ELV note: The following exchange took place today in the comments thread about Parma, and we thought it was interesting enough to be brought forward on the site. Loyal reader Tom writes:
Dear ELV,
I love Italian food; for me it is the best food in the world. I feel that you can eat it every day a be very very happy. I like the fact that it simple and all based on great ingredients. Or at least it is in Italy.
ELV note: This missive showed up under the comments thread for our Le Thai post of last week. Any assistance our loyal readers can give us (or our staff) in translating or interpreting it would be most appreciated.
Dear Johnny Boy,
I bet you live in Summerlin and sleep in 600 thread count unwashed for weeks sheets only because in your drunken stupor you forgot to schedule the maid to do your menial work while you get shitfaced on the house so you can later extol the virtues of the working class of which you so desperately try to assimilate with by giving glowing reviews that only pale next to your eternally white suit.
Dear ELV,
How many comps do these restaurants have to give to ELV to make the book? And how many for the top ten?
Signed,
Critically Cynical Kevin
ELV responds:
Dear CCK-ster,
Some meals are comped, some are paid for by us, and some get paid for by our dining companions.
For example, Le Cirque, where ELV hasn’t paid for a meal in years, wasn’t in the Top 10 last year, and made it this year.
Figure it out for yourself, dillweed….which you could do by diligently reading this blog…and being less of a hater.
Sincerely,
ELV
ELV note: Just what is going on here? The patron describes relentless unsympathetic treatment (and a bill!); the management says they did everything they could. Who is right? Does it matter? Some people (diners especially) often go out with a chip on their shoulder. Restaurant management can sometimes be way too defensive. We are reminded of the sociological exercise when a staged event happens suddenly in front of people (lasting less than a minute), and they’re then asked to re-create/re-tell what they observed — always with severe divergence from the facts. (Lesson: perception is reality, even when it’s the wrong perception.) Without taking sides, ELV will say that he’s always found Gallagher’s to be a top drawer operation…more in keeping with the management’s version of these events. You make the call!
Hello -
Thank you all for the comments and thoughts regarding this guest experience.
As the Marketing Director for Ark Vegas, which operates Gallagher’s Steakhouse, please allow me to clarify a few things regarding this particular situation.
ELV note: The following letter outlines a common customer conundrum, i.e., exactly how should a restaurant handle a patron in distress? Our response concerns the issue of the food poisoning rather than the manners of the management, and we’ll leave it to our loyal readers to decipher/discern/decode(?) what was really going on at the hostess stand, and how things should have been handled.
Hello,
I went to Gallagher’s Steakhouse in the New York New York Casino…. wait.. Let me rephrase this so that it is clear exactly what has happened and how I plan on sharing it. I stayed in Las Vegas for additional evening to the tune of approx. $400 (hotel, extra dining, etc) to get an opportunity to try a newly learned about Steakhouse in the New York New York Casino… The wine that was recommended by Paul our server was great.. the bread was OK, but we ordered the Clams Casino, and I am sorry to say but they were horrible… disgusting and to the point that they made my girlfriend and I both sick. Literally we were both vomiting in the bathroom just outside the restaurant. I attempted to make the staff aware of the obvious isolated problem and carry about my evening, this became impossible. After vomiting in the bathroom and than making our way to a taxi and puking a few more times we made in back to the hotel where we were staying and again vomiting and feeling extremely ill. I have never gone to the length of emailing every email address that I could find relating to a restaurant, but this is how strongly I feel about this whole event.
Dear ELV,
(Referring to a comment about our interview by Al Mancini posted below) I loved when they suggested that Curtass should be writing for Gourmet Magazine. Gourmet isn’t published anymore. It’s obsolete. Just like Curtass’s approach to food and dining. He’s just a self-important old fart, always creeping on girls. (more…)
I JUST READ THE EXTENSIVE ARTICLE ON RESTAURANTS THAT WAS IN THE SUN THIS MORNING. I READ THE WHOLE THING AND NOT ONCE WAS ANDRE ROCHET’S NAME MENTIONED.
ELV note: Say what you will about Pizza Face, Carne Face, So Long, or whatever he’s calling himself today, beneath the profanity and posturing there’s a lot of passion for the heart and soul of restaurant cooking. This comment pretty much sums up a lot of foodies’ feelings about what Bradley Ogden was and what has become of it.
John Curtas thanks for posting this…. this is truly sad but me personally as many, knew it was coming, it was just a matter of time. Its like a family member is passing away and emotions are being brought.
Dear ELV,
Every time I dine out lately, it seems I find myself at a table with at least one person who has food issues or allergies. Sometimes they have so many questions about the menu, the poor waiter feels like they’re taking an oral examination on the food. My question is: Just who is the victim here: those with food/health issues or those of us forced to put up with them?
Signed,
Celiac-free Celine
Restaurant reviews, quips, picks and pans-with some seriously salivating history-from the man who eats his way through Sin City every day.
