Hungry Onion Drooling Q&A with Jonathan Kauffman. Nov 17, 2016 2pm PT

I guess @theluketsai didn’t talk to you before he took on the role. Good luck @theluketsai !

We are all working stiffs – when it comes to chefs, incredibly hard-working stiffs. The pedestal thing is so strange, isn’t it?

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People on food forums like this one like to write about restaurants, with varying degree of ‘quality’. How can they write better?

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I restaurant experience doesn’t make a great food journalist – though, to be frank, I just read that up to 50 percent of Americans have worked in a restaurant at some point in their careers, so a lot of us have spent some time in one. I don’t think there are specific things that I notice, but I do think my experience has helped me see the whys – how the business is structured badly for flow, why some of the dishes aren’t working from a technical standpoint.

That said, I will always say that industry people are far, far harsher than any professional critic when they’re dissecting a meal they’ve just had. Obviously, because they’re not saying it in public, but they also care about every detail because it’s one they obsess over in their own jobs.

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I love this question, which also means I don’t think I can answer it in a quick minute. I think with every year, my objections to the concept of authenticity grow. I love the fact that food always reflects its place, no matter where that place is, and I love food when it’s made carefully. That said, I’m personally drawn to complex flavors, I’m not a huge fan of sweet food when it’s not dessert, and I love funk and fermented flavors. I’m particularly enjoying the Thai and Lao food at places like Lers Ros, Kin Khao, the SF Hawker Fare, and Vientian Cafe, where the cooks aren’t reducing the fish sauce, shrimp paste, and fermented fish or amping up the sugar.

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God, I have to give a bland response to this and say the thing I love about what I do is the fact that every week it lets me learn or research something new. That said, what I love about the Chronicle is the fact that it is letting me look into the stories of the people who make food and not focusing so intently on whether what they’re serving is good or bad.

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I unabashedly love Yelp. It’s kind of my reality television. I have HUGE problems with it, not including the fact that many restaurateurs have told me how much they hate it and the consistent and impossible-to-prove rumors about the company manipulating businesses’ ratings in response to whether they buy ads.

But I love the fact that Yelp seems to have a positive impact on independent restaurants, driving people to them instead of chains. (Here’s one article about a Harvard Business School study – take it for what you will: https://www.good.is/articles/can-yelp-help-independent-restaurants-drive-chains-out-of-business). I don’t ever look at the ratings, but I do search them for individual dishes I’m searching out, and it helps direct me to new places that don’t get covered in Eater or the Chronicle. It’s a hugely useful tool for me. And, for better and worse, it completely eliminated the emails I used to get as a critic from customers who had horrible experiences at a restaurant and didn’t know what to do about it.

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And, of course, I have to add a plug for Hungry Onion and Chowhound, which I think are great for some of the very same reasons. (And are often more trustworthy when it comes to evaluating the food at a restaurant.)

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I’d say think of what you want to write as a reasoned argument, not a list of what’s good and what’s bad. Think about what you want to say overall, write that first in a sentence or two, and then give examples (in as vivid language as possible) that support your argument. Then after you’ve drafted that out, read back over what you’ve written and ask yourself: Am I making the point I set out to make? Then post your comment/review and hide in the bedroom until you’re emotionally ready to read the responses. At least that’s what I do.

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Ahem, any restaurant worker/owner who wants to talk to me about this, now’s the time: jkauffman@sfchronicle.com.

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So, so many. Depends on what you define as mid-tier, since restaurant prices are rising so fast that that “midtier” feels like a moving target. Also, while I was writing the book I didn’t have time to go out much so my mental database is not updated. A few that come to mind, in no particular order:

Juhu Beach Club, Oakland
Nopalito, SF (both locations, actually)
Old Mandarin, San Francisco
Wonderful, Brisbane (?)
Cafe Colucci, Berkeley
Both of the La Santanecas in SF (different owners)
20th Century Cafe
Hakka Restaurant, SF
Capital Restaurant, SF
Josey Baker pizza night, SF
Mandalay (for noodles), SF
Just fell in love with Borinquen Soul in Oakland
El Castillito on 17th for carnitas burritos
Ragazza for pizza and giant salads

I’ll leave it for there and then spend three days reminding myself of the million places I should have mentioned

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Thank you Jonathan Kauffman for joining us today for the Q&A! Very glad to have you! Check out his writings on Chron / his website and social media.

And thanks to everyone for the questions!

Have a great day!

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