Will Gordon's Profile | Serious Eats

Chain Reaction: We Try the New Chicken Waffle Tenders From Popeyes

Hi guys! I really miss you too. I work for Deadspin now and I got some other stuff lined up (if I don't mess it up), thanks for asking/caring. You guys were great to me, I will always love the SE commenting community (the Deadspin commenters are soooo mean, but whatever, they pay the bills, I roll with it).

Also: I had the pleasure of meeting Lee yesterday. He works at an awesome beer shop near my house (Craft Beer Cellar in Belmont, MA). He's a great guy, knows more about beer than I could ever hope to, and he writes about fast food for Serious Eats now. Because I don't, and haven't for a long time. Lee's the new sheriff in this town, and I think he's off to a great start.

Will Gordon

Oh for fuck's sake, Serious Eats, now I have to re-re-re-respond, as it's been pointed out to me that some selective comment-deletion in this thread has altered the context of my comment last night. I said some nice things about the Drinks editor to counteract some not-nice things another poster said about the Drinks editor (presumably said on my behalf). I did this because I'm a prince of a fellow and didn't want to see said Drinks editor--who I do not particularly care for, but who is not evil or lacking in merit--dragged through the mud. But due to the aforementioned selective editing on this thread, now all we have are me and Ed calling the Drinks editor just a fantastic bundle of fantasticness. Well no, I didn't mean to contribute to that self-congratulatory Serious Eats circle jerk about how wonderful all the editors are. That was a dirty trick, Serious Eats.

I lack both the cowardice and the good sense to avoid any debate with anybody, and I have nothing to hide and nothing invested in this place (you'd be shocked to learn that a man can live a happy and rewarding life w/o SE's blessing), BUT: can we please just but this crap and stop talking about each other? You're boring me, Serious Eats.

Will Gordon

Someone forwarded me this one after Ed's comment, so here I am with my half-a-cent. Not everyone fits in everywhere. Me and Ed are A) two good dudes who got along great till we ultimately just disagreed about how things should go around here. Well, Ed owns the site. We had a couple tense days of phone calls but I never once forgot that he's in charge. I don't care for his "reasons I am not comfortable going into here" phrasing, because I feel it passive-aggressively casts aspersions and hints at some dark fault of mine*, but fuck it: I still think Ed's a good guy and SE as a whole is whatever it is to you, the reader: It's completely transparent. The articles are what they are. Read them, don't read them, I don't know. I don't read it much anymore, partly due to PTSD and partly because it's just not my cup of tea. So what? We all have different cups of tea. I don't get along with Maggie, the drinks editor. HOWEVER, she's good at her job. She works hard, she came up with a lot of good ideas that you guys gave me credit for. I felt she didn't pay/respect me enough, she felt I didn't work hard enough or return her emails fast enough. I dunno, who cares who's right? Life goes on. My role in this party is over, but, you know, viva la rest of the party.

As for the Get Drunk Watching column: Look, I don't watch those shows, I don't play those games. But I think it's a really funny column and more important, it's written by the friend who introduced me to my wife. READ IT.

Only One Beer For Life: What Would You Pick?

Cisco Whale's Tale pale ale, I think. Fits whatever you need it to fit.

Let's Get Drunk Watching: The Bachelor

@Abbey anf @fritesandfries: Agreed.

So long Bottom Shelf Will

Thanks, guys. I enjoyed meeting all of you through the years. I never really felt like I fit in around here from a strictly editorial perspective*, but I did enjoy connecting with the readers.

*No slight to SE, no slight to me, just an apples and oranges scenario. Even when I disagreed with it, I never lost sight of the fact that the SE formula undoubtedly works ... just not for me. The Bottom Shelf will soon reappear in a more appropriate venue, and I'll be sure to insist that you all read it when it does. Farewell and keep in touch!

Where (oh where) has my fake BFF Will Gordon gone?

Yeah I just quit or got fired or whatever. Fundamental disagreement about what I'm worth. I might be wrong. They're cool, no hard feelings. Sometimes you just gotta do your thing, take your chances. See you all on the other side!

Where (oh where) has my fake BFF Will Gordon gone?

All good theories, all true.

In Our Community Corner: Meet Kimberly Pope (aka: 'PoorOldMama')

Hi, Poor Old Mama! Nice to meet you.

Maker's Marketing: How Bourbon Came Back Into Style

I agree.

Let's Get Drunk Watching: Super Bowl XLVII

First off, fuck you for getting a Robyn blob drawing on your second post. I've been angling for one for 3 years. Second off, I love the "Super Bowl drinking game is the Super Bowl of drinking game" lines.

Drinking with Will Gordon: New Budweiser Black Crown Is a Success (Of Sorts)

@dazeofhaven: Yup, Jim-Bob and I engineered a trade of Old Style (which I can't get in Mass.) for 'Gansett (which he can't get in Ill.). I'm thinking about trying to launch a regional beer exchange program where I send a sixer of 'Gansett to anyone who will send me his/her city's signature old-man brew, then comparing them in a Bottom Shelf post. If fact, consider the program launched. Non-New Englanders, send me your cheap beers!

Drinking with Will Gordon: New Budweiser Black Crown Is a Success (Of Sorts)

@Jim-Bob: Sam Adams pumps out seasonal mix packs so relentlessly that they have to make room for the Spring Thaw mix (I got a sample last week--the only one I've tried is pretty good). But enough of that--how's your Gansett???

Drinking with Will Gordon: New Budweiser Black Crown Is a Success (Of Sorts)

@Lorenzo: This isn't half as flavorful as Sam Adams lager. I tasted it next to Killian's and Brooklyn Lager, trying to find a mainstream, nationally available point of stylistic comparison. I didn't bother mentioning the results in the article because my comparison was way off-base. Killian's is a shittiness unto itself and Brooklyn (like Sam Adams) has a much more ambitious, and better, flavor profile. My editor, Maggie, recommended Yeungling, but I can't get it in Massachusetts.

Drinking with Will Gordon: New Budweiser Black Crown Is a Success (Of Sorts)

@Rabanour: My hunch is that it's intentionally priced market by market to be a couple bucks less than the good local stuff. A good local sixer costs at least $10 in Boston, so AB figures they can get away with charging $8. If my theory's correct, it'll be $6 in your hood.

Drinking the Bottom Shelf: Is $10 Exclusiv Vodka As Good as Grey Goose?

@spicedham: Great name, by the way. I don't drink much vodka but I'm going to start doing more head-to-head comparison posts and when it's time for vodka I'll have to solicit suggestions. Tito's versus something? As for the $10 category, I imagine Exlusiv is among the best. I've had loads of shitty vodka in my day, and this is better than most that I remember.
@Willy: I've heard that works pretty well. I think Kenji might have tested it before? It seems so easy that if you drink a decent amount of vodka it makes total sense.

Where to Drink in the West Village: 10 Great Cocktails

I like that you address the problem of too St. Germaininess. I like the stuff, but I'm tired of drinks that taste too much like their 3rd-leading ingredient, and St. Germaine is a major offender.

Will Gordon's Whiskey Battle: Bulleit Rye vs. Rittenhouse Rye

@Phunnyfarm: I was just thinking the same thing! Another reason it's gratifying to write about quality products that people actually enjoy drinking and discussing (a distant second to the primary reason: expense-account rye).
@Bandol: I'm tempted to buy Whistlepig myself, but a bottle's about $75 here in Boston, where it seems booze costs far more than it does most civilized places. I need to try it in a bar first I guess.
@prixdc: Bulleit Rye's actually 90 proof but I agree that it lacks Rittenhouse's punch.
@MagicOatmealCookies: That's basically my theory as well. Rittenhouse seems a bit better suited to just sitting there and doing what it's supposed to, whereas Bulleit, though excellent, is a little more scattered and produces a drink that makes you say, "This is great, but it's not really what I had in mind."
@rabanour: Man you know a lot about whiskey for a young buck. I've seen Redemption and I'll try it based on your word.
@redfish: My ninja skills are very rusty, so thank goodness I don't pay enough attention to get aggressive with anyone. Twice a month a too-wasted kid won't want to leave so you'll have to kinda shove him toward the door to make your point, but it's very mild; I don't think I've ever been swung at, just grabbed a little and threatened and gestured at, which, who cares.

Guy Fieri's S'mores Indoors Pizza Is an Abomination

@monopod: I do intend to try some of Guy's more reasonable-sounding frozen food. I figure there's nothing preventing him from slapping his name on a serviceable frozen lasagna or whatever, you know?

Worst of the Bottom Shelf 2012: Cheap Booze To Avoid

@SmokedMeat: You're right, I need to try that soon.
@Ravenous! Thanks for reading! I had some unkind things to say about Genny a couple years ago: http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2011/04/drinking-the-bottom-shelf-american-regional-beer-genny-cream-ale-genesee-naragansett-pigs-eye-pilsner.html

Bottom Shelf Resolutions for 2013

@TeacherTalk: Thank you, and let me say I heartily endorse both of those plans.
@Jim-Bob: Let's trade! I can offer a sixer of any Massachusetts thing you'd like; I think the nearest thing to Old Style would be Narragansett, unless you can get that in the midwest now too. Wanna email me? My address can be found by clicking my name (we've talked before I think but I can't find it).
@Hungry Dan: I'm with you, man. My personal-life drinking resolution is to focus much more on quality than quantity this year, sticking mostly to the local guys, or at least starting there and then branching out. Happy new year!

What will YOU be cooking on Christmas Eve?

We're trying to come up with something that could be kinda special or tradition-able. So far I'm leaning toward lasagna, because i've never made it and it seems hard to totally f-up, even after a long afternoon of indulging in Tupper's meal. But also hard to think of ways to make it fancy or memorable, you know? Lakeloverhh and POM seem to have some good style on this one.

Book Review: Drink & Tell, A Boston Cocktail Book

How did I not know about this book? Good work, Dietsch. I'm very narrowly travelled and therefore under-qualified to rank cocktail scenes city by city, but I will say that Boston has more and better "good drink" bars than one might guess.

Does the McRib Still Matter?

@thingstea: Will do! That sandwich has a funny name, right? Like a something skinny, maybe? I need to try it.
@A Serial Cereal Eater: I don't recall trying any frozen ones, but in last year's version of this post I compared the McRib to the 7-Eleven rib-shaped-pork-thing sandwich. The Mc was far superior.
@Adam: Yeah, I'm with you. I just get so many people forwarding me McRib info that I know there's still some kind of interest out there.

Drinking the Bottom Shelf: Mike's Winter Grab Bag

@jim-bob: You're hired.
@redfish: True, far superior flavor diversity.
@ratbuddy: Take that back, man. You can skip anything you want for any reason you want, but trust that Mike's did not pay me to talk about myself for 10 paragraphs and then faintly praise their alcopop for 3. They sent me $8 worth of malt liquor, which means nothing to me since SE pays my expenses, and which I acknowledged because I take this shit very seriously.