The foie gras dissolves. It is just a memory. I have been back, again and again, wearing one disguise after another. Tonight, I am determined to uncover the truth. Our food arrives quickly.
Fish soup is magnificent.
Sauteed foie gras with figs is a dream. My brother is eating sorbet and staring at a pulled-sugar fantasy that is now decorating the table. He is completely enchanted. The pastry chef, Jacques Torres, is a technical wizard who is excited by the chemistry of cooking. Maccioni's best trick was persuading his sous-chef, the reluctant and retiring Sottha Khunn, to take charge of the kitchen when he moved the restaurant from the Mayfair to the Palace Hotel last spring.