Flying Star Gets Star-Spangled Blather
December 11th, 2011
I have a long history of defending Flying Star. I respect what Jean and Mark Bernstein do with local ingredients. I appreciate their ridiculously long hours, day after day (6 a.m. – 11 p.m. in most locations, most days). I am thankful for magazines I can browse while drinking refills of coffee.
I don’t like the usually burnt coffee. I whine a bit about increasing prices. Sometimes I find myself the recipient of sporadically inept hands in the kitchen.
BUT.
Flying Star, like Ari LeVaux said in his recent Alibi article, is the “friend you hang out with all the time, even though you sometimes complain about him”. And like an old friend, a heck of a lot of people would miss Flying Star if it were missing from the local dining landscape.
NINE, count ‘em, nine locations. Gorgeous interior design. Local roasting that has upsized several times. Over nearly 25 years, the operation has both grown and refined itself, finding solid ground in serving what most people want, most of the time, at prices that are perfectly fine (mostly).
Remember that organic costs more. Imported butter for great pastries costs more. Local chicken costs more. And in the middle of a recession, everybody hurts. Raw ingredient costs are up at least 25% for restaurants in the last 4 years, yet menu costs are up under 10%. That means that even though it sucks to pay more, the restaurants are sucking it up, too, and that includes Flying Star.
This is roundabout way of me congratulating Ari for his article. He appreciates what Flying Star does, even with a few grumbles thrown in.
I understand fully how the increasing food cost can impact the restaurant.
My problem with The Flying Star is how they have decided to deal with the rising costs.
Flying Star has seemingly opted for significantly smaller portions.
I believe this has a negative effect on the diners.
As someone who liked the Flying Star I am of the opinion they have approached the problem in the wrong way.
An additional buck or buck fifty would be acceptable to me rather than find a choice of mine cut down in size as was the case the last time my wife and I ate at their Bernalillo place.
It was shocking to find the Cubano sandwich a shadow of it’s former self.
Half the size!d
When you couple the smaller portions with the other glitches you have noted and I have experienced it adds up to a big negative for me.
Flying Star has become my local bakery.
There are other good food stops that make the Flying Star a last resort for non-bakery food.
Comment by Bruce Schor — December 13, 2011 @ 11:01 am
I think most of us wouldn’t mind paying Flying Star’s prices if the food were actually _excellent_. Most of the time, it’s just sort of ok. Organic food is great, but that hardly matters when it comes out of the kitchen burnt, wilted, cold-in-the-middle or otherwise inedible. These inconsistencies – not the prices – are what truly bother me about Flying Star. However, thank goodness for them. They have an excellent latte, and a person can sit with friends for hours and not feel pressured to concede the table.
Comment by Morgain — January 12, 2012 @ 9:04 am