smitten

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A dish served in an egg shell at Thomas Keller’s Per Se.
Credit Rob Kim Getty Images for Starwood Preferred Guest

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New York Times food critic Pete Wells recently published a devastating review of Thomas Keller’s Manhattan restaurant Per Se.
While I personally respect professionals like Thomas Keller for their skills, media savvy and good luck, NOBODY is infallible.
And please, never forget the other thousands of equally great chefs around the world who serve equally great food (at least) on a daily basis without being recognized on the monumental scale that some (very few) other chefs have had the good fortune to receive. Not for nothing, the saying goes – “The higher they fly, the deeper they fall”
Remember, there are only a handful of artists in any medium whose work will command millions, while an ocean of others will produce innumerable masterpieces which will wither unrecognized and are never seen by more than a handful of lucky patrons. The same goes for food, service and other masterpieces of our hospitality industry.
Those of us who don’t make it big will just have to suck it up and take the reward to which we are accustomed best – a decent salary (mostly) and the happy faces of our guest’s on their way out 🙂
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And yes, sometimes, even the best of us screw up and we need to be told about it in order to be able to make corrections !
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Read more: http://www.mensjournal.com/food-drink/chefs-restaurants/american-fine-dining-isnt-for-you-per-se-20160115#ixzz3xj4XDwH7

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I have just posted a review of this article on my FB site, which resulted in the following comment :
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Larry Campbell :
“Haters… I believe this is an art and some of us are better then others. Don’t hate respect.”
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To which I replied :
“To be a great chef means you are a top craftsman, not an artist.
Our professional label is “COOK”. Chef is a title.
While it is nice to be admired in ones profession, one should not lose sight of reality. Fine dining, at any level is just food, service and environment elevated to the next level. Not magic – just professionals doing their job. The point is that so few folks nowadays have any idea what good food, great service and sublime dining-environment is and are therefore fascinated with the new element of their dining experience and thereby mistake that for extraordinary quality 😦
Food like this has been served in restaurants around the world for ages. Most Americans have never been exposed to any high quality dining experience and are therefore smitten with old hats.
This is not to take away from Per Se and especially not from Thomas Keller, but great dining has been around forever and will continue in thousands of restaurants around the word.
Ballyhoo and/or crappy reviews will not change that.
Gourmets, Bon Vivants and Hospitality-Professionals will make sure that superb dining experiences will live-on, no matter if they are the “In” thing of the moment or not ……..”
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Comments Welcome 🙂
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David Chang’s pork buns have achieved a mythical status only American “foodies “would allow to be bestowed upon a simple steamed bun, smeared with hoisin sauce and topped with salt and sugar seasoned pork belly and pickled cucumbers.
When I had these wonderful little sandwiches a few years back in New York I was truly smitten by their delicious simplicity, but I never understood their immense cult following. My only explanation would be that pork belly, pickled cucumbers and steamed buns are fairly new to most folks who fall all over them self touting these “innovative” ingredients and combinations. (Kind of making fools of them self by flaunting their lack of experience with international cuisine while considering them self “foodies” and “experts”). Steamed pork buns are a traditional staple in many Asian cuisines, especially in China. There are infinite numbers of great variations out there, one better than the next.
Today, I want to introduce you to my own version of the pork bun. For this version, I am using kaiser roll (a very light version) instead of the traditional steamed bun and introduce my pork to a lot more flavor and texture. I consider my pork buns not necessarily to be better but definitely tastier and more textural interesting. You’ll be the judge 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Hans’ Pork Belly Bun

top pork with cucumber/radish and coarsely chopped cilantro

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Preparation :
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season porkbelly with salt and saute until golden brown

when brown, remove pork and set aside

saute onions in garlic oil until lightly caramelized

add hoisin sauce, grated ginger, garlic paste

add hoisin sauce, grated ginger and garlic paste

add oyster sauce

add soy sauce

add sriracha

return pork to pan, add water

simmer covered until pork is tender but NOT falling apart, remove pork, set aside, reduce sauce until thickened and onions are very soft, check / adjust seasoning

meanwhile, slice radishes and cucumber into julienne, season with kosher salt, let sit for 20 minutes, squeeze dry, discard juices add rice wine vinegar and white pepper, check / adjust seasoning