Most food posts are happy ones. People photograph what they like. That is what makes the exceptions in Roger’s 2012–2013 Flickr captions so useful: every so often he stopped celebrating and said exactly what was wrong — or, now and then, admitted he had been wrong himself.
The sharpest verdict came in Las Vegas in June 2013. Gordon Ramsay BurGR, he wrote, was way overhyped: presentation and ambiance were awesome, but the food was subpar. You disappointed us, Ramsay. Earlier, in May, a new dessert bar in the neighborhood got the same treatment. Swoon looked promising from its Yelp reviews and photos, but all seven people at the table were disappointed with the quality and portions of a $16 tasting flight — and later that night Roger posted a third stop, Tea Station, because their bellies were not satisfied yet.
Some critiques were smaller and more specific. At Kous Kous in Hillcrest the tagine and kebabs were good, but service was super slow both times they visited. At Cafe Hue a Belgian waffle smothered in Nutella was a bit on the dry side and needed a scoop of gelato. At Lo Chiu in Hong Kong the Vietnamese food had good flavor but was so localized to Hong Kong taste buds that it was far from authentic. And at Sushi Deli, Roger admitted he had never been a fan — but the cheap prices balanced out the sushi snob in him.
Hype went the other way too. At Porto’s in Glendale he went in to see what the hype was all about and came away with so far so good. At Tim Ho Wan in Hong Kong, the dim sum was one of the better-tasting Michelin-rated spots in town — others, he wrote, are just all hype.
The best posts are the ones where Roger changed his mind. His first visit to Carnitas’ Snack Shack, just after it opened, did not leave a great impression. In April 2013 the Triple Threat Pork Sandwich amazed him. At Crazee Burger, whipped cream on a venison burger seemed a little odd — and then made it taste really good.
And one post is a small masterclass in how a restaurant should handle a mistake. At Tender Greens, Roger found a piece of plastic in his salad and told the staff. They refunded the entree, gave a $20 gift card and added free cookies. His reaction: cheers to that.
These are 2012 and 2013 opinions, dated and linked to their original posts. They are not a verdict on any of these businesses today. What they show is the habit that makes a food record worth trusting: saying so when it is not good, and saying so when you were wrong.
Source trail
Tea Station, the third stop after Swoon, May 5, 2013 — Roger’s Flickr post ↗The frames in this story
