re: Lafayette wins "Best for Food" title in national competition

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You said it sucked, now you agree with me that they have good food, just not great food. I agree they really lack in the fine dining dept.

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I think it sucks primarily because the people who own the restaurants don't really seem to be passionate about food, and I think that comes through in the thoughtlessness of their menus, the shortcuts, and the shitty execution. For a culture that supposedly loves food, I find this reality to be very disappointing. I think there is a massive perception gap in Lafayette about food. Sure, I've had some good meals, but I can't think of a restaurant that gets me excited and makes me think "Yeah, I want to go there and eat and I can't wait". It doesn't have to be a Michelin three star, or fancy, or any of that stuff, it just has to be a place where the owner/chef is engaged, thinking about food all the time, and has high standards of execution. In fact, if I had to define what a great restaurant is to me, that's my definition. The only two places I think approach that, are French Press and Pamplona, and even those two are inconsistent, but I tried to go to them regularly because they were at least trying. I am amazed at restaurants that pump out awesome food every night, with regularly changing menus, and do that for years with professional service and a thoughtful wine list. I think it is an enormously difficult undertaking and have a ton of respect for people who do it consistently over a long period of time.

Actually, the one thing I regularly craved over the last three years of living there was the smothered pork at T-coons.