PPP extension, BI suits,Yelp reviews review, Critics return, and more...
Family Meal - Friday, March 19th, 2021
Hello Friday,
Reminder to newcomers that you can find Tuesday’s paid subscriber Family Meal copy / pasted at bottom. If you’d like to start getting Tuesdays’ on Tuesdays…
Let’s get to it…
The Relief – The RESTAURANTS Act gets all the attention these days, but PPP2 is still kicking. Good news from Carmen Reinicke on CNBC Tuesday: “The House of Representatives voted to extend the Paycheck Protection Program for two months. The bill… would extend the program to May 31, instead of the current date of March 31.” Politico’s Zachary Warmbrodt says Chuck Schumer is “setting up a vote to end debate and then vote on passage of the bill, which is expected next week.”
This is an especially big deal for late applicants hoping to take advantage of the last minute rule change allowing borrowers to calculate max funds based on gross — not net — income. But, asked if the extension “will allow retroactive loan amount update for borrowers who already received funds calculated based on their net income?” Warmbrodt replied only, “It won’t.”
The Critics – Read this too late to ask for comment from the SF Chronicle’s Soleil Ho, but was caught off guard by a few parts of her latest review. First, genuine (happy) surprise that more critics are back to recommending people go out to eat: “As outdoor dining experiences go, Usu-zan [the temporary concept from Kattina and Kyle Connaughton at Single Thread] is worth the trip.” Italics mine.
Second, I have been reading so many pieces about how workers feel unsafe in restaurants that this section raised both my eyebrows: “Staff are diligent about masks, though not strict about asking diners to mask up before they approach to clear empty plates (which they do a lot, and very promptly). It’s a little awkward at first, but the staff are amenable to whatever boundaries you want to establish for your mutual safety.” The argument up until this point in much of food media had been: Yes, but that’s because they are forced to do that. Has that pendulum swung?
And third, Ho calls hotpot “lowbrow,” which is maybe a term of endearment among hotpot lovers — and to be clear, I don’t think of Ho as someone who runs around trying to check everyone’s adjectives, so this is not some sort of gotcha attempt — but as a casual reader of the discourse, it surprised me to see the Chronicle refer to a dish that way. Thoughts? (NB: Nom Wah’s Barb Leung tells me on Twitter that hotpot “can be whatever you want it to be,” which is the best thought.)
But hey, reviews! Of in-person dining! In restaurants! With extra notes on the design! By (relatively low-key?) Ken Fulk!
The Yelp Review Review – In Eater DC, Lenore Adkins reports on El Sapo owner “Raynold Mendizábal, who spent a decade establishing himself as a chef in D.C. before a move to Silver Spring to open Urban Butcher steakhouse in 2013.” Adkins says he is being sued by a former hostess at the now-closed Urban Butcher. The “then-minor, identified as Jane Doe in court documents, is accusing the 50-year-old of battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress for ‘routinely’ sexually harassing her.” But… that’s not really the point of the article, and only arrived as a side note after Adkins’s reporting had already begun. The real content comes from “nearly 100 negative reviews on [Yelp] that describe him as rude, argumentative, and, in more than one case, expressing racist views.” Don’t want to downplay the accusations at all (read them!) but this is the first time I’ve read a chef exposé made up almost entirely of deep-dives into public Yelp comments. A product of reporting in the pandemic? A sign of things to come?
The Suits – Business interruption lawsuits are alive and well! In North Carolina, WRAL’s Kathy Hanrahan reports, “Ashley Christensen is the latest restaurant owner to sue her insurance company over business interruption coverage due to COVID-19…. The lawsuit also seeks damages for breach of contract, noting that the business interruption policies purchased did not exclude viruses or government shutdown orders.” Meanwhile in SF, Pim Techamuanvivit took to Instagram this week to remind everyone that her May class action against Oregon Mutual is not dead yet. Per Pim: “We are still in this fight. And we will win.”
Lists I Like – In addition to the handful listed Tuesday (below), Eater is out with a few more Most Anticipated Restaurants of Spring 2021 lists this week: Atlanta; DC; London; and Portland, OR.
For Design Fans – Do you like high-ceilinged modern places that float millimeters above minimalism through subtle deployment of texture and lines? Right this way to Jennifer Chase’s Eater photospread of Imperfecto in DC. The back walls wave. The central pillar is crimped. The kitchen partition is a zig-zag of cinderblocks. Flower pots and chef’s table chairs add patterns. And then there’re the ceramics… But it’s all still so smooth. Not the cozy kind of restaurant I’m dying to go back to when this is all over, but I can see the appeal for brass-and-blue lovers. (Though that bright blue gave this erstwhile local flashes of Arroz?)
Also… huh. I think I understand the new camo tenting in Wonho Frank Lee’s photos of the Beverley Hills Hilton rooftop? Maybe it’s the right way to shade without losing sky! But then why spend money on fancy concrete planters when Hesco bastions are an option? Maybe I don’t understand. Someone please ask Ken Fulk.
And last but not least – I usually like to end these things on a laugh, but…. if you click one link today, maybe make it this one for the ongoing LA Food Gang fundraiser. “Let’s Eat Together donations will go to Off Their Plate, a 501(c)3 non-profit. Funds will then be distributed to struggling AAPI restaurants, who will make meals for AAPI community organizations across the country.” There are other actions to take and many worthy causes, but the anti-Asian racism and hate that made headlines this week are not confined to any one corner. Restaurants are the little corner of the world I focus on, and if that’s you too, chip in there?
And that’s it for today! (Except for Tuesday’s FM, which is copy / pasted below.)
BUT also… Mark your calendars: Joining Expedite’s Kristen Hawley and I for our regular restaurant news rundown on Clubhouse next week will be Eater EIC Amanda Kludt! We’ll ask her about Eater coverage during the pandemic and more, but it’ll also be open to questions from the audience. So if you’ve ever had a burning (polite) question about Eater or food media or whatever, join us! Monday, March 22nd at 10:30AM East Coast / 7:30AM Pacific.
After that, I’ll see paying subscribers here Tuesday for next Family Meal, and everyone else on Friday. If you’d like to get Tuesday’s on Tuesday…
And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and Instagram, and send tips and/or whatever boundaries you want to establish for your mutual safety to andrew@thisfamilymeal.com. If you like Family Meal and want to keep it going, please chip in here. If you got this as a forward, sign up for yourself!
Hello Tuesday,
And hello paying subscribers only!
Let’s get to it…
The Festival Canary – “South Florida is about to become a lab for the first big experiment in food festivals in the age of the coronavirus.” The Miami Herald’s Carlos Frías reports, “Tickets for the 2021 South Beach Wine & Food Festival will go on sale March 22 for a four-day event that expects to draw more than 20,000 people to South Beach — but will look much different than in the past in this, its 20th year…. Among the most notable guidelines, guests will have to provide proof of being vaccinated or show a negative coronavirus test less than three days old before attending any event.” Most events will also be outdoors, and capacity will be cut up to 25% in some cases.
Founder Lee Schrager “said the festival expects to lose a whopping $700,000, as this year it is reimbursing chefs with stipends for catering events that chefs usually do for free.” Tiny violin.
Frías lists a bunch of that no-longer-free talent in his piece, but a full who’s-goin’ is on the official website here. It is…. a long list. A very random sample: Einat Adomy, Rick Bayless, Mario Carbone, Julio Cesar Ramos, Tyson Cole, Chris Cosentino, Tom Cunanan, Giada, Rocco, JJ Johnson, Thomas Keller, Vidya Maharaj, Francis Mallman, Virgilio Martínez, Michael Mina, Makoto Okuwa, David Shim, Fabio Trabocchi, Kathy Manning & Tung Nguyen, Michael Voltaggio, Jonathan Waxman, Melba Wilson, and more and more and more. Also coming are Martha Stewart, Molly Yeh,and Rev Run. Even Paul Qui is back on the circuit!
I guess what I’m saying is: I am open to accepting the assignment to cover the strange new / same old world of SOBEWFF 2021 for a publication in need of a correspondent. See you there (in just over two months!)?
Meanwhile, Amy Mills of 17th Street BBQ in Southern IL told the regular Family Meal / Expedite Monday room on Clubhouse yesterday that the Windy City Smokeout planned for July in Chicago is teasing similar must-be-vaccinated rules for participants, which adds yet another wrinkle to the question of whether or not to force staff to get the vaccine (Mills said she’s tacking $100 bonuses onto checks to help prod the reluctant along).
The Big Question – Headline in Eater: “Is Indoor Dining Safe Now That I’m Vaccinated?” Elazar Sontag goes asking that question of: “Dr. Dean A. Blumberg, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at UC Davis Health, and Dr. David W. Dowdy, an infectious disease epidemiologist and an associate professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.” Worth reading through all their various nuance, but the key section for me was:
Sontag: “Indoor dining is low risk for vaccinated individuals. But what’s the risk faced by surrounding diners, cooks, and other restaurant workers who aren’t yet vaccinated?
Blumberg: “They’re at risk. Vaccinated diners or workers may be carrying the virus and they can potentially infect others…”
Dowdy: “I feel like that risk is low, but it’s not zero.”
Got it? Good.
That Taco $$$ – Headline in Bloomberg: “Torchy’s Tacos Taps Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan for IPO.” Details behind the paywall from Crystal Tse and Gillian Tan: “The company, with more than 75 locations in 10 states, could raise about $300 million and be valued at about $1 billion in a listing, the people said.” Deal could happen as soon as this year, so… a taco trailer on every corner?
Lists I Like – Despite everything, it feels like spring here, which means Eater’s Most Anticipated lists continue to trickle out in a handful of cities. This week I saw: Boston, Chicago, and Las Vegas.
The End of an Era – “On Friday, March 12, famed Seattle restaurateur Tom Douglas announced that his 32 year-old classic, Dahlia Lounge, will not reopen for business after being closed for a full year.” Gabe Guarente writes in Eater: “Dahlia Lounge was the crown jewel of the Tom Douglas Seattle Kitchen group, which grew to 20 different businesses at its peak… His next door pizzeria Serious Pie and sibling shop Dahlia Bakery will take over the space.”
The End of an Era Too? – In NYC, “On March 9, almost a year since the pandemic forced the city to ban indoor dining, the ‘21’ Club moved to terminate 148 employees, the majority unionized, according to a notice filed with the New York Department of Labor.” Now, the NYT’s Guy Trebay says luxury brand corp LVMH may yet rework the space, possibly sans the longtime, union staff: “If the restaurant resurfaces, as some in the hospitality industry predict, as a branding anchor for one of the high-end hotels LVMH has set about developing as it seeks to expand its reach beyond luxury goods, it would be following a formula those like the proprietors of Carbone or Ralph Lauren at the Polo Bar have deployed with great success: quoting New York back to itself.” The piece is worth a read in part as a long profile that whips between the fragile hopes of laid off workers and the restaurant eulogizing of “a pioneering Kentucky thoroughbred breeder and bloodstock agent.” Perfect.
For Design Fans – Usually don’t include renderings here, but someone sent me to this place Jay Rohlfing is opening up outside Baltimore, and I feel compelled to say two things: First, I’m still a sucker for the tree as centerpiece, atrium-style either on the patio or indoors. Obviously, that takes some seats out of the equation, but the tree comeback that (I think?) started in LA (and ultimately culminated with a place called Atrium) has been a joy for dendrophiles like me. And second: Also think I’m here for pointy light fixtures? Mid-century modern globes have their place, don’t get me wrong, but maybe now is the time for more Damocles, less Oppenheimer (atomic)?
For Design Fans Too – In other design news: Björn Frantzén posted pictures of his new Astoria restaurant on Instagram this week, and hats off to the firm that took the brief — “I want a classic white table cloth and wood place, mixed with a fern bar, a hotel lounge, some marble action, and a gazillion dollar looking kitchen setup. If any of that costs too much, let’s save money by spending zero on the ceiling, and buy most non-marble art at millennial-coworking-art-warehouse.com.” — and made it a reality.
And that’s it for today!
I’ll see you here Friday for next Family Meal.
And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and Instagram, and send tips and/or bloodstock agent to andrew@thisfamilymeal.com. If you like Family Meal and want to keep it going, please chip in here. If you got this as a forward, sign up for yourself!