COLUMN: Gearing up for a year of tasty observations
Mile-high chocolate pie, toasted marshmallow milkshakes, and farm-fresh heirloom tomatoes topped with feta cheese and toasted parmesan crisps – sounds delicious, eh? These are just a few of the food creations I experimented with this summer, thanks to my recent Kindle subscriptions to Bon Appétit and Food Network magazines. I’ll talk more about these wonderful ideas, as well as my own kitchen discoveries, in a bit. First, I’d like to clear the air and rev you all up for the upcoming year in Food Talk.
Those of you who have read my column in the past will remember that I usually discuss my food adventures based on experiences I gain through visiting local Cache Valley restaurants and eateries. Don’t worry. There’s plenty of that on the horizon for this year. Some of you have even gotten so involved in my opinions that you’ve sent letters to the editor to either agree with, or reprimand me for, my thoughts.
First off, I’d love to thank all who read the column – whether you agree or not, I’m just glad you read. Second, I don’t expect everyone to have the same experiences I’ve had at any given restaurant. Rarely, if ever, have I been to or worked in a restaurant in which consistency is 100 percent. In other words, there aren’t too many restaurants that provide the same food, service and dining experience for everyone. Besides, my intention is not to prevent others from trying something different. By all means, eat wherever you’d like.
When I visit an establishment I’m going to write about, I never inform anyone who works there that I’m going to write a review. I do this because I’d like to be treated like any other patron. I want to experience the candor of each particular restaurant and its staff without being treated special. How else would I be able to provide readers with honest feedback?
There have been one or two occasions in the past when a reader or restaurateur has been offended by my remarks and challenged what I’ve said. I’d like to say a couple things regarding this – actually, perhaps several – bear with me.
I am a fairly easy-to-please person; therefore, it’s not exactly hard to get a good review out of me. Yet, it seems as though – and I actually wrote a whole column on this topic – I am sometimes treated like an insignificant nothing when I enter establishments in which employees are supposed to provide customer service. I am, however, going to cast aside all past reservations and keep a positive attitude.
I do not have it out for anyone, including restaurant owners and employees. When I write my opinion, it’s exactly that: my opinion. I do not have any maligned intentions of spreading negativity. If I write something negative about a restaurant, it’s because my experience was negative. Trust me, I like getting good service, and when I do, I will tell you about it. After all, it’s all about great food, right?
My interest in food over the years has definitely evolved from completely hands off to totally hands on. If I didn’t have a restaurant-prepared meal, chances were that I resorted to pre-packaged fare. I’ve certainly enjoyed spending time in the kitchen – it’s by far my favorite room in the house – but I was frequently guilty of tearing open a frozen cardboard box with its unrecognizable, hard-as-rock contents inside and nuking them into faint edibility. Who hasn’t done this from time to time?
Concurrent with my enrollment at Utah State University, I gradually became more and more interested in eating non-processed foods, as well as fresh and local. I’m not really a follow-the-trend sort of guy, but I certainly like food with flavor – and local is usually synonymous with fresh and flavorful.
During my summer vacation in Pennsylvania and New York, I did nothing but read food magazines, watch cooking shows and cook food. It was the quintessential foodie’s dream. I frequented farmers’ markets and grocery stores that featured locally grown produce. Fresh basil, for whatever reason, became a passion of mine. I experimented with fresh pesto and tomato-basil pasta sauces. I even invented a smoked sundried tomato and fresh basil pesto that was to die for.
As I continue to experience food on this existential, transcendental, fundamental and elemental level, I will try to share it with you without too much regurgitation – just the stuff worth eating… I mean reading.
This year, along with writing restaurant reviews, I may throw in a column here or there in which I just talk about food. Hopefully, by the time I’m done, your mouths will be thoroughly lubricated and ready to devour ravenously any food in sight. Goodness knows I do. I may have to switch to writing a column about exercise.
– D. Whitney Smith worked as a server, cook, bartender and lacky in 24 restaurants across the country from 1999-2010. When he decided to hang up his apron and enroll at USU, his interest in food only increased. Now he shares his thoughts on food and dining with you. If you have any suggestions for review topics, email him at dan.whitney.smith@aggiemail.usu.edu.