Omnivore - Discovering No. 246’s possible inspiration and a hilarious review by Foodie Buddha
A couple of notes
Last week, I ran into a foodie friend who had just lunched very well at No. 246. He pointed out that the new restaurant bears a lot of resemblance to Flour + Water (video above) and Delfina in San Francisco.
Check out the restaurants’ menus to see how accurate my friend was. Even the ambiance is quite similar. And that reminds me: people continue to complain constantly to me about noise in restaurants. No. 246 isn’t as bad as many others, but it gets louder and louder at dinnertime as the restaurant fills up and the booze flows freely.
Lest you think the noise is altogether unintentional, be sure to have a look at Delfina’s site, linked above. Its “background music” is the noisy chatter and clatter inside a restaurant. I suppose this is meant to suggest conviviality. Fail.
THE MOST ANNOYING FUNNIEST RESTAURANT REVIEW EVER: Foodie Buddha recently penned a review of Torrisi in New York that is a must-read for food writers everywhere. The Buddha decided to employ each of the words on Chow’s list of The 78 Most Annoying Words to Read in a Restaurant Review. A sample of Buddha’s review:
Some might not categorize Torrisi as a Haute Barnyard outfit, but I do and it wouldn’t be an egregious misappropriation of terminology if you did too. In that respect, local and organic are in the place of pomp and circumstance. And only the most ardent and militant interpreters of the locavore ideology should have a problem with Torrisi’s sourcing. While much of what Torrisi offers is found nearby, not all veggies and fish are raised fresh on the island of Manhattan.
I have used too many of the words myself. In fact, on the day I read Chow’s list and Buddha’s review, I realized I had used the listed word “yum” that week. I detest the word and this was the first time I recall ever using it. I also used the word “ubiquitous.” Mercifully, I did not use “mouthfeel” or “toothsome.”