Zagat Survey Discussions

• – By 2018, 43% of Americans are expected to be obese. [NYDN]
• – Gordon Ramsay has lost his right-hand man. [Bloomberg]
• – The Senate is considering requiring beef to be tested for E. coli. [NYT]

• – Top Chef contestants aren't being paid for the TV dinners that feature their faces (and recipes). [Time]
• – First canned pumpkins, now an Eggo shortage looms. [NYDN]
• – The art of complaining to a restaurant. [Guardian]
• – A modest proposal for fixing restaurant and bar smoking bans. [Eater]
• – Related: the science behind banning smoking outside. [Time]
• – Ever wonder what it would be like to cook dinner for Thomas Keller? [Esquire]
• – Talking cooking with Coolio. [Fork in the Road]
• – NBC's newest cooking show, United Plates of America, will give away a four-restaurant chain. [Reuters]
• – Hey, so, while you eat that sushi, this guy here is going to swallow a sword. [WSJ]
• – Starbucks continues to roll out its unbranded coffee shops. [Diner's Journal]
• – If New York loses its lawsuit, Tavern on the Green will become Tavern in the Park. [Crain's]
• – Restaurants embrace Twilight. [NRN]
• – Martha Stewart is not a fan of Rachael Ray. [ABC News, via EMD and GS]
• – The Rolling Stones, the wine. [Examiner]
• – Pork belly and other over-served dishes. [Between Meals]
• – Students arrested for not paying their tip. [Philly]
• – Plastic wishbones: what will the kids fight over? [SE]

Photo: courtesy of Sweet Solutions

Just in time for the holidays, on Wednesday, December 2, Gordon’s Fine Wine & Culinary Center in Waltham will host Chocolate Heaven: Dessert & Dessert Wine Pairings. Judy Mattera, a Boston-area pastry chef and owner of dessert-and-wine pairings consultancy Sweet Solutions, will present guests with myriad categories of dessert wines and numerous possibilities for creating “memorable end-of-dining experiences.” The class will include demonstrations, recipes and four dessert tastings with paired wines – like a chocolate orange timbale with Graham's 10-year-old Tawny port (7:30–9 PM; $45 per person; 781-893-1900).

Gerard Barbin

Photo: courtesy of Sensing

Gerard Barbin cut his teeth in some of his home country's finest kitchens. Prior to coming to Boston, the Frenchman worked in Paris under Guy Martin, and when offered the chance to run Martin's kitchen at his first stateside restaurant, the Fairmont Battery Wharf's Sensing, Barbin jumped at the chance. The Buzz recently caught up with Barbin to discuss his first experience working in an American kitchen.

Zagat Buzz: We're only a couple of months away from Sensing's first birthday – congrats! How has your experience working in an American restaurant been so far?

Gerard Barbin: It has been a wonderful experience, as business is good. We started in January in the middle of winter, but spring and especially summer with the patio were very busy. American diners are very enthusiastic about what we do at Sensing. We're doing something different, adventurous. Contemporary French cuisine is new for some customers.

ZB: Coming straight from the Parisian culinary world to Boston must have been quite the change. What were some of your initial impressions of the Boston dining scene, and of the city itself?

GB: Everybody asks me the same question: ‘How do you like Boston?’ I really like it. Boston is a welcoming city, with a strong identity. There are a lot of good restaurants and chefs and a lot of strong areas for dining, like the North End, Back Bay, South End, Cambridge.

ZB: How would you rate the quality of available ingredients? Are they on a par with what you usually worked with in France? Have you been pleased or surprised by the quality or variety of our local ingredients and purveyors?

GB: I didn’t know when I first came in what I’d have for quality or choice. I did not have to import anything, and one of the goals is to use all local ingredients whenever possible. I was very impressed by the variety. The fish and seafood quality in Boston is phenomenal. The variety of vegetables and fruit is large also, in terms of color and form.

ZB: Sensing's menu is one of the most adventurous and playful in the city. Please describe your approach to cooking.

GB: I work with the season and the weather. If there are no chanterelles today, we use something else in accordance with the season, nothing fake. One important thing for me is the taste. We do a lot of tasting before adding a dish to the menu. I try also to educate the customer, bringing in some products that they don’t know about. Some old vegetables, grains or spices like the parsley root, amaranth or togarashi.

ZB: Final question: what, if anything, are you homesick for? Are there any foods, dishes or ingredients that you have not been able to find (or are not pleased with) around Boston?

GB: It’s not difficult, but the bakery on a corner of the street with a fresh baguette is something I miss.

– Eric Grossman

Mantra

Photo: courtesy of the restaurant

Ever wish you could whip up some Tandoor specialties? Now you can through Mantra’s Tuesday Tandoor cooking classes. The nominal fee includes one free cocktail, a sampling of various naans, kebabs and other menu items decided that day, as well as hands-on instruction (5:30–7 PM; $20 per person; 617-542-8111).

• – A whole lot of info on what diners like to drink. [R&I]
• – Should the FDA try to prevent you from eating raw oysters? [NYT, Slate]
• – Burger King franchisees are suing over $1 double cheeseburgers. [Miami Herald]

• – Meanwhile, McDonald's plans for the future. [CNN]
• – The backlash to the list of waiter no-nos is on. [XX, Server not Servant]
• – How to act around a celebrity chef. [Atlantic]
• – The U.K. now has its own version of the Food Network. [Eater]
• – Related: Emeril Lagasse is planning a prime-time variety show not on the Food Network. [ABC]
• – Mario Batali makes his film debut in The Fantastic Mr. Fox. [WSJ]
• – Heston Blumenthal plans a wildly expensive Christmas dinner for a TV special featuring ambergris, aka whale vomit. [Sun]
• – Jamie Oliver has seen a backlash for the salt content of his pasta sauces. [Guardian]
• – Cooking With Coolio, the cookbook, is now on sale. [EMD]
• – Remembering New York City's 1935 ban on baby artichokes. [Diner's Journal]
• – Don't be embarrassed to dine out alone. [Between Meals]
• – Raising a vegetarian child without the conflict. [LAT]
• – Can drunken fruit flies help cure alcoholism? [Wired]
• – Looking to find free grub for the rug rats? Try here. [Kids Eat For, via SE]
• – Deep-fried turkey disasters. On video. [EMD]

Stoddard’s Fine Food & Ale in the Ladder District is finally slated to open later this month on Tuesday, November 17 (48 Temple Pl.; 617-426-0048).

Update: Per PR, Stoddard's will be opening December 3.

Looking further ahead to this spring, Christian Touche, the longtime general manger of Clio/Uni, and Uni chef Chris Chung are striking out on their own to open AKA Bistro, a combination French bistro and sashimi bar in Lincoln, MA.