Steve Coomes: In modern restaurant journalism, the details are 'softened.'

For my money, and on a daily basis, Steve Coomes is the finest local writer on food, dining and drink. I'm not sure his thoughts in this essay are directly applicable to writing about beer.

Then again, I'm not sure they aren't.

COMMENTARY: IN MODERN RESTAURANT JOURNALISM, THE DETAILS ARE ‘SOFTENED’, by Steve Coomes (Eat Drink Talk)

As a journalist, I’ve covered dozens of sporting events, yet at none of these was I asked to pay for my seat on press row. Far as I know, no other reporter has either. It’s assumed that if you work for a credible media outlet, you can “get credentialed” with a free pass that gives you some of the best seats in the house and walk-around access to places fans only dream of going.

No matter what happens at those events, reporters are expected to write it as they see it, even when things turn ugly. It even seems that part of a sports reporter’s job is to find fault so as to appear objective.

My career as a restaurant reporter is lived in a markedly different fashion. People in my trade used to follow the old saying, “Never accept more than a cup of coffee” so you’d never get too friendly with your subjects. If they were restaurant critics with any integrity, they couldn’t even accept that, and the publications they wrote for reimbursed all expenses.

But a paradigm shift is underway in restaurant reporting. Due to the continued paring back of staffs at all publications, more and more freelancers are employed to cover this industry. Those freelancers are not only paid low sums for their work, they’re rarely reimbursed for meals, drinks, tips or the miles rolled up driving to dinner and home.

And yet as reporters, they’re expected to be non-biased chroniclers of what they eat and what they learn about the people who serve those meals. They’re expected to become experts in their understanding and recollection of the subject matter, which requires a significant investment in time if they’re going to be good at that work.

In 2016, here’s where things get a little tricky ...

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"I won’t miss the systemic food waste in the restaurant industry."

This doesn't really apply to brewing -- or does it?

There are homebrewers who'd surely agree that the only way to do it right (and creatively) is at home.

There's possibly a topic about sustainability and beer to be found herein, one that might possibly be tied to the reasons for California's drought-induced water shortage (hint: think agriculture).

However, in the main, what's being addressed by the soon-to-be former reviewer is burn-out, and a desire to strip away the extravagance and get back down to the heart of the matter. This is something I can relate to, quite vividly.

Restaurant Industry's Dirty Secret: Why I'm Mostly Going to Stop Eating Out, by Ari LeVaux (AlterNet)

In a few weeks I will write my final restaurant review for Weekly Alibi in Albuquerque and head home to Montana. I’ll miss restaurant criticism, but I will also feel some relief to leave it behind ...

 ... Because the bottom line is, if you’re going to be a high-maintenance food snob on a mediocre income, cooking at home is the only sustainable option. You can pay more for pastured meat; local, organic vegetables; eggs from pastured chickens; pesticide-free produce; and seafood harvested by non-slaves, and still pay less than you would even at a cheap restaurant, while sending positive ripples down the food chain.

I will miss the ethnic restaurants, the fancy restaurants and my favorite guilty pleasure, the sushi restaurants. But I won’t miss the systemic food waste in the restaurant industry.

Red Room redux: Welcome to genocidal grammar and tyrannical misspelling.

I never cease to be amused by the era of lunacy empowerment, and this sort of trolling seems to be happening with more frequency since last year's election, suggesting that one tormented person is responsible for multiple comments under different names.

"Manny" uses the words "shrine" and "idolized," as did the previous offended party, to whom I forwarded a prompt reply and received no response or acknowledgement. That's because the last thing he wants is dialogue ... and that's because thinking is so very hard.

"Manny" sent no e-mails, unless he botched the .com address; even dud newalbanian.com addresses are forwarded to me for examination.

Worst of all, having selected Yelp as platform for sharing his dullardry with a mass audience, "Manny" files his one-star review under Bank Street Brewhouse, while the supposed "shrine" to which he refers is at our Grant Line location.

Yep, we're all experts now. Even when we don't know Jack Schitt.

Coomes: "C-J’s star ratings are an offense to serious restaurants."

Steve's point is well-taken, and my point in passing it along is for you, the beer enthusiast, to apply the same variety of skepticism to the beer ratings that guide your purchases.

I might add that in a strict Louisville-centric context, Steve might be guilty of piling on. As much as I cherish the writing of the Courier-Journal's restaurant critic Marty Rosen, whom I consider the local gold standard of erudition, the newspaper's overall influence and reach continue to wane. Who actually is reading the paper and seeing the stars?

Stars and Gripes: C-J’s star ratings are an offense to serious restaurants, by Steve Coomes (Insider Louisville)

Really? Proof and Asiatique are only one star better than a grilled cheese shop and a bar?

NA Exchange is given a stellar review in LEO.

There's fine ink for NA Exchange in the past week's LEO. It's located just down Plaza Drive from the Public House, and is a welcomed addition to "The Northside." Now, if we could just think of a snappier name for the neighborhood ...

Gastropubbing at NA Exchange, by Robin Garr (LEO Weekly)

On Tuesday evenings there’s generally a $2 special, recently taking the form of “Bells and Burgers,” with a draft beer selection from the excellent Bell’s Brewery of Kalamazoo, Mich., and a slightly downsized version of the Exchange burger going for $2 each. That was enough to bring us in. We immediately ordered two-buck glasses of hoppy, crisp Bell’s Two-Hearted Ale and examined the menus.

Subdivided into Starters, Salads, Light Fare and Specialties of the Chef, the evening bill of fare was substantial and varied, ranging from fairly traditional bar food to more upscale gastropub grub; but even the basics generally came with a tasty twist.

Drew Scharlow is in the Irish Exit kitchen, and that is a good thing.

I didn’t know Drew was working at Irish Exit, either – until a friend sent this glowing review. New Albanians, take note: Downtown options just keep getting better, seeing as the Irish Exit already has the biggest beer list downtown.

(Slightly edited by me)

Yesterday I had the opportunity to be one of the first lunchtime customers for the new Irish Pub in New Albany, a.k.a. The Irish Exit. I was told by one of the owners that Tuesday, 3-29-11 was their opening day as a lunch establishment there in New Albany.

Upon arrival, we were immediately greeted by one of the managers and his bartender. They suggested a few of their 15 draft brews so we hoisted a few Smethwick’s, downed a Classic Rueben (my friend’s choice) and Irish Chicken Melt (my choice), shared a bowl of garlic parmesan frites and had a very productive first meeting. Our meal was fabulous and I later found out that my guest personally knew the Executive Chef there, Drew Scharlow – he did not realize Drew was working there at the time! Before we left to go our separate ways, Drew showed us his latest edible creation…it involves fried oysters and other secret ingredients…and it looks nothing like what you’d expect to see being served at a traditional Irish Pub. So, watch out Irish Rover, Flannigan’s, O’Shea’s, Molly Malone, Tilted Kilt and ri ra’s…there’s a new leprechaun in town and his gold ‘cooking’ pot is on the Sunny Side of the River!

I see good times happening at this place because their drink list is phenomenally special and the daily drink specials are not to shabby either! Check out the place the next time you are in New Albany during the lunch hour and you’re mouth is a wee bit parched from your travels. The breads and circuses at this place are 3.5 stars in my book, and their frites are BIG & TASTY with just the right amount of grease left on them!

Take care and let’s make it a great day!

Thanks, Chef Josh: Praise for Bank Street Brewhouse in Louisville Magazine and Insider Louisville.

The February edition of Louisville Magazine contains a great review of Bank Street Brewhouse by freelance food writer Steve Coomes. You can read it here, on pages 72 & 73: Pub Grub Euro-Style.

He didn't stop there, also recently posting expanded ruminations on-line at Insider Louisville: Bank Street Brewhouse & Brasserie is well worth the drive to New Albany. It is an understatement of epic dimension to say that we appreciate these observations. Thanks go to the reviewer, and also to our staff on the ground, without whom none of it would be possible.

In my earlier interview for the Louisville Magazine piece, I had confided to Steve that the learning curve at Bank Street Brewhouse has been steep for ownership. I told him, "It's fair to say none of us knew how little we actually knew about this before we got into it."

Of course, I was primarily referring to Chef Josh Lehman's kitchen, the entity now consistently garnering rave reviews like these. It's been true for an expanded brewing operation, as well, but when it comes to beer, I personally stand on firmer ground even when the challenges seem huge.

That's why we're so proud of the work that Chef Josh and his team have done in that impossibly small galley space, and I'd like to recognize their efforts by quoting a few passages from the Insider Louisville shout-out:

... The Franco-Belgian-inspired foods coming from chef Joshua Lehman’s kitchen dispel any notions about a low-rent experience. Additionally, patrons here appreciate and understand the beer and the food; in other words, this isn’t a corner tavern pouring cheap, soulless lagers and serving pickled eggs from jars. It’s first and foremost a restaurant.

Since – as a critic – I’m supposed to taste multiple dishes in one visit, I don’t get to linger slowly over just one item, which in real life, I prefer to do. When next I return, I’ll do precisely that with the croque madame ($12), one of the most soul-satisfying ham, cheese and Blue Dog Bakery wheat slice striations I’ve ever eaten. (I recommend washing it down with a medium-hoppy ale) ...

... I rarely have specials when I’m eating for a review because there’s no assurance people reading that copy 45 days later will get to enjoy them. But Lehman’s specials on both nights sounded simply incredible. That this talented chef gets to exercise his creative muscle in this understated setting is a tribute to his bosses’ willingness to do something a bit daring. Costing $20 and up, they’re easily 50 to 100 percent higher than items on the standard menu. But based on my regrets over not being able to order any of them, I consider them a treat well worth trying.

Thanks to Steve Coomes, and thanks to Chef Josh.

Holy Grale in the C-J today.

I don't always check the Courier-Journal on Saturday, which is restaurant review day. This morning over espresso, the thought occurred to me, and voila ... more wonderful press for good beer.

Congrats to Lori and Tyler.

Louisville Restaurant Review: Go medieval at Holy Grale, by Marty Rosen.

Drop in at Holy Grale, the pub/restaurant that opened late last year on Bardstown Road, and you may find yourself thinking once again in candlepower units and contemplating what it might have been like to drop in at the neighborhood pub during the heyday of Gothic architecture, when triptychs — like the one behind the bar — were in vogue, when lancet arches were all the fashion, and when chivalrous knights spent their days questing after the Holy Grail and their nights boasting over mugs of wholesome ale.

Bank Street Brewhouse in today's LEO: "'Cuisine a la bière' defines Chef Josh Lehman’s bill of fare."

I'm pleased and humbled. I appreciate Robin's review, but even more so, I thank him for consistently giving New Albany's emerging downtown restaurant scene a fair shake in his writings. We must not forget that before us came the Bistro New Albany, when Louisvillians first began taking note of what we're capable of achieving here.

Most important are big kudos to the entire BSB staff: You guys indeed rock.

Lots to like about Bank Street Brewhouse, by Robin Garr.

I’ve held off reviewing since Kevin Gibson’s first-rate preview (LEO Weekly, March 25, 2009). Now that brewing is in full operation and Lehman’s evening menu is well established, it’s time to turn my own two thumbs up and say, “Kevin was right.” Bank Street Brewery hits a culinary home run for food and beer and other good things.