Have you ever been to a Michelin star restaurant?

Davarus Walrus · 23-04-2014 11:57AM

I spent a couple of months in South America. I found the steak rather meh to be honest. Cooking it on the asado did make it tasty, but the meat itself was rather bland. Certainly not as good as Irish or Scottish beef.

Slattsy · 23-04-2014 11:58AM

bogmanfan wrote: »

I've been lucky enough to visit a few. The ones in Dublin - Chapter One, Lock's, Thornton's - have all been very good. Thornton's would be my favourite here.
Abroad, I have been to Antico Martini in Venice, Restaurant 44 in Berlin and the River Cafe in Brooklyn.
But the best of all was Le Cirque in Las Vegas. We had our wedding dinner there (not for 200 people!) and it was amazing.

Funnily, Thornton's is one i least like.
Food wise superd, just not a fan of the room and there tends to be a bit of a dull athmosphere.

L'Ecrivain is my fav for what its worth. I think it has the best ambience of them all in Dublin. Food is obviously superb too loike!!!

murpho999 · 23-04-2014 11:58AM

I've been to L'Ecrivain and Chapter One in Dublin and enjoyed them both.

Also, been to a few in Holland when I lived there and also enjoyed it.

People going on about portion sizes really annoy me.

Firstly, Irish standard portions sizes have become far too big and that's why most people are fat.
Either way, I've never left a fine dining restaurant hungry as their portion sizes are more than adequate.
A tasting menu of 6-8 course will stuff you anyway.

People who say they prefer salty carveries are just never going to appreciate fine dining and it's pointless trying to argue with them.

At a michelin star restaurant you're paying for more than the food, that has been created by a highly skilled chef. It's the service, ambience, wines chosen by sommelier to match your food.
It's a whole experience that we try to treat ourselves with once a year and I don't care if people find it pretentious.

Legs.Eleven · 23-04-2014 11:58AM

Davarus Walrus wrote: »

I spent a couple of months in South America. I found the steak rather meh to be honest. Cooking it on the asado did make it tasty, but the meat itself was rather bland. Certainly not as good as Irish or Scottish beef.

Did you have Argentinian steak though? We're not talking South America generally here.

Davarus Walrus · 23-04-2014 12:03PM

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

Did you have Argentinian steak though? We're not talking South America generally here.

I had Brazilian, Argentinian and Chilean beef. Lots of it. Even the steak in some of the most famous Buenos Aires steakhouses left me rather underwhelmed. It's good steak, but it seems to have acquired this almost mythical status that I found wasn't true in reality.

Seaneh · 23-04-2014 12:05PM

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

Did you have Argentinian steak though? We're not talking South America generally here.

I've had Argentinian steak and though it was grand, it's the asado that makes it great. They also use mroe interesting cuts than we do more often, you can more easily find skirt, tri-tip and rump than you can in Ireland/Europe in general and these, despite being not as tender as sirloin or fillet are far, far tastier cuts.

That said, Irish beef is still better quality than Argentinian beef.

Funnily enough the best "Argentinian" steakhouse I've eaten in was in Bolivia, not Argentina.

The Backwards Man · 23-04-2014 12:06PM

Any Argentinian beef I've ever had has been excellent.

Sorry IFA.

czechlin · 23-04-2014 12:07PM

Slattsy wrote: »

L'Ecrivain is my fav for what its worth. I think it has the best ambience of them all in Dublin. Food is obviously superb too loike!!!

murpho999 wrote: »

I've been to L'Ecrivain and Chapter One in Dublin and enjoyed them both.

I know that L'Ecrivain and Chapter One have a great reviews and I was thinking about buying a voucher for my friends as a gift. I know it's something they would enjoy but I just wonder if it's a good idea? Someone told me that they got a voucher for a restaurant (a different one) and they felt like they kind of looked down at them, which I wouldn't want to happen.

Legs.Eleven · 23-04-2014 12:09PM

Seaneh wrote: »

I've had Argentinian steak and though it was grand, it's the asado that makes it great. They also use mroe interesting cuts than we do more often, you can more easily find skirt, tri-tip and rump than you can in Ireland/Europe in general and these, despite being not as tender as sirloin or fillet are far, far tastier cuts.

That said, Irish beef is still better quality than Argentinian beef.

Funnily enough the best "Argentinian" steakhouse I've eaten in was in Bolivia, not Argentina.

Tbh, I don't eat meat generally so I wouldn't really know a good steak from a bad one (unless it was all stringy and chewy).

murpho999 · 23-04-2014 12:10PM

czechlin wrote: »

I know that L'Ecrivain and Chapter One have a great reviews and I was thinking about buying a voucher for my friends as a gift. I know it's something they would enjoy but I just wonder if it's a good idea? Someone told me that they got a voucher for a restaurant (a different one) and they felt like they kind of looked down at them, which I wouldn't want to happen.

Why would they look down on you? Went to L'ecrivain with a voucher we'd received and had no problems.

Also the voucher is the same as cash and just produce it when the bill comes and that's that.

Slattsy · 23-04-2014 12:12PM

czechlin wrote: »

I know that L'Ecrivain and Chapter One have a great reviews and I was thinking about buying a voucher for my friends as a gift. I know it's something they would enjoy but I just wonder if it's a good idea? Someone told me that they got a voucher for a restaurant (a different one) and they felt like they kind of looked down at them, which I wouldn't want to happen.

Thats bollóx tbh. Complete and utter paranoia.

Its a very good gift for someone, def go for it.

czechlin · 23-04-2014 12:12PM

murpho999 wrote: »

Why would they look down on you? Went to L'ecrivain with a voucher we'd received and had no problems.

Also the voucher is the same as cash and just produce it when the bill comes and that's that.

Excellent, thank you!:)

Caliden · 23-04-2014 12:21PM

Davarus Walrus wrote: »

I had Brazilian, Argentinian and Chilean beef. Lots of it. Even the steak in some of the most famous Buenos Aires steakhouses left me rather underwhelmed. It's good steak, but it seems to have acquired this almost mythical status that I found wasn't true in reality.

How did you get it cooked?

Dripping with blood or burnt to a crisp?

Seaneh · 23-04-2014 12:24PM

Caliden wrote: »

How did you get it cooked?

Dripping with blood or burnt to a crisp?

Good steak should never drip in blood, even if served bleu.

Ray Palmer · 23-04-2014 12:25PM

Yes eaten in quite a few. I think it is funny people saying they wouldn't go because it full of pretentious people. Making that statement is actually pretentious.

I have eaten is some of them and didn't even know they had a Michelin star until I was leaving or after the fact.

Slattsy · 23-04-2014 12:27PM

Caliden wrote: »

How did you get it cooked?

Dripping with blood or burnt to a crisp?

There's no blood in steak. Its just meat juice. Tasty tasty meat juice!

awec · 23-04-2014 12:43PM

GenieOz wrote: »

You can get the same quality of food and service at 80% of other restaurants.

Now you are talking nonsense.

RoboRat · 23-04-2014 12:51PM

The big difference between Argentinean steak and Irish steak is that they hang theirs for 30 days or so, this is how they get the tastier cuts of beef to be so succulent.

Generally Irish beef is not hung to age and the nicer cuts like the sirloin are tougher.

Sir Gallagher · 23-04-2014 12:52PM

I was in Argentina last year and have to agree about the steak being overrated, i had it in restaurants and at bbq's(parilla/asado). The custom over there seems to be to cook the steak well-done, which is crazy. It still tastes good because it's cooked on a bbq, but still... The best steaks i had in Argentina weren't as good as the best steaks i've had here. One of the nicest steaks i've had in recent memory was in the Whitefriar Grill on Aungier Street hands down anything i got in Argentina.

Seaneh · 23-04-2014 12:57PM

RoboRat wrote: »

The big difference between Argentinean steak and Irish steak is that they hang theirs for 30 days or so, this is how they get the tastier cuts of beef to be so succulent.

Generally Irish beef is not hung to age and the nicer cuts like the sirloin are tougher.

You can get 28+ day dry aged beef in Ireland (or the UK) fairly handily though, if you're bothered.

I spent the weekend in Wales visiting friends, Friday we had some 28 day dry aged sirloin from waitrose butcher counter and they were epic.

chopperbyrne · 23-04-2014 01:20PM

Ate in Eleven Madison Park in New York. It's a three Michelin starred restaurant. Easily the best food I've ever eaten and did not leave hungry. Fantastic service too.

RoboRat · 23-04-2014 01:22PM

You can get 28+ day dry aged beef in Ireland (or the UK) fairly handily though, if you're bothered.

Yeah I know, Lidl do some lovely steaks but most people are not aware of the ageing process. Just go into Tesco and see the brown steak in their sell off bins because people wouldn't dream of buying it!

My father also done some work for a major meat exporter and he was told that a lot of the best beef is sent off the France and other countries. They gave him some of the top stuff and it was sensational.

GenieOz · 23-04-2014 01:30PM

phantom_lord wrote: »

You really, really don't.

whatever you think.

awec wrote: »

Now you are talking nonsense.

If you think so. I just don't see anything special about them and I love food, the service..perhaps can be slightly better than your average restaurant but it's in no way an 'experience'.

Sir Gallagher · 23-04-2014 01:33PM

GenieOz wrote: »

whatever you think.

If you think so. I just don't see anything special about them and I love food, the service..perhaps can be slightly better than your average restaurant but it's in no way an 'experience'.

I also agree with them, you are talking through your hoop.

GenieOz · 23-04-2014 01:37PM

Sir Gallagher wrote: »

I also agree with them, you are talking through your hoop.

Good for you

phantom_lord · 23-04-2014 01:39PM

GenieOz wrote: »

whatever you think.

If you think so. I just don't see anything special about them and I love food, the service..perhaps can be slightly better than your average restaurant but it's in no way an 'experience'.

That's unfortunate.

B.A._Baracus · 23-04-2014 01:39PM

awec wrote: »

This is baffling.

"These chips are pretty average and I could probably make better myself, but at least you gave me loads of them."

How is it ballling? :pac:

Take this .... its from one of Gordon Ramseys Resaurants. Are you saying you would pay good money for that?!?!

I get a sense of snobbery from this thread. If you think the amount of money for the portions you get is wrong you are "low brow" ... without a "sense of class" :pac:

GenieOz · 23-04-2014 01:43PM

phantom_lord wrote: »

That's unfortunate.

Why do people seem offended that I think it's a rip off?

Slattsy · 23-04-2014 01:45PM

Can a Mod move this thread to Food and Drink please.

I really dont want to continue this discussion with the many peasants found commonly in After Hours, loike ya know i am considerable richer and more distinguished than them.

I am pie · 23-04-2014 01:46PM

Davarus Walrus wrote: »

I had Brazilian, Argentinian and Chilean beef. Lots of it. Even the steak in some of the most famous Buenos Aires steakhouses left me rather underwhelmed. It's good steak, but it seems to have acquired this almost mythical status that I found wasn't true in reality.

Depends where you go, also it probably isn't as good in terms of quality as it was 10 yrs back. The agricultural economy has switched primarily to soy robbing the cattle industry of much of its grass land. Grace fed beef being much nicer than feed lot. That said, I have had much better experience with beef here than in Ireland. I'm Irish, lived there for 30+ yrs, after 2 years here I know which I'd chose.

What you had was not "steak", which is a catchall for cow meat, you would at least have had the opportunitiy to select from around 5 different cuts in a basic restuarant, more like 10 in a good one.

Honestly, most people in Ireland don't know what the difference in flavour and texture is between most meats and generally slather it in some sauce or other to augment the flavour. I'd generally order short cut ribs on the bone (bife de ancho) which is a really strongly flavoured cut (has both bone and fat to help the job!) and needs to be cooked further than say a lomo or bife chorizo (what you might call "steak"), both of which I would order less cooked. They myth being that they burn the meat here, the truth being that if you ask you'll get it whichever way you need it, but that certain cuts of meat require certain cooking times.

Asados go from basic grills which don't cook to order (it's fairly common to see a carbon grill in a shopping centre) and the quality might be less to much more sophisticated affairs which cook to order, source the best meat and help you pair up a good bottle for the cut and cooking time your after. The temperature is important as is the smokeless carbon (charcoal) used.

Have you ever been to a Michelin star restaurant?

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