Old Bay in New Brunswick

[Rail Paul]

The Metro Section of the NY Times has an article about Anthony Tola, OB's owner.

Tola dumped several bottles of French wines, including six of Dom Perignon, to protest the perfidious French position on Iraq and terrorism. (He suugested the French might have a different opinion if terrorists blew up the Eiffel Tower.) The bottles were replaced with California wines on his restaurant's list.

He says calls and e-mails have run heavily in his favor, TV crews are camped outside, and he's re-enacted his sacrifice on several occasions for the media. In fact, he ran out of Dom P, so he reloaded a bottle with ginger ale before pouring it into the toilet again and again.

Several customers expressed unhappiness that he chose to express his feelings this way, while many more were unhappy he hadn't poured the wines down their throats. Others were supportive of his position.

He has had worldwide publicity, much of it not favorable, for his activity. The article mentions he had publicity stills made of his efforts for an advertising campaign.

Link to follow

[menton1]

I read about this, and thought it was ignorant and ridiculous of him. This is the same type of "patriot" that thinks anti-war folks are traitors, and we must step in line to whatever the government wants us to believe. This is exactly what American principles preach against!!

Whatever the French government promulgates is not necessarily indicative of the sentiments of the French populace; and anyway, all the French did was express their disagreement with our prospective war with Iraq-- for this we declare them enemies?

It saddens and angers me to read about this restaurateur's behavior; I did chuckle, RP, when you said that we wish he had poured the Dom Perignon down our throats!! Amen!!

[Rail Paul]

I was distressed by two things.

One, that he wasted good wine with a stupid gesture. I figure he paid $100 each for six bottles of the DP, plus another grand for the bottles he allegedly dumped. The NJ Community Foodbank could feed three families for a month on $1600.

Two, that he hired a publicity firm to assist him in his protest. To me, that suggests more opportunism and less altruism.

(One group of terrorists did actually plan to crash a hijacked airbus into the Eiffel Tower in 2000. They were overpowered by the CRS in Marseille. Nobody learned much from that exercise, except maybe Osama)

[rozrapp]

For those who would like to read the article, here's the link. (Paul, Hope it's o.k. with you that I have posted it. )

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/08/nyregion/08WINE.html

Despite the fact that the article is about a political statement being made by this restaurateur, I will refrain from making any political comments. However, I will comment about the food at the Old Bay. It has been many, many years since we last ate there and, at that time, the food was nothing special. If that has changed, I certainly have not heard about it. And when it comes to drinks, what most people seem to go there for is the very good draft beer selections.

[yvonne johnson]

I've just seen this after posting story on the media forum.

Link is here--added by Rosie

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...f=2&t=18035&hl=

[=Mark]

Where I added that in what I have seen of the coverage of this story that there is no actual credible evidence that he actually flushed anything. Great publicity but I have doubts as to whether he actually did it.

[chopjwu12]

He serves french creole food there too. So is he going to burn down his fucking restaurant next that ignorant jackass.

[yvonne johnson]

He serves french creole food there too

Too funny.

[tommy]

well, being logical for a moment, i don't know that the french people or economy are benefiting from the style of food he serves. quite different than purchasing french-made wines.

[menton1]

Maybe the next time a California publication or personality (e.g. Jay Leno) makes a snide remark about New Jersey, or the Jersey Turnpike, this moron will dump his California wines as well!!