In keeping with the Goo theme, this post-"end of Buffalo Chow" article (see The Olive Garden Tweets) is a "remainders" piece covering a couple of things that were still left in our cup when we decided to discontinue the site. They're worth sharing with you, so here goes.

On The Declining Quality Of Fish Served At WNY Restaurants

If you love seafood, or just a good piece of fish that hasn't been coated in batter to mask the meat's flavor and texture, you probably figured out that there's something really wrong with what's being served around here now. Michael Kotok of local fish supplier Arctic Fisheries wrote to us to explain what's going on. Here's the story.

"I've lived here my whole life, but due to my job (in the food business of sorts), I travel a lot. Restaurants are so much better elsewhere. And though the chains could offer something better, they don't have to in order to compete here. They can squash the competition because the competition tends to be awful….

"I now own a company called Arctic Fisheries Ltd. We import fish for food service.  Our primary species are cod and haddock. A dozen years ago, nearly all the Frozen at Sea cod and haddock we imported (and FAS is the best, bar none, better than 'fresh' and in fact, often more expensive) was sold in three markets; Boston, Buffalo and Pittsburgh. Boston and Pittsburgh still buy a lot of FAS cod and haddock, Buffalo buys next to nothing. And back then, Buffalo bought the lionshare.

"Now, this town is awash in Chinese-processed fish. This fish is caught, frozen at sea, shipped to China, defrosted, cut, sodium tripolyphosphate added (to add moisture, i.e. pump extra weight into the fish), refrozen (yes, re-frozen) and shipped to the USA. Twelve years ago, the standard in Buffalo was FAS, now it is this twice frozen product. And I sell a lot of it. 

"Though I sell to distributors, I do not sell to restaurants. I do, however, know where the product goes. And when Janice Okun gushes about the fresh haddock at such-and-such, I know we're doomed because it's not fresh, in fact, it was likely caught nine months ago and then was shipped to China to be cut and frozen again. And if all these restaurants have let their fish go to hell, I can only presume they are doing so with the rest of their ingredients (or more accurately stated, their pre-made entrees). 

"You are spot-on with your criticism of the Buffalo News and Ms. Okun. And yet a place like Sterling Place uses genuine top-notch FAS haddock, no one sings their praises. And their beer list is top-notch."

In follow-ups, Michael wrote: "frying fish covers a lot of sins, and as you suggest, that is why so much fried fish is pushed on consumers in this town.

"I estimate that it would cost a restaurateur an additional 82.5 cents per 8 ounces of fish served if they switched from double-frozen cod to FAS cod…. I guarantee that a restaurant could easily charge an additional $2 per plate if they used FAS cod and told their customers 'Best fish you've had or your money back.' In doing so, they'd make an additional $1.175 per plate... And develop a following of people who actually enjoyed their fish! Their dinners served would go up, all-the-while bringing in extra profit per plate!
 
"Where is the creativity in this town? And why is every menu the same... From the box into the fryer?"

Great question, Michael. Here's the answer.

On Rewarding And Reinforcing Mediocrity

The Taste of Buffalo is one of Western New York's biggest sources of pride. Assuming that its attendance numbers are accurate,¹ it is amongst the largest annual food events in the United States, and a marquee-quality reason to visit this area during the summer. To be clear, we sincerely want this event to succeed and be great. But it has some very serious problems that need to be addressed.

We're not going to rehash the elaborate event reports we've posted before, complete with their lists of things that needed to be fixed. Instead, we're just going to focus on one problem: the Taste of Buffalo "Best" Awards. When restaurants win these awards, they're sort of a big deal - mentioned prominently on signs inside and outside the place, quoted in local advertising, and referenced in articles in the local press. For better or worse, people are drawn to visit restaurants and try the winning items specifically because of the awards.

But there's a dirty little secret here: the Taste of Buffalo's "Best" items aren't necessarily great. In fact, they're some of the most insipid choices at an event that is becoming more noteworthy for its poorly-managed crowds than the food. Take for instance this year's big winner, Goo, which is quite possibly one of the most offensively stupid "Best" winners in the Taste's history. As shown in the photo at the top of this article, Goo is a wilted cup of vanilla ice cream, crumbled Oreo cookies, chocolate and caramel sauce. That's how it actually looked when it arrived, and it tasted exactly as you'd expect - like the stuff you'd find at the bottom of someone else's abandoned ice cream sundae. Yet it was named "Best Overall Item" at the event. Goo was a shameful selection - the sort of food that would never win anything at a properly judged event - and a clear sign of the worthlessness of Taste of Buffalo awards.

For years, after watching what seemed to be very haphazard judging taking place at the event, we've wondered how the Taste of Buffalo selects its judges. So back in June, we contacted the organization to ask a few questions. Here's what we asked - simple, straightforward questions.

"I'm writing to determine how judges are selected for the Taste of Buffalo.

"Are there any formal criteria?

"Is there a web-based or other method for people to apply?

"What is the application and selection process? Who selects the judges?

"How many judges are there each year?"

We received this answer:

"Thank you for your inquiry.

The invite list to be a food judge for the Taste of Buffalo presented by Tops has evolved over a number of years, since the judging process began. There are approximately 60-70 judges each year representing local media and elected officials. We continue to invite those who have participated in past years and also invite several new participants each year."

That was it. While it was nice enough in tone, the response seemed to suggest that there aren't any formal criteria for selection, that there's no application process, and that the selection of judges is an opaque 'friends of friends' process. It should also be noted that based on the Awards themselves, it's obvious that judging isn't limited to local media and politicians - people who were neither media nor politicians were personally named in some of the awards. And for the most part, the items selected were jokes. The best meat item was a pig-in-blanket jalapeno popper, and the best seafood item was one of a half-dozen crab cakes at the event. Three awards went to ice cream. It really says something that the show's highest award went to something that a child could make - accidentally - by leaving a third-rate ice cream sundae sitting on a kitchen counter.

Is this really the best Buffalo has to offer? Are these the sorts of mediocre foods that an event sponsored by Tops Supermarkets should be promoting - or is that part of the plan, to give "Best" awards to things that anyone could assemble at home? Should Western New Yorkers start looking forward to a future of melted ice cream cones, watermelon salads, and twice-frozen fish? Low-grade skewered shrimp that all look the same? Endless but practically identical variations on banana peppers and crab cakes?

Just some food for thought - sorry if it sounds bleak, but it is. We're alarmed, and if you care about what you eat, you should be, too. When our "local media and elected officials" call garbage good, that does not actually make it good. It just sets the bar lower for actual greatness. Western New York's collective tendency to reward and reinforce mediocrity is a serious problem that needs to be addressed now, because it's getting worse by the year.

Two more articles are in the works before we plan to end updates here.

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¹ We help the Consumer Electronics Association organize the Consumer Electronics Show's largest exhibition area every year, and know that the group conducts a full post-event audit to certify its attendance numbers, a step that is taken to guarantee integrity in the reporting and promotional process. I've seen no evidence of attendance auditing at Buffalo's food events - not even people counting attendees in any way - and believe their numbers are (optimistic) estimates.