Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Interesting question. I am of two minds - because of my experience as a server myself, and as the wife of a chef. We both work in fine dining establishments. On the one hand, I know that my husband often complains that servers get "paid" more than the cooks because we make tips. Fine, I understand that they are the ones that actually create the food that my customers eat. Not to mention, I would love it if my husband made more money. I can make the same amount that he does in his 10 hour shift on my 6 hour shift. He does make the same amount no matter how many people come in to eat. Yes, a restaurant can staff FOH based on how many people they think will be coming in, but then you have the issue of not making any money because you have been cut. However, on the other hand, I know that if he had to deal with the customers that I deal with, many of the diners would be wearing their food instead of eating it. He has zero tolerance for attitudes, as do most of the chefs that I have worked with. It is MY fault if the meal comes out wrong, not the cooks, so I have to deal with both the assessment of my performance as well as theirs. When you decide to work FOH or BOH, you understand what each job encompasses. After many many times having this conversation with him, we have come to the decision that neither job is really easier or harder than the other, and if you want to be a server to make more money, then be a server.

Hannah, I say bravo to this post. I am also a server, and I was blown away - in fact, appalled - by some of the harsh comments that you received with your last post. I thought that you handled the situation with aplomb and tact, and did it with the very best intentions. Your post today proves, to me, that you did what you did thoughtfully - not a knee-jerk reaction of "Hey, they stiffed me!" I think that your reaction and actions were right on and appropriate, and I think that your analysis of the uncomfortable reactions by the readers was also right on.

Food texture is what puts me off on most things...

For example, I do not like scallops because they are fishy marshmallows. And eggplant is like a vegetable sponge.

There are a few comments that I would like to make about your questions, Don Luis. I do not live in NY - and I agree that many of the posts on this site focus on that city, or other large cities in the US. I actually don't ever expect any of the posts on this site to be about an food location that is remotely accessible to me (*exception - I live in Maine, and I am just a 15 minute drive from the Friendly Toast in Portsmouth NH, which was reviewed about a month ago - it made me sooo happy!). However, that doesn't lead me to believe that I can't enjoy the posts that are made about these places that I will probably never get to eat at - I still think it's fun to read about them. And if I ever get to go on a real vacation, maybe I will get to eat at one of these places.

Additionally, there are posts daily that include many different ethnicities of foods - notably Asian, but I have seen Italian, Spanish, French, Indian, Mexican, German, Greek, etc, etc, etc... So in no way does this site pretend that the rest of the world doesn't exist. One of the great things about eating ethnic foods is that it exposes you to places that you might not otherwise be able to get to. So I don't think that comment was exactly fair.

In terms of "serious" - as in, critical or essential - posts, the post two spots above this one when I come on tonight was about Honeybee colony collapse and the advancements being made by scientists to deal with this. This is an example of a serious discussion, and I get a lot of information on topics such as this from this website. And as was pointed out above me, there is the whole "serious efforts" threads that have been implemented.

Finally, I agree with the poster who said that their take on serious eats was not somber, critical, thoughtful, or subdued. My initial reaction to your post was the thought that, "I am looking for a serious cheeseburger, man, and this site has brought me some burger-nirvana." That is my interpretation of the seriousness of this site. Look at the graphics. We are meant to have fun here. Seriously.

I appreciate your attempt to express yourself. Please know that I would love to see more "serious" - your definition - posts here. As long as you understand that us "serious cheeseburger" people have a place here too. :)

I need to add... Birds-Eye broccoli with cheese sauce. I had that for dinner last night (after I had made real dinner for my daughter). And cheap (like $4 a bottle) red wine - whatever is on sale at the groc store that day.

NY strip or ribeye - it depends on how its being cooked.

In the summer, chili con carne.