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Ed McFarland Holds a Press Conference: Life Goes On
"This fight is not about diners enjoying unfettered access to delectable lobster rolls and Caesar salads. It's about a violation of trust, resentment, and betrayal behind the counter and the stove at a couple of restaurants in New York."
Not to me it isn't. What if Rebecca wins, this changes everything. What if there was only one place in NYC where you could experience a "seafood shack".
Not fair, not right, I demand unfettered access to lobster rolls!
Their squabbles are nothing to me. Violation of trust? Should he have just stayed there the rest of his life, working for her?
Rebecca Charles is Mad as Hell and She's Not Going to Take It Anymore
I think I will never go to Pearl Oyster Bar again. I guess until POB opened there wasn't such a thing as a new england seafood shack otherwise some one would be suing her. She really needs to get over herself. Does she really think two more "lobster shacks" are going to hurt her bottom line? She gets plenty of business.
Brown Sugar: Just as Unhealthy as White Sugar
Are we talking about the brown sugar that is made of regular refined sugar mixed with molasses, or that unrefined "cane sugar"?
The nutritional value may be the same but how much energy does it take to refine sugar? I'll bet unrefined sugar is greener than white sugar. That's reason enough in my book. And everybody, let's stop buying those wasteful, planet ruining, plastic bottles of water.
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Recent Comments | Response to Comments
NYC's Burger of the Month Club (BOTM)
I would like to point out that people from New York might prefer "pub style" burgers because that is what we grew up eating. "Balanced burgers" or what I like to call "California drive-up style" weren't popular in New York until recently. They just don't appeal to me as much as a fat juicy burger and they always leave me hungry (but not hungry enough to eat another).
Ed McFarland Holds a Press Conference: Life Goes On
"This fight is not about diners enjoying unfettered access to delectable lobster rolls and Caesar salads. It's about a violation of trust, resentment, and betrayal behind the counter and the stove at a couple of restaurants in New York."
Not to me it isn't. What if Rebecca wins, this changes everything. What if there was only one place in NYC where you could experience a "seafood shack".
Not fair, not right, I demand unfettered access to lobster rolls!
Their squabbles are nothing to me. Violation of trust? Should he have just stayed there the rest of his life, working for her?
Rebecca Charles is Mad as Hell and She's Not Going to Take It Anymore
I think I will never go to Pearl Oyster Bar again. I guess until POB opened there wasn't such a thing as a new england seafood shack otherwise some one would be suing her. She really needs to get over herself. Does she really think two more "lobster shacks" are going to hurt her bottom line? She gets plenty of business.
Brown Sugar: Just as Unhealthy as White Sugar
Are we talking about the brown sugar that is made of regular refined sugar mixed with molasses, or that unrefined "cane sugar"?
The nutritional value may be the same but how much energy does it take to refine sugar? I'll bet unrefined sugar is greener than white sugar. That's reason enough in my book. And everybody, let's stop buying those wasteful, planet ruining, plastic bottles of water.
Further Proof that the Best Chinese Food in America Is in Southern California
Can someone name a place or two in L.A.? I would love to put this assertion to my own tastebuds when in L.A. later this year.
Introducing Serious Sandwiches
A cuban is not a cuban if it has proscuitto and gruyere. What you are describing is a great pork sandwich.
59 and a Half!
I wish I didn't know this: Kobayashi beat Joey Chestnut in a Krystal burger eating competion. What made it special was that Kobayashi had won the event last year eating maybe 65 burgers. When he beat Chestnut the next year he ate closer to 100. (beating chestnut by Iess than 10). The point being, Kobayashi eats enough to win. I will be interesting to see if he can amp up hot dog consumption by 33%. My money would still be, if I cared, on Kobayashi.
Is Imitation Always the Sincerest Form of Flattery?
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.
NYC's Burger of the Month Club (BOTM)
The hamburger and fries at Clancy's Irish Pub on Second Avenue is wonderful, thick and cooked to order. Every time I visit the city I go there and indulge. A huge, flavorful burger and a great price. My once a year treat!
NYC's Burger of the Month Club (BOTM)
What bugs me here is that there are all types of burgers lumped into one list. Personally I like to break them up into fast food, pub/restaurant, and specialty. I love shake shack but I wouldn't put it into the same list as Royale (my #1 pup/restaurant burger). It's just such a different experience (Shake Shack is my #1 fast food burger, white castle #2). The rule is simple, if you can't order it medium rare, it's fast food. And on the same note, if it's got ingredients that are atypical to a burger like guac, peanut butter or redwine sauce, it's gotta go on a different list too. (Piano's Red Wine burger #1 on my specialty burger list)
And as far as judging burgers with bacon and cheese, as long as these guys are always getting it exactly how they'd like it, then why not. I personally would never order a plain burger and judge like that because i need the cheese. In the same way, I'd never be able to judge a burger covered in ketchup because I don't like ketchup on my burger. So as long as you order it just the way you like it, the same way every time, then I'd consider it valid judging.
Further Proof that the Best Chinese Food in America Is in Southern California
Los Angeles has the best Chinese food. It's odd that at a time when New York is going through a chinese food rut, LA's going through a chinese food explosion, but it's pretty much the reality of the immigrant experience. The best chinese food is now in the ethnoburbs rather than in a city's Chinatowns. I've eaten in NY and SF chinatowns, but the suburbs in east LA was an absolute revelation.
Go to Din Tai Fung and Meilong Village for dumplings.
Is Imitation Always the Sincerest Form of Flattery?
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...
Is Imitation Always the Sincerest Form of Flattery?
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.
Ed McFarland Holds a Press Conference: Life Goes On
So why, can you tell me, why has this garnered three articles here when there is NO new information? Get on with it till there is actually something new to report!!!
Ed McFarland Holds a Press Conference: Life Goes On
Not to me it isn't. What if Rebecca wins, this changes everything. What if there was only one place in NYC where you could experience a "seafood shack".
Exactly. I think IP rights have been pushed too far already (a copyright term of life plus 75 years?), and a victory by POB could have serious consequences. Everyone steals from everyone else -- that's how ideas and art (and cuisine) evolve. Allowing someone to own the right to a restaurant concept could really stifle creativity and innovation.
Maybe McFarland violated her trust. Maybe he's a worldclass jerk. But IMO she crossed the line when she filed the lawsuit.
Is Imitation Always the Sincerest Form of Flattery?
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.
Rebecca Charles is Mad as Hell and She's Not Going to Take It Anymore
I don't know much about legal matters, so I believe others when they say this case has no legal merit, but I am confused by people who compare this situation to one where you have restaurants with similar concepts in different cities that are 100's or thousands of miles apart. These places are a mile apart and almost look they could be part of the same chain.
Rebecca Charles is Mad as Hell and She's Not Going to Take It Anymore
Did Gertrude Stein sue Ernest Hemingway for stealing her rhythm? Did Cezanne sue Picasso? Did the crack dealer on my corner sue the crack dealer across the street - oh wait, there was that gunfight. The Anxiety of Influence strikes the seafood sector - someone tell Harold Bloom.
Is Imitation Always the Sincerest Form of Flattery?
Do either of you have a favorite sushi joint?
Is Imitation Always the Sincerest Form of Flattery?
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.
Is Imitation Always the Sincerest Form of Flattery?
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.
Is Imitation Always the Sincerest Form of Flattery?
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.
Is Imitation Always the Sincerest Form of Flattery?
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.
Brown Sugar: Just as Unhealthy as White Sugar
piggie_foodie: I was surprised too. Slow day at NYT? :P
adrocks: Comparing the "green"-ness of different sugars/sweeteners may have been more interesting. I don't have much use for granulated sugar in my house, but god knows I eat craploads of things that use white sugar and I can't really help that (due to gluttony). Unless I stop eating those...delicious...pastries...
Is Imitation Always the Sincerest Form of Flattery?
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."
Further Proof that the Best Chinese Food in America Is in Southern California
Adrocks: The article is a fantastic reference, but a non-Shanghai winner in LA is Din Tai Fung. Here's a piece/love letter I wrote in its name.
Further Proof that the Best Chinese Food in America Is in Southern California
I ate at Ocean Star in Monterey Park a bunch and found it to be exceptional- especially if you like the gigantic banquet hall style of Dim Sum restaurant.
Is Imitation Always the Sincerest Form of Flattery?
Can someone please open up a delicious lobster shack that gets this much attention in LA? Sounds fantastic!
Is Imitation Always the Sincerest Form of Flattery?
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?
Is Imitation Always the Sincerest Form of Flattery?
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.
Is Imitation Always the Sincerest Form of Flattery?
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.
Is Imitation Always the Sincerest Form of Flattery?
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......
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I would like to point out that people from New York might prefer "pub style" burgers because that is what we grew up eating. "Balanced burgers" or what I like to call "California drive-up style" weren't popular in New York until recently. They just don't appeal to me as much as a fat juicy burger and they always leave me hungry (but not hungry enough to eat another).