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!!
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...
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.
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.
Do either of you have a favorite sushi joint?
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.
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: 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.
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 - 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."
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