Tequila's review
Bob Bruhin
hillary israeli wrote:
>
> Did anyone else see the really BAD review written up about Tequila's on
> Locust near 16th? It was either in the CP or the PW, I forget which. It
> harshed on the food to an unbelievable degree, and then bitched about the
> size of the margarita pitcher AND the "lack of alcohol" in said pitcher.
>...
> What do you guys think?
It was in Philly Weekly.
http://www.brainsoap.com/food/review/food_review.tmpl
It definitely was an *incredibly* harsh review.
--
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Bob Bruhin bru...@dvpn.org
President, Delaware Valley Pagan Network http://www.dvpn.org/~dvpn/
hillary israeli
Locust near 16th? It was either in the CP or the PW, I forget which. It
harshed on the food to an unbelievable degree, and then bitched about the
size of the margarita pitcher AND the "lack of alcohol" in said pitcher.
I don't know what the heck happened the night the reviewer went. I've
always had really great food there. I mean, the guy bitched about the
salsa being too hot, which I don't understand at all, and he also bitched
about the tacos being too bland and filled with mostly cheese (never my
experience and I've had them a lot)... They found something unpleasant
to say about every dish they tried, and really I can't imagine how they
did it because I've never had anything bad there! As far as the margaritas
go, my husband and I once had one of those pitchers and when we got home I
tried to walk my cat on a leash, so there is no question about the alcohol
content!
What do you guys think?
--
hillary israeli.....................................hillary@netaxs.com
"So that's 2 T-1s and a newsfeed....would you like clues with that?"
hil...@hillary.net: for debugging your net or deworming your pet
Net Access...The NSP for ISPs....The NOC that rocks around the clock.
David B Hanna
review but from what you write, it certainly does not echo my experiences
there, nor those of my Mexican friends who love Tequila's as well.
Dave
hillary israeli (hil...@hillary.net) wrote:
: Did anyone else see the really BAD review written up about Tequila's on
--
David B Hanna dha...@mail.sas.upenn.edu
University of Pennsylvania http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~dhanna
hillary israeli
*
*
*hillary israeli wrote:
*>
*> Did anyone else see the really BAD review written up about Tequila's on
*> Locust near 16th? It was either in the CP or the PW, I forget which. It
*> harshed on the food to an unbelievable degree, and then bitched about the
*> size of the margarita pitcher AND the "lack of alcohol" in said pitcher.
*>...
*> What do you guys think?
*
*It was in Philly Weekly.
*http://www.brainsoap.com/food/review/food_review.tmpl
*
*It definitely was an *incredibly* harsh review.
Well, I guess if it scares away enough people that I can get a table
easier, but not enough people to really hurt them financially, I'll be
happy :)
BeBopper
reviewer was being a dick.
-bebopper
On 20 Jan 2000 01:11:44 GMT, hil...@hillary.net (hillary israeli)
wrote:
>Did anyone else see the really BAD review written up about Tequila's on
>Locust near 16th? It was either in the CP or the PW, I forget which. It
>harshed on the food to an unbelievable degree, and then bitched about the
>size of the margarita pitcher AND the "lack of alcohol" in said pitcher.
>
>I don't know what the heck happened the night the reviewer went. I've
>always had really great food there. I mean, the guy bitched about the
>salsa being too hot, which I don't understand at all, and he also bitched
>about the tacos being too bland and filled with mostly cheese (never my
>experience and I've had them a lot)... They found something unpleasant
>to say about every dish they tried, and really I can't imagine how they
>did it because I've never had anything bad there! As far as the margaritas
>go, my husband and I once had one of those pitchers and when we got home I
>tried to walk my cat on a leash, so there is no question about the alcohol
>content!
>
Karen Byrd
(hillary israeli) wrote:
> Did anyone else see the really BAD review written up about Tequila's on
> Locust near 16th? It was either in the CP or the PW, I forget which. It
> harshed on the food to an unbelievable degree, and then bitched about the
> size of the margarita pitcher AND the "lack of alcohol" in said pitcher.
Both of those "papers" are rags with their own quasi agendas of
know-it-all-ness. Sometimes they are interesting to read but they're
both essentially crap. I mean what else can be expected of a freebie
paper.
> I don't know what the heck happened the night the reviewer went. I've
> always had really great food there.
I agree. I've been going there since it opened back in the 80s and
I've *always* had terrific food there. Years ago it was the only place
I could get Negra Modelo beer in Phila. Another reason why I loved
it from the very beginning.
>I mean, the guy bitched about the
> salsa being too hot,
Some salsa is *supposed* to be hot!
> which I don't understand at all, and he also bitched
> about the tacos being too bland and filled with mostly cheese (never my
> experience and I've had them a lot)... They found something unpleasant
> to say about every dish they tried, and really I can't imagine how they
> did it because I've never had anything bad there!
Let's hope that the patrons who have been going to Tequila for eons
will continue. And newcomers will have minds of their own and will
ignore everything the reviewer had to say.
> As far as the margaritas
> go, my husband and I once had one of those pitchers and when we got home I
> tried to walk my cat on a leash, so there is no question about the alcohol
> content!
>
> What do you guys think?
See above.
--
Karen Byrd
Karen Byrd
(hillary israeli) wrote:
> On Wed, 19 Jan 2000 23:50:18 -0500,<bru...@dvpn.org> wrote:
> *
> *
> *hillary israeli wrote:
> *>
> *> Did anyone else see the really BAD review written up about Tequila's on
> *> Locust near 16th? It was either in the CP or the PW, I forget which. It
> *> harshed on the food to an unbelievable degree, and then bitched about the
> *> size of the margarita pitcher AND the "lack of alcohol" in said pitcher.
> *>...
> *> What do you guys think?
> *
> *It was in Philly Weekly.
> *http://www.brainsoap.com/food/review/food_review.tmpl
> *
> *It definitely was an *incredibly* harsh review.
>
> Well, I guess if it scares away enough people that I can get a table
> easier, but not enough people to really hurt them financially, I'll be
> happy :)
I think people are smart enough not to pay enormous attention to reviews.
--
Karen Byrd
Tom Kretchmar
: my husband and I once had one of those pitchers and when we got home I
: tried to walk my cat on a leash, so there is no question about the alcohol
: content!
: What do you guys think?
I think your first step is admitting you have a problem.
tmk
Kevin McGuire
: In article <slrn88co6g....@unix3.netaxs.com>, hil...@hillary.net
: (hillary israeli) wrote:
: > Did anyone else see the really BAD review written up about Tequila's on
: > Locust near 16th? It was either in the CP or the PW, I forget which. It
: > harshed on the food to an unbelievable degree, and then bitched about the
: > size of the margarita pitcher AND the "lack of alcohol" in said pitcher.
: Both of those "papers" are rags with their own quasi agendas of
: know-it-all-ness. Sometimes they are interesting to read but they're
: both essentially crap. I mean what else can be expected of a freebie
: paper.
:
Hey, when Jim Quinn was writing for them (I forget which one, perhaps it
was both) his stuff was great! And Holly Moore knew a thing or two about
food as well.
--
Kevin McGuire
University of Pennsylvania
http://www.theenergyco-op.com/ <-- 100% Green Electricity in PA!
Shilajit T Gangulee
I walk my cat on a leash all the time. He loves it. Though he probaly
won't want to go outside for a while, since the snow reminds him of the
refrigerator.
-tico
James Andrews (jand...@mail2.sas.upenn.edu) wrote:
: hillary israeli (hil...@hillary.net) wrote:
: : did it because I've never had anything bad there! As far as the margaritas
: : go, my husband and I once had one of those pitchers and when we got home I
: : tried to walk my cat on a leash, so there is no question about the alcohol
: : content!
: : What do you guys think?
: I think this is really funny.
: Jas.
: -------------------------
: James Andrews
: Philadelphia, PA
: remove the XX
--
--------------------------
finger -l to find me
A UNIX saleslady, Lenore,
Enjoys work, but she likes the beach more.
She found a good way
To combine work and play:
She sells C shells by the seashore
James Andrews
hillary israeli (hil...@hillary.net) wrote:
: I don't know what the heck happened the night the reviewer went. I've
: always had really great food there.
Me too. It's one of our favorite restaurants.
I mean, the guy bitched about the
: salsa being too hot, which I don't understand at all,
She's obviously never been to Mexico. That style of really hot salsa
(with the whole serranos and the carrots and onion pieces in the clear
juice) is pretty standard.
: experience and I've had them a lot)... They found something unpleasant
: to say about every dish they tried, and really I can't imagine how they
: did it because I've never had anything bad there!
Me neither. I've had some things which are less inspiring than others,
but nothing as bad as she said.
I just think it comes down to never having been to Mexico; that's all I
can figure. The food there is very similar to what you get in nice
restaurants in Mexico--not what you get in Mexican restaurants in America
(which are really Tex-Mex for the most part, or California-style Mexican).
The question I have is that some of the things they mentioned I've never
seen on the menu--have they changed it or something?
And she didn't mention the molcajetes, which are one of the best things
they have there IMO.
As far as the margaritas
: go, my husband and I once had one of those pitchers and when we got home I
: tried to walk my cat on a leash, so there is no question about the alcohol
: content!
: What do you guys think?
I still think this is really funny.
Jas.
-------------------------
James Andrews
Philadelphia, PA
Remove the XX
Kieran Snyder
>Hey, when Jim Quinn was writing for them (I forget which one, perhaps it
>was both) his stuff was great!
Whatever happened to him? He also used to do the food feature in the
magazine insert in the Sunday paper. One of the few food writers I really
enjoyed reading. I love food, and I love writing, but food writing is
usually subpar.
On Tequila's, I've enjoyed my visits there reasonably well. In a city
with generally poor Mexican food considering its otherwise culinary Good
Stuff, Tequila's is a decent option. They need to increase the vegetarian
selection, but that's my only criticism. (And in their credit, they're
usually pretty good about modifying the regular offerings if requested.)
Kieran
FourJacksAndAJill
: did it because I've never had anything bad there! As far as the margaritas
: go, my husband and I once had one of those pitchers and when we got home I
: tried to walk my cat on a leash, so there is no question about the alcohol
: content!
: What do you guys think?
I don't have a cat. I wonder what I will end up doing after a night of
Tequila's margaritas...
--
- > BXK
- > bk...@dept.english.upenn.edu
- > http://www.english.upenn.edu/~bkim0
- > http://www.clockstrikesthirteen.com
Jim Kriebel
(Kieran Snyder) wrote:
> Kevin McGuire <Kevin McGuire kevinmcg...@sas.upenn.eduNOSPAMNO> wrote:
>
> >Hey, when Jim Quinn was writing for them (I forget which one, perhaps it
> >was both) his stuff was great!
>
> Whatever happened to him? He also used to do the food feature in the
> magazine insert in the Sunday paper. One of the few food writers I really
> enjoyed reading. I love food, and I love writing, but food writing is
> usually subpar.
>
> <snip>
>
> Kieran
Jim Quinn has a column in Philadelphia Magazine now - but he doesn't
really review restaurants. It's a food/cooking column in addition to
Philadelphia Mags regular restaurent reviews.
Jim
BeBopper
Holly used to hang on this NG all the time (though he tended to
specialize in basse cuisine. ) I miss the dude though .. he certainly
knew where to get a great burger and fries, or some good cuban or
diner food.
Hoddy Moo - Where R U ??
- bebopper
On 20 Jan 2000 15:12:55 GMT, kevi...@mail2.sas.upenn.edu (Kevin
McGuire) wrote:
>Karen Byrd (by...@mscf.med.upenn.edu) wrote:
>: In article <slrn88co6g....@unix3.netaxs.com>, hil...@hillary.net
>: (hillary israeli) wrote:
>
>: > Did anyone else see the really BAD review written up about Tequila's on
>: > Locust near 16th? It was either in the CP or the PW, I forget which. It
>: > harshed on the food to an unbelievable degree, and then bitched about the
>: > size of the margarita pitcher AND the "lack of alcohol" in said pitcher.
>
>: Both of those "papers" are rags with their own quasi agendas of
>: know-it-all-ness. Sometimes they are interesting to read but they're
>: both essentially crap. I mean what else can be expected of a freebie
>: paper.
>:
>
>Hey, when Jim Quinn was writing for them (I forget which one, perhaps it
Hoddy Moo
reviewer attempting to make a name for herself by knocking a great and a
well-esteemed restaurant.
I do know what Tequilla's is. It is the best Mexican Restaurant in
Philadelphia, and one of the best in the country. Owner David Suro prides
himself in offering authentic regional Mexican cuisine, not just the cliche
border fare found in most Mexican restaurants.
I am a fan of the tequillas that Cobb decries as watered down - and I have been
known to show a bit of temper if I don't promptly get my bowls of red salsa and
chips (which Cobb calls "unterly tasteless" and I consider "crisp, clean, with
a perfect kick of cilantro").
I also almost always order one of Tequilla's fish entrees at Dinner. While I
prefer their Grouper rubbed with, I think, ancho paste, I've had the Pescado
Mango that overwhelmed and disappointed Cobb. Perhaps, as Cobb's palette
matures, she will appreciate the range of flavors in the dish. Perhaps not.
As to whatever happened to Holly Moore - when not aswim in tequillas at
Tequilla's or lurking in this newsgroup, he is on WXPN (88.5FM) Thursday
mornings between 9 and 10 AM chatting it up with Michaela Majoun for the Dinner
portion of "Dinner and a Movie."
Enjoy,
Holly Moore
hillary israeli
*I have no idea who Sonya Cobb is though I suspect she is a beginning restaurant
*reviewer attempting to make a name for herself by knocking a great and a
*well-esteemed restaurant.
I guess that's one possibility.
*I do know what Tequilla's is. It is the best Mexican Restaurant in
*Philadelphia, and one of the best in the country. Owner David Suro prides
*himself in offering authentic regional Mexican cuisine, not just the cliche
*border fare found in most Mexican restaurants.
I agree!
I'm glad to hear that you and I are of the same mind on this one.
I just couldn't believe that horrible review. I mean, I read it through
three times to see if I could find ANYTHING in it that made sense. But
nope, just a bunch of bitching about perfectly good food and attempts at
poking fun at the descriptive menu (which I always thought was rather
charming, personally).
Hmmm. All this talk has gotten me hungry for Mexican food. I think I will
plan to have dinner there tomorrow night :).
By the way, when we go there, we always request to be seated in Oscar's
station. He's an excellent server, and he always remembers us even when
it's been a really really long time since we've been there.
*As to whatever happened to Holly Moore - when not aswim in tequillas at
*Tequilla's or lurking in this newsgroup, he is on WXPN (88.5FM) Thursday
*mornings between 9 and 10 AM chatting it up with Michaela Majoun for the Dinner
*portion of "Dinner and a Movie."
Or having breakfast at Carmen's, right? :)
Karen Byrd
kevinmcg...@sas.upenn.eduNOSPAMNO wrote:
> Karen Byrd (by...@mscf.med.upenn.edu) wrote:
> : In article <slrn88co6g....@unix3.netaxs.com>, hil...@hillary.net
> : (hillary israeli) wrote:
>
> : > Did anyone else see the really BAD review written up about Tequila's on
> : > Locust near 16th? It was either in the CP or the PW, I forget which. It
> : > harshed on the food to an unbelievable degree, and then bitched about the
> : > size of the margarita pitcher AND the "lack of alcohol" in said pitcher.
>
> : Both of those "papers" are rags with their own quasi agendas of
> : know-it-all-ness. Sometimes they are interesting to read but they're
> : both essentially crap. I mean what else can be expected of a freebie
> : paper.
> :
>
> Hey, when Jim Quinn was writing for them (I forget which one, perhaps it
> was both) his stuff was great! And Holly Moore knew a thing or two about
> food as well.
Holly Moore used to post to this group. Dunno where he is now.
--
Karen Byrd
Karen Byrd
(hillary israeli) wrote:
> On 21 Jan 2000 01:59:57 GMT,<hodd...@aol.com> wrote:
> *I have no idea who Sonya Cobb is though I suspect she is a beginning
restaurant
> *reviewer attempting to make a name for herself by knocking a great and a
> *well-esteemed restaurant.
>
> I guess that's one possibility.
>
> *I do know what Tequilla's is. It is the best Mexican Restaurant in
> *Philadelphia, and one of the best in the country. Owner David Suro prides
> *himself in offering authentic regional Mexican cuisine, not just the cliche
> *border fare found in most Mexican restaurants.
>
> I agree!
> I'm glad to hear that you and I are of the same mind on this one.
> I just couldn't believe that horrible review. I mean, I read it through
> three times to see if I could find ANYTHING in it that made sense. But
> nope, just a bunch of bitching about perfectly good food and attempts at
> poking fun at the descriptive menu (which I always thought was rather
> charming, personally).
Are you planning on writing a letter to whatever rag explaining that
this woman doesn't know what she's talking about? She won't find out
that general consensus is that her views about Tequilla's are WAY
off if no one says anything to whatever rag.
--
Karen Byrd
hillary israeli
*
*Are you planning on writing a letter to whatever rag explaining that
*this woman doesn't know what she's talking about? She won't find out
*that general consensus is that her views about Tequilla's are WAY
*off if no one says anything to whatever rag.
That's an excellent idea. If it's the City Paper, though, I know enough of
their staff reads this group that she probably knows. I will have to look
again, figure out which paper it was, and fire off a letter this weekend.
hillary israeli
http://www.brainsoap.com/food/review/food_review.tmpl
Apparently "brainsoap.com" is the domain name used by the Philadelphia
Weekly, go figure. I couldn't find an email address for Sonya Cobb (she's
listed as a "contributing arts writer," but I found an email address for
the Film and Food Editor, who is Erica Pennella
<epen...@philadelphiaweekly.com>, if anyone else cares to comment on this
terrible restaurant review.
-hillary, who got home early today :) yay!!!
The Big Cheese
guess either their reviewer has no idea what good food is or you have to pay
to get a good review.
--
,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_ .-:*'``'*:-.,_
The Big Cheese
big-c...@cyber-wizard.com
"hillary israeli" <hil...@hillary.net> wrote in message
news:slrn88co6g....@unix3.netaxs.com...
> Did anyone else see the really BAD review written up about Tequila's on
> Locust near 16th? It was either in the CP or the PW, I forget which. It
> harshed on the food to an unbelievable degree, and then bitched about the
> size of the margarita pitcher AND the "lack of alcohol" in said pitcher.
>
> I don't know what the heck happened the night the reviewer went. I've
> always had really great food there. I mean, the guy bitched about the
> salsa being too hot, which I don't understand at all, and he also bitched
> about the tacos being too bland and filled with mostly cheese (never my
> experience and I've had them a lot)... They found something unpleasant
> to say about every dish they tried, and really I can't imagine how they
> did it because I've never had anything bad there! As far as the margaritas
> go, my husband and I once had one of those pitchers and when we got home I
> tried to walk my cat on a leash, so there is no question about the alcohol
> content!
>
> What do you guys think?
>
Tom Kretchmar
I had enjoyed reading Sonya Cobb's reviews since she started
at the Weekly. Though she lets on little about herself, my
guess is that she's younger and not a total gourmand/food
afficionado, but rather just a writer trying to relate to
an audience of young people who like to eat. Actually, I
saw her columns as a welcome response to Maxine Keyser's
nonsense in the City Paper - she spent a year, before Cobb
showed up, wasting an entire page of copy reviewing all of
the obvious chic spots around Rittenhouse Square, never really
putting any effort into finding creative or unknown places
to write up. Cobb was reviewing a lot of smaller/unknown spots
around South Philly and I think even the northeast, and doing
some funky columns: the best food courts at local malls, etc.
Interesting, Keyser started writing up places besides the
Stein/Starr/Perrier type spots a few months back, and I bet
it was because the City Paper got on her ass in light of Cobb's
writing. I've only been to Tequila's twice, though I've enjoyed
it both times... my response to Cobb's caustic review was that
she's settled into her "britches" now.. eve if she's got long to
go before she gets too big for them, she's at least testing the
waters to see if she's settled enough to tackle the "establishment"
at this point. Like someone kissing ass around the local music/art
/etc scene, until they think they've got "scene cred," and then
starting to talk trash, to see how much pull they've actually got.
That's a whole lotta words to say, "My analysis: power trip."
Tom
Hoddy Moo
> she's at least testing the waters to see if she's
> settled enough to tackle the "establishment" at
> this point. Like someone kissing ass around the
> local music/art /etc scene, until they think they've
> got "scene cred," and then starting to talk trash,
> to see how much pull they've actually got.
> That's a whole lotta words to say, "My analysis:
> power trip."
In some publications there seems to be editorial encouragement for a restaurant
reviewer to give restaurants lousy reviews - not every review, but enough to
keep the readership seeking out the publication's food section to see who the
reviewer may have panned this issue. In other publications, the reviewer may
crave the attention and notoriety that the writing of bad reviews can bring
(sort of like a three year old who, feeling he is being ignored, does something
bad just to attract his mother's attention).
Such editors and reviewers liken their readership to those gaping drivers on
the Schuykill, who slow down at the site of a wreck in the hopes of seeing a
mangled, dead body or, at the very least, a whole lot of splattered blood -
vicarious, arm-chair diners who relish every cheap shot a reviewer can cram
into a restaurant review.
I disagree with your analysis of Ms. Cobb being on a "power trip." In theory,
one has to have power before going on a power trip and, judging from how packed
Tequilla's has been these past few weeks, it appears that Cobb wields very
little power. My analysis, Cobb walked in Tequilla's door with a
self-important chip on her shoulder. Tequilla's wordsy approach to its menu
(which I enjoy) set her off. From that point on it was "take no prisoners."
Enjoy,
Holly Moore
Tom Kretchmar
Holly, I like your points... but are you sure you're disagreeing
with me? Sounds like we're saying the same thing. That self
important chip you refer to is the assumption of credibility I
was talking about. I felt I made it clear that the power behind
her power trip wasn't really there. tmk
Hoddy Moo (hodd...@aol.com) wrote:
: I disagree with your analysis of Ms. Cobb being on a "power trip." In theory,
Hoddy Moo
Me too <G>
> but are you sure you're disagreeing
> with me? Sounds like we're saying the same thing. That self
> important chip you refer to is the assumption of credibility I
> was talking about. I felt I made it clear that the power behind
> her power trip wasn't really there. tmk
You're right. I made the error of assuming that one has to actually have power
to be on a power trip when, in fact, the opposite is probably more common -
especially with restaurant critics.
Holly
Thomas Taylor
>I think people are smart enough not to pay enormous attention to reviews.
That's just not true. A bad review will not deter regulars, but folks who
haven't been in a while but were intending to go back won't, thinking the
kichen has undergone some dreadful change. People who've had the restaurant
on their to-try list will probably favor something else. A good review will
remind folks to go back if they haven't recently, or bump the place up (or
put it on) the to-try list.
Word-of-mouth is very important, but if a printed review is your only
source of information about a place, it can be make or break.
--
Thomas Taylor
Philadelphia, PA
thomas...@bigfoot.com
http://www.bigfoot.com/~thomas_taylor
hillary israeli
*On 20 Jan 2000 14:31:58 GMT, by...@mscf.med.upenn.edu (Karen Byrd) wrote:
*
*>I think people are smart enough not to pay enormous attention to reviews.
*
*That's just not true. A bad review will not deter regulars, but folks who
*haven't been in a while but were intending to go back won't, thinking the
*kichen has undergone some dreadful change. People who've had the restaurant
...OR, people who haven't been in a while but were intending to go back
WILL, just so they can write their own review, proving the original review
wrong (even if nobody will ever read their review, or reply to it, ahem.)
:)