Hillary = Hater of small towns
It was a long time coming, but it's finally happened.
The city of Comer has decided to declare war on Hillary.
The reason? Her Grub Notes from Jan. 17 where she had the audacity to declare the noodles and rice of a one Saving Grace cafe as 'watery.'
After such hate-provoking language - arguably the biggest shot across the bow since Adlai Stevenson presented evidence of Soviet missiles in Cuba back in 1962 - the folks in Comer have responded.
Says owner Anita Blaschak ...
... Hillary’s piece was not a review; it was a thoughtless, careless slap. I question why you let it go to press. Believe me, I have no issue with having negative things written about Saving Grace when they are merited. But she never actually said the food or service was bad, the decor was offensive or that it was otherwise an unpleasant experience. So how is it that the whole piece ended with a bad taste in so many people’s mouths?
Perhaps they just finished a meal at your restaurant Anita.
Oh, but I kid. Listen, this thing was a review of the dining experience, and Hillary apparently didn't care for it all that much. As a result, she gave it a less-than-stellar one (and, quite honestly, she wasn't that hard on the place). A review isn't supposed to be something which only offers glowing reports about your restaurant's food, but rather an opinion of the reviewer's experience. So the fact this thing generated seven letters to the editor in Flagpole (seriously, who knew seven people in Comer read Flagpole?) is beyond staggering to me.
People ... it's a restaurant, apparently an average one at that. Deal with it.
The city of Comer has decided to declare war on Hillary.
The reason? Her Grub Notes from Jan. 17 where she had the audacity to declare the noodles and rice of a one Saving Grace cafe as 'watery.'
After such hate-provoking language - arguably the biggest shot across the bow since Adlai Stevenson presented evidence of Soviet missiles in Cuba back in 1962 - the folks in Comer have responded.
Says owner Anita Blaschak ...
... Hillary’s piece was not a review; it was a thoughtless, careless slap. I question why you let it go to press. Believe me, I have no issue with having negative things written about Saving Grace when they are merited. But she never actually said the food or service was bad, the decor was offensive or that it was otherwise an unpleasant experience. So how is it that the whole piece ended with a bad taste in so many people’s mouths?
Perhaps they just finished a meal at your restaurant Anita.
Oh, but I kid. Listen, this thing was a review of the dining experience, and Hillary apparently didn't care for it all that much. As a result, she gave it a less-than-stellar one (and, quite honestly, she wasn't that hard on the place). A review isn't supposed to be something which only offers glowing reports about your restaurant's food, but rather an opinion of the reviewer's experience. So the fact this thing generated seven letters to the editor in Flagpole (seriously, who knew seven people in Comer read Flagpole?) is beyond staggering to me.
People ... it's a restaurant, apparently an average one at that. Deal with it.
posted by Jmac at 5:20 PM
8 Comments:
Let me preface this comment by saying that I really enjoy Grub Notes and I am prejudiced against small towns because I grew up in a stifling small town. That being said, I must admit that when I first read the review of Saving Grace I felt that it had a bit of a condescending tone along the lines of "isn't it cute what the owners of Saving Grace are trying to do for the people of Comer". While the content of the article may accurately reflect the dining experience, I very, very reluctantly must agree with the letter writers regarding the tone of the review.
Maybe the people of Comer were looking for something to be oversensitive about. There's nothing wrong with living in a small town. If you do so by choice, you should have the courage of your convictions, no? I have family who make fun of Athens, but you know what? They can suck it. I love where I live, and I live here by choice.
OMG. Hillary, you had better do a podcast about this!! Seriously!!
Well, it is Comer. I'm not crazy about small-town restaurants, anyway -- I'm a foodie and I love places that seem to have the potential to be this pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. But more often it seems that restaurants in the middle of nowhere are popular because the people who live there don't want to drive to civilization to eat. Not necessarily because the food is actually any more than passable.
And before I swore off gainful writing employment, this ^%$# at a small-town [item] hut along the same benighted Highway 72 made me come back three motherfrickin' times before telling me that "she didn't want any." WTF? It's called FREE ADVERTISING, woman. Of course you want some. Unless you want to do potential customers a favor and not tell them where you and what you do. Sheesh.
Exceptions: Zeb Dean's, most of the restaurants in Elberton, the Golden Pantry biscuit bar in Hull, The Whistle Stop Cafe in Juliette, Hot Thomas, and the chichi coffee bar in Monroe.
Has anyone ever eaten at that barn in Brockton, btw?
So long as we're plugging small restaurants out of Athens, The Attic in Clarkesville is very good. It used to be in this tiny little shack in Demorest, and Wendy and I went there on one of our anniversaries soon after it opened. I had one of the best Reubens I've ever had. Then, on another trip through there, it was packed and we had to wait a long time to eat. Year later, they were gone and the building was for sale. We thought it went out of business, but to our happy delight it seems they had done well enough to move into downtown Clarkesville.
P.S. Charlie's in Ellijay is awesome.
You quoted some of what I wrote to Pete (Ed. Flagpole) and what appeared in the Flagpole the next week. What you didn't include was Hilary's "interesting" comparison of Saving Grace to a TV diner where people are often hit with "intestinal discomfort."
If she wasn't sick and/or puking after eating at my restaurant, that at least should have been a good thing. War.
The truth is that Saving Grace is
way beyond an "average" restaurant. (You should find out for yourself!)Our food and service are excpetional, the atmosphere unique (even in Athens, how many fire places are working?) We DO draw heavily on the fact that we're in the country. We seek out and find organic chickens, eggs, beef - and lamb when possible. However,even though locals (we call them "Comerians") frequent SG, so do lots of Athenians.
The Comer Farmer's Market is next door to SG, and we buy as much as we can from the vendors; most, if not all, is organically grown.
Saving Grace is stage to some of the the best musicians in Athens. (Okay, that's subjective - but guys who normally get $500 a night play here for $50!) We have music almost eveny Friday and Saturday nights.
So,what's not to love about Comer- or at least not to like like? How hick is it to blow glass (Bendzunas Gallery), throw pots (David Morgan / Tina McCullugh at Blue Bell), act, and make pansky eggs (Stepahanie Astolos-Jones), play music (Marion Montgommery, Pat Lyons) and me - Anita Blaschak of Where's Anita?? The tenticles stretch far and wide.
I'm so grateful to have our community. It's growing. It's diverse. It's home..xxooxxoo....a
You quoted some of what I wrote to Pete (Ed. Flagpole) and what appeared in the Flagpole the next week. What you didn't include was Hilary's "interesting" comparison of Saving Grace to a TV diner where people are often hit with "intestinal discomfort."
If she wasn't sick and/or puking after eating at my restaurant, that at least should have been a good thing. War.
The truth is that Saving Grace is
way beyond an "average" restaurant. (You should find out for yourself!)Our food and service are excpetional, the atmosphere unique (even in Athens, how many fire places are working?) We DO draw heavily on the fact that we're in the country. We seek out and find organic chickens, eggs, beef - and lamb when possible. However,even though locals (we call them "Comerians") frequent SG, so do lots of Athenians.
The Comer Farmer's Market is next door to SG, and we buy as much as we can from the vendors; most, if not all, is organically grown.
Saving Grace is stage to some of the the best musicians in Athens. (Okay, that's subjective - but guys who normally get $500 a night play here for $50!) We have music almost eveny Friday and Saturday nights.
So,what's not to love about Comer- or at least not to like like? How hick is it to blow glass (Bendzunas Gallery), throw pots (David Morgan / Tina McCullugh at Blue Bell), act, and make pansky eggs (Stepahanie Astolos-Jones), play music (Marion Montgommery, Pat Lyons) and me - Anita Blaschak of Where's Anita?? The tenticles stretch far and wide.
I'm so grateful to have our community. It's growing. It's diverse. It's home..xxooxxoo....a
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