While having dinner in the middle of the Brown Hotel kitchen Friday night (more on that later) Chef Laurent Géroli popped out a slab of beef that he reverently showed the diners in his cooking class.

It's gratifying knowing that major publications expound on the pleasures of dining at the English Grill; nice knowing that our city has such a noteworthy restaurant. I've never supped myself in the "rarified confines of ... one of the finest restaurants in the nation" (according to Forbes Traveller).