CJ hates some of the food, but loves Ward 426 chef, decor

[Robin Garr]

A lobster dish was “$32 poorly spent,” and inferior to “Marie Callender's frozen chicken pot pie. Lamb was “dominated by saltiness,” and “the kitchen had fiddled way too much” with a s’mores dessert. But the CJ loves Chef Shawn Ward so hard and is so impressed with the Bittner’s decor that Ward 426 won 3 1/2 stars anyway.

http://www.courier-journal.com/story/en ... /22850825/

It's like she's back to being impressed by decore more than food. She didn't like the lobster and didn't like the lamb (even excuse to not liking it by saying it was overly brined?) which were the 2 main courses she listed they had yet she gives it 3.5 stars? Just what I thought maybe she was getting her groove she does this!

But the CJ loves Chef Shawn Ward so hard and is so impressed with the Bittner’s decor that Ward 426 won 3 1/2 stars anyway.

I know Shawn fairly well. I 100 % agree with her assessment of Chef Ward. I believe the stars were awarded as follows ..
Chef 1 star .. Bittners 1 star .. food 1 !/2 stars.

This was the most amazingly bad reviewing I have seen. She like a couple of things, disliked more than she liked. Pot pie would have been as good as Marie Callenders with a splash of bourbon and a piece of lobster. A very big knock on that dish and also the desert. I haven't been impressed with her reviewing, but I think this was the worse.

[Robin Garr]

I know Shawn fairly well. I 100 % agree with her assessment of Chef Ward. I believe the stars were awarded as follows ..
Chef 1 star .. Bittners 1 star .. food 1 !/2 stars.

It's sad for me that my effort to keep a low profile in the dining community keeps me from being better buddies with chefs, but I've heard nothing but good of Shawn. He's definitely a star, without the extra dose of ego that sometimes accompanies that status.

That said, though, I'm pretty sure that the CJ's reviewer was offering to bear his children. I hope you're not going there, Steve!

An ongoing problem with the C-J is that the stars don't match the content of the review. She clearly had a poor meal on two occasions, yet she gives it 3.5 stars (ranking it as one of the best restaurants in town) because she likes the owners by her own admission.

I've been to Ward 426 once for dinner. I'm withholding any review until they get a little more time to figure things out. I am also a big fan of Dean and Shawn. They are pros, and we are lucky to have them in the 'ville. I will give it another chance in the near future.

I would be more concerned about the C-J's poor reviewing protocol, but the fact is that it has become irrelevant in the world of Hotbytes, Yelp, UrbanSpoon, LEO, etc. I don't anyone who makes a decision on where to eat based on the C-J.

without the extra dose of ego that sometimes accompanies that status.

I don't know the man at all, but the restaurant is called "Ward" 426...

[Robin Garr]

I don't know the man at all, but the restaurant is called "Ward" 426...

If I'm not mistaken, that name decision was made by his associates, including Deano. In fairness, I can see some space between using the chef's familiar name on a chef-driven restaurant, as opposed to the kind of overflowing ego that we see a lot in chefs on TV. None here in the local community, I'm sure.

I'm just having a little fun, Robin. No offense intended.

I was brought up in a tradition where having your name on your chef coat was a faux pas and that the name on the Menu was more important than the name of the chef behind it.

[Robin Garr]

I'm just having a little fun, Robin. No offense intended.

And none taken, good sir!

I was brought up in a tradition where having your name on your chef coat was a faux pas and that the name on the Menu was more important than the name of the chef behind it.

Did your chef coat have to match your Crocs?

Only if you wanted to be sent home. Crocs, seriously.

I was brought up in a tradition where having your name on your chef coat was a faux pas and that the name on the Menu was more important than the name of the chef behind it.

I don't to where you were brought up Ronnie but I find that statement interesting. Growing up in upstate New York I don't believe I ever saw a chef's jacket that had the restaurant name on it without the chef's name. Quite a few places only had the chef's name on their jackets but I don't believe I ever someone with only the restaurant name on the jacket. I guess maybe it's a regional thing and possibly a way to have the chef take ownership for what he prepares! I like having the person's name on the jacket because that way you know you are talking to a person instead of an establishment.

From my travels in Europe and elsewhere overseas I don't recall seeing many locations that had any name on the chef's jackets either of the restaurant or the chef himself! Of course most of that travel with at least 10 years ago and things may have changed since then.

I read this review the other day and thought to myself, "This lady is a fruit-loop!" How do you slam the quality of the food and rate it 3 1/2 stars? I wonder if she was with Brian Williams on the helicopter in Afghanistan??

This review will keep me and probably many others from dining here. I am not sure that Ms. Miller really knows what she is doing....I would rate her ability to review at a strong 1/2 star!

So glad i left my livelihood is not at the whim of a character from star trek next generation whom has no business being a food critic. I have no input on wards new place but i can say the courier is nothing to tale seriously. Really, what gives miller the least bit of accreditation to become a restaurant critic? Really! and these jokers do not realize what it takes to open a new place, and are willing to ruin them with a few words with nothing to back it up.

OK, I'm am going to put my $.02 in here.....

I think that the change over from Gastro Pub to fine dining was ill-advised. That area is more geared to a neighborhood place than a $60 a plate, before booze, "dining experience".

Personally, I've not been since change over due to the negative press (yes, the keyboard can be a wicked mistress). It's going to take a hell of a lot more that a Bittner's décor to get me in the door. I can spend my money more judicially at other places that are just as nice and have a grand meal as well.

I will say this....Dean Corbett's idea of "broadening" his palate is very interesting, however, I get the feeling that he's stuck in the White Table Cloth mode. Maybe getting out of that box isn't a bad idea....just sayin'