Text 11921, 177 rader
Skriven 2014-04-08 21:00:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Kommentar till en text av DAVE & JIM
Ärende: Canadian Caper 470
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DD> slattern from the Hotel Institute that hosed the orders and then
DD> out-and-out lied about a lot of things. GiGi certainly ripped a WIDE
DD> strip off of her
Probably the most amusing part of the meal, though I
witnessed it from another table.
JW> We were at a different table with a different waitress and had a
JW> mostly enjoyable and good meal with just one flawed dish (remember
JW> that they were after all students). The arctic char that I
JW> recommended to Aura and others but didn't order myself was badly
JW> overwhelmed with a heavy cracked spice rub crust and was very badly
JW> overcooked, which was a kitchen fault and not within the waitress'
JW> control.
DD> I ordered the char - it was completely overwhelmed by the spice crust.
DD> Bitter to being puckery and crunchy in the bargain. As you say, the
One of the more famous lowlights of the echo experience.
DD> fault was the kitchen's. But, the attitude and behaviour of our waitron
DD> was nothing to do with the kitchen - other than the kitchen being out
DD> of creme brulee, which set her off in a different tangent. Some people
DD> have no business in the hospitality business.
Lucky you didn't have the creme brulee.
JW> Years later Roslind and I attended another student dinner that was
JW> virtually perfect. It was a Valentines Day dinner put on by the
JW> grade 12 class at the vocational trade centre!
DD> I have helped (sous chef) my friend Les as he has presented chilli
DD> making to the Culinary Arts classes at the school the Tinker Toy Tech
DD> has morphed into. I have even been dragooned into demonstrating my
DD> salsa fresca/pico de gallo.
DD> The kids from the Lincoln Land Community College program do a three or
DD> four day presentation every couple of months, in which they make and
DD> present their dishes in a restaurant/fine dining setting. The
DD> reputation of the program is such that the available tables are always
DD> over-subscribed. My, how things have changed since '60/'70 when the
DD> only food was snacks from coin-op machines in the Student Union (and
DD> card room).
The institutions have grown out of control: the bad effect
is that there are hundreds of young grads every year who
have spent lots of money getting an education they can't use.
Sort of like the music schools churning out unconscionable
numbers of singers, french horn players, pianists, and similar.
The good effect is that the standard of food preparation and
especially hygiene at even modest places has improved, so we
are the beneficiaries of the general system-caused sorrow.
==
Contemporary reportage on that meal:
The Institute meal was pleasant but could have been better.
Our table - aside from Benita being served two substandard
things and being sassed by a waitress - got good service; I
am told that at least one of the other tables got rather
perfunctory service. I found that the boy waiter was both
more competent and more friendly than the girl waiter (who
tried to convince Benita that her creme brulee was fine,
when it was in fact curdled and hard).
A few peculiarities: Bob Gearhart and his lady (Dorothy?)
sat themselves down later than the rest of us; we all had
places at the 4 big round tables, so they very sensibly
put themselves at a table for two; from which they were
soon evicted and then put at another big round table by
themselves! Someone soon saw the stupidity of this and
gave them back their nice table with a view.
They pour the wine funny (also, they spill more than they
should, plus they don't invariably turn the bottle to
catch the drops after pouring) - they start to the left of
the host (or whom they presume as the host - the one who ordered
the wine) and pour clockwise, with the result that the host
gets served last and only half a glass! They did this twice
to me, and this was confirmed by those sitting at another
table. Result (I didn't fall for this) is that the person
feels shorted and therefore orders an extra bottle. Naughty.
A fairly competent but loud jazz combo inhibited conversation
during the meal.
- - -
We started with an amuse-bouche of phyllo-wrapped vegetables:
the vegetables tasted to me to be apple and celery root. Fairly
nice but bland. On the side was what looked like miniature
pickled cactuses; I haven't a clue what they were. I was
eating it with my fingers (the proper way); others used their
cutlery, so I decided to join the crowd. The staff didn't
remove the forks and replace them with another; they took the
forks off the plates and put them back at their position.
This is points off in my book. [M's note a decade and half
later: it was samphire]
Review of dishes.
Emu ravioli. Light on the meat, and you only got one not so
big one. Slightly greasy, and Benita's was burned almost black,
and she had to send it back. Flavor was decent, and the bed of
greens was fresh. I think that most people were pleased enough.
White asparagus. I still don't see what's so wonderful about
this vegetable. It's okay, but green asparagus has more taste.
Chicken liver mousse. I was the only one at my table to order
it, but after passing it around I realized that others probably
would have liked to have ordered it as well. Very rich and smooth,
with good liver flavor; the apple dice and coffee sauce went
astonishingly well.
Beet soup. I heard it was nasty. Nobody at our table ordered it,
but we toyed with the idea of getting one and sending it to Bodle
with our compliments.
- - -
Pave of emu. Overcooked was the universal verdict. Flavor was
pretty good, though, and the cut was tender.
Duck breast (so-called tournedos). Nice, a little fatty with
uncrisp skin; at our table (which was served much later than
everyone else) they were cooked rare; elsewhere I hear rumbles
about overcooking. Decent demi-glace sauce. The poached pear
with saffron was undistinguished - mine was floury and awful.
Beef with goat cheese sauce. Also universally overcooked;
a strange dish - beef done to taste like lamb.
Arctic char fillet. I think this dish is a mistake. Two or three
thin fillets coated with a thick coating of spices that included
cinnamon stick, fennel seed, various peppers, cornmeal, and one or
two other things I identified on the spot but that I forget now.
The treatment sort of overpowered the fish, which was overcooked.
If there had been one thick fillet per plate done this way, the
dish might have been okay, less overpowered and less overcooked.
Baby vegetables on the side were okay, although someone (Dave
Drum I think) had a pattypan squash that was mushy (overdone
again), and Carol Bryant, I think it was, detested the carrots.
A wedge of basil-flavored polenta completed the plates: some
liked it, I thought no way.
- - -
Nobody to my knowledge did the cheese thing.
- - -
Desserts.
Chocolate mousse was respectable but with a strong eau de Hershey
- a milky, almost cheesy taste. Nice berry puree drizzled around.
Spice bread was sort of like ordinary buttered toast with a side of
star anise and vanilla flavored ice cream (I think; I had only
a tiny taste). It was ... intriguing ... but the bread was of course
and as usual overcooked.
Creme brulee was way too thin and as a result the top was not
well defined (no crispness to the brulee part) and the remainder
was curdled. Benita's was beyond acceptable; mine was okay. I
understand that other tables didn't get as many cremes brulees
as they wished. Bad planning on the part of the restaurant.
- - -
Wine list is respectable, although the Cotes du Rhone from
Chapoutier that I had ordered was out, and I got instead one of
my standbys, the lightish but attractive Rodet Pinot Noir Vieilles
Vignes 1996 (Bourgogne).
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