By SCOTT CHERRY Restaurant Critic on Jun 14, 2007, at 12:43 PM Updated on 6/14 at 12:43 PM
TABLE TALK
Canebrake resort, located four miles east of Wagoner off Oklahoma 51, has scheduled a crab boil and wine tasting 6-9 p.m. ...
Chef-proprietor Justin Thompson has scheduled a benefit opening 6-10 p.m. Thursday for his new Tavolo Italian Bistro, 427 ...
Hope Egan, owner of Hope’s Table catering, said Thursday she plans to open a new restaurant called Tallgrass in downtown ...
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I don't know how other reviewers feel about awarding stars for performances, whether it be food, music or film, but for me it's an agonizing weekly ritual. By the time the stars appear next to a restaurant's name in Friday's Spot, many times I regret I didn't make some higher, some lower.
Adding to this predicament is the knowledge that if I went back for a second visit and a third visit, I most probably would come out with a different set of stars each time. Each visit is a different experience, and I can say with much confidence it will be different than your experience, if not in big ways, then surely in smaller details.
The human factor can't be discounted, either. If I feel I must give average or below stars to a restaurant, it's easier with a national restaurant whose managing partner has to get permission from someone in Topeka for a photo and interview than it is with a mom-and-pop operation struggling to make ends meet. I know I have disappointed some moms and pops, and it hurts like crazy every time.
I don't know or care much about astrology, but friends who do tell me I wouldn't have as much trouble with this if I weren't a Libra. Maybe I should have been a Scorpion?
So take the stars as more of a general guideline, based on one person's experience. If you dine out frequently at different places, start keeping a record of the stars you would award each restaurant -- one for fair, two good, three very good and four excellent in the areas of food, atmosphere and service -- with the idea that everyone in town will have the opportunity to view and comment on your findings.
Last word: I will have some things to say in future blogs about the issue of appropriate attire in restaurants, but is it not a telling comment on today's culture to learn one has to get permission from the NFL bosses to wear a coat and tie to coach a FOOTBALL game?
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