Trashing Dear Torrington
February 20, 2007 on 7:03 pm | In Local, Main, Media |Anyone eaten at The Venetian lately? I haven’t in years. But this restaurant review (and I use that term loosely) in The Courant last week prompted many complaints.
I suppose I am less surprised at the snide comments about Torrington than I am that the oldest continuously published newspaper in the nation would even venture to the gritty environs of Litchfield County’s only city.
We hear about Torrington “claiming to be on the verge of a renaissance” and about “a young mayor who is roughly the same age as my favorite pair of jeans.” Heck, the reviewer used seven paragraphs of musings about the ambiance of the eatery and city before mentioning the culinary fare.
The food (which I liked the last time ate there 20 years ago) is one thing, but do such comments have any place in a restaurant review?
Full disclosure: I ask this question reluctantly because The Courant is one of my favorite newspapers. How’s that for covering your butt?
P.S. One of our copy editors at the LJ, Judy Linscott, dined at the Venetian in December after visiting Ron Merriman’s Christmas House down the street. Click here to read about her experience.
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Johnny Apple she ain’t.
Comment by terry mccarthy — February 20, 2007 #
Terry:
I come to Torrington to eat at the Venetian at least once a week. The veal has always been spectacular, the sauce is anything but heavy, the pasta has always been terriffic. They still make, at your table, one of the best Cesear Salads you will get anaywhere.
I think the reviewers next assignment should be a ONE WAY TICKET to a restaurant in downtown Basra.
The service, the atmosphere and the food at the Venetian are all terriffic.
She probably uses pasta sauce from a jar at home!
Marshall Miles
Comment by Marshall Miles — February 20, 2007 #
Pack her off to The RoundTuit. Right after she gets out of her remidial writing clinic.
Comment by Doug Richardson — February 21, 2007 #
Where I learned not to use my spellcheck.
Comment by Doug Richardson — February 21, 2007 #
My husband and I went to the Venetian a few years ago because we had heard that the food was excellent. We found that to be a bit of an overstatement, and yes, we were a bit disappointed.
But your post was about the content of her “review”, not the review itself. Does all that reminiscing belong in a restaurant review?? Not a chance. I don’t care what she thinks of Torrington’s half-century renaissance or that the mayor is as old as her favorite pair of jeans (lets you know about how old *she* is!). The point of a restaurant review is to review the ambiance and the food of the establishment, not the surrounding neighborhood. And I would hardly call the Warner “across the street” from the Venetian!
Comment by Amy — February 21, 2007 #
Never been to the Venetian. But draw two conclusions from the review. 1. The reviewer is ludicrously pretentious in a minor league way. 2. The Venetian sounds like my kind of place. So, thanks to the Courant, the Venetian will likely get one more customer waiting in line for their veal.
Comment by Yankee — February 22, 2007 #