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Nobody whines anymore?
That was the question I received after last week’s column. It’s a question I’ve been getting for the past few months.
It seems there’s a real lust for bad news among Whine & Dine readers.
The reality is that this editor isn’t particularly happy to get the whining letters. Calling a restaurant owner and saying, “Hey, someone says you’re awful, and I’m going to put it in the paper,” is not the part of this job I relish.
Not to lecture, but it really is more constructive if diners share their criticisms and suggestions directly with a restaurant owner/manager.
Just this month, I received a note from a reader about a popular, long-established, family-owned barbecue joint. The diner said he was refused his choice of meats because, he was told, the ribs were only for “loyal customers and longtime friends.”
I started researching the restaurant, which the Chronicle had featured several times in its barbecue coverage. Other than the typical barbecue quibbles, I found only good reviews of the northside restaurant.
I called the restaurant owner and then forwarded via email the W&D letter.
It wasn’t five minutes later that the owner called me. He was hot — and hurt. It was a long, emotional conversation. After hanging up the phone, I contacted the reader and asked him to speak directly with the incredulous restaurant owner. It was a call the owner requested.
Several days later, I received another note from the Whine & Dine reader. The reader had contacted the restaurant owner. They, too, had a long conversation.
“Everything is OK,” he wrote, adding that he didn’t want me to print his original complaint.
My point? Whining letters may make good column fodder, but a conversation with the owner/manager may make a restaurant better.
Reader to reader
Many readers had recommendations for Diane Kinner, who was looking for restaurants that serve fried chicken livers/gizzards.
Lynn Luce, George Mathis and Dana Whitehead all wrote in to suggest Hartz Chicken Buffet.
Nancy Arnold of Waller writes, “I don’t know that Hartz Chicken qualifies as a restaurant, but then chicken livers and gizzards isn’t exactly fine dining either — just good down-home comfort food. And the bonus is a delicious yeast roll, not those awful biscuits that other chicken places have resorted to. While Ms. Kinner is ordering the chicken, she might as well order the fried okra. It’s as good as anything Grandma used to fix.”
Find the nearest location at hartz-chicken.com.
Other chicken-liver suggestions:
Joy Brunner: Beaver's Ice House, 2310 Decatur, 713-864-2328.
John Vinson Jr.: Gilhooley's, 222 9th in San Leon, 281-339-3813.
Bob Shearer: Cleburne Cafeteria, 3606 Bissonnet, 713-667-2386.
Mark Hanna: Haven, 2502 Algerian Way, 713-581-6101.
Sher Scott: Cracker Barrel. Find the nearest location at crackerbarrel.com.
Plain and Simple...if you dont want people to whine to you, or you dont want to sift through complaint emails, or call the owner or whatever...dont call the article "Whine & Dine."
Call it the "everything is just roses" article or "nothing happened, nothing ot see here" article...
Easier said than done. Whine & Dine predates me. It is extremely popular with readers, who howled in protest when we tried to can the column several years ago.
Over the years it has had as many as six different editors. Several of those editors ran letters without much fact-checking and, for the most part, didn't give owners/managers a chance to be part of the conversation.
I don't roll that way. Negative reviews can hurt a business and no one deserves to blind-sided. And picking other folks' fights kinda sucks.
I enjoy reading the negative AND positive comments on Whine & Dine. If a customer has a bad meal at a restaurant that will not necessarily drive me away from trying the place. ANY restaurant can have a bad night. Rather I am intrigued by how the waiter, manager and/or owner handles the situation.
Forgive the hijack, but I just visited Sylvia's in Harlem for the first time in my life this past week. I was afraid of being a tourist in a famous restaurant whose glory days had past. I had the most wonderful chicken livers, with sides of okra and black eyed peas. I know that isn't completely responsive to the request, but I'm still enjoying that meal and had to share.
Glad to read this. Haven't been to Sylvia's in many years, and it's good to hear that it's still worthwhile. Bunch of new stuff going on in Harlem lately, so it's nice a classic is hanging in there.
Well, my gosh, Syd, if you dont like your job that much you should quit and start writing copy for an ad agency. I hate to see anybody in a job they so despise. There really are plenty of jobs out there for people who really want to work. :)
I knew "coming out" as hating this part of my job wouldn't earn me sympathy or fans. I just needed to get it off my chest and move on.
I can't imagine that everyone loves every part of their job and you don't quit because you dislike one chore.
Fair enough.
Agree with a few of the folks above - you shouldn't be editing this column if you don't believe in it. I can appreciate your viewpoint about owners being blindsided, and that's why you've gone above and beyond in contacting the restaurant owner to get both sides, but still, to not even agree with the point of this column should absolutely disqualify you from handling this.
Can't you ask to be replaced on this only? I enjoy your other columns, but this is Whine & Dine, not "everything is just roses". (that was pretty funny.)
I am not one to typically "whine" but I feel the need to do so about my breakfast experience at Goode Company Taquaria. Last Saturday we chose this location for a good hearty breakfast prior to an entire day of rodeo festivities. What a complete disappointment. I had ordered the fajita steak and eggs and my dining companion the venison sausage and eggs. Everything on each plate tasted exactly the same -- bland -- no seasoning! Even after a heavy handed shake of salt and added salsa, it did nothing to enhance the flavor of their plate. The cup of queso was equally blah reminding me of that which you get in a jar and heat up. To add insult to injury, my flour tortillas were to the point of "crispy" A really disappointing experience for a place with such good reviews. For our $30 bucks I would have rather have driven through McDonald's for a sausage biscuit -- sad, but true.
I feel ya, last time I was there for breakfast I ordered bean/cheese/bacon tacos, and then told the clerk I cannot eat eggs, she nodded and then a plate of egg tacos was delivered....
I have zero sympathy when I am that specific on an order and they screw it up, its not brain surgery.....
I have to admit, if I hear something pretty awful about a place that I've never been to, and there are no rebuttals from other readers, I probably will not try the place. I don't want to spend a lot of money for an evening that isn't up to par.
So Syd, what's the real story about those ribs allegedly being saved for the regular customers only? For the record, I'm all for it.
The one thing I forgot to add to this morning’s column is that is the interaction (including whines) with readers that this column promotes is truly the most enjoyable part of this job.
Speaking of Which, Syd, what was the purpose of requiring usernames to be registered in order to comment?
Seems that has cut down on the traffic considerably.
Agreed. It has slowed traffic. As I am always logged on, I didn't realize the comments had become registered-users-only. I'm looking into it.
I have experienced posting and login problems for many months and contacted 29-95 to no avail. Since the new registration process, I am sometimes automaticly loged out and told to re log in but then my password doesn't work and I must go through a new password fiasco. This causes a lack of comments but also missing popular topics such as W & D and Burger Friday contribute to less readers. Too, reviews of small unpopular restaurants or events don't create comments. Maybe it's time to sit back and take a closer look?
Same question as DaveB, did the BBQ server actually say that or was there a misunderstanding? Since the owner was incensed, I assume the customer heard wrong. Unlike DaveB, I see no excuse for holding back food from one paying customer for another.
It's just as easy for me to imagine the owner being incensed because the customer heard it right, but it was an unspoken, informal policy that he did not want broadcast. I'm curious about what happened, too. It's not unheard of in the biz to hold special items back for regulars.
The owner denied it was policy and was hurt/angered by the implications of racism raised in the letter. I have since heard from other readers who shared variations of this experience at other barbecue places.
Over the years, I've read hundreds of W&D letters, listened to scores of disgruntled diners, spoken to many restaurant owners and, for whatever reason, this incident has left me the most discombobulated.
When both parties are credible, whom do you believe?
When 1 person complains, its just an opinion, but when multiple people complain it becomes public opinion, and public opinion can close a business......
wow, implications of racism? over barbecue? my mind is officially boggled.
Some people can find racism in brisket? That IS mind boggling.
"Rainbows and Unicorns Restaurant Reviews", it has a nice ring to it.....
Syd, just consider it the wrestling of the restaurant world and you are our glorious MC. Put it out there, both sides and let the slugfest begin! I had noticed this space had become "Pleasant Remarks about Food" but I keep coming back hoping for more a Spartacus sort of article as opposed to Gumby. If someone has an bad experience, you don't need to fact check. How do you fact check someone's negative impression of a restaurant? Give the complainer and the owner/management the opportunity to duke it out.
Syd,
I'm sitting here reading Zagat and Tripadvisor reviews of Houston restaurants with low ratings and plan to visit them, speak to the owner/manager and try to make them a better restaurant.
Are you kidding? It's not our "constructive" responsibility to fix a restaurant's problems by confronting an owner or manager. We read reviews to avoid the problems and find the best.
The "Whine" is what makes your column very popular and I'm sorry it involves work you don't "relish" and which I don't understand. Do you call every restaurant owner/manager to alert them to a bad or what you consider an unfair review?
Did in fact the barbecue restaurant not tell the reader the
"ribs were only for loyal customers and longtime friends" but got a warning from you and the opprutunity to fix it and avoid publication?
Syd, readers know that really bad and really good reviews need not always be taken at face value but if we find they have been manipulated to benefit the restaurant they lose all credibility.
Sincerely,
Jack
Syd, Kudos to you for your integrity with fact-checking first. The only problem with that is that many, such as myself, do try to let management know, and at the time of the problem with their dining experience. It seems that the only way nowadays to get a response is through public embarrassment. Granted, there are many business patrons who will cry "Foul" over a difference of opinion, but sometimes a threat to the pocketbook is the only way for management to change its ways when they misbehave. Public shame has its place, especially from a paying public. That said, I like to form my own opinions about restaurants, movies, etc., but am also interested in what others think, both good and bad. Thanks for the job you do. And Alison...nice to know you're interested and participating, as well!
Syd, you are the last resort for some of us in dealing with a restaurant. I was served a disappointing meal the other night while eating out with my daughter on the only night she will be in town for 6 months. Do I really want to spoil the occasion by complaining or wait until later and let others known. If I provided the menu description of the meal and pictures of what was served, you would have trouble defending the establishment.
I could see you explaining what your goal for the column is. I could understand if you wanted to explain to readers how you believe it should be used. I do not understand about using the column as your personal whine to complain about an issue that's between you and your boss. This seems even more true when you've been told that the column is too popular to drop. I also think that when you've been told a complaint is resolved and to not use it, it is wrong to still go ahead and talk about it hypothetically while giving little clues about location and other details.