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On 25 May 2004 19:31:59 GMT, (Loire21) wrote:
>The older I get the more I realize that as far as food is concerned, simpler is
>better. Classic dishes are classics because they're already perfect on their
>own. Lavender creme brulee may be perfectly nice, but a creme brulee on its own
>is better. Fries with nothing but salt have it all over seasoned fries, or
>fries with garlic, or pepper, whatever else some enterprising chef decides to
>put on them.
>
>But chefs, like opera directors, just can't seem to leave well enough alone.
>They have to innovate. Please, stop innovating, and just give us a perfectly
>prepared Waldorf salad or Boston cream pie with no fancy frills.
>
>I find myself saying this all the time, as I did this weekend. I sampled two
>desserts at a rather expensive restaurant: Boston banana cream pie, and angel
>food strawberry shortcake, both with disappointing results.
>
>As is the custom nowadays, both desserts had been prepared in small circular
>molds, with fancily decorated sauce surrounding them on the plate.
>
>The Boston cream pie was not topped by a chocolate glaze, but rather by a thick
>round of hard, rather tasteless chocolate. The cake itself and the cream were
>quite nice, but the flavor of the banana overpowered them both. The banana was
>a case of gilding the lily. Just leave the lilies alone!
>
>The strawberry shortcake was encased in a shell of hardened white chocolate,
>which, I'm afraid added nothing to the cake. The angel food cake absorbed the
>syrup so that it was a soggy gop. The strawberries and cream were fine. The
>truth is, a dessert of just strawberries and cream would have been so much
>better!
>
I'd say you were the victim of poor cooking and that is unrelated to
innovation and craft in the kitchen. There is nothing wrong with
varying or altering a "classic" as long as the results produce
something wonderful.
>To our restaurant chefs: Just stick to the basics and we'll all be better off.
I have a feeling that had you ordered regular old Boston cream pie or
strawberry shortcake at this place, you'd have gotten slop, too.
Boron
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