Food Critic Needed?
I was reading this post that Janis wrote over on her Dining Diva blog last night. It’s about her frustration with the restaurant reviews in our local publications. I couldn’t agree with her more because I’ve had the same frustrations. She spells it out better than I can in her post but I know that I’ve read some restaurant reviews in the newspaper in the past and ended up scratching my head, wondering if what I read was a restaurant review or a description of a decorator’s show on HGTV.
Anyways, if you read the comments in her post, Janis wants to try and start a regular “foodies-night-out” get-together, presumably to get people together who can give her readers a more honest review of local restaurants (correct me if I’m wrong Janis). Anyone interested?
I think you summarized it quite well! Looking forward to hearing from other reviewers to get this thing going…
What does it take to be considered a “foodie”? I’d love to join you!
Why not start with The Frederick Dining Out Meetup Group? http://diningout.meetup.com/235/
joules- I think being a “foodie” just means that you enjoy food and your palate extends beyond Olive Garden and Ruby Tuesdays…
Plus…you can’t be a food weenie. You’ve got to be willing to try foods that might be a bit exotic. Perhaps not Anthony Bourdain exotic (he’s just plain CRAZY to me..)- but more than always ordering the muu shu pork when you go out for Asian.
So… join us! When we have 6-8 people we’ll start planning the evening.
Is anyone going to the Progressive Dinner on the 17th? We are planning on attending…
Frederick has been a “cosmopolitan” city for many, many years, and local folks have been grumbling about the lack of legitimate reviews since the early 1990s. Doesn’t matter. The Frederick News Post, Gazette, and Frederick Magazine politely refused those requests, maybe because they have been and continue to be in bed with the local restaurants. How many times has anyone here bothered to call the editors and complain? Money talks.
I already joined The Frederick Dining Out Meetup Group, but thank you to Darren for mentioning it. However, I have yet to see them plan an outing to somewhere other than Brewer’s Alley (which I go to often enough on my own) and the usual chain restaurants (bleh), so I haven’t been to any of their meetups.
The Progressive Dinner http://www.downtownfrederick.org/play/ProgressiveDinner.htm looks like fun; I wish I could go. Maybe next year.
How Ironic. LizFrog rightfully and accurately complains about the terrible local restaurant reviews, but herself serves up the most lightweight of “reviews” here at FrederickMarylandOnline. Giving legitimate reviews may not be her official job, but if honest reviews are her goal, she should lead the way and really educate us.
Same goes for StorageLady. She wants insightful and accurate reviews. So do I. But she samples just a small number of main dishes, then feels comfortable making sweeping edicts about the entire restaurant.
Sampling narrowly and writing broadly isn’t the sign of a credible review. She also doesn’t acknowledge that sometimes the cooking staff is off their game. It happens to all of us in every profession. Apparently, she thinks attitude is a substitute for insight and specificity, neither of which are in much evidence in her columns.
The only reviewer I trust in the area is Tom Sietsema at the Washington Post. Before he writes a review, he visits a restaurant multiple times. He writes with authority, insight and expertise. What we need in Frederick is a Tom Sietsema, not a shill or pretender. Maybe we should have a competition!
Marie,
You should’ve been at our interview gig at the Frederick Coffee company. Janis the DiningDiva isn’t shy and she let the guys from FNP know how she feels, although neither of them are “editors”, just employees.
This is from a recent Tom Sietsema review. The sour tone and dripping condescension (unusually bad in this review) show why an “honest review” isn’t likely in smalltown Frederick.
“Things don’t improve on the second floor, home to a few tables that ring that big staircase. A casual Latin American menu trots out just about every south-of-the-border dish you can think of, without much success. Pollo asada, fajitas, quesadillas — the gang’s all here, along with skirt steak, paella and a trend that I’d love to see go the way of the rotary phone: wraps. Empanadas are heavy and bready, with only a suggestion of shredded beef in their filling. Tortilla soup with bits of chicken does a great imitation of store-bought beef vegetable soup, only it’s saltier than any commercial soup I’ve ever tasted. Am I tempting fate by ordering that paella? I guess so, because what shows up bears a closer resemblance to an oily Chinese stir-fry than a Spanish classic — and it needs every drop of juice from the accompanying lemon wedge to give it even a weak pulse. Watery scallops and bland strips of bell pepper only compound the problem. Simple tends to be better in such places, but even the basics are a bust here. Chips are light but greasy, while the black beans smack of a can, and not a very good one. Oddly, these dishes come from a kitchen whose executive chef is Mexican and who previously cooked at Babalu Grill in Baltimore.”
Food Grrl, I definitely don’t consider myself a restaurant reviewer at all! This blog is here to get out info about Frederick and thrives on comments from readers. In fact, some of the best restaurant info has come from commenters. Thanks for adding to the discussion!
@Food Grrl, Liz or I (or any of the commenters here, posters at Yelp.com, or any of the other dozens of local social sites for that matter) only share our experiences. We are not reporters or experienced restaurant reviewers.
Hopefully you can glean some real info by looking at the total universe of user submitted content that is posted about a particular place and make a decision about whether to spend your hard earned cash there. I’m afraid that until Tom Sietsema or someone like him starts reviewing restaurants in Frederick that is all you’re going to get.
StorageLady – My husband and I would soooooo be interested! We live downtown and eat out in the city’s restaurants at least twice a aweek. We have a great passion for food (both cooking and eating) and would love to contribute to a serious venue that would provide an honest review to those looking for information on where to eat and what to expect at any of our local restaurants.
I would be interested in the “foodies-night-out” get-together!
I’ll also take a look at the progressive dinner, which I’m sure my husband would be interested in.
Monica
Sounds like we have quite a few people that would like to get this night-out thing going.
I will post here and on Dining Diva to get an idea of how many will be able to attend.
Perhaps, the first time, I will pick the date and time. From then on – we can rotate so that we get a more varied selection of locales and times.
Glad to hear that others are interested!
I’ll try to post again by Monday with time and place. Also….if you have suggestions – feel free to post them…. I’d be happy to try a new place and a new dish…
Oh, and as an FYI: I do NOT profess to be a professional reviewer. And, I really don’t want to return repeatedly to a restaurant to see if the chef was having 2 or 3 bad days. Why not? Well..primarily because it’s MY money I’m spending – not the Washington Posts.
Yes, I would love to have the freedom and expense account that Tom Sietsema has. But until that day comes, I’ll just keep telling it like it was the day that I went. Good or bad.
Anyway, truth be told, restaurants should be held accountable to providing a consistent quality of food – bad day or not.
One more thing….is anyone going to the Progressive Dinner on the 17th? We are attending the 7:00 seating and would like to see who from FMO is also there…
IF and I repeat IF, the FNP hires a professional restaurant critic, I hope that this person can remain anonymous. In two of the smaller cities (grew up in Chicago) I’ve lived in, the critics were known by everyone in the business, and around town, with one any mixed drinks had to be extra strong or you got slammed, she also slammed a restaurant owner for greeting guests, mixing drinks, and tending to a problem in one of the restaurants bathrooms, during lunch. The other one won’t eat veal, disliked most seafood and would only order beef (well-done) or chicken. A restaurant cannot know that its being reviewed
Hey Al, I agree….anonymity would be key. Are you the Al from Patowmack?
one in the same (two by weight)
Al, it’s good to have your voice on these pages. As a professional chef, you can bring a different perspective to our discussions as you are privy to both sides of the equation.
BTW – the chef’s brother at Marsala’s told me that you were in for dinner a while back. He enjoyed meeting you and was lamenting that the tiramisu wasn’t available that night.
Have you been back since?
Took my daughter there for lunch, I like the joint, simple food done well. They did have the tiramisu last time, it was ok, I like mine better (big surprise there). And as far as bringing a different perspective, I tried, and got ripped a new one. It’s not worth it.
You guys might like Ruth Reichl’s book “Garlic and Sapphires”. She wrote it when she was the food critic for the NYT, and it incudes quite a bit of deception and subterfuge to remain anonymous. I found it interesting.
I appreciate the chat about restaurants and food. I like having the opinion of someone I can relate to.
I read Ruth Reichl’s book a few years ago and was intrigued by the variety of personnas she was able to create! Plus, I love her writing style – she does a terrific job
The food scene in Frederick does seem to by trying hard. There are people who don’t insist on eating at some giant bland chain. Not much adventure around here though.. I don’t find Anthony B that adventurous! Andrew Zimmer though.. Yikes.
We can only afford to eat out once a week, with maybe one big “blowout” a month. I’m more than willing to tell it like it is (see my comments on La Paz) but between watching my waistline and my wallet, I’m stuck on the sidelines. Would love to do the dinner, but we’re out of town this weekend.