Hating Mr. Chow is practically a right of passage for most food writers.
This is understandable because the food at Mr. Chow has always been pretty much beside the point. Because Mr. Chow, for the uninitiated among you, has always been about the scene. But it’s also about a certain slice of social history, and the “exaggerated elegance” (Frank Bruni’s words) of Chinese cuisine. But most of all, Mr. Chow is about status. But that is about to change, at least in Vegas. Allow us to explain.
Daniel Boulud doesn’t need me or any other writer to sing his praises or cement his place in American gastronomy. For 30 years he has been a one-man French Revolution — educating and dazzling palates with the best of La Cuisine Français, as well as introducing America to the joys of the gourmet burger.
Comparison is the root of all unhappiness. – Cicero
Sometimes I wish I didn’t know as much about food as I do. Sometimes I wish I hadn’t eaten 15,000 restaurant meals in 10,000 restaurants on four continents over the past forty years.
Sometimes I wish I could just swallow the bullshit without complaint.