Photo of the Day: November 27, 2009
Car Pushed Into Anacostia River By Train
Morning Roundup: Black Friday Edition
Devendra Banhart @ 9:30 Club
Saturday Thanks Don't End At Thanksgiving Photo: November 28, 2009
Everyone knows the perils and regrets of drunk dialing. There's that awful feeling of waking up the next morning remembering the nastygram you left on someone's answering machine. Washington Post critic Tom Sietsema must be feeling that way today after the paper retracted his review of Commissary, citing that he and one of the owners has a previous "personal relationship" and should have recused himself. This morning the owners of Commissary also sent out an email to their listserv blasting Sietsema over his review.
The review was uncharacteristically scathing, implying that the food was on par with prison food and calling the pizza worse than Domino's. Whether or not those comments may be true, most reviewers prefer to "damn with faint praise." One also wonders: where were his friends? Even if Food section editor Joe Yonan was not aware of the relationship, the review was so far out of line with the norm that it should have been obvious something was not right. C'mon, Yonan, friends are there to stop you from drunk dialing!
Image courtesy of sexy fitsum
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Time for Sietsema to move on.
Most restaurant reviews on Yelp are better than Tom's.
Oh, snap!
But seriously. They are.
Commissary *does* kinda suck, but that review was a little over-the-top...then again, I enjoyed reading it - it had a sort-of "Tom Shales reviews the Kathie Lee Christmas special" quality to it.
Also, I'd like to point out that it's entirely possible that this "prior relationship" person pulled a "Fight Club" on Tom's clam chowder...
Are the owners are men. Was this personal relationship of a "sexual" nature I wonder?
I read the review before it was retracted, and nothing in it strained credulity based on my experiences at the owners' other restaurants. I'm consistently underwhelmed by Logan Tavern (especially at those prices), and flat-out disappointed by The Heights. After a couple meals at Merkado that weren't bad but were well wide of their menu descriptions we gave up on anything but the half-price appetizers at the bar during happy hour. If I'm looking for a place to hang out on that block I head to Stoney's or 1409 Playbill.
Commissary: meh.
Tom's review was "uncharacteristically scathing"?! Are you serious ... anyone remember what happened to Le Pigalle after his less than pleasant review? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/26/AR2006072601281.html
Not that I'm a pro at restaurant reviews, but his are tired and trite. Time to retire Tommy boy.
Tom mostly cares about interior decor and ensuring that the venue serves heaping portions of attitude.
Are the owners are men. Was this personal relationship of a "sexual" nature I wonder?
If this is sarcasm, it's poorly constructed. If not, what the hell does it matter?
In any case, the Commissary deserved that review. It blows.
I had no idea Sietsema had ever even been in prison, though being able to toss a salad or hide a salami does give you some measure of food critic street cred.
wow. harsh.
If this is sarcasm, it's poorly constructed. If not, what the hell does it matter?
What does it matter whether it matters? Idle curiousity remains legal (for now).
I would believe the review. Merkado was heinous, and Logan and the Heights leave quite a lot to be desired.
I can't remember the last place he reviewed that I could actually afford. That place that served wooly mammoth burgers in a cave? Maybe!
Based on the WaPo standards for retraction, I'm pretty much disqualified from reviewing any and all quirky female-fronted indie-pop bands. YOWSA!
Hey, the bad reviews are the most fun to read!!!
From what I heard (which is all heresay, mind you), this is a result of a friendship gone bad. Rather unprofessional on both ends, given the big sign on the door at Commissary this weekend, though kind of justified on the owner's part. Not that Commissary is great, but it is cheap & the food is reliably decent.
Sietsema is apparently reviled by other notable food critics in town. He isn't discreet, throws his weight around in person (which really ruins the experience of the reviewer in relation to the average diner, IMHO), and sexually harasses the wait staff.
This is pretty amusing
I only read Sietsema when I feel like getting pissed off anyway
The only times I read restaurant reviews in the Post are when Tom is on vacation and someone else fills in. I wish the WaPo would have a wider range of reviewers and rotate their reviews each week. Anyone listening?
@monkey: Great Wall Szechuan House on 14th St. NW. Good n' cheap, and not run by Tom's ex.
A rating system where only one star still classifies it as "satisfactory" is not to be taken seriously.
"From what I heard (which is all heresay, mind you), this is a result of a friendship gone bad. Rather unprofessional on both ends, given the big sign on the door at Commissary this weekend, though kind of justified on the owner's part."
If this is indeed true, then Sietsema needs to be shown the door, post-haste.
Yeah, the star system is pretty meaningless. WTF does one star signify? At least with the Michelin guide, you know where you stand.
Perhaps some combination of stars and turds? Although, at that font size, the turd would be practically indistinguishable from a pickle. Maybe if it were mound-shaped with little stink lines? I'm looking at you, Sequoia.