Gastronomie

A Shilling for Your Thoughts

Back in July of 2005, I wrote a fairly negative review of Montclair Bistro in Oakland. The thing is, I prefaced in my post that it was a review from a single meal, and how much I hated writing those. But really, the meal was so poor, and a service issue so poorly handled, that I felt the need to write about it, and let future potential visitors to the restaurant form their own opinions, because Montclair Bistro? She ain't cheap.

That, in my opinion, is the beauty of a blog or a site like Yelp - you can make judgments based on what the reviewer has written -- in this case, that I'd only visited the one time, on my own dime, and wouldn't go back because it was a meal that made me feel ripped off.

Yesterday, I got a comment from someone defending the restaurant. Which, you know, I am fine with. In fact, Faith (someone I've met and respect), wrote a comment about some good meals there, and I responded openly and honestly.

However. This comment? It's pissy, and derogatory, and sounded like a shill. So I checked Statcounter, and realized that someone had been doing a Google search on "Montclair Bistro Bad Reviews"; a bit more digging revealed that the IP address of the person who linked through belonged to Henry Vortriede DBA. Henry Vortriede is the chef and owner of Montclair Bistro.

I wrote to the person who posted, Maria Maras, and told her I'd be removing the comment since she didn't reveal her affiliation to the restaurant; I also suggested that if Mr. Vortriede wanted someone to do his dirty work for him, he should at least have it done somewhere other than his office!. (Yea, I realize that latter part was catty. Oh well.)

The reply came back from one "Rachel Stroud", saying:

I searched out bad reviews because the guests that are attending dinner with me, brought to my attention about a bad review on the Restaurant.I searched it out and found your review. Don't be so quick to judge, try it again. I have a right to my opinion. As do you.....maybe I think your review was badly written, that is my opinion. I don't know the owner. If I did don't you think that the dirty work should have been done before this. Erase my comment it is a free world.

Now, I didn't want to turn this into a pissing match, so I pretty much left it alone, except to remind her that the computer she wrote the post from was, in fact, registered on Mr. Vortriede's network.

But I ask you, dear reader, what would YOU have done? Would you have called out a shill in a situation like this?

I want Gastronomie to be a place where anyone feels comfortable about commenting and being part of the exchange of ideas and community. But I worry that when someone DOESN'T reveal their affiliation to a relevant party to the discussion, and posts a comment like what Rachel/Maria posted, it affects the integrity of what you read here.

Let's chat - tell me your thoughts, tell me how you would handle this, and how you want to see your favorite bloggers (foodie or otherwise) handle situations like this.

Oh, and HAPPY WEEKEND TO YOU ALL!

De do do do, de da da da... I'm Walking on the Moon

Tags: Food+Wine, The Police, Police, Sting, Vancouver, San Francisco

Five Things About Meme!

It's been a long time since I was last tagged for a meme, so when my whore tagged me for this one, I decided to oblige (and, well, I don't want a lifetime ban at Delfina, now do I?)

So, since I'm up watching the Anna Nicole coverage (I'm currently sitting less than five miles away from where the hearing is being held -- I know, I'm horrible), I thought I

   
1. I grew up on Long Island, and it takes me about five minutes with a native New Yorker to lapse back into my old accent. It drives Californians crazy. Fortunately, it's a reversible affliction.
   
2. I might be addicted to my Blackberry. I like to pass it all off as work stuff, but the truth is I hate being disconnected from work OR play. The upside of this is that I actually manage to keep in regular contact with my friends when I just can't manage to pick up the phone from home.
   
3. I don't want kids. Ever. I like them just fine (and love playing auntie to my friends' kids), but I just don't want any of my own. I'm getting less grief for it every year. I think people have figured out that can't use the "you still have time" rationale much longer.
   
4. I'm a big believer in reaching out to long-lost friends and have been known to use networking sites like LinkedIn and Reunion.com (but NEVER MySpace!) to reconnect. I have several very special people back in my life this way.
   
5. I was once brainwashed by Home Shopping Network. In a moment of weakness, I found myself tearfully placing an order for a 21-piece set of Wolfgang Puck Bistro Cookware. Little did I know then that I'd actually like some of the pieces better than my uber-heavy All-Clad ones. It ended up being a great purchase, but man, I felt every ounce the sucker while I dialed that 800 number.

I'm not going to tag anyone for this, not least of all because, well, there's not one left to tag. But if you WANT to do this one, go for it and post back in a comment so I can link to ya!

Tags: Food, Food+Wine, Meme, Five Things, Blackberry, HSN, San Francisco

Stealing a Bite -- My Top 10 Tastes of 2006

Sometimes, the inspiration for blog fodder comes in the form of, well... stealing. In this case, I'm stealing from Jen, who did this brilliant post about the 10 best things to pass her lips this year. I thought that recollecting all the delicious things I've eaten would be a nice way to close out what has been a pretty crappy year.

So, without further ado, I present my Top Ten Tastes of 2006, in (mostly) chronological order:   

1. Like Jen, I have to put the Buttermilk-soaked Fried Quail with Lemon Confit at Rubicon on the list. It was sublime enough that I have been back specifically to eat that one thing.   
2. Bacon-Wrapped Chorizo-Stuffed Dates at 4580 in Boulder. Before this meal, I would have sworn that I hate dates. Not only were these incredibly delicious in their own right, they actually opened my mind to an ingredient I previously shunned.
   

   

    
3. Chanterelle Tagliatelle at Babbo was positively exquisite -- the first time I understood how pasta was supposed to taste and "bite". Phenomenally good, and one of my loveliest meals with C, ever.   
4. Then there's Alinea, which was definitely the meal of the year. For the rest of my days, I will never forget the perfectness of Pear: Curry Infused Cocoa Butter Orb with Pear Juice.   
   

   

5. On the dessert end of the table is the Smoked Yogurt that accompanied the bittersweet chocolate cake at Coi. I've heard it's no longer offered because it was too odd for most people, which is a shame and makes me fear losing Daniel Patterson to New York. That stuff was revelatory.   
6. If I ever taste O-toro like the pieces we were served at Pod, I will consider myself ready to... ready to... oh, come on, who am I kidding? I wouldn't stop eating sushi. But, I would be a damned lucky girl.   
7. My first (and second... and third) La Spada's Hoagie. 'Nuf said.
   

   

    
8. Eating heavenly Festival Bread in Jamaica with hotter-than-sin jerk chicken and washing it all down with ice cold Red Stripe.   
9. You know how sometimes you listen to people go on and on about how great something is, and then when you finally try it, it's sort of a let-down because you've hyped it so much in your own head? Yea, that's not how it is with Pretzel Croissants from City Bakery.
   

   

10. And finally, to take us back a full year, the Croquembouche I ordered from Citizen Cake for last year's New Year's Eve party. While it was delicious in its own right, what made it a top-10 contender is the friends I got to share it with.

Now, you may have noticed that there are no wines or spirits on this list; that's because they could make up a whole post on their own. But a couple quick memories include:   

• My first sip of Oban, high above San Francisco on the top floor of the Hilton   
  
• A taste of Water's Crest Nightwatch, a luscious eiswein-style offering from Long Island
• The first sniff of Qi (the Lapsang Souchong/Orange/Vanilla liqueur from Lance Winters, Brian Backus & John Scharffenberger) that nearly knocked me backwards with its potency
• A Hangar One Wasabi Vodka Bloody Mary -- perfection with a pickled green bean
• Brewing a pot of Vanilla Rooibos tea, and sharing with my mom
• A dinner with good friends, seeing their reaction to their first taste of a nicely aged Masi Amarone. ..the wonderment that wine could taste like this.

It has been a year of delicious food, and delicious drink. A year of merry-making, friend-making, sadness-making.

Yes, it has definitely been a year to remember.

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you, with hopes and wishes for a phenomenal year ahead with joy, prosperity and many beautiful and delicious things.

Tags: Food, Food & Drink, 2006, 2007, New Years, New Years Eve, Best Of, San Francisco, Chicago, Jamaica, Oakland, New York

Menu For Hope -- A Beautiful Way to Close the Year -- Prize #UW38

Do you guys remember that little grass roots effort that a bunch of food bloggers participated in last year? The one that raised some $17,000 towards the relief effort in Northern Pakistan and India?

Well, not only is it back, but it's got structure, visibility and a great deal of excitement around it this year. And, it's benefitting the United Nations' World Food Programme

Here at Gastronomie, we have not one, not two, but THREE gifts for you this year. However, we are only releasing information on the first prize today, and not because we don't love you. No, we just aren't READY to release everything at once. So, once you've read about our cool Persian Pantry, and checked out the amazing prizes on offer by other bloggers -- West Coast bloggers' donations are here; the rest of them are most easily found here.

Gastronomie Prize #1: The Persian Pantry, retail value = $75+

• 4.6 grams of pure Khorasan saffron threads, hand-carried from Iran by my aunt
• A bundle of cleaned, chopped and dried herbs for Ghormeh Sabzi, enough for 4-6 servings
• A bag of leemoo-omani, dehydrated persian limes, critical for many Persian dishes
• Kashk (dried or a jar of fresh, depending on winner's location) - most of you have told me this is the single most difficult thing for you to find, and it's so important.
• Resht-e, Persian noodles used to make Aash 
• Rob-e Anaar, or pomegranate paste. This is different from the pomegranate molasses you fine in most markets. You'll see why when you receive it
• Sumac, the dried and crushed berries of the poisonous plant. Sprinkle it on Basmati rice, fry up a few kabab, and you have a perfect Chelo Kabab
• Finally, I'll be putting together a selection of sweets and other goodies based on the winner's requests

If you want to bid on this item, PLEASE go to the donation page and bid a minimum of $10 for one raffle ticket. Specify prize number UW38 for the Persian Pantry in the "Personal Message" section of the form, and PLEASE make sure to allow us to see your email address so we can contact you if you win.

Raffle winners will be announced on January 15, 2007 (big "woot-woot" to Derrick, here, as we actually wrote all y'all's names on slips of paper and did drawings last year. He's taking us into the 20th century with a randomizer application.)

So, really, head on over and make a donation. Good things will happen, and you'll feel good about doing it, too!

Tags: Food, Food & Drink, Persian, Iran, Menu For Hope, Charity, Donation, Holidays, First Giving, United Nations, World Food, San Francisco, Oakland

It's a New Day at Gastronomie

This blog is my own personal sandbox... not in the Chowhound sense, of course, what with all that censorship crap.

It's just that for the past couple of years, you guys have seen my joys and sorrows, my triumphs and my (sometimes embarrassing) failures.  You've also met the mysterious and talented "C", through his photography and as my partner-in-crime. Really, you've had an inside view to my life that I never thought I'd share the way I do.

Really, blogging has opened up my world in ways I never thought possible.  Most importantly, though, it has brought me some of the dearest friends I've ever known -- friendships forged from commonalities that are hard to find in adult life. Friends who, without a second thought, will go shopping for each other in times of need, who'll help you move when that day comes, and who intuitively seem to know whether to bring a box of tissues or a bottle of booze.

Like so many other food bloggers this year, we're going through some changes in the Gastronomie household. You won't be seeing much in the way of photography, as C was always the more creative partner in this team. And, short of Persian food, I won't be posting many recipes, since cooking for one isn't much fun.

Suffice it to say, I'm ready to bid 2006 a not-so-fond adieu. It's been a pretty cruddy year for some people who are more dear to me than I can express in words, and hasn't been so kind to me, either.

I am SO sick of Chowhound

I know, I know.

I'm just repeating what I've said before, and what Sam recently wrote.

But when I was invited (yes, personally INVITED) back to the redesigned Chowhound, I really thought there must have been a change in the air.

Sadly, I have discovered that this is patently untrue. In fact, attempting to change one's opinion about a previous review is, apparently, unacceptable. On a recent thread asking for opinions on Lulu vs. Tres Agaves vs. Chowhound, I responded to update something I had previously written about Coco500.

At some point thereafter (not sure when, exactly), my comment was deleted.  I suppose it's because I said that service had improved, where all the other posters were still quick to bash it. Or maybe it's perhaps because I had linked to Gastronomie? But I thought that was OK.

Whatever the case, I'm back to saying "hasta" to Chowhound -- as a contributor, anyway. I suppose now that CNet owns them, they don't have to worry about looky-loo bandwidth issues.

Tags: Food, Food & Drink, Chowhound, CNet

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Help Me Get Nourishment. Please!

Last week, I had a root canal on one of my bottom left molars.

Turns out, I'm a bit of a genetic anomaly -- my tooth developed with FIVE roots, instead of four. This made for a more difficult and longer procedure (by about an hour), and a whole extra set of radiographs.

As a result, I now have three small canker sores which have merged into one large one. Every touch (whether by my tongue or a bit of food) causes excruciating, searing pain all the way into my jawbone. I sound completely dorky when I speak (try explaining this to your clients!), but my greatest issue right now is that I haven't been able to eat anything solid in a couple of days.

Does anyone have any suggestions for foods that are easy to eat, aren't particularly salty or sour, but not horribly bland, either? Grainy or mealy stuff like oatmeal or cream of wheat won't work, either. And really, I'm all tapped out on chicken broth!

Tags: Food & Drink, Food, Root Canal, Dentist

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How I Fell in Love With Jamaica

There are a few things you have to do when you go to Jamaica. One of these things is not something discussed in, ahem, present company (present company being the WHOLE WIDE WORLD). But I can tell you that it's most definitely not OK to visit Jamaica without (a) eating jerk chicken and (b) drinking Red Stripe.

C and I were lucky to find an absolutely wonderful and beautiful angel in Marva Shaw. Marva customised a tour of Ocho Rios for us, steering us away from the throngs of uninspired tourists (ie, those who book ALL their shore excursions through the cruise lines) and taking us to a roadside shack for pottery, a total dive for lunch, and a bizarre little chaat-like joint for beef patties.

At the risk of sounding like a shill, Marva is the best freaking tour guide we've ever had. We loved her so much we wanted to book a week-long vacation in Jamaica on the spot; she's a great lady with an huge heart, and Jamaican down to her very soul.

Our day started early, with a tour of Dunn's River Falls. While they are most definitely a tourist trap, Marva got us there long befor the buses showed up. The Falls are really lovely, though I have to say that they pale in comparison to the waterfalls we visited on the Big Island in Hawaii. That said, walking the mouth of the river where it feeds into the vast ocean was breathtaking.

At this point, C needed sustenance, so we made a quick pit-stop at Juici Patties for a couple of flaky, buttery packets filled with curried ground beef, and a Coco Bread. Cost for three patties and two breads? Two bucks. I felt like I was robbing these people.

Next up was our tour of Prospect Plantation, one of the oldest working plantations in Ocho Rios.

An Open Letter to Chopper Riders in Jack London Square

Dear Large Man --

Your motorcyle is very loud. I'm sure you know this and, in fact, I'm sure it's the reason you like to ride it. Perhaps it's making up for some comment your mother made long ago, or perhaps it's in reaction to a slight from a recently departed girlfriend. Or maybe you're just dumb enough to get one "because all my friends are".

So anyway, back to the bike.

PLEASE DON'T DRIVE DOWN RESIDENTIAL STREETS AFTER MIDNIGHT,
ROARING YOUR ENGINES.

Otherwise, my very tough French Bulldogs will jump out the window and chew your toes off, and then I will have to fill out paperwork, and then I will be grouchy. Which will make my Frenchies grouchy. And you ain't seen grouchy 'til you've met these two:

So please, Mr. Motorcycle Man, could you find it in your heart to ride your bike down a street other than ours, the ONLY residential street in our area?

Tags: Motorcycles, Choppers, Oakland, French Bulldogs, Dogs, Urban Noise

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