Did anyone see the AMAZING HBO doc on Le Cirque? It was awesome. Several people have told me it reminds them how important “the food” really is, in the sense that to many, we have moved away from "the food" being the raison d’être of the business. They cite the proliferation of eater-tainment restaurants (Rainforest Café, anyone?), celebrity chefs with no real food skills (Rachel, The Neelys, Ted Allen, and so on), and showy, expensive restaurants with no backbone (Bellanotte, r.Normans, etc. in this market) as confirmation that we have left the building when it comes to creating and respecting great cuisine.

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I was away last week on a deserted island (really) and returned to hear that Three Fish closed, shocking several of the staff and servers. They told my buddy that it was a real surprise to arrive one day at work and find the place shuttered. I am not shocked that Three Fish closed. Despite the favorable esteem in which that restaurant was always held, it simply did not have the register ringing enough to stay open. The only thing shocking to me is that more places have held on this long (many places are intending to stick it out through New Year's passing). Based on numbers being down all over the industry, I was expecting it to be worse earlier. I still think many places will close in the first quarter of 2009, however.

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Nyotaimori means female body presentation in Japanese, and it seems gimmicky at first, but there is something fabulous about eating sushi and sashimi off of a living, breathing human being--especially when it is Simone, who lay there for two hours without moving, buck-naked, while Alexis McKinnis (VitaMN, Girl Friday, etc.), Johnny Michaels (master mixologist from LBV, etc.), Martha Hopkins (InterCourses, the cookbook), and I chowed down, carefully plucking the fish from shoulders, legs, belly, arms, and chest. Some days I REALLY love my job.

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So I am watching Ratatouille for the umpteenth time with my son on my lap (half asleep) when I hear Gusteau whisper that above all, a great chef is "fearless." Well, get thee to Isaac Becker's 112 Eatery in a hurry, and check out his latest feat of derring-do, gizzards. Now that's a tough sell, but I am salivating despite the pejorative connotations. Becker says he boils them in vinegar and salt water for approximately ninety minutes, and then they are sautéed to order in butter; pan deglazed with good balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, tahini, green onions, and ground sesame seeds; and served over soft white bread. Sort of a soul food version of a North African-Japanese-Italian-Moorish snack that you dreamed about last night. Am I the only one who finds the sound of this dish awesomely attractive? And remember, this is the guy that made you fall in love with escarole and anchovies!

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I am starving myself. It's official: I overate at Thanksgiving this year.

I count the fact that La Fougasse at the Sofitel transitioned from a restaurant once open to the public with regular hours to a private dining facility open for group reservations only (except for Sunday brunch) as a restaurant closing. I can't think of another restaurant that has spent so much dough throughout the last decade with remakes and remodels as that restaurant has. I guess other hotels are going to be doing the same thing with their restaurants, especially the ones that are empty all the time.

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