rconnelly

Is there warm weather in PA?

We sat at a table one night in one of Tucson's more famous restaurants - I was doing a review - and a group of six tourists were seated next to us. We knew they were tourists because for some reason they had a "tour guide". Now the visitors were cool, but this woman practically wrecked the experience because she gave a complete history of the city, the restaurant, every litle bit of flora and fauna found in the desert, the food, you name it. I came this close ( ) to telling her to shut up! And she was almost included in my review, but I restrained myself. It still pisses me off when I think about it. And while the info could be helpful to tourists none of them and certainly not us needed to hear this obnoxious women prattle on and on in her grating voice. She really thought she was interesting. Poor deluded soul.

Bisbee Grill - right across from the Copper Queen Prickly Pear Cafe - I beleive they still have a wine store Cafe Roka ???? have heard good & bad but the citizens I've interviewed all recommended it.

I just heard a rumor that R.Reichl's memoirs are going to be a tv show. Does anyone know anything about this? I read it on a response to a blog I posted on "Circle of Food"

So what's the point of "$40.00"a day? Isn't that the biggest mistake of all?

Thanks for the laugh rconnelly. Just the names he concocted were hysterical: up and coming rock star chef of the near future, "Corey Speed," alleged world famous chefs "Everett Gavage" "Chas Mirepoix" and the senior fellow from the Brookings Institute, "Claudine Suvide." A couple of days late for April Fools' Day, but still much appreciated. The scary thing is just maybe in some culinary school somewhere, someone is at least contemplating the creation of a celebrity chef development division. Truth may indeed catch up with fiction sooner than we think. ← Didn't you love the quote from the well-known celebrity chef? Hmm, now who could that be?

Please when you get the chance, read M. Ruhlman's latest blogs re: Alinea and chef celebrity. Is it for real? Or just a sign of a slightly twisted mind?

Thank you Russ. Well put!

I don't believe the word "organic" unless I grow it myself. It is used way too often; such as at a local sushi joint where they claimed to have "organic sushi"! Turns out only the greens and veggies were organic. Rules: If you break a cookie or chocolate bar into pieces there are no calories. And as far as mushrooms go. It is better to brush them clean.

Hey, yeah. Or the same with being a chef. ← I had a great reply here but then I clicked and something went awry! Rats! First, I think we all can critisize the President because he is a public servant who has taken an oath to protect and preserve....do you feel protected? And I agree. Plenty of reviewers are poor writers and don't know what they are talking about, but then television writing has suffered also. Major mags aren't what they used to be. either. Hell, nothing seems to be. But to say the genre is dead is a bit of an exagerration. Reviewing is hard work if you really care. Bad reviewers don't really care and papers are advertiser driven. Put it all together and you've got sucky reviews.

The remarks from people who have done the job mean someting. From those that haven't, it seems easy to put the genre down. I look at it as ean evolution. Things must change and adapt if they are to remain. I agree that there are some reviewers who really aren't good, but then overall I think newspapers and even some magazines don't have the qualtiy of writing that once was either. Does that make sense?

As a reviewer some of these points are hard to take, but when I read other reviewers - especially local ones in other publications - I know that I am doing a great job and a service to both diners and the restaurants. I mean, if there is a place in town that is serving great food in a great atmosphere, I want people to know about it! I try to be fair. I try to learn about things I don't always know about. And I work very hard at not sounding like a broken record, although there are only so many ways one can describe sushi (for example). In other words, I try to be professional. Perhaps - with the exception of a few who have been there - the comments may have some sour grapes in the mix. Pun intended.

I wonder what these people do eat? And how sad their lives must be missing out on the pleasures of great food - bad for you or not.

1. As I was taught in writing classes - know your audience! If you knowe who you want to attract, what you serve, how you do it and the rest will fall into place. 2. Train your staff well. And honor them. Without them you are nothing but a bunch of tables and chairs with a kitchen in the back. 3. Management has to be willing to get their hands dirty. You need to work your ass off all of the time so eventually you will be able to enjoy the business. 4. Be clear in your own head what you want your place to be. 5. And don't think just because you like to cook that you should open your own restuarant!

Teach your children well! If kids are going to learn how to eat out - at a uptown place or a downhome joint - they need to experience it. That said children also must be taught how to behave and what is expected of them. This means the parents have to do some work and modeling, but honestly it pays off in the long run. Too many parents are too lazy or selfish to do so. I've been in restaurants where parents let their kids do any thing they want, including running around which scares the shit out of me. Hot food, little body, big disaster ( and a law suit, no doubt). That was never allowed when we took our daughter out to dinner. Never! she knew what was expected of her, we never got all nervous and edgy about it and in all the hundreds of times she ate out with us, there was only one time she flipped out. My husband went to the care with her and she fell asleep. He did too and all was well. Today, thanks to all her experiences she has worked at some of the nicest restaurants on the East Coast. And she is extremely patient with the little ones who come into wherever she has worked. The sad part is that it isn't only in restaurants that these parents let the kids misbehave. The kids don't know how to behave at stores, at church, at friend's homes, in school etc. And God forbid, anyone say anything to wither parent or child. We wouldn't want to "hurt anyone's feelings" would we. The parents are not in touch with reality and sadly we all pay for it. Yes, kids should experience all kinds of dining out but they must learn how to do so from Mom & Dad.

Or the Mexican place in a town with the best Mexican, that calls itself "different" and as you're eating a really bad meal, you watch the server run - really run - through the restaurant, while the manger spends his time straightening his tie. Add live music so loud and unending that your teeth rattle. The place has since closed.....

Laurie Colwin's books fit the bill. They are anthologies of her articles in "Gourmet". They're called Home Cooking" and "More Home Cooking" (I think).

Maybe a quiet word with the owner, or a note (even anonymously) pointing out that if the staff member in question is taking tips they are untrustworthy and it might not be stopping at tips... Sure they aren't bothered with your tips but f the suggestion arises that shows it could be just the tip of the iceberg.... maybe thay would take action then? ← I think you should say something to management. If it comes out later that you knew about it and didn't say anything you could be fired, prosecuted or at least ostrasized by your fellow workers. Certainly there is a way to dp so professionally and quietly.

it is interesting that the Kellogg cereal company was founded by a health fanatic who wanted to promote healthy eating (along with colon cleansing) around the turn of the century I believe. This inspired a 1980 movie "Health" by Robert Altman. Many of these studies confirm the common sense. For example kids --teens and young adults would seem to be resistant to nutrition information--they are (most anyway) at a physically active stage in life and believe they will live forever. Of course, there is that aforementioned (by me) age line where a lot of us experience a change in our metabolism! Suddenly, we seem to burn far less calories and everything we eat seems to show up as excess avoirdupois ← As an aside, wasn't the movie called "Wellville"?

Not fair! I'm at work, hungry as all get out and you tease me with hot potato chips!!!! Oh how cruel!

Yeah, I flipped out when the Deane Brothers visited Milwaukee. They went to my hometown, Racine, a place know for outrageous Danish pastry (in particular kringle). They said outloud "you can only get kringles in Milwaukee!" Stupid or careless? RR also mentioned Cambidge university in Cambridge, MA in the same breath as MIT and Harvard. I think there may be a Cambridge College there, but it's no MIT or Harvard! As a writer, if I made these 'errors" my head would be on a plate and my job out the window! We deserve better.

Sure, people know it's a lot of food. Do they know how much food it is? It has been shown repeatedly that people are lousy judges of portion size. Even something as simple as the size of the plate can throw perceptions off. So I'll ask again: what's the matter with giving people facts? ← Oh come on. I think everybody knows when they have a lot of food in front of them. If not, by the time they are half way through the portion they know. People already have the facts. Printing a calorie count and fat content on the menu for each item? Not practical. Number one, I don't want an encyclopedia dropped in front of me that is punitive in "tone" at best, it's like scolding the customer. Number two, the best they can do is give an approximation, due to variations in the fresh ingredients and how closely the recipe is followed. Number three, what about a special? Who calculates the calories and fat in the super fantastic fish dish that the place is running on deal today and tomorrow? There is nothing wrong with giving people information. My opinion, and it is only an opinion, is that just about everybody already knows what's good and bad for them. I don't want to be sent on a guilt trip every time I decide to treat myself to a dinner. It would make me grumpy. And I don't have any dietary restrictions and have never had to count calories. It has been my experience that those people who need to count calories can do so on their own, or just don't do it. Free country and all. Now, informing the public that MSG or transfats are used in some dishes is fine. Just like letting people now that a dish is spicy, or contains nuts. It's in the public interest. It's just a little overkill to expect a restaurant, even a chain, to print on its menus that this dish has a gazillion calories, and that dish has a gazillion and one calories, and that something contains less than 1% of the USDA's reccomended daily intake of iron. Just my opinion. ← I totally disagree that just about everybody knows what good and bad for them. There are hundreds, nay thousands, of folks out there that live by old myths of what "is good for you". The idea of three square meals a day is still totally accepted and so people eat more than they should, eat foods that are full of fat, and so on and so on. I'm not crazy about this group CPSI - but I was the one to start the thread with the idea that many Americans will continue to eat these types of meals because more is better, without a thought of what is going into their bodies!

Exactly! We wouldn't want anyone's feelings to get hurt, would we?

Remembering a recent and wonderful three course dinner at Canteen in SF, I'd be willing to make the same bet as well! The comparsion leapt to my mind after reading the previous comments. ← The truth is you don't know what the caloric or fat content of your "4-star tasting menus" was. I have seen enough chefs "finish with butter" to be somewhat skeptical. So to follow through--all menus should list fat and caloric information. As for the center for Science in the Public interest. Well, I often wonder how otherwise intelligent people accept their dire warnings with no skepticism. Interestingly, these people are self professed-- public activists with a history of making claims that are often based on junk science. In fact, I wonder if you have looked at who is on their board and how they are funded. The truth is, many of these groups are not dedicated to informing the public so that we can make our own choices based upon sound science and common sense. Rather, they are fear mongers who have an agenda that that goes far beyond information. Witness the myriad lawsuits and threats they are quick to enact. I would argue that these people are far from a group of concerned mainstream citizens and some of the comments they make and positions they take indicate clearly that they do not believe that you (we) are capable of making our own well informed choices. So--once again. Is a lot of fast food over loaded with fats and calories--yes. remember fat tastes good--those four star chefs are finishing sauces and dishes with fat for a reason! Should we be aware of what we eat and the consequences--well that's a no brainer really. I believe we should have choices and with that freedom comes a downside--somke will make bad choices--they will have to live with the consequences. I do nor want a world where some people with questionable ethics and motives eliminate choices for us through fear mongering and bans and prohibition (I suggest you look at the CSPI views on alcohol) and legal action. I have no problem if there are regulations based on open and accurate public forums and debate. I also--suprise--have no problem with public interest groups--if they use good science and logic---and if they disseminate solidly supported information without screaming at me that my children will die if I don't listen. That's just me though. ← While the CPSI may be banging a loud drum and fear-mongering the point about four-star vs chain doesn't take into account that most folks don't eat four-star and many of those that do, don't do it on a daily basis. All you have to do is spend one evening in foyer of a chain restaurant to see how many "average" Americans are filling the seats these places. When you have to wait an hour to eat at a chain restaurant, we have a problem. This happens every day in every city in America and people believe they are getting a great deal because there is so much food and "reasonable" prices.

This is pretty sad! No wonder we do not eat at chain restaurants. Chain Restaurants Charged With Promoting “X-treme Eating” http://www.cspinet.org/new/200702233.html www.cpisnet.org