Suzanne F

I was also being facetious about authenticity. As far as I'm concerned, there is no such thing as "authenticity" in food.

And while I don't doubt that people are enjoying the dishes, to say "It's unusual to find so many successful recipes in a single book" is just silly, and points up the hyperbole surrounding this book. The analyst in me wants numbers, percentages, and other proof. Not that I want the statement to be proven wrong, and not that it matters, anyway. It's just the unproven breathlessness that, well, offends my day-in-day-out awareness of cookbooks.

Lemme see if I can convince Paul to eat the kind of food I cook, but out.

ETA: Hey, what better way to celebrate Bastille Day?

Never been much of a buffet person, but there was an Indian place way downtown, Bombay maybe. They served a terrific buffet lunch for $8.99. Can't imagine that still exists. Anyone know?

Do you mean Salaam Bombay, on Greenwich Street (opposite Washington Market Park)? It's still there, but I doubt the buffet is still that inexpensive; might be able to check tomorrow when I'm at the Tribeca Greenmarket. Other Indian restaurants (Taj Tribeca, Benares) in the neighborhood also have relatively inexpensive buffets, although all are more than $10.00; I haven't tried them, but since I like they're à la carte menus, might be good. Some have takeout lunch plates that hover around $10 for 2 vegs or 1 meat, 1 veg plus dal, rice, naan, and maybe more.

It certainly reads like French translated into English in a very literal way,

 

I would assume he didn't write it.  But yes, the whole thing is stilted.  Marlow & Sons may be good, but who would call it "ambrosial"?

If anyone thinks Ducasse even dictated that, I have a bridge to sell them.

I was being somewhat facetious, as those organizations think their endorsement is meaningful and increases sales a lot. I know that some cookbook authors agree (hopeful it will give them a boost), but the public? Probably not so much, but I haven't asked the few civilians I know.

And I was expecting Orik to say something like that. I'm not saying Ottolenghi isn't good (hell, I bought the book, so I must trust MFFers opinion that it's worth having). But what he's presenting is a romantic ideal, both culinarily and politically. Whether it would work in the real world is something else.