Comments on: Mark Stuertz Quits The Dallas Observer

By: Wolfgang Puck

Wolfgang Puck — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:56:12 +0000

I shall always remember Markies soaring 1/2 page diatribes on the entry-ways, parititions, backdrops, cutlery, glassware and other oddities before ever expounding on what the hell the place served for food. Then, wrapping it up with no opinions on whether it was worth it for me to go vs. the other places he has reviewed for steak, Indian, seafood, etc.

DO went from the #1 food read to last in the past 5 years. New blood can only help now.

By: russell

russell — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:54:52 +0000

Mark, your eloquent voice in the pages of the Observer will be sadly missed by me..as will the English vocabulary class I received from every story…..thanks for your over- abundant cynicism

By: Mere

Mere — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:38:17 +0000

What’s the backstory? What prompted him to leave?

By: fortune

fortune — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 08:49:58 +0000

thank god.

seriously, that guy should be writing technical books on peppers and taking over the reigns of gary gygax w/ his soaring descriptions of inner architecture and seat covers.

bring on some alice laussaude or however the **** you spell her last name….

good riddance fake david foodie wallace,

fortune

By: Smitherton

Smitherton — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 03:05:17 +0000

One word….Hoo-frickin-ray!!

By: TLS

TLS — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 02:49:52 +0000

I was going to say Kirk, that kirk didn’t sound like something you would say.

By: Kirk (not the kirk above)

Kirk (not the kirk above) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:54:29 +0000

Does this mean Robb Walsh will be moving up here?

By: microdermer

microdermer — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:19:46 +0000

I can’t believe Mark didn’t list this as a lowlight. Still my favorite review. Poor Bruno Mella.

http://www.dallasobserver.com/1999-12-16/restaurants/ballsy-dining/#end

By: kirk

kirk — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:10:25 +0000

Back in the day when you went looking for a weekly restaurant review, the DO was the place to turn, mainly because you could trust it like it or not, plus he was proably sober at the time of the dinner. The alternative was Dotty, a chef groupie if their ever was one.

By: brian

brian — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:05:39 +0000

I’ll miss reading his reviews almost as much as I’ll miss trying to figure out whether he liked the place or not

I hope they get somebody half as interesting to replace him.

By: Bobby Ewing

Bobby Ewing — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:36:12 +0000

Mark, thanks for your hard work over the years. Your reading public appreciates having multiple voices in this town (hi Nancy, hi Bill) in order to create a true marketplace of ideas about food culture. Best of luck.

By: RC DALLAS

RC DALLAS — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:30:21 +0000

Ever notice how the dried egg casing from a cockroach looks alarmingly similar to a rice hull? Thus was my first thought while carefully studying an errant grain of sticky rice desperately clinging to my chopstick at Yada Yada Sushi on ABC Street in Dallas.

There’s only one person in my world of culinary literature who could possibly come up with an opener like that and now he’s gone like that — I’m depressed and pissed.

Mark never actually wrote that opener in any of his weekly columns at the Observer — but he could have and that’s what’s important — certainly not my clumsy homage to attempt his writing style.

Super palate, astute observational eye, great sense of fairness, and over the top quirky entertaining writing . Sad day for all of us — but thank you Mark — we do wish you well and man were you a hoot!

By: Cynthia Smoot

Cynthia Smoot — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:15:06 +0000

I worked with Mark at the Dallas Observer for 10 years. Although I always enjoyed reading his articles, most of the time I hated his guts because his scathing reviews of local restaurants did nothing to help me sell ads into the newspaper. On a personal level, he is a super nice guy and I wish him all the best in his new adventures! The Observer will have a hard time replacing him!

PS: Mark, I hear ya on the “Best of” thing. I chuckle every year when I see the promo ads knowing I never have to work on that beast again. Whew!

By: Logan

Logan — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:11:59 +0000

Writing opinions may be heavily commotitized, but writing them in an interesting way that i care to read about isn’t.

By: WayUpNorth

WayUpNorth — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:07:41 +0000

it WITH “contract…” – need to go recaffeinate.

By: WayUpNorth

WayUpNorth — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:07:04 +0000

You think they’ll hire out this position or fill it will “contract” labor (as is posted on Village Voice)? Saw the freelancer ad a while back and wondered since the pages devoted to new reviews of restaurants are slim already.

By: LongGone

LongGone — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:53:15 +0000

Timothy Byres has been at Stephan Pyles for the past five or six months.

By: LM

LM — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:26:35 +0000

It was time for a change

By: TLS

TLS — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:54:46 +0000

I think he just reached the end of his thesaurus.

By: Sarah Eveans

Sarah Eveans — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:45:06 +0000

Wow. I’m sorry to hear that. Mark, you’ll be missed.

By: Bring It

Bring It — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:21:36 +0000

“only thing…”

By: Bring It

Bring It — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:21:14 +0000

His column is about the thing I read in the Observer. That’s too bad; he’ll be missed.