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Big Flavors at Bayu's Ethiopian
I found Bayu perhaps a hair more authentic than Muzita. They're both very worthy additions to our eateries. Asmara is still perhaps the king for both authenticity and flavor, if not for creature comforts.— May 26, 2011 8:34 p.m.
Oysters in May, and more
Oops, accidentally posted this twice (blush). Maybe it's because I love oysters so much, and am also excited to see that the new chef is finally doing some of the "Modern Gastronomy" he's famed for.— May 15, 2011 5:59 p.m.
This Little Piggy — Tre Porcellini
Bad news: The chef has gone back to Il Fornaio.— May 8, 2011 9:52 p.m.
Gremlins Grumble at Cardamom Café
Semolina? Sometimes it's the hard wheat used for spaghetti and other dried pastas. Or else it's "Semolina Pilchard, climbing up the Eiffel Tower..." (Walruses now an endangered species, today's NY Times tells me. And John Lennon is already an extinct species, boo hoo hoo-hoo.) This place sounds yummy. Can't wait until they start serving Ethiopian food, it's not that far from my house and could easily become my fall-back for hungry nights.— April 21, 2011 6 p.m.
Russ Was Right
Oops, I was wrong. (Now that I'm biweekly, I usually skip from Letters to Barbarella to Food to Film, missing out on music and theatre.) Anyway, here's the real story: The March 3 Reader, in the music section, had a quarter-page box with a photo and the words: "Russ Lewis, December 8, 1957 – February 23, 2011 / Editorial Assistant, San Diego Reader" The masthead that week, under Editorial Assistants, included: "Russ Lewis (R.I.P.)" Jeff Smith, in his March 10 column (the next one he wrote following Russ's death), included a nice tribute to Russ at the end. Glad to know all this. I wonder if Russ had a clue how deeply he was appreciated by his eolleagues. He was certainly one of the best proofreaders I've ever worked with, and I've been around.— April 6, 2011 6:21 p.m.
Russ Was Right
I, too, grew to love Russ over the years. He understood that proofreading was the art of saving writers from themselves, from their overquick fingers on the keyboard tapping out typos, the unchecked spellings and references, et al. Odd that we two food writers have both been (far as I can tell) the ones to memorialize him (your review, my "hospital food" sidebar a few weeks ago.) Wonder whether the paper will ever run a proper obit. A great proofreader isn't a flunky, he's a hero to typo-making scribblers (even if we scribble on keyboards). For instance, Russ would have spotteed the misspelling of daikon (should be an "o," not an "a") in second syllable( in this review.— April 3, 2011 7:16 p.m.
New Blue: Blue Point Coastal Cuisine
Correction about those sous-vide short ribs. Not just 16 hours cooking time, but 60! Oy vey!— February 10, 2011 6:56 p.m.
New Blue: Blue Point Coastal Cuisine
Good news! Heard from the PR person, who says: Any day now, the chef will introduce Chef's Tasting Menus where he'll be a little more free to do his thing, and in springtime, when he revises the menu, he plans to introduce some ultramodern dishes. Currently, there's one dish using trendy technique: the 16-hour short ribs, which are cooked sous vide. Should be good, for regular eater-outers who haven't yet OD'd on shortribs at what seems like every single restaurant in SD. (Why, oh, why, couldn't they be oxtails instead, for a change? Oh, I know why -too sloppy, too slurpy, might have to use your fingers, which in SD is only aceptable for buffalo wings.)— February 4, 2011 6:12 p.m.
Average Easy Comforts of La Playa Bistro
I appreciate the civil, reasoned tone of most of these criticisms. So much nicer than the furious hysteria I've often encountered after a two-star review, when the owners' friends and relatives all chime in, often in all-capital letters. I do want to mention that I've also received three direct emails from disappointed Point Loma hard-core foodies who tried this bistro agree and with my assessment, and won't go back there again. To clarify my wisecrack about split pea soup: On a relatively warm night, I really don't want to face something that potentially dense and heavy. It's a soup I only love when I'm shivering. Montreal in late fall: that's the place for this soup, often made escellently (I believe they call it soupe les habitantes.) And I vaguely remember a good version with chopped andouille in New Orleans in winter (when it's wet and quite cold.) It was just an unfortunate choice for the chef to make during a winter heat spell here. A few more brief points: "who's this Naomi person?" Food critic for the Reader for over 10 years; before that, author of 4 published cookbooks and food critic for several Bay Area publications. Welcome to the Reader, at long last. And not to get defensive or anything (who, moi?), scarcely uneducated (except about things like nuclear physics and higher math), least of all about food. (Let me pat myself on the back for a sec: how many food critics can you think of who know the difference between jambalaya and perloo? How many have even heard of perloo?) Finally, the only place in the review where I guessed at ingredients had to do with the specific (bland) cheeses in the mac'n'cheese. And if you tell me there was no sugar (or other very sweet substance like Splenda or agave syrups) in the jambalaya, well, I won't believe you.— January 28, 2011 8:21 p.m.
Pho Forager
Have you ever tried the infamous (by its name) Pho King in College Area? Just curious...— January 14, 2011 5:50 p.m.