the pete wells thread

[Wilfrid]

6 hours ago, Orik said:

 

The technical term for "feeling bloated and drunk" is "having a proper dinner in Europe"

 

Thank goodness we don’t have that nonsense here.

[MitchW]

Quote

One well-traveled diner told me about a recent, four-hour meal at Disfrutar, in Barcelona — No. 1 this year. He said he was “blown away” and at the same time he never wants to go back. “It was an assault, and not fun,” he said.

While I quite enjoyed my meal at Disfrutar, I thought I might die, or be dead, upon awakening the next day.

[Orik]

9 hours ago, Wilfrid said:

Thank goodness we don’t have that nonsense here.

No, here we drink one three ounce glass of wine with our plant based meal and that's why we live forever. 

But really, when was going to a 2-3 Michelin star place not a 3+ hour ordeal ending with being stuffed and drunk? Sure, you mostly ordered a la carte so you had the theoretical option to eat reasonably, but that was largely a theoretical option and I don't think it's an argument against the oppressive tasting menu format. 

[backyardchef]

3 hours ago, Orik said:

 I don't think it's an argument against the oppressive tasting menu format. 

True. Agreed. The format is all you need to argue against it. 

[Robert Rymarz]

Moving on.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/rYvuLPPha6mXbSFq/?mibextid=WC7FNe

 

[rozrapp]

Pete Wells Will Leave Role as NYT Food Critic - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

[cinghiale]

Quote

Manhattan’s sea-urchin spaghetti factories can always buy attention

What does that even mean?

[Diancecht]

wonder who will be in the hot seat next

place yer bets 😀

[small h]

1 hour ago, cinghiale said:

What does that even mean?

Those are the places with PR machines, ensuring they get press, and then influencers, and then followers of influencers.

[Sneakeater]

The main focus of the piece, about the impact of the job on his health, is valuable, I think.

But, of course, me being me, I think the most important passage is the sea urchin one:

Quote

By browsing my way across the city like a goat, I could try to level a playing field that is deeply tilted in favor of restaurants with money. Manhattan’s sea-urchin spaghetti factories can always buy attention. It’s not as easy for a soul-food hangout in Stapleton or a Palestinian kitchen in Bay Ridge or an Ensenadan aguachile specialist in Jackson Heights. So off I would go, because if I didn’t, a really important restaurant might be overlooked.

 

[Anthony Bonner]

see more evidence the nyt is woke

 

(if its not clear that was a joke and a 'people always use any excuse to complain about the times' one not a political one)

[Sneakeater]

Pray for Tammie.

[sweatshorts]

13 hours ago, Sneakeater said:

Pray for Tammie.

I initially thought that something terrible happened to her and immediately googled. Took me a second after I didn't find any news.

[Sneakeater]

Well, to read Wells, if she gets the gig she'll be in real danger.

[Wilfrid]

I am sure I mentioned this upthread, but Wells's tenure was by far the longest of any Times restaurant critic.

[MitchW]

1 hour ago, Sneakeater said:

Well, to read Wells, if she gets the gig she'll be in real danger.

Evidently, the critics who have identified as female fare much better.  I can attest to only the one I dined with many times, and basically…she did not eat like a pig.

[Sneakeater]

Oh right. 

[Diancecht]

caviar and chicken nuggets 🧐

[Wilfrid]

I was feeling slightly sorry for journalists that write for monthly magazines (there’s an article in the current Vanity Fair that was irrelevant before it hit mailboxes). Then the weeklies got left behind, with the New Yorker published Monday with a Commentary that just doesn’t apply any more.

Curious to see this piece by Wells, presumably written a few days ago. Why didn’t he pull it back and rewrite some of the end-of-days stuff?

More importantly, where is the discussion of whether this chicken is better or worse than the crispy Korean fried chicken you can get anywhere?

[Sneakeater]

I was missing the evaluation of the actual chicken too.

But the slam on Manhattan made the piece worth it to me.

[Wilfrid]

And yes, it was very well done, but it also read like it was written a week ago, which it probably was.

[GerryOlds2TheReturnofGerry]

I don't know. This one feels pretty sloppy to me. I disagree with the dig at Cote and think it's an oversight to kind of gloss over the efforts of a sommelier like Victoria James. Plus, there's the awkward repetition of "one-dimensional" in the last two paragraphs.

[backyardchef]

I enjoyed it. 🤷‍♂️

[GerryOlds2TheReturnofGerry]

I liked the opener and tend to trust him on the food. I was just surprised by those two things (and style thing is more of an editing mistake than Pete's fault).

[Diancecht]

off topic: here’s your chance to hear sam sifton speak. 

slightly over 47 minutes

“can we debate that veritas was a three star restaurant?” 🤔

lots to talk about in this interview.

Edited July 30, 2024 by Diancecht