Finally, The Knife has something to say

Hi, all. I'm taking The Knife private, meaning the blog will continue but no longer as part of Variety.com*. Here's why.

* No need to reset your dials; the blog will stay on the same platform with the same URLs, only with some redirects. And I want to give the place a nice makeover, maybe a new layout...

The Knife began with a tagline: Because everyone eats lunch in this town again. And, like so much of the internet, it was just glib and snarky enough (glibarky? snib?) to hoist me by my own petard. It suggests a blog obsessed with where Hollywood eats, why they eat there, if they're no longer eating there, how they got the reservation, etc. However, I was a food person first and Hollywood's not a food person's town.

Before anyone gets stroppy with emails about the glory of our farmers' markets and how Michael Cimarusti just won Iron Chef, let me clarify: Los Angeles kicks culinary ass on many levels and gives me plenty to write about. Hollywood, on the other hand, invented multiple breakfast meetings in which each two-top face-off is a silent competition to see who can order the least. (Dry toast trumps fruit plate.) Many of the restaurants that make the industry run are for people to be seen eating expensive salad, or for not eating much at all.

As a film reporter, I spent a lot of time at Hugo's/Kate Mantalini/Beverly Wilshire/Orso/The Farm. On my own time/dime, those aren't necessarily the places I want to write about. And even when I do (I like Orso's pizza, not to mention their braised cabbage with Parmesan), I don't always want to write about them from an industry POV because, really, that means writing about a lot of grilled chicken palliards on a bed of arugula, vinaigrette on the side.

So why not write about the cabbage and Parmesan at www.variety.com/theknife? Because, as the editor of Variety.com, I can make a case for chicken-and-arugula sharing space with articles dedicated to SAG or Harvey Weinstein. When I try to do the same for the cabbage-and-Parmesan, my head explodes. The result is a blog that feels a little schizophrenic -- and a blogger who feels a lot guilty for not posting more often.

Here's to posting a lot more often. I appreciate everyone who reads The Knife and I look forward to giving you more reasons to do so.

Comments

[Nick]

Dana, I think this is a great idea and I can't wait to hear more of your culinary thoughts on a regular basis.

[teenage glutster]

viva la resistance!

[matt k.]

cheers for keepin' it real. I TOTALLY agree with you. I can't tell you how many times I've eaten with coworkers here in Beverly Hills and feel terrible for ordering the pastrami sandwich or patty melt. damn it, let me eat what I want! And salads are NOT supposed to be eaten with regularity, they are not part of a balanced diet! (we all need protein and fat!)

Been reading your blog for a long time now and it is done very well. Keep it up!