does bites have rabies?

I know, I know, I missed a great show last night, but the New Yorker ain't gonna read itself.

If you like to read about food or like food or like eating food and you have never read Jeffrey Steingarten's book "The Man Who Ate Everything" then you are missing out. I used it as a reference last night for some information about uni and it threw me into a funk because his writing is everything I wish mine could be and never will be. Oh well, the man wrote at the fucking Harvard Lampoon, so he combines a posh and cultured background with a great sense of humor and how can I compete with that? I grew up in Lincoln, for fucks sake. You should read it, Beers probably has a used copy.

The new Midtown Monthly is out, with a great picture of Jer Per on the cover. I haven't gotten my hands on a copy yet. I can't wait to see what Dani wrote about Joshua Ploeg. I finally got around to reading last weeks News and Review, and I have to say the quality is a bit...spotty. The Bites column is mad as a hatter (if a column can be said to be mad). I couldn't read that poorly written Rancho Murieta cover story, mostly because the lady that wrote it said yeah, I voted for President Bush, are you going to stop reading now. Yep, I am.

I know I'm like a broken record on this, but can we talk about the yelps of Pho Bac? The latest one I read was Dane H's, which prompted yet another visit from me so that I could see what the hell he was talking about. No, the lobby with the bathrooms in it did not stink, it smelled vaguely like food (wafting out of the restaurant) and some kind of cleaner. Inside, the restaurant smelled great. As usual, we got the perfunctory and efficient service I expect, as usual the pho with rare steak was delicious as was the chicken bunh. Don't order the Chinese food, the place has "pho bac" in the name, order the pho! I would be so bummed if yelp actually had an effect and Pho Bac Hoa Viet closed down because it would create yet another type of ethnic food that we have to leave the grid for (Korean, Middle Eastern, etc.). I don't count Andy Nguyen, it's its own thing. Here's another winning quote from Dane H. "but I have the feeing that they are not practicing good food rotation in the kitchen--it's just a matter of time before I get sick, and I've already had food poisoning once this year, and it was not fun". You "have a feeling" and you are basing a review on that? Food poisoning is a serious accusation to level against a restaurant, so unless you really really think a restaurant gave it to you, how about you keep it to yourself? How about the guy who said the food is great but gave it ONE STAR cuz of bad service? I'm interested in Kim S. claim that "they" tried to pummel her friend when he complained. This really drives me nuts, but I know that writing about it will offend someone or multiple someones.