5 Questions with a Foodie: Piet Jones

"5 Questions with a Foodie" is our new column in which we chat with a local foodie. This time: Piet Jones, restaurant reviewer and food blogger.

About Piet Jones ...

After many, many years of working front of house in fine dining establishments in Portland, OR, Hilton Head Island, SC, and Atlanta, GA, I have settled here in Richmond with my wife and, after a stint with a local credit card company, now own two bookstores, The Book Room, here and in Charlottesville. Most of my spare time is consumed by our two small boys as well as eating and writing for Richmond Magazines as one of their regular restaurant critics.

Some of my older food writing can be found on my blog, readdrinkandbemerry.com.

How do you define the term foodie and do you consider yourself one?

Foodie is a difficult term. It works well inside my group of friends as a quick way to describe someone who shares our passion for good food and drink. Not as pretentious as epicure or as derogatory as glutton.

In the Industry, however, it is not viewed as favorably. Too often it can be applied to someone with unrealistic expectations of a restaurant either in food or service. Best to leave the term foodie at home.

If you could pick the best components of a few Richmond restaurants to create one super fabulous restaurant, what would they be?

With two young boys we don’t get out as often as we used to. As a result we try to get a little more out of our nights out by hitting a lot of different spots. Combining them all into one would be helpful.

I would take the bar and the din at Can-Can, the amazing product knowledge and genuine willingness to share said knowledge of Julia’s staff at Secco with the friendly and fun late night crowd at Balliceaux. Throw in the amazing entrees from Bouchon, the tasteful sensation of the small plates from Avalon (sweet breads and scallops and foie, oh my!) with a dash of the creativeness from Stronghill. To finish the meal, the peaceful quiet and expertly made cocktails from Mint (Julep’s after hours speakeasy).

How did you get into food and cooking?

Growing up we traveled quite a bit. At first it was summers in Denmark and visits to the UK then I moved with my family to Zaire (now the DR Congo) and spent most of the year either there or traveling extensively. Being a picky eater was out of the question. At times that was due to availability while at other times it was to avoid a diplomatic faux pas. One didn’t have to finish everything served to them, but you at least had to try each dish – fruit bat was sweet and very tasty, monkey was not so enjoyable…

When I returned to the States I started working in upscale dining establishments. Formal service requires extensive product knowledge. For me the easiest way to learn many of the dishes was to learn how to cook them myself. During slow evenings I would spend extra time in the kitchen asking questions about techniques and ingredients then try to use what I had learned at home. I wasn’t always successful in my recreations but it helped me answers diners questions.

All those experiences set me up to enjoy the whole food scene – from finding new and interesting restaurants to working at home and with friends to best use both common and unusual ingredients.

If I were to ask your significant other or best friend what your worst “foodie” trait is, what would they say?

She would say instantly it’s my intolerance of bad service. She can spot the look on my face even before she can identify what has gone wrong. I think service is undervalued in too many restaurants. You can have a bad meal but if the service is good enough you might consider going back. If, however, the service is abysmal you probably won’t go back regardless of the food.

Case in point would be a visit we just made to a brand new Carytown eatery. The server was uninterested in putting forth any effort, couldn’t be bothered sharing the specials and left so many empty plates on our table that when the entrees came he used my dinner plate to shove everything else out of the way. Some things can be forgiven if the restaurant is slammed but he was only in a hurry to get back to his nearby table so he could eat his dinner. The food was good, especially for the price, but the odds of us returning are very slim. The restaurant shall remain nameless but you do have to go up a lot of extra stairs to get there.

Describe your perfect meals for one full day.

Breakfast – Sunny-side up eggs, crispy bacon, hashbrowns scattered with caramelized onions and English muffins. Juice, lots of juice.

Lunch – A nice bourride with crusty bread – basically a fish broth with meaty white fish, shrimp, clams, mussels and a dollop of garlic aioli to thicken.

Dinner – Filet Mignon cooked Pittsburgh – nearly burned on the outside and almost raw on the inside. Difficult to do correctly, it’s amazing some of the failed attempts I’ve been served. With Potato Lyonnaise and asparagus (slightly crunchy, please). Grand Marnier Souffle to finish.

Last Meal Before Execution – Grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup.

Guilty Pleasure (or what I eat when no one is looking) – A tin of kippers, cream cheese and good crackers.