The Weekly Feed: Give Us Our Daily Rolls Edition
Much A-Dough About Nothing
Over the last two weeks, Todd Kliman's chatters have gotten riled up over CityZen's Parker House rolls. A chatter wrote in about his/her experience at CityZen a few months ago with pleasant servers and delicious food. But then he/she complained that his/her party of seven requested a second serving of the Parker House rolls. Apparently the server hesitated and seemed uncomfortable, but said he would check with the kitchen. The chatter said that they did not receive more bread or more information, and as such, the individual expressed that he/she felt ripped off, and had written a letter of complaint that was ignored. This prompted him/her to decide never to return and tell friends not to dine there.
Kliman responded that it was likely a "gift from the house" and not to be confused with the regular service. He agreed that this was not the way the diner should have been treated. He also assumed that the chatter was not a hard-core foodie - something that may or may not have been true.
In the past week's chat, Kliman attempted to explain the situation as he had learned from Eric Ziebold, the head chef at CityZen. But the issue was not clarified.
Deciding to get to the root of this issue, I spoke to Eric Ziebold, the chef at CityZen, to find out more about the infamous Parker House rolls. At the time of our call, he told me that he was still trying to get in touch with the guest to find out what happened and resolve the issues. According to him, they had not received a complaint letter that related the events.
According to Ziebold, the rolls are proofed and baked for each service (a process that takes 30-45 minutes)- eight boxes at a time or enough rolls for 16 people. It is the a la minute preparation that makes the rolls unique and superior. Ziebold explained that he would rather serve fewer rolls of higher quality than bake them ahead of time and have more that are just okay. A party of seven (which the chatter describes) would receive four small boxes or three large - enough rolls for eight people. So when a party of that size asks for a second round, it would clear out the supply for the other tables.
Photo by gingher
When the rolls are presented, guests are told that they are "a gift from the pastry chef." So it should been clear that they are special. This gives less credence to Kliman's comment that the situation was unclear, although the meaning of the phrase might be left up to interpretation. When a party does request more rolls, the servers will ask Chef Ziebold if there are enough to accommodate a second round.
It is very nervy to tell all your friends to not patronize a restaurant or go on a chat in an attempt to tarnish a restaurant's reputation. As Michael Landrum of Ray's the Steaks and Ray's the Classics pointed out, it is complaints like these that ruin these treats for other diners or force chefs to cease providing them.
I question the wisdom of Kliman and/or his editors to have even allowed the initial comment. Because really, the chatter decided to slam a restaurant, despite the rest of the meal being excellent, because they didn't get a second set of rolls?! Something doesn't match up here. Either this person's sense of entitlement has gone unchecked or maybe the rolls give you magical powers and make you more attractive to the opposite sex.
It is hard to say exactly what happened that night, but my conversation with Chef Ziebold showed a gracious man who is sincerely interested in finding out what happened that evening. He is curious to find out how the evening went from a positive experience to such a negative one, and he expressed that he would be quick to address any issues.
Small Bites
Flash of Nothing
City Paper's Tim Carman lashed out this morning over Tom Sietsema's Food Flash this week, which contained a story originally broken by Carman over a year ago. The story is that Huong Que, one of Eden Center's most well-known restaurants, will be relocating to Fairfax County.
Carman wrote, "This is the second time that the Post has 'reported' details from one of our food-and-wine covers without crediting the little guy." Carman is understandably grumpy, as he was recently laid off as a staff member at the City Paper, along with a number of other folks. We certainly hope the rumors that he'll be kept on as a freelancer are true.
Food Nerd Gifts
For those food nerds on your holiday shopping list, Slate has food book picks from various food celebs. There are a few picks from everyone's favorite local celeb chef who looks a good bit like Santa Claus, Michel Richard.
If the food nerd happens to be a D.C. hardcore music lover, you can get them some Minor Threat hot sauce from Wheelhouse Pickles. It has the conditional approval of hometown hero Ian MacKaye, former frontman of Fugazi and Minor Threat.