. t h e k c c f o o d i e .

Comments to comments

I've received several nice comments and e-mails regarding my last entry, which I hope people will continue to read and ponder. Among them, Chris wrote his confidence about Thomas Keller's ability to sustain the high standards for which he has become famous. To clarify my point of view, I do not believe Keller will lose considerable quality by expanding his restaurant mini-empire. What I most fret about is his foray into frozen food territory, and his motives for which remain unclear. To me loyal Keller fans don't deserve that. His food is in a league of its own; reportedly even down-home Ad Hoc is several steps above the rest, and with frozen, it is impossible, impossible, I repeat, to offer consumers the same caliber of food served at his restaurants. Why settle for less?

Chris also made a good point about Keller's sous chefs--Corey Lee and Jonathan Benno, to name two, are holding their spectacular own when the man himself is not present. Chris' argument is that my experience shouldn't be marred by the fact that Keller's not the one cooking in the back, but for me, a chronic obsessor about culinary things and cheffing, the whole point of going to TFL is to dine with the stigma of being in Keller's precious flagship with HIM there. But oh well. Such is life: full of disappointments.

*By the way, in this article from Bloomberg a couple weeks back, Mimi Sheraton's earlier comment on Bouchon Bistro being "jam-packed and wildly noisy" is completely ridiculous. It's a bistro, for goodness' sake.

Please, continue to leave your thoughts!

OWCH!

Frank Bruni, feared critic of the New York Times, makes an excellent commentary on over-glorified chefs, paying special attention to those who've over the years become so famous they fail to remember the fundamentals of the kitchen. I am eagerly awaiting Sunday night, when Food Network's new series "The Next Iron Chef" airs its premier episode, but apparently Bruni's already caught an early glimpse, as he amusingly recalls Traci des Jardins' bewilderment at having to filet a salmon and debone a chicken. So she says she "doesn't handle such chores often anymore." CHORES?! There goes her hope of winning. Because to me, throughout his or her career, a true chef should always remain humble enough to remember the tasks they began with. How else would they have been able to advance? In one of my favorite books, the Dornenburgs' Becoming a Chef, one pretty famous chef, whose name I shall refrain from divulging, says she doesn't "have time" to do prep work at her restaurant because she's "too important." How disgusting.

Michael Symon, another contender for the spot of Iron Chef, started off with his adorable eclectic bistro, Lola in Cleveland, and in recreating his earlier recipes, I grew to respect him. But now with two other ventures, one rather far away in New York, can he sustain his humility? Even Thomas Keller (I think at this point in time there is no need to say from which restaurant he comes from) is expanding into frozen food territory, and to me, I worry excessively about him becoming a "sell-out," one who has strayed so far from his original vision that he's lost his integrity (*cough* Wolfgang *ah-choo!* Puck!). I continue to be amazed by his food, so gorgeously illustrated in both cookbooks, and I hope to dine at TFL for my 21st birthday, but sadly I feel my experience could be marred by the fact he might not even be in California that evening.

My deepest affection remains with those who have stuck true to their roots, refused to be bigger for any sake, and still cook every night in their own restaurant with soul and gusto. Examples include my current boss, of course, Stefano Cianfrini, Dennis Leary (Canteen, SF), Lachlan Patterson (Frasca, CO), Nate Appleman (A16, SF), Joey Campanaro (Little Owl, NYC), and Alan Takasaki (Le Bistro, Aina Haina). And of course, eternal respect for the faithful cooks and owners of all the little trattorias, osterias, bistros, and cafes in Europe.

Something wonderful.

Let me start today by apologizing for the long gap in posts; frankly there has been very little exciting food news both locally and nationally. Much of it has been continuances of old stories--the Whole Foods/Wild Oats debate, chefs suing chefs, tax-evading Italians who lost their liquor licenses...that kind o' stuff.

But the NYTimes offers up a good article about "quickie" cooking classes in France for the passing-through traveler. These classes are held at such prestigious institutions like Ecole Lenotre, where a fair amount of world-class pastry chefs initially trained.

If you haven't already, head over to the nearest newsstand and grab a copy of this month's Honolulu Magazine, because it's all about food! Complete with an extensive restaurant guide, tips on budget dining, and reminiscing by John Heckathorn, the Restaurant Issue is one more thing to look forward to every year.

And now, I've been itching to tell SOMEone that...I've been published!!! Okay, not in the true binded literary sense, but my years of dorkiness and menu writing have finally paid off. Sabrina's Restaurant, where I currently am an apprentice, called upon their own personal Geek Squad (a.k.a. me) to design their newest menu, put into effect since only yesterday. I'm insanely excited and can't wait until we get brand-new leather menu covers instead of the flappable plastic lamination. Check out zee muh-noo ICI! <Download sabrinas5.pdf>

Good Grief.

$22 for a Cornish game hen? $26 for seared 'ahi salad? This is what I have been subjected to in my ongoing search for accessible creative cuisine here on 'Oahu. What we have so far is a sprinkling of places like Grand Cafe and Nico's that certainly offer a relief for our wallets, but hardly much else is out there. Fine-dining is easily found, despite the lack of excellence in most of it. I don't mind the occasional hamburger steak, but more often I crave the simple but creatively concocted kind of food available in the rest of America. Where can you find a cute little place for good espresso and a flaky pain au chocolat in the morning? How about a croque monsieur or roasted eggplant panino at lunch? Or a delicious stump of baked goat cheese atop fresh locally grown lettuces for less than $10? Or bold but beautifully crafted works of pastry, like ones found at SF's Citizen Cake? Granted, kudos go out to Stage and Cassis for offering something refreshingly new, but despite that the culinary scene remains nearly stagnant. And I think part of the problem is locals are afraid of change. It's the Asian mentality of "Why change what's already good?", and we've got ourselves in a bloody rut, and I'm sure I'm not the only one sick of it. How do we know we can't make what we have BETTER? Come on, people.