HobieBuzz wrote If someone asks for a sweet wine, it really means they don’t like wine or real wine.(did that sound snobby?, good)

Wow. I didn’t know that Sauternes, a German Spätlese or Auslese, Vouvray Moelleux, Muscato di Pantelleria and late-harvest Maconnais were not real wines. Thanks for enlightening me.

Can you tell me what places you work at? I’d like to not go there. You’ve basically said you commit fraud w/ alcoholic beverages. Maybe a little search here for “Smith and Wollensky” might be advisable.

kthxby,

A.

It seems like a few that hit this thread after sonic, which I enjoyed being a foodie, woke up on the snobby side of the bed. And I don’t agree that everyone should be a server, at least not in the city I’m living in. Talk about where’s the food? :roll:

Mercurius wrote

FSonicSmith wrote Flame me all you want. I apologized in advance suspecting my post would draw the kind of ire it did. I never claimed the author was a “professional restaurant reviewer”, but he did a restaurant review, and has done many others, as we all know. I appreciate his enthusiasm and his work in bringing this great site to the web.

If he did not know the difference between a sirimi-based “crab cake” and a real, Chessapeake Bay style crab cake, would I be wrong for pointing out the difference? Doesn’t pointing out the difference, in some small or not so small way, discourage restauranteurs from stooping to such tricks?

Martini and Rossi Asti Spumante. Just the name alone happens to be an advertising jingle. It is cloyingly sweet and a spoofulated, mass-manufactured product. If someone says they love it, I can’t say they are wrong, but I can suggest many alternatives that they may find they like much more. IMHO, M&R Asti is the sirimi “crab cake” of the wine world.

I’m very sorry for coming across as a snob. There has to be some fair middle-ground, however, between being a snob and being, for lack of a better word, naive. The problem is that you come across sounding condescending and pompous rather than pedantic. A simple, if you like Asti Spumantei, then you should try some other Proseccos. I would recommend…

Yet another reason why everyone in the world should be a server at some point in their life. I frequently have to say “I’m sorry we don’t have white zinfandel. if you’re looking for something a little on the sweeter side, we do have a great German Riesling.”

FSonicSmith wrote Flame me all you want. I apologized in advance suspecting my post would draw the kind of ire it did. I never claimed the author was a “professional restaurant reviewer”, but he did a restaurant review, and has done many others, as we all know. I appreciate his enthusiasm and his work in bringing this great site to the web.

If he did not know the difference between a sirimi-based “crab cake” and a real, Chessapeake Bay style crab cake, would I be wrong for pointing out the difference? Doesn’t pointing out the difference, in some small or not so small way, discourage restauranteurs from stooping to such tricks?

Martini and Rossi Asti Spumante. Just the name alone happens to be an advertising jingle. It is cloyingly sweet and a spoofulated, mass-manufactured product. If someone says they love it, I can’t say they are wrong, but I can suggest many alternatives that they may find they like much more. IMHO, M&R Asti is the sirimi “crab cake” of the wine world.

I’m very sorry for coming across as a snob. There has to be some fair middle-ground, however, between being a snob and being, for lack of a better word, naive. The problem is that you come across sounding condescending and pompous rather than pedantic. A simple, if you like Asti Spumantei, then you should try some other Proseccos. I would recommend…

FSonicSmith wrote If he did not know the difference between a sirimi-based “crab cake” and a real, Chessapeake Bay style crab cake, would I be wrong for pointing out the difference? Doesn’t pointing out the difference, in some small or not so small way, discourage restauranteurs from stooping to such tricks?

Martini and Rossi Asti Spumante. Just the name alone happens to be an advertising jingle. It is cloyingly sweet and a spoofulated, mass-manufactured product. If someone says they love it, I can’t say they are wrong, but I can suggest many alternatives that they may find they like much more. IMHO, M&R Asti is the sirimi “crab cake” of the wine world.

I’m very sorry for coming across as a snob. There has to be some fair middle-ground, however, between being a snob and being, for lack of a better word, naive.

I have to think there’s a better word…. “undiscriminating,” perhaps?

To an extent, I sympathize. The organization that my wife leads is all about celebrating good food, and in being part of it I have discovered that Americans have stretched the concept of an “elitist” to include “anyone whose six-pack costs fifty cents more than mine.” It can also include advocates of good food, even if (perversely) they advocate good food for everyone, not just for an elite.

So you don’t even need to bash bad food to be considered a snob. But if you do, it’s pretty much a given, period. And to be fair, you didn’t just say, “If you were looking for a good Champagne with that meal, you might have considered a nice Prosecco.” You went out of your way to pee all over Walker’s choice in wine. I’m not saying you can’t do that — it’s a free country, and Walker can defend himself. But to do that and then hope not to sound like a snob is… unreflective. And unrealistic.

So, absolutely, chime in with input about good menu choices — people generally love to hear them. And if you’re hoping to avoid being called a snob… well, I haven’t entirely figured out the trick myself yet… :oops: … but not dissing other people’s tastes is probably the best start.

I appreciate that you pointed out the difference. Thanks!

Awww, now you’re being too nice to me. Thanks though. I appreciate it, and I truly mean it when I say I this is a great website and thank you for doing what you’re doing. No one likes a “know it all”, myself included.

FSonicSmith wrote IMHO, M&R Asti is the sirimi “crab cake” of the wine world.

While I don’t have any real issue with it, I would have a hard time typing this statement and then not expecting to come across like a bit of a snob…

:lol:

FSonicSmith wrote Flame me all you want.

No one is flaming you.

I appreciate that you pointed out the difference. Thanks! :D

If he did not know the difference between a sirimi-based “crab cake” and a real, Chessapeake Bay style crab cake, would I be wrong for pointing out the difference? Doesn’t pointing out the difference, in some small or not so small way, discourage restauranteurs from stooping to such tricks?

Martini and Rossi Asti Spumante. Just the name alone happens to be an advertising jingle. It is cloyingly sweet and a spoofulated, mass-manufactured product. If someone says they love it, I can’t say they are wrong, but I can suggest many alternatives that they may find they like much more. IMHO, M&R Asti is the sirimi “crab cake” of the wine world.

I’m very sorry for coming across as a snob. There has to be some fair middle-ground, however, between being a snob and being, for lack of a better word, naive.

lisathewaitress wrote And I loved reading your review. I think it is completely refreshing to read non-snobby reviews. I am surrounded by snobs all the time and it gets really tiresome.

+many

The snob thing gets truly old, and it takes all the fun out of food. When you spend all your time nitpicking about whether someone’s wine is a sparkling wine or a Champagne, or pooh-poohing the fact that it’s even on the wine list at all, you’re not only taking pleasure out of that dining experience, you’re just setting yourself up for an even bigger snob to come along and shoot you down. (Someone who can spell “Prosecco” correctly, for example.) I mean, how boring is that?

Walker wrote

FSonicSmith wrote However, for a restaurant reviewer, it is important to maintain some sense of credibility and uh, reliable perspective, n’est-ce pas?

:roll: (eyeroll = Lisa)

I’m not a professional restaurant reviewer, so pardon my amateurish mistake. I just had a lovely evening with my wife and thought I would share to the best of my ability.

:D

And I loved reading your review. I think it is completely refreshing to read non-snobby reviews. I am surrounded by snobs all the time and it gets really tiresome.

Also my friend Nick said he waited on you!

FSonicSmith wrote However, for a restaurant reviewer, it is important to maintain some sense of credibility and uh, reliable perspective, n’est-ce pas?

I’m not a professional restaurant reviewer, so pardon my amateurish mistake. I just had a lovely evening with my wife and thought I would share to the best of my ability.

:D

FSonicSmith wrote This is Wine 101 and forgive me for being pedantic and predictable. In case you don’t know what I’m referring to, it is this. Champagne is not synonomous with any fizzy white wine in a heavy bottle with a mushroom shaped cork. … And now I will quickly plunge from pedantic to predictably wine-snooty so forgive me in advance; I am surprised The Refectory has M&R Asti on the list. So many fine and equally affordable Prosecos have come into the marketplace that offer so much more!

Well, the being predictable part is forgivable, certainly.

As far as putting Champagne on a pedestal above all other sparkling wines, my sense is that the world has really moved on. Even though, admittedly, we toasted our engagement with a Veuve, if you put a Marquis de la Tour Brut next to a J. Schram or a top-notch Cava, I suspect reasonable people will quickly choose the latter.

As to why The Refectory carries Asti Spumanti, rather than a variety of Proseccos…. My sense is that their top priority is the customer, period. And they recognize that different people have different tastes, and their wine cellar is big enough to accommodate a wider range of tastes than their own. I think they seek to celebrate the enjoyment of food and wine, not dictate the form that it should take.

This is Wine 101 and forgive me for being pedantic and predictable. In case you don’t know what I’m referring to, it is this. Champagne is not synonomous with any fizzy white wine in a heavy bottle with a mushroom shaped cork. Martini and Rossi Asti is about as far away from true Champagne as Columbus OH is from Scranton PA, by my reckoning (although I have East Coast relatives who would tell you that Columbus and Scranton are fairly indistinguishable). Perhaps that is really the same thing going on here-a matter of perspective. However, for a restaurant reviewer, it is important to maintain some sense of credibility and uh, reliable perspective, n’est-ce pas?

And now I will quickly plunge from pedantic to predictably wine-snooty so forgive me in advance; I am surprised The Refectory has M&R Asti on the list. So many fine and equally affordable Prosecos have come into the marketplace that offer so much more!

I’ve been to many great restaurants in my days, and these were without question two of the best meals of my life.