Stealing Sam's Style

While it may seem that my word salads come across as tamed coupling of clever words and phrases tossed by a talented sous chef, I’ll assure you that this is all a rouse. I have such little control over my word vomit that I might as well be popping ipecac every time I sit down to try and write. Hence why I wanted to set down my frothing keyboard and nervous digits to perform a more educated, in depth look at Sam Sifton’s food writing and just what exactly (I think) make his pieces tick. Please note that all of these are just my semi-educated blatherings.

Character:

This is something that Sifton seems to introduce in each piece that we read, at least those concerning restaurant reviews. In his article “Because The Fat Lady Has To Eat,” Sam focuses on creating a space around Mr. Benno, his cooking, how he interacts with his cooks, and what brought him to the this new restaurant in Lincoln Center. This helps settle some of the ‘whos’, ‘whats’, ‘wheres’ , ‘whys’, and ‘hows’ of the article. Without the background on the chef, or a focus on some character—as he focuses on giving the restaurant Il Matto more character than any other person in the article of the same name—the reader loses a bit of the drive to read the article past “2 Stars.”

Word Choice and Playing with Ideas:

“Mr. Benno’s skills as a pasta technician are high. He is no slouch at the fish station either. His work makes it possible to eat well at Lincoln and, as at Per Se, to savor some bites as if they were sonnets.”

Writing such as this tends to invite me in as a reader. Not to say there weren’t a hundred other ways to say what he had to say, but if I am a reader uneducated in cooking lingo and looking for something more than “the food was good,” comparing food to another topical realm assists the in grasping in what the experience is all about.

Structure of the Piece/ Answering Questions:

Each of Sifto’s pieces had order. It was as if he went in there knowing what questions he was going to ask, and filled the blanks in a little work book tucked into his back pocket in between wine sips. While it may not have been that ordered or benign, each piece made sure to tell the reader a few important things about each establishment:

1. The history of the establishment and/or its cook (aforementioned)

Some more 4 Ws + H going on, helps provide a sense of place and not just some floating restaurant in the sky.

2. What is going on in the restaurant/ atmosphere?

 A much more ambiguous section, but it is important nonetheless. The experience of dining, what the wait staff is doing, is the chef doing handstands, who goes here? “This is their shtick” and “this is why there shtick is/isn’t working” sort of thing. The “so-what” of the piece.

3. Food

 How does it taste, how does it look, to what extent is the chef (or anyone else) involved in its delivery. Always makes sure to head back a few times, and talks about more than one dish. The whole meal is examined, appetizers to desserts. Which leads us to…

4. Drinks

A good meal isn’t complete without the appropriate drink, be it a beer, a chilled White Russian,  a bottle of Cognac, or a glass of chocolate milk—the description and availability of drinks (most often times liquor) leads to a full description of the meal, and insight into a whole important section of food culture, for the reader

5. Price

This one should be a no-brainer for many of us, let people know how deep that mussel shell is going to bury itself into their wallets.

6. The Final Word

So, would you go here? Who would? Good experience, bad experience? Its judgment time, but before you slam the gavel, make sure you have taken all of these other factors into account. It isn’t necessarily a yes or no sort of question. I may love the taco stand around the corner, but I wouldn’t bring anyone there on a first date.

So this is what I gathered from Sifton’s articles, and while they were only a few, I feel rather re-educated. Please feel free to talk about adding to this, editing out contentious bits, and helping me clarify.

Analytically Apparating

-E. Clark