FORK PLAY July 30, 2008
My Letter from Bill. Forge Ahead. The Bocuse Legacy. Pinkberry At Last.
Dear Friends and Family,
I got a letter this week from William Jefferson Clinton.  Actually this is not my first letter from Bill. I sent a check to the Democratic Committee in response to his urging. But this is my first personal letter from him. It's heavy stock, cream colored, with the presidential seal embossed in gold.
"Dear Gael," it says as if we've met. Well, we did meet when he dropped into a Citymeals Power Lunch without warning and Barbara Walters introduced him. He was running for office. I fell head over heels for that charisma. The room melted into a quivering gell.
He is inviting me - as co-founder and chair of Citymeals on Wheels - to take part in the Clinton Global Initiative at their annual meeting in New York, September 24 - 26. And it's signed "Bill Clinton" - I'm not going to wet it to see of it's his signature because I don't want it to blur and I'd rather not know if it isn't real.
Well, of course I want to go. I'm not at all offended I'm not on Bill's A list with Global Initiative regulars Bill Gates, Rupert Murdoch, Tony Blair, Al Gore, and King Abdullah of Jordan. I just don't have that $20,000 fee. I am going to write a personal note to him to see if the fee scale includes a possible scholarship.
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Forge Ahead
I believe a restaurant critic must try not to have chefs or restaurateurs as friends. It's a harrowing path to kiss and critique. Those of you who know me or have read my memoir Insatiable know all too well I have not always been disciplined enough to live up to my code. All I can say is that I mostly had great taste in chefs I couldn't resist - and flirtation usually came long after great reviews.
Anyway, when Chef Sam Hazen left Tao, after years in Mark Packer's kitchens (no, he wasn't a partner), he wrote that it was his dream to join me on a reviewing dinner..would I consider it?
As a critic, I should have said no. But as a blogger, I  need gossip. That's how I came to be sitting across from Hazen and Todd English for my second dinner at Forge. The two chefs - both graduates of Jean Jacques Rachou's prep school at La Côte Basque - have agreed to do something together, but refused to say what. So much for gossip. I didn't want Marc Forgione to think we were all reviewing him, so I asked Sam and Todd not to comment on the food. Now that Forgione has had time to fine tune his crew and get greenmarket sources and menu in step, Forge is looking good. Go to BITE on my site to know what you'll want to taste.
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The Legacy of Paul Bocuse
If rumor in our town's French food colony is true, Paul Bocuse has imagined a future without himself and it stars Alain Ducasse. Click here for more details. And to read about my farewell lunch at Collanges and a visit with the great legend of Lyons, go to Merci Bocuse.
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Pinkberry at Last
The truth is I'm not always an avant garde warrior in my profession. Sometimes I'm first with the news, sometimes I'm last. I confess I have not yet dared the line at Grom, even though the celebrated gelato shop is steps from where I live. And I have taxied by Pinkberry for months after reading what it is and why. Now, Marian Burros has predicted that new swirl shops already trump tart frozen yogurt. Enough of bypassing Pinkberry, three blocks south of my place. Last night, after an exhausting and preposterous French movie - "Tell No One" - and luscious lamb burgers with goat cheese and exceptionally good fries in the bar at Compass, I took Steven on a route that led us by the pretty little yogurteria. I stood at the end of a short line for the cashier, but then realized I didn't know how to order. Reluctantly, I left my spot to survey the posted menus and the toppings: nuts, candies and granolas on one side, fruit on the other.
"You've never had a Pinkberry before?" marveled the plump young clerk, clearly delighted to be my guide in the Garden of Earthly Delights. "Well, first you chose from plain, green tea or coffee. Would you like a taste?"
He gave me a tiny paper cup of plain. I took a lick and a chew and then passed it to Steven. "I'll wait outside," he said.
"Each add-on is 99 cents, that's $1.07 with tax," my faciltator went on. "But if you buy a medium combo, you get three toppings free."
I love a deal. I paid $6.23 ($5.75 plus tax) for my plain medium combo with blueberries, raspberries and cubed mango. Real fruit. "Wait," said my prince, as he handed me a magnanimous swirl. " I have to give you another raspberry, one fell off." For those who care, an average medium has 154 calories and 26 grams of sugar (plus more for the fruit, who knows?) But after a big fat lamb burger, two rounds of goat cheese and fries, I admit it, counting calories is just neurotic.
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Calling Showoff Chefs
Chefs longing to be matinee idols might want to try out for a new competitive cooking show City Lights TV is casting now for the Food Network. Four professional chefs racing against the clock. Sound familiar? You're just a dweeb today, but tomorrow you could be Bobby Flay. Click here to fill out an application form.
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Photos of the leg of pig and the fettucini carbonara at Forge and Paul Bocuse may not be used without permission from Steven Richter.
Fork Play by Gael Greene. Copyright 2008
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