am doing the reverse of molecular gastronomy. I'm working with scientists to find ingredients and produce that are proven to be good for you." Chef, I don't know how to break this to you any more gently: using science to understand your ingredients better is, um, the definition of molecular gastronomy.

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

^[1]Blumenthal and Adrià, among others, issued a statement years ago noting that "The fashionable term 'molecular gastronomy' was introduced relatively recently, in 1992, to name a particular academic workshop for scientists and chefs on the basic food chemistry of traditional dishes. That workshop did not influence our approach, and the term 'molecular gastronomy' does not describe our cooking, or indeed any style of cooking."
^[2]He apparently actually shared this honor with Paul Bocuse and Fredy Girardet.
^[3]Robuchon was, perhaps, an early adopter of sous vide cooking. But it turns out it was actually Marcel Vigneron who taught Robuchon everying he knew about "molecular gastronomy," as Vigneron claims in an interview mentioned here last week.

A Dining List for 2010

In case you were wondering where to eat tomorrow ... the James Beard Foundation restaurant and chef awards were announced tonight. First and foremost, a hearty congratulations to local product Michael Schwartz, who won Best Chef South for his work at Michael's Genuine Food & Drink. It is a well-deserved honor for one of Miami's real gems.

The rest of the winners:

• Marea (New York City) - Best New Restaurant
• Tom Colicchio (Craft, NY) - Outstanding Chef Award
• Nicole Plue (Redd, Yountville CA) - Outstanding Pastry Chef Award
• Daniel (New York) - Outstanding Restaurant Award
• Keith McNally (Balthazar, Lucky Strike, Minetta Tavern, Morandi, Pastis, Pravda, Shiller's Liquor Bar, New York City) - Outstanding Restaurateur Award
• Alinea (Chicago) - Outstanding Service Award
• John and Doug Shafer (Shafer Vineyards) - Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional Award
• Jean Georges (New York) - Outstanding Wine Service
• Timothy Hollingsworth (French Laundry, Yountville CA) - Rising Star Chef of the Year
• Koren Grieveson (Avec, Chicago) - Best Chef Great Lakes
• Jeff Michaud (Osteria, Philadephia) - Best Chef Mid-Atlantic
• Alexander Roberts (Restaurant Alma, Minneapolis) - Best Chef Midwest
• Daniel Humm (Eleven Madison Park) - Best Chef New York City
• Clark Frasier and Mark Gaier (Arrows, Ogunquit, ME) - Best Chef Northeast
• Jason Wilson (Crush, Seattle) - Best Chef Northwest
• David Kinch (Manresa, Los Gatos CA) - Best Chef Pacific
• Michael Schwartz (Michael's Genuine Food & Drink, Miami) - Best Chef South
• Sean Brock (McCrady's, Charleston SC) - Best Chef Southeast
• Claude Le Tohic (Joël Robuchon, Las Vegas) - Best Chef Southwest

Not a bad "Where should I go for dinner?" list.

May Days

Much going on this month, here are several food-related events and specials coming up:

May 5 (Cinco de Mayo)

Mercadito in Midtown Miami (3252 NE 1st. Ave. Miami) will be mixing up a new drink in honor of Cinco de Mayo, the "Vato Loco," a tequila-based cocktail "so ridiculously hot and addictively delicious" that a signed waiver is required. They will also have a mariachi band and are unveiling a new outdoor bar for the occasion. Festivities start at 9pm.

Rosa Mexicano (900 S. Miami Ave. Miami) is also getting into the spirit and will be open till midnight, with live music and masks and beads for their guests (wait - is it Cinco de Mayo or Mardi Gras?)

Salsa Fiesta (2929 Biscayne Boulevard Miami) will be having live music, 2-for-1 margaritas and cervezas, free chips and salsa with any drink order, and 2-for-1 burritos all day long from 11am-11pm.

Sushi Maki (locations in Coral Gables, Brickell, South Miami and Palmetto Bay) is dubbing May 5 "Sushi de Mayo" and offering a $5 "Fiesta Menu," including "signature" sushi rolls, "chef bites" and sake cocktails and beers from 5pm-9pm.

May 9 (Mother's Day)

Altamare (1233 Lincoln Road Miami Beach) is adding a couple items to the menu on Sunday for mom: a Raw Taster with scallop ceviche, tuna tartare, Kumamoto oyster and sheepshead carpaccio, with a Borek Farms heirloom tomato sorbet; and for dessert, a pistachio creme brulée with lemon sorbet and lemon shortbread. Open for dinner 5pm-11pm.

Area 31 (270 Biscayne Blvd. Way Miami) in the Epic Hotel is doing a brunch buffet featuring all of the standards as well as some its local seafood specialties, including a raw bar and ceviche bar, and grilled swordfish with a Homestead tomato salad. $55pp ($22 for ages 6-15), 12-3pm.

BLT Steak (1440 Ocean Drive Miami Beach) has picked out some blackboard dinner specials especially for mom, including a "surf n turf" with tuna crudo, foie gras terrine, candied grapefruit and citrus gastrique, or a pan roasted local grouper with spicy fava bean puree, preserved Meyer lemon, honshimeji mushrooms and oyster sabayon. Open for dinner 5pm-11pm and also for brunch 11am-3pm.

Gibraltar in Grove Isle (4 Grove Isle Drive Miami) is doing a full-blown brunch buffet in the dining room or on the outdoor patio for $75pp ($35 for ages 5-12) from 11am-3pm.

The Grill on the Alley (19501 Biscayne Blvd. Aventura) is offering an a la carte brunch with most items between $8 and $14, and cocktails for $6, 11:30am-3pm.

Or you can take mom to the Meat Market (915 Lincoln Road Miami Beach) (that doesn't sound right) which will be offering an a la carte menu with items like a wagyu meatloaf en croute or coffee and ancho crusted ribeye with eggs, skillet potatoes and peppers. Plus unlimited mimosas or bellinis for an extra $15. 11am-4pm.

Mercadito, apparently sufficiently recovered from the "ridiculously hot and addictively delicious" Vato Loco, will be doing a "Mamacita's Day Brunch" from 11:30am-5pm for $28pp, including a cocktail ($20 for ages 5-12, excluding cocktail but including a non-alcoholic drink).

Neomi's in the Trump International Beach Resort (18001 Collins Ave. Sunny Isles Beach) is offering a Mothers' Day Brunch that includes, in addition to your usual suspects, a paella valenciana, a children's buffet, a "kiddie fondue" with chocolate covered strawberries and bananas (and, most likely, children), plus a complimentary family portrait ($60pp, $20 for ages 6-12, 11am-3pm).

The Setai (2001 Collins Ave. Miami Beach) will be serving up a Mother's Day jazz brunch, featuring items both Eastern and Western, as well as a Russian Standard Bloody Mary bar and endless Taittinger champagne, for $85pp 11:30am-3pm.

Talavera (2299 Ponce de Leon Blvd. Coral Gables) will be doing a brunch service for Mother's Day with items such as Huevos Divorciados (poached eggs over a hand-made tortilla with red and green salsas), Chilaquiles Verdes, and a Breakfast Huarache (corn masa topped with black beans, salsa verde, goat cheese, and eggs scrambled with chorizo). Prices from $8-$12.

Talula (210 23rd St. Miami Beach) will be offering its Grand Buffet Brunch, along with some chef's specials created especially for Mother's Day, from 10am-3pm Sunday.

Wish (801 Collins Ave. Miami Beach) wishes mom a happy mother's day with a special $55 menu or a la carte selections at dinner from 6pm-10:30pm.

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