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RECENT PRESS
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Jack's Oyster House would like to thank all of the readers for voting us Best Restaurant (Albany) 2009!
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One Step Ahead
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It is now time to book your parties!!! Book your signature events as well as Thanksgiving and Christmas!
Also be sure to check out our website for our Holiday To-Go menu options!
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Food beyond 'taste'
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"Food is all too frequently mistaken as being only about taste. Likewise, the sense of taste is so much more than merely the stimulation of taste buds on the tongue. Food is rich with sensory stimuli-not only of taste but of smell, vision, touch sound-and, in turn, memories and emotions and cultural connotations. A single aroma has the power to take you immediately back to childhood. 'The experience of food is an emotional experience, it's a social experience, it's and existential physiological experience, it's a psychological experience. It unifies, to a great deal, across different cultural traditions as an experience',(Mark Miller)" - Culinary Artistry, Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page
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Dear Luc,
It's that time! Jack's Oyster House is once again participating in restaurant week! French Certified Master Chef Luc Pasquier has created a lovely menu to entertain your palate and leave you wanting more! Along with 19 other restaurants participating, everyone is sure to find something to please.
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What is Restaurant Week?
Restaurant week is an exciting event held twice a year here in downtown
Albany. The participating restaurants offer fixed price menus for lunch
and dinner. These delicious meals are more than great deals, especially
from the finest restaurants! The purpose of this event is to bring
focus to the culinary excellence of Albany.
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History of Restaurant Week
What began as a lunch only promotion in 1992, in NYC, is now a full blown nation wide event. With more than 26 major cities, plus a growing number of smaller communities participating, this event impels local and out of town diners to revisit their old favorites or to try new destinations. Restaurant week for Albany began some time ago around fall of 2004 and is hosted by the Downtown Albany Business Improvement District.
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Gastronomy
Restaurant Week is the perfect opportunity to enjoy your favorite foods as well as venture to try something new! This season Chef Luc & Jack's hopes that you will broaden your understanding of food and gastronomy. But wait! What is Gastronomy? Have you ever thought about what it is you REALLY are tasting? Taste is more than just salty, sweet, sour, bitter, or umami. As many of you may or may not know gastronomy is a truly exciting study of the relationship between culture and food. It is the relationship between the senses and food, enjoyment at the table as a science.
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Working with Gastronomy
In 1992 Chef Luc was working for the French Consulate in NYC and began planning an extravagant program. It featured 60 french restaurants and multiple chefs involved with local schools. The idea emphasized ways that Chefs could give back to the community and build toward our future. In 1994, working with the schools of NYC they decided to educate the children on the basics of flavor and demonstrate kitchen chemistry. Some educators included Eric Ripert (Le Bernardin), the french consulate and Ariane Daguin (D'artagnan). They worked, along with 60 other chefs, to launch a project that started 4 years prior in Europe to enhance children's appreciation of taste. For the adults they sponsored 10 days of gastronomy through the 60 french restaurants with prix fixe menus much like today's restaurant week.This program is now known as the Days Of Taste and is managed by The American Institute of Wine and Food.
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Food for Thought
Gastronomic Hierarchy:
- Gastronome
- Gourmet ( a connoisseur of food and drink)
- Friand (epicure)
- Gourmand (one who enjoys eating)
- Goulu (glutton)
- Goinfre (greedy guts)
(1)
FOODIE
A foodie is the informal term for a particular class of aficionado of food and drink. The term was coined in 1981 by Paul Levy & Ann Barr who used it for their book title The Official Foodie Handbook in 1984.
Foodie VS Gourmet While some use these terms interchangeably foodies differ from gourmets in that gourmets are epicures of refined taste who may or may not be professionals in the food industry. Foodies are amateurs who simply love food for consumption, study, preparation and news. (2) |
So go, celebrate restaurant week, enlighten friends, have fun, but most importantly come hungry!
Sincerely,
Brad Rosenstein & French Certified Master Chef Luc Pasquier
Jack's Oyster House
518-465-8854
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