Gabriel Rucker of Le Pigeon, has been named one of the Best new Chefs in July issue of Food and Wine Magazine
Unfortunately, this will be overshadowed by an article called “A Wannabe-Insider’s Guide to Seattle’s Outsider Chefs“, by the chef Portlander’s sent running for the hills, Michael Hemorrhoid Hebberoy. It sounds like he’s still a bit bitter.
What I loved about Portland was the unabashed amateurism. The farmers were learning how to farm, the winemakers learning how to ferment, the cooks learning how to cook (many chefs even lying about their pedigrees and staying up late to work on their supposed three-star skills). Certainly all of us in the food industry were trying to figure out what it meant to run a restaurant. To Seattleites, iconoclastic Portland establishments like Navarre, Ken’s Artisan Bakery and Park Kitchen must have seemed like they existed in some distant land, where rent was affordable and charming vintage storefronts were in endless supply.
I am no stranger to the DIY ethic of Portland, having spent nearly a decade building a culinary big top that contained such acclaimed places as Clarklewis, Gotham Bldg Tavern and Family Supper—only to watch much of the circus end in lawsuits, at least one restaurant closure and a bitter divorce.
Ended in lawsuits because he had no business acumen and failed to do even the most basic planning from restaurant 101. I guess this is what happens when a dishwasher suddenly owns a restaurant, and doesn’t realize one shouldn’t believe their own press. Sadly, it appears he hasn’t taken these lessons with him to Seattle. I wonder what his next town will be.
You can read the article here.
The Guilty Carnivore says
The cocaine must be cheaper in Seattle.
Bill says
That young fella needs a serious beating.
Brenborn says
If PDX is unabashed amateurism, then screwing over your employees must be shameless professionalism?
Pork Cop says
The ‘Roid is a Tesla like visionary. Let history judge him.
rye says
Yeah, it would be great if Heb would take his one pot & friends blow and brownlow somewhere else so we don’t have to hear about them anymore…..like maybe Iceland?
Matt Davis says
I was about to say, “I really love that Eric Clapton song, ‘Cocaine’,” but Guilty Carnivore beat me to it, and was blunter. I commend your quick wit, GC!
tup? says
He spent “nearly a decade” building his culinary big top?
EVERYTHING this boy says is a lie.
FNA says
Oh my,
How the mighty have fallen, moved elsewhere, and fester their “concept” for a whole new audience.
And the bewildered herd will most likely follow. There’s a sucker born every minute, someone once said.
The best thing that happened from that hype machine was the talented people now doing their own good works in PDX such as Gabriel & Tommy.
I guess history will judge if one has managed to “kill the restaurant”
But if killing a marriage and a couple businesses are any indication, he’s good at killing something.
fuyuk says
this has taken on an almost paris hiltonesque quality. it was a train wreck from the start and it seems like hemmorhoid and his buddy brownnose are intent on continuing to find a way to stay in the news, if that is what you want to call it. at any rate, if you ignore them, they will eventually go away, maybe to iceland or other far away place where they have not been heard of, but that might be impossible because apparently everybody on the planet has heard about them! it is certainly a sad commentary that f&w magazine even bothered to put this in print. a wanna be insiders guide to seattle’s outsider chef’s? what a hoot, must have been a slow day at the ol’ magazine to dream that one up. they say that a chef is only as good as his last meal, what does that say about the dynamic duo and their last outing in pdx at a stripclub? someone please make sure that they keep this one alive so everyone can take a crack at it. who knows, maybe the dynamic duo will grow and learn from all this, find god, start inumerable charitable organizations for the poor amateur cooks of the world or something like that!
Cognos says
Ha! I like the idea of Hem&Haws going far away. Should we start a fund for a one way ticket to Hoboken? I think there are cheap flights to Newark. Of course, if he fucked over the “financiers” in Jersey, he might find a new home someplace unusual. Just the thing for his kind.
thebean says
Doesn’t anybody do any research anymore? Why does this idiot keep getting articles written about him? Whey do they take direct quotes from him without any fact checking? I can’t decide who I’m more annoyed with — Hebberoy or the reporters who keep letting him talk to them.
Food Dude says
Seems like Mr. Hemorrhoid is the only one lying about his pedigrees
pederson says
Hebb was good for Portland until he wore out his welcome. Like him or not, he was bold and good at grabbing attention. I’m not sure if Portland would be receiving as much attention nationally right now if it weren’t for his fellating the press–and the press fellating him right back. (Karen Brooks being the biggest fellator of them all) Having said that, it’s so good that he’s gone. Seattle is a good fit for him. It’s a city good at “discovering” things after they’ve already been done.
sidemeat says
Forgive my ignorance, this Hebb guy, did he run a restaurant or something?
Was that just last year?
Oh, we were SO young then….
We’ll never be so dumb again.
Meet you at Rocket to talk about it….
My fave table at BALVO is no longer available.
atlas says
I enjoyed the Rucker interview, nice read…
The Hebberoy penned piece? Somewhat insulting to the Portland farmers, winemakers, and industry people he mentions… but true to his nature, he implies significant knowledge of those things. Manipulative. Instead of taking the highroad regarding his past he is dismissive of it with subtle disdain. He says what he found in Seattle “represent a more fully realized local food culture than I have yet to encounter elsewhere in the States” A kind of bizarro world Jay Gatsby. But the last bit of the article identifying the author pretty well sums it up… “Michael Hebberoy has started a dinner series called “One Pot” in Seattle and is working on a book, Kill the Restaurant.” Really not much has changed. I wonder if he has a real second act… other than using past connections to get an article in F&W?
Papaki says
The more I read about, and by, Michael Hebberoy, the clearer it becomes: He’s a classic con man. Nothing more, nothing less.
Anne says
Our household has been F&W subscribers for a long time. We “used to be disgusted, now we try to be amused” by the ongoing volume of print they’ve given Hebb/Pomeroy/Hebberoy, and the “circus” of clarklewis, Supper, Gotham Tav, and even their family trip to europe. It’s almost like the serial soap operas in magazines of my grandma’s generation. Yawn.
Jill-O says
Ding! Ding! Ding!
We have a winner!
;o)
flaming ouzo says
at some point in time
people will move on
unlike so many others who keep the dream alive
or live the same
in their own little world
cookforhire says
“I guess this is what happens when a dishwasher suddenly owns a restaurant…”
FD –
Please don’t slander the dish crew.
Food Dude says
Laughing. Apologies to the dish pit.
defchef says
Heb has some very valid points about P’Town. The chefs lying about there pedigree and amateurism in the restaurants here is right on. With that said, the culture in Seattle is nothing to right home about either. Try Flyning Fish Restaurant sometime and you will see what I mean.
Hunter says
I have never, ever worked in a kitchen where there was not some amount of puffing defchef and PDX is hardly different. Perhaps the only difference I have seen is the fact that PDX chefs, or at least some of them, can’t spell to save their lives.
ciaolele says
Smoke and mirrors – that is all Hebberoy is, and unfortunately, that is the impression that anyone who comes to Portland from another city will carry with them after being here a while. There IS true talent here that is fogged by tatoos and the supposedly independent spirit of Portland that is driven by the same machine as the rest of the country, becasue of institutions like Food and Wine magazine that perpetrate the myth that a restaurant can be successful WITHOUT MAKING MONEY!! What a joke – come on, there are plenty of people out there doing great stuff with food that are honest about their intentions. A restaurant is a BUSINESS, how you decide to run it, or run it into the ground, is your business, but there are plenty of real restauranteurs in Portland that are not ashamed of making some dough!! Oh, and to Hebberoy and all those who follow hime – a One Pot Meal? It’s called SOUP!!!!!!
Doctor Stu says
I have never lived in a place before where so many so-called “chefs” are so delusional and simply rude, and so many people are trendy and pretentious.
A chef posting on another website that one of his
customers is a liar? Charging $2 for a bagel? $19 for crepes? $25 for a hamburger?
Is 3/4 of those in the food industry in Portland on crack?
sidemeat says
15/16ths of us is jacked up on something. Them’s percentages.
what don’t lie, like customers.
fuyuk says
ciaolele, great post, as well as Doctor Stu. very true that there are a lot of very pretentious posers in town and many “chefs” are too busy hyping themselves to the media that they forget that they are in reality, just cooks. there are plenty of “just cooks” that do a great job in this town and they usually fly under the radar because they want to provide great food for their customers, never mind all the bright lights big city nonsense. look around and note that the truly successful restauranteurs spend most of their time working hard with no time for looking for the spotlight.
Denise says
Dr. Stu,
Maybe the customer DID lie, maybe the crepe is filled with expensive ingredients, maybe the hamburger is topped with foie grae and what’s so outrageous about a $2 bagel?
You are a broken record. Please- get a new schitck.
Doctor Stu says
I don’t understand how there are so many “superb chefs” that have been in the business only a few years. Most of those that are getting written about are in their 20s or 30s. What about all those that have been around longer than these new celebs have been alive, producing consistantly good food?
Seems that those getting the hype are doing nothing but combining expensive but odd ingredients and charging outrageous prices for it.
Who in their right mind would make a hamburger by combining Kobe beef and combining it with fois gras, than charge $28 for it? What a waste of ingredients!
Sure morels aren’t cheap and neither is good chevere, but $19 for a crepe at Le Piegen (and what an appropriate name….for their customers!
Even though Pok Pok’s chicken wings taste great, charging $10 for what probably cost them less than $2 is, IMO, simply screwing them over…and I don’t understand how a whole chicken is the same price when it is just as tasty (although different).
Another place is charging something like $9 for a beet salad!
I can appreciate fresh, organic produce, but restauarnts are buying at wholesale; not retail.
I see no reason to use such expensive items in many of the dished that are being hyped. As an example, how many people can actually tell the difference between pork that cost $5 a pound and $10 a pound at wholesale, once it has some sort of fruit sauce on it? If the meat is properly cooked, I would doubt if it’s more than 1 in 100.
I, for one, refused to pay the kinds of prices many restaurants charge.
As an example on the other side of the equasion, I can undersatnd how somone like PIx can charge $6 for a pastry and it still be a bargain. They have one desert that has marangue straws on it. Although the cost of the ingredients can’t be that much, how much time does it take to mix, bake and assemble the parts that make up that item?…..surely 10 times the amount of time it takes to mix up some crepe batter, clean a few mushrooms, and a piece of chevre…
Sorry for going on like this, but I really do think that a lot of diners in this city are either fools, or so wealthy that it simply doesn’t matter to them taht they are getting screwed over.
Kristi says
Dr. Stu,
If you hate the food scene here so much may I suggest that you either not eat our or move to a new town? Please. We all know how you feel, you don’t have to keeping posting about it over and over again. If I have to hear about the $19 crepe one more time I think I’m going to lose it! Yes, Denise, a broken record indeed!
truth says
It’s to the point where I have heard about this $19 crepe so much, I am starting to want it, badly
Mostly Running. says
I don’t know if I want to eat the $19 crepe, but I have been seriously considering the logistics of administering a crepe enema.
MR
Ellie says
Sorry – hit the tab key by accident.
And my two questions for Dr. Stu are…
1. Do you have ANY idea of the average net profit for a small, high-end restaurant?
2. Do you drive a Hummer?
Papaki says
Dr. Stu writes:
I’ve never worked in the restaurant biz, but I remember reading many years ago that restaurants need to charge 5 times the wholesale cost of ingredients to break even. I think that’s pretty standard in the entire industry nationwide, is it not?
I hope you don’t need to be reminded, Dr. Stu, that when you dine in a restaurant you’re not merely paying for the cost of the raw materials you’re eating.
Doctor Stu says
I believe the net profit for most restaurants, excluding chains (which buy in huge volume), is around 5%. As to a 5 times markup from wholesale, that might be needed in a fancy restaurant with a big staff, but Pok Pok (which I like very much, with the exception that I think some of the items are overpriced) doesn’t need to be making that, and even though Andy put himself financially on the line, doesn’t need to try to recoop the investment that quickly. I think a unique restaurant like Pok Pok will last a LONG time….and no, I don’t drive a Hummer. Both my wife and I drive Hyundais…in fact the ones we have today are our 3rd and 4th Hyundais. We like things that are relatively inexpensive, reliable, and consistant. We could afford more hip and trendy vehicles (and restaurants, if we wanted to go into or savings), but why? At 60 we both could care less about impressing anyone.
Mostly Running. says
Dr. Dre,
3.5 to 5x is a very good average for regular menu items at restaurants. Specials tend to have smaller margins because of the scaricity and utilization of product that might not move otherwise. If you are an economist, these should be enough breadcrumbs for you to follow. My suspicion is that you are a very smart troll that is abusing someone’s good name.
I know very little about restaurants, but I know enough to say that someone who prattles on about being of the London School of Economics needs to shut up and listen to people with experience in the restaurant industry if they plan on gaining knowledge. The model you are using is inefficient for “alternative” marketplaces, and your peers have seen this coming for a while. Hell, an undergrad at Chicago has a better grasp than you do.
MR
Food Dude says
I know Andy at Pok Pok maxed his credit cards and mortgaged his house to pay for his restaurant. Those are probably not low interest rates. I’m surprised he keeps the prices as low as he has, and for one, feel like the food is very fairly priced for the quality he’s turning out.
nancy says
Food Dude, I beg you: install some sort of spellcheck.
As for the price of of a meal, here are a few items I don’t think Dr. Stu has factored in:
Rent, electricity, gas, appliances, dishes; replacement dishes; licenses; health insurance; cash register tape; liquor license; inspection fees, esp. to the water guy, who comes three times and won’t let you open until after the third; ice machine; fire insurance; workman’s comp.; taxes (state; local; Trimet; equipment); security system; computer system; accountant; bookeeper; lawyer; advertising; hardware; contractors, cleaning supplies; paper goods; take-out containers; phone. Oh, right, and food, and booze, and payroll.
With the exception of the water guy (and several of the taxes), all these costs are monthly, weekly, or daily. Meaning, you have not factored in the build-out, which, even at a place as small as Whiskey Soda, is easily in the five figures, and I’d wager, six.
loki says
I have been in this town for 15 years and the average prices at restaurants are only now matching those of restaurants that I worked in in Boston and Chicago (15 years ago!). Very few places here are overpriced…..and many less verge on the exorbitant. If you compare Portland’s prices to those of other cities you will find them similar if not less.
In Dr Stu’s defense: He is 60 and probably quite nostalgic about the days of yore………back when bread was free.
Out of curiosity, I would like to know when Dr Stu moved here and from where……..because if there is another city in this country that has such a variety of restaurants serving similar food at half the price….then that is where I want to be.
By the way, IHOP have these fantastic crepes for only $6.95 and they are much fatter than Le Pigeon’s…..now there’s a deal!
loki says
oops
grapedog says
All this debate about prices charged for food in restaurants! We all know that restaurants are a business, which means they are going to want to maximize profits and will charge as much as the market will bear. (example: notice gas prices recently?)
So, Le Pigeon charges $19 for a crepe. People are buying it! Lines form outside of the restaurant because it’s now a fun, trendy, see-and-be-seen type of place to be.
Once people stop buying $28 hamburgers, the prices will change or the menu item will disappear completely. But, as long as they are buying, the restaurant will be selling and life goes on as it always has in this country.
Nikos says
Don’t forget the Rooty Tooty Fresh and Fruity combo for an amazing few dollars at IHOP. Or for similar price one can have “Vive la French Toast”
Doctor Stu says
To Loki:
I lived in Salt Lake City for about 18 monthsm than prior to that in Los Angeles from 1998 to 2005. Before that I lived in England for almost 30 years, but during that period I spent about 75% of my time in Europe and 25% of my time in the US. Although it was almost 2 years ago, the best restaurants in Salt Lake City were about half of what are considered to be the best restaurants here by most reviewers. Of course, Salt Lake City, only having a population of 185,000 has many fewer restaurants.
Now, to address profit: The number of employees and the amount of time the owner/operator is willing to put in greatly affect the bottom line. A place like Pok Pok can’t have that big an employee expense. Even if the loans were $500,000, that should amount to something like $2500 a month. There would be no rent; only mortgage expenses. Let’s say another $1000 a month for water, power, etc. Supplies at wholesale should be about half of what they would be at retail, so let’s say another $2500 a month. Even if I am off by 100%, at 50 customers a day spending $20 each (and I think they do more business than that), they are making a damn good profit. If it were my business, I would reduce the prices by 15-20%, increase my customer base due to greater afordability to the general; public (there are a LOT of people who would probably like to eat there but can’t afford a $20 meal), and make the place more sustailable in the long run.
sidemeat says
Generally speaking, I’ve found that most business plans written on cocktail napkins aren’t worth a damn.
Papaki says
Ah, well, that explains it: Salt Lake City’s metro area is half the size of Portland’s. It makes sense that its best restaurants would cost half as much. I think you’ll find that there’s always a direct relationship between the size of a metro area and the cost of living there, driven by real estate costs, supply and demand, etc. That largely explains why dining out in Portland is so much cheaper than dining at places of similar caliber in San Francisco, say, or Chicago, or New York.
In my experience, every small community I’ve lived in was always much cheaper than every large city. Not just restaurants. Everything. (When I lived in small-town North Carolina, it used to cost me $30 to groom my dog; here it’s $60. On the other hand, the groomer here is twice as good.) The reason so many people gravitate to the bigger cities is that they have so much more to offer — dining options included. But we generally get what we pay for in life, don’t we?
sidemeat says
The town I grew up in was so small (how small was it?)
The restaurants paid us to eat there.
pollo elastico says
Wait, Dr. Stu — if Pok Pok was your business, you would lower prices even though you are busy all the time? Even though you’ve had to expand 3 times in the last year alone to deal with the increased business?
Crunch as many hypothetical numbers as you want (and like Nancy enumerated, you’re completely leaving out some very real costs of doing business), but if you can’t grasp this very simple reality of free market economics then I have some Geocities stock I want to sell to you.
Kristi says
Here’s an idea for you Dr. Stu, put your money where your mouth is and open your own restaurant. I’m not sure why you feel the need to tell people who are running succesful restaurants that they need to do things differently. If you don’t like the prices, don’t eat there. Simple enough. I have a feeling, though, that all of this is about personal issues you have and not really about the prices Portland restaurants are charging.
andy ricker says
“Now, to address profit: The number of employees and the amount of time the owner/operator is willing to put in greatly affect the bottom line. A place like Pok Pok can’t have that big an employee expense. Even if the loans were $500,000, that should amount to something like $2500 a month. There would be no rent; only mortgage expenses. Let’s say another $1000 a month for water, power, etc. Supplies at wholesale should be about half of what they would be at retail, so let’s say another $2500 a month. Even if I am off by 100%, at 50 customers a day spending $20 each (and I think they do more business than that), they are making a damn good profit. If it were my business, I would reduce the prices by 15-20%, increase my customer base due to greater afordability to the general; public (there are a LOT of people who would probably like to eat there but can’t afford a $20 meal), and make the place more sustailable in the long run.”
I was sent a link to this thread today. I very rarely ever comment on things written about pok pok because after all, it’s just people’s opinions that they are entitled to. But Dr. Stu, you are so far off in your reckoning as to be laughable. I’m certainly not going to go into details (except to tell you I have about 30 employees and that I spend an average of 90 hours a week at work) but it is very obvious you have no clue as to restaurant economics or of what it takes to run one, let alone the details of this particular restaurant. I’m not trying get into any kind of conversation here and this will be my last comment on the subject, and possibly the last comment I ever post here, but this kind of misconception is one of the main reasons people either decide to hate a restaurant or try and open one. Restaurant owners work as hard as anybody does in any industry and I know of very few who are getting rich from it, let alone making more than a living. My suggestion is that if you feel like you are being ripped off by any business that you should never go there again. You probably will not be missed.
Cognos says
Doc Stu – I wonder if you’ve used your London School of Economics skills to complete an economic model for a hypothetical restaurant in Portland. This exercise would allow you factor in all of the annual costs, let you figure how many covers per day with an average cost per diner, would let a restaurant fly in this city. Because the reality is that real estate costs (rent), wages, taxes, and a number of other things will make Portland more expensive than Salt Lake. I’d truly be curious to know what your number crunching comes up with for an independent (leave the chains in chains) restaurant serving high quality food made with high quality ingredients in this city.
Doctor Stu says
{Quote Papaki] Ah, well, that explains it: Salt Lake City’s metro area is half the size of Portland’s. It makes sense that its best restaurants would cost half as much. I think you’ll find that there’s always a direct relationship between the size of a metro area and the cost of living there, driven by real estate costs, supply and demand, etc. That largely explains why dining out in Portland is so much cheaper than dining at places of similar caliber in San Francisco, say, or Chicago, or New York. [/QUOTE]
That makes no sense at all. The number of restaurants here is substantially LARGER as a percentage of the population than Salt Lake, so I they should be charging less to be competitive. Prices in Los Angeles are no more than here, and sometimes even less than at the better restaurants here. I have not found the better restauarants in Portland to be any cheaper than equivelent restaurants than even in Paris!
I would never open a restaurant, even though I am a pretty good cook and have won a number of contests. Far too much risk for my taste.
Doctor Stu says
Dear Mr.Ricker:
With all due respect, if you need 30 people to run your place, I think some aren’t doing their job. I managed a deli in London, England while attending graduate school that had an average of 400 customers a day and average sales of 3000 pounds (about $6000 at that time) with a total staff of 12.
Cuisine Bonne Femme says
Andy, thanks so much for reading PF&D and for giving us your voice. Obviously you work hard and it has paid off for you – congrads on ROY. Well deserved.
Dr. Stu:
Please be specific and name these comparable restaurants in Paris and Portland. I find your statements very doubtful, especially factoring in the VAT charged in France and the prices in Parisian restaurants overall.
loki says
Well, I was ready to up and move……..but Salt Lake City!!!
I too lived in England (London) and I would be very interested to know exactly where you were finding meals at prices as low as Portland. Most fine dining restaurants worth their salt in London are 3 to 4 times the price of Portland’s most expensive. (Maybe 30 years London’s prices were comparable to what Portland charges now).
Rodney says
Well Andy,
That should settle it for you. You could save a bundle on labor if you give up this Thai thing and start pumping out sandwiches.
Congratulations on ROY. You guys/girls deserve it but I guess my peaceful Monday lunch is gone for awhile.
Rodney
reflexblue says
I’m with Stu here. I said the same thing comparing San Francisco v. PDX. I also posted fair comparisons. Although, I think Delphina may be better than any of the restaurants discussed on this board.
Here’s another example dim sum is two to three times as expensive here. Oh, and will I ever have a hot, fresh piroshiki for a dollar-fifty again? Well, certainly, just in another city besides Portland despite its large Russian population.
I guess mine is a different perspective from Stu’s, but the same point. The poster who derided $7.50 pho but raved over $19 fried-chicken sums up a lot of the Portland palate.
Maybe this is why Toro Bravo has a hamburger on the menu instead of a delicious cocido. Ironic, since the worst hamburguesas in my memory were as a child in Spain.
rye says
Hey Dr. Stu,
I don’t have the diplomacy so many others have shown you recently, so here goes. Why don’t you shut your big, fat yap?
Do you really think you’re so much more knowledgeable about this subject than the people in Portland who’ve worked their asses off to build successful restaurants? You seem to imply that these people are idiots and rip-off artists, their customers are idiots…..everyone is an idiot except for you. I mean, I guess you’re entitled to your opinion, but facts are facts and you don’t have all the facts, man.
amoureuse says
Andy, I dont know you, but congrats! As for Dr. Stu, ignore him. He is an angry little man, who has no money to dine out. So instead he bad mouths everyone, every restaurant etc….. LSE huh? you must have failed because you obviously didnt take to your trade. Waiting two years for your retirement to kick in? What no savings to live on? Its not our fault you drive a Hyundai, or think PDX restaurants Are too expensive…Where do you eat in town? Where did you eat in London? You are so negative…I feel sorry for your family…..Your poor wife and kids must not be able to shop, eat, live or laugh under your dark cloud.
mczlaw says
GONG HIM.
–mcz
Doctor Stu says
[QUOTE] amoureuse:
As for Dr. Stu, ignore him. He is an angry little man, who has no money to dine out. So instead he bad mouths everyone, every restaurant etc….. LSE huh? you must have failed because you obviously didn’t take to your trade. Waiting two years for your retirement to kick in? What no savings to live on? Its not our fault you drive a Hyundai, or think PDX restaurants Are too expensive…Where do you eat in town? Where did you eat in London? You are so negative…I feel sorry for your family…..Your poor wife and kids must not be able to shop, eat, live or laugh under your dark cloud. [/QUOTE]
Am I angry, no. Do I think people are stupid for paying the prices asked in many of the restaurants around town, yes.
As to my retirement, I was perfectly aware I couldn’t get it until 65. My mother got ill, and was a vegetable for 4 years. I returned to the US to take care of her. I sold my home in England and antique cars, spending 98% of my life’s savings, to the tune of 2 million dollars, rather than use Medicare and Medical doctors, and passing the costs on to the general public.
I still have some savings and both my wife and I have some income, but we are not in a position to piss money away, and unwilling to pay what we feel are exorbitant prices. I don’t need a BMW or Hummer to show off, a Hyundai gets me where I need to go.
I don’t bad mouth everyone. There are any number of restuarants which I DO think have fair pricing. Even with Pok Pok, which you mention, I think most of the items are priced fairly. I just don’t see how chicken wings can cost more than a whole chicken.
I don’t have the ability to stop you or anyone else from spending what I think are outrageous prices for certain items. I just think you are a fool for doing so.
I’d bet if you asked 1000 people if they thought $28 for a hamburger was insane, 90% or more would say yes. Only those with egos bigger than their brains would say no.
extramsg says
Food Dude, I apologize. When we chased off Dr. Stu, aka Dr. Etceterini, on PortlandFood recently (one of only three ever to be moderated there) I suggested he “go annoy Food Dude”. He had never listened to me before, so I didn’t expect him to this time. Sorry.
btw, he’s so full of shit, as is apparent here, his moniker should be Dr. Stool. Evidence that he’s a troll: on PortlandFood he argued, on the one hand, what he’s arguing here — that chefs and restaurant owners are greedy, overcharging their customers. (And, of course, that all us diners are stupid for paying their exorbitant prices.) But on the other hand, he asserted that chefs and restaurant owners were selfish for entering a business that was so likely to fail and had such poor returns on investment. Seems contradictory, no? No. The theme is always: chefs are bad.
He’s a troll, I suspect both online and in real life, I’m amazed several PortlandFood moderators have felt the need to mix it up with him once again. I guess we should feel sorry for him and his addiction. But can I suggest that everyone, where ever he shows up, not feed his addiction, not feed the troll.
amoureuse says
WHAT MSG SAID!!!!!
Doctor Stu says
I never said that chefs are bad, but I did say that I thought some restaurant owners were greedy and self-centered, and that I think most of the people here are so stupid they either don’t realize or don’t care that they are getting screwed over. Obviously my view is in th minority. Being called a troll because I simply have a different opinion is something different, and nothing more than a reflection of the bias the effete elitist fools here have. Go gather in your groups, the same way that those that believe in some sort of mystical, magical, omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent space fairy do. I guess ignorance is bliss to most of you.
mclav says
Well, Dr. Stu, the Portland restaurant-goer may indeed be stupid, but you’re not too sharp yourself for thinking that contradictory opinions fly around these parts, troll or not–much more so on Portland Food–where all the regular contributors seem to be “moderators”
Mostly Running. says
Dr. Dre-
Ever since you mentioned that you studied under Stephen Hawking I have found it irresistible to put your posts through the synthesized voice Word offers.
“Different opinion is something different.” It’s like mad-lib zen. You truly are priceless. I mean cheap. Damn it, that’s confusing.
Where’s Pork Cop when you need him?
MR
pollo elastico says
This from a guy who spent millions of his own cash in lieu of utilizing Medicare. Add this thread to your long list of pyrrhic victories.
(For those keeping score at home)…
Dr. Stu: 2. The hoi polloi: 0.
kentonmiss says
this pissing fest of a “conversation” is hilarious. and seems sort of pointless although an amusing distraction from work.
Doctor Stu says
This ends the pissing fest for me. I’ll let those of you enjoy your overpriced gourmet gopher gonads in hazelnut and berry sauce, or whatever other overpriced crap is passing for good food at various restaurants here in Portland.
sidemeat says
There was a pissing contest and I was not informed?
Oh, I am in slow burn mode.
Chambolle says
Stuart,
You’ve gone from just being baffling to being outright insulting. Realize this. When you cast a wide net, you’re likely to catch something you didn’t mean to – so take it easy. You’re retired, right? Enjoy the view. Some of us are still working hard to earn to that right. In the meantime, if you’ve got something to say that’s so relevant, come to our place of business and say it. You are the dark side of blogging.
QuoVadis says
Is Dr. Stu familiar with the old country song axiom “how can I miss you if you won’t go away”?
Erin says
Actually, Dr. Stu, before you piss off:
Could you please just tell me where the people who worship the mystical, magical, omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent space fairy congregate?
I seriously would like to get into some of that.
Thanks.
mczlaw says
Someone revealed Chef Stu’s top secret knock-your-socks-off super sustainable special at Terrier to Dr. Stu? Wait. . .Stu and Stu. You don’t suppose. . .?
–mcz, E.E.F.
PS: So sorry to see Stu stew.
Joisey says
Gopher Gonads are so mid-90’s.
Doctor Stu says
Fisrt, I wasn’t the one to turn this into a pissing contest. I simply posted my opinions about the Portland restaurant scence, and was called a troll for disagreeing with the majority.
Erin: There are thousand of places of worship in Portland alone where people congregate regularly to worship the mystical, magical space fairy. Most of these people call the space fairy God.
Hunter says
I have stayed out of this one but have found it great reading. Stu, please don’t attempt to play the martyr card. The only posts I have ever seen from you witin the confines of this site were critical of anything and everything. “I lived in Europe and everything is better there”; “I know better than you and you’re wrong”; “Portland knows nothing about food and the restaurants are pedestrian and too expensive”. It’s all negative. It’s almost as if you are, excuse the pun, trolling for an argument. You have a right to disagree but being contrarian for the sake of being contrarian is just annoying. That’s why you’re getting such a negative reaction.
Justine says
Hunter,
Thank you – you really nailed it. I, like you, stayed out of the fray because it was so juvenile and it seemed pointless and stupid to be pulled into defending the various insults thrown out. And then to try and pull the martyr thing on top of all that… well anyways hopefully he/she will keep their promise to stay away – life is too short and food too good.
And why would you not use Medicare? That’s just insane to pay out of pocket for medical care.
thebean says
Doctor Stu,
Please don’t go away. This is the funniest stuff I’ve read all week! You’re comparing managing a deli to running a restaurant! I can’t imagine why you needed as many as 12 people to sling pasties and a bag of crisps at Londoners of yore, but I love it. Your information is utterly worthless, but “gopher gonads” — priceless!
Andy, if you’re still reading this — congratulations! Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy, or a more deserving one.
Doctor Stu says
[QUOTE] thebean:
Doctor Stu,
Please don’t go away. This is the funniest stuff I’ve read all week! You’re comparing managing a deli to running a restaurant! I can’t imagine why you needed as many as 12 people to sling pasties and a bag of crisps at Londoners of yore, but I love it. Your information is utterly worthless, but “gopher gonads” — priceless!
Andy, if you’re still reading this — congratulations! Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy, or a more deserving one. [/QUOTE]
We did a lot more than “sling pasties”, as you put it. We also had something like 400 customers on an average day. I don’t see anything more difficult about seasoning a chicken and putting it on a spit or making curry than slicing meat and making sandwiches, or preparing salads from scratch. I ran a full-fledged deli; not just a “sandwich shop”.
My post was not intended as a knock on Andy. I just do not understand why SOME of his menu items cost as much as they do. It’s beyond me how an order of chicken wings can cost more than a whole chicken, for example.
[QUOTE] Justine: And why would you not use Medicare? That’s just insane to pay out of pocket for medical care.
[/QUOTE]
I DID use both Medicare and Medical, plus a supplemental policy my mother had. The total bills for doctors and facilities was almost 7 MILLION dollars, as she was actually in an ICU for almost 1 year. She was a vegetable with nothing more than a feeding tube in her stomach for over 4 years before she passed away. Medicare and Medical only pay a maximum for any particular service, and many times their maximum is something like 10% of what a typical doctor charges. If you want a decent doctor to come and he wants to charge more than what these maximums are, you reach in your pocket to pay the difference. I wanted the best possible care. I wasn’t legally responsible for anything, but to keep good doctors coming (I wouldn’t wish Medicare doctors on my worst enemy) I paid the difference, to the tune of close to 2 Million dollars. I belive medical care is the responsibility of the individual or their family, and should not be passed off on others through the government.
purple teeth says
Dr. Stool – Ha ha ha ha. Still giggling about that one. {I know, I’m juvenile} Yes, thanks for starting up this hilarious blogversation. Dr. Stool, you really need to take a pill or something. Gonads to you, old chap!
Sir Loins says
I’m gonna stick up for Stu here. As he himself said above:
“We like things that are relatively inexpensive, reliable, and consistant. We could afford more hip and trendy vehicles (and restaurants, if we wanted to go into or savings), but why? At 60 we both could care less about impressing anyone.”
Sounds like he did a pretty clear job of explaining where he’s coming from. He may not get a gold star this month for decorum, but so what? Let the guy express his opinions, however bluntly they’re delivered.
Yes, his constant criticisms can sound like a broken record, but come on; y’all have dogpiled the guy as if he’d been sh-t talking your mothers, when, in fact, some of you have been sh-t talking the way he handled his mother’s illness. Brown star for you all.
I’d bet the Doc realized pretty early on in his that he was going to rattle cages around here. Frankly, I find his point of view refreshing.
sidemeat says
I’ll chime in for Dr. Stu. There is a certain charm in his willingness to be unpopular. So he’s a gadfly. Big deal.
Vapid1 says
Here here. Now let’s get back to bashing the Hebb!
loki says
Restaurants are a little like doctors…..if you want a good meal you are going to have to pay for it. Why don’t you go blog on some medical site and leave those of us who enjoy the culinary equivalent of private health care alone.
sidemeat says
Dude,
I believe that you believe, as I believe, and I think that you believe as well, that SAMETHINK is for lesser sites.
Doctor Stu says
I am HAPPY to pay for a good meal, but there is a difference between what I consider a fair price and being overcharged. I LIKE the food at Pok Pok, but there are simply a few items that I haven’t tried, nor won’t, because I think they are overpriced. I LIKE Fujin because I think thir lunchs at around $5 and dinners at around $10 are substantially better than other “mom and pop” Chinese restaurants I have tried. Are they gourmet, no…but I’m not paying gourmet prices. I don’t complain about prices at Pix because I am aware of how much time goes into constructing their pasteries. I don’t complain about Mio Gelato charging over $3 for an cone, beacuse I think their product is substantially better than Baskin Robins or other that charge the same price. I think Petite Provence has the best almond croisants in town regardless of price, and they are actually cheaper than some other bakeries charge. I simply want good food at realistic prices. The hype and publicity a restaurant gets means NOTHING to me, and I won’t pay the extra money just because someone gets it. There are also some restauranteers that are simply rude and obnoxious, and no matter how good their food is, I will not pay to be treated like they are doing me a favor by “allowing” me to dine in their restaurant. No matter what I say, it is simply my OPINION, just as anything anyone else posts is theirs. I can’t stop anyone from eating anywhere THEY want to, for whatever reason….but it is not going to change my opinion of somone who is willing to pay $28 for a hamburger.
sidemeat says
O.K.,
I’ll defend you….
But, grammer, spilling, punctusumpthin, some teeny bit of respect for the langewhich tha wee all use.
Let’s not get into your math.
O.K doykee w/you Doc?
PestoGal says
Oh, for crap’s sake! Now you’re jumping on the guy’s spelling? If you’re going to jump down his throat for that, you’d better start doing it to the MANY MANY posters here whose grammar is atrocious. And you’d better start doing it to FD and other contributors—there are often spelling and grammatical errors in original posts, too. (For the record: it’s is a contraction for IT IS. It’s is not possessive!)
If you’re going to start getting picky about grammar, then you’d better extend your range and bitch to everyone who needs “a teeny bit of respect for the language we all use.”
Chambolle says
So what do you guys think? Oden or Durant?
Cuisine Bonne Femme says
Pestogirl, I confess. It’s my not so secret shame that I have grammar issues. Although hopefully I’m not the one getting its and it’s confused. Regardless, the first step is admitting I have a problem. The second step is to ask for help. What’s a part-time writer on a volunteer website without a copy editor to do? Feel free to correct me if you see anything glaring…
Alas, perhaps I can get a volunteer copy editor? (pesto girl, are you interested?)
That, and I make a pledge to take a grammar refresher sometime this summer.
My pet peeve: alot. It’s two words people, a lot. Not alot.
PestoGal says
CBF: I sent an email to the site administrator about copy editing. Check it out.
Cuisine Bonne Femme says
Thanks, got it. I sent you an e-mail in return. Let me know if you do not recieve it.
Looking forward to talking more…
As I done there told Food Dude, looks like I’m might have gotten me an copy editor which I need alot! (note: this poor grammar was intentional)
Mostly Running. says
Will unscrew grammar for food.
MR
loki says
You shouldn’t be screwing your grammar in the first place………….that’s just sick!
Justine says
Chamboelle
I gotta go with Oden – you can’t pass up a franchise player like that altho I love Durant – the guy can play. But I’m fairly confident Oden will not be our next Sam Bowie. At least I pray he’s not – at least he has better knees.
Hunter says
Now how can I take grammar lessons from someone that says “for crap’s sake”? Does crap have a sake and if so how did it get it?
reflexblue says
crap’s, cripe’s, christ’s all have sakes.
Cuisine Bonne Femme says
Come on, we only need 1 more comment to reach 100.
Then can we let this thread die please?
Food Dude says
I did not have sex with that woman!
Thread closed