Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Here's the problem guys. Speed and quality. You can give people a slice held over 140 and it would taste like carboard. You could give someone a slice out of a refrigerator (under 41) and it would take a few minutes to heat up. I understand the items that are dangerous...especially those that the Dept of Health Focus on (chicken, pork, etc.) But here is my problem: I used to work in 3 and 4 star restaurants in NY and we used to have to sell or cheese board at room temperature because that's where cheese tastes best. Why is that ok? I passed the same exact test they did. They know and I know that those cheeses are "dangerous" according to the dept of health yet DEMAND that they be served at that temperature. Most meat is served rare (130) to MR (140) which puts it at the high end of that limit but definitely within it. Crudos and tartars are absolute violations. The inspectors allow them leeway because they are high end restaurants. There has to be equity in it. If you want to judge each place individually, that, I think is fair. But to say this is a rule and its absolute and then not apply it to everyone.....thats just not right. The market sets the standard. If people get sick on your food I guarantee they wont come back. Thats why high end restaurants are left alone. People go there and they feel they know better and NEVER change items in those places. Could I have the beef tartar, but cook it to 140 because I'm worried about food borne illness? Sorry. Thanks for playing. Just be fair. Test the food how its served not how its stored. Thats whats fair. But thats not the law. And the reason I E-Mailed Adam was to try to find a way to comply and not sacrifice quality. I was looking for advice from someone I respected and followed. What I got was a forum on God know's what tangent people wanted to talk about. I know how to comply, I just don't want to sacrfice quality to get there. I'm still looking for that advice.....

And as for Big B coming on here and going on Eater I've got news for you. I've been to Artichoke. I like them. They're nice guys and the pizza is decent. Don't compare the two. You look foolish. And I've seen their kitchen. It's not clean. I would love a fair contest with them. Anytime. Absolutely. We don't serve the same kind of pizza. Stop making a comparison. It doesn't make sense and you just look like a schill. And, to my knowledge, we've never been in the NY Times but if you have the article and could send it to me that would be great. :D

@petes: You could actually understand that?

Serious Eaters are serious! Who'd have thunk it?

Also, your yellow background is far too cutesy. Please change it to a much more Serious color like grey or beige.

NO FUN ALLOWED IN THE SERIOUS HUT.

No flash, certainly not. The distraction level is high. I've heard that someone prone to epileptic seizures may be affected by the flash output. Same with migraine sufferers...

For food photography, I think it depends on what you're doing. Casual, "hey look at this" pictures can be done on my iPhone. With the 3GS, it's probably easier.

For more serious stuff, I break out the DSLR. High ISO when needed, and a fast lens. Since I'm so close to the food, I'll use a 50mm. If the restaurant is lit with ambient in the daytime, I'll use a lower ISO. I keep a little pocket tripod with me, so I can attach it to the camera and rest it on the table.

Lastly, modern cameras have lots of megapixels and good low light sensitivity. Scaling down a shot at, say, 1/25 second at ISO 800 with some noise to 400 pixels wide should be suitable for a blog post...
Scott

I would not dare to use a flash in a restaurant. If I get the choice, I try to get a table with decent lighting and do my best to take pictures as quickly as possible.

I rarely take pictures of dishes other than my own at a restaurant, so that I don't hold up diners on my table eating, but still try to get it over with as quickly as possible, as I do feel rude if I'm still snapping away trying to get the perfect pic.

If it isn't working though and I can't get the shot, I just leave it. I hate it when my food goes cold!

I can't believe some people are commenting that food photos shouldn't be taken at all - where do you think the pics are coming from on the food blogs you read?!

Whoa, I had no idea lights bothered so many people. I don't have a food blog, but I love looking at a picture of a meal I've had at a restaurant because it just doesn't happen much! I usually just take a quick one of my own plate, and put the camera away. My son took pictures of his meals when he was in Europe, so when I went to Buenos Aires for a trip of a lifetime, I had to do the same, and it was great fun! Where else can you take a pure 'Dulce de Leche' picture and drool later?
I'll certainly work on that 'non-flash' vs 'flash' aspect, though...
As far as 'getting over myself'? I've never thought of people taking a picture of their meal as singularly arrogant! Maybe if the chef came out and took a picture of one eating said creation....lol
Cindy H
Warm Bread?

I'm surprised by the handful of commenters who still insist on using flash for their photography. Especially the person who said it makes it better for greasy food. Wouldn't that just come out worse as a glossy glean of white? Flash is one of my biggest pet peeves about food photography because it just gives the rest of polite food photographers a bad rap.

With my point and shoot, I've alternated between digital macro and auto shots for close and entire plate shots. If anyone is using flash for the reason of getting blurry photos, realize that you're at a table. Glue your elbows, or your forearms to the side of the table for your tripod and get more practice in. Most point and shoots are already equipped for higher ISO sensitivities and (if you dare fiddle) exposure settings and mine is 3 years old!

@Truff- on behalf of the rest of us...please don't take pictures of your poop. Or if you must, please don't post them on the internet.

I don't thinks it impolite at all so long as you dont use flash and keep it relatively quick, then it doesnt disturb anyone. I also think the fact you want to take pictures of a restaurants food shows admiration and respect for the food the chef produces.

what? people take pictures of food? get outta here...

Fry the squid. A cantonese idiom for getting fired.

If you like these, check out Chocolate and Zucchini. Clotilde has been writing a bunch of French edible idioms. Here is the archive. I love some of the things that would never make it through a translation...