Michael Pollan: French Laundry 'Felt Like Work,' Chipotle Is 'A Step In The Right Direction'

For the most part, sustainable food guru Michael Pollan, author of Omnivore's Dilemma etc., makes pronouncements on the broadest contours of the food world. His central motto, infamously, is "eat food." Doesn't get that much more basic than that. Even when he does deign to address a foodstuff more specific than, say, "vegetables," he usually refrains from singling out individual restaurants. That's why it was refreshing for him to discuss his restaurant preferences in detail with the Denver Post.

He had praise for two paragons of sustainable dining, on vastly different scales: Chipotle and Chez Panisse. He refers to the latter as one of his favorite restaurants, noting that he lives nearby. He applaud's Chipotle work in sustainability, which he calls "a step in the right direction," though he chides the chain for serving "very high-calorie food."

Pollan had harsher words for Thomas Keller's three-Michelin-starred restaurant The French Laundry, in Yountville, Ca., which has been called the country's best restaurant. He said that he'd been there for his 50th birthday and had a thoroughly unpleasant experience. He even went as far as to say his meal "felt like work," complaining that the elaborateness of the meal distracted from his conversation. Maybe he's a Pisces?

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Comments

[thrugreeneyez]

11:20 AM on 02/24/2012

Go vegan, Pollan! You know it's the best thing to do!

[raker]

08:55 AM on 02/24/2012

Hearing Michael Pollan recommend eating at Chipotle is like hearing the Surgeon General recommend a brand of cigarettes. Thanks, but no fast food for me.

I wonder what Pollan means by Keller's "elaborate service." I think I know what Pollan means about restaurants where it feels like the chef is the star and the diners are supporting players and extras. A few years ago I dined at The Inn at Little Washington, Virginia's Keller-esque food mecca restaurant. We so looked forward to it, but the day before I had the realization that the restaurant couldn't possibly live up to the hype. It could only disappoint. I was right. What a let down. I remember it as an expensive, unmemorable experience. I've had my fill of out-of-proportion expectations of restaurants.

[Jason Byrd Marshall]

04:33 PM on 02/24/2012

He didn't actually recommend eating at Chipotle.

[Icleaks]

04:31 PM on 02/23/2012

They probably didn't comp his meal.

[Wheelo]

04:13 PM on 02/23/2012

While I like Pollan a lot...

Going to the French Laundry to converse? That's sort of like going to the Sistine Chapel to watch TV on your iPhone. Converse at Bouchon or Ad Hoc and save 600 bucks or so. French Laundry is like a cathedral of food worship. Most fabulous food experience I've ever had.

[N0NDescript0]

02:31 PM on 02/23/2012

"He even went as far as to say his meal "felt like work," complaining that the elaborateness of the meal distracted from his conversation."

As I understand it, people don't go to The French Laundry for the conversation. They go for the food. Respectfully, if Mr. Pollan prefers his food wrapped in aluminum foil, then he should have stuck to pseudo-Mexican fast-food.

[TaurusRose]

03:23 PM on 02/23/2012

Never cared for Pollan. He compromises food issues in order to popularize them.
It is an indication of how shallow his blatherings about food really are when he has no appreciation of food that is prepared as an elegant centerpiece to be savoured.
Whoa guy!
If Chipotle has 'a place', then certainly, the French Laundry has a place as well.

[N0NDescript0]

04:58 PM on 02/23/2012

"He compromises food issues in order to popularize them."

I don't think I've ever heard that accusation. What do you mean?

[BrooklynChef]

01:28 PM on 02/23/2012

The French Laundry is fantastic. It is food at its pinnacle. Yes, it is slow. Yes, it is food as theatre. Yes, it is a production. Yes, it is extremely expensive. But, it does have its place.

[Parkite]

12:21 PM on 02/23/2012

The way they roast a chicken at the French Laundry is divine. I learned how to do it at home. Real easy. Real delicious.
Just as Chez Panisse has influenced food for the better, so has the French Laundry. We can all benefit from their efforts without having to actually eat at their restaurants and shell out the big bucks.

[TaurusRose]

03:28 PM on 02/23/2012

Please, share the secret!

[Wheelo]

04:16 PM on 02/23/2012

Truss, salt liberally, roast at 425. Serve with Dijon. So simple and so good. I believe you'll find the roast chicken recipe in Keller's Ad Hoc At Home cookbook and probably online as well.

[vincefango]

11:29 PM on 04/12/2012

There is an episode of "No Reservations" streaming on Netflix where Keller shows you how to make his roast chicken. I believe the Ep is called "How to Cook"...losta chefs showing easy recipes.

[Tan Thanh Bui]

03:59 AM on 02/23/2012

I love Michael Pollan! Just because it's a 3-starred Michelin doesn't mean it should be of absolute exclusivity. What happen to food where it's just food. We, now, blur the line of all ethnicities and origins. Soon enough, I wouldn't able to have a meal true to one country. Full disclosure: I've been to a few of them. Albeit enjoyable, I'd still prefer to have a meal of cultural ties. Not to say I will stop visiting them anytime soon.

[Jennifer Kim]

01:52 AM on 02/23/2012

Way to go Pollan! I agree. Chipotle is still considered a fast food restaurant, but their heart is in the right place. Sustainable greens and locally grown veggies are the way to go.

Jenny
http://www.organic-cocktail-recipes.com

[Happy Kine]

10:38 PM on 02/22/2012

people live in my city parks.They eat local, out of garbage cans. Surely a concern about local sourced free range celery might come off as elitist drivel. but what about the sheer ennui of celebrating a half century of smugness at the french Laundry. Tell more, what was the wine,,,,,,

[Moosington]

06:39 PM on 02/22/2012

Horse crap. I've been to French Laundry and places like it. There is plenty of time to converse at a normal rate while enjoying the food. I'm thinking Mr. Pollan just likes to talk too much.

[blurredmolly]

07:24 PM on 02/22/2012

those that can do, those that can't criticize.

[rxs]

05:36 PM on 02/22/2012

I've had the pleasure of eating at both Chez Panisse & The French Laundry several times over the years. How you can like one and dislike the other is a mystery to me. Both are tremendous. And Chipotle? C'mon. It's fine, but it's just a burrito joint, and a chain at that. Maybe his meal at The French Laundry interrupted his conversation because the food was so great that people were speechless.

[plantbasedpunk]

06:16 PM on 02/22/2012

I think he was praising Chipotle for their efforts at purchasing local (sometimes organic) produce and somewhat higher animal welfare standards. Not the food.

[Joann Vallo]

11:37 AM on 02/24/2012

Agreed, plus the food is really good and unpretentious. There's a place for both.

[Tomtom2]

12:04 PM on 04/26/2012

I find that interesting that all the posters with a Spock avatar are, well uh, so logical. Live long and prosper.

[BluebirdofUnhappiness]

03:50 PM on 02/22/2012

I think MP needs to eat more prunes. And cheaper dinners.
.. Chez Panisse. He refers to the latter as one of his favorite restaurants, noting that he lives nearby

Meals start at $60 and go up to $95. I guess having a bestseller gives you that sort of lifestyle. On the bright side that does include dessert.

I think he ought to move to North Dakota and "eat local" for a year.

[plantbasedpunk]

04:18 PM on 02/22/2012

That is a good chunk of my criticism for Michael Pollan. His plan for local and sustainable eating is only an option for those with wealth and access to local produce.

[melissaj376]

06:31 PM on 02/22/2012

That's not his fault. The public needs to step in and protest government subsidies of processed foods and demand that everyone have access to ample, affordable produce and humane meats.

[RedRat]

08:12 PM on 02/22/2012

Good point and on target.

[JScott]

10:56 AM on 02/23/2012

Yup and dare have someone let us know what our agribiz food system is and it's downsides....
Corporate agribiz would rather just keep us in the dark........'just buy the food..don't question where or how it got to your plate'.

[RedRat]

09:01 PM on 02/29/2012

And exactly how would you provide food for 300million Americans spread all over this land? Methinks there are many blogging here who really do not understand food production and its costs. You cannot extrapolate that little patch you have behind your house or on your apartment's rood to the producing enough food for the rest of us.

I really don't see 'agribiz' keeping anyone in the dark. I have watched programs on the Food Channel, History Channel, NatGeo, and others that pretty much show the whole process, no pulled punches. I have worked with the food industry in my career and have seen these processes, so you are not getting an edited version. What must be understood is that we are moving millions of tons of fresh and processed food thousands of miles, so that you can have reasonably fresh and nutritious foods on your table year round. The information is out there, you just have to get off your duffs and find it, it is not being hidden away.

[Michael A Wojtowicz]

03:38 PM on 02/22/2012

Right....praise the corporate groveling that is Chipotle. If McDonald's cared about sustainability they wouldn't just working on it at Chipotle they would do it at actual McDonald's throughout the world.

[journ student]

05:12 PM on 02/22/2012

McDonald's hasn't been involved with Chipotle in quite some time, I'm pretty sure. McDonald's was only an initial investor and divested in 2006.

[J0E1]

05:52 PM on 02/22/2012

It's been 6 years since McDonald's has owned a single share of Chipotle.  Try and keep up.