Is Imitation Always the Sincerest Form of Flattery?
Last week on Ed Levine Eats, I wrote about the problems I had with a blogger writing about lobster rolls and not crediting New York City restaurant Pearl Oyster Bar chef and owner Rebecca Charles as the woman who introduced the lobster roll to, and popularized it with, many New Yorkers. Unfortunately that's just the claw of the problem. In fact, there's something else going on with Pearl and its imitators that is relevant to every creative person and craftsperson in the food world and beyond.
In 1997, Rebecca Charles opened Pearl Oyster Bar and starting serving her lobster roll, shoestring fries, chowder, raw clams and oysters, fried clams, salt and pepper shrimp, and blueberry pie to a New York hungry for authentic, honest seafood cooked by a really talented chef.
In 2002, after a series of ugly and unpleasant personal and business interactions, former co-chef and minority partner Mary Redding left Pearl and opened Mary's Fish Camp a few blocks from Pearl with an almost identical menu and overall concept. There's nothing illegal about doing that, but that doesn't make it right. Cooks, sous-chefs, and chefs de cuisine leave their jobs to open their own restaurants. It's a time-honored tradition that's not dissimilar to what happens in many other businesses I have been involved in or reported on. But most of these kitchen or restaurant professionals don't then turn around and open a restaurant with an identical concept and menu—within spitting distance of their former workplace.
But it happened, and Pearl and Mary's have both prospered—with good reason. Pearl remains a superb restaurant, and Mary's has attracted its own following. I've eaten at both (don't tell Rebecca), and you can't go wrong at either.
Fast-forward to this spring, and we are all reading about Ed McFarland, another of the Pearl alumni leaving the restaurant and opening Ed's Lobster Bar within a mile of his former employer. Again, Ed's menu is almost an exact replica of Pearl.
What's going on here? When Andrew Carmellini left Café Boulud to open A Voce, he was smart enough and respectful enough not to open a clone of Café Boulud. When Marco Canora left Craft to open Hearth, he had the good sense to differentiate the latter from the former, even though Canora had played a significant role in the seminal development of the Craft concept and menu. Sure, there were similar elements, and perhaps a dish or two overlapped (I frankly don't remember), but no one would confuse Craft with Hearth.
Now I understand that a Maine lobster shack menu and concept is not anything that can be copyrighted or patented. There are probably a hundred of them in Maine, and they've been around a long time, at least in Maine. But Pearl Oyster Bar is a New York City lobster shack opened by a highly trained chef who took that style of food and made it her own, armed with cooking technique and some original ideas.
Pearl became its own unique animal, something that is in fact quite different from the lobster shacks of Maine. The Pearl situation seems very different from, say, the seemingly inexhaustible supply of Peter Luger knock-offs (with better wine lists) opening all over New York City. A New York City steakhouse is a steakhouse is a steakhouse. After all, even before several Luger's employees went out on their own, there was no shortage of classic New York City steakhouses to compete with the Williamsburg-based steak mothership (Ben Benson's, The Palm, and Old Homestead, to name three). Such was not the case with Pearl, of which there was really only one when it opened.
So wouldn't it behoove the Ed McFarlands of the world to bring some original thinking to Ed's? It seems to me that by doing so, they would be showing Rebecca Charles some respect. At the very least, these clones show a paucity of imagination.
But maybe I'm being too harsh in my assessment here. I don't know. What do other serious eaters think? I urge all of you to go to Menupages and compare the menus of the three.
Menupages links: Pearl Oyster Bar, Mary's Fish Camp, Ed's Lobster Bar
Photograph from iStockPhoto.com
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
50 Comments:
Do what you know, surely? Maine lobster rolls have gone downhill since I was a kid there. If someone can make a decent one wherever, I'm for it. Just because she was the first in town-- or was she the first famous one in town?-- there were bound to be copycats. When there are 20, like the steakhouses, it won't perhaps mean so much to you.
Judith in Umbria at 2:45PM on 06/04/07
All is fair in food and lobster rolls.....every great business has a defendable position, whether it's the product, location, service, the jenesayqois......you gotta have something.....
Seriouspoorcook at 2:55PM on 06/04/07
I don't see it as a problem, as none of them are particulary original. Here is a review of NYC lobster roll places, and tips from Jasper White. Personally, I don't eat anything on a hot dog roll, including hot dogs.
Lou at 3:15PM on 06/04/07
You know, Ed, as the critic who first discovered Pearl, 10 years ago this summer, it is no surprise that you get it better than anyone! It's true that there have been lobster shacks forever but as you point out Pearl is not a typical lobster shack in any way. Had it been, it would never have had the following it has.
Rebecca reinvented New England seafood, making it taste they way that you always hoped it would but that it seldom did. Also as you mentioned, Ed, Pearl's menu has many items you would never see on a lobster/clam shack menu because they were dishes personal to Rebecca like the mussel sauces, lobster pot pie, scallops, bouillabaisse, whole fish preparation, etc. (Ed's Caesar, indeed!)
Copying is NOT the sincerest form of flattery when it is an entire menu and the look of the place. And don't forget, both Redding and McFarland had a very unfair advantage. Redding worked for Rebecca at 2 restaurants and McFarland was her sous chef for more than six years. They learned every trade secret and cooking technique directly from Rebecca.
The argument that "I like lobster rolls and will eat them where I can get them" is just not good enough. It certainly wouldn't be good enough if someone stole from you or if, in fact, stealing of this magnitude happened in any other industry.
Note to all chefs: the time has come for non-compete agreements. Although they have never been industry standard (because a true chef's ego would never have allowed any kind of copying) the restaurant business is no longer about food. It is about money.
As for the age-old question of whose lobster roll is better, the Fish Camp, Pearl's and now Ed's...it's a JOKE. They are all the same; they are all Rebecca's!
Deb07 at 4:22PM on 06/04/07
And not for nothing...at least 3 years before Jasper White ever opened his Summer Shacks, when he was still hawking for the likes of Legal Seafood and Red Lobster, I sat next to him at the bar at Pearl on two different occasions as he parsed and examined any number of Rebecca's dishes.
Deb07 at 4:23PM on 06/04/07
obviously deb you are rebeccas girlfriend, I am a long time pearl customer, I know rebecca and ed, I also know that rebecca did not invent or create the lobster roll recipee. an exact replica can be found in the joy of cooking. I also have seen ed levine eating at pearl quite often and it is obvious he is a friend of rebeccas, making this piece not very credible. So instead of complaining and bad mouthing every chef in the world be happy theres enough business to go around and we all know rebecca has coppied other chefs as well.
nikkilobster at 6:12PM on 06/04/07
Indeed, but more importantly the author of her cookbook so I know everyone's history at the restaurant, "Nikki Lobster." I have posted many times on this blog and, yet, I notice that this is your first post.
In fact, Rebecca did create her lobster roll recipe. Ed Levine is the first person to discover Pearl (as he has so many other places in NYC) and is friendly with Rebecca and nearly every chef in New York. And I have to say, I can not think of a single chef Rebecca has "coppied" [sic].
But the facts remain the same, "Nikki Lobster." No one has bad-mouthed any chefs (to say nothing of "every chef in the world") "NikkiLobster" just recounted the FACTS. As for credibility, one need only check the menus.
As the saying goes, the truth hurts.
Deb07 at 6:40PM on 06/04/07
I don't know how many people there are in NYC. I do know there are not enough lobster roll places. So while it may not be right, it certainly won't put anyone out of business.
adrocks at 7:42PM on 06/04/07
Nikkilobster and Deb, let's keep the conversation on point. Yes, I am friendly with Rebecca, but I don't know why that's germane to this discussion. This is an issue I have been thinking about in general for a long time (not having anything to do with Rebecca), and that's why I decided to post about it. If you noticed, I posed it as a general question, and framed it in such a way that we can talk about it in the Serious Eats manner, that is, passionately, discerningly, and inclusively.
Ed Levine at 7:52PM on 06/04/07
A more than mile away in Manhattan terms doesn't leave anyone lots of room.
I agree with Judith -- especially having been to a number of Luger knockoffs -- some better, some worse, but same exact menu. If Pearl's food is good enough to keep it's following, the copycats shouldn't matter. I'd still choose Luger over the copycats, even with it being further away and more difficult to get to -- and to get a reservation if you're not a famous food critic.
FKC at 9:06PM on 06/04/07
Lobster rolls NYC.
NYer's like lobster SALAD rolls.Like the ones at Pearl,Mary's, Ed's etc.
They are Rebecca's idea of what a good lobster roll is and it is most likely adapted directly from the joy of cooking.
It is not a authentic lobster roll like what
David Pulido, owner of Portland Lobster Co. in Maine says,"We've served more than 12,000 lobster rolls last year from May to October." What makes them so great? He uses tail, knuckle and claw meat fresh-picked from Maine lobsters each morning. He adds a drizzle of drawn butter on top and a sheet of romaine lettuce. As for mayo? “This isn’t tuna fish,” says Pulido. “Less than five percent of our customers even think of putting mayo on the lobster roll. We serve it on the side.”
Bun of choice: Any New England–style split-top hot dog roll, toasted with just a touch of butter.
That is from Food & Wine magazine
For more concise info about lobster rolls vs lobster salad rolls like they serve at Pearl read this
http://merecat.org/food/dining/lobster-rolls/connecticut/
By the way,whether you intended it or not Ed your article does appear to be biased and to imply that Mary's is a rip- off of Pearl is wrong since she also helped create it and only Rebecca and Mary will ever know what really went wrong and who knows if it would have succeeded without either one of them being there from the beginning.
chameleonz at 10:20PM on 06/04/07
Do we know for sure it was Rebecca who came up with the lobster roll recipe and not co-chef Mary? Maybe that's what the spat was about - Rebecca taking/getting all the credit for Mary's roll. Here's a question - often times sous' come up with ideas for the menu and once in a while, those ideas must take off. If the sous then leaves and makes that exact dish, is it copycatting?
mikenmolly at 6:54AM on 06/05/07
The fact is that two employees left Pearl Oyster Bar and essentially stole the entire menu and business model of their former employer. Ed Levine makes several good points. As someone who used to frequent Pearl Oyster Bar I was amazed to see a former employee knock off the restaurant so entirely. In this case, I refer to Mary's. I have since moved to San Francisco and the first thing I did when I got there was to visit the Swan Oyster Depot specifically because Rebecca Charles always gave them credit for inspiring her to open a small seafood restaurant. Imagine my surprise because it was nothing at all like Pearl! Still it was good in it's own way. But when you borrow, you attribute. A whole menu? That's just stealing.
tom415 at 9:24AM on 06/05/07
uh oh. are lobster rolls the new cupcake?
YumNYC at 9:42AM on 06/05/07
Have yet to try Ed's, but hear really wonderful things...things that differentiate it from its predecessors. As was the case with Mary's (my fav. restaurant on the Island of Manhattan), which is quite different from Pearl as well. Though we are all cowards thus carfeul not to declare one better than the other, Mary's refrains from the use of knuckles in her roll--she sells them seperately as an app. That's why I PREFER Mary's roll. Simply more significant lobster to be had...and looove the knuckle app.!! So what, they look alike..(I disagree). All of these places are fabulous and we ALL know whose name appeard first, second and third. Perhaps these ARE ALL Mary's recipes, but it took a team of the committed to creat this behemeth. Let us simply go to our chosen lobster bars and enjoy.
roll at 9:49AM on 06/05/07
Mary's refrains from the use of knuckles in her roll--she sells them seperately as an app. That's why I PREFER Mary's roll.
roll at 9:50AM on 06/05/07
We' ve all forgotten "Tides." Headed-up by (Judy?)...a Mary's alum.
roll at 9:57AM on 06/05/07
I think a lot of people here are missing the point. I don't think Mr Levine assertion is that anyone or their mother has invented a lobster roll recipe ( and from that Serious Eat video with the Amateur Gourmet, Mrs Charles recipe is about as traditional as its gets) it is rather about stealing a whole business model. This is like McDowell's restaurant in "Coming to America" (you know the Eddie Murphy movie), don't you think McDonald's would sue this entrepreneur into oblivion? Same thing. This nothing short of industrial spying, and is not only morally shameful, its legality is iffy.
grubnoise at 10:02AM on 06/05/07
Yes, it's pretty cheesy to copy a former mentor or employer, but the fact is that it is still an hour-long wait to eat at Pearl's and Mary's. There is plenty of business to go around for everyone, just like there are plenty of Shanghai soup dumplings restaurants for people to pick and choose from. The better ones will always do well and stay in business.
girlwithsquid at 10:34AM on 06/05/07
Whoa, slow down there. McDonalds has the Big Mac, McDowells has the Big Mic, there's obviously big differences here. ;-) The ironic thing with using "Coming to America" as an example is that Paramount and Eddie were sued and lost to Art Buchwald because they stole the idea for the move from him.
mikenmolly at 10:41AM on 06/05/07
See, it's the long lines that you people seem to be forgetting. As I said, we all don't have food critic access to places (and I know how different that is than the rest of us plebes, being related to a retired long time food critic), so it's not like I can go saunter into Pearl, belly up to a table and get my lobster roll right away.
I'll take the "copy" -- if indeed it is one -- and 45 minutes more of my time for other things any day.
FKC at 11:21AM on 06/05/07
So what are you suggesting Mr. Levin? that Pearl Oyster Bar should be the only New England seafood shack allowed to do business in New York City? That's absurd! Would you write the same post insinuating that every brick oven pizzeria in the five boro's copied Lombardi's because they all have red checkered table clothes and serve antipasto appetizers?
I'll take this article with a grain of salt. Mr. Levin is clearly friends with Ms. Charles, and Ms. Charles is clearly bitter she have competition. Let the food do the talking, and leave pitty rivalries aside.
In the end, competition benefits us all. No longer does Pearl dominate this market, so expect better quality and service from all three establishments to keep customers coming back.
FultonFishMarket at 12:12PM on 06/05/07
Let's get something straight: Mary was not Rebecca's Sous Chef, nor was Rebecca Mary's employer or mentor. Mary did not learn any cooking techniques from Rebecca; Mary is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America (you've heard of it, right?). Mary and Rebecca were co-owners and co-chefs of Pearl Oyster Bar at it's inception. They opened it together - from the planning and researching to the menu creation stage. As for their respective lobster rolls: Mary uses 100% lobster meat; Rebecca mixes in rock shrimp (less lobster) to keep the cost lower. If you've eaten at Mary's, you'd know it's menu is nothing like Pearl's.
LillyBug at 12:50PM on 06/05/07
Until I can get one with just lobster and drawn butter, you all can keep arguing about who makes the best lobster salad on NE style hot dog buns. Let me know when an alumnus of Pearl's opens that place.
tmayson at 12:57PM on 06/05/07
tmayson, obviously not one to have sat at Mary's. Got that which you seek.
roll at 1:41PM on 06/05/07
Fascinating topic--wondered why no one had picked up on it. I hit Pearl regularly and liked both Rebecca and Mary tho' Pearl is a far superior restaurant. I think it's always been pretty clear that Rebecca was the driving force there and the cookbook makes it pretty clear whose recipes they were. Anyway...a new New York Eats any time soon, Ed?
snip212 at 2:49PM on 06/05/07
In SF and throughout the world, many chefs leave restaurants and open their own places... proving they can make it on their own and to showcase “their” unique style and flare … maybe taking one signature dish with them … but those copying most of the menu and even ambiance… just goes to show their lack of talent and creativity…
tom415 at 3:21PM on 06/05/07
Wow! This is clearly an emotionally charged issue to a lot of people on both sides of Pearl-Mary's Fishcamp divide. I want to make a couple of things clear. I really like the food at Mary's Fishcamp as I stated in the original post. I would really like the conversation to be centered on the general question of whether a cook or chef de cuisine or even a partner leaving a restaurant to open his or her own place should open a similar restaurant without leaving his or her imprimateur on the new spot. Mary has left her imprimateur. Maybe Ed McFarland over time will as well. The conclusion I am drawing from all this is cooks and chefs are going to do what they are going to do regardless of anything we say or do, and that eaters will frequent their places if the food there meets eaters' expectations.
Ed Levine at 5:23PM on 06/05/07
"Until I can get one with just lobster and drawn butter, you all can keep arguing about who makes the best lobster salad"
Well beleive it or not Black pearl makes them that way if you ask
which is what I do.
Thier regular roll is excellent as well which many NYer's wouldnt ike because it is just lobster with the barest hint of mayo and nothing else.
Not even salt or pepper!!!
chameleonz at 5:33PM on 06/05/07
I'm look'n, I'm look'n... but I ain't finding it! Am I that drunk? Goodfriggngrief... I was able to register successfully on your blog, but I can't find a link to forward this spot on article to other lobster roll love'n friends. What kinda blog is this, that it doesn't want the gospel spread??? You have a great site! Let us pass the word!!
goodfriggngrief at 12:11AM on 06/06/07
goodfriggingrief: If you've made it to the commenting page, you can just grab the link from the address bar of your browser. If you're on any other pages, the title of the post serves as the permalink. For your convenience: http://tinyurl.com/38rshv
Adam Kuban at 8:20AM on 06/06/07
I am a little confused. Did Rebecca Charles invent lobster rolls? I am pretty sure she didn't, since I have been enjoying them since long before 1997. Heck, the McLobster was around before that year. True, my family comes from New England, but anyone who has ever traveled to that region in the summertime has likely enjoyed a lobster roll and freshly fried belly clams.
I recently posted about lobster rolls on my blog as well. I didn't credit a chef of a trendy restaurant because not only have I never eaten there, but I didn't need to. This is the way my family taught me to make them, long before Pearl or Mary's or any other NYC fish place existed. It doesn't take a brain surgeon, or chef, to figure out that if you add lobster meat to mayo and celery you have lobster salad.
Maybe if I launch a movement to make jello molds trendy once again everyone will then have to credit me....
NYkittyNY at 11:14AM on 06/06/07
it's really about time someone called that guy out. i couldn't argee with you more Ed. The world sucks when people do stuff like this. The fact that he's been all over the press lately is just more proof how the PR machine and cash can buy you press. UGH!
I dig Rebecca Charles even more now and it gives me more reason to enjoy my time at Pearl. And as David Chang would say: "shut up and eat." (only not at the other Ed's place)
raykoh at 1:21PM on 06/06/07
NYKittyNY you, like many others on this post, are missing the very important point that Ed Levine was trying valiantly to make about protections not being in place for chefs. Had this been just about a lobster roll, there would be no issue. It is about a chef who 10 years ago created and entire business entity that was unique to this city and, in fact, the country. I grew up in New England and I can tell you, I never bought any lobster rolls or fried oysters anywhere that are like the ones at Pearl.
Pearl pioneered the upscale clam/lobster shack and THAT is the idea that has been ripped off over and again by chefs in NYC and in other cities. No one is copying the real clam shacks, whose only real draw is that you are on vacation and anything tastes good. (How else do you explain cotton candy and salt water taffy?) To compound matters, the chef has trained and paid 2 employees who were taught all of the trade secrets and recipes who then slunk off and stole the entire concept. This is the incredibly interesting point but it keeps getting lost.
In any other industry this would not be allowed to happen, why are there no protections for chefs? Also, there seems to be a pervasive attitude that there should not be as long as it is easier for you to get your lobster roll. Is it easier with 3 of the same lobster rolls in a 1-mile radius? Sure. Just as it would be cheaper for you to get a bootleg CD, DVD or book but that is not fair to the people who by dint of sacrifice, talent, innovation and hard work created whatever it is they have created.
These two cases Mr. Levine cites are particularly eggregious because they have copied everything from the look and feel of the restaurant, to the business model, to every recipe and probably have an unfair advantage of knowing where to get all of the goods and services. This is the issue and not who has the best lobster roll or the fact that Chef Charles did not invent the lobster roll, which I'm guessing she knows since she grew up in Maine, or something but she should not have to worry that every greedy, or dissatisfied cook who works for her can then go off, steal her concept and damage her business and reputation. Nor should any other chef.
tom415 at 1:42PM on 06/06/07
I don't think a non-compete clause would necessarily benefit the chefs or the public or the industry. Competition is good for everyone, especially if it is right next door. And chef owners understand this very well. Sometimes they open their own new shops which compete at some level with their existing biz. We all enjoy the benefits of competition - and chefs are some of the most competitive people I know. They aren't complaining - they love it. It's conquest, it's I can do better, I can innovate, I can stay on top. Plus, it's all buzz to them.......which is even better for everyone. Every time a new shack opens - it's more buzz back to the original. Some people just pick up the second or third shop as an extra to rotate.
It would be a very sad day if new owners had to explain to lawyers where their concepts came from to open up. The list of intangibles would never be closed......it would be impossible to open up anything......similarities of any kind would surely be suspect and cause conflict.........imagine the appeals?
Show me a chef/owner who doesn't want the challenge in their own backyard? You will not find one, they do not exist. That person is called an employee. ( or a critic)
Did someone mention salt-water taffy? I love it. And when I go to York, ME I want my taffy and then I want it again in Ogunquit and then I want it again in Wells, and then I want it again in Kennebunk.
selaura at 3:40PM on 06/06/07
oops...one other thing I wanted to add about the competition.....
it can make better workplaces.........sometimes I want to eat "from the same exact concept" - but I just happen to think the staff at one locale is friendlier and happier......and that makes my dining experience slightly different.......
it may look like it, taste like it and feel like it - but the mood may be completely different - and that is important to me, too......
selaura at 3:54PM on 06/06/07
Selaura, you do not get it. It is not about what is better or more convenient for YOU--I can not believe the obtuseness and short-sightedness of people who think, oh, hey, more places for me to get what I want.
It is about fairness and intellectual property. There is a reason that those country fair blue ribbon-winning ladies took their recipes to the grave!
And the chefs ARE complaining. I have read about Mario Batali and the other owners of Casa Mono complaining about that Top Chef kid who just used all of the dishes he learned working there to win top chef. I have heard Colicchio and several other people complain about the BLT guy who has ripped EVERYONE off. I have heard the Magnolia and Buttercup Bakery women complain (I think there is even a lawsuit against someone who worked for one of them) about being ripped off by everyone. Again, it is not that people are making cupcakes, which have been around forever. It is their homey atmosphere and recipes that they are knocking off.
Didn't anyone ever teach you in school not to copy or that stealing was wrong? This is stealingplain and simple.
tom415 at 4:27PM on 06/06/07
tom415: clearly you are a little delusional. So since you've been nice enough to bring up learning in school, I'll use some FACTS with citations to follow up some of your bogus claims.
First, you stated earlier that Ms. Redding was just an employee, however she was a partner and co-owner. Here's an article from the NY Times that contradicts your claim. (Unless you do not trust the paper of records?)
Again, you make uneducated claims that In any other industry this would not be allowed to happen. Again, not true. If your a lawyer at a lawfirm, you have every right to leave, open up your own practice next door, and practice the same exact law you were being trained and compensated to do at your previous firm. Better yet, how about Wall Street, arguably the most lucrative industry in New York. Stock brokers can leave their firm anytime they want, and bring there existing clients to another firm, or go at it independently. Don't believe me?
Finally, you make a point that I think everyone on this board will disagree with: Selaura, you do not get it. It is not about what is better or more convenient for YOU. Its always about whats better for the customer, in this case Selaura; that's why its named the hospitality industry. If restaurants stop thinking about whats best for the customers, then there is a huge disconnect.
Competition is the basic foundation off every industry out there. Maybe I'm alone, but I welcome Ed's and Mary's into the mix, because having two additional NE Lobster Shacks benefits the people, and I'm all for the people.
FultonFishMarket at 5:20PM on 06/06/07
Tom415 - Well, since you asked. Actually, when I was in school, they most certainly did not discourage copying or stealing from others - in fact - we sat at round shared tables - and were encouraged to work together to do our work and to share our answers with those who had no answers. In fact, we were often graded as a group for all of our projects. The only work we did alone were the standardized tests - where they proved that classes like ours - that encouraged team work - had higher individual test scores (even among the students with disabilities) - they deducted: the shared group thinking encouraged individual growth and perspective. Plus, it was just way more fun then being tied to a desk with "eyes on our own papers". All of our hippie teachers raised little captialist rebels with big ideas. Go figure.
This is not software code or image rights - and yet, I think you could look at plenty of examples where the cream of the crop in the software design industry also believe in open code..... shall we say, "Open Software Foundation" ? Linux?
Oh, back to the food biz ...... yeah, the new math.......did I mention risk? Another thing chef/owners understand - the risk associated with opening up a biz and putting their food ideas out there......and possibly improving them......and changing them as their customers and staff change.....and perhaps the risk of having their concepts used by others.
So, yeah, you can't convince me this is about theft or stealing. I do not believe that is so. I agree with FFM : this is business - it is all about me, the customer, and the marketplace. When my burger starts coming with a 5 minute message on copyright law......then I'm moving to China.
Let me guess, are you still driving a black Ford?
selaura at 6:53PM on 06/06/07
Can someone please open up a delicious lobster shack that gets this much attention in LA? Sounds fantastic!
foodette at 8:49PM on 06/06/07
Tom415 - correction: "It is about TWO chefs who 10 years ago created and entire business entity that was unique to this city and, in fact, the country."
LillyBug at 4:30PM on 06/12/07
Black Ford comment hysterical but despite an MBA from Wharton, I work in non-profit AIDS fundraising. Addressing the more germane comments above, law and finance firms have rigid “exit” guidelines and policies against poaching clients.
An employee takes their acquired experience to a new job, not steals someone else’s product. And chefs may enjoy a challenge but no one wants a former employee opening a copycat restaurant serving the exact same recipes and presentations in a space designed to look exactly like theirs.
I was a regular at Pearl from the earliest days, and liked both Rebecca and Mary. But Mary herself told me Pearl and its menu came from Rebecca’s love of Maine and that they met when Mary worked as her line cook at another restaurant. The chatty waitresses (I still visit them at MFC) talked frequently about a lawsuit over Pearl’s creation and ownership that Rebecca won very definitively. Mary was subsequently fired and if you can be fired, you are an employee.
As someone considering entering the restaurant fray, I guess I feel a vested interest in this topic. It seems that those in the business of exploiting talent will resist all safeguards while creative chefs will welcome them. Copying thwarts growth in all industries but particularly in artistic mediums. If Mary and Ed had had the courage to open their own restaurant concepts instead of knocking off a “sure thing” they might have made an original contribution to the culinary landscape.
tom415 at 12:10PM on 06/19/07
Tom415: let's clear up some "facts." Before opening Pearl WITH Rebecca, Mary was the Sous Chef at Bolo for Bobby Flay (you've heard of him, right?). As for the menu coming from Rebecca's love for Maine - it was actually the restaurant concept - not the entire menu. Some of the recipes on the menu were and are Mary's and Mary's alone, some were collaborations and some were Rebecca's - they were Co-Chef/Owners. As for the "chatty waitresses" at MFC, they have their facts wrong too. There was no law suit, and Rebecca won nothing. There were shareholder disagreements - as many corporations have. Rebecca bought out Mary's shares. Mary moved on - taking her recipes with her. MFC has a Florida fish camp vibe - nothing like Maine or New England - and has it's own, original menu.
LillyBug at 2:25PM on 06/19/07
Maybe the posters are the reason chefs “hate” blogs not the poor bloggers. In the interest of fairness I have fact-checked my information. Bolo finally got back to me and said that Mary was line cook to Neil somebody who was under Flay. NYS court records show that there was a lawsuit over the ownership of Pearl (its origins and menu) with a trial in front of a judge, which Rebecca won. MFC maintains it was a firing. Whatever, my conscience is clean. This was my first post ever on a food blog, the topic was so fascinating. I call dibs on the Lifetime movie.
tom415 at 5:11PM on 06/21/07
Tom415: Facts wrong, again. Bobby Flay was Executive Chef, Neil was Chef de Cuisine, Mary was Sous Chef. The lawsuit never went to trial before a judge. It went into mediation. Enough said.
LillyBug at 11:19AM on 06/27/07
Do either of you have a favorite sushi joint?
annien at 5:07PM on 06/27/07
Nobu Nextdoor
LillyBug at 9:51PM on 06/27/07
Gee, this is really great. The Lobster Roll as Intellectual Property. Just a matter of time until the legal community jumps on this ridiculous bandwagon .... now when I take the subway, the ads will read
"If you or someone you know has been involved in any kind of recipe or food related copy-cat activity, we are here to help you connect to a local attorney for FREE. Talk to a Personal Recipe-Theft Attorney Today! GET THE MONEY, AND STUPID PRESS COVERAGE, YOU DESERVE! Visit www.lobsterollcopycats.com today and get free legal advice" and then an endorsement from Charles herself.
Geeesh ... shut up for cryin out loud, I just want to eat in peace.
momsparlor at 7:43AM on 06/29/07
It is amazing how many people are commenting about this when A) they have not seen the complaint and B) they have no idea what the issues are. Inane gossip, speculation, and erroneous conclusions just muddy the waters. The complaint is online and Rebecca Charles is suing for trade dress, identity theft and breach of fiduciary responsibility.
She doesn't claim to have invented anything but HER OWN restaurant, which she is trying to protect.
She doesn't want to stop you from getting your cheaper, closer lobster roll, nor does she lay claim to inventing them, just HER OWN. (Pearl's roll is a completely different animal than the traditional New England shack roll, which is why it's the one everyone copies.)
She couldn't get more customers in the joint and if she were trying to make money, she would have opened several, which brings me to the next point.
It seems McFarland is partnered with businessmen (one a millionaire/political wannabee, according to google) who intend to open of these.
In NYC on biz this week I went to both places for lunch and dinner and ELB looks exactly like Pearl. This is not Ed Levine's bias, it's reality. The paint colors down to the green in the bathroom, gray wainscoting and the white painted brick wall are identical; as are the marble bar and side bar; the beer tap; bathroom furniture; pendant lights; window seat; chairs; floor stain; odd long cabinets behind the bar; glassware, plates, coffee mugs, and doilies; waiter's station; large mirror like Pearl's placed in the same way behind the bar; and the actual layout of the dining room. The placement of the pictures, "sconces," chalkboards, what is written on them and how, menu and wine list are all identical.
Almost every item on Ed's menu is something I have eaten at Pearl in the past or can get today and this includes the lunch menu which no one is mentioning. The presentation of the dishes is identical; the sides are the same, the tartar sauce, the mignonette, etc. The mussel dish and the bouillabaisse (not clam shack dishes) were exactly the same as was Pearl's pot pie. He even makes her blueberry crumble pie. The quality paled but the intent was clear.
I lived in SF for more than a decade, went to Swan all of the time and the restaurants are nothing alike. And anyone familiar with clam shacks knows that Pearl Oyster Bar is much more than that. Tie up all these ends at Ed's and you have AN ILLEGAL FRANCHISE. Right, which I understand is a bit of an esoteric, obsolete concept these days, and the law are on Rebcca's side.
tom415 at 9:39PM on 06/29/07
hmmm... just an observation .... competition is good but basice marketing is differentiation and as for chefs... CREATIVITY and signature dishes make them who they are... many chefs and employees leave restaurants to open their own places...but 99% do it to showcase their tatlents... duplicating restaurants is plan stealing and shows the Chef has no talent to stand on his/her own two feet ... I am for comptetion but make your own mark on the world...
snip212 at 10:14AM on 06/30/07