So Dead

Oh well. Enough said.

I know it’s over – still I cling

I don’t know where else I can go….

I Know It’s Over

Johnny Marr; Steven Morrisey

The Queen is Dead, 1986

Well, she had a good run

The Holy City as a food town

We’re toast, cooked, over, doomed

From Carolina’s and Magnolia’s and SNOB and Garibaldi’s and Hominy Grill days of the late 80s and early 90s

To now not getting into any place without a Resy, Open Table, connection to the chef to get into anywhere

Tourists only

Bots only

Magnolia’s used to have a locals only line

Oh, if only such still existed

Swarms of bachelorette parties have now taken all the tables

E.g., out to supper a couple of weeks ago with another family. Behind us was a table of 10. One bride and her bachelorettes. They were popping champagne, swilling espresso martinis, and being incredibly loud. And they got louder and louder.

Well, “get off my lawn” here stood up, turned around and said, “Ladies, I know y’all are here for a good time, but some of us actually live here. Please quiet down”

My table was mortified

I don’t care anymore

Bad manners are o.k., as long as you’re from off

The scene is ruint

It’s horrible

I feel for the owners of the restaurants

They can’t keep open on the backs of tourists and locals are finished with it all

I have my name on a brass plaque on a bar at a local joint

Can’t get in there now

I’m listed as a VIP in some Resy lists for some places

Can’t get in those places, either

FIG? Good luck

Vern’s? You ain’t getting in

Chubby Fish? Better line up at 1 p.m.

$26.00 for a sandwich and a bottle of water at the Mercato on Broad Street

Reservations at Fast & French for the first time since they opened

“Local” produce arriving in the Sisco and US Foods trucks

Shrimp from aquaculture mercury ridden farms in Southeast Asia

No semblance of the culture that created this scene

Whither shrimp and hominy?

Whither red rice?

Whither fried oysters?

Whither shad roe in the spring?

Gone

Just like the food scene

“Top 10 Food Town”

No, we aren’t

When all locals stopped going to the Wine + Food, well, that tells you everything you need to know

When all locals just retreat to home cooking and their various clubs to go out, that tells you everything you need to know

Why bother to get in anywhere?

It’s not THAT good

Having been to New York twice in the last two months, I can confidently say that we pay more here than they do in Manhattan

Having been to Europe in the last year, I can confidently say that we pay WAY more here than they do cross the pond

I’m so over it

I’ll miss what we had

But, I’m sure that bachelorette crew from Atlanta will appreciate it in our stead