"..no one should eat in the North End- EVER."
--Boston chef on social media
What a provocative statement, dismissive of an entire neighborhood of over 100+ restaurant, bakeries and eateries. This original statement was presented without any context or explanation. As soon as I read this unsubstantiated statement, I immediately felt it was unfair and disrespectful. In fact, I felt it was ridiculous.
First, it's unfair as how can you so easily dismiss over 100 restaurants as a single group? Do you possess current knowledge of each and every one of those restaurants? Extremely doubtful. Are you relying on information from the past? Again, do you have past information about every one of these spots? Extremely doubtful. How do you know whether that past information is still accurate? Restaurants change all the time, and whatever problems they might have had in the past might have been rectified.
You shouldn't make such an overly broad generalization, especially when there's no way you can support it in each and every case. That would simply be arrogance. There are so many ways that declaration could have been worded such better, and more accurately. You should only be speaking about those places for which you have current and reliable information.
The chef, later in the thread, mentioned a vague reason for dismissing all of these restaurants, stating he had been in their kitchens, and "If you’ve seen what I’ve seen, you wouldn’t let a dog eat there." He didn't indicate that he had been in the kitchen of all 100+ restaurants. He didn't mention how many of those restaurants he had visited. And he didn't provide any specific details of what he saw, just vague references to uncleanliness. He also failed to indicate when he had been in any of those kitchens. Was it last week, last year, five years ago, and longer?
He certainly didn't provide sufficient evidence to support his provocative statement. And it seems to go beyond merely his opinion as he apparently wants to claim that it is a fact. Later in the thread, he also stated, "I’ve been in those kitchens. Some things are not a matter of opinion." If all these restaurants were so dirty, why haven't we heard about this before? Did the chef report these restaurants to the Board of Health? Does the chef possess any evidence beyond his own word?
Second, the chef's provocative statement is also disrespectful to the restaurant owners, chefs, cooks, and others who work hard in the North End to provide quality cuisine. That's a lot of people to so easily dismiss, to indicate they are not worthy of anyone's patronage. The chef did backtrack a little later in the thread, stating there were maybe a couple exceptions, including "Mama Maria’s, and maybe 1 or 2 other places." What is the name of those other 1 or 2 spots? The chef doesn't identify them, further disrespecting those restaurants with his blanket condemnation, failing to set them apart.
The chef's provocative statement also disrespects every food writer who has ever praised a North End restaurant. It's as if he is saying all of these food writers were wrong and ignorant. I would certainly fall into this category as I certainly have favorite restaurants in the North End, as do all of my food-writing friends. I don't know anyone else who would dismiss every restaurant in the North End, or any other local neighborhood with a significant number of restaurants.
What you say online can have various ramifications, whether positive or negative, so you should be careful what you say. For a chef to make such a provocative and unsubstantiated claim, there is likely a high chance there will be a negative effect to his words. For example, the chef could alienate potential customers. He might find that other restaurant owners aren't as helpful or friendly to him any longer. He might find his restaurant ignored by food writers. And with the tough financial situations of most restaurants, can any chef afford to potentially alienate so many people?
There is a big difference between making a solid, evidentiary-based case of a restaurant's wrong doings and making an unsubstantiated, overgeneralization about over 100 restaurants. Please note that I'm not going to identify the chef at issue as their identity is irrelevant to the example I've presented. My words would apply to any chef who made such a provocative statement. The chef certainly has the right to offer his opinion, but that doesn't mean it has to be accepted as valid or the truth.
This should be a cautionary tale for all chefs. Please be careful of what you say on social media.
4 comments:
I have heard variations on that statement quite a few times, usually from haughty self-styled food experts. To a limited degree, I would have to agree. I have eaten at nearly every place in the North End, and aside from a treasured few gems, most places are quite forgettable, no better than a suburban chain. If it is any reassurance, the same could be said of Rome or Florence. There is a fundamental problem, probably traced to sky-high commercial rents. If you're going to operate a restaurant in the North End, you can chase the small number of sophisticated diners who really KNOW Italian food. The sort of people who used to dine at Erbaluce. Or you can pay your rent with a little left over by serving the huge crowds of largely suburban diners who flock to the 'big city' twice a year for a show or to see a game at the Garden, and who get their knowledge of Italian food from Chef Boyardee and Olive Garden. Those folks would be extremely offended by hearing you don't make giant platters of cheap starches and rubbery meats for $19. They'd shriek on Yelp about being ripped off for a 'tiny' plate of exquisite manila clams with branzino, or luscious chestnut stuffed ravioli, or perhaps an espresso rubbed venison tenderloin...
Well said Richard. Well said Frederick.
I spent 5 years in an Italian restaurant in the North End that had been open for 65 years. It was called The European. My grandfather also worked in the North End restaurant business from the 1930's until the late 1940's in the Cantina Italiana. Both restaurants had food that was both very good and highly consistent, which kept generations of people coming back, something the chef (or whatever he is) who made the disparaging remarks will never achieve. I've had the good fortune of eating across many parts of Italy and I have no problem enjoying the North End dining scene. Check out any place by Frank DePasquale if you have any doubts. And...spoiler alert...in Italy, there's no such thing as "Italian" food. It's all regional.
There are a few exceptions (Il Molo, Neptune, Pomodoro, and I have had good meals at Taranta in the past), but for the most part, the North End is not at the top of my list based on the countless other mediocre places I've tried. That said, I'm not opposed to trying a new spot that opens, or going there if friends are interested. Chefs come and go, things change and writing off an entire area is ridiculous. Plus, this is a super small town and you never know who you may want to work with in the future so spouting off in social is not terribly wise.
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