Rubbing some salt in the wound

By Phil Stanford

The Portland Tribune, Oct 18, 2005, Updated Oct 30, 2009

In case you missed it, there’s a nasty food fight going on over at Willamette Week.

It all started a couple of weeks ago when Jim Dixon, one of the weekly’s regular food writers, visited Castagna, the acclaimed and Ñ if I do say so myself, pricey Ñ restaurant on Hawthorne, and discovered to his great displeasure that they didn’t use enough salt.

Ordinarily, wrote Dixon, a rack of lamb is one of his faves. “A well-roasted rack compels me to pick up each little chop, dispatch the tiny medallion with a couple of quick bites, and gnaw the crisp bits of fat and darkened seasoning off the bone. The lamb at Castagna did not have that effect.”

Worse yet, when he ordered the cafe’s $11 burger, he had to ask for extra salt.

You can imagine his chagrin.

• • •

Well, this week in the letters-to-the-editor section, the owners of Castagna shot back, complaining that Dixon’s review was based on a sampling of very few dishes, with no mention of service, wine list or dessert.

More to the point, as the restaurant’s owners noted: “His entire review was based on what was perceived as a lack of salt.”

“Also” Ñ and this is where things really get interesting Ñ “in the interests of full disclosure, please let your readers know that your reviewer imports and sells sea salt.”

In the same issue, Willie Week’s arts and culture editor Kelly Clarke responded, saying that while she stood behind Dixon’s “salty review,” perhaps she “should have made note of his business connections.”

Dixon, she went on to explain, “imports extra-virgin olive oils from Italy and a hand-harvested sea salt called flor de sal from Portugal when he’s not at his day job as an engineering technical writer and editor.

“In order to avoid any conflicts of interest, Dixon does not sell salt or olive oil to restaurants he reviews for WW.”

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