The best thing you said in this article was to point out Buffalo's ethnic and cultural diversity and how the culinary traditions of that diversity could become the way for chefs to find exciting creativity. New cuisine coming from the old. I love it. That will truly be Buffalo's unique cuisine.
Hmn, that smoked veal cheek dish reminds me of this dish we did at Bradley Ogdens(Vegas)in 2004...We'd cook lobster knuckles sous vide with butter/bay/thyme sprig...so, basically butter poaching, then we'd wrap the knuckles in a sheet of lobster consomme set with gelatin and agar and place some basil buds and coriander sprigs on that. So, off the side we had a green mango salad seasoned with lime, fish sauce, palm sugar, and grains of paradise...we'd ignite some applewood (our grill was wood-burning) and catch it in this soigne little glass and cover the salad and bring it out to the table.....kinda cool...
This is such an interesting article. I was especially struck by the comments from Roo Buckley. It really does tell us something when people go for the steak sandwich and pass up the braised rabbit. Frankly, I'd be inclined to order the steak sandwich too. When it comes down to it I'm not the most adventurous diner. I'd like to be more adventurous, but having been raised on beef, chicken, and pasta, I do tend to stay within my comfort zone even when there are much more interesting dishes from which to choose. I assume Chef Buckley made a reference to the movie Sideways in his e-mail (which I found funny, and would be guilty as charged). I don't think I've ordered Merlot since I've seen that movie--pretty conformist, I guess. But following the movie reference, isn't it interesting that Paul Giamatti's character drinks his most precious bottle of wine to wash down a hamburger? Suggesting that even someone who appreciates fine wine and fine dining ultimately takes great enjoyment in devouring a simple hamburger? One more movie reference, and I'm only half-kidding here: rabbits being cooked brings to mind Fatal Attraction. That's tongue in cheek but I guess I'm trying to say that I'm not open-minded when it comes to eating rabbit. Again, though, I'm not very adventurous. I wonder if more people would have tried it if it was in appetizer form? (Which would also have made it less expensive, I assume). Whatever the case, I do want to support our creative and cutting-edge chefs and I'm going to try to be more adventurous down the line...
Modern cuisine, is, after all whatever you want it to be...it's an individual expression. Personally, I read books by both Heston Blumenthal (modern) AND Jane Grigson (more old school)...Modern to you might be old school for the next guy. When I worked at Guy Savoy we did this wild hare dish where it was boned out, surrounded foie gras and its' liver and wrapped in fat back, braised and served with a sauce made from it's blood and juices. Served with tiny penne pasta that we made and filled with more braised meat. On the plate it looked way modern and to the clientelle, they never seen anything like it....but Mr. Savoy has been making it for over 20 years. Knowmsayin?
oOd dishes are being cooked in modern ways in all types of cities.
this site is schitzo....it boasts of the city's feats and lauds its potential, but qualifies all things with comments like 'we're not LA',...it has I think a strange way of alienating many segments of its diverse audience...
that in a nutshell is the irony of Buffalo itself
Christa, is there such a thing as modern cuisine or was your lure a doppleganger?
How's the comment count lately?
old dishes are being cooked in modern ways in all types of cities.
this site is schitzo....it boasts of the city's feats and lauds its potential, but qualifies all things with comments like 'we're not LA',...it has I think a strange way of alienating many segments of its diverse audience...
that in a nutshell is the irony of Buffalo itself
Christa, is there such a thing as modern cuisine or was your lure a doppleganger?
How's the comment count lately?
Thanks for the great article. It was especially interesting to read the perspectives of local chefs.
I am one of those young people with a decent sized disposible income that Chef Roo describes, but unfortunately, as gas and grocery prices increase, and my husband and I have started saving for kids, we can only afford to go out a couple times a month. Therefore, I'm particularly annoyed if I have a less than spectacular meal, as I did last year at O'Connell's. That's what makes me more likely to stick to the more "traditional" dishes at new spots - I just don't want to risk being disappointed on the nights I am going all out to get a great meal. I visited Coda several times, and I've been to SeaBar three times in the past 3 months. I'm never afraid to order an "experimental" plate at these places, because I knew the food would be well prepared and high quality. But I've had varied experiences at Sample (even with the exact same menu item) and it makes the decision to return a difficult one (although we go for drinks all the time).
This is not to say that dining in "big" cities is without flaw. I recently had terrible food at a highly rated Austin restaurant, and another so-so one in a Santa Barbara hotspot. But when we're at home, I gravitate toward the restaurants I know are great, where I can order anything - modern or traditional - off the menu without concern that I'll be disappointed.
I propose a contest:
Offer a new (but within the menu style) entree from Hutch's (or Tempo), Mode, OConnels, Torches, and Amaryllys, and the other 'top' places with no ethnic slant in Buffalo, to a random panel of folks, who have been to these places but have not been told which dish is from where, and see if they can tell where the dish came from.....Do restaurants in Buffalo have real identities? Why are we talking about chefs who just play it safe? If that's the rule at the present time pick up another topic.
When you offer a new, perhaps modern,dish within a menu of good ole stand byes diners don't know how to react and stay safe. When you go to Sample you have no choice. If you want to move into modern food you have to go all the way. If it flops, it flops. But the 'toe in the water' approach has no chance. Those dishes will bomb every time unless they are sold by real salespeople in the front of the house. And by the way, this is not an endorsement of Sample.
I propose a contest:
Offer a new (but within the menu style) entree from Hutch's (or Tempo), Mode, OConnels, Torches, and Amaryllys, and the other 'top' places with no ethnic slant in Buffalo, to a random panel of folks, who have been to these places but have not been told which dish is from where, and see if they can tell where the dish came from.....Do restaurants in Buffalo have real identities? Why are we talking about chefs who just play it safe? If that's the rule at the present time pick up another topic.
When you offer a new, perhaps modern,dish within a menu of good ole stand byes diners don't know how to react and stay safe. When you go to Sample you have no choice. If you want to move into modern food you have to go all the way. If it flops, it flops. But the 'toe in the water' approach has no chance. Those dishes will bomb every time unless they are sold by real salespeople in the front of the house. And by the way, this is not an endorsement of Sample.
The recorded history of people has been expanding with each passing year and the ability of researchers to determine what people were eating and how also. Really how many different ways do you think eatable things can be prepared, and do you really want to eat something just to be unique, or because you know it will tastes good. That being true, there is nothing being done with food that has been tried before, the quest to invent a new technique or combination is unlikely.
People dine out more for the social contact than for the food, when really hungry anything eatable will be consumed. With discretional income eroding taking chances on being satisfied with experimental food doesn't seem to be a good gastronomical investment.
Modern food brings to mind the problems with todays culture, people love to eat old world food, natural ingredients using safe methods of preparation, that are time tested and palatable. Let me see, I'll have the weird stuff, and if it tastes like crap I'll like the experience of knowing that and so what if I wasted the money finding out.
No thank you I'd rather be boring and be happy eating things I like the taste of, than unhappy, educated by eating an attempt to be different and sophisticated. People go to the places mentioned because they like what is offered and don't believe they will be test subjects for someone's mental gymnastics.
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