...and they are both being awfully good sports.

This week, David Schmader wrote about Madison Valley vegetarian standby Cafe Flora, finding the dining-room renovation a little heavy-handed ("cluttered and goofy, like the set of a farm-themed children's television show") and the food and service not quite consistently top-notch. Cafe Flora responds:

I wanted to send you over a quick thank-you for your review today. It has been 9 years since Cafe Flora has been reviewed and we are pleased the Stranger revisited us. While it would have been ideal to have had everything be a stunning success- we want you to know we are absolutely taking your criticisms to heart and we may possibly tweak a few things per your suggestion. Coincidentally, we had planned to replace both the porcini risotto and the artichoke croquettes with the introduction of our seasonal summer menu beginning June 29th.

There were a few inaccuracies that we wanted to bring to your attention that may be corrected in the online version of the review*.
• The bread from the French dip is actually from Columbia City Bakery — not from Essential Baking.
• While Janine Doran has been with Cafe Flora 15 years, she has not held the position of executive chef for 15 years.
• The risotto was made with Arborio rice, not brown rice.

Also, I am not sure if you had a chance to make it in to try our brunch, desserts or new cocktail program. Our cocktail and happy hour program are fairly new (cocktails are a first for Cafe Flora) but our brunch is very popular and our vegan and gluten-free desserts are outstanding.

Again- thanks for your input.

And last month, I wrote about the new brunch at Madison Valley fine-dining standby Rover's, finding the atmosphere literally stuffy, the service harried, and (among other unimpressive food) the omelet herniated. Rover's chef/maestro/famous-hat-wearer responds:

I’m sorry you had such a negative brunch experience at Rover’s. I’m sorry when anyone has a negative experience at Rover’s. Brunch is a new thing for us, but that’s no excuse for the shortcomings you described. Our aim is to always serve guests wonderful, memorable meals.

For 22 years, I’ve worked to maintain the highest standards at Rover’s. This means sourcing the absolute best ingredients, preserving local fruits and vegetables at the peak of their growing season for our pantry, and curing many of the meats we serve in-house. Unfortunately, there are still some off moments that prove we are human, and very unfortunately, you happened to be on the receiving end of such when you visited. We acknowledged that at the time by not charging you for your eggs or your crepe.**

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my years in business, it’s that one can never rest on past successes—a chef is only as good as his or her last omelet. For that reason, we’re always working to innovate and improve. So, thank you for your critique—please know that we took your comments to heart.

Sincerely,
Thierry Rautureau
The Chef in The Hat!!!

* The online version has been corrected, a note to that effect has been made, and Mr. Schmader has been chastised.
**True, and I should've noted that specifically in the review (even though brunch for two still came to $56 for two people, including two $12 bloody Marys). There's more discussion of that over here.