Restaurants
What a delightful scam!
Damen Baehrel runs a tiny restaurant in upstate New York. He calls his cuisine Native Harvest as he claims to source everything from his 12 acre property surrounding his small house which also includes in the basement his restaurant. He is a great guy, easy to talk to, a genuine host, obviously passionate about his work and... More
What a delightful scam!
Damen Baehrel runs a tiny restaurant in upstate New York. He calls his cuisine Native Harvest as he claims to source everything from his 12 acre property surrounding his small house which also includes in the basement his restaurant. He is a great guy, easy to talk to, a genuine host, obviously passionate about his work and regales his guest with great stories. A extraordinarily long meal goes by quickly. And you leave the place with a good feeling.
He is however a much better scammer than cook. Here are his claims
1. He cooks the 25-27 dishes all by himself for a table of 4 in 7 hours. At the same time he serves the dishes, pours the wine and cleans the plates.
2. He produces everything himself except the meat and the seafood or fish which he sources from various unnamed suppliers.
3. The process of producing flower out of acorn takes him up to 18 months.
4. For acidity he uses pin needles although he now had gotten his first harvest of small lemons from a tree he keeps somewhere in his house.
5. We started our meal at 4pm (and left shortly before midnight), he claimed that he had another party before us and had 40 minutes to clean and prepare for us.
6. He also claims to have thousands of requests for a reservation that he closed his reservation and waiting list in 2014.
So why do I think this is all a scam:
1. Why would somebody spend 18 months producing flower out of acorns just to produce a focaccia which taste like a normal focaccia which I can buy in the super market 3 miles down the road? His day must have 60 hours because each step takes forever and there numerous of them.
2. Every dish gets introduced with a 2 minute story about the production. All is completely differently but looks suspiciously similar. There is the pink, the orange and the green sauce. Clearly the very strict no photo/video and note policy comes in handy because with the exception of Le Wang nobody could possibly remember all the ingredients of the 2 minute speech of one dish, left alone 25 of them.
3. He claims to produce over 30 different cheeses of which we got served 13, not one of them memorable. I don’t even know an industrial cheese producer which produces that number of entirely different cheese, but this one man show can do it?
4. I turned up at 340pm, 20 minutes ahead of time and had to wait in front of the property gate. There was no car coming out and when I entered the dining room no smell of food or people, unlikely when somebody just feasted for 5 hours.
5. Damon lets nobody into the kitchen to look at it. We specially asked to see the prep kitchen in the adjacent building. This request was denied because his wife and disabled son would be there and we would disturb them. I was seated in a way that I could see the building all the time. During our 7 hour meal not one time was there a light in the entire building.
6. The wine gets served out of bottles. Interestingly whenever the wine is more expensive the wine bottles were already open. A half bottle of Veuve Cliqot (maybe $17) was opened while the magnum Coche Dury and the Chateau Yquem 1999 was all served from an already open bottle.
I would not want to go so far as to say that even his claims of food processing are false. They may be lies but even if there weren’t I simply don’t get the point of it. Why go to these lengths to produce food which when served blind in a nondescript restaurant would be certainly called mediocre?
I am however convinced that the story of his waiting list and his multiple meals per day are complete hyperboles designed entirely to make a remote restaurant a destination where he can charge $395 per person when down the road it would cost $50.
Don’t get me wrong, we had a great experience, lots of laughter and genuine interesting conversations.
I left feeling good, but then I always liked a good magic show.
Less
-
5 likes
-
3 comments
-
1 share
Copy the code to embed the post
- Lou Stejskal added a new meal Dinner at Bastion at Bastion
We were lucky to have both Josh Habiger and Trevor Moran cooking for us, as we took the last seating of the night at Bastion. Josh and Trevor have both worked at The Catbird Seat. Trevor, who has also worked at Noma, just happened to be helping out that night.
Bastion is a large, multi-functional space with a large bar area, a smaller bar, and a... More
We were lucky to have both Josh Habiger and Trevor Moran cooking for us, as we took the last seating of the night at Bastion. Josh and Trevor have both worked at The Catbird Seat. Trevor, who has also worked at Noma, just happened to be helping out that night.
Bastion is a large, multi-functional space with a large bar area, a smaller bar, and a 24-seat restaurant in the back. We sat at the counter which allowed us to view the assembly of our dishes and chat with the staff.
Chef: Josh Habiger
$65 one from each row
$195 one of everything
Blog: https://loustejskal.com/2017/09/29/bastion-kitchen/
Less
-
1 like
- 0 comments
- 0 shares
Copy the code to embed the post
- Lou Stejskal added a new meal Lunch at Henrietta Red at Henrietta Red
Brunch at Henrietta Red by partner/chef Julia Sullivan, who previously worked at Per Se and Blue Hill at Stone Barns.
Chef: Julia Sullivan
Blog: https://loustejskal.com/2017/09/30/henrietta-red/
-
2 likes
- 0 comments
- 0 shares
Copy the code to embed the post
- Lou Stejskal added a new meal Dinner at The Dearborn at The Dearborn
Chicago theater district dining open for lunch, brunch and dinner. The Fish and Chips are fantastic and their gnocchi are like pillows.
-
1 like
- 0 comments
- 0 shares
Copy the code to embed the post
- Lou Stejskal added a new meal Dinner at Juno Sushi Chicago at Juno Sushi Chicago
Omakase at Juno is a treat for the eyes and mouth. BK Park builds beautiful sashimi bowls and the nigiri is delicately-topped with the right touch of salt or acidity.
Chef: BK Park
Omakase: $150
Tips: A la carte menu gems are the Juno King spicy king crab and tuna nigiri and the signature smoked dishes.
BLOG POST: https://loustejskal.com/2017/12/27/juno/
VIDEO:... More
Omakase at Juno is a treat for the eyes and mouth. BK Park builds beautiful sashimi bowls and the nigiri is delicately-topped with the right touch of salt or acidity.
Chef: BK Park
Omakase: $150
Tips: A la carte menu gems are the Juno King spicy king crab and tuna nigiri and the signature smoked dishes.
BLOG POST: https://loustejskal.com/2017/12/27/juno/
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/9DOyMAQODGE Less
-
1 like
- 0 comments
- 0 shares
Copy the code to embed the post
- Lou Stejskal added a new meal Dinner at Uchu at Bar Uchu with Gerhard Huber and Amy Huber
BLOG POST: https://loustejskal.com/2017/07/20/uchu/
YOUTUBE VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx1ylIelqF8
Once inside, I felt immediately transported to Japan. I have never been to Japan, but it’s how I think I might feel there. The decor was serene, calm and monochromatic. Upon entering the back room, the first thing I noticed was the... More
BLOG POST: https://loustejskal.com/2017/07/20/uchu/
YOUTUBE VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx1ylIelqF8
Once inside, I felt immediately transported to Japan. I have never been to Japan, but it’s how I think I might feel there. The decor was serene, calm and monochromatic. Upon entering the back room, the first thing I noticed was the barware. Beautiful sake vessels, Zalto stemware and gold-rimmed cocktail glasses filled the shelves that were backlit like the sign out in front. Each glass was an exquisite work of art.
Frank Cisneros, who previously worked at Tokyo’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel, hand-selected each single vessel for Uchu. Upon a closer look, the shelves were graced with prized Japanese whiskies. I was getting excited to see the rest of the night unfold.
Uchu has two different Japanese dining experiences. The front room holds their sushi omakase dinner for ten guests which was not yet open at the time of my visit. I was there for the kaiseki-influenced meal run by Sam Clonts, alum of Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare. Eight seats surround the L-shaped bar where five of us would be joining a couple who was already seated.
Samuel Clonts, formerly of Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, has designed an intimate, meticulously prepared kaiseki-influenced dinner for eight people at a time. You listen to the likes of David Bowie and The Smiths as lids are removed from bowls, each filled with Japanese-inspired dishes. The beverage pairing included some fine champagnes, sake, burgundies and we also enjoyed cocktails accompanied by table-side ice carving, gold-plated swizzle stick spinning and tea service at the end of the dinner.
Chef: Samuel Clonts
Kaiseki: $200 Less
-
3 likes
- 0 comments
- 0 shares
Copy the code to embed the post
- Lou Stejskal added a new meal Dinner at Restaurant Pakta at Pakta with Neil Walker, David Califa, Grace Chen, Jason Wang and Robert Driscoll
Japan Meets Barcelona at Pakta with Takaaki Sugita, Kentaro Nakahara, Yoshitery Ikegawa and Albert Adria.
This was one of several dinners in a special event series: Luxeat and All Nippon Airways present Japan Meets Spain. Meals took place in Barcelona and Ibiza with several area chefs collaborating with guest chefs from Japan.
-
2 likes
- 0 comments
-
1 share
Copy the code to embed the post
- Lou Stejskal added a new meal Lunch at Momofuku Ko at Momofuku Ko
Momofuku Ko has enjoyable flavor transitions as well as a few items that I always crave and remember, long after I’ve left.
Tasting Menu $195 Counter
2017 Michelin Stars **
2017 World’s 50 Best No. 58
Owner/Chef David Chang
Executive Chef Sean Gray
BLOG https://loustejskal.com/2017/07/21/momofuku-ko-2/
TIPS There is a five-course menu for... More
Momofuku Ko has enjoyable flavor transitions as well as a few items that I always crave and remember, long after I’ve left.
Tasting Menu $195 Counter
2017 Michelin Stars **
2017 World’s 50 Best No. 58
Owner/Chef David Chang
Executive Chef Sean Gray
BLOG https://loustejskal.com/2017/07/21/momofuku-ko-2/
TIPS There is a five-course menu for $75 or a six-course menu for $90, walk-in only at dinner. Less
Copy the code to embed the post
Copy the code to embed the post
- Lou Stejskal added a new meal Dinner at Per Se at Per Se with Pallavi Sangtani