The above photo is an altered version of "AZ in Action," taken by Sarah McGee.
Mitch Omer, proprietor of Hell's Kitchen restaurants in Minneapolis and Duluth, responds to Andrew Zimmern's Perspective in the December issue of Mpls./St. Paul Magazine:
"That's all I can stands, and I can't stands no more!" ~Popeye the Sailor
Some notes on a critic, his standards, and the obligations of the job:
What is the proper way for a restaurateur to critique a critic? As far as I can tell, there is no such manner. I can only hold back so much bile (the result of a gastric bypass, I'm sure), and I must regurgitate my feelings about a self-indulgent, self-obsessed, self-aggrandizing food writer; a former executive hack (but by his own admission, master chef). Master or not, his Café Un Deux Trois in Minneapolis, even though a clone of its mother ship in New York, won many "best of's" while open here.
However, it is with a nagging sense of professional obligation that I respond to Andrew Zimmern's journalistic treasure trove of anti-Minneapolis condescension. I suppose I should be filled with a sense of self-preservation. As it is, I am filled with a sense of outrage, and I finally gave into it.
"In many ways, the work of a critic is easy; we risk very
little, yet enjoy a position of those who offer up their work and
themselves to our judgement. But the bitter truth we critics must
face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk
is probably more meaningful than our criticism designates itself." ~Anton Ego, food critic in the movie Ratatouille
God forbid, a restaurateur would actually take aim at a critic; this would be suicide. This is a tight community, and none would say a disparaging word about another. He, however, writes as if above reproach, and I am here to tell him that he is not. At Mpls/St.Paul magazine, no pretense is made of keeping him in check...and, Mpls/St.Paul, just how does he rate a spread about celebrity homes, and the only picture we see is of him and his family on a couch? Must be one helluva house.
But I digress. His orations involve an immense waste of time. But, like slowing down to look at a morbid and horrifying accident, I read his column every month. His gastronomic fatalism sorely tries the patience of every chef and restaurateur in Minneapolis. He is inaccurate and tremendously negative; a perfect tabloid weapon. But, Andrew, you have been playing without an opponent, and I must say, it's my turn at bat.
A cook does not a critic make, yet A.Z. is a self-professed Alpha Male of food writing; one need only go back just a few issues for examples of how he dismisses the sophistication of Twin Cities residents, making us look as if we never travel outside state lines, never try anything except meat and potatoes, don't know a damn thing about unusual ingredients, don't support innovative restaurants, aren't willing to pay for good food, and are in desperate need of a god-like food writer to tell us not only how stupid we are, but also what to think from A to Z:
"My high profile can distort minor aspects of my dining
experiences, but I'd argue that what I bring to the table in expertise
and experience more than makes up for it." ~Andrew Zimmern, Mpls/St.Paul, May, 2007
Why don't you let someone, other than yourself, make that decision.
And how dare you put yourself above more seasoned food writers like
Jeremy Iggers, Ann Bauer, Kathy Jenkins, Peter Lilienthal, Dara
Moskowitz, Rick Nelson, Lynne Rosetto Kasper, and let's not forget the
late Pam Sherman. There is no objectivity here, only platitude
prescriptions for whatever ails you each month. Take a booster shot of
your own medicine, dude, you'll feel better in a day or so.
"The transcendent restaurant must hit the Trifecta: It must be
good, original, AND successful." ~ Andrew Zimmern, Mpls/St.Paul, Dec
2007
Lemme see. You all but got down on your knees and sucked the gastronomic dick of Aquavit, "...goat cheese parfait with blueberry sorbet and passion fruit curd. Wow!" Lotta guys from Anoka going to order that malady. And then, when they had to fold up operations because they were months behind in rent, owing purveyors, and not paying staff, you denigrated the city for not being supportive of such a grandiose, transcendent restaurant. Two out of three ain't bad I suppose, even if they didn't meet your criteria for the Trifecta. Bifecta? I think not. Stupid fucking elitist? I think so. Monofecta...
"We thrive on negative journalism, which is fun to write and to read." ~Anton Ego, from the movie, Ratatouille
A.Z. bludgeons local eateries with a blunt instrument: his pen, the journalistic equivalent of keying a car. From his "Perspective" column, he writes:
"Frank Brini's brutal review of Harry Cipriani on Fifth Avenue
(NYC), is proof positive of how fun it is to wield a poison pen...awesome." ~Andrew Zimmern, Mpls/St.Paul, Nov 2007
This is only a small tribunal of scorned restaurants, and I quote:
"Most of this year's crops are conundrums wrapped in
half-baked concepts. Crave is a fancified Green Mill and not as good,
Picosa is missing identity, Bank under whelms, and Amazing Thai fails
to rumble me. Black Bamboo, Café Ena, Harry's, Fogo de Chao, Spill the
Wine, Café Maude, Wasabi, Bulldog NE, Bagu, Toast, Manhattan's, and
Landmarc all fail to rouse me from my desk. Need I continue?...I will not
fall into the trap of some of my peers who canonize such places on the
basis of pedigree." ~Andrew Zimmern, Mpls/St.Paul, Dec 2007
Should we canonize YOU on the basis of pedigree? Could YOU stand up to such biased observation? Let's see. Most of this year's observations are a conundrum wrapped in half-baked journalistic concepts.
Just for fun today, I went to his Chow and Again blog, where he lambasts a press release announcing a new menu at a gentleman's club. Yes, a ‘Gentleman's Club'; expensive drinks and powdered tits for the expense account crowd. Press releases being, by their very nature, a marketing tool, this one seemed fairly straightforward, explaining the new menu that would start January 1: "Dinner selections will include a 42-oz. USDA prime Porterhouse, kobe beef hot dogs, colossal shrimp...etc. All affordably priced. The kitchen will use the freshest ingredients and...try to appeal to a larger guest base."
But Zimmern finds he must tear apart even a simple press release:
"Holy crap! Does someone actually get paid to write that junk? Is that the best point of difference the owners can come up with? Oy vey." ~Andrew Zimmern, ChowAndAgain.com
Oy-fucking-vey yourself! Please, allow me to ‘tell it like it is'. You are pre-disposed here to a negative review of the club's offerings, even though you, by your own admission, have not dined at the restaurant. "Holy crap!" I say. "Does someone actually pay you to write this junk? Is that the best point of difference you can come up with?" I doubt it.
Now, I'm anal-retentive, obsessive-compulsive and manic-depressive, (and, probably a few more hyphenated maladies), so researching this shit is right up my alley. I just couldn't resist. Further down on this self-absorbed blog, I found one of his little secrets...asking his blog readers for their input, since he was too busy to attend some events. (Don't believe me? I quote Zimmern himself, "Any great pull quotes you heard from the recent Anthony Bordain visit to Minneapolis? I was in NYC doing the Today Show, so I couldn't attend.") Hey MSP editors, who ya paying?"
But then it got good...I found out I'm not alone! I discovered a website called "Chowhound" that was upset at Zimmern for snagging their moniker. Readers were almost unanimous in their, um, "reservations" about our local-boy-made-big-TV-foodstar really being a poseur. A few of their comments:
"...has anyone else noticed that he never touches the food with his lips? He always sort of cowboys up and puts it on his tongue or throws it into his mouth. Which is not only gross to watch; this is clear body language saying that he doesn't want to eat the things he's eating on his show. So watching him do that for a half hour while he goes '...mmmm...' unconvincingly makes me think he's a big fat liar when he says he loves food. I am not buying."
"... he never enjoys the food or even acts like he's eating it for real. He puts it in his mouth much like someone who doesn't want to. Ever seen Bourdain eat anything like that? No. The man eats it, chews it, tastes it. Anyways. I guess the Discovery channel execs like it - so it's on the air. But like Bourdain says, ‘I give him one season tops.' "
Where does this cat come from, and just what do the execs see in him? Lack of good journalism leaves a hole in his articles and food blog. If you swallow any of this offal, do not induce vomiting. Take two Bauers immediately, and read Jeremy Iggers in the morning. Andrew, in his Andrew way, has razed restaurants chef by chef. Some owners survive, but nothing major on the scene is older than Solera.
"If we can't recommend a restaurant, we don't write about it, so a long-term absence from our pages does imply something." ~Andrew Zimmern, Mpls/StPaul, May, 2007
How fucking dare you! Long term absence from your pages tells us only that your Id-ridden alimentary tract is represented as detritus, and has nothing to do with objective journalism. A.Z.'s standard take-out order is two negative reviews, an anti-Minneapolis with cheese, and a small perspective to go. Can I super-size that for you?
"For years, I have wondered why someone who criticizes a restaurant for being ordinary or derivative is derided by fellow Minnesotans for being unsupportive of our restaurant community. I think when we ‘call ‘em as we see ‘em', we are holding the restaurant community to a higher standard." ~ Andrew Zimmern, Mpls/St.Paul, Dec 2007
For years, I have wondered why someone who criticizes a restaurant
critic for being ordinary or derivative is told to simply shut the fuck
up...or suffer the consequences. When I "call ‘em as I see ‘em", I am
holding the critical community to a higher standard. He is too smug,
too pseudo-objective, and wouldn't stand up to any reciprocal reviews.
He has yet to capture the gestalt, the big picture, of food service in
Minneapolis.
"...lying to ourselves when we're merely marking time serves no productive end, least of all towards bettering our future food experiences." ~Andrew Zimmern, Mpls/St.Paul, Dec 2007
You seem to lack a fresh, clear, well-seasoned perspective. If, as they say, we are what we eat, well, crow is my second choice for you here... From his blog recently about appearing on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, he writes:
"There is only so much personal grand-standing one can dole out, even on a blog, where blowing your own horn is ‘de rigueur,' par for the course, and standard operating procedure..." ~Andrew Zimmern, Nov 15, 2007
Yeah, well, blow this horn! Personally, I am over-Zimmerned and under-whelmed. He seems possessed with his own ego, and I say, "Ban thee Satan from this body, and exorcise the evil within." As for me, I'll get down on my knees and pray to St. Jude, patron saint of lost causes. Such is my fate. The fallout from this diatribe could be catastrophic, given his "high profile" of magazine columns, blogs, television show appearances, et al. I wish he'd leave the writing to better journalists, and continue to roam the globe eating bugs on the Travel channel.
This article pretty well eliminates the possibility of any positive
reviews I may ever get, but, like that second piece of pie at
Thanksgiving, which you are already too full to eat, you go ahead, and
suffer the consequences later. Such is my plight. I've never had the
ability, or maturity, to qualm my passions, good or bad. I'll have to
suffer the fallout from this diatribe. So be it, there's always another
slice of pie...
Warmest personal regards,
Mitch Omer
For the record, neither Zimmern nor Mpls/St. Paul Magazine has ever critiqued my restaurant because of a policy to only review establishments that offer dinner service, which my restaurant does not. As a result of this policy, there has never been anything written, negative or otherwise, that might personally taint my opinion of Andrew Zimmern.
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I've always thought Zimmern had an ego as big as all outdoors, but I've never understood how he cultivated his sense of "better than you and able to enjoy more exclusive restaurants" elitism, primarily because I used to know him as a daily regular at the Starbucks on Grand Ave, back when I was an employee there in the early 1990s. I know Sbucks is elitist in its own way, but it's also available at Wal-Mart.
Great column.
Three cheers for Mitch Omer!
In my opinion, Zimmern lost his credibility as a restaurant critic a long time ago. Most restaurant critics try to preserve their anonymity so that they don't receive any special treatment at restaurants that they're reviewing. As we all know, Zimmern does quite the opposite (I've always found that photo of him wielding a knife and fork in his MSP column so annoying...). I've heard that restaurants run the risk of getting a poor review if they don't suck up to him.
I've heard that restaurants run the risk of getting a poor review if they don't suck up to him. That's right Tacy? You heard it from who? A line-cook? HS drop-out bussing tables?
The reason I ask what you hear is because Andrew no longer actually reviews restaurants for MSP magazine and hasn't in quite some time.
Having worked in the industry, I'd would recommend to not be trusting "what you hear" as fact. I could tell you a lot of things I've heard. Considering the sources (Read No Reservations by Tony Bourdain to get the general idea), I'll take your comment with the grain of salt it so richly deserves.
Now Kathie Jenkins. There's somebody you should ask around about. She'll show up on your test night and write a review about that. Or so I've heard.....
In fact, I heard it from the restaurant owners themselves, when Zimmern was still doing full reviews.
But the point that he no longer writes "full" reviews is moot. In his MSP column and blog, he still regularly dishes accolades and criticisms about specific restaurants. Isn't that what started this whole Food Fight?
Hey Sweenie, whoever you are...you don't like people using the "what I hear" rumor mill? Scroll down and check your own post, where you gave AZ a pass because he backpedaled on a criticism of Don Saunders' place...your exact quote: "And his post did indeed say 'I don't have any known inside information, just what I'm hearing about slow and empty dining rooms.' "
So exactly which side of the "what I'm hearing" debate are you on?
Go down and read my reply to Don below:
Simply, there are different types of rumors that get thrown out there. I find some productive and some an utter waste of time.
I'm all for a rumor that informs the general dining public about something that they have direct control of changing. If I heard about a restaurant that I loved was in trouble, I'd tell everyone I knew about that rumor in hopes they'd dine there. Jp's would have been a good example during their construction phase. I told everyone I knew to go there because I'd heard it was a tough time for them. To me, that's an example of a rumor being passed productively.
The rumors I'm not for are the kind that don't serve anyone or anything beyond personal attacks. They're too easy to make-up. And in some cases, I think they're created by restaurant owners to avoid the harsh task of actually looking at one's business and admitting their shortcomings that were pointed out in the review. Let me point out though, I don't put Hell's Kitchen in that group. I feel it's one of the better restaurants in the city at what it does.
I hope that helps explain it. If you disagree, that's cool. You're entitled. That's just how I look at them. I hope you can see why I defended the Fugaise rumor as possibly being beneficial and found the AZ demands fawning rumor as rather petty.
FANTASTIC!!! it's about time someone put this AZZ-HOLE in his place.
and just for the record, i love hell's kitchen because the food is GOOD... VERY GOOD.
A favorite aphorism applies, I think, quite nicely to Mr. Zimmern's
oily venom: "Hollow things make a lote of noise."
Perhaps the hairless ovate gentleman is feeling empty from years away a real gas range, a buzzing kitchen ticket rail, and his ass on a plate in front of diners (and eaters). Fear does weird things to people.
Or, maybe his Rachel Ray-like, eye-rolling "Mmmmm!" after every morsel of wildebeest-fat-poached dung beetle is actually genuine - perhaps he's drunk the kool-aid and actually believes in his own effluvia. In that case, there may be no hope. We'll all just have to pray for him as we eat at the various devoted temples of wonderful food right here in flyover country: Alma, 112, LBV, Ngon, Little Szechuan, Fugaise, Tampopo, Heartland, Confluence, etc...
This is frickin hilarious. I wish I could of had a video of this guy spewing the rant. Seems like AZ fired a few rounds and Omer responded with thermal nucleur war. I live in Chicagoland so can retain some nuetrallity, though the only reason I found this was I follow Andrews blog. I read the same thing he did but obvious did not take it the same way he did. I even checked out the restaurant(online) and it looked cool to me. So what the hell is my point.....none really....just looking forward to the food being flung
What a RANT!
You went all over the place and back again and then around in a circle chasing its tail. I almost forgot what side your accusations were taking... FOR or AGAINST. I was, however, able to keep track with all the freakin' swearing a name-calling. Good references for a twisted and scatological argument. Reading this article is like being at a bar and some blathering drunk on the floor who you cannot understand but every third word shouts: FUCKER! At least you know he is still mad at you even if you cannot understand a word he is saying or his twisted and irregular logic.
And then came the big charge -- he "has nothing to do with objective journalism" Idiot Omer, Zimmern is a food critic not a reporter covering the local crime beat on WCCO. Get it. A food critic. Being an objective journalist belies being a food critic with a personal perspective. Yow, pretty knee-jerky reactionary stuff. Writing is not you strong suit. Either is thinking. Stick to the kitchen and hold steady your knives.
How long, Mitch Omer have you been holding these repressed thoughts between you butt cheeks because you comments smell pretty ripe.
Jeez me thinks ye doth protest too much. Mom, go take care of your world-trotting boy elsewhere.
Finally some truth about the self-named chef. The arrogance is obvious and criticism shallow. His reviews lost any value after tasting his recommendations or trying the convoluted recipes. Disdain for native Minnesotans, plenty who like and dislike meat and potatoes, is ignorant but to be expected when your vocabulary skews self-righteous and attitude spills into icy cynicism. Can't turn the channel fast enough and will immediately throw the page in the trash.
Jeezus don't get your panties in a knot. This is a tight food community... everyone knows everyone else; many writers/chefs/restauratuers are very VERY close friends...when has Zimmern ever identified his close friendship with Steven Brown?And oh! oh! oh! Go read TODAY'S Zimmern blog at chowhound, which suddenly, without explanation, without any (ahem) DISCLAIMER as to the above-referenced article, he slams, shreds, and rips Bauer apart (again, without any mention of "back atcha Bauer." ethical? whatever. get a life.
This is just Ann Bauer taking out a hit on Zimmern. How about Omer identifying that he's Bauer's best buddy? As catalogued in Bauer's Salon piece on him. Please.
What a cop out. You wrote such a glowing tributre to Mich Omer ( I think in Slate) and now you claim to have issues with his article. Hey, editors at the rake, how about journalistic integrity and identifying the fact that the writer is an old friend in the beginning, not in a comment after the fact. I also find AZ insufferable but that has nothing to do with this horrible ethical lapse.
I like Andrew, and take his writing to be just one voice in a sea of voices. I get bored with everyone who spends too much time talking down to the restaurant eaters, though. We pay to eat. We are customers. Why are we stupid and pedestrian if we don't want to eat certain foods? It reminds me of film critics who go crazy for movies that are bizarre, because they see so many formulaic ones. Sometimes there's a reason for a formula: it works.
Anyway, with so many people writing about food in this town, I wonder if the influence of any one critic is all that meaningful anymore.
That said, Hell's Kitchen is awesome, and Good God, this was a fun read. Mitch should have a TV show, magazine column, blog, and on and on. Wonderful.
This is very good. When a certain local food writer departed this month, I felt -- as one of the letters in that weekly's issue said -- like a local cafe had closed or something. It was like the end of an era. Her writing is wonderful.
Andrew's missing that same charm. He subtracts but does not add.
This is awesome.
Hilarious. Yeah, maybe it's over the top. But who cares?
I am no Zimmern fan, but Omer makes it impossible to take his thoughts seriously. He is vulgar in an over-the-top fashion that seems calculated solely to draw a backlash. One thing is clear: Omer wants attention (maybe some of the attention Zimmern is getting?).
Let's see, Mr. Omer doesn't like Zimmern because Zimmern is condescending, mean-spirited, and opinionated. Pot, meet kettle. Kettle, meet pot.
Closed-circuit to Mr. Omer. Go take your meds, and do not mix them with alcohol. And never, ever, write something for public consumption again.
hey fuck you small town dinner, go find some crack smoke it and jump of a bridge, you will do us all a favor, go mitch go!
Uh, Mitch, you're not allowed to comment on your own article. And, invest in a spellchecker.
I agree. This piece is mere ranting. Zimmern speaks down to Minneapolis, yet in this screed there's this: "'...goat cheese parfait with blueberry sorbet and passion fruit curd. Wow!' Lotta guys from Anoka going to order that malady." This chef's feeling is widely shared, but one would hope for a far better shot at a wide-open target like Zimmern.
Sure, Omer's crankier than Zimmern, but he's also way funnier. I'd read anything this guy writes. He gave AZ an exorcism! Brilliant.
Well someone finally has the balls to say what many of us have wanted to say for years...kudos to Omer!
Yes, Omer might have come accross harsh, but he has a point.
AZ walks around as if all he has to do is give a place a thumbs up or down and the rest of us will fall in line as master says.
Not everyone deserves that pen and after reading his relishment of Bruni going in for the kill on another he makes me even more sick.
Sidenote: Omer would never have to worry about getting a bad review for Hell's Kitchen. That place consistently puts out insanley good food. If it ever closed, I'd be in mourning for ages.
-Always good to hear a different voice. Some of the points are extremely salient (I've never liked that MSP won't run negative reviews), while others lack objectivity or take bits and parts of facts and weave them into a whole, a skill best done by Michael Moore.
-In regards to the Bruni review, you need to read Bruni's review and/or have been to Harry Cipriani's. Bruni's review was brutal for one reason, it was 100% totally earned. Jo, you are correct that not everyone deserves the poison pen. But there are times that some do. You couldn't have drawn up a better candidate for the bad review than Harry C's. It's the den of all that people hate about the rich, the trust-funded, and the snobs. There isn't a restaurant in this town (unless you counted some of the private dining and country clubs and even they aren't half as bad as HC) that comes close. All Bruni did was call them out on it. I thought it was one of the better reviews of the year. AZ was right on when he praised Bruni for nailing them. Harry C's deserved it as they've been coasting on reputation for over a decade, putting out bad food, and charging unassuming tourists an arm and a leg for the opportunity to be in the restaurant. I am shocked that somebody read it and didn't enjoy it.
-I don't get the sense that AZ thinks his opinion is beyond reproach. However, he does have a right to that opinion and he's earned (whether you agree or not) a forum to give those views. I don't often think he's too negative on a restaurant hardly at all, at least in his reviews. I've read a few where he was mostly positive and I couldn't believe it. His reviews almost always offer a balance of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. His Kitchen Confidential columns may show more unflattering thoughts, but to say his reviews lack balance is just plain wrong. MSP won't run them if they were.
-I'd bet there are some people in Anoka who would take offense to what Mitch wrote. Does Mitch think men in Anoka have to taste? I'm nit-picking here a bit, but he sure seems to put down Anoka there.
-Nice post by Don Saunders. However, I specifically remember a number of readers (myself included) calling out AZ on his blog in regards to this too. And his post did indeed say "I don't have any known inside information, just what I'm hearing about slow and empty dining rooms." However, how many people did you hear say "God, I only wish I had known they were struggling" after Doug Flicker closed Auriga? I think AZ's blog post on it had over 120 comments when that happened. Well, you can't have it both ways. Which would you prefer? That a local critic mentions that he's heard a restaurant, which he knows people who read his blog love, mention that he's heard some not-so-good reports or for him to say nothing and not let those people know? You can't have both. Think about it. Do you think that a few readers saw that and maybe came to your restaurant as a result? I think you're putting AZ in a bit of a no-win situation there. He's damned if he doesn't say anything because then people blame the critic for not letting them know that their favorite needed help and he's damned if he does because the owner/chefs/staff feel that they're being picked on.
-As an avid horse racing fan, I was appalled at Mitch's lack of knowledge about the wagering menu. Having only one out of three is when you have better just placed a Win bet. Having the top two is an exacta bet, and having all three is the trifecta. Feel free to thank me next time you head to dollar night at Canterbury.
-AZ did make an error on his blog post the 27th. He focused solely on the food items that Ann wrote about. That's a mistake. The food is only one aspect of the dining experience, along with the service, the environment, as well as who you are dining with. Those four things (that's a superfecta for those of you scoring at home and they usually pay well) are what lead to people being "very satisfied" with their meals and increasing their chance of return to "very likely."
Pretty harsh, but couldn't agree more. He blogged a while back that Fugaise was closing without any factual basis and I am happy to say that we are still going strong. What's worse than his uniformed blog is that Mpls St. Paul mag actually apologized recently...even though it was on HIS blog and the mag had nothing to do with it??? Stand up for yourself big guy.
Don
Sweeney,
Sidenote - Do I know you? I am an avid horse racing fan that frequents Canterbury Park! I am their every Sunday...even in the off-season...simulcasting :)
Don,
I don't believe we've actually met, but if you're at Canterbury every Sunday in the summer, there's no doubt we've seen each other. I don't think we've ever been introduced, but when I'm at the track, I've usually got my nose in the race form and trying to find a way to beat Mac Robertson and Derek Bell at a price. As you know, not easy. I recently started playing over the Net from home so I don't do the Simulcast as often except for contests.
Since we're here: I like Pyro and Wise Answer as my Derby horses this year. Have you picked yours yet? What tracks do you play? I'm a Santa Anita fan.
I had the opportunity to attend your first anniversary dinner at Fugaise (I met your parents at the bar, they were so proud and they had every right to be). I also have come in twice since that AZ blog post appeared. I read that post as a "call to arms" in that he was trying to make people aware of a restaurant he'd heard was in trouble. This was right after the whole January death of fine dining fiasco when Auriga, Five, and Levain closed. I read it as a "Hey, this is the rumor I'm hearing. If you don't want it to be true, go dine." He did a similar one for Jp's this summer during their construction phase. As you'll recall, when Levain and Auriga closed, the number one comment on most posts was "If only I'd known." I read this column as AZ's way of getting that information out to his readership.
And as a I remember, a number of posters on AZ's sites did the same thing I did. I know Alexis did as well as David Foureyes and maybe a few others?
I did go back and read the post and I will grant you he could have approaced it better than he did. His title (Restaurant Deathwatch) was very poorly chosen and some of the way he tried to get his message across didn't come off as well as I remembered reading it back then. But that's also AZ as people have posted and writter here. You learn to cut through the bombast and see the larger point.
I do see your point of view. But the end result of it, I thought, was that it led readers of his column to make a point to dine at your restaurant because they love it. It's in my Top 5 hands down with LBV, Solera, Jp's, and a rotating list of Heartland, Meritage, and Heidi's.
I don't know, what's your take? Do you think it helped or hurt Fugaise? You obviously know better than I. I'm just telling you how I saw it.
I guess I'm for productive "rumor mongering" for lack of a better word if the desired result is productive to the restaurant and it's staff. I'm not sure how you quanify that, but I hope this far-too long post shows a bit of what I'm trying to get at. That's how I read his original post back then and how I thought a number of his readers did as well. Obviously, you felt differently. All I was trying to do was to throw out the different viewpoint of how I read AZ's work.
I'm glad, in the end, it was just a rumor. Your restaurant is one of the best in town. And I look forward to dining with you and your staff again in the near future.
Speaking on Andrew the person, I know several cases where AZ has committed himself to charity event auctions, only to never return phone calls from the organizer or auction winners post event. Not sure if this is a function of an over-committed schedule, or a flaky personality (not that either our mutually exclusive of each other).
As for his expertise, locally at least, he has one success (UDT), and one over bloated failure (Back Stage at Bravo) to his name. Not quite clear of his pedigree prior to that. One never really knows (i.e. Dinner Impossible)
I never found his reviews to be that tough. It does seem that his op-eds are recycled annually however, and I've heard that they are likely ghost written for him.
What I do know is a career eating bugs on a second rate cable network doesn't leave much room for shelf life as a celeberity chef beyond its novelty run (unless one counts an appearence on the Biggest Loser a good next career move).
I'll take Omer's rant as a Lenny Bruce like satire piece. Good show!
Zimmern actually got one of his fingers stuck in his bellybutton in hong kong. I saw the old video footage about a year ago. I guess he used to weigh alot more than he does now (hard to believe i know) and was trying to get some lint out of his bellybutton and his pointer finger got stuck for a brief moment. Funny stuff!!