A few weeks ago, I wrote a column wherein I proclaimed the sushi produced at Gambas to be among the worst I’ve ever tasted. In turn, the chef-owner (whose name I can’t decipher from the signature) at Gambas sent us the following letter, sternly disagreeing with my opinion. In a show of our ongoing support of First Amendment rights, here’s what he had to say:Dear Sir, I am writing in response to MIke Seely’s “Bottomfeeder” article in your July 21, 2009, publication in which he visited Gambas. The article poses as a restaurant review, as it is situated in the food section of the paper; however, only two sentences of the diatribe actually address the food of the restaurant “featured” — to use the term very loosely.The first half of the piece is merely a hodgepodge of pop-culture references that seem intended to showcase the author’s wit and tendency toward lowbrow entertainment, rather than tout his credibility when it comes to the culinary arts. In (sic) latter half of the piece, he continues to wax poetic about his predilection toward the lowbrow, namedropping dive bars and burger joints, and expressly stating his ineptitude at gauging the taste and quality of sush: “My raw-fish palate is also, admittedly, shit.”As a chef, I appreciate that everyone has his own palate and is entitled to his own opinions as far as food preferences are concerned, and Mr. Seely is free to eat his [Dick’s] Specials with reckless abandon. As the owner of the restaurant he defamed in his article, on the other hand, I must protest to (sic) his carelessness as a writer. While it may have served to briefly entertain your readers, it was not a fair review of my cuisine and, as a result, my business has suffered.The only bright spot in this unfortunate situation is that I already have loyal (sic) customer base that enjoys my food and they continue to dine at my establishment regularly. In fact, upon release of this article, many of them took it upon themselves to write complimentary words of encouragement and support on the pages of my menu and gifted them to me. For this, I am both humbled and grateful.I ask that someone willing to write a proper review of my restaurant visit in order to make amends for the damaging entertainment piece penned by Mr. Seely. Thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this matter.