Sunday, March 25, 2012 The Exciting Life of a Food Blogger

Being the Headbanging Hostess has brought a great amount of joy into my life. Along with my usual dinner parties with friends I have, indeed, expanded my circle of friends over the past two years to include some of Fairfield County's finest people. I like to refer to them as Fairfield County's Heavy Metal Elite, but they're more than that. In fact, it was that fateful e-mail to Arcane Malevolence that directly led to my participation in Saturday night's bachelorette party for the future Mrs. Ax-Shredding-DeVaney.

When the bachelorette was being planned I suggested Zaza Gastrobar in downtown Stamford. Good, central location, great food - what more could you ask for? Someone in the party called a few days ahead for a reservation but they told us they didn't take reservations but we could wait at the bar if we needed to. Well, when a member of our party tried to get us a table for 8 the hostess actually said "no" and that only 4 tables for 4 were available. So we ate at Remo's. And, while my Country Salad was good, it wasn't Lobster Polenta.

I was bummed, I'll admit it. And slightly pissed that I'd made a recommendation and it had failed me. I e-mailed them the next morning and I'm happy to say they actually e-mailed me back. So they get points for that. The hostess claimed she gave us a 2.5 hour wait time (which was not the case.) They also stated they're not meant to be a restaurant for big parties. So that's that. If we had been told that when we called for the reservation we would have made other plans. Maybe this is more of a miscommunication rather than flat-out bad customer service, but according to the other Google reviews I read it seems to be a recurring problem. The food there is really good - if you get to eat it. I'll leave it at that.

This is similar to our Darien Unsocial visit. It leaves me wondering what I should or could be doing different.

It plays into a new "drama/debate" regarding us lowly food bloggers vs. the real professional food writers. Ugh. Apparently CT Magazine has an article in their April issue putting food bloggers down - we're not trained, we're not pros, blah, blah, bullshit. OmNomCT had a very well written reply. Mine may not be so nice.

First of all, get off your high horse. It's 2012 - everyone has the ability to write and self-publish anything they want to on the web. We're still (pretty much) a free country. If we suck as writers or food critics people won't read us, it's as simple as that. And training? What is that about? I've been eating for 39 years! And, yes, as a matter of fact I have worked in the industry and I do have culinary training under my belt. But - here's the kicker - before anything else I'm an entertainer. I came to this after living decades of my life upon the stage. I've written plays that have been performed across the country. Theatre, like writing, is about communication. People getting together to share a communal experience...kinda like EATING! Pardon me, my inner drama queen is coming out. No one should make sweeping generalizations about other "groups" of people, it's unfair - unless it's for comic affect, of course.

I went to a Connecticut Press Club luncheon at about a year ago about food writing. The panel was very esteemed, all from serious food publications, and they talked to us about the business. One woman, who had been a food writer for longer than most of us have been alive, went over the proper "etiquette" for food writers, which included calling ahead and letting them know you were coming, calling the chef after with questions and really trying hard not to give a negative review because people's livelihoods depended on your words. I can understand that, and you have advertisers to answer to, as well. But, for me, I think it's silly to call up a restaurant and say "Hi! I'm the Headbanging Hostess and I'm coming to your restaurant tonight." And besides the silly factor, I want to be treated as a regular customer. The only way to give an honest (yet entertaining) review is to experience it the way your reader will - as just another customer. Believe me, I've considered getting a button that says "food blogger" as well. When my table goes unnoticed for 13 minutes I feel I should have warned them as I head home to my computer. After that unsocial experience I seriously considered at least tagging Zaza and letting them know we were coming. I honestly forgot to do it, and it may not have mattered.

Once again, it's 2012. I expect restaurants to be connected. Take Station Eats. They're pretty savvy guys, they know exactly how to use social media. They always follow up a post or a tag with a thank you and they're just so nice and down to earth that you want to spend your money there. That's the mark of a fantastic business.

So, what the hell am I going on about. I don't know, at this point I've lost track of my thought process.

Things I know -

- Zaza is not for large parties.
- People always like to think they're superior to other people.
- Station Eats = Good

Things I'm not sure about -

- Calling ahead to let restaurants know the Headbanging Hostess is coming?
- If I see someone walking towards me dressed as a clown can I assume they're a clown?
- Do people take me seriously?

-HH

Tuesday, March 13, 2012 The Food Review That Never Was or Unsocial Darien

It was my plan to experience Darien Social tonight. I read their OmNomCT preview (OOPS, and earlier version of this post said review - it was a preveiw), I studied the menu while salivating on my keyboard. I knew I wanted shrimp and grits. But, alas, it was not meant to be.

Thirteen minutes we sat at our table with no service. I know this because we stopped at CVS to pick up a prescription on the way in - it was time stamped 4:50. By the time we left after being ignored for so long it was 5:05. So that's actually 15 minutes, but let's assume 2 minutes were spent walking the 50 feet between CVS and the restaurant and finding a hostess to seat us.

You read that right. We had to find the hostess to seat us. In fact, there's a sign when you go in the front door that directs you to walk to the back, wave to the chef on your way, and find a hostess. When we found her she didn't have menus so we stood there while she went into the main dining room to get them. Then she sat us near the window by the bar. Not sure why - we passed a bunch of empty tables and booths on the way. "These are my favorite tables" she said. So there we sat...for 13 minutes. We read the menu, my husband got up to look at the vodka selection and he was unnoticed by the staff. He sat back down, we waited, nobody brought us water, he expressed his displeasure, still no one acknowledged us, we waited a few more minutes and that was it. We were out of there.

On the way out my husband turned to the busboy and told him why we were leaving and he just said “oh.”

Oh?

So we went to The Goose one block down. We told them what happened and they were very nice to us. They even brought us water. The restaurant was practically empty but we still got great service. Crazy, huh? The beet and goat cheese salad just plain rocked. Red and yellow beets with baby spinach leaves dressed in passion fruit dressing (passion fruit or pomegranate, but I think it’s passion fruit) with beautifully crisp fried goat cheese patties that really should come with everything in life. Dentist with beautifully crisp fried goat cheese patties? I’m there! DMV with goat cheese? Sign me up. I might even consider a stint in the Middle East if crisp fried goat cheese was in the mess hall. Love that salad, have I made the point?

Halfway through our meal the other couple in the restaurant started having a fight. They were raising their voices, him more then her, and totally oblivious to the fact that they were in public. At that point my husband and I just busted out laughing. For the first time in two weeks we get one hour out of the house to enjoy ourselves without the puppy and this is what happens. You just gotta laugh. Or you’ll go nuts.

So the Goose wins! And Swizzles because we hit it on the way home. Fruity pebbles on plain yogurt rock! Ha. That’s punny. \m/

-HH

UPDATE - A comment to the Darien Social Facebook page was deleted. And an email sent to them through their website has gone unanswered. So that's that.

Sunday, May 1, 2011 My New Addiction - Swizzles in Darien

Yesterday I had my first Swizzleperience. It infected my dreams with its sassy tang and I woke up today knowing only one thing. I was going back for more.

Drooling emoticon :D'''

Cake batter and plain. I think they were both low-fat, I'm not really sure, I wasn't even paying attention. I was like a plump chick in a frozen yogurt store. Oh, wait. That's me.I was like a kid in a candy store...also me, eagerly pouring soft-serve love into a practical bucket like the ice cream professional I once was.

I worked at TCBY for the better part of 16 years, I am quite confident that when I'm dying from Alzheimer's and I don't remember my own name I will be able to make the perfect cone - three swirls and a peak. So I was all over them Taylor machines, ready to show off my skills (to my husband) and make me some dessert!

Cake batter and plain, like I said. To top it off they had a whole bar of fruits, candies, spheres called poppers (which I suspect are some agar-agar molecular gastronomy concoction) and, my personal favorite, kids cereal. Fruit Loops was yesterday's topping, today I had Apple Jacks and Granola. It's just enough of a crispy-o-crunch to reinforce the fact that I'm treating myself without actually throwing the plump chick out with the bathwater.

Love, love, love the taste of the plain. It totally brings back the flavor of the homemade yogurt my parents used to make when I was a kid. This is my first fro-yo of this kind, I have yet to experience Pinkberry or any other "tart" frozen yogurt shop. But Swizzles has set the bar pretty high, the competition has a battle to fight for my taste buds.

Two tits up!

-HH

Monday, April 25, 2011 Ay Salsa, I Like It

Arepas - Colombian style corn cake with fresh corn and mozzarella. Mine was topped with roasted portabella mushrooms. You see that one dangling off on the left? I ate that one first. It was surprisingly smoky, I wondered where that was coming from for a brief moment and then the spicy heat kicked in. Not too much, it wasn't overpowering, especially when enjoyed with the corn cake and rice, but it was just enough to make these mushrooms stand out in a way that no other mushroom has in my mouth.

Not that it was standing out of my mouth. I ate it right up.

The chunks of corn and strings of melted cheese in the arepa brought it to a level not previously experienced. I've only had them once before in a restaurant, the others I've had have been store bought. But Ay Salsa made these with definite love.

I had a horchata to wash it down. The traditional Mexican rice drink was sweet as can be and yet light and refreshing. Almost like melted ice cream in flavor but little more than water in mouth feel, I could drink it all day if someone would only pronounce it calorie free.

I went with my class and everyone seemed to enjoy their food. Apparently the locals are very protective of this particular eatery because they were giving the twelve of us the dirtiest looks for taking up the entire back dining room.

I understand why. It's was DDelicious!

-HH

Ay Salsa is located at 25 High Street in New Haven, CT 203.752.0517

Saturday, January 29, 2011 Neighborhood Restaurants That Just Shouldn't Be

I don't think I've given a negative review since the abomination that was the Norwalk Oyster Festival. But it seems the time has come once again to declare the truth - Cove Pizza sucks.

Let me give you a bit of the back story.

Cove Pizza used to be owned by a guy named Joe. Great guy. Always smiling, always working. He and his family owned it forever. Back when I was a kid the New York Times gave them a stellar review and the cars were lined up all the way down Cove Rd. Great pizza. The Pizza a la Vodka was our favorite.

Then Joe sold the place.

The new owners quickly ruined the joint. I don't know why that is, but they did. It was always empty, nothing tasted the same and Joe's smiling face was nowhere to be seen.

The place was sold again and the new owners put a great deal more effort into the operation. They started delivering, the food was getting better and it seemed the neighborhood pizza place was being brought back from the brink of death.

NOT!

We went for dinner tonight because we had a restaurant.com gift certificate and let me tell you, even with the 25 bucks off, it wasn't worth it.

The waitress was embarrassed to be bringing us the food, it seemed. It was just awful. The salad was nothing and the dressing was 80% water. Not a seasoning to be found. My pizza was pretty bland, canned pineapple has no zing. The only decent flavor coming off it came from the Parmesan cheese she brought to the table.



My husband's "homemade" ravioli were anything but. They had strange texture, little flavor and the sauce was almost non existent. The cheese was burnt on the top and the ravioli's were burnt to the bottom of the pan.

And the wine he ordered was listed as Napa Valley in the menu and yet it was Sonoma County.

So there.

Don't go to Cove Pizza, unless they sell it again. And then I'll go first and let you know.

-HH

Friday, December 3, 2010 Feeling It @ Filling Station Company

My husband and I ventured out in the chill for our first taste of Filling Station Company in beautiful downtown New Cannan, CT.

How good was it? I dunno, you look at that bun and tell me how good it was. IT WAS FREAKIN' DELICIOUS!

And I can tell you, as a culinary student who has recently learned about these things, the design is brilliant. When you look at the mouthwatering menu online you may wonder why they don't take phone orders, but when you see it in action it will become crystal.

I, of course, was the embodiment of all the idiot customers I used to hate back at TCBY. Moronically staring at the menu, not knowing where to place my order despite the big sign that says "start order here."

I went for a cheeseburger with bacon (as you can see in the photo) and my hubby went for a hot dog and a cheeseburger, both with various fixins. The burgers were outstanding - perfect bun/burger ratio. My husband started with the dog, and reported it was very good. Upon biting into his burger he proclaimed it even better. The organic french fries came with the quintessential wooden fork and my seasonal peppermint shake was refreshing and tasty and empty too soon. Shoulda got a large.

So, get your ass out there in the cold and go the Filling Station Company. Go now because the peppermint shake is only around this month! You might see me there getting another myself.

Bang on, my peeps!

-HH

Sunday, November 28, 2010 Kick-Ass BBQ @ Bobby Q's

Yesterday we went to see the not-quite-headbanging band Where's Jimmy at Bobby Q's in Westport, CT. I am happy to report that real good BBQ does in fact exist in Connecticut.

The last time I ventured out of the house for BBQ it was a disappointment. And I'm sorry to say I had to give it a bad review. I'm even more sorry to say that review has come up in a Google search or two. Ah, the power of the internet.

But Bobby Q's was awesome, awesome, awesome. The faboo meal you see in the picture is something brilliantly called "Burnt Ends." The highly sought after burnt ends of the beef or pork (I got pork, yo) smothered in their in house sauce which is delicious! Not a hint of disappointment to be found.

My husband ordered a full rack and it was basically the entire side of a cow. HUGE! He didn't come close to finishing it (neither did I) and we were happy the Connecticut weather made it possible to use our car as a fridge as we stayed late into the night to watch the band.

I love listening to Linny sing. It always makes me want to start a band! Who's in?

Bang on, my peeps!

-HH