[Sca-cooks] OT, OOP Since it is Pennsic I have a totally off-topic rant

[Johnna Holloway]

With our son now a junior in college, I've been doing more traveling  
with James to university conferences
around the country. I've gotten into the habit of checking restaurants  
out in Zagats and online through Yelp
and Tripadvisor.
I also am a big fan of Jane and Michael Stern's Roadfood and their  
reviews. Also see their  500 Things to Eat Before It's Too Late.
Or sometimes just googling the name of the restaurant and seeing what  
the reviews say works.
We still hit a few duds, but not as many. And we are not at the mercy  
of the front desk or concierge
who points us to a restaurant that wasn't even open or to one that ran  
$80 per person without wine for mediocre food.

I've always heard that if the description of the risotto doesn't  
mention it takes 20 minutes then you shouldn't order it.
(The best I've had while dining out of late was a restaurant on the  
Upper East Side in NYC. Risotto one night and polenta the next. That's  
the other dish that gets messed up.)
http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/2440/how-do-cooks-prepare-risotto-in-a-restaurant 
   discusses how it can be held in a restaurant.

I think the risotto scam is in part the fault of Gordon Ramsay and his  
menu on Hell's Kitchen. What are those would be chefs making every  
single week? They are in there stirring up risotto and being screamed  
at. One doesn't even need to subscribe to cable to see Ramsay. He's on  
Fox.

Johnnae