The Power of a Food Critic Part 1

I try and stay as connected as I can to the New York Restaurant scene, in part because I have a tremendous interest in the food scene there and most importantly, a restaurant in New York has to be good, or it simply won’t last, so the competition is greater and by virtue, the product better. There are many resources I use, including my friends to stay hip and a growing number of websites including eGullet.com, eater.com and the restaurant section of New York Magazine. However, I always default to the New York Times for the latest reviews on the newest restaurants and more specifically to their food critic Frank Bruni for an always interesting read on the psychosis of a restaurants failing or burgeoning success.

One review recently peaked my interest, not so much for the content but for the reverberations of its findings. The restaurant was Kobe Club, a stylishly themed temple to the king of all cows. In it, Mr. Bruni deliberately critiques everything from the décor (2000 Razor sharp samurai swords hanging from the ceiling), to the oversized plate ware (leaving no room for anything else) and of course the food, which is summarized here:

“But more of the food was disappointing, sometimes even infuriating, be it a rubbery roasted pork chop, perhaps left too long in its brine; limp iceberg lettuce, propped up insufficiently by blue cheese; those mashed potatoes, gluey; or a crème brûlée in dire need of a crunchier hood.”

Ouch!!! The twists and turns do not stop there. The Kobe Club is owned by Jeffrey Chodorow, theme master behind China Grill and Asia de Cuba, both of which have stood the test of time and have been hugely successful in New York and elsewhere. He was also behind the now defunct Rocco’s, the eponymous restaurant of Chef Rocco DiSpirito and focus of reality show, The Restaurant. By the way, for all of you who have never seen “The Restaurant”, no worries as it was one of the worst productions in television history, Rocco got fired along with his meatball making grandmother and Mr.Chodorow quickly realized the restaurant was a complete failure, as was the show.

In any event, Mr. Chodorow in lieu of this rather petulant review, fired back with a full page ad a week later lamenting Mr. Bruni and the Times Editor for their findings, saying that the paper was insulting not only him but all of his employees that worked at the restaurant. I have attached the link here in case you were wondering what the full breadth of his diatribe was. Citing Mr. Bruni’s past as a correspondent in Italy focusing on politics, he went on to say that how could a critic for the New York Times, first not be a native New Yorker and second, have no past in the restaurant business. You can imagine the drama it has caused in New York and has sparked debate throughout the World Wide Web. The question: Does a food critic have the influence to single handedly determine whether a restaurant succeeds or fails? I have my thoughts, but welcome yours. Stay tuned for part two. Good Eating.

Tomatoes

There has been talk of this farming project for some time now and finally with a little help from mother nature we have finally reaped natures bounty. A collaboration between my farming partner James Khi and myself, these tomatoes are the first step in a long process that will have many ups and downs. Already we have identified varities that do not meet our taste requirements or simply do not respond well to the temperate climate of the Cameron Highlands.

Our first batch of 15 different heirloom seeds produced some astonishing results. The Carbon Tomato, with a skin of deep purple and a dark dense flesh was irresistable. Loaded with tomato flavor that was nuanced with sweet tobacco and a pleasant acidity, this was hands down the best toamto of the lot. Not far behind was a unique yellow hued variety named the Copia, which was striking with a tiger print of yellow and orange streaks. The flavor was quite subdued but pleasing and the flesh was firm and dense.


I think what was striking in hindsight was that before we tasted any of the varieties, James and many of the farmers concluded that one variety would outshine them all. The Henderson Crimson Cushion. A beautiful toamto to look at with picture perfect pleats reminiscent of a pin cusion with a vibrant red hue and perfectly round physique.A jewel by all accounts. But, when we sliced it open we knew immediately that we had been fooled. What was once so promising proved to be a huge dissapointment, as the pinkish flesh gave way to a pithy core and small greenish seedsacks. In many ways this was a blessing and was exactly the reason why we are doing this project. All of those perfectly round, homogenous looking tomatoes we see in the markets are a direct reflection of the consumers need for uniformity. In this pursuit we have lost touch with what good eating is all about, flavor.

If you would like to taste a few of these beautiful gems we will be featuring them over the next few days, so stop on by and say hello. Till next time. Good Eating!