AskDong

Over the course of the last 4 weeks, I have remarkably fewer places to eat out.  A few burned down.  Another closed suddenly.  I’ll have to get my Indian across the river as well.

The underlying denominator in all these is the economic downturn.  In the case of the fire it’s unsubstantiated.  I’m generally very skeptical of restaurant fires especially during hard economic times.   I’ve seen too many restaurants burn down just at they were suddenly going to relocate or go under.  That’s just the conspiracy theorist in me.

The restaurant closings, however, no if and but about it.   If there’s anything that’s discretionary, it’s dining out.   The first restaurant closing I mention, Excelsior, was a high end restaurant that caters to expense accounts.  I don’t have an expense account, but had been going often as they were offering some fantastic deals.  I was able to walk out with a half dozen oysters on half shell, 2 beers, and a entree for a little under $20 not including tip.   The deals should’ve been a giveaway.  No restaurant doing great business runs specials, especially a high end one such as Excelsior.

I expect more restaraunts to close in these difficult economic times.   I also expect that many that don’t to offer some concessions on prices.   I have already noticed that many national chains have already done so in the past year.   Commercials touting price seem far more common as well.   I have visions of Apple Grilled Bacon wrapped sirloin, and I live about 2 states from the closest Golden Corral.  For those who are gainfully employed, the selection may be meeker but the value might be greater.

I was in Berkeley, CA last week. One of the most famous restaurant in that most hip(ppie) of cities is Alice Water’s . I was lucky enough to dine upstairs one night. The cafe is upstairs while the more formal restaurant is downstairs.

Alice Waters practically invented California cuisine and popularized eating “locally and fresh.” Chez Panisse is HER restaurant. I’m not one to bow at the temple of the celebrity chef, but I was stirred to a frenzy by the accolades. My girlfriend and I walked into the restaurant with more than $400 in cash. We were ready to spend every penny of that.

At the end of the meal, my girlfriend had spent less than $100 on entrées and appetizers, and we only spent that much because we ordered three entrée. Every entrée was priced under $30, and most were between $20 and $26. We ordered three entrées because we were so shocked by the low prices. The menu reflected the cuisine – simple and flavorful.

I came away from Chez Panisse more than satisfied but further agitated with how many other high end restaurants believe they are only as good as they charge. For every Chez Panisses there are three French Laundries, and Per Se’s. The Prix Fixe at Chez Panisse ranges between $55 to $85 for dinner while lunch at Per Se doesn’t even start at anything below $150. Great food does not need be too pricey. I am guilty as the next person falling into to the trap of thinking more expensive is better. There’s a relationship, certainly, but especially towards the top of that scale that relationship become more arbitrary than fact.

Yesterday, I started an account on Yelp. Why? It seems whenever I’m doing a search on a resturaunt, Yelp results are on the top of list. The user reviews are thorough, and generally pretty good. Though whenever reading user reviews, I feel they must be read with a grain of salt. There are too many reviewers who want to rant. The problem with rants is that they often focus on specific problems that are usually particular to that day or that situation. I usually don’t gather that much information from these types of rants.

I eat out a lot, too much really. Given my eating habits, I feel like should be adding something else other than inches to my waistline. Yelp seems like a good community and has effectively leveraged itself as social network and not just a user review site. I also have accounts on Facebook and Linkedin, but I don’t really use them. Yelp seems like a good place for me to make a more active foray into social networking given it’s centered on something I love, food. Of course the beauty of Yelp! is that it’s not just about food like Chowhound. Yelp wants to fry bigger fish.

So what was my first review of? The new Orinoco in Brookline Village. Orinoco is a Venezuelan restaurant and fantastic value. Everything is under $20, and most entrees hover between $13 and $17. It’s hip place, though I hear the South End location is much hipper.

I’m a great lover of food. There are few foods I dislike, mushrooms probably being the most notable. Recently I’ve been trying to be more conscience of my grazing habits. I want to eat well, but I also want to eat in a sustainable manner. One of the things I’m trying to cut back on is certain types of seafood.  Much of the most popular seafood; tuna, shrimp, chilean sea bass, etc are either endangered in the case of bluefin tuna or raised in an environmentally destructive manor as with shrimp.

I’m probably going to pick up a copy of Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood. Taras Grescoe the author was recently interviewed on Salon.  I like food books even when they’re an attack on the things I love.

I’m never going to be utmost environmentally conscience consumer.  Vegetarianism is probably the way to go, but I like I meat more than quite a bit. Seafood, however, represents a unique ethical problem.  Seafood as the name implies is harvested from the seas. But who sows and tends these crop? Hardly anyone.  The oceans as they rightly should be, belong to everyone and as result nobody actually takes any ownership. The Oceans are the ultimate commons.  Fishing boats from around the world fish the same seafood thousands of miles from home shores.

As with most commonly shared resource, an ethical crisis tends to arise - Tradgedy of Commons.  Simply stated Tragedy of the Commons is that individuals in this particular case the fishing industry from a multitude of nations act logically in their own self  interest to overuse the common resource of the oceans.  All food production has an environmental impact, but oceanic fishing is one of the few that takes place free from national borders.  It’s a difficult industry to regulate, and as result it’s even more critical how we as consumers behave. The burden is upon all of us to collectively demand environmentally sustainable fishing by adjusting what we eat. The Salon interview highlighted a fantastic tool from the Monterey Aquarium on what to buy and eat.  As a result I had mussels instead of the Atlantic Halibut last night.  It was cheaper to boot.

Yesterday, I hosted a Boston Marathon party for one of my co-workers who was running the Marathon. My apartment is on the route. The company was kind enough to pick up the tab. As a result we had the party catered with BBQ. The total catering bill was for a little over $500. There was more than enough food to serve 30 people so it was less than $20/head. We ended up feeding a little over 20, and having massive leftovers. While I supplemented my own personal holiday party wtih some catering, this was the first time I’ve hosted something that was completely catered. Besides in this case I had catering that I would be unable to do myself. I do not have the facilities to make BBQ ribs….

I have to say, it was money well spent. It’s a lot of easier for me to say that since I’m not actually footing the tab, but even if I were I might still be inclined to agree. Hosting is expensive even when you make all the preparations yourself. In this situation, there was no way I had time to make actual preparations given the party took place in the late morning and early afternoon. Had I actually tried to cook as much food as I got catered, I’m sure it would’ve cost me close to $200. Basically I paid $300 for labor, but sometimes paying that premium is well worth it. After having this last event completely catered, I realize how much more enjoyable hosting could be. Often times when I host something, I’m usually making last minute preparations. This time I had none to make. It was great. Still caterting is expensive, and I’m not sure I would do if the bill were left to me.