Saturday, 4 September 2010
Wednesday, 1 September 2010
FOOD REVIEWING AT BITE
This is an article I have wanted to write for some time but it is a tricky one. Perhaps if I actually commit it to print I will not have to deal with it again. I can just refer people to my blog post. So here goes.
The most common question that as a reviewer for Bite I am asked is “Do they know you are coming?” This also translates as “do you get freebies or better service and if you do how can I believe what you write?”
The honest, un-fudged answer to this question is ‘sometimes yes and sometimes no’. For example, in our September issue which has just gone to print, 50% of the reviews were ‘comped’ and 50% were totally anonymous and paid for out of the reviewers own pocket (there is no expense account at BitE). Out of the 50% that were complimentary half of those customers have at some point advertised with Bite and half have not and probably never will. So, we are talking about the possibility of there being some level of ‘bias’ in the first 25% due to the receipt of a free meal and in the second 25% due to a possible link to advertising revenue. Let’s deal with the first, first.
“How can I believe what you write if you are busy living it up at the restaurant‘s expense?” Well, and this may shock you, just because you are receiving a free meal this does not necessarily mean that you lose all your critical faculties. You are not so awash in champagne and oysters whilst having your feet massaged like a slab of Wagyu by the KP that you lose your ability to tell whether the restaurant is actually able to cook a steak or not. OK you may get an extra canapé but one little puffy gaugere is not going to ‘buy’ a good review and you are just going to have to trust me on that one.
Ah but I hear you exclaim, It all adds up, the canapés, the smiling staff, the convivial landlord who is of course at all other times behaving to his other ‘paying’ customers like Rachman on a bad day. Well yes to an extent but the word count we work to at Bite is extremely limited. We don’t actually have room to waffle about those delightful cheesy bites, about the waiter’s charming dimples or even how wonderful the service is. It’s actually straight down to business; the menu, the execution, the wine list, price and the ambience. The restaurant can do little to change four of these factors whether a reviewer is there or not and it is worth noting that complimentary write-ups usually take place on quiet nights when the ambience is unlikely to be best. Execution they can influence. Maybe they don’t know how to cook a steak rare, medium or well done on another night and they have drafted in a special chef for the ‘occasion’ of the all important visit from the local free listings magazine; I don’t think so. The service may be more attentive but it is rare that we talk about it. Reviewers are instructed to concentrate on the facts, again word count restrictions come into play. If we are going to talk about service it would be in fairly general terms i.e. is it in line with ‘fine-dining’ or ‘friendly bistro’ expectations or is the waiter beating the other customers about the head with a stale baguette?
So what about the link to advertising revenue then? 25% of the reviews are on customers that have at sometime in the past or may in the future advertise. Are we going to write a bad review and therefore forfeit advertising revenue, will we bite the hand that feeds us?
I have been publishing Bite for nearly eight years now and at the risk of sounding like Carol Vorderman, that’s almost ninety-six issues with at least four reviews in each issue, so, in the region of four hundred-ish but probably more. I can honestly count on two hands the amount of reviews that were either absolute stonkers or a kitchen nightmare. Most of our reviews, written about advertisers, potential advertisers or ‘wouldn’t want to be in it if you paid me’, are geared to give you a pretty general idea of what to expect from a particular restaurant. The aim is to give the reader a general guide when making a restaurant choice. We are not AA Gill or The New York Times. We are here to give you information should you wish to pick up our little magazine.
So to sum up, do we accept freebies? Sometimes. And by the way so do most reviewers some times. Everyone knows everyone and unless you are going to the lengths of Ruth Reichl, the New York Times reviewer who took to wearing disguises, you are going to be recognised or known or maybe you even baby sit the chef’s pooch whilst he is on holiday. There may be some reviewers who hand on heart have never accepted so much as a glass of tap from anyone but they are few and far between. Does this affect what we write? No or to such a limited extent that it makes no discernible difference. Do we need to be anonymous to write the truth? No, but we often are. Does advertising revenue affect what we write? On some occasions it may affect our choice of where we review but not what we write.
Do we live in the real world where like in many other industries people know each other or do we live in an ivory tower from which we waft pearls of gastro wisdom? We live in the real world where we try to do our best and we believe that you the reader are both intelligent enough to understand that, to judge how accurate we get it and to stop picking up the magazine if we truly fuck up.
Thursday, 12 August 2010
REVIEW - ONDINE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SIMONE HILLIARD
Freshness, freshness, freshness.
Ondine is one classy number. It’s like the Little Black Dress of restaurants; simple, stylish and serving piscine produce that will endure changing fashions.
When it comes to reviewing fish its all about the freshness; the nearer it is to pulsing, the better it will taste.
I went along for Saturday lunch with a couple of pals. The service is slick; water, bread and canapés are delivered swiftly and unobtrusively. The ambience is conspiratorial; we are all here because we know we are onto a good thing. A horseshoe crustacean bar is perfect for supping fizz and shucking an oyster or two, it’s like the bar in the Cafe Royal pub, but posher.
We had the choice of a good value lunch time menu of two courses for £14.95 or the a la carte which contains all the fish and shellfish options. I was hankering for langoustines served in wild garlic butter (£18.50) and my two friends both chose grilled scallops in the half shell with chorizo (£ 17.95).
The langoustines were halved to minimise fuss and there was nice pile heaped on my plate. I would give them eight out of ten. Unfortunately I had tasted some ‘cooked in front of me’ langoustine from Stuart Muir at Harvey Nichols earlier that week which were moister and juicier; I couldn’t help comparing. I had ordered chips on the side which were actually pommes frites but a nice enough accompaniment. My friends’ scallops were beautifully golden and the chorizo was superb. We washed the whole lot down with an excellent bottle of Prosecco that had a clean slivery sheen and was dry and full of bubbles.
Dessert was simple, coffee and Florentines. Made with honey, nuts, fruit and seeds these round delicacies were a deliciously sweet finish to our lunch.
Ondine has been a hit with diners and critics alike since it opened a year ago and Roy Brett moved from the Dakota hotel to Edinburgh city centre. Bite quite simply concurs that it is a welcome addition to Edinburgh’s dining scene.
Ondine Restaurant
2 George IV Bridge,
Edinburgh,
EH1 1AD
-0131 226 1888
- enquiries@ondinerestaurant.co.uk
-www.ondinerestaurant.co.uk
OPENING TIMES
12 noon – 10pm everyday
Thursday, 11 March 2010
Thursday, 25 February 2010
Sunday, 1 November 2009
REVIEW - THE SCOTTISH CAFÉ AND RESTAURANT
Fresh, simple, Scottish …
THIS IS THE MANTRA THAT STEERED VICTOR AND CARINA CONTINI, (THE BRAINS BEHIND CENTOTRE AND ZANZERO), WHEN THEY WON THE CONTRACT TO CATER AT THE SCOTTISH CAFÉ THIS YEAR. THEIR VISION WAS FOR A MENU THAT PRESERVED SCOTTISH CULINARY HERITAGE WHILST USING THE PRODUCE OF THE BEST SCOTTISH SUPPLIERS.
We visited on a rainy Sunday to see for ourselves. To start I chose the venison carpaccio with rocket and shaved Loch Arthur cheddar (£7.95) and Mr Bite chose Cullen skink (4.95). My garnet-coloured venison was juicy and tender, the peppery leaves and salty cheese mixed well and a drizzle of golden rapeseed oil completed this simple, flavoursome dish; much better than the slightly flat presentation promised. Mr Bite fared less well with his soup. Although the haddock flavour was strong we both prefer a heartier, rustic version of this Scottish classic. It was too smooth and refined for our taste.
Our main dishes however, swiftly raised the bar. For me, roast pheasant with pickled red cabbage and a mixed leaf salad (£13.95) and for Mr Bite a show-stopper of steamed organic salmon in a mussel, razor clam and shallot broth (£13.95). The pheasant was earthy, and well-seasoned, the cabbage was fruity and the leaves sprightly which all made for a deliciously, seasonal winter dish. Mr Bite’s salmon was divinely flavoursome and melt-in-the-mouth. The razor clams had a wonderful firm texture permeated with the taste of the sea and the broth was creamy and full of fresh herbs, clams and mussels; the very best of Scottish seafood.
For cheese we had a choice of three boards, the ‘Dunedin’, the ‘Pentland’ or the ‘Thistle’ (small £6.95, large £9.95). We plumped for the Pentland which featured Loch Arthur cheddar, Criffel, Lanark Blue and Carola. They were served with a dish of stewed autumn fruit and mini-oatcakes and were very good. There are plenty of good wines to complement the cheese or (if brave) you can try Humphrey Errington’s Fallachan.
It’s a no-brainer that given its location this restaurant should showcase Scottish produce and celebrate the classics. The presence of the menu of butteries and marmalade bread and butter pudding are just two of the many dishes that secure plenty of return visits from us.
-The Scottish Cafe & Restaurant
-National Gallery of Scotland
The Mound
EH2 2EL
- 0131 226 6524
-http://www.thescottishcafeandrestaurant.com
-reservations@thescottishcafe.com
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