Wednesdays used to be my favorite day of the week--even more so than Champagne Thursdays!--all because of Dining Out. The Dining Out section of the New York Times was like a guide to the week; new foods in season to think about, new restaurants to try, chef drama to follow. But the crown jewel was always Frank Bruni. Oh, Bruni. With your saucy quips and snarky wordplay. With your predictable tastes and unpredictable zingers. I miss you so, Brunerator. The Brunster. Bruni-rama.
And now.... Et tu, Bruni? What are we supposed to do without you, Frank?! Put up with "Sam" "Sifton"? Who gives a merguez sausage about that guy? I know, I know. You have moved on to bigger and better things. It's cool, Brunus Maximus, we can still be friends. But in the meantime, whither Dining Out? My favorite day of the week has turned into Letdown Wednesdays. Maybe it also has to do with the anemic restaurant scene, but Dining Out has seemed a little thin since you left, Frank... gaunt, if you will.
Fall used to be exciting in those pages, but the last few months have just not been cutting it. Although I did appreciate the article on the Encyclopedia of Pasta (featuring my favorite variety, the strozzapreti, or "priest strangler"), the rest of this week's section left me still hungry, kind of like tapas. I'm not even going to talk about Sam Sifton' s (expectorate) review of DBGB --Bruni wannabe. Plus, it looks like Mark Bittman is doing all the heavy lifting at Dining Out nowadays, which is like having Uncle Joey carry every episode of Full House.
Sigh... It looks like Wednesdays will from now on be known as Not-Bruni Wednesdays. And Champagne Thursdays will take over as my favorite day of the week.
Cheers.
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