Any thing can be fed to a heritage bird. The quesiton is what choices the farmer makes. Regarding antibiotics, this may prove interesting reading: http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2...

Well, there is no doubt that frozen birds from the main supermarket chains, or Costco have huge appeal. But to suggest that they taste "exactly the same" is an interesting assertion. There are certainly ethical and health issues associated with how the supermarket birds are raised, but those don't concern the majority of people. However, to suggest that a steroid and antibiotic fed bird, who has never had to moved more than a few feet and has been genetically selected to grow a preposterously large breast in a minimal amount of time and then frozen, perhaps months ago, would taste the same as a heritage bird that spent it's much longer life feeding and growing naturally, hunting for much of its food and actually flying, just does not make any sense. Perhaps not everyone can taste the difference (although I find that hard to believe),and certainly some may not like the flavour and texture difference or find it good value. After all, Kraft dinner outsells homemade pasta and sauce 10 to 1 I am sure. But that doesn't mean those people who buy fresh, flavourful sustainably raised birds are the unwitting victims of a "huge racket".

Thanks for moving it to the proper forum.

Well, I am ready to take the plunge and invest in an immersion circulator. My research so far has identified the "expensive" options - PolyScience Chef and Classic Units plus a variety of other thousand dollar plus options- and a growing number of more affordable options.

On the low end of the "affordable" scale are the in and out of distribution SideKic, priced at a very low $180 or so, and the up and coming $300 Nomiku, a kickstarter project, which won't be available until December. Slotted in between these and the very expensive options is the Underground Circulator. It seems to be a more robust unit than the SideKic and Nomiku, with technical specs like a 1,000 W heater, 20 C to 100 C temp range and the ability to handle up to 26 litres of water. Its look and development history seems more restaurant based, and I've read one or two online comments from restaurant users who like it. The other option I've found in the $500 range is the PolyScience "Creative" unit. It looks like a dialed down version of the "Chef" unit. It claims a 1100 W heater and a 20 litre capacity. But their site identifies that it is only for "casual use" so I wonder about durability.

Does anyone have experience with these midrange units - the Underground or the PolyScience Creative Series?

Ooops. Looks like I posted in the wrong forum. I'm now thinking this should have been in the Cookware forum. Can it be moved?

Just wanted to reinforce that the Montforte Halloumi is outstanding.... and local. They don't have it all the time at all the markets, so call the dairy in Stratford and ask if they have any. If they do, they will send it along to the farmer's market of your choice with your name on it.

I've had great success with Healthy Butcher birds in years past, and have one on order for this year. I've got a great source for organic, free range heritage Christmas birds, but they don't sell for T'giving. http://www.torontolife.com/features/v...

OK, I know I am supposed to search the boards, but my wonderful wife just sprang a last minute 25th anniversary weekend trip to NYC on me. And we arrive next Friday. We're pretty serious eaters, and normally I take lots of time to plan our trips around food. I've spent the last couple of hours trying to get into the places I know in NYC, and the ones highly recommended in recent threads, and the bottom line is they are all way booked up. I lucked into a Saturday lunch at Jean Georges (they must have had a cancellation) and we're planning on Momofuku Ssam one meal (so no reserv possible). But after that, I've got nothing after a couple of hours sitting here at the computer

So where can we still book in for amazing, thought provoking, innovative food (lunch, dinner or Sunday brunch) with 7 days to go? So where are the great spots you love to eat that simply haven't hit the hype machine to the extent they are booked up weeks (OK, or a week) in advance? Manhattan preferred.

Beaulieu,
Thanks for the refence to Place St.-Francois. The kids and significant other were dragging their feet today, and we missed out getting down into Nice on time - or rather, we had to choose between our lunch reservation at Flaveur or the market - not a hard choice. The chef at Flaveur gave me his fish monger's number, so I may not make it to St. Francois after all - but if I can;t get by with his fish monger in my terrible french, I may well yet get to the market.

Cheers,

Parigi,
thanks so much for the recos. We picked up some wonderful wine at Cave Caprioglio, and served up some fabulous raviolis from Le Barale tonight. Uber Yum! Also found your comments elsewhere about pastisse, so picked some of that up too, and served it as an app after sauteing in a local olive oil, a bit of garlic, served with a bit of chopped rosemary from the garden outside, salt, and some local olive tapinade on the side. Fantastic. Thanks for the ideas.

And the chef at Flaveur gave me the name of the lady he sources fish from, so that is the plan for tomorrow night now, after lunch at Mirazur. Incredible foie dish and magnificent beef tartar at Flaveur today. Jeez, I wish I could to this full time!

OK, we just left Paris for 5 days down in a villa near Nice. Travelling with the kids, so the three stars were price prohibitive, but had great meals at Dans Les Landes, Cafe Breizh and Au Passage. Au Passage was an aboslute stand out. Talented young chefs, who found a low rent location so they could spend money on quality ingredients and deliver great value. Outstanding food, even if the price point, decor and location suggest something a bit less. ....but I digress. I will do a more complete report later.

Right now, our need is this. The villa has a wood oven, a charcoal grill (2 actually to allow different temperatures) and is overlooking Nice from up in the hills. If I could buy from the fishermen as the boats came in, it would be ideal. If not, what is the next best option? Locations for cheese and charcuterie would also be welcomed. Local produce is not an issue - the farm below us has a bunch! Jeez, I love this country!

We just left Paris. Had a great bunch of oysters at Breizh cafe, followed by OMG gallettes and crepes. And for something really unique and fantastic, drop in to Dan Les Landes where they are doing a fabulous oyster and duck breast tartar with a drizzle of truffle oil - or at least they were during a great meal on Saturdayy night. Paris by mouth (parisbymouth.com I think?) has a list of their top 5 or 6 oyster spots and their other reco's were generally very good, so that would be a good starting point - but you must try that duck breast and oyster tartar!

We were just at Versailles on Sunday. My strong advice is grab some charcuterie, a few apples and some great cheese at a market or appropriate stores in Paris, pick up a baguette that morning, and have a pinic to remember on the grounds. Oops, don't forget a bottle of Burgundy, or your other favourite wine.

Note that when you visit the Chateau/palace (which is well worth doing) they will make you check a bag that contains, food, wine, corkscrews and knifves, but you can get it back as soon as you leave the building, before you explore the grounds.

Parigi,

Thanks for those. They sound perfect. Indeed Dans Les Landes appears to hit the mark on two accounts. My wife and I were in San Sebastian and environs this past fall, and brought back tales and photos of pintxos that had my budding gourmands salivating - but there is nothing resembling good tapas in Toronto, so tapas style dining is still merely an idea for them. It appears we are about to change that.

OK everyone, stop piling on limegimlet who prophetically predicted that reaction to her/his La Refuge post. It does indeed sound like a memorable spot the kids would enjoy...I will however need to give some thought to whether or not the adults want that experience in our culinary memory banks.

What about other fun options that might be a little more in keeping with tradtional culture? One of my most favorite memories of our first trip to Paris (sans kids) was a lunch at La Cave de l'Os à Moëlle. In retrospect, it was as memorable an experience as our visits to Pierre Gagnaire and the then newly open Le Comptoir du Relais. The people and conversations we had at the communal table that afternoon remain fond memories to this day, even if the actual food is a little hard to recall.

That is great input limegimlet. Exactly what I was looking for. Thank-you. Given our hotel is near L'Arc de Triomphe, does Caius or Caius Zinc belong on the list? I have read a few good things about them, and nothing bad, as I've looked around the forum a bit.

I also have seen a lot of positive comments about Fish. It probably isn't as Parisian an experience, but it seems to get quite a bit of buzz as an interesting place to eat.

We'll be in Paris for 5 days in March. My partner and I have already done most of the top spots on past trips, and with a 13 and 16 year old in tow this time; we're operating with a far more disciplined budget than normal. Fortunately they are both budding foodies (yup, we're proud parents!) so we're eager to give them a broad range of experiences, as this is really their first trip to a true culinary destination,

Generally I'd like to try to stay under 30 to 35 Euros per person for dinners, ex wine. We’re looking to give the girls a range of experiences from classic bistros to more innovative or experimental places. Quality is very important, atmosphere will significantly enhance their experience and fame/name is totally irrelevant.

We’re staying at a hotel near the L’Arc de Triomphe, so one or two places within walking distance (we’re all reasonably fit) would be helpful. Plus, given this is the girl’s first trip to Paris, we’ll be looking for lunches near the main sites (Louvre, Notre Dame, Tour Eiffel, etc).

Thanks in advance. Your ideas and suggestions will help launch two nascent chowhounders on their first gastro tourism adventure.

Interesting to hear your comments on the cod dish. There was a sous vide cod dish on our menu as well. It was served on a bed of morels, and spinach in a truffled veal stock. Looking back at my notes, it seems they have solved the texture issue - our cod was very moist., with a crisp crust. But it was the only one dish of 10 or more that was a "miss" for us, none the less. The waiter told us it was the most polarizing dish on the menu, because the chef was "working for very bold flavours". The flavours were indeed bold, but a bit disjointed for our tastes. If longtablewine goes, it will be good to get his take. By no means should one "miss" be taken as a negative in terms of the overall meal. We had at least one "miss" at Can Roca, Mugaritz and Etxebarri as well, jsut to calibrate what a "miss' is for us.

Service our evening was fantastic - but it was as slow night, so I can see how a big turn out could cause challenges.

I'd definitely add Robert Gelonch to your list. If you search on the forum you'll see my comments - not enough time today to duplicate them. Whether here, or over at egullet, Gelonch gets great reviews. I am sure you won;t be disappointed. We had lunch at Fonda Gaig, as you are planning. My reaction was, good, not great". It gets billed as a more traditional Catalan place, and there were some Catalan dishes to be sure, but it felt like reasonably generic "fine dining" to me. It is a big business lunch hangout, judging by the clientele when we were there. Definitely go to QUimet & Quimet. It was one of the more memorable places from our entire trip to Spain.

Enjoy!

Our stay in Barcelona was too short to claim any level of expertise or perspective. I will say that Cal Pep was a BIG disappointment. I am sure that in 2003 it was special. I suspect that today it is still a great experience if Pep is behind the bar. But alas, the day we went. he was working the restaurant at the back of the building.. And the staff at the bar were nothing special. which was appropriate for the food - which was good, but nothing special. We waited 45 minutes, for good but not great food, and the bill clearly reflects a mercenary pricing policy to capitalize on the cult status the restaurant has achieved among English speaking culinary tourists. I've got to believe there are countless places with similar quality food, at a much better price. That is, perhaps, an overly harsh commentary, and I will accept criticism of it, but I truly felt this place was living off past reviews.

The most interesting tapas we had in BCN was at Quimet y Quimet. It also has achieved cult like status among professionals we know and gastro tourists - but in this case it is warranted. I will turn you off with my next comment, but it is exactly why you should go. Much of the ingredients on the tapas they serve comes out of cans and jars. From what I have learned, that is far more common than most enthusiasts would like to know, but it is unabashed at Quimet. Virtually every professional chef I know who has gone to Barcelona comes back raving about the place. Suspend your disbelief and go!

Again, recognizing that I am definitively not a Barcelona expert (heck, I've only eaten 8 meals there), but we had a fantastic meal at Robert Gelonch. If you search that name on this forum, and on www.egullet.com, you will see a lot of comments - most of them exceptionally positive. Today, he is running what appears to be a neighborhood restau that is getting a LOT of buzz among culinary tourists. (i.e. the kind of place your friend had on their list in 2003). But I suspect he will be running a much bigger, much more expensive place in another few years- if he chooses to. He is that good.

In addition, we enjoyed a meal at Fonda Gaig, and El Quim de la Bogueria in the Bogueria market was a much better experience, and less expensive than Cal Pep. Our experience at Comerc 24 was disappointing.

Right, I forgot to say where we stayed. In San Seb, we stayed at Pension Aida. Essentially we decided to economize on our hotel in order to splurge on meals (Mugaritz and Etxebarri). Pension Aida was absolutely fine. About a 8 minute walk from the old town where most of the Pintxos bars are- close enough to be convenient, far enough away to be quiet at night. (It is even closer to the Pintxos bars in the newer part of town). Rooms were large and comfortable. Staff were very helpful, including providing the names of their favourite Pintxos bars. Just make sure you get an outside facing room (we were in Room 3, which was great. 4, 5 & 6 all face outside as well. They are highly rated on www.tripadvisor.com. Along the same line, Pension Bellas Artes gets rave reviews, but is too far away from the old town for my tastes.

Estufarian,

That does sound special. And if it does happen occasionally, it is a good argument for arriving right at 1:00 (the earliest reservation I thought one could get was 1:30, but we saw people walking in at 1:00 when we arrived in the parking lot . With a 2:00 reserv, we just strolled around the country roads for 45 minutes or so until just before 2:00. That said, the menu was long enough, that I'd still not have needed a full dinner if we had begun lunch an hour earlier.

One other option. if one was staying in town at Mendi Goikoa and wasn;t interested in eating there, might be the bar under the Etxebarri restaurant. As you would know from being there, on the ground floor there is what looked like a very traditional local bar, complete with a few trays of tapas when we walked through. (for those who have not been there, the restaurant is upstairs). . I have no idea if it is open in the evening, or if it serves tapas then, but if it was, that is all one would need as an evening snack and it would certainly give you a true local experience. In the evening, the culinary tourists would be long gone, except Saturday, the one night that Etxebarri is open for dinner.

Here are my quick thoughts having recently returned from San Seb and BCN. In Barcelona, we loved Robert Gelonch. Search that on the board and you will see my comments in another thread. Wander over to egullet.com and you will see lots of reviews and pictures. (If you are looking for a romantic New Years eve dinner, that could be the place!)

For Tapas in BCN, you must try Quimet y Quimet - one of the most interesting, best Tapas spots we went to in all of Spain. El Quim de la Bogueria in the market is a good spot for lunch, but is priced based on it's popularity (avoid Cal Pep in the Born for exactly this reason if it is recommended to you), but if you stick with the lower priced dishes rather than the larger meals at El Quim, you will love it (with a glass or three of Cava of course!). There is another spot at the market, right at the front as you come in, that has an even better rep (Pinocho I think, but it is well discussed in other forum threads), but it was lined up when we went. Just don't go to La Boqueria (the market) on Saturday - it is a madhouse. Better to go around 11:00 or 12:00 on a weekday (not Monday) as it is less busy.

When in San Sebastian (ahhhhhh, San Sebastian!) we ate at two top end places - Mugaritz and Etxebarri (which is actually closer to Bilbao). Both are well reviewed here and on other sites, and both are FANTASTIC!.

For Pintxos in San Seb (Pintxos is Basque for tapas), our favourites on the traditional side were Bar Nestor (very, very traditional) and Gandarias (I dare you to eat just one solomillo, a little piece of beef tenderloin on a garlic rubbed toasted with a lightly pickled ancho slice on top - they are as addictive a crack cocaine). For more experimental/modern, Bar Zeruko and Fuego Negro are fabulous. You must stop at Zeruko for their La Hoguera - a thin piece of cod, served on a little brazier so you can smoke/cook it at your seat. Magnificent!. Everything we had at Fuego Negro was great too. Cuchara San Telmo gets a lot of buzz as well, but didn't impress us quite as much - which means it was only really great. Here is a great site to guide you through the myriad of other options: http://www.todopintxos.com . You will love San Sebastian. Between the Michelin starred places and the Pintxos bars, it is absolute food heaven. I truly believe it may be the best food destination on this planet of ours.

Longtablewine,

If you are looking for an El Bulli level experience (although definitively not El Bulli), you should consider the train to Girona for lunch at El Celler De Can Roca (now the #2 rated Restaurant on San Pellegrino's top 50 World restau list). I'm not sure I'd bring along children, and if you do you'll need a Brinks truck to carry your wallet, but it is a fabulous experience.

For a much more reasonably priced, but still tremendously flavourful and imaginative meal, I'd recommend Robert Gelonch. We ate there one night in BCN and had a great meal. It appears to be more of a neighbourhood restaurant than a big destination, but it has been getting a lot of buzz among gastro tourists. We went there based upon great reviews posted on the egullet web site, and were definitely not disappointed. Indeed, it eclipsed our meal at Comerc 24, at half the price or less.

We had a 10 course meal (1)strawberry gazpacho, 2) Sous vide and Grilled iberian pancetta, roasted scallop, peanut taboule, crunchy prawn and coriander cream 3) Wagyu beef carpaccio, honey bread crumbs, grilled arugula under a bell filled with beech wood smoke, 4) Cuttlefish in a deconstructed pesto (Parmiggiano whey, basil oil and garlic crisps) 5) Baby squid with quail egg, asparagus, scallions, anemones, black garlic cream and chorizo breadcrumbs, 6)Seared cod with morels, spinach and white truffle sauce, 7) beef stew with beet root, sun chokes and salsify with a watercress cream, 8) thin slices of toro on pizza dough cracker with oven dried cherry tomato, slivered green olive and olive oil foam 9) first desert was listed on the menu as sobrasada air cake, ensaimada ice cream, Mahón cheese cream and Soller tangerine coulis, which the waiter descried as a paprika sausage sponge cake, with a pastry flavoured ice cream, cured cheese foam and tangerine coulis - I know, it sounds bizarre, but was really great and apparently was playing with classic flavours from Majorca, 10) Green tea mache cake with white chocolate ganache, dark chocolate truffle and a toasted pistachio sweet cream.

I also think it would be a great place for the kids. That 10 course meal moved along very quickly, so they would not get bored. Each dish was beautiful, imaginative and flavourful, but approachable at the same time. One of the waiters spoke excellent English, and both struck the requisite balance of casually friendly, but exceptionally knowledgeable about the techniques used in the kitchen. Chef came out and spoke to us after our meal, and was very humble and easy to talk too.

And on top of that, it won't break the bank (relative to high end restaurant pricing anyways). The above noted meal (ex the Toro which we ordered extra), was the 52 Euro set menu. Wines were very reasonably priced, and the waiter actually talked me down (price point wise) to a great bottle of red.

-----
El Bulli
Spain , ES

Hi Aleta,

We were just at Etxebarri 2 weeks ago and had a fabulous meal (and we must have been served a much less tough chuleta, but still fabulously flavourful)

While it may not work for you, for other readers of this thread who may be wondering, personally, I would seriously consider that near by Inn. The only downside of our trip was my not being able to enjoy very much wine because I was the designated driver. To have such wonderful cuisine, in such a fabulous setting, without a reasonable accompaniment of wine was, well, a little sad.

That Inn is about 150 meters up a hill from Etxebarri. It looked beautiful, and the setting is absolutely stunning. The Inn and the very small village Etxebarri is located in, are situated in a lush farming valley, surrounded by mountains. We walked right past the Inn ( Mendi Goikoa http://www.mendigoikoa.com ) but we did not go in.

The the quality of the food at the Inn is really not important, because the lunch at Etxebarri is so large, you will definitely not be wanting a dinner that night. Our lunch started around 2:00, and we did not get up from the table until around 5:00. I had a couple of Pintxos in San Seb that night around 9:30 pm, and that was all I needed. So you definitely won't be wanting a full dinner on the night you eat at Etxebarri. If the stomach must be fed, just bring along some bread, olives, jamon and wine and you will be fine. Accordingly, the only meal one would likely eat at the Inn would be breakfast the next morning.

That is exactly our plan, next time we go back. A leisurely mountain drive up to Axpe, a late lunch at Etxebarri, and hour or two hike in the mountains (but for the less adventurous, one could easily substitute a stroll on the country roads) and overnight at Mendi. The opportunity to stay longer in that beautiful valley, and wake their the next morning, would add an additional highly memorable element to what is already a great experience!

I am attaching a picture of the valley (and I am pretty sure that building on the right side of the photo is the Inn)

Ooops. Wrong picture and I can;t seem to edit it out. That picture was a breaded pork cutlet with charred tomato and sauteed zucchini & aubergine from night 2. Here is the flan:

Well, I find myself in the unusual position of responding to my own question, having now "been there and done that." On the off chance that anyone finds themselves looking for a layover point between Etxebarri and Celler Can Roca, like we did, we stayed at Fonda Cal Blasi in Montblanc - and it was wonderful. Montblanc is a beautiful walled medieval village (all of the wall is still intact, about an hour and a half outside of Barcelona (north of Tarragona). There is beautiful hiking in the surrounding mountains, a great monastery in nearby Poblet, and the Roman ruins in Tarragona are an easy day trip. The hotel is run by Carles and Carne - a wonderful couple for whom their modest hotel is a labour of love as well as a commercial venture.

But the real reason to discuss it on a Chowhould board is that Carne's cooking is fabulous. What you get here is real Catalan home cooking, skilfully prepared by Carne and carefully explained by Carles. Indeed, on our first night, Carne was cooking only for us (plus Carles and herself). We started with a grilled bread, that was served with olive oil, raw garlic and halved tomatoes, and jamon iberico. At the table, Carles showed us the proper way to rub the garlic on the toast, how to rub the tomato on without making the bread soggy. On, went a drizzle of olive oil, then the jamon, and the toast was cut and folded in half to create a sandwich.....YUM! (a and a great lesson in technique!).

The balance of the dinner - a salad, a wonderful zucchini flan with simply cooked crushed tomato and mushrooms (pictured) and several local sausages was equally good and all was typical Catalan home cooking. They source almost all of their produce and meats locally, from organic producers. It was the perfect counterpoint to the Michelin starred restaurants and finicky little tapas/pintxos bars that constituted much of the rest of our trip.

If you are in the area, or want a medieval mountain village escape outside of BCN , go and enjoy! Carles said that Carne does occasionally have people come to the hotel for several days of cooking classes, so that may be an alternative as well. Their web site http://www.fondacalblasi.com says nothing about it, but you could email them at the hotel to ask.

Definitely consider dinner at Robert Gelonch. He is an exceptionally talented young chef. The restaurant will be a reasonable cab ride from your hotel. On a recent trip to Barcelona, a meal at his restaurant was the highlight of our Barcelona dining - far better than the much more popular Comerc 24, and half the price! There are a number of reviews of Gelonch over on the www.egullet.com web site, many of which include pictures. The food is beautifully plated, imaginative, and very, very well executed. While it does not have the cache of the bigger name places, the food is every bit as good, or better, and the prices are supper reasonable. The servers speak excellent English, and the wine list is very reasonably price and great quality. You won't regret going and are likely to become a big fan. We did!

After a weekend in San Sebastian (Mugaritz and Arzak) we will be lunching at Asador Etxebarri on a Tuesday afternoon, and then driving down to Girona for a Wednesday dinner at Can Roca. According to google maps at least, that is about a 6 hour drive, and we are interested in breaking it up with an overnight stop along the way. We'll be hitting Barcelona on the way back from Girona, before flying home, so what we're really after is an interesting town or village that would make for a good overnight stop more than halfway along the route. GIven the other spots we're hitting, it hardly need have a Michelin starred restaurant. Good, authentic regional cuisine is more what we'd be after. Any suggestions???

I was at the Evergreen market in the brickworks yesterday and there was a farm from King (www.kindorganics.ca ?) that had them.

Thanks Xiao Yang. These were very helpful