La Farine has the table!

Re: Review for La Farine in Oakland.

Michael, if you are listening, I almost bumped into you at La Farine!!! (Kidding...) I was home for Christmas and did my usual run for a morning bun on January 2nd (2008) and the table is there!

I wonder, did they move it to accommodate extra holiday baked goods? I have never been there since they started without the table being there.

p.s. Just asked around and it is supposedly still there!

Although I don't seek them out specifically, I have always really enjoyed sitting at communal tables. I have been to Pasqual's in Santa Fe three times and have ended up at the communal table everytime. And we have always met interesting, nice people.

Update with more info:

Some important information re: La Farine, Oakland CA.

While I would normally guess Michael does his background work, a couple of issues with the review:

1. He says "There is one and only one La Farine" in a photo caption, as if they have only one location, but there are three locations (there have been two for several years but one is pretty new). Oddly their own website is out of date on this! The locations are:

* La Farine
1820 Solano Ave, Berkeley, CA 94707
* La Farine
3411 Fruitvale Ave Oakland, CA 94602
* La Farine
6323 College Ave Oakland CA [original]

2. About the communal table - I guess he didn't ask, because it must have been very temporary... it was there when I was home in December and still there on my last visit on January 2nd (as I said above) and a friend visited January 10th and it is still there. I think it's a little bit unfair to La Farine, who are known for their table, to say it is missing, though it really isn't.

I'm so sad that the review says Michael was driving around "looking for Roadfood". He hasn't reviewed Top Dog or Fenton's that I know of - two TOP roadfood destinations in the immediate area.

Ceci, nice job in taking the master to task! And I hope all my RF friends will continue to call me out when I don't have my facts straight. This is one of my biggest challenges in reviewing: doing my homework. How do you act like you're a local when you're 1,000s of miles from home? How do you write like you're the ultimate expert on the food in front of you? How do you NOT stick out in a place where you're taking pictures of every dish on the table?

It's tough, but I've gotten tougher since I started reviewing. I understand that my hard-fought money shot of Buffetbuster's meatloaf sandwich, no matter how clear it looks on my little digital camera viewscreen, may come out blurry once on the site. And I know for certain if I get a fact wrong in a review, someone on this site will correct me. Because I'd do the same thing!

And I swear to you that Top Dog is mine the next time I'm in Berkeley, unless someone beats me to it! Chris

Thanks Chris!

Now how do I talk some folks into hitting Fenton's Creamery??
[I forgot my camera last time...]

You already have.

Ceci, ask and ye shall receive: Fenton's is up today. Looking through an old newsletter, Michael does state: "we could live 100 more lifetimes before making a dent in the places about which Roadfood.com folk are excited." I agree. He must get slammed with potential RF requests from all kinds of people. Amy & I always get requests from various people, we eat there, and decide we wouldn't waste time reviewing it because the food was not as good as other RF places. (Then, the people who gave us the suggestions don't understand!) Man, just around here, there are three drive-ins for burgers, and not one of them is RF worthy IMHO -- well, at least not worth my time. I've got too many great ones on my review list as it is!

Too much RF , too little time, Chris

Wow. That was SERVICE! :) Thanks Michael...

Chris, I didn't actually mean to try to get Michael there, realistically I know he can't hit all the places we all would like him to.

Right, that's why he has all his Cheeseburgers, Doubles, Double Chilis, and Filets out and about, spreading the RF love...Chris