jyonan

What a dick. I just saw one of the folks who was affected by this jerk's column outing H2M for the first time since it ran and I'm pissed off all over again. I can't let a thread on that column run here without noting how incredibly obnoxious that was. Dead to me.

Oh, and of course, this, from a comment on DCist...

"My apologies to any and all conspiracy theorists, as the General Manager of Bourbon and one of the guys behind Hummingbird I would love to let you in on a little secret. The reason we are shutting down for awhile is because I am also a second year law student and I have to study for my midterms. Sorry it’s not an exciting reason I know but it’s all I’ve got."

What a dick. I just saw one of the folks who was affected by this jerk's column outing H2M for the first time since it ran and I'm pissed off all over again. I can't let a thread on that column run here without noting how incredibly obnoxious that was. Dead to me.

This from the Washingtonian's blog:

Correction: We misreported the reason behind the closure of Hummingbird to Mars. The three founders have other obligations that don't afford them the time to keep the project going. We apologize for the error.

Fair enough, but while much of the WP and other newspaper sections across the country have gotten progressively worse as newspaper budgets are slashed, the WP Food Section has overall showed marked improvement over the past year. I particularly enjoyed today's wine column.

Kudos to the WP Food Section for Dave's column, for the beer/spirits columns, for more print for Jane Black and occasional pieces from Melissa McCart, for the CSA weekly bit (which would really be great if it was less a "guess what I got this week" diary and more a "here's what to do with all these random things" column), and for the Chef's on Call concept - all positive developments over the past year or so.

Thanks!

Btw, those of you who aren't sick of cupcakes (and yes, it's ending today), come to our online chat at 1 p.m. if you want to ask the Georgetown Cupcake owners how they do what they do.

It's here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...&s_pos=list

In my case, mildly irritated.

As for the open secret: something about the operation struck me as personal enough to rise above plain old business; therefore when asked to abide by certain terms, I felt that I should do so.

It comes down to this: outing the operation is legitimate journalism. Doing so by reprinting the terms and then flaunting how you disregarded them is skanky. The rest of the column was interesting and informative. I've enjoyed Wilson's columns in the past, but now I have very little respect for his person. <shrug>.

If any of you would like to ask him directly about this, he's on our Food section online chat, going now live until 2 p.m. He'd be happy to respond there.

Sure, you called it grilling. But you brought in a "pit master" famous for his "hickory- and cherry wood-smoked ribs, chicken, pulled pork" at a Waldork barbecue place for a "Smackdown" (was "Throwdown" taken?).

And my heavy-duty, external-firebox, big-as-you-can-buy-in-a-strip-mall smoker costs less than that Weber kettle you gave him.

Yep, we did bring him in, much to his delight. And the pit master was a hoot! He helped demonstrate all the issues I wanted to demonstrate, as did Doug Anderson. And "smackdown" is better than "throwdown," dontcha know, cause "throwdown" is too close to, well... something unappetizing for a food story.

No interstitial fat or connective tissue (the necessary elements for good barbecue, which has the same, albeit dryier and smokier, effect on meat as braising) on the white meat of a whole chicken. And certainly none on a pork loin.

Of course I'm fully aware of what good pure barbecue requires, and have done it much myself ever since I was a kid in West Texas wrestling with the converted oil drum in the backyard. That's why I referred to this as grilling in the piece. More importantly, Lefty knew exactly what he was getting into, he had a blast, and he did perfectly well. At his restaurant, btw, he grills pork chops, steaks and burgers besides the low-and-slow stuff.

"Hello, master of slow cooking! Here's some pork and chicken with no fat or connective tissue and a grill that runs 200 degrees too hot! Work your magic!"

A grill that runs 200 degrees too hot? Nah. It's the charcoal, the amount you put in, the amount you might take out, how you arrange it, how you use the vents, the timing, etc. that all affects the temperature. A Weber kettle grill doesn't run too hot or too cold on its own. It doesn't do anything on its own, for that matter! And no fat on a whole chicken, you say? Where, pray tell, might I find those?

But bridge requires strategy and intelligence...

Today's headline caught my eye and got my gender-dander up, too. In this case, I suspect the editor who slapped on the title was in cahoots with the writer regarding the angle since the piece closely adhers to the whole "cooking for the boss's wife" theme. (Nice to see the reliance on Strunk & White in the possessive form.) 'Twas effective in making you read and making you feel less smug as you became aware of the fact that the cook was bringing home the bacon, putting it in the pan and intimidated by her boss's wife's professional credentials. Only thing missing was a same-sex couple.

You caught me! I am often -- usually, in fact -- "in cahoots with the writer."

I'm happy to "stop by," it's nice to virtually meet you, and I wish you all the best eating, cooking and reading experiences you can find, wherever you find them. Of course I hope that many people find them in the Post -- and many told me that they did find them in the Food section that week, and others. Thankfully, every week we get another chance.

The post-holiday food section is pretty thin stuff, but this is a little ridiculous. Do we really need an article on molecular cuisine in 2007? Reading it is like reading about my grandma discovering hip-hop.

Let me edit your analogy, by adding: if your grandma had been a prominent music critic for three decades.

To jump back a week, I plowed through the cheese special with much anticipation after acolades above. Found it full of such insightful hints as: "Buy wisely;" "Choose cheeses with a mix of sizes, shapes, textures and flavors;" "Cheese is best served on a flat surface;" and "Wrap any leftover cheese in aluminum foil, wax paper or plastic wrap, and store it in the refrigerator." If Post's readership is hungry for advice at this level, Phyllis's trip to Alinea it probably about as cutting edge as the Post needs to get.

If you can tell me that you read that entire section and learned absolutely nothing about cheese, no ideas about which cheeses might go together, no insight into the life of a cheesemaker, no amusement at the round-the-table quips by Swiss and "semi-Swiss" raclette eaters, then, indeed -- and happily, actually -- you are not our intended audience.