Boering!
Sometimes, restaurant critics write things what just make you go WTF???!!! And it ain’t just our own loved and loathed Michael Bauer.
Case in point, Nicholas Boer’s review of San Carlos’s Refuge in the Contra Costa Times.
Boer’s clearly taken with the place. His glowing praise makes me want to stop by the next time I get down to the ‘ninse. But a comment midway through the review made me stop dead in my tracks.
Boer says, “That's the beauty of the Refuge. It's all about serving food that chefs actually love to eat, not the precious dishes they cook for others night after night.” And he says it like it’s a good thing.
Huh?
Restaurants shouldn’t serve food chefs love to eat, they should serve food that diners love to eat. They don’t exist to serve each other, they exist to serve the public. The instant they lose sight of their purpose, retribution will be swift and it will be harsh. They’ll lose customers, go out of business and will deserve to go out of business.
Oh, and these “precious dishes they cook for others” – outside of über-luxe places such as El Bulli, it’s not the customers who pay the bills night after night who demand “precious dishes.” It’s chefs showing off for other chefs, critics and a few snotty foodies that drive these (often silly) menu items. Don’t blame “others” when chefs’ vanity dishes show up on their menus.
Nicky, run down to the corner store and buy a clue. Stop talkin’ ‘bout places chefs want to eat and start talkin’ ‘bout places your readers want to eat.
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