Travis Kukull wants Seattle food to be “creative and individualistic,” but diners want something more conventional.
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800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134
800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134
On the food, being adventurous for the sake of adventure isn't a good thing - finding anchors that lead guests into trying new things is where it's at. As a good chef-friend said - "Just because you CAN doesn't mean you SHOULD.
Sounds Lame. Everyone knows how to make a burger.
As for him leaving, I know nothing about the restaurant biz. But, it sounds like he left because his good wasn't selling. Despite "how good" I might have been. Maybe his partners said something along the lines of 'hey, we need to make a profit here. The only way to do that is to give the people what they want, etc'
Maybe it happened that way,maybe not.
The opposite of challenging does not have to be boring, although a lot of young chefs seem to think this is the case. I'm from Rhode Island, where we have tons of dishes that are unique to the state and can't be found in any other part of the country. But if you were to describe them to people, they would still be able to picture what the dish might resemble or taste like.
A repeated comment by reviewers was that the restaurant was doing the "since we legally have to raise the minimum wage, we now include a mandatory 20% tip" explanation on their menu. There have been numerous articles about customers at other restaurants who objected to this for a variety of reasons.
Another frequent comment was that the website was not transparent about various things (that the menu was seasonal and/or fluctuating but this was not clear, the 20% tip, etc.)
Another regular topic was that the titles of the items (fairly generic titles like fish & chips) created an expectation of a 'generic' dish.
To me, these are all valid pieces of feedback, and if the chef or other people choose to believe that the biggest problem was that people don't like or want unusual food, I'd consider that a defensive response to criticism which could've been used to improve both profits and the diner's experience.