SOS: Breaking the Best
For the last couple of days I’ve been shilling for your support in the annual Times Union Best of the Capital Region Readers’ Choice Poll. I am coming to realize that all of these things are truly a farce. Seriously, how many people who vote in polls like this actually would consider themselves readers of the paper?
If you would like to be outraged that I’m asking for support on a slate of candidates that you may know nothing about, so be it. But I hope the same people don’t vote for judges, city council representatives, or other elected officials based on their party designation without having fully vetted each of the candidates’ positions on the very important issues of the day.
The slate I’m promoting represents the FLB party’s best interests. And if you are a food lover living in the Capital Region, or elsewhere, I’d argue they represent your best interests too.
But today we’re taking a break from all of that to actually take care of some old business. There is plenty of selling out to be done this week. Press releases have been sent and received. And if I don’t pass them along to you, the media community might stop confusing me for a journalist.
In theory journalists get credentials for notable events and invitations to interview visiting chefs. It’s a tough gig, but somebody has to do it. Now it’s time to pay the piper.
Ballot Busting
This annual campaign of mine is a crazy thing. I totally accept that. For those who can’t quite fathom why I do this, I’ll direct you to last year’s post Why It Matters & What It Can Accopmplish.
What was fascinating yesterday was to see the initial criticism come in for the selections that I’m not just asking you all to vote for, but also to share with your friends, family and colleagues. Some of it I expected. But things I thought would be controversial were ignored, other pushback came from unexpected places.
But I’ve got answers for everything. Today I’ll address your early concerns with the FUSSYlittleBALLOT 4.0 because I want your full support in this project.
More than anything else, you have to remember this:
FUSSYlittleBALLOT 4.0
Here we go. Again.
Last year, thanks in a large part to your help, a lot of the more egregious reader picks from the Times Union’s annual Best of the Capital Region poll were eliminated. Hooray! No longer was Subway our best sandwich. Pizza Hut didn’t crack the top three for Best Pizza. And All Good Bakers even took the top spot for Best New Restaurant.
Part of me wanted to go out on that high note and forget all about this year’s survey entirely. But the blog has grown in readership, and there is still work to be done. The fact is that Mrs. London’s did not crack the top three for Best Bakery, Caffe Vero doesn’t rate for Best Coffee and Ala Shanghai is absent from the Best Chinese.
It’s a crime that these truly best-of-class places are entirely off the region’s collective radar.
For the past three years I’ve assembled a slate of picks for establishments that rise up and represent the best their respective categories have to offer. I should note that even from the start these were never my own personal favorites. Rather, I cross referenced multiple sources and applied the filter of my own judgment.
Last year for the FUSSYlittleBALLOT 3.0 I decided to be much more inclusive. Readers of the FLB extensively discussed picks in each of the categories over the course of months. I’m pleased to say that most of these have held up to the test of time, and most of them have returned.
Let’s look at this year’s slate, and then I’ll ask you for two big favors.
AskTP – More Eyes More Voices
Goals are tricky business. Still, I’d like to set a new short term goal. I hope you like it. Because my goal is you. Yes, you. If you don’t mind, I’d like to activate you. Luckily it doesn’t hurt a bit.
All you have to do is scroll down to the bottom of this post and write, “Hi” in the comments bar. You can even make up a name. Or if that’s too hard, feel free to do as I do and use your real first name and last initial.
That’s it. We can take baby steps.
The thing is that I’m just one voice out here in the Capital Region fighting the good fight. And I’m seriously thrilled that so many of you come here every day to read about it. But what would thrill me even more would be to have more people out there writing about it. You know, like the Masticating Monkey.
Anyhow, some of you are already writing comments and asking questions. What I’m really here to do today is answer those questions. So long as you put a question mark in the comment bar, I’ll eventually give you an answer. I promise.
Now with no further ado, on to the questions:
Cheap Cheap
Often the comments section on Table Hopping is infuriating. However, sometimes it’s simply fascinating.
Take, for example, the recent post Steve wrote where he took a stand against oversized portions and rallied for better quality ingredients. There were some people who supported his argument while others disagreed. The opponents of his stance apparently cherish their restaurant leftovers and see nothing wrong with reheating leftover pasta.
If Steve is reading this, this might be a good subject to tackle next.
However, blog comments, much like interpersonal conversations, tend to evolve and progress. And as they do, they reveal underlying truths and shine a light on personal prejudices.
Do you remember how I was amazed to hear our region’s restaurant patrons described as “cheap”? Well, it looks like the wind blows both ways.
Quarter
Time is marching on. It’s April 1. And while I half considered the notion of writing something ridiculous in the spirit of the holiday, it just wasn’t in me. Plus I knew you would see through it anyhow.
Actually, I had something pretty thoughtful on deck, going back to our earlier conversation on Albany, restaurants, and class. However that had to take a back burner as I cranked out a story for my All Over Albany feature this week. If all goes well, you can read the fruit of my efforts there on Tuesday.
I had also half-thought that the Times-Union might have their 2013 Best of the Capital Region ballots up this morning. So part of me liked the idea of holding off on my regular post in order to do something super timely and topical. But that didn’t happen either.
Luckily, April 1 marks something else of note besides a parade of fools. It begins the second quarter of the year, which means we are leaving the first quarter behind us. And I have to say, the first three months of this year have been awesome for the FLB. Thank you all for sharing the stories on Facebook and Twitter, and bringing new people to the blog.
Just in case you missed them, here’s what resonated in the first quarter of 2013.
A Holiday for Eggs
Happy Easter. I can’t imagine anyone will be reading the blog today. But posting is more of a compulsion than anything else.
Sundays have always been a tricky day for the FLB. For a while the day was reserved for wine posts. Then it moved to the subject of breakfast. Most recently I’ve been running a backlog of press releases received over the week.
But sometimes it’s nice to try and do something topical. I’ve already warned those of you lucky enough to be in the presence of a HoneyBaked Ham today to make sure it is never ever put in the oven. Not even on low. Not even for just a minute.
So it’s eggs. And not just any eggs. Today it’s hard-boiled eggs. I don’t know if most people hard-boil eggs for the purpose of decorating, or if they poke holes in the tops and bottoms to drain the shell of its precious cargo before they turn it into an object of art.
But I haven’t written about hard boiled eggs. And while they are easy to do, most people screw them up. Restaurants too. It’s time for this to stop.
Spirits of Spring
It’s been over two months since my last post on cocktails, so perhaps it would be wise to quickly summarize some long held notions I have about drinking distilled spirits.
A long long time ago I had an extensive home bar. At its peak it contained enough bottles to make any cocktail that any guest might possibly desire. Since then my approach towards cocktails has simplified.
Now I have just one small liquor cabinet. There isn’t room for much. I no longer stock multiple varieties of rum, tequila and gin. Hard choices have to be made. One thing that helps is the seasons of the year.
Yes, I try to drink seasonally. Spicy ginger liqueur in the fall. Warming brandy in the winter. Tequila in the summer. Whiskey and gin have a slot on my shelf all year long. But now it’s spring, and I may be jumping the gun on this latest bottle. However, it’s also Pesach, so that really sealed the deal.
Reader of Instructions, Savior of Hams
Easter isn’t my holiday. Little Miss Fussy had a question about the Easter Bunny at the mall, and I couldn’t really answer it. The best I could do was that on Passover kids hunt for the afikomen, and on Easter kids hunt for colorful plastic eggs. I told her the bunny has something to do with the eggs.
She also thinks that bunnies are both cute and delicious. That’s my girl.
Last night I was asking Mrs. Fussy about Good Friday. The question was that if there was a post I wanted people to read before Easter, could I post it on Friday or would it be better to run the story on Thursday? She quickly said, “Thursday.” Then after thinking more about my question she winced, “Please tell me you’re not writing about ham again.”
That was a dumb question. Of course I’m writing about ham again. Sure, some people may be tired of hearing the same old rant year after year. However, if with this post I can save just one ham, it will all be worthwhile.
Feeding Fried Chicken to Kids
Moms can get nasty. Just try telling some mother that you don’t approve of how they are raising their children, and see what happens. It’s hard to not take something like that personally.
Twitter got a taste of this over the weekend when KFC tried to leverage the power of social media using Mom Bloggers to promote their healthier kids meals. Let’s see if I can give an overly simplified blow by blow of how this went down.
Some bloggers thought this product was a good thing. Others were vehemently opposed to fast food companies targeting kids with their poison. KFC corporate remained remarkably silent while this all went down publicly on Twitter. Their brand ambassadors were being eaten for lunch, without a peep from the brand itself.
In my opinion this was a PR nightmare for the brand, but it didn’t have to be. Because despite all my strong feelings about food, ingredients and integrity, even I would still feed KFC to my kids. Really. And here’s why.
FUSSYlittleBLOG 