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matthewj

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Everything posted by matthewj

  1. There are some salient points that have been made. i need a little more time to gather my thoughts, before adding to the fray. I will say this. I think that a lot of times journalists, have some notion of loyalty to the reader, but it often gets lost with the effort of a "good" story. I believe a lot of the food journalist in the city use the articles as platforms and speeches about what they want, and disguise it as a plight for the common person. I think that a lot of the article are not about as important topics as it should be in the paper. Is it a Food section or is it a homemakers chance to make apple pie forty different ways. I think that they have a good target audience that will read the challenging ideas, but they choose not to write them. That is disloyal to the reader, when they pick up the paper.
  2. True. But the questiuon was posed how can the Journalist make a diffrence or a change, or make there writing more interesting, to readers such as myself. Those are some suggestions. I do not think that all the article on the cheese steaks and such are bad. But it seems that this is what most of the writing is directed toward. The ultimate average.
  3. A couple of thoughts. i like the way this thread is going. Market, did I see that you work at Widener University? if so What school? I graduated the Hospitality School. All the writers have an agenda, that's why they write. no? Well I know not so many have control over this, but a food section would be nice in the inky again. I hate that it is split up into the image section, and the food section. It is just stupid. also I think the writer need to push themselves a little more to be ahead of the food curve. It seems like the writers pick up a topic, weeks after the other cities have been through with it. For example: Allen Richman wrote that Vetri is the best Italian restaurant in the country. That is huge. He also wrote that Philadelphia would not even know it. That pissed me off. Because he is right. He talked about the roasted goat he used from Bethlehem. Or the product he uses from four story hill farm, in Northern PA. Why not do an article on that instead of why I love the cheesesteak, or why Genos need to take the sign down. Who cares that is not food news worthy. Maybe a good editorial for the paper, but not food. Write that Pa has most of the high end products that every chef in New york wants. Like 4 story, Elysian fields lamb, Jamison Farm Lamb. And then question why if these restaurants are so great, why aren't they using these local products? Also support of events needs to be 100%. I always hated going to SOS in Philadelphia, But when I went to other cities events they were well run, and well covered. I remember the Starchefs event at the Ritz, it was small and not covered well. I went to another cities Star chefs, and it was mobbed. Did you all know that Fred Ortega Has some of the best chocolates in the country. Do an Article on Fred and how he became a chocolatier, not how ma Kettle makes great fudge. Laban needs to re-review a lot more. And it should not be some small blurb. Restuarants live a die by his reviews. Venus and Cowboy, Out of the Blue, Tree Tops, Sprigs. He needs to review the restaurant that he smashed again so that they can at least make a effort to change. Listen.. I am not a food writer. But I am an avid food reader. I like to know about everything. But please no more articles on Hamburgers. Pizza, Matzoh Ball soup, Christmas cookies, and of course cheesteaks. We know which is the best, who makes the best and we know how to make them. If we can't, just Google it. We need solid writing. And solid article about interesting things is my bottom line. I think you guys can do that.
  4. call ahead to the Four Seasons, ask if They could make pepperpot soup. Marty always made great pepper pot.
  5. Freddy likes your Work. Stick with him. Learn. You have a good team.
  6. Susur is quite a different story. He started with Lotus, himself, then came Susur. It is his restaurant, his style of food unique to him. I would think it strange for him to hand over his restaurant. But on other hand you Know who Thomas Keller is, but you also know who Johnathan Benno is and the other chef D cuisines are. He realized that he could not and did not do it on his own, although he had a major role to play. Chef and George on the other hand knowingly or unknowingly have kept there most loyal people down instead of bringing them up with them. Hell Georges just fired them. The Food at Lacroix and Four Seasons was not the Chef. He did spell check a lot, but hey. He took credit for introducing food to the public that he did not want on the menu in the first place. When it became success then and only then did he take credit. I am not so sure Martin really wants to be attached to JML anymore. He stayed with him for the longest time.
  7. I Love chicken Fried Steak. Hey i am in the South right now
  8. Will he stay is the question Shawn I think Meant to convey. Open a place in Philly or go back to New York?
  9. A shoemaker knows the right way to do things, but does the easier way because they are too lazy or just do not care.
  10. You know. I was thinking a lot about the past blogs. The problem is that not just Chef but George, or Georges what ever did not leave room for his successors, it is only recently have you heard about Chris. I think it is a French thing. When people think about JML's food at the Fountain. They think JML. I think Martin Hammond. Chef never properly set up Martin for the passing of the torch. Same goes for his Lacroix restaurant. If people think that chef was cooking everyday, and writing menus and coming up with the concepts of the restaurant. They are mistaken. the dinner menu concept of the small plates was not his, the brunch concept was not his, none of the menus, the organization the supplier contacts, the outlined enforced standards were not his. But he gladly took credit for all of it. All of it. He may have done it at the Four Seasons, but not There. The hotel supported that, why not this was their golden goose. But they were not prepared for the onslaught of meticulous standards his crew brought with them, and their many times misplaced loyalties to him. Being a line cook at Lacroix was probably difficult. He purposely kept things from the Sous chefs and created in fighting amongst the sous chefs to maintain control. But it backfired. He lost control, and a lot of good people, line cooks included left. As for what needs to change In Philadelphia. I believe Philadelphia can surpass most not if not all of the restaurant cities in the country. But it will take work and a network of support through out the restaurant community. Start using Local products. Not just Branch creek. In New York's Green Market 50% or higher are farmers from PA. Do you know why, because there is no market, or they are pushed out by staid competition. Two the reading terminal is great, but if it is not open later than 5 at night, how can they compete for the local crowd against Whole Foods. It also needs to be open on Sunday's. I mean come on, a major tourist day, and it is closed. HuH? Support the farmers market at the Square, it is expensive for them to be there. How do you think the organic eggs landed on Lacroix's menu 4 years ago. The liquor laws need to be adapted to a more restaurant friendly, and cost effective venue. People need to venture outside the center city realm during the day. Fishtown, and Northern liberties are great, but it is no Soho if no one goes for lunch. The chefs need a stronger network. Too few chefs are competing for the same nut, and not working together. You should see the chef network in Atlanta it is amazing. I think investors need to back their chefs up more, and not compete with Stephen Starr. Just be better than him. He got it right he told the public what they wanted and they bought it. It is key to bring this evolution to a head. It can happen.
  11. looking at it right now, just picked it up, and who do I see.
  12. ie .. Chris Lee.. Alfred Portale.. ie Thomas keller.... endless. Charlie Trotter... endless. They helped promote there staff that was loyal, and helped them when they needed it.
  13. See day old blini batter. No good. Thank you for making my argument more saleable
  14. you know where i stand on the opening restaurant in Philadelphia, I would love to. But lack of funds, and name that are both needed. It comes back to chef, and his lack of help in this arena. Ever. well BB when i jump in I am never shy.
  15. Nafairge. As a line cook at the Four Seasons we referred to Chef as Darth Vader. Always in black, and shaking a menacing presence. I am glad you have respect for the man. Most line cooks do. And they should. The situation that they are in right now is not good. And could have been avoided years ago. The decisions to replace Chef with someone who never worked for him, ever, and is not French, (lets face it, DF would have made a transition easier. ) Is a slap in the face to everyone who spent countless hours for an idea of better food, a greater restaurant, a better team. Believe me if I knew 5 years ago that this guy was going to take Chefs job, I would have never started working for Chef at Lacroix. Neither would have anyone. Legacy is very important. Now we have none. We collectively feel that chef and the management did us an injustice at one time or another, and believe me, it is frustrating. They had it great at the Rittenhouse for a long time, garnered a slew of awards, had a lot of talent in one building They got greedy, and lazy. They are going to feel the whirlwind. That being said. When chef leaves there will, will, will, be a huge gap in fine dinning restaurant. He is one of the few last chefs in that city who have worked eaten and toiled in 3 Star restaurants. He has a ton of experience. a gap will be left. Period. It could have been avoided. He could have passed the torch and made it better, but they decided to skuttle the ship. Aren't you curious why? That is my crux. So my question, which V and others have chimed in and contributed is who is next.
  16. Listen. I am not saying the chef does not have skills to pay the bills, but in your own diatribe . You had the wrong menu item. Where is the Chef d Cuisine to check your mise en place. You had day old blini batter. A seasoned cook who "told you the blini batter from the previous night "was OK", did not take into account the instability of whipped cream, egg whites, and the O2 of potatoes. Rookie moves. Why on earth did you keep the blini batter. That is mistake # 2 Chef helped out, great. He basically made pancake batter out of your mistake. Never should have happened in the first place. Why did you have oysters opened for mise en place. All oysters should be opened at that moment If the systems are set up properly, I hope you at least spent one to two years on the hot line as a commis before earning the spot on the Garde Manager line.( where by the way you would have learned about blini batter) (which by the way is not a starting point in French Kitchens). No one is question the death knoll of eating in Philadelphia, one needs to question where it evolves into, and who is going to take the reigns. V is correct same thread idea.
  17. You know i was just going to respond and be done, but that would not be me. I wonder how much do you miss the chef. MMM. Did you ever get sandbagged by him, be dismissed by him, Or did you ever get caught in his whirlwind wrath for his own mistakes. No? You should ask Martin Hammond, DJ, Joe Drago, Billy D, and countless other who have worked for him for over 18 years. (checking Their egos at the door everyday) how much they miss him. Funny in the five years at Lacroix, I do not remember any of them coming to wish us well, to say hi, to exchange ideas... Weird huh? Did one ever wonder why after that many years, someone would not want anything to do with him....
  18. And if you have ever ran with me you would know why.
  19. Boy, I really hope Nafairge is not directing that at anyone. Because I know the people that talk on this thread, and they all checked there egos at the door a long time ago. All of them put their egos aside to make people look better for the sake of the food and the good of the restaurant. They all walk the the walk, most of them I have worked with. They deserve their say, and rightfully so. They Earned It. I have no problems with cooks who have opinions about restaurants, as long as they could back it up with the food that they put on the plate. If they give as much as 110% everyday, head down, no complaint. They have also earned that right, not to be called a shoe maker.
  20. I LOVE YOU V. It is exactly what I am trying to get at. There needs to be some happy medium, where there is none. I am now working in a city where there is a lot of restaurants. A lot of very good ones, only a few exceptional. But there are a lot of very good ones. And the public is ecited to ee new ones grow. This has always angered me, because I believe Philadelphia has a lot more to offer, than the city I am living in right now. I think peoples expectations of excellence have been watered down by average service, mid line food and a lot of glitz. To respond to the standard of excellence Chef set at the Four Seasons vs. at Lacroix. Chef was surrounded by a cast of people at the Seasons whose sole goal was the execution of the highest standards. His dinning room staff was and still is at the Four Seasons is professional and impeccable. His had an excellent staff in the kitchen and cooks who cared more about the food and doing the job correctly for the guest alone. His staff owned the restaurant. That is what it made it great. At Lacroix, I believe he never had the support from the management like he did at the Seasons. I also believe that the staff did not feel a great sense of ownership like the Seasons. I think that the public never let the restaurant and chef fall out of the shadow of the Four Seasons. So it was always compared to each other. Which should have never been the case. The restaurant was supposed to be different, which no one including the management and the Chef let go. I think the food could be at times better than the Four Seasons, but again there was always compromises forced, forced, forced on the kitchen by the management and the chef. That a lot of times got in the way of consistency. But at one time it was possible for the Rittenhouse to surpass the Season. That is gone now.
  21. Ok. So I know my syntax is poor, and my spelling needs a little proof reading. But my BB. I put Yolk on for a reason. Yolk the nucleus of the egg. One wears egg on the the face, ie Rittenhouse, ie Chef. Plus since he is known for his egg dishes. I thought that it would be appropriate. I do not think fine dinning is dead, just on vacation. It really is starting to morph into something else. But the real question is this. Is there enough talent to drive a restaurant revolution within the city beyond that of BYO. There are a handful of talented chefs but the supporting cast is just not there. If you have incidents such as the Le Bec overtime, well you can just kiss your dream goodbye. That just sounds like some self righteous cooks who do not want to make their bones.( but that is a discussion for another time) Dinning needs a collective effort of the chefs as well as the public to support the restaurant's. Ansil and Vetri are goods starts, but I hear the whispers of too expensive. Good food comes with a price. If you want to buy a Mercedes get ready for the price tag. The public needs to be educated that a steak is not always a steak. A 12 ounce steak from Stephen star would not be the same as what I served at the Rittenhouse. (I still doubt anybody uses 4 story hill farm anymore) Is Philadelphia ready for that expense. I am not so sure. So we will just sip our Jamba Juice. Slide on the ice. and wait patiently. So leave the light on. Keep the network growing. Threads like this will slowly educate the public to become more discerning and expect more than just Caesar salad and cheese steaks. It starts with a small ripple that goes through the lake. Oh Yeah.. Did you know who replaced General Macarthur during the Korean conflict.. OH its true.... Oh its true.. Think about it
  22. got to go eat. Going Italian today with my better half. will talk son.
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