-
MK 07/26/2011 10:29:00 PM
Hey! You spelled "blight" right! Good for you.
-
BarnabySonnenschein 04/23/2011 8:20:00 AM
You can't even respect the place or the people around you enough to wear pants? You admit to wearing jeans? And a shirt missing a button? Is this hipster pride, or are you just disrespectful. Grow up and get a wardrobe.
-
Jesse123 04/19/2011 8:11:00 PM
As I understand it, Jason left due to a family situation. I feel empathy for him as a human being. That said, I'm glad he's gone as a food "critic". His writing sucked, plain and simple. So does yours, "Surly Gourmand" -- using tons of swear words, calling readers names, and making lame insults about "your mother" is not good writing. With Jason gone, hopefully the tone of the Weekly food writing staff will change back to a more informative, informed style.
-
Mike 04/18/2011 1:21:00 AM
I went to Canlis with a group for the prom years ago and it was one of those rare 90+ degree days and either they didn't have air conditioning or the didn't turn it as it was hot as hell in there and as I sweated away I made the mistake of removing my dinner jacket -- I was immediately scolded from the staff that "sir, dinner jackets must be worn at all times" or something like that.
On the plus side even though it was obvious we were on prom dates and likely 17 and 18 years old they still offered us to look at the wine list.
-
BethS. 04/13/2011 7:50:00 PM
This from a 'reviewer' who refers to women's nether-regions in the first paragraph of a review. Talk about classless. Hoping this idiot will go away soon too.
-
DanM 04/09/2011 11:38:00 AM
Let's see here. Surly Gourmand 1. lectures everyone else here about their supposed lack of class, then 2. proceeds to mock Down's Syndromes victims and 3. tells everyone to - oh, really, why bother repeating it.
Yep, folks. Looks like we can count on SG to put the "ass" in "class" from here on out.
-
Rantsy 04/08/2011 9:52:00 PM
I wish you hadn't used the line "with all the finess of putdowns made by a Down's Syndrome Sufferer." That was cruel. I can understand your wanting to defend your coworker, but that's no excuse for cruelty.
-
Top Secret 04/07/2011 9:57:00 AM
Wow, I'm surprised that Mr. Sheehan did not review McDonald's while he was in Seattle. What a missed opportunity to read him rave about McDonald's (truly, NOT!) This guy is a total joke as a food critic. That's the way I see it, fair and square.
-
Jfljoe 04/05/2011 7:09:00 PM
Wow, thanks for paying attention...
-
Mantonat 04/05/2011 5:35:00 PM
Lacking a coherent argument, you stoop to ad hominem attacks on a whole city. That's the same logic that leads people to hate Muslims because a few terrorists claim to be inspired by Allah. Well played.
-
04/05/2011 3:25:00 PM
Ha! Hilarious! Sheehan's a douche...
-
David 04/04/2011 7:28:00 PM
Why did you identify yourself as a critic? Is it possible that your food got a little bit more attention from the kitchen than the average diner's? Does every diner get to sit at Peter Canlis' table and try things the chef is working on?
-
Guest 04/03/2011 11:28:00 PM
Looks like jason sheehan is commenting on his own stories again.
-
unnoticed 04/03/2011 1:48:00 PM
Simply. Superb. Sheehan.
wishing you all the best, bro.
-
DanM 04/03/2011 6:48:00 AM
Wow, bullseye. "Culinary he's a drummer in a garage band" perfectly sums Sheehan's rave review of, um, Chipotle earlier this year.
Now, seriously, SERIOUSLY -- what, for the love of Jahweh/Allah/God, is CHIPOTLE (!!!!!) doing in the Seattle Weekly's very latest "100 best restaurants" list, when brilliant local indie places around town like Cafe Flora and Poppy in Seattle and Preservation Kitchen in Bothell aren't on the list?? (And really, Seattle Weekly -- Cheesecake Factory!?) It's just nonsense, just an absolute joke, embarassing.
I look forward to Jason 'I'll say anything for a buck" Sheehan's next piece being a 100,000 word defense of why McDonald's is the most underrated food institution in America, and spending 20,000 words alone on the ecstacy of Chicken McNuggets. Sheer sellout genius!
-
Brettskeen 04/02/2011 11:04:00 PM
I think the la times summed up Sheehan's writing best when they said:
"The problem is, he's just not that interesting. And he's not that great a cook. I had to keep reminding myself that for most of the book he's really just a guy working in a diner. He affects a Keith Richards swagger, but culinarily he's a drummer in a garage band.In the end, sickened by all of his wasted opportunities (and his blowhard approach to bragging about them) I just wanted the book to be over."
I feel the same way about his reviews. No wait, I feel even worse.
-
Matthew 04/02/2011 2:56:00 AM
The only thing more pathetic than Jason Sheehan's writing are his cheerleaders from Denver. One must question the literacy levels of a city with residents who are unable to discern the drivel of Jason Sheehan from actual food writing.
-
Jwill 04/01/2011 7:54:00 PM
LMAO. You are kidding right?
-
Lololol 04/01/2011 7:42:00 PM
I don't care about Jason's reviews so I skim them and the comments following them every week. It is fun to see people getting all upset with his reviews week after week. I hope the next reviewer can stir up the pot as much as Jason did. Keep posting, haters. I enjoy watching your anger.
-
Steve O 04/01/2011 6:51:00 PM
Thanks, Mantonat. I'm thinking that Seattle will be sorry to see Jason go, even if they're unaware of it now.
-
Mantonat 04/01/2011 6:08:00 PM
Y'all are better off just reading Yelp to see if the bathrooms are clean and the portions are big. I don't always agree with Sheehan's reviews and I sometimes wonder about his first-hand knowledge of specific food items, but to call him a hack or a bad writer is to show your complete inability to recognize good writing when you see it. Jason Sheehan is one of the best pure writers in the food industry right now, despite what you may think of his personality or depth of knowledge. There aren't many other writers out there with the ability to capture the essence of a restaurant, to describe food in a way that makes you feel like you ate it yourself, and to conjure emotions surrounding food and dining. Re-read this article without your preconceptions; notice the pacing of the story, the choice of words, the way the tone matches the setting. There are thousands of people on the internet every day who can tell you that the waiter dissed you or that the shrimp must have been frozen or that your mom didn't get a free piece of cake on her birthday, but there's a reason that Sheehan's articles are in print, that he gets paid to write them, and that Seattle will be a little poorer for having lost a good writer.
-
DanM 04/01/2011 8:38:00 AM
My wife and I are celebrating our four-year wedding anniversary later next month with dinner at Canlis; it'll be our first time dining there. We can't wait. Aside from the supposedly amazing food and impeccable service, I've heard that UW architecture professors take their classes to the building just to get a look at some truly groundbreaking Pacific NW architectural design. Truly a local Seattle culinary & cultural institution.
Even a typically narcisisstic, pompous, self-adulatory/obsessed diary entry masquerading as a food review by Jason Sheehan can't ruin our excitement. (Sheehan's "review" will be forgotten about in three months, an insignificant blip in Canlis' venerable 60-year history.)
-
guest 04/01/2011 1:34:00 AM
This review should be taken into consideration by Philadelphia Magazine as evidence of their new employee's lack of character, lack of ethics and lack of editorial judgment. Sheehan has the gall to show up announced using his name, admit to them that he is writing a review, accept favorable treatment including the best table in the house and multiple dishes then provide Canlis with a glowing review. I don't know who it reflects more poorly on: Sheehan or Seattle Weekly (who should NEVER have published the review given the circumstances).
-
jason 03/31/2011 7:56:00 PM
"...let a colleague get made fun of by chumps with all the wit and style of a carny, then you were wrong. Lick my balls after I've been doing several hours of calisthenics, you bitches."
what are you, 12 years old? while sheehan wasn't fired it would be nice if you were. seattle weekly should focus on hiring writers with talent; not crass, hackneyed bloggers that rely upon gimmicks and insults.
if you're not prepared for negative comments, then don't post to the internet or, at the very least, turn off commenting. open yourself up to public ridicule and you're gonna get it.
-
Jmoran 03/31/2011 5:36:00 PM
I bet you wish you had this one back
-
Guest 03/31/2011 4:09:00 PM
Surly et all, Jason Sheehan did not draw this much ire from so many in Seattle in his short tenure here simply because we are all a bunch of vindictive assholes. I believe we all gave Jason a chance to prove his worth, only to be severely disappointed each and every week. After 1 year in Seattle, SW readers have learned more about Jason Sheehan's background, hometown, drug use, music preferences, family, and smoking habit than we have about the food scene in Seattle. This is not to say that good reviews should leave out personal information. However, personal insights should be related to the information about the food or restaurant the writer is attempting to convey. I don't care if you were a line cook at a greasy spoon 20 years ago, but I do care if that line cooking experience informs what you have to say about your experience at X restaurant. The problem with ALL of Jason Sheehan's "reviews" was the fact that he only cared to relate his (fill in the blank personal bullshit), but not how it informed his opinions.
Let's take this Canlis review as a prime example of Jason's failures. The only information one can glean from this review is that if you write restaurant reviews for a widely circulated publication and announce your presence, you'll have a hell of a dining experience at Canlis. How is this information helpful to the rest of Seattle who may have never been to Canlis and want to know if their hard earned time and money is worth it? It isn't! The only purpose this review served was a giant "fuck you" to the Seattle public. It was Jason's way of saying "Look at this awesome treatment I am able to get and you don't" in all of his typical douchbaggery.
Paid food writing positions in widely circulated print media are few and far between. This is why we expect those in these rare positoins to move the city's food scene forward, not stiffle it. A good food writer will inform a city's eaters in a manner that will make them demand more from the proprieters that serve them. A good food writer will crawl into the darkest recesses of a city's back alleys to find the hidden gem the has alluded the public (not review Chipotle, Taco Time, Dick's, and Canlis). A good food writer should understand the cultures and traditions that inform the ethnic food scene of their particular city. A good food writer should connect with his reader in an attempt to get to know the city he just arrived in. Jason Sheehan did none of these things, and didn't do them with a writing style and attitude of one who believed that he did. This is the reason for the vitriolic comments in all fo Jason Sheehan's reviews.
I do not know the circumstances surrounding Jason's departure from Seattle. I truly hope that they are not as sad as Surly leads us to believe. That being the said, unfortunate reasons for departure do not negate over a year's worth of wasted ink devoted more to personal ego boosting than to helping the citizens of Seattle and their food choices and knowledge. Let this missive be an open letter to Hanna Raskin. We expect a lot from you. Don't let us down.
-
Sasquatch 03/31/2011 8:47:00 AM
Now that Jason Sheeethan has left Seattle for good (which is a good thing) the Surly Gourmand is the new bitch now. I think he's just inherited some of Sheeethan's mediocre writing and bitch-ass attitudes. Who's the real bitches? It's you now, surly gourmand and NOT the readers of SW. You thrashing the readers of SW is, well, not a very smart thing to do. And yes, you're indeed the surly "fucking" gourmand you called yourself to be, and I couldn't have said it any better.
-
Spikemike 03/31/2011 5:28:00 AM
Oooo you really told them!
-
Zibby 03/31/2011 4:59:00 AM
I'll weigh in here as a totally biased voice - since I was the other half of this party. Growing up in Seattle, Canlis has been a standard for all special occasions - from my 8th grade graduation to prom to 18th bday parties - and has never failed to disappoint as the one place in Seattle where you are treated as special; no matter if you "are" or not.
Whatever Sheehan chose to do here, you can't deny that we are lucky to have a world-renown restaurant with years of experience here to treat us well; if we want it. I'd love for the naysayers to get past their love of pissing on Sheehan and give some examples of where they've had a better, and more consistent, experience.
I go to the restaurants I love for the things I love (like Spring Hill for its fries and Tavolata for its gnocchi and so, so many more) but for being truly Seattle - without all the pretense and "freeze" its known for of late - I will always go to Canlis. And, when I'm there, I will drink the sauce. You should try it too.
-
Surly Gourmand 03/31/2011 4:55:00 AM
A word to all the complainers: you people are dumbasses.
You're totally within your right to decide that you didn't like Sheehan's writing; but you're a bunch of classless hags with your extremely personal insults towards the man. After all, you won: Jason is leaving Seattle, and you never have to read his writing again. You could be classy and wish him well, but instead you resort to lame insults. "A blight on the culinary community?" Really? If Jason's writing moved you to such histrionics, I'm glad I wasn't around to hear how hysterical you became when the fucking Space Shuttle exploded.
The fact of the matter, you bunch of haters, is that despite your fantasizing about the possibility, Sheehan wasn't fired. And it wasn't your constant bitchy remarks, with all the finesse of putdowns made by a Down's Syndrome Sufferer, that caused him to quit. If you knew jack shit about anything, and were actually aware of the situation that caused him to leave, you'd be really embarrassed at your petty comments.
If you thought the people who write for the SW were going to sit around and let a colleague get made fun of by chumps with all the wit and style of a carny, then you were wrong. Lick my balls after I've been doing several hours of calisthenics, you bitches.
Sincerely,
Your Friend the Surly Motherfucking Gourmand
-
Seattle Epicure 03/30/2011 11:38:00 PM
Don't let the door hit you on your way out.
-
03/30/2011 11:23:00 PM
Jason, you have left town on a high note. Thanks for loving Seattle well.
-
joebagofdonuts 03/30/2011 8:30:00 PM
Ok here goes.
Seattlesad three letters for you ESL. "you so horrible" "awards you one" REALLY!
Samson...I ONCE went to a restaurant that was pretty good with tasty food and the server didn't know every question either. The difference I returned again.
ToddAnthony...Some good points but salmon is always better when it is doused in butter, salt and pepper. People of Seattle and the surrounding suburbs get over your salmon obsession please. There are only a few months of the year you should be eating the stuff anyway. BTW fatty and lamb kind of go hand in hand. "Breaking a tooth or worse choking on a piece of a olive pit" that better be one big olive.
Jason S. Yes, you should have mentioned the other visits to Canlis but I will say that I thought most of your reviews were campy and well written. Good Luck in Philly! You should also keep smoking. Rumor has it André Tchelistcheff was a chronic smoker . Look him up if you don't know who he is.
And finally... For all of you who think we should live in Utopia. People of power will always be treated different whether a food critic, CEO, Senator, or yes even a regular restaurant guest.
-
Jfljoe 03/30/2011 8:08:00 PM
No, you so horrible, you stain.
-
Chefacec 03/30/2011 7:41:00 PM
Good luck, my friend. You have been the latern in the storm. Thanks for all of your work.
-
Gallard 03/30/2011 7:35:00 PM
Jason, thanks again for your short time in Seattle. You will be missed. Even by douchebags like Seattlesad and Samson...
-
nick p. 03/30/2011 7:25:00 PM
Jason - I have really enjoyed your reviews and I really liked this one. Good luck my friend.
-
does it matter? 03/30/2011 7:25:00 PM
Ive been to Canlis a few times, and every time I went, I was treated perfectly. I was offered rolls more than I knew I should eat, the food was not only beautifully presented, but it was delicious as well. The floor and the servers are so graceful and elegant. The diablo I ordered was carried out perfectly. And everyone was so knowledgeable about everything, the bartender on the cocktails, the somms on the wine, and the servers clearly studying there food. I would have to say, that anyone who has something bad to say about Canlis, clearly doesnt understand the environment, and the love put into the food that hits their table. I experienced this one different nights, one on a saterday, on on a tuesday and another on a wednsday, and no matter how busy, the napkin was always folded when I left the table, with someone there to pull my chair and replace it on my lap. This is the part where I now say that I am just an average diner, no one special, just someone who will always see Canlis as one of Seattles best restaurants.
-
Seattlesad 03/30/2011 7:02:00 PM
You so horrible at your profession it amazes me. I don't care what awards you have one or who you have fooled in your career to get to this point.
You are truly a blight on the culinary community of Seattle.
You are a person of low taste, more interested in yourself than in food.
You may generate a good amount of "views" for your reviews but they are all for the wrong reason. Good riddance you talentless, unoriginal, stain.
-
Toddanthony25 03/30/2011 6:46:00 PM
I also wanted to have a lovely dining experience for my mother, her 91st birthday, a couple of weeks ago. My mother actually knew Peter Canlis personally so she was thrilled to be able
to go, if only for the good memories. However as with "samson", our experience was only good
and nothing more. With a couple of exceptions, the service was attentive and excellent.
One example: I felt oddly slighted by a server when I was offered a delicious olive dinner roll,
as I was eating it I chomped down hard on an olive pit. Fortunately no broken tooth or worse,
swallow and choking episode, but when I brought it to our servers attention, all I got was
"I'll tell the chef". That was it. No sympathy there.
The food was again good, not great. Our Canlis salads were nothing special, and somewhat
soggy and over dressed. My lamb chops were small and fatty, good flavor, but the accompanied ground lamb rouladde (is that what that was??) was not so good, either in flavor
or consistency. My dinner partner had the salmon. His remark: "I had better at Anthony's"
And frankly at those prices, I expected better. The remainder at our table were very pleased
with the Canlis experience. In the end, we were somewhat rushed out as there was another
reservation waiting for our table, which we knew about. That was okay but for the maitre'd
to come and "mention" this to us just as it was obvious we were already on our out....
-
Samson 03/30/2011 4:52:00 PM
This is a really good example of why Sheehan's reviews are not helpful.
Why is this even running as a review? This is absolutely NOT the experience I have had or would ever have in Canlis.
In fact, if Sheehan could get his head out of his ass long enough to think about the bigger picture, he might've noticed how easily he could've pulled a Ruth Reichl/Le Cirque and written about the ENORMOUS difference between the way a known critic is treated and the way the average so-and-so is treated. Sheehan mentions this visit wasn't his first at Canlis, so why not talk about those other visits?
I spent a birthday dinner at Canlis and it was good, but really nothing more. We asked wine questions our server was unable to answer and yet she never went to get the sommelier, our food was....fine, pretty tasty, but far from fantastic.
This "review" is a terrific example of how a VIP will be treated. Too bad Sheehan doesn't spell that for the average reader of this article. One is left to infer that this is how everyone dines at Canlis, and let me assure you, it is not.
-
(required) 03/30/2011 4:46:00 PM
A food critic that smokes cigarettes, perfect. No wonder your opinion is so consistently worthless. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
