An Homage to Fromage

Hey! Look, mom! I'm in the March issue of Indianapolis Monthly writing about cheese. (I think I'm the livestock go-to girl over there.) I spent a good deal of the Christmas break running around to meet with some of Indiana's top cheesemakers, tramping through pastures, and looking at milking parlours -- and it's scary looking equipment -- up close! (Hey, I grew up around cows you *eat* not cows you drink from. It's all new to me.) It was, of course, pretty fun to write about the incredible people who know how to translate milk into creamy, aged goodness. You all can read the articles for yourself (better yet, buy your own copy), but at the very least, I thought I'd share a few things I learned along the way. (Look for a few notes this week that didn't make it into print on Fair Oaks Farms, Trader's Point Creamery, Capriole, and Swiss Connection.)

Crabby Tidbits -- and Symon Wins!

SF Bay Spill Cancels Crab Season: SF Bay foodies were starting to get excited last week with the impending opening of the Dungeness crab season schedule for this Thursday. By all reports it was going to be a banner year. But an oil spill from a tanker that hit the bay bridge last week got in the way. Commercial crabbers from San Francisco, Half Moon Bay and Bodega Bay met at the Crab Boat Owners Association's headquarters in San Francisco over the weekend and voted to delay crab season indefinitely. Fisherman also voted to cancel the sport fishing season which had opened on Nov 3. SF Chron reported over the weekend and a friend sent news of the vote.

More from Cory, I mean, the Star: I would normally make a note about some of the coming establishments from Jeff Swiatek's story on downtown restaurants in the Monday Star, however, everything he covers is something Cory Schouten over at Property Lines has already reported. Cory scoops all of us on a regular basis when it comes to eateries, but in this case, he seems to have become the source. At least, the Star doesn't note anyone else they've talked to who's provided the information. Ahh, attribution. It's clearly different today in a tightly budgeted news corporation than it was when I was in J-school. (We actually had to get original sources on everything and, you know, quote them and stuff.) Sure, there's a difference between column and straight reporting, and between blogging and news. (And certainly, blogging tends to run more like a column with a hefty dose of opinion in most cases, but most of us like to verify information and give credit where credit is due.) Swiatek's article is straight business reporting which makes it a bit jarring when sources aren't cited and shortcuts are taken. Since he hasn't cited developers, restaurant corporations, or lease-holders as sources for these restaurant confirmations, nor has he included any new or different information, I can only assume the info came from Cory's blog.

The Next Iron Chef: Congratulations to Cleveland's Chef Micheal Symon of Lola fame who will be the next Iron Chef! While I love Besh's work, I think it was pretty obvious in the last few episodes -- and last night's finale -- that Symon was cooking in a clearly different style which would help separate him from his fellow Iron Chefs and challengers. Symon has gained a terrific following in the past few years with the help of writers like Micheal Ruhlman and I'm glad to see him rewarded. His no-nonsense style and frank accounts of the difficulty of the restaurant business have been refreshing in today's world of over-romanticized celebrity chefs. Nice work, Chef Symon. We all look forward to seeing you compete! (Word has it Symon will fill the clogs of Mario Batali.) Read more at Symon Says.

Meat: What I Learned

It's the beginning of October which means I can finally say "Hey, check out this month's issue of Indianapolis Monthly to see what I did all summer." Yes, writing about meat was how I spent my summer vacation. With a few road trips, lots of drafts, and some cute pictures of cows, this was my summer of beef. (Looks like an excerpt is online.)

Earlier this spring and summer, I had a chance to visit some of Indiana's best butchers, beef and pork producers, and processors and reconnect with meat from beginning to end -- or hoof to plate, if you will. I grew up in Oklahoma cattle country and I'm not kidding when I say school, 4-H club, and all manner of other groups took us on field trips to feedlots, feed mills, and our local Swift meat packing plant. It was never a mystery. I knew exactly where that side of beef in our freezer came from and how it got there.

But today, the business of beef is a lot more complicated. We have so many more choices. Butcher shops versus grocery store meat counters versus cases of pre-packaged branded meat in a case. Corn-finished or 100% grass fed. All natural, hormone-free, antibiotic-free, organic, local -- so many options! In addition, few people really understand all the other factors that go into making your steak taste great. Fat content, marbling, cut, and aging -- all are just as important. As consumers, we know so much more than we used to about what we're eating, but in that knowledge, there's so much more confusion. There are no easy answers and the best you can do is decided what's right for you and your family. It was terrific to visit some top producers and butchers, but only a tenth of what I learned actually made it into that article.

Now that you've read it, what can I saw I learned in my summer of meat?

* Trust your eyes: We did an 8-way steak taste-off comparing as best we could the same cuts trimmed to roughly the same size. Karl Benko at Peterson's gave us an afternoon of his time, lending his expertise to make them as equal as possible. Our panel of foodies and steak eaters tasted them in pairs, blind, and scored each steak on a 100-point scale. The surprising winner was the USDA Choice Sutton and Dodge pre-packaged steak from SuperTarget. And you know what? It was a great looking steak before it hit the grill! When our panel looked at all the steaks (with their labels) before cooking, we were all amazed. The meat was a great, deep, rich color of red, had plentiful and even fat marbled throughout, was well trimmed, and had an even grain. Lots of other steaks did, too, but we all noted after the surprising results that the top ranked steak had looked great right out of the package.

* Pre-pack can be OK: Call this Trust your Eyes, Pt II. If it looks great in the store, chances are it will be a pretty good steak. What I really learned is that we can't just write off pre-packaged meat. I interviewed a top meat merchandiser with 30 years of national chain grocery experience who reminded me that the state-of-the-art facilities that process and package much of the pre-packaged, ready to cook meat you find at some (better) stores run an ultra-clean environments. Of course, the downside to that is that these pre-pack facilities source so much meat to such large areas, that when there's a problem, it's a big, multi-state, huge recall of a problem. Bottom line: pre-pack isn't necessarily better, but you can't rule it out either. Trust your eyes.

*Butchers can make your life a lot easier: We have some terrific butchers in town. And their aim? To educate you. They want to get an amazing steak (or pork chop or chicken) in your hands and help you cook it. They want your family or guests or whoever to say to you "this is so good!" What's the best way you can succeed especially if you're not an experienced cooker of meat? Tell them what you're doing or what you need. At Kinkaid's, the first question they ask you when you call is "what are you making." And Joe Lazzara at Joe's Butcher Shop in Carmel can -- I'm sure quite literally -- get you *anything*. (Plus, he's become the best go-to guy on fish.) The last thing any of these guys want is for you to make an expensive mistake. They want you to shine -- impress the boss or the girlfriend's parents or whatever. 'Cause they want you to come back.

*When in doubt, ask: Over the summer, I overheard a woman lamenting an agonizing choice in front of a farmer's market stand. "I can never decide what's the best thing to do. Should I buy organic? Or local?" The answer is "ask". If she'd bothered to ask the farmer standing right in front of her, she would have found that he follows organic farming techniques, doesn't use pesticides, and in fact, just hasn't gone through the time and expense of getting a formal organic certification. Often local *is* organic -- and when it comes to meat, it's often *better* than organic. At least one producer I talked to has opted against USDA organic certification for their beef and pork even though their land and program is fully compliant. The reason? There are still certain medications allowable for organic meat that many producers feel shouldn't be allowed at all. And in talking with other food writers and authors, producers who choose to remain uncertified is a national trend. So, what to do? Ask. Ask your producer, ask your grower, ask the farmer. And you'll often find the "local versus organic" issue isn't one at all.

*Farmers -- 2nd Career, Smart, Professionals: This one may seem obvious, but it's worth pointing out especially since (in my opinion) at least one author who wrote a bestselling book last year went out of his way to portray farmers as dumb hicks driving tractors and stupidly raising cows pumped full of chemicals with no regard to the finished product. What I found was very different. Whether it's at the high end, large scale corporate farming level or the smaller producer raising 100% grass fed or all natural corn finished cattle, at every turn I was reminded that these agriculture professionals are a sharp, intelligent, and well-read breed of business owners. Farming is a tough business and these people have done their homework -- especially those who have chosen to come back into agriculture as a second career. (Rebekkah Fielder's successful first career? Commodities trader in NYC. Dave Fischer? Software developer in Europe.) And again, in talking with writers and authors across the country, everyone's noted it's a trend -- and one Indiana is right in the middle of. Smart, talented professionals are moving home to family farms around the US, and looking at ways to address issues of sustainability, production, and product. In Dave Fischer's case, he looked at the best use of the land and also at the trend for high quality, all natural beef. Jim and Rebekkah Fiedler made some of the same decisions -- but focusing on heritage breed pigs and grass feeding. Both have made the choices that antibiotic and hormone free beef production is the way to go.

*It's a small world: A huge shout out to Christine Barbour for her help and support. It was a year ago, at the Slow Foods Bloomington potluck, that I first met Jim and Rebekkah Fielder in Christine's kitchen. (Rebekkah and I are from the same part of Western Oklahoma and know people in common.) The Fiedlers and Christine introduced me to Dave Fischer (whose beef you can eat at The Oceaniare, Elements, and Restaurant Tallent in Bloomington). Dave introduced me to the Sander Processing folks (who also do the Fiedler's beef.) Thanks to all the great butchers and meat cutters I met and interviewed as well as all the guys who patiently let me stand out of the way on killing floors of processing facilities.

There really is something pretty elemental and special about seeing your food up close. And I remain impressed by the dedicated folks who do this for a living. Plus, I ate some pretty darn good meat along the way.

Achatz, Letters, and Cookbooks

Grant Achatz Update: Ruhlman has an update on the latest cancer treatment. So far, so good.

Letters, We've Got Letters: A big shoutout to the Wine Canine for his letter in this week's IBJ pointing out the flaw in the victory for Indiana wine drinkers -- the bottle limit clause. Last month, a judge struck down two of the three sections of Indiana's wine shipping law allowing out of state wineries that are properly licensed to ship to Indiana wine consumers. But as Mark points out, it's not perfect. Some of you will need to watch out for that 24 case (216 liters) limit. Wineries will be.

Comedy Club for Sale: Just in case, you know, you're in the market for a large space with a stage suitable for music venues with a bar and grill next door. If so, you could be in luck. IBJ reports One-Liners on the south side is for sale.

A Glimpse Into Cookbooks: Many of you who know me personally know that professionally I've been in the cookbook industry for a long time. And like all editors and publishers, I'm always interested in what works. We know what doesn't, that's for sure. For a rare glimpse into how cookbook editors decide what you will find in stores (based soley on what's sold in the past and what they think bookstore gatekeepers will let you have a crack at), Publisher's Weekly has an article on what's working and where editors think the market might be headed next. These days, I get a lot of questions about whether a particular cookbook would be a success. The sad answer is usually "No." From PW:

Despite Tony Bourdain's smash success Kitchen Confidential, food memoir remains a tough sell. Editors struggle to get attention for their authors if they don't have their own TV shows. And readers want cookbooks with color photos, yet aren't willing to pay higher prices. On the upside, cookbooks focusing on locally grown and organic foods no longer appeal strictly to high-end readers. Chef cookbooks are out, simplicity is in. And there's still room for upmarket books that don't promise dinner in 30 minutes.

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.

Biting Commentary?

Reader and pal David Z. pointed us to a piece in Sunday's NY Times about food bloggers who provide pointed criticism, news tidbits, and a fair amount of snark -- and how refreshing it is. (Don't even start that I didn't get through the Sunday NY Times. I have a life.)

According to their article titled Sharp Bites:

There is a new food game in the city that never stops grazing. A proliferation of blogs treating every menu revision, construction permit, clash of egos and suspiciously easy-to-get reservation as high drama is changing the rules of the restaurant world and forcing everyone from owners to chefs to publicists to get used to the added scrutiny.

Diners hungry for the next, the newest, the best, and with no patience to wait for the annual Zagat Guide, are benefiting.

Unlike an earlier wave of food blogs focused on home cooking, recipes and basic restaurant recommendations, the new breed is gossipy and competitive; it trafficks in pointed restaurant criticism and tidbits of news — Craftsteak has installed a new stove! Emmerite beans have been added to the menu at Tasting Room! — and is unsettling the ground of the restaurant industry.

Check out the article for links to lots of fun blogs and more info on Adam Roberts, one of my favorite bloggers at Amateur Gourmet, and some of his new projects. Those frustrated by the "no negative reviews" policies at our local news weeklies in town will appreciate that his blogging started after a thrash on eGullet when he posted a negative review. Of course, not everyone is happy. At least one chef in the article believes bloggers can be hurtful reviewing a restaurant on a short stay or mere 30 minutes of service. But guess what, many of your customers are judging you on exactly the same thing! If they can't get in, if your hostesses throw attitude, or if they just are turned off by the food or atmosphere, they're not going to come back -- and you're never going to know why! (Worse, they will tell their friends.) Newer foodies can be intimidated and many of them aren't as assertive or willing to point out when something isn't working. New York restaurants have been trading on that assumption for years. Certainly, one has to know what one is talking about in order to make some critical assessments, but readers appreciate a view that's willing to point out the good and the bad.

Indianapolis isn't quite on Zagat's radar screen, but that doesn't mean we don't have our fair share of foodies who want to know the latest on who's who and what's what in town. (So far there are about 250 a day who read this particular blog.) Contrary to what they may say in New York, I don't think getting foodies more involved in restaurants, food, and chef gossip is "unsettling the ground of the restaurant industry". If anything, having patrons more interested in what's going on, menu changes, news, gossip, and even snark keeps them coming in -- and seeing if they disagree. Indy may be lacking in the sheer number of great restaurants, but we're not behind the times when it comes to food blogging. Snark on!

How to be a Great Guest

The holiday season is coming -- and along with decorations, Christmas presents, Jewish holidays, and family everywhere come the ubiquitous party invitations. In an effort to not sound like Miss Manners (whose rigidity and unhelpful answers often make me want to hurl -- or hurl things at her), I have noticed that sometimes the finer points of being a guest are lost on people. Some people, certainly not just Hoosiers, seem to have lost a bit of perspective when it comes to attending holiday soirees whether a full-blown dinner or a casual get together. Hosting can be hard work and for many of you who've thrown a party, you sometimes know that feeling that it wasn't worth it. A good guest should never make the host (directly or indirectly) feel that having people over was a wasted effort, no matter if the food is pate de foie gras or cheese in a can. But sometimes, we get a lot of invitations and sometimes, in an effort to pick-and-choose, we risk being rude. In an effort to make you look like a holiday party star this year, here are some reminders:

1) RSVP. Always try to RSVP if you can. It's very helpful to know roughly how many people are coming. If you have a last minute change in plans and can attend or have to cancel, your hostess will be very polite about it. (These numbers tend to even out.) But you should try to at least Respond, Sil Vous Plait!

2) Be polite about guests. Let your host or hostess know if you're bringing a guest (especially if you're usually a single) or coming alone if you're part of a couple. (Sometimes we hostesses know people who haven't met each other, she said with a sly wink.) The invitation to bring a guest is usually implied, but it's nice to let party-givers know how many are coming -- especially if it's a smaller party. It's critical for dinners. Additionally, one guest invitation does not imply many and it's rude to show up with an entourage, unannounced, even if you're a rap star. Make that extra call ahead to make sure it's OK if you bring a few extra people.

3) Never arrive empty handed. Yes, Miss Manners would say, the host has invited you and doesn't expect you to bring anything, and I would say they're probably not going to notice or care (unless they were counting on guests to bring, say, wine). However, if you aren't expected to bringing anything else but yourself and possibly a guest, you should bring something for the host or hostess. It doesn't have to be wine, and in fact, in Europe flowers are the norm. Sometimes I bring other small tidbits like mulling spices or dried lavender (from the farmer's market in the summer). Be creative! Bring a candle, chocolate, tea in a fancy jar, an ornament for their tree, or something you made yourself. It doesn't have to be expensive, just something you think your hostess would enjoy. It's not payment for the party; it's a thank for hosting.

4) Respect the dress code. Yes, I know that many people embrace a "casual lifestyle" because they hate dressing up. But the way you dress shows respect to your host or hostess, the other guests and yourself. Dress for many holiday parties is filed under the catchall "holiday attire" which usually means anything from jeans with nice blazers over them (for men on the casual end) to little black dresses for women (on the more dressy end). (You'd could put a cashmere blazer over a tree stump and I'd find it appealing but that's another post.) You can always add a little holiday spice to an outfit. It doesn't have to be the Santa Clause tie or the sparkly Christmas sweater (although it that's your kind of thing then this is the certainly the time to wear it.) Hot? A sprig of mistletoe in the lapel.

5) Unless noted in the invitation, kids are usually not on the menu. Here's one RSVP I received the other day for an upcoming holiday party I'm hosting myself. The invitations were very heavy card stock printed invitations sent by mail. Guests were asked to RSVP by email or phone. "It doesn't look like your party is very kid friendly so we can't come." You're right, it's not kid friendly. There will be a lot of adults there having adult conversations and drinking wine in a home that is decidely not kid friendly. I'm fairly sure your six year-old will not enjoy the foie gras terrine or the Stilton with port wine and black pepper syrup. Get a sitter or don't come, but please do not try to make me feel guilty because I'm throwing a party where you can't bring your children. Adults go to adult parties. See also, Never Be Rude.

6) What you see is what you get. I'm just a big a believer in hosts being polite and that includes having non-alcoholic and vegetarian options for guests. However, many a vegetarian has found themselves surveying a buffet table where every dish includes some kind of meat or seafood. (A Jewish friend of mine was once stuck at an "all-bacon" affair that the host thought a clever idea.) However, part of being a guest sometimes means putting up with inept hosts. While a very polite simple inquiry "did I miss any non-meat dishes?" is fine, complaining is not. Sadly standing with an empty plate is rude, and for goodness sake, rummaging in the hosts cupboards is not OK. (I once had a guest come out of my kitchen with a can of hot chocolate mix and ask "Can I have some of this?" He'd just opened a cabinet and found it.) Many hosts provide bottled water and sodas these days as people like to drink a bit less. Politely ask where any non-alcoholic options are without making an issue of it. See also, Never Be Rude.

7) Never be rude. Being an impolite guest is one of the worst things you can do. You can show up empty handed with extra guests in tow, but if you're rude or disrespectful to the host or hostess, it overshadows everything. Well, I'm never rude, you say. I mind my manners! Well, I'm sure you do. But here's a reminder anyway: Don't get drunk -- or at least, don't get obviously, falling down, everyone-knows-you-can't-drive-home drunk. This forces someone to have to deal with you and/or worry about you when you leave. Don't insult other guests. This includes interfering with warring couples, insulting people, or (and I'm not kidding) getting involved in an altercation. (I've seen punches thrown in very fancy mansions in Carmel.) Don't arrive then leave early unless you have a very polite reason (real or manufactured) including emergency, another affair, or child-care. And just try to at least act like you're having a good time. If you're not, then invent a very nice, polite excuse, and go drink at your favorite bar. Don't create something your host or hostess will have to deal with that will take away from them enjoying your company and their own party. And never make the host or hostess feel like they threw a bad party.

Many of these are common sense rules -- and I'll most likely provide lots of tips for successful hosting this year as well. Hosting parties is hard work! (Sometimes as hard as going to them all.) And happy, polite guests can make it all worth it.

Duke's Mixture

A few weeks ago, a wonderful Oklahoma friend and college pal used the phrase "Duke's mixture" on his blog. Even though I had completely forgotten the phrase existed, it brought back my mother with the power of memory I didn't think possible. How had I completely forgotten the phrase she used to use all the time -- especially when it came to cooking?
Anything she improvised she called "a Duke's mixture." As I grew up, it increasingly was used to refer to leftovers or things she'd made up from scratch like turkey salad from the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers and whatever mayo, mustard or pickles she had on hand. One amateur Internet word sleuth tracks the phrase from the thirties and says while it was originally a brand of tobacco, it came to denote an elaborate mixture, something more than just average. But for my mother, it was any conglomeration. When she tampered with recipe spicing or combined leftover vegetables from the fridge, it was always "just a Duke's mixture."

Reading that one phrase I'd completely forgotten it was like an entire roomful of memories was unlocked. I felt like someone who'd been shown a photo album they didn't know existed. And for as long as I live, I'll cherish the image of my mom, in the kitchen, in an apron, stirring something on the stove -- and calling it a Duke's mixture.

Growing up, we often make an effort to avoid words, phrases or affectations our parents use. (Until, of course, the day we find ourselves using one as we slowly turn into our parents.) But in this case, I think I'll start using Duke's mixture in my own kitchen every chance I get. I'm not really the maternal type, but if I was, I'd be proud to tell my own daughter that it was something her grandmother used to say all the time. And while I'm standing in front of the stove stirring something, probably leftovers from the refrigerator, I'll hope that she takes it along for her cooking, too.

Tidbits Tidbits

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Rethinking Chain Restaurants

The other day, I was joining in the foodie game we all play: Speculation. This particular game had to do with what would replace the venerable northside Keystone Grill, calling it quits after at least 8 years in business. (They may have been around for longer, I can't remember.) Of course, the conversation turned to chains.

I'm no stranger to the I-hate-chains bandwagon. Not only am I the first one on, I'm usually serving the hot chocolate. I'm the one at the head of the line for razor blades and a hot bath every time the chain-laden Nuvo "Best of Indy" list hits the stands. I've said it all, loudly: Chains serve corporate cookie cutter food! They're the scourge of the Northside! I've been equally harsh whether it was Fleming's or Maggiano's, Red Lobster or On the Border. They all are labeled "non-local/non-independent" in my book. It's no secret that Indianapolis is one of the top two test markets in the United States for new chain restaurant concepts. But recently, over a disppointing meal at a new, local independent, it occurred to me that we were sitting there trying to *justify* a sub-par meal and service only because it was an independent. While my friend and I lamented how our choices are dwindling, it began to dawn on me that we foodies can't have it both ways. We can't support only independents *and* always support the best food.

Don't get me wrong. There are many, many spectacular independent restaurants in Indianapolis doing a consistently amazing -- and profitable -- business. They will always be my first choice when it comes to spending my dining dollar. But, we have to recognize that there are also some fine chains -- like Oceanaire -- doing first rate food. When we start to recognize a few chains doing good work, we foodies find we've painted ourselves into a corner by only eating at independents. Do we skip Ruth's Chris in favor of a sub-par local steakhouse with bad service? Do we only patronize independent lunch places and talk ourselves into being happy with food we'd send back at P.F. Chang's? Do we lower our standards because we feel some obligation to independents (even if they're not able to step up)? Is it fair we set the bar impossibly high for a corporate operation where the chef follows a well-tested, pre-planned corporate menu book? And if so, how come Puck's gets a pass and Bravo! Doesn't? (One could argue that Puck's doesn't even *need* a name chef to execute their corporate menu.)

As foodies, we should love excellence in any form. We can't discount great food just because it happens to be well-funded and backed by a corporate entity. In some cases, we should even appreciate that the stronger financial backing and corporate leadership may allow more flexibility for those restauranteurs who want to cater to both foodies *and* a larger market.

Take, for example, P.F. Chang's recent opening of Taneko Japanese Tavern, their first restaurant testing the popular Japanese izakaya concept in the US. In Japan, izakayas are the hugely popular haunts of salarymen serving sakes, shochu, and small plates of food. Chang's has opened the first location in Scottsdale with well-designed space, well-thought out food, and a sake list that will help introduce America to the fine rice wine that many will come to love (and that many will learn is never served hot.) It's very likely the restaurant will have a better chance of success with a large staff of experts, marketers, and recipe developers focusing on their test market. Remember Scottsdale is one of the only bigger test markets for chain concepts than Indianapolis. Hopefully, we'll be next for Taneko. (Fans who've been singing the praises of the new chain location of Barcelona Tapas due to expand here next year will start having the same twinges of conflict right now.)

Maybe we should give ourselves a chance to re-think chains and not just because they have a cool concept or they look pretty. Whether chain or not, a restaurant should put out fantastic food with excellent service. Maybe, just maybe, we should expand our thinking a bit and remember that we can't have it both ways. We can't ask for the best, then reward sub-par independents with kudos, recommendations, and reviews. Excellence should be rewarded with our business no matter who the corporate backers. You probably won't see me at a any more chains than before. I'm not endorsing the Tyler Florence Applebee's promotion, but you might find me serving a little less enthusiastic hot chocolate on the foodie chain-slamming bandwagon. I hope we see a Taneko in Indianapolis, and if the food is great, the service delivers and it's a great space, I'll probably be a regular.

Chain food is never going to be able to top the creative and innovative work of chefs like Steven Oakley or Dave Tallent. Most foodies will agree that the highest degree of excellence will always come from highly trained chefs handcrafting amazing food every day. But the pressure is on. If you've been cooking the same thing for years, it's time to stop complaining about all the chains affecting your business and compete. If you're not excelling in every way, don't complain when your business falters and blame "all those chains". We diners expect the best and shouldn't have to feel guilty over demanding it. I'm still not going to be a chain regular, but I'm not going to be as quick to rule them out. But don't worry. I still don't think there's much in the Nuvo "Best of" list that I'll be giving a pass. I've already put the toaster oven next to the bathtub.