21 Comments December 10, 2009
Noma
“Eating with the terroir,” “earth to plate,” “fiercely local;” these lofty phrases which at one point had meaning are now often hollow tag lines used to pepper conversations. Frankly, I’m guilty too. It’s not easy to describe the appreciation invested in a food’s source.
But at the same time, an ingredient’s source should never supersede flavor. Just because hand-picked moss comes from the high hills of northern Hokkaido, or if tomatoes come picked this morning from a farm nearby, doesn’t mean they will necessarily taste good.
Unfortunately, there are few restaurants that combine an ingredient’s unique naturalness with an inventive cuisine that doesn’t take the spotlight away from nature. It’s usually a tradeoff. Noma has both. The unique flora and fauna found in Scandinavia provides a full spectrum of ingredients with which René Redzepi, chef of Noma Copenhagen, can paint into sophisticated flavor.
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[...] Originally Posted by asherg Forgive the stupid question, but where does one find an official site for Astrance? It appears there is none and they only take bookings by phone. I've no idea, but I stumbled on a nice review while searching. L'Astrance review [...]
This is easily the most thoughtful review of Alinea that I've encountered--thanks a lot! While I still made a reservation to dine at Alinea a few weeks from now, I did it with far more hesitation due to some of the shortcomings you noted.
Hi, I'm a chef-in-training and I find your blog really amazing!! Really helps me to push me on to where these guys are!! Thanks and I hope to see more!! BTW, Mongo-Ika is cuttlefish as oppose to squid so you may wanna try that.
Drooling OMG
Hi Josy -- So glad you found it. Sounds like you had a nice lunch! Were the coordinates correct?