GQ disses Louisville Food

Sounds like Andy had an unhappy life while he was here in Louisville. I bet he spent most of his time feeling "nobody gets me" and couldn't resist a jab at the old home town. It looks like a combination of social climbing and sour grapes.
On another note - Between Blake and Ed I don't know who cracks me up more. You guys! ROFLMAO

Within the framework of objectivity and fair play, I must chime in. GQ is not a bad publication, and I have used it as a guide for fashion and style. Louisville has amazing restaurants, and its dining scene is incredible for a city of its size and ambiance. However, you guys are much too defensive and reactionary in your response to ignorant criticism and lack of knowledge. Who's doing the P.R. for the city of Louisville? Hey, I'm new here and I am still discovering what Louisville has to offer. Before moving to this city, I read every publication I could find that had articles about Louisville. There were very few that relayed anything other then information about "The Deby." This city needs an organization that promotes the Ville! Articles in publications such as GQ, Esquire, Conde Nast's Traveler, Travel and Leisure, Men's Journal etc, are often motivated by a public relations firm advocating for a client. If Louisville wants good press for its wonderful restaurants, being angry and defensive at a writer from New York City and slamming "The Big Apple" will not do a thing. Promote Louisville! Its reputation is not that great outside of this area. If that upsets your sensibilities, do something about it! I am a naturally negative and critical individual, and I now know that the dining scene in Louisville is fantastic. Brag about the great things about Louisville and fix the things that need improvement. Anger and recrimination is wasted energy. Get the city's P.R. firm working, and let the world know why you love this city!

Phil I think Louisville , as a city, does try to get the word out there about everything we have to offer. We have many good will ambassadors that travel everywhere in an attempt to market our fair city. However... getting anyone to PRINT this info is another thing entirely. I honestly think it stems back to people simply needing someone else to be the underdog; to have someone else be the butt of jokes. It's just too easy (and acceptable in some circles) to poke at the hillbillies. It gives others a feeling of superiority. And frankly, I don't think many writers would go out on a limb touting what Louisville has to offer without fearing his own level of sophistication or cultural discrimination would be put into question. ("Oh my gawd! He thinks Louisville has a great deal to offer! He needs to get around more... what are HIS standards?!") It takes cohones to stand up against popular conceptions and dare to offer a different POV. But keep repeating the same old "cultural wasteland, backwoods hillbilles that marry their own cousins, suffering from a lack of indoor plumbing" mantra and everyone else will shake their heads and sigh, "sad but true". Louisville IS out there self-promoting, you never had the oppertunity to read much about us because no one wanted to print anything. So while GQ may be fine for fashion and style, they are certainly coming up lacking on their reporting skills.

I agree with you 100%, Carla.

Unfortunately, there is huge misconception that people from KY are all inbred, toothless, barefoot hillbillies.

being angry and defensive at a writer from New York City and slamming "The Big Apple" will not do a thing.

Phil, the guy grew up here, he's only been in New York for a few years - and he's not ancient or anything, he's in his 20's or 30's.

Unfortunately, there is huge misconception that people from KY are all inbred, toothless, barefoot hillbillies.

From what I understand the toothbrush was invented here in KY, if it had come from anywhere else it would have been called a teethbrush.

Didn't the city embark on a PR campaign a few years ago? Red7e did the spots. I don't know what ever happened with that.

Honestly, the most negative comments I have heard about Louisville are from natives that live in other cities. For some reason, you hear this often from natives of some of the slow growth, Midwestern cities--there are just as many Saint Louis natives living in NYC slamming that city as there are Louisville natives slamming their hometown. Often these people know about as much about their hometown as a casual tourist...next to nothing. Clearly, the guy hasn't a clue about Louisville.

I tend to agree with Phil's take though, that instead of getting angry at the ignorance, a counter article needs to be written about Louisville's James beard chefs, four and five star eateries, trendy places like Proof (I doubt he has been within miles of Proof's location since 1998 judging by his references to suburban Texas Roadhouses). It also needs to be written that the cool, upscale places keep coming, with openings like Z's Fusion and 732 Social, and chefs at places like 610 Magnolia that could compete with some of the finest chefs in Manhattan (and in fact, have lived there!). You have to excuse him a bit--I bet a large majority of Louisville's suburbanites and recent transplants haven't a clue about the restaurants that exist in some of the downtown hotels, Old Louisville, and obsure parts of Clifton, the Highlands, Germantown, etc.

It costs money to run ad spots be it print or TV or radio or whatever. I think, I'm not sure, but I think it's merely a matter of priorities. With Derby coming up the city needs a great deal of cosmetic work done with clean up and repairs. Perhaps they're reasoning that the Derby itself will garner it's own traffic to the city without much additional advertising, then, with the infusion of Derby dollars more money would be available for additional tourism advertising later in the season.

BTW Phil, please don't think I was dissing NYC in my earlier post. I love NYC; always enjoyed my yearly visits there and always found the folks I met there friendly and patient, despite their reputation for being otherwise. (That may be their marketing problem.) My beef is with what is often perceived as news - not news- and ambivalence.

Marsha is correct.

I went to high school with Andy Comer, and he is in his early 30's. I can verify that he indeed is from / or at least lived in Louisville for awhile. He never struck me as someone that I would take style or multimedia tips from. He just seemed like an OK guy. Upon reading his GQ article, you can add the Louisville dining scene to that list. Andy is certainly entitled to his opinion, however I am not buying it. If one gets away from the Malls (including Jefferson), parts of Hurstbourne Lane (nod to Bristol, Limestone, Shah's, Shiraz, Furlong's and more), and a few other chain-saturated spots, the Louisville dining scene is excellent in many ways, and I find that very apparent.

DD

I agree with Michael and Phil. Think about it - it's possble this guy grew up in the 'burbs somewhere with parents that didn't appreciate food. He may have grown up not exposed to anything BUT chains, and then he leaves, goes to college, and ends up in NYC surrounded by food. He's wrong for writing what he did without any investigation, etc., but getting up in arms doesn't help. Being overly defensive is perceived by many as a sign of guilt. If we're too quick and too strong in our defense of our city, it just looks like we're over-compensating. I've been just as guilty as anyone on this, especially during my time in St. Louis surrounded by temporary transplants from NYC and Chicago and the like. When those friends actually came here to visit, their opinion changed quickly, but they thought I was full of it with my constant waxing on the coolness of the 'ville until they experienced it for themselves.

The best approach, if anyone would like to take the time to do so, would be to write a piece refuting this. Personally, I enjoy reading GQ on occasion, and it is often spot on for what to do and see in other places. This one example is not, in my opinion, indicative of the publication as a whole. Just from a food perspective, they've covered some fairly innovative restaurants and chefs in other cities, and often those that are not the "popular" upscale places.

Further, GQ is not, and likely won't continue to be the only magazine that publishes a piece unflattering to Louisville. Before the Ryder Cup, Golf Magazine published a bit about what to do in Louisville, and it was fairly unflattering and unimaginative.

The fact of the matter is that while, yes, we do have a fantasic dining scene AND citizens that are passionate about food, all likely relatively high per capita compared to other places, we still are a city that isn't exactly on the national scene regularly from a PR or news perspective. Nor are we a common tourist spot outside of Oaks/Derby, the St. James Art Fair, and the Humana Festival. When an outsider (and yes, I do include that author as an outsider) is tasked with writing about Louisville, it is hard to do the city justice unless you actually come here, travel around, get to know the locals "in-the-know," and actually sample the cuisine we have to offer. I can tell a New Yorker that 610 Magnolia or Corbett's could compete with just about anything Manhattan has to offer until I'm red in the face, but unless they actually eat the food themselves, they're very unlikely to believe me AND especially very unlikely to publish that fact, because all it appears to them to be is the opinion of a local defending his city.

"I tend to agree with Phil's take though, that instead of getting angry at the ignorance, a counter article needs to be written about Louisville's James beard chefs, four and five star eateries, trendy places like Proof (I doubt he has been within miles of Proof's location since 1998 judging by his references to suburban Texas Roadhouses). It also needs to be written that the cool, upscale places keep coming, with openings like Z's Fusion and 732 Social, and chefs at places like 610 Magnolia that could compete with some of the finest chefs in Manhattan (and in fact, have lived there!). You have to excuse him a bit--I bet a large majority of Louisville's suburbanites and recent transplants haven't a clue about the restaurants that exist in some of the downtown hotels, Old Louisville, and obsure parts of Clifton, the Highlands, Germantown, etc."

This is an excellent idea! The problem is.... who will buy it and print it? Doubtful that GQ would run it and run the risk of making their own reporter look snarky. Who will take the time to write it and them market the piece? Local publications like Louisville Magazine, LEO, The Voice and even the CJ have reason to run Louisville promoting articles but outside of the city is a whole new ball game. Kind of falls under the category of "easier said than done."

The best approach, if anyone would like to take the time to do so, would be to write a piece refuting this.

I'd be happy to write an article, but:

but unless they actually eat the food themselves, they're very unlikely to believe me AND especially very unlikely to publish that fact, because all it appears to them to be is the opinion of a local defending his city.

what good will it do to publish it here? And what motivation has GQ got to publish my unsolicited article refuting their paid-for, solicited one? I'm not "up in arms" at all - I just wanted it made clear that folks aren't mad because some darned New Yorker thinks we're hicks, they're mad because a guy that's FROM here is telling New Yorkers that we're hicks.

edited to say: yep, cross-posted with Carla.

None of us enjoy hearing or reading backhanded comments about Louisville, but I happened upon a copy of GQ earlier today (upon meeting me in person you would immediately realize that I'm neither a reader or subscriber), and after wading through pages of glossy, full-color ads came upon what passes for their food and dining section (known appropriately as "Eat")....Mr. Comer's comments about Louisville and Jack Fry's occupy the bottom 1/5 - 1/6 of the page...it's nothing -- filler more than anything else.

BTW...where are those "stoner pizzerias"?

I do think you guys are missing the point. There are certain American cities that continually get positive press as to their travel worthiness. Their restaurants, bars, clubs, hotels etc. are all described as having a certain panache that draws visitors and convention business. Of course there are the obvious urban centers such as New York, Chicago, San Francisco etc. However, there are a group of medium size U. S. cities that also bathe in this shower of praise that glossy publications, read by millions in spite of your opinion of their literary or culinary talent, write about all the time. Charleston, South Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; Portland, Oregon; Austin, Texas; Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Nashville, Tennessee; etc. are all written about by countless magazines, newspapers, web blogs etc. about what great cities they are for travel, eating etc. This brings in millions of dollars to the city every year. Thus, even a few sentences written in GQ can create an image for a city that hurts it economically. Being insular about this image does not help. Tourist and Convention money helps improve schools, medical care, and the general infrastructure.

It is not up to the average citizen to get the word out about Louisville's culinary treasures. That is what the city government should be doing. There must be some commission in charge of tourism that needs to emphasize that there is a hell of a lot more to Louisville besides The Kentucky Derby. I will say that the 21 C Hotel has received excellent press from several publications. Doesn't a huge company (Brown and Williamson ?) own 21 C? I bet this corporation was somewhat behind this great press. Restaurant people, complain to the city that they are not doing enough to spread the word about the restaurant scene in Louisville, Yes, a press campaign may cost some money. However, people are taking their vacations closer to home since the economic decline, and people are always looking for the "next place" to visit. Why not Louisville? When the Ryder Cub was in town, Louisville was enjoyed by the thousands of folks here for this international golf event. There was great press for the Ryder Cup. Restaurants were advertising and letting the tourists know what was out there. This needs to be done from early March through October. Do something to off set this image of Louisville being some Appalacian back water. Instead of being insulted, prove all the snobs wrong!