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Articles about Food Writing

Central Market Announces “Passport France” Festival May 9 – 22

Two weeks in Provence coming soon.

Get ready for Central Market’s yearly culinary salute to foreign food. In 2010, we celebrated Argentina (Hi, Francis!). Last year we pigged out on Spain (Hola, Paco!). This year they are throwing a two-week soiree for France, specifically the southern region of Provence, which will begin on May 9 and run through May 22.

Here’s a little poop I learned: Zee hottest ticket will be a seat in the outdoor tent where the kick-off event, “A Taste of Provence,” will feature a sampling of dishes prepared by Chef Patrice Olivon! C’est magnifique! You know Olivon, oui? He’s the cute French dude who won Iron Chef hosts “Dinner is Served,” a lovely show on PBS. It is set for Wednesday, May 9, and begins at 6 p.m.

The menu includes some personal favorites from his childhood (served family-style at long tables), which will be paired with French wines (shocker!). Think: Pissaladiere (thick, pizza-like dish popular in Nice and Marseilles); tomates farcies (tomatoes stuffed with beef, rice & herbs); cod with aioli; roasted lamb with ratatouille; and warm seasonal fruit cooked in red wine served over vanilla ice cream (really?). So frugal Francophiles, get a cheap trip ($35 per person) to Provence, if only for one evening.  Tickets can be booked by clicking here or by visiting the Cooking School reservation site for Dallas.

Sancerre! Profiteroles! A truffle in every pot! Vamos, I mean, nous permettre d’aller!

(Below, I will copy and paste an actual MEDIA-ONLY release so you can get an insider’s look on how real food writing works. I will pair it with commentary from a professional media person.

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posted by Nancy Nichols | April 16th, 2012 9:00am | filed under AgriBusiness, Breaking News, Celebrity Chefs, Celebrity Diners, Cooking Classes, Copy/Paste Press Release, Cult Cuisine, Delusional behavior, Food Writing, Foodie People, Merguez Sausage Hunt, Really stupid joke, Rewritten Press Releases, SideDish Bump!, Silly Reasons to Celebrate, party | 5 Comments »

DMN Food Writer Kim Pierce Hit By SUV While Jogging

Holy crow. Teresa Gubbins told me DMN scribe Kim Pierce was jogging last night and was hit by an SUV. She’s okay but she has a broken nose, facial lacerations, and road rash on the right side of her body. You can wish her well here or on her Facebook page.

UPDATE: According to Kim’s Sig-O: ” She was using the crosswalk with the “Walk” sign at Northwest hwy and Pickwick (near the Baptist church). A driver turned into her. Broken nose, facial lacerations a lot of bruises and she’s resting at home. She’s lucid and doesn’t appear to have any internal or brain injuries.”

posted by Nancy Nichols | April 12th, 2012 1:46pm | filed under Food Writing | 13 Comments »

Food Writing Will Not Die an Easy Death at D Magazine

Yesterday, Carol noted Amanda Hesser’s claim that professional food writing is dead. I have a few thoughts on that.

Getting paid to write anything is almost dead. Unless you consider composing a 140-character pithy news item as writing. I suppose it is: Steve Martin just released a book of his tweets. But he is Steve Martin. The odds of a writer of any kind hitting that kind of jackpot has always been low.

Publications are shrinking. There are fewer jobs in the publishing business, not just food writing. We hear from people everyday looking for work as editors, art designers, and free lancers. Interns taking journalism classes still spend time in our offices, but instead of gathering “clips” from the magazine, they turn in blog posts for college credit. The internet has offered opportunities to anyone who can text, tweet, or post Facebook updates to gather a following and be whatever authority they want to be. The chances of them making a dollar are slim. That progression seems to be the new face of food writing. Is that good or bad? Who has the time to argue? It’s reality. Instead of trying to change it, I attempt to embrace it.

Jump off the cliff with me. (more…)

posted by Nancy Nichols | April 12th, 2012 12:26pm | filed under Food Crime, Food Writing | 17 Comments »

In Defense of Tillman’s Roadhouse in Dallas

Tillman's s'mores. Photo by Gustav Schmiege for D Magazine.

I review theater, not food. Sometimes movies, but mostly theater. I get to see the show only once, and the measure is, would I like to go back, and see this again? Would I bring someone else to discover it, too, so I can watch their face instead of the stage? Of course, no matter what I think, someone, somewhere is going to think I’m wrong. But I hope we can all appreciate decent writing, and recognize good intentions and the desire to be fair.

Which brings me to Mark Vamos’ no-star review of Tillman’s Roadhouse, published at the end of last month in The Dallas Morning News. We don’t give stars here, and even if we did, I’d have nothing to do with that and no basis on which to award them. The last time we reviewed the Dallas location was in 2007. As I mentioned, I’m a theater critic, not a food critic, for many reasons (Exhibit A: I don’t like seafood, which my friend Michael—a cook—tells me repeatedly is like saying I don’t like sandwiches.). But to me, no stars means there’s absolutely no reason on Earth for anyone to set foot in that restaurant. I humbly disagree. For me, there are at least two. But I’ll leave a dissection of the main courses to the professionals (though the ones I’ve had have been just fine), and talk about the tater tots.

Let’s go. (more…)

posted by Liz Johnstone | April 6th, 2012 10:00am | filed under Food Writing, Good Morning | 14 Comments »

Google Acquires Zagat Empire. Now What?

I’m not sure if what I’m feeling is shock or dismay, but Google has agreed to become the new proud owner of Zagat, that old warhorse of dining guides that shepherded us all through the 80s and 90s with comprehensible ratings and purse-sized books. Everyone from the New York Times to Huffington Post is covering the financial and social implications of such a merger; the deal will be discussed to death, for certain. But I’m interested in what this is going to do to the ever-corroding ethics of restaurant reviewing. Google touts the acquisition as a way to expand its local offerings. So, soon, I imagine, we will start seeing local want ads for “reviewers” popping up on MediaBistro and the like, calling all aspiring foodies to apply. I’ll bet a fiver that “no experience necessary” will show up in the want ad somewhere, as well as the phrase “must love food.”

Tim and Nina Zagat actually cared about the ethics of the review. They built an empire from how much they care. A generation trusted them. With so many new correspondents out there, I’m curious how Google plans to enforce ethics and curb bias.

Your thoughts?

posted by Sarah Reiss | September 8th, 2011 2:38pm | filed under Food Crime, Food Writing, Foodie People, Reviews, ennui | 2 Comments »

Former Dallas Observer Dining Critic Hanna Raskin is Off Her Rocker

Earlier this morning, I received a link to a Seattle Weekly blog post written by former Dallas Observer “critic” Hanna “Sudafed” Raskin  and planned to write a rebuttal. Eater “Up at Dawn” Dallas beat me to the punch. However, I would like to throw a few more. Her post– “Professional Food Critics Not Needed in Portland”– is embarrassingly amateur. Read it, I’ll wait.

This quick assessment from a professional food critic who reviewed Dallas restaurants while taking copious amounts of sinus medication? After my ENT doctor read about Raskin’s sinus problems,  he called me and said: “She had no business reviewing restaurants. Her palate was dead.” If I were a restaurateur who was reviewed during her reign, I’d be demanding a redo. No wonder she called Dallas a “dining nowhereville.” She wasn’t able to taste anything. She blathers on:

I shouldn’t be surprised that the imagined relationship between rigorous professional criticism and good food doesn’t hold up. I moved here from Dallas, a city that’s covered ruthlessly by established food critics, including the Dallas Morning News‘ Leslie Brenner, D Magazine’s Nancy Nichols, and Texas Monthly’s Pat Sharpe. The food there isn’t any better for it.

Hanna, you take one trip to Portland and declare “Portland appears to have entered the post-professional critic era, and the food scene hasn’t suffered.” Oh my. I need a Xanax. Writers in Portland were sadly laid off by print publications. Raskin should be next.

posted by Nancy Nichols | August 25th, 2011 12:30pm | filed under Bring it!, Food Writing, I Hate it When That Happens, I'm about to get fired, Nutjobs, Politics of Food, Procrastination is part of the creative process, Rants, Really?, Skinny bitches, hold on to your effin hat, questionable judgment, sassy pants | 21 Comments »

Let’s Discuss: Is Yelp Deleting Customer Comments to Sell Ads?

I know very little about Yelp. I see it when I am searching for restaurants but I have never stop to read the reviews. Anywhoo, several people  emailed me this week with complaints and concerns about Yelp. One loyal Disher sends this post found on Cavilli Pizza’s Facebook page. (Cavilli, that will be $15 for the link.)

Fans, just wanted to let you know that YELP has been removing our 5 star reviews for our McKinney location, we have talked to them and they have told us we can’t do anything about it. YELP has been unfair and removed 24 reviews all of which were 4 and 5 stars. But they keep calling us to advertise, and told us it would get better if we advertised. It’s all about making money, what a shame they used to be a great site.

Ouch! Maybe their cyber technicians can detect comments left by the same person. I don’t know. However, this morning comes a note from another just-as-loyal Disher.

I think you’d better take a seat and get ready for this rumble. Oh, and if you know Jack Perkins of Maple & Motor, you might want to text him a link. Okay? Let’s go.

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posted by Nancy Nichols | July 20th, 2011 9:19am | filed under Bad critters, Bring it!, Celebrity Diners, Cult Cuisine, Food Fight!, Food Writing, Foodie People, Hippie revolutions, Hot Links!, I Went to College for This?, Nutjobs, Overprivileged chimps, Rants, Really?, Reviews, Slow News Day, Travel, Yum is Dumb, questionable judgment | 36 Comments »

SideDish Word Ban: YUM!

Beginning today, July 15, 2011, I am banning the use of the word YUM from any post on SideDish. You can YUM away all you want in the comments, but I will do my best to keep it from appearing in an official report. I do my best to stay away from “foodie,” but have yet to find the perfect replacement. YUM, however, has many. HOWEVER, I reserve the right to use “yummers” or “yum” when  I am being sarcastic or quoting a person.

If you spot the word YUM in a post after today, you will win a prize. Carry on.

posted by Nancy Nichols | July 15th, 2011 1:14pm | filed under Food Crime, Food Writing, I Hate it When That Happens, Mistakes I made, Mixology is fancy for bartender, PR People, Politics of Food, Rants, Silly Reasons to Celebrate, Special Offers, Stupid terms for food, Yum is Dumb, questionable judgment | 9 Comments »

Fearless Critic Hits Dallas

Fearless Critic, The Dallas Restaurant Guide, a compilation of “Dallas’ top 250 places to dine as compiled from a panel of discerning local food writers”  hits newsstands soon. According to the press release, “the slim and plucky collection of reviews” will guide the reader “beyond beef and Tex-Mex.” Fearless Critic guides to Austin, Houston, and San Antonio are already available. Thanks to Coco Owens, Associate Publisher & Social Media Director, the group is a “pithy bunch.”  Full press release here. Love the bloated ego of Sambuca 360 review. Fear. Less.

posted by Nancy Nichols | July 5th, 2011 5:42pm | filed under Bring it!, Dog Friendly, Food Writing | 4 Comments »

Random Act on SideDish: You Want to be a Food Blogger?

I was having dinner with some friends the other night who write a blog. They don’t do it because they want to, they do it because their company makes them. That usually isn’t the case with people who blog about food. Chances are people are motivated to blog about food  because they are passionate about food and the cooking, baking, or eating of said food. Most food bloggers start out all warm and fuzzy and write until their fingers are done to a crisp. Slowly, they lose momentum. Why? Because it’s hard. Not just the writing, it’s tough to come up with fresh ideas and new words to describe fish without using succulent forty ways to Sunday. Once you write a blog,  learn how to take pictures, and conquer whatever program you are attempting to post from,   you’d probably like to get someone outside of your immediate circle of friends and family to read it. Or maybe you’d like to make some money or get a book deal. If you figure any of that, please feel free to pass it along in the comments section.

Anywhoo, this morning I came across an interesting post on Sarah Henry’s Bay Area Bites blog. She offers advice for struggling (succulent) food bloggers. Henry maintains “talent and ideas count, so does experience, connections, timing, and, frankly, a bit of luck.”

To that I would add: have an opinion, get a good therapist, and find someone to sell you wine wholesale. Questions?

posted by Nancy Nichols | May 23rd, 2011 9:50am | filed under Food Writing, Good Morning, Hot Links!, Mistakes I made, Nutjobs, Procrastination is part of the creative process, hold on to your effin hat | 6 Comments »