Grant Achatz Battles Cancer

Yesterday, news began hitting major outlets that Grant Achatz of Alinea in Chicago has cancer (mouth and tongue). His release is here (via Bruni at the NYT):

“I wanted to personally report that I have been very recently diagnosed with an advanced stage of squamous cell carcinoma of the mouth. I have consulted several prominent physicians and will likely begin aggressive treatment within the next few weeks. I remain, and will remain, actively and optimistically engaged in operations at Alinea to the largest extent possible. Alinea will continue to perform at the level people have come to expect from us — I insist on that. I have received amazing support from friends, family, and everyone who has thus far been told of the disease, and I look forward to a full, cancer-free, recovery.”

All Around the Blogosphere (or Day of Miscellaney)

Lots going on in the food blog world outside Indianapolis. Here are a few posts and issues of interest to local foodies (or, hey, just me) as we usher in a beautiful summer!

And Make it Snappy: Over at Frank Bruni's blog (Diner's Journal at the NY Times) Marian Burros has a lovely tribute to one of my favorite summer vegetables -- asparagus. Ms. Burros and I see eye-to-eye on cooking this odd looking summer treat which is *just barely*. In my steamer, it needs less than 1 minute to turn bright green and have a crunchy, sweet quality that screams fresh. Perfectly cooked asparagus makes you remember why it's OK to eat it with your fingers. Yum!

Defending the Midwestern Palate: I meant to post about this at the time but was looking for a suitable local tie-in. It never came up, but I know enough people here enjoy ethnic and cutting edge cuisines to appreciate Michael Bauer's post (from his Between Meals blog at SF Gate) and comments. Is there a "midwestern" palate? Whether or not Bauer believes it exists, I'd wager some local chefs believe it. I've often heard local chefs can't serve food as they'd like as they either have to limit spice or unusual ingredients. However, in tasting and judging for competitions like Dine magazine's "Best of", I've also noticed that many chefs aren't afraid of spice and flavor (although they don't always get it right) while others have no idea of the concept. (I was so depressed after we tasted so many bland chicken salads, I didn't even want to post about it.)

Do chefs in Indianapolis feel limited by what dishes they can create based on the spices, flavors, and ingredients their diners will eat? Is there a difference between cooking for your clientele (what sells) versus what your more educated customers believe really tastes good (palate?) Do even our best chefs (like Oakley, Brown, Hardesty, and Benko) have to place limitations on themselves? Is there a midwestern palate?

Ranking Ice Cream Makers: OK, *if* I was going to get another kitchen gadget (and believe me, I don't need one) it would be an ice cream maker! I've had a hankering for a long time to be able to whip up housemade sorbets and trendy ice creams to add an even more elaborate and geeky touch to desserts and dinner parties. But lately, I confess to having peeked at a couple just to get a feeling for how price, size, and capacity are related. (They're not all your mother's wooden tub with the electric motor requiring tons of ice and ice cream salt anymore, thank goodness.) And wouldn't you know it, Slate has beaten me to it with a handy review of 7 models from the low-end Rival Treat Shop ($25 at Target) to the $600 Musso. My choice? The $50 Cuisineart seems like a nice middle-of-the-road solution. You know, *if* I were to decide I could make room for one more appliance. Well, I do have a birthday coming up. (Hint, hint)

Evil or Useful? The Reign of Food Blogs: Adam at Amateur Gourmet has a book coming and early press is focusing on the phenomenon of food blogs and how restaurants react to them. ABC News has the latest article on where food blogs fit increasingly in more prominent roles. Bloggers quoted in the article make some great points (which we've often discussed here): Foodies make their own choices about the critics or bloggers they listen to. If they think you know something they'll listen. If they think you're full of it, they won't. Every blogger is a customer. A food blogger just happens to be a customer with a wider reach and an ability to share their experience. Of course, if you have customers who have a negative experience who *don't* have a blog, don't fool yourself for a second. They're still sharing it with friends.

As for Mario Batali's anti-food blog approach? It's not surprising given Batali's attitude in Bil Buford's book Heat. At one point as Buford interviewed Batali, Mario was stressed due to an upcoming review and negative word of mouth. The word of mouth he was so angry about? A regular (a writer and occasional food journalist) who had had a bad meal/experience and was telling people about it. "This is what happens with regulars," says Joe, Mario's business partner. "They all self-destruct. They expect too much. They forget it's a business. You can never make them happy. All regulars crash and burn." Buford goes on to describe how angry Joe was.

I am still mystified by this attitude (although I know at least one local chef who seems to share it.) Is Mario so driven by the formal review process and so controlling of Babbo's image that he is upset when a *regular* talks about a bad meal? He, dude, it was a *bad meal*. Any customer you have has a right to talk about it. Your regular has even more perspective on the situation. If it was bad enough that he felt compelled to share it, it must have been awful. (All regulars have occasionally off experiences and let them go in the big scheme of things.) I can only imaging how nuts Mario would go over a justifiably bad blog review like the one Adam gave to Le Cirque.

As a chef and owner, either you care about doing great work and serving your customers or you don't. Blogs just give more of your customers a voice. Via Kate at Accidential Hedonist (and her rebuttal.)

A Moment of Silence: Let's all observe a moment of silence today over our breakfast cereal for Pamela Low, the creator of the Cap'n Crunch cereal who died last week. Whether you love the distinctive taste or the unique scrape-the-top-of-your-mouth-off texture, Cap'n Crunch is one of the best of the sugary morning kids creations. Thank Low, who also worked on the flavors for Mounds and Almond Joy. (No word on whether she was responsible for the horrid crunchberries.)

New Books Coming: Ruhlman has a run down on quite a few new food and cooking books coming this summer. The only one I see missing is the new cookbook just out from Clotilde at Chocolate and Zucchini. If beautiful food and food writing is your thing, you'll like this one. And for a completely different take on one of the most difficult culinary schools in the country? Try this: The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry: Love, Laughter, and Tears at the World's Most Famous Cooking School . Maybe all those writers training up there now are starting to hit the market. (Accomplished CIA chefs across the country find themselves oddly twitching in their kitchens not knowing why.)

Clean Out the Refrigerator Stew

Organics, Slow Food, and Local Eating: The March 12 edition of TIME magazine covers eating local, what they call better than organic. (Thanks to Scott Hutcheson for the pointer.)

Fighting the Good Fight in Indiana Wine: Jeff, over at the The Good Grape, talks about the battle a state-wide group -- Vinsense -- faces in promoting open out-of-state wine shipping for all consumers. But they have a good start. Helping consumers get wine directly, with or without the help of distributors, is a topic we know he's passionate about. More at The Good Grape.

Food of the Week: OK, Trader Joe's, it's official. You are evil! You are evil for putting those dark chocolate covered pretzels out there for me to buy. They should be illegal. At least my hips think they should be illegal. Maybe my hips should be illegal.

The Issue with Steakhouses: Frank Bruni at the NY Times has the same issue with steakhouses that many of us do here. While they may be popular, very few do everything well. Considering that two of the three worst dining experiences I've had in the past week involve steakhouses, I can't say I disagree. Service, drinks, steak, seafood? What are the trade-offs? Bruni from Diner's Journal.

Austin City Limits: Christine over at My Plate or Yours is just back from Austin where I'd argue she ate even better than her recent trip to Paris! Chilequiles (red and green), refried beans, and ... wait for it ... Shiner Bock ice cream?!!!! (My eyes just rolled back in my head for a minute.)

Hey, Dad, Can I Borrow the Car? Ruhlman's done it now! He's given Tony Bourdain his own password to the blog ensuring all of us can benefit from Bourdain's crazy, wonderful, and always spot on rants. If you weren't reading Michael Ruhlman's blog before (what, are you crazy?), then make sure you add it to your list now. And while your at it, read Ruhlman's interview and commentary on Grant Achatz and his take on molecular gastronomy.

Give 'em an Inch and They Take a Mile: And last but not least, PETA is upset with Al Gore. They've taken a break from setting up their Upper West Side office in NYC for the upcoming NY foie gras fight to criticize the country's best known environmentalist. Their issue? If Gore *really* cared about the environment, he'd stop eating meat. Hey, PETA, bite me. I'll be the one wearing a mink coat with a fork-full of foie gras in my mouth.

Food News Round Up

Hey, kids -- other than a weekend road trip to Jungle Jim's, I've been buried in work. I hate it when that cuts into my eating time. Here are a few tidbits to tide you over until later in the week when the social calendar picks up a bit:

Red Sauce is In: Justin Timberlake may be bringing sexy back, but customers longing for simple comforting favorites are bringing red sauce back. From traditional Italian to upscale trendy, fresh and simple tomato sauces like marinara and pomodoro are back in style. Good -- and good for you! (From the Boston Globe)

Critics Being Sued? A recent defamation ruling against a food critic in an Irish court may have implications in the US. Have recent US court decisions eroded journalists protections to say how they really feel about a restaurant's food and service? Michael Bauer at the SF Chron weighs in on his blog.

The More the Merrier: Frank Bruni's blog, Diner's Journal, has now become a group blog featuring posts from several NY Times writers. Today, Marian Burros weighs in on her favorite French Italian restaurant -- all comfortably glowing in the winter. Look for the same great thoughts from Bruni including a post last week on how reasonable or unreasonable it is for restaurants to demand a credit card number from patrons and charge them for no-shows.

Cooking the French Laundry Cookbook: If you loved Julie and Julia, then you'll want to read the latest from French Laundry at Home, a blog by a woman cooking her way through the entire French Laundry Cookbook in her own kitchen. Complete with pictures and details, she just finished the cream of walnut soup! (via Megnut)

Zagat's Launches Discussion Boards: And from Slashfood, news that Zagat's (partnering with Yelp and Citysearch) has launched their own discussion boards. It's a smart move for the publisher of city-by-city restaurant reviews who doesn't review every restaurant in a city, can't publish books for smaller cities (like Indianapolis), and only updates their printed books each year. Right now the boards seem a bit more dominated by the Citysearch restaurant find feature than the very few discussion topics up and running. There are only local forums for NY, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

New Food Blogs

If you follow the New York or San Francisco food scenes at all, you'll appreciate these new blogs. Following the trend of journalists, magazines, and editors creating blogs, here are a few you might find fun to read.

NY Times Food Critic's blog, Diner's Journal. Frank Bruni gives us small tidbits on the New York scene. (For a great look at how the NY Times' critic actually work, make sure you pick up Ruth Reichl's Garlic and Sapphires about her tenure as food critic at the New York Times.) Bruni's blog is pretty interesting including his notes on how long it took (and how hard he had to try) to get reservations at Keller's Per Se.

New York Magazine's blog, Grub Street is the newest entry in the NY food scene.

Not the newest entry, but certainly one of the best, SF Chronicle food critic Michael Bauer's Between Meals is another great blog from the staff in San Francisco via SF Gate.