CBS News Finds Comfort Food: Danny Meyer, Charlie Palmer

By JULIETTE ROSSANT CBS Evening News correspondent Richard Schlesinger reported last night about a socio-cultural phenomenon so old that... it has finally hit national news, namely "Upscale Comfort Food." Schlesinger was fine with the soundbyte-generous Danny Meyer, who told him, "Comfort food is absolutely moving upscale" -- those words from one of the restaurateurs most successful in marrying the culinary traditions of American Comfort Food and Fine Dining. Schlesinger was just a few years late, however, in commenting for the American general public on the nightly news "Now he [Danny], like other restaurateurs, is discovering there's a big market for down market food." No, Richard: now you [CBS News], like other evening news shows, are discovering there's a big market among your viewers for down-market food. Let's just get that straight -- for the record. From Danny's Blue Smoke over to Aureole for an interview with Charlie Palmer. Schlesinger continues with what could have been a good Summer feature story: "Was there something wrong with regular corn dogs that made Palmer feel like he had to improve upon it?" [Schlesinger comments to viewers] "Well, yeah -- they were made with hotdogs!" [Charlie chuckled] So far, the report was lazy, but then Schlesinger went on to conclude that "some comfort food … is only for the truly comfortable," making the news story a real farace. Apparently, he could not be bothered to check on the portion size for the lobster corn dogs. In Washington DC's Charlie Palmer Steak, three (3) lobster corn dogs will set you back $9, not one (1) lobster corn dog. OK, let's heave out our mental calculators and do the heavy math on this one: three Charlie dogs for $9 means one dog for $3 -- which is the same price that Schlesinger quoted for a measly old hot dog corn dog (presumably from a street vendor in New York) -- except that you get great ingredients, top preparation, and luxurious surroundings at Charlie's restaurants, instead of standing out in the street in 100 degree summer weather. No wonder Charlie was laughing at Schlesinger's question! CPS Steak WDC executive chef Bryan Voltaggio adds, "It has become a popular snack for the Capitol Hill crowd in for a quick recess from the day’s action." What was Schlesinger's conclusion again? "Some comfort food … is only for the truly comfortable," Lemme-tell-ya, Richard, looking at the real price, we can get comfy with Charlie's dog -- real comfy! Next time you do a story about a super chef, CBS Evening News, feel free to get in touch with superchefblog. (Click here to read a transcript of the story, with another photo -- or click here to see the story via videostream.) (Click here for Charlie Palmer's Lobster Corn Dogs with Grain Mustard Dipping Sauce recipe and here for the Black Pepper Beef Ribs recipe from Danny Meyer's Blue Smoke.) Later story: CBS News: Still Overpricing Charlie Palmer's Corn Dog Previous articles: Charlie Palmer: Renaissance Chef Celebrity Chefs from 2005 Forbes Celebrity 100 Kitchens: Better With a Super Chef? Charlie Palmer: Dry Creek Kitchen Floweth Danny Meyer Moves Uptown with Bentel & Bentel Elections East 2: Washington Sports Night Charlie Palmer Ties as Washington's No. 1 Steakhouse Charlie Palmer: Bipartisan Turf Surfs the Hill Technorati Tags: chefs food restaurants cooking branding cuisine television comfort food CBS News --> back to superchefblog