Can US Restaurants Compete?

[why]

Originally Posted by jpeirpont

I'm not knowledgeable enough to really comment on the quality, but you can get raw milk cheese from Whole Foods in West Hartford.

The problem as I understand it is that milk cannot be sold unless it is pasteurized. Cheeses aged over three months can be sold, but obviously not all cheesemakers supply their own milk.

 

[countdemoney]

I think there is something more here about our lack of tradition and it has, I think, a little to do with ancestry. Much of the US population comes from German, Scots-Irish and English descent. The European percentages are roughly: Germany (19.2%), Ireland (10.8%), England (7.7%), Italy (5.6%), Scandinavia (3.7%) and Poland (3.2%).

That's roughly half our population coming from countries not considered to be the hotbeds of excellent food, and that's only counting the Europeans.

 

[itsstillmatt]

Originally Posted by why

The problem as I understand it is that milk cannot be sold unless it is pasteurized. Cheeses aged over three months can be sold, but obviously not all cheesemakers supply their own milk.
I always thought the same, but for the last several years it has been possible to find a bit of unpasturized milk and cream in San Francisco. I have no idea how they are able to do this, or if the laws have changed.

 

[ChicagoRon]

Originally Posted by iammatt

I always thought the same, but for the last several years it has been possible to find a bit of unpasturized milk and cream in San Francisco. I have no idea how they are able to do this, or if the laws have changed.
Who knows what kind of hippie laws you guys have on the left coast

 

[kwilkinson]

Originally Posted by iammatt

I always thought the same, but for the last several years it has been possible to find a bit of unpasturized milk and cream in San Francisco. I have no idea how they are able to do this, or if the laws have changed.

+1. You can also find raw milk's cheese made in America. I have no idea how this is possible, but I have seen it and tasted it.

edit
Oh wait, I guess that one is explainable by cheesemakers raising their own dairy. Nvm.

 

[itsstillmatt]

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

+1. You can also find raw milk's cheese made in America. I have no idea how this is possible, but I have seen it and tasted it.

edit
Oh wait, I guess that one is explainable by cheesemakers raising their own dairy. Nvm.
Our next door neighbor in France is a dairy farmer. When there, we just pick up fresh milk from his milking barn. Better than anything else out there. The cream tastes like crushed almonds.

 

[kwilkinson]

Originally Posted by iammatt

Our next door neighbor in France is a dairy farmer. When there, we just pick up fresh milk from his milking barn. Better than anything else out there. The cream tastes like crushed almonds.

I lived next door to a dairy farmer in Indiana as well. While I'm sure that your product is likely better, there is nothing better than incredibly fresh milk. Also, eggs that have been laid less than 12 hours before eating them =

 

[Piobaire]

This is one of the good things Barry has done. He instructed the AG not to go after pot crimes or raw milk cheese.

 

[ChicagoRon]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

This is one of the good things Barry has done. He instructed the AG not to go after pot crimes or raw milk cheese.
I hope he eventually sacks up and tries to reform pot laws overall. That's change I can believe in.

 

[itsstillmatt]

Originally Posted by ChicagoRon

I will argue to the death about the oysters though. Not just breton. Normandy oysters are incredible, as are many other European varietals. I love our Northeastern oysters, and also our cherrystone and little neck clams, but I am blown away every time I have an Oyster in France. I have heard Aus/NZ are even better, but I have not visited yet.

This isn't just about oysters, but there are few things better than heading up to Pt. Reyes in Marin, grabbing a bucket of oysters and going out to the beach with a few bottles of wine and some friends.

 

[kwilkinson]

Originally Posted by iammatt

This isn't just about oysters, but there are few things better than heading up to Pt. Reyes in Marin, grabbing a bucket of oysters and going out to the beach with a few bottles of wine and some friends.

Tomales Bay + expensive champagne + oysters + cheap beer = Bliss.

 

[ChicagoRon]

Originally Posted by iammatt

This isn't just about oysters, but there are few things better than heading up to Pt. Reyes in Marin, grabbing a bucket of oysters and going out to the beach with a few bottles of wine and some friends.
I have a serious east coast bias, but I hope next time I'm out there I will have an opportunity to try that.

 

[coolpapa]

Originally Posted by ChicagoRon

3> I think the total number of great restaurants in the US will always be larger than in any Euro country because of our sheer size, however NY, Chicago, Nola, LA, and SF would never be able to compete on their own against a Paris or a Barcelona.

I'm stunned by this statement and the fact that this seems to be the consensus in this thread.

 

[ChicagoRon]

Originally Posted by coolpapaboze

I'm stunned by this statement and the fact that this seems to be the consensus in this thread.
Stunned how? Do you think NYC (I'm not even sure I could get a consensus here that NYC beats SF, but I think it does) exceeds Paris or Barcelona for great restaurants? Or do you think there are other countries with a larger number than the whole US combined?

 

[Baron]

I can get raw milk in L.A. at the farmers market.

I agree that America suffers on the fine dining side, and it's in particular because of that need to continually change. It feels like the restaurant scene is always in flux, and there isn't truly an indigenous gourmet cuisine, thought that seems to be evolving now. I do think the produce and meat I get here (mostly from farmer's markets) is world class.

Ultimately, I don't lament the fine dining here because a) it's good enough to keep me happy and; b) the street food here is just amazing. I just had lunch with a friend visiting from New York. She wanted some good Mexican so I took her to a place I recently discovered does D.F. style street food. On weekends they serve pork carnitas in 8 different styles. We had tacos de cueritos (pork skins), macizas (I think it was shoulder - small ham-like *****, chewy crispy chunks), and costillas (ribs - ******* amazing). I didn't get a chance to try the snout, ears, tripe, belly or tongue, but everything was excellent. And there are dozens of regional specialty places like that in my neighborhood, all dirt cheap and reliably delicious. And that's just the Mexican. There's great Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, Sushi, Peruvian, Lebanese, Armenian, Burger joints, etc. L.A. is so vast - I only lament how many things I hear about that I never manage to visit.