Eric Chats It Up
FrederickCooke:
Hello everyone! Welcome to the Eric Asimov chat. I, Frederick Cooke, will be hosting the chat, but Eric has logged in under the alias Eric Asimov and will be responding to questions from his own computer terminal. I have some questions for him, but this is
a chat, not an interview, so ask away.
GordonSt:
Eric, If you had one meal left in your life but only $20 bucks to spend, where would you go?
Eric Asimov:
John's Pizza, dinner chez Jean-Claude in SoHo, soup dumplings at Joe's Shanghai in Chinatown. Have I spent
it all yet? Hey, I could even get a hamburger at 44 for $20, though I'd rather die first, I think.
GordonSt:
Good start Eric. Now here's the question I have been really wanting to ask. I have a date in the Big Apple, and I want to spend $50 between the two of us but still look kind of stylish. What's your call?
Eric Asimov:
Gordon, that's a difficult question. E and O on Houston Street is a great first-date restaurant, because the lighting in the room makes everybody look beautiful, and the food doesn't get in the way (it's
Vietnamese, by the way, owned by Nell Campbell). The second date is when things get crucial....then you should try Jean-Claude in SoHo, or Le Gigot in the
Village, little slices of Paris that are very romantic....
GordonSt:
Eric, Good point on the second date thing. Clearly a connouisseur of women as well as food. And the advice is especially important for me. By the second date I really need something to distract them from my personality.
Eric Asimov:
Repeat after me, Gordon. I'm handsome, witty and kind. Women love me!
Eric Asimov:
Gordon, $20 might buy me a foie gras appetizer at Daniel.....
ruby5:
Hey -- didn't Ruth Reichl review Joe's Shanghai -- ever haggle over a restaurant?
Eric Asimov:
Haggle with Ruth? Never, Ruby. I will I remind you that I reviewed the original Joe's Shanghai in Flushing, which led to the branch at 9 Pell Street.
ruby5:
Ahhh, and the original is always best, right?
FrederickCooke:
Do you ever feel that any of the inexpensive restaurants you critique are deserving of a New York Times star?
Eric Asimov:
You know, Frederick, I'm grateful that I don't have to issue stars. It means people will read what I say (I hope) rather than glance at the shorthand. Sure they deserve stars, but luckily I don't have to give them.
ruby5:
Is $20 for a foie gras appetizer worth it? at Daniel? at Lespinasse?
Eric Asimov:
Ruby, it's best not to assess the value of a $20 piece of foie gras. It's like asking whether you'd rather spend $250 for a case of decent Bordeaux, or for one bottle of Petrus. You'd like the steady supply, but you'll always wonder about the Petrus.
GordonSt:
Eric, Do you do any reviews of restaurants outside of NYC. I'm in interested in San Francisco and Boston in particular.
Eric Asimov:
Sorry, Gordon, I don't get out of NYC nearly as much as I'd like to. I always find great places in San Francisco, though. Last trip I had a great meal at a place called Flying Saucer....
FrederickCooke:
What is your background in the food and restaurant industry? And, how and when did you get into food writing?
Eric Asimov:
I had the great fortune of being able to follow my avocation. My background is simply one of having always been interested in food and restaurants. I've had no formal training, short of teen-age work in restaurants as a busboy and prep cook. I got into
food writing by free-lancing pieces to The Times. Eventually I became the editor of the Living Section and started writing the $25 and Under column. The luckiest thing was being available when the column started.
ruby5:
Ever take a date on a review?
Eric Asimov:
Why Ruby, restaurants are my life!
GordonSt:
Do you let them know it's you, or do you go for the anonymity approach?
Eric Asimov:
Gordon, I always try to stay anonymous. Once in a while, somebody figures out who I am, but when it really gets down to it, all it improves is the service. It's the same food, the same chef, and that limits the potential of a restaurant. Nonetheless, I'm a
lot more comfortable being anonymous.
emmawood:
Don't you ever yearn to write about the over $25 places?
Eric Asimov:
Emma, i've actually written a few of the over $25 places, and I can tell you that I have so much more fun going to the cheaper restaurants. Not as formal, filling or forbidding. They are the kind of places I like going to, anyway!
