Well, well, The Biscuit has been doing some writing on the side lately and got a little piece published in The Georgetown Independent. It’s a student paper, but the school is home for the summer.
The Biscuit analyzes why we all (do we?) like chain restaurants: predictability, branding, affordability and reputation. The beginning is intentionally facetious, full of snobbery, to get the readers hooked, but it gets better. (Apologies if you have to give your email to read the article. Sometimes you do, sometimes you don’t.)
On another note, The Biscuit recently dined at D.C.’s Oyamel, which Esquire Magazine called one of America’s Best New Restaurants. Not to be a food snob (ha), but the meal was very disappointing. The idea of upscale Mexican doesn’t seem to work too often. Nobody can cook carnitas like they do in the favorite Don Jose’s or any little taco stand in Durham. And their hit cerviche? Tasted like salty rubber.
This makes The Biscuit wonder, then rant and criticize - two things not usually done on this site.
Are the delicious little roadside shacks never going to get the big rave reviews the super expensive city dwellers get? There is no way Oyamel was close to the top, oh, 80 restaurants where The Biscuit has ever eaten. But it’s got the location, the decor, the style, the money. It’s trendy. Yet its chefs still couldn’t produce anything close to home cooked al pastor or truly amazing guacamole. Big time restaurant reviewers need to slum it more often, as they say, venturing to places they would never guess to have some surprisingly mind blowing eating experiences.
Because of this, The Biscuit is going to stay away (or at least try to) from reviewing establishments. The goal here will be to recommend places that we think you’ll like where there are fun experiences to be had and great people to meet. Food should be fun!
Keep coming back for more and share your thoughts.
July 10th, 2008 - 10:05 am
I like your critical eye when it comes to debunking the trendiness of hip eateries. While it is easy to be seduced by the five-star rankings offered by Bon Appetite or Gourmet, it is much more difficult to turn a blind eye to the hype and make your own cuisine choices. But, I would caution you against being automatically swayed by price. I have noticed on your blog that you, nine times out of ten, favor a road-side shack over a pricey restaurant, which is great, if its merited. But sometimes, not often, Biscuit, it is worth handing over the big bucks in order to have a great meal in an establishment with a cool atmosphere with awesome service.
July 11th, 2008 - 9:56 am
Good food is good food, and sometimes you have to pay a lot for it. The Biscuit has no quips with expensive meals - when they are delicious.
Nothing, though, nothing is more frustrating than overpaying for a sub-par meal. It’s frustrating when you can get delicious food for dollars and terrible meals for 10 times that.
The Biscuit does think that if an eatery is pricey, and it does not produce meals up to a certain standard, it should be marked down.
Read this interesting dispute over at Varmintbites with Greg Cox, the N&O food critic: http://varmintbites.wordpress.com/2008/05/09/greg-cox-just-doesnt-get-it/#comments
The Biscuit might have to side with Cox, who marks down Raleigh’s Mint for not meeting the tastes that its prices suggest you’ll get.
Phew. We could have a whole post about this.