Reviews

Posts reviewing food, wine, restaurants, chefs, technology, or travel.

The Keeper Team is continuing its walk down memory lane with a series of posts about some of the fabulous meals we enjoyed during a memorable trip to Barcelona over the holidays last year.

One of our first meals in Barcelona was at Restaurant Arola.  Inside the luxurious Hotel Arts in Barcelona in the Olympic Village, Arola is a widely admired restaurant and bar created by Chef Sergi Arola. With two Michelin Stars, Chef Sergi Arola has quickly become a well-known name in Spain’s culinary world.

We sat down, took in the quirky pop-art décor surrounding us with bright greens and purples, and then asked our lovely server for Cava suggestions.

Arola

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As we prepare to wrap up 2010, the Keeper Team is taking a look back at the many great trips we’ve taken over the past twelve months – all with the goal of giving you, our faithful readers, firsthand accounts of the culinary scene around the globe.  Where in the World has Keeper been?  We’ve wined & dined in Piedmont, Barcelona, New York, Charleston, Burgundy, Austin… It’s been quite a year!  In fact, we’ve enjoyed so many outstanding meals that we didn’t have the opportunity to share them all with you at the time.  So, we’re closing out the year with a few “bonus posts” – stories of experiences so delicious that we’re still savoring them months later!  And, since this week marks the one-year anniversary of our memorable trip to Piedmont, our first flashback post recalls our bittersweet last day in this awesome corner of Italy.

Our last day made us sad; we didn’t want to leave Piedmont.  Where did we go for our last morning coffee and pastry? Barolo of course.  While so close to the fresh pasta shop that had been closed for several days in Barolo, we zipped by to find it finally open.  It was interesting to see that the pastamaker’s shop did not have as many different types of his own pastas as there were in the small pasticceria in the nearby town of La Morra!

It was time to go back to the Scavinos in Castiglione Falletto for a tour and tasting with winemaker Elisa Scavino and Director of Marketing, Weston Howard.  We tasted 2005 Carobric, Cannubi, Bric del Fiasc, and Bricco Ambrogio, along with a 2003 Rocche dell’Annunziata.  Then we tasted a vertical of Bric del Fiasc  2006, 2007, and 2008 with 2005 for comparison.  Elisa then offered a blind tasting of 2008 Bricco Ambrogio that had been aged with three different fermentation methods in casks  – one as fermented in old time casks, one in new casks for 7 days and then another in new casks for 23 days! What an interesting comparison.

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Chef Sean Brock of McCrady’s had been on our radar screen for a long time – long before he won his recent James Beard Award for 2010 Best Chef Southeast. He works as a dedicated, modern “farm to table” chef. This work, growing fresh vegetables and grains at his own farm and in conjunction with other local purveyors of other local ingredients, is what inspired us to make a trek to Charleston for the Chef’s Tasting Menu.

As we walked the streets of Charleston to get to McCrady’s, we approached the awning on the main street of East Bay calling us to our destination.  Little did we know that we would take the next alleyway to be able to enter – we felt an adventure ahead.


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Ma Cuisine

Location: Passage Ste-Hélène, Beaune

Phone: 03-80-22-30-22

Cuisine: French

Price: Main courses 15€-28€ ($22-$41); fixed-price menu 20€ ($29)

Hours: Monday – Tuesday & Thursday – Friday noon-1:30pm & 7:30-9

Reservation: Recommended

Credit Cards Accepted: MC, V

As we make our plans to visit Burgundy, one of our first things that we want to know is whether Ma Cuisine will be open for us to dine.  The restaurant has varied days of operation, usually opening on average 4 days per week.  It is a MUST on our list, and we always look forward to the food and wine that Fabienne and Pierre will offer us, not to mention their smiling faces and warm welcome.

Ma Cuisine Sign

Ma Cuisine Sign

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Extreme creations with taste and texture, food combinations in amazing presentations, incredible planning and execution of food service – what show did we attend?  A food show by Chef Pierre Gagnaire at his flagship restaurant in Paris.  Chef Pierre owns nine restaurants throughout the most famous cities in the world:

1. Paris, Pierre Gagnaire 1996
2. Paris, Gaya rive gauche 2005
3. London, Sketch 2002
4. Tokyo, Pierre Gagnaire a Tokyo 2005
5. Hong Kong, Pierre a Hong Kong 2008
6. Dubai, Reflets by Pierre Gagnaire 2008
7. Seoul, Pierre Gagnaire a Seoul 2008
8. Las Vegas, Twist by Pierre Gagnaire 2009
9. Moscow, Les Menus par Pierre Gagnaire 2010

He has been noted as a pioneer of molecular gastronomy and on the forefront of the fusion movement.   S. Pellegrino rates his flagship as number 13 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. The Keeper Team has enjoyed their fair share of the top 50, including
#6 Alinea
#8 Daniel
#10 Per SeKeeper Review
#15 Le BernardinKeeper Review
#26 Momofuku Ssam BarKeeper Review
#32 The French Laundry
#44 La Maison Triosgros
#45 wd~50
#50 Eleven Madison ParkKeeper Review, to name a few.   So, to see that Gagnaire’s flagship restaurant drop six spots this year is perplexing to our team.

Enough background information – let the Pierre Gagnaire spectacle begin!  We are presented the menu and it looks so simple and elegant, imagining that the meal will be the same, very classic French.

Pierre Gagnaire Menu

Pierre Gagnaire Menu

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By Eléonore, Keeper’s French Intern

**CHEFS UNDER FIRE CHALLENGE: Until Friday July 23, correctly translate one sentence of this post from French to English in the comments section and we will email you a code for a FREE ENTRY to Chefs Under Fire 2010!  Each comment must translate a different sentence.  Give it a shot!  (Here’s a tip – Google Translate is pretty helpful!)

Don’t know what CUF is? Learn more at www.ChefsUnderFire2010.com.

Les créations extremes avec gout et texture, les combinaisons de nourriture avec des présentations étonnantes, planning incroyable et execution du service de nourriture-Quel spectacle nous attend? Un spectacle de nourriture par le chef Pierre Gagnaire a son premier restaurant a Paris. Le chef Pierre possède neuf restaurants dans les villes les plus célèbres du monde:

1. Paris, Pierre Gagnaire 1996
2. Paris, Gaya rive gauche 2005
3. London, Sketch 2002
4. Tokyo, Pierre Gagnaire a Tokyo 2005
5. Hong Kong, Pierre a Hong Kong 2006
6. Dubai, Reflets by Pierre Gagnaire 2008
7. Seoul, Pierre Gagnaire a Seoul 2008
8. Las Vegas, Twist by Pierre Gagnaire 2009
9. Moscow, Les Menus par Pierre Gagnaire 2010

Il a été un pionner de la cuisine moléculaire et au premier rang du mouvement de fusion.  S. Pellegrino a évalué son vaisseau comme numéro 13 des 50 meilleurs restaurants du monde. L’équipe de Keeper a mangé dans beaucoups de restaurants du top 50 inclus

#6 Alinea
#8 Daniel
#10 Per SeKeeper Review
#15 Le Bernardin – Keeper Review
#26 Momofuku Ssam BarKeeper Review
#32 The French Laundry
#44 La Masion Triosgros
#45 wd~50
#50 Eleven Madison ParkKeeper Review, pour en nommer certain. Donc, pour voir le restaurant de Pierre Gagnaire baisser cette annee de six place est incroyable pour notre equipe.

Bien, assez pour les informations de base – laissez le spectacle de Pierre Gagnaire commencer! Nous présentons le menu et il parait si simple et elegant, imaginant que le repas va être le même, tipiquement francais.

Menu de Pierre Gagnaire

Menu de Pierre Gagnaire

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If there was a tournament for new restaurants today, UCHIKO would know how winning would feel, as this restaurant deserves a trophy.   Chef Tyson Cole unleashed his creative Executive Chef, Paul Qui, to create the menu for their “Japanese farmhouse”.  The food spoke of the huge talent Chef Qui possesses.  Just like Uchi, Uchiko is aiming for perfection.  As we sat down and were greeted by Chef Cole, he told us that we were in for a night to remember. And WOW, we are still remembering!
Uchiko was designed by Michael Hsu, aiming to provide an interior that is said to be of “aesthetic, crafted materials and warm finishes to round out the dining experience”.  We really like the feel of the restaurant, starting with the backdrop at the entry, to the openness of the kitchen at the sushi bar, and continuing to the glass-front private dining room.
Uchiko
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Restaurant Name & Location:
ABC Kitchen
35 East 18th Street
New York, NY 10003
ph:212.475.5829

Chef Name: Chef Jean Georges Vongerichten

Type of Meal: Dinner

What We Ordered:

abc kitchen menu

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Restaurant Name & Location: Wallse

344 West 11th Street

New York, NY 10014

ph:212.352.2300

Chef Name: Kurt Gutenbrunner

Type of Meal: Brunch

What we Ordered: Download the Menu

Wallse - Chef Kurt Gutenbrunner - Breakfast Breads

Breakfast Breads Market Greens, Radishes, Pumpkin Seed Oil

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Restaurant Name & Location: Eleven Madison Park

11 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10010

ph: 212.889.0905

Chef Name: Daniel Humm

Type of Meal: Lunch

What we Ordered: See the Menu (Menu changes seasonally)

Eleven Madison Park - Assorted Breads

Assorted Breads

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