A Chat with Todd Kliman

[tomdc]

I believe I read that you were working on a novel. Have you finished it and has it been published ? Was just wondering if you use the ritual of dining as metaphor.

[morela]

On your overrated list of restaurants, you include Cashion's and Equinox.

For the last three years, Todd Gray, Ann Cashion and Peter Pastan have been among those nominated

(Best Chef Mid-Atlantic) for James Beard awards.

That said, can we talk about Obelisk for a minute?

I wouldn't call it overrated, I wouldn't call it underrated

(but I'm not the one making calls)...

Look for any sort of recent discussion about that place, within this forum or anywhere.

I used to always hear wonderful things, but now I hear so little.

What do you know about Obelisk now?

[Todd Kliman]

Hey Kliman

What is this, junior high gym class?

My apologies, Professor Kilman. I'll try again.

In a recent thread, some of us got to discussing 'neighborhood restaurants,' the value/meaningfulness or lack thereof of such a title, and why there's been a recent surge in their popularity (there's some disagreement over whether such a surge has occured in DC, or just in other cities). I'd be curious to hear your take on this. I noticed that one of the restaurants on your 'overrated' list is Cashion's---a place I've heard called a 'neighborhood joint' more than once.

Thanks,

Professor Sara

Kilman? (Now you're really sounding like one of my students ...)

The neighborhood restaurant, I think, is, in a lot of ways, a kind of fiction.

It's a safe harbor for the customers it serves, and for a lot of people that's very appealing -- they know what to expect, everybody knows their na-a-ame, they're willing to overlook its faults (faults they might otherwise rip a place for) because, well, it's THEIR disappointing place, and it's close by.

What you're seeing now is a lot of places trying to huddle under the umbrella of a "neighborhood restaurant" but which aren't, in fact, neighborhood restaurants. So, really, it's a kind of safe harbor for the owner and chef, too.

What I expect from a real neighborhood restaurant is an uncommon degree of warmth, solicitousness and cheer, and a lot of places, no matter how good the food, simply can't deliver on this count.

[Todd Kliman]

I believe I read that you were working on a novel. Have you finished it and has it been published ? Was just wondering if you use the ritual of dining as metaphor.

No dining-as-metaphor, it's not one of those kinds of books, but there are a number of scenes that revolve around the dinner table. I'm still working on it. Which, by the way, I despise hearing myself say whenever a waiter or waitress asks the hated (and by now obligatory) question.

[Todd Kliman]

On your overrated list of restaurants, you include Cashion's and Equinox.

For the last three years, Todd Gray, Ann Cashion and Peter Pastan have been among those nominated

(Best Chef Mid-Atlantic) for James Beard awards.

That said, can we talk about Obelisk for a minute?

I wouldn't call it overrated, I wouldn't call it underrated

(but I'm not the one making calls)...

Look for any sort of recent discussion about that place, within this forum or anywhere.

I used to always hear wonderful things, but now I hear so little.

What do you know about Obelisk now?

Overrated, in my book, doesn't mean lousy. It doesn't mean mediocre. It just means overrated -- over-talked, over-analyzed, over focused-upon.

There are places in town that I think could be doing (and, at that level, should be doing) more.

...

I haven't been to Obelisk in a while, but my last meal there was a bit of a disappointment -- not the really wonderful experience I'd remembered.

[iamthestretch]

What I expect from a real neighborhood restaurant is an uncommon degree of warmth, solicitousness and cheer, and a lot of places, no matter how good the food, simply can't deliver on this count.

That's an interesting take, and it feels about right. My local place happens to be Colorado Kitchen, which makes an interesting test case. The food really does deliver, but the good vibrations are often in conspicuously short supply. Still, it's inarguably a real neighborhood restaurant -- in that it has been embraced by that neighborhood's residents and provides a real service to them -- and not only because it's, um, the only one we have.

[DonRocks]

The Renaissance author Ben Jonson said that good writing should "instruct and delight." Todd came into this forum and confirmed what we all knew: he's very smart, funny, and one heck of a good writer.

I wanted to write this before now, but it turns out that Todd will be regaling us here from time-to-time, and so I'll simply say in closing, and in advance, Thanks! Todd.

Cheers!

Don