Thursday, August 05, 2004
Dear friends,
I wanted to post something long and thoughtful and laudatory here tonight, but in the end I decided there is no better way to say it than to just say it plainly. Please go directly to Regina Schrambling’s web page, gastropoda, and read it now.
I’m trying to decide whether I am so impressed with her ruthless honesty, wicked humor and verbal grace that I want to aim for the bar that she has set, or whether I am so intimidated by all of the above that I just want to pack up my laptop and go home. Either way, she leaves me lost in admiration.
I found her waaaaayyy to NY-snarky, cooler-than-thou obnoxious. And on top of that her word choice is weak, metaphors boring to non-existent and general non-show-off-but-abiding-love-of-language (and love of food) far inferior to yours.
I mean that. I get nothing from her. I get joy from you.
Once again, your collective kindness just bowls me over and makes me glad to have friends such as yourselves. Thank you all.
Admittedly, I was being a bit of a drama queen when I made those “hanging up my laptop” noises. Every few months or so, I find myself pricked by doubt, wondering if it isn’t just too noisy and crowded a field, this food writing field, and wondering whether it is really necessary for me to add to the dialogue at all. Then I get over myself and just get back to work. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Once again I find myself respectfully disagreeing with you, except for Owen, who kind of agrees with me. I still think that Regina Schrambling has it all over the majority of food writers working today, yours truly included. She is smart, informed and fluent in the language of cookery. She is well-traveled. She does not suffer fools gladly, and her often-blunt language reflects this. At the same time, she has real affection for food, and the people who prepare it with care, and her language reflects this, too. She is well-read, which should be a given for any writer, and she reads thoughtfully, which, unfortunately, is *not* a given for too many writers. I’ll admit that she intimidates me a little, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. A little fear is good for keeping you on your toes. 
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I found her waaaaayyy to NY-snarky, cooler-than-thou obnoxious. And on top of that her word choice is weak, metaphors boring to non-existent and general non-show-off-but-abiding-love-of-language (and love of food) far inferior to yours.
I mean that. I get nothing from her. I get joy from you.