04.12.07
Shout-Outs
A few stories here that relate to other great blogs you should be reading. First off, to my good friends at the Rachael Ray Sucks Community I want to share this funny story. The other night in the kitchen, Dave (another chef) made a squirt bottle of extra virgin olive oil for use in dressing a new menu item. He is no fan of Rachael Ray’s either, but as a joke, he slapped a large piece of masking tape on the bottle and wrote “EVOO” on the bottle.
I took one look at that and was heard to proclaim, “Oh HELL no!”
 Me with our newly-christened Extra Virgin Olive Oil bottle. |
The offending piece of tape was quickly removed, and replaced by an even larger one that read: “EVOOMGSTFU!” In honor of the great acronym from on the RR Sux site, which of course stands for “EVOOh-My-God-Shut-The-Fuck-Up”! It is now the kitchen standard for our extra virgin olive oil bottle. (They also offer it on a T-shirt that I really need to buy…)
The funny part came as our dishwasher Greg saw the bottle last night and was looking at the label. He is not a chef of course, and I doubt he is a regular reader of anything to do with Rachael Ray - one way or the other - so this long acronym made little sense to him at first.
Finally he looked at Dave and asked, “So what does this mean? Does it stand for ‘Extra-Virgin-Olive-Oil-Mixed-Green-Sauce-Together-For-Us?‘”
It was quite some time before we all stopped laughing. Thank God it came during a quiet spell.
 Any excuse to put a photo of bacon up is a good one! |
Next, I want to give a big “Thank you!” shout-out to Heather of Bacon Unwrapped. She has been a fan of this blog for a while, and I have been a fan of hers as well, but she took the big step last night to come in to Restaurant Vero with some friends!
I should have recognized their order, as the three of them all ordered pork dishes…
But I was able to come out and meet her just before desserts, and it was great to finally put a face with the name. I shared one of my bacon band-aids (that I now carry on me at all times in the kitchen) with her as a gift to thank her for linking to me, and for making the trip all the way across the Potomac just to see me. Oh, and to enjoy our braised pork shank as well…
Thanks Heather! I hope dessert was great for you as well!
 You ALL deserve this. Thanks so much! |
Finally, I also want to give a tremendous shout-out to all the great people out there - too many to name and count - who have been voting for me in the Best of Blogs Awards. There are just a few days left in the voting, and I would love to see your continued support. I wish I could list you all here, and give each and every one of you a gold star of your own. But I guess this one will just have to do as a collective one. Thanks everyone!
P.S. Also, I have to send a shout-out to Lia Bulaong at Serious Eats for picking up this story and sending hundreds of new readers to my site. You are welcome here Serious Eaters, and I hope you become regular readers!
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Anne said,
April 12, 2007 at 11:27 am
Too happy I’m not the only one who HATES THAT SAYING! Ergh. Awesome usage lol
Heather said,
April 12, 2007 at 12:50 pm
The pork shank was awesome, desserts were delicious, and it was great to finally meet you! I’ll definitely be back (next time I dare to cross the Potomac again).
Matt said,
April 13, 2007 at 10:50 am
Anne - there are quite a lot of us who hate that saying, and the one who says it. They are quite the community, and worth checking out.
Heather - I am so glad you had a good time, and it thrills me to no end that you will be back. I will be ready for you, and will see if there is any way I can get bacon on the menu for your next arrival.
Krista Foster said,
April 15, 2007 at 7:26 pm
CONGRATS! You are the winner for BoB for Food & Wine. Great job!
Emily said,
April 15, 2007 at 9:14 pm
I was disgusted this afternoon to find at my favorite gourmet store a bottle of Rachael Ray’s EVOO! Didn’t know it existed. Bleah.
Matt said,
April 20, 2007 at 11:28 am
Krista - Thank you so much for the congrats. And I want to make sure all my readers know that your blog - Going Gluten-Free - came in third in the competition, so congrats to you as well!
Emily - She will put her name on anything. The woman needs a “shame” injection.
Chris said,
April 23, 2007 at 6:57 pm
What a classic story….great picture too!
You know what would be hilarious? If Rachel Ray came through there on her travel shows and wormed her way back into the kitchen. That would be a riot when she asked what evoomgstfu stood for. I’m sure it wouldn’t make it on TV but damn that would be a funny awkward outtake.
Matt said,
May 8, 2007 at 10:26 am
Chris - I think I have succesfully put Restaurant Vero on the “Do Not Visit” list for $40 A Day…