L.A. Times: Gladstone Sux; L.A: Duh
This review of Gladstone’s restaurant in the L.A. Times is pretty amusing:
Beware the Gladstone’s clambake, which the servers push hard. Intended for two, it includes steamed clams, a 1 1/2 -pound lobster, a pound of Alaskan king crab legs, steamed shrimp, corn on the cob and boiled red potatoes. The corn is desiccated. The lobster is fine, but the crab leg, with the same shape and texture as a dog chew toy, seems to suffer from freezer burn. The shrimp are as toxic-tasting as those on the tower. It’s terrible to gaze out to the ocean and imagine the volume of precious seafood being pulled out and ruined every day by this restaurant.
Good fun. And the headline is clever: “Taking the bait at Gladstone’s.” Heh.
But to residents of L.A., is any of this a revelation? At L.A. BizObserved, Marc Lacter says: “The place has been a dump for as long as I can remember, and yet it sells 500 pounds of shrimp and seats 1,500 to 3,000 people per day.” Kevin Roderick chimes in: “No surprise to lovers of good food and fair prices, who long ago gave up on Gladstone’s, but it still packs in unbelievable crowds.”
Well, no kidding. Nobody I know in Los Angeles expects the food at Gladstone’s to be good. Everyone goes because it’s a restaurant with an awesome view.
Next thing you’re going to tell me that the drinks at the Top of the Mark in San Francisco are expensive and watered down.
Ripping this restaurant in a review is amusing, but it’s a little like going on a date with the hottest girl in school, and then announcing to the guys that she doesn’t have that great a personality. How strange, then, that all the guys still want a date with her.
People aren’t going to Gladstone’s 4 the fish. They’re going 4 the view. The L.A. Times does know that, right?
This is hilarious, I can’t recall the last time I went to Gladstone’s but it had to be a couple of decades ago. It sucked then.
SPQR (26be8b) — 7/10/2008 @ 7:39 amLast time I was at Gladstones was for my middle school “graduation.”
There are much better restaurants with a view along the PCH so I’m still confused as to why Gladstones is so popular. For my money I’d rather go to Boa Steakhouse on Ocean Ave. in Santa Monica. The view is terrific from the front patio seating and the food is fantastic.
The surf & turf there is tremendous.
h2u (81b7bd) — 7/10/2008 @ 8:23 amI have not been to Gladstones in more than ten years. “Fool me once, etc.”
Bar Sinister (d92631) — 7/10/2008 @ 9:43 amThe last time I was in Gladstones was around 1983 — and it was overpriced with lousy food then.
WLS (68fd1f) — 7/10/2008 @ 1:42 pmThanks for another reason to be glad I don’t live in the land of fruits and nuts.
Gbear (58b08c) — 7/10/2008 @ 2:56 pmYou forgot “flakes”. California is Granola Land, no question.
Drumwaster (5ccf59) — 7/10/2008 @ 3:06 pmThey do both have amazing views.
Tlove (4a03a6) — 7/10/2008 @ 4:48 pmThere used to be a good restaurant in Santa Barbara harbor that had decent food and a good view.
SPQR (26be8b) — 7/10/2008 @ 7:45 pmThere are a lot of good restaurants in Malibu that also have amazing views, and they don’t get the traffic of Gladstones. You run a review like this for the same reason the Times film critic reviews a Brett Ratner film, or anything that has Zooey Daschenel or Kate Beckinsale in it.
Steve Smith (72a7af) — 7/10/2008 @ 11:31 pmName five.
Patterico (cb443b) — 7/10/2008 @ 11:34 pmIf you want good seafood, go to the St.-Jean-de-Luz in the Basque Country or a few miles south to San Sebastian.
Alta Bob (e43e07) — 7/11/2008 @ 6:45 am