Isabella enters Chapter 11, Coss takes Husk, Kent Rosenblum gone, a very hot Jesus, and more...
Family Meal - Friday, September 7th, 2018
Hello Friday,
This week at Yardbird in Hong Kong, I learned that given the opportunity to eat literally any cut of chicken known to humanity, Rappahannock Oyster Co. co-founder Ryan Croxton will order those small, round hunks of dark meat hanging out around the lower backbone. The man stays on brand, even when it comes to yakitori.
Let’s get to it…
The Next Chapter – “After months of restaurant closures and lawsuits, Mike Isabella‘s company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy [Thursday] morning.” The Washingtonian’s Jessica Sidman reports: “The bankruptcy petition includes Isabella’s parent company and most of his restaurants, but Kapnos Kouzina in Bethesda and Requin at the Wharf are excluded. The bankruptcy petition notes that Isabella Eatery’s revenues plummeted from around $1 million per month—enough to break even with 340 employees—to $300,000 following the ‘negative press’ that came with the sexual harassment lawsuit [filed against him in March]. Meanwhile, revenues at Graffiato DC sank from $50,000 to $5,000 per week.”
Isabella tells Sidman, “Hopefully by spring everything should be back to normal again.” That sound you hear blasting out of the Mike Isabella Concepts office this morning? It’s Go West. (Hit that link. Turn it up. You’re welcome.)
It is hard to overstate just how badly I think Isabella has handled all of this, from the alleged behavior that sparked the lawsuit, to his decision to go on the offensive against the victim of that behavior and flatly deny any possibility of misconduct by him or anyone at all in his company (while simultaneously claiming the victim also participated in some of the alleged misconduct). In an interview with the Washington Post’s Tim Carman and Maura Judkis, the chef blamed “bad press” for his company’s woes. Neat. I blame headaches for hangovers.
The (sad news) Follow up – Obits for NYC’s Kenny Shopsin came in throughout the week. Well worth reading at least one of the following: Helen Rosner in The New Yorker; Neil Genzlinger in the NYT; Robert Sietsema in Eater NY; Chris Crowley in GrubStreet; Russell Norman in The Guardian; and a small collection of customer social media notes via Stefanie Tuder in Eater (sample tweet from David Yee: “There's nothing I can say about Kenny Shopsin's passing that he wouldn't find insufferable, except: this city is a boring shithole made for tourists, and your kid is beautiful.”).
Michelin Season – The first 2019 Bib Gourmands are out in America. “Thirty-nine D.C. restaurants made the cut this year, including 19 new additions. One notable surprise is Rose Previte's mega-hit Maydan. With the live-fire restaurant's near constant stream of national accolades, one could have predicted they'd be on the short list for a star instead of a Bib Gourmand nod. Bad Saint continues to be in the same situation.” Details and full list via Laura Hayes at WCP.
A quick reminder of upcoming Michelin dates: D.C. stars will come out on 9/13. Chicago bibs out 9/19, stars 9/26; NYC bibs out 10/30, stars 11/6; SF bibs out 11/20, stars 11/29.
The Critics – ATTN SF PR: Eater SF critic Rachel Levine apologized for ignoring follower requests on her mostly personal / private Instagram over the past few months, and announced a more restaurant-centric handle this week. Butter her up in the comments at @offmenusf. Also, FYI: former East Bay Express critic Janelle Bitker has officially joined the Eater SF team.
In the Midwest, St. Louis Post-Dispatch critic Ian Froeb joined the movement and ditched anonymity this week. His twitter pic is now his headshot. I just lost a bet re: face tattoos.
And on the podcasts, the Eater Upsell this week features a worthwhile “Fall Preview” discussion with their national critic Bill Addison, including the public disclosure that he’s moving to LA (no mention of the LA Times).
Tennessee Moves – Wednesday headline in Nashville Scene: “Husk Nashville Promotes Katie Coss to Executive Chef: Longtime Neighborhood Dining Group chef will be first female exec in the company, succeeding Sean Brock.” She’ll be running an all-male kitchen, so we can look forward to lots of stories about how that works, plus occasional mention of her food.
For the Somm – Some sad news: “Kent Rosenblum, a pioneer winemaker in the modern California Zinfandel movement, died unexpectedly Sept. 5 from complications following knee replacement surgery. He was 74.” Full obituary from Esther Mobley.
For design fans – Not a whole lot worth noting in this Eater LA photo spread of new wood-fired pizza place Ronan. Guess the dividers between the pendant lights are kind of interesting, and I’m not a huge fan of the honeycomb tiling going on at the booths, but… Can someone please help me out: Are there a lot of pizza ovens on which the sole decoration is a prominent golden crucifix? Is this a thing?
And last but not least, more sad news – A key investor in not only Fort Lauderdale’s now-closed Burt & Jacks, but also the Daisy Diner concepts and “a chain of country-cooking, family-style restaurants” called Po’ Folks has died. He was 82. Here is some archival footage of him buying Jackie Gleason a sandwich while out on what looks like a real fun road trip with Sally Field. RIP.
And that’s it for today. L’shanah tova to some! Have a great weekend, all. If you’re coming through Hong Kong and want to grab some oysters – bird-based or otherwise – let me know.
I’ll see you here Tuesday for next Family Meal.
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