Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Mercredi, c'est ravioli.
I did not think I'd live to read this: a full review by Meredith Brody devoted to a Vietnamese restaurant. If you exclude the Slanted Doors, Meredith went to two Vietnamese restaurants in her almost 3 years at the weekly, and each time, they were packed into multiple "ethnic" reviews, getting a fourth and a third of the attention respectively.
So of course, we had to chuckle when she wrote: At dinner, I glanced at the menu and thought, hmmm, Slanted Door... What else is she going to compare it to? She hasn't paid attention to any other Vietnamese place.
She butchers more French, coming up with crème brülee. I mean, crème brûlée is on every menu, it's not even French anymore.
She tries hard: a palate cleanser is described as a fragrant interregnum, which had me question my understanding of the word interregnum. Interregnum does mean regency, and fits there only in a really really strained metaphor. It is like misspelling crème brulée: the use of fancy or foreign words does not impress if it is inadequate, quite the opposite.
Special for Winky: there are a lot of "I"s, but I don't mind an "I" part of "I like". A review is still subjective, so Meredith should state her opinion. The "I"s I don't like are the "I was in a rush to see the Picasso and Monet exhibit at the Legion of Honor" because it means Meredith would rather be elsewhere than do her reviewing job, which I find obnoxious.
But all this is nitpicking, because it's a full review dedicated to a Vietnamese place without the adjective "ethnic" affixed to it, without a word of unrelated introduction. Taking into account the lowered expectations that Meredith set, it is a decent review. If you take away "interregnum", "mingy" and the butchered French, you'd think it was a Robert Lauriston review.
So of course, we had to chuckle when she wrote: At dinner, I glanced at the menu and thought, hmmm, Slanted Door... What else is she going to compare it to? She hasn't paid attention to any other Vietnamese place.
She butchers more French, coming up with crème brülee. I mean, crème brûlée is on every menu, it's not even French anymore.
She tries hard: a palate cleanser is described as a fragrant interregnum, which had me question my understanding of the word interregnum. Interregnum does mean regency, and fits there only in a really really strained metaphor. It is like misspelling crème brulée: the use of fancy or foreign words does not impress if it is inadequate, quite the opposite.
Special for Winky: there are a lot of "I"s, but I don't mind an "I" part of "I like". A review is still subjective, so Meredith should state her opinion. The "I"s I don't like are the "I was in a rush to see the Picasso and Monet exhibit at the Legion of Honor" because it means Meredith would rather be elsewhere than do her reviewing job, which I find obnoxious.
But all this is nitpicking, because it's a full review dedicated to a Vietnamese place without the adjective "ethnic" affixed to it, without a word of unrelated introduction. Taking into account the lowered expectations that Meredith set, it is a decent review. If you take away "interregnum", "mingy" and the butchered French, you'd think it was a Robert Lauriston review.
Labels: meredith brody
Comments:
I am glad to see that Meredith is beginning to expand her horizons by writing a full review about "ethnic" cuisine. However, notice that she still chooses a restaurant that is essentially downtown, and is a rather high-profile, expensive, "see and be seen" sort of place. I mean, it's an offshoot of a Palo Alto restaurant, if we needed any more clue.
I'd be much more impressed if she devoted an entire review to an authentic family-run Vietnamese restaurant on Irving. I am still waiting for it.
Still, it's an improvement though. I guess we should be happy with whatever we can get.
I'd be much more impressed if she devoted an entire review to an authentic family-run Vietnamese restaurant on Irving. I am still waiting for it.
Still, it's an improvement though. I guess we should be happy with whatever we can get.
... and deserverdly so, sam. anyway, it wasn't a terrible review, a bit dull, a touch absurd with the CONSTANT comparisons to slanted door (when she eats chicken or caesar salad at a cal-cuisine place, does she compare each and every bite to Zuni??) the reader already knows about THOSE places. we're reading about THIS place now. stay focused, meredith!
this made me larf: "gauzy saffron hangings in the window, that were contrasted with sandstone friezes that looked more Indian to me than Vietnamese." what the hell does meredith brody know about friezes, be they indian or vietnamese or babylonian?
this made me larf: "gauzy saffron hangings in the window, that were contrasted with sandstone friezes that looked more Indian to me than Vietnamese." what the hell does meredith brody know about friezes, be they indian or vietnamese or babylonian?
# posted by 
: 1:21 PM
: 1:21 PM
Eric: you are right that, to this date, her "full reviews" for ethnic places only include upscale places (Kiss sushi or Bong Su). But it's still a progress, a step in the right direction.
Winky: she compares it to what she knows. As they say, if your only tool is a slanted door hammer, every Vietnamese restaurant looks like a nail.
Winky: she compares it to what she knows. As they say, if your only tool is a slanted door hammer, every Vietnamese restaurant looks like a nail.
It may be that the only Vietnamese that Meredith knows is Slanted Door, but even so, I think Winky is justified in being annoyed here. It appears that the phrase "Slanted Door" or "The Door" is used 8 times over the course of her review. 8 times?! For a restaurant that's not even the subject of the review. Also, she mentions Slanted Door 4 times on each page, so the comparison is a major feature which permeates the entire review, rather than just occupying a small section of it.
I can certainly understand making some comparison to Slanted Door. Both restaurants present upscale Vietnamese food, and they are geographically close to each other, so they invite comparison. And some concise, intelligent discussion on the similarities and differences would be useful for diners who might be trying to choose between the two. But to structure the whole review around this is just a bit ridiculous.
I can certainly understand making some comparison to Slanted Door. Both restaurants present upscale Vietnamese food, and they are geographically close to each other, so they invite comparison. And some concise, intelligent discussion on the similarities and differences would be useful for diners who might be trying to choose between the two. But to structure the whole review around this is just a bit ridiculous.
Well, she writes "Slanted Door" so much, she probably needed another name, so that it wouldn't be so repetitive, and perhaps also to hide from the reader exactly how much discussion she devotes to a restaurant that isn't even the subject of the review.
But yes, you're right. :)
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But yes, you're right. :)
