FoodWright

Bad food

2007-06-17T22:05:00.001-03:00

I've eaten a lot of bad food lately. I'm not talking about food that's bad for you, like fast food; I'm talking about what could be good food but is just plain bad. Bad because it's poorly prepared, or overcooked, or not fresh to begin with. And I've paid for those meals, both in cash and in stomach upset. And I'm cranky about it. It's times like this that I think maybe it's time to retire from restaurant reviewing and food critiquing.

Farewell, Italian Garden (and a rant)

2007-05-08T15:36:00.000-03:00

I heard that the Italian Garden has closed. Sure, it opened on the corner of Spring Garden and South Park, a notorious restaurant-killing location. But it was great, great, great. Did I mention great? So great.
It hardly seems fair that the city is littered with deplorable restaurants with indifferent cooking that manage to hang on, yet an Italian Garden should close. I know, there are all kinds of reasons to which we are not privy that may contribute to a resto closure (finances being key), but I will continue to pout and throw tantrums over the loss of IG.
Arrivederci!

Am I a food snob?

2007-04-10T09:15:00.000-03:00

I am definitely going to blog daily. Well, at least weekly. Maybe.
I was eating my dinner the other night, pondering the fact that I had been called a food snob, via an email, yet again. I don't know why that is--having knowledge of food is not snobby in any way, and I certainly don't limit myself to high end dining.
I decided to put it out of my mind and finish my dinner. I'm an accomplished cook, I have Journeymens' certification and have worked in fine dining restaurants. I regularly host elaborate, multi course meals for friends and family, and love to try new ingredients, and challenge myself regularly. Starting to sound like a food snob? Not if you could see what I was eating for dinner!
Ground beef with green peas in and tomato soup, over toast. Comfort food, gotta love it.

End of NED

2007-03-07T22:53:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it...the diner I reviewed last week, the North End Diner, burned down today. It's been a food place since the 1950's, has more history than you could ever imagined and now it's gone...unbelievable.

Too much time

2007-03-04T22:52:00.000-04:00

Since I returned to writing, I've worked full time jobs of no less than 50-60 hours a week along with writing 20-30 hours. Combine that all the other things that make life go round and that didn't leave a lot of time. Since December, I've been writing full time, working from home and you know what? I don't have any more time. Where does it go? Jerry Seinfeld was right. What's the point of saving time, it's not like you can bank it and use it later...

Anthony Bourdain

2007-02-20T01:54:00.000-04:00

Boy, did he start a firestorm when he dared criticize the Food Network.
http://blog.ruhlman.com/2007/02/guest_blogging_.html
I'm a big Bourdain fan; sure, he comes across as abrasive and rough, but it's clear he's passionate about food.

Weather and Food

2007-01-08T02:30:00.000-04:00

Weird weather has totally messed up winter eating--the time for gut-warming stews and spicy chilies is currently barbecue and salad weather. Not that snow would prevent us barbecuing--as long as we can get to the grill, we're going to throw something on there.

Savour!

2007-01-02T15:46:00.000-04:00

Best thing about January is that Savour, the Restaurant Association's premiere food and wine festival, is only a month away. This year there's a website just for Savour and it's well worth the visit. I always go to the big food show at the end of the month, it's fabulous and a good chance for me to size up local cooking incognito.
Check out Savour!

Happy New Year!

2007-01-01T22:12:00.001-04:00

Can't believe it's the New Year already--Christmas just whizzed by in a blur of "shortBevs", turkey, and tree lights. I wonder how many meals I will eat out this year, and if, heading into my 7th year of reviewing for the Coast, I'll be lucky enough to escape the wrath of the food-borne illness gods yet again. So, I was going to post some letters I'd received and never did. This is the one I mentioned in my previous post:

"liz,

i am the current chef of ***** and have been for the past *****. . since i have come to halifax i have struggled. struggled with the people, the 'scene' as well as the guests of our restaurant. i also have had a great deal of trouble with the staff but that within itself is another story."

The writer then goes on to give me a bit of his background, which includes a bit of name dropping from a larger city.

"consistancy is greatly underappreciated in this area of the world as i have found in the restaurants in halifax. true i have a greatly different perspective on food as most of those around me but all bias should be personal and not given out to others. so this brings me back to the review. the review was greatly anitcipated as i was concerned that we were not getting noticed at all and therefore getting some sort of exposure. the review was given in a way that i feel did not do justice to ours or any other restaurant which would be treated with the same disrespect.
the fact that you only dined with us once is unbelievable. "

(And here we go. This particular restaurant has had three reviews from me, and I went back the third time at the request of the manager (against my own better judgment, I might add)

. "the incorrect statement that the steak frites only came with the steak and the frites just down right pissed me off with the fact that it comes with vegetables and extra virgin olive oil. little things that don't make our jobs easier like an honest and truthful reviewer drive me insane. "

(So, here's the problem, Chef. On that night, I don't care what you say came with the meal, I reported what I got. So the mistake is in your kitchen, not my article.)

"you have your readers, one of which is myself and you have let me down greatly. i just hope and wish that you take my words and deal with them as you will. maybe just maybe you could take sometime to read some of the great reviewers that give restaurants multiple chances and therefore increase the perception of their own opinions. "

(Obviously, he is not that much a reader of mine or he would be well aware that I visit restaurants several times before passing a negative opinion. As to the 'great reviewers' to which Chef refers, he might want to take note that they have expense accounts and are reimbursed for several meals.)

So there you have it. I frequently receive emails from those chef/owners who have gotten what they perceive as overly negative reviews, and they generally start out with "I always agree with what you write but this time you're wrong" type of statement. Irony, anyone?

Letters

2006-12-17T20:57:00.000-04:00

I get letters all the time; some from people who like what I have to say, or want to ask a question, and some from people who don't like what I say, or disagree with what I wrote. I respond to all letters, positive or negative, unless the writer makes a personal attack on me. In that case, they don't deserve a response.
I'm going to be posting some of those emails here, with my response made public, and I'm going to start with a note that I am keeping anonymous. This email is typical of those I receive from the chefs/managers/owners of an establishment which I reviewed and not necessarily negatively.

'Tis the season...

2006-12-13T16:23:00.000-04:00

...to eat. Christmas is all about the food! But please remember, not everyone has enough. If you're lucky enough to be able to afford a little something extra in your groceries, pick up a can or two for your local food bank.
It'll bring a little holiday spirit into your heart knowing you've contributed!

Food Safety

2006-12-05T11:33:00.000-04:00

It's been longer than I thought since I last posted, but I'm back now. I've been following with some interest the series of articles in the Chronicle Herald regarding Nova Scotia restaurants and food safety, and have several strong opinions, most of which I'll keep to myself.
I do want to weigh in by sharing my experiences. For the past 5.5 years, I've been writing resto reviews for the Coast, upwards of 200, 250 dining rooms covering everything from fish and chip trucks to posh upscale places.
Aside from reviewing, I eat out regularly ("recreational eating", I call it). In all the years that I have been eating out in Nova Scotia, I have never become ill from a restaurant. And I am quite familiar with food poisoning, having suffered through a particularly nasty case of salmonella that left me hospitalized for two weeks, brought on by a meal from an out-of-province fast food chain.
(That case was officially declared food poisoning as a result of a chicken sandwich being left in the hot line for too long).
I would never say that it can't or won't happen, but I refuse to buy into the fear mongering.

Radio!

2006-08-18T23:02:00.000-03:00

Had the opportunity to do radio on August 2; Alex J. Walling invited me to be a guest on his open line show on 920 CJCH and that was a lot of fun. Have to say though, it doesn't beat out my brief appearance with the Chronicle's Bill Spurr on CBC last summer. Perhaps radio is my medium....or not.

Summer...

2006-07-25T18:13:00.000-03:00

...is the busiest season of all for me, and I haven't had a chance to post as regularly as I would like. I'll be back though!

GOAALLLLLL!!!!!!!!!

2006-07-02T12:04:00.000-03:00

I'm off to Germany for ten days or so, where the World Cup Fever has swept the country.
Admittedly, I am more excited about food and beer (especially beer--Beck's....mmm...) than soccer but nevertheless, I will support the home team, buy the shirt and the swag, and avoid the Hooligans.
Proust!

Reel Food at the Movies

2006-06-23T10:55:00.001-03:00

Okay, so I get that movie theatres are offering more than just popcorn and candy at the concession stands; maybe you're in a hurry to make a show and didn't have time to eat, maybe you're killing some time waiting for the movie to start, maybe you have a tapeworm, whatever.
But I sat through an IMAX 3D film on the weekend and what I don't get is why you need so much food for a movie that's half an hour long! I kid you not, a woman sat next to me and ate a tub of popcorn the size of my ass, slurped back a gallon of pop, crunched away on nachos and cheese, and then reached into her backpack for her main course. The kid with her ate popcorn, a slice of pizza, and french fries. Out of the backpack comes a chocolate bar for the kid and a salad. And not just any salad--a salad with blue cheese dressing, in a big plastic container. All this for a movie of 38 minutes! I can't tell you what that blue cheese did to my nostrils but I can tell you I don't think I watched one bit of whatever was up on the screen.

BBQ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-06-16T20:46:00.000-03:00

Finally it's stopped raining long enough to flash up the barbie. We grill all year round, but not in the rain. I didn't get to the top of the food chain by eating tofu, and I can finally satisfy my primal urge to eat meat--rare striploin, with Bull's Eye bbq sauce (original flavour) and nothing else, except fresh corn once the Valley season hits.

Smells like Blue Cheese

2006-06-09T16:26:00.000-03:00

I read in the Globe and Mail a couple of weekends ago that a cheesemaker's guild had just commissioned a cheese that smelled like Stilton. Stilton is the Cadillac of Blue Cheese (named for the blue 'veins' that run through wheels of this cheese) and without a doubt, the stinkiest of all the cheeses; a really great Stilton can make your eyes run with the reek.
I don't know who'll be buying the scent, but to each their own, I guess.
Now if only I could get some Eau de Garlic and Onions....

Oh, Canada!

2006-05-22T13:08:00.000-03:00

Home again, with no profound longing to stay in the UK but a determination to return to France and spend more time immersed in the culinary culture.
Air Canada had an odd choice of meals on the way back--chicken and lamb. Lamb is one of those foods that people seem to feel strongly about, they either love it or hate it. On this flight, they seemed to hate it because the chicken was gone long before they reached my seat. Fortunately, I enjoy lamb, though not out of a little plastic container with a pile of salty soggy green beans and three small chunks of potato that have seen better days.
It was, dare I say, baaaaad. Hee!

Paris!

2006-05-18T06:38:00.000-03:00

Ah, Paris--the Eiffel Tower, the Champs Elysees, the Louvres, the traffic...
Spent the afternoon exploring some side streets and back alleys in central Paris, and found a boulanger/patisserie (breadshop/bakery) with nary a sign of another tourist and not a word of English heard. I had a delightful lunch that culminated in a slab of chocolate mousse on a hazelnut crust that was very nearly the end of me--I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. It was fab.
Water, wine, bread, chocolate, cheese--all cheap.
Pop--a friend paid @12.50 Canadian for a large glass of orange pop.

Smoked salmon

2006-05-16T06:39:00.000-03:00

I've long heard that Scottish smoked salmon is the best in the world, and thought to myself 'oh, come on, could it really be better than Willie Krauch's?' The answer is yes indeedy--had my first plate of Scotch smoked salmon night before last and it was absolutely incredible--much more robust smokiness, altogether amazing.
But I prefer Nova Scotia fish and chips--not keen on the tail and skin still being on my fish when I get it!
Off to Stonehenge--don't suppose there'll be any Druid home cooking...

Thai, Indian & British

2006-05-14T16:40:00.000-03:00

Outside of pubs, the food is sadly as bad as touted. I just had a steak that the cow should've indeed been mad to have been killed for, because it was absolutely dreadful. However, the tiny hole in the wall curry spot had the most fabulous lamb and incredible na'an made to order, and it was cheap.
and we hit a fantastic Thai place with brilliant appetisers, so all is not lost.

London

2006-05-12T11:43:00.000-03:00

Here I am in London, city of grime and expense--full of history and plenty of bad food, as expected. A tour guide told us that of the 6K or so restuarants here, about half of them are Indian, and that the official city dish was chicken tikka masala--it seem to be true, it's been on every menu we've seen. Weather's been great, though. Cheers!

Finally!

2006-05-07T13:44:00.000-03:00

I'm off for two weeks, traipsing around London and Paris. British food is slowly overcoming its reputation of boring and bland, while guidebooks warn that it is becoming harder to find a decent restaurant in Paris. We shall see, as I go in search of steak-and-kidney pie and fish-and-chips in London, and the perfect steak frites in a Paris bistro. Oh, and what would a trip to England be without a real high tea, that national institution?
I had wanted to visit one of Gordon Ramsay's restos in London, but an email requesting reservations that I sent six weeks ago went unanswered--perhaps I'll try when I get there.
Toodle-dee-doo, and au revoir!

Vacation!

2006-05-05T09:46:00.000-03:00

Ah, vacation. These last few days before taking off are always the hardest to get through--your brain feels like it's shutting down, mentally checking out, before you're quite ready to go.
Nothing could top last year's Italian excursion, this year it's London and Paris. I fell in love with Italy because of the food and passion for living, I hope to have a few good meals on this trip (all jokes about British cooking aside). In the meantime, I have the delightful cuisine of Air Canada to look forward to...

What's for Dinner?

2006-05-03T21:25:00.000-03:00

No wonder whole blogs have been dedicated to that age old question, "What's for dinner?"
It's way past suppertime, and I still haven't eaten because I don't know what I want. When I was a child, my mother would say "If you don't know what you want you must not be very hungry", but I think it's less about being hungry and more about making decisions.
Suppose I have a piece of salmon and am unhappy? Should I have a pork chop instead? What about that little steak in the back of the freezer? Something simple like an omelette? I just can't seem to commit, because once I commit I've set up an expectation that since I'm cooking it, if I don't like it then it's my own fault. But if I don't like it, then I've wasted a mealtime. I can't bear to waste a mealtime because I live to eat, not eat to live. In the run of a week, I eat only 4 suppers at home, the rest of the time is eating out. Four suppers, where I can relax and really enjoy what I'm eating, in the comfort of home--that's a lot of pressure. 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches, 7 dinners, a total of 21 meals a week and I only get to make 4 at home.
I'm ordering pizza.

Crunchtime at the Market

2006-05-01T10:58:00.000-03:00

May 1 already. It's a great time for food lovers, spring. Take a walk through the Farmer's Market and there's no way you can leave without being inspired to go home and start cooking. Unless, of course, you can't cook because there are so many people that you couldn't wait three hours at each vendor and that woman ran into your achille's tendon with her babystroller so many times that you're sure it's severed and the violinist from the wandering classical quartet put your eye out with his bow and by the time you got to the wine vendors you were in so much misery you drank what you bought in one gulp straight from the bottle while the wine afficionados looked on aghast but you just didn't care because not only were you feeling wretched what the the poked out eye and cut tendon and all but you needed something to wash down all the chocolates you inhaled because you couldn't find your way to an exit and thought you might die of starvation.
Yeah, it could happen.

DMZ's and Horror Shows

2006-04-30T14:07:00.000-03:00

People ask me if it's hard to write a negative review. I don't think of them as negative or positive, but rather, the story of my dining experience on any given night. If bad or unfavourable things happen, that becomes part of the review--if I only wrote about the good things, well then that would be an ad and not a review, right?
I find it truly difficult to tell the tale not when the restaurant is truly outstanding, and not when it's a horror show, but when it lies somewhere in the middle, the dreaded mediocre zone (DMZ).
I really know I've eaten in a DMZ restaurant when I can't remember thing about the meal two days later. And if I can't remember it, I won't go back. Don't ask me to name any of these DMZ restaurants--I won't be able to recall.
Now the Horror Show dining room, the ones where the experience was so horrific that it's etched permanently in my brain--those I can sink my teeth into. And I will return to those, just to see if anything changes; sadly, it usually hasn't.

Pet Peeves Part One

2006-04-29T09:02:00.000-03:00

Pet peeves while eating out:

cold butter with warm bread
servers who use the royal "we" as in "What are we having tonight? Are we ready to order?"
servers who scrunch down to eye level as though you were a small child
kitchens that place more emphasis on appearance than taste--lotus root chips, gaufrettes, herbs as big as small trees, spun sugar, parmesan crisps, beetroot emulsions--all well and good, but not if the steak is overcooked and the potato is cold.
music too loud
tables so too close together

to be continued...

Fact vs Opinion

2006-04-28T10:00:00.000-03:00

Back to the Dishing. I read, with some amusement, the Disher's theory on the ages of the reviewers. Any regular readers of my Coast column will definitely have some idea on my age, based on comments that I've made. This guy makes statements like "Ms Feltham is younger and has younger friends". See, here's the problem. He states that as a fact, when in fact he doesn't know me and therefore has no idea of how old I am. If he had started his statement with "I think", or "I'm assuming...because..." or "It seems that..." then it would be clear to his readers that he was speculating based on conclusions he draws from the writing, and not stating a fact.
When I do a review, I would not write "Kitchen X is serving dog food", I would write "Kitchen X's main courses taste like dog food". See the difference? The first one infers that I have knowledge that someone in the kitchen is pouring kibble the plates; the second is clearly my opinion as "tastes like" is subjective. Think there's no difference? My comment "Kitchen X is serving dog food" could get me sued for libel (written defamation), whereas I am entitled to express an opinion, as long as it is phrased as such.
Not to say that I could/would sue the Disher for stating conjecture about my age as fact (that would be very Hollywood diva-like). I just wish he wouldn't present his speculative theory as fact, whether or not it's right or wrong.

Blogging the bloggers

2006-04-27T22:28:00.000-03:00

Ever Google yourself to see if you appeared somewhere unexpected, like in someone else's blog?
I did, and came up with some interesting bits. Of course, many Coast articles appeared, as did links to restos and other places that I'd reviewed favourably. Also found some music reviews done by a "Liz Feltham", who isn't me.
One blog I found interesting is attached to a site called Eating Halifax. The blog is called Dishing, and the writer spends a lot of time linking to reviews written by the three Halifax food writers, and commenting on those reviews.
I always enjoy hearing about someone's opinion of my articles, because food is a very subjective thing--a group of people can eat out and have as many different opinions about the meal as there are chairs at the table.
And when readers do contact me, I don't mind that they agree or disagree with what I've said, as long as they're not abusive but that's another entry. After all, the greatest gift to a writer is the ability to evoke a response in the reader.