Food Good Enough To Copy

DB burger Like being only cool fashion-forward kid who wears jeans a certain way and then suddenly see it copped not only by your neighbors, but by the Gap to bring to the kids in Peoria, the Daily News looks at chefs who have felt the burn when
dishes that they have created are copied with nary a glance backward, but more of a middle finger backward, it seems. One dish to be mercilessly imitated: Daniel Boulud's foie-gras, short rib, and truffles stuffed sirloin burger, the DB burger at DB Bistro Moderne.

Douglas Rodriguez of Ola says: "There's no code of ethics or honor" among chefs. "It's the dirtiest, most back-stabbing business. You get stabbed by ex-employees. People steal people. People steal ideas. People steal dishes. That's the way it is." And Wylie Dufresne of WD-50 says, "The whole process of learning this skill is about copying before you can create," though he finds "flat-out ripping off" disgraceful.

The article also discusses five dishes that launched a thousand imitators: Miso-glazed black cod (Nobu Matsuhisa); High-rise food (credited to Alfred Portale), Potato-wrapped sea bass (Daniel Boulud), Turbot with comte crust (Jacques Qualin), and tableside guacamole (Rosa Mexicano). Tableside guacamole is a dish that Gothamist is thrilled to have been adapted in many other places but thinks it's just not in enough. There's no such thing as too much guacamole, and we love seeing the molcajete being filled with avocado, cilantro, onions, and tomato.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in Food on July 31, 2003 2:12 PM

Comments [rss]

city of angels

I have to agree with omit's posting.

New Yorkers laying claim to fresh tableside whackamole really takes testiculos.

warren beety

Thank-you amh!

I never knew that about beet salade in fog city, but you're right.

amh

as my mentor told me: everything has been done before...embrace it. i add to that: make it look better and taste better than anyone else. that is all we can strive for in cooking. another thing, when it comes to reviewers/critics: it is known in san francisco that the critic michael bauer loves beet salads with goat cheese, so that is on almost every menu in the city in order to please him. if this is what chefs are forced to do in order to gain a following, that is too bad.

ubill

this post reminds me of my first date in nyc with my then future wife in 1989. (sounds so long ago)

it was christmas time then, and we went into the gotham bar & grill from the cold wet street. it was a glow of bright light and warmth. we had the seafood salad - it was stacked up so high and so beautiful to look at - the whole experience was wonderful. they may be able to copy alfred portale's high architecture, but nobody can duplicate gotham bar & grill's supberb ambience and experience.

Jen

That's not annoying - that's called a gimmick made for me. Wait, I guess that would be called annoying.

omit

Oh, sorry, just read the article. Making guac at the table? That's annoying.

omit

Guacamole was stolen from one place? It seems to me like it's been around forever in Tex-Mex restaurants.

LIRC

Tableside guac is incredible, but i agree there is not enough of it.. much like good mexican in NY. Any suggestions for tasty and authentic Mex?

sophie

thomas keller's poached lobster at the french laundry has been copied everywhere too. hopefully i'll get to eat the real deal when french laundry comes to nyc.