Pete Wells slams Per Se

[paulraphael]

5 hours ago, rotuts said:

I actually hope this becomes a wake up call for Talent that's Lost its Way

 

Me too. 

 

A lot of comments (fewer here than elsewhere) look at restaurants like this as some exclusive thing for rich people, and so: who cares. Which is understandable, but I think the other side of the story is that this kind of cooking is an art form, which for reasons no one knows how to fix, is expensive. Like giant sculptures. Like opera. 

 

Some of the people who buy expensive art are just rich douchebags. Some of them are true lovers and patrons, using their money to support something they value. Others are regular Joes who happen to love it and are willing to save up and indulge once in a blue moon. But if no one patronized these restaurants, this kind of cooking would die out, or at least become diminished.

 

This should be of concern to anyone who cares about cooking, whether you eat at high end restaurants or not. We're in an unprecedented age of information sharing, in which chefs publish their ideas rather than hoarding them. We're all in a position to learn from Thomas Keller. Or to learn from other chefs who have learned from him. I'm willing to bet that everyone here has benefited from his work already, whether knowing it or not.

 

Keller is a titan in this world. And by the accounts of people I know who have worked for him, he's one of the hardest working visionaries in a world practically defined by hard working visionaries. For his restaurant to have slipped like this, something bad has happened with him, either personally or professionally. I don't see this as a cause for schadenfreude, just because I can't afford his tasting menu. 

 

I'm wishing Keller and his team the best, and for fair treatment from the press and peanut gallery. I'd like to put Per Se back on my list of restaurants to maybe possibly someday indulge in.

[Martin Fisher]

Thomas Keller on That 'New York Times' Review and the Future of Per Se

[Thanks for the Crepes]

On 1/29/2016 at 8:52 AM, rotuts said:

interesting points.

 

however, 

 

when served bong water, one politely settles the bill, and leaves.  

 

this is for all price points.

 

now  free bong water .....

 

Dear rotuts,

 

You know I love you, and MC, but I just have to disagree with you here. Mr. Wells was doing his professionally remunerated job while dining at Per Se, and he was not free to just walk out. In order to turn in the copy he was being paid to do, he had to endure less than wonderful experiences (multiple) to their end.

 

Also, he said some of the dishes were great, and what one would expect at that price point. 

 

I have never been a professional reviewer of anything, but I enjoy movies, and I have contributed a few hundred amateur reviews of them on IMDB. Mostly for little known things, without many other reviews, and almost exclusively positive. I found out that if you want to generate yourself a whole lot of hate mail, all you have to do is turn in a single negative review for a hugely popular movie that you couldn't watch all the way through, because you found it repulsive and a waste of time. Well no one likes to get hate mail, so I tried to watch said movie again, forcing myself to go further than last time. Still no go. I was hoping I could get to a point that it would be worth my time, and I could add an updated review, and maybe mitigate my reputation with some of the hate mail senders. Such was not to be, but if I had been a professional reviewer, I would have been doomed to slog along to the end credits.

 

I can also understand why people are outraged that someone dares to review something that they haven't fully experienced. Maybe that movie redeemed itself by the end? I will probably never know, but, if I was being paid to watch it and offer an opinion, I would have no choice. Pete Wells would have gotten a stack of hate mail that would dwarf mine over the movie review, and repercussions from his employer if he had walked out. He might be a glorified wage slave, but still had to do his job. See? 

[rotuts]

""   he was not free to just walk out ""

 

of course he is.   

 

let me put it another way :   if the reviewer beholding to his clientele ?  

 

is he writing to confirm  at least partially that those with money are not complete idiots ?  

 

how can a restaurant get two stars   when they serve bong water ?

 

that's the issue I have.

 

" I went to PerSe  , they served me bong water.   I settled the bill and left. "

[Thanks for the Crepes]

 

12 minutes ago, rotuts said:

""   he was not free to just walk out ""

 

of course he is.   

 

let me put it another way :   if the reviewer beholding to his clientele ?  

 

is he writing to confirm  at least partially that those with money are not complete idiots ?  

 

how can a restaurant get two stars   when they serve bong water ?

 

that's the issue I have.

 

" I went to PerSe  , they served me bong water.   I settled the bill and left. "

 

Okay, we must agree to disagree, and I still luv ya and MC. 

[rotuts]

Ill put it another way :

 

there may have been a few good dishes.

 

therefore the Swells read his review  , confirm to themselves they are Swells with even more taste than Wells  then :

 

""  Tisk Tisk   , poor Petey.  He ordered the Bong Water .   We never order the Bong Water , do we  Bunny ?   Do you think Petey was unwell ?  "

 

[huiray]

On 9/9/2016 at 3:26 AM, Thanks for the Crepes said:

Mr. Wells was doing his professionally remunerated job while dining at Per Se, and he was not free to just walk out. In order to turn in the copy he was being paid to do, he had to endure less than wonderful experiences (multiple) to their end.

 

Yes. It's his job, for which he is being paid a salary. If he walked out before the entire meals (multiple) were done he would be accused of not giving the restaurant a thorough and fair review, for all the dishes served. I would consider it dereliction of duty.

 

As for the two-star rating - the profile on him linked to here explains why he did so.