MitchW Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 Haven't been, don't know if that'll ever happen. But...Helen Rossner has been, and it must've been tough (or was it?) for ol' Helen to to give props to someone (April Bloomfield) who knew and allowed terrible things to go on in a restaurant she partly owned and was in charge of. Quote Bloomfield’s previous tenure in New York, as the chef-partner of the restaurateur Ken Friedman, came to an end, in 2017, after she was accused of insufficiently protecting her staff from the alleged sexual predation of Friedman and Mario Batali, a Spotted Pig investor. (Friedman settled harassment claims against him; Batali denied assaulting anyone but acknowledged that his behavior was “deeply inappropriate.” Bloomfield has said that coming to terms with her failures in addressing employee concerns “blew my psyche wide open.”) I'm so happy for April's psyche...and happy that April has come to terms with it. Oh lookie here - Helen feels guilt!!! And ambivalence. Quote I also felt a twinge of guilt, and maybe ambivalence. She is one of the greatest cooks of her generation, and one of the most under-heralded; in a still viciously sexist business, she is the rare woman who made it to the very top. She is also a chef who, by many accounts, turned her eye away from the monstrous misdeeds of the men who employed her and a person who, after those men slunk away out of the public eye, retreating to the comfort of their money and their summer homes, had to keep working. What makes Sailor a success, besides the quality of its fare, is that it doesn’t feel like Bloomfield is making a play for redemption, or taking a shot at glory. It feels like she’s doing what she always wanted to be doing: cooking fantastic food, putting it on a plate, and then handing it off to someone else—someone like Stulman—to make sure all the fittings and fixtures are in place for the lucky people eating it. Didn't April already hand stuff off to someone else, somewhere else? I guess that lesson wasn't learned. Just...no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfrid Posted November 28, 2023 Share Posted November 28, 2023 I wonder why Hannah's unsurprising and not particularly timely piece on New Haven pizza gets real estate in the print edition while we still have to read Helen online to get the full pieces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backyardchef Posted November 28, 2023 Share Posted November 28, 2023 18 hours ago, MitchW said: Haven't been, don't know if that'll ever happen. But...Helen Rossner has been, and it must've been tough (or was it?) for ol' Helen to to give props to someone (April Bloomfield) who knew and allowed terrible things to go on in a restaurant she partly owned and was in charge of. I'm so happy for April's psyche...and happy that April has come to terms with it. Oh lookie here - Helen feels guilt!!! And ambivalence. Didn't April already hand stuff off to someone else, somewhere else? I guess that lesson wasn't learned. Just...no. It all reminds me of Adam Perry Lang being Epstein's personal chef and saying he "never saw" anything out of the ordinary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchW Posted November 28, 2023 Author Share Posted November 28, 2023 38 minutes ago, backyardchef said: It all reminds me of Adam Perry Lang being Epstein's personal chef and saying he "never saw" anything out of the ordinary. Which reminds me of: I guess that depends on what one's definition of "out of the ordinary" is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchW Posted December 1, 2023 Author Share Posted December 1, 2023 On 11/28/2023 at 10:01 AM, Wilfrid said: I wonder why Hannah's unsurprising and not particularly timely piece on New Haven pizza gets real estate in the print edition while we still have to read Helen online to get the full pieces. Wow, the Helen print piece (just catching up on missed mags) certainly skirts the issue about shame and guilt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backyardchef Posted December 1, 2023 Share Posted December 1, 2023 3 hours ago, MitchW said: Wow, the Helen print piece (just catching up on missed mags) certainly skirts the issue about shame and guilt. I mean, at least Chef's mind was blown. So, there's that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 Wells' kicker: "I have friends who won’t watch Woody Allen’s movies. I’m sure some people will feel the same way about eating in Ms. Bloomfield’s restaurant. I went the first time because it’s my job, but I went back and chose to write about it because something in the cooking spoke to me. Celery root and radishes and potatoes don’t usually move me. They did at Sailor." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchW Posted December 4, 2023 Author Share Posted December 4, 2023 I don't know, Pete; I'm wondering if there is really an equivalency there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
small h Posted December 5, 2023 Share Posted December 5, 2023 1 hour ago, MitchW said: I don't know, Pete; I'm wondering if there is really an equivalency there. Which is worse? I honestly have no idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronS Posted December 5, 2023 Share Posted December 5, 2023 better question is whether either is acceptable, there’s no need to rank them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
small h Posted December 5, 2023 Share Posted December 5, 2023 2 hours ago, AaronS said: there’s no need to rank them. But this is America. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sourbroughten Posted December 5, 2023 Share Posted December 5, 2023 (edited) 23 hours ago, Simon said: Wells' kicker: "I have friends who won’t watch Woody Allen’s movies. I’m sure some people will feel the same way about eating in Ms. Bloomfield’s restaurant. I went the first time because it’s my job, but I went back and chose to write about it because something in the cooking spoke to me. Celery root and radishes and potatoes don’t usually move me. They did at Sailor." Where was the Wells review published? I can't find it online. Edited December 5, 2023 by sourbroughten Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchW Posted December 5, 2023 Author Share Posted December 5, 2023 12 minutes ago, sourbroughten said: Where was the Wells review published? I can't find it online. The review is sent to subscribers who sign up to receive it. Here it is unpaywalled...https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/05/dining/restaurant-review-april-bloomfield-sailor-brooklyn.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Dk0.30DM.39IAOUPrdhQW&smid=url-share Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfrid Posted December 6, 2023 Share Posted December 6, 2023 I assume it will be on the website tomorrow. The email comes a day in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
small h Posted December 6, 2023 Share Posted December 6, 2023 It's there now. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/05/dining/restaurant-review-april-bloomfield-sailor-brooklyn.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneakeater Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 The problem with Sailor is that it's so palpably superior to similar restaurants I really like. Specifically, Inga's Bar and Rolo's. Love them both -- but I now have to think of them as also-rans. This place is a smash success, very difficult to get into -- and it ought to be. Politics aside, it's hard to imagine who wouldn't like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backyardchef Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 10 hours ago, Sneakeater said: Politics aside, it's hard to imagine who wouldn't like it. challenge accepted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfrid Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 I've added it to the mental list of places where there is no point looking for a table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneakeater Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 I was very easily able to walk into a bar seat late on a Sunday game night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfrid Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 Well Ego Nwodim can get in to Sailor and post about it on IG. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve R. Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 Went last night &, although I sorta wanted to have a reason to not like it, I liked it. Very good food at a very reasonable price point in a very nicely done room with very friendly staff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfrid Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 Next you will tell us you’re hosting SNL. I always liked her food; the question is what lengths I would go to to eat it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneakeater Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 The only problem I’ve had was once when they had to seat me at a table as a walk-in cuz they couldn’t squeeze me into the bar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfrid Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 I love those problems. I am getting a solo table at Francie now after many visits at the bar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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