stlbites.com – st. louis food blog of bill burge

Zagat on What Pros Want / Food Blogging Fairness

Jan 3, 2008 general food

Zagat published a list of “What the Pros Want in 2008.”

Restaurant industry insiders weigh in on what they’d like to see more of – and less of – in the New Year

My favorite We Need More(s):

…American charcuterie and cheeses on restaurant menus.”

- Michel Richard, chef-owner, DC’s Citronelle and Central

“To-go packaging made from recycled materials. Sustainable products and foods made and raised by artisanal, small farms. Foie gras!”

– Karen and David Waltuck, owners (David is chef), NYC’s Chanterelle

My favorite We Could Do With Less:

“The words ‘celebrity chef’ and my being misrepresented as one.”

– Paul Kahan, chef-owner, Chicago’s Blackbird

Because when I was a cook eating in Blackbird in ‘99 he’s the guy that signed my menu: “Cook what you love” and he embodies it.

The We Could Do With Less I take personally:

“Blogging by non-food professionals/experts: I’d rather see more accomplished food writers/critics who I respect reporting on food and dining. Let the professionals do their work. Blogging these days is often too influential in negative ways for chefs and restaurateurs.”

– Roland Passot, chef-owner, SF’s La Folie, among others

However low-tier I may be, I am now a legitimately published writer and have, however closely, dodged the crosshairs of this comment. Still, for several months I was just a guy with a blog; yet I feel I have been respectful about my comments on the St. Louis food scene, and food in general, by simply calling it like it is and always being sure to reference that it is my opinion.

Now admittedly, I have typed up a couple less than flattering posts that I decided to shelve, but there in lies the respect.

What do you think? Have I been fairly writing about food as an amateur?

And furthermore, if the less seasoned writers of the world never write about food, who then becomes the professional?

Tags: blackbird, food blogging, paul-kahan, zagat

Food Blogs and Photos

Sep 10, 2007 general food, restaurants, trips

One thing I can’t quite grasp in the world of food blogging is all these people taking pictures of food in restaurants. For the most part, I can’t bring myself to do it. Not only do I feel silly, but it makes me feel like it has the potential to interfere with another diners enjoyment, and I think it’s a bit strange on a philosophical level. It’s somewhat like cheating on a test for lack of a more thought out comparison.

Although I’m only 30, I’ve eaten at a lot of great restaurants all over the US. Anywhere I happen to go, even if it’s on business, food is utmost on my agenda whether it be a mecca of dining like New York or someplace that requires a little more digging like Traverse City, MI.

These are both actual trips I took in the last twelve months, and because I make food such an important part of my life, on both of them my wife and I ate things over the course of the week long vacations I can vividly describe.

Would I have remembered this Michigan Cherry Crumb cake at Stone House Bread any less if I didn’t have the picture?

I know I can’t tell you all the things we ate, but in a way, does that not somehow make the things I do remember more special? Shouldn’t it be that the best things you’ve ever eaten are the ones you remember most vividly without pictures?

Whether it’s a 9 course meal at WD-50, or a Sour Cherry Crumb Pie at the Grand Traverse Pie Company, to me, the foods you most remember are the true best things you’ve ever eaten because they touched you in some way emotionally.

So, is a food blog without pictures useless? Where do you stand on taking pictures in restaurants, and if you do so, how do you keep from feeling like an idiot?

-Bill

Tags: blogging, cherry crumb cake, food blogging, grand traverse pie company, traverse city, wd 50