Since the Bevidere at Broad got reviewed by the RTD today, of course I had to head up there tonight to enjoy my neighborhood haunt before it's inundated by the masses.
I'd read the review but had just a few bones to pick with it.
My primary issue was the timing of the review; as anyone in the business knows, a reviewer waits three months to review a new place.
The Belvidere opened July 29th and the reviewer was in the restaurant on September 25th; by even the most rudimentary calculations, that means the place had been open 8 weeks when she descended upon it.
Restaurant critic Tom Sietsema of the Washington Post not only insists upon a three-month window to allow a new restaurant to get its footing, but also requires three visits before a review is published.
Granted, this isn't a major market, but it still seems a tad unfair to review a restaurant so early on in its life.
My other gripe would be the crab cake comment, "could have used a touch more seasoning."
I grew up in Maryland and have been eating crab since I could hold a mallet; I am of the opinion that a crab cake should taste like crab, not like seasoning.
The Belvidere's crab cakes are, as the reviewer acknowledged, pure jumbo lump crab meat.
And for any true crab lover, that's what they should be; overt seasoning is for inferior crab meat.
Also, perhaps the reviewer was not aware of Chef Chris Hassen and his crack kitchen staff's intent with the Trio Appetizer, either.
It's intended to be eaten beginning with the mildest flavor (the crab cake), followed by the bruschetta's medium and fresh flavors paired with the strongest (the superb smoked salmon), much the way wine tastings go from lightest to heaviest bodied.
My dinner tonight at the Belvidere offered an opportunity to discuss the review with the kitchen and wait staff and other regular customers, all of whom are lamenting losing our neighborhood treasure to the soon-to-arrive hordes of the curious.
The consensus seemed to be that the review read better than a mere three stars, but at least it will introduce the unaware (like the reviewer whose foodie friends had not mentioned the place to her...what kind of foodies are these?) to a really fine addition to the downtown eating scene.
And that is most definitely a good thing.
And should you be looking for a scene, I left just as the Rumours soul dance party was beginning; the play list was a retro dream.
Yet another reason to check out the B @ B.
Just don't take my bar stool.
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I was very worried about your bar stool too...and mine whenever I can get there for the first time. The time factor for the review since the opening is not the same as the Post since the lady has reviewed other places before with the same frame. Richmond has more of a WOW factor with the trendies flocking to the new places. HOLMES
ReplyDeleteAs the writer of the review you mention, I wanted to add a few other bits of info. I called The Belvidere before visiting to check on the exact opening date. The woman with whom I spoke told me the restaurant had been open 3 months. Also, the RTD does not allow me to visit more than once if the first visit is good. I wish this policy was different, but that's what I have to abide by.
ReplyDeleteI respect your comments about my thoughts on the appetizers, but a review is an opinion...one person's opinion. I liked The Belvidere and am thrilled to have another great restaurant to frequent.
As you well know, the "hordes" will die down and you'll get your bar stool back.
As a former employee of the RTD, I am not in the least surprised at their cheapness or lack of concern for a fair review. As knowlegeable as you are about the restaurant scene in major markets, I have no doubt that their short-sighted restraints make you feel hamstrung at times...and I don't envy you that.
ReplyDeleteI respect your comments about my post, but a blog is nothing more than one person's opinion and I certainly don't pretend to have any restaurant experience or particular knowledge on the subject, whereas clearly you do and I respect that immensely. You are a reviewer and I am merely a random blogger, sharing elements of my life and thoughts to anyone interested enough to read. I am surprised daily at just how many people are.
Don't worry about my bar stool, Dana; I never really lost it.
Bon appetit and thanks for reading my humble blog.
(*Not to be confused with Humbolt Fog).
ReplyDeleteSince when does the mighty Times Disgrace Restaurant Critic care what some blogger writes?
ReplyDeleteI sense something fishy about her comments, don't you?
pandafan:
ReplyDeleteI read many blogs because I think bloggers' opinions are just as important and informative as mine. Like I said, I'm just one opinion.
I don't get many opportunities to explain the "rules" behind what I do, so when I see an opportunity, I try to fill people in and encourage discussion. I don't like being viewed as some end-all-be-all, so you saying "mighty" (whether it's sarcastic or not) makes me chuckle.
In fact, I wish more people would (1) write blogs posts like this or (2) email me. Or jeez, at least leave comments on my articles. I don't like writing into a black hole. Discussion and feedback are great learning tools for me.
And Karen, your writing is interesting. That's why people read your blog. You shouldn't be surprised. It's a compliment.
That was worthwhile reviewer info you provided, Dana.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you very much for sharing your kind opinion of my blog.
I work behind a grill - not a desk, and I can tell you this much about restaurant "critics". Almost universally they have at one point had their hands in a restaurant, and generally only monitarily - ask them to actually DO something related to food or drink and they'd give you a dumb stare - and these restaurants they're associated with almost always FAIL. I'd be curious to know how many restaurants Ms. Craig has "worked" in, and how many of them still exist to this day. Depressing thought, isnt it? Truth is, I'm amazed that the dining public gives any notice to these ridiculous "articles", let alone let them help shape their opinions or expectations. There isn't anything journalistic about a food review. So, with that in mind, it can be said that a restaurant critic can neither succesfully work in or operate a restaurant, or be considered a credible journalist. Life's a bitch. Aint it?
ReplyDeleteFor someone who doesn't "pretend to have any restaurant experience or particular knowledge on the subject" you certainly do write a great deal about that of which you claim no authority to express upon. While your posts do consist of a lot of conversation with friends at local and not-so-local eateries, they also tell of your meals and what you thought of them, to the point that many would assume that you ARE giving a review of the product and service with an air of experience, knowledge and responsibilty. If that is not the case, then perhaps you should should consider writing about subjects that you DO have credentials to credibly critique, and leave dining and foodstuffs to those who make it their livelyhood?
ReplyDeleteAs someone trained in English, it occurs to me that a glib anonymous reviewer ought not end a sentence with a preposition. After all, the written word can be subject to review long before it is shared with others.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I think that Karen and Ms. Craig have both deftly made their points: What they say in their respective parts of cyberspace are just their opinions. No one would bother to read what they'd written if we weren't interested in those opinions.
To come to someone's blog of your own volition and give her grief because she stuck up for a restaurant she liked, whose review in the local paper left them under served is, at best cowardly, and at worst the agenda of someone with an axe to grind.
Go on away, little snide person. There be no trolls here.
I gotta agree with the last poster about Anonymous #2's comments, noones required to read anybody's blog. I decide to read certain blogs because I like the blogger's voice or their content or enjoy their opinions or all of teh above. I only had to read this blog once to bookmark it- it was that interesting to me right off the bat.
ReplyDeleteIf it's not your cuppa tea, quit reading it and find some pablum you do like.
"perhaps you should should consider writing about subjects that you DO have credentials to credibly critique..."
ReplyDeleteShe needs credentials to write about her own life experiences? She can't write about going to a restuarant and having an opinion on the place on her own blog?
Maybe the Anonymous poster who makes "dining and foodstuffs their livelyhood" should stick to that and let Karen write what she wants.
I'm just going to dive into this pot of boiling oil! I'm a food blogger and I write about dining out and beer and and wine. I'm not sure what "credentials to credibly critique" I was supposed to have before starting my blog other than a love of eating and drinking, which I have along with the figure to prove it.lol!
ReplyDeleteWho died and made this blowhard the boss of who gets to blog and who doesn't? I would of bet he's a disgruntled restaurant worker, burnt out and looking for a fight.
I like this blog's fresh perspective and she sure writes well so I think she should keep blogging and ignore jerks like this.
Of course I'm just a food blogger so my opinion doesn't count for shit, right? Get over yourself buddy.
this is one of 4 blogs that EVERYONE in my office reads and talks about every day. we've been talking about these comments all day and here's our offical opinion-get ready- we don't care what the qualifications are, we read certain blogs cause of how good a read they are. maybe this person who was ragging on it wishes he was having as much fun as the blogger is, i know we all are.
ReplyDeleteI debated whether or not to add my 2 cents to all this and so here it is. Anyone who eats is qualified to blog about eating if they chose to and it will be up to the person who reads it to decide how valid their points are. I'd like to ask this guy just who he thinks is qualified to blog about dining and foodstuffs besides HIMSELF OBVIOUSLY? Does that mean you need a poli-sci degree to blog about politics? OOOPS, very few bloggers have that.
ReplyDeleteI am one of the people who really enjoys this blog including when she writes about dining so I say ignore Mr. Anonymous and she keeps on writing whatever she wants.
OK. Let me add my two cents to this little dust up. I find it refreshing to read the doings of someone who obviously is enjoying life. While I don't live in RVA I have visited on several occassions and enjoyed every minute. This blog provides so much local insight that when I next visit I know I'll have a better sense of the place. It has always been my understanding that blogs are the opinions and ramblings of the blogger. I haven't been able to find in the rules of the blogosphere any mention of the need to be an expert in the subjects of which one writes. So I have to question the reason(s)for such snippy comments. They seem so petty, rude and anonying, much like a fly that just won't go away no matter how many times you swat at it. One can only speculate. Is it anger, jealousy, envy or all of the seven deadly sins? The only thing I can add is GO AWAY FLY, GO AWAY I'm trying to read here.
ReplyDeleteoh poor little anonymous.
ReplyDeletewhat a hornet's nest he has stirred...
Let me see if I've got this straight... unless you are a chef, or have had years in the food industry you are not entitled to an opinion about the plate of food in front of you - is that right?
Anonymous, it seems clear that you're too short of testicular fortitude to either identify yourself, and judging by your silence since your pompous criticism of this blogger, to engage in a lively, intelligent conversation with her supporters.
If I love a book I share it, even though I'm not an author.
When I swoon over a movie, I practically buy tickets for my friends. Though I'm hardly a director.
If I have a lousy, over priced meal I warn everyone off... and my only credentials are 3 months as a server at a Howard Johnsons on the highway while in high school.
I recognize a great book when I read one, love a great movie when I see one, and I surely know when a meal is a disaster... and when it is sublime. Karen has the all the chops she needs to write a blog that many of us enjoy, and occasionally salivate over - besides that, she is usually right on the money.
Time to man up anonymous, and give credit where it is due. Karen knows her stuff.
I kinda avoid reading this blog because white tupe on a black background gives me a headache. But this time, I'm glad I visited and now I wish I could get out more and try B@B. Sorry I missed the skirmish. I've got fresh food fight fodder over at my blog, if yall are jonesing for more contentiousness.
ReplyDelete