12.02.06
Our Review Is In
We were pretty sure that a Washington Post review was coming our way, and it is finally in. This weekend’s Washington Post Magazine has a very nice review of Restaurant Vero, and we are very happy with how it portrays the restaurant. I will not re-print the whole review here, but of course you should all read it when you can.
I want to be clear about this review though. I claim absolutely ZERO credit for this glowing review. All of his visits occured before I was an employee, so there is no way my additions for the past two and a half weeks had anything to do with what Mr. Nicholls experienced at Vero. Sure, he does mention the salads and desserts especially, but I wasn’t making the salads then, and all I ever do is plate the desserts anyway. (We have a pastry chef on staff who is both excellent, and fully deserving of any praise laid upon the dessert menu.)
My only hope is to be a part of the team that earned such high praise, and to keep the level of quality up where it is now. The bar has been set high, so again, I have to rise to the challenge. Fortunately, I feel up to it this time as well!
 “Remember us?… We’re coming to see you at Vero!” |
The other challenge that will approach us is the fact that a good review means a huge influx of traffic to the restaurant. Back at Tirolo, there was a review that came out back in 2000 for them in the Post’s weekend section. The result was business like they had never seen before, and never saw since. The huge vats of tomato sauce that I used to make every other day had to be made for every meal period! That’s right, lunch and dinner each used close to 50 lbs of tomato sauce! From what I was told, it was madness.
And now we have a glowing review in the Post as well. I am not expecting it to be quite so crazy simply because we are a sit-down restaurant, and not a cafe, but all the same, the volume increase will most likely be quite noticeable. So I am guessing that I will be seeing even less of my wife for quite some time to come…
And if I may take issue with one comment in the review. The reviewer is complaining about how spicy some of the dishes are, and says: “Take a starter of “grilled polenta with duck ragu” with no mention of spices. Two wedges of nice-enough, grill-striped cornmeal mush come topped with a scoop of nuclear stew that sears my tongue.” Let me just say first of all that the duck is the best of the appetizers we offer in my opinion. Like a NC-style BBQ, it has rich flavor, nice heat and yet the full-bodied flavor of the duck meat is not lost, but rather warmly accented. To call it “nuclear stew” is just crazy - it is just not that hot…
Second of all, what restaurant reviewer can’t stand a little spice?…
Oh well, that’s just my opinion. It’s a great review, and well deserved by my fellow co-workers. Now it is time to go to work today. I just hope I’m ready for it.
P.S. If you want to come to Restaurant Vero - and you all should - you can make a reservation on OpenTable.
P.P.S. Thanks to “Culture Kills…Wait, I mean Cutlery” for giving me an honorable mention for this week’s Pageant of the Transmundane contest for my post on Season Shot.
Stumble it!
MC said,
December 8, 2006 at 3:39 pm
I just wish you could have won the award, but Fab… well, Mr. Fab is nuts. There will be other opportunities, I am sure of it.