I know, I know... this is twice in one week that I'm making fun of the New York Times (see "$115,000 Worth of Pointless Revenge" a few blogs below for my first shot at the Old Gray Lady), but I just couldn't let this one go without a comment.
In the February 25 Travel section, writer Michelle Auerbach gave a nice shout-out to Boulder, touching on the alleged sudden profusion of fine, earth-friendly restaurants popping up in the People's Republic. Mateo, Frasca (chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson shown above), The Kitchen -- it was all the usual suspects, and that didn't bother me at all. What did bug me was Auerbach's contention that the Denver/Boulder area has only recently become worthy of notice and that this is all thanks to the relocation of people from New York and California to our fair state -- as if it is only the refined palates and deep pockets of the Coasties that could've possibly elevated the level of cuisine in our benighted culinary backwater and saved us poor testicle-eating, taco-loving, twig-and-berry-chewing hippie savages from our own baser desires.
"Boulder, Colorado used to be a tough place to eat good food," Auerbach wrote. "For all its outdoorsy charm, health-conscious Boulderites had to settle for restaurants that served mush like overcooked lentils and brown rice. The food may have been healthy, but it was also monochromatic and unappetizing...But thanks partly to a recent influx of urbanites, especially from New York and California, several high-end restaurants have opened in Boulder."
You know what? Fuck off. I am so sick of hearing this kind of crap from New Yorkers -- that their city is beyond argument as the arbiter of all things food-related and that it is only with their disdainful notice that any other city might appear on the radar. Boulder only became good after New Yorkers started moving there? I'd be willing to wager that a whole generation of Boulder chefs who came up through the '80s and '90s would have a little something to say about that.
Actually, they probably wouldn't have to say much of anything. I think one finger would suffice. -- Jason Sheehan
Auerbach did not contend that the Denver/Boulder culinary scene has only been recently noticed due to the influx of coastals. (She never even mentioned Denver in the article.) Rather, she partially credited Boulder's influx of urbanites to the town's current eco/artisan phenomena and then ascertained this position through her interviews of a California-trained chef from Frasca, a New York-inspired chef from The Kitchen and a decade-long perspective from a Boulder-grown restaurateur from Mateo. It is around this perspective that she built her article.
Auerbach is a Boulder newcomer who told a relevant story to an audience of 8 million people. I feel that your choice to see red and roll out the f-bomb carpet (and to a fellow writer!) over a flawed premise was off base.
As a publicist, I am a bit nervous to be writing to you. I rely heavily on Westword to get the word out on my clients and do not want to ruffle any feathers. However, I rely just as heavily on the Auerbachs of the world to broker my information and have an obligation to keep you in check.
Best,
Kate Lacroix-Baird
d i s h publicity
Posted at: March 2, 2007 8:58 AM