Food As Art

On the heels of the five restaurant ratings posted during Baby Tattoo's recent Austin road trip, I would like to take a moment to mention food as art. When rating food on the road, I was basically focusing on the food itself and not on satellite factors like atmosphere or value at each establishment. The up side of a food-only rating system is that it is very simple; the down side is that it is probably too simple. On the Austin trip, the Great American Cattle Co and Guero's Taco Bar both received a 7 out of 10 rating because my burger in Phoenix was every bit as good as my mexican meal in Austin; however, the actual dining experience at each restaurant was very different. For atmosphere, I would rate the Cattle Co a 3 out of 10, but I would give Guero's an 8. You would never know to expect that whopping difference in environment simply by reading my Austin road trip ratings. On future road trips, I'm going to rate each restaurant for food, atmosphere, service and value. Does that seem like overkill for a blog about publishing art books? Not when you consider my opinion that chefs and restauranteurs are artists.

By the way, my friend Fred Eric is a chef/restauranteur/artist who has greatly influenced my enthusiasm for food. If your travels lead you to downtown Los Angeles, be sure to experience his Tiara Cafe. Better yet, make a special trip.

-Bob Self