Another day has gone by in Rochester, Minnesota. It was like most others, mainly wishing that a town of 100,000+ would have a food scene to compliment it, rather than a food scene that would make a town of 35,000 people feel somewhat satisfied. Maybe the fact that Rochester is in the process of getting a University of Minnesota location will change that. Maybe someday soon I will find a money tree and offer Rochester the opportunity to liberate their taste buds and learn what good tasting food is like. That is not to say that there is not good food here. There is just not enough good food here.
Rochester Magazine's Best of Rochester 2012 restaurant edition came out recently and I took a gander at it today. Predictable as I figured. Michael's had the best steak. Victoria's had the best Italian dish. Buffalo Wild Wing's had the best chicken wings!!!!! Newt's had the best burgers and the best fries. Flapdoodle's had the best ice cream...I actually agree with that....they make the best ice cream I have ever tasted. And so the list goes on, like I said, predictable and few, if any, surprises.
I began to wonder, is this actually a poll of best restaurants based on taste/atmosphere/service/etc.. or more like a popularity contest. Granted there is no other Italian restaurants in town, but how has Victoria's won best Italian restaurant/dish for the past dozen or more years? It is not that good people. I could have a restaurant and put one, single Italian dish on it and beat them and their 100+ item menu out. Is Victoria's lasagna really the best Italian dish in town, or do people correlate Victoria's and Italian food then flip a coin to see which of their subpar dishes reign as Rochester's best Italian dish? I lean more towards the popularity contest theory.
If I ever find my money tree I would love to open a place to put both Newt's and Victoria's in their place...maybe I could even do it with the same dish. Newt's burgers are good, but I have had better and I can make better. You already know my feelings on Victoria's food. Those two places, as well as others, have tremendous name value and recognition and I feel that they live off of their name and reputation as "best of" winners too much and their food not enough.
With the help of a few of my friends, we will bring you objective reviews of restaurants in Rochester and the surrounding areas, think La Crosse to Mankato and the Twin Cities to....somewhere in Iowa. We will focus mainly on the city of Rochester, however. Each experience will be complimented with pictures to show the restaurants, the food, and whatever else seems worthy of a photo. We will see if we can taste like the Rochester Magazine staff tastes. Hopefully I can do a better job. I have an extensive history in the food business as I am a trained chef in the French art of cooking, have worked in restaurants, and have done my own catering events. As a result, I know what good food is and what a restaurant must do to satisfy me and earn my dollar.
The judgement will be focused on the appearance, taste, texture, temperature, etc... of the food, but also the service, drinks, ambiance, and if the food was boring/predictable/not unique and something I can make at home for less money and far more taste.
Until next time.
JK
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