Speaking with Chefs - Bacash

After an outstanding meal, marred only by the very slow service, chef Michael Bacash came to our table to apologize and shared some of his views with us.

His approach. as with all chefs, is excellent products handled with respect but he doesn't care for the creative endeavours at restaurants that promote molecular gastronomy and, to some extent, degustation menus.

I was surprised that he believes that the unrestricted ability of anyone to open a restaurant has a destructive influence on the ability to provide good service. The market is not efficient in these things so it takes some time before many of these restaurants fail. In the meantime they both take a considerable amount of money out of the system that would have helped support other restaurants and they dilute the numbers of good professionals available to work making it particularly difficult to maintain excellent staff. Add to this the erratic number of reservations, the people who cannot be contacted to confirm their booking and occasionally don't show, or leave because their table is not ready, and the pressure to keep prices down, and you can see that life can be extremely difficult.

This is what we ate.

Bouillabaisse - in a rich saffron soup very good
Crab Gratin - delicate well balanced exquisite Duck confit with cherries in an excellent jus - as good as it gets
Spaghetti Marinara - packed with seafood, in a garlic sauce
Hazelnut chocolate mousse - again couldn't be betterClassical tart tatin - worth the 15 minute wait, it was so very good
There is a reasonably good and wide ranging wine list at fair prices

Price Entrees about $22 Mains about $36 Desserts about $18
Comments Some places get better, some worse and some stay much the same. Bacash is one that is better than last time I visited. It's more expensive now but so is everything else.

The staff are a happy

We'll certainly be back
Score: 16/20