BE CAREFUL!
Portland is known nationally as a terrific town for "foodies." Last year, Food & Wine magazine picked the city as the tops in the U.S.A.
But what makes a restaurant great? There are at least four aspects to consider -- food, ambience, service and price.
FOOD. Of supreme importance....if the food is truly outstanding, I can almost forgive inferior service, not the most appealing ambience, and relatively high prices. However, I'm interested in all aspects of the food ordered: taste, portion size, and fresh, creative ingredients skillfully melded. Of lesser (very lesser) importance to me are presentation ("pretty food" on colorful, oversized crockery) and unusualness (e.g., crab with raspberry sauce or ravioli stuffed with blue potatoes and green tomatoes). All too often I discover that food critics rave about the food and when I order it it's a very small overpriced portion. (Of course, most food critics aren't concerned with cost because their publication is footing the bill.) Then, there's the wine list...it drives me nuts when wines are marked up more than 100 percent. If I can purchase the bottle at a local grocery or wine store for $X, in my opinion that bottle should cost no more than $2X at a restaurant.
AMBIENCE. Some of the best places I have ever eaten at had formica table tops and paper napkins. I'm a native of greater New York City, and I can tell you that the best and freshest ethnic food served there does not come in restaurants with chic art on the walls or trendy table decor. If I want paintings, sculpture or tapestries, I prefer a museum. And if it's "the place to see and be seen," then I'm probably not going to be happy with it. The same holds true for Portland.
SERVICE. A famous Supreme Court Justice once remarked, "I may not be able to define pornography but I know it when I see it." In like manner, it's difficult to describe what makes for superlative service but I know it when I get it. And among my biggest peeves are haughty wait persons so taken with themselves and the wonderfulness of the establishment where they work that they act like they're doing me a great favor just by doing their jobs. Other peeves: don't ever serve me my entree while I'm still enjoying my soup or salad; offering only bottled water at jacked up prices (I like tap ice water); sommelier snobs (I've found that a great way to handle these annoying individuals is to take a bite out of the cork after it's presented and comment on it's place of origin..."A mediocre year for Spanish cork trees and it shows in the vapidity of this cork!"); and, finally, waiters who try to hurry me or my dinner partners into ordering by asking us if we've made our decisions and then hovering before we close and set down our menus.
COST. Most of us have a reasonable feel for the cost of different foods; most of us have a reasonable feel for the length and difficulty of the cooking process; most of us have a reasonable feel for the creativity behind development of the recipe of the food we ordered; and, thus, most of us have a reasonable feel for outlandish overpricing. Unless my salmon was caught by a Portugese fisherman using barbless hooks alone in his rowboat 100 miles from shore, there's no way it should cost $40, particularly since the piece I've been served goes about 4 ounces. And there's no coffee so incredible that warrants a $4.50 per cup charge. See above for wine pricing. See above for tipping based on service.
Having said all of this, I really believe that Portland offers an incredibly wide array of top-flight restaurants that deserve our and your business. Don't hesitate to ask John and Wendy, your innkeepers at The Fulton House who, after all, live and dine here, for our advice. And please don't hesitate to tell us if we've led you astray and the restarant we suggested didn't live up to what we told you.
At The Fulton House we can offer you menus of places we favor or invite you to use our guest computer to Google up a restaurant you've heard of and are thinking of patronizing.
But what makes a restaurant great? There are at least four aspects to consider -- food, ambience, service and price.
FOOD. Of supreme importance....if the food is truly outstanding, I can almost forgive inferior service, not the most appealing ambience, and relatively high prices. However, I'm interested in all aspects of the food ordered: taste, portion size, and fresh, creative ingredients skillfully melded. Of lesser (very lesser) importance to me are presentation ("pretty food" on colorful, oversized crockery) and unusualness (e.g., crab with raspberry sauce or ravioli stuffed with blue potatoes and green tomatoes). All too often I discover that food critics rave about the food and when I order it it's a very small overpriced portion. (Of course, most food critics aren't concerned with cost because their publication is footing the bill.) Then, there's the wine list...it drives me nuts when wines are marked up more than 100 percent. If I can purchase the bottle at a local grocery or wine store for $X, in my opinion that bottle should cost no more than $2X at a restaurant.
AMBIENCE. Some of the best places I have ever eaten at had formica table tops and paper napkins. I'm a native of greater New York City, and I can tell you that the best and freshest ethnic food served there does not come in restaurants with chic art on the walls or trendy table decor. If I want paintings, sculpture or tapestries, I prefer a museum. And if it's "the place to see and be seen," then I'm probably not going to be happy with it. The same holds true for Portland.
SERVICE. A famous Supreme Court Justice once remarked, "I may not be able to define pornography but I know it when I see it." In like manner, it's difficult to describe what makes for superlative service but I know it when I get it. And among my biggest peeves are haughty wait persons so taken with themselves and the wonderfulness of the establishment where they work that they act like they're doing me a great favor just by doing their jobs. Other peeves: don't ever serve me my entree while I'm still enjoying my soup or salad; offering only bottled water at jacked up prices (I like tap ice water); sommelier snobs (I've found that a great way to handle these annoying individuals is to take a bite out of the cork after it's presented and comment on it's place of origin..."A mediocre year for Spanish cork trees and it shows in the vapidity of this cork!"); and, finally, waiters who try to hurry me or my dinner partners into ordering by asking us if we've made our decisions and then hovering before we close and set down our menus.
COST. Most of us have a reasonable feel for the cost of different foods; most of us have a reasonable feel for the length and difficulty of the cooking process; most of us have a reasonable feel for the creativity behind development of the recipe of the food we ordered; and, thus, most of us have a reasonable feel for outlandish overpricing. Unless my salmon was caught by a Portugese fisherman using barbless hooks alone in his rowboat 100 miles from shore, there's no way it should cost $40, particularly since the piece I've been served goes about 4 ounces. And there's no coffee so incredible that warrants a $4.50 per cup charge. See above for wine pricing. See above for tipping based on service.
Having said all of this, I really believe that Portland offers an incredibly wide array of top-flight restaurants that deserve our and your business. Don't hesitate to ask John and Wendy, your innkeepers at The Fulton House who, after all, live and dine here, for our advice. And please don't hesitate to tell us if we've led you astray and the restarant we suggested didn't live up to what we told you.
At The Fulton House we can offer you menus of places we favor or invite you to use our guest computer to Google up a restaurant you've heard of and are thinking of patronizing.
posted by The Fulton House Bed and Breakfast @ 2:59 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home