EDITOR’S NOTE: The Tillamook County Pioneer is thrilled to introduce our new “restaurant review” team – The Ardent Gourmet(s) – Susan and David Greenberg. Here is their amazing bio and background, and we are sharing their recent review of local favorite The Schooner. Welcome Susan and David! We hope our readers will enjoy their knowledgeable, thoughtful and direct restaurant reviews. Please suggest other local restaurants for the Ardent Gourmet.
by David and Susan Greenberg
After five years in Hong Kong, our home base is now the Oregon Coast. I, David Greenberg, am the review writer (with thirteen published books to my name, speaker on the international lecture circuit). I am an experienced and knowledgeable specialist in cuisine.
My wife, Susan Andrew Greenberg (teacher, writer, photographer, and former marketing agency owner), is a discerning editor, wine-expert, and particular connoisseur of charming accommodations and zesty travel experiences.
We are fiercely committed to presenting our opinions honestly.
Our steering stars are food, not fashion, the real-deal, not razzle-dazzle. Our ratings have recently changed from a numerical scale to a three-pronged approach: Meh, Recommend, or Highly Recommend. Yearly, we publish a ‘Best Of’ column to crow about the very best of a given region.
FOR RESTAURANTS: In some cases, the service may be spotty and the decor dingy but the food is so terrific and the price so fair that we will highly recommend it. My oenophile wife, Susan, who is my dining and travel companion (and photographer and editor) values charm and ambiance far more than I. I’m influenced by her view but since I have an intensive culinary background, and am quite opinionated, it more reflects my views. We believe the quality of a restaurant’s food is vastly more important than any other factor.
FOR HOTELS: We’ve lived half our lives in hotels and are comprehensive in our evaluations. We are attuned to the tone of a hotel, the feel of pleasure walking into the lobby or pool area, cleanliness, graciousness of the staff, the quality of the room, the delightful extras provided, the sense of welcome and being-taken-care-of by a thoughtful and caring host with good taste, and value for dollar. Though I’m the main writer, Susan’s views predominate here. More so than I, she is attentive to little details, more knowledgeable about fine aesthetics and gradations of quality in this realm. She pronounces judgment on bathrooms with an especially discerning eye, not only aesthetically but in terms of usability. She’ll certainly notice outlet placement and lovely toiletries. She’s attuned to friendly smiles. She notices kindness, consideration, couch cushions, and mattress quality. Her nose is keen.
Our reviews speak our minds kindly but, above all, frankly. Though there are objective criteria, ultimately the ratings are made intuitively. They are necessarily subjective. We sincerely hope our reviews entertain and inform other travelers of the universe.