I really enjoyed this piece. I certainly didn't agree with everything you said, but I was surprised to see you make the argument that TFL laundry deserves to be on the Chronicle's 100 best list apparently for no other reason than it's TFL, especially while admitting you haven't dined there recently. I have heard repeatedly it is not worth the visit anymore.
I have experienced a lot of Keller work in the last year which has been excellent. Just not TFL, however I also talk to people that have been to TFL recently quite a bit. The main argument of people I speak to complaining is the cost is super high for what you're getting or it's not innovative, but also most of those people are like the food is delicious and the service is great. No one has said, man this place is so bad it's not good anymore. I don't think any of the journalists really have either. They're all just like it's not blowing my mind like cutting edge place X etc... At that price point and experience you don't get entitled to mis-steps I think is the biggest issue. My argument about the list is this, I have zero doubts given these things that the Laundry belongs on a list that also includes lots of informal spaces with no formal service or that are just executing very basic things well. No matter how good that food is, it's tough to imagine it competes with a full service experience that is while maybe not achieving perfection, still aiming for it daily and doing things most restaurants don't even dream to try. It is of course possible that they've declined badly and that I am wrong and that's a risk I take by making this claim. I also make it in the vein of how I know how so many of these people think because I inhabit a very similar brain space and point of view and I really really find myself working hard to remind myself "Mike your critics lens is not the lens of casual diners and you need to think about it through that lens too". That all beings aid, your point remains, in a perfect world I would have gone there in the last year and I appreciate you for saying that.
Fair but also if you’re a critical diner or a person who dines out at the high level all the time you’ll expect a different standard. I mean you don’t like Alinea too for similar reasons. It does not mean these places aren’t great tho, just not what they once were.
It's laurel-resting and the inherent challenges with/disinterest in disrupting from an entrenched position. I disliked my last meal at Alinea precisely because I remember how good it was once upon a time...lacking a time machine, a similar experience with Keller seems out of reach. My standards may be relatively higher based on my dining experiences, but Per Se was still the worst *** I've experienced.
"The Laundry and Per Se are in high demand ... [i]f the Laundry is as bad as depicted in these reviews, eventually people would stop paying the high freight of entry."
How much of that demand is repeat business vs. first time, touristic business? If the former was 20% of the whole, I'd be surprised. And, if half of that was discerning diners vs. status seeking/style over substance types, I'd be amazed. My first meal at Per Se was my last in the Keller empire. The food was shockingly unmemorable and the cost astronomic. Had those critical reviews hit a few years earlier, it might have saved me a fortune.
The place has been open for over 20 years, without a doubt there are returning customers. I’ve never been to any Keller restaurant and I would love to go someday, and as much as I would like to disagree with you, you’re right. I’d hate to pay a crazy price for a meal that doesn’t deliver. But what’s going on? Are these places really losing their touch or have we started to see past the smoke and mirrors?
Yes, I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt and suggesting that maybe 1 in every 5 customers is a repeat, but I'd be absolutely shocked if more than 1 in every 10 was somebody who is actually going back because the food was worth the cost (as opposed to trying to impress their guests or being oblivious to alternative options). As for what's going on, see my above response to Michael regarding resting on laurels and lack of motivation to innovate.
"Critic as celebrity / social media personality," the unnecessary introduction of identity politics, and the need for "hot takes" have mostly killed food writing. The Chronicle's food writer makes social media videos featuring herself, has 2 last names, and didn't put TFL in the Top 100 list. I believe you Americans say "that's a bingo." But sometimes my reductive shorthand yields incorrect conclusions-- so I read her piece on Keller and TFL to test my hypothesis and I am pleased to report that my internal compass is working just fine.
Man, I have so many thoughts on this one, so I'll just stick with one. Critics & criticism aside, hijacking someone's night out is uncalled for. Hijacking a newspaper critic's night out and then not expecting them to write about it is either disingenuous or shows complete ignorance of how newspapers & writers function.
Wonderful piece, and you somehow many me nostalgic for grainy, decades old book jacket cover photos restaurants in the '90s used to keep trying to spot Bill Grimes...
Mike, pieces like this is why you have my subscription for life. It is a thoughtful reflection on the entire system and your role in it that most people don’t readily share. Bravo. You have given your readers a new way to think about food critics and their role in the restaurant ecosystem
I really enjoyed this piece. I certainly didn't agree with everything you said, but I was surprised to see you make the argument that TFL laundry deserves to be on the Chronicle's 100 best list apparently for no other reason than it's TFL, especially while admitting you haven't dined there recently. I have heard repeatedly it is not worth the visit anymore.
I have experienced a lot of Keller work in the last year which has been excellent. Just not TFL, however I also talk to people that have been to TFL recently quite a bit. The main argument of people I speak to complaining is the cost is super high for what you're getting or it's not innovative, but also most of those people are like the food is delicious and the service is great. No one has said, man this place is so bad it's not good anymore. I don't think any of the journalists really have either. They're all just like it's not blowing my mind like cutting edge place X etc... At that price point and experience you don't get entitled to mis-steps I think is the biggest issue. My argument about the list is this, I have zero doubts given these things that the Laundry belongs on a list that also includes lots of informal spaces with no formal service or that are just executing very basic things well. No matter how good that food is, it's tough to imagine it competes with a full service experience that is while maybe not achieving perfection, still aiming for it daily and doing things most restaurants don't even dream to try. It is of course possible that they've declined badly and that I am wrong and that's a risk I take by making this claim. I also make it in the vein of how I know how so many of these people think because I inhabit a very similar brain space and point of view and I really really find myself working hard to remind myself "Mike your critics lens is not the lens of casual diners and you need to think about it through that lens too". That all beings aid, your point remains, in a perfect world I would have gone there in the last year and I appreciate you for saying that.
Fair but also if you’re a critical diner or a person who dines out at the high level all the time you’ll expect a different standard. I mean you don’t like Alinea too for similar reasons. It does not mean these places aren’t great tho, just not what they once were.
It's laurel-resting and the inherent challenges with/disinterest in disrupting from an entrenched position. I disliked my last meal at Alinea precisely because I remember how good it was once upon a time...lacking a time machine, a similar experience with Keller seems out of reach. My standards may be relatively higher based on my dining experiences, but Per Se was still the worst *** I've experienced.
Francescana was like that for me for sure.
"The Laundry and Per Se are in high demand ... [i]f the Laundry is as bad as depicted in these reviews, eventually people would stop paying the high freight of entry."
How much of that demand is repeat business vs. first time, touristic business? If the former was 20% of the whole, I'd be surprised. And, if half of that was discerning diners vs. status seeking/style over substance types, I'd be amazed. My first meal at Per Se was my last in the Keller empire. The food was shockingly unmemorable and the cost astronomic. Had those critical reviews hit a few years earlier, it might have saved me a fortune.
The place has been open for over 20 years, without a doubt there are returning customers. I’ve never been to any Keller restaurant and I would love to go someday, and as much as I would like to disagree with you, you’re right. I’d hate to pay a crazy price for a meal that doesn’t deliver. But what’s going on? Are these places really losing their touch or have we started to see past the smoke and mirrors?
Yes, I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt and suggesting that maybe 1 in every 5 customers is a repeat, but I'd be absolutely shocked if more than 1 in every 10 was somebody who is actually going back because the food was worth the cost (as opposed to trying to impress their guests or being oblivious to alternative options). As for what's going on, see my above response to Michael regarding resting on laurels and lack of motivation to innovate.
"Critic as celebrity / social media personality," the unnecessary introduction of identity politics, and the need for "hot takes" have mostly killed food writing. The Chronicle's food writer makes social media videos featuring herself, has 2 last names, and didn't put TFL in the Top 100 list. I believe you Americans say "that's a bingo." But sometimes my reductive shorthand yields incorrect conclusions-- so I read her piece on Keller and TFL to test my hypothesis and I am pleased to report that my internal compass is working just fine.
Man, I have so many thoughts on this one, so I'll just stick with one. Critics & criticism aside, hijacking someone's night out is uncalled for. Hijacking a newspaper critic's night out and then not expecting them to write about it is either disingenuous or shows complete ignorance of how newspapers & writers function.
She could have walked away at any time.
Wonderful piece, and you somehow many me nostalgic for grainy, decades old book jacket cover photos restaurants in the '90s used to keep trying to spot Bill Grimes...
Mike, pieces like this is why you have my subscription for life. It is a thoughtful reflection on the entire system and your role in it that most people don’t readily share. Bravo. You have given your readers a new way to think about food critics and their role in the restaurant ecosystem
So kind. Thank you. I'm so glad you're here.
This is a nice insightful piece.