Moto makes Page Six...

From today's New York Post - Page Six...

CHASTENED CHEF SLIMES CRITIC

THERE are some restaurant critics out there who behave reprehensibly, but John Mariani, a columnist for Esquire and Wine Spectator, among others, is not one of them. So it's particularly rotten that he's been slimed by a Chicago chef steamed over a bad write-up. Mariani trashes the Windy City's trendy eatery Moto in Esquire's new issue. Moto chef Homaru Cantu told the Chicago Sun-Times that Mariani sent his p.r. people a four-page list of demands before he deigned to dine there last year, asking them to pay for everything from his cab fare to his hotel bill. Cantu claimed Mariani then bombed the restaurant when it wouldn't pony up. Mariani told PAGE SIX's Jared Paul Stern, "That's an absolute lie. They're claiming I sent some kind of contract. They're trying to not only embarrass me but call into question my veracity. It's libelous. But all I want is an apology." Cantu declined to apologize, telling us he thought his comments to the Sun-Times were "off the record," adding, "It's done. I just want to let it go." Janet Isabelli, Cantu's publicist at the time, tells us her ex-client made the whole thing up.


I think they have it wrong here because I've heard rumors of questionable practices by Mariani in the past. Anyone have the scoop on this?

<snarky message removed: subsequent messages w/ Mr. Cantu lead me to believe his side of the story>

Carry on.

Shouldn't we stop to consider the source? I mean, isn't the NY Post just one (very small) step removed from the Enquirer?

The Post's gossip pages are, surprisingly, remarkably reliable.

My favorite source for quasi-reliable celebrity news is FemaleFirst.co.uk, largely because it seems to be completely unedited.

It is an interesting accusation because Mariani has often been criticised for not trying to hide his identity, and accepting free meals and wine from restaurants. In the book "Soul of a Chef", Michael Ruhlman suggests it goes further. "restaurants would pay for Mariani's flight, feed him an enourmous dinner (no check, of course)" He also says that Mariani explains that "if he were to fly to 25 cities a year and pay for it himself, not rely on others to help him get to these places and put him up while he's there, he would have to spend extraordinary amounts of money on airfare and accomodations alone." Perhaps chef Cantu is correct.
-Will

Will:

Indeed, and after I posted two things happened:

1, I remembered that Mariani visit from Soul of a Chef

and

2, Someone reminded me that Page Six couldn't even get Chef Cantu's first name right.

So although Page Six still has a pretty good track record when it comes to tv/movie/music celebrity gossip, they apparently are new to the food world.

WillG wrote:... Mariani explains that "if he were to fly to 25 cities a year and pay for it himself, not rely on others to help him get to these places and put him up while he's there, he would have to spend extraordinary amounts of money on airfare and accomodations alone."

um, hello? Has this guy ever heard of business expenses?

Forgive me if I don't feel sorry for Mr. Mariani.

gleam wrote:The Post's gossip pages are, surprisingly, remarkably reliable.

I mean no offense but, honestly, for me the inclusion of the words gossip and reliable in the same sentence seems awfully incongruous. Isn't by the very nature of "gossip" than it isn't "reliable"? Else it wouldn't be gossip but would instead be actual news - the kind that real reporters report on? I'm just sayin' . . .

Reliable gossip is gossip that, a few days later, enters the mainstream news. Good gossip is real news, but without confirmation or evidence.

gleam wrote:Reliable gossip is gossip that, a few days later, enters the mainstream news. Good gossip is real news, but without confirmation or evidence.

Ahh, gotcha - so that's like Judy Miller stuff, then?

Scrollling past (but not so fast that you don't read it--it's hilarious) the sex toys story in this article from Houston, we see that the Houston taxpayers footed the bill for John Mariani's visit to that fair city.

From the Houston Press:

But don't think for one minute that getting treated like a pasha had any effect whatsoever on Mariani's cast-iron integrity. His opinions aren't influenced by the freebies...

So maybe if he eats and travels for free and is treated like a king everywhere he goes then he can be objective among the places that play along? Please--what a load!! I hadn't heard of him before this thread, but I'll never believe a word he writes, should I accidentally read one.

Ann, I appreciate the link, the sex toy story was very funny.

Janet Isabelli, Cantu's publicist at the time, tells us her ex-client made the whole thing up.

I'm not particularly interested in this dust up, though I am interested to know if Janet Isabelli was the publicist who seemed to place Moto into just about every publication going. I have been very impressed with the quantity of free publicity in a wide range of publications. When our monthly Laser Focus or was it Lasers and Optronics had an article on Moto's use of laser printers for their food presentations, I was impressed.

I was also impressed with how my bringing a quart jar of raccoon to Moto was a lead anecdote on Moto in Time Magazine. I once did a google on <raccoon moto> to find there were several more articles moving out there with the same anecdote. If this Janet was the one who managed all his PR, then from my vantage point she was doing a great job.

About twenty years ago, a client wanted to sell their firm to a much larger company. To make themselves worthy and very likely drive up the stakes, they hired a publicist to get them media placement. I just about dropped my teeth one morning when I opened the Wall Street Journal to find my friend's picture on the front page above the fold. The lead into the article was how global the company was illustrated by how he needed to leave promptly for Moscow after the interview. Hmmm yeah to see me, which in reality wasn't really earth shattering news. Still his PR campaign worked wonders when it came time to negotiate his early retirement.

Again if Janet was the one who got Moto placed so effectively in the media, then I am really impressed by her efforts.

Regards,

Get ready theres gonna be a watergate.

homaro cantu wrote:Get ready theres gonna be a watergate.

From the LA Times via the Trib. Free registration usually required.
Discusses Chef Cantu and "the critic"....

The real cost of a free meal

Once again, we are mentioned in the press

sparked broad debate on the eGullet Society website, http://www.egullet.com , and in other food-oriented Internet chat rooms.

Dear L.A. Times,

Referring to internet food forums as "chat rooms" is approximately as clueless as if I referred to your print journalists as "anchormen."

Sincerely,
An Internet Food Forum

Im a bit peturbed that the LA Times is referring to my restaurant as a restaurant. We are a forum for experiencing food delivery systems and liesurely entertainment. What is this world coming to?

The nerve of inaccurate reporting! That does it, Im going to take on the whole system....habeas corpus!!!!