Reactions to story from Diner’s Journal - Dining & Wine - New York Times Blog

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  Catching Up on News

  http://www.portlandfoodanddrink.com/?p=1200
  45 days ago in An Exploration of Portland Food and Drink · Authority: 143

  Lots of things have been going on that I haven’t had time to post about, so I’m just going to bring everyone up to date. The original Pix on Hawthorne has closed. It was really small, but I always liked the ambiance. It was a good date place that not too many people knew about. After many years on NW Glisan, The Brazen Bean has lost their lease, and will closing on April 5th. Another good date place that I will miss. The porch was a cool place to hang out on a hot summer night. A source tells me they are looking for a new location, but everything is going into storage until the find a space. Yakuza in NE, has dropped sushi from the menu. Not much more to say than that. Chef shuffling: Roxana and Daniel, the Chef’s brought up from the Bay area to take over clarklewis have left. I’ve heard several versions of why, but let’s just say they needed another change. The Bluehour Chef de Cuisine, Dolan Lane is taking over in their place. After hearing quite a bit about clarklewis and all of its inherent problems, I don’t have much long-term hope for it, but wish them the best. A Cena chef Scott Champine is moving to Bluehour as Chef de Cuisine. Hmm. I have to say, I didn’t hear many flattering things about a Cena. Meanwhile, some private “chef for the stars” from Los Angeles is taking over in his place. I have a bit of hope for a Cena, as I think under the right hands it could thrive. Lots of rumors have Stu Stein of the defunct Terroir at Aquariva, but I don’t believe it myself. I just can’t imagine… hmm. I was thinking he had probably been run out of town. Vesta, the big high-end restaurant in Vancouver has closed. I hate to say it, but I think their plans were just a bit too ambitious. Trebol was in the March Bon Appetite as one of the Top Ten Modern Mexican. Hmm. James Beard nominations were announced. A few Portland chefs made the list: Rising Star Chef of the Year: Gabriel Rucker, Le Pigeon Best Chef: Northwest: Scott Dolich, Park Kitchen (Second year in a row) Semifinalists include: Best Chef NW: Greg Higgins of Higgins, John Gorham owner/chef of Toro Bravo, Cathy Whims, Nostrana Outstanding Pastry Chef: Ken Forkish, Ken’s Artisan Bakery Wine and Spirits Professional: Stephen R. McCarthy, Clear Creek Distillery Starbucks purchase of Clover has been getting lots of press attention. One thing I didn’t know, is all the machines could talk to each other over the internet, comparing settings and whatnot. Some coffee houses were pretty upset that this data was now going to be in Starbucks hand’s. The drama! Late last week, Clover issued a press release saying they would not give Starbucks that data. From The Times: “CloverNet is a system that automatically sent information from any Clover connected to the CloverNet. As a Coffee Equipment press release says about it, CloverNet “allows users to program specific recipes (brew time, dose and temperature) for all the coffees they carry.” So baristas “simply select a recipe from the Clover interface, and are more easily able to brew their customers a perfect cup of specialty coffee.” In other words, after a cafe tested and tasted their way to satisfaction with a formula for a particular coffee on their Clover, they could create a recipe for it and share their recipe with other Clover users via CloverNet, to help each other highlight the best way to brew particular coffees on the machine. Frankly, I don’t care what technology Starbucks has; until they do a decent roast, lousy coffee is going to taste like lousy coffee. Anyway, The NY Times has some interesting articles about the ramifications of the Clover buyout here and here. We’ve talked a bit about pet peeves in dining service. Coincidentally, Gale Green published a list that was much more complete than ours (near the bottom of the page. Even more here). Some of the entries: 1. Seeing TVs anyplace that’s not a sports bar, but especially in otherwise upscale restaurants. 2. Being called “guys” (as in “Hi guys” or “How are you guys doing?”) by an invariably 20-something waitperson we’ve never even met before 3. The over-pouring of bottled water, especially in larger groups where the focus is on conversation so you might not even notice until you see how many bottles of unordered water end up on your check — and see how many full glasses of water are left on the table. 4. Bringing to the table an open bottle of wine that you’d ordered by the glass, and then not even bothering to let you taste it first before they pour. 5. Wine served at the improper temperature 6. Too-sweet desserts (more common in the 1990s) or too-salty desserts (more common today) 7. Being brought 7 petit fours for your table of 8 You can see a compendium from a variety of restaurant critics by reading her post. Finally, in October, NY Magazine ran an article called Play in Portland’s Shadows. I have no idea why this just popped up in my linkback list, but the Related Links section made me laugh. “For punchy, amateurish feature writing as well as music, arts, and restaurant listings, look to the Willamette Weekly. Portland Food & Drink is the best source for online menus, news on restaurant openings, and snarky, user-penned feedback.” Their words, not mine.
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  Listage

  http://la.eater.com/archives/2008/03/28/listage.php
  49 days ago in Eater LA : The Los Angeles Restaurant, Bar, and Nightlife Blog · Authority: 273

  · There are still plenty of small unexplored cafes downtown [Angelenic] · Move over froyo, new frozen dessert discovered: Silky Smooth [Daily Dish] · Starbucks Clover buy isn't tragic, just disappointing [Diner's Journal] · A list of LA's Greek restos without Papa Christos: shameful [Gridskipper]
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  The Morning Brew: Friday, 3.28

  http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/gutcheck/2008/03/the_mornin...
  49 days ago in Gut Check · Authority: 29

  The continuining saga of the salmonella-tainted cantaloupes: the U.S. is sending inspectors to Honduras. (AP) An interesting look at the controversy over Starbucks' purchase of the maker of the Clover coffee machine. (New York Times) The perils of amateur sushi. In case said perils weren't already obvious. (Reuters) -Ian Froeb
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  http://www.abstractdynamics.org/linkage/archives/010248.html
  49 days ago in linkage · Authority: 1

  Cloverbucks - Diner’s Journal - Dining & Wine - New York Times Blog "So, in essence, cafes that have been using Clovers and the CloverNet have been helping to document and codify a body of knowledge about how the machine, which really is a new bit of technology, functions and performs. They helped the company compile data about sales, about how the machines are holding up in the field and which specific times, doses and temperatures showcased individual coffees best. Now that information is something that Starbucks — a direct competitor to every small cafe in the country — has ownership of, and soon it will no longer be available to original Clover users. " Whoa, that turns the Starbucks Clover acquisition more than a few shades more diabolical... Ultimately I hope it'll work out well for all parties, Starbucks still (or no longer in some cases) can't make good espresso so the indie market has a huge market space. Meanwhile if Starbucks starts making some decent lighter roasts for their new Clovers then coffee quality rises across the country. The big question remaining is whether someone steps up and creates a Clover competitor for the indie market. Without it there is a nasty gap in the market. It's doubtful Starbucks will be able to brew the uberpremium stuff that places like Intelligencia & Grumpy are producing, and the indies that can do it won't be able to get the machines to do the style.
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  'BucksWire: Early Clover adopters aren't just pissed...

  http://eater.com/archives/2008/03/buckswire_3.php
  49 days ago in Eater : The New York City Restaurant, Bar, and Nightlife Blog · Authority: 649

  Early Clover adopters aren't just pissed that the company 'sold out' to the man or that Starbucks has a new monopoly: they are also mourning the loss of CloverNet. The website, which will be shut down 60 days after the sale, collected data from every Clover owner in the country and was a integral tool in learning how to use the machine: "They helped the company compile data about sales, about how the machines are holding up in the field and which specific times, doses and temperatures showcased individual coffees best. Now that information is something that Starbucks — a direct competitor to every small cafe in the country — has ownership of, and soon it will no longer be available to original Clover users." [Diner's Journal]

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