Cybertron Flower

Talking to das_elysium about Boston reminded me that I haven't come around to post about the two nights I spend in the Stir test kitchen. I know, I know - posting about restaurant visits from last summer is kind of ... late? Lame? But then again, does it really matter to the readers here when I was in a given restaurant? And I myself love to be reminded of the great food I ate. Mo worries, I do not plan to make detailed posts about every of my restaurant visits, only the fanciest ones, i.e., the "starry" ones or special ones like Stir: one theme for the any given evening, 10 people, wine (or non-alcoholic, but warn them in advance about that) pairings, one table around a cooking station where some of the cooking happens live, accompanied by the cook's explanations about the food and cooking techniques and the sommelier's commentary on the wine and wine pairings.


Visit 1: Cookbook Series: The Basque Book



So this is what the place looks like before the cooking starts.

( the rest of the night )

Visit 2: Rosé, Corn and Tomato


( second visit )

I should have taken notes of which dishes were voted best - not necessarily always the ones *I* liked best. But we've been also told that it's by far not always the same dish that wins on nights with the same theme. And even given that there may be differences in the cook's performance from one night to the next (which I do not think to be great, the guys are extreme professionals), in the end it is about the taste of individual people and a group of 10 means small number statistics on any individual night (I know, I out myself as a scientist talking this way, but well ... so I am. And statistics and understanding what small numbers statistics or biases mean is important, even if it comes to food). The voting itself was a lot of fun - while we talked about food all the time at the table, it gave us a chance to stop for a second and consider the meal as a whole, to revisit first impressions and think how they stood up to everything that followed.

Anyway, if you are in Boston and have a chance to plan ahead some 5-6 weeks (the individual evenings/master classes are sold out quickly and far in advance, one usually needs to book within a short time after they are announced), totally go there. And if you have the spare money, of course. But then we are back to the discussion of food as art and the money we are willing to spend for, say, a music festival.