166474 Tue Oct 29 22:37:42 -0800 2002 13 14 Washington DC & Baltimore Area 0 889442 If anyone's interested, Baltimore City Paper ran my letter to the editor complaining about their new restaurant reviewer. The guy really is terrible. Warning: I used an obscenity in the letter that they ran uncensored, so if that's going to offend you, you should skip this link. Link: http://www.citypaper.com/current/mail.html Tue Oct 29 22:37:42 -0800 2002 0 Jon Parker 1 889447 What a useless piece of selfinvolved dreck. Doesn't the City Paper have editors? I submit the following gem: "Its entrance lies, romantically, down a flight of exterior stairs, and down those stairs it boasts one of the city's dreamiest dining rooms, one that betrays both the building's late-19th-century origins and its reincarnation a century later--notably, a broad, surrounding strip of mirrors; above it, cream-colored, ivy-stenciled walls; and, above those, mullioned windows, which look out onto the bottom halves of passersby, like the windows in Laverne and Shirley's apartment." How the HELL can an entrance lie "romantically?" Was it naked except for a feather boa, and holding a cluster of grapes? A 75-word sentence? It's been proven that after 25 words, you start losing your audience exponentially, and they just go to the next sentence. I suspect they hired a failed City Paper movie reviewer. The writing style is similar: talk about everything BUT the subject and toss out a lot of juicy $2 words like "Weltanschauung" and "frisson." Wed Oct 30 08:36:28 -0800 2002 889442 0 WG 2 889458 Amen. Wed Oct 30 11:46:16 -0800 2002 889447 0 Seattle Rose 2 889465 Frisson = a type of frou-frou lettuce used by chefs who are afraid their guests won't be happy with Bibb, red or green leaf, masclun, romaine or something more "ordinary" or down to Earth. It is dreck and should be put in the same place as the City Paper's recent reviews. Weltanschauung = from my mother tongue, German, "world view." Now wouldn't it be easier to say world view? And I love your submission - I loved the imagery of the naked, feather-boa clad entranceway... Wed Oct 30 13:31:07 -0800 2002 889447 0 Uncle Mo 3 889469 Sorry Uncle Mo, A frisson is "a shudder or shiver,as of excitement, fear, or pleasure..." Frisee is the green. Smart alecks always get it wrong... Wed Oct 30 15:09:40 -0800 2002 889465 0 eyoder 1 889450 Here is good example of a "reviewer" or "critic" so full of himself that his subject matter is subjugated to his ego. Even the inadequate restaurant reviewer of the "Messenger" is better that this. The origin of the word critic is "one able to discern," hardly a description of the person under discussion. In his next column, one expects him to state that "I don't know much about food, but I know what I like." A couple of quotations from Henry James' essay on "Criticism" may be apt: "The practice of 'reviewing' ...in general has nothing in common with the art of criticism......The critical sense is so far from frequent that it is absolutely rare, and the possession of the cluster of qualities that minister to it is one of the highest distinctions." Wed Oct 30 09:16:08 -0800 2002 889442 0 Eclectivore 1 889452 I think your first sentence summed it up quite well. Wed Oct 30 09:46:04 -0800 2002 889442 0 Pappy 1 889455 I keep hoping that this is just warm-up jitters and that he's going to break in stride and heed the quote from his first column: "a decent reviewer can give an idea of what, essentially, the place is like." Mr. Richard Gorelick, if you happen to read this, while I have no idea what Tesso Tana is like, I think we all have too much of an idea what you are like.... Wed Oct 30 10:30:42 -0800 2002 889442 0 asun 1 889464 I'm Omnivore. When I found out I was taking over the column, I wrote a post for these boards, kind of asking the Baltimore group to send me suggestions and tips and also inviting anyone who wanted to to come out and taste with me. But I never saw the post appear (apparently I can't do anything right ;) and was relieved that it hadn't -- it felt too much, on reflection, like a plea for patience, as though I was finagling your support. and, see, now I know how you really feel! I had also written in the Post that Never Appeared that I wouldn't be visiting the boards anymore because a) I didn't want to be influenced by prevailing Chowhound opionion, and b) I'm an Aries and tend to take things too personally. ( I did hear about this thread, though, and couldn't resist reading...or responding.) l really will not be lurking here from this point on, so, for heaven's sake, continue to post as freely as you have been. By the same token, my email box remains open for tips, suggestions, or kind words -- or you can put your opinions in letter to the editor. So long for now, and happy chowing. Richard p.s. try the chicken pot pie at Cafe Veronique in Charles Plaza. Wed Oct 30 13:26:19 -0800 2002 889442 0 Vordgyal (aka Omnivore) 1 889468 ME-OW people!!!! I've relocated to So-Cal, but have been keeping my electronic eye on the 'ole City Paper to keep me from getting too homesick. I was absolutely delighted to see a fellow hound step up to the plate, so to speak. Sadly, today I've been reminded of the uniquely Baltimore tradition of visciously attacking anyone who does anything to try to fulfill their dreams. God forbid. Back up off a brother a little, people! It's the #$^%@#& City Paper - not the NY Times! Good on 'ya, Vorgydal! Best of luck with the column! Wed Oct 30 14:06:46 -0800 2002 889442 0 Shmingrid 2 889481 It's like that in the local music end of things here, too, FWIW. *shrug* Personally, I'm just happy to have someone reviewing places like Tesso Tanna (a place I've driven by a million times, wondered about, but somehow never got around to going in to) instead of the "who cares" places from before. Like I need to know how the Crease is as a food joint. Thu Oct 31 08:56:36 -0800 2002 889468 0 pleiades 1 889470 You at right...the reviewer is bad! Wed Oct 30 16:27:46 -0800 2002 889442 0 Gateshead 1 889472 my fave line from the tesso tana review: "The calves liver Christina ($15), sautéed with sweet peppers, onions, garlic, and cracked peppercorns, was zesty enough, and lustrous, but the meat itself was too tough." please, ma, more of that lustrous (!) liver. Wed Oct 30 17:33:48 -0800 2002 889442 0 trix 1 889522 You couldn't be more right....This guy's writing is horrendous, hardly even readable. Don't know what the City Paper was thinking, but Baltimore deserves a lot more than a sad literary wannabe. Fri Nov 01 10:42:09 -0800 2002 889442 0 Jill