To the editor:
We were pleased to read the title [“Healthy
grains,” July 29, 2006] and see a photograph of our food
in The Brooklyn Paper’s review of our Fort Greene restaurant,
RICE. I’ve heard that “bad press is better than no press,”
[but] I’m not sure that I agree in restaurant reviews.
Having been an observer and customer of New York City restaurants
for 30 years and in the food industry for most of that time, I have
noticed that a negative restaurant review is mostly painful to the
restaurant owner and in your case, [critic] Tina [Barry], eating
at RICE was also a painful professional experience, and I apologize
for that.
As you can imagine, we strive to make everyone happy, so to hear
we failed is disappointing. RICE is actually a very unusual restaurant
with a great deal of thought and consideration that have built its
longevity. The oldest of our four locations is now 10 years old
… and the last, which you visited, is a youngster at less than
a year.
I created RICE for selfish reasons: I lived near Chinatown, which
had lots of food options for delivery but all had their shortcomings
… My response … was to create a place that would address
these and create a deliverable menu with a single ingredient theme
that was global and healthy. I love to eat all different Asian or
Hispanic foods that include different rices, but I often want a
mixed-up meal with a Thai salad to begin (sticky rice), an Indian
chicken curry (basmati rice), a couple of spicy jerk chicken wings
(rice and peas), a green salad with avocado, a piece of Malaysian
jerky, [and] a fresh juice and sorbet for dessert. I also would
want this at midnight when my work calmed down.
RICE began as a humble take-out joint on Mott Street … [and
it] grew in DUMBO, then in Murray Hill, and most recently, in Fort
Greene. Through our longevity, but mostly through our consistency,
we have had very loyal customers of all ages or ethnicities. Our
regular customers think of us as a canteen where they might eat
several times a week — or might ask us to receive packages
for them.
Our menu has — for the most part — been guided by our
customers … Initially I wanted people to like “my”
recipes, but people reminded me that they all have different palates
and that to please the majority (the masses was my vision since
I was serving the world’s most eaten ingredient), I would have
to compromise on some flavors. I resolved this by having items that
had more spice, and some with less, so that people could add to
their taste.
RICE’s menu spans the globe and has dishes to match many palates.
All recipes are my adaptations of classics. We use the same ingredients
(mostly), but use the freshest ingredients with very little oil,
salt, no flavor enhancers (MSG) or animal fat (lard). In the last
few years, we have become popular with celiacs, who are always in
search of restaurants that cater to their diets. Upon request, we
offer a version of our menu that includes no gluten or wheat products.
One of our goals is to be able to feed everyone something that matches
their appetite. A lofty, perhaps unrealistic, goal, but it is generated
in reaction to fast food establishments that have illustrated deep
cynicism in trying to feed the masses. My vision is to make a kind
of fast food that addresses the failings of the last generation
of “fast food” enterprises.
Tina, if our staff person had been more attentive, you would have
known that the corn soup was a vegan dish that has only two ingredients.
Both should be fresh, rather than forlorn, and the soup would not
qualify as ethnic (spicy). It would be more of a local seasonal
reflection of Long Island corn and fresh dill from the farmer’s
market.
I would suggest you try our Mexican chicken soup. It has seven ingredients
and has more flavor; it would not qualify as spicy but delicious.
(You must squeeze the lime into the soup —it is an ingredient
— and you can add spice offered on the table.) All our soups,
which change seasonally, are vegan, except for the year-round Mexican
chicken soup.
We are very aware of flavors, and with proper communication on our
part, you could be guided through a meal that would please your
palate.
The Indian chicken curry that you had was lacking cream. (This would
sadden my mother from whom I stole the recipe.) Someone in the kitchen
made a mistake. For that, I apologize.
Piquillos are not to be eaten with chopsticks; a fork should have
been brought to you. I’m glad you enjoyed the tea-smoked salmon
and the ice cream cookies, which are made with Ciao Bella gelato.
RICE has been a part of many projects … As of last month, we are
“donating” all of our compostable waste to Added Value,
which operates a productive and educational farm in Red Hook.
RICE is trying to set an example in another part of the world of
reusable waste: Our delivery van, which operates 16 to 20 hours
a day, is now fueled by our waste vegetable oil. That means we pollute
much less, and we do not buy gasoline.
In summation, I am grateful for the time that you spent writing
your thoughts on RICE. I would suggest that for some, a single RICE
experience might not suffice to navigate our menu or to experience
the breadth of customers who support us daily. —
— David Selig, co-owner of RICE restaurants
